CONTENTS:
- LORD BALARAMA
- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. LORD BALARAMA
Hare Krishna. The question arises who is Lord Balarama? Lord Balarama is the elder brother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually, when you say that a layman will frown at this comment and think how can God have an elder brother? Especially when most of the people do not believe that God has a form, what to talk of God having a form when most people all over the world don’t even believe in the existence of God. When they hear that we are celebrating the appearance day of God’s elder brother I am sure they are completely flabbergasted. Yes, God has an elder brother not only an elder brother; He has His father, mother and grandfather. Why God shouldn’t have? In order to enjoy one needs his associates around him. Actually, one cannot enjoy alone. So, when God wants to enjoy, he expands, in the Vedänta-sütra it has been established that one can become many. God although He is one, He became many.
Why? Because He änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät He is the Supreme Enjoyer. It has been pointed out that the Lord in order to enjoy He expands Himself into many and they are His intimate associates in the spiritual world. This is a very profound find on the subject of spiritual nature. The Supreme spirit Krishna is not only änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät the enjoyer but He is Raso vai saù, the source of all mellows. Enjoyment is related to mellows or rasas. There are 12 rasas: 5 principle and 7 secondary. (1) adoration of the Lord (shanta), (2) servitude (dasya), (3) friendship (sakhya), (4) parental love (vatsalya), and (5) conjugal love (madhurya). Conjugal is the highest of all. So, in order to enjoy the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands into many and his first expansion is Balarama. When Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself, first He expands into Balarama and then the further expansions take place through Balarama. Balarama expands into 5 features, (1) Balarama or Mahä-saìkarñaëa, (2) Käraëodakashäyé Vishnu, (3) Garbhodakashäyé Vishnu, (4) Kñérodakaçäyi Vishnu, and (5) Ananta Çeña. So, expanding Himself in this five different forms Balarama actually renders service to Krishna.
Although Balarama is Krishna’s expansion, Balarama is the source of all the service to Krishna and any paraphernalia that is used in serving Krishna that is actually an expansion of Krishna. When you offer aartik, those paraphernalia are actually expansions of Balarama; the camara, the bell, the lamp they are expansions of Balarama. So, anything that is used in serving Krishna even this singhasan is an expansion of Balarama. The throne where Krishna is situated is an expansion of Balarama. Krishna’s bed Ananta Çeña is an expansion of Balarama. Everything that is used in rendering devotional service to Krishna is actually an expansion of Balarama. It is a very profound realisation of the absolute truth so unless and until one has the basic knowledge it is difficult to understand. Unfortunately, just in one meeting it is not possible to explain the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth to the fullest extent so that is why we always request people to read books.
We have many books to reveal our philosophy or establish our points that after all we are not blindly following certain dogmatic process. We are not blind followers; we are following the highest philosophy that has been founded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and thus we are following the Absolute Truth. There is no room for imagination and mental speculation or any kind of concoction. This knowledge that we are practising is flowing in the disciplic succession, guru parampara and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original guru and then He imparted the knowledge unto the first created being on this universe Brahma and Brahma gave the knowledge to his son Narada, Narada gave this knowledge to Vyasadeva (the compiler of the entire Vedas) who simplified the Vedas for people of this age of Kali. In this way the knowledge is flowing in a bona fide disciplic succession. The support of this knowledge is the scriptures and whatever we follow, preach and propagate is based on those scriptures. We never say anything just out of our mental concoction. Whatever we say is supported by the scriptures so that’s why it is so authentic and appealing especially to the intelligent class of people.
GOD’S ELDER BROTHER
In one way I was saying that it is completely baffling to a layman especially a man from the West who is not very familiar with the spiritual culture. When we say that today is the appearance day of God’s elder brother it is baffling but still, we see that intelligent class of people are joining this movement and celebrating the birthday of the Lord’s elder brother. It shows that it is not a blind, superstitious ritual. This is a practice of the Absolute Truth. One thing we can very very boldly announce that if anybody gives us a chance to preach to him for 7 days and if he listens to us, we can guarantee that he is going to become a devotee of the Lord. When we say Krishna, we mean God. When we say God, it is not a Hindu God or Muslim God or Christian God and so and so forth or an Indian God or Russian God or Chinese God. GOD IS GOD! He is one without any second, He is the Supreme Personality. Although He is one, He has innumerable names according to His innumerable pastimes and qualities even in English also we notice God is addressed as Almighty, Omnipotent and these are names of God. Since God is all powerful that is why He is Almighty or Omnipotent.
