24 Dec 2017
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhakti Yoga, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, atma-tattva, bhakti yoga, Brahma, jivatma, Paramatma, SB 2.9.4, Srimad Bhagavatam, yoga
Reading or hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also performance of bhakti-yoga
The sound of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental, and the resonance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is as good as that of the Vedas. Thus the topic of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of both the Lord and the living entity.
…The sound of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental, and the resonance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is as good as that of the Vedas. Thus the topic of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of both the Lord and the living entity. Regular reading or hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also performance of bhakti-yoga, and one can attain the highest perfection simply by the association of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit attained perfection through the medium of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (from purport SB 2.9.4)
full text and purport follows: More
25 Jun 2017
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Sri Isopanisad, Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, all that is animate or inanimate, Bhaktivedanta purports, books by Srila Prabhupada, Brahma, cheating propensity, commit mistakes, imperfect senses, isavasyam idam sarvam, Iso 1, Krishna, mantra one, Sri Isopanisad, subject to illusion, Supreme Controller, Supreme Personality of Godhead
This is a continuation on the Sri Isopanisad (The knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna). It begins with the Invocation and is followed by eighteen mantras and purports by Srila Prabhupada. The following is mantra one.
Mantra One
īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ
yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam
īśa—by the Lord; āvāsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—all; yat kiñca—whatever; jagatyām—within the universe;jagat—all that is animate or inanimate; tena—by Him;tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuñjīthāḥ—you should accept;mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the wealth.
TRANSLATION
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
PURPORT
Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect disciplic succession of spiritual masters, beginning with the Lord Himself. Since He spoke the first word of Vedic knowledge, the source of this knowledge is transcendental. The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruṣeya, which indicates that they are not delivered by any mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1) he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with these four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge. The Vedas are not produced by such an imperfect creature. Vedic knowledge was originally imparted by the Lord into the heart of Brahmā, the first created living being, and Brahmā in his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have handed it down through history.
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09 Aug 2016
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Time, yugas
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bg 8.17, Brahma, Dvapara, human calculation, iron age of quarrel, Kali, kali yuga, kalpas, Satya, SB 1.1.21, Treta, yugas
This morning I was doing some study on the different yugas, or ages. I have included a verse from the Bhagavad-gita, one from the Srimad Bhagavatam, as well as a brief description of the four yugas from the Bhakta Handbook.
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. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-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 to Bhagavad-gita 8.17)
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18 Jan 2015
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chapter a Day
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavad-gita, Brahma, brahmaji, Cause of All Causes, chad, chapter a day, demigod, disciplic succession, jnanam, Krsna, Lord Brahma, Narada, Narada Muni, parampara system, quailified spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, transcendental knowledge, Vedic literture
As we continue to update one of our other sites Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by posting a chapter at a time, of that great literary work by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, we will continue to share the progress with our readers here at The Hare Krishna Movement.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 2: “The Cosmic Manifestation”
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto Two, Chapter 5
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06 Jan 2015
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chapter a Day, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, accepting the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, Asvatthama, atomic bomb, Bhaktivedanta purports, Brahma, brahmastra, causless mercy, chad, chapter a day, chaste, creation of material world, existing, Krsna, Maharaja Pariksit, material world, satim, SB. 2.4, spiritual master, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukadiva Gosvami, Suta Gosvami, suta uvaca, the process of creation, uttara
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As we continue to update our (one of our other sites) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by posting a chapter at a time, of that great literary work by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, we will continue to share the progress with our readers here at The Hare Krishna Movement.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto Two, Chapter Four
The Process of Creation
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15 Dec 2014
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!
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10 Oct 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Arjuna, as it is, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Brahma, Candra, demigods, faith, goodness, ignorance, Indra, Krishna, krsna consciousness, passion, sattva, Siva, Spiritual Life, Srila Prabhupada, sun-god, The Divisions of Faith, Visnu
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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 1972 Edition
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Seventeen
The Divisions of Faith
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11 Mar 2013
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)
Full Chapter More
22 Feb 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Varaha
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivedanta purports, Brahma, incarnations, Lord Sri Krsna, Lord Varaha's appearance day, Manu, Mrthu, Narasimha, Rama, Rudra, Srila Prabhupada lectures, transcendental incarnations, Varaha, Vyasa
In honor of Lord Varaha’s Apperance Day we are posting some words by Srila Prabhupada from the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Srimad Bhagavatam and some words from one of his lectures on the Srimad Bhagavatam explaining the Lords various incarnations.
