Increasingly intimate manifestations of Krishna in Mahabharata, Gita, Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrita

Talk at ISKCON Seattle

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna So today morning we discussed on the topic of increasingly intimate revelations of Krishna, revelations of God. It’s like, suppose we see a mountain from a far distance we see it just as an outline we see the sky above and we see the maybe the grey somewhat coloured outline of the mountain as we come closer and closer to that mountain we start seeing it more and more clearly on that mountain there are trees, there are birds there are shrubs, there are flowers so as we come closer we start seeing things more and more clearly similarly when we approach God as we come closer to him our understanding of him becomes clear and that happens when we come close to him that closeness to God is not in position it is in disposition in position, Krishna is always close to us right next to us in our heart that he is there in the hearts of each one of us right next to us, he is in fact closer than what the closest person can ever be to us even that person embraces us in the tightest of hearts so that person cannot come as close to us as Krishna always is so Krishna is close to us but we are not close to Krishna and that is because we are turned away from Krishna bahirmukha, anadi ji bahirmukha ji, Chaitanya Chaitanya Thambul says that Krishna is here, we are here, but we are bahirmukha our face is turned away from Krishna so proximity to Krishna is not a matter of position, it is a matter of disposition that means we want to become once again unmukha, from the position of bahirmukha we want to become unmukha, we want to turn towards Krishna so this when it happens, when we turn towards Krishna then we start realising that he is always close to us he has always been close to us and he will eternally be, not just close to us, but the closest to us so when we turn towards Krishna at that time, how do we turn towards him? what does it mean actually? so turning towards him is basically a matter of becoming attracted to him and this attraction to him happens when we come to know more and more about him, not just know in an abstract or intellectual sense but in an emotional, tangible and transformational sense not just as God as a conception but God as a living, loving person so the world’s great theistic traditions talk about God in general but the revelation of God that is present in them is very limited there is not much positive knowledge about God in the Abrahamic scriptures the Bible, the Quran they talk about God as the source of everything but not much knowledge about him positive knowledge about what he is, what he does what he likes, about his personal attributes that is not known the theologians try to justify this absence of positive knowledge of God by saying that God is in principle unknowable that God is infinite and because he is infinite, he is unknowable we are finite beings, we cannot know him now this argument rests on a misunderstanding about infinity when we say God is infinite what does this infinity mean when we say, normally we talk about the concept of infinity in mathematics so say for example, we may say the series of all natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 like that we can go to 1 million, 1 trillion, 1 zillion 1 gazillion, whatever then if this goes on and on, we will say the series is infinite now interestingly mathematicians have recognised that although all infinity is infinite still all infinite is not equal what that means is consider mathematics, if we consider the series of all natural numbers and then we consider the series of all odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 series of all odd numbers is also infinite but the series of all odd numbers will be smaller than the series of all all natural numbers and the series of all prime numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 23 like that, 29, that will be also infinite, but that will be smaller than the series of all natural numbers and the series of all odd numbers so within infinity also there can be gradation now the question may come up if we are making the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 natural numbers at what point does the series become infinite and when does the series become infinite is it that when we don’t have we don’t have a name for that number but we can always make a name for that number so when does something become infinite so infinity is a term that we use to refer to something that is not conceivable by the human mind if we can put a name to that number if we can conceive that number then it is not considered infinite when it becomes inconceivable then we call it infinite so when people say that god is infinite so he is unknowable they are having this mathematical or material conception of infinity that means god is so great he is infinite, it means he has to be so great that how can we know him but this notion comes from a misunderstanding about god’s nature it is not that because god is infinite so he is god rather because he is god he is infinite what is the difference between the two but the point is what comes first so if we assume first that only someone who is infinite can be god then what we are saying is we are putting infinity as a more fundamental characteristic then he is god only no, it is not that Krishna is not god because he is infinite Krishna is god it is not that Krishna is infinite so Krishna is infinite so he is god that’s the wrong reasoning Krishna is god so he is infinite so that means god is infinite Krishna will be god even when he manifests in a finite seeming form because infinity is one of his attributes sometimes he can manifest in infinite form and sometimes he can manifest in a finite seeming form and even when he manifests in a finite seeming form still he remains god any moment, just like Krishna was just one person on one chariot in the charioteer’s position in the battle of Kurukshetra so Krishna was just one Krishna was just one being within the universe and he did the next movement when he showed the Vishwaroopa in 11.8 Krishna told Arjuna I will give you the eyes, the divine eyes I will give you the eyes, the divine eyes and behold my mystic opulence so at that time he showed that at one moment Krishna was a person within the universe at the next moment the universe was a thing within him so how did this change occur it is because Krishna is by definition god, god means he is always god whether he manifests in a finite form whether he manifests in a finite form so Krishna’s infinitude is not mathematical it has to go up such a large that only when Krishna’s form is so big that we cannot measure it then it becomes infinite now even if Krishna is in a finite seeming form still he remains god so now with this understanding, why are we discussing this the topic we are discussing is that people can have a distinct conception of god a distinct vision of god or we can have a close up vision of god so from a distinct vision oh god is infinite so he is unknowable that might make sense but if we come closer and examine see god is god and because he is god he is infinite so Krishna’s infinitude does not make him unknowable Krishna’s infinitude makes his glories inexhaustible there is a difference say somebody wants to go scuba diving in an ocean oh this ocean is so big even if I explore it throughout my life the ocean, am I going to finish exploring that’s true but still a person can explore the ocean whatever capacity is there and while exploring that person may find jewels or some other marine treasures so just because the ocean is so big that it cannot be completely fathomed that does not mean that it cannot be fathomed at all rather we can keep fathoming it lifelong similarly Krishna’s glories are like an infinite ocean every ocean in this world has a shore to it the ocean of Krishna’s glories is shoreless, bottomless, endless shoreless it just goes on and on not just laterally but also vertically shoreless, bottomless, endless and when we dive into Krishna’s glories every moment we relish those glories Harisadasi Vigahaya Piyatejo Jalaugham Bhavamaru Parikhinnaha Kleshamantit Jami Kula Shekhar Maharaj says Harisadasi, Lord Hari is like a lake and I dive into this lake Vigahaya Piyatejo Jalaugham Tejo, his glories are like Jala or the nectarine drink and I will dive in and drink this and this way Bhavamaru Parikhinnaha Bhavamaru, this material existence is like a desert, all the promises of pleasure in this world are like mirages I got fed up with it, there is nothing in this Parikhinnaha, I will give this up Kleshamantit Jami, just gives me distress therefore I give it up now so Krishna’s infinitude does not make him unknowable rather it makes his glories inexhaustible so now the glories of Krishna in this way can be known, we can also explore the ocean we can’t come to the end of the exploration but the purpose