Kunti’s prayers 4 – (1.8.32-1.8.35) – Four reasons for the Lord’s appearance

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Lord Vishnu The first five verses, 18 to 22 Talk about Krishna’s Transcendental position Then they talk about the 23rd to 27th Talk about how Krishna protects in inconceivable ways It means in this world, there are many dangers But Krishna protects And the heart of this prayer is 25 The 25th verse, where Queen Kunti is saying Let there be more calamities Which is completely opposite to the kind of prayers most people offer That is 23 to 27 And even when there are calamities There is protection So Krishna’s inconceivable protection is talked about Then 28 to 31 Talks about Krishna’s extraordinary pastimes Now how he appears in various forms How can he appear in the form of a fish or a hog How can he appear like a small child who is afraid of his mother So he talks about how Krishna’s pastimes are Powerfully, they are mysterious And now the section which we are going to start from today Is 32 to 35 Which is The mysterious reasons for Krishna’s appearance Why does Krishna appear in this world? So all of you have these sheets Of Kunti’s prayers So if you can look at these sheets, we will recite the verses As we do the verses, we will recite them So we will recite a verse Then we will discuss it Then we will recite that verse once again Then we will go to the next verse So till the 31st verse We have completed So the 31st verse is Gomvya Adate So that we have completed So on the first page, the last verse now will begin Kechita Bhoota Jan Jatam Kechita Bhoota Jan Jatam Kunti Shloka Siddhi Kare Kunti Shloka Siddhi Kare Yalokya Sankhya Bhaye Yalokya Sankhya Bhaye Malayasa Chandana Malayasa Chandana So here Kunti Maharaj’s Each of these verses Each verse gives one reason For the appearance of Krishna So Kechit Kechit means Some people say like this So sometimes people think That when there is If we are in a devotee community Everybody should have one opinion That is Devotee means Whatever the authority tells you That’s what you have to do And all of us should have one opinion But it’s not necessarily like that Because devotees are Individuals And as individuals Based on Guru Sadhu Shastra We can think differently And we can accordingly Get different understandings of Shastra So That is not wrong So she is using the word Kechit Kechit means Some people say like this So she will say in the next verse Some other people say like that And still some other people say like that Now in some places Krishna does it in the Bhagavad Gita And in the 18th chapter Some people say That we should renounce work Other people say We should do work And interestingly when Krishna is using this He doesn’t say these people are foolish And these people are intelligent He says Yajna, Dhana, Tapa, Karma Nityan Chandi Chaapare But some people still say Yajna, Dhana, Tapa, Karma These are the normal dharmic activities Yajna, Dhana and Tapa So the whole idea is that In this world We are Souls who are encircled By different material coverings So we are encircled With our body That’s the first covering Then we are encircled by society That’s the second covering And then we are encircled By the environment, by nature That’s the third covering Now each of these coverings Can cause us sufferings Suffering which comes from the body Body covering that is called as the Adhyatmik klesh Suffering that comes from the Society that is called as Adhyatmik klesh Suffering that comes from The nature that is called as Adhyatmik klesh So we as souls Are encircled by all these three circles Within the material world And to live harmoniously With these We have to act in particular ways So Tapa Is the way we harmonise With our body By doing austerity We perform sacrifice for the body That’s how we harmonise with the body Then Daana Charity is the means by which we Harmonise with society at large And Yajna That is fire sacrifices That is how we harmonise With nature Krishna talks about this in the third chapter So basically Yajna, Daana, Tapa, Karma Some people say That That this should not be given up And before this in 18.3 Krishna says So he says Yajna, Daana, Tapa these are dosha These are positive So Manishinaha means Those who are thoughtful So Krishna is saying Some thoughtful people say That Yajna, Daana, Tapa should be given up And other thoughtful people say That Yajna, Daana, Tapa should not be given up So significantly Although there is a difference of opinion here Krishna is not saying That this group is foolish And this group is implicit Krishna is saying both people are thoughtful Both people’s opinions Are to be respected But then Krishna says after that I will give you my definitive opinion Nishchitannushurume Karkatra Yagye Bharata Sarvata Mahikusa describes various things But that’s Nishchitannushurume Now I will give my definitive opinion So in some cases There can be a definitive opinion But even when there is a definitive opinion That does not mean That the disputing opinions Have to be rejected As deviant As ridiculous No, ok If there is authority We accept that But if there is no such authority Then the different opinions Can still be respected And then Whichever one We find suitable We can accept that In the 11th Canto Krishna speaks the Uddhav Gita And in the Uddhav Gita Krishna analyses the material elements So normally when we analyse the material elements We analyse them into Like in the 13th Chapter Verses 6 and 