Shikshashtakam

Shikshashtakam 1 Overview and flow of the ashtakam

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Shikshashtakam 2 Text 1 The mind as a window, a TV screen and a mirror

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​Shikshashtakam 3 Text 1 The flower metaphor for the blossoming of consciousness

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​Shikshashtakam 4 Text 1 From the partial nectar to the complete nectar

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​Shikshashtakam 5 Text 2 The mysterious non-difference of Krishna and his holy name

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Shikshashtakam 6 Text 3 Humility means to not let our ego interfere with our purpose

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Shikshashtakam 7 Text 3 Tolerance means to call off our war with reality

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Shikshashtakam 8 Text 4 Let your bhakti be Krishna-centered, not renunciation-centered

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Shikshashtakam 9 Text 5 The subtle interplay of endeavor and grace in bhakti

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Shikshashtakam 10 Text 6 Curb sentimentality but cherish sentiments

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Shikshashtakam 11 Text 7 Treasure devotional memories to propel your devotion

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Shikshashtakam 12 Text 8 Radharani manifests the highest summit of love

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Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

We start with the last verse of the Shikshadashikam now. Let's recite it together. So, here this is the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is now exhibiting the highest summit of love.

There are, as I said, 6th, 7th, 8th verses are talking about very exalted spiritual emotions where there is experience of deep ecstasy and physical transformation that is described in the 6th verse. In the 7th verse it is described that everything else becomes meaningless without Krishna. Now the 8th verse talks about that how I will love Krishna even if he doesn't reciprocate me.

You are my lord, you are the lord of my life and no one else will be the lord of my life. No matter what happens, whether you reciprocate or not. Whether you embrace me or you crush me, whether you reject me, whether you make me broken hearted as Prabhupada explains, by not being present before me.

So, still you will be my lord. So that means, we often talk, we want reciprocation from Krishna. But here there is such a love that even if there is no reciprocation, still you are my lord.

And that is an extraordinary level of love and we will discuss how the Gopis also, especially Radharani demonstrates this love. So, we can say that there are various levels. There is love with reciprocation.

There is love without reciprocation. And worse than that is love with rejection. That means, one person loves another and that person loves back.

There is reciprocation, there is fulfillment. But one person loves and other person doesn't love at all. Other person is very uncaring.

That relationship is itself very difficult to sustain. But if one person loves the second person and that second person loves the third person, that means apparently the first person is being rejected. At that time to continue loving is extremely difficult.

So, here the word Lampata is there. Lampata means, it is basically somebody who is Krishna. He has relationship with many Gopis.

Sometimes he leaves Radharani to go to another Gopi. And at that time Radharani feels heartbroken. She says, even if you do like that Krishna, even if you leave me and go to some other Gopi, still I will love you.

That is the mood that is Krishna. Even if you reject me, not just you don't reciprocate, even if you reject me, still you are my lord. I cannot have any lord other than you.

That is her completely selfless love for Krishna. That she is concerned only for Krishna's sake. Now when the Gopis come to know that Akrura has come and Krishna is going to take, Krishna is going to go away with them.

And the Gopis that whole night, they are hoping that somehow, maybe the weather gods will help us and tomorrow there will be a hurricane. Tomorrow there will be a big storm and Krishna will not be able to go. They start praying to the gods, they start praying to whoever they can think of, somehow stop Krishna from going.

And finally the morning comes and nothing happens. Krishna is about to get on the chariot and is about to go. So they decide, so they decide that, now what to do now? Normally the Gopis have great love for Krishna.

But the way the Vrajalila is arranged, it's a conservative society. And the Gopis are model students. So they meet Krishna, they have pastimes with Krishna, but it is never in public.

They meet Krishna in the forest, they perform raslila at night. It's all a little bit covert. But at this point, evam bruhana viratura visham vajastriya krishna vishipta manasa visrujya najam rudhususmaram govinda damodara madhaveti So it says, when the Gopis know that Krishna is about to depart, at that time, visrujya najam, they give up all shyness, they give up all modesty.

This is in the 10th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. When the Gopis hear that, just give up everything, just go directly, publicly in front of him, Krishna, how can you leave us and go like this? And I say, Krishna, if you are going to go, before that, our life will go with you. Take that chariot over our bodies.

They lie down in front of Krishna. And then Krishna gets off his chariot and then he tells, no, I have to go, but I'll soon come back. And then he pacifies them.