of the exploration is not to come to an end, when we love Krishna we can just keep exploring endlessly so the different religions give us some conceptions of God a closer and closer conception is found in the Bhakti literature, so if you look at this progression first I will talk about the Mahabharata, I will talk about four books and how Krishna is revealed in these four books Mahabharata and specifically within that is the Bhagavad Gita then we will move forward to the Bhagavatam and then we will focus on the Chaitanya Charita Amrit so in the Mahabharata Krishna is not the hero the Pandavas are the heroes and actually Krishna enters in the Mahabharata first when he meets Arjuna after Arjuna has won Draupadi in the Swayamvar Krishna is there also in the Swayamvar but Krishna tells all the Yadavas that Draupadi is meant for Arjuna so don’t compete in the Swayamvar they all are there but none of them competes and then Krishna goes after that with Draupadi Pandavas are at that time in disguise so they are living as Brahmanas so just like if many of you are from India so if you are from South India then you speak Tamil, now here you come to America you start speaking English but if you went to a place where nobody knew English and you would naturally slip back to talking in Tamil or Marathi or Hindi so the thing that we have learnt in our early childhood we will naturally slip back into that the Pandavas, the first 10 years of their life they had lived as Brahmanas so when they had to hide immediately they slipped back to the Brahmana mode started living as Brahmanas so when Krishna went there Krishna goes and Krishna introduces himself to Arjuna I am Krishna, this is Balram and I am Krishna so the Pandavas have already heard about Krishna they are delighted to see that they are great the two great Yadav princes have come to meet them and then in the background Dushtadyumna has been sent by Draupadi as a spy because they are all concerned they had their daughter Swayamvar happening and they had got all the great kings of the world come and suddenly the daughter is taken away as one over by some unknown Brahmana so what is going to happen to her, where is she going to stay so Dushtadyumna is tailing the Pandavas he has come to their cottage and he is waiting and observing and suddenly he says Krishna and Balram have been amazed he says why are these Yadav princes coming he starts suspecting Krishna and Arjuna have not met till now but there is a natural attraction between them because there is a relationship through Kunti also so this may be Arjuna the husband of Draupadi may well be Arjuna he starts suspecting so this is the point when Krishna enters in the Mahabharata and there is practically no reference to Krishna’s childhood pastimes in the Mahabharata no reference in the sense that there is no description there is Bhishma when he is warning Duryodhana not to challenge Krishna not to go against the Pandavas because Krishna is on their side and that time there were many wild demons who came to Krishna when he was just a small child and Krishna destroyed effortlessly all of them Bala, Krid and Kamiva it’s like a child plays similarly Krishna playfully destroyed all the demons so one of the characteristics of Krishna in Vrindavan is that there is violence without violence that means Krishna kills the demons but Krishna never uses any weapon in Vrindavan no weapon he never uses suras and chakras no sword, no bow, no arrow it’s just a play so one demon comes along, Krishna just puts out his hand Keshi dies another demon comes along, Krishna just goes for a free joyride in the air and enough of the ride, at that time he increases his weight and he crushes the demon another demon comes along, Krishna drinks milk so Bala, Krid and Kamiva so Bhishma warns that in a play Krishna killed formidable demons and now he is a warrior in earnest don’t go against him, you will be destroyed so like that there are references to Krishna’s childhood pastimes but in the Mahabharata primarily Krishna comes out as a warrior and more than a warrior, as a statesman very intelligent, very diplomatic making sure that his devotees Pandavas are protected and ultimately they are vindicated, they become victorious so the focus is on the Pandavas and wherever they are in danger Krishna comes in and what Krishna does is described at that time so largely the Mahabharata focusses on what is called as the Karmakanda vision of life the Karmakanda vision is that we do Dharma for Artha and Kama, so we do religion so that we will get worldly goods and that’s why the Mahabharata’s focus is largely on that if someone does the Kshatriya duty, it’s largely focussing on Kshatriyas so the Kshatriyas do their duty and even if they die during the course of war, they will attain heaven and attaining heaven is considered to be a glorious attainment in the Mahabharata.
At the same time, within the Mahabharata also there are devotional sections which offer a higher vision of life there are primarily three sections which are devotional in the Mahabharata there is the Vishnu Sahasranam which is directly in the thousand names of Vishnu, profuse glorification then there is something called the Narayani which is also a glory of Narayani and then there is the Bhagavad Gita now the Bhagavad Gita is like the central jewel for which the Mahabharata is the setting sometimes when jewellers want to sell a jewel very expensive jewel if it is, then to enhance the beauty of the jewel, they put it in an attractive setting so like that in the Mahabharata the dramatic setting and at the most dramatic moment within the drama of the Mahabharata the Bhagavad Gita is spoken actually the whole Mahabharata is building up towards the climactic Kurukshetra war that is the climax and just as the climax is going to come up at that time the war is about to begin the conches have been blown, the elephants are trumpeting the drums are beating, the horses are neighing and everybody is poised to fight and to understand what this is like imagine there is a cricket match going on, India-Pakistan, the whole thousands of people are there and the whole stadium is packed say it’s a world cup final, India vs Pakistan millions of people all over the world are watching and the toss has been made say the Indian team is fielding, Pakistan team is batting and suddenly at that time everything stops and just the captain and the coach have a long philosophical discussion what is going on? some western people said in the Gita, in Mahabharata they said this is a logical absurdity how can you have, just as the war is about to start who will sit down and start talking philosophy at that time but the point is that it’s not actually as long as Bhishma was the commander of the Kauravas he restrained the Kauravas from acting unethically largely after Bhishma fell then because of Duryodhana’s constant goading Duryodhana would goad Drona you are affectionate to the Pandavas, that’s why you are not fighting over her and that constant goading it angered Drona and then he lost his morale, that’s how he came up with the scheme of having six warriors kill Abhimanyu so the point is, even after this had been sometimes some players, they have sporting spirit so sometimes there is a tennis match and the match is supposed to start at 6 o’clock but suddenly one player gets some cramps or something like that then he may well have to say, if you can’t play the other player can claim victory, you are not able to play, that means you are unfit so I’ll claim victory but if the other player has a sportsmanly spirit then you can wait for one hour, two hours and then we can afterwards play the match so it happens, that sportsmanly spirit so once a tennis match and one player just before the match he got the news that his coach, not the coach who was there, somewhere else he had died in an accident championship match, he was not ready to play then they postponed the match by a few hours, spectators also agreed so this can happen in a sportsmanly spirit Kshatriyas were fat, fought in a sportsmanly spirit at least they were meant to be so when Arjuna was overwhelmed at that time and he turned towards Krishna he put aside his bow became overwhelmed so at that time, Arjuna when Bhishma saw this on the opposite side Bhishma raised his hand, he said stop and then everybody stopped and then Krishna and Arjuna had their discussion that was simply respect for the codes of ethics that was there, so that is from the point of view of the narrative of the drama, if you understand the warriors were bound by certain ethical codes and especially their commander was ethical, so then we can understand how they would have stopped but more importantly why was this setting arranged, Krishna could have arranged to speak the Bhagavad Gita anywhere, why does he speak it in this particular setting to have maximum attention that is the time, the climactic moment of the epic is coming and when at that time the Bhagavad Gita is spoken it becomes irresistible