SB 15.1–7 – Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day—Balarama Purnima

Giriraj Swami: Thank you for your nice sharing of thoughts and realizations and narrations of Lord Balarama’s pastimes. I’m very impressed and touched by what everyone said. The understanding of Lord Balarama or any subject in Krishna consciousness can be seen from two angles. One is called tattva, which means, you could say, truth; existential truth or spiritual truth, and the other is rasa, or the mellow relationship. So, in terms of tattva, Krishna is the Original Personality of Godhead. He is the origin of everything.

In the Bhagavad-gītā [7.8], He says:

TEXT 8

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

COMMENT

“I am the origin of everything, and from Me, everything emanates.” And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a list of various incarnations of Krishna. And at the end of the list, the Bhāgavatam explains that all of the above-mentioned personalities are portions; plenary portions or portions of plenary portions of Krishna, but kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam, Krishna is the Original Personality of Godhead.

And in the Brahma-saṁhitā also, it is explained that just as from one candle, you can light a second candle, and from the second candle, you can light a third candle, and so on, and they all are of the same candle power, but still, there is one original candle. And in the same way, the Godhead, Krishna, expands Himself to Balarama, Balarama extends Himself, and so on. But still, there is one Original Personality of Godhead, and that is Krishna.

Now, whenever Krishna appears on Earth, Balarama accompanies Him in some form. When Krishna came as Ramachandra, Balarama came as Lakshman. And as Lakshman, He was Rama’s younger brother. And being the younger brother, He had to obey the older brother’s orders. And in Rama-līlā, Lakshman was compelled to do many things that He did not want to do.

One of the most difficult things, there were many, but one of the most difficult things was after Rama had defeated Ravana and rescued Sita, Lord Ramachandra was not prepared to take her back because He said that she had spent the night with another man, and therefore, she was not worthy of being accepted back. And He said that He did not fight this battle for the sake of regaining Sita, but He fought it for the sake of upholding the prestige of His family’s dynasty.

And at that time, there was going to be a test of Sita’s chastity. He ordered Lakshman to prepare this fire, and the idea was that Sitadevi would enter into the fire. If she was unchaste, she would be consumed by the flames of the fire, and if she was chaste, she would emerge. So, Sita, being, of course, the universal mother and also the wife of the older brother, was worshipable for Lakshman. So, it was a very difficult and painful instruction for Him to follow, to convey this information to her and to actually prepare the fire and light the fire.

There are many other such incidents. So, within Himself, Lakshman resolved, “I’m never going to appear as the younger brother again.” He said, “I’m being compelled to do too many painful acts, and I’m never going to appear as the younger brother again.”

So, although He is the expansion of Krishna, Krishna is the original, but in terms of rasa, He didn’t want to be the younger brother. And, so Balarama, He is the older brother, as Nityananda Prabhu, He is also the older brother. And as Svarupa Damodara Prabhu explained, Lord Balarama is so eager to serve Krishna in every respect, and to relish that mellow, He takes service to Krishna in different relationships. As Ananta-sesa, He expands Himself into all of Krishna’s paraphernalia to the land of Vrindavan, and as a brother, sometimes He would be in the mood of service.

Of course, it was reciprocal, but sometimes, He would be a servant and fan Krishna, massage Krishna, and serve Krishna that way, and then a friend. That’s Their primary relationship. And then, being the older brother, there would be an element of parental affection or parental care. And then mādhurya-rasa, of course, that cannot be done in a male form, and so He expanded Himself in the form of Ananga Manjari, who appears as the younger sister of Srimati Radharani. But there is always a competition because everyone wants to serve and give pleasure to others. I mean, in the pure state of consciousness, everyone wants to serve and give pleasure to others.

In the contaminated state, we want to be served; we want people to please our senses. But in the pure state, in the natural state, in our original consciousness, we want to serve and give pleasure to others, and that also applies to Krishna and Balarama. In fact, They are the first beings, and They also exhibit that tendency.

