Srimad Bhagavatam course. Session 6. Q&A
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Bhaktivedanta Institute · 2025
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Opening remarks and lecture overview
First of all, I want to uh beg forgiveness from you because uh we missed a few sessions and uh lately my health was not so stable so I was even thinking about canceling this particular session but then Lakshmimoni Mataj gave me this idea to have instead question and answer session, which I enthusiastically embraced.
So, yes, and hopefully starting from the next session, we will continue with our journey on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And we'll probably need at least two more sessions on the first canto, if not more, let's see how it works.
To have a I wouldn't say grasp of the first canto, but maybe to be grasped by the first canto. So let's put it like this and yeah, that's uh a few preliminary remarks.
And I also want to thank Brahmatirta Prabhu and uh for everything he's doing. I wanted to reiterate the importance of Bhaktivedanta Institute, the last project of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to Satsvarūpa, not Satsvarūpa, Bhakti Svarūpa Dāmodara Mahārāja, who was the director of Bhaktivedanta Institute at that time, he said that I've done what I can do, now the stage is yours, now you have to preach.
So this little phrase, little sentence of Śrīla Prabhupāda, gives a lot of food for thought. He wanted us to preach Krishna consciousness in a scientific way.
And a scientific way means in a rational way, in a way that intelligent people, rational people, thinking people can embrace Krishna consciousness, not as some sort of a cult. And therefore, he wanted this scientific preaching.
And scientific preaching does not mean preaching to the scientist.
It includes, but it's only a very uh small subset of the range of preaching uh activities which are intended uh by Śrīla Prabhupāda for Bhaktivedanta Institute.
And after a few years of kind of there was some pause in the activities of Bhaktivedanta Institute as some internal strife, but then Brahmatirta Prabhu took up the challenge and revived this very important project and I wholeheartedly sympathize and uh try to do my uh little input in uh this service and uh I will be happy if by this seminar people will become more um aware and uh perhaps more supportive uh to Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies.
So let me chant Mangalacharana and then we will start with the questions. I read a few questions, very few, but they were very interesting questions, especially I like the questions from Akruranath Prabhu. Anyway, so let's chant Mangalacharana.
Namah Vishnu-padaya Krishna-presthaya bhutale Srimati Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupade, Namaste Saraswati deve Gaura-vani-pracharine, Nirvishesha Shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine, Vanchha-kalpatarubhyash cha Kripa-sindhubhya eva cha Patitanam pavanebhyo Vaishnavebhyo namo namah.
Jaya Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nityananda Advaita Gadadhara Srivasa adi Gaura bhakta-vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Yam pravishyam drishyamanayata prasuktam sanjya-dhayata kila-shakti-dharam svadhmana anyam.
Internal transformation through Srimad-Bhagavatam
Dhadhim prananda-bhavat purushayatubhyam svastyastu vishvasya lakah, Prasida tam dhyan-hutani shivam mithodiya mashabhadram bhajatta daksh.
So just a few uh preliminary uh introductory words to this session to remind us about the idea of this course,
besides trying to provide some clear logical structure, reveal rather not provide but rather reveal the clear and amazing logical structure of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
I also want to stress the need to realize the ideas and concepts and the truths of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a real sense, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not a book of theoretical knowledge.
It's a guide for our meditation, and ultimately, meditation is supposed to bring us into a direct contact with the Supreme Reality, with the Supreme Absolute Truths.
Ultimately, meditation, Satyam Paramdhi Mahi, is supposed or is meant to give us Aparokshagyana or direct knowledge of the absolute truth.
And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is composed in such a way or have this property to give us all we need to come up to this stage of direct realization of the Supreme Truths.
And sometimes, unfortunately, we think that knowing Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam theoretically is all in all, it's enough.
It's a good starting point, but we should not be satisfied just by knowing what is happening in this canto or that canto or even some juicy details or some nice philosophical, subtle philosophical explanations of certain points.
Ultimately, studying of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the process of internal transformation. It's the process of change. Reviving, reliving Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Let's put it like this: we will be able to really go deeper in our relationship with Krishna. And that's the aspiration which I uh uh have it's definitely not uh the claim, very uh proud claim. I I I I don't claim this.
But uh I do want to uh to bring uh our attention to this mode of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the need to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in such a way. Bhagavatam and the need to understand Srimad Bhagavatam in such a way.
And therefore, the whole first canto, coming back to our subject matter which we started, but uh by faring in progress by far didn't finish.
Therefore, the whole first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, very important introductory canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is entirely devoted to the methodology of understanding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and to the description of the results of knowing Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam.
How what it means to be successful in studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So that's that's the idea to give us some rational and clear structural understanding of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Bring the ideas of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam into the context of the entire book and in this way to make them comprehensible and more even how shall I say it?
More um potent in the sense that uh they're potent in themselves, but uh to uh uh facilitate them to change our heart. So that's one uh purpose and another purpose is to remind that
uh uh Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam uh studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not a theoretical discipline.
It's um uh very powerful uh tool of internal transformation if we meditate on the subject matters of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a proper systematic manner and bring them uh into our uh heart and into our lives.
So that's um that's the few uh few preliminary remarks.
Proposed Bhagavata scientific paradigm course
Uh and also uh for the next year, uh I don't know when we will start.
Uh, I'm planning uh hopefully if Pramatirta Prabhu will agree and other members of Bhaktivedanta Institute, I'm hoping to start another course of Bhagavata Scientific Paradigm.
How the paradigm of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can bring the new understanding of reality and how the scientific paradigm of the modern world is actually very detrimental not only for spiritual development of the living entities, but also for even material well-being of the entire world, at least here on earth.
So comparing the modern paradigm and explaining how historically this modern paradigm developed and comparing it with the Bhagavatam scientific paradigm, I would like to introduce the need to change the paradigms of viewing the world according to the ideas
of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, not according to the So perhaps these two courses will go on uh simultaneously because I don't think we will finish this particular course by that time. That's little preliminary analysis.
All right, so that's um if uh yeah if your blessings will be there and if Krishna's mercy will help me. So needed and so important. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And I'm sorry that you're not feeling well and thank you for being here with us even uh you're not feeling uh to the optimal place. May Krishna bless you to have full strength because we need you dearly.
Um so how would you like you like to um uh you call the people you like yeah yeah please please please you call or whoever wants to ask some questions uh Yeah, those questions which are there okay, but it's better if they are asked uh live. Yeah, yeah.
So a career not I don't have his question, but you mentioned his question to be one of the best. So I will ask to be the first one. And give me one second, I will try to spotlight him if I can find him.
It's not super easy here, but um I have an assistant um you're here okay I ask you to first I will spotlight and then I will ask you to unmute um here not Prabhu can you unmute yourself? There you go. Hare Krishna.
Thank you. I asked several Jay Maharaj. I asked a couple of different questions.
One was because the last last lecture was um these are questions from the lecture before because last lecture was Sarusanga and I didn't see the whole lecture.
But uh one was it was about the the the different ten topics of the Bhagavatam and and then I asked about how Śrīla Prabhupada had actually named the cantos um you know according to the ten topics and then he added two more names for the for the 11th and 12th canto general history and and uh I think the age of Kali or something like that.
Um so but he gave those names, but then as you mentioned in the lecture, other ācāryas talked about uh a different emphasis of different cantos and and so I want just that was one question that I asked.
Canto titles and ten topics
Thank you very much, Iswara Prabhu. My humble obeisances to you. Your question, um the very important part of your question was that uh Śrīla Prabhupada apparently uh changed the name uh of one topic.
