Appreciating Krishna’s attractiveness

[Bhagavatam class at Dubai, United Arab Emirates So this is chapter 11, the childhood pastimes of Krishna. And Vrindavan is a most astonishing and wonderful place. Because Krishna is present there. Although he is God, people don’t think, Vrajavasis don’t think of him as God. So here the Vrajavasis are saying, just before this, Putana has come, Shaktasura has come. Who else had come? Trnavarta has come. And just recently, in the previous chapter was, a huge Nalaka, the trees fell down. But nothing happened to Krishna. So if you see some of Krishna’s pastimes, the first three demons, they come either in the house or near the house. So Putana, she came right inside the house. Trnavarta, just at the outskirts of the house, in the front yard of the house. Shaktasura was also in the front yard, the cart was there. Later on we will see, Krishna will start going out to the forest. And all the future demons are in the forest. Vakasura, Aghasura, Dhenukasura. Then we have Keshi, all of them are outside. So as Krishna grows, he starts going out. And the demons also attack him when he is outside. So here the Vrajavasis are thinking, Krishna is such a small child. And they are thinking, how, there are so many dangers, Krishna has always been protected. So how did this happen? And they are saying, this is the Lord’s mercy. The Vrajavasis, they think of Krishna to be just one among them. Just a very beautiful, lovable cowherd boy. He is the best among them, but he is just a cowherd boy. And that’s why Yashodhama also thinks that I have to protect Krishna. If I don’t feed Krishna milk, he will starve, he will become weak, he may even die. And such thoughts in her actually increase her devotion for Krishna. And the Vrajavasis see here that those who came to cause the death of Krishna, they themselves died. So when they see this, how did this happen? It’s a source of great wonder for them. First of all, in the life of a small child, great dangers coming is itself unusual. Somebody who is maybe a person in a dangerous profession or something like that, many dangers come in their lives. In the lives of ordinary people, dangers only come occasionally. But one after another, after another, dangers are coming, that itself is unusual, alarmingly unusual. And then so many dangers, nothing is happening to Krishna, but rather dangers are getting destroyed. So that means… Increase? Not audible behind? Is it audible now? There is a hiss that is coming. Is it better now? Okay. So, they are wondering what exact… how is it this is happening? So they are thinking… Maybe turn the angle a little bit. No, the other side. Okay. Now is it better? Okay, let’s see. So when Krishna comes to this world… Is it remote? It’s charged. What if I speak without it? Hare Krishna. If I speak without it, is it audible or difficult? Hare Krishna. Vande Mahapurushite Charanam Arvindam Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare That’s good. Thank you. So, the Vrajivasis, they don’t know that Krishna is God. Or more precisely, it’s not in the forefront of their awareness. It’s like right now, it’s daytime, but stars are still there in the sky. However, we can’t see the stars because the sun is so bright. So similarly, there is the Madhurya, there is the love of the Vrajivasis for Krishna and there is the knowledge that Krishna is God. So the love is like the sun. And the knowledge that Krishna is God is like a star in the sky. So it’s there, but they are not conscious of it. And this is Yoga Maya. Yoga Maya means this is a divine illusion. Vrajivasis don’t consider Krishna to be God. I was once giving a class in India and one person after class said, I also don’t consider Krishna to be God. Now, that is very different. That is somebody who is in Maha Maya. So where to not know about Krishna, not accept Krishna’s position as God and to not even love him. That is to be an illusion. Maya means what? Illusion. Maya means illusion, that which is not. But Yoga Maya is a very special category of illusion. What does the word Yoga mean? Connection. Connection with whom? Krishna, yes, the ultimate reality. So Yoga Maya means the illusion that increases connection. The illusion that increases devotion. Normally, illusion decreases our devotion. When we get caught in illusion, we get captivated by worldly things and we forget Krishna. But this is the illusion that increases devotion. So it is very uncool to Bhakti. And so Yoga Maya is what is in English called as oxymoron. Is any of you studying for GRE or something? Any of you know this word oxymoron? What is that? Words that are contradictory. Yeah, words that are contradictory. So if somebody says, that was brilliantly stupid. Is it brilliant or stupid? How can something be brilliantly stupid? So, or you might say, that was an outstandingly poor performance. Outstanding is very good, poor is bad. So outstandingly poor. So like that, when two opposite words are brought together, that is called as oxymoron. So Yoga Maya is like that. Yoga means connection, Maya means illusion. But when two opposite words are brought together, actually, it is not just a fun play of words. It can have a deeper meaning. That was brilliantly foolish. What that means is, there are ordinary people who might do foolish things, but some people, they are intelligent, but they use their intelligence for a foolish purpose. That is brilliantly foolish. So, I was just talking to youth yesterday evening. So I was in IIT in India, and there is a problem. Many young people are committing suicide. And they all commit suicide by hanging themselves from the fan. So the IIT management had an emergency meeting, and they immediately passed unanimously a multi-lakh proposal to counter suicide. Replace all fans with air conditioners. So now that is an example of brilliantly foolish. So, anyway, the point is, when we talk about divine illusion, Yoga Maya, the idea is that whatever increases our remembrance of Krishna, that is wonderful. And in the spiritual world, for the devotees, if they think that Krishna is God, that Krishna is supreme, then they can’t actually love Him that much. He is God, I have to always respect Him. But if they understand, oh, Krishna is just like a lovable child among us, their love for Him increases. So Yoga Maya is that illusion which increases devotion. And this particular verse, that they are thinking that Krishna has been protected because of the mercy of the Lord. Krishna is the Lord. But they are thinking Narayana is the Lord, Narayana is up there, Narayana has been very merciful to our child, and that’s why He has been protected. So this is an example of Yoga Maya. So any questions till now? I’ll take this class in three parts. After each part, you can have some questions if anyone has. So, the first part was that basically, the Vrajavasis are exhibiting how they are in Yoga Maya, intensely concerned about Krishna, but at the same time not aware that Krishna is, not consciously aware that Krishna is God. Any questions or comments? Does Danda Maharaj know that Krishna is Lord Vishnu? Does Danda Maharaj know that Krishna is Vishnu? It’s a dicey thing, because what happens? He thinks he is my son. And when Gargamuni comes, Gargacharya, he also has a difficult task. On one side he is a Brahmana, so Brahmana is not meant to speak untruth. But at the same time, Krishna’s safety is a matter of concern. Kamsa is out to persecute him. So, Gargamuni answers, speaks in a very ambivalent way. He says that your child previously was a child of Vasudeva. So now, when Nanda Maharaj hears this, he thinks previously means previous life. But actually it is this life itself. Actually, by birth he is a child of Vasudeva. But now Nanda is taking care of him. So he says, he previously was a child of Vasudeva. And then he says that, he also says that, He talks about that famous verse, he has appeared in another complexion. Which four complexions, does anyone remember? Gold complexion, green complexion. Krishna is in blue complexion. And then there is the white complexion, Shweta. So he says, previously I have come in this complexion also. And then he doesn’t say, your son is Narayan. He says, your son is like Narayan. So, like Narayan, like say when a couple is getting married, people may bless them and say, you are like Lakshmi Narayan, you are like Sitaram. Blessing like that. May you all be together happily. So now, when he speaks it like that, what happens is, he thinks that my son is like Narayan. Not that he is Narayan. And because he is like Narayan, later on in the Govardhan Leela, or after the Govardhan Leela, the Vrajivasis come and ask, how can Krishna, a small child, lift up a big hill for such a long time? And then he gives the expression, actually Gargacharya told me that he is like Narayan. So even after seeing him lift the hill, they don’t think that he is Narayan. They think he is like Narayan. So Nanda Maharaj, actually till the end, he never accepts that Krishna is the son of Vasudev. He thinks, Krishna is my son. And that’s why he feels very hurt when Krishna stays in Mathura. But he thinks that he is my child and Nanda Maharaj says, Gopal Champu describes that, based on the prediction that Devaki’s son will kill Kamsa, now that I have killed Kamsa, Krishna comes and tells Nanda Maharaj that, now they are saying that I am their son. But Krishna doesn’t say, I am their son. He says, they are saying that I am their son. So then Nanda Maharaj starts laughing. Not laughing happily, laughing sadly. He says, it is our fortune that that which is ours, great people are claiming it to be theirs. And he says, he accepts it. And he is very sad, but he accepts it at that time. So Nanda Maharaj never consciously is aware that Krishna is Narayan or even that Krishna is the son of Vasudev. He thinks Krishna is our Prajaraj. Thank you. Any other questions? So that mood though is because of their love for Krishna or because of Yoga Maya? Yes, both. Yoga Maya facilitates their love for Krishna. The whole purpose of Yoga Maya is to intensify their love for Krishna. So because they have so much love for Krishna, Yoga Maya arranges that reality be adjusted in such a way that that love can be intensified more and more. Yes. Prabhu, the Vrajavasis never realize till the end that Krishna is God? The Vrajavasis never realize that Krishna is God. I wouldn’t use the word realize because realization is something which we get on our spiritual journey. Realization means that which is a reality, we accept it as a reality. That is a realization. So the Vrajavasis, they are already fully realized. They are already pure and exalted devotees. If you see the Gopi Gita, there at one of the most famous verses is the Gopis are saying, Nalina Sundaram Nathate Padam Shila Trunankurai Sita Tithina Kalila Thammana Kanta Gacchate Krishna, when we think that you go out of the forest and you, your tender feet, which are like lotus, Nalina Sundaram they are pierced by the Shila Trunankurai by the pebbles, by the thorns, by the wilderness of Vrindavan, our heart is ripped apart thinking that your feet are being scratched. So here they love Krishna so much that they are thinking even his feet should not get hurt. But in that same Gopi Gita they are also saying Trunacharanugam Panipanarpitam Tepadambujam Krunakucheshuna Krundhiruchayam They are saying Krishna, these lotus feet you offered to the serpent Kalia. Panipanarpitam Now that means they know that Krishna subdued Kalia and Kalia was extremely dangerous snake. So that means they know the power of Krishna and there are many places where they also say that that you are