Getting Closer To Lord Krishna

The Spiritual Science Of Creation - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 07:43:00 +0000

The cause of the creation is called the mahat-tattva, or total material energy, and its effect is the creation itself. But neither cause nor effect existed in the beginning; they emanated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as did the energy of time. The source of birth of the cosmic manifestation, or mahat-tattva, is the Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed throughout Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.8) the Lord says, "I am the fountainhead of all emanations." The material cosmos, being temporary, is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest, but its energy emanates from the Supreme Absolute Lord. Before the creation there was neither cause nor effect, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead existed with His full opulence and energy.

"The two kinds of senses are the ten external senses and the one internal sense, the mind. Thus there are eleven senses. According to Kapila, material nature is eternal and all-powerful. Originally there is no spirit, and matter has no cause. Matter itself is the chief cause of everything. It is the all-pervading cause of all causes. The Sankhya philosophy regards the total energy (mahat-tattva), the false ego and the five objects of sense perception as the seven diverse manifestations of material nature, which has two features, known as the material cause and efficient cause. The puruṣha, the enjoyer, is without transformation, whereas material nature is always subject to transformation. But although material nature is inert, it is the cause of enjoyment and salvation for many living creatures. Its activities are beyond the conception of sense perception, but still one may guess at them by superior intelligence. Material nature is one, but because of the interaction of the three qualities, it can produce the total energy and the wonderful cosmic manifestation. Such transformations divide material nature into two features, namely the efficient and material causes. The puruṣha, the enjoyer, is inactive and without material qualities, although at the same time He is the master, existing separately in each and every body as the emblem of knowledge."

Everything is resting under the lotus feet of Krishna

Under the lotus feet of Shri Krishna, the entire mahat-tattva is existing. Since everything is under Shri Krishna's protection, Shri Krishna is called asraya-tattva. Everything else is called asrita-tattva. The material creation is also called asrita-tattva. Liberation from material bondage and the attainment of the spiritual platform are also asrita-tattva. Krishna is the only asraya-tattva. In the beginning of the creation there are Maha-Viṣhṇu, Garbhodakasayi Viṣhṇu and Kṣirodakasayi Viṣhṇu. They are also asraya-tattva. Krishna is the cause of all causes (sarva-karaṇa-karaṇam). To understand Krishna perfectly, one has to make an analytical study of asraya-tattva and asrita-tattva.

Material nature acts in two capacities as maya and pradhana. Maya is the direct cause, and pradhana refers to the elements of the material manifestation. When the first puruṣha-avatara, Maha-Viṣhṇu, glances over the material nature, material nature becomes agitated, and the puruṣha-avatara thus impregnates matter with living entities. Simply by the glance of the Maha Vishnu, consciousness is created, and this consciousness is known as mahat-tattva, the predominating Deity of the mahat-tattva is Vasudeva. This created consciousness is then divided into three departmental activities according to the three guṇas, or modes of material nature.

After many millions of years, when Lord Brahma comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva then enters, by the force of time, into the non-manifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhana, and the pradhana enters into You. Therefore, after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, you alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, qualities and paraphernalia.

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakṛuti, or the energy of the Lord in His different puruṣha incarnations (expansions).

"For material creation, Lord Krishna's plenary expansion assumes three Viṣhṇus. The first one, Maha Vishnu, creates the total material energy, known as the mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣhṇu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Kṣirodakasayi Viṣhṇu, is diffused as the all-pervading Super soul in all the universes and is known as Paramatma. He is present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Viṣhṇus can be liberated from material entanglement."

This material world is the manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This has already been explained several times. At the creation, the material energy is let loose as the mahat-tattva, into which the Lord as His first Purusha incarnation, Maha Vishnu, enters. He lies within the Causal Ocean and breathes out innumerable universes, and into each universe the Lord again enters as Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. Each universe is in that way created. He still further manifests Himself as Kṣirodakasayi Viṣhṇu, and that Vihṣṇu enters into everything—even into the minute atom. This fact is explained here. He enters into everything.

The Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the source of light in all luminous objects like the sun, moon and stars. In the Vedic literature we find that in the spiritual kingdom there is no need of sun or moon, because the effulgence of the Supreme Lord is there. In the material world that brahmajyoti, the Lord's spiritual effulgence, is covered by the mahat-tattva, the material elements; therefore, in this material world we require the assistance of sun, moon, electricity, etc., for light. But in the spiritual world there is no need of such things. It is clearly stated in the Vedic literature that because of His luminous effulgence, everything is illuminated. It is clear, therefore, that His situation is not in the material world. He is situated in the spiritual world, which is far, far away in the spiritual sky. That is also confirmed in the Vedic literature. He is just like the sun, eternally luminous, but He is far, far beyond the darkness of this material world.

The living beings are predominated enjoyers. But the eternally conditioned souls, forgetful of this constitutional position, have strong aspirations to enjoy. The chance to enjoy matter is given to the conditioned souls in the material world, and side by side they are given the chance to understand their real constitutional position. Those fortunate living entities who catch the truth and surrender unto the lotus feet of Vasudeva after many, many births in the material world join the eternally liberated souls and thus are allowed to enter into the kingdom of Godhead. After this, such fortunate living entities need not come again within the occasional material creation. But those who cannot catch the constitutional truth are again merged into the mahat-tattva at the time of the annihilation of the material creation. When the creation is again set up, this mahat-tattva is again let loose

Will continue discussing on the power of creation

Namasivayam.C

Brahma's Four Heads And The Universe

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:53:00 +0000

Once, when Krishna was ruling Dvaraka, Lord Brahma came to see Him, and the doorman immediately informed Lord Krishna of Brahma’s arrival. When Krishna was so informed, He immediately asked the doorman, ‘Which Brahma? What is his name?’ The doorman therefore returned and questioned Lord Brahma. When the doorman asked, ‘Which Brahma?’ Lord Brahma was surprised. He told the doorman, ‘Please go inform Lord Krishna that I am the four-headed Brahma who is the father of the four Kumaras.’

The doorman then informed Lord Krishna of Lord Brahma’s description, and Lord Krishna gave him permission to enter. The doorman escorted Lord Brahma in, and as soon as Brahma saw Lord Krishna, he offered obeisance at His lotus feet. After being worshiped by Lord Brahma, Lord Krishna also honored him with suitable words. Then Lord Krishna asked him, ‘Why have you come here?’ Being questioned, Lord Brahma immediately replied, ‘Later I shall tell You why I have come. First of all, there is a doubt in my mind which I wish You would kindly dissipate.

Why did you inquire which Brahma had come to see You? What is the purpose of such an inquiry? Is there any other Brahma besides me within this universe?’ Upon hearing this, Krishna smiled and immediately meditated. Unlimited Brahmas arrived instantly. These Brahmas had different numbers of heads. Some had ten heads, some twenty, some a hundred, some a thousand, some ten thousand, some a hundred thousand, some ten million and others a hundred million. No one can count the number of faces they had.

