The Supreme Truth - Part 1

Date: 2017-10-14 Author: Narahari das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis/Mathajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Gurudeva.

The Vedic literature points out that the ultimate aim of human life is to inquire into the Supreme Absolute Truth. And one of the important terms used in the Vedic literature to denote the Supreme Absolute Truth is ‘’. The scriptures like and are called . Any person who is engaged in the pursuit of Absolute Truth is called Brahmavadi (a transcendentalist). The word brahmachari refers to a person who is engaged in realizing Brahman, Absolute truth (yat ācarati brahma tat brahmacār). And one who has realized Brahman (Absolute Truth) is called (brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ). And a who has realized Absolute Truth is called brahma rishi. Srimad Bhagavatam calls realization of Absolute truth as brahma darshanam.

The written by Vyasadeva is called Brahma sutra because it talks about Brahman, the Absolute Truth. The first sutra of brahma is athāto brahma jijñāsā - "Now therefore inquire into Brahman (The Absolute truth)". Apart from the Supreme Absolute Truth, the word Brahman can also denote the living entity (jivatma) and the material . Additionally, the word Brahman also denotes the brahmajyoti (effulgence emanating from the Lord’s transcendental form). The Lord Himself says in Bhagavad Gita 14.27 brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham- I am the basis of the impersonal brahmajyoti. Also the term ‘Brahman’ denotes which expound the Absolute Truth. Based on the context in which this word occurs, Brahman will denote any of the above.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained the term Brahman in clear terms in his conversations with great scholars in like Prakashananda as follows.

‘brahma’-śabde mukhya arthe kahe — ‘bhagavān’ cid-aiśvarya-paripūrṇa, anūrdhva-samāna

According to direct understanding, the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of , who has all spiritual opulences. No one can be equal to or greater than Him." - (CC 7.111)

Srila Prabhupada explains this in the purport to Caitanya caritamrita “Although the living entities or material nature are sometimes described as Brahman, Parabrahman - the Supreme, the greatest of all - is still Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is full with all opulence, and as such He possesses all riches, all strength, all reputation, all knowledge, all beauty and all renunciation. He is eternally a person and eternally supreme.”

Lord Caitanya explained that Brahman,the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Lord Krishna as follows.

brahma-śabde kahe pūrṇa svayaṁ bhagavān svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa, — śāstrera pramāṇa

The word 'Brahman' indicates the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is Shri Krishna. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. - (CC. Madhya . 6.147)

There is an interesting incident in the life of Srila Prabhupada in this regard. Once a person from brahma samaj approached Srila Prabhupada and asked a few questions. (Brahma samaj is an organization which accepts Absolute Truth is Brahman. But for them Brahman is formless and nameless). The person told Srila Prabhupada, “Swamiji, why you’re not accepting/worshipping brahman in your society? You're worshiping and Krishna. But our Brahma samaj is the correct path since we accept and worship Brahman." To him Prabhupada replied, "See, our Krishna society is the true Brahma samaj. Because Brahman means the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the greatest and who is full of all opulences . And Lord Krishna is that Supreme Brahman (param brahma). So we are accepting, worshiping and preaching about Krishna who is param brahma. So you should join our society if you really want to worship Brahman".

The above statements of Srila Prabhupada are really profound and it is the of teachings of all who expounded the Absolute Truth. Let us meditate on the meaning of word Brahman/Parabrahman and how it denotes the Supreme Lord, in detail in the following offerings.

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 2

Date: 2017-10-15 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offering we were meditating on some of the meanings of the word "Brahman". Now we will continue to meditate on the meaning of Brahman / Parabrahman.

The word 'Brahman' comes from the root 'brhad' which means infinitely great. The purana gives the meaning of the word 'Brahman' as ( - 1.12.57) bṛhattvād bṛṁhaṇatvāc ca tad brahma paramaṁ viduḥ- "The Absolute truth is called paramam brahma because it is infinitely greatest and most exalted (brhattvaad) and it can make others great and exalted (brmhanattvad)." Lord Caitanya confirmed this definition in the conversations with scholars in Varanasi, Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7.138 as follows.

bṛhad-vastu ‘brahma’ kahi — ‘śrī-bhagavān’ ṣaḍ-vidhaiśvarya-pūrṇa, para--dhāma

Brahman, who is greater than the greatest, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is full in six opulences, and therefore He is the reservoir of ultimate truth and absolute knowledge.

In the purport to the Caitanya caritamrita Adi lila 7.140, Srila Prabhupada explains the ultimate meaning of Brahman/Parabrahman as, "Brahman means the greatest, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is greater than the greatest, just as the sun globe is greater than the sunshine, which is all-pervading in the . Although the sunshine that spreads all over the appears very great to the less knowledgeable, greater than the sunshine is the sun itself, and greater than the sun is the sun-. Similarly, impersonal Brahman is not the greatest, although it appears to be so...In the Vedic literature, whenever the words "Brahman" or "Parabrahman" are used, they are to be understood to refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. This is their real meaning. Since the entire Vedic literature deals with the subject of Brahman, Krishna is therefore the ultimate goal of Vedic understanding."

The sruti (Atharva Siras Upanishad) also states that Absolue Truth is called Param brahma because it is Infinitely great (brhad) and exalted.

Atharva Siras Upanishad atha kasmād ucyate paraṃ brahma yasmāt param aparaṃ parāyaṇaṃ ca bṛhad bṛhatyā bṛṃhayati tasmād ucyate paraṃ brahma

Why the Absolute Truth is called param brahma? Because He is the infinitely great(brhad) in terms of time, and qualities having no equal or superior and He is the supreme shelter. He is most exalted and has the nature to exalt everything coming in touch with Him, He is called param brahma.

There is a nice story in Shanti parva, which confirms that the Supreme Lord is infinitely great in respect of his nature. Once Muni wanted to understand the Absolute Truth and hence controlled his breath and senses and meditated in the Himalayas for 100 celestial years. At that time he heard a celestial voice, "O great , I can give you the knowledge of the Absolute you are looking for." Then Narada Muni asked, "I cannot see your form and your voice is resounding. Please tell me who are you and what is the nature of your form?" The voice replied, "I'm unlimited and the greatest (ananto 'ham brhattarah). I do not have material eyes, ears, tongue and touch. So you cannot understand me by senses. The only way you can understand me is the way by which you understand yourself i.e. transcendental knowledge, since both of us have the same nature." Saying this the voice stopped. Narada muni was astonished and worried at the same time, "How I will understand the person who spoke to me? But He gave one clue that He is unlimited and greatest. So I should find out who is infinite and unlimitedly greatest." Narada muni said to himself, "The earth I see is vast and great and all creatures are born and destroyed here. Let me ask if she is greatest and unlimited." Then he prayed to the controlling of earth and said, "You are wonderful, fortunate and beautiful and hence you are the greatest I believe. Please tell me about your nature." She smiled and replied, "I am neither the greatest nor unlimited. I am born from the smell (gandha) which is my subtle form. Please ask the deity of smell if he is the greatest."

Krishna willing let us join Narada Muni in his search of the greatest in the next offering.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 3

Date: 2017-10-16 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna prabhujis and matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offering we were meditating on

1) The meaning of the words "Brahman" and "Parabrahman". 2) Narada's search for the Absolute Truth.

Now we shall see further.

When Mother earth informed Narada Muni that she is neither greatest nor unlimited and that she comes from the subtle form gandha (smell), he then prayed to the deity in charge of smell and asked, "I think you’re wonderful, unlimited and greatest. I want to understand your nature." The deity replied "I'm not the greatest. Water which is my cause is greater than me." Then Narada Muni approached ocean which is great body of water and asked the same question. The ocean replied, "The taste () which is my cause is greater than me." Narada Muni then prayed to the deity of taste and asked the same question. It replied, "I'm born from fire() who is my cause and greater than me. So I'm not the greatest or unlimited." Narada Muni then approached the god of Agni and asked the same question. Agni replied, "I'm born from form (rupa) who is my cause and who is greater than me." When Narada Muni approached the deity of form, he pointed to the deity of air who is greater than form and who is the cause of form. The deity of air questioned by Narada pointed him to the deity of touch (sparsha) who is greater than air and who is the cause of air. Narada asked the same question to the deity of touch and he replied, "Ether which is my cause is greater than me." Narada Muni then approached ether and asked the same question. Ether replied, "The Vedic sound is greater than me and my cause so please ask him." Narada muni then prayed to Veda and asked the same question. The Veda purusha replied, "Lord Brahma is my cause and I'm residing in his . So he is greater than me and creator of the universe. Please approach him."

Narada Muni then went to the Satyaloka and offered his obeisances to Lord Brahmaji and asked, "You're wonderful, greatest and unlimited. Please tell me about your nature." Lord Brahma replied , "I'm neither unlimited nor the greatest. There is one Lord who is greater than me and greatest of all. He is the cause of all causes. Now he has appeared in the house of Nanda Maharaja and playing with the cowherd boys in the form of a cowherd boy. He is the unlimited and greatest (sa ca ananto brhattarah)." Hearing this Narada muni left Satyaloka and came down to earth and went to the house of Nanda Maharaj. There Lord Hari was playing with cowherd boys and playing flute. His body was full of dust. Narada Muni offered his obeisances to him and said, "You’re the wonderful, greatest and unlimited. Please tell me about your nature." Lord Krishna replied , "I'm the one who spoke to you from sky when you were meditating and now I will reveal My nature." Then Lord spoke the following. (Mahabharata 12.202.33)

mattaḥ parataraṃ nāsti mattaḥ sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam matto bṛhattaraṃ nānyad eva bṛhattaraḥ bhaktyā tv ananyayā yuktā māṃ vijānanti yoginaḥ priyo 'si mama bhakto 'si mama tattvaṃ vilokaya (Mahabharata 12.202.33) There is nothing superior to Me. Everything is resting on Me. There is nothing greater than Me. I'm the greatest. Only by unalloyed , great understand Me. You're my dearmost devotee and hence I reveal My nature to you.

Thus we can see from above pastime that Lord Hari is infinitely great (brhat tama) by His nature and hence denoted by the word Brahman. This is explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 24.71) as follows.

‘brahma’ śabdera — tattva sarva-bṛhattama svarūpa aiśvarya kari’ nāhi yāṅra sama

The word 'brahma' indicates the summum bonum, the Absolute Truth, which is greater than all other truths. It is the original identity, and there can be nothing equal to that Absolute Truth.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the commentary to the verse, "Brahman means brhattva, the greatest of all. The greatest of all is Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He possesses all potencies and opulence in full; therefore the Absolute Truth, the greatest of all, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether one says "Brahman" or "the Supreme Personality of Godhead," the fact is the same, for they are identical. In the Bhagavad-gita, accepted Krishna as param brahma param dhama [Bg. 10.12]".

