Radhanath Swami: We are reading from Srimad Bhagavatam cant 8, chanpter 16, entitled the “Executing the Payo-vrata Process of Worship” text 24.
The scene of this event takes place in the higher planets, where there is facility for heavenly enjoyment, unimaginable to the people of this earthly planet. But yet we find, even in this high abode there is suffering
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
punar āvartino ’rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate
Bhagavad-Gita 8.16
In the highest planet of this material world, even Brahmaloka down to the lowest planet patal loka and everything in between. There all places but the essential basis is suffering. But one who attains My abode, never has to take birth again in this material existence.
Yes there are forms of enjoyment in this earthly planet. People are mad after enjoyment, specially in cities like Mumbai, where whatever technological scientific advancement human society makes, they try to create more and more facilities for enjoyment. But because “punaù punaç carvita-carvaëänäm” what ever enjoyment it is, whatever form it may take, it is all according to Prahalad Maharaja like chewing the chewed because in every species of life, we are enjoying different types of sensory pleasures, primarily through eating, sleeping, mating, defending, and nothing new about it. But because it does not satisfy the heart and we do not know where else to look, we have to try to create new ways of doing the same old chewing the chewed. Acaryas explained that this chewing the chewed process like somebody chews on the sugar cane and throws the pulp out. The juice is gone and somebody there will pick up it again to try to get some more juice. What is this? All these ways are just different styles of chewing the same pulp.
You see here in Mumbai with all the Bollywood and the clubs and the cricket teams, it is not enough to have international cricket team. Now you have to have competition with national cricket teams, local cricket teams. It is not enough just to have a nice restaurant. Now you need an all source of decorations and better menus, better films, better cars, better cloths. It is the same pulp. It is just different methods of chewing it. That’s all. It is different methods of chewing and sometimes putting some colors in it. Because we are so desperate for pleasure and we become so attached to whatever gives us sense of pleasure. So yes, there is.
So there is pleasure in this world. But the problem is all built upon the foundation of suffering. Therefore whatever pleasures there are, are infused with this type of suffering. “duùkhälayam açäçvatam”. Krishna is the creator. He knows how everything works. He knows why everything works. He explains because everything is temporary. The seed of suffering is within all pleasures of this world. The more you enjoy something the more that seed takes root in your heart. The deeper the roots of the seed of suffering go the more you suffer. If there is no enjoyment in this world, there would not be so much suffering. Because suffering really is the frustration of our attempts to enjoy. But we cannot control, whoever we may be.
The scene of this incident is in the heavenly planets. Aditi, she is not just an ordinary person. She is the mother of the devas, Indra, Vayu, Agni, Surya. She is the presiding mother of the demigods. What an exalting position she has. But yet, she is suffering so much. Why is she suffering? Because she is the mother and she sees that all of her children are suffering. Although the demigods are devotees still most of them are karmamishra bhakti. That means they are serving Krishna by utilizing their talents but they are very much attached to most of them to enjoying at the same time. They have material desires. But the nature of this world whoever we are, wherever we are sufferings come in one form or another. Here we find that the devas lost everything. They lost their prestige; they lost their service to Krishna, at least their external foremost service. They lost of all their wealth and property. They are living like fugitives in disguising themselves and hiding from their enemies the asuras, who over power them. Seeing the situation Aditi is so filled with anxiety and nothing could compensate.
So Kasyapa sees her condition. She aks, “What’s wrong?” He presents the various reasons, why people usually become full of anxiety. Did you not receive a guest properly? Did you not follow practice the principles of morality artha, kama, dama, and mokshya? There were so many questions. Aditi says, “Actually I have done everything ritht”. Aditi made no mistake like this. The reason is I am in so much anxiety is because our sons are suffering. They have lost everything. You are such a great prajapati, such a powerful personality. She is begging with such a sincere heart. She ask, “Tell me the regulative principles by which I may worship the supreme master of the world. So that the lord will be pleased with me and fulfill all my desires. “O best of the brähmaëas, kindly instruct me in the perfect method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service, by which the Lord may very soon be pleased with me and save me, along with my sons, from this most dangerous condition”.
She is approaching her husband as her guru. Here we find in many places, approaching a guru is not a fashion, not a superstition, not just social custom. We are really receptive to receiving the mercy of the guru. When we approach in the sense of sincere desperation, the desperation by which we are not only hungry, we are starving for the shelter of the love. It is not a matter of just gaining some academic knowledge that we can show to others. It is not just a matter of feeling some security that now I am connected. “ye yathä mäà prapadyante täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham”. Krishna reveals Himself through the guru, vaisnavas and according to how we approach or sense of need Krishna reveals Himself. According to the sense of urgency, we can receive the gifts of the spiritual master.
