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Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna

Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna
Gopis performing Devotional Service to the Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna

He is Advaita-No distinction between His body and Himself

Chapter 4

Transcendental Knowledge 

(Purport to 4.05 continued)

That is the difference between the part-and-parcel living entity and the Supreme Lord. Although Arjuna is addressed herein as the mighty hero who could subdue the enemies, he is unable to recall what had happened in his various past births. Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in the material estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a constant companion of the Lord is certainly a liberated person, but he cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described in the Brahma-samhita as infallible (acyuta), which means that He never forgets Himself, even though He is in material contact. Therefore, the Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Gita cannot be understood by demonic brains. Krishna remembered acts which were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite the fact that both Krishna and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may also note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change His sac-cid-ananda body. He is advaita, which means there is no distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to Him is spirit—whereas the conditioned soul is different from his material body. And because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is always different from that of the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of the Lord, which the Lord Himself explains in the following verse.

---------------------------
Translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada


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SMS Updates Of the Week!

Arjuna:How am I 2 understand that millions of yrs ago,u gave this
science of BG 2Sun God,Vivasvan?
Krsna:I
am Achyuta(infallible from My position)&not changing My body.My
transcendental body never deteriorates.u were also there when I
instructed this BG to Vivasvan.I can remember all but u cant-BG#4.4-6

Oh Lord,It is difficult2approach U,4people possessing 1.Janma-Birth(Hi caste)
2.Aishwarya(Wealth)
3.Shruta(Hi Education)
4.Shri(bodily beauty)
QueenKunti in SB

A plea2Lord Nitai.My heart is very sinful&not attracted2Ur holy
name.Shame fills my mouth.In how many lives I've neglected spiritual
progress which is why I am in such a state.U r friend of sinners,an
ocean of mercy.If U abandon me now,ur glorious reputation as saviour
of fallen will greatly stain. How many yavanas have u already
delivered? With my own ears I heard you delivered them.If in Ur heart
U r not averse2me,then dont push me away :(

How've these impurities come upon u? They r not@all befitting a man
who knows d ValueOfLife.They lead not2higher planets but2infamy.Being
a Kshatriya,there's no better engagement4u than fighting.Either u'll b
killed in d battle&go2heaven or u'll conquer EarthlyKingdom&Enjoy
RoyalHappiness-Krsna2Arjuna~BG

O God,feeling Ur separation,Im considering a moment2b like aeons.Tears
r flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain.I feel all vacant in this
world in Ur absence.Whether U handle me roughly by Ur embrace or make
me broken hearted by not being present b4 me,U r my worshipful
Lord,unconditionally-Sikshastkm


One who is able2Ctrl d 6 Urges of d body,
1.Speech
2.Mind
3.Anger
4.Tongue
5.Belly
6.Genitals
&Engage them Properly in God Consciousness is Qualified2Accept
Disciples all over d World-Nectar Of Instruction,Verse#1

V've2Transform ourself2avoid EternalSuffering birth after birth

Avidya(Ignorance)->Vidya(Knowledge of d real self as Soul&ServantOfGod)

Kama(Lust2enjoy d self)->Prema(LoveOfGod&All LivingEntities)

Karma(Action,both
Good&Bad,bound2reactions)->Seva(Service2God,Akarma-Inaction in
action.No reactions) :)


Only by d association of a Genuine representative of God,1will b able2ctrl d
6urges(Speech,Mind,Anger,Tongue,Belly,Genitals),
6faults(Overeating,Over-endeavoring4material objectives,Collecting
more money than required,unnecessary talks,negligence
Of scriptural rules,bad association),
Get6good qualities(
Enthusiasm,Patience,Confidence,Determination2perform favourable
activities4DS,resolution2abandon d association of worldly
minded&discipline2follow d footsteps of Acharyas),Get6holy
association(giving/accepting gifts,revealing1's inner
thots,confidential talks on DS,accepting&giving spiritual
food-Prasadam)

--
Yours
Dinesh
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A Piteous Plea to Nitai-Fitting one for me!!

A P

iteous Plea to Nitai

Krishna Das

(Refrain) jaya jaya nityänanda räya

aparädha päpa mora tähära nähika ora

uddhäraha nija karuëäya

All glories! All glories to Nityananda Ray! Please do

not think of my sins and offenses. Kindly deliver me.

ämära asata mati tomära näme nähi rati

kahite nä bäsi mukhe läja

janame janame kata kariyächi ätma-ghäta

ata-e se mora ei käja

My heart is very sinful and is not attracted to your

holy name. I do not like to speak of these things.

Shame fills my mouth. In how many repeated births

did I destroy any chance that I had to make spiritual

advancement? That is why I am in such a state.

tumi-o karuëä-sindhu pätaké janära bandhu

ebära karaha yadi tyäga

patita-pävana näma nirmala se anupäma

tähäte lägaye baòa däga

You are an ocean of mercy. You are the friend

of the sinners. If you abandon me now, then your

peerless and glorious reputation as

patita-pävana

(purifier of the fallen) will be greatly stained.

pürube yavana-ädi kata kata aparädhé

tarä-icha çuniyächi käne

kåñëa-däsa anumäni öhelite näribe tumi

yadi ghåëä nä karaha mane

How many

yavanas and other offenders have

you already delivered? With my own ears I heard

how you delivered them. I, Krishna Das, think this:

O my Lord, if in your heart you have not become

averse to me, then do not push me away.

·

Bibliography

— Jagadbandhu Bhadra (editor).

Gaura-pada-taraìgiëé. Sri Gauranga

Press. Calcutta. 1931. Bengali.