otherwise the Bhagavad Gita may seem a little abstract, philosophical I am not interested, but at such a time somebody is talking about it, oh it must be a very important subject because it is such an urgent situation there, so what is the primary purpose of the Bhagavad Gita we can understand that in multiple levels Bhagavad Gita’s question, if any question is not whether Arjuna should fight or not, if that had been the question Krishna could simply have told Arjuna just fight and the whole Bhagavad Gita could have ended but Arjuna, when Krishna tells initially he says why are you just overcome by buckets like this, buck up man fight, and he says something like that but that’s not what he said, fight then actually, this is what Krishna tells in 2.2 and 3 at that time Arjuna takes the discussion to a deeper level and he says it’s not that I am I have become weak minded, first he says that actually I have noble reasons I don’t want to, how can I fight against my venerable elders how can I enjoy the spoils that are tainted with the blood of my elders so he tries to give noble sounding reasons, but the end result is he is bewildered, so 2.4, 2.5 he gives these reasons 2.6 he says I don’t know what I should do and then 2.7 he surrenders when he surrenders, he is not asking should I fight or not he asks he is asking what is dharma and this is the defining question of the Mahabharata that dharma is very sukshma when Draupadi is being disordered at that time in the assembly Draupadi raises questions if Yudhishthira has already gambled himself then how could he have gambled me so at that time Bhishma says the ways of dharma are very sukshma therefore Draupadi I cannot answer your question but this thing that dharma is very sukshma comes again and again so the Bhagavad Gita, when Arjuna is asked Arjuna is not just, sometimes we may also say Arjuna had emotional breakdown, Arjuna felt over all the weakness that’s true, but that’s only a superficial understanding actually Arjuna when he asks tell me what is dharma his question is he has two dharmas in fact this same discussion has happened earlier in the Udyog Parva Udyog Parva is the parva before the Bhishma Parva in which the Gita is spoken and the conflict before Arjuna is essentially a conflict between Kshatriya dharma and Kula dharma Kshatriya dharma as a Kshatriya he is meant to fight he is meant to fight and he is meant to protect innocent people but his Kula dharma is that he should protect his dynasty his Kula from Vinash, from destruction so now both of these are dharmas so should he do his Kshatriya dharma or should he do his Kula dharma that is the question and when Krishna tells Arjuna Sarva dharman paritejya mam ekam sharanam vraja Prabhupada says in one lecture that even the hippies had done Sarva dharman paritejya but the important thing is not just that the important thing is mam ekam sharanam vraja they had given up their education, they had given up their job, they had given up their parents to do Sarva dharman paritejya is not all that difficult but they had done Sarva dharman paritejya mam ekam sharanam vraja they had given up their education but mam ekam sharanam vraja so what this means is elaborate and technical flow of thought in the Gita but Krishna resolves Arjuna’s question by saying that both these dharmas Kshatriya dharma and Kula dharma they are material dharmas the highest dharma, the para dharma is the dharma bhakti so you do mam ekam sharanam vraja and when you do mam ekam sharanam vraja you surrender to me at that time you choose that dharma which will enable you to surrender to me it’s not that when Krishna says Arjuna Sarva dharman paritejya give up all dharma that does not mean he is telling become adharmic no he is telling there can be many different dharmas in different situations so you don’t bother about all these dharmas focus on surrendering to me and for surrendering to me whatever dharma is suitable you accept that so now in this particular case for him the Kshatriya dharma was the best way he could surrender not the Kula dharma so he adopted that so for all of us also we also have different roles in our life we may be parents, we may be professionals we may be sons or daughters we may be members of different social groups we have all these duties and all these duties it’s not that when we become devotees we give them up but we harmonise them with our para dharma so we do whatever of those duties that enable us to best surrender to Krishna so the reason I am talking about this defining thread of thought of the Gita is that the Gita’s focus directly is not on God the Gita’s focus is on enabling Arjuna to choose to understand dharma and to choose the right course of action and for that purpose for guiding Arjuna towards choosing the right course of action for guiding Arjuna to understand dharma for that purpose whatever knowledge of God is required is given because normally if we come to a crossroad and we ask someone where should I go? now of course in probably America we don’t ask people we just look at GPS, in India we still ask people where should I go? left or right? so if we come to someone and we ask should I go left or right? the first thing they are going to ask is where do you want to go? I don’t know, how can I tell you? you should go left or right so Arjuna is like a crossroads so the crossroad is asking Krishna what should I do? so at that time to answer that Krishna raises the question what is the ultimate goal of life? then you can decide which dharma is to be accepted and which dharma is to be subordinated and in that he tells about his own divinity so he says so he says 9.17 I am the destination I am the maintainer I am the witness I am the shelter I am the object to whom you surrender I am your greatest well wisher so basically the Bhagavad Gita reveals Krishna to be the be all and the end all he is the ultimate purpose of our existence he is the ultimate goal so it is when a person wants to choose the way at that time the person has to know something about the destination if we don’t know anything about the destination then how do we choose the way similarly the Gita’s focus is not primarily on revealing much knowledge about Krishna it’s enough knowledge about Krishna so that Arjuna can understand that Krishna is the ultimate goal of life so for example we may not find in the Bhagavad Gita description of deity worship some people say because the Bhagavad Gita does not talk about deity worship therefore deity worship is not approved in the Bhagavad Gita no we have to understand every scripture as a context so Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita already knows about Bhakti he knows about Karma, he knows about Jnana he knows about Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Ashtana Yoga Arjuna does not need like we need introductory lessons about how to do all these things what Arjuna needs to know is what I should do the context of the Gita and our context is different our context is we need to know everything first we need to know I am not the body I am the soul it’s not that Arjuna did not know I am not the body and soul that knowledge had got subordinated it has just not been prominent in his consciousness in the first chapter itself in the 42nd, 43rd, 44th verses he talks about Krishna if I fight and kill my relatives then the consequence will be and the one who destroys the dynasties which are supposed to go forever to hell that means Arjuna when he is talking about hell, who is going to go to hell we will die, all of us will die so there is some understanding of the soul but there is no clear understanding so it is not that Arjuna was ignorant about the soul it is not that Arjuna was ignorant about God but at that point his primary question is what course of action should I follow that’s why Bhagavad Gita will not talk elaborately about the 9 fold devotional service no, all this Arjuna knows Arjuna’s question is simply what path should I pass so the Bhagavad Gita gives us knowledge about the identity of God this is God and more not his identity but more in terms of the position of God he is the supreme being who pervades all of existence he pervades all of existence so the Bhagavad Gita describes the vision of God which is called in philosophy as panentheism a theism is belief in God pantheism is that everything is God so many people say oh you Hindus, you worship everything as God you worship monkeys, you worship elephants, you worship trees you are pantheists, you worship everything as God but actually speaking if we see the Bhagavad Gita’s vision is different in 7.19 Krishna says … … so here Krishna is saying that the Gyani understand that that Vasudeva is everything but significantly even after understanding that Vasudeva is everything the Gyani doesn’t surrender to him … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … He garlanded the pillar. He garlanded the ceremony. So, what does this mean? You know, when we say that God is everything Vasudeva Sarvamitih.
