Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Puzzled
Some good Souls
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Bitten by the snake
Be kind, O blissful one. Be kind, O Supreme Lord. O Lord, please rescue me, bitten by the snake of physical and mental pain. O Krishna, O husband of Rukmini, O enchanter of the gopis, O master of the universe, please rescue me, drowning in the ocean of repeated birth and death. O Kesava, O Narayana, O Govinda, O Janardana, O source of all transcendental happiness, O Lord who rescues your devotees from distress, O Madhava, please rescue me.
Brahma said: As I worship Him, so should you. Chanting this five-word mantra ("klim
krishnaya govindaya gopijanavallabhaya svaha") , and meditating on Lord Krishna, you will transcend the world of birth and death. One who chants this five-word mantra easily attains His transcendental abode. Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. Even the powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Therefore, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should meditate upon Him, glorify Him, serve Him and Adore Him with a devoted heart.
Vyadhi, or physical pain, inevitably comes when one fulfils his material desires. When material desires remain unfulfilled, however, the conditioned soul experiences mental pain, or adhi. Either condition is inauspicious for the conditioned soul.
In the Hari-vamsa, Lord Shiva explains the meaning of the name Kesava: "Both Brahma (ka) and I (isa), the master of all living entities, were born from You, and for this reason, O Lord, You are known as Kesava."
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Happy father's day
Then again, it was confirmed by Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. Because a king is representative of God. King is not ordinary person. Just like spiritual master is representative of God, similarly, king is also representative of God. The father is also representative of God. These are the statements of the śāstras. Because they will guide. The king will guide. The spiritual master will guide. The father will guide. What is that guidance? That guidance is how one can become Kṛṣṇa conscious by education, by culture. This is guidance, not that to guide them how to become hippies. This is not guidance. This is misguidance. Guidance means... The whole system of human civilization is guide the people to become God conscious. This is the Vedic civilization, not to make them dog conscious, cat conscious, animal conscious. No.
Srimad bhagavatam 1.9.49
Sunday, June 10, 2012
A sober person
The word Guru generally means teacher. Of course today there are many different types of teachers. Some teach mundane subjects and others teach the transcendental sciences. In the Srimad Bhagavatam the heaviest of all teachers "Srila Vyasa" teaches us how to see reality the beautiful (Sri Krishna) in all walks of life. He teaches us how to take lessons from the 24 Gurus mentioned below.
From Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7.33-35 (paraphrased).
The 24 gurus are: the earth, the air, the sky, water, fire, moon, sun,
pigeon, python, the sea, the moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief, the deer,
the fish, the prostitute Pingala, the kurara bird, the child, the young girl,
arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp.
1. Earth: a sober person should never be distracted from progress on his
won path even if he is harassed by other living beings, because they are acting
helplessly under the control of God. He should be as steady as the earth. Like
the mountain and the tree, he should dedicate himself to the service of
others.
2. Air: a
transcendentalist may be surrounded by innumerable material objects possessing
good and bad qualities. But like the wind he should never be entangled by them.
When the wind carries different aromas, it never mixes with them.
3. Sky: Though
the sky extends everywhere and everything rests within it, it does not mix with
anything. The soul and Supersoul have the same quality.
The sky is never implicated or affected by the blowing action of the wind.
In the same way the living entity is never affected though it may enter a body
of material elements.
4. Water: The
saintly person is like water because he is free from all contamination, gentle
by nature and when speaking creates a beautiful vibration like the flowing of
water. By seeing, touching or hearing such a saintly person, the living entity
is cleansed as if coming in contact with pure water.
5. Fire: Even if
a saintly person eats contaminated food by chance he is not affected, like the
fire that burns up contaminated substances that are offered to it. Like fire, he
is sometimes concealed and sometimes revealed. As the spiritual master he burns
up the past and future reactions of his disciples. The Supreme Soul is like fire
in that He enters different bodies as fire manifests differently in various
pieces of wood. Like the flickering fire, the waves of time flow constantly and
imperceptibly bring with them birth, growth and death. But just as nobody can
follow the changing pattern of a flame, no-one can see the changes wrought by
time upon them.
