SB 11.23.55 – Time affects our receptivity but not the holy name’s potency

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you. So here the Avanti Brahmana is continuing the analysis of the root cause of all suffering and he now analyzes whether time is the cause of the suffering. Kaal is tu hetu.
If Kaal is the cause of what? Sukha, Dukha, Yosha, Chet, If. Then what is the implication? Kimatmanastatra Dadatmakosav Kimatmanastatra Again how does the soul come into the picture? Atmakosav Dadatmakosav That means actually time is of the same nature as Atma. The soul is the energy, the spiritual energy of the Lord and time, we may think of time as a material component but Kaalo Spiloka Kshetra Pravrdo In the Bhagavad Gita in 11.32 Krishna describes it as time I am and Kunti Maharani also in 1.8.28 Manyekam Kaalam Ishanam That I am time.
So when Kunti Maharani describes thus the essential point is that she is, both the Lord and Kunti Maharani are confirming that time is not material. Time is actually transcendental, it is energy of the Lord. In that sense, time is of the same quality as the soul.
And because both are of the same quality how can one hurt the other? So Naagne Reetapo So fire doesn’t burn sparks. Na Himasya Tatsyat Nor does snow So, nor does cold harm the snow. So the fire produces heat but that heat doesn’t harm its own sparks.
So that is of the same nature, it does not harm something else which is of the same nature. Therefore, how can the spiritual energy of the Lord, time hurt another spiritual energy of the Lord, that is the soul? Kruddhye Takasmayi Naparasya Dandvam So Naparasya Dandvam Parasya means the soul is transcendental and in the transcendental soul there is no dwandwa, there is no duality. So when there is no duality in the transcendental soul then Kruddhye Takasmayi to whom can we blame for it, for the suffering? So here, sometimes the time is considered to be a factor.
For example, in the 8th canto it is described that when devatas are lost against the asuras at that time the Lord himself tells them that now the time is not favorable to you therefore don’t try to fight, try to come to a ceasefire based on a mutual treaty. And later on, this happens in the 5th, 6th chapters and later on in the 19th, 20th chapters in the 8th canto when Bali Maharaj is arrested by Vamanadev and the demoniac associates of Bali Maharaj try to attack Vamanadev and they are beaten back by the Vishnudutas, the associates of Vamanadev then Bali Maharaj requests his associates to stop fighting, telling them that time is not favorable. So, time as a factor is a normal factor in our day-to-day analysis, sometimes we say I’m not having a good time today so we do consider time as a factor in our day-to-day analysis but time, is it a cause? Now what do I mean when we say that some player has a terrible performance in a particular match and says, I had a terrible time today the time was bad for me so what does it mean? You know, it’s just a statement it does not really, from a deep philosophical point of view go to the root cause yes, certain times may be unfavorable and astrologers talk about it but that is talking about again instrumental cause not the root cause So, we can’t just become passive saying that oh, the time is unfavorable what we need to understand is ok, the time may be unfavorable and at that time if we try to do something over ambitious that may backfire against us in a big way but that doesn’t mean that we have to just resign ourselves to accepting the negativity of time along with that, we also have to take rectifying steps and the essential rectifying step is that time changes and time acts in the material world it produces changes time destroys but what can it destroy? it cannot destroy anything spiritual it destroys only material things and the material things are destroyed but why does that cause us pain? because we misidentify with those things and that misidentification happens because of the mind so, even when time is unfavorable we have to understand that the misery that is coming is because of the mind and I need to purify my mind of its improper attachments to material things and then and then alone will I get freedom from misery and it is that which we try to do by mantra meditation when we call out to Krishna at that time we don’t consider positive and negative time in terms of material auspiciousness or inauspiciousness we do chant, prefer to chant in the mornings but that is more because we can offer ourselves to Krishna our consciousness to Krishna better in the mornings it is not that it is not that chanting the potency of chanting depends on the time no that holds true for material fruitive activities for punya, for karma kanda where the activities become important if they are not done in the right time that’s why muhrutas or auspicious times are important but with respect to chanting it is not that the potency of the holy name depends on something material but rather our receptivity may be affected by certain times of the day and that’s why we chant in the mornings but ultimately we can chant at any time, at all times there is no rule of time ultimately we can chant at any time, at all times and the potency of Krishna manifesting through the holy name is fully available for us and even in the most darkest of times according to astrological perspective if somebody takes shelter of the holy name one can, by the absorption in the holy name break free from uttering this identification and thereby experience transcendence even in the midst of the greatest suffering this is the supreme potency of the holy name