Krishna willing let us meditate further on the greatness of Lord Hari who is the Supreme Brahman in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 4

Date: 2017-10-17 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offering we were meditating on the infinite greatness of the Supreme Brahman.

The Lord's nature, as the greatest of all, is also demonstrated in the pastime of Gajendra . When the elephant Gajendra was caught by the crocodile teeth and pulled inside the water, the elephant cried out for help. Lord Hari appeared there along with and saved the elephant from the crocodile. Delivering the elephant from the crocodile is a very easy task and any devata could have done with their great powers. Then why the Lord had to come in the scene? The Lord came because Gajendra prayed to the Lord. But Gajendra never addressed the Lord directly by His name. Rather, the entire is very generic and never contains any name of any deity. However, Gajendra prayed that the Absolute Truth who is the greatest (brhat) and prayed that only HE should come for his rescue - (Srimad Bhagavatam 8.3.17) - pratyag-dṛśe bhagavate bṛhate namas te.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the commentary, "The words brhate namas te have been explained by Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura: brhate shri-krishnaaya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krishna. There are many , such as vishnu-tattva, -tattva and -tattva, but above everything is the vishnu-tattva, which is all- pervading...Every universe is full of atoms, and the Lord is not only within the universe but also within the atoms. Thus within every atom the Supreme Lord exists in His Vishnu feature as Paramatma, but all the vishnu-tattvas emanate from Krishna...Therefore He is described here as bhagavate brhate. Everyone is — everyone possesses opulence — but Krishna is brhaan bhagavan, the possessor of unlimited opulence. ishvarah paramah krishnah. Krishna is the origin of everyone. ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavah (BG 10.8). Even Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara come from Krishna. mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañ-jaya(BG 7.7): there is no personality superior to Krishna. Therefore Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that bhagavate brhate means "unto Sri Krishna".

Since this quality of infinite greatness is applicable only to the Supreme Lord Hari, He appeared in the scene. The Lord could have sent the Sudarshana cakra from the spiritual and killed the crocodile. He need not have come personally. Then why did He appear personally? This is because the Lord wanted to reveal that He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the greatest and hence He is the ultimate shelter for those who want to escape the cycle of birth and . The Shruti mantras (Mahanarayana Upanishad-3,4) confirm that Lord Hari who is infinitely great (param brahma ) is the ultimate shelter.

nārāyaṇaṁ mahā-jñeyaṁ viśvātmānam parāyaṇam nārāyaṇa param brahma tattvam nārāyaṇa paraḥ

Narayana is the Supreme knowable object. He is the of the universe and the Supreme shelter. is the Supreme Brahman; Narayana is the Supreme .

And since the Supreme Brahman is Absolute in nature, His name, form, qualities, activities, and powers are identical with Him and infinitely great. Hence His name, form, qualities are also called brahma / param brahma. So, simply by associating with any of these i.e. name, form etc., one can realize the Supreme Brahman.

Krishna willing, we will meditate on how His name, form, qualities and powers are infinitely great and exalted.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 5

Date: 2017-10-18 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offering we were meditating on the infinite greatness of the Supreme Brahman.

We saw how the Supreme Absolute Truth, Parambrahma is infinitely greatest by His nature. The form of the brahman / Parabrahman is also infinitely great and exalted. According to the Vedas, the Absolute Truth is a person with an unlimited form which is non material. The shruti mantras (Mahanarayana Upanishad) confirm that Parabrahman is a person (purusha) as follows:

ṛtaɱ satyaṁ paraṁ brahma puruṣaṁ kṛṣṇapiṅgalam . ūrdhvaretaṁ virūpākṣaṁ viśvarūpāya vai namo namaḥ .

Obeisances to the Supreme Brahman who is all pervading, and is a person (purusham) free from all changes in body (like old age, weakening). He has the colour of tawny black and yellow. He is free from material qualities like lust and has unique eyes and has an infinite form.

This is also confirmed by Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita after he heard the four seed verses in the Chapter ten. In Bhagavad Gita verse 10.12 Arjuna says,

paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum

You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty.

Here Arjuna confirms that Lord Krishna who is the Parabrahman is a person (purusham) eternally and His beauty is transcendental (divyam). In the commentary of the verse 10.13.54 of Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada explains, " The Supreme Person has a form, with hands and legs and other personal features, but His hands and legs are not material. Bhaktas know that the form of Krishna, or Brahman, is not at all material. Rather, Brahman has a transcendental form, and when one is absorbed in it, fully developed in bhakti, one can understand Him.​"

On the basis of Vedic scriptures, Srila Prabhupada was very much emphatic in his preaching that the Absolute Truth is a person and never compromised on this. Even in his young age, he wrote a poem stating that the Absolute is sentient and personal and offered the poem as offering to his spiritual master who appreciated it very much.

Once devotees prepared an article for the Back to Godhead magazine explaining that God is a person. The article was written quoting authentic scriptures and giving very good arguments to prove that Absolute Truth is a person. It was titled 'Is God personal?". They showed it to Prabhupada for review and corrections. Prabhupada read it and very much liked the article. And he said "There is only one correction required. You have given the title as a question "Is God personal?". This conveys as if we have some doubt on this subject. But we are very convinced that God is a person and we want to convince others. The title should affirm what we have the article.​ So instead of 'Is God personal?' change the title to 'God is personal' and publish."

Krishna willing, we will meditate on the infinitely great form of Supreme Brahman further in future offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 6

Date: 2017-10-19 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) the Parabrahman's form is personal.

Now we shall see further.

Beauty of Parabrahman attracts yogis and jnaanis: According to the Vedas, the Absolute Truth is a person with an infinite form composed of bliss and consciousness. The form is eternal in contrast to the temporary forms of this world, which are made of and finite. Since, the form of Parabrahman is non material and hence cannot be seen by our material senses, one can understand Parabrahma (the Lord's form) only from Vedic literature ( brahma). This is stated in the purana (6.16.51) as follows.

śabda-brahma paraṁ brahma mamobhe śāśvatī tanū

I am the form of the transcendental vibrations like omkaara and Hare Krishna Hare Rama, and I am the Supreme Absolute Truth. These two forms of Mine — namely, the transcendental sound and the eternally blissful spiritual form of the Deity, are My eternal forms; they are not material.

Also the great sages meditate on the beautiful form of Parabrahman to become free from attraction to material beauty and to see the Lord's beauty in person. We find in Srimad Bhagavatam verse 3.24.43 that the great sage Kardama Muni meditated on the Supreme Brahman as follows.

mano brahmaṇi yuñjāno yat tat sad-asataḥ param guṇāvabhāse viguṇa eka-bhaktyānubhāvite

He fixed his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, who is beyond cause and effect, who manifests the three modes of material nature, who is beyond those three modes, and who is perceived only through unfailing devotional service.

Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purport, "Kardama Muni fixed his mind on the Supreme Brahman and realized Him through bhakti, or devotional service. This indicates that he fixed his mind on the personal feature of the Lord because bhakti cannot be executed unless one has realization of the personal feature of the Absolute Truth.”

In Srimad Bhagavatam we see that once the went to to have the Lord's darshan. They were completely -realized and had no attraction for any kind of material beauty. They were stopped by the gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya. The Kumaras were offended by this and cursed the gatekeepers. At that time, Lord Hari came out to apologize to the Kumaras. The Kumaras saw the Lord's beauty and they were astonished. They meditated on His form again and again and attained great bliss and satisfaction. Immersed in His beauty, they forgot the fact that they were offended by the gatekeepers and instead of complaining to the Lord about their ill-treatment, they started offering wonderful glorifying the Lord's beauty. This incident reveals the exalted nature of the Lord's form and how His beauty is non material.

The shruti mantras ( 3.1.7) confirm that His form is infinitely great (brhad) as follows.

bṛhac ca tad divyam -rūpaṁ sūkṣmāc ca tat sūkṣma-taraṁ vibhāti; dūrāt sudūre tad ihāntike ca paśyatsv ihaiva nihitam guhāyām.

His form is infinitely great and exalted (brhat). The beauty(divyam) of His form is inconceivable (achintyam). His form is subtler than the subtlest. He is very far as well as near. The enlightened ones sees Him in their hearts.

Thus Parabrahman's form and beauty is infinitely great and exalted. His beauty is so great (brhad) and exalted that even the great sages who have no attraction for the worldly beauty are attracted to Him. ​

Krishna willing, we will meditate more on the infinitely great form of Supreme Brahman further in future offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 7

Date: 2017-10-20 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on, i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) the Parabrahman's form a. is personal. b. is extremely beautiful that it attracts yogis and jnanis.

Now we shall see further. c. Beauty of His avatara forms: To show special favour to those who are not yogis and also to give to the devotees who are longing to see Him, the Supreme Lord who is Parabrahman incarnates in this material world in His various avatara forms. By seeing these beautiful forms, one can develop love for Him in any of His form and perfect his existence. This fact is stated in (11.11.28) as follows.

tvaṁ brahma paramaṁ vyoma puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ avatīrno ’si bhagavan svecchopātta-pṛthag-vapuḥ

My dear Lord, as the Absolute Truth You are transcendental to material nature, and like the sky You are never entangled in any way. Still, being controlled by Your devotees’ love, You accept many different forms, incarnating according to Your devotees’ desires.

The avatara forms of Parabrahman are also completely spiritual and not result of . Their beauty is so great and exalted (brhad) that it attracts all classes of people whether they love Him or hate Him. For example, in the we see that Lord Rama who is the Supreme Personality, Absolute Truth enchanted everyone by His beautiful form. When Lord Rama entered the Dandakaranya forest with Mother Sita and Lakshmana, the great sages who were living their were astonished by His beauty and looked at Him with great wonder. Some of the sages had their bodies mutilated and disfigured by the demons living there. They wanted to complain to Lord Rama to protect them from the demons. But after seeing His beauty, they forgot all their bodily ailments and started enjoying His beauty. People of who were not sages or yogis were also equally attracted to the Lord Rama's form and longing to see Him always.