Actually, Vasudeva Sarvamitih is not God is everything. If you see there are two words. There is God is everything and everything is God.
They are not the same. Pantheism is Pantheism is everything is God. Pan means everything.
Theism is God. Believing in God. So, everything is God.
Our philosophy is not that everything is God. Rather, God is everything. God is everything means everything that exists is a manifestation of God’s energy.
And still, God exists beyond. Matsthani sarva bhootaani nichaaham teshva sthitaan nija matsthani bhootaani pashchinayoga maishwaram 9.4 and 9.5 Krishna talks about this. Matsthani sarva bhootaani All living beings are situated in.
Matsthani sarva bhootaani nichaaham teshva sthitaan But I am not situated in there. And further Krishna says, But all living beings are not situated in me also. So, Krishna is not being self-contradictory over here.
There are in philosophy, there is contradiction and there is paradox. The two are different things. Contradiction means two things which are logically opposite.
But paradox means there is something which seems like opposite but it’s correct. So, paradox are we need to apply our intelligence to see the underlying truth. So, for example, a famous paradox is the least corrected papers are the most correct.
The least corrected papers have very less red marks. What does that mean? That means the student has already written correctly. The least corrected papers are the most correct.
Initially we think it doesn’t make sense but it’s a paradox. So, to understand how the paradox is true, we have to go deeper. So, in Vedic hermeneutics, in Vedic philosophy, the standard example is given.
How paradoxes can be resolved. So, Devadatta is a person. Devadatta does not eat throughout the day.
And Devadatta’s weight is increasing. Now, how is it possible? So, then here we have to do what is called Arthapatti. Arthapatti means you have to infer something which is hidden.
So, the hidden thing is Devadatta eats secretly at night. So, like that, here Krishna is saying Matsthani sarva bhutani All living beings are situated in me. And then he says Naja Matsthani bhutani That all living beings are not situated in me.
So, how are these two to be reconciled? So, that reconciliation requires an understanding Pashyame Yogam Aishwaram Understanding that Krishna has inconceivable potencies. Krishna is a change. So, Krishna is not limited the way we are limited.
So, our Acharya has explained that when Krishna is saying Matsthani sarva bhutani All living beings are situated in me that refers to his imagined aspect as a Paramatma. As a Paramatma he underlies all of existence. Naja Matsthani bhutani when he says that he refers to his Bhagwan aspect who is beyond nature.
So, the relationship of God with nature, there are two terms used for that. One is transcendence and the other is immanence. Transcendence means God exists beyond nature.
And immanence means he exists within nature. So, when Krishna is saying Matsthani sarva bhutani he is referring to his immanent aspect. His immanent aspect is a super soul.
He permeates all of existence. He sustains as Mahavishnu. He sustains all of eternal existence.
And transcendent aspect is Bhagwan. He is completely beyond matter. I have nothing to do with matter.
So, like this, the Bhagavad Gita gives us an understanding of the position of God. But the Bhagavad Gita does not give as much knowledge about that. There is no Krishna Leela in the Bhagavad Gita.
Why? Because that is not the purpose. The book has a purpose helping Arjuna to understand what should be my dharma. And when Krishna tells Arjuna he should follow the dharma of bhakti.
Then naturally why should I follow dharma of bhakti? For that one has to know the glory of the object of bhakti. That is Bhagavan. And that is how Krishna talks about himself in the Gita.
So, Krishna talks about himself in the Gita not because he is an egotist. No, I like to talk about myself. Not like that.
Krishna talks about Bhagavan himself primarily because he wants Arjuna to make the right choice. And it is, even when he is talking about himself. I am the source of everything.
I am God. I am supreme. He talks so much.
But where is he talking from? He is talking about the position of a charioteer. So, if you look at the words of the Gita, you mistake. Krishna is very proud.
But Krishna is not proud. Krishna is actually purposeful. And the purpose requires him to talk about his position.
He will talk about his position. Now, suppose a child is not taking medicines. And the mother has to give the medicines.
No, I will not take. And then the mother says take me to the doctor. Now, suppose the mother of that child is the biggest doctor in the city.
And all the doctors in that city have been trained by that mother only. Now, the child is saying, I want to go to that doctor. The mother says, I have trained all of them.
What I tell you is the final authority. Now, there she is not being proud. She is being purposeful.
She will not tell about how I am still a great doctor all the time. But when that is required, she will tell. Similarly, Krishna does not go around telling everyone, I am God, go down to me.
That is not how he operates in Mahabharata. He is acting like a normal shilagas warrior. But when Arjuna is bewildered, Krishna does talk about his position for guiding him.
So, the Bhagavad Gita reveals philosophically the supreme position of God. Then if we move onwards, it is like a close-up, much much closer. I said that instead of saying that God is unknowable because he is infinite, the Bhagavad Gita tells us that we can know him.
