8th Lecture Series contents Compiled By: Dr. G.C. Dutt, IPS FD – 424, Salt Lake City Kolkata – 700106 Supreme Lord is Subservient to his devotees Contents A. How to reach to the platform of Bhakti Yoga.
1. What is Sanatan Dharma or Bhagawat Dharma or Varnasram 1 dharma. 2. Evil Signs of Kaliyuga. (Present Age) 2 3. Mankind’s 3 Miseries in this Present Age. 3 4. Our Difference with Animal world and our short comings. 4 5. We are not Independent in the material world 5 6. Law of Karma in Kaliyuga. 6-7 7. The functioning of Three Gunas. (Chapter 14BG.) 8 8. How to overcome Stringent Laws of Karma and lower guna’s by 9-10 following basic rules & regulations of Bhakti Yoga. (in the Present age of Kaliyuga) 9. Final Solution:- The Divine path of Bhakti Yoga. 10-12 10. Jnana & Karma Yogis unfit to understand Lord 13-16 B. 11. Prerequisite for benevolence & consequent subservience 17-20 of lord a. Purna Saranagati (Full Surrender to Lord). b. Surrender in the form of Ananya Bhakti 21-23 c. Service to pure devotees 24-30 C. 31-39 12. Result of Surrender, Ananya Bhakti and above all Service to pure devotees. Complete protection of Lord Krsna as stated in the Bhagwat Gita along-with Lord’S Subservience.
13. Pure transcendental love and subservience towards pure devotee 40-59 exhibited in various occasions by Supreme Lord. (Prominent devotees mentioned)
Exmp:- Bhishma, Arjuna, Yudhisthir, Pandava’s, Uttara , Kuntidevi , Gopis , Sudama, Yasoda and Damodar Lila, Udhava , Bali Maharaj, Draupadi, Gajendra, Durvasamuni, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Manavendra Puri & Lord, Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, etc. Supreme Lord is Subservient to his devotees
A.How to reach to the platform of Bhakti Yoga. 1. What is Sanatan Dharma or Bhagawat Dharma or Varnasram dharma.
4 Principals of Religion (Canto 1 Parikshit and Kali) a) Austerity (Tapah) – Fasting, No intoxication, No Liquor, No Gambling, No Onion, No Garlic, No Tea Coffee, Wake up in Brahama Muharat. b) Cleanliness (Soucha) – No illegal Sex, Prostitution. c) Mercy (Daya) – No Meat Eating. d) Truthfulness (Satya) – Supreme Truth is to please lord.
2. 4 Defects of humans: 1. The difference between a conditioned soul and a liberated soul is that the conditioned soul has four kinds of defects. The first defect is that he must commit mistakes. 2. Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept something which is not: māyā.
3. The third defect is the cheating propensity. Everyone has the propensity to cheat others. Although a person is fool number one, he poses himself as very intelligent. Although it is already pointed out that he is in illusion and makes mistakes, he will theorize: "I think this is this, this is this."
4. Lastly, our senses are imperfect. We are very proud of our eyes. Often, someone will challenge, "Can you show me God?" But do you have the eyes to see God? You will never see if you haven't the eyes. If immediately the room becomes dark, you cannot even see your hands.
5. 84 lakh Species on planet earth:- Humans are 4 lakhs and highest form 4 Lakh include unenvolved humans like:- Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.19 śva-vid- varāhost r a-kharaih sams tutah purusa h paśuh na yat-karna -pathopeto jātu nāma gadāgrajah
Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Krs n a , the deliverer from evils.
3. Four Yugas and Four dharmas of Various Age:- Satya (Meditation), Tretya (Sacrifice), Dwapar (Temple), Kali (Nam Sankirtan) [KaliYuga Span 4lakh 32000years]. a. 4 Varna’s – Brahman, Kshatria, Vaisya, Sudras. b. 4 Ashram – Brahmacari, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sanyasi c. Not all are Sudra’s and Grihamedi or Godas.
1 2. Evil Signs of Kaliyuga. (Present Age)
Sri Canakya Niti Sloka 11.4 After ten thousand years of Kali- Yuga Lord Hari abandons the earth. After five thousand years, the Ganga abandons the earth, and after twenty –five hundred years the predominating deities of the villages abandon the earth.
Symptoms of (the present evil age Kaliyuga) as per Srimad Bhagwatam Canto 12
SB 12.1.6-8 Purport: Here is a description of how authentic political authority degenerated and disintegrated throughout the world. There is a Supreme Godhead, and there are saintly, powerful men who have taken the role of government leaders and represented that Godhead on earth. With the advent of the Age of Kali, however, this transcendental system of government collapsed, and unauthorized, uncivilized men gradually took the reins of power.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.1.20 Purport: Here is a further description of how uncultured men infiltrated government administration. The so-called king named Balī is described as asattama, a most impious, uncultured man.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.1.38 tulya-kālā ime rājan mleccha-prāyāś ca bhū-bhṛtaḥ ete ’dharmānṛta-parāḥ phalgu-dās tīvra-manyavaḥ
There will be many such uncivilized kings ruling at the same time, O King Parīkṣit, and they will all be uncharitable, possessed of fierce tempers, and great devotees of irreligion and falsity.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.1.39-40 Translation: These barbarians in the guise of kings will devour the citizenry, murdering innocent women, children, cows and brāhmaṇas and coveting the wives and property of other men. They will be erratic in their moods, have little strength of character and be very short-lived. Indeed, not purified by any Vedic rituals and lacking in the practice of regulative principles, they will be completely covered by the modes of passion and ignorance.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.1.41 Translation: The citizens governed by these low-class kings will imitate the character, behavior and speech of their rulers. Harassed by their leaders and by each other, they will all suffer ruination.
2 3. Mankinds 3 Miseries in this Present Age. What is This present age (Kaliyuga) Like? Kaliyuga : 4th Yuga (4Lakh 32 Thousand Years) Satya, Treta, Dwapara Yuga, Meditation, Sacrifice, Temple Building & Nam Sankirtan
Why we suffer :- Threefold Miseries. Despite all this advancement, at every moment everyone is suffering due to at least one of the following threefold miseries. These are:
1. Miseries caused by one’s own mind and body (adhyatmika klesha): The body and the mind give rise to innumerable problems. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, in the year 2000, in America, 19 million youths were suffering from mental related illness; everyday 1200 youths were attempting to commit suicide and one tenth of them were successful. Thus sometimes people are driven to the point of suicide due to mental frustration. In old age, the deteriorating body gives varieties of problems. For example, once a person grows beyond 80 years, generally he can’t even sit or stand without back-pain.