Hanuman, who was celibate from his birth and who was totally indifferent to material beauties of this world, was fully immersed in remembering Lord Rama's form. In his childhood, was offered to choose a benediction from Lord Brahma and he asked, “I would like to have darshan of the Supreme Absolute Truth in this very lifetime” and Brahmaji granted it. Hanuman then asked ”How do I know that I'm seeing the Absolute Truth when I have the darshan ?”. To this Brahmaji replied ”When you see someone’s beauty and your heart starts melting and love overflows, understand that person to be the Supreme Absolute Truth”. When Hanuman met Lord Rama for the first time in Kishkinda, his heart started melting by seeing His beauty and love started flowing towards Him. Hanuman then realized that Lord Rama is the Parabrahman and the eternal master he was looking for.

And interestingly, the demons who treated Him as enemy, were also attracted by His beauty. Generally when we hate someone, we don't glorify them. We are not attracted by their beauty, even if they are beautiful. But in case of Lord Rama, His beauty was glorified by demons as well. When asked Maricha to help him in tricking Lord Rama and abducting mother Sita, Maricha first glorified Lord Rama's beauty in many slokas which even great sages did not do. Similarly, when Surpanakha was disfigured by Lakshmana, she went to her brothers Kara and Dushana to complain about the incident. Instead of telling first her disfigurement, she glorified the beauty of Lord Rama and Lakshmana in words which reflect meaning of the Upanishads. So much was her attraction to the Lord's form. And finally, Ravana when he saw Lord Rama in the battlefield, was stunned by the Lord's beauty and could not find as he was bowled by the Lord’s beauty.

Because His form is attractive to all and it is exalted, the Vedas glorify the Lord's form as brhad in the following from Rg Veda(2.2.24) - bṛhad śariro vimimāna ṛkvābhiḥ yuvākumāraḥ - His transcendental form is infinitely great and exalted (bṛhad śarirah) and He is a youth eternally. He is controlled by the love of those who glorify Him".

Krishna willing, we will meditate more on the Supreme Brahman whose form is brhad in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 8

Date: 2017-10-21 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on

i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) the Parabrahman's form a. is personal. b. is extermely beautiful that it attracts yogis and jnaanis c. is so beautiful that it is able to attract sages as well as demons by the beauty of His avatara forms. d. Beauty of His Deity form: For those who ​want to offer many things to the Lord and serve Him personally, also for those who cannot see the Lord in their hearts, or the Lord's in person, the Supreme Brahman the Personality of Godhead manifests in the form of deity known as archa vigraha. This is the most merciful manifestation of the Absolute Truth. The Bhagavata purana 3.26.46 confirm this as follows.

bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānaṁ dhāraṇaṁ sad-viśeṣaṇam sarva--guṇodbhedaḥ pṛthivī-vṛtti-lakṣaṇam

The characteristics of the functions of earth can be perceived by modelling forms of the Supreme Brahman, by constructing places of residence, by preparing pots to contain water, etc. In other words, the earth is the place of sustenance for all elements.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the commentary, "By this statement of ’s, it is confirmed that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Brahman, has innumerable forms, which are described in the scriptures. By manipulation of earth and its products, such as stone, wood and jewels, these forms of the Supreme Lord can be present before our eyes. When a form of Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu is manifested by presentation of a statue made of earth, it is not imaginary. The earth gives shape to the Lord’s forms as described in the scriptures."

There is a nice story in Vishnu purana about the power of the Lord’s beauty in His deity form. Once a great sage named Kandu rishi who was learned in vedic knowledge was meditating on the banks of the river Gomati. wanted to spoil his penance and sent a heavenly girl named Pramilocha. The sage was attracted by her beauty and engaged in conjugal life with her for 100 years. After this period the girl told him,"O sage, please allow me to go back to ." The sage said, "Please stay with me for some more time". She agreed and stayed for 100 more years. Like this many times she wanted to leave and the sage requested her to stay back. Due to her pity on him and due to the fear that he would curse her, Pramilocha stayed with him. One day suddenly the sage thought he should do his evening rituals and left the to reach the river. Pramilocha stopped him and asked "Where are you going?". The great sage replied "Evening has come and I need to do my gayatri chanting. If I skip it, it means I have slipped from my prescribed duty". The girl laughed and said "Many many years we have passed in conjugal love and for you it seems only few hours have passed. You have missed all your spiritual practices for years". The sage said "No. morning I met you near the river and we enjoyed only for few hours. Now its evening and that's why I want to do my rituals." The girl replied "Yes, we met in the morning only but not today. We met many years back in the morning and we have been enjoying for 907 years 6 months and 3 days till now".

The rishi was shattered to know that all his on the Lord has been broken and he has fallen from the spiritual path. He told Pramilocha, "I'm not cursing you since I have enjoyed with you for all these years. Just get lost from here." And she left in fear to the heavenly planets. The rishi repented for his fall down and said to himself, "I have been victimized by the attraction to heavenly beauty and forgot my spiritual goal. Now I will not fully rely on my power to meditate on the Lord in my heart. I will take shelter of the Lord's deity form and He will relieve me from all material attraction." He went to mountain called Purushottamam and worshipped Lord Keshava in His deity form by reciting a wonderful prayer called brahma paara stuti. This prayer is recited as part of daily deity worship by the followers of Sri even today. In this prayer (Vishnu Purana 1,15.57, 58) Kandu rishi prayed to the Supreme Brahman in deity form to remove all his material attachments as follows.

brahmāvyayaṃ nityam ajaṃ sa viṣṇur apakṣayādyair akhilair asaṅgi brahmākṣaram ajaṃ nityaṃ yathāsau puruṣottamaḥ tathā rāgādayo doṣāḥ prayāntu praśamaṃ mama Vishnu Purana_1,15.57, 58

The Supreme Brahman Vishnu is eternal, unborn, imperishable and free from all inferior qualities. That same Supreme Brahman with all His perfections and beauty has manifested in the form of deity here. Let that Absolute Truth, Brahman(Lord Vishnu) pacify all my attraction to lower modes and purify me.

In this way by worshipping the deity as the main activity and meditating on the Lord's deity form, he was fully purified and attained the spiritual world. Thus the beauty of the Lord in His deity form is also brhat (exalted and infinitely great) and it can attract the of great sages and devotees who have turned away from material beauty.

So far we saw the greatness of Parabrahman’s form and beauty. Krishna willing, we will meditate on the qualities of Supreme Brahman in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 9

Date: 2017-10-22 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) The Parabrahman's form

Now we will see how the Absolute Truth is exalted in terms of qualities. iii a) Brahman is full of qualities: The Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman / Parabrahman is infinitely great and exalted in terms of His transcendental qualities and opulence. The shruti mantras define the meaning of Brahman as follows:

atha kasmād ucyate brahmeti bṛhanto' smin hy gunaḥ

Why the Absolute Truth is called 'Brahman'? It is called Brahman because it is full in all spiritual qualities and opulence.

Srila Prabhupada beautifully explains this in his book, "Teachings of Lord Caitanya" as follows. “Lord Caitanya explained the word Brahman, indicating that Brahman means the greatest, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahman indicates that the greatest is full with six opulence; the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all wealth, all fame, all strength, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Krishna is the Supreme Brahman. This is confirmed by Arjuna in Bhagavad-Gita verse 10.12 - paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode. Therefore Brahman indicates the greatest, and the greatest is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the shelter of the Absolute Truth (para-tattva) because He is param brahma.. .All the Vedic verses and hymns indicate that everything about Him is spiritual and transcendental. Wherever the word Brahman appears in the Vedas, it should be understood that Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is indicated. An intelligent person at once replaces the word Brahman with the name Krishna.”

The fullness of the Lord in terms of His qualities is demonstrated in the pastime where the ocean was churned. Many attractive things appeared during churning and Mother also appeared during the churning. She was very exalted by Her exquisite beauty, youth, complexion, glories and opulences. So all demigods and demons desired Her blessings. The of fortune, Lakshmidevi having been generated from the ocean of milk, was the daughter of the ocean. Thus She was allowed to select Her own husband in a svayamvara ceremony. She walked among the , , asuras, Siddhas, Caranas and denizens of heaven, and carefully examined each of them, to see who has got all qualities and free from all defects. But She could not find anyone suitably qualified to be Her shelter. Some were very austere but not conquered anger. Some possessed knowledge, but they have not conquered material desires and they were not friendly to living entities. Some were great personalities but they have not conquered lusty desires. Some were very powerful, but they were unable to check the power of time. Some were very renounced, but they were not fully freed from the modes of nature. Some had great span of life but no auspiciousness and good behaviour or vice versa. In this way, though they were all qualified, they had some short comings also. Finally whom She chose and why She chose is given in Srimad Bhagavatam verse 8.8.23 as follows. evaṁ vimṛśyāvyabhicāri-sad-guṇair varaṁ nijaikāśrayatayāguṇāśrayam vavre varaṁ sarva-guṇair apekṣitaṁ ramā mukundaṁ nirapekṣam īpsitam

Sukadeva continued: In this way, after full deliberation, the goddess of fortune accepted Mukunda as Her husband because although He is independent and not in want of Her, He possesses all transcendental qualities and mystic powers and is therefore the most desirable.

Krishna willing we will meditate more on the qualities of Absolute Truth in the following offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 10

Date: 2017-10-23 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on, i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) The Parabrahman's form iii) Parabrahman's qualities a) He is full of qualities.

Now we will continue to meditate on the infinitely great and exalted qualities of Parabrahman. b) His qualities are infinite: We see in this material world, that a person possess a maximum of one or two opulence that too in limited measure. But he/she is glorified like anything because he is above all others for that opulence alone. But he might be lesser than others in other qualities. For example, the most beautiful people are not always richest nor the richest people very intelligent or the intelligent people strongest etc., Now a question comes, how many qualities/opulences the Absolute Truth possess? From the Vedas, we understand that the Absolute has got infinite number of opulences /qualities and each one of the quality is infinite in measure. The sruti mantras ( 2.1) define the Absolute truth as

satyam jñānam anantam brahma

The Supreme Absolute truth Brahman is Supreme reality, full of knowledge and unlimited (in terms of time, space and qualities).

The Absolute Truth possesses unlimited qualities (anantam). We are so much attracted to a person possessing just one more exceptional quality or opulence and glorify him. So our duty is to get unflinchingly attached to the Supreme Absolute truth through devotional service, since He possesses all infinite qualities in infinite measure. When we get attached in this way, one gets great bliss and satisfaction and become satisfied in any condition of life. This is stated in the Bhagavata purana 11.26.30 by the Lord Himself to Uddhava as follows.

bhaktiṁ labdhavataḥ sādhoḥ kim anyad avaśiṣyate mayy -guṇe brahmaṇy ānandānubhavātmani

What more remains to be accomplished for the perfect devotee after achieving devotional service unto Me, the Supreme Absolute Truth, whose qualities are innumerable and who am the embodiment of all ecstatic experience?

