SB.6.1.47. Past & Future
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · 2022
Chapters
Invocations and scriptural reading
Bhavate vasudevaya, oṁ namo Bhagavate. Nārāyaṁ namaskṛtya, naraṁ caiva narottamaṁ devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam uīrayet,
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī, yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ dvaipāyano viraha-kātara ājuhuva putretītanmayatayorubineduḥ, taṁ sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim natosmi.
So today we're reading Grantharāj Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 6, chapter number 1, the history of the life of Ajamila, text 47
Vartamana Anyaho Kalaha Gunabakaha Vidyapaka Tyata Evam Janma Anyayo Eta Dharma-adharma-nidarśanam
arsanam Vartama anonnia johkalo, Vartamaon ja johkalo, vartamanon ja johkalo Guna vigya pa koyata, guna vignā pakoyata, gunabignapayata Vikna Pakoya Eva Janman, Janya Yoreta. Evam Janmanya Yoretad, Yoreta, Dharma Dharmanidarsanam, Dharma Dharma Darshanam, Dharma Dharmanidamadharmanidarshanam, Vartamano yokal, Tamanaka yokal, gunabigapayata, bigama koyata, evam janmanya yoreta, devameta, dharma dharmamani dhar darsanam Vartamana The present.
The present. Anyayoho of the past and future. Of the past and future. Kalaha. Time. Guna Abhinya Pakaha Abhaka making known the qualities. Making known the qualities. Yatha just as. Evam das Janma Birth
Anya Yoho of the past and future birth of the past and future both.
Understanding past and future lives
This dharma religious principles and dharma irreligious principles. Nidarshanam indicating.
Translation and purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda. Just as springtime in the present indicates the nature of spring times in the past and future, so this life of happiness, distress and mixture of both gives evidence concerning the religious or irreligious activities of one's past and future lives purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Our past and future are not very difficult to understand. For the time, for time is under the contamination of the three modes of material nature.
As soon as spring arrives, the usual exhibition of various types of fruits and flowers automatically becomes manifest.
And therefore we may conclude that spring in the past was adorned with similar fruits and flowers and will be so adorned in the future also.
Our repetition of births and death is taking place within time and according to the influence of the modes of nature we are receiving various types of bodies of being and being subjected to various conditions.
Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya!
Vartamananya Yog Kalo Guna Bhigapakoyatha Evam Janman Yayoretat Dharma Dharmani Darshanam just as springtime in the present indicates the nature of springtimes So this life of happiness, distress and mixture of both gives evidence concerning the religious and irreligious activities of one's past and future lives.
Nama ōu viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta- svāmiti nāmine. नमस्ते सरस्वती, nārasāre-pracāriṇe nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa- tāriṇe. vāñchā-kalpataru-bhyāṁ ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Ajanulambita pujoka nakavadatu Sankirtanaika Pita Roka Malayakssa, Vishwambar, Djamaru Yuga Dharma Palu, Vandej Gat Priakaru Karu Navatar.
Significance of the Sixth Canto
Yontah pra vishi Mamavachim Mampra Suptam Sandiva Teki La Shakti Darax Vadamna, anjaamshahastacharna shrava natvadim, Pranan Mo Bagwa te pucha etubiam. Spa stuh saka lah, pracyda tam dean, to putani, shiwam me to di Hare Krishna.
I am very happy to be with all of you this morning and to have the opportunity to speak on this subject matter of Srimad Bhagavatam.
So we're reading the sixth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which is according to the verse of Padma Purāṇa comparing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with comparing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with the svarūpa of the Lord is the heart of the Lord.
The first two canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, his lotus feet and his thighs are third and second canto, uh third and fourth canto, his belly within which all the planetary system allocated
is the fifth canto which describes sthanam the structure of the universe, but his heart is the sixth canto. So it's a very special canto which actually describes the glories of pure devotional service.
And only if we understand the heart of the Lord we will be underst we will be able to understand his The
tenth Kanto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is by far the culmination of the whole book, but the entrance to this tenth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam lies especially through of course we should start with the lotus feet of the Lord and gradually gradually make our way up.
