Sri Krishna Janmashtami—Part 01

Vaisesika dasa: So, just as Prabhupada was translating the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam verses, he got up to the Fourth Canto in New York. It was time, and then he decided to stop his translation of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and embark on the summary of the Tenth Canto; so that he would be sure that it was available even if he couldn’t finish the rest. As it turns out, he got all the way to the Thirteenth Chapter of the Tenth Canto, just before he departed. And before the rest of the Bhāgavatam, before he had gotten that far, the Kṛṣṇa book was available to everyone. Giriraj Swami was telling me this morning that he has been relishing listening to Prabhupada’s dictations of the Kṛṣṇa book. He spoke into a Dictaphone. When Prabhupada first came to New York City, he was typing on a typewriter with two fingers, and then his typewriter was stolen and Gargamuni dasa gave him a Dictaphone. So, he was speaking into the microphone and then the little tapes would be sent off to be transcribed. So, a lot of those recordings are available with Prabhupada speaking into a Dictaphone and Kṛṣṇa book is one of them; you can listen to Prabhupada’s original dictation of the Kṛṣṇa book. So, His Holiness Giriraj Swami brought in his heart today his intense desire to hear from the Kṛṣṇa book for some time, and we are trying to bathe in the bhava he has brought with him, so we are going to go with that. Would you like to read Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Okay. We will start with the preface, okay? I am asking.

Vaisesika dasa: Sure. That would be great.

Giriraj Swami: “Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Incidentally, Srila Prabhupada said that we will not say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one purport, but we will say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every purport.

READING from the preface to Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-’bhirāmāt
ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt
pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt [ŚB 10.1.4]

In the Western countries, when someone sees the cover of a book like Kṛṣṇa, he immediately asks, “Who is Kṛṣṇa? Who is the girl with Kṛṣṇa?” etc.

The immediate answer is that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How is that? Because He conforms in exact detail to descriptions of the Supreme Being, the Godhead. In other words, Kṛṣṇa is the Godhead because He is all-attractive. Outside the principle of all-attraction, there is no meaning to the word “Godhead.” How is it one can be all-attractive? First of all, if one is very wealthy, if he has great riches, he becomes attractive to the people in general. Similarly, if someone is very powerful, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very famous, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very beautiful or wise or unattached to all kinds of possessions, he also becomes attractive. So from practical experience we can observe that one is attractive due to (1) wealth, (2) power, (3) fame, (4) beauty, (5) wisdom and (6) renunciation. One who is in possession of all six of these opulences at the same time, who possesses them to an unlimited degree, is understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These opulences of the Godhead are delineated by Parāśara Muni, a great Vedic authority

We have seen many rich persons, many powerful persons, many famous persons, many beautiful persons, many learned and scholarly persons, and persons in the renounced order of life unattached to material possessions. But we have never seen any one person who is unlimitedly and simultaneously wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise, and unattached, like Kṛṣṇa, in the history of humanity. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a historical person who appeared on this earth 5,000 years ago. He stayed on this earth for 125 years and played exactly like a human being, but His activities were unparalleled. From the very moment of His appearance to the moment of His disappearance, every one of His activities is unparalleled in the history of the world, and therefore anyone who knows what we mean by Godhead will accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to the Godhead, and no one is greater than Him. That is the import of the familiar saying “God is great.”

COMMENT

Did you want to read a verse? aiśvaryasya samagrasya. . .

Vaisesika dasa: This is the verse that Srila Prabhupada referred to and the purport by Parasara Muni from Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47.

aiśvaryasya samagrasya

vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ

jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva

ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā

Full wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation. These are the six opulences of the Supreme Personality.

Giriraj Swami: And you want to take turns reading?

Vaisesika dasa: Sure. Whatever you like.

Giriraj Swami: I would do paragraphs.

Vaisesika dasa: Okay.

READING (continued)

There are various classes of men in the world who speak of God in different ways, but according to the Vedic literatures and according to the great ācāryas, the authorized persons versed in the knowledge of God in all ages, like ācāryas Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Madhva, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Lord Caitanya and all their followers by disciplic succession, all unanimously agree that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

Devotees: Krishna!

Vaisesika dasa: Confirmed.