Obviously he gives the titles of the cantos according to the sequence of the topics in this verse, Atrasarga Visarga Shastanam Poshana Mutaya. So Manvan Taresh Anukatha Niroda Mukti Rashraya.
So, but interestingly, instead of Poshanam, Śrīla Prabhupāda calls the fourth canto creation of the force order. And you ask the reason why, and again, why Śrīla Prabhupāda have chosen to name the cantos like this?
My idea, my understanding is that Śrīla Prabhupāda just took this verse and he definitely wanted to have title Āśraya for the tenth canto, and because the tenth topic culminated
in the tenth canto, so he just gave it according to this verse, calling the first canto creation and then universal creation and then status quo for the third canto, and then
creation of the fourth order for the fourth canto, so that we could easily arrive to the most important Āśraya topic for the tenth canto, which indeed is the description of the tenth canto.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda just took it literally and literally put it in order. But I really liked this point of yours. Why, Śrīla Prabhupāda? Everything else more or less very closely corresponds to the
names of the topics, Sanskrit names of the topics, but the fourth canto uh is apparently very much different. Instead of poshanam, which means nourishment, Śrīla Prabhupāda says creation of the fourth order.
So my understanding is like this: Śrīla Prabhupāda very much emphasizes the creation in the whole development of the cantos from creation to universal order to status quo and then creation of the fourth order.
When Śrīla Prabhupāda says fourth order, inevitably he means sannyāsī order. And sannyāsī order, it's a special stage of life when we completely depend on the mercy of Krishna. At least this is how it is supposed to be.
Whether it is in reality or not is another question. But sannyāsī is supposed to be completely surrendered to Krishna and depend on his mercy and not doing anything to maintain himself, understanding very clearly that the
mercy of Krishna is the maintenance. So that's how Poshanam comes in place, because Poshanam is indeed, tad-anugraha, as Śukadeva Gosvāmī himself explains, Poshanam means the mercy of Krishna.
So creation of the fourth order is basically the creation of the people who understand this truth. That everything which is being done is the mercy of Krishna and it's Krishna who maintains us and gives us everything.
So that's Śrīla Prabhupāda's interpretation of Posanam and very beautiful indeed. Regarding the order, yes.
Karma suffering and free will
But I I I liked uh that you noticed this particular uh point which Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks when he calls the fourth can differently. I did have some other questions.
Um had to do one of them had to do with something that Jagarini, who's sitting here also next to me, but uh she and I were talking about whether um whatever happens to us is exactly due to our karma,
or whether someone who's violating dharma can make us suffer more than we were supposed to according to our karma um it
may look like uh from the outside but because the stock of our karma is so vast that I think it's uh virtually impossible to make us suffer more than we deserve so So
it's probably uh e even you know from the external point of view it may look like, but uh you know the uh the karma is so vast and then uh you know even if somebody who inflicts some suffering is borrowing from some some other karma. It's still within the purview of our own karma.
I was citing for one conversation where Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that suppose someone has to take so many births as a cow before becoming a human and then if someone kills the cow prematurely it has to take an extra birth and therefore, you know, what but but uh that
was my Rāmaṇa that I was offering to her. Yeah, uh but it's not that the cow who takes m extra births will suffer more. Uh the cow will just have to you know the to exhaust the karmic debt so to speak and uh if yeah
it's definitely, mm, human beings have free will, therefore they can do something which uh can apparently interfere with the normal course of our karma. But uh still it could be adjusted.
So the whole you know the whole karmic stock is is constantly being readjusted according to the activities of human beings.
But it's still within the same karmic reactionary how to say this uh accumulation or whatever stock thank
Philosophical meaning of nirodha
thank you Mahārāja. One one other question just was about the Sanskrit word nirodha and um and there was uh I was talking to a friend who works in AIDS prevention in India and she was saying that the word nirodha is what's used in India to refer to the condom.
So it has like this sense of being a barrier or something as well as being winding out of material. Niroda basically means to stop. That's why it is used by Patañjali Muni in the second uh sutra of Yoga Sutras, Yoga Shittavritini Rodha.
Yoga means total uh stillness of the mind when all the chitavriti, all the functions of our chitta, of our consciousness are completely stopped and still.
So here the same idea is there to stop, to prevent, yeah, as you say. And that's why I don't remember if I mentioned it, but perhaps I did.
If I did, forgive me, but I just want to repeat that Vallabhacharya he gives a very beautiful explanation of this word nirodha. He says that nirodha in his scheme of topics
of the cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam comes to the tenth canto, and he is asking the question: what does it mean? Why nirodha, which basically means destruction or to stop, comes to the tenth canto?
And of course, in the 10th canto, there are descriptions of the destruction of different dynasties, demonic dynasties, and Krishna was very active in eliminating all these dynasties, and that's one of the purposes of his coming.
But he also says that Niroda means that when you hear about Vrindavan past times of Lord Krishna, your mind becomes completely still.
Your mind stops as much as it stops when you are in samādhi, uh. So that's also a very interesting dimension of the same word nirodha. Yes, definitely nirodha means to stop. I remember, thank you for the full answers.
I've put the names and they're under there because I need to call you and I need to highlight you and I mute you and I don't know who you are. So I'm looking for Premānanda dāsa and I don't know where you are.
And if you know the next person will be Shruti, we we see you, and so we will highlight you and you can answer questions.
Uh now I have to ask you to unmute one second. There's a couple of technical things I have to do, so okay, there you can unmute now, you see? Okay. Hare Krishna Maharaj.
Qualifications and preliminary purification for hearing
Hare Krishna. Um first would just like to echo all of our gratitude to you for
so wonderfully putting together such a wonderful series on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It's so enlightening, and it's really so wonderful to see how or why it's compiled in the way it's been compiled. So thank you so much for that.
So I do have a few questions, but I think I'll start with the one which was sort of the most prominent in my head.
um, and it was from your last, um, lecture, so lecture number nine, um, and as you were describing the qualification to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is the to be in, um, holy places and the tīrthas and to um the sacrificial rituals, yeah, after all of that has been done then is when one becomes qualified to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And considering hearing to be a part uh or very essential part of bhakti process itself, it it so I'm not understanding it it sounds as if like material piety like nitya-karma or bathing um is what leads to bhakti.
But they're also uh in the in the shastra, the pramanas, the I think Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says somewhere that the cause of bhakti is bhakti, that it's just independent.
So if you could please explain when when we talk about or when we hear similar statements that sacrificial rituals or bathing in holy or visiting holy tirthas, bathing in holy rivers, that's all piety and that all is leading to bhakti.
What is the subtle meaning or what's the purport behind it to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we need some preliminary purification. And therefore, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that before practicing bhakti, sometimes some preliminary purification is necessary.
Bhakti does not depend on these preliminary stages because bhakti is a very powerful purifying agent, so to speak, or force, which can purify everything on its own accord.
But if our consciousness is preliminary pure purified, then the effects of bhakti will be more pronounced.
And therefore it is explained that it's better if you are sitting in a holy place and you have undergone certain preliminary purificatory processes, so to speak. But again, it's not the absolute requirement.
Whatever people speak about Krishna, that place becomes tirtha in itself and the atmosphere is purified just by the vibration of the stories of Krishna Katha.
But still, you know, we all know when we come to a pure place, our mind is much more peaceful and less agitated. And therefore, it's easier for us to concentrate on spiritual subject matters. There was another question.
Perhaps I will answer it right now if the devotee who asked this question will not be satisfied, she can ask again. But it's I think it's appropriate.
The question was about the external and internal energy of the Lord and why it is so difficult for us to be absorbed in internal energy, why external energy is so powerful and is so engaging.