7 Krishna talks about the analysis of what is Mahabhutani Ahamkaro So He says that this material world If we divide it into various elements We can divide it into 24 elements So he says Mahabhutani That is the 5 gigantic elements Earth, Water, Fire, Air Ahamkaro Then that is the 6th element Mahabhutani Ahamkaro Then there is intelligence And there is unmanageable So now we have 8 elements Indriyaul Then there are 11 senses So how are the 11 senses? The 5 working senses The 5 knowledge acquiring senses And the mind So we have now mind 8 plus 11 And then Then there are 5 sense objects That is touch, smell, like that So there are 24 But Krishna says In the Yudha Gita That there are some other thinkers They analyse the material elements into sometimes 13 elements Sometimes 16 elements Sometimes 22 elements Sometimes 27 elements And he says That The I am pleased By the creativity Of the thinkers who analyse In this way So he does not call them as speculators He says I am pleased By the creativity With which people think in this way So why does he say that? Because The material world Can be analysed in different ways And only if somebody starts saying That the soul is also a product of matter Or God is also a product of matter Then There will be an incorrect Philosophical understanding But Sometimes when we talk about senses There are 10 senses And there are 5 sense objects Because The sense objects come from The elements Taste comes from water So The taste comes from water So therefore sometimes Taste and water are included As one element So 5 elements will be cut down Then you will have 19 elements instead of 24 So this way What will happen is The number of elements can be different Now this specific example is impractical But I am making a general point here The general point is That we can have Different We can have different opinions And it is not that Necessarily one opinion has to be Authoritative So Just a few days ago we had elections So now with respect to elections Some devotees may feel that We should vote in elections Some others may feel that we shouldn’t vote in elections Now it’s not necessarily As devotees We have to have only one opinion Different devotees can feel differently Whatever they feel inspired by They can do that So Prabhupada’s story is that devotees should be Independently thoughtful That means we use our intelligence To think how best We can serve Guru, Sadhu and Shastra How we can serve the mission of Sanatana Karma And some devotees may feel that Okay we are participating in an authentic process We can express our voice And that’s how we will be able to Affect society in some small way Others may feel this whole process is Nonsense And just by participating in it I am endorsing this process So I don’t want to do that So now both opinions If they are motivating the sincerity of intention Then both Both actions They are valid It’s not that one is right And another is wrong So at that time Just before the elections I gave a talk On UU Which is quite widely celebrated How voting in elections Is a social responsibility of devotees So Many devotees liked that talk And then somebody sent it to Bhaktil Kasi Maharaj And then Bhaktil Kasi Maharaj gave a counter talk Saying that Voting is not the social responsibility of devotees And then both of these were Put on the home page of Iskcon Residency And then what happened It became a controversy So how can there be two different opinions And a Brahmachari is opposing a Sanyasi Then Yesterday I wrote a letter to Bhaktil Kasi Maharaj And Bhaktil Kasi Maharaj called me yesterday And then he himself gave a talk Which is also broadcast now He himself said that It’s not that Devotees have their own views That everybody has to have one opinion He said that I disagree with you But I respect your right I gave a particular reasoning Why devotees can vote in elections He gave a different reasoning Saying why devotees should not vote in elections And he said that Actually if both of us Are reasoning based on Shastra There is nothing wrong with it So only if somebody’s reasoning Comes up with something Which is very strongly critical Opposed to Shastra Like I said If somebody says that the soul Is a product of matter Or God is a material thing Then that would be a serious problem Because that is a philosophical definition But we shouldn’t think of The Guru Sadhu Shastra’s Stance Guru Sadhu Shastra is understanding Like one straight line It is more like a circle Within the circle As long as we are within the circle Of the understanding of Guru Sadhu Shastra Some people can have one opinion Other people can have different opinions So here Kunti Maharaj is telling That So when Krishna appears in this world Why does he appear? No, it’s like This world as we know Is like a prison house So when Krishna is the Supreme Emperor When the Emperor comes to the prison house The prisoners may discuss Why has the Emperor come over here? Isn’t it? So you see, some people say like this Kechi, Ahur They say Ajam Jatam Ajam That Lord who is unborn So anybody who appears in this world Has to take a birth But Krishna, he is using Opposite words over here Ajam, Jatam Anubhav became born So This sort of usage Where two opposite words Are brought together This is called in English as Oxymoron It’s a figure of speech Oxymoron means For example, if somebody says He is a courageous God Now somebody can either be courageous Or can be a coward What does it mean? It’s often said that Suicide