In teachings of Lord Caitanya Srila Prabhupada explains, “The word brahman means “the greatest in all respects.” The Lord is the greatest in all opulences. No one can excel Him in wealth, no one can excel Him in strength, no one can excel Him in fame, no one can excel Him in beauty, no one can excel Him in knowledge, and no one can excel Him in renunciation. Thus the word brahman actually indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.”

Srila Prabhupada always saw all living entities as the children of the all opulent Lord and planning how to deliver them. Once Srila Prabhupada was sitting in the balcony of his room in and watching outside. At that time a poor lady was eating the remnants in the leaf plates thrown by devotees in the garbage. Prabhupada started shedding tears and told his disciples, “Her father is the Supreme Absolute Truth who is full in all opulences. And why she should suffer like this and that too in this holy dham?” He told his disciple Brahmananda “You should ensure that anyone coming within 10 km of this temple does not go hungry”.And till today in Mayapur temple, prasadam distribution is done to all people around the temple as per his instruction.

Such is the magnanimous of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada - who freely distributed Krishna in every nook and corner of the world. On this auspicious occasion of the disappearance day of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, let us pray at the lotus feet of Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada that we always remember his tireless efforts in making everyone understand that Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth, and try to carry on his legacy to the best of our ability.

Krishna willing we will meditate more on the qualities of Absolute Truth in the following offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 11

Date: 2017-10-24 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) The Parabrahman's form iii) Parabrahman's qualities a) He is full of qualities. b) His qualities are infinite

Now we will continue to meditate on the infinitely great and exalted qualities of Parabrahman. iii. c) His qualities are non-material: Though we see many people/devatas qualified with many qualities/opulences in the material world, their opulences are much different from the Lord’s opulences. The key difference is that the qualities/opulences possessed by us are tainted with the three modes of nature whereas the Lord’s opulences are beyond the modes of nature. That’s why the Absolute is sometimes called as nirguna in the Vedas which means absence of the three modes of material nature. This is stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavatam (11.13.40) as follows:

māṁ bhajanti guṇāḥ sarve nirguṇaṁ nirapekṣakam suhṛdaṁ priyam ātmānaṁ sāmyāsaṅgādayo ’guṇāḥ

All superior transcendental qualities, such as being beyond the modes of nature, detached, the well- wisher, the most dear, the Supersoul, equally situated everywhere, and free from material entanglement — all such qualities, free from the transformations of material qualities, find their shelter and worshipable object in Me.

So by remembering the Lord’s qualities or opulences one can attain freedom from the modes of nature and regain our transcendental nature. So the Vedic scriptures list several transcendental qualities of the Absolute truth as follows.

manomayaḥ prāṇaśarīro bhārūpaḥ satyasaṃkalpa ākāśātmā sarvakarmā sarvakāmaḥ sarvagandhaḥ sarvarasaḥ sarvam abhyatto 'vāky anādaraḥ eṣa ma ātmā antarhṛdaye etad brahma

This Supreme Brahman who is present in the heart is full of knowledge, has a form made of energy and whose form is effulgent; He possess unfettered will, His divine form shines everywhere; He is performer of wonderful acts; He possesses all spiritual desires, all spiritual fragrance, spiritual tastes; He possesses all auspicious attributes; He is free from false speech and does not need any support from anyone . (-3.14.2,4).

The Lord’s greatness in terms of qualities was demonstrated in the Rajasuya performed by Yudhishtira Maharaja. In the yajna, a question was raised on who should be offered the Agra puja (the initial worship). Bhishmadeva said that Lord Krishna who possesses all transcendental qualities should be offered the worship. He also listed many of the Lord’s qualities and prompted Sahadeva to offer the worship to Lord Krishna. When the Lord was worshipped, Sisupala who was envious of Lord Krishna, blasphemed the Lord and said He does not deserve any respect in the Yajna. To this Sahadeva replied, "I request all the intelligent people here to approve this worship. If anyone does not tolerate the worship of Lord Krishna who is endowed with all transcendental qualities, then I will place my left foot on the head of those people", and he raised his foot. No kings in the assembly (except Sisupala) said objection to this statement. And a huge shower of flowers fell from the sky on Sahadeva’s head from sky and a celestial voice said ”Excellent, Excellent”. This proves that the Lord is possessor of all glorious qualities and hence denoted by the word Brahman/Parabrahman.

In his book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Srila Prabhupada explains that there is no end to the Lord's qualities." In the Vishnu Purana (1.12.57) the word Brahman is said to indicate the greatest of all, the Supreme Lord, who as the greatest expands with no limit. One may conceive of Brahman’s greatness, yet this greatness grows in such a way that no one can estimate how great He actually is.”

Krishna willing we will meditate more on the qualities of Absolute Truth in the following offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 12

Date: 2017-10-25 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on, i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) The Parabrahman's form. iii) Parabrahman's qualities a) He is full of qualities. b) His qualities are infinite. c) His qualities are non-material.

Now we will continue to meditate on the infinitely great and exalted qualities of Parabrahman. iii.d) His Compassion: We have been meditating on the qualities of Parabrahman. Though the Absolute truth has infinite qualities, His most important quality is His compassion to all living entities. The Lord is merciful to all living entities because they’re His children. But when a person who is done away with the material life, associates with the Lord's devotees, then the Lord bestows His special mercy, by which He can understand Him through devotional service and attain His eternal kingdom. The Lord Himself states this in the Bhagavata purana (10.88.9-10) as follows

sa yadā vitathodyogo nirviṇṇaḥ syād dhanehayā mat-paraiḥ kṛta-maitrasya kariṣye mad-anugraham

tad brahma paramaṁ sūkṣmaṁ cin-mātraṁ sad anantakam vijñāyātmatayā dhīraḥ saṁsārāt parimucyate

When he becomes frustrated in his attempts to make money and instead befriends My devotees, I bestow My special mercy upon him. A person who has thus become sober fully realizes the Absolute as the highest truth, the most subtle and perfect manifestation of , the transcendental existence without end. In this way realizing that the Supreme Truth is the foundation of his own existence, he is freed from the cycle of material life.

The nature of Lord’s mercy is explained by Srila Prabhupada as follows in chapter 88 of the Krishna book: "The mercy bestowed upon the tried devotee by the Supreme Personality is described as brahman, which indicates that the greatness of that mercy can be compared only to the all-pervasive greatness of Brahman. Brahman means unlimitedly great and unlimitedly expanding. That mercy is also described as paramam, for it has no comparison within this material world, and it is also called sukshmam, very fine. Not only is the Lord’s mercy upon the tried devotee great and unlimitedly expansive, but it is of the finest quality of transcendental love between the devotee and the Lord. Such mercy is further described as cin-maatram, completely spiritual. The use of the word maatram indicates absolute , with no tinge of material qualities. That mercy is also called sat (eternal) and anantakam (unlimited)."

Since the Supreme Brahman is source of such great mercy, He is the Supreme shelter (paraayanam) for all living entities and it is confirmed in the shruti mantras (Brhad Upanishad) as follows. vijñānam ānandaṃ brahma rātir dātuḥ parāyaṇam tiṣṭhamānasya tadvida

The Supreme Brahman is full of knowledge and bliss. He is the bestower of fruits of everyone’s karma. He is the Supreme Shelter for those who know Him and are devoted to Him.

Srila Prabhupada's books are satellites of this Lord's mercy benefitting millions of suffering souls all over the world and connecting them to the Absolute Truth. Once a person in USA who was totally fed up in life, tried committing suicide. He wanted to try suicide in a novel way and purchased a book, "Different ways to commit suicide", which contained many methods and chose one 'novel' method. He chose one method which involves connecting a tube to exhaust pipe of the car and feeding it back into the car. He closed all windows, sat in the car and started the car. Now the engine started running and the car was filled with exhaust smoke which will suffocate him to death. In a few minutes, a devotee came across that way and knocked the window and asked this man to buy a Bhagavad Gita. This person told the devotee, "What is the use of this book? Anyway I'm going to die now." The devotee replied; "Anyway you're going to die. At least help me by taking this book and give some donation." The person bought the book and thought, "Anyway let's read this book before dying." So he stopped the car engine and started reading the 2nd chapter where the Lord says that the body is temporary and soul is eternal. He was thrilled by the content and decided life has a greater purpose. He drove in the same car to the local Hare Krishna temple and met the devotees and his life was changed for ever.

There are so many such real instances wherein living entities who were on verge of suicide were saved by the causeless mercy of His Divine Grace through his books. His books has that potency as the pure media for transmission of Krishna's compassion - "as it is".

Krishna willing we will meditate more on the qualities of Absolute Truth in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 13

Date: 2017-10-26 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on i) Brahman's Supreme Nature ii) The Parabrahman's form iii) Parabrahman's qualities a) He is full of qualities. b) His qualities are infinite c) His qualities are non-material d) His Compassion

Now we will continue to meditate on the infinitely great and exalted qualities of Parabrahman. iii.e) His qualities are worshiped by atmaramas: The shruti mantras extol Him as brhanto 'sya dharmaah (His attributes are glorious and exalted). And since no other person can possess qualities like Him, the word Brahman is applicable to Him alone in fullest sense. The Padma purana states this as follows.

pṛthag vaktuṃ guṇās tasya na śakyante'mitatvataḥ yato'to brahma-śabdena sarveṣāṃ grahaṇaṃ bhavet etasmād brahma-śabdo'sau viṣṇor eva viśeṣaṇam amito hi guṇo yasmān nānyeṣāṃ tam ṛte vibhum

It is impossible to enumerate the qualities of Lord one by one as they’re unlimited. Because of this, the word ’Brahman’ is used to describe his possession of all qualities. Thus it is used to denote Lord Vishnu. Except for Him, others do not have unlimited qualities."

Since He possess all glorious attributes which are beyond the modes and infinite, even great sages and self realised souls who are free from all material attachments perform bhakti to Him. The Bhagavata purana (1.7.10) states this as follows.

ātmārāmāś ca munayo nirgranthā apy urukrame kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ

All different varieties of aatmaaraamas [those who take pleasure in the aatmaa, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.