READING (continued)

As far as we, the followers of Vedic civilization, are concerned, we accept the Vedic history of the whole universe, which consists of different planetary systems called Svargaloka, or the higher planetary system, Martyaloka, or the intermediary planetary system, and Pātālaloka, or the lower planetary system.

COMMENT

And by the way, you can bring your cellphones in with you and turn them on again and turn it up as loud as you can, because there will be a small fine, if your phone goes off, you have to buy a Bhagavad-gītā today, actually, a Kṛṣṇa book, how much are the Kṛṣṇa books?

Devotees: $10.

Vaisesika dasa: $10. So, turn your phones on, so we can hear them when they go off, take them off airplane mode and Rasika can collect the $10, raise your hand? she will be the collector. [laughter]

READING (continued)

The modern historians of this earth cannot supply historical evidences of events that occurred before 5,000 years ago, and the anthropologists say that 40,000 years ago Homo sapiens had not appeared on this planet because evolution had not reached that point. But the Vedic histories, such as the Purāṇas and Mahābhārata, relate human histories which extend millions and billions of years into the past.

For example, from these literatures we are given the histories of Kṛṣṇa’s appearances and disappearances millions and billions of years ago. In the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that both He and Arjuna had had many births before and that He (Kṛṣṇa) could remember all of them but Arjuna could not. This illustrates the difference between the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa and that of Arjuna. Arjuna might have been a very great warrior, a well-cultured member of the Kuru dynasty, but after all, he was an ordinary human being, whereas Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the possessor of unlimited knowledge. Because He possesses unlimited knowledge, Kṛṣṇa has a memory that is boundless.

Bg. 4.6

ajo ‘pi sann avyayātmā

bhūtānām īśvaro ‘pi san

prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya

sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā

TRANSLATION

Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.

COMMENT

That is Bhagavad-gītā (4.6)

READING (continued)

 Kṛṣṇa’s knowledge is so perfect that He remembers all the incidents of His appearances some millions and billions of years in the past, but Arjuna’s memory and knowledge are limited by time and space, for he is an ordinary human being. In the fourth chapter Kṛṣṇa states that He can remember instructing the lessons of the Bhagavad-gītā some millions of years ago to the sun-god, Vivasvān.

Nowadays it is the fashion of the atheistic class of men to try to become God by following some mystic process. Generally the atheists claim to be God by dint of their imagination or their meditational prowess. Kṛṣṇa is not that kind of God. He does not become God by manufacturing some mystic process of meditation, nor does He become God by undergoing the severe austerities of the mystic yogic exercises. Properly speaking, He never becomes God because He is the Godhead in all circumstances.

Giriraj Swami: Within the prison of His maternal uncle Kamsa, where His father and mother were confined, Krishna appeared outside His mother’s body as the four-handed Visnu-Narayana. Then He turned Himself into a baby and told His father to carry Him to the house of Nanda Maharaja and his wife Yasoda. When Krishna was just a small baby the gigantic demoness Pūtanā attempted to kill Him, but when He sucked her breast, He pulled out her life. That is the difference between the real Godhead and a God manufactured in the mystic factory. Krishna had no chance to practice the mystic yoga process, yet He manifested Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead at every step, from infancy to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, and from boyhood to young manhood. In this book, Krishna, all of His activities as a human being are described. Although Krishna plays like a human being, He always maintains His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

READING (continued)

Since Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires should be focused on Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the individual person is the proprietor or master of his own body, but that Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supersoul present in everyone’s heart, is the supreme proprietor and supreme master of each and every individual body. As such, if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Kṛṣṇa only, then immediately universal love, unity, and tranquillity will be automatically realized. When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches, twigs, leaves, and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body.

The art of focusing one’s attention on the Supreme and giving one’s love to Him is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have inaugurated the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement so that everyone can satisfy his propensity for loving others simply by directing his love toward Kṛṣṇa. The whole world is very eager to satisfy the dormant propensity of love for others, but the various invented methods like socialism, communism, altruism, humanitarianism, and nationalism, along with whatever else may be manufactured for the peace and prosperity of the world, are all useless and frustrating because of our gross ignorance of the art of loving Kṛṣṇa. Generally people think that by advancing the cause of moral principles and religious rites they will be happy. Others may think that happiness can be achieved by economic development, and yet others think that simply by sense gratification they will be happy. But the real fact is that people can be happy only by loving Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

So, in this paragraph, Srila Prabhupada is, without using the Sanskrit words, referring to dharma, artha, and kāma, that people think they can become wealthy by these different methods but they cannot be. They can become happy only by. . .?