Lord Varaha’s Appearance Day
Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations
As the supreme controller of both the material and spiritual worlds, the Lord has different incarnations of unlimited categories. Incarnations like Brahmā, Rudra, Manu, Pṛthu and Vyāsa are His material qualitative incarnations, but His incarnations like Rāma, Narasiṁha, Varāha and Vāmana are His transcendental incarnations. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of all incarnations, and He is therefore the cause of all causes. (SB 1.1.17 Purport)
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18 Jan 2013
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.
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19 Dec 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Brahma-samhita, Brahma-samhita, Govindam Prayers, Prayers & Verses, Sri Brahma-samhita
Tags: ananda, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Brahma, brahma samihita, cit, eternal blissful spiritual body, Govindam Prayers, isvarah, isvarah paramak krsna, Krishna Govinda, Lord Brahma, Lord Krsna, sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah, sat, Sri Brahma-samhita, supreme, Supreme Godhead, the controller, vigrahah
The Govindam Prayers
From Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā
By His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura
This collection is taken from the fifth chapter of the Hymns of Brahma, and includes verse 1, and 29-56. There were 100 chapters in the Brahma Samhita. This 5th chapter of the Brahma Samhita was discovered by Lord Caitanya during His appearance. The other chapters have not yet been revealed.
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08 Nov 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Devotional Service, Krishna Consciousness, Spiritual World
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, all-beautiful face, Brahma, cintamani, cintamani-dhama, devotees, goddesses of fortune, Krishna, lotus face of the Lord, lotus feet of the Lord, Spiritual world, Srila Rupa Goswami, touchstone
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…The essence of everything is the Supreme Lord: He is called the sāram. And those who sing and talk about Him are called the sāraṅgas, or the pure devotees. The pure devotees are always hankering after the lotus feet of the Lord. The lotus has a kind of honey which is transcendentally relished by the devotees. They are like the bees who are always after the honey. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the great devotee ācārya of the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, has sung a song about this lotus honey, comparing himself to the bee: “O my Lord Kṛṣṇa, I beg to offer my prayers unto You. My mind is like the bee, and it is after some honey. Kindly, therefore, give my bee-mind a place at Your lotus feet, which are the resources for all transcendental honey. I know that even big demigods like Brahmā do not see the rays of the nails of Your lotus feet, even though they are engaged in deep meditation for years together. Still, O infallible one, my ambition is such, for You are very merciful to your surrendered devotees. O Mādhava, I know also that I have no genuine devotion for the service of Your lotus feet, but because Your Lordship is inconceivably powerful, You can do what is impossible to be done. Your lotus feet can deride even the nectar of the heavenly kingdom, and therefore I am very much attracted by them. O supreme eternal, please, therefore, let my mind be fixed at Your lotus feet so that eternally I may be able to relish the taste of Your transcendental service.”