So Aditi is approaching. It is the material desire that she has more or less within this realm of material existence that her sons are suffering, therefore she was suffering. She was suffering so badly. Emotional suffering can inflict us with pain often more than any physical suffering has the ability to do. Aditi was in perfect health. She has no disease and where she is from, she never had a disease and she will never get a disease. Physically everything was fine for her. But how she was suffering? Because of material emotional attachment. Because she was identifying her body and identifying her children as her own. But she is seeking serious shelter, its urgent.
Parikshita maharaja did not approach Sukadeva Goswami as a formality. He had seven days to live. He wanted to attain the perfection of life. He was not concerned that he was going to die in seven days. He was concerned that in that seven days, he would know Krishna. He was in desperate. He was not falling asleep during Sukadeva Goswami’s Srimad Bhagavatam class. His mind was not wandering to what is going to in the next week. He was not thinking about the pasts. He was fully engrossed in the present moment hearing from Sukadeva Goswami. That is the consciousness we shold have like Arjuna.
Bhagavad-Gita was reveal to the world that at the time of the greatest desperation in Arjuna’s entire life. “kärpaëya-doñopahata-svabhävaù” we see in Mahabharata, Arjuna went through a lot. He lost his kingdom with Yudhisthira Maharaja. He saw the disgrace of his wife Draupadi. There were so many problems but did it say that he was weeping and he was fail white and he dropped his Gandiva bow and his mouth was dry and he was fully bewildered. He was really in anxiety and the anxiety he never had in his entire life and he went through a lot. It was an emotional anxiety. It is the nature of this world to puts us in perplexing situations, no matter what we do, no matter how good we are or bad we are. It is not being pious means, you will be happy. It means being pious, you will find some happiness in a world that is full of complexities. It was in that state that he begged Krishna. He did not just inquire. He was begging Krishna, “Please save me. I need your shelter. I have been your friend all these year. We had friendly talks. Now, no more friendly talks. You are my guru, I am your disciple. Please save me. I cannot tolerate this”. He was burning in the fire of anguish internally. That was his state of mind. When he was listening to Bhagavad-Gita.
The question is how to become like this. The association of devotees, sadhu sangam, who are striving for this state of consciousness, is all important. But also the reversal should come in life, Krishna only allows them to touch His devotees because that’s what devotees need. Although it is inconceivable. It may be our karma, if some reversals or some sufferings may come. But a devotee who is trying to take the shelter of the lord, who is taking shelter of Krishna’s internal potency. Krishna can intervening and takes away that karma. Why does he let is happening? Why does he give something extra by His own mercy? Because all the material stuff in this world is coming and going, Krishna just does not take it all so seriously. From the prospective of Krishna, all these physical things that are happening in the physical world are just a flash in the reality of eternity and he sees each and every one of us as eternal soul, sachidananda, full of knowledge and full of bliss, absolutely beyond of this body and all these things connected to this body. I do not say people say things because the bodies of all the people we love are things. The body is not the person. The soul is the person and nothing can interrupt our relationships with other souls. Nothing can disturb our relationship with our own soul with god except forgetfulness. In that forgetfulness, we identify ourselves and others as things or the bodies. Even the mind is just a mundane thing.
Krishna does not take all these so seriously. So if these things get all mixed up which they are mixed up anyway and soul identifying with it becomes very perturbed. Krishna wants us to be happy. He does not want us to suffer. But He does not want us to be happy in a way that we are just getting the roots of suffering go deeper and deeper in our hearts in the name of happiness because ultimately everything is taken away. That is hard. Krishna wants us to be liberated. Krishna wants us to awaken our love, the ecstasy of the heart. So we have to go through some temporary problems with these things, in order to help us to actually take shelter of the process of bhakti. Not just do it complacently or as a formality or as a rule or regulation. The rules and regulations are there to keep us steady. So we follow the rules and regulations. But it is not just following, its how we follow. It is the spirit.
