The Prayers of the Prachetas

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Great. So, we’ll discuss the prayers by the Prachetas from the 30th chapter, the 4th canto of Shri Mahabharata. So, these prayers are from verses 22 to 42, that is 21 verses.
And before we start the discussion, we will look a little bit at the background of the past times so that we can understand the context and the significance of these prayers. So, Krishna Bhagavatam is a nested conversation. The outermost conversation is between Vyasadev and us.
Vyasadev is speaking to us. The next level of nesting is the conversation with Sukhdev Goswami and the sages of Naimisharanya. The third level of nesting is between Sukhdev Goswami and Parikshit Maharaj.
Now, within this broad conversation, Sukhdev Goswami and Parikshit Maharaj, when they are conversing, Sukhdev Goswami tells an old conversation, which starts at the beginning of the third attempt. That is the conversation between Vidura and Maitreya. And this conversation practically goes on for a very long time.
It goes on. It is going on through the full third canto. It goes on through the full fourth canto.
So, this particular conversation that is happening now, or this particular narration of Vachita’s past time that is there, is a nest, is nested within the conversation of Maitreya, Shiva and Vidura. So, this started in the third canto and it is going on and on. So, in the fourth canto, after the cremation was described in the second and third cantos, now Shiva Bhagavat is focusing on how different personalities, different illustrious personalities throughout history have sought and attained the Lord.
Some of them succeeded gloriously, some of them struggled and then succeeded. And some of them had to go through multiple lives to succeed. So, here he is discussing the descendants of Swayambhuva Manu.
So, first he discusses the daughters of Swayambhuva Manu. So, among the daughters of Swayambhuva Manu, Devahuti is discussed in the third canto. And the other daughter of Swayambhuva Manu is Aputi.
And then he discusses a little bit about her. But in that discussion, the Shiva-Daksha pastime comes in the fourth canto. And then after that he switches to the sons of Swayambhuva Manu.
In the sons of Swayambhuva Manu, there are two sons, Uthanapar and Priyavrat. So, Uthanapar and his descendants are being discussed in this canto. And Priyavrat will be discussed in the next canto.
So, in the line of Uthanapar, there is first Dhruva Maharaj, then there is Prithu Maharaj also in the same text. And then as the line is smoothing down, then there is Prachini Parishad and there are Pachitas. So, you start from Brahma, come to Swayambhuva Manu.
Then one line has been discussed, that is Devahuti. Then Aputi has been briefly discussed. The third line is Uthanapar.
The fourth line will be Priyavrat. So, Uthanapar’s line actually ends. There is one particular king who does not have any offspring.
And that’s why the dynasty has to go on. So, that’s why Priyavrat, who has gone to the forest, is asked to come back. So, while tracing this line, overall, it describes how different kings attained the Lord in different ways.
So, how Dhruva Maharaj was insulted in the world, and how he went to the forest, there he attained the Lord, and when he came back to the world to rule the world, then he attained the Lord. So, Dhruva Maharaj and Pruthu Maharaj. So, after Pruthu Maharaj, Pruthu Maharaj’s pastime ends in Chapter 23.
You may have notes over here, or both candles over here. So, you can see, it started with Daksha’s pastime, in the second chapter to the eighth chapter, seventh chapter. And eighth chapter, the thirteenth chapter, is Dhruva Maharaj and his descendants.
Then, fourteen chapters onwards, there is one chapter about Veda, but actually, it’s all the prelude to the description of the pastime of Pruthu. So, you see, Pruthu Maharaj’s pastime goes on for a long time. Fourteen chapters to the twenty-second chapter.
And in the twenty-third chapter, he goes back to Godhead. Then, as his further descendants are described, so, one of his descendants is Prachinibharsha. And Prachinibharsha tells his son, Priyavrat, his sons, the ten Prachetas, that you go to the forest to perform austerities.
So, the similar theme will also be repeated in the sixth chapter, when Daksha tells his sons to go to the forest. And there, they become renunciates because of the preaching of Narada. All of you know about that.
So, basically, the father understands that even if my sons have to become grhasthas later on, they have to be trained in the culture of self-control and spiritual realization. So, he tells his sons to go to the forest. And when they go to the forest, there, they meet Lord Shiva.
And then, 4.24 is the famous Rudra Yuga. So, often, if devotees sometimes celebrate Shivaratri, then often, we sing this Rudra Yuga. So, basically, Lord Shiva comes out of the body of water and he blesses the Prachetas.
He tells them, this is how you should glorify the Supreme Lord. And that is the song which the Prachetas sing to please Lord Vishnu. And while they are performing austerities, Naraguni thinks, now they are performing austerities, they will get purified with austerities.
But, I have to deliver their father. So, he goes back to the home. Interestingly, although King Vachiripanishad has told his sons to go to the forest to perform austerities, his purpose of their performing austerities is not transcendent.
It is material. If they are purified by austerities, they will get better and greater progeny. And then, our hero can expand.
Just like King Vachiripanishad performed austerities to know the transcendental purpose, material purpose. Of course, the difference between King Vachiripanishad and King Vachiripanishad’s austerities is, the austerities asked by Vachiripanishad of his sons is that one is dharmic and the other is adharmic. See, there are three levels.
There is sinful, there is pious and there is transcendental. These three are different things. Just write this down over here.
I will explain this to you afterwards. So, let me give you an example of somebody performing transcendental austerities. Somebody performing So, the purpose for austerities.