for full verse and purport More
06 Nov 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Disciplic succession, Spiritual Master
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, Brahma sampradaya, disciplic succession, evam parampara-praptam, Krsna, Madhva sampradaya, Madhva-Gaudiya-Sampradaya, Narada, sampradayas, Vyasa
The Disciplic Succession
Those who are followers of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and read from his books with faith and conviction, are receiving Transcendental Knowledge Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ. (Bhagavad-gīta, 4.2; see below for full verse and purport) through this disciplic succession:
1) Kṛṣṇa, 2) Brahmā, 3) Nārada; 4) Vyāsa, 5) Madhva, 6) Padmanābha, 7) Nṛhari, 8) Mādhava, 9) Akṣobhya, 10) Jayatīrtha, 11) Jñānasindhu, 12) Dayānidhi, 13) Vidyānidhi, 14) Rājendra, 15) Jayadharma, 16) Puruṣottama, 17) Brahmaṇyatīrtha, 18) Vyāsatīrtha, 19) Lakṣmīpati, 20) Mādhavendra Purī, 21) Īśvara Purī, (Nityānanda, Advaita), 22) Lord Caitanya, 23) Rūpa (Svarūpa, Sanātana), 24) Raghunātha, Jīva, 25) Kṛṣṇadāsa, 26) Narottama, 27) Viśvanātha, 28) (Baladeva) Jagannātha, 29) Bhaktivinode, 30) Gaurakiśora, 31) Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, 32) His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
…We have to accept Kṛṣṇa through the disciplic succession. There are four sampradāyas, disciplic successions. One comes from Lord Brahmā (the Brahma-sampradāya), and another comes from Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, (the Śrī-sampradāya). There are also the Kumāra-sampradāya and the Rudra-sampradāya. At the present moment, the Brahmā sampradāya is represented by the Madhva-sampradāya, and we belong to the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. Our original sampradāya stems from Madhvācārya. In that sampradāya there was Mādhavendra Purī, and Mādhavendra Purī’s disciple was Śrī Īśvara Purī. Śrī Īśvara Purī’s disciple was Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus we are coming in the disciplic succession from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and therefore our sampradāya is called the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. It is not that we have manufactured a sampradāya; rather, our sampradāya stems from Lord Brahmā.
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08 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Prahlada Maharaja, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Absolute Truth, Back to Godhead Magazine, Brahma, demigods, demon, devotee of God, great devotion, hiranyakasipu, king indra, Lord Nrsimhadeva, Narada, Pralada, pralhada maharaja, Queen Kayadhu
Sinister Father Saintly Son
“Like father like son,” the saying goes. So how was it that the most sinister personality ever to darken the universe fathered a great saint?
Adapted from Srimad-Bhagavatam, translation and commentary
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
A vicious storm raged through the darkness. Pierce winds hissed again and again and uprooted gigantic trees. Thick clouds covered the sky, and lightning flashed as though laughing. The ocean with its high waves wailed as if stricken with sorrow. Jackals and dogs howled ominously, and birds flew shrieking from their nests. The twin demons Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa were being born.
Day by day, year after year, they grew more powerful, more evil, and more dominant over all the other demons, who made alliances with them. Then, under the direction of Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu, the demons set out to conquer the demigods, their archenemies and the administrators of the universe. In their war for universal power, the demons enjoyed many victories, but at last Lord Visnu [Krsna] Himself killed Hiranyaksa. His brother’s death overwhelmed Hiranyakasipu with grief and rage. He bit his lips and gazed upward with eyes whose blazing anger filled the sky with smoke. He took up his trident, glanced around fiercely, bared his terrible teeth, and began to speak to his demon friends.
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23 Aug 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Gajendra, Spiritual World, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, demigods, Gajendra, gandharvas, king of the elephants, sages, Siva, Spiritual world, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Gosvami
The Fourth Chapter of the Eight Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam describes the previous birth of Gajendra and the crocodile. It tells how the crocodile became a Gandharva and how Gajendra became an associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
…in his birth as an elephant, when he was dangerously attacked by the crocodile, he remembered his past life in devotional service and remembered a prayer he had learned in that life. Because of this prayer, he again received the mercy of the Lord.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī ends this chapter by describing the good fortune of the elephant. Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that by hearing the narration of Gajendra’s deliverance, one can also get the opportunity to be delivered.
“One who seeks Your compassion and thus tolerates all kinds of adverse conditions due to the karma of his past deeds, who engages always in Your devotional service with his mind, words and body, and who always offers obeisances unto You, is certainly a bona fide candidate for liberation.”
A devotee who tolerates everything in this material world and patiently executes his devotional service can become mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk, a bona fide candidate for liberation. The word dāya-bhāk refers to a hereditary right to the Lord’s mercy. A devotee must simply engage in devotional service, not caring about material situations. Then he automatically becomes a rightful candidate for promotion to Vaikuṇṭhaloka. The devotee who renders unalloyed service to the Lord gets the right to be promoted to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, just as a son inherits the property of his father.