Srila Prabhupada mentions in the commentary about attraction of Lord's qualities. "These attractions are so strong that no one wants to exchange them for material enjoyment, mystic powers and liberation. There is no need of logical arguments in support of this statement, but out of one’s own nature one becomes attracted by the qualities of Lord Sri Krishna. We must know for certain that the qualities of the Lord have nothing to do with mundane qualities. All of them are full of bliss, knowledge and eternity. There are innumerable qualities of the Lord, and one is attracted by one quality while another is attracted by another…. By His personal features and transcendental attributes, the Lord attracts all psychological activities of a pure devotee. Such is the attractive power of Lord Krishna ."

In the scriptures we have many examples of this. Great sages, such as the four celibate devotees Sanaka, Sanatana, Sananda and Sanat-kumara, were attracted by the fragrance of flowers and tulasi leaves anointed with the pulp of sandalwood offered at the lotus feet of the Lord. They were already absorbed in the bliss of self-realization and the moment they smelled the fragrance of tulasi leaves at the Lord's lotus feet, they became attracted to the Lord’s personal form. who is non-different from Goddess of fortune became attracted by hearing the Lord's attributes. All great acharyas like Shankara, , Madhva, and Caitanya were free from all material attraction but they were all attracted to the Lord's qualities.

Thus the Supreme Lord is the most exalted and greatest in terms of His spiritual qualities and hence denoted by the term Brahman/Parabrahman. Krishna willing we will meditate on the activities of Absolute Truth in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 14

Date: 2017-10-27 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on, i) Brahman's Supreme Nature. ii) The Parabrahman's form iii) Parabrahman's qualities

Now we will now meditate on the activities of the Absolute truth. iv) Activities of Para-Brahman: The Absolute Truth is called Brahman/Parabrahman because His activities are also great (brhat) and wonderful. His activities are carried out by His infinite powers. This is stated in the Bhagavata purana (8.3.9) by the elephant Gajendra as follows:

tasmai namaḥ pareśāya brahmaṇe ’nanta-śaktaye arūpāyoru-rūpāya nama āścarya-karmaṇe

He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him.

The Vedas (Svetasvatara Up- 6.8) describe the actions of the Lord as follows. parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñānabalakriyā ca

His Supreme power is revealed as manifold. His actions are of the nature of knowledge and strength.

One of the wonderful activities of the Lord is the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material manifestation which is a great puzzle even for great scientists and scholars. The Taittiriya Upanishad says that Absolute Truth or Brahman is that from whom all are born during creation, by whom everything is maintained and into whom everything enters during annihilation. Apart from these cosmic activities, the Supreme Lord performs eternal pastimes in His spiritual kingdom. The Lord descends into the material world in various forms and performs uncommon activities to attract everyone to His lotus feet. Because of all these activities, the shruti mantras (Chandogya upanishad 3.14.2) glorify that the Supreme Brahman is sarva karma - performer of all glorious activities.

Out of all the activities of the Lord, the activities done by Him in His various incarnations is special in one sense because the Lord reveals His love and affection to His living entities directly by these actions. The Bhagavata purana verse 1.3.35, states about the activities of the Lord in His various incarnations as follows.

evaṁ janmāni karmāṇi hy akartur ajanasya ca varṇayanti sma kavayo veda-guhyāni hṛt-pateḥ

Thus learned men describe the births and activities of the unborn and inactive, which is undiscoverable even in the Vedic literatures. He is the Lord of the heart.

Srila Prabhupada mentions in the commentary to this verse, "The Supreme has nothing to do, but because He is omnipotent, everything is performed by Him naturally, as if done automatically. As a matter of fact, the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His different activities are all confidential, even to the Vedic literatures. Yet they are displayed by the Lord to bestow mercy upon the conditioned souls. We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form."

Now a question may arise: When we see someone doing some activities, the actions have either good or bad or mixed reactions in the form of karma. When the Supreme Brahman descends into this world and performs activities does He also become implicated by the laws of karma like us? What is the benefit of listening to the activities of the Supreme Absolute Truth?

Krishna willing, we will see more about this in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 15

Date: 2017-10-28 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities and activities. Now we will now continue to meditate on the activities of the Absolute truth. iv) Activities of Para-Brahman: The scriptures tell us that when the Absolute truth descends in various incarnations and performs activities, they are much different from the activities of conditioned souls. All the activities of the Supreme Lord are transcendental and untouched by piety or . Only material activities have results like sin and piety. The Bhagavata purana verse 3.29.36 states this as follows.

etad bhagavato rūpaṁ brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ paraṁ pradhānaṁ puruṣaṁ daivaṁ karma-viceṣṭitam

This purusha whom the individual soul must approach is the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Brahman and Paramatma. He is the transcendental chief personality, and His activities are all spiritual.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the commentary based on the Bhagavad gita; "His activities are transcendental, as confirmed in Bhagavad-Gita janma karma ca me divyam: the activities and the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are transcendental; they are not to be considered material." The Vedas (Brhad Aranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22 ) state that the Lord is not touched by pious or sinful activities.

sarvasya vaśī sarvasyeśānaḥ sarvasyādhipatiḥ sa na sādhunā karmaṇā bhūyān no evāsādhunā kanīyān eṣa sarveśvaraḥ eṣa bhūtādhipatiḥ eṣa bhūtapālaḥ

The Supreme Brahman is the Lord of all, master of all, controller of all; He does not become glorious by pious activities and does not become inferior by impious activities; He is the protector of all beings and their controller.

Now why we should know the activities of the Lord and what benefit we derive from that? Srila Prabhupada answers in the commentary for SB 3.29.36 thus: "Anyone who knows this fact — that the appearance, disappearance and activities of the Lord are beyond material activities or material conception — is liberated. yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna: such a person, after quitting his body, does not come back again to this material world, but goes to the Supreme Person. It is confirmed here, purushah purusham vrajet: the living entity goes to the Supreme Personality simply by understanding His transcendental nature and activities ."

The general tendency of human being is that he is interested in knowing what others do, especially what activities famous people do. For the past few years there has been a TV program called, "Big Boss/Big brother", conducted in US, UK, India, Spain and other countries. Here some famous persons will be asked to live in a custom-built home under constant surveillance and they will be isolated from outside world with no access to communication devices. They will be given weekly tasks and there will be evictions from the house based on the behavior of each person and it will be telecasted in the TV. This program was a great success and the TRP rating (Television Rating Point) of the channels which hosted these programs were shooting up like anything. When a psychological specialist was interviewed on how this program was success, he gave a beautiful answer: "When something happens in our neighbor's house we take so much interest in knowing it. So when the lives and activities of others are telecasted openly then there will be great attraction in knowing it. That is the reason for the success of this program."

This tendency of us is well known to sages like Parasara, Vyasadeva and and they wanted to channelize this tendency properly. So they compiled great literatures like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vishnu purana and Srimad Bhagavatam glorifying the life and activities of the Lord in His various incarnations. Our tendency to look into others activities can be redirected in knowing the Lord's activities. The Supreme Brahman is the 'Big Boss' and He appeared along with His 'Big brother' Lord and performed many transcendental activities for our benefit in various avataras. By hearing about these activities, one can attain the highest perfection.

Krishna willing, we will meditate on the activities of the Supreme Absolute truth in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 16

Date: 2017-10-29 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities and activities. Now we will now continue to meditate on the activities of the Absolute truth. iv) Activities of Para-Brahman: Generally the activities done by Him reveal His great powers and His compassion to the living entities etc., But there are some specific lilas where the Lord shows one exceptional quality namely submission to His devotees. The Lord performed one such lila in this auspicious karthik month which is glorified and celebrated all over the world. He displayed great mercy to the two sons of Kuvera who were cursed by Narada Muni to become trees in Vrindavana and delivered them and awarded pure bhakti to them.

Though being the Supreme Absolute Truth (Brahman), the Lord allowed Himself to be bound by the ropes of Mother . And He covered His greatness and behaved as normal child of Yashoda, chastised by her, chased and caught by her and bound by her with the ropes. In addition, He was chastised by the cowherd women of Vrindavana and teased by them. Also He was defeated by the cowherd boys, while playing with them. This quality was brought out in the prayers offered by Nalakuvara and Manigreeva in the Bhagavatam verse 10.10.33 as follows.

tasmai tubhyaṁ bhagavate vāsudevāya vedhase ātma-dyota-guṇaiś channa- mahimne brahmaṇe namaḥ

O Lord, whose glories are covered by Your own energy, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You are Sankarshana, the origin of creation, and You are Vaasudeva, the origin of the caturvyuha. Because You are everything and are therefore the Supreme Brahman, we simply offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

This lila shows that the Absolute truth can be controlled only by devotional love and not any other material or spiritual qualification. Srila Prabhupada explains in the commentary to the verse 10.9.13-14 as follows. "In Bhagavad-Gita (10.12), Kṛishna is described as the Supreme Brahman (param brahma param dhaama). The word brahma means "the greatest." Krishna is greater than the greatest, being unlimited and all-pervading. How can it be possible for the all-pervading to be measured or bound?... Every individual person can be measured, but Krishna has already shown that although He also is an individual, the entire cosmic manifestation is within His mouth. All these points considered, Krishna cannot be measured. How then did Yashoda want to measure Him and bind Him? We must conclude that this took place simply on the platform of pure transcendental love. This was the only cause."

One great devotee by name Parankusha muni who was one of the twelve alwars in the Sri Vaishnava tradition appeared in this world just 43 days after yuga was born. He was called by the name Nammalwar. He composed wonderful poems in Tamil language glorifying the pastimes of Lord Krishna. However, when he sang the Damodara lila he was so much moved that he would fall in trance saying, ”How merciful is the Supreme Brahman Krishna to become bound with the ropes to a mortar?” He would remain in for 6 months and his servant and disciple Madhura kavi alwar would wait 6 months and check if Nammalwar is still alive and slowly bring him to consciousness and when Nammalwar starts to sing this lila he would again fall into trance.

Let us offer our obeisances to Lord Damodara on this auspicious month and Krishna willing continue to meditate on His activities.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 17

Date: 2017-10-31 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities and activities. Now we will now continue to meditate on the activities of the Absolute truth. iv) Activities of Para-Brahman: In this material world, we see that people become great by performing certain activities and people become inferior by performing certain activities. Now when the Supreme Brahman performs activities does His glory gets affected by superior or inferior activities? The Bhagavata Purana (10.74.4) answers this beautifully as follows with the statement from Yudhishtira Maharaj.

na hy ekasyādvitīyasya brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ karmabhir vardhate tejo hrasate ca yathā raveḥ

But of course the power of the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Soul, the primeval one without a second, is neither increased nor diminished by His activities, any more than the sun’s power is by its movements.

