Bhagavatam-daily 231 – 11.11.37 – Don’t let technical minutiae blind you to transcendental purpose

Onwards in moving towards Krishna 11.11.37 in the previous text Krishna talked about celebrating as jubiles connected with his appearance and other days in a jubilant way Krishna continues that theme and talks about celebrating festivals that are Vaidiki and Tantriki so broadly speaking there have been two modes of worship of the lord that were present at that time normally when we talk of two modes of worship in today’s devotion culture we usually refer to as Bhagwat Vidhi and Pancharatra Vidhi but Bhagwat Vidhi centres on hearing and chanting and Pancharatra Vidhi centres on duty worship that is true in one manifestation in Bhagwat Vidhi Krishna is worshipped through sound and in Pancharatra Vidhi Krishna is worshipped through the deity now in the Vedas there is another manifestation of the divine which is often a central object of worship and that is fire Krishna is frequently worshipped through fire sacred fire is considered to be non-different from Krishna and so Vaidiki and Tantriki and this context refers to the festivals that are talked about in the Vedic mode of worship and the festivals that are talked about in the Tantriki mode of worship Tantra refers to the Pancharatra system which centres primarily on duty worship now here we will see that Pancharatra is referred to as a category different from the Vedas as we see the multivalence of the word Veda because that word can refer at different times to different things Prabhupada used it usually in an inclusive sense to refer to the entire body of Vedic literature and that is how we often refer to it when we say Vedic literature and literature in persuance of the Vedic version when we talk about how we should not offend such literature in reciting written offenses now there is a there can be a perspective that focuses on technical precision and there can be a perspective that focuses on essential purpose and while technical precision is not to be minimized at the same time technical precision’s importance should be maximized and certainly it should not be absolutized in material life for example if we write a program then one part of a code goes wrong and the program may not function so in that technical precision is required but then now the same purpose that the program is meant to serve can be served in different ways so one person might use one programming language another programmer might use another programming language or while using the same programming language one may use slightly one kind of logic and another kind of logic as long as the ultimate purpose for which the program is being written is being served then such technical precision or technical details may not matter so much and this is all the more the case when we approach the supreme lord in bhakti because when we approach him not just as the supreme lord who is the grantor of some petitions or not that the supreme lord is the protector from danger but when we approach him as a supreme lover who is the embodiment and fulfillment of all our heart’s deepest aspirations then such a perception of the lord brings great satisfaction to the heart of the lord because he sees that we are not approaching him in a utilitarian way we are approaching him in a pure devotional way simply to reciprocate love with him and he is extremely pleased by this purity of purpose and he is what to speak of being extremely pleased by the purity of purpose he is pleased even by the attempt for purity he is pleased by not just our devotion but even our intent for devotion and thus it is said that the lord is bhavagrahi janardana he is bhavagrahi he looks for the essence, he rejoices he relishes the essence and thus he is our greatest relisher he is our greatest benefactor he is our foremost he is our foremost friend and that’s why he said I just celebrate his appearance and the devotees just need an impetus to remember the lord to intensify their devotion to the lord Prabhupada would say that if I had the resources then I would celebrate a grand festival every day of the year so yes from a technical point of view the vedic largely focuses on worshipping through fire and the pancharatra focuses on worshipping the deity but the essentials, the shinshu friends both are meant to worship the ultimate lord the supreme lord and in that sense they have a commonality of purpose and here it is said that Parshiki throughout the year celebrates his festivals so it’s important that we don’t reduce devotional service to a an occasional activity that we do maybe once a once a month or once in a few months or just once a year but it has to become a perpetual activity that becomes a very part of our being and becoming a part of our being means that it is something which we want to do constantly, incessantly actually that’s what is our aspiration we can’t do constantly incessantly but at least we should do it regularly and in that way we will develop not just our aspiration for devotion will transfer into a habit of devotional service that habit of devotional service will propel us onwards in a journey for transforming our aspiration for devotion into the actualization of devotion into a situation where we will genuinely relish love for Krishna eternally so here Krishna is stressing that we use various festivals as occasions as opportunities for maximizing his remembrance and thereby enriching ourselves with maximum returns of devotion thank you

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

In the previous text, Krishna talked about celebrating festivals connected with his appearance and other days connected with him in a jubilant way. Krishna continues that theme and talks about celebrating festivals that are Vaidiki and Tantriki. So, broadly speaking, there have been two modes of worship of the Lord that were present at that time.

