tejasä te ‘viñahyeëa
bhüri drañöuà na çaknumaù
hataujasä mahä-bhäga
mänanéyo ‘si dehinäm
(SB 10.51.34)
Synonyms
tejasä—because of the effulgence; te—Your; aviñahyeëa—unbearable; bhüri—much; drañöum—to see; na çaknumaù—we are not able; hata—diminished; ojasä—with our faculties; mahä-bhaga—O most opulent one; mänanéyaù—to be honored; asi—You are; dehinam—by embodied beings.
Translation
Your unbearably brilliant effulgence overwhelms our strength, and thus we cannot fix our gaze upon You. O exalted one, You are to be honored by all embodied beings.
evaà sambhäñito räjïä
bhagavän bhüta-bhävanaù
pratyäha prahasan väëyä
megha-näda-gabhérayä
(SB 10.51.35)
Translation :
[Çukadeva Gosvämé continued:] Thus addressed by the King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, origin of all creation, smiled and then replied to him in a voice as deep as the rumbling of clouds.
çré-bhagavän uväca
janma-karmäbhidhänäni
santi me ‘ìga sahasraçaù
na çakyante ‘nusaìkhyätum
anantatvän mayäpi hi
(SB 10.51.36)
Translation :
The Supreme Lord said: My dear friend, I have taken thousands of births, lived thousands of lives and accepted thousands of names. In fact My births, activities and names are limitless, and thus even I cannot count them.
kvacid rajäàsi vimame
pärthiväny uru-janmabhiù
guëa-karmäbhidhänäni
na me janmäni karhicit
(SB 10.51.37)
Translation :
After many lifetimes someone might count the dust particles on the earth, but no one can ever finish counting My qualities, activities, names and births.
käla-trayopapannäni
janma-karmäëi me nåpa
anukramanto naiväntaà
gacchanti paramarñayaù
(SB 10.51.38)
Translation :
O King, the greatest sages enumerate My births and activities, which take place throughout the three phases of time, but never do they reach the end of them.
tathäpy adyatanäny aìga
çånuñva gadato mama
vijïäpito viriïcena
purähaà dharma-guptaye
bhümer bhäräyamäëänäm
asuräëäà kñayäya ca
(SB 10.51.39)
avatérëo yadu-kule
gåha änakadundubheù
vadanti väsudeveti
vasudeva-sutaà hi mäm
(SB 10.51.40)
Translation :
Nonetheless, O friend, I will tell you about My current birth, name and activities. Kindly hear. Some time ago, Lord Brahmä requested Me to protect religious principles and destroy the demons who were burdening the earth. Thus I descended in the Yadu dynasty, in the home of Änakadundubhi. Indeed, because I am the son of Vasudeva, people call Me Väsudeva.
kälanemir hataù kaàsaù
pralambädyäç ca sad-dviñaù
ayaà ca yavano dagdho
räjaàs te tigma-cakñuñä
(SB 10.51.41)
Translation :
I have killed Kälanemi, reborn as Kaàsa, as well as Pralamba and other enemies of the pious. And now, O King, this barbarian has been burnt to ashes by your piercing glance.
so ‘haà tavänugrahärthaà
guhäm etäm upägataù
prärthitaù pracuraà pürvaà
tvayähaà bhakta-vatsalaù
(SB 10.51.42)
Translation :
Since in the past you repeatedly prayed to Me, I have personally come to this cave to show you mercy, for I am affectionately inclined to My devotees.
Purport :
It is apparent from this verse that Mucukunda was a devotee of the Supreme Lord. He had prayed for the Lord’s association, and now Çré Kåñëa granted his fervent request.
Since in the past you repeatedly prayed to Me, I have personally come to this cave to show you mercy, for I am affectionately inclined to My devotees.
