19900101 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.62

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on January 1^st, 1990 in New Talavan Farm, in Carriere, Mississippi. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, 10^th Canto, 13^th Chapter, 62^nd verse.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: (leads chanting of the verse, devotees repeat)

dṛṣṭvā tvareṇa nija-dhoraṇato ’vatīrya

pṛthvyāṁ vapuḥ kanaka-daṇḍam ivābhipātya

spṛṣṭvā catur-mukuṭa-koṭibhir aṅghri-yugmaṁ

natvā mud-aśru-sujalair akṛtābhiṣekam

[S.B.10.13.62]

Translation by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta swami Śrīla Prabhupāda

After seeing this, Lord Brahmā hastily got down from his swan carrier, fell down like a golden rod and touched the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the tips of the four crowns on his heads. Offering his obeisances, he bathed the feet of Kṛṣṇa with the water of his tears of joy.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda:

Lord Brahmā bowed down like a stick, and because Lord Brahmā’s complexion is golden, he appeared to be like a golden stick lying down before Lord Kṛṣṇa. When one falls down before a superior just like a stick, one’s offering of obeisances is called daṇḍavat. Daṇḍa means “stick,” and vat means “like.” It is not that one should simply say “Daṇḍavat.” Rather, one must fall down. Thus Brahmā fell down, touching his foreheads to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and his crying in ecstasy is to be regarded as an abhiṣeka bathing ceremony of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami:In India the Vaishnavas, when they see each other many times they yell 'Dandavat, Dandavat’, bow down to your feet, bow down to your feet, like a stick (devotees laughing) But they don't bow down. They say 'Dandavat’.

Then Prabhupāda  said, 'What is that?’ If you want to make dandavat you bow down.

 Why just say it?'

He didn't like that. Now, here he put it in the Bhāgavatam . Simply they say dandavat. You shouldn’t. You don’t have to say you mean it to pay obeisance. [We continue…….]

He who appeared before Brahmā as a human child was in fact the Absolute Truth, ParaBrahmān (brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate). The Supreme Lord is narākṛti; that is, He resembles a human being. It is not that He is four-armed (catur-bāhu). Nārāyaṇa is catur-bāhu, but the Supreme Person resembles a human being. This is also confirmed in the Bible, where it is said that man was made in the image of God.

Lord Brahmā saw that Kṛṣṇa, in His form as a cowherd boy, was ParaBrahmān, the root cause of everything, but was now appearing as a human child, loitering in Vṛndāvana with a morsel of food in His hand. Astonished, Lord Brahmā hastily got down from his swan carrier and let his body fall to the earth.

Usually, the demigods never touch the ground, but Lord Brahmā, voluntarily giving up his prestige as a demigod, bowed down on the ground before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although Brahmā has one head in each direction, he voluntarily brought all his heads to the ground and touched Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet with the tips of his four helmets. Although his intelligence works in every direction, he surrendered everything before the boy Kṛṣṇa.

It is mentioned that Brahmā washed the feet of Kṛṣṇa with his tears, and here the word sujalaiḥ indicates that his tears were purified. As soon as bhakti is present, everything is purified (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam). Therefore, Brahmā’s crying was a form of bhakty-anubhāva, a transformation of transcendental ecstatic love.

Thus, end the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport to text 62 chapter 13 canto 10, this eleventh, first of November 1990 504 Gaurabda, in the second parardha of lord Brahmā.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So, this beautiful pastime reveal to Lord Brahmā, the transcendental position of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are so mysterious that unless Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself to His devotees, His pastimes are not easily understood. Here Lord Kṛṣṇa revealed Himself to Lord Brahmā and then Lord Brahmā could see that Kṛṣṇa was indeed the absolute truth.

So, he got off his swan carrier. It is not an ordinary swan. Lord Brahmā’s swan carrier can travel all over the universe. It’s a type of, not transcendental, but very spiritualized or very advanced higher, subtle type of swan, travel all over the universe faster than the speed of light. In fact, one-time Lord Śiva wanted to come down to Māyāpur very quickly to see Lord Caitanya. His carrier is the ‘Nandi’, the big bull. So, he thought the bull goes too slow. So, he requested Lord Brahmā if he can borrow his car, I mean his swan. (devotees laughing) Because he wanted to get there in a hurry. So, he borrowed the swan and he zipped down to Māyāpur Navadwip dham.