There also arrived many Lord Siva’s with various heads numbering one hundred thousand and ten million. Many Indra’s also arrived, and they had hundreds of thousands of eyes all over their bodies. When the four-headed Brahma of this universe saw all this opulence of Krishna, he became very much bewildered and considered himself a rabbit among many elephants. All the Brahmas who came to see Krishna offered their respects at His lotus feet, and when they did this, their helmets touched His lotus feet. No one can estimate the inconceivable potency of Krishna. All the Brahmas who were there were resting in the one body of Krishna.

When all the helmets struck together at Krishna’s lotus feet, there was a tumultuous sound. It appeared that the helmets themselves were offering prayers unto Krishna’s lotus feet. With folded hands, all the Brahmas and Sivas began to offer prayers unto Lord Krishna, saying, ‘O Lord, You have shown me a great favor. I have been able to see Your lotus feet.’ All of them then said, ‘It is my great fortune, Lord, that You have called me, thinking of me as Your servant. Now let me know what Your order is so that I may carry it on my heads.’

Lord Krishna replied, ‘Since I wanted to see all of you together, I have called all of you here. All of you should be happy. Is there any fear from the demons?’ Whatever burden was upon the earth You have taken away by descending to that planet.’ This is the proof of Dwaraka’s opulence: all the Brahmas thought, ‘Krishna is now staying in my jurisdiction.’ Thus, the opulence of Dvaraka was perceived by each and every one of them. Although they were all assembled together, no one could see anyone but himself.

Lord Krishna then bade farewell to all the Brahmas there, and after offering their obeisance, they all returned to their respective homes. After observing all these opulences, the four-headed Brahma of this universe was astonished. He again came before the lotus feet of Krishna and offered Him obeisance. Brahma then said, ‘Whatever I formerly decided about my knowledge I have just now had personally verified. There are people who say, I know everything about Krishna. Let them think in that way. As far as I am concerned, I do not wish to speak very much about this matter. O my Lord, let me say this much. As far as Your opulences are concerned, they are all beyond the reach of my mind, body and words.’

Krishna said, ‘Your particular universe has a diameter of four billion miles; therefore, it is the smallest of all the universes. Consequently, you have only four heads. Some of the universes are one billion yojanas in diameter, some one trillion, some ten trillion and some one hundred trillion yojanas. Thus, they are almost unlimited in area. According to the size of the universe, there are so many heads on the body of Brahma. In this way I maintain innumerable universes [Brahmaṇḍas].

Extracted from ISKCON

Namasivayam.C

Spiritual awakening - How does it feel like?

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 15:37:00 +0000

Spiritual awakening feels like eternity, knowledge and bliss.

Spiritual awakening begins when one becomes aware of one’s spiritual self, beyond the body and mind. As long as one identifies with the body and its culture, there is no question of spiritual. Now a days there are so many misunderstandings of what it means to be spiritual. Belief in God, people who are interested in tarot cards, or natural herbs, crystal healing, etc. in fact, anything alternative to mainstream culture, it is considered spiritual.

But nothing that relates to the body or the mind is spiritual. Only that which relates to the spiritual self and God is spiritual, in the true sense of the world. Spiritual refers to consciousness. Spiritual doesn’t refer to what we are conscious of, it refers to consciousness itself. The soul is a minute particle of God’s consciousness. In the material world the only thing spiritual is our real selves, the spiritual soul.

So what is the soul? The Vedic version tells us that God is made of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, which means the soul is a minute particle of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

Brahma ji says:

Krishna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes. And it makes perfect sense that eternity, knowledge and bliss is the substance of God. We can test it on ourselves. As souls, ie. atomic fragments of God, we consist of the same spiritual substance as God, and this fact should be somehow measurable.

It's like, by examining one drop of the ocean one gets an understanding of the entire ocean. The very fact that all living entities instinctively gravitate towards these three factors, indicates that this is our natural state. All living entities seek eternity, knowledge, and bliss. We all have the distinct experience that these three are the prime moving factors of our core existence. We are all pleasure seeking. We all try to learn something. And we all try to preserve our being. Some people say - I don't seek eternity. It must become boring in eternity. But we all seek eternity in the sense that we try to preserve our being. The survival instinct together with the mating instinct are the strongest instincts in all living entities.

Besides, boredom is a factor of material existence, as souls on the spiritual plane we will never get bored playing with Krishna. Who would not want to be eternally young and blissful? Does anyone want his or her happiness to end, because it's just so boring being happy? The only reason one would want his existence to end, is if it's miserable. In reality we are happy all the time. Who wants bliss to end? Who sits in a real happy frame of mind, and thinks - gee, I wish this happiness would end... nobody does that? Thus, it is a direct observable fact that all living entities gravitate towards eternity, knowledge and bliss, exactly as predicted in the Vedic version.

By connecting with our real identities as souls we become re-situated in God's substance of eternity, knowledge and bliss. By connecting with our real selves, we connect with eternity, knowledge and bliss. The method to do so is to invoke the name of God and petition Him. This is done in this age by chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra. If we want to know what spiritual awakening feels like, we must focus our consciousness on God’s names. It is the only means against evil in this age.

Hare Kṛishna

Namasivayam.C

Ps: The above article is written in my understanding of the purports given by Srila Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (A great Spiritual Teacher and Founder Acharya ISKCON)

For more derived original article based on Bhagavadgita please refer below

The Thoughts Of Lord Krishna

Youtube Channel

HOW TO PLUCK & USE TULASI LEAVES FOR OFFERINGS TO KRISHNA?

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:28:00 +0000

One should be clean before touching or plucking Tulasi. The Vayu Purana says that one who picks Tulasi without having bathed and then performs worship is an offender, and all his activities becomes useless. With your right hand, carefully pick the tulasi leaves or soft tulasi-manjaris, along with their stems-one at a time-while repeatedly chanting the tulasi-cayana-mantra:

tulasy amṛta-janmāsi / sadā tvaṁ keśava-priyā

keśavārthaṁ cinomi tvāṁ varadā bhava śobhane

"O Tulasi of effulgent beauty, you were born from nectar, during the churning of the milk ocean. You are always very dear to Lord Kesava. Now, in order to worship Lord Kesava, I am collecting your leaves and manjaris. Please bestow your benediction on me that my worship will obtain success."

Take special care to avoid causing Srimati Tulasi-devi any pain. If when picking Tulasi leaves one breaks the branches, Vishnu feels pain in His heart. Pluck her leaves with your right hand while holding the branch in your left, taking care not to break it. Do not use scissors or a knife to cut the leaves from the plant. When finished, recite the kshama-prarthana-mantra, begging her pardon:

cayanodbhava-duḥkhaṁ ca / yad hṛdi tava vartate

tat kṣamasva jagan-mātaḥ / vṛndā-devī namo ’stu te

O Tulasi-devi, I offer my respectful obeisance’s unto you. Kindly forgive me if I have caused you pain by picking your leaves and manjaris, O mother of the universe.

Do not pluck Tulasi leaves in the morning before daylight or in the evening after dark, nor at any time on Dvadasi-tithi, the day following Ekadasi. Even if the tulasi leaves have become dry because they were cut on the previous day or in the morning, they may still be used in Deity worship.