That’s our topic here. So, is the purpose transcendental, pious or sinful? So, the purpose, sinful purpose, what are the examples? I will give you an example. You know Vishnu? Ravana.
The most famous example Gopal gives is Vrkasana. Isn’t it? If you want to please Lord Shiva, go ahead and get Lord Shiva. So, pious purpose means, it’s not spiritual, it’s material, but not a sinful purpose.
So, in this case, for instance, we have an example of this. Vachitala, of course, that’s the example I want to discuss. But, Dhrumaraj.
Dhrumaraj’s work was not transcendental. But because he went to the Supreme Lord, he became purified. And he attained a good result.
And similarly, there are other examples. Aditi. Aditi, when she sees that her sons have lost their kingdom.
She sees that her sons have lost their kingdom. And she wants her sons to get back their kingdom. So, she performed the Pali yoga.
So, like that. Now, there is in between these two, there is one specialness. Sacrifice performed by Aditi.
So, actually, he was she worshipped Vishnu with a sinful purpose. What was the sinful purpose? To kill Indra. So, what happened? Because she went to the right person, the right person, she got purified.
So, anyway, we will not go into all the technical details. Because, if we go to all the pastimes, we will focus on this. But I am illustrating the broad principle that underlies the Bhagavatam.
Krishna was towards transcendence. But he recognized that the starting point will not be transcendent. All of us, when we came to Krishna, we came to devotees, we did not come with a transcendent purpose.
At least, I did not. I don’t know about others. Maybe some special souls surely came for transcendent purpose.
But not most of us. So, now, some people may have come here for a sinful purpose. We know one Prabhupada disciple who came to steal Prabhupada’s watch.
The rod I have in, Krishna stole his heart. So, there may be a sinful purpose coming to Krishna also. If you come to the right person, it’s auspicious.
But, here, in the Hiranyakashyapurana, they went to the wrong person also. So, Nityisha had a wrong purpose, Krishna came to the right person. In this case, the austerities which the Vachekas have performed, they are all, they have come to the right purpose, right person, but not necessarily the right purpose.
Now, who performs transcendental austerities? So, basically, the right person, right purpose. When that is there, that is pure devotional service. Right person, right purpose.
So, that is pure devotional service. Approach right person for right purpose. So, what is the definition of pure devotional service that Krishnananda Siddhu gives? Annamilashita shivanyam Jnanakarmadhi anavrtam Anukulyena Krishnanu shivanyam Bhakti uttama So, Krishnanu is the right purpose.
And, everything else that is there in the verse, Annamilashita shivanyam Jnanakarmadhi anavrtam All that is right purpose. Annamilashita shivanyam Jnanakarmadhi anukulyena Annamilashita shivanyam So, till here, all this is the right purpose. So, the Bhagavatam will describe, when it describes demons, normally it will describe the demons approaching to the wrong purpose, wrong person for the wrong purpose.
It will describe devotees or demigods approaching to the right person for the right purpose. But, it also describes some in-between cases. Some wrong persons approaching for the right purpose and getting purified.
Like in the example of Vidya. So, let’s come back here. So, we can have… So, can you give example of somebody performing transcendent austerities? That means, they are performing austerities for the right purpose and the right purpose.
Aadvaita achahe la? Junaatmanarachitka? Ok, you can say that he tolerated the fire and everything. You don’t know that he exactly performed austerities. You can say that he performed austerities.
Aadvaita achahe la? Calling God to appear in the world. And worshiping Shankaracharya. That is the example of approaching the right person for the right purpose.
So, the principle of pure emotional service is what the Bhagavatam will ultimately point to. But, he leads us gradually to that. So, why is he leading us to that? Let’s come to a particular chapter we are discussing today.
So here, the Prachetas are very special. Because, actually, the two greatest personalities in Vedic culture are Vishnu and Shiva. And both of them together assist the Prachetas.
And not only that, in the 31st chapter which concludes the scandal, you will see that Narada Muni also comes to assist them. So, actually, they see Shiva, they see Vishnu and they are also guided by Narada Muni. So, they are very special personalities.
And we will discuss one more reason why they are special when we come to it once again. So, but what happens? One who has gone for performing austerities, they are guided by Lord Shiva that this is how you should chant these prayers and perform austerities. And then they go.
Then, Narada Muni says, ok, now they are performing austerities but what about their son? What about their father? I need to deliver. So, this father is engaged in Karma Tantra. And for delivering his father, Narada Muni tells the story of Puranjaya.
So, that goes on from 25th chapter to Vrindavan Chapter. And that goes into quite intricate details about the city of the nine gates and how Chandavega and other attackers come and attack. And then, Vidura, when he is here, he asks many questions about it.
And finally, the whole thing gets clarified. After that is clarified, Vidura doesn’t think to go class over now. See, he started that story, he didn’t complete that.
So, what happened to the Prachetas? So, in the 29th chapter, the story of the Prachini Parishad gets over. Then, in the 33rd chapter, Vidura asks, please tell me what happened to the Prachetas? And then, again, Maitreya starts the story of the Prachetas. So, when he starts the story of the Prachetas, at that time, he is describing how the Prachetas perform austerities and then the Lord appeared in front of them.
So, after they finish their prayers, the Lord blesses them and the Lord says that all of you go and marry Pramanuja. And they say, how can you, all of us marry one woman? He says, no, all of you are like-minded and she is also my like-minded wife. So, all of you should marry her for that.