So, I thought of reading a few verses from the Tenth Canto, which describe the beautiful life in Vrindavan, and also the sweet exchanges between Krishna and Balarama. And different devotees have told different pastimes and drawn out lessons for us from those pastimes that we can apply in our own lives. And there are many lessons in this, and part of it is how to be friends.

So, this is Chapter Fifteen, which is, The Killing of Dhenuka, the Ass Demon. And as Kunti devi explained, this demon is killed by Lord Balarama, and he is ignorant. Asses are ignorant. And asses also carry burdens needlessly. I don’t know if you’ve seen in India, but actually, they do. I don’t know if I’ve seen it recently, but I have seen them. They carry these huge bundles of laundry on their backs. And Srila Prabhupada explains they are so foolish that they carry this huge heavy burden so that at the end of the day, they get a few morsels of grass. But grass is growing everywhere. They don’t have to carry that huge burden to get a few morsels of grass. But they are so foolish that they think that if they don’t, they won’t get their morsels of grass.

So, Dhenukāsura, he also exemplifies these false burdens that we carry with us for no good purpose, and part of being relieved of our ignorance is being relieved of these false self-imposed burdens of responsibility or whatever.

So, this Chapter Fifteen of the Tenth Canto is very significant because in this Chapter, Krishna and Balarama reach the stage of Paugaṇḍa. They pass to three stages or ages in Vrindavan.

First is Kaumara. Kaumara is a small child up until the age of five. And up until the age of five, They are not really given charge of the cows, but They assist the elders, but They basically stay around the house. But when They reach the paugaṇḍa age, They are allowed to go out with the cows, go out into the Vrindavan forest. And this is a very significant event because leaving the Vrindavan village and going into the Vrindavan forest or to Govardhana in different places creates a whole new dynamic of separation, which is very central to the relishing of rasa.

And so, when They would be in the Vrindavan village, Nanda and Yasoda and the elders of the village would have Their association. And then, when Krishna and Balarama would go out with the cows, then they would be in separation. But Their boyfriends would have Their association, and back home, Their boyfriends would be in Their houses. And Krishna would be in His house. So, They would be separated. This was really when They started to go into the Vrindavan forest. Earlier, They were in Gokula.

And so, this Chapter, this stage of life is very important because it introduces Vrindavan. So, I will just read the verses for the sake of time. So, Text One, although Sanskrit is also very beautiful.

TEXT 1

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When Lord Rāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa attained the age of paugaṇḍa [six to ten] while living in Vṛndāvana, the cowherd men allowed Them to take up the task of tending the cows. Engaging thus in the company of Their friends, the two boys rendered the land of Vṛndāvana most auspicious by imprinting upon it the marks of Their lotus feet.

COMMENT

So, this is a very significant event, and it’s celebrated on the Vaishnava calendar as Gopastami. It’s the day on which Krishna and Balarama were given the charge of the cows.

TEXT 2

Thus desiring to enjoy pastimes, Lord Mādhava, sounding His flute, surrounded by cowherd boys who were chanting His glories, and accompanied by Lord Baladeva, kept the cows before Him and entered the Vṛndāvana forest, which was full of flowers and rich with nourishment for the animals.

TEXT 3

The Supreme Personality of Godhead looked over that forest, which resounded with the charming sounds of bees, animals and birds, and which was enhanced by a lake whose clear water resembled the minds of great souls and by a breeze carrying the fragrance of hundred-petaled lotuses. Seeing all this, Lord Kṛṣṇa decided to enjoy the auspicious atmosphere.

TEXT 4

The primeval Lord saw that the stately trees, with their beautiful reddish buds and their heavy burden of fruits and flowers, were bending down to touch His feet with the tips of their branches. Thus He smiled gently and addressed His elder brother.

TEXT 5

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O greatest of Lords, just see how these trees are bowing their heads at Your lotus feet, which are worshipable by the immortal demigods. The trees are offering You their fruits and flowers to eradicate the dark ignorance that has caused their birth as trees.