2. Miseries caused by other living entities (adhibhautika klesha): Even if you have a healthy body and mind, others will not let you live in peace. Even if everything is nicely arranged in your life, some other living entity, such as your enemy, boss, colleague, relative, family member or friend, terrorists or, if no one else, then a mosquito or a virus, is sure to make our life miserable.
3. Miseries caused by nature (adhidaivika klesha): Forest Fires Floods, droughts, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes etc are devastating calamities imposed upon us through the agency of nature. A volcanic eruption at Pompeii devoured 20,000 people under a 20 ft high lava layer. The recent tsunami tidal wave disaster swallowed 3,80,000 lives in a few minutes. Even if these come only occasionally, they wreak havoc whenever they come. And moreover, we are being constantly tormented by the changes in the weather such as scorching heat, freezing cold and untimely rains.
4. Material World is “dukhalayam Asasvatam” acc to Bhagwat Gita (Miserable / Temporary) Only economic development can not make us happy. Every action has an equal & opposite reaction (Newton’s Law)
3 4. Our Difference with Animal world and our short comings.
Fuctions of animal world:- Eat sleep produce fight
Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 17.17 Mankind has eating, sleeping fearing and mating in common with the lower animals. That in which man excels the beasts is discretionary knowledge. Hence indiscreet men who are without knowledge should be regarded as beasts.
4.b) Difference with Human beings:-
Humans have Higher intelligence & higher consciousness
In actuality the present educational system is most defective because unless one knows what happens after death, one dies like an animal. An animal does not know that he is subject to death or that he is going to have to take another body. Human life, however, should be more elevated. One should not simply be interested in the animalistic functions of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. A living entity may have an abundant supply of food for eating, or many nice buildings for sleeping, or good arrangements for sex life, or a good defense to protect him, but this does not mean that he is a human being.
A civilization which is based on these activities should be known to be animalistic. Since animals are also interested in these functions, what is the difference between human life and animal life if a human being does not go beyond them? The distinction can be made when a human being becomes inquisitive and asks, “Why have I been put into this miserable condition? Is there any remedy for it? is there perpetual eternal life? I do not want to die, nor do I want to suffer.
Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 7.19 He who is without learning passes life as uselessly as the tail of a dog – it neither covers the rear nor offers protection from biting insects. Brhaspati concurs: That son who has not earned a reputation for valor, austerity, charity, the acquisition of wealth or learning, is but the excrement of his mother (GP 1.115.32) Brhaspati likewise condemns the unlettered: Those who are devoid of literature, music and art are but animals without horns and tail. It is the great luck of other animals that such people survive without eating grass! (NS 11)
Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 17.1 The scholar who has acquired knowledge through studying innumerable books but has not studied in the presence of a bonafide spiritual master dose not
4 shine in an assembly of learned men just as the mother of illegitimate children is not honored in society. 5. We are not Independent in the material world We have Minute independence (Alpa swatantra)
a) False pride of Karmis. Who believe they are independent due to Mithya Ahankara/ I can do anything.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 3.9 yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara
TRANSLATION Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 3. 27 prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate
TRANSLATION The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 15.7 mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
TRANSLATION The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.
5 6. Law of Karma in Kaliyuga.
Bhagwat Gita Chapter – 3 & 5
Law of Karma in Kaliyuga entails:-
3.4 Prescribed duties to be done. 3.7 It is a controlled life prescribed by sastras 3.11/12 – Karma means money & Goods so obtained must be offered to Lord. 3.28 – Devotional activates of Krishna Consciousness and naturally senses will be checked.
3.30 – Discharge prescribed duties without claiming ownership (like bank cashier) 3.32 – Punishment for those who don’t agree to Lords ownership. 3.34 – Follow rules & regulations of Krishna Consciousness (eg. Sex only in marriage) 3.41 – Karma to be used to regulate senses. Use intelligence to engage in Krishna Consciousness.
5.11 – Actions should be directed to wards purification (Sada- Acara). Body , Mind & Intelligence is acting in Krishna Consciousness – then there is no false ego. 5.20 – In Krishna Consciousness he becomes sthir budhi neither joyful not laments. 5.29 – Lord is beneficiary of all human activates.
Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 3.12 The goddess of fortune sita was kidnapped by Ravana for her extreme beauty. Ravana himself was destroyed for his extreme vanity. Through his excessive charity Bali Maharaja was tied up. Therefore, by all means avoid excesses.
Punya Karma Cannot overrule earler Badkarma.
Exmple:- After the bloody Kurukshetra war, Dhritarashtra asked Krsna, “I had hundred sons and all of them were killed in the war. Why?” Krsna replied, “Fifty lifetimes ago, you were a hunter. While hunting, you tried to shoot a male bird, but it flew away. In anger, you ruthlessly slaughtered the hundred baby birds that were there in the nest. The father-bird had the pain of seeing the death of his hundreds sons, you too had to bear the pain of your hundred sons dying.”
Dhritarashtra became pensive and then asked, “OK, but why did I have to wait for fifty lifetimes?” Krsna answered, “You had to accumulate punya (Pious credits) during the
6 last fifty lifetimes to be able to get a hundred sons in this one lifetime. Then you got the reaction for the papa (sin) that you have done fifty lifetimes ago.”
Lets start with a fundamental question – why do different people get different starting conditions? Some of us are born good-looking; some, mediocre-looking. Some of us are born with a phenomenal memory; some, with a below-average memory. These starting conditions often significantly shape the difficulties we face in achieving our life’s goals. If I have a below – average memory and my academic success is measured by exams that test memory, the decks are stacked against me right from the start; the match is fixed against me even before it starts.
Why do different people get different starting conditions?
Just as different students get different exams according to what is required to raise them from their present class to the next, all of us face different problems in life according to what is best suited to raise us from our present moral and spiritual level to the next.
But only full surrender to supreme Lord can take away earlier Bad karma (BRS 1.1.23, BG 18.66. )
7 7. The functioning of Three Gunas. (Chapter 14BG.)
Mode of Goodness (Satvic) A man in the mode of goodness, becomes wiser than others. Because he leads life in accordance to injunctions of scriptures, he is not so much affected by material miseries. He has a sense of advancement in material knowledge (Jnanam). He has a sense of happiness (sukham) because he is more or less free from sinful reactions. The representative type is a brahmana, who is supposed to be situated in the mode of goodness.