is an act of courageous cowardice Suicide Is an act of courageous cowardice What does it mean? Actually To end one’s life Requires courage If a soldier goes on a war field And lays down his life Then it requires courage But then That willingness to lay down one’s life Not for some higher cause But because one is frustrated with life That is cowardice So that is courageous cowardice Sometimes two Contradictory words can be brought together To convey Some deeper meaning So Or somebody may say that Mr. So-and-so is an intelligent fool Now you may say Either somebody is intelligent or somebody is foolish How can somebody be an intelligent fool? The idea is That the person may be intelligent But at this particular point The person is acting foolish That’s why we can say that the person is an intelligent fool So Kunti Maharaj is using This opposite word over here Ajam Jatam That Lord is unborn But He takes birth How does He take birth? If He is unborn People often ask this question That If God made everything Then who created God? If God Created everything, who created God? This question itself Indicates a misunderstanding About who God is You may think God just has some image that we see in a temple Then that’s not a proper Understanding of God Yes, God manifests as the image in the temple As the deity But God is the source of everything That’s the definition of God So now Even from the point of logic The source of everything Cannot have a source If the source of everything has a source Then that will become the source So Krishna Has the source of everything Therefore He does not have a source You may say, this is not making any sense How can something not have a source? To understand this Krishna exists in a different dimension If a child Reads a novel for the first time And after reading the novel He finds that there is a hero There is a heroine There is a villain And then after reading it Then the parents This particular novel You are reading Harry Potter It is written by J.K Rowling But where is J.K Rowling in the book? He says, I can’t find him He says, no The author will not be in the book The author created the characters The author created the storyline The author created timeline The author created the plot But the author is not in this novel So like that God created life God created matter God created even time So God Said that it will exist as emotion But God exists outside It all So that’s why He is the source of everything And he does not have any source So that is conveyed by the idea Ajam He is unborn Unborn, normally We may use the word unborn Say if If a lady is expecting a child Then the child is unborn Normally we use the word unborn We use it in the sense that the child doesn’t exist But in the scriptures We use the word unborn That is not in the sense that it doesn’t exist Unborn when they use it That means It’s beyond the scope of time Beyond the scope of time So that law is beyond the scope of time Sometimes Appears within the time domain Just like there are some Movies In which the director Makes a cameo appearance Normally in the movie The director is behind the screen But sometimes the director Also makes a short appearance Or sometimes in a novel Sometimes some authors They themselves become characters In the novel Maybe for a short while or whatever So like that Ajam Jatam Krishna is beyond the time domain But sometimes He appears within the time domain Ke Khidam Ajam Jatam Unnishlokase Kirtaye So Unnishlokase Kirtaye So that law That law Lord refers to Unnishlokase Kirtaye To expand his glories So There can be various references To this So So If you look at the context There are various meanings Look at the words There was a king So His majesty The lord appeared To expand his fame Kirtaye Kirtaye Kirtay refers to The fame Example is given Malaya So Malaya Is the place where Chandan Is found frequently It’s not necessary that Chandan Has to be found only in Malaya Chandan can be found in many places But because it is frequently found over there So that place is identified As Chandan So this indicates similarly That the lord could have appeared from anywhere But he chose to appear From Yajur And that’s why it’s known as Malaya The reason he appeared is To glorify Maharaja Chaitanya So this verse itself Gives an understanding of the lord’s Transcendental position We don’t choose Where we appear from We don’t choose our parents at birth We are by the law of karma We are forced to take birth from a particular womb But he is saying that the lord Appeared by his own choice Malaya is the Chandan Malaya can grow anywhere Chandan can appear anywhere Chandan can grow anywhere But it is growing in Malaya frequently Similarly the lord appeared In Yajur So let’s recite this verse once again Then we will do the next verse Kechilahu Vajan Jatam Kechilahu Vajan Jatam Bhunshu Vajan Jatam Bhunshu Vajan Jatam Bhunshu Vajan Jatam Kechilahu Vajan Jatam Kechilahu Vajan Jatam Devan Kya Vyajiton Vyadha Devan Kya Vyajiton Vyadha So Now first she said Kechil Some people And the next is Apare Some other people She is repeating it with opinions and then towards the end of the sequence she will give her understanding also.
So Vasudeva and Devaki are the parents of Krishna. So because they beseech the lord to appear, therefore he has appeared. Ajastham asisaya kshemayam, to protect them.
Kshemayam, Krishna is in the word yoga. Kshemavamyam, in 9.22 in the Bhagavad Gita. He says I am the protector and the provider.