I will soon come back. Now, actually in the Gopal Champu, Gopal Champu is a book written by Jiva Goswami and he takes the 10th canto past times and then takes Krishna Yuga as described in the other Puranas and other books and he integrates it all together in a much more embellished narrative. So he describes in Gopal Champu what all happens, why Krishna doesn't come back.

When Krishna kills Kamsa, at that time, the Yadus, they offer the crown of the Yadu vamsa to Krishna. And Krishna says, I am a cowherd, I am not interested in this crown. Please offer this crown to Ugrasi.

And they say, no, you are our son. You know, the prophecy was that the 8th son of Vasudeva will kill Kamsa and you have killed Kamsa, therefore you must be the 8th son. So then they say that, Krishna says, no, I belong to Vrindavan.

I was called over here, I came, I killed Kamsa, now you take care of him. I want to go back. Then the Yadus say that, but Krishna, Kamsa had many allies and there are many demons all over.

Because Kamsa was such a big tyrant, they were all under control. But now that you have killed Kamsa, we are all under danger, you have to protect us. And they practically force Krishna to stay with them.

And then Krishna comes and tells Nanda Maharaj. So actually, Nanda Maharaj never accepts that Krishna is the son of Vasudeva. He thinks Krishna is my son only.

And then when Krishna tells him, they are saying that the 8th son will kill and that's how based on that they are saying that I am their son. So Nanda Maharaj says that, he is so unhappy, he is so actually distressed at that time. But he starts laughing, almost bitterly and he says, it is our fortune that great people are claiming our son to be their son.

And then he says, if you have to stay there, you can stay, but he is hurt. He says, what will I tell Yashoda, what will I tell the Vrajivasis? So Krishna says, please tell them I will come back soon. And he is longing to come back.

But then, now Krishna at one level, he is just a 10 year old boy. At another level, he is a Kshatriya. So he knows what to do.

So at that time, he tells the Vrajivasis that actually if I am in Mathura, I can protect the Mathuravasis, but I cannot protect the Vrajivasis. So if my enemies attack Mathura, I will be there to protect. But if they attack Vrindavan, how will I be there to protect? And therefore, he says, for the protection of, he doesn't say for your protection, he says for the protection of the cows.

They are all servants of the cows. For the protection of the cows, we not only need to go back, but we have to cut off all connections. He says, none of you should come to meet me.

Nor will I be able to come to meet you till all the enemies are killed. Let my enemies think that actually there was not much relation between us. That I just stayed with you and after the period got over, now I am back here and now there is no connection.

So if they think that there is a great affection between us, then they will try to attack me by attacking you. But if they think there is no connection between us, then you will not be attacked. And so that is why based on Krishna's instruction, in one sense, we hear so much of the Gopis being separated from Krishna.

Then the Gopis could just have gone to Mathura from Vrindavan. But Krishna had explicitly followed that. Krishna says, don't come here.

Because then whenever the demons come, whenever they attack, they should not attack Vrindavan. And that's why when the Vrajavasis, they sometimes send some covert messengers to Mathura to know what is happening in Mathura. But there is no direct contact between Krishna and the Vrajavasis during the full period when he is away.

And for the Gopis, each day that goes, Krishna doesn't come, it's more and more agony. They are hoping that now Krishna will come, now Krishna will come, now Krishna will come. But for them it seems as if Krishna never comes.

But through it all, what happens is, their love for Krishna keeps increasing, keeps increasing. In the Chaitanya Charita, there is a prayer where Radharani is speaking that Krishna, I am like a jungle animal who is caught in a burning cage. And that cage, as it is burning, it is scorching the animal within.

And normally if there is a cage in which the animal is caught, then if there is a door, the animal will try to break open the door and rush out. She is like this, she says that the fire of separation is burning my body. And I could not have tolerated the separation.

And I would have died long ago. But your words that I will come back, they are like the bolt of the cage. Your words that I will come back, they prevent me from leaving this world.

And therefore I am trapped in this body, burning in separation from you. So the Gopis wouldn't be. Their life would have left when Krishna left.

But they stayed on because they feel that when Krishna comes back, Krishna will want us to be there to serve him. And Krishna will feel bad if we are not there. And that's why they live on.

And although they are in agony in separation from Krishna, but their thought is, how can we serve Krishna? When Krishna comes back, we should be there to serve him. That is how the Gopis are concerned only about Krishna and his service. And that is, although Krishna in one sense, they gave up everything for Krishna, and Krishna in one sense just rejected them and went away.

And Krishna said I will soon come back and Krishna doesn't come back for a long long time. But the Gopis keep loving him, keep loving him. And that is why if you see the Bhagavatam, what it does is, it is talking about Bhakti, it talks about Bhakti by inverting all the standard social hierarchies.