The same way God is all cognisant that is why another name of God is Omniscient. So, the same way in Sanskrit God’s different attributes and qualities have been analysed in different names. Krishna in Sanskrit means all attractive. God is all attractive that is why He is Krishna. It is not that when you call him Krishna, He’s one personality and when we call Him Jehovah He becomes another personality. A self-realised person who knows God he will see that Krishna and any other name of the Lord is addressing the same personality. Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one without any second and although there is no one equal to Him or superior to Him that is another attribute of the Lord in Sanskrit He has been described as Asama one who does not have an equal and ürdhva means above. There is no one superior or equal to the Lord. Although He is one without a second but still expands Himself into innumerable forms and although He expands Himself in innumerable forms, He still remains the original Supreme Personality. He expands with His inconceivable potency but still He remains the same personality it is not that His expansions are different from Him His expansions are identical to Him.
Krishna is God and Narayana is also God. Now Krishna and Narayan are non-different; Krishna and Vishnu are non-different; Krishna and Rama are non-different; Krishna and Varaha or Kurma or Nrsinghadev or Vamana they are non-different. It is one personality that expands Himself into many different forms. From a material point of view, it seems to be impossible or imaginary but even from our material perspective we can understand by some examples even from the material platform one man can have different features or appearances. Let us considers high court judge, when he is in the court he is the judge and everybody is looking at him with great awe and reverence and he is addressed as “My Lord” then when this same person goes to the club then he is just a so and so with his friends and there he is dealing with others in an equal platform and then when that same person goes home then someone is his son and someone is his wife and someone is his daughter and someone is his mother and so and so forth.
Now the same person in high court appears to be one and, in the club, appears to be in another form and at home in another form. Although He expands Himself His potency does not deteriorate. If in the material platform we can see different individuals have different features although he is the same personality so what to talk about the Supreme Personality of Godhead who has inconceivable potency and who can do whatever He wants. So, when God wants, He can expand Himself into innumerable forms it is possible for Him. Although the Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and He expands Himself in innumerable forms with equal potency but still He remains the original personality. Govindam Adi Purusham. Now in the material platform it is impossible to understand that how a person can expand himself into innumerable forms but still he can remain the same because in the material platform when we see when you take something away from something it diminishes and when you add something to something it increases but on the spiritual platform this is the absolute platform.
IN THE ABSOLUTE PLATFORM EVERYTHING IS ABSOLUTE IN THE ABSOLUTE PLATFORM EVERYTHING IS ABSOLUTE
In the absolute platform everything is absolute, like the Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolute; His expansions are absolute; His nature is absolute; His paraphernalia is absolute; His pastimes are absolute; His name is absolute; everything is absolute. It is inconceivable because from the material platform we cannot conceive the spiritual nature but in mathematics we find something that actually defines the spiritual nature. In mathematics there is a concept infinity, now when you take something away from infinity it remains infinity and when you multiply something by infinity it remains infinity. Although in mathematics they are using this expression where no mathematical law ultimately applies. Even the greatest mathematician does not know what this infinity actually is. Their concept is that beyond this nature at a certain point all the laws of mathematics do not apply and that is infinity.
Actually, from our point of view this infinity is the Absolute and this infinity is God. God is multiplied into different forms but still He remains that Supreme Personality of Godhead. So that is the Supreme Personality of Godhead with His inconceivable potency He remains unchanging and eternally the same. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself at first as Balarama and when the Lord appears in this material nature to perform His pastimes, He does so in order to attract the living entities. We have rejected the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that is why we have fallen in this material nature and we are suffering. God who is our Supreme father or dear most friend or dear most lover, He never rejects us although we have forgotten and rejected Him but He did not reject or forget us. We leave Him but He goes wherever we go and that is why the Lord is present in everybody’s heart in the form of Paramatma, super soul. éçvaraù sarva-bhütänäà håddeçe 'rjuna Krishna is telling Arjuna in Bhagavat Gita “I as the super soul am present in everybody’s heart.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everybody’s heart and He is waiting for the living entity to turn his face towards Him.