But uh the special significance uh is this sixth canto because if we want to understand the person, uh if we want to understand his moods, if we want to understand his activities, we first of all have to understand his heart.
And the heart of the Lord is pure devotional service by far. And the two main stories of the sixth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam are
very important stories of the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the story of Ajaṁīla and the story of Vritrasura. And in fact, the specific lakshana, the sign
of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is this story of Vṛtrāsura. Padma Purāṇa defining Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this grantha, they always mention Vritrasura Katha. Vritrasura Vada Katha.
Which actually you know it' thes in one sense is the essence of uh Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam glorifies bhakti and bhakti the special feature of bhakti is that it's beyond the modes of material nature.
You know, Vritrasura was a demon. You know, Vritrasura was a demon. He was a not only a demon, he was a great demon. He was he was a not metater, he was humane. He was eating humans, he was eating demigods.
He was quite uh you know quite a character. And then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he is glorified as the greatest of a devotee. Nevertheless, despite all these external uh disqualifications which were there.
Despite all the problems which he had, he still developed pure devotional service. And that's the very essential message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is beyond Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhakti itself. It's transcendental.
It's beyond the modes of material nature.
And the story of Ajamila, which we are reading, starting with the first chapter of the sixth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is also the proof of the same that bhakti takes you beyond the modes of material nature, which is very difficult to believe.
Bhakti beyond cause and effect
This point is not easy to understand because we usually we are programmed to think in in in terms of cause and effect. We are within this material world.
We are within this material world and everything is in terms of cause and effect. And cause and effect basically this cause and effect relationship is basically connected closely connected with the modes of material nature.
If the cause is sattvīk, then the effect will be sattvīk. If the cause is rājasik, then the effect will be rājasik; if the cause is tāmasik, then the effect will be tāmasik.
And here, you know, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam wants to say us, you know, bhakti is transcendental, it's beyond the guṇas, it basically means that it defies this law of cause and effect.
As you start the activities of bhakti, you start the activities of bhakti, you are beyond this law of karma; you are beyond the guṇas. How you can believe it? It's very difficult to believe.
It's it's a very difficult point to digest. Because we always programmed looking at the cause and effects and trying to judge according to modes of material nature.
And of course, while we're here, it's a valid consideration. But at the same time, it's even more important to also develop this vision, this darśana, which is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam darśana, this doing doing bhakti.
Even in the beginning stages, in the beginning stages is beyond the cause and effect. He is beyond karma. He is transcendental. You should not judge him according to his activities, even though his activities
may be tāmasik or rājasik or sattvīk. You should consider him sādhur eva samantavya. He is sādhu. Api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk.
This is a very difficult verse of Bhagavad-gītā to understand. He is performing the most abominable actions. The most abominable actions. Krishna says most abominable actions.
Krishna says, sādhur eva sa mantavya. He said he has to be considered as sādhu. This is the opinion of Krishna. It's very difficult to argue.
It's better we shouldn't argue with him. It's better we shouldn't argue with him. But uh morally, ethically it's difficult. You know, somebody is doing something abominable and we say, oh yeah, dear sadhu, please bless me.
You know. It doesn't make any sense. Because we are again we are very much accustomed to these uh things. This is good, this is bad. What is good?
Good is something satvik when somebody is kind, you know, when somebody is doing something good, he's he's good. Uh this is good, this is clear. When somebody is doing something bad, he's bad.
And here we have, you know, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and of course Krishna himself and Bhagavad-gītā says, no, no, no, no, no. Gita says, no, no, no, no, no. Please try to adjust your vision differently.
If somebody is doing bhakti, he is worshipable from the beginning. In the beginning of this chapter, Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī
where he says that bhakti is considered you know there are two types you can classify bhakti into two categories. One category is satata bhakti. When you constantly perform uh bhakti.
And the other category when you sometimes perform bhakti, sometimes don't perform bhakti. You know, sporadically sometimes you feel like performing bhakti and sometimes you don't feel like performing bhakti.