Lord Seriously Takes Sincere Prayers of Any Living Being At Any Time
Sukdeva Goswami here explains that after Mucukunda with so many beautiful prayers as glorified the Supreme Personality of Godhead in his very surprised and astonished condition. He was sleeping for so many long long years. Kalayavana a terrible, powerful asura as just terribly kicked him. Mucukunda has woken up not knowing who this person is i.e. just kicked him but spontaneously burns into ashes by his glance and then he sees the most beautiful effulgent Personality of Godhead standing before him radiating the most joyful wonderful light in his dark dark cave. Mucukunda offers beautiful prayers to the Lord and herein the Lord replies to those prayers by first introducing Himself is explaining that you want to know who I am, I have taken thousands of births, live thousands of lives, accepted thousands of names indeed My births, My activities are unlimited a person can count every particle of dust within this earth planet but he can never finish counting My qualities, My activities, My names and My births. And then He explains how He took birth on the request Lord Brahma in order to protect the religious principles and destroy the demons burning the earth by appearing in the Yadu dynasty as the son of Änakadundubhi and therefore His name is Vasudeva. And I have come to you because you have repeatedly pray to Me in the past. This is so important. Although the Lord is so great He is so inconceivable in His greatness He takes so seriously the sincere prayers of any living being at any time.
How Great Is Krsna!
What is the nature of the Jivatma Constitutionally it is one tenth thousand the size of the tip of a hair when it is embodied through the various species of life within this material creation. It is Anu. It is such a minute atomic particle that it can not be perceived by even the most delicate scientific instruments and yet Krsna is so great as Mahavishnu how great is Krsna what type of size does He have. We read how when He exhales all the countless universes emanate from the pores of His body imagine how big this personality is. This entire universe is smaller pore from the body of Mahavishnu. This earth planet is so big for us just for us to travel from Bombay to Calcutta take so many long long hours on train so fatigued and that’s just going across one little tiny country and one little tiny continent on this earth. Imagine the size of the entire earth and what is the earth compare to the Sun? The Sun planet is millions upon millions time larger in size in this earth and the Sun is only one little particle within this universe. The universe is immense. The scientist they can shoot rockets and make satellites but none of them have even be gone to even faffum the length and breadth of this particular universe that we are living. And yet this entire universe is coming from one tiny little pore in the body of Mahavishnu. There is no human ability to even try to calculate the size of Mahavishnu you can’t calculate in terms of miles or kilometers.
There are billions upon billions upon billions upon trillions of universes and they are all like tiny little grains of sand before the great Mahavishnu and yet the Jivatma in contrast is in size one ten thousand size of the tip of the hair what is our significance compare to Mahavishnu and Mahavishnu happens to be just the portion of portion of portion of an expansion of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. How great is Krsna! And how insignificant are we! Anu and Vibhu. How is unlimited and we are utterly limited. He has completely free and we are always subordinate to Him. Nityo nityänäà cetanaç cetanänäm eko bahünäà yo vidadhäti kämän. He is the one supreme eternal of whom every living entity is eternally subordinate too and depending upon both in the material and spiritual realms.
Krsna’s Glory
But Krsna’s greatness is so wonderful so intimate and so personal that each Jivatma and how many Jivatmas are their just in this one little earth planet how many Jivatmas are their every blade of grass, every plant, every tree, every insect, every germ what to speak of all the fish in the waters and all the birds in the sky and all the reptiles and all the animals and all the human beings. There are countless Jivatmas in this tiny little earth planet. What to speak of all the Jivatmas in the universe contrary to what some foolish scientist say there is life in every planet in the universe and this earth is the tiny planet in compare to others. How many Jivatmas are their in the cosmic manifestation it is impossible by human calculation even to begin to try to make number so large. One million, one billion, one trillion if you try to write out the number of how many Jivatmas are there are in just in this universe the numbers would be so you could take that piece of paper with the number and rapper it around the earth billions and trillions and trillions of times and still it would not be enough. What to speak of all the Jivatmas in the cosmic manifestation and this material cosmic manifestation is only a tiny particle in compare to the size of the spiritual world. In the spiritual world in the Brahmajyoti there are infinite, unlimited Jivatmas resting within the Brahmajyoti the Tatastha Sakti. And beyond Brahmajyoti there are innumerable Vaikuntha planets and ultimately Goloka Vrindavan where there are countless countless innumerably more in number Jivatmas than our in this material creation. And Krsna is so inconceivably wonderful, powerful, all pervading by nature that he knows every desire and every prayer of every Jivatma every where. As the Paramatma within this material creation He expands Himself to be just next to you every Jivatma in this entire material creation. The Lord personally expands Himself to stand right beside you in your heart whether you in the body of germ an Ameba or human begin or a demigod but Paramatma is right beside you and He hears your prayers. This is Krsna’s glory.