Rejecting God, we all are suffering but the way to get rid of this miserable condition is to surrender to the Lord or establish our lost relationship with the Lord. When we re-establish our relationship with the Lord then immediately, we become joyful. I will repeat the same point there is no question of a Hindu God, Muslim God or a Christian God and so on and so forth. GOD IS GOD! Religion actually means the process to establish our relationship with the Lord. It is not that different religions have different Gods or are showing different ways to approach God, NO. There is ONE God and the way to approach Him is also ONE so in that respect there is ONE religion. Unfortunately, less intelligent people have made all kinds of discriminations and have imposed all kinds of sectarian concepts on religious processes which have caused a lot of damage to this world and which is completely bewildering innocent people. Real religion is One and the aim is to take everyone back to Godhead, help everyone establish a loving relationship with the Lord that is THE religion and must be followed by everyone and if we do there won’t be any misconception of religion. Nowadays different kinds of religion are simply causing disparity.
ONCE WHEN PRABHUPADA…
Once when Prabhupada was in America some Christian priests asked Prabhupada “why are you converting these Christian boys and girls into Hindus?’ Prabhupada said, ‘I am not converting Christians into Hindus, Jews into Muslims and so on and so forth. I am making better Christians out of the Christians, better Jews out of the Jews, better Hindus out of the Hindus and better Muslims out of the Muslims.” When we practise this loving devotional service to the Lord then we are perfectly situated in whatever religion we have inherited from our parents. When we begin to love God then we become a perfect Christian, Jew, Muslim or Hindu but when we reject God and get caught up with all kinds of rituals that causes all the problems. Instead of creating peace and prosperity in the human society it destroys the human culture and that is exactly what is happening all over the world. In the name of religion, they are doing all kinds of irreligious activities.
Instead of approaching God they are going away from God. So, to teach how to go back to Godhead, how to develop a loving relationship with the Lord. The Lord comes down to this material nature. sometimes He Himself comes sometimes He sends His messengers or his intimate associates. Whenever they come, they teach the same principle and that principle is that we are suffering being isolated from the Lord and if we want to get rid of that suffering then we have to establish our loving relationship with the Lord. In essence all religions are teaching the same principle how to love God. The most important instruction of Jesus Christ, love thy father the Lord, the God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and all thy mind. The same principle of how to love God is the principle of religion. In the same way Krishna comes and gives the same instruction in Bhagavat Gita
sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja
ahaà tväà sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi mä çucaù
Give up all kinds of nonsense activities that you are caught up in and simply surrender unto Me. A very precise instruction. Give up all kinds of so-called religious activities and just surrender to Me because religion actually means to be surrendered to the Lord. When we become surrendered to the Lord then we become perfectly situated in our religious conviction. When we do that then what is the benefit? I will deliver you from all your sinful reactions and don’t worry about it. God is giving us the assurance that the moment we become surrendered unto Him then He will take care of us. He is so merciful that He comes down Himself and sometimes He sends His son, sometimes He sends His friends, sometimes He sends His associates and they come and give us the same teaching sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja. Give up your nonsense activities and just surrender unto the Lord.
Whoever came in the bona fide line. If a not bona fide person comes and claims to be God or something then he will teach something different from this instruction and this is how we can make out who is bona fide and who is not. Nowadays we see so many gods appearing in the western world like mushrooms. It has become a very good business to come from India and start a religious whatever you call it a sect and very quickly they make some money. Today when I was driving to Zurich, I saw one of such Bhagavan’s castle on the way. The thing is when we analyse their teachings and if it doesn’t fall in line with Krishna’s teachings, we know that it is a farce. Bona fide teaching will always be in line with the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When we go to the essence, we see that Jesus’ teachings and Bhagavad Gita’s teachings are non-different. The essence is the same.