So, actually, you know, this is a very difficult thing to do because for a woman is seen by a man as an object of enjoyment and normally to share a wife with another person, it is, when people, especially if it happens explicitly, a man is married to a woman and he finds a woman who is having an extra-marital affair. A man will go mad and kill the woman, kill her lover. It is extremely difficult.
But to do that under instruction, that is something which is, now they were actually the rulers of the world. So, for the rulers of the world, you know, there are hundreds of princesses can be brought for them. But on the instruction of the Lord, all of them agreed to marry only one woman and the Lord said that through them you will get one child and that child will eventually become the source of procreating into the whole world.
So, this is also an extraordinary level of surrender to the instruction. So, this is how their devotion is very deep. And, we get into the glimpse of their heart when they utter these prayers.
So, now, they have performed the austerities and the Lord is pleased by their austerities. And the Lord appears in the kingdom there. So, let us see what happens in the Lord’s gifts.
So, I will just give a quick overview of the prayers here. So, we have 21 verses. So, when the Lord appears, prior to these 22 verses, we say 18, 19, 20, 21, he is describing the beautiful form of the Lord.
So, the Pachisaras say that, your mercy is to reveal your inconceivable form to us. Normally, when the Lord comes, people’s idea is that as soon as the Lord comes, okay, who wants a benediction. But they are saying, my dear Lord, you have already given me a benediction.
What is the benediction? That your form is inconceivable but you have revealed that form to us. So, first they describe how your form is beyond mental conception, beyond mental description, and how it is not possible for ordinary people to see your form. But he allowed us to see your form.
What greater mercy can be there? So, basically, when the Lord comes, the Lord has a question in his mind. Although the Lord is omniscient, he wants to reciprocate with the devotees. So, the Lord naturally asks this question, what benediction do you want? Why have you been performing these austerities? So, they are expressing their pure emotion here by saying that, actually, that you have revealed yourself to us.
That is such a great mercy. It is extraordinary mercy. He says, okay, I revealed myself, but what do you want? He says, we only desire to be your pure self.
That is the second part. And while they are describing that, why don’t you want liberation? Why don’t you want something else? So, there, they glorify the process of revealing themselves. They say, how glorious is revealing ourselves.
In fact, here, they will repeat one more verse which comes exactly in the first time. Same verses are repeated over here. So, the sages on the image are saying the same thing.
As compared to one woman’s association with the devotee, liberation is nothing. So, what to speak of heavenly enjoyment, what to speak of worldly enjoyment. And then, still, okay, devotional service is glorious.
The Lord says, so then, what do you want? They asking the Lord. They are asking the Lord. They are asking They are asking the Lord.
They are asking the the Lord. So, that’s why, you see, the 10th canto also, Gopinita comes in 10.31, Sri Gopya Uchuhul says, so, so, just like in English you may have, he says and people say. So, depending on whether the subject is singular or plural, the form of the word changes, says or See So Namo Namaha Klesh Vinahshanaya We offer our obeisances to you who are the destroyer of misery and then there is the first character of the lord is Klesh Vinahshanaya when the lord becomes visible at that time all the austerity with the person who has performed.
I have described the Pachinkar Karma austerity for thousands of years. So, all the pain of the austerity, it is instantaneously eliminated. Kleshya Vinahashivaya.
So all that austerity, it becomes worth it when we see the Lord. Actually, the first thing they are describing is, actually all the misery that was there was lost, it is lost. Kleshya Vinahashivaya.
And this Nirupita Udaarunaamvaya. Udaarunaamvaya. Nirupita means it is described.
It is described in the Vedic literature. Udaarunaamvaya, your qualities, your glorious, Udaar means generous, charitable, your glorious qualities. We have heard that they are described in the Vedic literature.
But actually, Manu Vachamega Purojavahe. Actually, they are beyond the power of the mind and the power of the words. So, this is a recurrent thing in our Bhagavad Gita literature, as well as in general Vaishnava literature, that when the scriptures talk about the Lord, that description is only indicating, it is not descriptive.
It only indicates. When scriptures say that Krishna is bluish black, it is not that you take 50% blue color, 50% black color and mix it in computer graphics to get Krishna’s representation. It doesn’t work like that.
Bluish black is just an indication. So, we are saying that yes, description was given in the Vedic literature, we had heard about it, but actually when we experience it, to understand it, what we are experiencing is beyond verbal description, it is beyond Vachamega Purojavahe. It is beyond the description by words, it is beyond the conception by mind also.
It is the experience of the heart. So, it is beyond the gross body, it is beyond the subtle body. And as if to emphasize this answer, Sarvaakshamargai.
So, aaksham refers to eyes. Sarvaaksham means all eyes. So, here they are using the eyes as generic representative for the senses.
So, beyond all senses, it is not just beyond the words, Sarvaakshamargai Adat. You cannot reach the Supreme Lord by any of the senses. Namaha.
So, what is wonderful, that Lord who could not be reached by any of the senses, that Lord has appeared in front of the senses. And we are able to see that Lord, that is a great mercy. So, we are grateful to you.
So, actually speaking, the first time when we see the Lord, we get darshan of the Lord, that darshan itself is a fortune. The Lord is inconceivable, we are able to see Him. So, they describe this particular fortune in the first verse over here.
So, we will just describe the theme of the verses, we will go into all the verses. So, though you are beyond our senses, you have appeared before our senses. So, we bow to you.