Full Text & Purports More
29 Jul 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in People, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, artists, Brahma, Candra, demigods, engineres, Indra, inventors, kings, leaders, learned scholars, politicians, powerful deities, scientists, Siva, Srimad Bhagavatam
…There are many powerful kings, leaders, learned scholars, scientists, artists, engineers, inventors, excavators, archaeologists, industrialists, politicians, economists, business magnates, and many more powerful deities or demigods like Brahmā, Śiva, Indra, Candra, Sūrya, Varuṇa and Marut, who are all protecting the interest of the universal affairs of maintenance, in different positions, and all of them are different powerful parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord.
The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the father of all living entities, who are placed in different high and low positions according to their desires or aspirations. Some of them, as particularly mentioned above, are specifically endowed with powers by the will of the Lord. A sane person must know for certain that a living being, however powerful he may be, is neither absolute nor independent. All living beings must accept the origin of their specific power as mentioned in this verse. And if they act accordingly, then simply by discharging their respective occupational duties they can achieve the highest perfection of life, namely eternal life, complete knowledge and inexhaustible blessings.
As long as the powerful men of the world do not accept the origin of their respective powers, namely the Personality of Godhead, the actions of māyā (illusion) will continue to act. The actions of māyā are such that a powerful person, misled by the illusory, material energy, wrongly accepts himself as all in all and does not develop God consciousness. As such, the false sense of egoism (namely myself and mine) has become overly prominent in the world, and there is a hard struggle for existence in human society. The intelligent class of men, therefore, must admit the Lord as the ultimate source of all energies and thus pay tribute to the Lord for His good blessings. Simply by accepting the Lord as the supreme proprietor of everything, since He is actually so, one can achieve the highest perfection of life.
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01 May 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Spiritual World, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavate, Brahma, Devaki, Krishna, Krsna, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, Personality of Godhead, primeval Lord, SB 1.1.1, Sri Krsna, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vasudeva, Vyasadeva
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto 1: “Creation”, Chapter 1, Text 1
Questions by the Sages
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi
om—O my Lord; namaḥ—offering my obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; vāsudevāya—unto Vāsudeva (the son of Vasudeva), or Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Lord; janma-ādi—creation, sustenance and destruction; asya—of the manifested universes; yataḥ—from whom; anvayāt—directly; itarataḥ—indirectly; ca—and; artheṣu—purposes; abhijñaḥ—fully cognizant; sva-rāṭ—fully independent; tene—imparted; brahma—the Vedic knowledge; hṛdā—consciousness of the heart; yaḥ—one who; ādi-kavaye—unto the original created being; muhyanti—are illusioned; yat—about whom; sūrayaḥ—great sages and demigods; tejaḥ—fire; vāri—water; mṛdām—earth; yathā—as much as; vinimayaḥ—action and reaction; yatra—whereupon; tri-sargaḥ—three modes of creation, creative faculties; amṛṣā—almost factual; dhāmnā—along with all transcendental paraphernalia; svena—self-sufficiently; sadā—always; nirasta—negation by absence; kuhakam—illusion; satyam—truth; param—absolute; dhīmahi—I do meditate upon.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
PURPORT
Obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, directly indicate Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the divine son of Vasudeva and Devakī. This fact will be more explicitly explained in the text of this work. Śrī Vyāsadeva asserts herein that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all others are His direct or indirect plenary portions or portions of the portion. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has even more explicitly explained the subject matter in his Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha. And Brahmā, the original living being, has explained the subject of Śrī Kṛṣṇa substantially in his treatise named Brahma-saṁhitā. In the Sāma-veda Upaniṣad, it is also stated that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the divine son of Devakī. Therefore, in this prayer, the first proposition holds that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the primeval Lord, and if any transcendental nomenclature is to be understood as belonging to the Absolute Personality of Godhead, it must be the name indicated by the word Kṛṣṇa, which means the all-attractive. In Bhagavad-gītā, in many places, the Lord asserts Himself to be the original Personality of Godhead, and this is confirmed by Arjuna, and also by great sages like Nārada, Vyāsa, and many others. In the Padma Purāṇa, it is also stated that out of the innumerable names of the Lord, the name of Kṛṣṇa is the principal one. Vāsudeva indicates the plenary portion of the Personality of Godhead, and all the different forms of the Lord, being identical with Vāsudeva, are indicated in this text. The name Vāsudeva particularly indicates the divine son of Vasudeva and Devakī. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always meditated upon by the paramahaṁsas, who are the perfected ones among those in the renounced order of life.