But by knowing him also, we understand that we cannot know him fully. There will be an inconceivable aspect to him. Something which might seem self-contradictory to us, but it is actually paradoxical.
Now, going forward from the position of God, we move forward to the action of God in the Bhagavad Gita. So, his action is Leela, his pastimes. I talked in the class on Friday evening about how Krishna’s Leela is like a drama in which Krishna is the actor.
Does anyone remember? Who is the director? Yogamani. Yogamani is the director. And who is the script writer? Yes, Krishna himself.
So, in this way, Krishna is simultaneously controlled as an actor and simultaneously in control as the script writer. This is how Krishna Leela is performed. Now, when you use the word drama, sometimes people might think that drama means something not real.
But Krishna Leela is not unreal, it is supra-real. It is the supreme reality. It is what Krishna demonstrates eternally in his spiritual world.
The Bhagavatam has thousands of verses and in its 12 cantos there are 335 chapters out of which more than one third is directly about Krishna. The 90 chapters of the 10th canto comprise more than one fourth of the book in terms of chapter and in terms of verses. And Krishna Leela is also talked about in the 11th canto.
Not so much directly in its past tense but its instructions are there. So, a major part of the 11th canto, around 26 chapters of the 11th canto, 24 chapters, is Uddhava Gita, which is Krishna’s instructions to Uddhava. So, the Bhagavatam is actually bending up towards Krishna.
So, the way the Bhagavatam, I have a whole lab at class on how the Bhagavatam reveals Krishna in the 10th canto. I just mentioned a couple of points over here to show how the Bhagavatam is giving us a closer and closer understanding of God. So, the Bhagavatam talks about that no other avatar in the Bhagavatam is mentioned in every canto.
There is reference to Vishnu, there is reference to Ram, Narasimha. But Krishna occurs in every canto. And first he appears right in the 7th canto.
In the same way as he appears in the Bhagavad Gita. He is the charioteer. Now, if you see sometimes in some movies, the hero makes a dramatic entry.
So, maybe there is a crime scene going on or somebody is being victimised, maybe the heroine is being molested. And suddenly the hero comes grinding in a vehicle, churning the path, concrete under the tyres. And then, he zooms over there, and the door opens and the camera goes to his feet and from his feet, you see the face of the hero.
So, like that, the hero makes a dramatic entry. So, like that, if you see Krishna in both the Bhagavatam and Arjuna and the Bhagavad Gita, what is his entry? He enters in the same position. There is a chariot.
This is in the Bhagavad Gita. But a similar entry is in the Bhagavatam also, in the 7th chapter. Krishna is the hero.
But he is coming in a very unassuming position as a charioteer. See, if a person is a very big person, maybe a billionaire, that person may have one’s own driver. That person comes and the driver, when the car stops, somebody comes and opens the car driver, opens the car’s door, and then the driver comes out, majestically.
That’s one way. Another is, that is a heroic entry. Another heroic entry is you have your own car, you are a superb driver, and you come driving it.
That is also heroic. But, you are driving a car for someone else. That is not considered very heroic.
So, Krishna comes in that mode in both the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavatam. His entry in the Bhagavata, we know. He is at the battle with Kuru, and then the Kurukshetra with Arjuna.
In the Bhagavatam, it is, Bhagavatam takes off where the Mahabharata has ended. The Kurukshetra war has ended. And, Krishna and Arjuna are together pursuing Ashwathama.
And, at that time, Krishna has again taken the road of the charioteer of Arjuna. That’s how Krishna enters in the Bhagavatam also. So, it’s a very endearing entry.
In the 7th chapter, he enters, and then, Krishna’s pastime is described from the 7th chapter till the 16th chapter. And, interestingly, the departure of Krishna is not directly described in the Bhagavatam. Either now or even later.
It’s only mentioned. So, the departure of Krishna is described how the whole mood of the Bhagavatam is the mood of recollection and separation. The Parshit Maharaj, you see, Parshit Maharaj is about to die.
So, I’ll come to that later. But, Parshit Maharaj, he is just two generations after Krishna appeared. So, there is still just like in the World War II happened, it was a catastrophic war.
So, for several decades, the planet was reeling out of the impact of that war. So, like that, the Kurukshetra war was catastrophic. And, the Bhagavatam is spoken in that setting.
So, that’s why, the Bhagavatam, it recollects Krishna’s departure, not by narrating it, but by narrating the effect of that departure on others. So, the mood of Krishna’s departure is brought by Arjuna and Yudhishthira. And that, what happens after that is described.
Exactly how Krishna departs is not described. So, that’s how the Bhagavatam talks about Krishna in the first canto, from the 7th chapter to the 15th chapter. Then, after that, Krishna is talked about directly for one chapter in the third canto, third, fourth chapters.
But, Uddhava is remembering Krishna after Krishna has departed. After teaching him the Uddhava Gita. And then, from the third canto, 8th chapter onwards, till the third canto, 8th chapter, Sriram Swami, in his commentary, described that the first two cantos are basically setting the scene.
The first canto is setting the scene, describing how Parikshit was cursed and describing how Shudra came there. And the second canto is describing the preliminary message of the Bhagavatam. And in fact, by 2.10, second canto has 10 chapters.
Now, Arjuna answers, Parikshit has asked some questions, Krishna, Shukadeva Swami has answered the questions. And the whole Bhagavatam could have ended. But then, Parikshit Maharaj asks, please describe the pastimes of Krishna in detail as they are manifested in the universe.
And from the third canto, that’s what starts. From the third canto, 7th chapter onwards, the Bhagavatam becomes something like a chronological history of one day in the life of the universe, one day of Brahma. So, from the third canto to the 8th canto is a description of the various avataras in the first Manu’s life.
The first Manu is Swayambhuva Manu. So, in his life, which are the different avataras that Kama described? And then in the 8th canto, there is a fast-forward. After the chapter of Vajendra Moksha, there is a fast-forward and then quickly the next 6 Manu Mantras are described.
And then, currently we are in the Vaivasudha Manu Mantra. And from the 8th canto, 4th chapter, the Vaivasudha Manu Mantra elements are described till the end. So, Ram’s incarnation, Ram’s avatar, Krishna’s avatar and present Kali Yuga, all these are a part of the Bhagavatam’s description of the Karman Mantra.
So, in this way, the Bhagavatam is describing events in one day of Brahma from the third canto onwards. Now, while describing different avataras, we see that things begin with grandeur. Oh! Krishna is so the Supreme Absolute Truth is so great and in front of him Brahma is helpless.