TEXT 6

O Original Personality, these bees must all be great sages and most elevated devotees of Yours, for they are worshiping You by following You along the path and chanting Your glories, which are themselves a holy place for the entire world. Though You have disguised Yourself within this forest, O sinless one, they refuse to abandon You, their worshipable Lord.

COMMENT

In other words, Krishna is saying that these beings are so attached to Lord Balarama that they don’t want to give up His company, and so they assume the form of bees and hover around Lord Balarama’s flower garland. And thus, they are able to be with Him all the time.

TEXT 7

O worshipable one, these peacocks are dancing before You out of joy, these doe are pleasing You with affectionate glances, just as the gopīs do, and these cuckoos are honoring You with Vedic prayers. All these residents of the forest are most fortunate, and their behavior toward You certainly befits great souls receiving another great soul at home.

COMMENT

So, then it describes how Krishna and Balarama would play in the forest. Sometimes They would not fight, sometimes when Krishna would feel tired, He would lie down and accept the laps of one of the cowherd boys as His pillow.

But in caitanya-līlā, Lord Balarama appears as Nityananda Prabhu, significantly before Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And it’s described that He left home, He visited the holy places, Lord Balarama visited the holy places. But although He was competent to propagate the saṅkīrtana movement and to distribute the holy name and deliver the fallen souls, He did not do so. In fact, none of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates did so without His order. So, although Nityananda Prabhu was competent to do so, He waited in Vrindavan until Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was ready to begin the saṅkīrtana movement.

For the first maybe twenty years of Mahaprabhu’s manifest pastimes, He played the part of a scholar, but not really a devotee, not fully as a devotee. And then, when He went to Gaya and took initiation from Srila Isvara Puri, He manifested ecstatic love of Godhead. And when He came back to Navadvipa, He began the saṅkīrtana movement.

So, Nityananda Prabhu, He was just waiting for this occasion, and when He got the news that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would inaugurate the saṅkīrtana movement, He came from Vrindavan to Mayapur. And when He and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu met Nityananda, well, they both were overwhelmed with ecstatic love. Nityananda Prabhu just could not be contained in His ecstasy, kept crashing to the ground and trembling, and His hairs were standing on hand, people were afraid He was going to hurt Himself, and no one could contain Him until Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally lifted Him in up in His arms, and then Nityananda Prabhu became pacified.

So, the author of Sri Caitanya-bhāgavata explains that although Nityananda Prabhu always wanted to serve Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in every respect and He supports Him, I mean, as a Ananta-sesa, He supports all the universes on His head. But He had to give up His position of service to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the roles were reversed and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was holding Him up.

They had many pastimes together, but definitely, one principle that is demonstrated again and again and enunciated again and again is that only by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu can one understand Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. These principles are really enunciated again and again in different places.

In one talk in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada summed it up in a very nice way, and he said that in order to approach Radha and Krishna, one must get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya. And in order to get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, one must get the mercy of Lord Nityananda. And to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda, we must approach people like Jagai and Madhai, who are the most sinful living beings. That’s how we get Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy. Srila Prabhupada was such a person known in the history approached. Srila Prabhupada himself said, “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu delivered one Jagai and Madhai, but we have delivered thousands by Their grace.”

So, this is extraordinary. One very nice devotee in Mumbai, very, very pious and sweet and generous, named Krishna Chandra dasa, he said that he feels everyone should see the films of Srila Prabhupada preaching in America in the early days because people cannot comprehend who Srila Prabhupada was dealing with. I guess even seeing the films, it might be difficult, but you can get a sense of how wild those people were and how degraded they were. Srila Prabhupada in that mood of Nityananda Mahaprabhu, just accepting everyone, welcoming everyone, embracing everyone.

There was one incident in Bombay when one devotee was, you could say, doing some very strange things. So, Tamal Krishna Goswami was sort of advising Srila Prabhupada, “You should reject him. This person is giving us a very bad name because of his peculiar activities and an association. You should reject him.” Srila Prabhupada said, “No I cannot reject anyone.” Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “Well, don’t you have to draw the line somewhere? Isn’t there some limit?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “The mercy of Lord Nityananda has no limit.”

