Can we choose whichever path we prefer – karma, jnana or bhakti?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

 

Transcription :

Transcriber: Sharan Shetty

Edited by: Keshavopal Das

Question: Can we choose whichever path we prefer – karma, jnana or bhakti?

Answer: We all are at different levels in our spiritual evolution. The soul is evolving over many lifetimes and because we are at different levels, there are multiplicities of paths available for us. In the Gita, there is a summary description of all the paths – karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga but at the same time, there is a clear recommendation of which path to follow. At the end of the Bhagavad Gita in 18.66, Lord Krishna says,

sarva-dharman parityajya maam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma suchah
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”

Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya meaning give up all other varieties of religious paths and then maam ekam saranam – just follow the path of surrendering to me. Before this, Krishna talks something similar in 18.56, 18.57 and 18.58

Krishna speaks about the path of karma yoga in Gita 18.40 to 18.46 and then from 18.47 onwards to 18.53, he talks about jnana yoga. Then in 18.54 and 18.55, he talks about how from jnana yoga, one will rise higher and higher and will ultimately come to bhakti yoga. Therefore, Krishna talks about a progression – from karma yoga to jnana yoga and then bhakti yoga. But in Gita 18.56, he says,
sarva-karmany api sada kurvano mad-vyapasrayah
mat-prasadad avapnoti sasvatam padam avyayam
Krishna is saying this is a gradual way of attaining Me but there is another way. Whatever work you are doing, do it for Me because if you do it for Me, then by My Mercy, you will attain the supreme destination. Thus, Krishna recommends the path of bhakti yoga.

One misconception that we have is, if we are working in our job, we consider it karma yoga and if we are doing pooja in a temple, then it is bhakti yoga. This is a very simplistic understanding. Both karma yoga and bhakti yoga have one thing in common – both involve action. In karma yoga, the focus is primarily on detachment – one must not have selfish intentions, one must give up the fruits of action and cultivate selflessness. However, the important question is – what is the purpose of selflessness? That is to develop detachment from the world. Do not be entangled emotionally and do not be captivated. Bhakti yoga, however, focuses that the one work in this world not just with detachment (as in karma yoga) but with attachment to Krishna. This means that whatever work we are doing, we do it as an offering to Krishna as explained in Gita 9.27:

yat karosi yad asnasi yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusva mad-arpanam
“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.”

Generally, if we search for a particular path on our own then based on our dispositions, we will gravitate towards a particular path. But bhakti is so inclusive that people of all disposition can be included in the path of bhakti. That is why, if we can get the association of devotees then we can learn, how we can practice bhakti in our particular position and disposition.
To summarize, all paths (karma yoga or jnana yoga) will lead to spiritual growth, but Krishna especially recommends the path of bhakti because it can elevate us from wherever we are to the supreme destination. On how to connect with and practice bhakti at our level is something that we can learn in the association of devotees.

End of transcription.

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Tuesday, April 24th, 2018
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

Nick Came

It was really pleasant having Nick over from St. John, New Brunswick.  He and his wife, Sara, run a Krishna Centre there. People are responding really well in that small city, with a  population of about  150,000 in the area.

Nick came over early for the morning sadhana, arriving at 5:00 o’clock for a purifier.  At that time, I was reading from the Bhagavad-gita, a passage from Chapter One: Observing the Armies. Verse 15 goes like this, “Sri Krishna blew His conch shell, called Pancajanya; Arjuna blew his, the Devadatta, and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, blew his terrific conch shell, called Paundra.”

The above verse addresses the goings-on on the field of battle, when action was about to begin.  Conches were blown by warriors to indicate, “We are ready and able.  We are about to start.”

Nick came over to start his day, not armed with conches but with beads and an open heart. The morning sadhana completed, after a bite to eat, we sat down to discuss how we can effectively approach the New Brunswick public and take charge.  It doesn’t require the blowing of any horns, but some promotion through the internet. What is not tackled these days through cyberspace?

If we want to inform, alert or announce something of value, then we communicate with the use of current weaponry, but we can only be as effective in this communication as we are strong in our preparation.  Through sadhana we can prepare. Through sadhana we can purge and show power.