6. Moon: Though
the moon waxes and wanes, it is not affected by this "change." Similarly the
living entity is not affected by the changes of the body from birth to
death.
7. Sun: A
saintly person can accept a material thing with his senses and at the
appropriate time he gives that thing to the proper person. So also the sun
evaporates water and returns it to earth as rain. Sun and saint are never
entangled by this. The sun is reflected in many objects but is never divided.
Also the soul is reflected into various bodies but is always one and the
same.
8. Pigeon: he is
an example for excessive attachment, because he chose to be captured by the
hunter after seeing his wife and children so captured, thinking that without
them life was not worth living.
9. Python: he
does not make arrangements for food, but waits for food to come to him. This
exemplifies peacefulness and patience.
10. The sea:
just like a tranquil sea, the saintly person, being full of knowledge, is never
disturbed.
11. The moth: a
foolish man is captivated by a woman's charms just like a moth is captivated by
a flame and burns within it.
12. The
honeybee: a renounced person who begs a little food from different houses is
like a madhukari, or honeybee. Also a honeybee takes nectar from different
flowers. So also an intelligent human being takes the essence of different
scrip-tures. But a saintly person should not become greedy and collect too
much.
13. The
elephant: A saintly person should remember how the great bull elephant is
captured by the she-elephant; therefore he should never desire to touch the body
of a young girl.
14. The honey
thief: sannyasis and brahmacaris are entitled to take away the wealth of the
laboring householders, just like a hone thief takes away the honey from the nest
of the busy bees.
15. The deer:
they are bewildered by the sound of a hunter's horn, and thus are killed. A
renounced person should never become attracted by mundane sounds like sensuous
music, especial-ly the sweet singing and dancing of beautiful women.
16. The fish:
they are caught on the hook by their uncontrollable tongues. A learned man
should control all his senses by first controlling the tongue, which is the most
powerful sense of all.
17. Pingala:
this prostitute gave up her plans for earning money through sex indulgence out
of frustration. Feeling satisfaction from her abandonment of material desires,
she could remember Krsna and became peaceful.
18. The kurara
bird (hawk): When a hawk carrying some meat was attacked by larger hawks, he
gave it up out of fear for his life. Renouncing and saving himself, he felt more
happiness than he did when he took the meat.
19. The child: a
foolish child is happy due to ignorance, and a saintly person is happy due to
having surrendered to Krsna.
20. The young
girl: receiving some prospective bridegrooms on a day when her parents were away
from home, she went into the kitchen to prepare food for them. While beating
rice, her bracelets jangled, and she was afraid that the young men would think
her family was poor because she was doing all the work in the home. She broke
all the bracelets except two on each arm, but these also jangled. She then
removed one from each arm, leaving only one on each arm. Thereafter she worked
in silence. So too, when many people live together, there will be clashing of
interests and fighting. It is better to live alone.
21. The arrow
maker: the devotee should be so absorbed in the Lord that he does not see
duality, just as the arrow maker was so absorbed in his work of making a
straight arrow that he did not notice the king passing buy.
22. The snake:
he makes no home for himself, but takes over the homes of others, having eaten
them. A sage should similarly make no endeavors for his own shelter.
23. The spider:
God is like the spider because He creates the network of the cosmos from his own
potency and then withdraws it into Himself.