And then Prabhupāda says, according to Jīva Gosvāmī, you know, this pradhāna-bhakti uh is also divided into three types. You know, one is when you have some attachment to bhakti,
uh one is that you don't have some attachment to bhakti but you just want to surf and one is uh that you don't even want to surf you're just sporadically doing something which is very superficially called as a bhakti.
You're coming to the temple. And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that's enough to be How we can understand this? It's very difficult to understand.
And therefore, this whole first chapter of the sixth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is there. First to prove the Purva Paksha. What we are listening here is not the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Endless cycle of karmic reactions
It's the purvapaksha. It's the opinion of the opponent. Who is the opponent and this particular case is Yamadutas. Yamadutas they are trying to argue with the Vishnu Dutas and they are presenting their case.
And they are presenting their case in a very solid way. It's very difficult to deny what uh Yamadutas are saying. You know they are basically explaining this law of karma, the law of uh cause and effect.
uh the very rational in a very rational way how the law of karma is connected with the guṇas, how the guṇas and uh but basically what is the problem of this law of karma?
The problem of the law of karma is that it's a vicious circle. If the law of karma was the only law in this material world, everyone would be doomed to rot in this material world to the rest of eternity.
If the law of karma was the only law which would govern this material world, we would have no hope. No hope. Because the law of karma, rational as it is, uh gives a very gloomy future to you.
You know what is the law of karma? Law of karma is you do something and then there will be reaction. Right? It's a cause and effect. You do something there will be reaction.
But because there will be reaction, you will react to this reaction and you will act according to the reaction and then for this reaction will be re-reaction. And this re-reaction will act upon you, and uh because the re-reaction will act upon you, you will react, and there will be re-reaction to your initial action and then after this will be reaction again and again and again.
Just one action dooms you. That's it. You're finished. You acted one time and you already caught into the circle of karma.
Because you will be doomed to act in a similar way according to your act before, and you will act and act and act and you will degrade and you will rot.
So just one action, one simple action gives so much reactions that you will not be able to counteract within innumerable births because you will in the meantime you will create more actions and more actions and more actions.
And there is no hope.
You know once I was speaking with a Christian uh priest, actually we had a live show on uh, not on TV on um on radio and we were arguing and he said your your law of karma is very pessimistic, it's very hopeless.
And I said it's your law of karma is very pessimistic. Our law of karma is not pessimistic.
But actually it is a pessimistic in one sense because uh it's very rational uh and uh you know i if we consider it very thoroughly, it's of
course, you know the scriptures which explain how to overcome the not bhakti scriptures, but other scriptures like yoga, Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Muni.
It very interestingly, in a very interesting way describes how you can be free from the law of karma. What you should do. It is basically said it's very important to understand.
It basically says that uh here actually Śrīla Prabhupāda he translates this verse according to the commentary of Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura.
Seed metaphor for human actions
You may wonder by reading Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation, where is the springtime, you know, in the verse? There is absolutely no mention of springtime in the verse.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda translates: Just as springtime in the present indicates the nature of springtimes in the past. You know what kind of translation it is.
But Śrīla Prabhupāda oftentimes does it when he when he includes the previous Acharya's commentaries in the translation itself.
His translation is actually oftentimes is not the translation of the verse. His translation is his rendering of the commentaries of the previous acharyas and then he comments further on this commentary.
So actually this verse compares very interestingly the law of karma. It's a very common simile, very common metaphor. That the law of karma is compared with the seeds.
You know, and uh m basically even in the Bible uh the same metaphor is used. As you sow, you will reap. You will reap what you sow.
The seeds which you will put plant into the ground, they will fructify uh inevitably after some time and they will bring the same uh result as by the seeds.
You cannot expect that the result of your actions will be different, you know, if you if you go into the field in the springtime and you put the seeds of all kinds of wheats in the field. And then you know, when the summer comes or when the rainy season comes, you expect that there will be some nice rice there.
Isn't it crazy? You know. You will only get what you sow. If you sow the bad seeds, you will get bad crop. Isn't it? It's it's it's very logical.