Inverting means, they say the standard hierarchy, the Brahmana is higher than a Kshatriya. The Sanyasi is higher than a Grahastha. But we have Ambarish Maharaj, who is a Grahastha and a Kshatriya.

And it is shown that he is more exalted than Durvasan. Why? Because he has Bhakti. Durvasan does not have Bhakti.

And similarly, Indra is a Devata, Ratharasura is Asura. Ratharasura has Bhakti, Indra does not have Bhakti. So the hierarchies are inverted.

So Asura becomes greater than a Devata. So like that, you know, many vast times they demonstrate the glory of Bhakti by inverting the traditional hierarchy. And this inversion of the traditional hierarchy happens the most in the case of the Gopis.

In the case of the Gopis, they are simply simple cowherd girls. They are not sages, they are not renunciates, but they have such exalted devotion for Krishna, completely selfless, concerned only about Krishna. And thus the highest example of devotion is demonstrated among these simple cowherd girls.

And they are concerned not about their own liberation, not about their own happiness, not even about their own life. They are concerned only about serving Krishna. And even within that, it is often said that the Gopis, their love for Krishna was, they were not married to Krishna.

It was parakiya bhava. Now the idea of this is, actually, eternally speaking, Krishna and the Gopis, they are related in Madhuridas, in the conjugal affection. But for the purpose of Leela, there is an arrangement where there are obstacles.

This is an example given by Aracha, that there is an elephant that is shackled. And as the elephant starts growing, you know, its strength increases. Initially when it is shackled, it doesn't realize how much is my strength.

But suppose, then, the elephant is in a shed where there is fire. And then the elephant has to just flee for life. And it is shackled to a pole and it pulls and pulls and pulls.

And actually when it pulls, at that time the elephant internally realizes, if I pull, I can break this pole down. I can actually move this pole, I can break this pole down. And the elephant may have some master.

The master would say, oh, this elephant has become so strong. So when there is opposition, and then there is a great motivation to overcome that opposition. There is burning fire and there is the motivation that, no, I cannot be in this fire, I will get burnt.

So at that time, there is internal realization of the strength and there is external expression of the strength. So both happen when there is opposition. So like that, for the Gopis, when Krishna apparently doesn't accept them, doesn't marry them, Krishna rejects them and goes away.

And even in that situation, when there is opposition, and still they give up everything for Krishna's sake, that means through that, their love becomes demonstrated. Internally, normally for a woman, her modesty, her shyness is considered to be a great virtue. And that is important for protecting social values and Prabhupada talks elaborately about that.

That's important. But here, for the sake of love of Krishna, they are ready to give up their modesty. So internally, whatever modesty they have, internally she gives it, the Gopis give it up.

And externally, although there are obstacles, when Krishna calls the Gopis for Rasnila, their relatives, they sometimes stop them. So the Gopis pray to Krishna, In our husbands, our brothers, our parents, our relatives, all of them there were obstacles, but we overcame it all. So internal obstacle of modesty, external obstacle of religious topic.

We overcame it all and came to you. We came to you. Why did we come? Because your menu, the flute song, it was so loud that we were deluded by it.

Actually, Krishna's flute is very soft and sweet. But when the flute is a call for Krishna, through the flute song, Krishna is calling the Gopis, for them it is a loud sound. Oh, Krishna is calling us, we must go.

Just can't hear anything at that time. It's a loud sound for the Gopis. Mohitaha, you are deluded by that.

So they are saying, we left everything and came to you. And then he says that, Krishna, we came to you, how can you leave us and go away now? We have left everything for your sake, but now you have left us and gone. How can you do that? Cannot leave us.

Gopis are saying in this case, that basically they overcame internal obstacles, they overcame external obstacles for the sake of coming to Krishna. And in this, actually they demonstrate the verse, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sarvam vraja. There are some Hindu scholars, one Hindu scholar in particular, he says, actually Krishna has come to establish dharma.

So he says that, you know, over the centuries when the Bhagavad Gita has been written down again and again, there is a mistake in the recension. Recension means that sometimes when you write a verse, some letters get missed out. So he says, actually this verse should be sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sarvam vraja.

It should not be sarva-dharman parityajya. How can God tell you to give up all dharma? What he is actually telling us, give up all dharma, give up all adharma and then come to me. Now that is a very superficial understanding.

What Krishna is saying is sarva-dharman parityajya. That means what? That there are different conceptions of dharma and they are all important in their own way. But none of them is so important that it should come in the way of mam ekam sarvam vraja.