There is a temple in Navadwip dham known as ‘Hamsa Vahana’ meaning the place where Lord Śiva came quickly to Māyāpur using ‘Hamsa’ the swan carrier of Lord Brahmā. And ‘Hamsa vahana’ deity is under water 364 days in a year and comes out one day a year for being worshipped from the water. This swan is a very fast carrier and Lord Brahmā is also not an ordinary person, but he is the original living entity in the whole universe. He is bowing down, on the ground before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā doesn’t have to walk, he can float. But for Kṛṣṇa he bows right on the ground and touches his head to the lotus feet of the Lord. In the Vedas, there is a lot of description about Brahmā and about Lord Śiva.

So, we find that many people worship Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā in India. Not many people worship Brahmā because he was cursed not to be worshipped in a temple. They do something but Lord Śiva especially is worshipped but Lord Brahmā is officiated. But there are some places where he is worshipped, but not in formal temples.

So, when in this pastime, one sees that Lord Brahmā is bowing down to Kṛṣṇa and accepting Kṛṣṇa as Supreme Absolute truth, several places Lord Śiva – he also glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, in this way, those who have faith in Brahmā or Śiva, it should be easy for them to accept the Supreme transcendental position of our Kṛṣṇa.

It’s a type of logic that if Lord Brahmā is great, if Lord Śiva is great and they accept that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the greatest, well, that’s a pretty important point. Lord Brahmā didn’t recognize Kṛṣṇa at first, but now after He showed all the Viṣṇu forms and showed him the transcendental forms coming from Gopal, then it is very clear that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s position is supreme. Lord Brahmā is feeling ecstasy in serving Lord Kṛṣṇa.

One day during the ‘Maha Prakasa’ pastime Lord Caitanya was showing his transcendental form that He was also Kṛṣṇa. And Haridas Thakur came before him offering his obeisances and all of a sudden. He could see that he was Brahmā and Lord Caitanya was Kṛṣṇa. Then he fainted on the ground, became conscious and again he was Brahmā and Lord Kṛṣṇa was Lord Kṛṣṇa.

The purpose of offering one's obeisance’s falling down on the ground and paying obeisance’s is for surrender. Even in the west people understand that bowing down before someone is something pretty significant because people say, “I’m not going to bow down before no one. I’m not going to bow down before no man". They don’t. So bowing down is something significant. Otherwise they wouldn't state so emphatically that they are not going to do it, they don't want to do it.

Prabhupāda explained that by bowing down before the Lord, this is very is good for developing one's God consciousness. In fact, in the beginning in New York he taught the devotees, ‘Well, just try bowing down.'

Someone said 'Why will you bow down?

 You know why?'

We bow down to Lord Kṛṣṇa, He comes to His (pause) to reciprocate. When we surrender to Kṛṣṇa He will protect us. So the importance of actual transcendental position about Kṛṣṇa is not less than from this verse the importance of bowing down, Procedure of bowing down, -one goes down quickly to prostrated position.

Sometimes there is a confusion because women would like to also offer the prostrated obeisance. I think that there is some kind of a prejudice between men and women, why men are offering prostrated obeisance’s and why women are not. There is some letter circulating around demanding equal rights in bowing down. (Devotees laughing)

But apparently the breasts of women are, have got some special significance in relation to mother Bhumi. I don't remember off hand the full import. But, for that reason a women's breasts are not supposed to touch the ground when paying obeisances. So that's why we only do the 'Panca-anga' kneeling because they are not, their breasts are not supposed to touch the ground when they offer obeisances. I saw a verse in Hari Bhakti Vilasa, at that time I didn't think it was an important thing, so I didn't -like read the purport and everything to know all the details of it. So, I just remember seeing that this as one of the instructions given. It's not something that ISKCON has made in order to create some kind of caste distinction or nobody should feel bad about it. It’s apparently that rather something special about woman's body that something is supposed to do in different ways in it. In any case mentally one is to fully surrender. The idea of bowing down is also we are surrendering our mind.