You know, so oftentimes this law of karma is um compared with this uh with this activities of uh of the uh agricultural activities. You are just uh kṛṣika, you are uh you are doing this karma in this in this field.
And therefore this body is called field. Field of activities. It's kṣetrajña. Vaya kṣetrajña, and this is the kṣetra. What is kṣetrajña is doing? Kṣetrajña is cultivating the field. What we are doing?
We are cultivating this field, we are sowing the uh different seeds in the field and accordingly we will get the crop. Accordingly we will get the result. Accordingly we will get the next body.
And actually as Śrīla Prabhupāda says it's very It's very easy. You just have to come in front of the mirror. Look in the mirror and you will see all your past lives. You know, if you have the eyes to see.
But basically, you know what is present, the present is the reflection of the past. And the future is the next rendering of the present. What we have in the present will be in the future.
But if we consider this, this is a very pessimistic sort of idea. But anyway, what uh the yoga shastras say, they say that uh yes, uh the you have all these seeds. And the seeds manifest as our thoughts in the mind.
You know, the thoughts which we have in the mind is the result of our activities in the past.
You know, if you sow some movie, you will think according to this movie, you know, all these images of this nice, you know, naked male and female embracing each other will surface and then you will have to go to Ajamila's uh biography Replay the same thing, you know.
People what are they doing? You know, uh people in Kali Yuga they're so crazy. It's not enough. You know, they're doing so much sinful activities themselves, but it's not enough for them.
They go to the movie and they watch other people doing sinful activities. And acquiring more karma.
Because while seeing, watching all these images of sinful activities, you actually are also participating in the same sinful activities. As if it's not enough of these sins which you are doing.
Just go to the you know, and nowadays of course you don't have to go to the uh movie uh to the cinema theater. You can just open YouTube and you you can watch all the sinful activities there.
And get all the sinful impressions. And every single one of the sinful impressions will fructify. Because it will give you the desire to do the same thing again.
You know, Ajamil was you know he just once saw this you know śūdra embracing the prostitute. And his whole life he spent doing the same thing. And people in Kali Yuga they're watching it again and again and again.
It's freely available now. So how much how much sinful activities, sinful impressions, sinful samskaras are stored in our consciousness. It's just unbelievable. So and basically that's it.
Four types of mental impressions
But what uh what uh Yoga Sutra, let's go back to Yoga Sutra from movie theater to Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. So Patanjali Muni says that uh yes it's true, you have so many seeds. But there is a hope, says Patanjali Muni.
You can ultimately starve these seeds, he says. He says that all the samskaras which are there in our consciousness they can be classified according to four types.
The first samskara, the first type of samskara is fully operating samskara. Udāra. This state of samskara is our present karma which we are doing, prārabdha karma.
You know, all these thoughts and actions is a result of our previous thoughts and actions. And it basically means that the certain impression which is there in the mind is fully operating. This is Udāra.
Then he says that this Udāra can be put to sleep, prasupta.
He says that there are certain samskaras which are not really operating now, but they're there somewhere in some consciousness. You know, and at one point of time, triggered by some external stimuli, this samskara will be awakened.
So many sinful reactions are there within our mind. And this is exactly what happened with Ajamila. Ajamila was a very pious man. He was studying in Guru Kul, but then you know all of a sudden he saw
this sc sensuous sin when Shudra was embracing a prostitute and the saṁskāras which were sleeping, you know, like during Bhagavatam class some some brahmacharis are sleeping very nicely.
But then when when they hear Kījāya Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Grantharāj Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they immediately awake. You need some trigger to awake in a similar way.
You know, uh some saṁskāra may be sleeping But when some trigger is there, it will awake. You know, when there is some uh something external which
reminds you this saṁskāra, this saṁskāra will will awake and will say, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, right, right, right. Uh you had this experience, why don't we do it again? Very nice proposal. Very good.
So this is this is how uh karma works and then uh therefore Patañjali Muni says first is the saṁskāra which is working now.
Working now means it gives you certain desires. Already you have certain desires, already you have certain character. Like for example, you're a very angry man.