Srila Prabhupada is really the true representative of Nityananda Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhu demonstrated and there are statements to that there are no limits to Lord Nityananda’s mercy.

There is one little story that I sometimes tell because in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, it says that Krishna and Balarama are the same in every respect. The only difference is in Their bodily features, that Krishna is blackish, and Balarama is white. So, one year, at the Ardha-Kumbha-mela, Yamuna devi and Madhudvisa Prabhu were discussing this point, and Madhudvisa Prabhu said that there is no difference between Krishna and Balarama, just Krishna is black and Balarama is white. Yamuna devi said, “No, there is a difference because Krishna is the only enjoyer of Radharani.”

So, they were arguing, and Tamal Krishna Goswami brought the matter to Srila Prabhupada. And he said that Madhudvisa Prabhu said that Krishna and Balarama are the same except that Krishna’s blackish and Balarama’s whitish. Prabhupada said, “Yes, he is right.” And then, Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “But Yamuna devi says that there is a difference because Krishna is the only enjoyer of Radharani.” Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, she is right.” Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “But they are saying different things. They can’t both be right.” Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, you are also right.” So, Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “Well, then who is right?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “You decide.”

This is acintya-bhedābheda tattva, it means simultaneously inconceivably one and different. So, from a certain angle, They are the same, and from a certain angle, They are different, and both are true.

So, this is certainly a special day, very special day, and a good day to pray for Lord Balarama’s mercy as He served Krishna in so many different ways. Someone also mentioned that whatever it is, in whatever way we want to serve, we can pray to Lord Balarama because He also serves in every possible way. Apart from the external features of the service, there is the mood of the service, which is really most important, to pray, to serve without any false ego and ulterior motives, but just with a pure heart to please Krishna and the devotees.

Hare Krishna.

Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama ki jaya!

Any comments or questions? Yes, Urvasi Mataji?

Devotee: Maharaja, in your example that Srila Prabhupada did not reject anyone.

Giriraj Swami: Well, he did say that he felt that the young men and women who came forward to serve him were sent by his Guru Maharaja, he did say that. But he said something else, which is something to consider. And he said that the spiritual master is an ocean of mercy, and he will never reject anyone. But Krishna, out of love for the spiritual master, may not want the spiritual master to be burdened by or disturbed by some disciples. And Krishna, from within the heart, may send that person away, but that doesn’t negate what you said, not at all. Prabhupada would definitely want everyone to come back. And he really felt it if someone left, he really felt it. He would always want them to come back.

So, he often would offer if someone left. . . I don’t remember the exact details. Someone, I guess, was hurt that Prabhupada didn’t give them a certain position or a certain service and they left. And then, Prabhupada wrote, “I’m sorry you left on account of this. Whatever you want, you can have.” And sometimes Prabhupada would take a very humble position to try to save a soul.

Any other questions or comments? Yes, Sravananda Prabhu?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:20:48].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that’s true. Lord Balarama did have some affection for Duryodhana. And sometimes it happens that someone is inimical to someone who’s very dear to us but not inimical to us. And they may treat us very nicely even though they might be very mean to someone who’s dear to us. One has to sort of reciprocate with the person as the person deals with you, up to an extent at least. But ultimately, because Duryodhana was envious of Krishna and the Pandavas, he couldn’t get the real benefit of Lord Balarama’s association, and that’s really the critical point, envy.

I haven’t read anywhere about Duryodhana in his next life, but if one is envious and commits offenses against devotees, then no one can save him. That’s also in Caitanya-bhāgavata. And although Nityananda Prabhu and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are so merciful, but They will not give Their mercy to someone who is offensive to Vaishnavas. There was one occasion when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was giving mercy to everyone, giving love of Krishna to everyone, but not to mother Saci.

So, the devotee said, “What about your mother, Saci?” “No, I will not give her. I will not get her. She has offended a Vaishnava.” So, when the devotees heard this, it struck their hearts like thunderbolts. He said, “How could she offend a Vaishnava?” She has offended Advaita Acharya.