So to protect Vasudeva and Devaki. And badhari cha surat visham, to kill the surat visham, the enemies. So here it refers to Kamsa.
So now when we look at the first and second chapters of the 10th canto of Shri Mahabharata, the appearance of Krishna is described in quite dramatic ways. When Krishna wants to appear also, he makes things quite sensational. Krishna chose to appear from Vasudeva and Devaki.
But he did it in a dramatic way. When Kamsa was just going along, driving the chariot of Devaki. Asyastham ashtamo gharmo nahasre padha So there was a disembodied voice that came about.
Asyastham ashtamo gharmo This, that voice spoke to Kamsa. This refers to Devaki. Ashtamo gharmo, the 8th garbha.
So varvamudha, he says, will kill you. And mudha, you are a foolish person. And vahe, vahe means you are dragging like a donkey.
So Sanatana Goswami, in his Vaishnav Goswami commentary, gives a very insightful analysis of this context. And he says that every word is significant over here. So ashtamo gharmo, that is the 8th.
Now he doesn’t use the word ashtamo mudhro. Now one thing, it is expected that one warrior is to be killed. The killer will also be a male.
There are some exceptions where, say, Devi kills my Shastra or something like that. But most of the time, it’s the Kshatriyas or males. And they fight against humans.
Now, later on, when the children will appear, the 8th child that will appear from Devaki’s womb will be a girl. And when the girl appears, we know, as the story unfolds, Kamsa is shocked. I was expecting to know how this child appeared.
And then he sees that child turns out to be Devi, Durga. And she laughs and she goes away. And at that time, Kamsa thinks, oh, that Bhavishyamani was false.
That Ashwagiri Rava, that disembodied voice, both are false. So, to keep Kamsa from becoming suspicious, and to keep the usage gender-neutral, the word is used, Ashtabhog, Garhbhog. The 8th womb, 8th child in the womb, who is the child of our nature? And then it is said, Eva te eku dhaan.
So, of whom you are carrying it. So, it’s a very harsh usage. So, why is this harsh in these humans? Nanda Goswami explains that Kamsa is a Surat Vishal.
Kamsa is an enemy of the humans. Kamsa was called an enemy in his previous life. And he was killed by Lord Shiva.
In the 10th chapter of the 8th Canto of the Bhagavatam, this matter is described. So, this comes in the 9th, in the 7th and 8th chapters, the Churning of the Milk Potion is described. In the 9th chapter of the 8th Canto, then the appearance of Mohini Murthy is described.
And then when the Devatas become powerful, then there is a fight between the demons and the Devatas. And slowly the Devatas started getting in upper hand. But then, the most powerful demons, Kali, Bali, they all come into the frame.
And they start attacking so fiercely, that the tide starts turning. And despite having churned the ocean, despite having drank nectar, still it appears as if the Devatas are going to lose. And at that time, Kalanendu is breaking heaven among the Devatas’ ranks.
He is unstoppable. And at that time, the Devatas again pray to the Supreme Lord. And at that time, Lord Vishnu himself appears.
And when Lord Vishnu appears, he opens his Garuda. And Kalanendu sees Vishnu has appeared. He takes his jacket.
He has his trident, his Trishul. And he hurls it at Lord Vishnu. Such force, the Devatas are shocked.
They thought that Vishnu has come to rescue us. But it seems Vishnu will be the first casualty of Kalanendu. And as the Trishul hurls through the air, splitting the sky apart in a blaze of flame, so Lord Vishnu, just nonchalantly, as the Trishul is coming towards his chest, pierces it, just catches it with his hand.
Blinding speed. And he turns it around and hurls it back. And before Kalanendu understood what happened, he is dead.
So that Kalanendu, who is killed by Vishnu, now appears as Kamsa. So in one of the last chapters of the 10th Canto, the Superexcellent Vow of Krishna, it is described that one of the distinctive features of Krishna is that when he appears, he grants liberation to the demons that he kills. When the other incarnations appear, when they kill demons, those demons may or may not become demons.
But when Krishna kills a demon, they become liberated. So when Vishnu killed Kalanendi, Kalanendi did not become liberated. But when Krishna killed Kamsa, Krishna would become liberated.
So Kalanendi had an antipathy. Antipathy means hatred towards Vishnu and towards the Devatas. But when this Devata, this Ashwadeva, this Devata saw that actually this Kamsa has become very strong.
Kamsa has become loving towards his sister. If Kamsa becomes loving towards his sister, then how will the master progress? So Kamsa has to show his real nature. And to show his real nature, he needs some provocation.
He needs provocation. See, anybody can appear to be a very nice, gentlemanly, principled person in normal situations. But it is only when provocation comes that the true nature comes out.