Krsna Never Forgets Our Prayers
And any insignificant Jivatma that even once sincerely prays to the Lord the Lord will never forget that. Not only not forget that but He will be there to recue you at the right time. Srila Prabhupada He wrote a letter to one of our devotees this particular devotee he helped Srila Prabhupada so much but then due to his previous conditionings he fell away from his devotional practices and appear to go deep down into the material world of illusion engaging in various sinful activities and practically giving up his spiritual practices but during the time he was in the death of his difficulties Srila Prabhupada wrote to him and he said because you one time chanted the Holy Name of Krsna sincerely in Vrindavan Krsna will never forget you He will rescue you, He will save you. And sure enough just before that devotee’s death Krsna came and rescued him and brought him back to devotional. “Once we pray to Krsna He is so glorious that He will respond to that prayer when it is the right time.”
And here we find that in a previous birth perhaps Mucukunda in the past He says you repeatedly pray to Me now here you are sleeping in complete unconsciousness in a dark, desolate, secluded place but do you think that’s difficult for Me to find you here. No body else knew where Mucukunda was. He was hiding in a dark cave some where in the mountain that we don’t even know. But Krsna found him because he prayed to Him sincerely in the past. Not only did He find him but he made such a wonderful pastime all around this devotee just to wake him up and give him pure devotional service and reveal Himself. “So we should know that whatever darkness, whatever deep spiritual sleep we may fall into because we are devotees, because we have approached Krsna with the sincere heart will never be without Him. What ever we do where ever we do it Krsna is going to be there to bring us back to His lotus feet at least there is no doubt.” Kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]. Krsna tells Arjuna you declare it that My devotees will never perished that means spiritually he would never be forgotten by Me. I will be there to pick him up. When, where that I will decide. I will allow My devotees to misuse his independence if he so desires or she so desires but not for long I will come to bring light in the darkness of the cave of their hearts in due course of time. Why? Because that person has pray to Me. I will never forget or reject My devotee.
Krsna Never Abandon Us
And we find in the story of Gajendra. He was also a good devotee but some how or other he was in a body of a very great kingly demigod. “And the nature of material existence is that if you have a big position even if you are a devotee your tendency is you become proud.” And what happens when you proud. You commit offenses to others. You think you have right to judge, to calculate other people’s qualities and you criticize. So he criticized a great sage. And because of that he was cursed to become an elephant. And in the elephant body because of his previous karmas such a great powerful king he wasn’t an ordinary elephant he was the king of elephants. And he got proud even in that body. He had so many nice children and nice not only one but many beautiful elephant queens. You know for an elephant female elephant is very beautiful you may think, you may not become disturbed when you see a female elephant but factually a male elephant not become disturbed by seeing your wife either. It’s all relative for a human a human is beautiful. The cockroaches are not disturbed when they see even the most beautiful woman without her cloths on but when they see a female cockroach they were crazy with lust that’s why there so many cockroaches. So it’s relative when you are in your cockroach’s body you didn’t care anything for human beings in fact they were big monsters for you and big ugly terrible monsters you are running away from. Anyways Gajendra had these beautiful wonderful loving wives in elephant bodies and nice children and every animal in the jungles was offering all of obeisances and respect to him. And so as long as he was in that condition he just live the life of an elephant but one day when he was bathing the water of the pond of water in the Trikut Mountain he was beat by a crocodile and this crocodile wanted to eat him he would let go of his leg. So Gajendra with all of his might was trying to get out but he couldn’t because in the water a crocodile was very powerful. So they were fighting and fighting and fighting and Gajendra was getting weaker and crocodile was getting stronger and Gajendras wives were crying and his children were crying and his friends were crying they couldn’t help him all they could do is cry. It’s a fact at the time of death all your love once all they could do is cry and you are thinking I don’t want you to cry and I want you to save me. But all they could do is cry no one can save you only Krsna can save you ultimately. So Gajendra when he was in this condition and when he was about to die and he saw that nobody else could help him he remembered he remembered his previous births where he was a devotee and he learn so many wonderful prayers to the Lord and he prayed so much to the Lord. Krsna says in Gita –
sarvasya cähaà hådi sanniviñöo
mattaù småtir jïänam apohanaà ca
That I am in everyone’s heart, I am in the elephant’s heart, the dog’s heart, the chandalas hearts, the Brahmans heart.