So, in relationship to your question, I can answer this question also because even though spiritual energy does not depend in any way or shape or form from the external energy. Still, external energy is very powerful.
We should not underestimate the power of external energy. Mamā māyā duratyā, as Kṛṣṇa himself says in Bhagavad-gītā. And it distracts our attention.
So all these conditions which you're asking about is only to help us to pay more attention to the spiritual vibrations.
The internal energy is more powerful, but external energy is more gross and more engaging, so to speak. And therefore, it is capable of distracting our attention.
And all these preliminary things are only needed to help us to feel more subtle experiences of spiritual energy.
The spiritual experiences are more subtle than the gross experiences of the material energy, and therefore, if our consciousness is very gross, it's very difficult for us to appreciate the spiritual, subtle spiritual experiences. Thank you.
Vedic science versus modern scientific paradigms
Thank you, Bharaj. Yes, that does make sense because like reading the purports was just very confusing to understand like why is it required to go to a titha and take a bath like when you're talking.
Um I had another question too and it was it was related to a class I was listening of yours a few days ago. I think you were giving a class in Bangalore.
You were speaking about how Vedic science differs from modern science and that Vedic science starts from the very principle is religion, that's where it starts from and it builds up to math, mathematics. But modern science is the other way around that it starts from math and but religion is the farthest thing.
But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam when you were explaining in your last class, it seems that it's like building up from math and going up to religion.
So I'm just curious like why oh w what what is the reason why it's designed in a different way?
The math uh is a very foundational thinking. It's uh it's a simplest thing in one sense. It teaches us how to think logically. And therefore, there's nothing wrong to say that this is the foundation of science.
And therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also teaches us this Sāṅkhya in the very beginning to discipline our mind.
When I was speaking in Bangalore, what I was trying to explain is that in the very culture ultimately the religion which is the most complete and complex understanding of reality, it's not it's the foundation of culture, but not necessarily the foundation of the thinking process.
For the thinking process, math is very important, and therefore in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we see the same sort of sequence from simple to most complex. Bhagavatam we see the same sort of sequence from simple to most complex.
But in very culture, the foundation is uh the strong foundation is not math uh because you cannot really build the proper culture on this foundation the proper culture human culture, you can only build on the foundation of religion.
So that's a slightly different approach to understanding what is foundation. For the culture, religion is the foundation.
For the thinking process, the simple things, the logic and mathematics, it's a proper place to start. Thank you, Maraj. Um, if it's okay, I had one more question if I can ask that. Yes.
Um it was about svarūpa-lakṣaṇa and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa. And I'm not sure I understand it very well. So I'll just refer back to the questions that I had written.
So yes, it was trying to understand Krishna's name, his form, pastimes, because it seems that the Krishna when Krishna descends in different avatars, they're not the same. So he might have a different form.
He'll have different pastimes. So when we speak of svarūpa-lakṣaṇa, what are Krishna is, is that a part of Krishna's svarūpa-lakṣaṇa? Is that the taṭastha-lakṣaṇa? No.
When it comes to the names and the forms of the Supreme Lord, they're all svarūpa- lakṣaṇa by the very definition because it's svarūpa, it's his form. And all the forms of Krishna are eternal.
And it is said that all the other forms of Krishna are there within
himself and sometimes it is said that it's not Krishna who kills the demons but Vāsudeva Krishna who manifests through the body of Krishna because all the avatāras are there.
And And uh sometimes we see how Lord Chaitanya manifested different forms like form of Varaha or form of Nṛsiṁhadeva. So they all svarūpa-lakṣaṇa, they all eternal. They may not be visible, they may not manifest to our vision or to our understanding, but they're all there.
And the description from this point of view will be the svarūpa-lakṣaṇa description.
Basically, this understanding of svarūpa-lakṣaṇa and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa is the tool, logical tool to define the subjects of this world very clearly.
And because most of the confusion which people experience is that they use the same words but mean differently. To have a very precise logical conversation
or debate, we have to use the words in the same with the same meaning. And for that, the definition usually consists of this svarūpa-lakṣaṇa and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa. So names of Krishna is not taṭastha-lakṣaṇa.
It's all his eternal names and sometimes even Gopi call him Varaha or Nresimha or mock at him in this way. Yes, thank you so much, Maharaj. Thank you. So Radhapamod Pramot Prabhu has a question related to one
of your answers, so we're going to let him be next. So again, sorry for the technical um issues here, but we get it done. Um, Radha-pramoda. Here it is. Okay. Um I cannot uh
I cannot spotlight you, Prabhu, but I can, uh, for some reason, but I can ask you to unmute unmute yourself. So maybe he may not be there. So he's not there. I don't know why. Okay, so I don't know what's going on.
Um, prabhu, you will be next. Okay, let me ask you to unmute and, um, okay. Yuga-pradhana? Thank you.
Role of detachment in receiving knowledge
Thank you, Guru-deva, ki jaya. Please accept my obeisances, Maharaj.
My question is related to, um, qualification of a listener, and if I remember correctly, in the last lecture you mentioned that detachment is one of the qualifications, and it kind of struck me because, like, if you can explain in more details what detachment means in this context,
a context of qualification of listening, and detachment from what, all I understand. You know, when when we listen, we usually don't notice how our mind distorts the message according to our understanding.
If we are very much attached to particular concepts, to particular ideas, to particular understanding. Because ultimately detachment means detachment from our understanding, that I got it right. I figured it out.
I know the truths. So if we're not detached from our own concepts or our own understanding of reality.
If we think that we know the truth, then we will either adjust the message which we hear to suit our own understanding or we completely reject it or distort it in a certain way.
So detachment means detachment is also a part of humility. Detachment means you're not really attached to particular ideas. It's a very common phenomenon.
You speak something to people and you mean and it's very clear what you mean, but uh they take your words and completely distort it uh to um you know, either to accuse you into something which you didn't really mean to say or whatever.
It so happens all the time. So to get the correct message, to get the correct understanding, you have to be detached from your own more or less ideas.
You have to be somewhat disappointed with your ability to understand the reality. Then only you will be able to receive the higher understanding of reality descending upon you. Okay, thank you very much.
Yeah, it is basically we have to relearn how we can see it.
Yes, because our normal way how we used to be trained in the spiritual world and like this mindset, but I'm trying to get information and put it on the logic shelves and structures that I already have in my mind. And if I get it, that I feel oh I I'm successful, yeah, because this is something I can put in with my structure, but here is the opposite approach.
Exactly. Exactly. And this way you you you you don't learn anything uh anything new, you only confirm what you already know if you're not detached.
But detachment uh gives you uh a chance to understand something more which you don't know yet. Okay. Thank you so much. Because I was like again perceiving it in a completely different way.
Yeah, my hypothesis was like just to confirm it, because my hypothesis was like okay, what with detachment can mean. Uh maybe uh it's about an art house or something, but it is different, so thank you for clarification.
Yeah. Okay. Thanks.
Individual perception and vyashti-nirdesa
Prabhu, you are next if you unmute yourself. Let's see now. Can you hear me? Yes. Can you hear me? Okay, Rikishan. Thank you very much for your desire uh to serve and uh transmitting this. Thank you very much.
Um this simple question, I guess, but could you kindly uh give us some relevant examples of uh the use of vyasti in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?
Just to understand how the uh speakers of Bhāgavatam use sometimes this type of um methodology to try to bring the sorry
there is a little problem with the there's a little problem with the connection. I understand. I understand the question. I understand the question.
The question is about vyashti-nirdeśa, how this methodology is applied in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The particular example which is used by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī is from the 11th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam where, ah,
but it probably would be better to take it more precisely from the book itself and explain.