Srila Prabhupada writes in Krishna: [King said,] 'Your real position is always exalted, exactly like that of the sun, which always remains at the same temperature, both during the time of its rising and the time of its setting. Although we feel the difference in temperature between the rising and the setting sun, the temperature of the sun never changes...You are the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, and for You there are no relativities.

The Vedas (Brhad Aranyaka Up 4.4.23) also confirm this point. Since the Lord is the greatest, whatever He does is great.

eṣa nityo mahimā brāhmaṇasya na karmaṇā vardhate no kanīyān

The glory of this Supreme Brahman is eternal and does not increase by great activities or decrease by inferior activities.

Actually any activity sanctioned by scriptures is not inferior. But in the eyes of the world, some activities are considered superior and some inferior. We can see in Mahabharata profession like being chariot driver, being servant of someone was not considered very great. Though was a great archer, since he was known as the son of chariot driver, he always suffered humiliation and insult from everyone. Everyone called him, "you're after all a suta putra" (son of a charioteer) and he never got the respect he deserved. During the Mahabharata war, when Karna was made the army chief he asked Duryodhana to arrange the King Shalya as his chariot driver, as he is very expert counsellor. When Shalya heard about this, he was enraged and shouted, "This Karna is inferior because he is suta putra and how I can drive chariot for him and what will happen to my reputation if I do so?" But later on Duryodhana convinced him to accept that position but Shalya did it grudgingly. Just like Shalya was requested to become chariot driver for Karna, Arjuna requested Lord Krishna to become chariot driver for him and the Lord gladly accepted it. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and chariot driving is also not a great job. But as the Lord out of friendship and love for His devotee Arjuna gracefully accepted the position of chariot driver, all great sages started glorifying this act of the Lord and gave Him the name 'Parthasarathy'

The great devotees named alwars, sang many poems about the Lord as chariot driver and in Chennai there is a famous temple known as Parthasarathy temple where the Lord is worshipped with a whip in his hand as chariot driver. Bhishmadeva while leaving his body wanted to meditate on the Lord as Parthasarathy, as that form attracted him so much. So the Lord's actions are glorious no matter what He does. Srila Prabhupada this point nicely in verse SB 1.9.21 “ He is Paramatma, or the Supersoul, present in everyone as the supreme guidance, and therefore He is already the chariot driver and counsel of all living beings. When He, therefore, exhibits Himself as chariot driver of Arjuna, there is no change in His exalted position. It is the power of devotional service only that demonstrates Him as the chariot driver or the messenger. Since He has nothing to do with the material conception of life because He is absolute spiritual identity, there is for Him no superior or inferior action.”

Krishna willing we shall continue to meditate on His activities in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 18

Date: 2017-11-01 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities and activities. Now we will now continue to meditate on the activities of the Absolute truth. iv) Activities of Para-Brahman: Not only in His incarnations, the Absolute Truth does lot of pastimes in His deity form as well to bring joy to His devotees and reciprocate with their love. For instance, Lord in Puri kshetra is called 'Dharu Brahman' (Absolute Truth in the form of wooden deity. Dharu-Wood, Brahman-Absolute Truth) and many pastimes are related to Him from Vedic times till today.

A king who was ruling Puri was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath. He used to buy garland from a flower vendor and offer to Lord Jagannath everyday. One day due to his duties, it was late and he rushed to the flower vendor to buy the garland and there was only one garland left with the vendor. At that time, a very rich merchant from the neighbouring province also came to buy garland from the vendor. Now there was only one garland and both the king and merchant wanted to have it for the Lord. The vendor said, "whoever gives more money will have the garland." Then the king and merchant started quoting more price alternately and finally the merchant said, "I will give my entire wealth for this garland." The King said, "I will give away my entire kingdom in exchange of this garland." The merchant was surprised and said, "I cannot match your devotion to the Lord; so you please take the garland." The king took the garland from the vendor and said to him, "Tomorrow I will enthrone you as the king", and he offered the garland to Lord Jagannath and went back to his palace.

That night king had an exceptionally peaceful sleep and in the dream Lord Jagannath appeared and had a conversation with the king. The Lord told him, "please take away the garland you have given Me. I'm not able to bear its weight." The King replied, "You’re the supporter of the entire universe and how come this garland burdens you?" The Lord replied, "The garland does not burden Me. But for offering Me this garland, you sacrificed your throne and this love burdens Me. I'm not able to reciprocate for your love enough." The king was very happy to hear the Lord's words and shed tears of joy.

Thus the Supreme Brahman performs many exalted and great activities which attracts even great sages and self realized souls such as Sukadeva Goswami and recorded in the scriptures for our benefit. By hearing the activities, we can associate with the Supreme Brahman. The Bhagavata Purana verse 12.12.69 confirms this as follows.

sva-sukha-nibhṛta-cetās tad-vyudastānya-bhāvo ’py ajita-rucira-līlākṛṣṭa-sāras tadīyam vyatanuta kṛpayā yas tattva-dīpaṁ purāṇaṁ tam akhila-vṛjina-ghnaṁ vyāsa-sūnuṁ nato ’smi

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Srila Sukadeva Goswami, the son of Vyasadeva. He is the destroyer of all sinful reactions and is full in self-realization and bliss. Because of this, he has no other desire. Still, he was attracted by the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and out of compassion for the people, he described the transcendental historical literature called Srimad- Bhagavatam. This is compared to the light of the Absolute Truth.

Krishna willing we will meditate on the powers of the Supreme Brahman in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 19

Date: 2017-11-02 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme nature, form, qualities and activities of the Supreme Brahman which are very exalted and infinitely great. Now we shall meditate on His powers. v) Powers of Supreme Absolute Truth: The Absolute truth is called Brahman/ParaBrahman because He possesses powers which are exalted and infinitely great. By these powers He supports and nourishes the material manifestation. The scriptures (Vishnu Purana- 1.9.52) tell that by a fraction of His power, the material world is sustained

yasyāyutāyutāṃśāṃśe viśvaśaktir iyaṃ sthitā parabrahmasvarūpasya praṇamāmi tam avyayam

I bow down before that Supreme Brahman who is eternal and unchanging. By a million-millionth part of His power, the material world is supported.

Once a king named Trishanku wanted to attain heaven with the same human body and he approached Sage Vasishta for advice. The sage told him that it is not possible to attain heaven with the same body and he has to perform many sacrifices and with the merits earned from sacrifices he can go to heaven but he has to leave the body here and go to heaven and get a heavenly body there. The king was not happy with this answer and he approached the sons of sage Vasishta and placed the same request and they gave the same answer. They also cursed him to become ugly figured person for his notorious desire and coming to them even after being denied by their father.

Trishanku was roaming in the forests with this ugly figure and he met Vishwamitra who was the great rival of Vasishta. When he heard about all the happenings he became angry and said to Trishanku, ”Who is this Vashishta to deny you heaven? I will send you to heaven with this same body.” Then he started a sacrifice to which all sages were invited. Vishwamitra by His power of austerities, chanted mantras and lifted Trishanku to heaven with the same body. When he reached heaven, Indra the king of heaven said, “no one with earthly body is allowed here.” He then pushed Trishanku down who started falling crying in wilderness. Vishwamitra again lifted him up to heaven and Indra pushed him down and in this way he was tossed. Vishwamitra then decided to create a new heaven for Trishanku and he created a complete heaven with its own divine arrangements and with its own Indra and placed Trishanku there. Now everything was set, the sage was very happy. But by all these acts, all his power of austerities were exhausted and hence he could not retain the created planet in space and it started falling towards earth with great force.

Everyone was disturbed by this and Vishwamitra couldn’t do anything and hence started praying to Lord Vishnu who is the Absolute Truth. The Lord pleased by His prayers just willed the planet to stay and the planet stayed in between earth and the original heaven and till today is called Trishanku Swarga. Lord Vishnu then mildly chastised Vishwamitra ”O sage, creating and supporting the planets is My duty as I’m the Absolute Truth. Your duty as a sage is to meditate on Me. Why are you trying to do My work and putting yourself in trouble?” The sage asked for forgiveness from the Lord and thanked Him for supporting the planet. This pastime shows that the Lord alone is capable of supporting the universe by His great powers. The Bhagavatam (10.16.40) also glorifies the Supreme Brahman as abode of infinite powers. jñāna-vijñāna-nīdhaye brahmaṇe ’nanta-śaktaye aguṇāyāvikārāya namas te prākṛtāya ca

Obeisances unto You, the Absolute Truth, who are the reservoir of all transcendental consciousness and potency and the possessor of unlimited energies. Although completely free of material qualities and transformations, You are the prime mover of material nature.

Krishna wiling, we will meditate on the powers of Supreme Brahman in the next offering.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 20

Date: 2017-11-03 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities, activities, powers. Now we will continue to meditate further. v) Powers of the Absolute Truth: The Absolute Truth Lord Hari by His great power manifests many spiritual forms and performs wonderful pastimes to please His devotees. The Vedas (Brhad Aranyaka Up 2.5.19) declare the Lord's great power as follows. "The Supreme Lord Hari who is infinitely opulent manifests many forms by His will. Lord Hari manifests ten, hundred, thousands and infinite forms. He is the Supreme Absolute Truth. He has no prior time or posterior time, He has no inside and no outside. He is the Omniscient Lord. This is the declaration of the sacred Vedas." Srila Prabhupada explains this point in the purport to verse 10.13.14, " Although He is one, He can expand Himself in so many forms. According to the Vedic version, bahu syaam: He can expand Himself into many thousands and millions but still remain one."

There is nice pastime in the Bhagavatam illustrating the inconceivable powers of the Lord in taking many spiritual forms. After killing Aghasura, Krishna, along with His associates the cowherd boys, went for a picnic within the forest. The calves, being allured by green grasses, gradually went far away, and therefore Krishna's associates became a little agitated and wanted to bring back the calves. Krishna, however, encouraged the boys by saying, "You take your tiffin without being agitated. I shall go find the calves." And thus the Lord departed. Then, just to examine the potency of Krishna, Lord Brahma took away all the calves and cowherd boys and kept them in a secluded place. When Krishna was unable to find the calves and boys, He could understand that this was a trick performed by Brahma.