vidyä-vinaya-sampanne
brähmaëe gavi hastini
çuni caiva çva-päke ca
paëòitäù sama-darçinaù
[Bg. 5.18]
I am in everyone’s heart. And from Me comes remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness because of this offense to this sage Krsna He cause Gajendra to completely forget all of his previous religious activities. He even forgot his identity as a devotee but Krsna who orchestrate the whole creation just for His devotee welfare actually arrange for Gajendra to be in the grasps of this crocodile. And when Gajendra realize that I am about to die and nobody else can save me I am in illusion then at that time that opportune moment Hari Bol… Krsna gave him remembrance that you are a devotee. Do you remember the wonderful prayers have you offered to Me? Here they are offer them again see what happens. With complete faith Gajendra offered his prayers with his truck although in the position of a terrible pain about to die with his truck he plucked a beautiful lotus flower and offer that to the Lord of his heart and began to pray- Krsna, I have been in such an illusion. I wasted my life so terribly please save me. I am your servant unconditionally. Now You do as You like with me but please let me never forget You. At that time the supreme Lord Narayan descended on His carrier Garuda and then with His Sudarshan Chakra He destroyed the crocodile. Not only did He destroyed the crocodile but He reawaken Gajendras original spiritual form and sent him Back Home Back to Godhead. Hari Bol…
In the similar way Mucukunda is being delivered by Krsna at this very movement and through this story we can know that Krsna will never abandon His devotees. We may abandon Krsna but He will never abandon us. He may for sometime allow us to think that we have abandoned Him but He is just waiting, He is just waiting for the opportune movement to reclaim us as His devotee.
Wonderful Krsna
Caitanya Mahaprabhu said like this He said- “bless it is that devotee who never gives up the service to the lotus feet of his worshipable Lord. And bless it is that Lord who when the devotee gives up His service the Lord drags him back by the hair.
nehäbhikrama-näço ‘sti
pratyaväyo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
träyate mahato bhayät
[Bg. 2.40]
Anything we ever done in Krishna Consciousness is never lost and Krsna will never forget. So we are about to read the prayers of Mucukunda and what it is his lamentation? His lamentation is Krsna! You are so merciful, so kind but I am such a fool I have wasted so much valuable time but You have come You have come to give me Your mercy at my time of greatest need.
When we talk about how great is God this is just a little sample of His greatness. Although He is so inconceivably, unlimitedly wonderful and great in every respect still He gives so much attention to any little tiny soul like our selves then even once sincerely chanting His names or prays for His mercy. Why? In Goloka Vrindavan Krsna is enjoying with Sri Radharani, Lalita, Vishakha, Chitra, Tunga vidhya, Champak Lata, Indulekha, Sudevi, Ranga Devi and all of the Manjaris and all of the Gopis and all of the Gopas Krsna’s these these souls are eternally sold out to just giving Him pleasure in ecstatic love. And in Vaikuntha every associate and there are unlimited associates in the various Vaikuntha planets they have all completely surrendered there entire existence eternally only for Krsna’s pleasure and what is our position? We have by our own freewill chosen to come to this world just to exploit Krsna’s property, to reject Him, to commit various sinful activities, to disobey and disregard His desires. Why would Krsna want to waste His time on such insignificant, fallen, rebellious, radical creatures like us? But how wonderful is Krsna that He is always remaining right by the side of your soul just waiting for the opportunity to bring you Back Home Back to Godhead to enjoy personally within forever. This is Krsna. And who are we? Even knowing this still we go on with our craziness still I want to enjoy. Still we make some other priority other than Krsna’s service. “The more we understand the nature of Krsna’s love the nature of Krsna’s transcendental qualities the more we want to surrender to Him the more we want to stop wasting our time become His devotee turn our life over to His loving service and the service of His servants.” And pass our time simply chanting His Holy Names-
Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare
Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
Is there any questions?