May the Source be with you!
2 km

Monday, April 23rd, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario

Walkers Not Safe

Well it looked like a bright day.  The sun was ever present.  And in Toronto the public was excited about their team, the Maple Leafs hockey team, going for the play-offs.  They just had to win the game against the Boston Bruins in order to remain in those play-offs.  I know this because when Jai and I took our walk, on what appeared to be the best day of the year, a pedestrian, a woman, wore a Maple Leafs sweatshirt and she filled us in. Other residents also wore proudly the blue and white shirts.  The team did win, 3 to 1.

Then the bright day went dark.  I received calls from Vancouver, Calgary, Hawaii, Montreal and elsewhere.  People were talking on the street saying, “Yonge and Finch.”  That location became the scene of a cowardly crime, something that shook the earth, leaving people with disbelief.  “What! In Canada?  Toronto?”

A maniac got behind the wheel of a van, drove on pedestrian turf and mowed down innocent walkers, leaving ten dead and fifteen injured.  It became dark for this reason.  I called my sister, Pauline, who lives in that region.

“Are you okay, Pauline?”

“Yes, I was walking in that very area one hour before the incident.”  She was grateful to be alive.

So now is prayer time for the innocent folks who left this world in an untimely manner.  I call on all to pray/chant for these souls and for the suspect, now in police custody for this heinous act.  We never thought it would happen in our backyard.

May the Source be with you!
5 km


Sunday, April 22nd, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario

Too Good

They were singing that song from Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons—“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”  That was the other day.  A group of adolescents went at it at the top of their lungs while walking down Walmer Street, perhaps in celebration that Spring had finally arrived.  The sun had shone that day.  The temperature was fine and perhaps love was in the air.

It did strike my curiosity how the group of millennials knew that sixties song. Anyway…

Excitement was in the air, today, again.  I recruited, rather spontaneously, a group of congregants to take a trek down the ravine in passing by Evergreen Brickworks and beyond.  https://instagram.com/p/Bh81i2WggkT/ Just about everyone was out to honour this most attractive of seasons—spring. Bursts of colour were to gaze at—everything from flowers to intense orange goldfish.  People were attentive in three ways: to nature, to themselves in conversation, and finally to other pedestrians.  

And I also burst out, saying to my companions, “Really, this is the way it should be—everyone going about in a leisurely way.  And a personal desire, or dream, is if just one day out of the year, we could just mobilize ourselves through walking.  NO CARS!  Absolutely none!  Wouldn’t that be Vaikuntha(heaven)?”

It was also a great day to launch the season for Ratha Yatra,the Chariot Fest.  In our temple room, a yajna(sacrifice) was executed.  It involved a fire display and feeding that fire with herbs and spices.  It was very festive and engaging and… “it was too good to be true.”

May the Source be with you!
8 km


God as the supreme therapist 4 – How association works and how to make it work
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[Narasimha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers to Narasimhadeva 5.8.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on 5.8.11 at ISKCON, Denver]

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary


 

The post God as the supreme therapist 4 – How association works and how to make it work appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Do you need to break up with your phone?
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[Talk at Denver University, Denver, USA]

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary


 

The post Do you need to break up with your phone? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Special instructions
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 06 April 2015, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture: What is devotional service)

Having a spiritual master is not a casual thing! One should really dedicate himself to the spiritual master and to the desire of the spiritual master; that is very important. Sometimes, we may feel that our spiritual master is not really giving us a lot of instruction and he is not really telling us something special. That means, he just wants us to do the regular things like daily chanting sixteen rounds of japa and following four regulative principles – no meat, fish or eggs; no gambling; no intoxication; no illicit sex. It means that he wants us to learn the regular principles of prescribed practice for every devotee. It means that he wants us to rise early in the morning, preferably during Brahma-muhurta. It means that he wants us to study especially Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. It means that he wants us to be kind and merciful. It means that he wants us to become very respectful to the vaishnavas and to see that every vaishnava is worthy of my respect and to see that every vaishnava is my teacher!

The article " Special instructions " was published on KKSBlog.

What do you think of homosexuality?
→ Servant of the Servant

Somebody asked me this question - What do you think of homosexuality?

Below was my answer

I am assuming you want to know the opinion from a Krishna conscious perspective.

Homosex is sex between the same gender. Nature has created beings to have sex with opposite gender for the sake of procreation. Laws of nature is universal and not sectarian and applies to all beings. So if the same gender engages in sexual relation, then that is unnatural. Thats all. Much like we have nine holes in our body. If we put food through any hole but the hole of the mouth, then that causes pain and perhaps even death - why? Because it is unnatural and the other holes are not meant for that purpose. If we remove the cultural, political, religious and personal biases and just look at homosex from the perspective of natural design, then certainly it is not natural.