The only difference is that Jesus is propagating the teaching as the son of the Lord and Krishna who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He Himself is giving the teaching in Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna but the essence is the same. The king himself comes or the king’s representative comes as long as the representative is bona fide he will talk about the king and glorify the king he will never glorify himself or collect the tax and spend it for his own sense gratification and that is the bona fide of that representative. In the same way when the Supreme Personality of Godhead sends someone he also speaks about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no one else especially not about himself. He talks about God’s associates, nature, paraphernalia, pastimes, everything connected to God he describes and thus he helps the living entities to develop a loving relationship with the Lord.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM AND SRILA PRABHUPADA
This also we have very wonderfully noticed in Srila Prabhupada our spiritual master. Prabhupada went to America at a time when many Indian Swamis went to America to start their religious business. The difference between them and Prabhupada is that Prabhupada had never blown his own trumpet like the others. When you see the other religious groups, they all are named after the person who was propagating that cult. You can consider every single religious group in the west, Bal yogi, Rajesh yogi, they had their own society but this society that was propagated by Srila Prabhupada is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness it is not International society for Bhaktivedanta or Prabhupada consciousness, it is International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Prabhupada never presented himself as the centre point. Prabhupada always presented Krishna, for many many years even today what to talk of the western world even in India some do not know that this International Society for Krishna Consciousness was established by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Prabhupada always remained in the background and he put Krishna in the front. Prabhupada simply presented Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that is why it worked. When practically all other religious groups are simply fizzling out this ISKCON is becoming stronger and stronger and as the time passes this society will become stronger and stronger because this society is simply glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not a cult that worships some individual and puts the individual in the centre and does everything for the sake of the individual. Yes, it is done for the individual and that individual is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that is why everyone is so perfectly situated and satisfied in this society. If this was not a bona fide ritualistic society then I know at least I would have not been in this society. In the beginning I also had my doubts what to talk about doubts when I first saw the devotees, I liked it that was in 1970 in Hamburg but I never thought of joining the movement.
When I decided to take to spiritual life and went back to India I was searching for one and a half years for a guru but I never thought that I would join ISKCON. Finally, I got Prabhupada’s books I realised that this is THE philosophy and the process that I was looking for all this while. This is dealing with the Absolute Truth, when you look at the society from a distance you may have all kinds of misconceptions and I don’t blame anyone for having misconceptions. Yes, we are strange with our shaved head, sikha and saffron robes. Yes, we do look strange from a distance but when one comes close to us, I am sure he will see that after all we are not that strange. Even if we may be a little strange, we are not bad. After all a person who does not eat meat, take intoxication, who doesn’t indulge in illicit sex and who doesn’t gamble must be a good man. Only a good man can follow these four regulative principles. My earnest request to everyone is please don’t judge us from a distance. Please try to come close to us and find out for yourself what we are actually doing.
KRISHNA IS GOD
Anyway, I wanted to speak on Lord Balarama’s appearance but I first of all had to establish that Krishna is God and then we can go into His pastimes. Like if we not understand that Krishna is God, God is the Supreme Personality with form, variegated qualities and entourage and paraphernalia then it is impossible to go deeper into that philosophy. Lord Balarama who is the elder brother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna, He appeared before Krishna came. Actually, before coming to this material world, this universe, this earth planet Krishna made the arrangements. First before coming Himself He sent His fathers and mothers and then He sent His elder brother and other relatives and friends and then Krishna appeared. Balarama was actually the seventh child of Vasudeva and Devaki, the father and mother of Krishna. When the earth was very much troubled by the tyrannical demons Mother Earth went to Lord Brahma in the form of a cow and with tears in her eyes she told Brahma about her distress of how demons were troubling her so Brahma then decided to go to the Lord along with other demi-gods and Mother Earth to the milk ocean and there Brahma began to offer his prayers to Lord and the Lord instructed Brahma in the heart that very soon He would descend to rid the earth of the miseries and He would establish darma and He asked Brahma to tell the demi-gods to take birth in the Yadu and Vrisni dynasty.
In this way the Lord predicted His advent and He made arrangements that before He came the other associates of Him should take birth on this earth planet. Then He sent all His associates and friends and His relatives. In the meantime, His father and mother got married. Now the question may arise how come the Lord has mother and father? The Lord is unborn but in order to perform His pastimes the Lord takes birth as a child of some of His devotees. He has explained it in Bhagavad Gita by saying ajo 'pi sann avyayätmä bhütänäm ajo means unborn bhütänäm éçvaro although I am unborn and eternal and the Supreme Lord of all beings but still in order to give pleasure to My devotees I take birth by My internal potency. In the material nature we are born and changing one body to another due to our karma our previous actions But God doesn’t take birth by the influence of karma He appears by His causeless desire. He simply desires to be born and He appears through some of His devotees those who wanted to have Him as their son. Devotees are related to the Lord in different mellows as I have mentioned.