Question : Since Maharaj you are saying that Krsna will not abandon us if we have chanted once sincerely to Krsna. Now it so happens suppose in your spiritual life in future if we at all because of our past material conditioning if we at all forget Krsna and we try to go away from Him it is sure that Krsna will rescue us one day or other. But how to see to it that rescues us in this birth itself. He doesn’t live us. And we have to come once again into this world because we don’t wanted to come once again this world at all so how to see to it that He takes us in this birth itself He recues in this life time itself so how to see that?
Answer : You have to give a good message to Krsna that you really don’t want to take birth again in this world again. And that means if you really don’t want to take birth in this world again that you won’t be trying to enjoy this world now. Ha…your actions speak louder than your words. You are trying to enjoy this world like anything now but you are saying- I don’t want to take birth in this world again. “To the degree you are trying to enjoy this world to that degree your chances are that you have to come back to complete your mission of material enjoyment.” When you give up the desire for material enjoyment and really if you give up your desire for material enjoyment simply for the sake of release of suffering then you can achieve mukti, libration in the spiritual sky. If you give up all your material enjoyments aspire to give up all your material enjoyments to engaging in Krsna’s loving service then without doubt you will attain the spiritual world Vaikuntha or Goloka. So in our life we should know that Krsna is going to reciprocate according to how we approach him. If you are sincerely endeavoring in devotional service and you can know that Krsna is going to bring you back to Him in matter of time. But to our elevation to the spiritual world will be in the near future because if you are a gyana-mishra-bhakta or karma-mishra-bhakta if you have a Bhakti i.e. mixed with various material inclinations then you have to come back to this world to complete the process of purification but if you are seriously striving for pure devotional service Krsna will give it to you no doubt he give you what you want but you have to strive for it i.e. how you can see to it. Ultimately Krsna will see to it. We just try to be a nice humble devotee. Krsna will see to it. Don’t try to see to it. We just be a nice devotee Krsna will take care of you. Hari Bol…
Question : Maharaj we know that Prabhupada said us that one becomes disgusted with material life that really becomes Krishna Consciousness and many devotees initially come to Krishna Consciousness because they disgusted with material attempts of material enjoyment that becomes empathize to take to the process of devotional service then we see that after sometime of engaging in devotional service the material energy doesn’t is no longer working miserable way upon the devotee because the following life style of a devotees is simply certainly at least for in the mode of goodness it’s not transcendental depending on individual devotee. So one of the, we see in the Hare Krsna movement probably with any spiritual society specially our movement you know so many people have come to Krishna Consciousness because of disgusted and distaste for material life and then that some taste that remains and eventually that desire disturbs them to the point that they can’t actually execute devotional services in strict way in any environment. And you know we read about the demigods who are devotees and they also have these desires. So my question is how to go from the point of being disgusted simply that’s not enough just being disgusted with material life is not really enough. They may profound one into devotional service so how to go from the point initially being disgusted to the next stage up to the final stage?
Answer : When you are disgusted it is not that you do not have material desires they are all still their but they are frustrated. But you should know that frustration and fulfillment, success and failure, happiness and distress, pleasure and pain they are all inseparable dualities within this material creation. Nothing is permanent. You may be disgusted now but in due course of time you would not be disgusted on the material plane because the modes of material nature are always changing and it is by the various combinations of three modes of material nature in relationship to our own Karmic condition that these dualities are acting upon us and influencing our mind in various ways. So this discussed for material enjoyment is simply a gift of God to awaken the desire to transcend the dualities of a material nature but we should know that that discussed will not last very long on the material level. We have to in the time that we have work very very hard to transcend the dualities all together.
mäträ-sparçäs tu kaunteya
çétoñëa-sukha-duùkha-däù
ägamäpäyino ‘nityäs
täàs titikñasva bhärata
[Bg. 2.14]
The none permanent appearance of happiness and disgrace they appear like the winter and summer seasons they are always changing one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed. The way a devotee tolerate it’s by always being fixed up in devotional service another words we have to understand the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness.