actually Akhildehinam Antaratmadruk that you are the indwelling super soul of all living beings. That means they know that Krishna is God. So you cannot say they never realized it. They know it. But it is just that that is not in the forefront of their awareness. They know it temporarily but then it goes in the background. Oh Krishna is our lovable our lovable Vrajavasi. Thank you. So we will move on to the second point. Now for us we appreciate the divine illusion the yoga maya of the Vrajavasis and for us to become attracted to Krishna there are two aspects. There is Krishna’s greatness and there is Krishna’s sweetness. So understanding Krishna’s greatness creates submission and understanding Krishna’s sweetness creates affection and the combination of submission and affection leads to devotion. Submission of Krishna is God. I should submit to Him. That is submission. So understanding Krishna’s greatness creates submission. And the Bhagavad Gita is all about Krishna’s greatness prominently. Krishna is supreme. Krishna is all powerful. Krishna is great. So when we study the philosophy it is important by which Thank you. So understanding His greatness creates submission. And understanding His sweetness creates affection. So if we understand only His greatness and not sweetness and Prabhupada says that it’s like the sky is so great but how can you love the sky? You can be over the sky is so great but personal relationship and personal affection cannot be there. If you understand only His sweetness not His greatness then we start treating Krishna like an ordinary child. Like an ordinary person. A nice entertainment character. So Krishna is not just an object of entertainment. He is the objective of enlightenment. When we become enlightened then we become devoted to Krishna. So understanding Krishna’s greatness helps us to become enlightened. And understanding Krishna’s sweetness enables us to become enlivened with devotion. So both are required. And the way to both is primarily through associating with those who have bhakti. The key how to increase our attraction to Krishna is to associate with those who are attracted to Krishna. And the great Vaishnavas, the great devotees have very beautifully glorified Krishna and through their glorification of Krishna we start feeling a sense of devotion for Him. So in the 11th canto there is a beautiful verse which describes the Lord’s activities. tyaktvā suduṣṭhyajya surepsita rājya lakṣmim dharmiṣṭh āryavacasāyada gādharanyam māyāmṛgam daita epsita manvadhāvad vande mahāpurushate charanāravindam So this verse says tyaktvā giving up, suduṣṭhyajya that which is very difficult to give up. tyaktvā suduṣṭhyajya surepsita rājya lakṣmim surepsita that which was sought by even the devtas rājya lakṣmim that is a great goddess of fortune so that that wealth, that opulence which is the manifestation of the goddess of fortune, which was sought by even the devtas, that Lord gave it up. tyaktvā suduṣṭhyajya surepsita rājya lakṣmim dharmiṣṭh āryavacasāyada āryavacasāyada gādharanyam because he was dharmiṣṭh he was following dharma and āryavacasā, he wanted to honour the word of ārya agādharanyam he went to a forest and then māyāmṛgam daita epsita manvadhāvad māyāmṛgam there was an illusory deer and māyāmṛgam daita considering that very deer epsita, desiring that manvadhāvad he ran after that vande mahā puruṣate caranāravindam I offer my obeisances to that supreme lord so who is this referring to? Lord Ram yes he is referring to Lord Ram that he was born in Ayodhya he was born in Ayodhya but āryavacasa because of the word of ārya who is that ārya? whose word did he want to honour? Dasyat Mahārāja agādharanyam he went to the forest and then the maricha had come as the illusory deer and he ran after that now Viśvanācha Kṛtākura explains that this same verse also refers to Krishna and also refers to Lord Chaitanya let’s see how he does that so how is it referring to Krishna? teptvā sudiṣṭhya sureṣita rājya lakṣmīm he said he left the opulence so Krishna was born in opulence where was he born? Mathura so even at that time we will see Mathura is like a city Vṛndāvana is like a village so the urban rural division was always there throughout history now he came to and then why did he go there? dharmishta ārya vachasa yadagādharanyam so he says actually it was Vasudeva who brought him there Vasudeva was dharmishta he had promised Kamsa that whoever children are born I will give them to you ārya vachasa ārya vachasa is his word was very honourable so then what did he do? if my child is born I have to give him to Kamsa but more than more important than honouring our word is honouring our lord honouring our word is extremely important but there is no value that is more important than devotion all other values are meant to help us assist in devotion and that was actually can you come ahead a little bit please so that was actually the blunder of Karna Karna considered honouring his word more important than living an honourable life devoted to dharma so honouring our word is important but honouring our lord is even more important so ā dharmishta ārya vachasa how was Vasudeva dharmishta ārya vachasa? because he considered the purpose of all dharma is to worship Krishna and that Krishna is here now it is my service to protect him therefore although he had given a word that I will give my child to you but he considered his service more important and he did give a child but it was a child which was brought from Yashoda’s place because of Kamsa’s persecution he went to the forest which was the Vrindavan forest and now here it is interesting what Vishwajith Kapoor says that māyā mṛgaṁ daitaya ipsitaṁ anvadhāvali he says that actually what happened in that forest of Vrindavan Krishna became like a deer a mṛga in the hands of Radharani and whatever Radharani would tell him to do Krishna would do that and Krishna would run after Radharani and this is most famously depicted in mānamundra mānamundra have any of you been to mānamundra in Vrindavan mānamundra is a beautiful place where what happens Radharani is upset with Krishna and in Krishna in order to beg forgiveness actually touches his head to the feet of Radharani and God everybody touches their head to God’s feet but God touches his head to Radharani’s feet and the names Radhika and Radha a small difference between them what is the difference when Krishna serves Radharani she becomes Radhika yes so one who worships Radha and one who worships Krishna and one whom Krishna worships so actually this is so Krishna ran after Radharani in trying to please her trying to pacify her and that is vande mahā puruṣate charanā ravindam such is this great lord and not only that he also says this also refers to Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu now how is that he says that so first he was talking about renunciation so Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu was living in where was he living Navadvīpa Māyāpur Navadvīpa was an opulent place opulence is perceived differently by different people if somebody is very interested in money then they will see opulence in terms of wealth oh this is such a wealthy place I am living in such a wealthy community but say somebody is very interested in learning so somebody very studious person they love studies and they love to research, understand and for such a person if they are able to go to some place like say Oxford, Cambridge Harvard where there is a rich atmosphere of learning then that will be opulence for them for a devotee a devotee just wants to love Krishna so if there is abundant association of devotees who are devoted to Krishna that will be opulence for that devotee so opulence is perceived in different ways by different people so Chaitanya Mahāprabhu was born in a Brahmin family and in that Brahmin family learning was valued and at that time Naudeep Mayapur was the headquarters of learning and therefore he was in a tremendously opulent place but he gave up that opulent place that was Chaitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa and then what did he do? यक्त्वा सुद्धि सुरेप्षितलाज् दक्ष्मिन् धर्मिष्टार्यवचसायदगाधरन्यम् धर्मिष्टार्यवचसा because he was honoring dharma and he had to follow the world of a Brāhmaṇa which was the world of a Brāhmaṇa? can you guess? Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, yes there was a Brāhmaṇa who was not allowed to attend to Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s kīrtanas because he did not have much devotion and there were kīrtanas happening at night and when they were not allowed to enter he got very upset he said, I am a Brāhmaṇa how can you not allow me to enter? you have offended a Brāhmaṇa I curse you that you will never be able to enjoy any happiness in family life and Chaitanya Mahāprabhu took that curse as a blessing he said, yes to honor his word I will renounce my family आर्यवचसा यदगाद अरण्यम् where did he go? which Aranya was that? which forest did Chaitanya Mahāprabhu go to? yes, he went to Vrindavan true, that’s much later first he came to Puri, then he travelled across South India then he went to North India and North India he went to Vrindavan so Vishwanath Chaturanga says that that forest which Chaitanya Mahāprabhu went to is the forest of material existence all of us are in the forest of material existence and he came, he was in this completely pious and devoted place but he came to this came to the place where people are not so devoted and what did he do over there? मायाम्रुगम् दैतय इप्सितमन् वधावन् so here he says that, actually all the souls, all of us are like मायाम्रुगम् we are like the deer who are caught in illusion and are chasing after mirage so we are all chasing after worldly pleasure मायाम्रुगम् दैतय he considered these souls very dear to him so the souls are running after illusion and Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is running after them faster to catch them and give them Krishna’s mercy, actually Prabhupāda was like that, Prabhupāda is known as Jet-Age Parivrajakācārya he has travelled across the world so he has travelled tirelessly so he is also Jaya Pratakā Mahārāja is also he travels, despite his health, he travels so much to chase after the souls who are caught in illusion and give them the illumination of Krishna Bhakti so, Vande Mahāpurushate Charanāravindam I offer my obeisance to that great lord so in this way there is one verse but great devotees are so rich with devotion that they can take out so many different meanings from one verse once there is love for someone, we can connect everything with the object of love and when we see this profound love that the devotees have for Krishna, that’s when seeing that attracts our heart seeing that enriches us with devotion similarly when Krishna is playing as a small child there is a famous Vaishnava Acharya who explains that as Krishna is just learning to walk, learning to move about so he is crawling on the ground when he is crawling on the ground, he moves his hand up forward and he moves on his knees you have all seen children crawling so he says, when Krishna is touching his hand to the earth as he is walking on, what is he doing? ordinary person will think that he is just a small child crawling but by touching his hand like that to the earth, he is actually pacifying Bhoomidevi Bhoomidevi is distressed mother earth is distressed because there are so many demons over here and Bhoomidevi singing that to remove the burden of the earth, mother remove the burden of the earth Krishna is going to descend but Krishna has not yet removed the burden just like if somebody child is sick and then a doctor comes