Brahma is helpless. He doesn’t know. Suppose, we wake up even in our home and suddenly find there is no power.
It’s completely dark and we try to find our cell phone to turn on the flashlight. We can’t find the cell phone also. Just being in dark is scary.
But suppose, we find that we are in dark and we can’t even figure out where we are. That’s even more scary. On top of that, we are in dark in an unknown place and we sense there is a heavy storm.
Winds are blowing. Maybe the roof will fall down. Maybe I will be thrown out by the wind.
It will be even more scary. So, Brahma’s situation is like that. When a baby is born, the baby cries and at least someone comes, mother comes and comforts.
Brahma is the first baby in the universe. Normally, we don’t think of Brahma as a baby. We think of him as a grandfather.
But, he is also a newborn. Just like in a baby’s condition. But, he is in utter darkness.
He can’t see anything. He doesn’t even know where I am. He doesn’t know what I am supposed to do.
And he can sense that he is on some structure which is moving and moving. He can sense that there is a big body of water below and there are giant waves in there. And he can, any moment, throw out that lotus and may fall deep down.
He is holding on for dear life. And that time, he meditates. He surrenders.
He does Tapa. And by that, he comes to know about the Supreme Lord who enlightens him. So, the entry within the Bhagavatam’s one day of Brahma of the absolute truth is in a mood of awe and reverence.
Oh, he is the rescuer. Tehsaamahamsam Dhartha. And then we have the same Lord coming as Varaha.
The demon is so powerful, he cannot be killed. But the Lord comes and kills. And then, we move forward through various avatars.
There is Dhruva, who goes into the forest and prays. And then Vishnu comes and blesses him. Like that, the Bhagavatam moves canto after canto.
The Bhagavatam is essentially talking about God and his relationship with his devotees. So, we have this becoming more and more intimate. The seventh canto we have Prahalad and Narsimha.
And it is very, although Narsimha is still majestic, glorious, but there is an intimacy in this canto. That Narsimhadeva, who is furious and even the Devatas’ prayers are not able to pacify him. That Narsimhadeva, when he sees Prahalad offering prayers, then he has been roaring like a furious lion and when Prahalad comes and offers prayers, he starts purring like a gentle pussycat.
You know, sweet, complete, has so much affection over there. And he puts his head on, puts his hand on and Prahalad says, Oh Lord, you have not done this even to Brahma or Shiva or even Lakshmi. Such mercy you have given me.
Then further in the ninth canto, Ram is described. And in the tenth canto, actually the last chapter of the ninth canto, is a summary description of Krishna’s pastimes. And Parashurama says, don’t hurry up like this.
Please tell in more detail. And God is describing just a few verses. Then it is expanded to 90 chapters in the tenth canto.
So then, if we see in Krishna Leela, in the tenth canto, the heart of the Bhagavad Gita, which Ramacharya has described, is the Raas of Vijayanidhi. The 29 chapters, 29 to 33, in the tenth canto, where Krishna, basically in the five chapters, the 29 chapters, Krishna plays the flute and calls the gopis. And then, in the third, he has some discussions with them.
38th chapter, he disappears from the gopis. And then, the gopis frantically search, search, search. And they are not able to find him anywhere.
And then, finally, they go so deep into the forest. Kavi Karanapur Narayanda, Jambu describes, they can’t even, it’s so dark, they can’t even see their hands in front of them. They say, how will we be able to see Krishna? So they come back to the banks of the Yamuna.
And there, they start reeling into Krishna in separation. And that is the Gopi Gita, which is the 31st chapter. And then, by the end of the Gopi Gita, because of the fervent prayer of Krishna in the 32nd chapter, Krishna appears.
And then, the gopis are angry with Krishna. You know, we left everything for you and you came and to come to you and you left us. So now, on one side, they are angry and they want to vent out their anger at Krishna.
At the same time, they are afraid, if you become angry at Krishna, we’ll go again. What will we do? So they indirectly ask, Krishna, please instruct us in the ways of love. There are different kinds of lovers.
When you love someone, that person reciprocates with you. When we love, when one person loves another, that person reciprocates equally. Or that person reciprocates much more than the other person.
Or, when we love someone, that person doesn’t love at all. That person completely neglects. And then, gently, they come to the main point.
Which kind of lover are you? So, they were like, Krishna, how could I? You left us! The gopis are asking, we left everyone. Our husbands, our children, our brothers, our family members. We left it all to come to you.
By hearing your flute, they became agitated. And then, what kind of man are you? You are supposed to be the supreme hero. Even an ordinary man would not leave a woman alone in the dark in the forest.
So, you are supposed to be the hero. How could you have left us like this? So, now, this is… So, they ask this and Krishna answers that I actually left you simply to increase your love for me. Disguise.
And the 33rd chapter is the last one. Where Aslanda is actually performed. So, now, here, the whole Bhagavatam is building towards this.
Normally, the idea is that even if God is very great and we have to go down and go to him. That is also there in the Bhagavatam. But here, the Bhagavatam reveals a vision of God where God’s greatness God has two aspects.
His God’s greatness and God’s sweetness. So, if we focus if we need to understand and appreciate both. Now, awareness of his God’s greatness brings submission.
Oh, he is so great. I must go down to him. I must obey him.
Karishye Vachinam Tavas Arjunadasakshinam But, knowledge of God’s sweetness that brings affection. There is submission and affection. Both of them combine together to make strong devotion.
There is only one. In the Sahajiyas, there is affection, but there is no submission. They just take God very cheaply.
And if there is submission, but there is no affection, then it becomes a very distant relationship. So, there is a combination of both. And that is seen even in the Gopi Gita.
You know, the same Gopis they are at one level praying Krishna. They very poetically say that Krishna, your lotus feet, you offered them to the serpent Kaliya. They say, funny, funny is the Kaliya serpent.
You offered your feet to the serpent Kaliya. They are glorifying Krishna’s feet and they say that Krishna, your feet are so glorious. They say, They say that Krishna, you offered your feet to Kaliya.
Those who go down to that feet, they become free from all sins. With those feet you follow the cows when you take them for grazing. Please offer those feet to us.
So here, they are aware that Krishna crushed Kaliya with his feet. The same Gopis are later praying that They say, that the pebbles, the twigs, the brambles, the thorns in the forest, Krishna, you have left us and gone away. That you have left us and gone away, that is not causing as much distress as the thought that when you have gone away, you are wandering in the forest just to stay away from us and while wandering in the forest, your feet may be falling on the thorns and the pebbles in the forest and thus your tender feet may be pierced.
