Morning meditations - this universe is just one seed in a bag full of mustard seeds
Posted by dinesh
Bhakti Yoga - The Topmost Yogic Practice!
Morning meditations - this universe is just one seed in a bag full of mustard seeds
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
There is no end of fulfilling our material sense desire. Everyone has to engage himself in service of others. Hence serving our own sense desire keeps us engaged in serving our material senses. A person should find the means to end this whirlpool of desires by which he is caught in the material sense gratification. Soul suffers in repeated cycle of birth and death in the Lord's material energy. While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them. From such attachment comes lust, then anger, illusion, bewilderment of memory and loss of intelligence, and then one falls down into the cycle of birth and death. In this context there is a very instructive story.
Once Narada muni was traveling and he met a beggar on the way. The beggar asked Narada muni for some charity in his begging bowl. Narada muni said, "I myself am penniless but I can help you get charity from another person." He then took the beggar to Kuber and asked him to give some donation. Kuber was surprised that Narada muni had to bring the beggar all the way for some insignificant charity, but nevertheless he took some lakshmi from his treasury and filled the bowl. But to his surprise the bowl became empty. He again took many more jewels, gold, precious gems etc one by one but everytime he was filling the bowl, it was becoming empty again and again. It came to a point that Kuber's treasury was almost exhausted and Kuber being completely bewildered asked what material the begging bowl is made off. When Narada muni turned the begging bowl upside down, he found that the bowl is nothing but the human skull. The greedy desires of the cannot be fulfilled even if the wealth of the entire universe is given as charity to them.
In Srimad Bhagavad Gita 2.55 Lord Krishna says:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
prajahaati yadaa kaamaan / sarvaan paartha mano-gataan
atmany evaatmanaa tushtah / sthita-prajnas tadocyate
[granthraj] Always Have Auspicious Desires
purva-janmArjitaM vidyA
purva-janmArjitaM dhanam
purva-janmArjitaM kanyA
agre dhAvati dhAvatiH
"Transcendental knowledge, spiritual education, satisfying wealth, and pleasing family members are acquired by a person who has given profuse charity. Whatever good a person does returns to him many fold."
In Manu-nitii, Manu MahArAja says, bhAgyaM phalanti sarvatra na cha vidyA na cha paurusham: "Whatever is predestined by ViddhAtA, the fortune-maker, will surely happen. One's so called good education, skill, and enthusiasm will not necessarily guarantee to bring one success."
Whatever charity a person gives in the form of education, money, fertile land, and the like is returned to him in a future lifetime. We gain what we have given, when given with a good heart. Indeed, whatever the Lord of destiny, the creator, has written as one's fortune will certainly come to pass. No one attains any wealth without having given in charity in his previous life. Oh best of the brahmins, since we are now poor, in our previous lives neither you nor I must have given any/sufficient charity to worthy persons
kalo 'smi loka-kshaya-krit pravriddho
lokan samahartum iha pravrittah
rite 'pi tvam na bhavishyanti sarve
ye 'vasthitah pratyanikeshu yodhah
SYNONYMS
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Personality of Godhead said; kalah -- time; asmi -- I am; loka -- of the worlds; kshaya-krit -- the destroyer; pravriddhah -- great; lokan -- all people; samahartum -- in destroying; iha -- in this world; pravrittah -- engaged; rite -- without, except for; api -- even; tvam -- you; na -- never; bhavishyanti -- will be; sarve -- all; ye -- who; avasthitah -- situated; prati-anikeshu -- on the opposite sides; yodhah -- the soldiers.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pandavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.
PURPORT
Although Arjuna knew that Krishna was his friend and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he was puzzled by the various forms exhibited by Krishna. Therefore he asked further about the actual mission of this devastating force. It is written in the Vedas that the Supreme Truth destroys everything, even the brahmanas. As stated in the Katha Upanishad (1.2.25),
mrityur yasyopasecanam
Eventually all the brahmanas, kshatriyas and everyone else are devoured like a meal by the Supreme. This form of the Supreme Lord is the all-devouring giant, and here Krishna presents Himself in that form of all-devouring time. Except for a few Pandavas, everyone who was present on that battlefield would be devoured by Him. Arjuna was not in favor of the fight, and he thought it was better not to fight; then there would be no frustration. In reply, the Lord is saying that even if he did not fight, every one of them would be destroyed, for that was His plan. If Arjuna stopped fighting, they would die in another way. Death could not be checked, even if he did not fight. In fact, they were already dead. Time is destruction, and all manifestations are to be vanquished by the desire of the Supreme Lord. That is the law of nature."
Time is God and not Money!
Sukhadev Gosvami's instruction to king Parikshit,
tasmad bharata sarvatma
bhagavan isvaro harih
srotavyah kirtitavyas ca
smartavyas cecchatabhayam
etavan sankhya-yogabhyam
sva-dharma-parinisthaya
janma-labhah parah pumsam
ante narayana-smrtih
"O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries. The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life."---Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.5-6
Translation & Purport by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.