along and the child is in pain doctor says, everything will be alright, spats him on the back to encourage him, problem is not yet solved but will soon be solved, so like that Krishna as a small child has not yet killed all the demons, he has not freed the earth from the persecution of the demons but he is saying, yes I will pacify, I will pacify, don’t worry so such is the sweetness with which devotees see even Krishna’s ordinary actions every single action of Krishna can have multiple levels of meanings and it is through the devotees eyes through the Vaishnavacharya’s eyes when we see then we can start perceiving and relishing the attractiveness of Krishna so this is how the Vaishnavacharyas they go, they dive deep into the ocean of Krishna Leela and they bring out nectar and they offer it to us and when we get that nectar, when we drink that nectar, we become enriched, energized, enlivened with devotion so any questions at this point so I will make a last point and then conclude so now when we practice Bhakti we sometimes feel that I have devotion for Krishna and sometimes we feel I have no devotion for Krishna sometimes when we are chanting on a few days when our chanting goes very nicely we feel as if chanting should never end, we feel such strength, we feel such power, we feel such purity coming from chanting so chanting should never end but most days we feel chanting never ends sometimes sometimes when we are chanting we pick out the beads is this bead 108 or 1008 it appears the roundness is going on and on so what happens for us our mind is very fickle and sometimes the mind feels attracted to Krishna sometimes the mind doesn’t feel attracted to Krishna so we as souls are here, the mind is here the world is here and Krishna is also here of course Krishna is right close to us but our experience of Krishna is mediated through the mind we perceive, even coming from the deities sometimes we feel a lot of devotion sometimes we feel ok, I had darshan let me do next thing now so we don’t feel any devotion because what happens our mind comes in the way between us and the world and the mind comes between us and Krishna also the mind makes the world appear more attractive than it is and the mind makes Krishna appear less attractive than he is so that means that the mind, if we see a particular object, oh I want it I want it, I want to enjoy it, the mind makes it appear much more attractive than what it is and although Krishna is supremely attractive, the mind makes it appear less attractive ok, Krishna bhakti, ok, I will do it sometime, our tendency is Krishna is good but Maya is also not bad so in that way, we stay caught sometime this way, sometime that way so for us, if we want to increase our attraction towards Krishna, the process of bhakti is there, the acharyas the Vaishnavas, they are there speaking about Krishna, they are sharing about Krishna but if our mind comes in the way then Krishna is here, Krishna’s devotees are here, they are giving us Krishna but the mind will come in between the way and the mind will not allow us to connect with Krishna or experience Krishna and that’s why we may feel as if, am I growing in my bhakti, this bhakti is simply becoming like a ritual so at such times we can do two main things when we just don’t feel devotional at all when we feel why am I doing this at such times the first thing we can do is that use our intelligence to understand that the mind’s emotions are temporary the mind’s emotions are like weather sometimes weather is hot sometimes weather is cold and what happens with the mind’s emotions, this is a very important point, treating it like a weather means we don’t try to change it when it’s hot, what can we do, if it’s hot, it’s hot if it’s cold, it’s cold we can’t change it ourselves so if we keep fighting with ourselves I should not feel like this it’s a losing battle feelings will come on their own sometimes we’ll feel devotion sometimes we’ll not feel devotion instead of trying to control how we feel we can try to control what we do we may say but isn’t it how I feel going to determine what I do that is the key point of self-control that self-control is not necessarily controlling how we feel yes we would like to have always pure devotional feelings always, but they may come they may not come, and as long as we’re trying to fight controlling how we feel, it’ll just be a frustrating battle but instead of control try to take control of what we do so even if I don’t feel devotion for Krishna still I’ll chant his holy names when the altar opens in the temple and Krishna darshan comes, we all offer pranams we all offer obeisances to Krishna so actually the acharyas when they see, when the great saintly devotees they see Krishna they feel so delighted that they fall down and faint in ecstasy like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he saw Jagannath for the first time so ran and he fainted now in our case, we don’t faint, but acharyas say atleast fall down atleast bow down you may not faint, but you fall down so what happens, just like fainting is not in our control but bowing down and offering obeisances is in our control, so if we try to control what we feel or how we feel that is like trying to control the weather yes we can’t control the weather, but still we can control what we do ok it’s hot, but I have to go out for work, so still I will go maybe I will try to have ventilation in my car I will try to get there as quickly as possible so that I will have ventilation, we will try to adjust our actions, but trying to control the weather is a losing battle trying to control our actions is much more doable, so similarly when we just focus on doing what we can in that situation gradually by that the connection with Krishna will be established and even by our actions we can connect with Krishna, just we chant the holy names, we do some kirtan, we hear some katha, just start doing it by that the connection with Krishna is established and once the connection with Krishna is established then by that connection all the distracting emotion that is there, all the rajas and tamas, the lower mode that are there they start getting dissipated they start getting dissipated so if we just the first point I said is don’t try to control how you feel try to control what you do and second point in this is that we can try to find out something that also feels good within bhakti say if this is a circle of things which I like and this is a circle of things which are devotional things so it’s not that these two are non-intersecting, they can intersect somewhere, so find out where the two intersect and then we do that activity more or we do that activity especially when we don’t feel devotion, say some devotees may just like kirtans, just hear some kirtans, sing some kirtans some devotees may just love to take darshan of the deities and especially not just any deities but a particular deity, not just a particular deity but may be a particular darshan of a deity this dress, this deity looks so beautiful, I want to take darshan so for some of us it might just be shlokas so we just love to recite shlokas and not just shlokas, not just any shlokas but some particular shlokas, not just particular shlokas but may be in a particular meter so Rupa Goswami in the Ujjwal Neelamani calls this Uddeepan Uddeepan is spiritual stimulus so just like all of us may have some material stimuli so somebody who is a cricket fan as soon as some cricket news comes up they become very excited, what happened about cricket, now somebody that plays like America, they think cricket means an insect they don’t even know cricket is actually one cricket as a sport is not known so for them cricket news will not agitate much but for somebody who is an Indian, is a cricket fan, cricket news will start exciting them, so just like in the material world, there are certain stimuli which excite us and certain stimuli that don’t excite us so similarly in spiritual life also, yes everything is connected with Krishna there are many things connected with Krishna but not everything will stimulate us so we find out what stimulates us and then keep that accessible keep that readily accessible, if you like a particular kirtan, then keep that kirtan in your phone and just hear it regularly, if you like a particular verse, keep that with you and this stimulus will vary from person to person so once I gave a class and I talked about how when we take darshan of the lord, we can recite some verses and pray to him, so for me I am a very verbal person so if I recite some verses speak something verbalize my emotions, then I feel the emotions so then whenever I recite a verse, then I feel a connection with the lord this is the lord who is being described by these words, that is the lord who is present over here so I gave a class and I spoke about how memorizing, reciting verses can help us feel the presence of the lord feel devotion after a couple of days, one devotee came to me and he said that after you told me I have been trying when I take darshan to recite verses he says but memorizing and recollecting and reciting verses causes me so much anxiety that whatever devotion I have, it goes away so then I told him I didn’t say you should recite verses I said that you find out what stimulus connects you some people may be very visual just the sight of the lord may attract them some people may be very musical when they hear some kirtan, then they start feeling some emotion so the shoe that bites, the shoe that fits one leg bites another leg so similarly with respect to uddhipan we have to find the uddhipan that works for us and when I say that try to control what you do, not how you feel so what you do means at that time when you don’t feel devotional we connect with that uddhipan we try to do what is the uddhipan for us just hear that kirtan which you like just take darshan of the lord that you like recite the verses that you like or if you like to hear from a particular devotee hear that devotee’s classes, we may hear many devotee’s classes but if we feel inspired by a particular devotee hear that or if you feel very inspired by a particular class keep that class with you keep a video or audio clip of that not a full class, a part which inspires you just keep that ready and then when we have the uddhipan ready we will find that just by doing that as the connection with Krishna will be established then we will start feeling devotional again and then we will be able to move forward steadily in bhakti and as we move steadily in bhakti as we become more and more purified then the devotional emotions will become stronger and sweeter and the non devotional or the anti devotional emotions will decrease, will gradually go away so that’s how we can increase our attraction for Krishna by committing ourselves to the steady practice of bhakti and by providing ourselves whatever resources are necessary for such practice, so I will summarize I spoke about how to increase our attraction for Krishna and there I started by talking about the vrajvasis are in yoga maya, divine illusion yoga maya is an oxymoron that contradictory words which convey a higher meaning so normally illusion decreases devotion but the vrajvasis illusion increases devotion and then for us, we are not in yoga maya we are in the journey from maha maya where we have forgotten Krishna to yoga maya so for us devotion has two components hearing about Krishna’s greatness creates submission hearing about Krishna’s sweetness creates affection and submission and affection together is genuine devotion so for us to develop that devotion, we need to hear from devotees