PLUCKING TULASI LEAVES ON DWADASI

Tulasi should not be plucked on dvadasi. The Visnu Dharmottara says, Vaisnavas should never pick Tulasi on dvadasi tithi.

samkranty Adau ni Siddho'pi tulasyavacayah smrtau

param zrI viznu bhaktastu dvadazyam eva nesyate

"It is generally forbidden to pluck Tulasi on Sankranti, (Purnima, Amavasya, Dvadashi, Sunday) etc., according to the strict rules of the Smritis, but the most important rule (according to Shrila Sanatana Goswami) which the Vaishnava devotees should certainly follow is to not pluck Tulasi leaves on Dvadashi." (From Hari Bhakthi Vilasa 7.353)

nac chindat tulasim vipra

dvādaśyaṁ vaiṣṇavaḥ kvacit

"Oh brahmanas, a Vaisnava never picks Tulasi leaves on Dvadashi, (the day after Ekadashi)."

Why should we avoid plucking Tulasi leaves on Dvadasi?

Srimati Tulsi Maharani, the pure devotee of the Lord, keeps fasting on the whole Ekadashi and takes rest on Dwadashi. So the devotee in order to not to disturb or hurt her, don't pluck leaves on that day.

Then what to do to get the Tulasi leaves for offering on Dwadashi and other purposes?

Follow advance savings. Keep some advance Tulsi leaves for Dwadashi for offering purposes. Or , one may pick the leaves fallen on the ground around the pot and then after thoroughly washing it, can use it for offering.

Mantra when offering Tulasī leaves to Lord Kṛṣṇa

etat tulasī patram klīṁ kṛṣṇāya namaḥ.

Hare Krishna

Namasivayam.C

The Thoughts Of Lord Krishna

The Cycle Of Four Yugas

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:10:00 +0000

There are 432,000 human years in the length of kali yuga.

One Chatur-yuga (maha-yuga) is 4 yugas that are 4 million 320 thousand human years in length.

A Chatur-yuga (maha-yuga) is made up of

Satya-yuga ,

Treta-yuga ,

Dwapara-yuga,

Kali-yuga.

It is said that one half of Brahma’s life has already passed. We are living in the first day (the Varaha Kalpa) of Brahma’s second fifty-year period. The current year would thus be the year 5,123 of the Kali Yuga. Another 426,878 years are left to complete this 28th Kali Yuga of Vaivaswatha Manvantara. The duration of the material universe is limited.

It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. There are two kalpas in a 24 hour day of Brahmā, one kalpa for day, one kalpa for night. One day of Brahmā consists of a one thousand cycles of the four yugas (called a Chatur-yuga or Maha-yuga),

Satya Yuga,

Treta Yuga,

Dvapara Yuga,

Kali Yuga.

These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, there are no Maha-yugas in Brahma's night when he sleeps and a partial annihilation takes place. Brahma lives for one hundred of his years which is 311 trillion 40 billion human years and then he dies. The universe remains dormant and inactive for another 311 trillion 40 billions years until a new Brahma is born. By these calculations the life of Brahmā seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash.

In the Causal Ocean there are trillions of Brahmas rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahmā and his creation are all part of the temporary decaying material universes and therefore they are in constant flux."

The above calculation is clearly discussed in detail in Bhagavadgita in the 8th chapter.

See You

Namasivayam.C

Is Yoga Necessary For This Life - Attain Self Realisation Without Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:06:00 +0000

When we mention yoga nowadays it usually conjures up images of various postures and breathing techniques, such as are taught in most yoga classes. However, these exercises are actually just the first two stages of an eight step process called Astanga yoga. This process, widely practiced in a former age, is described in the Vedas as a means to achieve self-realisation. But one needs to follow all eight steps in order to be successful, not just the first two.

For example, another step of the astanga process is to lead a regulated and disciplined life. We cannot be successful in yoga if we do not control our senses. Only after attaining sense control is one advised to leave home and go to a solitary place to meditate. Strict celibacy must be observed as one attempts to keep the mind fixed on the object of meditation, usually a form of God residing in the heart known as the Super soul. Once maturity in meditation is achieved, the yogi is able to directly see the Lord and he or she will experience boundless spiritual happiness.

Yet astanga yoga is not recommended for the age in which we live. We lack the necessary training from birth that would enable us to follow the discipline. Strict celibacy and sense control are not very attractive propositions for most of us. Nor do we possess the patience it takes to succeed in this process. We are conditioned by fast food, fast transport, and instant everything. The years of meditation required in astanga yoga would be more or less impossible.

Of course, if one simply wants to get the physical and psychological benefits of yoga, then the postures and exercises may be enough. But if we want to achieve the full benefit-self-realisation and a lasting experience of inner happiness-we need something more.

In this day and age there is another process recommended, known as Bhakti yoga, or the yoga of devotion. This is a simple process possible for anyone-even a child. The first two steps of bhakti yoga are to hear about God from an authorised source, and the second step is to chant his names. Though there are nine different practices in bhakti yoga, these first two practices are sufficient to help us achieve perfection. By this easy process one will awaken transcendental love within the heart. Even without the rigid practices of astanga yoga one will gradually come to the point of self realisation.

Krishna: The Most Attractive Person

Hearing about God should be done from an authorised source. Although many people may present themselves as authorities on God, there is one simple way to ascertain if or not they are actually authorised. Ultimately, only God himself can reveal knowledge of his nature and how he can be attained. Therefore, anyone claiming to be an authority on God must be able to demonstrate a link or connection to Him. The Vedas call this a parampara, or disciplic succession. A teacher must have his teacher, who in turn had his teacher and so on. And the first teacher in the succession has to be God himself, otherwise the knowledge being presented will have no value.

In the Vedic parampara Krishna is the accepted name for God. This Sanskrit name actually means ‘the all attractive person’. Why attractive? Because, the Vedas explain, he possesses every opulence in full. He is the most beautiful, the strongest, the most intelligent, the wisest, wealthiest, and so on. By simply hearing such authorised descriptions of God, our natural attraction for him will be awakened.

Another name for God revealed in the Vedas is Rama. Rama means “the reservoir of all pleasure”. We are all seeking pleasure, so the Vedas direct us to seek pleasure in Rama, the reservoir of all pleasure. When we approach him through an authorised process we begin to experience spiritual ecstasy as our love for him develops.

Chant The Holy Name

In every scripture of the world emphasis is given on the importance of glorifying God’s name. In the Bible it is said: “from the rising of the sun to the setting one should call upon the name of God.” (Psalms 113:3) and, “whoever shall call upon the name of God he shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Muhammed taught, “Glorify the name of your Lord, the most high” (Koran 87.2) Lord Buddha declared that “he who calls upon my name he shall attain paradise”. (Vows od Amidha Buddha 18)

So this calling upon God’s names has tremendous effect in evoking the Lord’s presence and obtaining his benediction.

In the Vedic scriptures we find this same teaching. In the Brhad-naradiya Purana (3.8.126) it is said that in the current age of hypocrisy and quarrel the only practical means of self-realisation is the chanting of God’s holy names.

Chanting God’s names is an essential practice in bhakti yoga because it is the most effective way to awaken the soul’s inner ecstasy. Though God has many names and any of them may be chanted, the Vedas specifically recommend the following mantra: hare krishna hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare, hare rama hare rama, rama rama, hare hare, which is comprised solely of God’s names.