Basically, it's especially relevant to 11th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where the subtle nature of consciousness is being explained.
And the explanation of vyashti-nirdeśa basically means that you uh you observe yourself, you uh understand the nature of yourself, and then you surmise that uh the absolute truths, which is also conscious by nature, has the same nature.
But the particular example which is given by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī from 11th Canto and I uh would not like to just uh speak uh uh from the top of my head about it. Uh I would rather uh give this example and explain how it works. I may think about other examples because it's not the only example, but I need some preliminary homework for this.
Okay. Thank you very much. Uh, now we have Lakshmī Muni. I mean I have two devotees was questioned but I'm not here. I will repeat the names again.
Premananda Das and Um Janaki Rani Devidasi and the Varshi Radhika. I have three people. This is kind of slow sorry Maharaj. Lakshmi Muni, you are here? Yes. She's very much here. She's not she's not.
And Deva Sri Radhika is also here. She writes. Yes, we're ready to hear your questions. Please unmute yourself. Yes. I'm unmuted, I think.
Um the question I had was asked by this other devotee, Fredmananda in a very similar way. And I wanted to read his question. I wanted him to read his question, but he uh is not here, unfortunately.
Discerning qualified speakers of scripture
You know, you have spoken many times, and the Bhagavatam also speaks about the qualification of the speaker.
And you also spoke about how Srila Prabhupada... Well we've discussed how Srila Prabhupada encouraged all of us to speak.
And from the very beginning, people were speaking, are speaking, um and their knowledge is you know in different degrees, let's put it that way. So, you know, and and so we want to hear, we're supposed
to hear from people who are qualified speakers. In many cases, we're not qualified to judge who's a qualified speaker.
And the speakers are very neophyte, very new to the process of even studying the Bhagavatam, what to speak of the Bhagavatam.
And then also you've addressed sometimes the fact that um in the study of the Srimad Bhagavatam, like in Bhakti Vaibhava classes or Bhakti... Whatever classes, um, we tend to look at the Bhagavatam in uh what might be considered not very in-depth.
And uh and so people get confused, and the result is that or one of the results is that um you know I have to give the example you'll know it uh you know of the the cat in the basket or the cat tied to the string with the to the pole with the red with the red string.
Um many things like that tend to get into our communities and our philosophy.
And we we don't um necessarily in many places, especially isolated places, we don't get the devotees don't get an opportunity very much to really get to know and hear from seniors.
So how do those things balance out with each other that Prabhupada wanted us all to speak? Many people speak who are very neophyte and many of them are very respected speakers.
Um and s and yet we're supposed to speak from qualified hear from qualified speakers and how do we ascertain how to do that? Yeah. I think the balance is very simple.
We have to respect Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and whoever speaks on behalf of Vyāsadeva or speaks on the topic of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We have to also understand that while speaking of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we are purifying ourselves and it's a very purifying process, and therefore Srila Prabhupada made it as one of our sadhana's practices.
He still can say something, provided he is sincere. And sometimes we can hear very profound realizations even from very new devotees.
But at the same time, this is like part of our sadhana to hear and to give classes on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
But at the same time we should seek the association of those people who are very much more advanced than us, and to hear from this.
This is exactly what Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains in the Nectar of Instruction that he says that you have to pay obeisances mentally to whoever, kṛṣṇeti yasya giritā matam ādriyeta, from your mind you have to pay obeisances to whoever speaks the name of Krishna.
And if somebody gets initiation and he is initiated, then you have to pay obeisances literally to him.
But śrūṣā, you have to be eager to hear only somebody who is nindādi-śūnyam, only a very advanced devotee who is completely free from the tendency to criticize others.
So bhajana-vijñā, uh ananya-manā, nindādi-śūnya-hṛdam īpsita-saṅga-labdhā.
So uh we have to respect anyone who speaks Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But it's not necessarily that we have to develop very ardent desire to hear them on a regular basis.
We have to, you know, respect means respect, but it doesn't mean that we have to take everything literally.
Literal understanding and this uh eagerness to hear uh should be towards those devotees who have certain qualifications. And um how do we assess in in the um YouTube age?
Um it might be a little difficult for us to assess the qualifications.
I'm thinking back the stages of Naimiṣāraṇya and Sūta Gosvāmī is coming and they're looking even at his physiognomy and you know they can they can ascertain his uh spiritual quality by because they have a lot of spiritual realization.
Um but for for for us in Kali-yuga, we may not have that qualification to ascertain who is qualified and not. And then we we tend maybe to look at how many views they have on it.
Well, that's a very clear Kali-yuga criteria of spiritual advancement. How many subscribers you have and how many likes you get.
Uh well I guess, you know, you have to we have to develop our spiritual intuition, so to speak, by by listening and by hearing and
by, you know first of all, that's why Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in the story of 24 Gurus he explains that initially we have to be initially, we have to hear many people.
And then out of many people whom we hear, we have to choose one whom we hear consistently and whom we have more kind of trust towards.
And then while listening consistently of this person, we develop certain understanding and certain also intuition and then we will be able to discern. So any uh discrimination requires some experience and some training.
In the beginning, it's very difficult for us to discriminate, but when the time passes by, we can clearly see that some discriminate discriminatory power develops in our brain, even though we may not clearly formulate the criteria still. We prefer we we kind of feel that this is something genuine and uh we like it and uh this is something which does not resonate.
So there's no other way but to try to listen somebody who is for sure, trusted, and by listening to him consistently we will develop the ability to also feel who is worthy of listening and who may not be the
Knowing absolute truth through metaphor
object of our ardent dis— What happened with your finger? Um I'll tell you something. I it's kind of broken. Wow. Okay. Next. I just had a a small question. I will read it out if you allow.
Um this question arose also from one of the past lessons.
Uh and while describing Srila Jeeva Goswami's description on Vyasti, individual and samasti aggregate, you mentioned how to know something unknown, we have to reference or start from something we already know. It is of course a very reasonable statement.
However, immediately the thought that came to my mind was what is known to us is then always subjective and limited to our experiences, something you also mentioned a little bit before as an answer to a question.
Does that then mean that whatever we are capable of uh knowing will be in the starting only a reflection tinted with our own limitations, then must we accept that we can never fully know Krishna?
Then what about the statement of Srila Prabhupada that if you cannot know God, how can you love him?
Yeah, to know God and to know God fully is two different things. And even Krishna doesn't know himself fully, so who is so foolish to claim that he knows God fully? It's not possible at all. But we definitely can know God.
But this journey to know something unknown has to start somewhere. And the starting point is to you know something which we know. Otherwise it's very difficult for us to relate. Like uh Uh you know if
uh if a little child, if a teacher wants to tell that uh that the earth is a globe, that it's around, and the child doesn't understand how it is round, you know, because he doesn't have this experience.
Then you know, he can give some example which is known to the child. This is how ultimately the earth is like a big apple or something like this.
So by it's um it's a very common way of knowing something through the metaphor. Metaphor or comparison, I think I explained it in one of our sessions,
is to compare something which is unknown to us to something which we already know, and by this comparison, by this metaphor, we have this aha moment. Oh yes, it is like this.
So it is the way to understand definitely, we say that it is it is like this. And this is how our brain works. Metaphors are a very common tool or instrument of our mind, our language by its nature is metaphoric.
Like for example, even this simple English word understanding is a metaphor. I stand under something. And this is how what understanding means.
The language is all based on different kinds of metaphors, and language is our way to understand the nature of things.
So, and it's always some sort of, you know, comparison of something which we know to an extension of something which we know to some unknown uh area.