So, now after they describe this, the first sequence they will describe is, that you have appeared, that itself is so wonderful. They will express their appreciation for the appearance of the Lord. So, let us see what they say in the next verse.
So, now after we have said all the verses, let us see some of the verses. Now, some of them are very nice verses here. Same theme, they will describe over here.
Namo Kuni, side view. Namo Sita Sattvaya, Hare Hare Nidase, So, namo vishuddha sattvaya, you are vishuddha sattva, you are the transcendental goodness, pure goodness. You not only exist at the transcendental level, but actually you are that transcendental level.
So, again the emphasis is, you cannot be, you cannot reach. And haraye, this is a very beautiful one, haraye harimedhasi. Different rishis have a different meaning of this.
But what they say is, here medhasa is alpamedhasa. Remember some chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. What does it mean? Less intelligent.
So, medhasa means intelligence. So, harimedhasa means Krishna intelligence or Hari intelligence. So, when the intelligence becomes fixed in Hari, in you, then what happens? Hariye.
So, Krishna Chitragu describes that knowledge about you destroys samsara, steals away samsara. So, you live in transcendence. And when we come to know you, our little existence goes away.
There is a connection between the first and second life. Namo vishuddha sattvaya, haraye harimedhasi. Normally, you cannot be moved.
So, the Sri Vaishnava or Ramacharya gives the example that if a small child wants to touch the head of an elephant, then how can he do that? Even if he reaches out his hand as up, as up as possible, he can never reach the elephant. But if the elephant sits down and puts his head down, this small child can touch his head. So, like that he says, Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu is transcendental.
So, jiva cannot, the child soul cannot be Lord Krishna. But then that transcendental Vishnu comes down to earth. And he says, actually this is how he explains the example of Hariye.
So, Ramacharya, he said this, and one of his prominent sastras, Viram Deshika elaborates on this quite beautifully. So, like that, you are transcendental. At the transcendental level, no misery exists.
But we cannot be at the transcendental level. So, you become accessible to us. And when we understand you, then we become free from misery.
And therefore, Vasudeva, so this is the, you know, in the Bhagavatam start we have, we said there was Krishnaya Vasudeva, which comes in the Kuldeep’s place. He is sending Vasudeva and Krishnaya. And how is it that we have shown so much mercy on us? Prabhave sarva satvatam So, from the word Prabhu comes Prabhave, master.
You are the master of sarva satvatam. Satvatam means devotees. You are the master of all devotees.
So, you are naturally merciful to your devotees. And because you are merciful to the devotees, that’s why you have revealed yourself to us. So, now what can we do when you have revealed yourself to us? We appreciate your beauty.
So, now, again there is a similarity to Kunti Maharaja’s place, you know, namah pankajanabhaya, same verses go here, but instead of pankajanabhaya, there is kamalabhaya. Let me go through all this. namah kamalanabhaya namah kamalamaline namah kamalapadaya namaste kamalekshana The same fourth, slightly different.
kamalabhaya, kamalamaline kamalapadaya, kamalekshana So, the word kamala is used because, just as we know that lotus doesn’t get contaminated by dirty water or dirty mud. Similarly, you are transcendental, that was the earlier thing. But you have come to this world, you are not contaminated by this world.
Because you have come to give us mercy, so we are grateful to you. We offer obeisance to you. And then, we will describe in the next verse how you are actually our masters.
We will describe briefly the beauty of the Lord. So, let’s recite this verse. namah kamalakim janka vishyama manvasase sarvabhutani vasaya namo yunshwa hi saakshi hai namah kamalakim janka So, prabhupada uses the word saffron in a broad sense.
So, normally we think of saffron as a dress that we are wearing. But Prabhupada sometimes uses the word saffron to describe the Vishnu’s or Krishna’s carpets. So, actually, when we say pitambara, that is not exactly the yellow that we have in this world.
Pitambara is a very different colour. And that is why sometimes, that is actually, if you consider yellow over here and this colour, actually, saffron is the word Prabhupada uses for it. In outside languages, they use the word ochre for this.
Posting a chart. So, whatever, this colour and yellow, if you see the spectrum of that, the pitambara is somewhere in between. That is why sometimes yellow is used, sometimes saffron is used.
So, he is saying that you are really saffron clothes or pitambara. So, spotless dress you are wearing. And you, who are actually manifest in front of us, you are in the heart of everybody.
You are actually there in our heart. You saw that we are performing austerities. You knew that we were impure.
And still, you appeared before us. Although you are a Sakshi, you are so kind. You knew that our motives were not pure.
Still, you have appeared. That is your kindness. So, then they describe.
They conclude this description of the beautiful form by describing how this form removes all miseries. रूपं भगवता द्वेत रूपं भगवता द्वेत अशेशित्रेशि संक्षणम् आविष्कुतं किष्टाना किमान्यतनु कम्पितं The most important line is किमान्यतनु कम्पितं So, they are saying this form which you have shown to us रूपं भगवता द्वेत this form which you have shown what happens by this? अशेशित्रेशि संक्षणम् Saturday what? सरवक्लेशि विनाशय Same thing? अशेशित्रेशि Unlimited miseries is destroyed just by darshan of this form. आविष्कुतं किष्टाना No other miseries are remaining.
And then you have to show great mercy to us. What more mercy can you actually ask for? किमान्यतनु कम्पितं What more can we ask from you? Actually our attitude is just the opposite. When we have a feast, you know, we don’t see what items are served.