When a living entity is situated in goodness, he becomes conditioned to feel that he is advanced in knowledge and is better than others. The best examples are the scientist, philosopher and poet. Each is very proud of his knowledge, and because they generally improve their living conditions, they feel a sort of material ‘happiness. This sense of advanced happiness makes them bound by the goodness of material nature.
Mode of Passion (Rajsic) The mode of passion is characterized by the attraction between man and woman (sanga). Woman has attraction for man, and man has attraction for woman. When the mode of passion is increased, one develops the hankering for material enjoyment (trishna). He wants to enjoy sense gratification. For sense gratification, a man in the mode of passion wants some honor in society, or in the nation, and he wants to have a happy family, with nice children, wife and house. These are the products of the mode of passion. As long as one is hankering after these things, he has to work very hard. A man in the mode of passion may be engaged in fruitive activity; he owns as much as he can and spends for good causes. Sometimes he tries to open hospitals, give to charity institutions, etc for developing his prestige and status in society. Therefore, the whole material world is more or less in the mode of passion. Formerly, in the Vedic age, the society was considered to be in the mode of goodness.
Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 12.21 A wicked person remain wicked even in his old age just as the indra- varuna fruit does not become sweet no matter how ripe it becomes. Mode of Ignorance (Tamsic) The mode of ignorance is just the opposite of mode of goodness. In mode of ignorance, one cannot understand what is what. A man in ignorance is very lazy (aalasya) and has no interest for spiritual life. He is not even active like the man who is controlled by the mode of passion. He sleeps more than is required (nidra). Six hours of sleep is sufficient, but a man in the mode of ignorance sleeps at least ten or twelve hours a day. Such a man always appears to be dejected and is addicted to intoxicants (pramaada) and sleeping. In the mode of ignorance whatever one does is good neither for him nor for anyone.
8 8. How to overcome Stringent Laws of Karma and lower guna’s by following basic rules & regulations of Bhakti Yoga. (in the Present age of Kaliyuga) Constant practice and detachment only way to control mind
A. Immediate Requirement – Mind & Sense Control to bring detachment, leading to Pandita Samadarsinah.
Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 13.11 The mind attached to sense gratification leads to bondage and the mind detached from sense gratification leads to liberation. Therefore it is the mind alone that is responsible for bondage or liberation.
MIND & SENSE CONTROL 2.59 - The process of restriction from sense enjoyment by rules and regulations is something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables.
Similarly, sense restriction by some spiritual process like astanga-yoga, in the matter of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, etc., is recommended for less intelligent persons who have no better knowledge. But one who has tasted the beauty of the Supreme Lord Krsna, in the course of his advancement in Krsna consciousness, no longer has a taste for dead, material things. Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 4.4 As long as your body is healthy and under control – and death is distant – try to save your eternal soul through Krishna consciousness. What can be done at your final moment of life? Sri Chanakya Niti Sloka 12.12 This body is perishable, wealth is transient and death waits nearby. Therefore immediately engage yourself in dharma.
B. Dangerous lust and the wicked senses can only be controlled by used of our superior intelligence and by engaging the senses.
BG 3.37: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.
9 How to Overcome disastrous effects of KaliYuga along with Stringent Laws of Karma and Lower Guna’s:-
Option A Karmakunda Principles:- (Punya Activities / Trivarga) Unfortunately most old Vedic rules were based on 4 purusartha’s. they are called dharma, artha, kama, moksha. Most people follow this karma kanda principle by following minimum dharma, chasing artha round the clock, then enjoy endless sense enjoyment & feel that they will get moksha as they have worked hard & offered a bit of charity now & then. These above mentioned principles mislead the common man.
Option B The Vedic dharma teaches us that the process of karmayoga, dhyan yoga and gyan yoga which are very tedious and difficult but does not teach about pure love of god. These above mentioned methods do not clean up selfish desires, ambitions, arrogance and false ego. Not only that it takes many lifetimes to understand basic question who am I? (Aham Brahmasmi) and why am I here?
9. Option C Final Solution:- The Divine path of Bhakti Yoga. [Example of Fish / we must go back to Godhead of whom we are a part.]
i. We are all part & parcel of Supreme Lord Krishna and we have same qualities as supreme Lord but quantity is very minute. ii. It is only when we want to compete with the supreme lord & want to enjoy like him that we are sent to the painful material world as we have stopped serving him and we want to enjoy without him. iii. Thus we want to enjoy and remain happy like supreme lord as we are his children. As supreme lord resides in our heart we have to turn towards him instead of concentrating on our material body and trying to enjoy in this mrityuloka (Planet of Pain & Death).
b) How to nurture the soul:- Example of Parrot & Cage Example of 2 Birds on One branch. Example of Fish. Know that we reach here after 84 lakhs species.
10 Yoga Ladder (Chap-6, B. Gita) Yoga Process Followed Ultimate Objective 5. Bhakti 9 Devotional Bhakti Yoga / Bhagwan / SPG Yoga Service. Sudho Bhakti Supreme Body and Mind in Personality of Krishna Service. Godhead. (Krishna Satchit Ananda. Consciousness) 4. Dhyana Meditation Dhyana Yoga / Super Soul. Yoga Yoga (8 fold path) / Astanga Yoga. 3. Gyan Yoga Dry Mental Impersonalist Liberation in speculation / Brahman studying. Free from Bodily Happiness.
2. Karma Prescribed Niskamakarma*/ Upper heavenly Yoga activities Budhi yoga planets Stage -2 (Prescribed Destination – activities) Brahmojyoti. Stage – 1 Demigods / Karmakanda / Heavenly planets. Fruitive Activities Sakarma Karma (Sex and Sense pleasure with Strict license) 1. Vikarma Ground Level High possibility of Gambling, Meat going to lower eating, Sex, Greed species of life. for power and position
* Note:- Like an elevator you can jump from Nishkamkarma (Karmayoga 2nd Step) to pure bhakti by Sravanam, Kirtanam and Devotional Service in Krishna Consciousness with LTS (Transcendental loving Service) toward Supreme personality of Godhead.
11 9a. Most Important is Purification of mind & wayward senses. Only way to control our guna/ quality and ensure Karma is not crating bondages is by following regulative principles thus reducing burden of earth and also Karmic reactions of material nature which are instant. With less bad Karma we get all success in this world and are assured a better life in next birth. So we need on spiritual hospital example Fords son.