We are told that to chant the holy names everyday. It is the spirit of how we take shelter. We are told to hear Srimad Bhagavatam everyday. “nañöa-präyeñv abhadreñu nityaà bhägavata-sevayä”. But how we take shelter of Srimad Bhagavatam? Aditi was seriously approaching her husband. So many small talks they have about this and that. Because there was not too much talk because Kasyapa muni was usually on meditating. On rare occasions Aditi would see him when his eyes were open. Otherwise she would see him with his eyes closed in some state of trans.
Kasyapa muni as a great soul, he sees his wife’s condition and in today’s verse he is speaking to her. It is a very beautiful instruction we find. Kasyapa muni simply has no false ego. He is not saying, “I’ll save you my dear wife”. Aditi want a offspring. She wants someone who his going to reclaim the property of her children. Kasyapa said, “When I desired offspring, I placed inquiries before Lord Brahmä and I am not going to give you something original or new. I am not going to give you something that I have created by my artistically brilliant genius. I am not going to tell you something that the world has never seen or heard due to my sublime realizations. I am going to repeat to you, what I heard from Brahma. There is no ego in this. This is parampara.
Our gurudeva Srila Prabhupada, he stress this so much because he understood that the human nature that we love to take credit. We love to be the one. We love to be very original that this analyze I created this and this is my contribution to the universal creation. Humility is, “I am just the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord. I am just repeating the message. When you are feeling you are just repeating the message that is been there that you have received from your guru, it is a humble state. Because in that state you give credit to your guru and his guru and his guru. It is not about me. It is not serving.
Kasyapa Muni wanted to be giving credit of great things, what is his power about of the people of this world today. He is an incredible personality. He is the father of the most of the demigods through and through most of the ausras through Diti. Interestingly before this point he had so many children. He had a huge family with lot of grandchildren. Some of children like Indra, the very very great powerful famous personalities in the side of devotees. But one of his best children was Prahalad, who happened to be born in the demon side, from Diti came Hiranyakashipu and Hiranakshya and the grandson of Kasayapa was Prahalad. So among the demigods were the devotees but his most glorious son was born of the race of demons. It is very interesting. Kasayapa was a very incredible personality. Hiranyakashipu, Hiranakshya were born of a mistake. Diti induced him to come together at very very inauspicious time. But even the greatest benediction came through a mistake. Prahalad by material calculation was a byproduct of a serious mistake. But by the grace of Narada Muni, he transformed the mistake into a greatest benediction to the world. “mahäjano yena gataù sa panthäù” the way to approach the supreme lord to follow in the foot steps of Mahajanas, one of the greatest of all mahajanas was Prahalad. Another greatest Mahajana is Bali maharaja, who is the grand son of Prahalad. So two of the greatest examples of the nine process of devotional service. Prahalad exemplified as smaranama, remembering Krishna constantly. “man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru” Krishna says, “Always think of Me” Prahalad was remembering Krishna 24 hours a day in every situation, whether he was being thrown in fire, he was held under a mountain, under the ocean, or in a pit of snakes they are all venomous. Prahalad had no fear.
Now some of us were walking and all of sudden a snake just pulps out from the side of the road and just slithering in front of us and you see it has a diamond shaped head which indicates his venomous and his tongue is slithering. Then he turns and looks right in your eyes and you are about six inches away. Will you be afraid? We do not have to admitted to all of us but think in your all mind. Yes you have been a devotee for so many years perhaps but why you are afraid. That snake looking at your eyes and slithering his tongue and there is no place for you to go and you are all alone. He bites you and there is no Bhaktivedanta medical and antidrops. You are just alone in the middle of field. But Prahald was thrown in a pit of hundreds and hundreds of snakes, where he landed right on top of them and all their tongues were going slithering. He had no fear. He was not the slightest of fearful. He loved them. He loved the snakes.
Bhaktivinoda had song, “My Lord, if You want to kill me, kill me. I am ready. You want to save, and then what can possibly harm me. I am yours. You could do anything you like to me. I am Your servant in any situation. That is the quality of fearlessness. That was Prahalad. He was realized, he was the eternal soul. Snakes can bite the soul but the soul never dies. Prahalad said, “If I am just remembering You my Lord, I am with You. Nothing else matter”.
