CONTENTS:
- HOW TO KNOW KRISHNA THROUGH BRAHMA SAMHITA (PART - 5)
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. HOW TO KNOW KRISHNA THROUGH BRAHMA SAMHITA (PART - 5)
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 49
bhasvan yathasma-sakalesu nijesu tejah
sviyam kiyat prakatayaty api tadvad atra
brahma ya esa jagad-anda-vidhana-karta
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
I adore the primeval Lord Govinda from whom the separated subjective portion Brahma receives his power for the regulation of the mundane world, just as the sun manifests some portion of his own light in all the effulgent gems that bear the names of suryakanta, etc.
Just as a gem although appears to be very brilliant but the effulgence or brilliance that the gem has, has been reposed by a sun. Actually, all the lights are coming from the sun. Let’s consider that anything that gives out light, actually what it is? An example is coal, coal burns and what is coal? Coal is decomposed trees that had been there for millions of years, under the ground they have been sitting there and eventually they turn to coal. They are fossilized trees. What do the trees do? Wood also burns so where do they get the ability to burn? The trees are collecting the energy from the sun and it is being accumulated in the wood and under a certain condition that energy that was there comes out. Now we can consider there is a diamond, diamond mines are actually coal mines, diamonds actually come from coal, in certain conditions the coal becomes a diamond.
The diamond gives us light where do they get the light from? From the sun. So just as a gem gives out a light that has been borrowed from the sun, similarly powerful individuals like Brahma have become powerful by the potency that has been invested by the Lord. No one is actually powerful with his own power. All the power is coming from the Supreme powerful, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The best, easiest and the most convenient way of becoming powerful is by becoming a devotee of Krishna. Become a devotee of Krishna and Krishna will empower you. A devotee of Krishna means? He wants to do everything for Krishna. When somebody wants to do something for Krishna will there be dearth of power? No. If you want to become powerful then become a devotee of Krishna. If you want to be something very extraordinary become a devotee of Krishna.
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 50
yat-pada-pallava-yugam vinidhaya kumbhad
vandve pranama-samaye sa ganadhirajah
vighnan vihantum alam asya jagat-trayasya
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, whose lotus feet are always held by Ganesa upon the pair of tumuli protruding from his elephant head in order to obtain power for his function of destroying all the obstacles on the path of progress of the three worlds.
Who is ganadhirajah? You heard of Ganapati, yes Ganesa. Ganesa performs a very special act. You know why people worship Ganesa? Ganesa removes all the impediments and thus Ganesa gives success, siddhi means success. In order to achieve success people, worship Ganesa. Ganesa has the head of an elephant. Ganesa by holding the lotus feet on his head he has achieved the ability to remove all the impediments from the path of success in all three worlds. Ganesa (vihantum) destroys the (vighnan) impediments of (jagat-trayasya) three worlds. Ganesa’s power of removing the impediments from the path of the worshippers is coming from the fact that he is holding the lotus feet of Krishna on his head.
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 51
agnir mahi gaganam ambu marud disas ca
kalas tathatma-manasiti jagat-trayani
yasmad bhavanti vibhavanti visanti yam ca
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
The three worlds are composed of the nine elements, viz., fire, earth, ether, water, air, direction, time, soul and mind. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda from whom they originate, in whom they exist and into whom they enter at the time of universal cataclysm.
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 52
yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
The sun who is the king of all planets, full of infinite effulgence, the image of the good soul, is as the eye of this world. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda in pursuance of whose order the sun performs his journey mounting the wheel of time.
The Lords eyes are the sun and he is the king of all celestial beings. kala-chakro wheel of time, riding on the wheel of time the sun is moving. Why? Because Krishna ordered him.
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 53
dharmo tha papa-nicayah srutayas tapamsi
brahmadi-kita-patagavadhayas ca jivah
yad-datta-matra-vibhava-prakata-prabhava
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, by whose conferred power are maintained the manifested potencies, that are found to exist, of all virtues, all vices, the Vedas, the penances and all jivas, from Brahma to the meanest insect.
Piety or sin everything is due to the manifested potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 54
yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma
bandhanurupa-phala-bhajanam atanoti
karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who burns up to their roots all fruitive activities of those who are imbued with devotion and impartially ordains for each the due enjoyment of the fruit of one’s activities, of all those who walk in the path of work, in accordance with the chain of their previously performed works, no less in the case of the tiny insect that bears the name of indragopa than in that of Indra, king of the devas.
Indragopa is a very small insect, so from indragopa to Indra who is the king of the demi-gods, so everyone from the tiny insect to Indra are bound by their karmic reactions but when they take to Krishna consciousness and devotional service then what happens? All the karmas get burnt out. So, when one surrenders to Krishna and becomes engaged in devotional service then all one’s karmas are burnt out.