Yet, as humans, we engage in sex with the same gender just to enhance pleasure of the body. Humans with a higher intelligence and ability to discriminate engage in sex (homosex or heterosex does not matter) just for the pleasure of the body. This is also unnatural. While sex is an important need, if we engage in it just for pleasure, such unnatural pleasure seeking will result in mental or physical shortcomings or disease. When the mind is crippled with attachment to sex thinking sex is the highest pleasure and that there is nothing wrong with it, then that is a disease of the mind? Why because according to Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the living being is NOT this body but spirit soul encased inside this body (much like a driver inside this car). If the driver thinks he is the car, then instead of drinking water when thirsty, if he drinks gasoline, then he will die. Similarly, when the soul thinks it is the body and simply engages in bodily pleasures as the end all, then it is like the driver drinking gasoline. It is unnatural and death is inevitable.

Homosexuality is a political problem. But I am not instead in politics. Homosexuality is also a cultural question. But I am not interested in culture promoting bodily comforts. Homosexuality is a religious debate of sin or not sin. But I am not interested in mundane religiosity of  sin vs not sin. I am interested in the natural condition of the self. This natural condition is an universal concept and not sectarian. From that point of view, to me, homosexuality is unnatural as it defies natural laws (this includes indiscriminate heterosex as well) and such unnatural behavior will cause pain in the future in the form of mental aberrations or physical disease.

If we touch fire, we will get burnt. No use blaming fire. If we counter a germ like cholera, we will get cholera disease. No use blaming the germ. Instead, we have to practice restraint and take preventive measures from the germ. Similarly if we do not practice restraint but behave unrestrictedly just because my mind is telling me, then just like cholera or getting burnt, we will have to face the consequences of such unnatural state of existence.

Personally, for me, I am not pure or clean in any sense of the word so gay or not I accept everyone on the same pedestal of my mind as I try to see everyone as part and parcel of Krishna.

Hare Krishna

Can Old Age Be Reversed? (5 min video)
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Can Old Age Be Reversed? (5 min video)
The author of Caitanya Caritamrita, Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami, he writes, how even at this ripe old age of 95, he is struggling and striving to serve Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the devotees by writing the Caitanya Caritamrita, inspite of all kinds of difficulties and obstacles. Dear friends let’s try to realise that old age is a reality, it cannot be overcome, it cannot be counteracted but we can live life in a way that after leaving this body, we will not have to take another birth, another youth and another old age.

Preaching program in an Iskcon Farm, Russia (Album with…
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Preaching program in an Iskcon Farm, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In material consciousness we are trying to love that which is not at all lovable. We give our love to dogs and cats, running the risk that at the time of death we may think of them and consequently take birth in a family of cats or dogs. Thus love that does not have Krsna as its object leads downward. It is not that Krsna or God is something obscure or something that only a few chosen people can attain. Caitanya Mahaprabhu informs us that in every country and in every scripture there is some hint of love of Godhead. Unfortunately no one knows what love of Godhead actually is. The Vedic scriptures, however, are different in that they can direct the individual in the proper way to love God. Other scriptures do not give information on how one can love God, nor do they actually define or describe what or who the Godhead actually is. Although they officially promote love of Godhead, they have no idea how to execute it. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives a practical demonstration of how to love God in a conjugal relationship. Taking the part of Radharani, Caitanya tries to love Krsna as Radharani loved Him. Krsna was always amazed by Radharani’s love. “How does Radharani give Me such pleasure?” He would ask. In order to study Radharani, Krsna lived in Her role and tried to understand Himself. This is the secret of Lord Caitanya’s incarnation. Caitanya is Krsna, but He has taken the mode or role of Radharani to show us how to love Krsna. Thus He is addressed: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord who is absorbed in Radharani’s thoughts.” From TLC intro
Find them here: https://goo.gl/958P7W

Iskcon Toronto March MSF – Breaking Language Barriers
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Iskcon Toronto March MSF - Breaking Language Barriers.
We would like to present a summary report of our last Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF). This article has been written by one of our younger members of the community, Krishna Rajesh. We will be featuring more of these reports so you can follow along with all of the exciting developments and learn how to get involved!

