SB 11.3.52–53 – The Mercy of the Arca-avatara

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Eleven, Chapter Three: “Liberation From The Illusory Energy.” Text Fifty-two and Fifty-three. Text Fifty-two is written so we will focus on Text Fifty-two. Please repeat.

sāṅgopāṅgāṁ sa-pārṣadāṁ

tāṁ tāṁ mūrtiṁ sva-mantrataḥ

pādyārghyācamanīyādyaiḥ

snāna-vāso-vibhūṣaṇaiḥ

COMMENT

So I will read the next verse

TEXT 53

gandha-mālyākṣata-sragbhir

dhūpa-dīpopahārakaiḥ

sāṅgam sampūjya vidhivat

stavaiḥ stutvā named dharim

TRANSLATION

One should worship the Deity along with each of the limbs of His transcendental body, His weapons such as the Sudarśana cakra, His other bodily features and His personal associates. One should worship each of these transcendental aspects of the Lord by its own mantra and with offerings of water to wash the feet, scented water, water to wash the mouth, water for bathing, fine clothing and ornaments, fragrant oils, valuable necklaces, unbroken barleycorns, flower garlands, incense and lamps. Having thus completed the worship in all its aspects in accordance with the prescribed regulations, one should then honor the Deity of Lord Hari with prayers and offer obeisances to Him by bowing down.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has mentioned that akṣata, or unbroken barleycorns (mentioned in verse 53), are to be used in decorating the Deity with tilaka, and not in the actual pūjā. Nākṣatair arcayed viṣṇuṁ na ketakyā maheśvaram: “Lord Viṣṇu should not be worshiped with unbroken barleycorns, and Lord Śiva should not be worshiped with ketakī flowers.”

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. So this pair of verses describes the process of deity worship which all of us engage in. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam watching the worship of the deity performed by another devotee also counts as deity worship. So by watching, for example, the ārati being offered to the deity one is engaged in deity worship, and one gets the same benefit. From the material perspective, the deity looks like a statue made of marble or of metal or of wood, so why would a mature intelligent person worship what appeared to be statues or dolls made of material substances such as stone or wood or metal? The science is that Krishna is absolute and so His name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His paraphernalia are all not different from Him. Also Krishna knows that His devotees want to worship Him, but because they cannot see or touch His original transcendental form with their present senses, He manifests Himself in the form of the deity so that they can worship Him and serve Him. 

So this merciful manifestation of the Lord, Arca murti or Arca avatar, it is an avatar, it is a form of the Lord that descends so that His devotees can handle Him and worship Him and serve Him. It is mentioned here, various regulated principles for worshiping the deity and Srila Prabhupada has introduced deity worship within ISKCON according to the rules and regulations. And so *often when he mentions deity worship, he specifically mentions according to the rules and regulations of the scriptures, because it is a great science and the worship and service must be executed according to the approved method. The Lord is the origin of everything, janmādy asya yataḥ, so whatever we experience in the material world exists in its original pure form in the spiritual world. So the Lord, He has form, He has associates, He has weapons, He has limbs, He has different bodily features, just like we do. And in fact His form and paraphernalia is the origin of our forms and paraphernalia, and just as we have garments and ornaments and can use scented oils and lamps and incense, so all of those items are meant for the worship of the Lord. And in fact in deity worship we practice making the Lord the center. 

The conditioned soul is absorbed in himself, in the bodily concept of life, and makes his body or his mind and senses or the extensions of the body such as his family members, the center. But the process of Krishna consciousness, the process of spiritual advancement, is to place the Lord in the center in His rightful position and to see ourselves as His eternal servant. And therefore all paraphernalia is meant to be engaged in His service. And as Srila Prabhupada says, if you dress the deity in beautiful garments then you will lose the desire to dress yourself in beautiful garments. In other words, by engaging in the service of the senses of the Lord, our senses will become so satisfied transcendentally, that we won’t want to indulge our senses materially. So the process of deity worship is very important and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his book, Mādhurya-kādambinī, in which he elaborates on the different stages of devotional service enumerated by Srila Rupa Gosvami in The Nectar of Devotion, the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, adau shraddha tatha sadhu sangha tatha bhajana kriya, and so on, he explains that these different stages are different degrees of changing the emphasis or the focus from one’s own self to Krishna. Up until stage of niṣṭhā, the devotee is still very much in the bodily concept of life. He is a devotee but he is in the body concept of life and he sees himself as the center. Every conditioned soul sees himself as the center and everything as revolving around him or he wants everything to revolve around him according to his wishes and desires, and that ahaṁ mameti, I and mine. But as we progress through these different stages that sense of ahaṁ mameti, I and mine shifts. Instead of thinking of ourselves in terms of the body, the mind, and senses, and instead of thinking of things as belonging to me, our consciousness gradually shifts to thinking that I am Krishna’s and everything belongs to Krishna. 