hear from, associate with devotees and especially when we see devotees relishing Krishna’s pastimes then we feel oh, I also want to relish this not just Krishna’s pastimes, even Krishna philosophy, Bhagavad Gita, whatever so I talked about how chakravarti pad mines out three different meanings from one verse say, mande mahapurushate charnar can refer to Krishna can refer to Ram and can refer to Lord Chaitanya and how the crawling of Krishna can also be seen as consoling by Krishna and the last part I said is when we are practicing bhakti one is that we associate with devotees and from them we get devotion but in the normal course of our life we sometimes do not feel devotional at all because the mind comes between us and Krishna and the mind makes the world seem more attractive than it is and it makes Krishna seem less attractive than he is so when the mind is filled with non-devotional and anti-devotional emotions, what can we do? we treat the emotions like the weather don’t try to control how you feel control what you do so as soon as we start acting in a devotional way even if we are not feeling devotional, just that action will connect us with Krishna and gradually that connection will remove the non-devotional emotion and for doing such action we can find out what is the uddipan for us what is our particular spiritual stimulus the thing that I like to do and the thing that is bhakti where do they intersect and if we keep that uddipan with us readily accessible then that will be able to trigger spiritual emotion within us and therefore we can again establish the connection with Krishna and once that connection with Krishna is established then we will become purified and our devotion will become sweeter, stronger and deeper. Thank you very much Hare Krishna Sorry Any questions? We will come back to you One is what is the name of the brahmana who first Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and secondly you say Radhika and Radha, can you explain The brahmana, I don’t think his name is mentioned as Chaitanya Chaitanya Amrit and Radhika it refers to one who worships Krishna Radha refers to one who is worshipped by Krishna so actually in Sanskrit the words can be interpreted in different ways more important than the specific meaning of the word is the mood the mood is that there is a reciprocal relationship between the divine couple and they are Radharani worships Krishna but Radharani is also worshipped by Krishna and at different times it is different sometimes Radharani is searching for Krishna like in Rasleela when Krishna goes away at that time Radharani is searching for Krishna other times when Krishna goes away Radharani is in man mood and Krishna searches after the point is that neither of them, it is not that Krishna is God and Radharani is constantly serving him the mood of service is always there but the way in which that service is executed is different at different times so that even God becomes controlled by his devotee that’s what is illustrated through the analysis of these words thank you yes so Devaki and Vasudev they know that their son is Naayana because Krishna appeared in the 400 form and then after they prayed Krishna Vasudev shifted Krishna to Vrindavan so after that when they meet Nandamaharaj goes and meets Vasudev why Vasudev did not reveal this to Nandamaharaj so why does Vasudev not reveal to Nandamaharaj that Krishna is my son the same reason because of which he had first sent Krishna away fear of Kamsa when they meet for the first time Kamsa is still in power and Nandamaharaj has come to Mathura to pay taxes and then Vasudev tells him now you have paid taxes please go back as soon as possible because now there might be some danger so because the danger is still present that’s why he doesn’t tell because Kamsa is still there in power so what might happen is it’s a secret is best kept when it is kept with one person or two people people who can’t keep secrets tell others, I’ll tell you and you keep the secret laughter laughter laughter so Vasudev felt that Nandamaharaj is also Vasudev is a king, he is a diplomat so he knows, speak this here speak that there, not in a manipulative sense but that is just required for functioning as a king, but Nandamaharaj is a very simple person, so his simplicity is also sweet but that kind of secret he might not have been able to keep it and at that point, telling it to Nandamaharaj would not have served any purpose if somebody has to take care of a child they they need to put their full effort in taking care of the child so if at the back of their mind it is always that this is not my child then maybe the affection may go down, it may not also but it might so what purpose would be served at that particular point by Vasudev telling Nandamaharaj it might just decrease the love that Nandamaharaj might be able to shower on Krishna and it could increase the danger but no constructive purpose would be served, the secrecy would be the best way to protect Krishna at that time that’s why I didn’t tell thank you I’ll come back, any other questions anyone else I will come back, ok all the Vrajavasis are all in Mahabhava status yes, definitely no, wait a minute now, are all the Vrajavasis in the Mahabhava status see the word words have different meanings in different contexts so if you see Mahabhava as a technical word meaning a particular state of devotion then that state Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes is with Radharani and with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also but not with many other people but if you consider Mahabhava simply as generally a great devotion then that is there with everyone so words have technical meanings and general meanings say, if a scientist is doing some experiment in a laboratory and the scientist says, is doing some electrical equipment testing and he says, we have run out of energy I have no energy now that means the battery has got discharged or whatever then the assistant will understand and give the battery over there but if the scientist comes back home and tells his spouse I have no energy she will not bring the battery there laughter laughter so there energy means something different so words can have technical meanings and they can have general meanings so Mahabhava in a technical sense if Chaitanya Mahaprabhu if we use that very exalted devotion is with Radharani but in a general sense of very great devotion all Rajvasis have that ok, thank you yes there is a question here ok, how do I manage how do we manage our sadhana in a healthy way see, first thing is it is important to understand the purpose of sadhana purpose of sadhana is to connect with Krishna and it is best that we do our sadhana in the morning because at the time we are less distracted so many things to do come up in the day but the important thing is to connect with Krishna so sometimes if we arrange overall schedule for ourselves then we are able to do sadhana in the morning and that is good but life sometimes come in the way, it is quite unpredictable so regulation is important but attachment to regulation also is undesirable there is a difference between the two there is attachment regulation is good but attachment regulation is not good attachment should be to only Krishna sometimes what happens for some devotees I have seen they decide I will I will do my sadhana, I will chant before I take breakfast and then they are not able to do it and then they don’t know whether I should take breakfast or they do something and then they feel so guilty that I could not do this and then eventually when they are chanting the rounds they are not remembering Krishna, they are remembering their guilt that is not really bhakti I mean bhakti is centered on remembering Krishna we want to offer our best to Krishna, that is true but surrender means to do the best with what we have now so if we were in a better world, maybe every day we could do our sadhana in the mornings but sometimes so many things come up and what happens is if we become too rigidly attached to regulation then we become insensitive we might become irresponsible about other things or we might become very resentful of other things, why is this coming this way why is this coming this way and then that resentment will interfere with our devotion also so the important thing is that we stay connected with Krishna and if we can do it in the morning, that is good, but if we can’t do it in the morning, do it when we can and try to do it in good consciousness if we can’t succeed in Krishna consciousness we can still fail in Krishna consciousness we don’t have to fail out of Krishna consciousness what do I mean by this that Krishna consciousness is not just adherence to certain actions Krishna consciousness is a consciousness is a connection with Krishna so somebody may decide, I want to fast nirja on Ekadashi and they try their best but they can’t fast, just feel too much tormented, feel burning in the stomach, they feel faint like fainting and they take some food now they feel oh I failed in Krishna consciousness but no the important thing is to be Krishna conscious somebody might fast nirja and then they go to the kitchen and see who all are eating what all then their body may be fasting but their ego is feasting and they will not make much advancement by that so on the other hand, somebody might not be able to fast, but if you think ok, I couldn’t fast Krishna but I will serve you then you just take some food and then serve Krishna so both extremes could be somebody fasts and thinks just see I fasted just see I fasted they are not thinking about Krishna they are thinking about their success in fasting and somebody else, they couldn’t fast and they are thinking, oh I didn’t fast I didn’t fast and they are also not thinking of Krishna so that is not of much use bhakti requires austerity but bhakti is not dependent austerity bhakti can be practiced even by somebody who is not able to do much austerity that’s why we don’t have to be very rigid about our sadhana certainly we cannot be completely nonchalant we have to have a schedule and we try to stick to the schedule but if we can’t, we understand that ok, I can’t do it this way, let me do it this way so if we try to see that more than doing the sadhana is remembering, more important than doing the sadhana is remembering the purpose of sadhana and the purpose of sadhana is to remember Krishna, is to connect with Krishna sometimes some devotees they say I want to complete my japa in the morning and to complete the japa in the morning they chant like a super fast speed they are just going they are going so fast they are not pronouncing the words clearly they are not concentrating of course some devotees can speak fast and pronounce also and remember also I am not saying you can’t but sometimes what happens, it becomes like we complete our japa in the morning but how much have we remembered Krishna so most important thing is that sadhana is meant to help us remember Krishna and sometimes if a circumstances something comes up say somebody falls sick at home or some job emergency comes up, some family situation comes up, then we pay attention to that we take care of it and we see that also, we do it in the mood of service to Krishna now if an emergency is coming everyday then it is not the situation that is an emergency, it is our own planning that is an emergency emergencies don’t come everyday so on an overall pattern we need to have a schedule, but if occasionally sometime the schedule doesn’t work, we don’t have to be attached to it we stay attached to Krishna and do the best that we can can we stop?