“Srila Prabhupada one time he said you want to perform tapasya, tapasya means to read my books three hours every day” because if you are attending Srimad Bhagvatam class, attending evening lectures and reading one hour a day as three hours because hearing classes and from his books and reading books is equal to the same thing. But he wanted his devotees to hear his books three hours everyday. He said it is essential. So that our intelligence is fixed on the purpose of life otherwise our intelligence would be bewildered by the ever changing dualities of material existence and we will not be able to tolerated sometimes everything is going wrong and its disgusting and full of pain and failure we have to go on with our devotional service because we understand with our intelligence the goal of life and what we must due to attain it. And sometimes the tie is change and everything going our way and all of certain where in good health. And people are nice to us and now we learned how to make a lot of money and actually now everything very pleasurable now the whole world is at my feet to enjoy how to tolerate that condition? No first of all it’s not going to last forever. In due course of time you will as disgusted as you are originally but right now it appears that I am the enjoyer and everything here for my enjoyment and I first became a brahamacari no matajis liked me. How all of the sudden matajis like me and they even want to marry me. And when I was the brahamacari I really didn’t know how to do anything but now how to do Sankirtan and I know how to deal with money. I can make millions of dollars. When I first join this movement I was fried but now I am stable, I am intelligent, I am mature. I could make it in this world. Hari Bol… Ha… So what will prevent you from becoming gross sense enjoyer in that condition of life? Intelligence, their action. It is all in illusion. That always promises for enjoyment are all going to just turn their face again into frustration and failure. It’s the matter of time. So we have to tolerate. And how do we tolerate it? By continuing on in the path of devotion. You can’t go on by your material condition of disgust eventually you have to go on by a philosophical understanding what is the truth? And by reading Prabhupada’s books sincerely whatever idea you have that this world is the place of enjoyment Prabhupada going to cut it to the shreds. He is going to stamp and trample on your dreams in every page of his books that’s his mercy. And when you come to Srimad Bhagvatam class will also going to stamp and trample on your dreams material for enjoyment and we are praying that you continue to stamp and trample on all our dreams for material enjoyment and in this way the association of devotees is we help each other. To keep fixed in a proper vision that yes Maya saying this but Gurudev and Krsna saying something else. Lord Caitanya took Sanyas when He was twenty four and Sarvabhauma Battacharya said how such a beautiful golden personality how was he going to maintain Sanyas in such a young age. Only if He scrutinize and He understand the Vedanta Sutra because Vedanta Sutra explains how this material world is an illusion if you really fixed in this understanding whatever appears you will not believe it because you have heard the truth. It’s a fact we must understand. We must hear. You see I am very very advance levels we can just be hearing about Krsna’s lila in Vrindavan is very nice but in the beginning of it we should hear it no doubt but the majority of what we hear has to be the nature of the cruelties of Maya and the temporary condition of the sufferings of this world. Otherwise we for just Prabhupada explain the Sahajiya class of man and woman they are always talking about Radha Krsna’s loving lilas but because they are not cultivating distaste for material life they start thinking that this world is Vrindavan let us enjoy our lilas here. Why wait. This is not the proper process. We must cultivate distaste for material sense gratification by regularly hearing Srimad Bhagvatam, by regularly associating with those in the renounce order of life and by applying these principles to our life then we will continue on in the path of devotional service despite all temptations. We find the generally devotees who used to come to the material allurements our devotees who have become very negligent in their Sadhana. They are not carefully studying Prabhupada’s books, they are not carefully chanting their rounds everyday, they are not carefully associating with saintly people in the renounced order. People who have that association and have that strictness of Sadhana they would be protected from these allurements. Any other questions? Hari Bol… Thank you very much.