It is like a provocation. Provocation causes the pretenders’ mask to fall and the seeker’s guard to rise. What does that mean? Whenever there is a provocation, if somebody is pretending, I am a very good person, then there is a mask that the person is wearing.
So the mask falls. So when provocation comes, provocation causes the pretender’s mask to fall. So Kamsa was pretending to be a very nice person, driving the chariot of his sister.
Actually Kamsa and Devaki were not sisters directly, brother-sister, they were cousins. So Devaki was the son of Devaka and Kamsa was the son of Ugrasen. And Ugrasen and Devaki were brothers.
So they were cousins. But he was thinking of his little sister. And he was actively loving her.
But as soon as there is a threat, what happens? The pretender’s mask falls. That’s also what happened in the gambling match. Vidhra Shiva, in most of the parts of the Mahabharata, does not exhibit his greed.
It is there. But he lets Duryodhana, Shakuni, Karna, do all the dirty work. And in public, he appears as if, I am helpless.
I don’t want these bad things to happen. But Duryodhana, I can’t stop him. When Krishna comes as a Shantidut, Dhritharashtra speaks to Duryodhana.
Duryodhana doesn’t listen. Duryodhana just walks out of the cinema. And then Dhritharashtra turns to Krishna with a pitiful look on his face.
He says, what can I do? What can I do? He is not listening to me. So he has a pretender’s mask where he appears as if, he is not a bad person. But there are bad people around him and he can’t do anything to stop them.
But when the gambling match is going on, and as the Pandavas are losing their wealth, the Kauravas are gaining wealth, Shakuni is laughing. Duryodhana, Dhritharashtra, Duryodhana and Karna are also cheering the Pandavas. And what is Dhritharashtra doing? Dhritharashtra is eagerly asking, what has been won? And finally, when Draupadi is at stake, he asks, is Panchali won? Is Panchali won? So, what happened? When that provocation came, Dhritharashtra’s pretender’s mask fell off.
So, we can all put on a mask that we are very good people. But when provocation comes along, then that mask often falls off. Of course, it will have to fall off.
And even if it falls off, that doesn’t mean that everyone is a pretender. We are pretenders. There is another alternative.
Provocation causes the seeker’s guard to rise. The seeker’s guard to rise means that the seekers understand, okay, this is a test now. It’s a test.
And I have to take more shelter from Krishna. I have to become more deeply devoted to Krishna. And when I become more devoted to Krishna, I will get even strength.
I will get higher satisfaction. And then, I will be able to resist the situation and not get provoked. So, what happened? That Kasudeva and Devaki were in danger.
And they begged. Oh, the eighth womb, the beggar, they appeared quickly. And that’s why, although they knew that seven children would die, but still, they kept consuming one after another.
Because that was the only way eventually the eighth child would appear and then there would be good end. So, some people say that actually you appeared to glorify Yadu, King Yadu. Others say that you appeared to protect Devaki and Kasudeva.
And the king comes. And now, she doesn’t recuse any of his opinions. Then she now goes on telling another historical narration of why the Lord appears.
So, let’s recite this verse once again then we’ll go to the next verse. aparevasudevasya devakyam yacito dhena ajas tvam asvakshe maya vadhalakya surandhisham So, now she is describing a historical narrative that happened. paravataranyam omnam yondanam srikantyabhuvane javato jnanam bhuvadhyam So, she doesn’t do any work yacito dhena Some people say it, other people say it because what she is describing is actually an event that has happened.
So, what does that mean? That is, Bhumi Devi takes on the form of a cow and goes to Brahmaji and along with Devakas and the Bhagavad Gita in the word Trinayan Trinayan means Lord Shiva all of them go together to the vast ocean and there they pray to Lord Vishnu and the reason is that the earth is burdened by humans So, bharavataranyam So, Bhar is a huge burden which has to be removed. omnam yondanam So, the earth is here compared to a boat. Now, when a boat is going along the ocean normally, if the boat has enough fuel if there is a favourable wind then the boat can go very easily but something that can burden the boat is a huge load.
If there is too much air say the wind is too strong or if the fuel is too less then emergencies if anything has to be abandoned or discarded then any extra weight that is there that is a big, big problem. Just discard the extra weight and once there is no way to discard it then there is greater probability that the boat can go on. Otherwise, the extra weight may cause the boat to sink.
So, bhuvanati bhavataram The earth is like a boat it has got too much extra weight. sidhantyam ubhihareyam That ubhihareyam Which heavy weight? jato yamanto bhuvahatita Atma bhuvah Bhuv means to take birth Atma is through oneself. This refers to Brahmaji.