9b. We must follow Sanatan Dharma which is the Science of Self Realization based on Karma & Guna’s. These karma & Guna’s are controlled by restless mind & senses when mind & senses are controlled by diverting them towards devotional service by imbibing Spiritual intelligence then purification takes place leading to protection of supreme lord from sinful reactions (18.66 Sarvadharma Past Yaga) So Spiritual Intelligence must be cultivated to Avoid.
9c. Bhakti Yoga : a. Law of Karma & 3 Guna’s can be Controlled by mind & senses. b. Mind & Senses can be only controlled by diverting senses towards, devotional service (Chapter 12 of BG.) c. To divert senses we need to understand & imbibe Spiritual Intelligence (Bg. 4,7,9,13th d. Spiritual intell guides us by process of Purification. e. Purified entity gets protection of Low from sinful sections (18.66) 9d. Essential of Bhakti Yoga:- 1. 4 Principals of Religion (Canto 1 Parikshit and Kali) a) Austerity (Tapah) – Fasting, No intoxication, No Liquor, No Gambling, No Onion, No Garlic, No Tea Coffee, Wake up in Brahma Muharat. b) Cleanliness (Soucha) – No illegal Sex, Prostitution. c) Mercy (Daya) – No Meat Eating. d) Truthfulness (Satya) – Supreme Truth is to please lord.
9e. Mahamantra Japa (Importance) 2. In the Yajur Veda, the Kali-santarana Upanisad also describes the svarüpa and glories of the mahä-mantra in this way: 3. “Näradaji further inquired, ‘Which name of Sri Bhagavän and what is its svarüpa?’" 4. “In reply Brahmäjé said, ‘Hare krsña hare krsña krsña krsña hare hare / hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare. This mahä-mantra, thus composed of sixteen names, can completely destroy all the sins of Kali-yuga. A superior sädhana does not appear in the entire Vedas. The mahämantra is covered by sixteen qualities, which means that it can destroy the five gross elements (panca-bhüta) and the eleven senses which cover the jiva. Then Paraàbrahma manifests before the jiva, just like the sun whose rays shine brightly when the clouds' covering is removed.’
5. Follow strategy laid down in Bhagwat Gita & Srimad Bhagwatam etc. 6. Guidance of bonafide & I disciple succession Spiritual Master 7. How to ensure our Karma dose not produce sinful negative reactions.
12 Index - 10 10. Jnana & Karma Yogis unfit to understand Lord Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.29.45 śabda-brahmaṇi duṣpāre caranta uru-vistare mantra-liṅgair vyavacchinnaṁ bhajanto na viduḥ pa ram Despite the cultivation of Vedic knowledge, which is unlimited, and the worship of different demigods by the symptoms of Vedic mantras, demigod worship does not help one to understand the supreme powerful Personality of Godhead.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.29.46 yadā yasyānugṛhṇāti bhagavān ātma-bhāvitaḥ sa jahāti matiṁ loke vede ca pariniṣṭhitām When a person is fully engaged in devotional service, he is favored by the Lord, who bestows His causeless mercy. At such a time, the awakened devotee gives up all material activities and ritualistic performances mentioned in the Vedas.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.31.21 na bhajati kumanisinam sa ijyam harir adhanatma-dhana-priyo rasa-jnah sruta-dhana-kula-karmanam madair ye vidadhati papam akincanesu satsu The Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes very dear to those devotees who have no material possessions but are fully happy in possessing the devotional service of the Lord. Indeed, the Lord relishes the devotional activities of such devotees. Those who are puffed up with material education, wealth, aristocracy and fruitive activity are very proud of possessing material things, and they often deride the devotees. Even if such people offer the Lord worship, the Lord never accepts them. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 4.3 sa evāyaṁ mayā te ’dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ bhakto ’si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 5.12 yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.
13 Bhagavad-gita As It Is 15.15 sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 18.55 bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and His plenary portions cannot be understood by mental speculation nor by the nondevotees.
If anyone wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has to take to pure devotional service under the guidance of a pure devotee. Otherwise, the truth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will always be hidden.
As already stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25), nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya: He is not revealed to everyone. No one can understand God simply by erudite scholarship or mental speculation. Only one who is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service can understand what Kṛṣṇa is. University degrees are not helpful.
Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu ||1.1.42|| yathaikādaśe (11.14.20) — na sādhyati mām yogo na sāṅkhyaṃ dharma uddhava | na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo yathā bhaktir mamorjitā ||1.1.42||
Thus Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says in the Eleventh Canto “My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Sāṅkhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation cannot thus control Me to this extent.” [11.14.20]
14 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.8.26 janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir edhamāna-madaḥ pumān naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai tvām akiñcana-gocaram TRANSLATION My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.4 śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinā m Translation: My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the best path for self-realization. If someone gives up that path and engages in the cultivation of speculative knowledge, he will simply undergo a troublesome process and will not achieve his desired result. As a person who beats an empty husk of wheat cannot get grain, one who simply speculates cannot achieve self-realization. His only gain is trouble. Purport:
Loving service to the Supreme Person is the natural and eternal function of every living entity. If a person renounces his own constitutional function and instead laboriously seeks so-called enlightenment through impersonal, speculative knowledge, his result is simply the trouble and bother that come from following an artificial process. A fool may beat an empty husk, not knowing that the grain has already been removed. Similarly foolish is the person who throws his mind again and again into the pursuit of knowledge without surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the very substance and goal of knowledge, just as grain is the substance and goal of the entire agricultural effort. Vedic knowledge or, indeed, material science without the Personality of Godhead is exactly like an empty and useless husk of wheat.
One may argue that by practicing yoga or cultivating impersonal knowledge one can acquire prestige, wealth, mystic powers or even impersonal liberation. But these so- called gains are actually useless, because they do not situate the living being in his constitutional position of loving service to the Supreme Lord. Therefore such results, being superfluous to the living being’s essential nature, are impermanent. As stated in the Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa, patreṣu puṣpeṣu phaleṣu toyeṣv akrīta-labhyeṣu vadaiva satsu/ bhaktyā su-labhye puruṣe purāṇe muktyai kim arthaṁ kriyate prayatnaḥ: “Since the primeval Personality of Godhead is easily attained by offering Him such things as leaves, flowers, fruits and water, which are all found without difficulty, why does one need to endeavor for liberation separately?”