And thinking that there might be even a scratch on your tender feet, that thought is ripping our heart apart. So Krishna, please come back. Please come back.
In this way, they fervently pray to Krishna. And this is the mood where there is affection and there is submission. And the affection often overshadows the submission.
The Gopis consider Krishna not as God to be worshipped. They think of him as just their object of love, their lover. And it is this mood which is embodied in the Chaitanya Charita Amrita.
Chaitanya Charita Amrita begins, see, the first 13 chapters they are actually setting the scene. First 7 chapters are just describing philosophy. Many times you can just start from 13 chapters where Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears.
And they start looking at the past tense. But the philosophy has a purpose. Chaitanya Charita Amrita is describing the philosophy to reveal the conception of God that Lord Chaitanya is worshipped.
And there Aishwarya Siddhi la Prem Naarishwarya Rabhuja says that, when there is awareness of the greatness of Krishna and there is love thereof, then the Lord is not pleased by such love. He wants love in which there is no awareness of Aishwarya. There is simply affection.
And Chaitanya Charita Amrita reveals Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is actually the moon of Shubhati Radharani revealing that kind of intense love where I will talk more about this in today evening’s class but I will conclude with one point that in Chaitanya Charita Amrita there are there is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who delights in Radharani’s love for Krishna. And while talking about Radharani’s love for Krishna while describing that love he goes into immense ecstasy. So that, what is described in the Chaitanya Charita Amrita has also been elaborated by Rupa Goswami and there he describes something very interesting of course many interesting things related to us.
He says that Radharani in Krishna in Dwarka Lila is not Rukmini. Radharani is Chandravali. Radharani is Satyama and Chandravali is Rukmini.
And why is this? Because Rukmini is the chief queen. Radharani is the chief queen in Vrindavan. So shouldn’t Rukmini be Radharani? So he says no.
Their moods are different. He says in Vrindavan there are two main competitors for Krishna’s love. Radharani and Chandravali.
And their moods are different. So he says that both of them love Krishna and both of them love Krishna intimately. But Radharani’s love is, he says, it’s like food filled with honey.
Whereas Chandravali’s love is like food Ukadangi. So in one there is opulence, food Ukadangi. In the other is food filled with sweetness.
So he gives the example just like if there is an elephant. Elephant is often used as a metaphor to describe amorous love. So he says that if Krishna is an elephant and Chandravali is a she-elephant.
So Chandravali pursues Krishna. He tries to get his attention. He tries to attract him.
Now on the other hand Radharani does not pursue Krishna. Radharani neglects Krishna and Krishna pursues Radharani. So that means Chandravali, she is pursuing Krishna.
She is aware that Krishna is God. Not exactly aware that Krishna is God. But she is completely infatuated with Krishna.
If Krishna leaves me, what will happen to me? I will not be able to live. And whereas Radharani says how can Krishna leave me? If I leave him, he will come chasing after me. That is her mood.
Now you don’t think this is any mundane emotion. This is completely transcendental. Both of them act in this way so that they can enhance the multiple rasas in Krishna.
So Krishna is pleased with Chandravali also. Krishna is pleased with Radharani also. This is the way Krishna wants them to have a relationship with him.
And Rupa Goswami says that if we look at the moods in in Dwaraka Leela actually it is Rukmini practically never demands anything from Krishna. Satyabhama is the demander. When Narad Muni brings a Parijat flower and he gives it to Krishna and Krishna gives it to Rukmini.
And then what happens? Satyabhama becomes angry. He says you gave her a Parijat flower. You did not give it to me.
So Krishna says this is emergency now. Family emergency. My wife has become upset with me.
So he says don’t worry. Not only I will get Parijat, I will take you on a free trip to heaven. And he takes her to heaven.
And so there are Vaishya poets who have described that Indra is in distress because this demon is troubling him. And Krishna says killing demons is not very important. I have to please Rukmini.
First Satyabhama first. So he takes Satyabhama also for the fight. And he shows Satyabhama how I fight and how I kill demons.
Satyabhama becomes very pleased. To see the heroism of Rukmini. Then he takes her to heaven.
He gets a whole Parijat tree for her. And when he comes back to the Parijat tree at that time, that Parijat tree is put in Satyabhama’s garden. Now when Krishna next goes to meet Rukmini, now he is expecting Rukmini will be upset.
In the Vedas, in the Bhagavatam you will see there are places where there are co-wives. There is one man with many wives. But in almost all instances, the co-wives lead to conflict.
Whether we see the Ramayana where there is conflict with Kaikeyi and Kaushalya. Where in Chitra Ketu we see. Can you imagine one woman poisoning the child of another woman who is his co-wife.
It’s horrible. But that is the magnitude to which it happens. Similarly, Krishna is expecting some trouble now.
Thinking that Rukmini will be angry. But Rukmini does not express any anger at all. And Krishna says relationships require, relationships to be lively, require a healthy blend of predictability and unpredictability.
If everyone behaves in a perfectly predictable way. Hello, if I speak this, he will speak this. If I do this, she will do this.
If I want to do this, she will say like this. If we can predict what the other person will do, then it becomes very mechanical. It’s like dealing with a machine.
I say this, they are going to say this. I say that, they are going to say that. So some amount of unpredictability brings spice to the relationship.
We do something. How did she do like this? How did he do like that? So some amount of unpredictability brings spice. But if there is no predictability at all, then there is not spice, there is complete insecurity.
It’s like any step in the relationship is like walking on a landmine. What will cause the explosion, we don’t know. So there has to be predictability and unpredictability.
So when Krishna, he goes to meet Rukmini, he is expecting Rukmini to become angry. But Rukmini doesn’t become angry. So at that time, Krishna says, I have never seen Rukmini angry till now.
So I want to make her angry. I want to see how she looks when she is angry. So now, Krishna starts speaking to her, Oh Rukmini, you know when you married me, you made a very bad choice.
See, only a couple that is very secure in their marriage can make a joke like this. Otherwise, everybody will say, No, I really made a bad choice. Krishna is completely secure.
Krishna loves Rukmini. He loves Rukmini. But still, he just wants to go and make her angry.
He says, you made a very bad choice. Actually, you are a royal princess. And, I am just a cowherd.
You could have married a king. But, you married someone who is just a servant of the king. I am not even the king.
And then still Rukmini doesn’t become angry. Now, Krishna wants to see her angry. So he inflames her further.
You know, you may think that you have sacrificed so much because I loved you and you loved me. But I am sorry to tell you that is not true. You know, I married you not because I loved you, but simply I wanted to provoke Shishupala.
