Lecture – SB 1.3.3 Happy Death Day, Happy Birth Day 6-18-2011 – Video

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.3 titled “Happy Death Day, Happy Birth Day”given  on June 18, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.3

yasyavayava-samsthanaih

kalpito loka–vistarah

tad vai bhagavato rupam

visuddham sattvam urjitam

TRANSLATION

It is believed that all the universal planetary systems are situated on the extensive body of the purusha, but He has nothing to do with the created material ingredients. His body is eternally in spiritual existence par excellence.

PURPORT

The conception of the virat–rupa or visva–rupa of the Supreme Absolute Truth is especially meant for the neophyte who can hardly think of the transcendental form of the Personality of Godhead. To him a form means something of this material world, and therefore an opposite conception of the Absolute is necessary in the beginning to concentrate the mind on the power extension of the Lord. As stated above, the Lord extends His potency in the form of the mahat–tattva, which includes all material ingredients. The extension of power by the Lord and the Lord Himself personally are one in one sense, but at the same time the mahat–tattva is different from the Lord. Therefore the potency of the Lord and the Lord are simultaneously different and nondifferent. The conception of the virat–rupa, especially for the impersonalist, is thus nondifferent from the eternal form of the Lord. This eternal form of the Lord exists prior to the creation of the mahat–tattva, and it is stressed here that the eternal form of the Lord is par excellence spiritual or transcendental to the modes of material nature. The very same transcendental form of the Lord is manifested by His internal potency, and the formation of His multifarious manifestations of incarnations is always of the same transcendental quality, without any touch of the mahat–tattva.

SB 01.03.03 Happy Death Day Happy Birth Day 2011-06-18

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Lecture – BG 9.3 Developments Of Faith 6-17-2011 – Video

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita verse 9.3 given on June 17, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 9.3

asraddadhanah purusha

dharmasyasya parantapa

aprapya mam nivartante

mrityu–samsara–vartmani

TRANSLATION

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

PURPORT

The faithless cannot accomplish this process of devotional service; that is the purport of this verse. Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith in God. They are hesitant and cannot stay fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus faith is a most important factor for progress in Krishna consciousness. In the Caitanya–caritamrita it is said that faith is the complete conviction that simply by serving the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, one can achieve all perfection. That is called real faith. As stated in theSrimad–Bhagavatam (4.31.14),

yatha taror mula–nishecanena

tripyanti tat–skandha-bhujopasakhah

pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam

tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

“By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.” Therefore, after reading Bhagavad-gita one should promptly come to the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita: one should give up all other engagements and adopt the service of the Supreme Lord, Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. If one is convinced of this philosophy of life, that is faith.

Now, the development of that faith is the process of Krishna consciousness. There are three divisions of Krishna conscious men. In the third class are those who have no faith. Even if they are officially engaged in devotional service, they cannot achieve the highest perfectional stage. Most probably they will slip, after some time. They may become engaged, but because they haven’t complete conviction and faith, it is very difficult for them to continue in Krishna consciousness. We have practical experience in discharging our missionary activity that some people come and apply themselves to Krishna consciousness with some hidden motive, and as soon as they are economically a little well situated they give up this process and take to their old ways again. It is only by faith that one can advance in Krishna consciousness. As far as the development of faith is concerned, one who is well versed in the literatures of devotional service and has attained the stage of firm faith is called a first-class person in Krishna consciousness. And in the second class are those who are not very advanced in understanding the devotional scriptures but who automatically have firm faith that krishna–bhakti, or service to Krishna, is the best course and so in good faith have taken it up. Thus they are superior to the third class, who have neither perfect knowledge of the scriptures nor good faith but by association and simplicity are trying to follow. The third-class person in Krishna consciousness may fall down, but when one is in the second class he does not fall down, and for the first-class person in Krishna consciousness there is no chance of falling down. One in the first class will surely make progress and achieve the result at the end. As far as the third-class person in Krishna consciousness is concerned, although he has faith in the conviction that devotional service to Krishna is very good, he has not yet gained adequate knowledge of Krishna through the scriptures like Srimad–Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Sometimes these third-class persons inKrishna consciousness have some tendency toward karma–yoga and jnana–yoga, and sometimes they are disturbed, but as soon as the infection of karma–yoga or jnana–yoga is vanquished, they become second-class or first-class persons in Krishna consciousness. Faith in Krishna is also divided into three stages and described in Srimad–Bhagavatam. First-class attachment, second-class attachment and third-class attachment are also explained in Srimad–Bhagavatam in the Eleventh Canto. Those who have no faith even after hearing about Krishna and the excellence of devotional service, who think that it is simply eulogy, find the path very difficult, even if they are supposedly engaged in devotional service. For them there is very little hope of gaining perfection. Thus faith is very important in the discharge of devotional service.