Those mellows are neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental and conjugal, some devotees of the Lord are related in parental mellow, some devotees want to get the Lord as their own son. Now when the devotee desires like that the Lord also allows them to have Him as their son so the Lord takes birth through them as their child. When His two great devotees Vasudeva and Devaki got married and when Vasudeva was taking his wife to his palace at that time Devaki’s cousin Kamsa was driving the chariot and there was a celestial announcement from the sky that “Kamsa you are such a fool so jubilantly you are taking your sister and her husband in your chariot and you are personally driving the chariot but you do not know that the eighth son of this sister of yours is going to kill you,” As soon as Kamsa heard this forecast he immediately grabbed Devaki by her hair. Although Devaki was his cousin still, he had no mercy because he was a great demon so he decided to kill her right there.
He grabbed her by her hair, pulled out his sword and was about to chop her head but Vasudeva stopped Kamsa and said, “Kamsa you are such a great person and you should not kill a woman because if you do everybody will look down upon you. A brave hero like you killed a woman.” In the Vedic culture killing a woman is considered to be a great crime or heinous act. In this way he consoled Kamsa and said, “Look Devaki is not going to kill you but her eighth son will kill you so when Devaki gives birth to her sons, I will bring the sons to you and you can do whatever you want with them. In this way Kamsa was pacified and he let her go and then when a son was born to Devaki, Vasudeva true to his commitment took the son to Kamsa. Kamsa in the beginning mellowed down and felt that he has only to be afraid of the eighth son so he had nothing to fear from the first son so he gave the son back to Vasudeva and said, ‘You take him back, I don’t want to do anything to him.
He is not going to cause any harm to me.” Then Kamsa was advised by his friends not to take a chance like that, this instruction came from Narada. Narada is a great devotee of the Lord and he wanted to hasten the advent of the Lord if possible so he tricked Kamsa to understand that there was no way of knowing that the eighth son would be counted in forward or backward progression. The first son could be the last son counting from the last son, in this way he convinces Kamsa and Kamsa immediately went and killed the child. Not only did he kill the child but he put Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison, In this way year after year they were giving birth to a son and they were brutally killed by Kamsa. Six sons were killed one after the other.
BALARAMA MAKES ALL THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR KRISHNA
The seventh son is actually Baladeva, Balarama Krishna’s elder brother. When Balarama was seven months old in the womb of Devaki then by Krishna’s instruction Yoga Maya Krishna’s internal potency took Balarama from Devaki’s womb and transplanted Him in Rohini’s womb. Rohini was another wife of Vasudeva who was staying in Vrindavan under the protection of Nanda Maharaja. This has been analysed why Balarama first came to Devaki’s womb and then to Rohini’s womb that has been described as Balarama makes the arrangements of Krishna for Krishna’s bed and paraphernalia. So, before Krishna arrived in Devaki’s womb Balarama went there and made all the arrangements for Krishna to come and then after making the arrangements He went to Rohini’s womb and then Krishna came as Devaki’s son and Balarama was born as Rohini’s son. In this way Balarama appeared so today is the day when Balarama appeared in Vrindavan.
Balarama is Krishna’s first expansion and the same Balarama expanded Himself as Kñérodakaçäyi Vishnu who is present in everyone’s heart as Paramatma the super soul. Actually, the super soul in our hearts is the expansion of Balarama or Balarama Himself. The super soul is the original guru. The Lord who is present in our heart is the spiritual master so Balarama is THE spiritual master. Balarama is the shelter of all living entities. When the living entities go back to Godhead then first, they go back to Balarama and through Balarama they go to Krishna. This Balarama appeared again as Nityananda prabhu and Krishna appeared as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu brajendra-nandana jei, çaci-suta hoilo sei balaräma hoilo nitäi. Brajendra nanda Krishna became the son of Saci mata and Balrama became Nityananda. In Mahaprabhu’s pastimes one has to approach Mahaprabhu through Nityananda prabhu. Hena nitai bine bhai radha Krishna paite nai.