Structural progression of twelve cantos
Radha-kanta had a question before and now we can let him His question is about the levels, but um it's still a long way till the end. No, he said he had a question about something you said, but maybe it's not okay if it's not that, it's not I guess my two questions like uh if no, I can answer this.
I can try to answer this. Yeah. So please ask the question so that everyone knows. So uh we have collected all the nine topics are meant to uh highlight that as the topic ash.
Ashley is coming eighth and after that we are hitting the two topics in the next two cantos, the bhāvas. So why is that they are later?
They should be before, and in the end there should be an āśraya. Why is there zero other antara after āśraya? Um See, there are different ways of explaining it.
Everyone, every commentator agrees that tenth canto is āśraya. It's one of the topics, it's the main topic of the tenth canto is āśraya. But also, uh 11th canto very clearly uh explains mukti.
Uh it is explained by commentators again that culmination in the tenth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam then goes descends to a lot of knowledge in the 11th canto, 11th canto, 11th and 12th cantos, they're specifically meant to create detachment in our heart. To keep bhakti intact, we need detachment.
And therefore, both in Bhagavad-gītā and in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we have the precious message of the both books in the middle and the protective shields from both sides. And as much as the knowledge is very prominent
in the last six chapters of Bhagavad-gītā, the same kind of knowledge, protective knowledge, or knowledge which brings about detachment is very much prominent in the 11th and 12th cantos.
So, and that's why I'm uh answering the question which uh you didn't ask yet about uh uh why why do we need 11th canto? 11th canto is to uh protect this feeling, this emotion of bhakti which is created by the 10th canto.
And 11th canto uh in a very rational and logical way explains the nature of many things in this world, again, to make us detached from this world and to make us
detached from this world and in this way to protect the feelings of bhakti-vāsanās in our heart. And the same is twelfth canto. They all're about this detachment as the protective shield of the sacred emotions of bhakti.
uh uh which should not be mixed with or you know confused with material emotions.
Regarding the uh the number, you know, the tenth canto is uh according to this scheme is nirodha, and I already explained why tenth canto also can be called nirodha.
Nirodha is very much there, the destruction of the demonic dynasties is there, and nirodha, in a sense, of complete stillness of the mind is also there.
So, but of course, the main topic of the 10th Kanto is Ashraya, but Niroda is also there. And then usually the explanation is that Mukti is the 11th Kanto and the 12th Kanto is Niroda,
because in 12th Kanto uh we have uh description of different kinds of destruction, uh this laya, uh you know the all kinds of uh pralayas or different this distractions are there, and yeah, uh, distractions are there.
So So that's how it is explained by Acharyas usually. That 11th Kanto is Mukti, Niroda is the 12th Kanto, and the 10th Kanto is Ashraya and Niroda.
But I also heard another explanation which I liked very much, which kind of puts it all together very neatly.
This explanation is that two first cantos are like introduction to the whole book, very necessary methodological introduction. Then we have the sequences. And then the tenth canto is Ashraya and Niroda.
And then the 11th Kanto is Mukti. And the 12th Kanto is just the epilogue. Like if you have introduction, then you may have some epilogue, the last portion of it.
You may also look at the scheme of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from this point of view.
And definitely it's um as much as the first Kanto is the glorification of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the 12th Kanto also glorifies Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the potency of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So it can be uh can be uh viewed as uh the uh the epilogue of the whole book.
Conclusion of the whole book.
Complexities in sacred literature
Yeah. Like we are talking about the different aspects of the absolute truth and then there are uh uh shakta veshavataras.
So now uh when we are discussing like bhaksitas uh uh misunderstandings of the uh absolute truth and then ultimately we come.
Uh but in all the cantos uh uh we are seeing there is glorification of the uh uh absolute truth, uh, Lord Vishnu.
And also we see that uh uh there are Vishnu forms performing some mistake like Shektave Shaksara, like Indra, he is stealing the horses of Prithum Maharaj and he is also Shekta Veshautar.
And Prithumaraj is glorified by Mother Earth as the Supreme Lord. And Prithumara is glorifying the Supreme Lord as Supreme Lord.
So uh there is uh so much uh confusion like why it is not so clear like okay this is what confusion and this is the solution why it should be clear very complicated because reality is complicated. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam teaches us first and foremost to see the complexity of realities.
Any simplification, of course, our mind naturally loves to simplify things, but we have to understand that Supreme Absolutely is very complex and mysterious.
And yes, uh, Indra, uh, who is, uh, stealing the horse from Maharaja Prithu, is is an avatar or, uh, this is a particular kind of Indra. It's not our Indra, it's a different Indra.
And he is the direct incarnation of the Lord. And we have a complete bizarre scandal when one incarnation of the Lord steals the horse from another incarnation of the Lord. But you know the reality is not simple.
And it's uh you know it's our left brain which wants to paint everything black and white. This is black, this is white.
But, uh, this black and white picture is, um, it it it's helpful, it's a certain map which we need to have, but we have to understand that it's not the complete reality, it's a map.
Sometimes scriptures do give a black and white picture of reality, but only to give us a certain tool to understand the complexity of reality with all its nuances.
So, and see, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is definitely not a map, it's the reality itself in its most complex and uh beautiful form.
Initially we had to use our left brain logically to try to understand, then we with the help of our right brain just be immersed in emotion. Yeah. The left brain analyzes things, but right brain synthesizes things.
So we have to make analytical understanding by you know by taking out different bricks of reality.
But then if we only, uh, dismantle the reality into the bricks, on the little details, and, uh, if we don't do the opposite process, then it's useless.
But usually people, they are satisfied with dismantling reality. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not about this; Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is about the, uh, bringing, uh, it back into the wholeness. So yeah. Thank you. Thank you.
I hope to see you soon.
Origin and spiritual understanding of evil
And uh thank you so much for your illuminating uh lessons to us. My name is Santunakar and um my question um I am um learning about the Bhagavatam for the first time from you. It's my first introduction to it.
And I'm interested to understand evil a little bit more because I often get surprised by evil and other people and even the evil within ourselves and when I read the scriptures I I also am surprised by the twists uh of the e of how strong evil is shown and how even the Lord has to fight it so many, many times.
Sometimes it seems to manifest he'd been under his nose and he kind of sees it late. How do we how do we approach evil? I I kind of understand that evil is necessary to help us stay on the path, but how do we approach it?
Because wouldn't it be wonderful if it wasn't there and we could just stay in a place of elimination. The roots of evil is uh Is um its uh incompleteness.
Uh The human beings are weak. And because we are weak, sometimes we become wicked. You know, if somebody is uh sheltered and well protected, uh he doesn't have to manifest evil nature.
Evil nature is the sign of our weakness. When we try to get some shortcuts to achieve our goals or whatever it is, it's ultimately a manifestation of our incompleteness.
So if I understand that I'm incomplete, and uh and if we try to to fulfill uh our n need for completeness by uh bringing us close to God, who is the only one who is totally complete and therefore completely free from evil.
You know, the only one who is completely free from evil is God because He is complete, because He is very strong. He doesn't need to have any evil nature.
You know, and if somebody is really strong, you know, he's usually very benevolent and very magnanimous.
So So people they're uh they're confronting their weakness and their incompleteness, and it's very painful for us to see this and they try to compensate this incompleteness by adopting the different techniques, sometimes evil techniques.
People, you know, want to become more rich and more glorious and more you know honorable and more honored so to speak. And this this is all desires they they adopt evil means.
But if they understand, if they we would understand that the only way to properly deal with our incompleteness and weaknesses is to approach God, then the evil traits will eradicate.
All the saints who are in direct contact with God don't need to be evil.
Only those people uh who are incomplete and want to compensate this incompleteness uh m without uh approaching God, then they have to manifest some evil means.