Iskcon Farmington Hills Grand Temple Opening Ceremony (2018)…
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Iskcon Farmington Hills Grand Temple Opening Ceremony (2018) (Album of photos)
Farmington Hills is a very prominent city in the suburbs of metro Detroit, Michigan which has a very big devotee as well as Indian community. Iskcon Farmington Hills had their grand opening ceremony with the presence of HH Radhanath Swami, HH Chandrasekhar Swami, HG Malati Devi and other esteemed guests and people from many parts of the United States. During the weekend of the festival, more than 10,000 people came and were overjoyed to welcome Sri Sri Radha Gopijana Vallabha among them. People were mesmerized to see the beauty of Their Lordships. Even the large prasadam tent wasn’t enough to accommodate the huge crowd. Please relish the photographs of this historic event.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FpQFLQ

HARE KRSNA TELEVISION
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Hare KrishnaBy Vaishnava seva dasa

Behind the television project is hard work and united effort of 38 devotees working together full time in ISKCON Desire Tree. Since its launching in 2016 Janamasthami, Hare Krsna TV has grown rapidly. In India, it is roughly estimated that it is reaching more than 3 million televisions. Besides India, it has started to appear in following countries: Australia, Canada, Europe, Fiji, Guyana, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE, UK & USA. Hare Krsna Television is now available in India on IN Cable #535, NXT Digital Channel #919, DIGI #519, ABS #521, 7 STAR #384, RVR #927, HATHWAY #845, UCN #616, WIN TV #600, TJ CABLE #303, HARIKA STAR #30. Continue reading "HARE KRSNA TELEVISION
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TOVP Euro Tour Day 6 – Slovakia, New Ekachakra Dhama
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Hare KrishnaBy TOVP staff

This miraculous visit to New Ekachakra Dhama on Wednesday, April 18th has become another history making event on the TOVP Euro Tour. So much so that we will also include some related lilas that led to the planning and arrival of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari in Slovakia. The story begins in 2015 with Mahasankarsana prabhu, one of the temple leaders from New Ekachakra Dhama, speaking with Tukarama prabhu in Mayapur. Continue reading "TOVP Euro Tour Day 6 – Slovakia, New Ekachakra Dhama
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WSN March 2018 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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Hare KrishnaBy Vijaya Dasa

March was another great month of book distribution, with almost 500,000 books and magazines distributed. Surely Srila Prabhupada is pleased with the steady distribution of his books more than forty years after his departure. It's still going strong. For many decades the European devotees have been having Nrsimhadeva marathons. Usually they last for a week, or in some places a few days. It would be very pleasing to Lord Nrsimhadeva if around the world devotees could increase their distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books by having these mini-marathons. Or at least try to arrange your day to go out before or on Nrsimha-caturdasi and distribute some books. Lord Nrsimhadeva and Srila Prabhupada will be pleased. Continue reading "WSN March 2018 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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Hanuman and Prabhupada were given a purpose – when we haven’t been given one, how should we live?
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Answer Podcast

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March MSF – Breaking Language Barriers
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!



We would like to present a summary report of our last Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF). This article has been written by one of our younger members of the community, Krishna Rajesh. We will be featuring more of these reports so you can follow along with all of the exciting developments and learn how to get involved!

On Saturday, March 31st 2018, Toronto Sankirtan Team (TST) celebrated its 106th consecutive Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF) – a monthly outing on the last Saturday of each month, where devotees take with them the beautiful message of Krishna Consciousness to the public in the form of Srila Prabhupada’s books, Krishna Prasad and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra! Started in June 2009, MSFs are now organized across the GTA by TST regional teams: TST East, TST Brampton, TST West, TST Etobicoke, TST Markham, and TST Central.
Fig 1: Jennifer (left) and Zara (right) from China get Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. The mother, Jennifer, borrowed money from her daughter Zara to get the books so she received the blessings of 3 books!

The March MSF was a lot of fun as 6 teams went out for door-to-door Sankirtan spending 3-5 hours knocking doors, and sharing transcendental knowledge and smiles to those who opened their doors! With the introduction of Language Cards, the TST Warriors distributed Srila Prabhupad’s books in cumulative effort to people of various ethnicities, gender, and age.

From devotees as young as pre-schoolers, to seasoned warriors, everyone got together and united under one goal: the goal of distributing Srila Prabhupad’s books. TST West knocked approximately 110 apartments, visited one grocery store, and distributed 84 transcendental literatures, collected lots of Bhoga and Laxmi.

TST Central visited two apartment buildings, knocked almost 270 doors and distributed 87 transcendental books, collected $90 of Laxmi and Bhoga.