So give up all the conceptions of dharma that you may have and just focus on mam ekam sarvam vraja. So certainly we have to give up the bad, we have to give up the sinful for Krishna's sake. But at the highest level of bhakti, not only we give up the bad for Krishna's sake, but we give up even the good for his sake.

The gopis demonstrate that. That they give up everything for Krishna's sake. And then when Krishna does not reciprocate with them, that can be shattering for their love.

But it doesn't shatter their love. They still say mat prananathas tu sa eva na paraha. Still I love you, you are my only Lord Krishna.

This is actually the love that attracts, that Krishna wants to taste. And he comes with chaitanya mahaprabhu and says what is this love? And then no matter what I do, the gopis still keep loving me. And then this is again described further by Jiva Goswami and the climax of their love is Krishna eventually does return to Vrindavan.

Krishna returns to Vrindavan and there he reunites with the gopis. This happens when Krishna kills Dantavakra. He kills Shushupala Dantavakra, the Jaya Vijaya who have come back again and again.

So it is described that fight against Dantavakra happens in the Mathura area. And there when Krishna kills Dantavakra at that time, he puts aside his weapons. And he says now I have finished my work of killing the gopis.

And therefore he says now I am going back to Vrindavan. And from there he comes back to Vrindavan. And then there is a jubilant reunion of Krishna with the Vrajavasi.

And Krishna calls Balram also to come over there. And then it is described how Krishna and the gopis reunite. Balram and his gopis reunite.

And then a majestic chariot appears over there. And Krishna along with all the Vrajavasis ascend on that chariot. And then the whole chariot itself goes back to the spiritual world.

So Krishna and the Vrajavasis are reunited in this world itself and they return to the spiritual world. And while that chariot is going back to the spiritual world, Krishna, Balram and Uddhava has also been called at that time. So they expand.

And Krishna, Balram and Vrindavan, of Vrindavan, they go back to the spiritual world. There is another expansion of Krishna and Balram and Uddhava. They stay on here.

And then Krishna comes back and then he performs pastimes. So when Krishna goes back to Vrindavan, just before that he gives up his weapons. He says that now I have done my, I will not fight anymore.

And Jiva Goswami explains that because at that time Krishna said I have given up, I have given up my weapons, I will not fight anymore. That's when, when the Kurukshetra war happens afterwards, Krishna says I will not fight. I will not use any weapons.

But because he loves Arjuna, he says I will assist you but without using any weapons. Without any weapons I will assist you. So actually Krishna does in his own time, he does reciprocate the gopis.

He does fulfill his promise that I will come back. But in the intervening period, for years when there is no certainty for the gopis, when Krishna will come back. But through it all, their love for Krishna always remains.

They are always hoping one day Krishna will come, one day Krishna will come. So now in the sadhaka stage when we are practicing bhakti, for us also, when we are trying to approach Krishna, we are hoping that Krishna will manifest in our heart. Krishna will reveal his all attractiveness.

So we don't know when this will happen. One of the qualities of a devotee is, as Rupa Goswami describes in the Bhakti Ram Siddhu, Ashabhaddha. Ashabhaddha means that the devotee always has hope against hope.

The devotee never gives up hope. And on what basis can we maintain our hope? In the Gajendra prayers it says that Madhruk prapanna pashupashya vimokshanaya muktaya bhuri karunaya namolaya So he says that, Gajendra is praying that, Oh my lord, please protect me from this animal shackle that crocodile has caught me. Pashupashya, the animal which has got me as a noose.

Why should I release you? Muktaya, I am bound, you are free, so you should please free me. You got bound by your own karma, why should I free you? Bhuri karunaya, yeah I am bound by my own karma but you are very compassionate. So therefore you free me.

Krishna will say that, I have tried to help you so many times in so many lifetimes. You never took help. Why should I keep helping you? Oh laiya, you never get tired oh lord.

You are not just compassionate, you are tirelessly compassionate. You are tirelessly compassionate. So therefore please release me oh lord.

So actually sometimes we feel, I have been chanting, I have been practicing but my anarthas are still there and I don't know whether I will make any progress or not. I am so fallen that I will never be able to attain Krishna. We feel like that and actually we don't have to be so confidently pessimistic.

So confidently pessimistic that I will never attain Krishna's mercy. Krishna is extremely merciful and Krishna has been there with us for so many lifetimes and despite our not having turned towards him for so long, Krishna has not given up on us. So for one lifetime when we are trying to turn towards Krishna, why should we give up on Krishna? We just maintain our faith and we keep moving forward.