Aur kya hai? You know, what more is there? So, their attitude is, what more is left to be got? I have got everything now. Ki manne dhanu kam pitam. So, they are saying that, my dear Lord, what more can you actually reveal to me? We are given the greatest mercy to us.
Ki manne dhanu kam pitam. What greater mercy can we have? So, here, just the sight of the Lord is completely satisfying the heart. And here also we see the same mood which Dhrumala expressed.
Dhrumala also came with a material desire. But when he saw what is forming the Tathasmi, param yache, I, what else can I ask for? Ki manne dhanu kam pitam. So, here we see the devotional mood of the Siddhas.
Now, actually speaking, before we go to the next section, let’s try to understand what happens in the story afterwards. So, the Prachetas, their benediction is fulfilled. The Lord gives them the benediction that you will be able to function as progenitors.
And they come out after performing austerities. Actually, they have gone underwater for performing austerities. So, all that is happening is underwater.
So, when they come out, they see that the whole earth is overgrown with trees. And when they see the whole earth is overgrown with trees, they become enraged. And because they have performed so much austerity, they have mystic power.
And they open their mouth, blaze of fire comes out. Everything starts burning. And as the trees start burning, the trees become extremely fearful.
So, Brahmaji comes over there and he pacifies them. And then Soma, who is considered to be the lord of the trees, Krishna describes in 15th chapter, 13th verse that I, as the moon, provide juice in the vegetation. So, then Soma comes and offers his daughter.
Actually, Pramalocha has been this particular girl. She was under the care of Soma. So, that’s how she is offered to him.
So, I think it’s Pramalocha’s daughter. So, their daughter is actually offered to him as well. So, now the question may come up over there that actually they have performed austerity so severely and then they saw the lord.
After that, why didn’t they become angry? They were so angry that they started burning the trees. And then actually Brahmaji, the higher personality had to come to pacify them. So, actually speaking, two things are there over here.
First is that it is not that pure devotees are expected to be stone-like. They also have emotions. But their emotions are different from our emotions.
So, we need to glimpse, look at the Acharyas. And so, Vishwanath Chakraborty was commenting on, that’s on his commentary also. He says that the Prachetas were thinking that it is our responsibility to rule the world.
It is our responsibility. And in fact, what happens is that Narad Muni, when he does preaching to Prachini Bhaishya, his preaching is so powerful that normally the king should hand over the kingdom to the son. And then the king should depart to the forest.
But Prachini Bhaishya departs without handing over the kingdom. He says, he tells the ministers, when my sons come, after performing austerity, he will enthrone the king and I am going now. He just renounces the world.
So, what happens is, the Prachetas think that it is our responsibility to take care of the world. But this world, which is meant to be populated by human beings, the plants have taken it over. So, the plants have reproduced and grown beyond their jurisdiction.
So, their anger is that, just because there is no king over there, the plants have expanded beyond their authority, beyond their quota. So, the plants certainly have a right to live on the world, but the plants are not going to occupy the full world. So, their anger is because they feel that these plants, because of their expansionist tendencies, have encroached upon the territory that is meant for human beings.
In this way, they have violated the sacred boundaries that are set by the Supreme Lord. And in this way, they are posing an obstacle in our service. If the whole earth is ruled by the plants, then how will we be able to populate it with human beings? So, their anger in this case, is anger at the obstruction of their emotional service.
And this anger is not mundane. It is transcendental. It is not ordinary anger.
So, actually speaking, we need to understand transcendental emotions also properly. They are not just material emotions in these cases. So, maybe culture is not in the name of being tolerant and humble and peaceful.
That doesn’t mean we become pacifistic and completely lethargic. We have to be active. So, I think I mentioned last time that, on my website, one boy asked a question, when this Ram Jai Bhavan issue was going on.
So, of course, this whole thing was politicized very much. But, when in the High Court, the Hindu Party won the case. And they said, actually, there is a temple over there.
And the temple should be built. So, there were three panel judge. And one judge was Muslim.
But the evidence was so strong that he had to agree with all the Hindu judges that actually, there was a temple over here and it should be reconstructed. But then after that, in a private press conference, he said, you know, all of you Hindus, you are saying that you want to build a temple of Lord Ram. But, the whole life of Ram teaches the example of sacrifice.
For the sake of Kalki Ram, sacrifice the kingdom. You want to build a temple for Ram, but you haven’t learnt the basic lesson for Ram to sacrifice one temple for the sake of others. So, it is a very sarcastic thing.
So, then, one boy asked this question, you know, how do we answer this? So, he said, that the principle of sacrifice has to be understood properly. When Ravana kidnapped Sita, Lord Ram did not directly sacrifice Sita for Ram. The same Ram, what did he do? He actually went and attacked Ravana.
So, we can’t simplistically transpose certain examples from certain culture and bring them and apply them anywhere in India. So, what is the difference? Why was Ram ready to sacrifice the kingdom, but not ready to sacrifice Sita? The difference is a matter of duty. In the case of the kingdom of Ayodhya, for Lord Ram, his essential focus was not sacrifice, it was a question of duty.
And his duty over there was to obey his father. And obeying his father required him to sacrifice the kingdom. But when he has accepted Sita as his wife, the woman is always supposed to be under the protection of some responsible man, so when the father hands over the girl to a boy to be her husband and her protector, then it is his responsibility to protect her.