Brahmaji doesn’t have a parent. He appears from the navel of Lord Vishnu. So, he is also called as Atma bhuvah.
Atmata He requested. He prayed. So, because he prayed for the removal of the burden of the earth so you have a bhuvah.
Now, this of course is a historical truth. That yes, there was a prayer like that and the Lord appeared. Now, significant word over here is that dhaar, burden.
Now, what does burden refer to? Normally, just a weight itself doesn’t have to be a burden. Now, if a mother has a baby and has to carry the baby for her, that’s not a burden. She loves the baby.
So, when does a weight become a burden? When it is unwanted. When it is unwanted. Now, a pulley may have to carry a huge amount of luggage.
That’s the only way for the pulley to honour the baby. And the pulley is willing to carry luggage. But, if somebody has to carry something and they don’t want to do anything in return for it.
If somebody is a slave, the person is not going to honour the baby. He has to carry it for no reason. Maybe this is a burden.
So, we often use the word workload. My workload is very high. So, actually, the word becomes a workload when we don’t like it.
If we like something, in Varanasi, the idea was that people are engaged according to their natures. When people are engaged according to their natures, they like to do what they do. A Brahmana likes to study.
A Kshatriya likes to manage. A Vaishya likes to do business. And, when people are engaged according to their nature, then there is some material satisfaction also comes in working according to one’s nature.
But, when we have to do something which is not according to our nature, then the word becomes a workload. That load, that hard, that perception that it is a burden comes when it is unwanted. So, now, those who appear on the earth, they are considered the children of the earth.
So, why does the mother consider her children to be unwanted? In one sense, no mother will consider her children to be unwanted. The earth considers all those who are there on the surface of the earth as her children. And, why does she complain that these children are not living? Because the earth has a particular purpose.
The earth is actually, in one sense, the consort of the earth. And, when Lord Varaha came and he lifted the earth, so, when he lifted the earth on his nose, that can be the contact of the earth and Varaha Devi. And, through that contact, Bhauma was born.
So, now, Bhauma, it is described initially, was a good person. In fact, that’s why later on, Bhoomi Devi went with Bhauma to Mahavishnu. Mahavishnu was pleased to see his consort and his son.
And, he gave Bhauma an extremely powerful weapon. It’s called a Vaishnavashtra. And, that Vaishnavashtra went from Bhaumasura down to the dynasty.
It came to Bhagadatta. And, Bhagadatta used it against Arjuna. And, Arjuna would have died at that time.
But, Krishna came in between. And, Krishna came in between. That ashtra, which was actually Vishnu’s ashtra only.
That ashtra was searing through space. And, Arjuna was trying to shoot arrows to counter it. But, nothing could counter it.
Suddenly, Krishna on the chariot jumped up. And, he rose to his full height. That arrow, which was supposed to go into the chest of Arjuna, went into the chest of Krishna.
But, because it was a Vaishnavashtra, it was Krishna’s own weapon. So, Vishnu’s weapon will never hurt Krishna. That’s why that arrow, which was a deadly piercing arrow, as it came towards Krishna, it transformed into a garland.
And, it very gracefully garlanded Krishna. And, Bhagadatta was infuriated. He thought, here I am going to win the war.
I am going to kill Arjuna. I am going to get the greatest victory of my life. And, what happened? My arrow became a garland.
It’s because some terrorist comes along and shoots someone. And, it sends bullets out. And, instead of the bullets going, they become garlands or flowers on the target.
So, Bhagadatta was like that. He was totally exasperated. But, the point I am making over here is, the Vaishnava astra was given by Vishnu to Bhauma.
So, Bhauma initially was a good person. But, when Bhauma associated with Paramasura and other asuras, then he also became Bhauma. And, that’s how he became Bhaumamasura.
And, then he informed everyone that the Lord himself had to kill him. You know, can you imagine a father having to kill his own child? But, that is the extent to which bad association with Paramasura. But, Bhauma was the son of the Lord himself.
When he became demoniac, the Lord had to kill him. So, some people can become so demoniac that Mother Earth, who is the mother of all living beings, these people are burden on myself. I cannot have that burden.
Please, O Lord, relieve me of this burden. So, what are these burdens? Actually, those who live on the Earth by defying the purpose of the Earth’s existence. The purpose of the Earth’s existence is to facilitate the living beings to turn towards God, to live in harmony with God.