TST Brampton distributed 28 books. And TST Etobicoke knocked almost 75 doors and distributed 15 transcendental books for Bhoga and Laxmi. In total, there were 24 devotees involved. Jai Srila Prabhupad! It couldn’t have been done without the blessings of the Vaishnavas, and the hard work and dedication of all the devotees who participated at the front and back end.

Fig 2: Mahabhagavat Prabhu’s (right) new Spanish speaking friend (left) who was touched by Srila Prabhupada’s book and “paid” in whatever best he could find in his house—water bottles.

Ways in which YOU can get involved:

1. Join last Saturday of every month for Monthly Sankirtan Festivals

2. Join every weekend in May-Sept for Summer Sankirtan Festivals

3. Help promote Bhagvad Gita through the Sastra Dana program

4. Place Smart-Box in your community stores, restaurants, and more

5. Read Srimad Bhagavatam together over the phone

Contact us at toronto.sankirtan@gmail.com / 416-400-7001


April MSF is on Saturday, April 28th. Will you join us?
Everyone matters, Every bit counts!

Nrsimha Caturdasi – Saturday, April 28, 2018
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!

Saturday, April 28 we will be celebrating Nrsimha Caturdasi, the appearance day of Nrsimhadeva, the half-man half-lion incarnation of Lord Krishna. 

Nrsimhadeva appeared to protect a saintly five-year-old boy Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu, a demoniac king. Hiranyakasipu constantly tortured Prahlada for worshipping his worst enemy, Lord Krishna. He despised the Lord and obtained several benedictions from Brahma in order to make himself as close to being immortal as possible. Nevertheless, Hiranyakasipu was killed without breaking any of these benedictions by Narsimhadeva who appeared from a pillar in the demon’s palace. As He had stated in the Bhagavad Gita, He appeared when there was a need for Him to protect His devotees and annihilate the demons. 

Let us pray for the protection of Nrsimhadeva to help annihilate all obstacles in our spiritual path. Join us for the festivities Saturday evening starting at 4pm!
  • 4:00pm to 6:00pm: Special Kirtan by HH Niranjana Swami
  • 6:00pm to 6:30pm: Arati and Nrsimha Pranam
  • 6:30pm to 6:35pm: Welcome & Announcements
  • 6:35pm to 7:30pm: Discourse on Lord Nrsimhadeva
  • 7:30pm to 8:00pm: Abhiskeka (bathing ceremony)
  • 8:00pm to 8:30pm: Arati
  • 8:30pm: Prasadam (vegetarian feast)

Special Guests this Weekend!
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple!

The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple is excited to welcome both Niranjana Swami and Madhavananda Dasa to our community from Thursday April 26, 2018 to Monday, April 30, 2018. They both visited last year and enamoured our entire community with their kirtans, in-depth classes and overall association!

This visit, there are many programs to be a part of across the GTA so please do not miss out!

Schedule (subject to change):

Friday, April 27th: 
Evening Class by Madhavananda Prabhu 

Saturday, April 28th:
Kirtan Program with Niranjana Swami 
ISKCON Toronto
4pm - 6pm

Sunday, April 29th:
Morning Sunday Feast Class by Madhavananda Prabhu

Evening Sunday Feast Class by Niranjana Swami
ISKCON Toronto
6:30pm - 7:15pm

The knowledge of the arrogant defeats the purpose of knowledge
→ The Spiritual Scientist

madopaśamanaṁ śāstraṁ khalānāṁ kurute madam
cakṣuḥ prakāśakaṁ teja ulūkānām ivāndhatām

madopaśamanam — removers of arrogance; śāstram — scriptures; khalānām — for the wicked; kurute — they increase; madam — arrogance; cakṣuḥ-prakāśakam — eye illuminating; tejaḥ — brilliance [of the sun]; ulūkānām — for the owls; iva — like; andhatām — blindness.

“The arrogance of the wicked increases on studying scripture, which is actually meant to remove arrogance, just as the darkness owls experience increases with the rising of the sun, which is actually meant to remove darkness.”

— Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram, ku-paṇḍita-nindā, Verse 11.