So that progress takes place gradually as we advance through the different stages, and at the stage of niṣṭhā, after anartha-nivṛtti, it is half and half. So we are half, we are the center and half Krishna is the center and then as we make further progress we become more absorbed in Krishna and less absorbed in ourselves. And then when we come to sādhya-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti and prema-bhakti, then Krishna is the center. And that the sense of proprietorship is completely transferred that I am Krishna’s and Krishna is mine, ahaṁ mameti, I am Krishna’s and Krishna is mine and nothing else. So at least when devotees are engaged in the process of deity worship, they are forced to focus on Krishna as the center and to engage all paraphernalia in the service of Krishna for the satisfaction of Krishna. And that is actually a taste of the spiritual world. That is what distinguishes the spiritual world from the material world, that everything in the spiritual world including all the living entities who are all devotees, are fully engaged in the service of the Lord for the pleasure and satisfaction of the Lord. And then after the worship is completed, the devotee offers prayers and offers obeisances by bowing down. 

So much of what we have in ISKCON or practically everything that we have in ISKCON that Srila Prabhupada gave us, that we may take for granted, actually comes from the scriptures and is part of a scientific process that is meant to purify our hearts, our minds, and senses, and elevate us to the transcendental platform where we can actually enjoy eternity, knowledge, and bliss. And of course the chanting of the holy name is most important. And Srila Jiva Gosvami remarks that deity worship should be accompanied by the chanting of the holy names. And of course during the worship, different mantras are recited. It is also mentioned in the verse and then in ārati and other festive occasions, there is chanting of the holy names in kirtan, and that makes the worship complete. Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments? One two three, all right, one two three. 

Devotee: I have a question. Say if a person in a mental institution, do they have a right to blame Krishna for being in the mental institution and being on medicine; when they are on medicine they have to take them by either by mouth or shot. Do they have a right to blame Krishna; will the Yamadutas get them or take them to King Yamaha and King Yamaha judges him and signing the hellish punishment for blaming Krishna being on quarter medicine and being hustling in their mental problems? Will the Yamadutas get them for doing that, blaming Krishna about it? What do you think sir? 

Giriraj Swami: I couldn’t follow completely.

Devotee: Can you blame the Yamadutas? 

Giriraj Swami: It is that the question? 

Devotee: Yes, say if the person blames Krishna for having mental problems, being in the hospital, be on medicine, will Krishna sent the Yamadutas after them for blaming Him?

Giriraj Swami: I see. The question is if a devotee is in difficulty and he blames Krishna, like being in the hospital with some illness or something, so if the devotee blames Krishna then at the time of death will Krishna send the Yamadutas to punish him?

Devotee: After death, would he sent a Yamaduta after him for blaming Krishna for having mental problems, being on medicine, being in a hospital, will He punished him for doing that?

Giriraj Swami: This is a very interesting question because the devotee is aware of Krishna but not fully aware of Krishna. Because if the devotee was fully aware of Krishna the devotee wouldn’t blame Krishna. In fact Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains what the devotee’s mood is or should be, tat te ‘nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ, that the devotee is always awaiting Krishna’s mercy or expecting Krishna’s mercy. And when he is in difficulty he considers, and actually it is a fact, he considers that whatever difficulty he is in, is due to his own past misdeeds. It is not due to Krishna, it is true to his own past misdeeds. And he also thinks that he has been so bad that he deserves to suffer worse. But Krishna out of his mercy is reducing his suffering, and he increases his devotional service. And the verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam spoken by Lord Brahma says that if someone acts in that way, patiently tolerating the reactions to his misdeeds and awaiting the mercy of the Lord or expecting the mercy of the Lord or taking it as the mercy of the Lord, and engaging in devotional service with his body, mind, and words, that person earns the right to enter the kingdom of God, just like us.

Devotee: I have some something else to tell you. Why then in the mental institution the hospitalized being on meds, I was blaming God, Krishna, for being in the hospital for my mental illness. I blame Krishna for being in my mental illness quarter, meds, being in the hospital. At my time of death well the Yamadutas get me for blaming Krishna for my mental problems, quarters or meds and be in the hospital. Will the Yamadutas get me for blaming Him for doing that? What do you think?

Giriraj Swami: Oh so now he is making it personal. He is saying that he was in a mental hospital and taking medication and he blamed Krishna. So his question is, will the Yamadutas get him because of his blaming Krishna? Well, as I mentioned blaming Krishna is not really the mood of the devotee but you still have time to put your relationship with Krishna in proper order. And if you do that then you won’t have to suffer for a blaming Krishna. For example, you blamed Krishna. Now Krishna is here in the form of the deity, so you can you can go to the deity and say, “In my madness I blamed you but I should not have blamed you, I was just suffering the reactions to my own past misdeeds. And actually you were very merciful because you got me out of the hospital and you have given me the association of devotees, I have committed offenses against you so please forgive me.” 