This is outrageous. At least now Rukmini should get angry. But, Rukmini still doesn’t get angry.
Then, Krishna is wondering what is going to happen. How Rukmini doesn’t get angry at all. And then, instead of becoming angry, Rukmini becomes panicky.
Rukmini starts thinking, why is Krishna speaking all this? We have a nice family. We have grown up children and now he is talking about having second thoughts about marriage. What is this? So, Rukmini becomes completely panicky at that time.
And she fades. Now, Krishna wants to see the anger of Rukmini. See, anger is also an expression of love.
So, now if a child does some mischief, the child is putting the hand on fire. Are you foolish? You will get burnt. Mother gets angry and shouts at the child.
Anger is an expression of love. Now, anger should not be the only expression of love. Then, what happens is the children live with the image of the angry parent, not the loving parent.
But, anger is also an expression of love. And, Krishna wants to see that. Krishna wants to see in Rukmini some possessiveness.
Krishna, you are mine. And, he wants that. But, what happens is Rukmini becomes panicky.
And, she just fades. And, when she fades, then Krishna immediately manifests his four arms and he pacifies her. He consoles her.
He says, I was just joking. Don’t worry. And, Rukmini becomes overwhelmed with anxiety.
And, she says Krishna is just When she finally reveals, Krishna was just joking. So, Krishna wanted to see Rukmini’s love manifested as her anger. But, what Krishna saw was, I said, in a relationship there is predictability and unpredictability.
So, he saw Rukmini’s love manifested in some other way. What was that? Her love manifested as her anxiety. So, she felt that Krishna leaves me.
What will happen to me? How will I live? And, that anxiety was through that Krishna discovered a new feature. How deep is Rukmini’s love for me? And, she fainted the very thought of being separated from me. And then, at that time, then Rukmini, now she feels secure.
Yes, Krishna was just joking. She says, now I will joke with you also. And, then Rukmini responds.
And, she is getting all the points. Yes, Krishna. Yes, our marriage was a poor choice.
But, the poor choice was made by you, not me. You are the supreme lord. You are the daughter of the goddess of fortune.
And, I was just a small girl in one kingdom’s princess. Dad, you chose to marry me. You really made a mistake in that.
So, like that she answers all the points which she is making. So, the whole point is that here the mood of Rukmini’s love for Krishna is the mood of somewhat reverential affection. But, she thinks Krishna will give me a riddle.
Satyabhama on the other hand, her mood is, Krishna, if you don’t want, get a party just for me. I will not talk with you. I will not be with you only.
I will give you the silent treatment. So, Krishna has to run around and get that. So, this is all very transcendental.
And, when I talk about Kurukshetra, the arena of fratricide and the arena of communion, I will talk more about the Gopi’s love for Krishna, where the Gopis and Krishna meet in Kurukshetra. But, this is a very personal and personable vision of God. Personal means very clearly God is not just the other infinite infinitude of strength or infinitude of scope.
Krishna is a very tangible, loving person and a very personable person, a very approachable, lovable, sweet person. And, such a vision, the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reveals, and it reveals how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the mood of Radharani is completely, totally, utterly in love for Krishna. And, that love which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu manifests, He also provides a pathway by which all of us can rise to that level of love.
Krishna Prabhupada’s mercy, that process of Krishna bhakti is available to all of us also. And, this most intimate vision of God, where a devotee is so intimate, the devotee rejects God and demands from God, not in the material sense but in the transcendental sense of great affection and intimacy. That is the vision of God that is what gives life to the topmost levels of bhakti among the most intimate bhaktas.
I’ll summarise. I started by talking about God. Some traditions say that we can’t have intimate vision of God because God is infinite.
He is also unknowable. But, I made two points. God’s infinity is not mathematical.
It is not that He has to be so great in number that we can’t conceive Him. Then, He’ll be infinite. So, He’ll be God.
His infinity is transcendental. He is God, whether He is manifesting in the finite form or infinite form. Whether He is knowable or unknowable, He is always God.
So, God’s infinity doesn’t make Him unknowable. It makes His glories inexhaustible. Just like a big ocean, nobody can fathom all the ocean.
But still, people can go in and find treasures in that ocean. Similarly, we can understand and relish His glories. Although, we can never come to the end in relishing those glories.
Then, we discussed Krishna in the Mahabharata where He is primarily a statesman who assists His devotees by expert guidance and intervention. In the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, I discussed elaborately about how Bhagavata’s focus is not on Krishna per se. It is on Dharma.
What is the Dharma? In the conflict between Kshatriya Dharma and Kula Dharma, Krishna tells Arjuna that choose Bhakti Dharma and choose that Dharma which will enable you to practise Bhakti. For him, there it is Kshatriya Dharma. After that, he talks about how for the purpose of talking about Bhakti Dharma, he talks about Bhagavan who is the object of Bhakti.
So, Krishna’s glories are described in terms of His position. How He is inconceivable and yet that inconceivability is not contradictory. It is paradoxical and it is relishable for the devotee.
And moving from the position of God to the action of God. That is there in the Srimad Bhagavatam. I discussed how it starts with Krishna’s departure and the later part of the Mahabharata.
And Krishna’s departure is described in terms of its effect and that represents the Bhagavatam’s mood of recollection and separation. And as the cantos move forward, during the third canto, the Bhagavatam is described one day of Brahma and increasingly intimate manifestations of Krishna’s pastimes are described. Narasimha, Prahlad or Ram and His devotees and ultimately Krishna.
And the most intimate relationship is Ras Panchadhyaya, where Krishna is chastised indirectly, sweetly by the gopis for being an untrustworthy lover. And that’s a mood of intimate love. So knowledge of God’s greatness brings submission.
Knowledge of His sweetness brings affection. And there is a dynamic interplay of both. Sometimes the affection supersedes the submission.
And the gopis demand how could you have left earth like this? And that affection submission, we see the affection is more in Radharani and the submission is more in Chandravani. And I discussed how that plays out in the pastimes in Dwaraka, especially the pastime of Rukmi with Krishna, who manifests submission. And relationships have a healthy blend of predictability and unpredictability which brings stability as well as spice to the relationship.
And the most intimate conception of God, where God is a very tangible, lovable personable person, that is what the Bhakti tradition, especially the Kaurava Vaishnava tradition, reveals to us. The more we understand and appreciate this understanding of God, the more we can naturally become attracted to him and attain life’s perfection. Thank you very much.
Shri Prabhupada ki Jai! Are there any questions?