Devotees: Loving Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Loving Krishna, loving Krishna.

Vaisesika dasa:

READING (continued)

 Kṛṣṇa can perfectly reciprocate one’s loving propensities in different relationships called mellows, or rasas. Basically there are twelve loving relationships. One can love Kṛṣṇa as the supreme unknown, as the supreme master, the supreme friend, the supreme child, the supreme lover. These are the five basic love rasas. One can also love Kṛṣṇa indirectly in seven different relationships, which are apparently different from the five primary relationships. All in all, however, if one simply reposes his dormant loving propensity in Kṛṣṇa, then his life becomes successful. This is not a fiction but is a fact that can be realized by practical application. One can directly perceive the effects that love for Kṛṣṇa has on his life.

In the ninth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā this science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is called the king of all knowledge, the king of all confidential things, and the supreme science of transcendental realization.

COMMENT

Verse.

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ

pavitram idam uttamam

pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ

su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

READING (continued)

Yet we can directly experience the results of this science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness because it is very easy to practice and is very pleasurable. Whatever percentage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can perform will become an eternal asset to our life, for it is imperishable in all circumstances. It has now been actually proved that today’s confused and frustrated younger generation in the Western countries can directly perceive the results of channeling the loving propensity toward Kṛṣṇa alone.

It is said that although one executes severe austerities, penances, and sacrifices in his life, if he fails to awaken his dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, then all his penances are to be considered useless. On the other hand, if one has awakened his dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use in executing austerities and penances unnecessarily?

COMMENT

As I was reading that, I was just considering how during the time that Prabhupada wrote the Kṛṣṇa book, which was around 1969, it came out around 1970, that there were quite a few mantras that had to do with love. The Beatles had, I cannot remember which album it was, but it was: “All you need is love. All you need is love, love. . . Love is all you need." There were many, “Make love not war," they were many, many slogans that had to do with love and there were signs, stickers, everything that had to do with love. Prabhupada was perfectly integrating his message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam into that crowd. It just seemed so appealing at the time, so logical to project that love towards Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So, everyone was trying to love everybody and everything, it was sort of a romantic era at that time. In the true sense of the word—that people were looking deeper trying to find what is the core of their existence and who to love, whom to love and Prabhupada told them, exactly. It worked.

READING (continued)

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the unique gift of Lord Caitanya to the fallen souls of this age. It is a very simple method which has actually been carried out during the last four years in the Western countries, and there is no doubt that this movement can satisfy the dormant loving propensities of humanity. This book, Kṛṣṇa, is another presentation to help the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in the Western world. This transcendental literature is published with profuse illustrations. People love to read various kinds of fiction to spend their time and energy. Now this tendency can be directed to Kṛṣṇa. The result will be the imperishable satisfaction of the soul, both individually and collectively.

It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā that even a little effort expended on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness can save one from the greatest danger.

COMMENT

Verse.

nehābhikrama-nāśo ‘sti

pratyavāyo na vidyate

sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya

trāyate mahato bhayāt

READING (continued)

 Hundreds of thousands of examples can be cited of people who have escaped the greatest dangers of life due to a slight advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We therefore request everyone to take advantage of this great transcendental literature. One will find that by reading one page after another, an immense treasure of knowledge in art, science, literature, philosophy and religion will be revealed, and ultimately, by reading this one book, Kṛṣṇa, love of Godhead will fructify.