You know, somebody is saying something which you don't like, you immediately become very angry. You know, that's already working saṁskāra.
You know, but you may be very peaceful, but then somebody says to you something which is really touching to your heart, and you immediately become angry.
It means that saṁskāra was sleeping, prasupta, and then it became awake.
And then, you know, he says then there is another kind of saṁskāra or certain attachment which is some He sometimes goes to sleep and sometimes he awakes and then sometimes again goes to sleep.
You know it's vicchinna, it's goes back and forth, goes back and forth.
So but then he says that there is one type of saṁskāra which is beneficial one type of saṁskāra which is beneficial it's called tanu tanu means it's it's starving saṁskāra. Tanu means uh uh you become very thin.
You know like if you eat a lot of food you become very chubby or as they say in India, you become very healthy. You have a lot of flesh.
So if you always feed your saṁskāras they they become very healthy. They become very active and very strong. But then you may starve certain saṁskāras. And if you starve saṁskāras, saṁskāras become very weak.
Tanu means it's saṁskāra which is very weak. It's there. The memory is there, the experience is there, but it's very weak. And sometimes you can hear the voice of this saṁskāra. You know, why don't you do this?
But it's a very weak voice, feeble voice. You know it was nice. Ice cream is very nice. Why don't you take ice cream? And then you know your pakka brahmachari, no ice cream, only gulab jamun. No māyā. Yeah.
It basically means that you know the saṁskāra is not very strong. It means that the voice of this saṁskāra is not very demanding. It's not a very strong voice. You can easily shut it down, you know.
The saṁskāra says, why don't you do this? I mean eating ice cream is not so sinful. I'm just giving some decent examples, but there may be some more gross examples.
But if you starve these particular impressions, subliminal impressions, saṁskāras which are there, if you starve, then gradually, gradually they become weaker and weaker and weaker.
Starving desires through physical austerity
And that's basically what people do in other traditions. They very much rely on this particular process. It's very prominent among people who are trying to practice some spirituality.
They very much rely on this process of starving their saṁskāras. You know, it basically means uh severe fast. You know, because uh uh m while you are starving yourself, you're
are also starving your senses, and while your senses are starving, your saṁskāras also become very weak. You know, like recently I was in Swami Narayan Sampradaya in Saranpur.
And it's I mean it's beautiful temple and it's an educational institution and they explained to me their lifestyle and they said we are very much into this tapasya.
Every brahmacārī who is staying there, studying there, they have to fast near-jala at least five times a month. And some brahmacārīs fast, you know, ten-ten days a month.
And some brahmacārīs fast every second day. One day they eat, second day they don't eat, you know. Do you want to go to Swami Narayan somewhere? And no Sunday feast.
Because if you want to be there, if you want to be sādhu, you have to really, you know, you have to get all the nice prasāda, salty and sweet, and mix it together completely and then it's this.
Because this is one of the principles there. And it's a good principle in one sense because what is the idea behind this?
You are starving your senses. Your senses are demanding, please give me some nice sense enjoyment. And you say, no, no, I'm a sādhu. I will starve you to death.
And basically means starve to death uh means that no more some saṁskāras, no more uh no more karma.
Now of course the karma is still there. The some saṁskāras m they may be starving, but if you give them some food they will be again very nice and healthy and they will again push you to do the same things.
But what I want to say is that this method, which is recommended by Patañjali Muni is very prominent. You know, wherever you go you will see more or less this principle is there in the spiritual life.
If you want to get free from karma, if you want to be m liberated, if you want to go beyond this cause and effect, first of all you have to do this austerities in severe austerities. It's the it's undeniable condition. You have to do it. No doubt about it.
Eradicating karma through devotional service
You know, but luckily we are in this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Sampradāya. And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Sampradāya Śukadeva Gosvāmī himself says this does not really work. Śrīla Śukadeva
Gosvāmī answering this question of uh Mahārāja Parīkṣit, uh initially he tried to bewilder Mahārāja Parīkṣit and he said you do some atonement. And Mahārāja Parīkṣit says, no, no, no, no.