BG 09.03 Developments Of Faith 2011-06-17

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Lecture – SB 1.3.2 Not A Mickey Mouse Watch 6-17-2011 – Video

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.2 titled “Not A Mickey Mouse Watch” given on June 17, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.
Maha Vishnu lies down in the Karana Ocean (causal ocean) and impregnates Parkriti (or nature).

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.2

yasyambhasi sayanasya

yoga–nidram vitanvatah

nabhi-hradambujad asid

brahma visva–srijam patih

TRANSLATION

A part of the purusha lies down within the water of the universe, from the navel lake of His body sprouts a lotus stem, and from the lotus flower atop this stem, Brahma, the master of all engineers in the universe, becomes manifest.

PURPORT

The first purusha is the Karanodakasayi Vishnu. From His skin holes innumerable universes have sprung up. In each and every universe, the purusha enters as the Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. He is lying within the half of the universe which is full with the water of His body. And from the navel of Garbhodakasayi Vishnuhas sprung the stem of the lotus flower, the birthplace of Brahma, who is the father of all living beings and the master of all the demigod engineers engaged in the perfect design and working of the universal order. Within the stem of the lotus there are fourteen divisions of planetary systems, and the earthly planets are situated in the middle. Upwards there are other, better planetary systems, and the topmost system is called Brahmaloka or Satyaloka. Downwards from the earthly planetary system there are seven lower planetary systems inhabited by the asuras and similar other materialistic living beings.

From Garbhodakasayi Vishnu there is expansion of the Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, who is the collective Paramatma of all living beings. He is called Hari, and from Him all incarnations within the universe are expanded.

Therefore, the conclusion is that the purusha–avatara is manifested in three features — first the Karanodakasayi who creates aggregate material ingredients in the mahat–tattva, second the Garbhodakasayi who enters in each and every universe, and third the Kshirodakasayi Vishnu who is the Paramatma of every material object, organic or inorganic. One who knows these plenary features of the Personality of Godhead knows Godhead properly, and thus the knower becomes freed from the material conditions of birth, death, old age and disease, as it is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, In this sloka the subject matter of Maha–Vishnu is summarized. The Maha–Vishnu lies down in some part of the spiritual sky by His own free will. Thus He lies on the ocean of karana, from where He glances over His material nature, and the mahat–tattva is at once created. Thus electrified by the power of the Lord, the material nature at once creates innumerable universes, just as in due course a tree decorates itself with innumerable grown fruits. The seed of the tree is sown by the cultivator, and the tree or creeper in due course becomes manifested with so many fruits. Nothing can take place without a cause. The Karana Ocean is therefore called the Causal Ocean. Karana means “causal.” We should not foolishly accept the atheistic theory of creation. The description of the atheists is given in the Bhagavad-gita. The atheist does not believe in the creator, but he cannot give a good theory to explain the creation. Material nature has no power to create without the power of the purusha, just as a prakriti, or woman, cannot produce a child without the connection of a purusha, or man. The purusha impregnates, and the prakriti delivers. We should not expect milk from the fleshy bags on the neck of a goat, although they look like breastly nipples. Similarly, we should not expect any creative power from the material ingredients; we must believe in the power of the purusha, who impregnates prakriti, or nature. Because the Lord wished to lie down in meditation, the material energy created innumerable universes at once, in each of them the Lord lay down, and thus all the planets and the different paraphernalia were created at once by the will of the Lord. The Lord has unlimited potencies, and thus He can act as He likes by perfect planning, although personally He has nothing to do. No one is greater than or equal to Him. That is the verdict of the Vedas.