Then gradually by his mercy, although it may seem a very very long distance away from us but when Krishna starts reciprocating, Krishna can just cover huge amounts of distance. Like in three feet he covered the whole universe. So like that Krishna can take giant steps and not only can come close to us, Krishna can take us to him.

So there are two ways of looking at our spiritual progress in bhakti. When we start feeling proud sometimes, we look at the exalted emotion that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is experiencing, that the great saints are experiencing and we realize now I have a long way to go, how far I have to go. So then whatever pride we have that can go down by that.

But if we are feeling discouraged in our life and we are starting how far I have to go, then what will happen? We will become even more discouraged. So actually we have to accept that which is favorable. So that time if we start feeling discouraged, then rather than looking ahead, we need to look back.

Look back and see how far we have come. Now in our whatever bhakti we have practiced, bhakti has actually transformed our life. Whether it is 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years.

Now what we would have been without the practice of bhakti and what we are now, there is a significant difference, substantial difference. And if we look back and see how far I have come, then we get the faith that yes, this process of bhakti works. This process of bhakti has actually already worked in my life.

It has brought many transformations. It has saved me from many dangers. So when we start feeling discouraged thinking how far I have to go, then we can look back and say that how far we have come.

So far Krishna has brought me, even despite I had so many conditionings, despite I had so many, I had so many my own desires, my own agendas, but still Krishna has kept bringing me close to Him. Now there are some great devotees, followers of Prabhupada, disciples, grand disciples, who are really very great seekers. They were actually searching for God.

They were going and meeting different, going to different places searching for God and then they have come to Prabhupada's house. But for most of us, you know, we didn't go out searching for God. Devotees came out searching for us.

Devotees came to us and they gave us some books, they gave us some message and that's how we started off. So it is not that we have done a lot to come so far. We have come a substantial distance and we have come even without doing much.

Some of us may be born in devotee family and that's how we are practicing also. So we ourselves have not done a lot, but still Krishna has got us a long way ahead. And especially if you look at our life and we look at the way materialistic life is in today's world, you can see that the process of bhakti has lifted us substantially above the way people are living in the materialistic world.

And that itself can give us faith. So when we see how far we have come, both in terms of how we were in the past and how the rest of society is today, then it's not that we become arrogant or proud, but it's just that we realize this process has the capacity to lift us up. And then that can give us encouragement.

And with that encouragement, we move onwards. So although we have a long way to go, but we have a Lord who will take us all that way. He has brought us a long, long way ahead from wherever we were in material existence.

And that same Lord will take us all the way. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Shikshashtakam, it gives us a pathway, a trajectory of how we can go along in that journey. So I'll summarize.

He talks about, in this verse, about the highest levels of love that there is. So there is love when there is somebody reciprocates and there is that one kind of love. Another love is when the person keeps loving even when there is no reciprocation.

And even higher love is when there is apparent rejection and still there is love at that time. So the Gopis, especially when Krishna leaves them and goes away from Vrindavan, the Gopis exhibit that kind of love. When Krishna has apparently rejected them, but still Krishna is there with them.

So they stay with Krishna. Krishna, you are my Lord. And so Krishna arranges this opposition, Krishna arranges this obstacle so that their love deepens internally and their love is expressed more intensely.

Just like a baby elephant as it is growing, its strength internally and externally becomes expressed when the elephant has to pull against a pole. Similarly, the Gopis, when there is such a heart-wrenching situation for them and they continue to love, that's how their love becomes demonstrated for the world. And the Bhagavatam invokes all traditional social hierarchies and demonstrates how those who are low down in the social hierarchy consider to be.

If they have bhakti, they go to the highest levels. And the Gopis embody the highest love, not just because they are simple cowherd women who are having love higher than that of the sages and rishis, but actually they are ready to give up everything for Krishna's sake, the bad and the good. So sarva-dharman parityajya, what the Gita tells us is the climax.

The Gopis demonstrate that when they give up everything for Krishna's sake. And then we discuss how eventually in his own time Krishna reciprocates. The Gopis keep loving Krishna faithfully and Krishna reciprocates by returning in their lives and uniting with them and then taking them all to the spiritual world.

So like that we don't know when Krishna will manifest in our heart. But if you feel discouraged and thinking that oh I am so far away from the highest standards of devotion then you can look back and see how far we have come, how far Krishna has brought us. And the same Lord who has brought us so far, the same Lord will lead us all the way to his abode.