A mantra is a sound vibration which frees the mind from disturbance, enabling us to perceive our true self and our relationship with God. The Vedas explain that God is absolute. In this relative world, we are not the same as our names. But God and his names are absolute and non-different. All of God’s power and potency is present in his names. As we chant them we directly contact the supreme purity of God himself.

By chanting the holy names of God gradually all impurities within our hearts and minds, which block our self-realization, and which are the source of our suffering, are cleansed away. Greed, pride, hatred, fear, envy, mistaking lust for love, and all such things are completely destroyed simply by chanting God’s names. The result is freedom from misery and a sense of deep happiness as we realise our true and eternal nature. Hearing and chanting about God can be successfully practiced by anyone, even a child. Ok now let us hear a story

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber started to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:

“I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.

“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists would there be so many sick people?Would there be abandoned children? If God existed there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things to happen.”

The customer thought for a moment but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop he saw a man in the street with long, straggly, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked very dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:

“You know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber.

“I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” the customer exclaimed.

“Barbers don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Ah, but barbers do exist! What happens is people do not come to me.”

“Exactly!” affirmed the customer.

“That’s the point! God does also exist but people do not look for Him and go to Him for shelter and that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

The goal of human life is to re-awaken our original pure love for God, Krishna. We souls exist to have an intimate loving relationship with Him. We can never be happy by rejecting that relationship and denying our true nature.

The things we do in this world indicate our true, eternal nature. We have to love; it’s unavoidable. Having turned away from Krishna, we try to fulfill our need to love and be loved by searching for ideal relationships in this world. But exchanges of love here are never perfect and cannot last forever.

Awakening pure love for Krishna is perfection. Nothing else will satisfy us. Everything that exists in the material and spiritual worlds is meant to support our relationship with Krishna. Human life is a chance for us to re - establish that relationship. That endeavor should be the focus of our lives.

Because love includes service, pure love for God is called pure devotional service, or Bhakti. The ways to awaken Bhakti are the substance of the practice of Bhakti yoga.

See you

Namasivayam.C

Ps: The above article is written in my understanding of the purports given by Srila Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (A great Spiritual Teacher and Founder Acharya ISKCON)

For original derived articles

Thoughts Of Lord Krishna

Laws of Karma and Freedom from them - The three types Of action which frees us from the karmic cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 09:39:00 +0000

The Vedic literature tells us that we eternal souls transmigrate from one body to another after death, taking our karmic reactions with us. Somebody may ask, "Why should I suffer now for my actions in a previous life? Why the delay?" Every action we perform is like a seed sown. Just as different seeds, such as rice seeds or mango seeds, bear fruits at different rates, so do different karmic seeds. But while we can discard ripe produce if its turns out bad, we can't discard the bad fruit of our karmic seeds. We have to eat/suffer every single karmic fruit we have sown.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita (4.17) that karma works in complex ways difficult to understand. God knows best what reaction has to be given at what time and under what conditions. Therefore, some reactions may come in this lifetime, some in the next, and some in a distant future lifetime. The workings of karma tally with another saying: "The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine." Sooner or later, every single action will be accounted for.

Why are the ignorant not excused?

A citizen who breaks a state traffic law can't claim ignorance of the law as an excuse. A citizen using the roads provided by the state has the duty to learn the state laws. Similarly, because we are living in this world and taking air, water, sunlight, and food from nature, we need to know and follow the rules laid down by God, who gives what we need to live, including the knowledge of how to live. A system of religious and spiritual morality is found in almost every human society, and the onus is on us to take the education and orient our lives accordingly.

Another reason we can't use ignorance as an excuse for breaking God's laws is that we cause our own ignorance because ignorance is the consequence of sin. For example, prisoners may lose access to good counsel and other aids to their betterment if they constantly reject the aids when they are available. Similarly, if we never get to know about the law of karma, then that's because by our actions we have shown God, "I am not interested in knowing about your laws; I don't care. I will do whatever I want."

So, people do wrong because of ignorance, and the wrong reinforces their ignorance, impelling them to further wrongdoings, thus creating a vicious cycle. The most practical and powerful way to break free from this cycle is through the process of devotional service, which the Lord teaches throughout history through his representatives or by descending Himself. To understand how devotional service frees us from the karmic cycle, let's look at the three types of action Krishna talks about in the Bhagavad-gita (4.17): karma, vikarma, and akarma.

Three Types of Action

The word karma has several connotations. It can mean an action, its reaction, or the whole system of action-reaction known as the law of karma.

In a scriptural sense,

karma primarily means actions done in accordance with one's duties prescribed in the revealed scriptures.
Vikarma refers to actions done contrary to the scriptures by the misuse of one's free will. Vikarma takes one down to the lower forms of life. The four main vikarmic activities, as mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.17.38), are intoxication, meat-eating, gambling, and illicit sex. These four lead to severe karmic reactions, which come both in future and in present lives. In this life, illicit sex leads to a variety of diseases; meat-eating leads to heart problems, cancer, and other diseases; gambling causes people to lose their self-control and eventually everything else. Intoxication, which people think is very enjoyable, is actually a ritual of self-torture. What starts with "Cheers!" often leads to tears; under the spell of intoxicants, people act in ways that cause them to lose their self-respect, their bank balance, their families, and sometimes even their lives.
Finally, akarma, which translates literally as "no activity," doesn't mean inactivity, but activity that brings no reaction, activity that frees one from the cycle of birth and death.

Complete Freedom From Karma

Devotional service to the Lord is akarma. It brings the ultimate freedom from karmic entanglement because by its very nature it is a transcendental activity. It also provides us with, among other things, four great gifts that help us progress to the pure spiritual platform.

1. The ability to distinguish right from wrong. When we practice devotional service, the Lord as the Supersoul in our heart grants us the knowledge to make the right choices. All of us can, at some time or other, hear the voice of conscience (vivek buddhi). When we start doing something wrong, the voice from inside warns, "Don't do this." When we want to do something right, the voice says, "Yes, do this now." When we practice devotional service and chant the holy name of Krishna, this inner voice becomes stronger, guiding us to make the right choices in life. Thus devotional service can grant us the knowledge to gradually become disentangled from all karma.

2. The determination to do right and avoid wrong. Devotional service saves us from (a) doing further bad karma and (b) the craving to do bad karma. It gives us the inner satisfaction that enables us to say no to all the sinful pleasure of this world. Thus, we not only know the right choices, but we also get the willpower to make those choices.

3. The lessening of sinful reactions. Certain reactions are destined to come to us from the past. But devotional service reduces those reactions. Instead of the complete reaction, the Lord gives devotees a token reaction so that they don't forget the miserable nature of this world.

4. The inner strength to face suffering. Whatever residual karma comes upon us, devotional service grants us the strength to tolerate the suffering. The more spiritually advanced, the more the devotee experiences the reality of this protection from Krishna. So externally, pure devotees may seem to be in pain, but internally, because of their remembrance of the holy name, they don't feel the suffering.

Regardless of our past karma, the spiritually scientific process of devotional service is the best path to the highest happiness in this life and the next.