15 Although the process of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa is very simple, it is extremely difficult for stubborn conditioned souls to completely humble themselves before the Supreme Personality of Godhead and absorb themselves twenty-four hours a day in His loving service. The mood of loving service is anathema to belligerent conditioned souls determined to defy God and enjoy. When such stubborn conditioned souls attempt to bypass surrendering to God through proud attempts at philosophical speculation, austerity, and yoga, they are turned back to the material platform by the powerful laws of God and violently merged into the heaving ocean of insignificance called the material world.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.25 nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam Translation: I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.
16 Part B Index 11 [First Step (Saranagati) 11. Prerequisite for benevolence & consequent subservience of lord a. Surrender and Knowledge of who is the ultimate beneficiary. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 3.30 mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyādhyātma-cetasā nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 4.11 ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 5.10 brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 5.29 bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.14 daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te Translation: This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
17 Bhagavad-gita As It Is 15.5 nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat Translation: Those who are free from false prestige, illusion and false association, who understand the eternal, who are done with material lust, who are freed from the dualities of happiness and distress, and who, unbewildered, know how to surrender unto the Supreme Person attain to that eternal kingdom.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 18.66 sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ Translation: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.3.17 tasyātma-tantrasya harer adhīśituḥ parasya māyādhipater mahātmanaḥ prāyeṇa dūtā iha vai manoharāś caranti tad-rūpa-guṇa-svabhāvāḥ Translation: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient and fully independent. He is the master of everyone and everything, including the illusory energy. He has His form, qualities and features; and similarly His order carriers, the Vaiṣṇavas, who are very beautiful, possess bodily features, transcendental qualities and a transcendental nature almost like His. They always wander within this world with full independence.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.3.34 itthaṁ svabhartṛ-gaditaṁ bhagavan-mahitvaṁ saṁsmṛtya vismita-dhiyo yama-kiṅkarās te naivācyutāśraya-janaṁ pratiśaṅkamānā draṣṭuṁ ca bibhyati tataḥ prabhṛti sma rāja n Translation: After hearing from the mouth of their master about the extraordinary glories of the Lord and His name, fame and attributes, the Yamadūtas were struck with wonder. Since then, as soon as they see a devotee, they fear him and dare not look at him again.
18 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.16.16 sārathya-pāraṣada-sevana-sakhya-dautya- vīrāsanānugamana-stavana-praṇāmān snigdheṣu pāṇḍuṣu jagat-praṇatiṁ ca viṣṇor bhaktiṁ karoti nṛ-patiś caraṇāravinde Translation: Mahārāja Parīkṣit heard that out of His causeless mercy Lord Kṛṣṇa [Viṣṇu], who is universally obeyed, rendered all kinds of service to the malleable sons of Pāṇḍu by accepting posts ranging from chariot driver to president to messenger, friend, night watchman, etc., according to the will of the Pāṇḍavas, obeying them like a servant and offering obeisances like one younger in years. When he heard this, Mahārāja Parīkṣit became overwhelmed with devotion to the lotus feet of the Lord.
Process of Surrender is by following the 9 devotional services mentioned below:- 11a) Purna Saranagati (Full Surrender to Lord):- a. What are the nine types of devotional service?
There are nine items to be executed in devotional service. These are enumerated in the following verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.23): Prahlad’s Teaching
śravana m kīrtanam vis n oh smaran am pāda-sevanam arcanam vandanam dāsyam sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
Hearing the glories of the Lord, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering worship in the temple, offering prayers, becoming a servant of the Lord, becoming the Lord's friend, and sarvātma-nivedana, offering oneself fully at the lotus feet of the Lord — these are the nine devotional processes.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately answered that the most important item is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord — Hare Kr s n a, Hare Kr s n a, Kr s n a Kr s n a, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. He then quoted the following verse from the Br han-nāradīya Purāna (38.126) to confirm His statement.
2. In the process of surrender (śaraṇāgati) there are six items. The first is 1. Humility (Dainaya) 2. Self Surrender (Atmanirdan) 3. Maintainer (Goptribhe baran) and that one should completely depend on Kṛṣṇa, and the next is that one should accept 4. everything favorable for Kṛṣṇa’s service (ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ). Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā: a symptom of first-class bhakti, devotional service, is that one accepts everything favorable for that service.
19 Another item of surrender is 5. prātikūlyasya-vivarjanam, rejecting everything unfavorable to the procedures of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes the spiritual master says, “Don’t do this,” forbidding something unfavorable, and he also recommends that which is favorable: “Do this. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.” Full surrender, therefore, entails giving up unfavorable things and accepting that which is favorable (ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyayasya-vivarjanam).
6. Furthermore, one should believe with full faith, “Kṛṣṇa will give me protection,” (Abasya Rakshibe Krisna Biswas – palan) and one should count oneself as one of the servants of Kṛṣṇa. These are some of the items of śaraṇāgati, full surrender.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 22.100 ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ " 'The six divisions of surrender are the acceptance of those things favorable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavorable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as one's guardian or master, full self- surrender and humility.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 22.136 śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣid abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane prahlādaḥ smaraṇe tad-aṅghri-bhajane lakṣmīḥ pṛthuḥ pūjane akrūras tv abhivandane kapi-patir dāsye 'tha sakhye 'rjunaḥ sarvasvātma-nivedane balir abhūt kṛṣṇāptir eṣāṁ parā
" 'Mahārāja Parīkṣit attained the highest perfection, shelter at Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, simply by hearing about Lord Viṣṇu. Śukadeva Gosvāmī attained perfection simply by reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained perfection by remembering the Lord. The goddess of fortune attained perfection by massaging the transcendental legs of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Mahārāja Pṛthu attained perfection by worshiping the Deity, and Akrūra attained perfection by offering prayers unto the Lord. Vajrāṅgajī [Hanumān] attained perfection by rendering service to Lord Rāmacandra, and Arjuna attained perfection simply by being Kṛṣṇa's friend. Bali Mahārāja attained perfection by dedicating everything to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.'
20 11 (b). Second Step (Ananya Akincan Bhakti) 11b) Surrender in the form of Ananya Bhakti
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 9.30 api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ Translation: Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 10.10 teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te Translation: To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
11b(i) The Various options offered by Lord Krsna in Chapter 12 of Bhagvat Gita:- Bhagavad-gita As It Is 12.8 mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ Translation: Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 12.9 atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya Translation: My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 12.10 abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhava mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage. Bhagavad-gita As It Is 12.11 athaitad apy aśakto ’si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśritaḥ sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān Translation: If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.