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 55
yam krodha-kama-sahaja-pranayadi-bhiti
vatsalya-moha-guru-gaurava-sevya-bhavaih
sancintya tasya sadrsim tanum apur ete
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
TRANSLATION
I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, the meditators of whom, by meditating upon Him under the sway of wrath, amorous passion, natural friendly love, fear, parental affection, delusion, reverence and willing service, attain to bodily forms befitting the nature of their contemplation.
They achieve these bodily forms befitting the nature of their contemplation. If someone thinks of Krishna as his friend then in his perfected stage he will find Krishna as his friend. If a devotee very sincerely wants to have Krishna as a son Krishna will appear to him or her as a son. In previous life Devaki and Vasudeva were Drona and Dara and they wanted to have the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their son and therefore they found Him; previous to them they were Kasyapa and Aditi and eventually they became Vasudeva and Devaki. It is describing how one develops his bodily features according to his relationship with Krishna.
Then the final verse of the prayer of Brahma:
BRAHMA SAMHITA TEXT 56
sriyah kantah kantah parama-purusah kalpa-taravo
druma bhumis cintamani-gana-mayi toyam amrtam
katha ganam natyam gamanam api vamsi priya sakhi
cid-anandam jyotih param api tad asvadyam api ca
sa yatra ksirabdhih sravati surabhibhyas ca su-mahan
nimesardhakhyo va vrajati na hi yatrapi samayah
bhaje svetadvipam tam aham iha golokam iti yam
vidantas te santah ksiti-virala-carah katipaye
TRANSLATION
I worship that transcendental seat, known as Svetadvipa whereas loving consorts the Laksmi in their unalloyed spiritual essence practice the amorous service of the Supreme Lord Krishna as their only lover; where every tree is a transcendental purpose tree; where the soil is the purpose gem, all water is nectar, every word is a song, every gait is a dance, the flute is the favourite attendant, effulgence is full of transcendental bliss and the supreme spiritual entities are all enjoyable and tasty, where numberless milk cows always emit transcendental oceans of milk; where there is eternal existence of transcendental time, who is ever present and without past or future and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away even for the space of half a moment. That realm is known as Goloka only to a very few self-realized souls in this world.
In Vrindavan Krishna has His consorts, they are described here as kantah and Krishna is the enjoyer. Who are Krishna’s loving consorts in Vrindavan? The Gopis is all actually Laksmidevis, goddesses of fortune. Actually, they are not Laksmidevis but the origins of Laksmidevis’. They expand in Vaikuntha as Laksmidevis’. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the enjoyer. All the trees are desire trees, the land is transcendental touchstone. Again, we are coming back to the descriptions of Vrindavan and the water is nectar. Their talk is music, they sing they don’t talk. When they sing it’s the most wonderful song; their movement, they don’t walk they dance. The point has been made here in Vrindavan every movement is dance and their talk is song. If every movement is dance then what is rasa dance? Every movement is dance so what it must be like?
There the talk is music so what is Krishna’s flute like? The sound of Krishna’s flute, it’s inconceivable! You will find out only when you go there. The flute is a priya sakhi, a very intimate consort. The transcendental bliss of effulgence. Everyone there enjoys and perceives; it is perceived or relish the constant joy and constant transcendental bliss. There is an ocean of milk. The milk that the Surabhi cows give creates an ocean of milk and that is the milk ocean. There the time doesn’t move where here the time is constantly moving. Future and past and present is just a fleeting concept, present is not static, time is constantly flowing. Present is gone even before you say P of present, it’s gone into the past. In Vrindavan time doesn’t even move half of a blink of an eye. This also we won’t understand unless we go there. I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in that beautiful white island, the ocean of milk. In this way only a very few realized souls can actually understand that. So, in this way Brahma offered his prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Srila Prabhupada was going to give darshan in the evening. When I suddenly remembered and ran back to his tent, it was totally packed. There must have been a thousand people in the tent, but I managed to squeeze between the last row and the back wall. Just the sight of Srila Prabhupada filled me with incredible joy, and all I could hear was the insistent pounding of my heart, which felt like it would burst from my chest. My body began trembling, and tears clouded my vision. I had never felt anything like it- I was totally ecstatic.
(Extract from “Ocean of Mercy” book written by HH Bhakti Charu Swami Pg. 71)
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- The best, easiest and the most convenient way of becoming powerful is by becoming a devotee of Krishna. Become a devotee of Krishna and Krishna will empower you. A devotee of Krishna means? He wants to do everything for Krishna; and
- If you want to become powerful then become a devotee of Krishna. If you want to be something very extraordinary become a devotee of Krishna.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami in November 2005)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)