EndNote

Originally extracted from ISKCON and published as understood by me. For my own derived article please refer

https://thethoughtsofkrishna.blogspot.com

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Building Our Happiness On Sand - why is it that our attempts to be happy fail?

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 11:09:00 +0000

Our real identity is that we are eternally servant of God. This understanding, pure understanding, is called Mukti.

When we understand that "Kṛiṣhṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is my eternal master, and I am eternal servant of Him," that is called mukti.

The mukti definition is given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: muktir hitva anyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa avasthiti (SB 2.10.6). Mukti means when we give up our wrong ideas and we stay in our real identification. That is called mukti. So a bhakta who understands clearly that "I am eternal servant of God, and God is my eternal master," this very understanding means mukti. If I wrongly think that "I am something of this material world" or "I am God myself," these are misunderstanding. There is no question of mukti.

Fact is we are always seeking newer and newer sensual enjoyments in an attempt to find that elusive satisfaction. We change partners, move house, watch different films, read many books, go on holidays, and so on. But we always remain hankering for something more. At no point do we stop and say, “That’s it, I’m happy now.”

The Vedas therefore urge us to take our happiness seriously-to be inquisitive as to why, in spite of so much endeavor, we remain dissatisfied. They point out that as humans we should not be seeking only that pleasure which even the animals can achieve. We are meant for something more. Animals can also eat, have sex, sleep, and enjoy relationships. But they can’t go beyond that. They are not able to ask life’s big questions, such as “Why am I here?”, “Why do I suffer?”, and “How can I secure my permanent happiness?” Only in human life do we have this opportunity-and we should make the most of it.

Building Our Happiness On Sand

So, why is it that our attempts to be happy fail? Well, the Vedas suggest that we are basing our efforts on an incorrect premise-a false assumption. Through science and technology we have become expert in catering to the body’s needs. Our communications, transport, medicine, eating habits and overall lifestyle are very advanced. But we are also seeing many problems coming from this progress. The well-documented environmental catastrophe, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, increasing contamination of our foods, international terrorism, as well as all kinds of diseases such as AIDS, CJD, and cancer to name a few-these are just some of the problems we have seen springing up.

It seems that no matter how many problems we manage to solve, a new batch of even more difficult ones await just around the corner. Furthermore, despite our advancement more and more people are afflicted by stress, anxiety, depression and mental illness. Many of us struggle on, somehow coping by taking shelter of drugs, alcohol, over-eating, or some other harmful addiction.

All in all it would take a brave man to say we humans are making a good job of securing our happiness. And the Vedas say it is because we have wrongly assumed ourselves to be the body. This is the false premise, the sandy foundation on which we are trying to build our happiness. To successfully pursue happiness we must first know who we actually are-and in fact we are different from the material bodies we inhabit.

I Am Not This Body; I Am A Spirit Soul

This theoretical understanding is the first step in self-realization. We have to at least grasp the difference between me and my body. In the Bhagavadgita, an ancient Vedic text, we find the verse:

“As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” (Bg.2.13)

The truth of this is confirmed 5000 years later by modern scientists who have discovered that, through the process of new cells replacing old ones, the body is built almost completely anew every seven years. However, there is one thing that stays the same throughout the body’s changes-consciousness. Consciousness is a symptom of the soul’s presence. This is described in the Bhagavadgita as follows:

“As the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the soul, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” (Bg.13.34)

In Western society we commonly learn that we are the body and we have a soul. But the Vedas teach that we are the spirit soul, and we are entrapped in a material body. The great failure of modern day society is its obsession with trying to satisfy bodily demands without ever nurturing the soul. This is why despite our best efforts we remain dissatisfied. If our quest for happiness is to succeed, we must learn how to nurture the real me, the soul.

How ToNurture The Soul

The Vedas explain that the soul is nurtured when it comes in touch with the Supreme Soul, or God. He is the reservoir of all pleasure. Sitting within our heart, it is he only who can give us the deep satisfaction for which we hanker. He knows us even better than we know ourselves, and is waiting to reciprocate with us just as soon as we turn to him.

The example is given of a fire ember. Once out of the big fire, it gradually dies out. But if it is placed back in the fire it flares up again. Similarly with ourselves, when we are separated from the Supreme Spirit we gradually wither and die. As long as we seek pleasure from anywhere other than the Supreme, we are like that fallen ember, struggling ever more vainly to find enjoyment. But when we are reunited with God we will experience our full potential for happiness.

So how do we turn to him and become reunited? In the Vedas this is described as the process of yoga. The very word yoga means to unite-in fact the English word “yoke” is said to derive from it. By practicing yoga one becomes gradually freed from his attraction to material enjoyment, and attracted instead to the Supreme Soul. That attraction matures into love and one can then see God face to face. At that point, the Bhagavadgita explains, we will feel boundless happiness and realise that there is no greater gain.

Namasivayam.C

The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding.

For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit my another Blog

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Krishna's sweetness is wonderful, infinite and full. - Taste It

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 16:31:00 +0000

Seeing His own beauty, Lord Kṛiṣhṇa began to consider...

“My sweetness is wonderful, infinite and full. No one in the three worlds can find its limit. “Only Radhika, by the strength of Her love, tastes all the nectar of My sweetness. “Although Radha's love is pure like a mirror, its purity increases at every moment. “My sweetness also has no room for expansion, yet it shines before that mirror in newer and newer beauty. “There is constant competition between My sweetness and the mirror of Radha's love. They both go on increasing, but neither knows defeat.

“My sweetness is always newer and newer. Devotees taste it according to their own respective love. “If I see My sweetness in a mirror, I am tempted to taste it, but nevertheless I cannot. “If I deliberate on a way to taste it, I find that I hanker for the position of Radhika.” “Who manifests an abundance of sweetness greater than Mine, which has never been experienced before and which causes wonder to all? Alas, I Myself, my mind bewildered upon seeing this beauty, impetuously desire to enjoy it like Srimadhi Radharani.”

The beauty of Kṛiṣhṇa has one natural strength: it thrills the hearts of all men and women, beginning with Lord Kṛiṣhṇa Himself. All minds are attracted by hearing His sweet voice and flute, or by seeing His beauty. Even Lord Kṛiṣhṇa Himself makes efforts to taste that sweetness. The thirst of one who always drinks the nectar of that sweetness is never satisfied. Rather, that thirst increases constantly. Such a person, being unsatisfied, begins to blaspheme Lord Brahma, saying that he does not know the art of creating well and is simply inexperienced. He has not given millions of eyes to see the beauty of Kṛiṣhṇa. He has given only two eyes, and even those eyes blink. How then shall I see the lovely face of Kṛiṣhṇa?

[The gopis said:] “O Krishna, when You go to the forest during the day and we do not see Your sweet face, which is surrounded by beautiful curling hair, half a second becomes as long as an entire age for us. And we consider the creator, who has put eyelids on the eyes we use for seeing You, to be simply a fool.” “The gopis saw their beloved Krishna at Kurukṣetra after a long separation. They secured and embraced Him in their hearts through their eyes, and they attained a joy so intense that not even perfect yogis can attain it. The gopis cursed the creator for creating eyelids that interfered with their vision.”