24. The wasp: he
trapped a weaker insect in his hive. This insect took on the mentality of a wasp
out of intense fear of the wasp, and thus became a wasp in its next life. This
illustrates how one attains in the next life what one's mind is fixed
upon.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A low class mentality
| | |
| Written by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada | |
Many people consider Ekalavya’s 'guru-bhakti' to be ideal, but there is a unique deliberation concerning this topic. King Hiranyadhanu's son was named Ekalavya. Ekalavya was, by caste, a nisadha (candala). In order to learn astra-vidya, Prince Ekalavya approached Dronacarya Arjuna was Dronacarya's most beloved disciple. The acarya had told Arjuna that none of Dronacarya's disciples would ever be able to excel Arjuna in skill. One day Dronacarya instructed the Kauravas and the Pandavas to leave the royal capital and go to the forest for hunting. As they made their way through the forest, they saw a dog whose mouth had been blocked with seven arrows. Seeing this, they were most astonished. Whoever had shot these arrows was far more expert than the Pandavas. Realizing this, they went in search of that person. Gradually they understood that it was Ekalavya, the son of Hiranyadhanu, who had tested his archery skills on the dog's mouth. The Pandavas returned to the capital and, approaching Dronacarya, submitted this unusual story to him. With a mood of humility, Arjuna told Dronacarya that it seemed that he had another disciple who was more expert in archery than Arjuna. Dronacarya listened to these words and was surprised. He went with Arjuna into the forest and there they saw Ekalavya continuously shooting arrows like rain, fully absorbed in the science of archery. Taking the opportunity Dronacarya came forward and approached Ekalavya, and seeing the acarya, Ekalavya immediately offered his prayers at his feet, and with folded hands he introduced himself as his disciple and remained standing. Dronacarya told Ekalavya, "You must give guru-daksina." Ekalavya replied, "Please tell me – whatever it is, I am ready to give it!" Then Dronacarya told Ekalavya to cut off his thumb and give him that as his guru-daksina. Ekalavya executed the order of his Gurudeva. Ekalavya did not protest in any way and unhesitatingly executed his guru's instruction. Initially Ekalavya's guru rejected him because he considered him to be born of a low caste, yet due to his faith in Dronacarya, he established a clay deity of him and became invincible – thus his guru-bhakti was established as ideal. On the other hand, Arjuna was envious towards Ekalavya, because by his perseverance, Ekalavya had become expert; therefore Ekalavya was ruined by Dronacarya – this is the common opinion. But this is not the opinion of the devotees, nor is it a true conception. Everything about Bhagavan is supremely true, everything about the principles of devotion are supremely true and everything in relation to the devotee is supremely true. These are the three truths – Bhagavan, bhakti and bhakta. Everything a devotee does is good; everything a non-devotee does is not very good. The non-devotee has many bad qualities because he is not engaged in satisfying the senses of Bhagavan. Those that think that mundane laws are greater than Bhagavan cannot accommodate those words regarding the supreme truth. Such persons are nirvisesavadis (impersonalists) which is to say that they cannot accept the non-differentiated specialty of Bhagavan, bhakti and bhakta. What was Ekalavya’s fault? This analysis is essential. He wore the mask of guru-bhakti, yet he was actually inimical towards his guru. Whether his guru actually considered Ekalavya to be disqualified by his low-birth, or was simply testing him — whatever the reason may be, when his Gurudeva did not wish to teach him the science of warfare, it was Ekalavya’s duty to accept his guru's instruction upon his head; but Ekalavya did not accept that. He had the aspiration to become great. Externally, without a guru, his practices would not have been considered lawful, or he would not be in a favorable position to become great without accepting a guru. To this end, Ekalavya concocted a clay form of his 'guru'. He only did this to attain greatness by learning the Dhanur-veda. In this way, his main intention was to satisfy his own senses. He did not offer himself as a sacrifice to his guru's desire and his own intentions were not sincere. Some may say that ultimately Ekalavya