Normally, when we talk of two modes of worship, in today's culture or today's devotional culture, we usually refer to it as Bhagwat Vidhi and Pancharatra Vidhi, where Bhagwat Vidhi centers on hearing and chanting and the Pancharatra Vidhi centers on duty worship. That is true in one manifestation, in the Bhagwat Vidhi, Krishna is worshipped through sound and in the Pancharatra Vidhi, Krishna is worshipped through the deity. Now, in the Vedas, there is another manifestation of the divine which is often the central object of worship and that is fire.

So, Krishna is frequently worshipped through fire. The sacred fire is considered to be non-different from Krishna, Yajnavai Vishnu and so, Vaidiki and Tantriki and this context refers to the festivals that are talked about in the Vedic mode of worship and the festivals that are talked about in the Tantriki mode of worship. Tantra refers to the Pancharatra system, which centers primarily on duty worship.

Now, here we will see that Pancharatra is referred to as a category different from the Vedas. So, that we see the multivalence of the word Veda because that word can refer at different times to different things. Prabhupada used it usually in an inclusive sense to refer to the entire body of Vedic literature and that is how we often refer to it when we say Vedic literature and literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.

When we talk about how we should not offend such literature, we are reciting it as an offence. Now, there can be a perspective that focuses on technical precision and there can be a perspective that focuses on essential purpose and while technical precision is not to be minimized, at the same time technical precision should not be, technical precision's importance should be maximized and certainly it should not be absolutized. In material life, for example, if we write a program, then if one part of a code goes wrong, then the program may not function.

So, in that, technical precision is required. But then, the same purpose that the program is meant to serve can be served in different ways. So, one person might use one programming language, other programmer might use another programming language or while using the same programming language, one may use slightly one kind of logic and another kind of logic.

As long as the ultimate purpose for which the program is being written is being served, then such technical precision or technical details may not matter so much. And this is all the more the case when we approach the Supreme Lord with bhakti because when we approach him, not just as the Supreme Lord who is the grantor of some petitions or not the Supreme Lord who is the protector from danger, but when we approach him as the Supreme Lover who is the embodiment and fulfillment of all our heart's deepest aspirations, then such a perception of the Lord brings great satisfaction to the heart of the Lord because we are not, because he sees that we are not approaching him in a utilitarian way, we are approaching him in a pure devotional way simply to reciprocate love with him and he is extremely pleased by this purity of purpose and he is, what to speak of being extremely pleased by the purity of purpose, he is pleased even by the attempt for purity, he is pleased by not just our devotion but even our intent for devotion and thus it is said that the Lord is bhavagrahi janardhana, he is bhavagrahi, he looks for the essence, he rejoices, he relishes the essence and thus he is our greatest relisher, he is our greatest benefactor, he is our foremost, he is our foremost friend and that's why he said that just celebrate his appearance and the devotees just need an impetus to remember the Lord, to intensify their devotion to the Lord, Prabhupada would say that if I had the resources then I would celebrate a grand festival every day of the year, so yes from a technical point of view the Vedic largely focuses on worshipping through fire and the Pancharatra focuses on worshipping the deity but the essential sense both are meant to worship the ultimate Lord, the supreme Lord and in that sense they have a commonality of purpose and here it is said that Varshiki throughout the year celebrates his festivals, so it's important that we don't reduce devotional service to an occasional activity that we do may be once a month or once in a few months or just once a year but it has to become a perpetual activity that becomes a very part of our being and becoming a part of our being means that it is something which we do constantly, incessantly, actually that's what is our aspiration, we can't do constantly incessantly but at least we should do it regularly and in that way we will develop not just our aspiration for devotion will transfer into a habit of devotional service and that habit of devotional service will propel us onwards in the journey for transforming our aspiration for devotion into the actualization of devotion into a situation where we will genuinely relish love for Krishna eternally, so here Krishna is stressing that we use various festivals as impetuses for as occasions as opportunities for maximizing his remembrance and thereby enriching ourselves with maximum returns of devotion. Thank you.