My grateful acknowledgment is due to Śrīmān George Harrison, now chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, for his liberal contribution of $19,000 to meet the entire cost of printing this volume. May Kṛṣṇa bestow upon this nice boy further advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

And at last my ever-willing blessings are bestowed upon Śrīmān Śyāmasundara dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīmān Brahmānanda dāsa Brahmacārī, Śrīmān Hayagrīva dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīmān Satsvarūpa dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīmatī Devahūti-devī dāsī, Śrīmatī Jadurāṇī-devī dāsī, Śrīmān Muralīdhara dāsa Brahmacārī, Śrīmān Bhāradvāja dāsa Adhikārī and Śrīmān Pradyumna dāsa Adhikārī, etc., for their hard labor in different ways to make this publication a great success.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Giriraj Swami: The first name that Srila Prabhupada recognizes is Sriman Shyamasundara dasa Adhikari, who had developed a friendship with George Harrison and who ultimately got the donation from him to print the Kṛṣṇa book. And, Shyamasundara Prabhu was very reluctant to ask George for anything because people who are rich and famous are always sort of on the defensive, because people are always asking them for things and trying to take advantage of them in different ways. So, Shyamasundara Prabhu did not really want to ask him, he was afraid that it would jeopardize his relationship with George, but Prabhupada had given him the order, so he had to do it. So, in a meeting with George, he asked him and George got very upset. He thought, Oh, you are just like the rest you just want something from me, you just want money, and he, you could say, became offensive. And so, Shyamasundara, he could not tolerate George as being offensive to Prabhupada. And so, they started pushing each other and it was a very tense situation and it looked like everything could be finished.

And just then, there was a huge thunderstorm and lightning struck and all the electricity in George’s house went out and, I guess, he just realized that he had been very silly and he felt ashamed of himself and then, eventually, when the lights went on, he said, “Well, I guess this is a pretty clear indication that I should give this donation," and he did. And he was very impressed with Shyamasundara Prabhu that, for the sake of mundane friendship with him, he did not compromise in his loyalty to Srila Prabhupada and, yeah, adherence to Srila Prabhupada.

So, it was like that—George arranged through his office to send $19,000 to an office, to an attorney’s office in New York, and so then, the attorney sent a message, “Please come and collect the money." So, when the devotees went, they found that instead of $19,000, it was $1,900. So, we always, and it was really the right thing to do, we always went running to Srila Prabhupada whenever anything different happened or anything difficult happened. So, they went running to Srila Prabhupada and they said, “What should we do? Should we take it and then ask George to give the rest, or what should we do?” and Prabhupada said, “No, the attorneys are trying to cheat you and George, don’t take anything, but just clarify with George—is it supposed to be $1,900 or $19,000?" And then the attorneys sort of realized they were caught, and then they gave the full amount of $19,000.

So, so many people contributed but Shyamasundara Prabhu’s name is first, he got the donation.

And then Brahmananda dasa Brahmachari, he was like manager, spiritual manager who would do so many things for Srila Prabhupada. Sriman Hayagriva dasa Adhikari and Sriman Satsvarupa dasa Adhikari were editors and Devahuti, Jadurani, Muralidhar, Bharadwaj did the artwork. And Pradyumna Prabhu was a Sanskrit editor. So, yes, it was Srila Prabhupada’s greatness that he attracted. As I was listening, I was thinking how Srila Prabhupada as the representative of Krishna or any Vaishnava, manifests those six opulences, I mean, not like Krishna but, especially renunciation. I remember Shyamasundara Prabhu telling me once that, because he would meet many big people, and cultivate many big people, and he would say that we cannot compete with them in wealth, in beauty, in fame, but the one thing we have that they do not have, is renunciation. And because we have that, which they do not have, they are very attracted to us when they see that. And, of course, knowledge coming from Krishna, devotees do have knowledge, and beauty in their own way, and fame, everything. Everything comes from Krishna to His pure surrendered devotees. Hare Krishna.

READING from the introduction to Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa!

[Devotees:] he!

kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa!

[Devotees:] he!

kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa!

[Devotees:] rakṣa mām!

kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa!

[Devotees:] pāhi mām!

Give me a little more enthusiasm. [laughter] I will try the last two again. This one is rakṣa mām. kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa!

[Devotees:] rakṣa mām!

kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa!

[Devotees:] pāhi mām!

rāma! rāghava! rāma! rāghava! rāma! rāghava!

[Devotees:] rakṣa mām!

kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava!

[Devotees:] pāhi mām!

Vaisesika dasa: That is how you are going to call out “pāhi mām” when you are drowning in the ocean of material existence?

kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava!

[Devotees:] pāhi mām!