When Lord Brahmā bowed down he bathed the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with the tears of love. In the bowing down the different parts of the body are mentioned and the last part is our mind. We are also offering our mind to the lotus feet of the Lord. Another important aspect Prabhupāda brought out is that, Lord Brahmā or the Absolute Truth, the Param Brahmā was appearing before Lord Brahmā as a child, as a human like child.

We get conversations with the Christians and in the Vatican they portray that God is an old man. But here it’s stating how God appeared as a young child. So, of course they objected in the Vatican that they painted the actual figure of God because that was speculative.

When Kṛṣṇa conscious movement proclaims that the Lord appears in various human like form from various age groups up till the youth. He doesn't become middle or old age, always stays youthful.

Sometimes people object how can this be. But they don't know what the Lord looks like, except that man is made in the image of God. That means that the Lord must be having a human like form. He must be like a human form if we are made in His image. So, this truth is revealed in the Vedas also that the Lord appears in human like form. But He is not a human. He is always the Lord. So, this is an important aspect because nowadays there is lot of confusion due to Māyāvādī philosophy.

Even many Christians believe that God might be a, some kind of an energy, pulse [Not sure 14:38] or something, some sort of impersonal reality. The Mohammedans say that the Allah is nirākār, He is having no material 'aakar' or form. Of course the Vedas also say that the Lord is ‘Nirguṇa’, He is without material quality. But the Lord is having, that doesn't bar the Lord from having spiritual qualities or a spiritual form, which is actually what the Lord has. When we think of the Lord as impersonal, then we also tend to think that everything is mechanical and this precludes us from giving our love to the Lord. It is very important that we understand how the Lord is a person.

Lord Kṛṣṇa of course has many different forms, just like we know that He appears in Vishnu form, as Varāha as the boar, Matsya - the fish, Kūrma - the tortoise and so on. So this quote from the Bible that God appears in the human like, man is in the image of God confirms that the personal form of Kṛṣṇa, the form as human-like form, is the original form of God from their point of view, which is what the Vedas say.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

        sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

[BS 5.1]

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ

  kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam

[SB 1.3.28]

What is so mysterious and difficult for people to understand how Lord Kṛṣṇa can appear in His form as a cowherd boy with a morsel of half-eaten food in His hand. Playing just like a cowherd boy running in the forest and still be the Absolute truth. It is very difficult for anyone to comprehend except for the pure devotees of the Lord. So Kṛṣṇa explains 'bhaktyā mām abhijānāti(BG18.55)’ that except for my devotees no one else can understand Me.

So Brahmā had done some mischief with Lord Kṛṣṇa. But now when he is bowing down his heart is purified because he is overwhelmed with great devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the Vedas there are many examples of great devotees seeing the Lord. It's not something unusual. If we ask people of other religion.' What does the God look like?

What does He do? ', they say 'Nobody can see Him'. But actually, the Lord can be seen. The Lord can be seen performing His different pastimes all of the time. But only if He wants to reveal Himself to different devotees. So many different devotees have seen Lord Kṛṣṇa throughout the ages.

 When I was trying to fly to India my flight was misdirected for eleven and a half hours being stuck in an airport without being let out of the plane. So, I got surrounded by a group of evangelists-Christians (devotees laughing). And tried to discuss about the Personality of Godhead. But they didn't want to pin it down, they didn't want to accept that the Lord has a human like form and could come to this world. They could accept only that Jesus could come to the world, they couldn't accept that God, the father could come. And at any time, we get to a particular crucial point in the discussion they would say 'Well, it’s a mystery. These are things that we don't know, this increases our faith to know that there are some things we don't know.' I said 'It increases our faith to know many things that are previously unknown about. But they are revealed by Kṛṣṇa.' They didn't like to hear that.