Then the Supreme Brahman Krishna, in order to please Lord Brahma, as well as His own associates and their mothers, expanded Himself to become the calves and boys, exactly as they were before by His infinite powers. A special feature of this pastime was that the mothers of the cowherd boys thus became more attached to their respective sons, and the cows became more attached to their calves, because it was Lord Krishna who has expanded as the sons, cows and calves. After nearly a year, Baladeva observed that all the cowherd boys and calves were expansions of Krishna. Thus He inquired from Krishna and was informed of what had happened. When one full year had passed, Brahma returned and saw that Krishna was still engaged as usual with His friends and the calves and cows. Then Krishna exhibited all the calves and cowherd boys as four-armed forms of Lord Narayana. The Vishnu- all had eternal, unlimited forms, full of knowledge and bliss and existing beyond the influence of time. Brahma could then understand Krishna's inconceivable power, and he was astonished by the pastimes of Krishna, his worshipable Lord. Krishna, however, bestowed His causeless mercy upon Brahma and released him from illusion.

Lord Brahma offered wonderful prayers and his astonishment at the Lord’s inconceivable power is brought out in the below sloka (Bhagavatam 10.14.18).

adyaiva tvad ṛte ’sya kiṁ mama na te māyātvam ādarśitam eko ’si prathamaṁ tato vraja-suhṛd-vatsāḥ samastā api tāvanto ’si catur-bhujās tad akhilaiḥ sākaṁ mayopāsitās tāvanty eva jaganty abhūs tad amitaṁ brahmādvayaṁ śiṣyate

Have You not shown me today that both You Yourself and everything within this creation are manifestations of Your inconceivable potency? First You appeared alone, and then You manifested Yourself as all of Vrindavana's calves and cowherd boys, Your friends. Next You appeared as an equal number of four-handed Vishnu forms, who were worshiped by all living beings, including me, and after that You appeared as an equal number of complete universes. Finally, You have now returned to Your unlimited form as the Supreme Absolute Truth, one without a second.

Krishna willing we will continue to meditate on the powers of the Supreme Brahman in the further offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 21

Date: 2017-11-04 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities, activities, powers. Now we will now continue to meditate further. v) Powers of the Absolute Truth: By His powers He manifests many forms and also He supports the universe. One important manifestation of His power is that He empowers His pure devotees with His spiritual potency (Krishna shakti) by which they can revive the love of God in the hearts of many fallen living entities. One cannot revive this love of God, unless one is specially empowered by the Supreme Absolute Truth, Lord Hari. When such an empowered soul speaks about the Lord who is the Supreme Absolute Truth and glorifies Him, the Lord with His infinite powers enter the hearts of the hearers through their ears and destroys anarthas and revives the dormant love of Godhead. This point is stated in the Vishnu purana (6.8.59) as follows.

yasmin brahmaṇi sarvaśaktinilaye mānāni no mānināṃ niṣṭhāyai prabhavanti hanti kaluṣaṃ śrotraṃ sa yāto hariḥ

The Supreme Brahman Hari is abode of all great powers and even great philosophers cannot understand Him fully with their various conclusions. But on hearing about Him by one's ears, He destroys all sinful propensities.

This was practically proved by Srila Prabhupada who was specially empowered by the Krishna shakti. When he started preaching in America, he dealt with the most fallen people who were called . They were sons of very rich and powerful people in America (which is all time great country till now) but who were the most frustrated and took shelter of drugs for their satisfaction. But when they heard the of the Mahamantra sung by Srila Prabhupada and heard his powerful words, they were infused with the Krishna shakti which purified them and their lives was transformed.

One newspaper Newyork times wrote on this topic with words, "Swamiji convinces the most difficult audience of this world that he knows the way to God." The programs held by him were given the advertisement "Stay high forever". When they used to take drugs and other hallucinating thing, they did with an intention to 'stay high' above the miseries of the world. But Srila Prabhupada really lifted them spiritually by his Krishna shakti and made them 'stay high' in a true sense. He made the rogis (spiritually diseased people) and bogis (sense enjoyers) into topmost yogis namely bhakti yogis. In one interview Srila Prabhupada said, "I'm a poor beggar from India. I don't have any qualification. But these people are sons/daughters of great people. But why they're attracted to me? Because they're finding Krishna in me." Also He convinced great scientists and impressed them. When asked about this he said, "I'm a normal person and they're great scientist. I'm able to explain them because I'm conversant with the Absolute Truth."

All the fortunate souls who received Krishna shakti from Srila Prabhupada are now giving it to living entities all over the world and this spiritual chain reaction is continuing till date. Srimad Bhagavatam (10.64.29) so glorifies the Supreme Absolute Truth or Brahman as abode of all powers and master of all spiritual paths as follows.

namas te sarva-bhāvāya brahmaṇe ’nanta-śaktaye kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya yogānāṁ pataye namaḥ I offer my repeated obeisances unto You, Krishna, the son of . You are the source of all beings, the Supreme Absolute Truth, the possessor of unlimited potencies, the master of all spiritual disciplines.

We have seen some of the powers of Supreme Absolute Truth. Krishna willing, we will see the greatness of the name of Parabrahman in the subsequent offerings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 22

Date: 2017-11-05 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities, activities, powers. Now we will now continue to meditate on His greatness. vi) Greatness of the Supreme Absolute Truth: The Supreme Absolute Truth Parabrahman has many spiritual names which are infinitely great and exalted. One of the principal names of the Supreme Brahman is '' (Omkara) which is also called pranava. This pranava is profusely glorified in all the scriptures. The Vedic mantras states that 'om ity etad brahmano nedistham naama' - 'Om is the glorious name of Brahman.' In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 12.6.39 Suta Goswami says:

tato ’bhūt tri-vṛd oṁkāro yo ’vyakta-prabhavaḥ sva-rāṭ yat tal liṅgaṁ bhagavato brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ

From that transcendental subtle vibration arose the omkara composed of three sounds. The omkara has unseen potencies and manifests automatically within a purified heart. It is the representation of the Absolute Truth in all three of His phases—the Supreme Personality, the Supreme Soul and the supreme impersonal truth.

In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 12.6.41, he further says that "omkara is the direct designation of the self- originating Absolute Truth, the Supersoul, and is the secret essence and eternal seed of all Vedic hymns."

Srila Prabhupada explains glories of Omkara in the purport to the verse in Adi lila 7.128 of Caitanya Caritamrita as follows. "Throughout all the Vedic literatures the glories of omkara are specifically mentioned. Srila , in his thesis Bhagavat-sandarbha, says that in the Vedic literature omkara is considered to be the sound vibration of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead…Srimad Bhagavatam begins with Omkara vibration 'Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya…On the basis of all the Upanishads, Srila Jiva Goswami says that omkara is the Supreme Absolute Truth and is accepted as such by all the acaryas and authorities.. Krishna declares, pranavah sarva-vedeshu: "I am the syllable om in the Vedic mantras." (Bg. 7.8) One should therefore conclude that among the many incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, omkara is the sound . All the Vedas accept this thesis… The therefore declare that pranava (omkara) is the complete representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Since Omkara is the most famous sound representation of the Lord, though many people do not accept the Lord directly, they indirectly accept Him by accepting the Omkara. Om is the name of Lord Hari who is the Supreme Brahman as confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita (17.23) as oṁ tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ - From the beginning of creation, the three words were used to indicate the Supreme Absolute Truth.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, "The three words om tat sat are uttered in conjunction with the holy name of the Supreme Lord, e.g., om tad vishnoh. Whenever a Vedic hymn or the holy name of the Supreme Lord is uttered, om is added. This is the indication of Vedic literature..Formerly when Brahma, the first created living entity, performed sacrifices, he indicated by these three words the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Krishna willing let us meditate further on how the Omkara is non-different from the Lord in the subsequent offering.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 23

Date: 2017-11-06 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities, activities, powers. Now we will now continue to meditate on the name of Parabrahman. vi) The Name of Parabrahman: We will continue to meditate on the name of Parabrahman which is Omkara. The Omkara represents the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is the goal of all the Vedas and spiritual pratices. And it has all potencies of the Lord. This point is confirmed in the Bhagavata purana verse 12.6.41 wherein the glories of Omkara is explained.

sva-dhāmno brahmaṇaḥ sākṣād vācakaḥ paramātmanaḥ sa sarva-mantropaniṣad veda-bījaṁ sanātanam

It is the direct designation of the self-originating Absolute Truth, the Supersoul, and is the secret essence and eternal seed of all Vedic hymns.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport of Caitanya Caritamrta verse 1.7.128 how Omkara represents the Supreme Lord in full as per the acharyas."Thus om is the complete combination of Krishna, His potency and His eternal servitors. In other words, omkara represents Krishna, His name, fame, pastimes, entourage, expansions, devotees, potencies and everything else pertaining to Him...Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that the holy name, or omkara, the transcendental representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has all the potencies of the Personality of Godhead. All potencies are invested in the holy vibration of the holy name of the Lord. There is no doubt that the holy name of the Lord, or omkara, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In other words, anyone who omkara and the holy name of the Lord, Hare Krishna, immediately meets the Supreme Lord directly in His sound form."

There is a nice story in Katopanishad explaining this. Vajashravasa, a great brahmana, desiring a gift from the devatas, started an offering to donate all his possessions in the form of cows. He had a son named who was very intelligent. Nachiketa noticed that his father was donating only the cows that were old, barren, blind, or lame; He was worried that by donating such cows his father may not get the desired destination. Nachiketa wanting the best for his father's rite, asked: "I too am yours, to which god will you offer me?" After being pestered thus, Vajashravasa answered in a fit of anger, "I give you to Death (Yamaraj)." So Nachiketa went to abode of Yamaraj, but Yamaraj had been out of his abode, and he waited three days. When returned, he was sorry to see that a Brahmana guest had been waiting so long. He told Nachiketa, "You have waited in my house for three days without hospitality, therefore ask three boons from me".

Nachiketa first asked for peace for his father and himself when he returns home and Yamaraj granted it. Next, Nachiketa wished to learn the sacred fire sacrifice to reach the spiritual world. Yamaraj elaborated on this as well and said the sacrifice will be named after Nachiketa called Nachiketa Chayaanam. As third boon, Nachiketa wanted to learn the mystery of the Supreme Absolute Truth who is the Supreme controller of all living enitities both conditioned and liberated. Yamaraj was reluctant on this question. He said that this had been a mystery even to the devatas. Yamaraj wanted to test Nachiketa's determination and hence he allured him with long life full of material comforts and name and fame but not to ask about the Absolute Truth. But Nachiketa replied that these material things are temporary and hence man cannot be satisfied by any amount of material enjoyment and he insisted that he wants to get eternal benefit. Yamaraj being very pleased with Nachiketa's determination, expounded the science of the Absolute Truth in detail. Yamaraj beautifully gave a brief summary at the outset of his discourse in two slokas that the Supreme Absolute Truth is the goal of all knowledge and He is denoted by the syllable Om. (Katopanishad-1.15)

sarve vedā yat padam āmananti tapāṃsi sarvāṇi ca yad vadanti yad icchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti tat te padaṃ saṃgraheṇa bravīmi Om ity etat

The Supreme Absolute Truth which all Vedas and allied scriptures declare, desiring to attain whom, people pratice austerities and pratice celibacy, I will tell briefly. He is the Supreme Person denoted by the pravana Om.