So the very existence of evil teaches us that we have to approach God to eliminate evil in our own heart and and in the world. Thank you.
So uh basically, you know, like it is said that uh what is darkness? Darkness is uh does not exist in itself. It's the absence of light.
So in the same way, uh what is evil? Evil is the absence of God. That's what evil is.
Dietary prohibitions and story of Rahu
Uh please accept my humble obeisances. Hare Krishna. My humble obeisances.
Uh Prabhuji, the question is uh about the uh when this manthan Amrita-manthan was there between the devotees and non-devotees, uh asuras and all, and then then this um you know then when um uh when one of the asura tried to drink this uh amrita and Mohini in the group of uh Vishnu uh uh cut the neck and half was Rahu and the other half was Ketu.
And that's why it is said that we shouldn't we should avoid uh onion and garlic.
But uh they but he also drank amrita. So and that's why it's said that uh onion and garlic also has uh uh benefits like uh good points uh to cure the health and uh but again it's uh not it it is not going to help our uh uh sub spiritual development yes, so how how do we how do we explain this like uh people who um I mean of course we can change people uh and cannot force them to stop onion and garlic, which is tamasic food.
But uh how do we approach it? Because again, it was also kind of cheating because asuras also had the same uh power uh of you know putting this manthan and they were not allowed to drink amrita the nectar, but the devtas the devotees allowed to drink the amrita, so wasn't it unfair on their part, Hare Krishna?
Hare Krishna. Because you asked this question, I will tell a a little funny story: How Rahu, the demon Rahu, was recognized by Sun and Moon. Demon Rahu was very cunning and he was
the one who understood that demons will not get their portion of amrita from Mohinī-mūrti.
And therefore he disguised himself as a demigod and sat exactly in between Surya, Sangat and Chandra, Mungat in the same row where Mahini Murti would distribute Amrit.
And before drinking something or eating something, you're supposed to make acheman.
So all the demigods who know the proper Vedic science, they started making kachimans in a very proper way, putting some little water on their right hand and drinking them without making any sound.
And because Asura, the demon, he didn't know the Shastra, didn't know the science. He also started making ācamana and he pronounced the same mantra, Om Keśavāya namaḥ. Maha. But while taking the water from his right hand
he made a very loud sound like this t, tur sur. So when uh sun and moon heard this sound which is totally against uh shastra.
In shastra it is said that your ācamana is totally invalid if you make sound uh while drinking the water. Like this. So they recognized this demon and they told Mahini Murti, here is Asura because he said, Sur, Asur.
So and Mahini Murti, of course Mahini Murti knew that he is Asur, but sun and moon recognized him and therefore he had this still keeps the enmity within his heart uh against sun and moon and periodically uh tries to swallow them.
And that's why the uh solar and moon uh and yeah mo,on eclipses uh taking place. So this is just little side story unrelated to your question.
But uh as far as the medicinal qualities of uh Rahu uh of uh onion and garlic, which is a result of the blood which came out from this demonic blood. It's very simple. Many Ayurvedic medicines contain garlic.
And if it's really necessary, in Ayurvedic medicines they process the herbs in such a way that to eliminate the bad qualities of them and to bring out all the good qualities like they can even uh make uh mercury uh as a medicine.
So if it's a part of Ayurvedic medicine, I would say, and if the doctor strongly prescribes it to you, I would say it's okay.
But if you eat onion and garlic uh like this without any uh purificatory processes, uh then it's definitely harmful as much as it would be harmful to drink mercury.
It ultimately creates or reinforces the demonic tendencies in you. How to explain this to people? It's very difficult to explain to them, but if
they respect Shastra, Shastra very clearly says that onion and garlic are nisheda, the prohibited food. As far as Mohini-murti cheating asuras is concerned, uh asuras wanted to cheat demigods themselves.
When the Amrita came out from the ocean, milk ocean, then asuras, without thinking twice, just snatched the whole jar of Amrita. And they wanted to drink, and they didn't think uh very much whether it's fair or not.
So if if you are if you have these demonic qualities, please don't expect fair treatment from God's side. He's not very much into you know giving some fair treatment to those who are unfair by their very nature.
So please don't sympathize with them. There is no point.
Improving japa through attentive hearing
Jai, thank you, Prabhupada. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj, please accept my obeisances. Yes. I'm very happy to see you and all the wonderful Vaishnavas here. I had two questions.
So the first one was connected with um the statement that uh Harikatha is uh the svarūpa-śakti of Harinama and um even before this course um I heard this uh statement that uh to improve like uh we were talking about kirtan and they said that kirtan good kirtan is based on good japa and good japa is based on hearing.
So I was inspired by that and I thought okay so before aiming to improve my kirtan I need to work on my hearing. So and then this statement also uh confirmed that, that you really need to invest in uh hearing more.
And I'm trying to do that, but somehow I'm just not feeling that my japa is improving. So my question is uh like is it just a matter of time or what could be the possible reasons that it's not happening?
You know, your japa will improve when your thoughts will naturally flow towards the topic of uh Harikatha while you're chanting.
So it's not a matter of just hearing Harikatha, it's a matter of certain saturation when our thought processes will habitually dwell in Krishna.
When this will happen, and if this happens, then your japa will improve tremendously because Krishna, the name of Krishna will be vividly connected with his pastimes and his qualities.
And then you will not just mechanically chant Krishna, but you will very feelingly approach somebody named Krishna while chanting the holy name.
In Russian poetry, which you may know, there is a lot of description how the name is connected with the named and how when we have genuine feelings to the named, then the name becomes also very precious to us.
So the name will become precious to us when it will be strongly connected in our mind with the person who is named Krishna. And it will take time and efforts, not just time. Concentrated efforts. Thank you.
Um, so hearing is very engaging for the mind and uh also when I'm not hearing I keep thinking about what I was hearing and I like to discuss with other devotees to share.
But uh specifically during japa it seems like my mind prefers to like choose the most mundane subjects to think about. So the mind is habituated uh of thinking about these subjects.
You know, just think a little bit for how long we have been training our mind to dwell on material subjects. Not even in this life.
Even in this life, it's, you know, we spend a lot of time in uh dwelling on these subjects and we continue uh nourishing the mind with all kinds of mundane uh news and subject matters.
So it's not a surprise, and if we take into consideration all other lifetimes which we spend being absorbed in material reality.
So what is so surprising that we cannot really, and material reality has you know gives us very strong and gross experience of it. And therefore, the samskaras of this reality are very, very deep.
We only think about those things which leave deep impression within our mind. And there's plenty of those things.
So if the impressions connected with Krishna will become deep, due to the mercy of due to the association with very advanced devotees, then the mind will naturally dwell on Krishna's pastimes.
So it's not just hearing, it's a special kind of hearing which will leave very deep impression in your consciousness, in your heart. Then, you know, whatever deep impressions we have, the mind naturally dwells
on these impressions and memories. All right. Sorry, I couldn't unmute myself. Uh I wanted to ask a second question, is it possible? Yeah, but please let's finish it.
We have two more questions, your question and two more questions and we'll finish it. Okay. I also have four questions.
Free will karma and saintly association
Oh my goodness. Okay. Okay, oh, so you explained how Krishna and Maya cooperate to lead uh the souls towards Krishna.
So Maya is constantly kicking us, so we turn to face Krishna and Krishna is there waiting all wonderful and attractive.
So, uh, and it's a very wonderful notion, because it, it's, um, made me think that actually every moment of my life is, um, perfectly designed so I can remember Krishna and, um, turn to him.