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

So this is chapter 11, the childhood pastimes of Krishna. And Vrindavan is a most astonishing and wonderful place. Because Krishna is present there, although he is God, people don't think, Vrajavasis don't think of him as God.

So here, the Vrajavasis are saying, just before this, Putana has come, Shaktasura has come, who else has come? Trnavarta has come. And just recently, the previous chapter was, the huge Nalaka, the trees fell down. But nothing happened to Krishna.

So if you see some of Krishna's pastimes, the first three demons, they come either in the house or near the house. So Putana, she came right inside the house. Trnavarta, just at the outskirts of the house, in the front yard of the house.

Shaktasura was also in the front yard, the cart was there. Later on we will see, Krishna will start going out to the forest. And all the future demons are in the forest.

Vakasura, Aghasura, Dhenukasura, then we have Keshi, all of them are outside. So as Krishna grows, he starts going out. And the demons also attack him when he is outside.

So here, the Vrajavasis are thinking, Krishna is such a small child. And they are thinking, how, there are so many dangers, Krishna has always been protected. So how did this happen? And they are saying, this is the Lord's mercy.

The Vrajavasis, they think of Krishna to be just one among them. Just a very beautiful, lovable, cowherd boy. He is the best among them, but he is just a cowherd boy.

And that's why Yashodhama also thinks that I have to protect Krishna. If I don't feed Krishna milk, he will starve, he will become weak, he may even die. And such thoughts in her actually increase her devotion for Krishna.

And the Vrajavasis see here that those who came to cause the death of Krishna, they themselves died. But when they see this, how did this happen? It's a source of great wonder for them. First of all, in the life of a small child, great dangers coming is itself unusual.

Somebody who is maybe a person in a dangerous profession or something like that, many dangers come in their lives. In the lives of ordinary people, dangers only come occasionally. But one after another, after another, dangers are coming.

That itself is unusual, alarmingly unusual. And then so many dangers, nothing is happening to Krishna. But rather dangers are getting destroyed.

So that means, increase? Not audible behind? Is it audible now? There is a hiss that is coming. Is it better now? Okay. So, they are wondering what exactly, how is it this is happening? So they are thinking.

Maybe turn the angle a little bit. No, the other side. Okay.

Now is it better? Okay, let's see. So when Krishna comes to this world, is it remote? It's charged. What if I speak without it? Hare Krishna.

If I speak without it, is it audible or difficult? It's difficult. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Thank you.

So, the Vrajivasis, they don't know that Krishna is God. Or more precisely, it's not in the forefront of their awareness. It's like right now, it's daytime, but stars are still there in the sky.

However, we can't see the stars because the sun is so bright. So similarly, there is the Madhurya, there is the love of the Vrajivasis for Krishna and there is the knowledge that Krishna is God. So the love is like the sun.

And the knowledge that Krishna is God is like a star in the sky. So it's there, but they are not conscious of it. And this is Yoga Maya.

Yoga Maya means this is a divine illusion. Vrajivasis don't consider Krishna to be God. Now, I was once giving a class in India and one person after class said, I also don't consider Krishna to be God.

Now, that is very different. That is somebody who is in Mahamaya. So where to not know about Krishna, not accept Krishna's position as God and to not even love him.

That is to be an illusion. Maya means what? Illusion. Maya means illusion.

That which is not. But Yoga Maya is a very special category of illusion. What does the word Yoga mean? Connection.

Connection with whom? Krishna. Yes, the ultimate reality. So, Yoga Maya means the illusion that increases connection.

The illusion that increases devotion. Normally, illusion decreases our devotion. When we get caught in illusion, we get captivated by worldly things and we forget Krishna.

But this is the illusion that increases devotion. So it is very uncool to Bhakti. So, Yoga Maya is what is in English called as oxymoron.

Is any of you studying for GRE or something? Any of you know this word oxymoron? What is that? Words that are contradictory. Yeah, words that are contradictory. So, if somebody says, that was brilliantly stupid.

Is it brilliant or stupid? How can something be brilliantly stupid? So, or you might say, that was an outstandingly poor performance. Outstanding is very good, poor is bad. So, outstandingly poor.

So, like that when two opposite words are brought together, that is called as oxymoron. So, Yoga Maya is like that. Yoga means connection, Maya means illusion.

But when two opposite words are brought together, actually, it is not just a fun play of words. It can have a deeper meaning. That was brilliantly foolish.

What that means is, there are ordinary people who might do foolish things, but some people, they are intelligent, but they use their intelligence for a foolish purpose. That is brilliantly foolish. So, I was just talking to a youth yesterday evening.

So, I was in IIT in India. And there is a problem, many young people are committing suicide. So, and they all committed suicide by hanging themselves from the fan.

So, the IIT management had an emergency meeting. And they immediately passed unanimously a multi-lakh proposal to counter suicide. Replace all fans with air conditioners.

So, now that is the example of brilliantly foolish. So, anyway, the point is, when we talk about divine illusion, Yoga Maya, the idea is that whatever increases our remembrance of Krishna, that is wonderful. And in the spiritual world, for the devotees, if they think that Krishna is God, Krishna is supreme, then they can't actually love Him that much.

He is God, I have to always respect Him. But if they understand, oh, Krishna is just like a lovable child among us, their love for Him increases. So, Yoga Maya is that illusion which increases devotion.

And this particular verse, that they are thinking that Krishna has been protected because of the mercy of the Lord. Krishna is the Lord. But they are thinking Narayan is the Lord and Narayan is up there.

Narayan has been very merciful to our child and that's why he has been protected. So, this is an example of Yoga Maya. So, any questions till now? I will take this class in three parts.

After each part, you can have some questions if anyone has. So, the first part was that basically, the Vrajavasis are exhibiting how they are in Yoga Maya. Intensely concerned about Krishna, but at the same time not aware that Krishna is, not consciously aware that Krishna is God.

Any questions or comments? Does Dandamaharaj know that Krishna is Lord Vishnu? Does Dandamaharaj know that Krishna is Vishnu? It's a dicey thing. Because what happens? He thinks he is my son. And he has, when Gargamuni comes, Gargacharya, he also has a difficult task.

On one side, he is a Brahmana. So, Brahmana is not meant to speak untruth. But at the same time, Krishna's safety is a matter of concern.

Kamsa is out to persecute him. So, Gargamuni answers, speaks in a very ambivalent way. He says that your child previously was a child of Vasudeva.

So now, when Dandamaharaj hears this, he thinks previously means previous life. But actually it is this life itself. Earlier he was a child of, actually by birth he was a child of Vasudeva.

But now he is, now Nanda is taking care of him. He says he previously was a child of Vasudeva. And then he says that, he also says that, he talks about that famous verse.

He has appeared in another complexion. Which four complexions, does anyone remember? Gold complexion, green complexion, Krishna is in blue complexion. And then, there is the white complexion, Shweta.

So, he says previously has come in these complexions also. And then he doesn't say, your son is Narayan. He says your son is like Narayan.

So, like Narayan, like say when a couple is getting married, people may bless them and say, you are like Lakshmi Narayan, you are like Sitaram, blessing like that. May you all be together happily. So now, when he speaks it like that, what happens is, he thinks that my son is like Narayan.

Not that he is Narayan. And because he is like Narayan, later on in the Govardhan Leela, or after the Govardhan Leela, the Vrajivasis come and ask, how can Krishna, a small child, lift up a big hill for such a long time? And then he gives the expression, actually Gargacharya told me that he is like Narayan. So, even after seeing him lift the hill, they don't think that he is Narayan.

They think he is like Narayan. So, Nanda Maharaj, actually till the end, he never accepts that Krishna is the son of Vasudev. He thinks Krishna is my son.

And that's why he feels very hurt, when Krishna stays in Mathura. But he thinks that he is my child and Vasudev says, Gopal Champu describes that, based on the prediction that Devaki's son will kill Kamsa. Now that I have killed Kamsa, Krishna comes and tells Nanda Maharaj that, now they are saying that I am their son.

But Krishna doesn't say, I am their son. They are saying that I am their son. So, then Nanda Maharaj starts laughing.

Not laughing happily, laughing sadly. He says, it is our fortune that that which is ours, great people are claiming it to be theirs. And he says, he accepts it.

He is very sad, but he accepts it at that time. So, Nanda Maharaj never consciously is aware that Krishna is Narayan or even that Krishna is the son of Vasudev. He thinks Krishna is our Prajaraj.