Bali maharaja represents atmanivedanam, surrendering everything to the lord. It is very interesting. Two of the examples of the nine processes of devotional service are the byproducts of the mistakes of Kasyapu muni and Adity from the clan of demons, which means “Janma aiswarya shruta shrivih edhamana madah puman” queen Kunti said, “One should not be proud of one’s knowledge, wealth, beauty, or one’s prestigious family”. It is about the free choices, we make. If anyone surrenders to the lord, “sarva-dharmän parityajya” then Krishna gives us shelter, whoever we may be. Gajendra was an elephant. Hanuman was a monkey. Savari was nisada, what is considered as an outcast woman. In Vrindavan there was the Pulinda. One Pulinda woman was selling fruits. She cried out, “Is any one want to buy fruits?” Krishna came running to get some fruits. In those days there was no paper currency. There was the bargaining process. We got real things and we gave real things, it was an exchange of real things.
If you are hungry and you have a hundred crores of rupees, you cannot eat the rupees. So Krishna ran to fruit fender with some grains in His hand and he was enthusiastic and He is the supreme personality of Godhead, how charming and how sweet. He could not keep the grains in his hands. He could keep the sun in orbit for three hundred three hundred eleven trillion years during Brahma’s life. He can keep the sun on the orbit, He can keep the earth on the orbit, and He can keep everything in whole creation, not only in this creation but in unlimited universes. But that same absolute truth as the son of Nanda, He was such a charming little boy that all the grains are falling as He was running. By the time He gets to the fruit fender, there was hardly anything in His hand. He does not know, He just shows. He was smiling. That Pulinda woman, she was so charmed to see Krishna’s beautiful smile, His wonderful form as just the little child. She was not thinking that this is param brahmana the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She was just thinking He is such a beautiful innocent little boy and He wants fruits. So He gave her nothing and she filled his arms with the best of her fruits, all that he could hold and more. He was so happy. Can you imagine that she was filing the fruits on His arms and He was smiling thinking so nice? Then Krishna ran home.
The Fruit fender lady she was thinking so what I did not get anything in return. I made Him happy. She was just remembering that beautiful form and that smile of His pleasure upon her. That was greater wealth in anything that she could have possibly had. Then she turned around and she saw that her basket was full of jewels. According to Jiva Goswami, “It was not that she was become ecstasy because now she was rich with jewels. She left the jewels and what put her in ecstasy. It was the jewel that Krishna placed on her heart, the jewel of love for Him. She did not care about the other stuffs. She had the ultimate perfection of life. So who ever we are, wherever we are coming from, if we just make that choice to give pleasure to Krishna, Krishna gives us the ultimate wealth, the ultimate jewel of Prema or love. The ultimate and the only real aspiration of the heart.
Kasyapu Muni here he is showing what the nature of one who has that love is and what is the nature of one who can give that love? That is someone who has no false ego. Kasyapu Muni, he is saying here that I am simply going to repeat for you the instruction that I heard from Lord Brahma my gurudeva. Now you are saying Srila Prabhupada understood the nature of the human mind at this the desire for prestige even in the spiritual life. You have the tendency to be very unique. You have the tendency to take credit. It is about me.
Here Srila Prabhupada, what did he do? He was 70 years old, he got on that cargo ships, sailed across the two oceans, three continents with nothing established the movement with thousands and thousands of devotees, and hundreds of temples and millions of books with nothing. He was only based on his incredible determination and empowerment of divine love and compassion. But from the beginning to the very end, he always said the same thing. He said, “I am simply repeating what I have heard”. What was his realization, what was his sacrifice, what was his devotion! We can give great credit to him but he never accepted anything for himself. He was just saying, “I am just repeating what I have heard”. He called himself as a postal peon. A peon is a very very menial servant, who is just delivering the message. So here Kasyapu muni is expressing the same spirit for himself, “I am simply going to repeat for you”.
Kasyapa muni in the previous verses, when he heard Atiti’s appeal, his first word was “Alas, just see the power of Krishna’s illusory energy. How it causes the eternal spirit soul which is totally different from his body and mind to identify with his body and mind and to identify and develop such a attachments to the things of this world. This was his first words,
dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati
Bhagavad-Gita 8.13
The same first word as Krishna, Kasyapa muni is expressing upon hearing Aditi’s complexities. We are not this body. We are part of Kishna. Our real heritage is something very great. You see the soul is neither born of the – or devas. The soul is part of Krishna. “na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin” it has no birth and death. It is transcendent to everything else. He tells Aditi that no one can save except the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just worship Krishna”. “bhaktyä tv ananyayä çakya aham evaà-vidho ‘rjuna” Krishna said, “Only by undivided devotion that I can be understood as I am”.