But I also had a doubt that, uh, I see so many people, and myself included, that, um, you would think that, uh, Krishna and Maya together, they should know the perfect approach to each individual jīva to really help us understand what we are doing wrong.
But so many people they just seem to get the opposite conclusion.
Um, so things keep happening in their lives, and, uh, they're supposed to turn towards God, but actually they're moving away, and, uh, also myself, everything that happens, uh, most of the time I have no clue why it's happening, why, why is it so difficult to understand and to, um, make the right conclusion?
Is it just a matter of time again that we need it? It's a slow process and also our free will should be respected. So that's my question. Thank you. Yeah, it's very much related to the question of free will.
We have those experiences which we want to have, and Krishna sometimes reluctantly gives us those experiences which we want to have. And these experiences, uh, definitely contain some lessons.
But not everyone is capable of drawing the right conclusions. And therefore, it's not the karma itself that teaches us. Karma is more or less the mechanism of universal justice.
It has a propedeptic element in it, pedagogical element in it, but it's not its main purpose. To teach us to make right conclusions and to understand the nature of reality and what is happening with us, and to derive the proper lessons.
Krishna gave us Sadhu Sangha. Sadhu Sangha is his way to give us real teachings. There are always in this world people who educate others, who have this ability to teach others.
So we are human beings and it's wrong to think that on our own we will be able to understand all the lessons and uh everything which is happening with us, why, how.
But if we are in Sadhu Sangha, then we will be able to understand, and only if we are in Sadhu Sangha. So my main purpose is to fulfill our desires and at the same time bring some disillusionment or some disappointment,
Purifying the heart and subconscious mind
but not necessarily to to uh teach us all the lessons which we need to learn for that, so for that sadhu sangha is very much necessary. Yes, Vrindavna Vinodini, please ask your question.
I just really wanted to express my appreciation for months now. I've been listening to your lectures and have been experiencing so much more faith and clarity and you express concepts and ideas in such an incredible way that it really penetrates through my denseness. So thank you so much.
I had two questions. I'll just read them if that's okay. The first was we often hear that our heart needs to be purified. And this was especially spoken about in your eighth lecture in relation to the topic of Nirodaha.
And so my question is, what is the heart? We hear from Mahaprabhu ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam and we hear the translation being that it's the cleaning of the mirror of the heart.
And so my understanding is that ceto refers to citta and the bhagavatam states that chitta is made up of the mind, ego, and intelligence. So then does the heart mean all three, one of them, or something else? No.
Mind, ego, and intelligence are functions of chitta. Chitta is sum total of consciousness, and therefore in yoga they don't even distinguish between mind, manas, buddhi and ahaṅkāra. They only say chitta.
Because chitta is sum total. Chitta includes everything and mind and intelligence and ego, just different functions of the same chitta. But chitta is bigger than anything of this. Chitta is our subconscious mind.
It's sum total of our consciousness, including subconscious mind, where all kinds of impressions are being stored and everything else.
So it's a very complex machine, but if uh if you want to mean uh if you want to say conditioned uh consciousness, then we just say chitta, which includes everything. We say heart.
Specifically, heart means subconsciousness with some intuition.
And if we want to distinguish it from mind, intelligence and ego, then it's like our very sensitive subconscious mind with all kinds of emotions which are there.
And indeed, even there are some neurons in the heart, and people who study neurophysiology they know that it is heart which uh actually controls the brain, not vice versa, not the brain controls the heart.
So chitta is located in the area of the heart and it's uh uh consciousness itself, so to speak, with s with all the memories which we have, saṁskāras which we have.
So if I understood correctly, it's not the chitta, but it is it sounds like it's much deeper. It's it's subconscious. I mean, to me it feels almost like I can't even access it because there's just
so you're right layers of saṁskāras. You're right. It's very difficult to access it. It's very difficult to access it. And therefore, the process of ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, first of all, it's an unconscious process.
It's going on automatically by Krishna himself. vidudhōti suhṛt satāṁ śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-sthyo hy abhadrāṇi Krishna is there deeply situated in our chitta, in our
heart, hṛdy antaḥ-sthyo hy abhadrāṇi vidudhōti suhṛt satām. He cleanses it. The problem uh you you're exactly right. We don't have so much access to chitta. And if we want to purify it, we need some higher help.
Would we say that just like in the yoga sutras it speaks of how the chitta has to be completely pure that when the chitta is pure would that mean we're actually able to access the heart when the chitta is pure it means that
chitta will restore its ability to reflect absolute reality, God. This Bhagavat Bimba, it will be able to reflect God.
Yes, when our consciousness is pure, first of all we can feel that we are eternal souls, and when our consciousness or chitta is very pure and still, uh, it reflects the spiritual reality.
Okay, so it sounds like Prabhupada uses chitta and heart interchangeably. Yes. Okay.
And then my second question, I think you already answered it, is that is it correct in my understanding that our samskaras are actually lodged in our chitta? That's where they're found. Yes, yes. Thank you so much. Okay.
Thank you. I cannot put, uh, rather Jodi has a question and I have four questions, Maharaj, and it's already one hour and 49 minutes. How are you feeling? Are you okay to answer more questions?
Okay, okay, okay, let's, let's finish it, let's answer the questions since today we, okay, so, um, I will ask my questions, rather, just if you, um, uh, I cannot um spotlight you because you're not with the camera on.
Anyway, so I will have my question, then we see. Is that okay, Maharaj? Yeah. So I have, uh, four questions.
Criteria for success in studying scripture
The first one is, um, you say the criteria for success of listening to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, at least what I remember from last lecture, was change of the heart, fearless and unconditional love, and then you mentioned that Saunaka Rishi was not very successful after his recitation of the Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam.
And what reason you said, this, uh, you hear very little of that on the reports about the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Um, and you said also that maybe probably they continue with the yajñas, uh, what or whatever they were doing before.
And it seems that they were asking relevant questions, they were eager to hear, and they were in a sanctified place for the presence of um of Sutta.
So the question, I, I have a couple of parts of the question, but is what we expect of ourselves, and we also listen to your Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you know, very detailed explanation. Um, we, we, um, we hear now very good questions, and then, um, so my question really
is, how, how do we measure success of reciting and listening, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Will it manifest in our life? How will it be manifested? The reason why I mentioned this,
it is actually there in the scriptures, and we can see very clearly in Śrīmad- Bhagavatam that there are some criteria of success, of ideal case of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is that we should understand that it's not a cheap thing.
We should not be complacent or very much satisfied. Yes, I hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam every day. That's fine, that's good. But what is happening in reality we have to be introspective.
There is no doubt about it that these things will happen in our life if we are sincere and if we apply this.
It's just to warn ourselves not to be complacent and to be too proud that yes, uh nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, I I listen to to work.
Results of Bhagavatam are very, very amazing, and we should not be satisfied until we achieve these results.
Whether we will be able to achieve or not, there is no question about it, of course we will be able to achieve it. With the help of Krishna, with the mercy of Krishna, if he sees that we sincerely endeavor for it.
Thank you Maharaj.
I have other questions um is more related about the purpose of studying the science and the mission at the Bhaktivedanta Institute. I will read them because I think I have worded better than if I just say them.
Some scientists, like in the past, use science to understand God, divine will, divine order, God wisdom as shown in nature. But not all scientists, especially in the modern world, use science for this purpose.
So, as you stated, the the pramāṇa of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies is to know what is the ultimate purpose of the study of science, is to understand the science about so how can the BI fulfill this mission?
Well, uh, for that we have to understand that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is um is the most beautiful description of the science of consciousness and we have to think deeply how to apply this science and to solve the real problems, problems of real life.