Without Nityananda prabhu one cannot approach Radha Krishna. Without the sanction of Balarama one cannot approach Radha Krishna because our original shelter is Balarama so we have to go back to our original shelter in the spiritual sky. Balarama is the source of all the living entities. By Balarama’s mercy we are engaged in devotional service to Krishna. Today is the appearance day of Lord Balarama who very mercifully came to help us go back to Godhead so let’s take full advantage of His advent and glorify Him so that His mercy can spread all over the world and thus the whole world can benefit. Hare Krishna Thank you very much. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Does anyone have any question pertaining to this discussion?
2. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question unclear
A: I did mention that Balarama first expands into saìkarñaëa. In Vrindavan Krishna expands into Balarama Krishna Balarama. Then in Dwarika Krishna further expands into Shankarsan, Pradyumna and Anniruddha. Krishna’s expansion is Vasudeva, Balarama’s expansion is Shankarsan Pradyumna and Anniruddha. Further Balarama expands into Käraëodakaçäyé Vishnu , Garbhodakaçäyé Vishnu, Kñérodakaçäyi Vishnu, and Ananta Çeña. These are the expansions of Balarama.
Question unclear
A: Yes consider the temple as Dwarika or Vaikuntha, this is actually Vasudeva and Shankarsan but they are non different.
Question unclear
A: That Yoga Maya went to the spiritual sky into different forms like Durga etc and Subadra is actually Balarama’s sister, she is Rohini’s daughter. This Subadra and that daughter of Yasoda who Vsudeva brought from Nandagram is not Subadra, Subadra was born afterwards.
Question unclear
A: Everyone has his specific rasa and when he goes back to the spiritual sky then rasa becomes manifest and in that rasa he becomes related to the Lord and accordingly he develops his spiritual form. The spiritual form is always there. But when the Lord wants then He can change the form because the Lord is almighty. Normally the form is eternal but then again it has been pointed out that if the Lord desires He can change the form of that individual living entity. It’s completely up to His desire. The reason is there but the reason is also inconceivable. That is the inconceivable platform here we cannot figure it out why things happen.
Question unclear
A: Balarama actually He lay down and just disappeared. He just left His body after Krishna left. It is said He went back into the causal ocean. Ananta Sesa came out of Balarama’s body and Balarama’s body was there but Anata Sesa came out. We have to understand that even this body He leaves behind is also spiritual éçvara, parama Krishna sacidänanda-vigraha even in our material eyes it may appear to be matter but still it is transcendental.
3. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Once when Prabhupada was in America some Christian priests asked Prabhupada “why are you converting these Christian boys and girls into Hindus?’ Prabhupada said, ‘I am not converting Christians into Hindus, Jews into Muslims and so on and so forth. I am making better Christians out of the Christians, better Jews out of the Jews, better Hindus out of the Hindus and better Muslims out of the Muslims.” This also we have very wonderfully noticed in Srila Prabhupada our spiritual master. Prabhupada went to America at a time when many Indian Swamis went to America to start their religious business. The difference between them and Prabhupada is that Prabhupada had never blown his own trumpet like the others. When you see the other religious groups, they all are named after the person who was propagating that cult. You can consider every single religious group in the west, Bal yogi, Rajesh yogi, they had their own society but this society that was propagated by Srila Prabhupada is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness it is not International society of Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada consciousness, it is International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Prabhupada never presented himself as the centre point. Prabhupada always presented Krishna, for many many years even today what to talk of the western world even in India some do not know that this International Society for Krishna Consciousness was established by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Prabhupada always remained in the background and he put Krishna in the front. Prabhupada simply presented Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that is why it worked. When practically all other religious groups are simply fizzling out this ISKCON is becoming stronger and stronger and as the time passes this society will become stronger and stronger because this society is simply glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead
4. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- Hena nitai bine bhai radha Krishna paite nai. Without Nityananda prabhu one cannot approach RadhaKrishna. Without the sanction of Balarama one cannot approach Radha Krishna because our original shelter is Balarama so we have to go back to our original shelter in the spiritual sky. Balarama is the source of all the living entities. By Balarama’s mercy we are engaged in devotional service to Krishna
- Today is the appearance day of Lord Balarama who very mercifully came to help us go back to Godhead so let’s take full advantage of His advent and glorify Him so that His mercy can spread all over the world and thus the whole world can benefit.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a lecture given by HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja in Zurich on 19 August 1986 the appearance day of Lord Balarama)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)