Thank you. Any other questions? Yes, both. Yoga Maya facilitates their love for Krishna.

The whole purpose of Yoga Maya is to intensify their love for Krishna. So, because they have so much love for Krishna, Yoga Maya arranges that reality be adjusted in such a way that that love can be intensified more and more. Yes.

Prabhu, the Vrajavasis never realize till the end that Krishna is God? Okay. The Vrajavasis never realize that Krishna is God. I wouldn't use the word realize because realization is something which we get on our spiritual journey.

Realization means that which is a reality and we accept it as a reality. That is a realization. So, the Vrajavasis, they are already fully realized.

They are already pure and exalted devotees. If you see the Gopi Gita, there at one of the most famous verses is the Gopis are saying Nalina Sundaram Nathate Padam Shila Trunankurai Sita Tithina Kalila Thammana Kanta Gacchate Krishna, when we think that you go out of the forest and you, your tender feet which are like lotus Nalina Sundaram they are pierced by the Shila Trunankurai by the pebbles, by the thorns by the wilderness of Vrindavan our heart is ripped apart thinking that your feet are being scratched. So, here they love Krishna so much that they are thinking even his feet should not get hurt.

But in that same Gopi Gita, they are also saying Trunacharanugam Panipanarpitam Tepadambujam Krunakucheshuna Krundhiruchayam They are saying Krishna, these lotus feet you offered to the serpent Kalia Panipanarpitam Now, that means they know that Krishna subdued Kalia and Kalia was extremely dangerous snake. So, that means they know the power of Krishna and there are many places where they also say that that you are actually Akhiladehinam Antaratmadruk that you are the indwelling super soul of all living beings. That means they know that Krishna is God.

So, you cannot say that they never realized it. They know it. But it is just that that is not in the forefront of their awareness.

They know it temporarily but then it goes in the background. Oh, Krishna is our lovable Thank you. So, we will move on to the second point.

Now, for us we appreciate the divine illusion the yoga maya of the Vrajavasis and for us to become attracted to Krishna there are two aspects. There is Krishna's greatness and there is Krishna's sweetness. So, understanding Krishna's greatness creates submission and understanding Krishna's sweetness creates affection and the combination of submission and affection leads to devotion.

Submission means Krishna is God I should submit to him. That is submission. So, understanding Krishna's greatness creates submission and the Bhagavad Gita is all about Krishna's greatness prominently.

Krishna is supreme. Krishna is all powerful. Krishna is great.

So, when we study the philosophy it is important by which So, understanding his greatness creates submission and understanding his sweetness creates affection So, if we understand only his greatness and not sweetness and Prabhupada says that it is like the sky is so great but how can you love the sky? You can view the sky as so great but personal relationship and personal affection cannot be there. If you understand only his sweetness not his greatness then we start treating Krishna like an ordinary child like an ordinary person a nice entertainment character. He is the objective of enlightenment.

When we become enlightened then we become devoted to Krishna. So, understanding Krishna's greatness helps us to become enlightened and understanding Krishna's sweetness enables us to become enlivened with devotion. So, both are required and the way to both is primarily through associating with those who have Bhakti.