That is all you must do. Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 7.96)

READING (continued)

While attempting to write this book, Kṛṣṇa, let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda 108 Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja Prabhupāda. Then let me offer my respectful obeisances to the ocean of mercy, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself, appearing in the role of a devotee just to distribute the highest principles of devotional service. Lord Caitanya began His preaching from the country known as Gauḍadeśa (West Bengal). And as I belong to the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya, I must therefore offer my respectful obeisances to the disciplic succession of that name. This Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya is also known as the Brahma-sampradāya because the disciplic succession originally began from Brahmā. Brahmā instructed the sage Nārada, Nārada instructed Vyāsadeva, and Vyāsadeva instructed Madhva Muni, or Madhvācārya. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, the originator of the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya, was a sannyāsī (renunciant) who belonged to the Madhvācārya disciplic succession. He had many renowned disciples, such as Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Īśvara Purī. Īśvara Purī happened to be the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So let us offer our respectful obeisances to Īśvara Purī, Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita. Next, let us offer our respectful obeisances to Svarūpa Dāmodara, who acted as the private secretary to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; and let us offer our respectful obeisances to Śrī Vāsudeva Datta and the constant attendant of Lord Caitanya, Śrī Govinda, and the constant friend of Lord Caitanya, Mukunda, and also to Murāri Gupta. And let us offer our respectful obeisances to the Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana – Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.

Kṛṣṇa Himself has explained in the Bhagavad-gītā that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that whenever there are discrepancies in the regulative principles of man’s religious life and a prominence of irreligious activities, He appears on this earthly planet. In other words, when Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared, there was a necessity of minimizing the load of sinful activities accumulated on this planet, or in this universe.

For affairs of the material creation, Lord Mahā-viṣṇu, the plenary portion of Kṛṣṇa, is in charge. Thus, when the Lord descends, the incarnation emanates from Viṣṇu. Mahā-viṣṇu is the original cause of the material creation, and from Him Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu expands, and then Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. Generally, all the incarnations appearing within this material universe are plenary expansions from Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore, the business of minimizing the overload of sinful activities on this earth does not belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself. But when Kṛṣṇa appears, all the Viṣṇu expansions join with Him. Kṛṣṇa’s different expansions – namely Nārāyaṇa, the quadruple expansion of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, as well as partial plenary expansions like Matsya, the incarnation of a fish, and the yuga-avatāras (incarnations for the millennium) and the manvantara-avatāras (incarnations associated with the reigns of the Manus) – all combine together and appear with the body of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, and thus all plenary expansions and incarnations always live with Him.

Therefore when Kṛṣṇa appeared, Lord Viṣṇu was with Him. Kṛṣṇa actually appears in order to demonstrate His Vṛndāvana pastimes and in this way attract the fortunate conditioned souls and invite them back home, back to Godhead. The killing of the demons in Vṛndāvana was carried out only by the Viṣṇu portion of Kṛṣṇa.

Giriraj Swami: So, there are various functions to be performed in relation to the material creation and Vishnu can perform all the different functions: of protecting the devotees, annihilating the miscreants, and establishing or re-establishing the principles of religion. But, the one thing that Vishnu cannot do is demonstrate the Lord’s Vrindavan pastimes. Only Krishna can do that, and therefore the real purpose or the ultimate purpose of Krishna’s descent into the material world is to manifest his Vrindavan pastimes and His loving affairs with the residents of Vrindavan. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says: anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ—that to show mercy to His devotees Krishna accepts a human-like form and performs such pastimes that the living entities in human bodies will be attracted and want to dedicate their lives to Him.

READING (continued)

As explained above, when Kṛṣṇa appears, all His plenary expansions appear with Him. Kṛṣṇa appeared along with Balarāma (Baladeva), who is known as His elder brother. Balarāma is the origin of Saṅkarṣaṇa, of the quadruple expansion. Balarāma is also the plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa. In this book, the attempt will be made to show how Kṛṣṇa appeared in the family of the Yadu dynasty and how He displayed His transcendental characteristics. This is very vividly described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam – specifically, the Tenth Canto – and thus the basis of this book will be the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The pastimes of the Lord are generally heard and relished by liberated souls. Those who are conditioned souls are interested in reading stories of the material activities of some common man. Although similar narrations describing the transcendental activities of the Lord are found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Purāṇas, the conditioned souls still prefer to study ordinary narrations. They are not so interested in studying the narrations of the pastimes of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa. And yet the descriptions of the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are so attractive that they are relishable for all classes of men. There are three classes of men in this world. One class consists of liberated souls, another consists of those who are trying to be liberated, and the third consists of materialistic men. Whether one is liberated or is trying to be liberated, or is even grossly materialistic, the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are worth studying.