21 Bhagavad-gita As It Is 12.12 śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.24.53 etad rūpam anudhyeyam ātma-śuddhim abhīpsatām yad-bhakti-yogo ’bhayadaḥ sva-dharmam anutiṣṭhatām My dear Lord, those who desire to purify their existence must always engage in meditation upon Your lotus feet, as described above. Those who are serious about executing their occupational duties and who want freedom from fear must take to this process of bhakti-yoga. Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu ||1.1.37|| dvitīyā, yathā pañcama-skandhe (5.6.18) — rājān patīr gurur alaṃ bhavatāṃ yadūnāṃ daivaṃ priyaḥ kula-patiḥ kva ca kiṅkaro vaḥ | astv evam aṅga bhajatāṃ bhagavān mukundo muktiṃ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam ||1.1.37||
The second type of rarity is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Sukadeva Gosvami: “My dear King, the Supreme Person, Mukunda, is actually the maintainer of all the members of the Pāṇḍava and Yadu dynasties. He is your spiritual master, worshipable Deity, friend, and the director of your activities. To say nothing of this, He sometimes serves your family as a messenger or servant. This means He worked just as ordinary servants do. Those engaged in getting the Lord's favor attain liberation from the Lord very easily, but He does not very easily, but He does not give bhava-bhakti at all times. SB 5.6.18.
Ananya Bhakti Path:- (Outlined by Rupa Goswami)
1. Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.11) anyābhilāsi tā-śūnyam jñāna-karmādy-anāvrt am ānukūlyena krs n ā nu- śīlanam bhaktir uttamā "'When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Krs n a favorably, as Krs n a desires.'
2. Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.12) sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam hrs ī kena hrs ī keśa- sevanam bhaktir ucyate
"'Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all
22 material designations, and one's senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.' Bhagavad-gita As It Is -9.34 – man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru mam evaisyasi yuktuaivam atmanam mat-parayanah Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisance’s to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.
Siksha astakam sloka No 4 Na dhanam na janam na sundarim Kavitam va jagad – isa kamaye Mama janmani janmanisvare Bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 22.99 śaraṇāgatera, akiñcanera--eka-i lakṣaṇa tāra madhye praveśaye 'ātma-samarpaṇa' TRANSLATION "There are two kinds of devotees-those who are fully satiated and free from all material desires and those who are fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord. Their qualities are one and the same, but those who are fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet are qualified with another transcendental quality-ātma-samarpaṇa, full surrender without reservation.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 22.113 smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ TRANSLATION " 'Kṛṣṇa is the origin of Lord Viṣṇu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the śāstras should be the servants of these two principles.'
23 11(c) (Step No. Three) 11c) Service to pure devotees:
Srimad Bhagavatam 5.12.12 rahuganaitat tapasa na yati na cejyaya nirvapanad grhad va na cchandasa naiva jalagni-suryair vina mahat-pada-rajo-'bhisekam TRANSLATION My dear King Rahugana, unless one has the opportunity to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One cannot realize the Absolute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brahmacarya], strictly following the rules and regulations of householder life, leaving home as a vanaprastha, accepting sannyasa, or undergoing severe penances in winter by keeping oneself submerged in water or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other processes to understand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee.
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.10 viprad dvi-sad-guna-yutad aravinda-nabha- padaravinda-vimukhat svapacam varistham manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitartha- pranam punati sa kulam na tu bhurimanah TRANSLATION If a brahmana has all twelve of the brahminical qualifications [as they are stated in the book called Sanat-sujata] but is not a devotee and is averse to the lotus feet of the Lord, he is certainly lower than a devotee who is a dog-eater but who has dedicated everything -- mind, words, activities, wealth and life -- to the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee is better than such a brahmana because the devotee can purify his whole family, whereas the so-called brahmana in a position of false prestige cannot purify even himself.
Srimad Bhagavatam 9.4.63 sri-bhagavan uvaca aham bhakta-paradhino hy asvatantra iva dvija sadhubhir grasta-hridayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyah
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said to the brahmana: I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.
24 Srimad Bhagavatam 9.4.65 ye daragara-putrapta- pranan vittam imam param hitva mam saranam yatah katham tams tyaktum utsahe
Since pure devotees give up their homes, wives, children, relatives, riches and even their lives simply to serve Me, without any desire for material improvement in this life or in the next, how can I give up such devotees at any time?
Srimad Bhagavatam 9.4.66 mayi nirbaddha-hridayah sadhavah sama-darsanah vase kurvanti mam bhaktya sat-striyah sat-patim yatha
As chaste women bring their gentle husbands under control by service, the pure devotees, who are equal to everyone and completely attached to Me in the core of the heart, bring Me under their full control.
Srimad Bhagavatam 9.4.68 sadhavo hridayam mahyam sadhunam hridayam tv aham mad-anyat te na jananti naham tebhyo manag api
The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.
SB 11.14: Lord Krsna Explains the Yoga System to Sri Uddhava Srimad Bhagavatam 11.14.16 nirapeksam munim santam nirvairam sama-darsanam anuvrajamy aham nityam puyeyety anghri-renubhih TRANSLATION With the dust of My devotees' lotus feet I desire to purify the material worlds, which are situated within Me. Thus, I always follow the footsteps of My pure devotees, who are free from all personal desire, rapt in thought of My pastimes, peaceful, without any feelings of enmity, and of equal disposition everywhere. PURPORT Just as the devotees always follow the footsteps of Lord Krsna, similarly Lord Krsna, being a devotee of His devotees, follows the footsteps of His devotees. A pure servitor of the Lord is always meditating on the pastimes of the Lord and considering how to assist the Lord in His mission. All the material universes are situated in Sri Krsna's body, as demonstrated to Arjuna, mother Yasoda and others. Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore there is no question of impurity in the Lord. Still, the Lord desires to purify the universes situated within Him by taking the dust of the lotus feet of His pure devotees. Without the dust of the lotus feet of the devotees, it is not possible to engage in pure devotional service, without which one
25 cannot directly experience transcendental bliss. Lord Krsna thought, "I have established this strict rule that one can enjoy My transcendental bliss only through devotional service obtained from the dust of the lotus feet of My devotees. Since I also desire to experience My own bliss, I will observe the standard procedure and accept the dust of My devotees' feet." Srila Madhvacarya points out that Lord Krsna follows the footsteps of His devotees in order to purify them. As the Lord walks along behind His pure devotees, the wind blows the dust of the Lord's feet in the front of His devotees, who then become purified by contact with such transcendental dust. One should not foolishly look for material logic in these transcendental pastimes of the Lord. It is simply a question of love between the Lord and His devotees.