There is no consummation for the eyes other than the sight of Kṛiṣhṇa. Whoever sees Him is most fortunate indeed.

[The gopis said:] “O friends, those eyes that see the beautiful faces of the sons of Maharaja Nanda are certainly fortunate. As these two sons enter the forest, surrounded by their friends, driving the cows before them, they hold their flutes to their mouths and glance lovingly upon the residents of Vṛindavana. For those who have eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision.”

[The women of Mathura said:] “What austerities must the gopis have performed? With their eyes they always drink the nectar of the form of Lord Kṛiṣhṇa, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equalled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and extremely rare.” The sweetness of Lord Krishna is unprecedented, and its strength is also unprecedented. Simply by one’s hearing of such beauty, the mind becomes unsteady.

Lord Krishna’s own beauty attracts Lord Krishna Himself. But because He cannot fully enjoy it, His mind remains full of sorrow.

The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding. For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit

https://thethoughtsofkrishna.blogspot.com

Namasivayam.C

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Understand Lord Krishna First To Get Closer - The Love Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 13:58:00 +0000

There are few conditions in like exclusive worship of Krishna, done constantly, done with great determination, done with great affection. He puts these conditions actually He says that, since I am committing myself to you so much, then you have to show these commitments to me otherwise I'm not ready for a casual relationship. That he has very clearly mentioned in the BhagavadGita.

So, those people who have a habit of making casual friendship, mostly result based friendship, okay if I make friendship with this person, I would get this or I would get that, they are actually not for devotional service at all, they will get washed away. But those who enter into a serious relationship with Krishna, giving their hearts, giving their lives, giving their focus, giving their attention, giving their absorption and Krishna becomes their only goal, They are the people who line up to attain Krishna's lotus feet eventually, very soon.

So it is a fact that Krishna is the most magnanimous Lord, accommodating Lord, approachable and friendly Lord, sweet lord. It's all very true. At the same time, he has made his demands very clear in the path of pure devotional service. So therefore the chanting of the holy name can actually cleanse our heart, and elevate us to a point of attaining His lotus feet or we may chant and we may get stuck up because of not willing to pay the price what Krishna is asking in these verses of Gita, due to which we may have an Iron Curtain or a big blockage on the way, due to our own limitations and our own unwillingness to surrender.

Therefore, while studying about Krishna's magnanimous nature we also should study about the commitments and sincerity, seriousness, dedication that's required from our side, while taking to the simple process of chanting the holy name.

The first manifestation of the material world is technically known in transcendental metaphysical language such as, Kalam or Time. Everything measured in scale, cycles, numbers... Matches a limitation, growing or decreasing! The phenomenal manifestation of this and other universes, are all held in cycles, as well as the days, weeks, in these, years... are also in the same dynamics as cycles! We are all aware of the four seasons of the year, and we know that they are in cycles, periodicals, regardless of the tribulations, economical, social of the time, civilizations and their categories! Be these societies, primitive or sophisticated!

I'm talking about science, it's not about mental speculation or sentimentality. Anyone can see this data above! This science is the reflection of God, Bhagavam Krishna. One must dive into His scientific premise technically known as, Acintya-bhedabheda-tattva that is, he is simultaneously equal and different. All knowledge, regardless of who comes has an origin, and this origin is God. It contains everything, nothing is unknown to God! He is the fairest person there is! If a spiritual soul, in a human body, that strives and discovers, what was covered by ignorance, and reacts in a spontaneous, loving and devotional selfless way, He, God, is the first to say of the person's merit, and congratulating her. Yes! Yes! Merit is due, to all who strive, but power is always from Bhagavam Vasudeva Krishna!

I congratulate the merit of Shakespeare, Mozart, Newton, Socrates, Vince... And so many others, because they deserve the merit, for their efforts. But the power exercised by these is from God. He is the Origin of everything there is. Everything is under His laws! Among many, is the law of KARMA. In the Original Home, time doesn't exist. Variety is the mother of pleasure! Some, dipped in ignorant believe that the transcendental spiritual world is slow, almost stopping! They are wrong. Everything is full there, without any doubt of who the authorities are. Yes, the authorities, make the integrity of God, one looking two. Srimati Radharani is your beloved ever, femininity personified, pure love not contaminated. And he being the supreme Lord Krishna, never deviates from answering his love, and follow his eyes.

The Original Home is very dynamic! Everyone knows who God is, Bhagavam Vasudeva Krishna! In terms of gross comparison, here, all varieties of actions and pleasurable things, are limited, and insignificant compared to the Original Home

Namasivayam.C

The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding. For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit

https://thethoughtsofkrishna.blogspot.com

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Krishna and his intimate friends

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 14:38:00 +0000

Among the groups of different friends of Krishna, some are well known from various scriptures, and some are well known by popular tradition.

There are three divisions among Krishna’s friends.

1 - Some are eternally in friendship with Krishna,

2 - Some are elevated demigods,

3 - Some are perfected devotees.

In all of these groups there are some who by nature are fixed in Krishna‘s service and are always engaged in giving counsel.

Some of them are very fond of joking and naturally cause Krishna to smile by their words.
Some of them are by nature very simple, and by their simplicity they please Lord Krishna.
Some of them create wonderful situations by their activities, apparently against Krishna.
Some of them are very talkative, always arguing with Krishna and creating a debating atmosphere.
Some of them are very gentle and give pleasure to Krishna by their sweet words.

All of these friends are very intimate with Krishna, and they show expertise in their different activities, their aim always being to please Krishna. Krishna played with His intimate friends sometimes by fighting or wrestling with their arms, sometimes by playing ball and sometimes by playing chess. Sometimes they carried one another on their shoulders, and sometimes they exhibited their expertness at whirling logs. And the cowherd friends used to please Krishna by sitting together with Him on couches or on swings, by lying together on their beds, by joking together and by swimming in the pool.

All these activities are called anubhava. (Experience)

Whenever all the friends would assemble in the company of Krishna, they would immediately engage in all these functions, especially in dancing together. Regarding their wrestling, one friend once asked Krishna, “My dear friend, O killer of the Agha demon, you are very proudly wandering among your friends and trying to exhibit your arms which are very strong. Is it that you are envious of me?

I know that You cannot defeat me in wrestling, and I also know that You were sitting idly for a long time because You were hopeless of defeating me.” All the friends were very daring and would risk any difficulty, because they were confident that Krishna would help them to be victorious in all adventures. They used to sit together and advise one another what to do, sometimes inducing one another to be engaged in welfare work, sometimes they would offer betel nuts to one another, decorate one another’s faces with tilakam or smear pulp of candana on one another’s bodies.

Sometimes, for the sake of amusement, they used to decorate their faces in strange ways. Another business of the friends was that each of them wanted to defeat Krishna. Sometimes they used to snatch His clothing or snatch away the flowers from His hands. Sometimes one would try to induce another to decorate his body for him, and failing this, they were always ready to fight, challenging one another to combat in wrestling. These were some of the general activities of Krishna and His friends.”

Confidential Friends

“The more confidential friends are called priya-sakhas and are almost Krishna’s age. Because of their very confidential friendship, their behaviour is only on the basis of pure friendship. The behavior of other friends is on the ground of paternal love or servitude, but the basic principle of the confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level.