So thank you very much. Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki! Jai! Shri Shikshashtakam ki! Jai! Shri Prabhupada ki! Jai! Shri Aurobhata Vinay ki! Jai! Just one minute. Mataji, you had some comment or question? Yes, please.

Is this related to this? Yes. We will take care of that. Oh, that's a very beautiful past time.

So Krishna does pick up a weapon when he picks up a chariot wheel. Actually how that happens is Krishna at that time is so concerned that Bhishma the way he is fighting, he will kill Arjuna. And I cannot tolerate Arjuna's dying.

So he just, in his anxiety, he is just there on Krishna. Arjuna's chariot in one moment and Arjuna is shooting the next moment and Krishna is gone. Where did Krishna go? He looks around and Krishna has actually jumped off the chariot and is looking somewhere for a weapon.

And then he sees just a chakra. And normally a chakra is not considered to be a weapon. It's not really meant to be a weapon.

Now what happens is, why does Krishna pick up that chakra? It's described that normally a chakra is not a weapon but for Vishnu a chakra is a weapon. So that chakra when he sees it, that actually reminds Krishna of the Sudarshan chakra. With this I will protect Arjuna.

But then he is in so much anxiety that he picks up the chakra, he forgets to summon his own Sudarshan chakra. Just picks up that chakra. And then normally when Krishna uses Sudarshan chakra, wherever he, he just sends the chakra.

And the chakra goes and kills the, no, cuts off the head of the person. But here Arjuna is in so much anxiety, he thinks that, you know, if I throw the chakra and the chakra misses the target, then Bhishma will shoot and kill Arjuna. So like that if you want to be careful about shooting someone, go right next to the person you shoot.

Then there is very little chance of missing the target. So like that, at that time Krishna starts running towards Bhishma. And normally when an arrow fight is going on, the two warriors are at significant distance while they fight with arrows.

So Krishna goes, goes, goes and Arjuna is petrified at that time. You know, the world will say that Krishna lifted a weapon. The chariot wheel is not actually a weapon.

But still the world will criticize. So Krishna, Arjuna tells Krishna, Krishna, please don't fight. I will fight.

I will kill Bhishma. Please stop. But Krishna is not ready to hear at all.

Then Arjuna just runs after Krishna. And Krishna is just going so fast, Arjuna cannot catch him. So Arjuna just jumps and catches Krishna's thigh and holds on to Krishna's thigh to stop him.

But Krishna is running so fast that Krishna drags Arjuna along. And Krishna keeps running. And then finally Arjuna becomes desperate.

So Arjuna even takes his huge Kshatriya feet and they are being dragged along. So he lifts his feet and he bangs those feet down on the ground. And when he bangs the feet down forcefully, actually that creates like a ditch.

And his feet get caught in that ditch. And with his feet caught in the ditch, he is holding on to Krishna's thighs. And then Krishna comes to a stop over there.

And Krishna, Arjuna says, Krishna, please don't fight. I will fight and kill Bhishma. Please don't lift a weapon.

So there, actually through this whole pastime, Krishna demonstrates that for him his promise is important. But for him his devotees are even more important. And that's why for the sake of his devotees' protection, he is ready to give up his promise also.

That's what, in one sense, technically it's not a weapon because it's an ordinary chariot wheel. It's not a Sudarshan Chakra. But even if somebody says it's a weapon, Krishna is ready to give up his promise so that he can protect his devotees.

Shikhandi? What about him? Bhishma's story. That's a whole different story. But there was another story.

That is later. That is the next day. All this happens on the 9th day.

And 10th day, Shikhandi and Arjuna both come together. And then they shoot. This is the 9th day.

Arjuna is not fighting so wholeheartedly. That's what happens on the 9th day. Yes, ma'am.

So my question was on the first part of the question. When you were talking about him taking up the mountain. So, if you mind me doing a little bit about how the mind is mirroring him.

So I can remember, it seems the mind is mirroring Arjuna. Yeah. So when the lights go out.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

So how is the mind like a mirror exactly? And how is it cleansed? Mirror is that in which we see our own reflection. So the mind is like a mirror in the sense that whatever are the nature of the contaminations in the mind, based on that we have a conception of ourselves. I give an example that if one is contaminated with greed, then I think myself successful if I have a lot of money.

And if I don't have a lot of money, then I think I am a failure. So my self-conception is shaped by the kind of contamination that is there in the mind. So if I am of a Kshatriya disposition, then I think having a big, hefty, healthy frame, that is what, and that thing that my value depends.

If I am weak, if I am not powerful, then I am good for nothing. So we can have different self-conceptions based on the kind of contamination or the kind of conditioning that is there in the mind. So in that sense the mind acts like a mirror.