To properly perceive even ordinary reality, we need humility. While driving along a road, if we become overconfident, thinking that we know the way, we may become neglectful and get jolted by newly-formed potholes. For our life-journey, scripture is a guidebook. If we become over-confident, thinking that we know the way and don’t need scripture, we won’t see life’s spiritual side and will find ourselves coming to a dead end at the end of our life with death. Even along the way to that gloomy destination, we will be tormented and thwarted by the temporariness and emptiness of the world’s many allurements. Given this blinding power of arrogance, the Bhagavad-gita (13.08-12) places humility first in its list of twenty items of knowledge.

Humility means to acknowledge that reality is bigger than our conceptions. And since scripture is a guide to reality, humility in the study of scripture means acknowledging the complexity of scripture too. No matter how learned we may be in scripture, it will still have many subtleties and nuances unknown to us.

This Subhashita illustrates the pitfall of pride with the example of owls. With the rising of the sun, all living beings start seeing, but owls stop seeing. Scripture is like a sun – it illumines our life-journey with the light of knowledge. However, if we are owl-like, we shut ourselves to that illumination. Pertinently, the Ishopanishad (mantra 9) cautions that those in ignorance enter into darkness, but those with so-called knowledge enter into far greater darkness. To understand this paradoxical statement, consider the metaphor of blindness. To be blind is problematic; to be blind and to believe that one can see is even more problematic; to be blind, to believe that one can see and to believe those with vision are blind is most problematic. Similarly, to be in ignorance is bad; to be in ignorance and to claim to be in knowledge is worse; to be in ignorance, to claim to be in knowledge and to deem those in knowledge to be in ignorance is worst. Such is the condition of those proud of their scriptural knowledge – they remain blind to the essence and purpose of scripture.

While it is easy to minimize or even demonize others as being owl-like, we ourselves may have owl-like tendencies too. We all tend to zero in on things that reinforce our understanding and tend to explain away things that problematize our understanding. That’s just basic human tendency to seek intellectual security. Nonetheless, if we have humility, or at least if we don’t have arrogance, then we remain open to re-examining and revising our understanding when presented proper reasoning and references.

Whereas owls just can’t see in light, we can, provided we use our free will to seek holistic understanding of scripture. We need to study scripture to understand our place and purpose in the overall scheme of things, not to reinforce the place and purpose we have assigned to ourselves without considering the overall scheme of things.

The Bhagavad-gita states that the ultimate purpose of all knowledge is to know Krishna (15.15), and that those who have devoted themselves to him have attained all knowledge (15.19). Without humility, even if we study scripture extensively, we can neither know Krishna nor love him.

Why not?

Because as long as we are filled with thoughts of our greatness, we have no room within us for appreciating Krishna’s greatness. Even if we study scripture and even if we use our scriptural knowledge to glorify Krishna, we end up doing it with an erroneous motive – we long to be glorified for being learned and devoted, not to savor and share Krishna’s glories.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.23) describes the pastime of the pompous priests engaged in elaborate ritualistic sacrifices. Being inebriated by their prestigious position as officiators of that grand sacrifice, they neglected the unimpressive-looking cowherd boyfriends of Krishna and thereby neglected Krishna, who was the Lord and purpose of their sacrifices. In contrast, their wives, though not as learned as them, grabbed the opportunity to serve Krishna. They had the humility to not judge people based on external appearances – they could see that the simple cowherd boys were offering them the greatest privilege of their lives: a chance to directly serve the Lord of their hearts, who was the master of all living beings and the purpose of life itself.

When we cultivate humility, our consciousness becomes increasingly available for realizing and relishing Krishna’s unlimited glories. The more we accept our insignificance, the more we taste his magnificence. Indeed, humility opens the floodgate for our head and heart to be inundated with Krishna’s supremely sweet glories.

The post The knowledge of the arrogant defeats the purpose of knowledge appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

God as the supreme therapist 3 – Devotional detachment is not freedom from emotions but freedom of emotions
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[Narasmiha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers 5.18.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on 5.18.10 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary


 

Video:

The post God as the supreme therapist 3 – Devotional detachment is not freedom from emotions but freedom of emotions appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Why did Bhima abandon Hidimibi – did he marry her simply to gain political power?
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Sunday 22 April the devotees in Den Haag organized the Premiere…
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Sunday 22 April the devotees in Den Haag organized the Premiere of Hare Krishna, the film. The sold-out event in the Pathe theatre was adorned with the speeches of H.H. Kadamba Kanana Swami, H. G. Yadubara Prabhu, H.G. Hrdaya Caitanya prabhu (GBC) and 7 disciples of Srila Prabhupada of Holland and Belgium.
The mood was pleasant, friendly and in a renewed appreciation of Srila Prabhupada’s lilas when establishing Krishna-consciousness all over the world.
Jaya Bhadra (ACBSP) said that when Srila Prabhupada was leaving this mortal world, he said to his disciples that now he hands over the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to them. Jaya Bhadra Mataji continued that now the disciples are slowly leaving and the time is there to hand over the mission of Gauranga to us. This will please Srila Prabhupada the most. We need to take good care of this treasure that we have received.