So, what was that offense? The offense was, if you call it an offense, but the offense was that when Visvambhara’s younger brother, Visvarupa, was a school age, he would go to Advaita Acharya’s house and study the scripture with Him. And eventually, Visvarupa left home and took sannyasa. So, Saci had some feeling in her heart that it’s because of Advaita that Visvarupa left home and took sannyasa. And she was even afraid the same thing might happen with Visvambhara. So, then, what would redeem her? If she takes the dust of the feet of Advaita Acharya, then she could be relieved of her offense.

So, this news was conveyed to Advaita Acharya and it was like thunderbolts on His heart. He said, “She has carried the Lord within her womb. She is the universal mother, she is devotion personified.” So, hearing this, Advaita Acharya fainted. In ecstasy, He fainted. So, all the devotees said to Saci, “Okay, now it’s your chance, He will never let you take the dust of His feet, but now He is not in external consciousness, it’s your chance.”

So, she took the dust and she went into total ecstatic love and she fainted. And everyone was just merged in this ocean of ecstatic love. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made the point that it doesn’t matter who you are, if you offend a Vaishnava, He will not give you love of Krishna.

So, there are many, many incidents and many instructions. And after Jagai and Madhai were delivered, people couldn’t believe that they were really purified. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted them to be accepted amongst His devotees. So, that night, He had hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana at Srivasa Thakura’s home as usual, but he invited Jagai and Madhai. No one was allowed in those kirtans except the inner circle of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

And during that kirtan, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s body turned black and He was accepting the sinful reactions for all the sins that Jagai and Madhai had committed, and they’ve done everything. So, He said, “Just see My body. I’ve accepted all the sinful reactions of Jagai and Madhai. And now they are completely pure.”

And the devotees were so ecstatic. They were saying, “You look like Shyamsundara now.” So then, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “But now, what am I going to do with all these sinful reactions? I’m going to place them on those who offend Vaishnavas. I’m going to distribute all of these sinful reactions on the people who offend Vaishnavas.”

So, this is a really important theme. Of course, the positive is to serve Vaishnavas, and the negative is not to offend them. And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu returned from Gaya after being initiated by Isvara Puri, in that ecstatic mood as a devotee, He would serve the Vaishnavas. He felt it was because of the blessings of all the Vaishnavas that He had gotten that mercy in Gaya dhāma. And He would go to the banks of the Ganges, and He would just serve the Vaishnavas in all sorts of menial ways. He would fold their cloth and if they had heavy burdens to carry, He would carry their loads for them. He would do every kind of menial service to the Vaishnavas, really exemplary.

So, serving the Vaishnavas and especially, not offending them. But generally, the Vaishnavas don’t take offense for themselves. Like Haridasa Thakura, after he was beaten. I mean, he should have died after one or two, or at most three, but when he eventually came out of the river and came to Puglia, He told the devotees, “Don’t feel bad for what happened to me. Actually, I deserved worse because when I was in the court of the Mohammadan Nawab, I had to listen to so much blasphemy of the Lord and the devotees. And for that offense of listening to that blasphemy, I should have been punished more. I mean, this is a just punishment. So, don’t feel bad for what happened.” So, hearing it is also an offense. We are prohibited from hearing blasphemy also.

We can take one more.

Devotee: [Unintelligible].

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is a very good question. How to become free from envy? Because envy is what brings us into the material world in the first place and it’s what keeps us here. And if we become free from it, then we are not in the material world anymore, we are liberated. Well, maybe we can throw this question, open this question to the other devotees because I have not heard of any magical, simple, immediate, magical formula. I mean, preaching definitely helps. There are different aspects to envy, but not preaching is considered a manifestation of envy.

And Srila Prabhupada said, “If you have knowledge and if you don’t share it with others, then you become envious.” In this that indirectly, you are keeping them down, you are not giving them a chance. So, in a way, it’s envy. Preaching means you want to give them the chance, you want to help them, you want to give everyone a chance. So, it’s very purifying to the heart. So, I think just keep preaching and chanting. Of course, to preach, you have to practice, so preaching means practicing.