So now the cleansing of the mirror of the mind means, is it clear? Yeah. The cleansing of the mirror of the mind means that, to take that example literally, suppose there is a mirror in which there is dust. Then when I look in the mirror with the dust, I see my reflection also with the dust.

I see maybe some spot here, some spot here, whatever it is. But if the mirror is clean, then I see a clean perception of what I am. So like that the contaminations which are there, they give us a distorted conception of ourselves.

So when the mirror is clean, that means when we chant regularly, and by that we start increasingly understanding that actually I am a servant of Krishna. Then the mirror is clean, that means we actually perceive ourselves. Yes, I may have all other designations, but at my core I am a soul who is a servant of Krishna.

And that's what we realize when the mirror gets clean. Yes, please. The first one was, you talked about the six different ways that we understand part of the verse.

But you didn't really, or maybe I missed it, I don't think I remember you talking about sarvatmasnapana. Yeah, I think I mentioned, I was going to talk about it. So I didn't talk much about sarvatmasnapana in the first verse.

Yeah, actually snapanam is bathing or cleansing. Sarvaatmasnapana, complete cleansing of the self. Sarvaatma, sarva can mean full, so full cleansing of the self.

So what does it mean? That actually if you see, at the end of the Bhagavatam, the last verse is, nama sankirtanam, one of the last verses is, nama sankirtanam yasya sarva-papa-pranachanam, pranacham pranamo dukkhasam na stham namami harimparam. So that by the chanting of the holy names, sarva-papa-pranachanam, all sins will be destroyed. Naturally this is coming right at the end of the Bhagavatam.

Now we say that by chanting the destruction of sinful reactions is just an incidental thing, it will automatically happen. Chanting is primarily for developing love for Krishna. So why is the Bhagavatam saying that by chanting all sins will be destroyed? That is like a preliminary thing, isn't it? Yes it is, but here the emphasis is sarva-papa.

That means from the absolute perspective, even the desire for liberation, it is considered to be a lower desire, almost like a sinful desire. It's not sinful in the karmic sense, but it is considered sinful in the sense that it is still self-centered. We are not really concerned about serving Krishna.

So sarva-papa-pranachanam means all kinds of sinful desires. Even the desire for liberation which from the transcendental perspective is a lower desire, like a selfish or sinful desire, even that is destroyed. So like that similarly sarva-atma-asana-panam.

That means the soul is cleansed of all desires including the desires for liberation. So even that subtle contamination that is there, there is gross contamination where we want to enjoy this world. But subtle contamination will be where we want to be liberated.

So that will be free from misery. Even that is cleansed. Means there is no selfish desire that remains.

That is complete cleansing of the self, of all desires which are other than what is natural for the soul. That's how sarva-atma-asana-panam happens. Is it clear? Yes.

How are all these verses abhidheya? Abhidheya basically means the process by which we connect with Krishna. Sambandha means that I understand that Krishna is my object. Now how do I connect with him? That process is abhidheya.

So now because all these verses are meditations on Krishna and meditations on his holy name, meditations on the process by which, meditations on how we can grow in our relationship with Krishna, in that sense, all these verses are like tools we could say or means for us to connect with Krishna. By remembering these verses we are connecting with him. By reciting these verses we are connecting with him.

So in that sense because they provide us a means, a resource for connecting with Krishna and abhidheya is the process which connects us with Krishna. So in that sense they are abhidheya. Yes madam.

What is our mood when we recite the later part of Shiksha Ashtakam? Actually we recite that in a mood of service. It is said that any form of prayer we offer to Krishna that pleases Krishna. But if we repeat the prayers which are offered by his great devotees then it is not just that we are offering a structured prayer to Krishna but by reciting that prayer we are also reminding Krishna of that devotee.

When I repeat Prahlad Maharaj's prayers, I am not just repeating that prayer but also because Prahlad Maharaj spoke those prayers, I am reminding Krishna of Prahlad. And when Krishna, he remembers his great devotee, he becomes pleased. And then that pleasure we also get the incidental benefit.

Because we reminded Krishna of Prahlad. Like in the past when some messenger comes along and gives the king good news. And the king gives, oh you take this necklace.

So like that when we recite the prayers which are very exalted, if we are in a mood of service, then we are reminding Krishna of his devotees. So in this case these prayers are recited in the mood of Sumati Radharani. So we are reminding Krishna of Radharani.

And when we remind Krishna, Krishna becomes very pleased. So that way also we can attract Krishna's mercy. So largely we do it in the mood of service.