I think the most important duty of every member of BI is to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from this point of view, from this lens, that this is the science of consciousness and the science of supreme consciousness, and become the spiritual scientists and then bring this into the area of practical life application and to the scientific paradigms.
Anyway, that's a different topic and hopefully I will uh address it in the next series which we have.
Yeah, I have two more questions related to that. Maybe I can wait, but uh I I mean I ask you you can figure out if you want to answer now or later.
Um if you want as a scientist studying let's say neuroscience or physics and also understands that at least theoretically that Krishna is everywhere, and all you do is done for the service of Krishna.
What you recommend for these scientists to always remember Krishna, never forget. Um it's easy to become bewildered in the process of science.
Well, if you're not it's it's not easy to be bewildered in the process of science. It's easy to be in my that's for sure. But if you study the nature, You cannot help but be amazed how beautifully it is created.
Actually, if you study it with understanding that God is behind it, you will always be in this state of complete amazement.
How beautiful is God's creation and how beautiful must be the person who created this without even knowing, without even you know consciously doing it. You can look uh uh in different species of life from
biological point of view, but you can look and see how beautifully designed they are, how how they are living harmoniously together, how you know, what is, and so actually
every big scientist who uh understand the beauty of reality that ultimately, many of them become believers of God. They come to this conclusion.
Even sometimes they start from the complete materialistic point of view, but if they're really good scientists and if they go deeper into science and if they are honest, they can understand God is there because everything in creation reminds us about him.
So beautiful and so complex and so harmonious it is. I have a friend, she studied medicine, and she says it's magical, you know, to see Krishna's creation and the absolutely all the amazing things.
In every tiny tiny portion of reality, you can see the beauty of God Yeah, but it can be also distracting, no?
Can it be can be associated with a lot of materialistic people and they go in one direction and you go that way, and then kind of like you get lost on the way, but uh to to remember about God uh uh whether you're a scientist
or you are a truck driver, it doesn't matter, you need sādhu-saṅga. Truck driver can be easily distracted from God as well, not only scientists. Last
part, uh could you please um elaborate on how we as spiritual practitioners engage in scientific disciplines can integrate uh inner bhakti with our external work in science in a way that both serve Krishna and offer meaningful contribution to science society.
You mentioned a little bit about that, but I don't know if you want to expand some more. I think that's a different discussion. I may I may uh take this topic uh during our uh summer summer school or something like this.
Okay, fantastic. Okay, thank you so much, thank you.
Uh we'll there's two more questions if you still have a few seconds rather Jotti. Um are we okay or do you want me to post them on on uh on cam uh post it for you for answering next lecture?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh if she's there, she if she's available, let me answer it now. Can you can you answer ask your question? I cannot spotlight her because she doesn't have a camera on.
Eligibility for reading cantos and impressions
Yes, uh Hare Krishna Madhajji, thank you so much for allowing me to ask the question. Um please accept my uh humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet, maharajji.
Uh my question to you is, uh I heard that uh one of the ācāryas said uh a serious uh devotee or a serious follower practitioner in bhakti
uh has to practice first nine cantos very sincerely for nine years, then on uh 10 when when the tenth year starts, he can read or he he will be eligible to read tenth canto, so my question to you is how it will affect uh consciousness if someone seriously takes this advice of the acharya.
And um my second question is I will ask quickly because I
know uh I'm running short of time that um by uh Śrīla Prabhupāda makes a main tool in distribution of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, so uh I wanted to know that what qualities I should cultivate in my sādhana and uh what how I should pray to Śrīla Prabhupāda uh uh regarding the same.
Okay. Uh and I regularly hear you and thank you so much for all your teaching. Thank you. Hare Krishna. Thank you. Hare Krishna. So regarding your first question, uh about about uh uh what was it? one word?
Uh then just give me one word. What was it? Nandini, what was it? Yeah, I I was just thinking that yeah yeah.
I was just thinking that it's good that Maharaja Parikshit didn't know about this advice because he listened to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for seven days only. I never heard this particular uh strict rule.
It may be it's definitely within the purview of uh ācārya to establish certain rules for his followers or disciples, but there is no general strict rules that one has to learn one can to for one year.
Actually, in reality, it is explained in Bhagavatamhatmya from Skanda Purana that um Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be studied not uh too fast and not too uh slow.
It is said that if uh if Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, like for example, if you want to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam within seven days, Skanda Purāṇa says, no, no, for you, it's not true for Mahārāja Parīkṣit, but for you it will be rajoguṇa.
If you arrange just some Bhāgavata-saptāha and you are under illusion that you know uh Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by listening for seven days some discourses.
But it is also said that if Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is studied for an indefinite amount of time or very long time, it's a tamasic way of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So and again, I don't want to undermine this statement by some unknown Acharya, he is definitely, you know, he has the right to establish certain rules for his followers. But there is no such strong rules that you only have to listen for 10 years.
And therefore, Śrīla Prabhupāda, he after translating the first canto, he translated the tenth canto and explained the whole Kṛṣṇa book in the tenth canto.
So he was not definitely of this opinion that one should only touch the tenth canto after nine years of study of the previous ones.
But of course, as I explained, it's preferable, but it's not that like for one year you have to dwell and one can't. At least again, it's it's possible, but it's it's not very strict rule.
Regarding the second question, uh just you know if you uh cultivate
within your heart the appreciation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then when you distribute the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda, it will become very natural and spontaneous, and you will definitely be able to make an impact in people's life because you feel very strongly about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So that's the most important thing.
And of course, pray to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and your spiritual master to become the instrument in their hearts.
Mahārāja, and about the saṁskāras, the discussion that you gave, the teachings that you give. I want to ask whatever is the spiritual, uh, it will be permanent, right?
In whether it is a heart, ego, or a consciousness, whatever experience or realizations we do get or spiritual experience. Spiritual experience by its very nature.
It's only uh everything which is spiritual is eternal. So uh saṁskāras, spiritual saṁskāras, and therefore Śrīla Rupa Gaswami uses a very specific term for uh spiritual samskaras. He says garba saṁskāra.
Not ordinary saṁskāras, but very deep saṁskāras which are always with the soul and which will never be destroyed. Because that's the nature of spiritual reality.
So if we say uh a circle is a is a kind or symbolical like it's a soul, so is it like it will fill by
some R kind like it will it will go on filling and still the sun the materials and saṁskāras will be dim. It will be not completely eradicated, isn't it?
The it cannot the process of spiritual development my understanding is that uh you may develop some spiritual experience, but at the same time continue to have some influence of samskaras.
But at one point, of course, all the material samskaras will be eliminated. But it's not that you have to wait until all your material saṁskāras are eliminated and then only you will get the spiritual experience. No.
You f— you get the spiritual experience first, and by getting the spiritual experience first, you get the impetus to go further, and in this way you will be purified from your material samskaras.
Material samskaras do not preclude you from getting spiritual experience.
Ji Maharaj, and I'm eternally grateful to you for uh all your uh teachings, uh especially for on the talk that you gave at uh Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Temple about 10 offenses and uh about the uh crisis in devotional service and recent uh two-three lectures about devotional service and the
attitude regarding uh bhakti and japa talks uh I I'm really eternally grateful to you and uh hopefully I serve you one day. Thank you so much, Maharaj. Thank you.
We're going to end up here since already 11:07 and you've been uh just recuperating from whatever you were not feeling great, so we are all very, very thankful that you took the time for us to answer all these questions and many of them very beautiful.
So have a recovery, strong recovery and looking forward to our next meeting. And I unmute everybody so you can say thank you to Maharaj. Any other questions you can put on the chat.
And please don't leave when Maharaj leaves that I can give you some announcements.