happily accepted the heartless order of his guru without protest, but if we consider this topic deeply and with keen discernment, we can observe that Ekalavya considered mundane morality to be superior to transcendental devotion. When the guru requests something to be given as daksina, then one must offer it to him – it was that sense of morality that inspired him to cut off his thumb. Ekalavya did not offer it with spontaneous devotion. The very nature of bhakti is that it is spontaneous and simple. If Ekalavya had unmotivated and natural devotion within his heart towards Hari, Guru and Vaisnava, then the guru, Dronacarya, the best of Vaisnavas, Arjuna, and Bhagavan Sri Krsna, would not have been displeased with his behavior. Ekalavya’s attempt to learn the Dhanur-veda and his hankering to become great were not accepted by his Gurudeva. Deep within Ekalavya’s heart, he desired to try and become greater than Arjuna, the best of Vaisnavas. The aspiration to become greater than the Vaisnavas is not devotion – it is anti-devotional and it is the dharma of the Ativadis (1). According to worldly considerations, the desire to become great is regarded as good. But the effort to take a subordinate position behind a Vaisnava and the attempt to take shelter of a Vaisnava – that is bhakti. Ekalavya wanted his expertise to be greater than that which could be acquired by learning Vedic sciences directly from a mahanta-guru – Arjuna notified Dronacarya of this. If Arjuna had not mercifully pointed this out, then the victory of impersonalism would have been proclaimed extensively. People would not have approached a mahanta-guru to accept any type of knowledge; they would have desired to create their own contradictory, concocted, clay, lifeless gurus in order to learn various sciences or devotional teachings. In this way, atheistic theories would have been established. Therefore, Arjuna had no envy towards Ekalavya; it was actually his causeless compassion towards Ekalavya and the world. If Ekalavya had been an honest devotee of his guru, then Krsna would not have killed such a guru-bhakta – He always protects His devotees. But finally Ekalavya was killed by the hand of Krsna. This is how Ekalavya finally met his end (3). Sri Caitanyadeva has said that we cannot judge devotion simply on the basis of external austerities. The asuras perform penances that even the demigods cannot perform (2). Against the wishes of his guru, Ekalavya wanted to become greater than the Vaisnava. Therefore he was killed by Krsna and attained impersonal liberation. Asuras are always killed by Krsna and the devotees of the Lord are protected by Krsna (4). The proof of this is Hiranyakasipu and Prahlada. Thus we should never attempt to become greater than the Vaisnavas. If we do not wear a mask of guru-bhakti, we will never become impersonalists. This is what the pure devotees have taught in relation to the narrative of Ekalavya. Expertise in performing mundane activities is not guru-bhakti. Taking shelter of the Vaisnavas is actually true devotion. (From Upakhyane Upadesa, Vol. 2) FOOTNOTES: (1) The Ativadis are an apasampradaya that originated in Orissa under one Jagannatha Dasa during the time of Mahaprabhu. The word 'ativadi' means 'one who thinks he is very inteligent' (ati – very, vadi – intelligent). (2) Ekalavya’s demise is found in Chapter 48 of the Udyoga-parva of Mahabharata wherein Krsna kills him as He battles with Jarasandha’s army. (3) asure o tapa kare, ki haya tahara vine mora sarana laile nahi para (Cb. Madhya 23.46) (4) Madhvacarya, in his Mahabharata Tataparya Nirnaya has commented that Ekalavya was the amsa of the demon Manimanta. yuddhva ciram rana mukhe bhagavat sutah asau cakre nirayudham amum sthiram ekalavyam amsena yo bhuvam agat maniman iti sma sa krodha tantraka ganesu adhipo nisadah Fighting for a long time with Ekalavya, who was steadfast in battlefield, Pradyumna rendered him weaponless. Previously there was a group of demons known as the Krodha-tantra-ganas, amongst whom there was a prominent demon named Manimanta. Ekalavya is the amsa of that Manimanta. |
Sunday, February 12, 2012
A few interesting notes
**************************************The Veda in its original Sanskrit form deliberates on 130 branches of knowledge. 15 remain on earth today.
The Mahabharata was presented in its original 100,000 Sanskrit verses by Srila Vyasa.
The Bhagavat Gita which is within Mahabharata contains 700 Sanskrit verses.
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