SB 01.03.02 Not A Mickey Mouse Watch 2011-06-17

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Lecture – SB 1.3.1 Plastic Chapati Cook 6-16-2011 – Video

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 3 verse 1 titled “Plastic Chapati Cook” given in Timisoara – Romania on the morning of June 16, 2011. The subject of the lecture is related to Lord Krishna’s incarnations, specifically the Purusa Avataras – (external pastimes)

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.1

suta uvaca

jagrihe paurusham rupam

bhagavan mahad-adibhih

sambhutam shodasa–kalam

adau loka–sisrikshaya

TRANSLATION

Suta said: In the beginning of the creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the purusha incarnation and manifested all the ingredients for the material creation. And thus at first there was the creation of the sixteen principles of material action. This was for the purpose of creating the material universe.

PURPORT

The Bhagavad-gita states that the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna maintains these material universes by extending His plenary expansions. So thispurusha form is the confirmation of the same principle. The original Personality of Godhead Vasudeva, or Lord Krishna, who is famous as the son of KingVasudeva or King Nanda, is full with all opulences, all potencies, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. Part of His opulences are manifested as impersonal Brahman, and part of His opulences are manifested as Paramatma. This purusha feature of the same Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is the original Paramatma manifestation of the Lord. There are three purusha features in the material creation, and this form, who is known as the KaranodakasayiVishnu, is the first of the three. The others are known as the Garbhodakasayi Vishnu and the Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, which we shall know one after another. The innumerable universes are generated from the skin holes of this Karanodakasayi Vishnu, and in each one of the universes the Lord enters as GarbhodakasayiVishnu.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is also mentioned that the material world is created at certain intervals and then again destroyed. This creation and destruction is done by the supreme will because of the conditioned souls, or the nitya–baddha living beings. The nitya–baddha, or the eternally conditioned souls, have the sense of individuality or ahankara, which dictates them sense enjoyment, which they are unable to have constitutionally. The Lord is the only enjoyer, and all others are enjoyed. The living beings are predominated enjoyers. But the eternally conditioned souls, forgetful of this constitutional position, have strong aspirations to enjoy. The chance to enjoy matter is given to the conditioned souls in the material world, and side by side they are given the chance to understand their real constitutional position. Those fortunate living entities who catch the truth and surrender unto the lotus feet of Vasudeva after many, many births in the material world join the eternally liberated souls and thus are allowed to enter into the kingdom of Godhead. After this, such fortunate living entities need not come again within the occasional material creation. But those who cannot catch the constitutional truth are again merged into the mahat–tattva at the time of the annihilation of the material creation. When the creation is again set up, this mahat–tattva is again let loose. This mahat–tattva contains all the ingredients of the material manifestations, including the conditioned souls. Primarily this mahat–tattva is divided into sixteen parts, namely the five gross material elements and the eleven working instruments or senses. It is like the cloud in the clear sky. In the spiritual sky, the effulgence of Brahman is spread all around, and the whole system is dazzling in spiritual light. The mahat–tattva is assembled in some corner of the vast, unlimited spiritual sky, and the part which is thus covered by the mahat–tattva is called the material sky. This part of the spiritual sky, called the mahat–tattva, is only an insignificant portion of the whole spiritual sky, and within this mahat–tattva there are innumerable universes. All these universes are collectively produced by the Karanodakasayi Vishnu, called also the Maha–Vishnu, who simply throws His glance to impregnate the material sky.

SB 01.03.01 Plastic Chapati Cook 2011-06-16

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Lecture – BG 3.40 Get Your Deluxe Carrot 6-16-2011 – Video

This is a lecture given on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 verse 40 on the evening of June 16, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 3.40

indriyani mano buddhir

asyadhishthanam ucyate

etair vimohayaty esha

jnanam avritya dehinam

TRANSLATION

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

PURPORT

The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Krishna is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found. Mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus when we hear about sense objects the mind generally becomes a reservoir of all ideas of sense gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories of lust. Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lustful propensities. Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor of the spirit soul. Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness. This false identification of the spirit soul is very nicely explained in the Srimad–Bhagavatam(10.84.13):

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri–dhatuke

sva–dhih kalatradishu bhauma ijya–dhih

yat–tirtha–buddhih salile na karhicij

janeshv abhijneshu sa eva go-kharah

“A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth worshipable, and who goes to the place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like an ass or a cow.

BG 03.40 Get Your Deluxe Carrot 2011-06-16

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