You know what kind of atonement you do? Because uh the problem is that problem is not the seed.
Seed is a problem, but seed is only a problem when you have nice soil. The seed will only fructify if the soil is nice and fertile. If the seed is thrown into the soil which is not very nice, then the seed will not grow.
And what is the soil for our karma? What is the fertile soil for the karma to operate? It's ignorance. Patañjali Muni himself is very clear about this. He says that on the soil of ignorance the seeds of our karma grow.
Avidyā, asmita, it's all uh the all are growing on the on the soil on the fertile soil of ignorance of of avidyā. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ultimately why bhakti is so powerful.
We have to also understand it very scientifically because if we only just sentimentally believe then we will not be able to practice bhakti uh properly. Bhakti is so powerful because the initial starting point of bhakti is that there is God and there is you and your natural relationship, the only natural relationship between you and God is to surrender to God.
This is the starting point. The bhakti starts from this Saranagati from surrender. The bhakti starts from this belief that the only that the only thing which I should do in this world is to uh worship the Supreme Lord.
Everything else is senseless. Everything else does not make any sense. Everything else does not make me happy. If this idea, which is Shastriya Shraddha, is firmly established in you, then you're beyond karma.
Even though you know karma may have some effect upon you, goodness may still work on you, you may still perform some abominable activities because of uh because of this, but uh because you firmly established
in this knowledge sambandagyan therefore it starts with sambandagyan. What is my nature? Jīvero svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa-dāsa. I'm always thus. And if I don't want to be the Das of the Supreme Lord, I will be Das of my wife.
Nice Patni Das. No. Mahapatni das I will become the Das of my karma. I will become karmadas. Mahakarmadas. I will become the das of my senses. I will become Indriadas. I will become I I will always serve.
Because this is my svarūpa, this is the svarūpa of a jīva. We never independent. We always serve. And therefore bhakti is so powerful.
And Bhakti starts uh the the real Dharma, the real bhakti starts with the chanting of the holy name. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram Ram Ram, Hare.
And if you have even slight connection with the chanting of the holy name, you're saved. And this is not just a fanatical statement.
Story of a near death vision
I wanted to tell you uh a story. I know that I have to finish, but I still want to tell you a little story It's a short story, but it's a real story. I don't know. Perhaps you know Patrida.
He's a very, you know, amazing preacher in Nepal. And he told me once a story that uh they had a they had a brahmacārī. He actually converted he was studying Nepali in the university, and in
this university there was a student who was studying the political science. And he was a very brilliant student and somehow or other he became a devotee
and he gave up all this political science and he gave up his university studies and he became a preacher and he started dancing on the streets and chanting the
holy name and you know distributing the mercy of Lord Caitanya. And his father became extremely angry. His father he was cursing his son and he was cursing all the devotees
and he cursed everyone and he was always saying this Hare Krishna, they are so bad. And he was always saying Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.
So what happened? And then after some time, as it happens in this world, his father became very sick and uh he he was not so old but, he became very very, sick and he went into coma.
And he he he was living in some other city and this brahmacārī asked uh Patrick, Can I go what should I do in this situation? He said, just immediately go to your father and stay with him and try to help
him, try to give him whatever help you can give. So his father was in coma and actually, doctors said there is very little chance that he will come out from the coma.
And for more than one week he was in this completely unconscious state. But then all of a sudden and his son was always there and his
son was sitting in front of uh next to him and was chanting the holy name and Śrīla Prabhupāda's bhajans were playing and then all of a sudden his father came back to his senses and the first thing which he
asked give me the mala. You know the his son was so amazed, you know, and they immediately gave him the
mala and he started chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rāma Rāma Ram Ram Hari Hare Rāma Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Rāma. And for a long time he was chanting nonstop.
I don't know, he chanted sixteen rounds or more, I don't know, but he was chanting and chanting and chanting again and again and again.
And then after some time when this whole you know when he became a little more calm, because his father was also visibly agitated. And then he said to his son, you know son, what happened to me?