Similarly Kasyapa muni is speaking the same principle. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is merciful to the poor, will fulfill all your desires for devotional service onto Him as infallible. Any other method than that devotional service is useless. This is my opinion. There are three type of people, who are aspiring for sarvakarma, mokshya karma or akarma. A person with so many desires for material enjoyment and security is sarvakarma. Then there are those frustrated by those processes who desire mokshya or liberation enters into the unlimited peace of brahmana, then there is akarma, people who actually have no desires at all, that is the devotees. They want nothing for themselves, they only want serve. This desire for service is the purest highest state of spiritual revolution. Desire in selfish things in this world implicates us in the three modes of nature in the laws of Karma. Desire for liberation from the vaisnava prospective, it is about me. I do not want suffer anymore. So it is not considered pure. But the desire to sever unconditional, unmotivating service that desire is absolutely pure and that is to be considered desireless. To be without desire because it is without any selfish desire for anything for oneself, unless we come to that state, we cannot enter into the spiritual world of Vaikuntha. “paraà dåñövä nivartate”. When we experience that higher taste of being attracted to Krishna, like that fruit fender. She just became so attached to Krishna. Her only goal in life was just to make Him smile, by giving Him everything she had for necessary. That is desireless.
When Krishna captures our heart that could be no selfish ego. When Krishna captures our heart forever, we simply want to make Him smile. That is love. That is the love of the soul, to give Krishna happiness. Krishna’s love for us is unlimited. He is asking us to accept it, to receive it through our service attitude. Then Krishna fills us with His love.
In this purport today, you read “How Krishna has given His method of how to approach”. Because Aditi is explaining in previous verses, why she is approaching Kasyapa. She understood, she has to get the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She says the supreme lord is equal to everyone. Where there are devas, the daitayas, or anyone else, “aham bija pradah pita” he is the seed giving father, mother for every living being. He is equal to everyone. But still she says, “Those who are his devotees, those who surrendered everything to Him, are very special and dear to Him. Krishna gives Hiself through those devotees, who are dear to Him. That is His method of giving the highest liberation to this world.
‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya
Even one moments of association with the pure hearted saddhus can open the doors of the highest perfection in life. Therefore there is nothing more valuable in all of existence than the association of devotees, greater than the elevation to the heavenly planets, greater than treasures, greater than the achievement of the eight mystic siddhis, where we can perform incomparable miracles, greater than liberation from all material sufferings. It is a moment of association with the devotees. Because in that association we can connect to Krishna. Srila Prabhupada is explaining that the holy name is none different than Krishna but unless we receive it from the pure hearted devotees in parampara, then even the mantra and the name has minimal affects. Because Krishna impregnates His potency in the name especially, when it is receive by those who are most dear to Him. That is simply the way Krishna gives Himself, the sublime truth is being manifested here.
We will read that in the future verses, “How Aditi will be performing some serious austerities”? She learns the process through Kasyapa one who was so dear to the lord. By following his instructions, it is not that he was just touched her head and she saw Krishna. She had to go through some tapasya. She had to go through some hardship and remain faithful to his instructions. Through that Bamana Deva was born to her. Similarly, when we simply humbly receive the message with this eager the sense of urgency in our life, Krishna will also be born within our heart He will appear. So the inconceivable problems, reversals, complexities, anxieties, miseries of this world, through the path of Bhakti we can transform them into the very means by which we sincerely take shelter of the lord. But in this association of devotees, by hearing regularly we maintain our perspective of whatever we are passing through is just a flash in the eyes of eternity. These material things called bodies and things relationship to the bodies. These are just going through all the stuffs. Underlying it all, it is the eternal soul, myself and others. But the reversals of the things are actually the opportunity which could impel us, to sincerely with all humility take shelter. False ego is so deep and so great to really take shelter we have to be genuinely humble. To be genuinely humble we have to really feel our self helpless without the mercy of Krishna that is coming through guru and vaisnavas. That is real humility. We are helpless without that mercy. That is what Kasyapa muni is teaching us in this verse today and this is the spirit that we have the opportunity to urgently, desperately, feelingly, eventually, lovingly cry out very loudly the holy name. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. In the mood of Gajendra in the teeth of crocodiles let us chant one more time. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. When we go beyond that crocodile then we can chant in the mode of gopas and gopis, not just in desperation due to material anguish but it is an offering. The material anguish brings us to the point of taking full shelter and humility and from that point we can chant even millions of time more enthusiastic as an expression of pure love. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
I noted that we are louder, when we are in the crocodile’s teeth rather than we are chanting with pure love.