And when Ravana has kidnapped her, to regain her back is his duty. And to neglect from that duty will not be sacrifice, it will either be cowardice or irresponsibility. So, this is of course, we are not, we are passing a political statement about whether the temple should be built there or not.
But the point is, we can’t just transpose this example from anywhere and everywhere to I must do something. So, we have to see the broad context. So, here the Prachetas, why do they get angry? Because they feel our duty is being thwarted.
And our duty to serve the Lord in Samadhi is truly a thwarting of His inalienable. So, therefore, they obstruct. They get object to it by becoming slightly angry.
So, now they will describe the glory of pure emotions. So, that is the second part that they describe is what? They, ok, what do you want? They say, actually we want only to be your pure servant. We don’t want anything more.
That’s what they will describe over here. So, what is the nature of the pure master? We want to be the pure servant. And when they describe this, then they will say that actually there is nothing higher than this that one can ask for.
Let’s look at some of these verses. We will not recite all of them. So, असानेक वरो अस्माकम् So, अस्माकम् is we.
What is the वरो that we want? We are saying इच्चितो, चितो means this is what we desire. चगतः पते You are the Lord of the whole universe. You can give whatever you want.
If you are प्रसंगनलिदस, O Bhagwan, then give us, actually we only want you and your service. When the Lord is saying, Chandravarthi Path says that the Lord is saying, Oh, if you are afraid of material existence, you want to go beyond material existence, then why don’t you ask for liberation? He says, Oh, actually you are अप्पवर्ग गुरून्गति. The word गुरू literally means spiritual monster.
As it is normally used. But etymologically the word गुरू means heavy. So, you are अप्पवर्ग गुरून्गति.
It means you are a destination heavier or greater than अपवर्ग. What is अपवर्ग? अपवर्ग is liberation. So, you are a destination greater than liberation.
Therefore, what we ask is you. So, they are really, really close to understanding that what do we want? प्रसंगनलिदस, O Bhagwan, अपवर्ग गुरून्गति. We want only you.
So, we are saying that we don’t want anything except you. So, before we go ahead, do you have any questions till now? About this pastime in specific or about the background of the Bhagavad-gita that we discussed? Yes, please. The Bhagavad-gita is something which is to be relished.
And the relishing of the Bhagavad-gita is possible when we see it from different perspectives. Just like we have in the 24th chapter of the Madhya-Nila where Chetan Mahaprabhu gives so many meanings of the Atmanam words. Now, is that speculation? No.
Actually, it is his devotional relish which is manifesting over there. So, Chetan Mahaprabhu himself gives the example that the same words can manifest over 37 days, 60 days, 64 days. So many different ways.
But all those ways are according to power. That means, Sri Prabhupada writes in one conversation, tells in one letter to one devotee, right? That although a devotee knows everything about Krishna, simply because Krishna is unlimited. So, a devotee can always keep knowing more about Krishna.
And that’s how a devotee knows Krishna and still keeps knowing Krishna more and more for all of eternity. So, that’s how actually the understanding of the Bhagavad-gita becomes illuminated when we see it from different angles. See, when we study Sri Prabhupada’s purports, they are extremely important for us to ground us in the philosophical foundations of Krishna consciousness.
At the same time, we need to understand that Sri Prabhupada wrote his purports referring to the Satcharita’s purports. And right in the first chapter, Prabhupada says that a serious student should study, if he wants to understand the Bhagavatam better, he should study the Satcharita’s purports. So, what happens is, we can understand the Bhagavatam deeper when we study the Satcharita’s purports.
But if we don’t study Prabhupada’s books and directly come to the Satcharita’s books, then we get confused because our philosophical fundamentals are not clear. So, that’s why here, genuinely speaking, we will find that, at least we will feel sometimes, that Sri Prabhupada is repeating the same things in his purports. But it is not like that.
So, if you study Prabhupada’s purports, you study the Satcharita’s purports. Then you will see that, okay, this is the flow of the verses, and Prabhupada is giving us those flows, so, confusions may be there about the flow. But because Sri Prabhupada’s purports are there, and there are many fundamental points taken in the purports, basic points, introductory points.
So, when Sri Prabhupada drops an advanced point also, you miss it. So, what happens is, the previous Satcharita’s purports help us to appreciate Prabhupada’s purports also. So, that’s why, in general, for example, now, if we are going to, if we are trying to understand, to understand the mind and the heart of an advanced devotee is nearly impossible.
And if we are going to try to understand it, we need all the help that we can get. Just like if you want to understand Prabhupada. Now, we have Satsvarupa Mahatma’s Yama, but then, there are so many other devotees who have written about Prabhupada.
And then, so, when we understand Prabhupada from different perspectives, our relationship with Prabhupada also increases. So, you know, say, Harishabai Prabhu will describe from more objective, narrational view in his Pranjalin Diary. Gurujan Prabhu, my glorious master, will take each incident and give some lessons from that incident.
Or, for that matter, Tamar Krishnamaharaj will primarily describe how Prabhupada guided him through the letters. So, his servant of servant is basically an incident of how he was able to serve Sri Prabhupada through the guidance that he got primarily through the letters. There is his personal interaction also, but not so much.
It’s the letters. So, different devotees, when we agree with their experience with Sri Prabhupada, then what happens? Our appreciation of Prabhupada increases. So, like that, now if you want to understand the Prachetas, you know, we all know that we can read.