The key how to increase our attraction to Krishna is to associate with those who are attracted to Krishna and the great Vaishnavas the great devotees have very beautifully glorified Krishna and through their glorification of Krishna we start feeling a sense of devotion for him. So, in the 11th canto there is a beautiful verse which describes the Lord's activities. tyaktvā suduṣṭhyajya surepsita rājya lakṣmim dharmiṣṭh āryavacchasāyada gādharanyam māyāmṛgam daita epsita manvadhāvad vande mahāpuruṣate charanāravindam So, this verse says tyaktvā giving up suduṣṭhyajya that which is very difficult to give up tyaktvā suduṣṭhyajya surepsita rājya lakṣmim surepsita that which was sought by even the devtas rājya lakṣmim that is the great goddess of fortune So, that that wealth, that opulence which is the manifestation of the goddess of fortune which was sought by even the devtas that Lord gave it up tyaktvā suduṣṭhyajya surepsita rājya lakṣmim dharmiṣṭh āryavacchasāyada gādharanyam māyāmṛgam daita epsita manvadhāvad because he was dharmiṣṭh he was following dharma and āryavacchasāyada he wanted to honour the world of ārya with āgādharanyam he went to a forest and then māyāmṛgam daita epsita manvadhāvad māyāmṛgam that there was an illusory deer and māyāmṛgam daita considering that very deer epsita desiring that manvadhāvad he ran after that vande mahā puruṣate caranāravindam I offer my obeisances to that supreme lord so who is this referring to? Lord Ram yes he is referring to Lord Ram that he was born in Ayodhya he was born in Ayodhya he was born in Ayodhya but āryavacchasā because of the world of ārya who is that ārya? whose world did he want to honour? Dashrath Mahārāja āgādharanyam he went to the forest and then the maricha had come as the illusory deer and he ran after that now Viśvanācha Kṛtākura explains that this same verse also refers to Krishna and also refers to let's see how he does that so how is it referring to Krishna? teptvā sudiṣṭhya sureṣitara jelakṣmim he said he left the opulence so Krishna was born in opulence where was he born? Mathura so even at that time we will see Mathura is like a city Vṛndāvana is like a village so the urban rural division was always there throughout history and then why did he go there? dharmishta āryavacchasa yadagādharanyam so he says actually it was Vasudeva who brought him there Vasudeva was dharmishta he had promised Kamsa that whoever children are born I will give them to you āryavacchasa āryavacchasa is his word was very honourable so then what did he do? if my child is born I have to give him to Kamsa more important than honouring our word is honouring our lord honouring our word is extremely important but there is no value that is more important than devotion all other values are meant to help us assist in devotion and that was actually can you come ahead a little bit please so that was actually the blunder of Karna Karna considered honouring his word more important than living honourable life devoted to dharma so honouring our word is important but honouring our lord is even more important so ā dharmishta āryavacchasa how was Vasudeva dharmishta āryavacchasa? because he considered that the purpose of all dharma is to worship Krishna and that Krishna is here now it is my service to protect him therefore although he had given a word that I will give my child to you but he considered his service more important and he didn't give a child but a child which is brought from Yashoda's place Yadagādharanyam because of Kamsa's persecution he went to the forest which was the Vrindavan forest and now here it is interesting what Vishwajit Thakur says that māyā mṛgaṁ daityaya ipsitaṁ anvadhāval he says that actually what happened in that forest of Vrindavan Krishna became like a deer a mṛga in the hands of Rādhārāṇī and whatever Rādhārāṇī would tell him to do Krishna would do that and Krishna would run after Rādhārāṇī and this is most famously depicted in Mān Mandir have any of you been to Mān Mandir in Vrindavan? yes, Mān Mandir is a beautiful place where what happens Rādhārāṇī is upset with Krishna and in Krishna in order to beg forgiveness Krishna touches his head to the feet of Rādhārāṇī and God, everybody touches their head to God's feet but God touches his head to Rādhārāṇī's feet and the names Rādhika and Rādhā a small difference between them what is the difference? when Krishna serves Rādhārāṇī she becomes Rādhika yes so one who worships Rādhā and one who worships Krishna and one whom Krishna worships so actually this is so Krishna ran after Rādhārāṇī in trying to please her trying to pacify her and that is such is this great Lord and not only that this also refers to Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu now how is that? he says that so first he was talking about renunciation so Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was living in where was he living? Navadvipa Mayapur Navadvipa was an opulent place opulence is perceived differently by different people if somebody is very interested in money then they will see opulence in terms of wealth oh this is such a wealthy place I am living in such a wealthy community but say somebody is very interested in learning so somebody is very studious person they love studies and they love to research, understand and for such a person if they are able to go to some place like say Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard where there is a rich atmosphere of learning then that will be opulence for them for a devotee a devotee just wants to love Krishna so if there is abundant association of devotees who are devoted to Krishna that will be opulence for that devotee so opulence is perceived in different ways by different people so Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in a Brahmin family and in that Brahmin family learning was valued and at that time Navadvipa Mayapur was the headquarters of learning and therefore he was in a tremendously opulent place but he gave up that opulent place that was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyas and then what did he do? because he was honoring dharma and he had to follow the word of a brahmana which was the word of a brahmana? can you guess? Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, yes there was a brahmana who was not allowed to attend to Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's kirtans because he did not have much devotion and there were kirtans happening at night and when they were not allowed to enter he got very upset he said I am a brahmana how can you not allow me to enter you have offended a brahmana I curse you that you will never be able to enjoy any happiness in family life Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took that curse as a blessing he said yes to honor his word I will renounce my family where did he go? which aranya was that? which forest did Chaitanya Mahaprabhu go to? yes he went to Vrindavan that's much later first he came to Puri then he travelled across South India then he went to North India and in North India he went to Vrindavan so Vishwanath Chaturanga says that that forest which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to is the forest of material existence all of us are in the forest of material existence and he came he was in this completely pious and devoted place but he came to this came to a place where people are not so devoted and what did he do over there? mayamrugam daithayai psitamandvadhavan so here he says that actually all the souls all of us are like mayamrugam we are like the deer who are caught in illusion and are chasing after mirage and are chasing after worldly pleasure mayamrugam daithayai he considered these souls very dear to him so the souls are running after illusion and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is running after them faster to catch them and give them Krishna's mercy actually Prabhupada was like that Prabhupada is known as Jet H. Parivrajakacharya he has travelled across the world so he has travelled tirelessly so Jaya Prataka Maharaj is also he travels despite his health travels so much to chase after the souls who are caught in illusion and give them the illumination of Krishna bhakti so vande mahapurushyate charanaravindam I offer my obeisances to that great lord so in this way there is one verse but great devotees are so rich with devotion that they can take out so many different meanings from one verse once there is love for someone we can connect everything with the object of love and when we see this profound love that the devotees have for Krishna that's when seeing that attracts our heart seeing that enriches us with devotion similarly when Krishna is playing as a small child there is a famous Vaishnavacharya he explains that as Krishna is just learning to walk learning to move about so he is crawling on the ground when he is crawling on the ground he moves his hand up forward and he moves on his knees we have all seen children crawling so he says when Krishna is touching his hand to the earth as he is walking on what is he doing ordinary person will think that he is just a small child crawling but by touching his hand like that to the earth he is actually pacifying Bhoomidevi Bhoomidevi is distressed mother earth is distressed because there are so many demons over here and to remove the burden of the earth mother remove the burden of the earth Krishna is going to descend Krishna has not yet removed the burden just like if somebody if a child is sick and then a doctor comes along and the child is in pain doctor says everything will be alright spats him on the back to encourage him problem is not yet solved but will soon be solved so like that Krishna as a small child has not yet killed all the demons he has not freed the earth from the persecution of the demons but he is saying the sweetness with which devotees see even Krishna's ordinary actions every single action of Krishna can have multiple levels of meanings and it is through the devotee's eyes through the Vaishnavacharya's eyes when we see then we can start perceiving and relishing the attractiveness of Krishna so this is how the Vaishnavacharyas they dive deep into the ocean of Krishna Leela and they bring out nectar and they offer it to us and when we get that nectar when we drink that nectar we become enriched, energized, enlivened with devotion so any question at this point so I will make a last point and then conclude so now when we practice Bhakti we sometimes feel that I have devotion for Krishna and sometimes we feel I have no devotion for Krishna sometimes when we are chanting on a few days when our chanting goes very nicely we feel as if chanting should never end we feel such strength, we feel such power we feel such purity coming from chanting so chanting should never end but most days we feel chanting never ends sometimes when we are chanting we pick out the beads is this bead 108 or 1008 so what happens for us our mind is very fickle and sometimes the mind feels attracted to Krishna sometimes the mind doesn't feel attracted to Krishna so we as souls are here the mind is here, the world is here and Krishna is also here of course Krishna is right close to us but our experience of Krishna is mediated through the mind we perceive, even coming from the deities sometimes I feel a lot of devotion sometimes I feel ok I had darshan, let me do next thing now so we don't feel any devotion because what happens our mind comes in the way between us and the world and the mind comes between us and Krishna also the mind makes the world appear more attractive than it is and the mind makes Krishna appear less attractive than he is so that means that the mind if we see a particular object oh I want it, I want it, I want it the mind makes it appear much more attractive than what it is and although Krishna is supremely attractive the mind makes it appear less attractive ok, Krishna bhakti, ok, I will do it sometime our tendency is Krishna is good but Maya is also not bad so in that way we stay caught sometime this way, sometime that way so for us if we want to increase our attraction towards Krishna the process of bhakti is there the Acharyas, the Vaishnavas they are there, they are speaking about Krishna they are sharing about Krishna but if our mind comes in the way then Krishna is here, Krishna's devotees are here they are giving us Krishna but the mind will come in between the way and the mind will not allow us to connect with Krishna or experience Krishna and that's why we may feel as if am I growing in my bhakti this bhakti is simply becoming like a ritual so at such times we can do two main things when we just don't feel devotional at all and we feel as if why am I doing this at such times the first thing we can do is that use our intelligence to understand that the mind's emotions are temporary the mind's emotions are like weather sometimes the weather is hot sometimes the weather is cold and what happens with the mind's emotions this is a very important point treating it like a weather means we don't try to change it when it's hot what can we do, if it's hot it's hot if it's cold it's cold we can't change it ourselves so if we keep fighting with ourselves I should not feel like this it's a losing battle feelings will come on their own sometimes we will feel devotional sometimes we will not feel devotional instead of trying to control how we feel we can try to control what we do we may say but isn't it how I feel going to determine what I do that is the key point of self-control that self-control is not necessarily controlling how we feel yes we would like to have always pure devotional feelings always but they may come they may not come and as long as we are trying to fight controlling how we feel it will just be a frustrating battle but instead of control try to take control of what we do so even if I don't feel devotion for Krishna still I will chant his holy names when the altar opens in the temple and Krishna darshan comes we all offer pranams we all offer obeisances to Krishna so actually the acharyas when they see when the great saintly devotees they see Krishna they feel so delighted that they fall down and faint in ecstasy like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he saw Jagannath for the first time so he ran and he fainted in our case we don't faint but acharyas say at least fall down at least bow down we don't faint but we fall down so what happens just like fainting is not in our control but bowing down and offering obeisances so if we try to control what we feel or how we feel that is like trying to control the weather yes we can't control the weather but still we can control what we do ok it's hot but I have to go out for work so still I will go maybe I will try to have ventilation in my car I will try to get there as quickly as possible so that I will have ventilation we will try to adjust our actions but trying to control the weather is a losing battle so our actions is much more doable so similarly when we just focus on doing what we can in that situation gradually by that the connection with Krishna will be established and even by our actions we can connect with Krishna we chant the holy names we do some kirtan we hear some katha just start doing it by that the connection with Krishna is established and once the connection with Krishna is established then by that connection all the distracting emotion that is there all the rajas and tamas the lower mode that are there they start getting dissipated so if we just the first point I said is don't try to control how you feel try to control what you do and second point in this is that we can try to find out something that also feels good within bhakti if this is a circle of things which I like and this is a circle of things which are devotional things so it's not that these two are non-intersecting they can intersect somewhere so find out where the two intersect we do that activity more or we do that activity especially when we don't feel devotional say some devotees may just like kirtans just hear some kirtans sing some kirtans some devotees may just love to take darshan of the deities not just any deities but a particular deity not just a particular deity but a particular darshan