Anandavrindavan Prabhu: Hare Krishna maharaja. If a devotee in the beginning source, little bit seriousness in Krishna Consciousness and takes the commitment that I’ll follow Krishna Consciousness for the whole life time and that he takes in vow of initiation. He follows four regulative principles, chant 16 rounds for the whole life time. But even if he follows those all regulative principles and 16 rounds, still that desperation does not come in his heart. That seriousness, that urgency does not come. “I want Krishna at any cost and I want to finish my business in this life time itself”. That seriousness is not come. But he is following all regulative principles. He chanted 16 rounds. He is maintain his devotional life. Then what is the destination of that devotee, when he leaves his body?
Radhanath Swami: The destination
nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti
pratyavāyo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trāyate mahato bhayāt
Bhagavad-Gita 2.40
We take up from where we left up in our previous life. So what is important? It is that we earn for, we long for that sense of urgency. We cultivate it, in our saddhana, in our prayers. When we seek out the association of people who inspire that sense of urgency. If we do not have the desire, we pray and earn for that desire. That is our free will. That is our choice. We have that power. But it is inspired and nourished the association of those who have it. When those who are striving for it.
Association is not a material interaction. It is divine grace. It is mercy that is being transferred because for those who love god and those who are aspiring to love god, god is manifesting Himself to us through their hearts, through their gestures, through their words, through their prayers. To the degree we are receptive by our humble service attitude that Krishna’s love manifest to us through them. So we may not have much of desire now, we may just be following some principles and doing the rules according to what we are taught but that real spirit of urgency, hunger for Krishna, and needs for Krishna. It comes through various ways. But the principal way is the association. When we hear from the mouths of people who have that urgency about these things, something divine is taking place and it awakens within our heart. And also the tribulations of this world in association of devotees, we learn how to transform the tribulations of this world to be opportunities to really cry out for Krishna’s shelter in a humble state of mind.
If that’s what we want, that is what will be given. When Krishna show, “yasyäham anugåhëämi hariñye tad-dhanaà çanaiù”. Krishna gives us mercy, He may give you whatever you want. Or when He shows His great mercy, He may put you in a perplex situations and even take away. What you wanted? So that you realized that actually no one to turn to accept god except Vrajendranandan, the son of the king of Vraja, Krishna.
Today is the appearance day of Sripad Vallabhacarya, he has given us the glorious mantra “Sri Krishna saranamam”. Which is the very essence of all knowledge. The conclusion of all Vedas “vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedänta-kåd veda-vid eva cäham”. Krishna made the Vedas. He wrote through the Vyasadeva, He wrote them. He is the one who spoke to Brahma the beginning of creation with all knowledge. So Krishna is the source of all knowledge. He is the author of all the Vedas. He is the knower of all Vedas. By all the Vedas only He is to be the known. So the essence, the conclusion, the goal of the dissect schools of philosophy,
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
Bhagavad-Gita 18.66
To surrender to Krishna. “Sri Krishna saranamam”.
In essence that means “vyavasäyätmikä buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana” to be fixed in our resolute purpose that Krishna is my only shelter. Not my mother, not my father, not my children, not the Indian government, or the American government, not even my doctor, not even my psychiatric. My only shelter is Krishna. “Sri Krishna Saranamam”. We have to be convinced of this that Krishna is our only shelter. But Krishna gives us shelter through his devotees, through those he love him, through those who have surrendered everything to him and through those who are aspiring to do so. Without the association of devotees are chanting god’s name will be not much more than rituals.
I am reading of Srimad Bhagavatam will be not much more than a ritual but the association of sincere devotees with the service attitude, Krishna manifest some divine transformation. Krishna manifests, His grace through that environment and then the chanting of god’s names and the reading of Srimad Bhagavatam and then darshan of deities in the temple or in our home. Then it is no longer just to ritual. In that association, if we have a service attitude, then we can actually see the Bhagavat, the murti, the holy name, and the vaisnavas, we see that Krishna is giving His shelter there. Sri Krishna Saranamam. It is our only shelter. The holy name, Srimad Bhagavatam, the deity in the temple, and the vaisnavas. “hari guru vaiñëaba bhägavata gétä”. That is what we find Krishna is our only shelter. Then Krishna reveals Himself. When he reveals Himself, He reveals His divine associates in the whole spiritual world of Goloka. If we can simply one time chant the holy names in that spirit. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
Thank you, very much.
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