Brahma | The Hare Krishna Movement

Ages, Kalpas, Yugas, and Time

15 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, Kali Yuga, Time Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, causal ocean, cycles of kalpas, Dvapara, eternity, innumerable Brahmas, Kali, Kali-yuga, kalpas, lightning flash, material universe, Satya, Srila Prabhupada, Time, Treta, unlimited eternal time, yugas

I was reading about the duration of the material universe this evening, and this whole notion of time, puts presure on my insignificant tiny brain.

…The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas or ages: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Tretā-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvāpara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. (from purport Bg 8.17)

Even if I could grasp the extent of time in the material universe, that is just a fraction of the unlimited eternal time that continues after the termination of the yuga.

…Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, the creator god, and the same number comprise one night. Brahmā lives one hundred of such “years” and then dies. These “hundred years” by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 million earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahmā seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the causal ocean there are innumerable Brahmās rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahmā and his creation are all part of the material universe, and therefore they are in constant flux. (from purport Bg 8.17)

The above calculations Srila Prabhupada uses and I quote; “seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the causal ocean there are innumerable Brahmās rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic.” Wow!

Prayers Offered by Lord Brahmā to Lord Kṛṣṇa

11 Mar 2013 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, Krishna, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, great swan carrier, humble obeisances, Krsna, Lord Brahma, prayers, Prayers Offered by Lord Brahma to Lord Krsna, Spiritual world, Srila Prabhupada, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, windows to the spiritual sky

Maybe it is just my mood, but I find all these stories from “Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead” by Srila Prabhupada, to be transcendentally enlivening. They are like windows to the Spiritual World, and my mind just wants to hang on each and every word. So the following post is from my reading this weekend. Enjoy.

…Brahmā thus found Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, playing the part of a small cowherd boy; he saw that little child with a lump of food in His left hand, searching out His friends, cows and calves, just as He was actually doing one year before, after their disappearance.

Immediately Brahmā descended from his great swan carrier and fell down before the Lord just like a golden stick. All the four helmets on the heads of Brahmā touched the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā, being very joyful, began to shed tears, and he washed the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with his tears. Repeatedly he fell and rose as he recalled the wonderful activities of the Lord. After repeating obeisances for a long time, Brahmā stood up and smeared his hands over his eyes. Seeing the Lord before him, he, trembling, began to offer prayers with great respect, humility and attention. (from the end of Chapter 13, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead)

…Brahmā said, ”My dear Lord, You are the only worshipful Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead; therefore I am offering my humble obeisances and prayers just to please You. Your bodily features are of the color of clouds filled with water. You are glittering with a silver electric aura emanating from Your yellow garments.

“Let me offer my respectful repeated obeisances unto the son of Mahārāja Nanda who is standing before me with conchshell, earrings and peacock feather on His head. His face is beautiful; He is wearing a helmet, garlanded by forest flowers, and He stands with a morsel of food in His hand. He is decorated with cane and bugle, and He carries a buffalo horn and flute. He stands before me with small lotus feet. (beginning the 14 Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead)

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The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmā

18 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vaisnava Vocabulary Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, chirping of the birds along with cooing of the peacocks, hearing and chanting, Krishna, Krsna, Lord Brahma, nityanavanavayamana, surrounded by the whispering of the leaves in the trees, The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahma, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, vaisnava vocabulary, Vol.1 chapter 13

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Here is a new word for your vaisnava vocabulary, nityanavanavāyamāna This word is explained in following paragraph. And for an example of the word nityanavanavāyamāna in transcendental subject matter we offer the following chapter from the KRSNA Book.

It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nityanavanavāyamāna. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but will remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.