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08 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Disciplic succession, Raja-Vidya
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavad-gita, Brahma, disciplic succession, Indra, Parampara, Raja-Vidya, Srila Prabhupada, the king of knowledge
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At one time, Indra, the king of heaven, committed an offense at the feet of his spiritual master, and his spiritual master cursed him to take the birth of a hog. Thus the throne of the heavenly kingdom became empty as Indra went to earth to become a hog. Seeing the situation, Brahmā came to earth and addressed the hog: “My dear sir, you have become a hog on this planet earth. I have come to deliver you. Come with me at once.” But the hog replied:. “Oh I cannot go with you. I have so many responsibilities—my children, wife and this nice hog society.” Even though Brahmā promised to take him back to heaven, Indra, in the form of a hog, refused. This is called forgetfulness. Similarly, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa comes and says to us, “What are you doing in this material world? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Come to Me, and I’ll give you all protection.” But we say, “I don’t believe You Sir. I have more important business here.” This is the position of the conditioned soul—forgetfulness. This forgetfulness is quickly dissipated by following in the path of disciplic succession.
Raja-vidya: The King of Knowledge
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 5
Parampara: Knowledge Through Disciplic Succession
śrī bhagavān uvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt
“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.” (Bg. 4.1)
Many ages ago Kṛṣṇa imparted the divine knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvān, the god of the sun. To the best of our knowledge, the sun is a very hot place, and we do not consider it possible for anyone to live there. It is not even possible to approach the sun very closely with these bodies. However, from the Vedic literatures we can understand that the sun is a planet just like this one but that everything there is composed of fire. Just as this planet is predominately composed of earth, there are other planets which are predominately composed of fire, water and air.
The living entities on these various planets acquire bodies composed of elements in accordance with the predominating element on the planet; therefore those beings who live on the sun have bodies which are composed of fire. Of all beings on the sun, the principal personality is a god by the name of Vivasvān. He is known as the sun-god (sūrya-nārāyaṇa). On all planets there are principal personalities, just as in the United States the chief person is the President. From the history called the Mahābhārata we understand that formerly there was only one king on this planet by the name of Mahārāja Bharata. He ruled some 5,000 years ago, and the planet was named after him. Subsequently the earth has become divided into so many different countries. In this way there is usually one and sometimes many controllers of the various planets in the universe.
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18 Oct 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Bhismadeva, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: Bhisma, Bishmadeva, Brahma, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Maharaja Yudhisthira, plan of the Lord, Siva, Srimad Bhagavatam, vice cannot conqure virtue
Bhishmadeva
Even a great fighter like Bhīṣma could not win the Battle of Kurukṣetra because the Lord wanted to show that vice cannot conquer virtue, regardless of who tries to execute it.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto 1″Creation”, Chapter 9, Text 16
The Passing Away of Bhismadeva in the Presence of Lord Krsna
na hy asya karhicid rājan
pumān veda vidhitsitam
yad vijijñāsayā yuktā
muhyanti kavayo ‘pi hi
na—never; hi—certainly; asya—His; karhicit—whatsoever; rājan—O King; pumān—anyone; veda—knows; vidhitsitam—plan; yat—which; vijijñāsayā—with exhaustive inquiries; yuktāḥ—being engaged; muhyanti—bewildered; kavayaḥ—great philosophers; api—even; hi—certainly.
O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.
The bewilderment of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira over his past sinful acts and the resultant sufferings, etc., is completely negated by the great authority Bhīṣma (one of the twelve authorized persons). Bhīṣma wanted to impress upon Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira that since time immemorial no one, including such demigods as Śiva and Brahmā, could ascertain the real plan of the Lord. So what can we understand about it? More
The Hare Krishna Movement 