Liberated souls have no interest in materialistic activities. The impersonalist theory that after liberation one becomes inactive and need not hear anything does not prove that a liberated person is actually inactive. A living soul cannot be inactive. He is active either in the conditioned state or in the liberated state. A diseased person, for example, is also active, but his activities are all painful. The same person, when freed from the diseased condition, is still active, but in the healthy condition the activities are full of pleasure. Similarly, the impersonalists only seek to get free from the diseased, conditioned activities, but they have no information of activities in the healthy condition. Those who are actually liberated and in full knowledge take to hearing the activities of Kṛṣṇa; such engagement is pure spiritual activity.

COMMENT

So, Srila Prabhupada is very kind because he has relieved us from both kinds of illusory pursuits. One is the idea of enjoying the material world, and the other is trying to escape the miseries of the material world by ceasing all activities. And neither pursuit will bring any ultimate benefit so it is our great fortune that Srila Prabhupada came and gave us these transcendental literatures to nourish our hearts and enliven our souls. 

Hare Krishna.

READING (continued)

It is essential for persons who are actually liberated to hear about the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. That is the supreme relishable subject matter for one in the liberated state. Also, if persons who are trying to be liberated hear such narrations as the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then their path of liberation becomes very clear. The Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By studying the Gītā, one becomes fully conscious of the position of Lord Kṛṣṇa; and when he is situated at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he understands the narrations of Kṛṣṇa as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lord Caitanya has therefore advised His followers that their business is to propagate kṛṣṇa-kathā.

Vaisesika dasa: Srila Jiva Gosvami in his Bhagavad sandarbhas says that to the degree that one has a desire to hear, this is a direct indication of one’s level of advancement. It is a formula that you can judge yourself. Similarly, another definition of advanced bhakti is given by Lord Kapiladeva in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where he says that upon hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā, when one’s mind runs after just like the Ganges flows to the sea, spontaneously attracted to hearing—this is known as bhakti beyond the modes of material nature. Before that he describes bhakti in the mode of ignorance and passion and goodness. But transcendental bhakti is specifically characterized by the impetus and the strong desire, greed, or hunger to hear more and more about Krishna; the mind becomes immediately absorbed in it, as Prabhupada said. And in the beginning stages the process for purification begins by hearing even when one does not have such a desire to hear, but goes on hearing:

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi

vidhunoti suhṛt satām

There is a purification process that takes place in the heart and one gradually comes to want to hear more and more. In the Nectar of Instruction, Srila Prabhupada gives an excerpt of some writings by his spiritual master which describe the process of coming to the perfectional stage of devotional service versus being attracted to the spiritual world. There he says that the beginning stage of devotional life is to hear about Krishna, as one goes on hearing, simply by that process of hearing one comes to higher and higher stages of devotional service. Srila Prabhupada often himself has said that when he first heard his spiritual master, he could not understand everything, but he had a desire to hear, so he stayed and listened. In fact, he tells a story about one yatra, when the spiritual master was taking many devotees on pilgrimage and there was an opportunity one evening for many devotees to go see a deity that would not be available for them to see after that time, and the choice was that they could go there or they could stay at the pandal and hear His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura speak in discourse. So, many went to see the deity and our Srila Prabhupada was among those who stayed to listen to his spiritual master. His spiritual master pointed out at that time how important it was to hear he said, “What will they see when they go to the deity? Because unless you hear properly you cannot see anything.” Anyway, preaching to the choir as you are all sitting there and listening. [laughter]

READING (continued)

Kṛṣṇa-kathā means narrations about Kṛṣṇa. There are two kṛṣṇa-kathās: narrations spoken by Kṛṣṇa and narrations spoken about Kṛṣṇa. The Bhagavad-gītā is the narration or the philosophy on the science of God, spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the narration about the activities and transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Both are kṛṣṇa-kathā. It is the order of Lord Caitanya that kṛṣṇa-kathā should be spread all over the world, because if the conditioned souls, suffering under the pangs of material existence, take to kṛṣṇa-kathā, then their path of liberation will be open and clear. The purpose of presenting this book is primarily to induce people to understand Kṛṣṇa or kṛṣṇa-kathā, because thereby they can become freed from material bondage.