Some confidential friends are as follows:

Sridama, Sudama or Kushela, Dama, Vasudama, Kinkini, Stoka-Krishna, Amsu, Bhadrasena, Vilasi, Pundarika, Vitanka, Kalavinka, Uttavar

By their various activities in different pastimes, all of these friends used to give transcendental pleasure to Krishna. The behavior of these confidential friends is described by a friend of Radharani who told her,

“My dear graceful Radharani, your intimate friend Krishna is also served by His intimate boyfriends. Some of them cut jokes with Him in mild voices and please Him very much by this. For example, Krishna had one brahmana friend whose name was Madhumangala.

This boy would joke by playing the part of a greedy brahmana. Whenever the friends ate, he would eat more than all others, especially laddus, of which he was very fond. Then after eating more laddus than anyone else, Madhumangala would still not be satisfied, and he would say to Krishna.

“If You give me one more laddu, then I shall be pleased to give You my blessings so that Your friend Radharani will be very much pleased with You.”

The brahmanas are supposed to give blessings to the vaisyas (farming and merchant caste), and Krishna presented Himself as the son of Maharaja Nanda, a vaisya so, the brahmana boy was right in giving blessings to Krishna. Thus, Krishna was very pleased by His friend’s blessings, and He would supply him with more and more laddus.

Sometimes a confidential friend would come before Krishna and embrace Him with great affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and cover Krishna’s eyes with his hands. Krishna would always feel very happy by such dealings with His confidential friends.”

The leader of these confidential friends is Sridama, who is also known as Pithamardaka. Sridama has a handsome dark complexion. He wears yellow garments and a necklace of jewels. He is a splendid youth sixteen years old. He is a great reservoir of the nectar of innumerable transcendental pastimes, and He is Lord Krishna’s dearest friend. His father is Maharaj Vrsabhanu and His mother is the chaste Kirtida-devi. Srimati Radharani and Ananga-manjari are his two younger sisters.

Sudama’s handsome complexion is somewhat fair. He is decorated with jewelled ornaments and wears blue garments. His father’s name is Matuka and His mother is Rocana-devi. He is very young and fond of playing many kinds of games.

Madhumangala has a slightly dark complexion, an expert comedian who always plays the buffoon, Sri Madhumangala is the constant companion of Lord Krishna. He wears yellow garments and a garlands of forest flowers. His father is the saintly Sandipani Muni, his mother the chaste Sumukhi devi, his sister is Nandimukhi-devi and his parental grandmother is Paurnamasi-devi.

Bhadrasena is the general who leads Krishna’s childhood friends in military pastimes.

StokaKrishna is very appropriately named, for he is just like a small (stoka) Krishna. Another of Krishna’s confidential friends are Priyaskara.

These confidential friends (priya-sakha) delights Lord Krishna with their enthusiastic and jubilant wrestling, stick-fighting and other sports.

Intimate Friends

“There are other friends who are still more confidential. They are called priya-narma, or intimate friends. Counted among the priya-narma friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva, Vasanta and Ujjvala. There was talk among the friends of Radharani, the gobis, about these most intimate friends.

One gopi addressed Radharani thus:

“My dear Krishna [delicate one], just see how Subala is whispering your message into Krishna’s ear, how he is delivering the confidential letter of Syama-dasi silently into Krishna’s hand, how he is delivering the betel nuts prepared by Palika into Krishna’s mouth, and how he is decorating Krishna with the garland prepared by Taraka.

Did you know, my dear friend, that all these most intimate friends of Krishna are always engaged in His service in this way?” Out of the many intimate priya-narmas, Subala and Ujjvala are considered to be the most prominent.

The description of Ujjvala, another intimate friend, is given as follows.

Ujjvala always wears some garment of orange colour, and the movements of his eyes are always very restless. He likes to decorate himself with all kinds of flowers, his bodily hue is almost like Krishna‘s, and on his neck there is always a necklace of pearls. He is always very dear to Krishna. Let us all worship Ujjvala, the most intimate friend of Krishna!

About the confidential service of Ujjvala, this statement is to be found, addressed by Radharani to one of Her friends:

“My dear friend, it is impossible for Me to keep My prestige! I wanted to avoid talking to Krishna anymore, but just see! there again is His friend Ujjvala, coming to me with his canvassing work.

His entreaties are so powerful that it is very difficult for a gobi to resist her love for Krishna, even though she may be very bashful, devoted to her family duties and most faithful to her husband.”

The following is a statement by Ujjvala, showing his jubilant nature:

“My dear Krishna, O killer of Aghasura, You have extended Your loving affairs so much that You can be compared to the great ocean, which is without limitations. At the same time, the young girls of the world, who are all searching after the perfect lover, have become just like rivers running into this ocean. Under the circumstances, all these rivers of young girls may try to divert their courses to some other place, but at the end they must come unto You.”

Ujjvala has a splendid reddish complexion. His garments are decorated with star patterns and he is decorated with pearls and flowers. His father is named Sagara and his mother is the chaste Veni-devi. He is thirteen years old and full of youthful lustre. Splendid Ujjvala appears like the personified ruler of all transcendental mellows, and Lord Krishna, the crest jewel of playful boys, is submissive to this dear friend.

Subala has a fair complexion. He wears handsome blue garments and he is decorated with many kinds of jewels and flowers He is twelve-and-a-half years old and He glows with youthful lustre. Although he is Krishna‘s friend, he is immersed in serving Krishna in many different ways. He is expert at arranging the meeting of the divine couple. He is charming and full of transcendental love for Them. He is cheerful and full of good qualities. He is very dear to Krishna.

Arjuna’s glistening complexion is the color of a red lotus flower. His garments are the colour of moonlight and He is decorated with many kinds of jewels. His father is Sudaksina, his mother Bhadra-devi, and his elder brother Vasudama. He is always plunged in transcendental love for the divine couple. He is fourteen-and-a half and full of the lustre of youth. He wears a garland of forest flowers and many other kinds of flower-ornaments. (This Arjuna is not Pandava Arjuna)

Handsome Gandharva has a complexion the color of moonlight. He wears red garments and many different ornaments. He is twelve years old and full of youthful lustre. He is decorated with many kinds of flowers. His mother is the saintly Mitra-devi and his father the great soul Vinoka. He is very playful and very dear to Sri Krishna.

Vasanta has a splendid fair complexion. His garments glitter like the moon and he is decorated with various jewels. He is eleven years old. He is decorated with many different flower garlands. His mother is the saintly Saradi-devi and his father is the great soul Pingala.

Puspanka, Hasanka, Kokila, Sanandana and Vidagdha are also among the most important of Krishna’s intimate friends. Krishna keeps no secrets from these intimate friends. Among them, Puspanka and Hasanka are the leaders of those fond of joking.

Kokila is fair-complexioned and very handsome. He wears blue garments and is decorated with many kinds of jewels. He is eleven years and four months of age. His father is named Puskara and his mother is the famous Medha-devi.