— Unknown translator. The Acarya's Songs and Poems Glorifying

Lord Gauranga and Lord Govinda. Found in the Vaiñëava Folio

Archives. Compiled by Sri Narasingha Caitanya Matha. No date


 
Source : Bindu

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Answers from A Maha-Bhagavata - How to Handle Criticism ?


Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.

Recently I was going through the diary which contained my conversations with our beloved Gurudev, HDG Mahavishnu Gosvami Maharaj. I seek the permission of the devotees to allow me to share the contents of one of the conversations. I will try and list down the points which I had taken down on my note book. The conversation was a question and answer session on the following verse sung by Madhavendra Puri. This verse was found in the purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.3-4

mugdham maam nigadantu neeti-nipunaa bhraantam muhur vaidikaah
mandam baandhava-sancayâ jada-dhiyam muktaadaraah sodaraah
unmattam dhanino viveka-caturaah kaamam mahaa-daambhikam
moktum na kshaamate manaag api mano govinda-paada-sprhaam

"Let the sharp moralist accuse me of being illusioned; I do not mind. Experts in Vedic activities may slander me as being misled, friends and relatives may call me frustrated, my brothers may call me a fool, the wealthy mammonites may point me out as mad, and the learned philosophers may assert that I am much too proud; still my mind does not budge an inch from the determination to serve the lotus feet of Govinda, though I be unable to do it."

I could see that Maharaj really liked this verse as he was very pleased to hear the translation and asked me to repeat it a few times.

Question 1: I find that I cannot handle criticisms. My mind becomes very unstable after I hear anyone criticizing my actions. How do I deal with this ?

Gurudev said - "The criticism that we receive is the medicine to cure our disease.If you do something wrong you must be prepared to face the music. You think that you are perfect and that is why you cannot handle criticisms. Krishna is so merciful that he is allowing you to get some criticism. If not how will you know your disease? Your chanting and reading of Bhagavatam has not killed your pride. Then what is the point of studying these things? You think that you are perfect."

Question 2: What happens when I get criticized even when I have done nothing wrong?

Gurudev's reply to this question is indeed a eye-opener for us. He said, "Why do you think that you are perfect? If smoke is coming then the fire must be burning somewhere. Even if you have genuinely not committed any mistake criticism will always be there. That is the nature of this age. Please remember that even our own family members will criticise. What to speak of our material relations, even in this line of devotion you will be criticised. You may not even know but even then they will criticize. Please read the verse. Please don't bother about these things. Everyone suffers his own vibrations. Krishna is not going to look at the list of criticisms that you have received. He only looks at your sincerity in pursuing uninterrupted Bhakti. The problem is that whenever everyone acts according to how we want them to act we praise them and we are friendly. The moment they act against our desires we speak harshly and our behaviour completely changes. We always have an agenda but we don't have Krishna. Please don't use Bhakti to satisfy your senses. Don't hide your agenda under Bhakti. We use Bhakti to carry out our material plans. This is the embarrassment." Then Maharaj quoted the following verse from Srimad Bhagavatam 5.19.7:

na janma nunam mahato na saubhagam
na vaan na buddhir naakritis tosha-hetuh
tair yad visrishtaan api no vanaukasash
cakaara sakhye bata lakshmanaagrajah

"One cannot establish a friendship with the Supreme Lord Ramacandra on the basis of material qualities such as one's birth in an aristocratic family, one's personal beauty, one's eloquence, one's sharp intelligence or one's superior race or nation. None of these qualifications is actually a prerequisite for friendship with Lord Shri Ramacandra. Otherwise how is it possible that although we uncivilized inhabitants of the forest have not taken noble births, although we have no physical beauty and although we cannot speak like gentlemen, Lord Ramacandra has nevertheless accepted us as friends?"

Gurudev continued - "It's because we want all these name and fame that we cannot take criticism. Krishna doesnt want your name and fame. He wants Bhakti. So why are we bothered about criticisms? Let them say - but you just hold on to Lord's feet. What else can you do? Promise me that you will never be bothered by these things. Dont waste your time. May Lord bless you."

I have tried to list down whatever I had managed to take down from the conversation. Please forgive me for my offences. Prabhus and Matajis - please kindly pray that I will never sway according to criticisms but only sway according to Gurudev's orders. In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 2.8.6 Srila Prabhupada mentions - Pure devotees like Narada and Nityananda Prabhu take up the order of the spiritual master as the sustenance of life. They do not mind what becomes of the future of their lives. They take the matter very seriously as the order comes from the higher authority, from the representative of the Lord, or from the Lord Himself.

Thank you very much.
Your servant,
Madan Mohan das,
Singapore

__._,_.___
__,_._,___



--
Yours Servant

Sri Krishna Hari Das
(Dr Satish Gosain MBBS DNB i Med)
Congregational Preacher, ISKCON, Delhi, NCR & Gurgaon.
Dr Bharti Nursing Home, B-30 hari Nagar, New Delhi 110064
+91-97170-55006, +91-98913-86194 +91-11-2512-5595, +91-11-2512-8754



--
Yours
Dinesh

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Differences Between the Name and the Form

Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode
From Jaiva Dharma, chapter 23

Vijaya: Are there any distinctions between Krishna's name and form?
Raghunath Das Babaji: There are no differences whatsoever. However, there is one
unique, even mystical feature in this subject: Krishna's name is more merciful than his form.
Offenses committed against the form [or the deity] are never forgiven by Krishna; however,
even though Krishna does not forgive offenses against his form, his holy name will forgive offenses
committed against his form as well as his name. Therefore, one should understand
and remember the ten offenses against the holy name. Then, one must meticulously avoid
committing these offenses, because one must rise above nämäparädha in order to chant çuddha-harinäma. ·

— Adapted from the translation by Sarvabhavana Das.
Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Published by the Bhaktivedanta
Archives. 2003.

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