11c.(i) Qualities of a Pure Devotee:- Srimad Bhagavatam 3.13.4 srutasya pumsam sucira-sramasya nanv anjasa suribhir idito 'rthah tat-tad-gunanusravanam mukunda- padaravindam hrdayesu yesam
Persons who hear from a spiritual master with great labor and for a long time must hear from the mouths of pure devotees about the character and activities of pure devotees. Pure devotees always think within their hearts of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, who awards His devotees liberation.
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.14.18 badhyamano 'pi mad-bhakto visayair ajitendriyah prayah pragalbhaya bhaktya visayair nabhibhuyate My dear Uddhava, if My devotee has not fully conquered his senses, he may be harassed by material desires, but because of his unflinching devotion for Me, he will not be defeated by sense gratification.
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.14.19 yathagnih su-samrddharcih karoty edhamsi bhasmasat tatha mad-visaya bhaktir uddhavainamsi krtsnasah My dear Uddhava, just as a blazing fire turns firewood into ashes, similarly, devotion unto Me completely burns to ashes sins committed by My devotees.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.46 yada yasyanugrhnati bhagavan atma-bhavitah sa jahati matim loke vede ca parinisthitam TRANSLATION When a person is fully engaged in devotional service, he is favored by the Lord, who bestows His causeless mercy. At such a time, the awakened devotee gives up all material activities and ritualistic performances mentioned in the Vedas.
26 Guidance of Spiritual Master / Pure Devotee :-
Who is not a guru? Since the gum must transmit the truths of Vedic knowledge perfectly, he plays a crucial role. We should know who Guru is not and who Gun is. Regrettably, in recent years we have professional gums (fake godmen) who:
☼ charge fees to give secret mantras and make false promises, ☼ allow their students to disregard all the Vedic regulative austerities (regulative austerities like avoiding gambling, meat-eating, intoxication and illicit sex) ☼ teach yoga as simple gymnastic exertion and not as a means of connecting one to God, ☼ maintain that the purpose of yoga is material well-being, ☼ defy the Vedas by declaring: ‘I am God; You are God; Everyone is God’ and so on. The gullible masses blindly follow such fake godmen and are led to
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.3.21 tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśraya m Translation: Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.3 jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām Translation: Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.
27 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.3 jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām
Translation: Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.14.17 niskincana mayy anurakta-cetasah santa mahanto 'khila-jiva-vatsalah kamair analabdha-dhiyo jusanti te yan nairapeksyam na viduh sukham mama TRANSLATION Krsna to Udhava:- Those who are without any desire for personal gratification, whose minds are always attached to Me, who are peaceful, without false ego and merciful to all living entities, and whose consciousness is never affected by opportunities for sense gratification -- such persons enjoy in Me a happiness that cannot be known or achieved by those lacking such detachment from the material world.
PURPORT The pure devotees always experience transcendental bliss in their service to Sri Krsna, the reservoir of pleasure; thus they are completely detached from material pleasure and do not desire even liberation. Since all others have some personal desire, they cannot experience such happiness. Pure devotees always desire to give Krsna conscious happiness to all others, and therefore they are called mahantah, or great souls. In the course of a devotee's service, many opportunities for sense gratification arise, but a pure devotee is not tempted or attracted and does not fall down from his exalted transcendental position.
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.3.22 tatra bhagavatan dharman siksed gurv-atma-daivatah amayayanuvrttya yais tusyed atmatma-do harih TRANSLATION Rishi Antariksha to King Nimi:- Accepting the bona fide spiritual master as one's life and soul and worshipable deity, the disciple should learn from him the process of pure devotional service. The Supreme
28 Personality of Godhead, Hari, the soul of all souls, is inclined to give Himself to His pure devotees. Therefore, the disciple should learn from the spiritual master to serve the Lord without duplicity and in such a faithful and favorable way that the Supreme Lord, being satisfied, will offer Himself to the faithful disciple.
PURPORT According to Srila Sridhara Svami the Lord's tendency to give Himself to His pure devotee is demonstrated in the case of Bali Maharaja, who sacrificed his universal kingdom for the pleasure of Lord Vamanadeva. Lord Vamana was so pleased by the selfless surrender of Bali Maharaja that the Lord became the doorman in the palace of Bali who was reinstalled as a great leader in the universe. Srila Jiva Gosvami comments that the spiritual master is to be considered the atma, or the very life, of the disciple, since real life begins when one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master. Although one may experience many seemingly wonderful or important events in a dream, one's real life begins when he wakes up. Similarly, since the spiritual master gives birth to the disciple by awakening him to spiritual life, a bona fide disciple understands that his spiritual master is the very basis of his life. According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all pleasure, and thus the Lord's giving Himself to a pure devotee indicates that such a devotee becomes immersed in the highest possible ecstasy. In this connection there is the following sruti-mantra: anandad dhimani bhutani jayante. "Indeed, it is from the all- blissful Supreme that all these creatures have come into being." Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has further pointed out that when the Lord bestows His own self upon a pure devotee such a fortunate devotee can actually see the Lord, touch Him and directly engage in His service. According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, one should never consider one's spiritual master to be mundane or on an equal level with one's self. One should see the spiritual master as being always under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. One should never try to engage the spiritual master in one's personal service with the mentality of lording it over the spiritual master and attaining through him some material gain. One who is actually advancing will become more and more eager to serve the spiritual master, and thus such a disciple experiences the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Srila Rupa Gosvami has delineated four preliminary requisites for advancement for the sincere disciple: guru-padasrayas tasmat krsna-diksadi-siksanam visrambhena guroh seva sadhu-vartmanuvartanam
"[1] Accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master, [2] becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him, [3] obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion, and [4] following in the footsteps of great acaryas [teachers] under the direction of the spiritual master." (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.74) One who has executed these preliminary duties is qualified to relish Srimad-Bhagavatam.