So, those who do not assist in this purpose, those who obstruct this purpose, they come to become a burden for the Earth. And, those who become a burden for the Earth, no matter what they do now. In Mahabharata, it is said, that this son, when Duryodhana is born, at that time, donkeys are braying, jackals are howling, vultures are screeching, and all these vicious signs are there when Duryodhana is born.
So, Vidura tells, abandon this child. Otherwise, we call the destruction of the whole dynasty, of the thrashers. He is my own flesh and blood.
How can they possibly abandon me? It is impossible. And, Vidura says, the Bharata Shastra is saying, that for the sake of a family, one family member can be abandoned. For the sake of a village, one family can be abandoned.
For the sake of a village, for the sake of a country, one village can be abandoned. And, lastly, for the sake of the soul, the world can be abandoned. Normally, we would not like to abandon anyone who is connected with us.
But if a choice has to be made, then that which is of a greater importance has to be given up for the sake of that which is of a minimal importance. So, one family is greater than one member. A village is greater than one family.
The country is greater than the village. And the soul is greater than everything else. So, like that, there is a hierarchy.
So, Dhritarashtra made the mistake. For a parent to be attached to a child, there is nothing wrong. But, for the parent to be attached to a child, at the expense of the well-being of everyone else in the family, that is wrong.
So, attachment is natural, but when that attachment is disproportionate, when that attachment causes harm to others who are involved in that relationship, then it is dangerous. So, the earth loves all those who take birth on the earth. But, if there are some demoniac people who are disrupting and destroying the lives of everyone else on the earth, then, it is extremely dangerous.
So, the earth does not love those children so much that she will jeopardise everyone else. And that’s why what she does is let these children, let these demoniac people who have taken birth, let them die. So, the earth had prayed, please, relieve me of this burden.
And that is one reason why we want it. So, let’s recite this verse once again. Then we’ll go to the last verse that we discussed.
Klishnamahana Klishnamahana Avidyanakamakarmati Avidyanakamakarmati Shravanismarayanamini Shravanismarayanamini we must observe Klishnamahana Klishnamahana Ah, somebody will tell me. अविद्या कार्म कर्मदी Prabhupada quoted this verse in one of his Kalbanis. He said this is an example of minimum words, maximum wisdom.
He said in these three words, the whole human existence is summarised. अविद्या कार्म कर्मदी Because of अविद्या, ignorance, what happens? There is calm. There is material desire.
There is a desire to enjoy material things. Because as long as we think that we are bodies, we forget that we are soul. That is अविद्या.
So if I think I am a material body, naturally I want to enjoy material things. And then अविद्या means to calm. And then कार्म means to कर्म.
कर्म means you are the most and very hard in this world. And then कर्म will lead you to कर्मबद्ध. That is क्लिष्यमाना that is described in the previous line.
अविद्या नाम कर्मभी So in this way the souls are forgotten who they are. And the souls are bound in material existence. Sometimes when we hear this word bondage, Yes I am bound.
We are all bound in समसारा चक्र. It is difficult for people to be cool and bound. Sure, I can go wherever I want.
I can take a flight and go to America. I can take my car and drive to some station. I can swim.
I can do so many things. Wherever I want I can go. How do we bound actually? So generally we think of bondage as something is stationary.
Sometimes in some movies you see somebody is kidnapped. Then person is tied to a chair. So bondage means you are tied up and you are motionless.
But actually our bonds are not like the prisoner’s shackles. Our bonds are like the puppeteer’s strings. Prisoner’s shackles means the prisoner is shackled.
Prisoner can’t move. But it is a puppet. Sometimes you see a puppet show.
So the puppet is moving. Puppet seems to be talking. Puppet seems to be going here.
Puppet seems to be going there. Puppet is moving. But the puppet is controlled.
There are strings which are pulling the puppet. And those strings make the puppet go here and there. So our bonds are not like the prisoner’s shackles.
It is not that we are forced to be motionless. We can move around. But actually we are being moved around by the strings of the bonds.
नान्यं भुड़ेन्द्यः करतार्म् यदावरिष्णान्परिष्वति भुड़ेन्द्यर्च्यपरंवेद्धी मद्भावन्सोति रच्चिदी नान्यं भुड़ेन्द्यः करतार्म् There is no mover other than the bonds. It is the bond which is making people move. People move around now in the morning time in cities.
But people are going at such high speed. Of course you can’t go at much high speed in the traffic. But people would like to go at very high speeds.
And people are running around stations, trying to catch. So there is so much motion is there. But that motion is actually actuated by passion.
It is the mode of passion which is making people run around. Go here, go there, go there. So Prabhupada said that when he went to London and he saw people moving around so fast in their cars.