Thus Om is the name of the Supreme Lord along with His name, form qualities etc. We will see how to associate with the Supreme Absolute Truth by chanting His name in the next offering.

Krishna willing let us meditate further on Omkara, the name of Parabrahman in the subsequent offering.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 24

Date: 2017-11-07 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities, activities, powers. Now we will now continue to meditate on the name of Parabrahman. vi) The Name of Parabrahman: Since the Supreme Brahman is absolute, His name (Omkara or holy name) is identical with Him and hence His name is also called Brahman/Parambrahman. So, though we cannot see the Lord in our present condition, one can associate with Him by chanting the Omkara or the Lord's holy name.

Srila Prabhupada explains it in purport of Caitanya Caritamrta verse 1.7.128 as follows. "Since the Supreme Godhead is absolute, His holy name and His sound vibration omkara are as good as He Himself… Factually the transcendental sound omkara, although a combination of the three letters a, u and m, has transcendental potency, and one who chants omkara will very soon realize omkara and Lord Vishnu to be non-different. One should always remember that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are always identical (abhinnatvaan naama- naaminoḥ)."

This fact is confirmed in the scriptures (Madukya Upanishad) as follows.

praṇavo hy aparaṃ brahma praṇavaś ca paraḥ smṛtaḥ apūrvo 'nantaro 'bāhyo 'naparaḥ praṇavo 'vyayaḥ praṇavaṃ hīśvaraṃ vidyāt sarvasya hṛdi saṃsthitam sarvavyāpinam oṃkāraṃ matvā dhīro na śocati 1.26, 28

There is nothing compared to Om. It is verily the Supreme Brahman. It has no beginning or end, nothing is beyond it, nothing can be compared to it. It is imperishable. Know that Om is identical with the Lord situated in everyone's heart. The wise man who understands the Om which is identical with the all- pervading Lord does not lament.

This Absolute nature of the Lord's name was proved in the Mahabharata after the game of dice. After the Pandavas lost in the game of dice, at the order of Duryodhana, Dushasana dragged Draupadi into the assembly hall and at the impulsion of Karna, he disrobed her and no one present in the hall were willing/able to save her. Draupadi finally raised her hands and called out the Lord's names 'Govinda, Achyuta' etc. in full and the Lord immediately supplied unlimited sarees. Though the Lord was not physically manifest there, just by chanting His names, Draupadi was saved. Even then, till the end of His lila in this world, the Lord always felt that He did not adequately reciprocate to Draupadi's sincere chanting and He felt as if He was a debtor to her. Thus the Lord's name has all potencies of the Lord and attracts His attention. Srila Prabhupada also states in the same purport, "If one actually understands that omkara is the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether he chants omkara or the Hare Krishna mantra, the result is certainly the same."

Now one may raise a question: If Omkara and the Lord's holy names are same then why don't we Just Omkara instead of the Hare Krishna mantra? The answer is given by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad Gita (8.13) as follows. oṁ ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṁ sa yāti paramāṁ gatim

After being situated in this practice and vibrating the sacred syllable om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets.

All the scriptures recommend that one should remember the Supreme Lord while chanting Omkara or one should have full understanding that Omkara represents the Supreme Lord in order to get the full result. But when we chant the holy names of the Lord the Hare Krishna Mahamantra with attention, the Lord's remembrance is achieved without any separate effort. So the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is Omkara itself in its most merciful manifestation.

Also there is one more reason for chanting Mahamantra instead of Om and Krishna willing we shall see that in the subsequent offering.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 25

Date: 2017-11-08 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering titled, "The Supreme Absolute Truth". In previous offerings we have been meditating on the Supreme Brahman's nature, form, qualities, activities, powers. Now we will now continue to meditate on the name of Parabrahman. vi) The Name of Parabrahman: Omkara is an important name used to denote the Supreme Brahman and non- different from Him. And the holy name Hare Krishna mantra is the most merciful manifestation of Supreme Brahman denoted by Omkara. In the purport of Bhagavata purana verse 9.14.48 Srila Prabhupada explains this point, “The same name omkara is manifest in the mantra Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Unless one is a brahmana, one cannot utter omkara and get the desired result. But in Kali-yuga almost everyone is a , unfit for pronouncing the pranava, omkara. Therefore the have recommended the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.”

The holy name is verily the Supreme Absolute truth since it consists of the two syllables Krishna and Rama which denote the Supreme Brahman directly. The following slokas states how the name Krishna and Rama indicates the Supreme Absolute Truth. In Mahabharata Udyoga Parva-71.4 it is said,

kṛṣir bhū-vācakaḥ śabdo ṇaś ca nirvṛti-vācakaḥ tayor aikyaṁ paraṁ brahma kṛṣṇa ity abhidhīyate Mahabharata - Udyoga Parva - 71.4)

The word "krish" is the attractive feature of the Lord's existence, and "na" means spiritual pleasure. When the verb "krish" is added to the affix "na," it becomes "Krishna," which indicates the Supreme Absolute Truth (param brahma).

In Padmapurana it is said

ramante yogino ’nante satyānande cid-ātmani iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate

Because the transcendentalists take pleasure in the unlimited true pleasure of spiritual existence, the Supreme Absolute truth, Parabrahman is called Rama. By chanting the mahamantra which consists of the syllables Krishna and Rama one gets the association of the Supreme Absolute Truth and attain love of Godhead. There is a nice story in Padma purana regarding this. In Kurukshetra a merchant by named Satyavasuda lived. He married a woman named Jayanthi and lived a happy life. But the married life did not last long and the merchant died leaving the young wife behind. And Jayanthi did not have a child and had unfulfilled lusty desires and hence she started having illicit affairs with many other men and gradually degraded to becoming a prostitute. Her parents were upset by this and drove her out of her home. She then roamed in the streets without shelter and one day she came across a hunter who was trying to sell two beautiful male parrots. She bought both of them and continued her roaming. One of her previous lovers took pity on her and provided her a house and things to live. In the new home, Jayanthi started taking care of the two parrots and named them Krishna and Rama respectively and taught them to chant Krishna and Rama. In this way, everyday she chanted the names many times and in due course of time she became old and passed away.

Yamadutas came and arrested her and took her to Yamaraj. On the way, Vishnudutas forbade them and asked for her release. The Yamadutas said “She lived by a very low profession and did not do any pious activities and hence she is our candidate." But Vishnudutas replied ”She named her two parrots and named them Krishna and Rama and taught them to chant these names. She also chanted these two names in that process. So she is now purified and hence eligible for the spiritual world”. Saying this they took her to Vaikunta.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport of Bhagavatam 9.14.48 how Omkara and Mahamantra carry the same meaning “Omkara is a mantra, or maha-mantra, and Hare Krishna is also a maha-mantra. The purpose of pronouncing omkara is to address the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva (om namo bhagavate vaasudevaaya). And the purpose of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is the same. Hare: “O energy of the Lord!” Krishna: “O Lord Krishna!” Hare: “O energy of the Lord!” Rama: “O Supreme Lord, O supreme enjoyer!”

Thus the name of Parabrahman (Omkara and Holy names) is infinitely great and exalted and Srila Prabhupada preached the Mahamantra all over the world so that everyone gets an opportunity to chant them and associate with the Parabrahman.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai. The Supreme Absolute Truth - Part 26

Date: 2017-11-10 Author: Narahari Krishna das

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is the concluding portion of the offering on the . So far we meditated on the Supreme nature, name, form, qualities and activities of the Supreme Absolute Truth, Parabrahman and how they are infinitely great and exalted. We also saw how His Names are non-different from Him and hence called Parabrahman. The Vedas salute and clear identify this Supreme Brahman as follows (Narayana Upanishad) brahmanyo devaki putrah brahmanyo madhusudhanah brahmanyo pundarikaakshah brahmanyo vishnurachyutah

"The Son of Devaki is the Supreme Brahman. Lord Madhusudhana is Supreme Brahman. The beautiful lotus eyed Lord is the Supreme Brahman. Lord Vishnu who is infallible (Achyuta) is the Supreme Brahman ."

And to understand all these glories of Parabrahman, one needs to be favoured by His mercy and it is confirmed in the Bhagavata Purana verse 8.24.38 wherein the Supreme Lord in the form of speaks to Maharaj Satyavrata as follows. This mercy can be received by surrendering to Parabrahman - the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His pure devotee. madeeyam mahimaanam ca param brahmeti shabditam vetsyasy anugrheetam me samprashnair vivrtam hrdi

"You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me."

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport , "The Lord reveals Himself in proportion to one’s surrender to Him. ye yathaa maam prapadyante taams tathaiva bhajaamy aham. In responsive cooperation, the Lord reveals Himself in proportion to one's surrender. That which is revealed to one who fully surrenders is different from what is revealed to one who surrenders partially...One who has fully surrendered to the Lord, has no fear of the modes of material nature, for everything is but an expansion of the Lord’s glories (sarvam khalv idam brahma), and these glories are gradually revealed and realized. The Lord is the supreme purifier (param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavaan). The more one is purified and the more he wants to know about the Supreme, the more the Lord reveals to him."

Srila Prabhupada i) established the Krishna conscious society which facilitates everyone to surrender to the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead. ii) wrote illuminating commentaries on the Bhagavad gita and Srimad Bhagavatam which established the Supremacy, name, form, qualities and activities of the Supreme Absolute Truth, Parabrahman. By reading them one can attain knowledge of the Supreme Absolute Truth. iii) also established beautiful deity forms of the Supreme Brahman all over the world so that one can take darshan and thus associate with the Supreme Absolute Truth. iv) created a society of devotees by associating with whom one can understand the Absolute Truth, establish our lost relation with Him and attain ultimate beatitude of human life. v) arranged for discussions on Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam in the centres so that people will hear about the name, form and qualities of Parabrahman. vi) arranged nagar sankirtan so that people will get chance to chant and hear the names of Parabrahman.

I pray at the lotus feet of our beloved Gurudeva, Srila Prabhupada and all devotees so that I will get attraction towards the Supreme Absolute Truth, Parabrahman Lord Sri Krishna.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna Dasa, Chennai.