So Kṛṣṇa does reveal Himself, but He reveals Himself to His devotees. This is special, really special mercy because Brahmā wasn't acting exactly in a most devotional mood. But still He revealed Himself to Lord Brahmā.

So, we can accept that this is a special causeless mercy that Lord Kṛṣṇa showed to Lord Brahmā. Due to the previous devotional service unto Lord, Kṛṣṇa’s purely, His causeless mercy, He revealed. Must be that Brahmā has done so much service before and then Lord Kṛṣṇa, even though he wasn't in the most devotional mood at that time, He revealed Himself. First, He revealed His Visnu form and that shocked and stunned Lord Brahmā. And then Lord Brahmā wanted to offer his worship to Lord Kṛṣṇa and then Kṛṣṇa revealed Himself in His two-handed form. So, in this way everything became purified.

When we realize the glory of the Lord and we realize our eternal relationship as the servitor of the Lord then all the other temporary designations recede to the background. We become purified. This is very important because nowadays there's lot of problem in the world due to these superficial designations, upādhi. upādhi means designations or body consciousness.

Someone thinks they are white or black or someone thinks they are Jew or Catholic or protestant. Someone thinks that they are Asian or American or European or Latin or whatever and this is already creating problems in the world.Even just recently in Georgia there's some problem, some racial crisis came out in one high school, still not fully settled. Here, in Mississippi it's an ongoing potential problem all the time because somebody considers that white, someone is black & things like that. In the Middle East because of someone thinks that they are Arab, and someone else is a Jew, Israeli and therefore lot of problems are there. So, there's no easy solution for these things. Even they make some temporary truce later on things crop up.

In South Africa there's also lot of problems which they are trying to settle, but it’s not fully settled. One devotee from Africa was preaching in a Namahatta tour in India and he told all the people that his name was 'Anandini das'. Throughout the point that in South Africa there is apartheid- prejudice according to the skin color. But that in, even though now it is some more liberal, but previously only the Hare Kṛṣṇa temple was the only religious monument in the entire country. Practically where they had people from all the different communities living together without any caste distinction.

There was the Indian origin, and African origin, and European origin and all the different racial representatives were all there. Because they didn’t have any consciousness of body as being their real self. Because they had devotion to Kṛṣṇa they could see that they are all eternal spirit souls. And this is actually the solution for this racial prejudice in the world that people should become devoted to the Lord. Then they become free from all this temporary designation. How this happens? This happens automatic by the mercy of the Lord. 

So Śrīla Prabhupāda once said that his books should go to every person. If they can read his books, they can understand easier- what is devotional service? Maybe they can even become fixed in devotional service. This is a special benediction of the Lord, especially in this age Lord Caitanya has made this opportunity very accessible.

In India, this problem is going on right now between Hindus and Muslims. The Muslims when they attacked India, apparently according to history they tore down many Hindu temples including the temples of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Ram. And one power a heavy-duty Mughal emperor, he built one mosque right over the birth place of Lord Ram some thousands of years ago, over a thousand or about a thousand years ago.

Now the Hindus they wanted this temple of Ram should be returned and the mosque should be moved creating a lot of (pause). That could be solved. That problem could be solved probably by sober minded Muslims and Hindus, they could get together and solve it. The problem is that most people are not sober minded, they just identify as a kind of racial or racial designation as a matter of pride. Whatever it maybe we got a master, we don’t want to go and the other say ‘Well, we won’t care you, we want to get it, we want to have our temple’.

So, most people are not that Kṛṣṇa conscious that they truly worry to see Ram worship so much that they may never go to the temple after that. But it’s a kind of a racial thing, it attracted the mind of many people as a matter of prestige that this thing happened. And as a racial thing, the Muslims, they do not want to give it.

So, there is riots going on now for the past week every day and this is the nature of course of Kali yuga that you cannot, you get all this unnecessary argument. But the thing that fuels it, people may mistake that it's religion that's the problem. It's not. It's the lack of real spiritual understanding that is the real problem. And the fact that people are simply identifying with their bodies.

So as conditioned souls they are considering that 'I am a Muslim, I am a Christian or I'm a Hindu. Whether they practiced or not, it's simply more designation than actually a belief that they deeply adhere to. So, if actual spiritual knowledge were given, then people would become purified from these false designations.

Lord Caitanya, He had one devotee was there who was like a lord, he was a general also for one, the emperor Hussain shah. When Hussain shah was a young man, he taught him military art. That time Hussain shah was a young prince. He was a teacher. So, when Hussain shah was misbehaving and with his horse whip, he whipped him in the back once- Hindu kshatriya Lord. And then, but apart from that they had a very close relationship. He was actually deserved it. Later of course he ascended to the throne and he became an emperor. And the lord remained a lord, remained a general. But the queen saw that the emperor had a little mark in the back. Apparently, the whip pretty heavy, so left a little bit of a scar or some kind of a mark. And she said ' How did this happen?'

And he didn't want to say, he said 'Somebody whipped me'.

'Somebody whipped you?

Who is that person? I want to know.’

Then the emperor wouldn't tell her because he didn't want her wrath to go on with this Hindu lord.

But, believe his name was Buddhimanta khan (Aside:I am not mistaken...or I might be mistaken). So eventually she kept hounding him and then he told her who did it. Then she said, 'I want him to be killed, it's a matter of prestige'. But the emperor won't do it.

He said, ’He is uncle to me, he is like he was my teacher, how can I kill him?‘

She kept insisting him ' ok. At least you convert him'.

So, one day the emperor decided 'Okay, I will convert him'.

In those days the understanding of what it was to be a Hindu was so superficial that someone thought if you got contaminated, you are outcast. To be followers of the Vedas was something very, changing one's religion was something very superficial. The actual teaching given in the Vedas, 'Sanatana dharma' - is our eternal religious principle to be a servitor of the Lord, the question of changing like this doesn't come up.

But in Kali yuga, the Brahmānas created this havoc so that if a Mohammedan spit in a glass of water and make you drink it or threw it on you, you are considered polluted and then no Brahmāna would accept you as a member of Vedic culture any more. So, you are outcaste.

 So then, in this way today there is 12 percent or more of Mohammedans in India. Some states like in Bengal over twenty five percent just because of these kind of speculative idea about somebody's identity. So, the king, the emperor brought in this Lord and said ' I'm going to convert you.'

He said 'What! Why?'

There was apparently that respectable Hindus were not converted like that. It was done only as a kind of punishment.

He said ' No! because my queen is insisting because you whipped me once when I was a prince. I don't want to do it, but the queen insists, I can't say no'.

Apparently, he was a hen-pecked emperor. So, then he spit in a glass of water and held up.

'Oh! No, No..., No!'

Splish (splashing sound)

Threw it over. That was it.

'Now you no longer (devotees laughing) Vedic, you are now Muslim.'

 So, then he went to different Brahmānas and requested them.

Somebody said, ‘Well, you go to the bottom of the Ganges and (seems missing 26:50) drink it.'

 'That will kill me.'

'Yes, but next birth you take birth as Hindu'. This was not like what he was looking for. (Devotees laughing) You can see how people didn’t convert back. You know the solutions they gave were like one-way dead-end roads. So, somehow, he came to Lord Caitanya and asked how he could get purified. Lord caitanya thought for a second and then said 'You just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa 3 times'

'Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa'. 'Okay. You are purified.' He became one of the big generals of the Sankirtan movement after that. (Devotees saying 'Haribol'). Someone said,' Why three times? Once was enough.'

One Harinām is enough to purify one of so many sins, more than what one can commit (Aside: For good measure). So, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are, this idea of caste or creed or colour, designations and false identifications are crossed over very easily.

But to get people to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, we need to give them Srila Prabhupada's books. If they can get the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda then they convey them, then they can understand what is the actual purpose of life, who they are.

So, it's not uncommon that one will identify strongly with the body and identify with other similar types of bodies. Even though there was nobody similar to Lord Brahmā, but he was identifying with his body. He thought that his body was better than Kṛṣṇa’s body at first but then when Kṛṣṇa revealed His unlimited potency. Then Brahmā became overwhelmed with devotion, fell down at His feet and became purified. From his dehatma budhi as a Brahmā and he became fixed in his identity as a devotee of the Lord.

So, this is our purpose- is to, people can identify- Daiva varṇāśrama means, the daiva part means we identify as a devotee. We don't identify that I'm a Brahmāna, a kṣatriya, Vaiśya, śūdra.

But we identify 'I'm a devotee of the Lord. But my body has got a particular nature. I'm not my body. So, I use my body according to the type of nature that the body has. Although I will keep my own identity very clear that I'm a pure devotee of the Lord, I'm a nitya- eternal living entity’. This consciousness is lacking in the previous Varṇāśrama system, especially the perverted Varṇāśrama system that is generated during this kali yuga. That created all these problems. We don't want to reproduce, neither is it possible to reproduce the kind of caste system. What we wanted to do is to organize society and educate the people large about their real spiritual identity. Because we have a material body which has a certain nature, everyone different.

So, for the organization of the society, we do according to Varṇāśrama. But we don't ever lose sight of our actual spiritual identity as the eternal devotee of the Lord. So that even if somebody has a Brahmā body, or they have a Śiva or they have a whatever daiva body or human body or Brahmāna, or Vaiśya, śūdra, what type of body, but they all engaged in devotional service. When they engage in devotional service, when they identifying as a devotee of the Lord, actually they are purified. Even though they may be superficially functioning according to the particular varna or asram, but actually they are purified. This is what the world needs and this is what the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement is offering to the world.

Yesterday in the library we were doing some service for Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, I just happened to look at New Orleans public library database. And most of the Bhāgavatams there are so many cantos still all the [Not Clear 30:17] first canto first part Bhāgavatam every copy is not there. But all the other cantos, up to the ninth canto is there. There is only another, other small books are only ‘Science of Self Realization’, ‘Bhagavad Gita’ 1972 edition, few copies but under Bhaktivedanta Swami- author, nothing under Kṛṣṇa.

Under Kṛṣṇa, if you look under Kṛṣṇa the only thing you find is ‘Dark horse’, ‘Where did joy disappear in the Hare Kṛṣṇa’ or something like that, ‘The Monkey and sticks’ 16 copies. More, there is only two copies of Bhagavad Gītā but 16 copies of that (pause). See there is a definite bias in the. Anyway, under Kṛṣṇa, there is no, Bhagavad Gītā is not under Kṛṣṇa. Actually, the author of Bhagavad Gītā should be cross referenced. We should have our, our Kṛṣṇa sakti … you say...librarian should get the cross references there proper. Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad Gītā, but under Kṛṣṇa there is no mention of Bhagavad Gītā.

So only way you can find the Bhāgavatam is if you look Bhaktivedanta Swami or you actually give the actual title. But if you look at Kṛṣṇa, I don't know how many other cross reference they had but at least I didn't, it's a huge database and I just looked about those two names. Under yoga it wasn't there either. Under yoga there were some other bogus books. I didn't see bhakti. Bhagavad Gita. People don't actually know even what these books stand for, what they mean. Probably the librarians don't know how to cross reference.

But Bhāgavatam could be cross referenced you know thousand times. So many important instructions are there. Specially each volume could have its own cross reference according to, some volumes are talking of Brahmā, some about Siva, some about different things.

People in general, they need these books. But even if they go to the library, the books are there but they can't get them very easily. They have to know the name of Bhaktivedanta Swami or they have to pick up-I don't know how they will find it. See…. Not very easy to get to.

When someone has a problem, this ecological problem in Malaysia or they will look for a book to solve ecology. Well, they want to have a book to solve these different problems. Actually, these answers are in different parts of the Bhāgavatam. But if they look in the index of the database, they don't find - Bhāgavatam won't come up, unfortunately. That's why even the books are in the library still, we have to distribute the books to the people. Because that's the only way we can easily get them in their hands.

So Brahmā is crying, but he is crying in ecstasy, he is crying in joy. This is the perfection of life, is when we can cry in love of Kṛṣṇa, cry in ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā forgot everything -his position, his. He just fell down at the feet of Kṛṣṇa and put his head on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. So, we can understand how glorified Lord Brahmā is, how merciful Lord Kṛṣṇa is.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Sri Sri Radha Radhakanth ki

Devotees: Jaii

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Sri Gaura Nitai ki

Devotees: Jai

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Sri Brahmā Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Guru parampara ki

Devotees:Jaii

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Sri Sri Brahmā dev ki

Devotees:Jaii

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Any questions?

Devotee: Inaudible [Not Clear 33:40]

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: How can a devotee be proud when the devotee never forgets that everything that the devotee is able to do is simply by the mercy of Guru and Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhagavad Gītā there is an important verse- (Aside: I don’t know if you find it) Savya-sācin, is the word that comes there is not used very often, where Lord Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that he is a 'nimitta-mātram'. That he is simply via media for manifesting the Lords -or instrument for manifesting Lord's mercy, the Lord's will.

And there in the purport Prabhupāda very nicely explains-what verse is that? - that he should act as an instrument. So, it's because we forget, we think that we are the doer, therefore we get into the difficulty. Kṛṣṇa explains how. That it's actually the bewilderment of maya that we think that we are the doer. We are the soul, because of our …. ‘kartāham iti manyate’ (BG 3.27), we think we are doing, then we get puffed up. But if we remember. Just like there was this devotee Govinda who was servitor of, although he was a disciple when somebody came up to him and glorified him 'You are very great, you have all good qualities'. And then they Ramanuja said it is, Normally Vaishnavas are supposed to be very humble. Then they asked him ' How is it that you are saying like that?' and He said, 'Well I know that before I was a devotee I had no transcendental or spiritual qualities. And if I have any qualities now that they are seeing, it must be that they are seeing simply the good qualities of the Guru. Only by his mercy can I do anything. But because the Guru has given me some mercy, that's why I'm saying, accepting their praise. Actually, I don't have any personal good quality or credit. Because I had nothing spiritual about me when I came.’ That's actually simply the mercy of the Lord and his devotees, his guru.

Any other question…?

Devotee: [Inaudible 36:17]

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Well, that's everything we do we do according to sādhu, śāstra and guru.

According to sādhu, śāstra and guru if Brahmā had considered what he was doing then he would not have done like that. So to avoid that kind of mistake we should also not act under the platform of false ego. But do everything considering what will be pleasing to Guru and Kṛṣṇa and what was authorized by previous great devotees.

(Aside: Devotee: That’s what it is said here) Read the verse.

(Devotee reads out the verse BG 11.33, Translation, Purport)

 

tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva

jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham

mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva

nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin

 

Translation:Therefore, get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācī, can be but an instrument in the fight.

 

Purport: Savya-sācin refers to one who can shoot arrows very expertly in the field; thus Arjuna is addressed as an expert warrior capable of delivering arrows to kill his enemies. “Just become an instrument”: nimitta-mātram. This word is also very significant. The whole world is moving according to the plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Foolish persons who do not have sufficient knowledge think that nature is moving without a plan and all manifestations are but accidental formations. There are many so-called scientists who suggest that perhaps it was like this, or maybe like that, but there is no question of “perhaps” and “maybe.” There is a specific plan being carried out in this material world. What is this plan? This cosmic manifestation is a chance for the conditioned souls to go back to Godhead, back to home. As long as they have the domineering mentality which makes them try to lord it over material nature, they are conditioned. But anyone who can understand the plan of the Supreme Lord and cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness is most intelligent. The creation and destruction of the cosmic manifestation are under the superior guidance of God. Thus the Battle of Kurukṣetra was fought according to the plan of God. Arjuna was refusing to fight, but he was told that he should fight in accordance with the desire of the Supreme Lord. Then he would be happy. If one is in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and his life is devoted to the Lord’s transcendental service, he is perfect..

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami : Any other question? Śrīla Prabhupāda ki

Devotees: jai!

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Ki

Devotees: Jai!.                                  

Second Level Proofer: Karuṇāpati Keśava das

Second Level Proofed on: 23-Nov- 2020