Prabhupada said in the Indian morning he came to London and he saw you are moving around so fast. He said your island is so small and you are moving around so fast that you will fall off into the sea. He didn’t fall off into the sea.
So of course that is a metaphorical usage. But the point is that we see people moving around very fast but it is due to the mode of passion. So sometimes when we are trying to do our japa and we want to do our japa but suddenly we fall asleep.
So we don’t want to sleep but suddenly fall asleep. Why is that? That is because the mode of ignorance is to do things. So we may not realise that actually we are bound.
But sometimes when we want to do something and then our mind doesn’t allow us to do it. Some students want to study and the mind is no I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to do that. What will happen about that, what will happen about that.
So studying is relatively speaking an activity of mindless. But the mode of passion is Aneka chitta vibhranta mohan jana samavrata Aneka chitta vibhranta Consciousness gets pulled here and there. So the mode of passion does not allow us to concentrate.
So at such times when we want to do one thing and we are not able to do it. At that time we can understand that actually I am bound. I am bound.
The modes are pulling me in particular directions. So this is the samsara kalpana. This is kishyamana.
So how do we become liberated from this? So Kunti Maharaj is giving this last verse the conclusive reason why the lord appears. The other reasons, notice she doesn’t refute them. They are true but she says the most important reason he appears is this last reason.
What is that? Shravan smaranaharini Karishinti ke ujjana Some people say that shravan smaranaharini that to promote the culture of hearing and chanting. So when we hear and chant about Krishna and by that hearing chanting our spiritual consciousness gets awakened. Our spiritual consciousness gets awakened through the process of bhakti.
See, bhakti is special among all the various processes of spirituality. There is jnana, there is yoga, ashtami. Bhakti is special.
Why? For example, if one does jnana aham brahmanasmi, aham brahmanasmi, aham brahmanasmi I am not the body, I am the soul. I am the all-knowing, I am the soul. I may think like that but then that thinking in of itself does not satisfy me.
I still have my desire, I still have my bodily needs and I still have to run around. But what bhakti does is bhakti doesn’t just bring spirituality to the level of just intellection. Intellection means thinking with the intellect.
Oh, I am not the body, I am not the soul. I am not the body, I am the soul. Not that much.
Bhakti brings emotion and action into the domain of spirituality. Bhakti brings emotion and action into the domain of spirituality. How? Because when we hear the pastimes of the Lord and we see how the ladies and gentlemen interact with the Lord our spiritual emotions get awakened.
And the power of our emotions which normally drags us down to bondage now our emotions are normally attracted to material things. We may attract some good looking object and we start getting emotional connection with that. So normally our emotions cause bondage but the process of bhakti helps us to channelise our emotions in the spiritual direction.
And in that way it brings our emotions within the domain of spirituality. And also it brings action. Why? Because Krishna describes in 9.47 in the Bhagavad Gita He says that He first describes how he is the producer and pervader of everything.
Krishna says whole material world comes from me. And it doesn’t just come from me. A father may produce a child but the child will go out of control.
Krishna is not like that. Krishna says I pervade everything. Everything is in my control.
I am inside everything. And because everything comes from me because I am present in everything therefore you can serve me with whatever you do in this world. With whatever work you are doing you worship me through that.
And if you do like this you will attain perfection. Krishna has said in the Bhagavad Gita that we can also make our work into worship. So whatever work we do if we do it devotional consciousness Krishna you have given me this life you have given me this family you have given me these skills you have given me this job that you do it for yourself, for your pleasure.
When we do that the work becomes worship. And in that way emotion and action both become included in the loveliness of a child. And that’s how by hearing and chanting about Krishna we develop a relationship with Krishna.
And by developing a relationship with Krishna whatever emotions we have whatever actions that we do they can also become a part of the process that will bring good fortune. He says this is the enduring result of Krishna’s workings. Enduring means if you look at the earlier three reasons they are important reasons but they apply only for that particular time.
Okay, Krishna came to glorify Yadu. Okay, Yadu has come and gone. How is that going to help me? Krishna came to rescue Devaki and Vasudev.
Good. But there was what is that going to help me right now? Okay, Krishna came in the middle of the world not there. Okay, there was a burden at that time.
Krishna did that. But how is that going to help me now? That is how is that going to help me now is Krishna performed pastimes in Yadu. And those pastimes we can hear even now.
And by hearing and discussing about them even now we can become glorified. So this is the eternal benefit of Krishna’s pastimes. I will describe in this way.
That he gives us a legacy of Krishna Datta that we can hear and chant and through which we can glorify ourselves. So thank you very much for your kind attention. Thank you for coming today evening.