Devotee: Are you are saying that Yamadutas will get me for blaming Krishna having mental problems, being in hospital and quarter or medication if I take it by mouth, I blame Krishna for doing those three things.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, but do you blame Krishna now?

Devotee: Well I told Krishna if you have to do stuff like that, yes I am a very pissed at you for the for doing this to me. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, I don’t think I can say more than what I have already said but maybe one of the devotees who knows you well can discuss with you in more detail. But just chant whatever happens just keep chanting and that will help you. Hare Krishna. I don’t know because you are still young, you have time so I think it depends on how you conduct yourself in the time that you have left. All right well ordinarily you could live another forty-two years. 

Devotee: Yes, I am still young.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. All right I am going to take some other questions now. Yes, Nityananda Chandra Prabhu.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. In the end of the talk you gave some encouragement for chanting the holy name in front of deities. I wanted to know if you can give us some more words, especially for Saturdays and Sundays when we have a lot of congregation. Most of them, they understand the part of watching the deities and engaged in their worship, but it is hard to find a powerful way to encourage them to chant the holy name and dance or just chant with enthusiasm. So what other encouragements could he give?

Giriraj Swami: Well there are two processes. There is precept and example. So precept; we give talks, we speak about the importance of chanting the holy name, and if they hear the instructions they will understand the importance of chanting. And then example; if we have nice kirtan and nice dancing and can somehow engage them, then they could be drawn into it, melodious heartfelt devotional kirtan, it can draw them in, even if they tend to be on the ritualistic side from their previous association and conditioning.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Thank you for the wonderful talk. You mentioned about the deity worship and the shloka’s mention about deity worship. How do we understand when Muslims they attacked Vrindavan temple they broke so many deities, so how do we understand Krishna was there, Krishna wasn’t there in those deities?

Giriraj Swami: Well the deity, it is Krishna but it is both. You can see the deity; it is a marble but it is Krishna, but it is marble. It is brass but it is Krishna or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu but it is brass. Or it is wood, but it is also Jagannatha and Baladeva and Subhadra but it is also wood. So because the deities have the material ingredients or apparently material ingredients, we may also have to maintain them. We polish the brass for example. So when some infidel like you gave, some Muslims come and they break the deity, well they are breaking the stone. They are not touching Krishna but by breaking the deity they are committing terrible offenses, so they will have to suffer the reactions for the offenses. But they are not touching Krishna and in those broken pieces. . . Krishna is everywhere in that sense so He is in the microphone, He is in the chair, He is in the table, He is everywhere but He is not in the broken pieces as the Arca murti, as the worshipable form of the deity.

Devotee: Thank you 

Devotee: Thank you. I was just curious. Every day we chant the lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service and of course pure devotional service is our goal in Krishna consciousness. So I was just curious, if you could give us some ideas about how we can understand how to please the spiritual master?

Giriraj Swami: Well the answer is almost in the question. Master, spiritual master, so that means you are servant and so the servant pleases the master by following the master’s instructions. That is the basic relationship and that is how you please the master, by following the instructions. 

Devotee: Just have something to share with Vidura Prabhu’s question. Girigovardhan dasa, he was giving class on Īśopaniṣad in DC and there is a part in the Īśopaniṣad where Prabhupada talks about deity worship and then he brings up this topic. And he says that Krishna in the deity form, He is in the role of accepting service that He is not in the role of controlling but rather receiving care and service. And he said that the same personalities who are attacking the deity if you were to ask them, you say the Quran is sacred, that it is not a mundane book it is sacred. If someone attacks the Quran will the Quran protect itself? No, people have burned holy books before in the same way, so they are meant to be protected and served not that they act as controllers in that form.

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good answer.

Devotee: The deities is Radha Londonishwara, Radha Dallasishwara so they are the Isvara of Dallas. 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there are examples when the deities have, like in the Fifth Canto, the deity of Durga became angry and so there can be exceptions but generally it is true. The deity comes to accept our service and so it is our service to protect the deity. And so we have that is why we have these gates to protect the deity. And that is true, they worship the book; we also worship the book. Many traditions they worship the book and for them it is more than just paper and ink, but it is sacred. So yes, that is a good point that we can attempt to burn the book and the book won’t defend itself, we have to try to protect the book. But if we do burn the book, the knowledge is not lost or the spiritual identity of the book is not lost but the paper and ink is lost in that manifestation. All right, thank you all very much.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Sri Sri Radha Kalacand ji ki jaya!