So, we have Prabhupada’s purpose, we have Pranjalin Diary’s purpose. So, then we can understand it, we can never understand it completely. But, in general, to understand the heart of your devotee is not easy.
To understand even a little bit of it is very precious for us. And we need all the help that we can get for that. Any other questions? Yes.
You mentioned the Prachetas. You mentioned that how they were different. Is there a duty to ensure proper land for the devotees also? Is that correct? Okay.
What is the duty to the Prachetas? Okay, if the duty of the… If the Prachetas have become angry because their duty is obstructed, and their duty is that they have to procreate and populate the world. This seems to be a material duty. Then how? The obstruction of material duty can produce transcendental anger.
So, yes, the duty will be material, but if it is performed for transcendental purpose, then it is no longer material. The Prachetas, they have actually seen the Lord directly. Why are they coming back to the material world? On the instruction of the Lord.
So, they are performing it with a pure emotional intention. With a pure emotional intention. And that is why that is not considered material.
So, now, generally speaking, if we get angry, we should avoid anger. Even if our service is getting obstructed. We should not say, you obstruct my service, my anger is transcendental.
We shouldn’t think like that. So, sometimes, we are waiting for Mangala Aarthi, somebody is going to push that person aside so that we can reach before the conch is blown. He is saying, you know, if you obstruct him, I will knock him down out of it.
Well, is it we are doing that because we are so eager to take darshan or we want to avoid writing the Mahamantra? So, our anger may not be transcendental. So, in general, we should try to avoid anger. At the same time, if other devotee gets angry, we should do the benefit of doubt.
Maybe this devotee has too much anger. She said, my service is obstructed. That’s why he spoke like that.
But if a devotee, another devotee, so in general, we should be strict with ourselves, lenient with others. But if a devotee has a habit of becoming snappy and irritable, then maybe we have to report to higher authority, we have to report to the counsellor. Because not everybody around the devotee will be so angry.
We will tolerate, but others will not tolerate. So, in general, within our culture, we should try to avoid anger. But in the case of the Prachetas, they actually sing along.
There is no order in it. So, at that level, their emotion is not transcendent. It’s not what he said.
Although, even for advanced devotees, sometimes, little emotions may come. For example, it is described in the Bhagavatam itself, that when Dhruva’s brother Uttama is killed, at that time, he gets angry with the Yakshas. He starts killing the Yakshas.
So then, who has to come to stop him? Swamiji himself comes to stop him. So, we tell them, why are you doing so angry? One Yaksha has killed, why are you killing everyone else? So, actually speaking, was his anger transcendental or material? Very difficult for us to say that. His brother was not an evoker.
So, he was angry with his brother being killed. So, somebody could argue that his anger was material. But then again, we could say that his brother was a citizen.
Not just his brother, but he was a citizen. And if a citizen is killed unnecessarily, the king has to act as a protector. So, he was doing his duty.
And that he has seen the Lord, so how can he be subject to mental emotions? So again, the different Acharyas have different perspectives. So, Shri Ramapada has one perspective over there that actually mental world is so contaminated that even somebody who has seen the Lord can become overcome by anger. But, the seeing the Lord never goes away.
Because then what happens? He comes back to earth. As soon as he gets instructed, he comes back to earth. And seeing that, actually, Kubera becomes very pleased.
Because Yaksha is Kubera’s servant. And Kubera has risen to become angry and Yaksha has got killed. But seeing that, just on the instruction by Ramanu, Ramanu immediately becomes calm, and quiet.
Kubera becomes pleased with him. And Kubera comes and blesses him. He has all blessings from Ramanu.
So, then Ramanu asks him, the same blessing that he had asked from the Lord, please bless me with the solution of my problems. So, the point is, that even if sometimes a devotee comes to mental emotions, the potency of the fruit of the Lord in service is, that even if the devotee goes off track, he comes back on track. Any other questions? So, we will just discuss a few more verses.
We have 10 more minutes. This is a nice verse. They are saying, the Lord is asking, why don’t you ask for some other meditations? And they are saying, what meditations can we ask for? So, it’s simple.
परिजाते अन्गिसा लुद्धे सारंग, सारंग is a bee. So, actually if a bee gets a Parijat flower, a bee wants to drink nectar. And normally a flower has nectar in it, as long as it is fragrant, as long as it is fresh.
Afterwards it becomes dried. But Parijat has a characteristic that, it is constantly fragrant. So, if a bee is fortunate enough, to get a flower that stays fragrant forever, then what will happen? अन्ग्यत्मसेवते That flower that, we do not go to any other flower.
So, similarly they are saying, करंग्रि मूलमा साध्य Angri is lotus feet. पंग्रजांग्रि is lotus feet. करंग्रि मूलमा साध्य After you have tasted your lotus feet, साक्षाजि, directly you are in front of us.
किम किम किम किम किम किम किम Other things are there for us to ask for. So, it says, they are emphasizing that, we don’t want anything else. So, actually this is, a devotee’s desire, that all that I want is just to keep serving you.
I don’t want anything apart from yourself. We have नाहुदराश्टमू So, what is the verse? किम अन्दे अलं लक्षलामे वरंदेव मूख्षण मूख्षाव दिवा जानन्तुनेहर्वरेशादविया इदम्देव पुर्णादवो अन्दवान सदाने मनस्यावियाश्टम् किम अन्दे किम अन्दे Let this form be manifest in my heart. What other form of practice can I ask for? So, now in our level of practice, we, because we are serving Krishna in the material world, we often feel the need for a lot of things for our service to be successful.