COMMENT

Kṛṣṇa-kathā or Krishna-kanti. Our godbrother, Guru Kripa says something like kṛṣṇa-kathā. It almost sounds like a beverage when he said it. The way he said it, I was like “I want to drink some of that.” [laughter]

READING (continued)

This kṛṣṇa-kathā will also be very much appealing to the most materialistic persons because Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with the gopīs (cowherd girls) are exactly like the loving affairs between young girls and boys within this material world. Actually, the sex feeling found in human society is not unnatural because this same sex feeling is there in the original Personality of Godhead. The pleasure potency is called Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The attraction of loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we, the conditioned souls, being part and parcel of the Supreme, have such feelings also, but they are experienced within a perverted, minute condition. Therefore, when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with the gopīs, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears to be materialistic. The advantage will be that they will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform. In the Bhāgavatam it is stated that if one hears the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, from authorities, with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished. In other words, such hearing will counteract material sex life.

This book, Kṛṣṇa, which is filled with kṛṣṇa-kathā, will thus appeal equally to the liberated souls and to persons who are trying to be liberated, as well as to the gross, conditioned materialist. According to the statement of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who heard about Kṛṣṇa from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, kṛṣṇa-kathā is equally applicable to every human being, whatever condition of life he is in. Surely everyone will appreciate it to the highest magnitude. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit also warned that persons who are simply engaged in killing animals and in killing themselves may not be very much attracted to kṛṣṇa-kathā. In other words, ordinary persons who are following the regulative moral principles of scriptures, no matter in what condition they are found, will certainly be attracted, but not persons who are killing themselves. The exact word used in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is paśu-ghna, which means one who is killing animals or killing himself. Persons who are not self-realized and who are not interested in spiritual realization are killing themselves; they are committing suicide. Because this human form of life is especially meant for self-realization, by neglecting this important part of his activities one simply wastes his time like the animals. So he is a paśu-ghna. The other meaning of the word refers to those who are actually killing animals. This means persons who are animal-eaters (even dog-eaters), for they are all engaged in killing animals in so many ways, such as hunting and opening slaughterhouses. Such persons cannot be interested in kṛṣṇa-kathā.

Giriraj Swami: This indirectly recommends the importance of street hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and street book distribution because most people are in the category of pashu-gana. They are killing themselves spiritually because they have no interest in spiritual life and literally, they are killing animals and eating flesh. But as Srila Prabhupada said, when we go out on hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, we are knocking on the doors of the people’s hearts and loudly, like, forcing the vibration to enter their ears. And same thing with the books. Although they do not really know what they are getting, they may not know what they are getting, but they are getting the right medicine. So, devotees are like physicians who are curing people’s material diseases and the medicine is hari-nāma and kṛṣṇa-kathā and the diet is kṛṣṇa-prasāda.

READING (continued)

King Parīkṣit was especially interested in hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā because he knew that his forefathers, particularly his grandfather, Arjuna, were victorious in the great Battle of Kurukṣetra only because of Kṛṣṇa. We may also take this material world as a Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Everyone is struggling hard for existence on this battlefield, and at every step there is danger. According to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra was just like a vast ocean full of dangerous animals. His grandfather Arjuna had to fight with such great heroes as Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa, and many others who were not ordinary fighters. Such warriors have been compared to the timiṅgila fish in the ocean. The timiṅgila fish can very easily swallow up big whales. The great fighters on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra could swallow many, many Arjunas very easily, but simply due to Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, Arjuna was able to kill all of them. Just as one can cross with no exertion over the little bit of water contained in the hoofprint of a calf, so Arjuna, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, was able to very easily jump over the ocean of the Battle of Kurukṣetra.