29 When one actually hears the sound vibration of Srimad-Bhagavatam as it is, he becomes free from the desire for sense gratification and mental speculation and is happy and satisfied in the service of Lord Krsna. yasyam vai sruyamanayam krsne parama-puruse bhaktir utpadyate pumsah soka-moha-bhayapaha
"Simply by giving aural reception to Srimad-Bhagavatam, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness." (Bhag. 1.7.7) One should hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from a bona fide spiritual master who can expertly engage the propensity for loving Krsna that arises from hearing the transcendental sound of the Bhagavatam. Such a transcendental, authorized engagement is called bhagavata-dharma. Within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness there are many thousands of authorized engagements pertaining to the Society's missionary activities. And by hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam and performing such engagements the Society's members feel relief from soka (lamentation), moha (illusion) and bhaya (fear).
According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, those who have achieved a mature understanding of the transcendental sound vibration of Srimad-Bhagavatam may adopt the order of tridandi-sannyasa, as described in the Hamsa-gita, the Thirteenth Chapter of this canto. A so-called Vaisnava who whimsically neglects the strict control of the body, mind and speech cannot actually achieve shelter at the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master. Even if such a whimsical sense enjoyer makes a show of assuming the dress and danda of Vaisnava sannyasa, he will not attain the desired result, love of Krsna. A bona fide Vaisnava should work earnestly to free himself from any tinge of sense gratification and mental speculation, and with a loving heart he should carry out the orders of his bona fide spiritual master. By always remembering the exalted position of the bona fide spiritual master, the disciple will achieve shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 4.34 tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ Translation: Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
SB 11.3.22: Liberation from the Illusory Energy TRANSLATION Accepting the bona fide spiritual master as one's life and soul and worshipable deity, the disciple should learn from him the process of pure devotional service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, the soul of all souls, is inclined to give Himself to His pure devotees. Therefore, the disciple should learn from the spiritual master to serve the Lord without duplicity and in such a faithful and favorable way that the Supreme Lord, being satisfied, will offer Himself to the faithful disciple. 30 Part C Index 12. 12. Result of Surrender, Ananya Bhakti and above all Service to pure devotees.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is.9. 31 kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati TRANSLATION He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.
Srila Prabhupada would tell us that Krishna is never alone, because He is Rasaraj, Rasabihari. He is enjoying the supreme most pleasure and therefore He is always in the association of those pure devotees, who have surrendered their lives utterly for His pleasure. And in reciprocation the Lord surrenders His very life for the pleasure of His devotees, thus He is known as Bhakta vatsala.
5. Describe the stages with explanation from sraddha to prema? a. One must begin with faith, and when this faith is increased by chanting, a person can become a member of the Society. (Sradha and sadhu sangha) b. If one is sincere, he is initiated, and this stage is called bhajana-kriyā. One then actually engages in the service of the Lord by regularly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, sixteen rounds daily, and refraining from illicit sex, intoxicants, meat-eating and gambling. c. In this way it is to be understood that one is becoming cleansed of unwanted things (anartha-nivṛtti). The word anartha refers to unwanted things. Anarthas are vanquished when one becomes attached to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Next is Nistha and Asakti. d. When a person is relieved from unwanted things, he becomes fixed in executing his Kṛṣṇa activities. Indeed, he becomes attached to such activities and experiences ecstasy in executing devotional service. This is called bhāva, the preliminary awakening of dormant love of Godhead. Thus the conditioned soul becomes free from material existence and loses interest in the bodily conception of life, including material opulence, material knowledge and material attraction of all variety. The last stage is prema Bhakti. e. Although māyā may be present, it cannot disturb a devotee once he attains the bhāva stage. This is because the devotee can see the real position of māyā. Māyā means forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, and forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa consciousness stand side by side like light and shadow. 31 f. Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion, the influence of the external energy, will immediately vanish.” The 9 stages to cross before residing in Radha Kunda are:- Sradha, Sadhu Sanga, Bhajan Kriya, Anartha nivriti, Nistha, Asakti, Ruchi, Bhava, Prema.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 9.28 śubhāśubha-phalair evaṁ mokṣyase karma-bandhanaiḥ sannyāsa-yoga-yuktātmā vimukto mām upaiṣyasi Translation: In this way you will be freed from bondage to work and its auspicious and inauspicious results. With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.
a. Srimad Bhagavatam (Evolution of a Devotee)
1) One should not remain a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, one who is situated on the lowest platform of devotional service and is interested only in worshiping the Deity in the temple. Such a devotee is described in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.47):
2) “A person who is very faithfully engaged in the worship of the Deity in the temple, but who does not know how to behave toward devotees or people in general is called a prākṛta-bhakta, or kaniṣṭha-adhikāri.”
3) The madhyama-adhikārī is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.46) in this way : “The madhyama-adhikārī is a devotee who worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the highest object of love, makes friends with the Lord’s devotees, is merciful to the ignorant and avoids those who are envious by nature.”
4) Out of many such Vaiṣṇavas, one may be found to be very seriously engaged in the service of the Lord and strictly following all the regulative principles, chanting the prescribed number of rounds on japa beads and always thinking of how to expand the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Such a Vaiṣṇava should be accepted as an uttama-adhikārī, a highly advanced devotee, and his association should always be sought.
32 Benefits and Results of Surrendering through Path of Bhakti Yoga:- Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 4.11 ye yathā mām prapadyante tāms tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manus yāh pārtha sarvaśah
(BG - 4.11) As all surrender unto Me, I REWARD them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha. Purport: In the transcendental world also, Krsna reciprocates with His pure devotee in transcendental attitude, just as the devotee wants Him. One devotee may want Krsna as supreme master, another as his personal friend, another as his son, and still another as his lover. Krsna rewards all the devotees equally, according to their different intensities of love for Him. In the material world, the same reciprocations of feelings are there, and they are equally exchanged by the Lord with the different types of worshipers.
Progress in Ananya Bhakti leads to Bhava/ Prema leading further to situation where lord becomes subservient to his Pure Devotee:-
Complete protection of Lord Krsna as stated in the Bhagwat Gita along with Lord’s subservience. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 4.11 ye yathā mām prapadyante tāms tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manusy āh pārtha sarvaśah
As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prt hā.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 4.36 api ced asi pāpebhyah sarvebhyah pāpa-krt -tamah sarvam jñāna-plavenaiva vrj inam santarisy asi
Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 7.28 yesā m tv anta-gatam pāpam janānām puny a-karmanā m te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante mām drd h a-vratāh Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.
33 Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 9.22 ananyāś cintayanto mām ye janāh paryupāsate tesā m nityābhiyuktānām yoga-kse mam vahāmy aham But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 9.30 api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyah samyag vyavasito hi sah
Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 9.31 ksi pram bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntim nigacchati kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktah prana