Okay, if I am doing a preaching program, I feel that many more people should come to the program. If I am studying scriptures, I feel that I should be able to study much more. Even if I am chanting, I feel that my concentration will be much better.
So, we feel that we need many things. Now, I gave three examples. Those three are of different degrees.
First is that, it’s most external. I want more people to come for the program. Second is, I want more intelligence to be able to study.
So, this is more internal, but it is still material. It is related to our material, bodily faculties. Intelligence.
And third is chanting. I want more days to chant. This is transcendental.
So, like that we can have different kinds of desires within our devotional life. So, are these desires pure or are they not pure? In principle, all of them are aspiring to be pure in themselves. But in practice, the same Rupa Goswami who says, अन्या विलाखता शुन्ने He also says, येन केन प्रकारेड़ मनक्रिष्णने वेशे Somehow or the other, we go crazy.
So, in our case, whatever is required for us to be inspired and have a sensation of that. So, yes. We feel that, yes, we are going to build a beautiful temple for Krishna.
Now, there may be some false ego within that also. Okay, I am going to build a temple for Krishna. Of course, that is, the feeling of कर्ताहम is there in, I am the Rupa.
But, anyway, I am going to do a Rupa for Krishna. So, you know, the focus of a devotee, if you see, I will conclude with this point now. Shri Prabhupada uses the word, did I discuss this in my last class, about devotional service, being a compound word with an adjective and a noun? No, no.
So, let’s conclude with this. See, we aspire to do devotional service, but, in devotional service, so, you know, there is an adjective and a noun. So, for example, we say, blue lotus.
So, in blue lotus, the primary attribute is, it is a lotus. It is a lotus. And the secondary attribute is, that it is blue.
So, normally, if you have a compound, which has a noun and an adjective, the noun is primary, the adjective is secondary. Secondary doesn’t mean it is unimportant, but compared to this, the primary is more important than the secondary. So, the way Shri Prabhupada translated, he translated it as devotional service.
So, in devotional service, devotion is the adjective, and service is the noun. That means, the primary thing, at the seeker’s level, is that we should keep doing service. Whether there is a devotional mood or not, we keep doing service.
And if we keep doing the service, then we are also chanting the holy names, we are also hearing classes, we are also studying scriptures, the devotion to the moon will come in action. So, that’s why Shri Prabhupada would often say that, keep the wheels moving. Keep the wheels moving means, just like if a train is there, the train just keeps moving it towards the destination.
So, like that, keep doing service. We wish to only introspect to see our motives. But, okay, if my motive is not there, what will I do? Should I stop devotional service? No, I have to keep doing devotional service and purify my motives.
So, in our devotional service, service is primary, devotion is secondary. Now, by secondary, I don’t mean it is unimportant. All that I mean is that, we may not automatically develop it right now.
So, in devotional service, what is in our control? What is in my control is service, isn’t it? You know, I can come from this class, you can come from this class, all of us can come from our own classes, we can speak or hear the class. How much is your devotional attitude? That will vary from day to day. Some days, the modes will be influencing us so much that, we will just be practically fighting sleep in the class.
Other days, we will be ecstatic by hearing the class, or speaking in the class. That is not in our control. But, what is in our control is service.
And, if we keep doing service systematically, you know, Srila Prabhupada, in the lecture of instruction, when he defines Uttam Adhikari, now, the word Uttam Adhikari is a very confusing word in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, because, in different contexts, it is defined in different perspectives. For example, it is described from the Prema Perspective, in some places, it is described from the Shraddha Perspective, in other places. But, let’s focus on what Srila Prabhupada defines, gives as the definition, in Upadesa.
He says, who is the Uttam Adhikari? You know that there is a shloka, of Krishna Madhyamukta, offer obeisance with folded hands, bow down and serve. So, there he says, one who chants this shloka attentively, one who follows the four elements, goes to the tree, and one who is constantly thinking of spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world. I also do all this.
So, am I Uttam Adhikari? Well, Srila Prabhupada is going to give us a journey, where you will understand what Uttam Adhikari is. But, actually speaking, Srila Prabhupada is emphasizing that, we can’t know another person’s heart. And, actually speaking, we can’t even control our own heart.
But, we can control our external actions. And, if externally, we stay committed to the process of emotional service, by at least doing service, the devotion will gradually develop. The devotion will gradually develop.
And, that’s why, at our level, we do try to introspect. But, the primary focus is, keep doing service, keep doing service. Srila Prabhupada writes in the end of the instruction that, devotional service is not sentimental speculation or imaginary ecstasy.
Its substance is practical service. It’s a very sutra-like statement. So, sometimes, we actually don’t So, yes, our consciousness is important.
But, from a practical point of view, it is our service that is important. Its substance is Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginary ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity.
Srila Prabhupada is quoting it in the purport of verse 3. It’s not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginary ecstasy. So, don’t bother too much about the consciousness right now. That doesn’t mean, actually, if you are giving, if you are chanting, if you are studying, consciousness will be taken care of.
But, you also have to have the vigor to keep doing services. And then, what happens? By the practical activity of devotional service, we will stay connected with Krishna. And gradually, that connection will infuse a devotion into our hearts.
So, is there any last question? Thank you very much. Thank you very much.