The prayers of Prahlad
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 May 2015, Simhachalam, Germany, Nrsimha Caturdasi Morning Lecture)

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

When Srila Prabhupada was lecturing on the appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadev in Bombay, he was lecturing immediately after a play and he was glorifying Hiranyakasipu because the part was played so well. Then he explained more about the pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadev and at the end he said, “If I had more time, I would have spoken about the prayers of Prahlad.” These prayers of Prahlad were particular favourites of Srila Prabhupada and in a sense, the most important, because Prahlad is a devotee and we are following in his footsteps and are trying to be devotees of the Lord. Therefore, in these prayers, when Prahlad is praying from his position as a devotee, these are especially relevant for us. Of course, when we hear about Hiranyakasipu, we realize that there is a little Hiranyakasipu in us too! So every aspect of the pastime has its relevance but still, because Prahlad is a devotee, we want to give some special attention to his words.

NrshimaCaturdasi2015 (98)So, I shall start with a very short introduction. The situation was that Lord Nrsimhadev´s anger had been aroused by Hiranyakasipu. Lord Nrsimhadev’s anger was so extreme and so strong that it was still raging even after Hiranyakasipu had been killed. This whole pastime took place in the celestial regions and the demigods who were present felt the incredible, overwhelming anger! Due to the heat of that anger, they felt thrown back and they were just overwhelmed by fear and by no means could they go near the Lord. Even Laxmi Devi did not dare go near the Lord but for another reason. Laxmi Devi had never seen this form of the Lord and because Her chastity is to the Lord Visnu, She had some doubt whether She was really dealing with Lord Visnu. So, even Laxmi did not appear before the Lord. No one could. Lord Brahma could not, Lord Siva could not. None of the demigods could possibly go near the Lord!

So Lord Brahma pushed Prahlad forward and said, “Well, He appeared because of you, so you go and pacify Him!” Well, it does not look very heroic when you shove a five year-old boy forward like, “You go and deal with Him!” (Laughter)

No, we should not take it in that way, we should see that Lord Brahma is most intelligent and therefore very deeply analysed the situation and also realized that Prahlad is not just a five-year-old boy, he is extremely powerful – nothing could kill him, nothing could possibly kill Prahlad! So many attempts were made to kill him but nothing worked.

Then the Lord benedicted Prahlad and placed His lotus hand – I guess it is a hand or transcendental paws or whatever it was. He placed His hand on the head of Prahlad and then, it is said that Prahlad was purified, further purified from any possible influence of his demoniac birth and subsequently Prahlad started to offer prayers.

So after having offered various prayers, Prahlad comes to this prayer that I chose, (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.11)

naivātmanaḥ prabhur ayaṁ nija-lābha-pūrṇo
mānaṁ janād aviduṣaḥ karuṇo vṛṇīte
yad yaj jano bhagavate vidadhīta mānaṁ
tac cātmane prati-mukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ

Translation: The Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always fully satisfied in Himself. Therefore when something is offered to Him, the offering, by the Lord’s mercy, is for the benefit of the devotee, for the Lord does not need service from anyone. To give an example, if one’s face is decorated, the reflection of one’s face in a mirror is also seen to be decorated.

And I will read Srila Prabhupada’s purport which is not so long:

In bhakti-yoga it is recommended that a devotee follow nine principles; śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam (SB 7.5.23). This service of glorifying the Lord by hearing, chanting and so on is not, of course, meant for the benefit of the Lord; this devotional service is recommended for the benefit of the devotee. The Lord is always glorious, whether the devotee glorifies Him or not, but if the devotee engages in glorifying the Lord, the devotee himself automatically becomes glorious. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (Siksastakam 1). By glorifying the Lord constantly, the living entity becomes purified in the core of his heart, and thus he can understand that he does not belong to the material world but is a spirit soul whose actual activity is to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that he may become free from the material clutches. Thus the blazing fire of material existence is immediately extinguished (bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam)…

NrshimaCaturdasi2015 (112)So to comment a little bit… I found this quite important that the Lord does not need our glorification, especially because we are members of the sankirtan movement which is a movement dedicated to constant glorification of the Supreme Lord. Sometimes the question is raised, “But why does the Lord need to be glorified all the time? Is He enjoying this to hear His own glory? Is it almost like vanity? What is this quality in the Lord that He likes to be glorified and that we have to chant all His glories all the time? Why? What is this in the Supreme Lord?”