of a deity this dress, this deity looks so beautiful I want to take darshan of it so for some of us it might just be shlokas so we just love to recite shlokas and not just shlokas but not just any shlokas but some particular shlokas and not just particular shlokas but maybe in a particular meter so Rupa Goswami in the Ujjwal Neelamani calls this Uddeepan Uddeepan is spiritual stimulus so just like all of us may have some material stimuli so somebody who is a cricket fan as soon as some cricket news comes up they become very excited what happened about cricket now somebody plays like America they think cricket means an insect they don't even know cricket is actually one cricket as a sport is not known so for them cricket news will not agitate much but for somebody who is an Indian who is a cricket fan cricket news will start exciting them so just like in the material world there are certain stimuli which excite us and certain stimuli that don't excite us so similarly in spiritual life also yes everything is connected with Krishna there are many things connected with Krishna but not everything will stimulate us so we find out what stimulates us and then keep that accessible keep that readily accessible if you like a particular kirtan then keep that kirtan in your phone and just hear it regularly you like a particular verse and this stimulus will vary from person to person so once I gave a class and I talked about how when we take darshan of the lord we can recite some verses and pray to him so for me I am a very verbal person so if I recite some verses speak something verbalize my emotions then I feel the emotions so then whenever I recite a verse then I feel a connection with the lord this is the lord who is being described by these words that is the lord who is present over here so I gave a class and I spoke about how memorizing, reciting verses can help us feel the presence of the lord feel devotion after a couple of days one devotee came to me and he said that after you told me I have been trying when I take darshan to recite verses he says but memorizing and recollecting and reciting verses causes me so much anxiety that the emotion I have goes away so then I told him I didn't say you should recite verses I said that you find out what stimulus connects you so for some people may be very visual just the sight of the lord may attract them some people may be very musical when they hear some kirtan then they start feeling some emotion so the shoe that fits one leg so similarly with respect to uddhipan we have to find the uddhipan that works for us and when I say that try to control what you do not how you feel so what you do means at that time when we don't feel devotional we connect with that uddhipan we try to do what is the uddhipan for us just hear that kirtan which you like just take darshan of the lord that you like recite the verses that we like or if you like to hear from a particular devotee hear that devotee's classes we may hear many devotee's classes but if we feel inspired by a particular devotee hear that or if you feel very inspired by a particular class keep that class with you keep a video or a clip of that it is not a full class, a part which inspires just keep that ready and then when we have the uddhipan ready we will find that just by doing that as the connection with Krishna will be established then we will start feeling devotional again and then we will be able to move forward in the study of bhakti and as we move steadily in bhakti as we become more and more purified then the devotional emotions will become stronger and sweeter and the non-devotional or the anti-devotional emotions will decrease will gradually go away so that's how we can increase our attraction for Krishna by committing ourselves to the steady practice of bhakti and by providing ourselves whatever resources are necessary otherwise I spoke about how to increase our attraction for Krishna and there I started by talking about the vrajvasis are in yoga maya divine illusion yoga maya is an oxymoron that contradictory words which convey a higher meaning so normally illusion decreases devotion but the vrajvasis illusion increases devotion and then for us we are not in yoga maya we are in the journey from maha maya to yoga maya so for us devotion has two components hearing about Krishna's greatness creates submission hearing about Krishna's sweetness creates affection and submission and affection together is genuine devotion so for us to develop that devotion we need to hear from devotees associate with devotees and especially when we see devotees relishing Krishna's pastimes then we feel oh I also want to relish this not just Krishna's pastimes even Krishna philosophy bhagavad gita whatever so I talked about how chakravarti pad mines out three different meanings from one verse can refer to Krishna can refer to Ram and can refer to lord chaitanya and how the crawling of Krishna can also be seen as devotion and the last part I said is when we are practicing bhakti one is that we associate with devotees and from them we get devotion but in the normal course of our life we sometimes do not feel devotional at all because the mind comes between us and Krishna and the mind makes the world seem more attractive than it is and it makes Krishna seem less attractive than he is so when the mind is filled with non devotional emotions together don't try to control how you feel control what you do so as soon as we start acting in a devotional way even if you are not feeling devotional just that action will connect us with Krishna and gradually that connection will remove the non devotional emotion and for doing such action we can find out what is the uddhipan for us what is our particular spiritual stimulus the thing that I like to do so if we keep that uddhipan with us readily accessible then that will be able to trigger spiritual emotion within us and therefore we can again establish the connection with Krishna and once that connection with Krishna has been established then we will become purified and our devotion will become sweeter stronger and deeper Thank you very much Hare Krishna Any questions We will come back to you Two questions One is what is the name of the Brahmana who first Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and secondly will you say Rajatia or Radha The Brahmana I don't think his name is mentioned in Chaitanya Amrit Radhika it refers to one who worships Krishna Radha refers to one who is worshipped by Krishna so actually in Sanskrit the words can be interpreted in different ways more important than specific meaning of the word is the mood the mood is that there is a reciprocal relationship between the divine couple and Radharani worships Krishna but Radharani is also worshipped by Krishna and at different times Radharani is searching for Krishna but there are other times when Krishna goes away Radharani is in man mood and Krishna searches after the point is that neither of them it is not that Krishna is God and Radharani is constantly serving him as the mood of service is always there but the way in which that service is executed is different at different times so that even God becomes controlled by his devotee that is what is illustrated through the analysis of these words Devaki and Vasudev they know that their son is Narayana because Krishna appeared in the four hundred form and then after they prayed Krishna converted into Shamsunda and then Vasudev shifted Krishna to Vrindavan so after that when they meet Nandu Maharaj goes and meets Vasudev why Vasudev did not reveal this to Nandu Maharaj ok good question so why Vasudev did not reveal to Nandu Maharaj that Krishna is my son the same reason because of which he had first sent Krishna away that is fear of Kamsa when they meet for the first time Kamsa is still in power and Nandu Maharaj has come to Mathura to pay taxes and then Vasudev tells him now you have paid taxes please go back as soon as possible because now there might be some danger so because the danger is still present that is why he does not tell because Kamsa is still there in power so what might happen is a secret is best kept when it is kept with one person or two people they say that people who can't keep secrets tell others I will tell you and you keep the secret so Vasudev felt that see Nandu Maharaj is also Vasudev is a king he is a diplomat so he knows speak this here speak that there not in the manipulative sense but that is just required for functioning as a king but Nandu Maharaj is a very simple person so his simplicity is also sweet but that kind of secret he might not have been able to keep it so at that point telling it to Nandu Maharaj would not have served any purpose if somebody has to take care of a child they need to put their full effort in taking care of the child so if at the back of their mind it is always that this is not my child then maybe the affection may go down it may not also but it might so what purpose would be served at that particular point by Vasudev telling Nandu Maharaj it might just decrease the love that Nandu Maharaj might be able to shower on Krishna and it could increase the danger but no constructive purpose would be served the secrecy would be the best way to protect Krishna at that time that's why I didn't tell thank you I will come back any other questions I will come back yes definitely no wait a minute now are all the Vrajavasis in the Mahabhava status see the word words have different meanings in different context so if you see Mahabhava as a technical word meaning a particular state of devotion then that state Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes is with Radharani and maybe Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also but not with many other people but if you consider Mahabhava simply as generally a great devotion then that is there with everyone so words have technical meanings and general meanings say if if a scientist is doing some experiment in a laboratory and the scientist says is doing some electricity electrical equipment testing and he says we have run out of energy I have no energy now that means the battery is got discharged or whatever then the assistant will understand and give the battery over there but if the scientist comes back home and tells his spouse I have no energy she will not give the battery there so there energy means something different so words can have technical meanings and they can have general meanings so Mahabhava in a technical sense if Chaitanya Mahaprabhu if we use that very exalted devotion is with Radharani but in a general sense in terms of very great devotion all Rajvasis have that thank you yes there is a question here ok how do we manage our sadhana in a healthy way see first thing is it is important to understand the purpose of sadhana purpose of sadhana is to connect with Krishna and it is best that we do our sadhana in the morning because at the time we are less distracted so many things to do come up in the day but the important thing is to connect with Krishna so sometimes if we arrange overall schedule for ourselves then we are able to do sadhana in the morning and that is good but life sometimes come in the way it is quite unpredictable so regulation is important but attachment to regulation also is undesirable there is a difference between the two there is attachment to regulation is good but attachment to regulation is not good our attachment should be to only Krishna sometimes what happens for some devotees I have seen they decide I will I will do my sadhana I will chant my before I take breakfast and then they are not able to do it and then they don't know whether I should take breakfast or they do something and then they feel so guilty that I could not do this and then eventually when they are chanting their rounds they are not remembering Krishna they are remembering their guilt that is not really bhakti I mean bhakti is centered on remembering Krishna we want to offer our best to Krishna that is true but surrender means to do the best with what we have now so if we were in a if we were in a better world maybe everyday we could do our sadhana in the mornings but sometimes so many things come up and what happens is if we become too rigidly attached to regulation then we become insensitive we might become irresponsible about other things or we might become very resentful of other things why is this coming this way why is this coming this way and then that resentment will interfere with our devotion also so the important thing is that we stay connected with Krishna and if we can do it in the morning that is good but if we can't do it in the morning do it when we can and try to do it in good consciousness see if if we can't succeed in Krishna consciousness we can still fail in Krishna consciousness we don't have to fail out of Krishna consciousness what do I mean by this that Krishna consciousness is not just adherence to certain actions Krishna consciousness is a consciousness is a connection with Krishna so somebody may decide I want to fast nirjal on ekadashi and they try their best but they can't fast they feel too much tormented feel burning in the stomach they feel faint like fainting and they take some food now they feel oh I failed in Krishna consciousness but no the important thing is to be Krishna conscious somebody might fast nirjal and then they go to the kitchen and see who all are eating what all then their body may be fasting but their ego is feasting and they will not make much advancement by that so on the other hand somebody might not be able to fast but if you think ok ok I couldn't fast Krishna but still I will serve you then you just take some food and then serve Krishna so both extremes could be say somebody fasts and thinks they are not thinking about Krishna they are thinking about their success in fasting and somebody else they couldn't fast and they are thinking oh I didn't fast I didn't fast I didn't fast and they are also not thinking of Krishna so that is not of much use bhakti requires austerity but bhakti is not dependent on austerity bhakti can be practiced even by somebody who is not able to do much austerity that's why we don't have to be very rigid about our sadhana certainly we cannot be completely nonchalant we have to have a schedule and we try to stick to the schedule but if we can't we understand that ok I can't do it this way let me do it this way so if we try to see that more than doing the sadhana is remembering more important than doing the sadhana is remembering the purpose of sadhana and the purpose of sadhana is to remember Krishna is to connect with Krishna sometimes some devotees they say I want to complete my japa in the morning and to complete the japa in the morning they chant like a super fast speed they are just going like they are going so fast they are not pronouncing the words clearly they are not concentrating now of course some devotees can speak fast and pronounce also and remember also I am not saying you can't but sometimes what happens it becomes like we complete our rounds in the morning but how much have we remembered Krishna so most important thing is that sadhana is meant to help us remember Krishna and sometimes if a circumstantially something comes up say somebody falls sick at home or some some job emergency comes up some family situation comes up then we pay attention to that we take care of it and we see that also we do it in the mood of service to Krishna now if an emergency is coming everyday then it is not the situation that is the emergency it is our own planning that is the emergency emergencies don't come everyday so on an overall pattern we need to have a schedule but if occasionally sometime the schedule doesn't work we don't have to be attached to it we stay attached to Krishna and do the best that we can ok so can we stop so thank you very much Prabhupada ki Jai Gaur Bhakta Vrindaki Jai Gaur Premanand Jai Jai so we have a few books here this is this is wisdom from Ramayana this is this is my latest book is about yeah is about and request all the children Madhuri and Prabhu please come in line and collect prasadam and donate to the Shri Mata Jaya Gaur Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai.