SB 4.10.5 – Being Present with Krishna—His Holy Name and Deity

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Ten, “Dhruva Mahārāja’s Fight with the Yakṣas,”

TEXT 5

gatvodīcīṁ diśaṁ rājā

rudrānucara-sevitām

dadarśa himavad-droṇyāṁ

purīṁ guhyaka-saṅkulām

TRANSLATION

Dhruva Mahārāja went to the northern direction of the Himālayan range. In a valley he saw a city full of ghostly persons who were followers of Lord Śiva.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this verse it is stated that the Yakṣas are more or less devotees of Lord Śiva. By this indication the Yakṣas may be taken to be the Himālayan tribes like the Tibetans.

COMMENT

This verse continues the previous verse, Text Four, which says, “When Dhruva Maharaja heard of the killing of his brother Uttama by the Yakṣas in the Himalaya Mountains, being overwhelmed with lamentation and anger, he got on his chariot and went out for victory over the city of the Yakṣas, Alakāpurī.” ‘

So, Dhruva Maharaja was a most determined person. We saw his determination when he was insulted by his stepmother, Suruci. Dhruva Maharaja was playing on the lap of his father, on the throne, and Suruci said, “How dare you sit on the throne? You are not born of my womb.” And the father, out of excessive attachment for his favorite wife, Suruci, threw Dhruva down from the throne and rejected him. So, Dhruva Maharaja had a kshatriya spirit. He took the insult very much to heart, and he wanted to prevail by getting a kingdom even greater than that of his father, King Uttanapada. So, he approached his mother Suniti, and asked her what to do, and she said that personally, she could not help him because Dhruva’s father favored his co-wife Suruci over Suniti. So, Dhruva Maharaja said, “Well, then how can I get my kingdom?” And his mother said, “I don’t know, but I think only God can help you.” He said, “Where can I find God?” She said, “Well, many sages and saintly persons search for him in the forest, so maybe you can find him there.”

So, Dhruva Maharaja went, he was just a young lad of five years, but he was very determined to find God. In his own way, as a child, he was searching in the bushes, behind the trees, under rocks, he was very determined to find God. And the Lord who is within the heart of all living entities understood the sincerity of purpose of Dhruva, and so, He sent a spiritual master to guide him. From within the heart of Narada Muni, He inspired Narada Muni to go to the forest to find Dhruva Maharaja. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta states, guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja, by the combined mercy of guru and Krishna, one gets the seed of devotional service. Or as it is sometimes said, by the mercy of Krishna, one gets guru, and by the mercy of guru, one gets Krishna.

So, the Lord sent Narada to instruct Dhruva. Narada first of all tested him. He said, “You are too young to be searching for God. You are just a child, you should play like other children, you shouldn’t take the insult so seriously. After all, we are not the body, we have nothing to do with the pains and pleasures of the body. So, just forget about this so-called insult, and go back to your home and enjoy your life as a child.” And Dhruva Maharaja replied, “I am very determined to get my kingdom, and if you are going to tell me to go home, then you can just go home.” So, Narada Muni understood that the boy is very serious, very determined. Then he instructed him in the process of devotional service, gave him the name of God to chant. And Dhruva followed the instructions very sincerely and seriously. And within a period of six months, he was blessed with darshan of the Lord. Lord Narayana Himself came to see Dhruva Maharaja. He asked him to take some benedictions, and Dhruva Maharaja refused. And the Lord said, “Well, what about your kingdom? You were so eager for your kingdom, that is why you came to the forest, to search for Me.” And Dhruva Maharaja replied, svāmin kṛtārtho ’smi varaṁ na yāce, “The kingdom that I was seeking was just like a piece of broken glass, and now that I have found You, You are like the most precious jewel. So, I am thousands of times more satisfied, and I don’t want any benediction.”

And Dhruva Maharaja’s responses are characteristic of pure devotees. When Lord Nṛsiṁha appeared to Prahlada Maharaja, he was also a boy of five years, and asked him to accept some benediction, Prahlada also didn’t want any benediction, he wanted only to be able to serve the Lord. He wanted only to be blessed that no matter what happens, he will never forget the Lord. And that is the desire of all pure devotees. But sometimes the Lord, for His own reasons, wants the devotee to accept some position of material opulence, not for the sense gratification of the devotee, but for some other things, for the devotee’s service, for the glorification of the devotee. But in any case, Dhruva Maharaja was very determined, and when he heard that the Yakṣas had killed his brother Uttama, as it is mentioned, he was filled with anger, overcome with lamentation, and he developed the determination to avenge his brother’s death. And as it is mentioned in Text Four, he got out of his chariot and went out for victory over the city of the Yakṣas. And then in this verse, it describes that he actually found the city of the Yakṣas. And the following verses will explain the battle between Dhruva and the Yakṣas.

In relation to the previous verse, we discussed, to some extent, kopa—anger, and śucā—lamentation. Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu mentioned briefly amarṣa, which is mentioned as vengeance in the synonym, although it is referred to as envy in the purport. And Rvindra Svarupa Prabhu said in this case, envy is not being used with a very specific sense of wanting something that someone else has, but in a more general sense of having bad feelings towards someone, or some group of people. Envy, in perhaps the most specific sense, is the cause of the fall of the living entity in the material world. And he is envious of Krishna, he wants to occupy the position of Krishna. In fact, he wants to become God. And because of that desire, kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare, when one that becomes envious of Krishna, or inimical towards Krishna, turns away from Krishna and wants to enjoy independent of Krishna, he comes under the control of maya, and is punished, forced to suffer in so many ways. And therefore, the way to gain [Unintelligible 00:16:51] from suffering is to turn back to Krishna and give up one’s envy.

So, at one stage in my devotional service, in 1971, we were in Surat at the time, and I was perceiving that I was being afflicted by envy, and I didn’t like this big obstacle to be impediment in my chanting, in my relationships with other devotees, in my service in general, and I thought about it deeply, and I reasoned that there is really no benefit to being envious because what do I want? As a devotee what do I want? I want service. And Krishna is unlimited, consequently His service is unlimited, He can engage unlimited numbers of devotees in service, and He can accept unlimited quantities of service, there is no scarcity of the opportunity to serve. And therefore, if someone else has some service, why should I envy him? Why should I what that service? I can have any service. I can also do that service as well. So, I considered the matter, and concluded that there was no benefit, it was just a disturbance. But still, it was there. And in general, I was not approaching Prabhupada with any question unless I was unable to get this answered by any other means. I would chant, I would pray, I would think, I would read Prabhupada’s books, I would discuss with other devotees, and only after trying everything else, if I found that I wasn’t able to get the answer, then I would approach Srila Prabhupada, and that was the case. But this envy just wasn’t going away. It wasn’t constant, but it would raise its ugly head from time to time.

So, he was taking his massage [Unintelligible 00:20:20] and I took the opportunity to approach him. And I asked him, “What do we do about envy?” And Srila Prabhupada responded first by saying, “Can you think of any reason why you should not be envious?” And I had been thinking in those terms, and I said, “Yes, there are many reasons.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “All right. To be envious means you don’t like someone. So, that not liking should not be directed towards devotees, that not liking should be directed towards demons who are creating havoc in the world and creating difficulties for devotees.” That was the answer. And sometimes we hear that everything can be used for Krishna’s service except envy, but in this sense of envy, not liking someone, having bad feelings towards someone, that can be directed towards anger. We discussed anger can also be directed towards demons, to either chastise them or reform them, or both.

In the same conversation incidentally, I asked Srila Prabhupada about hearing when we chant the holy name, “How do we hear?” Because it was a bit of a struggle that I could perceive that “I” as a soul, as pure consciousness wanting to hear the holy name, but there was some structure, some covering. So somehow, I had to figure out how to get the holy name through the covering, into my consciousness. And I would chant, chant with some effort, [Unintelligible 00:23:43]. And Srila Prabhupada was sitting in a very relaxed mood, taking his massage. I asked him, “So, how do I hear the holy name?” And he replied, “Very simply, just like I am hearing you speak. Just be very relaxed, no special efforts, just like I am hearing you speak.” Now, some people might have difficulty hearing others speak. Unless they are speaking nonsense, otherwise, I naturally hear what people say, I am attentive when they speak. And I was thinking why, like Prabhupada said, “Just hear, just the way I am hearing you speak.” So, we can hear people speak, but when we chant the holy name, there is so much resistance. You can hear so many devotees speak about their difficulties, about their faults to be very attentive. But when it comes to the holy name, there is so much resistance, so many other thoughts. But anyway, that was Prabhupada’s instruction.

But of course, as we make the effort over a period of time and become free from anarthas, it becomes easier, but that is [Unintelligible]. Then I also asked, in the same little conversation, I asked about the eighth verse of the Gurvashtakam, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto pi / dhyayan stuvams tasya yashas tri-sandhyam vande guroh sri-charanaravindam, what does that mean? We know the translation, offering obeisances to the spiritual master, very expert in the system, Radha and Krishna and Their pastimes. And Srila Prabhupada replied that that is how the author of this song, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, saw his spiritual master. And then he said, “Is that alright? Are you satisfied with that answer?” I said, “Yes.” Although over the years, devotees have had more questions on that topic, but at the time, he said, “Is that alright?” I said, “Yes.” So anyway, Krishna consciousness is a great adventure, chanting and hearing and serving, preaching, getting more realizations. Many realizations come from struggles. Dhruva Maharaja struggled, but through his struggle, he was determined, he didn’t give up his efforts. Through his struggle he realized God, learned so many things about devotional service.

And Prabhupada writes that Krishna consciousness should be a thrill at every moment, and that is really just [Unintelligible 00:28:32]. It is like that when you make an effort to chant without offenses, you don’t just carry on in a mechanical way, mechanical use of mindless way. That hearing with attention, that should be a constant effort. Of course, it is primary with which we have japa, but we come in the temple, we offer obeisances to the deities or to the spiritual master, we say our praṇāma mantras to the spiritual master, are we hearing what we are saying or is our mind somewhere else? We look at the deities, but are we really looking? Are we really beholding their beauty? If someone asks us ten minutes later, “What outfit were the deities wearing?” Would we be able to answer? Could we see what they were wearing? Did we appreciate it? Did we see how they were decorated? So, Krishna consciousness means being present in the moment with Krishna, the sound of the holy name, the sound of the prayers that we recite, of the form of the deity. Of the five most potent items in devotional service, worshiping the deity with faith and reverence is one of the five, it is a very powerful process. But again, we should have the feeling, just like with the holy name, we should notice Krishna personally. But the deity, we also should have the same feeling and conviction, that the deity is Krishna Himself, and He can speak to us. There is a story of Sakshi Gopal, which is told in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. How many of you know the story of the Sakshi Gopal? And how many don’t? I will tell you, just briefly.

So, there was an elderly brahman in Orissa, the same state Dhruva Maharaja would go to, and he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Vrindavan, the most holy place connected with Lord Krishna’s pastimes. And a young brahman came forward to assist him on the way. And that is the culture, the younger people serve the elders to their capacity. So, he assisted him all the while, and finally, they came to Vrindavan, to a very beautiful, large deity named Gopal [Unintelligible 00:32:55]. And the old man became so ecstatic seeing Gopal, it was, like, the fulfillment of his pilgrimage, and he felt deep gratitude towards the young brahman, and he told the young brahman, “You have helped me so much, without any help I never could have made it. I want to reciprocate, I want you to be related to me, I want to give my daughter to you in marriage.” But the young brahman said, “I don’t need anything in return from you, I was happy just to serve you, it was my duty to serve you.” He said, “No, I want to have some family relation with you, I want to give you my daughter in marriage.”

So, the younger brahman said, “You should not say such things in front of the deity. If you say it in front of the deity, you have to do it. And marriages should be performed by people of similar qualifications. Your family is very affluent, I come from a poor family, and your family is very educated, I am not educated. Your wife and your son will never agree. So, don’t say it, at least not in front of the deity.” But he said, “No, no, I want to give my daughter to you in marriage.” So, they returned to Orissa, and finally, the time came, the older brahman informed his family of his intention, and his wife became outraged that he could suggest such a relationship. She said, “If you have our daughter marry that brahman from poor family, uneducated, I will commit suicide.” And his son, the girl’s brother, he was very abusive and speaking terrible things about the young brahman. He certainly loved the father, but the father was in a dilemma, he didn’t know what to do. And the young brahman returned and said, “You promised in front of the deity. I don’t mind, I am not interested in marrying your daughter as such, but you promised in front of the deity, and if you break the promise you made in front of the deity, it will be very bad for you.” Actually, we promise, when we are initiated, we promise before the deity, before the fire, before the spiritual master, before the Vaishnavas, they take the promises seriously. He said, “You promised in front of the deity, now if you don’t keep your promise, it will be a big offense. What are you going to do about your promise? I don’t care personally, but I am concerned about you.” So, the old man explained the dilemma he was in.

So, he brought it up again to the son, and he explained his dilemma to the son, and the son said, “Look, I will tell you what to do. You just say you don’t remember, and I will take care of everything else.” So, the next time when the young brahman came and raised the question, the older brahman said, “I don’t remember.” And just then, the son interjected, “Oh, you gave my father some intoxicant and you stole all his wealth, and now you are making up this story that he agreed to give my sister to you in marriage. How can you even agree to such a proposal? It is ridiculous.” So, the young brahman said, “He promised in front of the deity, he promised in front of the deity, he can’t take back his word.” So, the son was an atheist, he said, “Okay, well, he promised in front of the deity, let the deity come and bear testimony that he promised.” And so, the son was an atheist, for him the idea of the deity was. . . It was a big deity and in those days, travel was basically by foot. And the poor brahman, there was no way he could carry big deity like that from Vrindavan to Orissa. So, the son thought there is no problem. So, they called the town’s people and in front of the town’s people the son said, “If the deity comes, then I will agree for my sister to be given. But otherwise, this young brahman did this and that, and we will punish him severely.”

So, the young brahman returned to Vrindavan, he went to the deity Gopal. He said, “Gopal, do you remember the old man? He promised his daughter to me in marriage?” “Yes, I remember.” Well, now, because of family pressure, the old brahman doesn’t want to give his daughter to me, and his family says only if You come in person, will they agree.” And Gopal said, “I am just a deity, how can I walk?” So, the young brahman said, “Well, you are talking. If you can talk, why can’t you walk?” So, Gopal said, “Yes, you have a point there.” So, He said, “All right, I will follow you on two conditions. One is, every day you have to feed Me some rice. And two, when you are walking, you should not look behind you to see if I am following you, but you will know from the sound of My ankle belts that I follow you.” So that way, they walked all the way to Orissa, very near the brahman’s town, and then the brahman could no longer hear the tinkling of the ankle bells. So he turned around, and there was Gopal. And Gopal said, “All right, I am staying here, you have turned around, and so I am not going any further, I am staying here.” It was very close to the town. And children of the old brahman came, they called the family, the villagers, and they saw that indeed Gopal had walked from Vrindavan to bear testimony to the promise that the old man gave to the young brahman.

So, if we see the deity [Unintelligible 00:42:50] and treat the deity like Krishna, He will reveal himself as Krishna. It is like the holy name. You chant the holy name with the understanding that the holy name is Krishna, you are attentive to the holy name just as you would be attentive to Krishna, if He were to come in person. So, in the same way, if we see the deity as Krishna and are attentive to the deity as if we were serving the Supreme Lord directly, He will reveal Himself, and He could talk to us. Srila Sanatana Gosvami also had his deity, Madana Mohan. Well, I will tell the story. So, this deity, Madana Mohan, wanted to be served by Sanatana Gosvami, and Sanatana Gosvami said, “I am just a mendicant. I have no home, I have no possession, I have no facility to worship you properly. Whatever little I get in a day, that is what I eat, and I won’t be able to serve you properly.” But Madana-Mohana insisted, “No, I want to go with you, I want you to serve Me.” So, Sanatana Gosvami went after the deity, and they were residing together near the Yamuna River in Vrindavan. And all Sanatana Gosvami would offer the deity was these balls of chapati dough. So one day, the deity complained, “You are just offering Me dry chapattis, you are not even giving Me salt with it.” Sanatana Gosvami said, “My Lord, I am truly sorry, but I don’t have even salt. I told You at the beginning I wasn’t going to be able to serve You properly.” “Okay.” So, then, a large barge carrying a huge [Unintelligible 00:46:00] of salt to be sold by a rich businessman. The barge got stuck in the sand, very near Sanatana Gosvami’s place of residence. This is all forest.

Vrindavan was really a very dense forest. Even in the last hundred years, it is a very dense forest. Srila Prabhupada had a friend in Vrindavan named Babaji, he had his house near the Krishna-Balaram temple. So, anyway. He told some devotees that when he first came to Vrindavan as a young man, you could walk from Raman Reti, where the Krishna-Balaram temple is, where his house was, all the way to Govardhana in the middle of the day, and never see the light of the sun, because the forest was so dense. That was just not even a hundred years ago. So, Vrindavan was a forest, and the owner of the shipment, I believe his name was Mr. Kapoor, he didn’t know what to do, the barge was stuck, and it was a dense forest. So, Madana-Mohana goes down to the Yamuna and tells Sri Kapoor, “There is Bala up the hill, and He might be able to help you.” So, Sri Kapoor ji came up to Sanatana Gosvami and he told him that, “My barge is stuck. I had invested so much in the salt.” Anyway, I will cut the story a little short. So, Sanatana Gosvami. . .Anyway, he went back to barge, and the barge got released from being stuck in the sand, and he took it as the blessings of Sanatana Gosvami. So, he wanted to do something in return. He knew that Sanatana Gosvami had saved him. So, he said, “Well, if you want to do something, you can build a temple for Madana-Mohana,” which he did. But even till today, they offer the deity of Madana-Mohana those little dry chapati dough balls.

So, the deity is Krishna, He can talk to you. If you serve in that mood, with that love, he can talk to you. So, Srila Prabhupada said, like that, “If you see the deity as Krishna, He will manifest Himself as Krishna, He will talk to you. And if you see the deity as stone, then for you the deity will remain a stone forever, it is not automatic, it depends on our understanding and our desire to develop our relationship with Krishna.” So, these two processes go together, bhāgavata-mārga and  pāñcarātrika-vidhi, hearing and chanting about Krishna, and worshiping the deity. Each is full in and of itself, and together, they are very effective. And these deities, all of the deities here, Radha-Nilamadhava, very beautiful, very potent, and just like in Vrindavan [Unintelligible 00:51:04]. So, if we become mindful of the deity of Krishna, mindful of the holy name, then yes, They will answer.

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇa

puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi

vidhunoti suhṛt satām

All that is inauspicious, abhadrāṇi, it will be cleansed. The Lord who is within the heart as the well-wisher of the truthful devotee, He will cleanse the desire for material enjoyment from within the heart. Satām, Srila Prabhupada translates as truthful devotee. Sat means truth, and sat also means devotee. So truthful devotee, Srila Prabhupada explains is one who is not duplicitous, one who is sincere about developing his relationship with Krishna, or relationship [Unintelligible 00:52:49] devotional service, not making a pretense of devotional service and having some other motivation. So, that is truthful devotee.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura emphasized that quality of saralata, simplicity of the devotee, as opposed to duplicity. So, if one is simple devotee, saralata, truthful devotee and he engages in hearing the messages of Krishna, śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇa, then the Lord who is the well-wisher of the devotee situated in the heart will cleanse the desire for material enjoyment from within the heart. He will clear up all the inauspicious things within the heart. We can’t do it ourselves but if we are sincere, and we show our sincerity by our efforts, then Krishna will take up the work, and all the inauspicious things in the heart will be removed, and then it will be more natural, more spontaneous. We can hear; we hear it is really Krishna, see it is really Krishna. And then our progress becomes smoother and easier. Up to that stage, [Unintelligible 00:54:50] but still, we continue, we persevere. But anyway, we have the holy name, we have [Unintelligible 00:55:06], holy name, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, association with very nice devotees.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:55:33]

Giriraj Swami: [Unintelligible 00:55:50] she sees Krishna but there is something she forgets. [Unintelligible 00:56:05] so many of the devotees, when they actually see the Lord, they pray to never forget, because that is our tendency, to forget. So, we can pray and just continue the effort to hear. Hear without offense means that we hear without offense, with attention, keep good company of saints who have faith, who have taste. A little a secret formula. Avoiding offences, serving devotees also is very purifying. Is that all right? Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:57:44]

Giriraj Swami: First of all, what Caitanya-caritāmṛta says is, guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja, “By the mercy of the guru and Krishna, one gets the seed of devotional service.” But then one has to become a gardener and take care of the seed, and one has to water it with hearing and chanting about Krishna. And then one has to be careful of weeds, unwanted plants that may grow up alongside the devotional creeper. And if one sees a weed, one has to uproot it. And one should also fence the devotional creeper so that the mad elephant of offense cannot come into one’s garden, into the garden of one’s heart, and destroy the creeper. So the mercy is there in the instructions that one receives, but you also have to do your part. You have to water it, you have to water the plant by hearing and chanting, you have to be vigilant that no weeds should come. And if the weeds come, no material desires with different weeds, but broadly, desires for sense gratification of the mental speculation. If one sees those weeds, one has to take them out, and then one must fence the creeper.

As Srila Prabhupada explains, putting a fence around the creeper means staying within the circle of pure devotees. To stay in the circle of pure devotees means the mad elephant, the vaiṣṇava-aparādha cannot enter your garden. So, there are things that you have to do. And if your devotional creeper is not growing so strong, you can’t say that it is because the guru isn’t giving you as much mercy as he is giving someone else. His primary mercy is of the instructions he gives, but it is up to you to follow the instructions. The guru wants to give mercy to everyone, Krishna wants to give mercy. But you have to follow the process. And yes, it is true. We say yes, when the devotee has mercy from the guru, the mercy of the Lord follows. But they are both always giving mercy. Prabhupada said, by the mercy of Krishna one gets guru and by the mercy of guru, one gets Krishna. So it by the mercy of Krishna that one gets guru, like Dhruva Maharaja. Krishna, within the heart of Narada Muni, sent him to instruct Dhruva. That was Krishna’s mercy that He sent Narada. So, they want to give mercy, but the primary mercy comes in the form of the instructions. So, you have to follow them, at least make the effort to follow them to your best capacity. Guru is not favoring but someone else. . . The guru is equal to everyone. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante , as one surrenders, the guru will reciprocate, Krishna will reciprocate but not on the basis of partiality. Anyone can surrender [Unintelligible 01:04:09].

Do you want to? That is the real question, what is your desire in your heart? Do you want Krishna; do you want to serve Krishna? Do you want to stay around in the material world and try to enjoy it more? That is the real question. Not for you, for each and every one. Could you understand my English? Do you have anything more to say or ask? Any other questions or comments?

Okay, thank you very much. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krishna.