But from this verse, we see what the key is to the entire glorification of the Supreme Lord because Prahlad makes it very clear. Now Prahlad, as Srila Prabhupada states, is one of the mahajans (Srimad Bhagavatam 6.3.20).

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ, kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ

Prahlad Maharaj is one of the twelve mahajans, one of the authorities, therefore whatever Prahlad speaks is to be taken as authorized instruction. And Prahlad is stating that the Supreme Lord is atmarama, He is satisfied within the self, He does not need our glorification but the amazing thing is that by glorifying the Lord, the person who glorifies Him is purified. Just as when we decorate our face and when we look at our reflection, it is also decorated. So when we decorate the Lord in glorification, we ourselves become glorified and purified. As it is said in the Caitanya Caritamrta, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami says (CC Madhya 22.75) sarva mahā-guṇa-gaṇa vaiṣṇava-śarīre, and then it says kṛṣṇa-bhakte kṛṣṇera guṇa sakali.

He says that all the good qualities of Krsna will manifest within a vaisnava. So it is very interesting that by serving Krsna, the vaisnava gets the qualities of Krsna. The entire glorification of the Lord is actually decorating ourselves. Although we offer Him this praise and endless glorification, our own glories are increasing. And that is a  very important point made by Prahlad which really struck me very much.

Then I would like to go to one more prayer of Prahlad and then I will end, (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.15)

nāhaṁ bibhemy ajita te ’tibhayānakāsya-
jihvārka-netra-bhrukuṭī-rabhasogra-daṁṣṭrāt
āntra-srajaḥ-kṣataja-keśara-śaṅku-karṇān
nirhrāda-bhīta-digibhād ari-bhin-nakhāgrāt

Translation: My Lord, who are never conquered by anyone, I am certainly not afraid of Your ferocious mouth and tongue, Your eyes bright like the sun or Your frowning eyebrows. I do not fear Your sharp, pinching teeth, Your garland of intestines, Your mane soaked with blood, or Your high, wedgelike ears. Nor do I fear Your tumultuous roaring, which makes elephants flee to distant places, or Your nails, which are meant to kill Your enemies…

So throughout scripture, Lord Nrsimhadev is described as frightening, like in Nrsimha Tapani Upanisad, He is called bhisana or very frightening appearance. But the frightening appearance of the Lord is not at all frightening for the devotee, not frightening for Prahlad nor for the devotee because as Srila Prabhupada explains, a lion is very fearsome to all animals but not to his own cubs, right!

nrshima caturdasi (6)His own cubs are not at all afraid of the lion because the lion is their protector, so rather than being afraid, they feel very well-protected. Just as children like to say, “My father is a policeman,” or something like that, just to scare off other kids, “You can’t do anything to me. My father…” So when your father and protector is Nrsimhadev, then one is very comfortable. So in this way, the devotees are rather very comfortable, very happily discussing the intestines of Hiranyakasipu hanging as a garland around the neck of the Lord…

Srila Prabhupada says, “Prahlad stands next to the killer of his father and he has a garland ready. He wants to garland the killer of his father.” It is very transcendental and quite difficult to understand for the materialists. Sometimes people come into our temples and they see the painting of Hiranyakasipu and they see it for what it is and they say, “What is this?” And the devotees say, “Oh, it’s our Lord Nrsimhadev.” Because we see this all as the great mercy of the Lord, who is so affectionate, so much full of love towards His devotees that He will not tolerate, not tolerate any violence towards His devotees and thus the devotees, by worshiping Lord Nrsimhadev, become fearless.

Bahir nrisimho hridaye nrisimho, He is everywhere and outside of us is Lord Nrsimhadev, the Lord is in the heart. Yato yato yami tato nrisimho, everywhere we are Lord Nrsimhadev is there. In this way, we are feeling very safe and very happy to commemorate this pastime with all its bloody descriptions. I´ll end here. Thank you very much!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

The article " The prayers of Prahlad " was published on KKSBlog.