I was there and I was there and and and they put me in this queue and he said I was in a long queue. He said why it took me so long? Seven days, because I was in a queue.
You know so because especially in Kali Yuga the queue must be really long to Yamarāja. Right?
So he said I was standing in this queue and was waiting and I was so and I saw with my own eyes what's happening there? What's going on? And he said, I saw this big man, and he was sitting on a throne,
and you know, there was some some man sitting next to him, you know, reading something, and he said, you know the the judgment was very quick.
The waiting period is long because the queue is so long but the the judgment is a reaction really takes a few minutes, you know, very. No problem, no brainer.
Very easy to solve and he said that there are three big holes there. You know, just in case maybe you will see them. And these holes they're like you know they're sucking something, you know.
And you know, as soon as the the you know the sentence was pronounced, you know, then the the soul is placed in one of those holes, you know, and it's stuck there.
So it's basically what are these three holes: Sattvic hole, Rajasic hole, and Tamasic hole.
If you were predominantly Sattvic, you know, go to this hole, to this channel, and you know, go through this and uh to this Tamasic hole or Rajasic hole.
So this father was there, was trembling, you know, in this queue, and then ultimately he came and then, you know, they asked and, you know, somebody started saying what he was doing, and it was almost decided.
And then this father all of a sudden he remembered something, and he said, My son is Hare Krishna. And he said, This man on the throne, he said, Really? Get out of here!
And this is this is how she came back and the first thing she said, give me the mala.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Rāma Rāma, Rāma Rāma. Śrīla Prabhupāda. Thank you.
Overcoming karma through simple devotion
Okay, so with you, it's already five minutes. Okay, one question. Thank you Maharaj, thank you so much. And it was so nice to see your lecture after a long time. We have been missing you.
You mentioned about that debate you had on the radio with the other person. So if you like you can share on that little more then uh what happened?
Yeah actually I yeah I I started saying that I actually yeah, the If you consider the karma, if you don't understand the law of karma, then it's indeed very difficult to get out of this law of karma. But if you understand that you can easily break this law of karma.
It's actually very interesting that it is said that Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that one, uh, sort of pure devotional service, one kind of pure devotional service is to serve the cows.
You know, Krishna, he gave so much opportunities for us to break the law of karma. Even if you serve the cow, you can completely break the law of karma.
You know, if you do something good to the to the cow, uh even if you do it uh in a very, you know, ignorant way, you know, so much of your karma is finished completely.
Even though the karma is very difficult, you know, and it's very tremendous obstacle. But at the same time, Krishna gave so much provision to get rid of this karma.
You know, just chant the holy name once, just go down to the Lord.
And you know, even if you j just you know, you somehow or rather you're s completely drunk and you came to the lawn uh and you f fell down, that's no problem.
Api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām anākāk bhāk, your devotional story started because you did this. You know, Krishna gave so much provision to finish the karma.
You know, if you the it is said that uh if you live with the cows you know together you can basically counteract any m any amount of your karma if you live together with the with the cows
uh or serve the cows and so many other things, you know, you serve the devotees, you get the book. Already it's a very tremendous step in the right direction. So no problem.
Yamaraj will say get out of here, you don't belong to here. Okay. Thank you very much, Maharaj, for the wonderful lecture. Uh I had the similar question, uh but you already answered it.
So this is not the class related uh question. Uh just uh we want to know in short that how did you join ISKCON Italy in f Please? I joined ISKCON long ago. I almost forget how it was.
So anyway, my friend gave me Bhagavad-gītā and I was uh I read Bhagavad-gītā and I thought, okay, good, very good. And my friend told me, you know, you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and I started chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.
And I when I when he gave me Bhagavad-gītā and said to me you should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, I said, okay, I'll try. But I was not really, you know, convinced that I should do this.
I thought for myself, as soon as I, you know, get tired of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, I will stop it. And you know, forty-two years later I'm still chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, so I never got tired.
Thank you, Mahārāja. Uh my friend's name, he's living in California. His name is Japadās, he's uh he's very active devotee there in California.