Handsome Sanandana has a fair complexion. He wears blue garments and is decorated with many different ornaments. He is fourteen years old. He wears garlands of flowers. His father is Arunaksa and his mother is Mallika-devi. Handsome Sanandana is very happy to have the friendship of Lord Krishna. He is like the splendid monarch of all transcendental mellows.

Vidagdha has a splendid complexion the color of a yellow campaka flower. He wears blue garments and a necklace of pearls. He is fourteen years old and full of youthful luster. His father is named Matuka and his mother is Rocana-devi. His elder brother is Sudama and his sister is Susila-devi. He is very dear to Sri Krishna. He is full of transcendental love for the divine couple.

Krishna’s Cousins

Included with his well-wishing friends are Krishna‘s cousins, Subhadra, Kundala, Dandi and Mandala, Sunandana, Nandi, Anandi.

Subhadra has a splendid dark complexion. He wears yellow garments and various ornaments. Subhadra’s father is Upananda, and his mother the chaste and faithful Tula-devi. Kundalata-devi will become his wife.

Older Well-wishing Friends

Also included among the well-wishing friends are

Subhadra, Mandalibhadra, Bhadravardhana, Gobhata, Yaksendra, Bhata, Bhadranga, Virabhadra, Mahaguna, Kulavira, Mahabhima, Divyasakti, Suraprabha, Ranasthira and others.

These well-wishing friends are older than Krishna and they try to protect Him from any danger. Krishna’s parents love their son very dearly. They consider Him many millions of times more important than their own life’s breath. Very frightened that the demon Kamsa would harm their son, they engaged these well-wishing friends to protect Him.

The leader of these well-wishing friends is a boy named Vijayaksa, whose mother, Ambika-devi, was Krishna’s nurse. Ambika-devi worshiped goddess Parvati and performed great austerities to get a powerful son who could protect Krishna.

Ordinary Friends

Visala, Vrsabha, Ojasvi, Devaprastha, Varuthapa, Mandara, Kusumapida, Manibandhakara, Mandara, Candana, Kunda, Kalindi, Kulika and many others are included in the group of Krishna’s ordinary friends. These friends are younger than Krishna and are always eager to serve Him.

Namasivayam.C

The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding. For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit

https://thethoughtsofkrishna.blogspot.com

Click the video for more wisdom

An Opportunity to Awaken Right Sankalpa

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 16:52:00 +0000

All the living entities are independently wandering in this world desiring to do their own thing. They don't want to align with the Lord's programme. But Lord has given a very simple programme. And Lord has not put any conditions for worshipping Him, because Lord is worried that if some very poor man wants to worship me, if I put conditions he may not have any facility to worship me. So the Lord has allowed you to do manas Pooja. In this way, the path of bhakti yoga is very simply performed with leaves (Tulsi), Flowers and water

All one needs is willingness, willingness to align with the Lord. Having a kind of willingness to make the determination, yes, I will worship Him, I will surrender to Him, I will attain Him. And He's the only person worthy of surrender. This type of determination, conviction should arise in the heart of a practicing devotee who has heard so much about the Lord, who has seen so much the material world around. So, if the right kind of determination is awaken then Lord is very easily obtainable.

The chanting of the holy name which we do every day is actually an opportunity, which is given for us to cleanse the heart to awaken this kind of sankalpa or determination, without awakening this kind of sankalpa, spiritual life would be simply eye wash. It will just be some superficial ritualistic performance. Therefore, after some time you see a person loses taste and loses interest, and goes away. And then he has something else in priority in his life. I want to do this, I want to do that. I want to try this.

Because he has not focused his attention on the simple instructions that Lord Krishna has given. He is right next to you to perform a little pooja for him, bow down to him, surrender to Him, align your will with His will. Such a very simple process. Please Krishna, engage me in your service. Please cleanse my heart. Please make me your servant. Please don't let me become carried away by the current of Maya. I'm your eternal servant. Please become my master in my life. I don't want to serve Maya anymore.

That is a mood of this chanting of the holy name.

Service to Krishna is the eternal constitutional duty of the living entity. Forgetting his position the living entity becomes controlled by maya and forgets Krishna. From the time of the living entities forgetfulness of the Lord and entrance in the material world, his constitutional duty has become perverted." The more you become advanced in Kṛṣṇa thought, all the good qualities that were covered by the cloud of māyā will come out)

"So a devotee of the Lord Krishna is expected to have all good qualities. The more you become advanced in Kṛiṣhṇa thoughts, all the good qualities that were covered by the cloud of maya will come out. Good qualities are already there. Just like Kṛiṣhṇa has got sixty-four good qualities in full, and we are minute particles of Kṛiṣhṇa; therefore we have got also those good qualities in minute particles. But these good qualities are now covered. Just like fire is covered by the ashes, so it does not act. Although there is fire, but when it is covered with ashes, it does not act. So we are fire. Kṛiṣhṇa is fire; we are also fires, in quality. Just there is a big fire, blazing fire, and the sparks, the sparks are also fire. Therefore we sometimes desire to imitate Kṛiṣhṇa. Because we have got these qualities in minute quantity, so we think that, "I am God. I have become." But we do not know the quantitative difference. Now this quality, fire, this also becomes almost unseen when we are in this material world. Just like if the fire sparks fall down out of the blazing fire, it becomes extinguished. So in order to ignite again our fiery quality, we must go back to the original fire. Then the fiery quality, the brilliant fiery quality, will again be exhibited.

One of the 64 Qualities of Lord Krishna!

PARTIALITY TO DEVOTEES

Although Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is therefore not partial to anyone, it is stated in Bhagavadgita that He has special attraction for a devotee who worships His name in love and affection.

Namasivayam.C

The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding. For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit

https://thethoughtsofkrishna.blogspot.com

Click the video for more wisdom

How To Attain Self Realisation

noreply@blogger.com (Namasivayam) — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 14:50:00 +0000

Self Realisation is the key to understand the purpose of Life. By understanding self, will lead to the solutions of our very existence on this earth

The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is the sublime method of reviving our Krishna consciousness. As living spiritual soul’s, we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called Maya, or illusion. Maya means "that which is not." And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws. When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, this is called illusion. In this polluted concept of life, we are all trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by the revival of our Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition of the mind; this consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. And this is the process recommended for this age by authorities. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding-surpassing the stages of the senses, mind, and intelligence-one is situated on the transcendental plane.

Kṛiṣhṇa says: "Just take shelter of Me and I will protect you from the reactions of all sinful life." Because here in the material world everyone is sinful—and there is reaction. He gives assurance that "I will give you protection from the reactions of sinful life. Just surrender unto Me." Real thing is the heart, the mind. If this Maha mantra, cleanses your mind and heart, then you come to the platform of knowledge. Then automatically other things become effective.

So in this age it is recommended that other Yajnas will not be effective, neither it is recommended. But chanting the maha mantra or namasakeerthan—that is recommended. Everyone can join it, and he can become purified, he can become situated on spiritual platform, and his life becomes successful.

The path of religion is actually meant for self-realization, and economic development is required just to maintain the body in a sound, healthy condition. A man should lead a healthy life with a sound mind just to realize this true knowledge, which is the aim of human life.

Namasivayam

The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding. For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit

https://thethoughtsofkrishna.blogspot.com

Click the video for more wisdom