And the realization will come gradually. And if we have certain conceptions, it is not that our conceptions are necessarily wrong. But we can check with some senior devotees, okay this is my understanding, is this right? And if it is not right then we avoid thinking in those directions.

But if it is right, we can always develop that. And that way if we hear scripture more and more, then also we get more substance to contemplate while we are reciting these verses. And then our absorption in Krishna can become more and more.

Yes, you had a question? Last question. We conclude with you. Like the queens of Dwarka, what about them? Like Krishna took the gopis back, but then it doesn't really mention about this.

What happens to the queens of Dwarka? I heard that gopis are like the expansion of Radharani. Okay. So what happens to the queens of Dwarka? Krishna takes the gopis back to Indra, gopis back to the spiritual world.

Actually this is quite a technical subject. And Rukmini is actually not an expansion of Radharani. Rukmini is an expansion of Chandravali.

And Radharani, her expansion is Satyabhama. So we will not get into this. But they have different moods over there.

But the point is that it is described, two things happen. One is that when Krishna departs from this world, at that time Arjuna comes and Arjuna performs the last rites of all the Yaduasis. So at that time some of the queens of Krishna, they enter into the fire with him, with her.

So they go Sati. And some of the other queens, especially those who have children, they stay with Arjuna. And Arjuna decides to get them all back with him to Hastinapur.

So while they are getting along, it is said that some infidel cowherd men come and they attack Arjuna. And Arjuna tries to defend them but Arjuna is defeated. So Vishwanath Chakrathakur quotes the Puranas and he describes actually it is Krishna himself who comes as those cowherd men.

Why is it that, they could have described some bandit scheme, some dacoit scheme. Why is it cowherd men scheme? We never hear of cowherd men being plunderers. So why is it described, it is actually Krishna who comes as the cowherd men.

And Arjuna is such a great person that Arjuna cannot be defeated by anyone else. But Arjuna's arrow is practically, they feel, they fall short. Arjuna's arrow is so powerful that they can even run through the mountains.

But here they don't even reach the target. How does such a thing happen? It is because it is Krishna himself who has come. And then Krishna, he takes those queens with him.

And then after that with him, now in one sense, Krishna has already departed from this world. But for performing this particular pastime, Krishna re-manifests in this world. And he takes these queens and then he takes them back to the spiritual world with him.

So this pastime, this whole pastime actually, where the Yadudva, the destruction of the Yadu dynasty happens, that Madhacharya describes and Krishna's Kaviraj Goswami also mentions, that this whole pastime is Asur Mohan Leela. Asur Mohan Leela means that some pastimes are depicted in Shastra for the purpose of deluding the demons. Just like Krishna, he comes as Mohini Murthy and he deludes the demons so that he can fulfil the purpose of the gods.

So like that sometimes within scripture, Krishna performs certain pastimes by which the demoniac can get rationalization for staying demoniac. Those who want to stay demoniac, Krishna performs so many wonderful pastimes throughout his life. But they will not see that.

They will see only this pastime. Oh, if Krishna is God, how could he have been killed by, how could he have died such a tragic death? He was a hunter killing. How could his whole dynasty have been killed like that? So now the Acharyas give many explanations.

First of all, Krishna had gone to Yama's abode and brought the dead back. So how can Krishna be killed? And on top of that, Krishna is a Kshatriya. You know, a Kshatriya, even when their body is so tough that even when they are wounded in their chest or their head, they don't get wounded.

You know, how can Krishna be hit on the leg and be killed by that? You know, an arrow hitting the leg is never fatal unless, you know, it gets infected and the infection spreads all over the body or whatever. In the case of Arjuna, Krishna, how can just one arrow in the leg kill anyone? So for those who are ready to see reason, they will see that there is something odd about this pastime. It is not in sync with the whole glory of Krishnadeva.

So that is done so that Krishna allows those who are demoniac, they will not see all the glorious pastimes that Krishna has performed. They will see this particular pastime. Therefore, Krishna cannot be God.

How can he be God? How can he be killed like this? So for those who are demoniac, Krishna allows them to stay demoniac. That is what they want to know. So this is Asura Mohan Nila.

So although it seems that Krishna Nila in a sense ends in a tragic note, but Krishna is transcendental, Krishna is eternal. Krishna comes in this world and Krishna goes back from this world. And his pastimes continue ecstatically both in this and the next other world.

But for those who are demoniac and want to stay demoniac, Krishna performs some pastimes to dilute them. So thank you very much. This is actually very important.