Mahārāja Parīkṣit very much appreciated Kṛṣṇa’s activities for many other reasons. Not only was his grandfather saved by Kṛṣṇa, but he himself also was saved by Kṛṣṇa. By the end of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, both the sons and grandsons on the side of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and those on the side of the Pāṇḍavas, had died in the fighting. Except the five Pāṇḍava brothers, everyone died on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was at that time within the womb of his mother. His father, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, also died on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and so Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a posthumous child. When he was in the womb of his mother, a brahmāstra weapon was released by Aśvatthāmā to kill the child. When Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s mother, Uttarā, approached Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, seeing the danger of abortion, entered her womb as the Supersoul and saved Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s other name is Viṣṇurāta because he was saved by Lord Viṣṇu Himself while still within the womb.

Thus everyone, in any condition of life, should be interested in hearing about Kṛṣṇa and His activities because He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. He is all-pervading: inside He is living within everyone’s heart, and outside He is living as His universal form. And yet, as described in the Bhagavad-gītā, He appears as He is in the human society just to invite everyone to His transcendental abode, back home, back to Godhead. Everyone should be interested in knowing about Kṛṣṇa, and this book is presented with this purpose: that people may know about Kṛṣṇa and be perfectly benefited in this human form of life.

In the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Baladeva is described as the son of Rohiṇī, a wife of Vasudeva. Vasudeva, the father of Kṛṣṇa, had sixteen wives, and one of them was Rohiṇī, the mother of Baladeva. But Baladeva is also described as the son of Devakī, so how could He be the son of both Devakī and Rohiṇī? This was one of the questions put by Mahārāja Parīkṣit to Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and it will be answered in due course. Mahārāja Parīkṣit also asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī why Śrī Kṛṣṇa, just after His appearance as the son of Vasudeva, was immediately carried to the house of Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, Gokula. He also wanted to know what the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa were while He was in Vṛndāvana and while He was in Mathurā. Besides that, he was especially inquisitive to know why Kṛṣṇa killed His maternal uncle, Kaṁsa. Kaṁsa, being the brother of His mother, was a very intimate superior to Kṛṣṇa, so how was it that He killed Kaṁsa? Also, Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked how many years Lord Kṛṣṇa remained in human society, how many years He reigned over the kingdom of Dvārakā, and how many wives He accepted there. A kṣatriya king is generally accustomed to accept more than one wife; therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit also inquired about His number of wives. The subject matter of this book is Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s answering of these and other questions asked by Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

The position of Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī is unique. Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the right person to hear about the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī is the right person to describe them. If such a fortunate combination is made possible, then kṛṣṇa-kathā immediately becomes revealed, and people may benefit to the highest possible degree from such a conversation.

This narration was presented by Śukadeva Gosvāmī when Mahārāja Parīkṣit was prepared to give up his body, fasting on the bank of the Ganges. In order to assure Śukadeva Gosvāmī that by hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā he would not feel tired, Mahārāja Parīkṣit expressed himself very frankly: “Hunger and thirst may give trouble to ordinary persons or to me, but the topics of Kṛṣṇa are so nice that one can continue to hear them without feeling tired because such hearing situates one in the transcendental position.” It is understood that one must be very fortunate to hear kṛṣṇa-kathā as seriously as Mahārāja Parīkṣit did. He was especially intent on the subject matter because he was expecting death at any moment. Every one of us should be conscious of death at every moment. This life is not at all assured; at any time one can die. It does not matter whether one is a young man or an old man. So before death takes place, we must be fully Kṛṣṇa conscious.

At the point of his death, King Parīkṣit was hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Śukadeva Gosvāmī. When King Parīkṣit expressed his untiring desire to hear about Kṛṣṇa, Śukadeva Gosvāmī was very much pleased. Śukadeva was the greatest of all Bhāgavata reciters, and thus he began to speak about Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, which destroy all inauspiciousness in this Age of Kali. Śukadeva Gosvāmī thanked the king for his eagerness to hear about Kṛṣṇa, and he encouraged him by saying, “My dear king, your intelligence is very keen because you are so eager to hear about the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.” He informed Mahārāja Parīkṣit that hearing and chanting the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are so auspicious that the processes purify the three varieties of men involved: he who recites the transcendental topics of Kṛṣṇa, he who hears such topics, and he who inquires about Him.

Vaisesika dasa: Again.

“He informed Mahārāja Parīkṣit that hearing and chanting the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are so auspicious that the processes purify the three varieties of men involved.”

What are they?

Devotees: He who recites, those who hear, and those who inquire.