Çré-çuka uväca
Vaidarbhyäù sa tu sandeçaà
Niçamya yadu-nandanaù
Pragåhya päëinä päëià
Prahasann idam abravét
(SB 10.53.1)
Synonyms
Çré-çukaù uväca—Çukadeva Gosvämé said; vaidarbhyäù—of the princess of Vidarbha; saù—He; tu—and; sandeçam—the confidential message; niçamya—hearing; yadu-nandanaù—Lord Kåñëa, the descendant of Yadu; pragåhya—taking; päëinä—by His hand; päëim—the hand (of the brähmaëa messenger); prahasan—smiling; idam—this; abravét—said.
Translation
Çukadeva Gosvämé said: Thus hearing the confidential message of Princess Vaidarbhé, Lord Yadunandana took the brähmaëa’s hand and, smiling, spoke to him as follows.
Çré-bhagavän uväca
Tathäham api tac-citto
Nidräà ca na labhe niçi
Vedäham rukmiëä dveñän
Mamodväho niväritaù
(SB 10.53.2)
Translation
The Supreme Lord said: Just as Rukmiëé’s mind is fixed on Me, My mind is fixed on her. I can’t even sleep at night. I know that Rukmé, out of envy, has forbidden our marriage.
Täm änayiñya unmathya
Räjanyäpasadän mådhe
Mat-paräm anavadyäìgém
Edhaso ‘gni-çikhäm iva
(SB 10.53.3)
Translation
She has dedicated herself exclusively to Me, and her beauty is flawless. I will bring her here after thrashing those worthless kings in battle, just as one brings a blazing flame out of firewood.
Purport
When latent fire is aroused in wood, the fire bursts forth, consuming the wood in the act of manifestation. Similarly, Lord Kåñëa boldly predicted that Rukmiëé would come forth to take His hand and that in the process the wicked kings would be burned by the fire of Kåñëa’s determination.
She has dedicated herself exclusively to Me, and her beauty is flawless. I will bring her here after thrashing those worthless kings in battle, just as one brings a blazing flame out of firewood.
Rukmini was desperately pleading for Krishna’s mercy
Srila Sukhadev is herein describing Bhagavan Shri Krishna’s response to the confidential message that the Brahman had given to Krishna on behalf of the princess Rukmini. In the message Rukmini in sheer desperation and helplessness was crying out for Krishna to save her from the hand of materialistic exploitative people and to take her to be his own. Shisupal, Jarashanda, Çalya so many demoniac kings whose power was very great they were all assembled together specifically to make sure that Krishna did not come to interfere with the marriage between Rukmini and Shisupal. Because they were well known that Rukmini had given her heart to Krishna and only Krishna, she was longing and crying for Krishna to be her husband. Her father Maharaj Bhéñmaka he also agreed that there is no one so suitable to be the beautiful Rukmini’s husband then Lord Krishna. But Rukmé his oldest brother he was violently and viciously envious of Krishna. Therefore he decided that Rukmini should be Shisupal’s bride who just happens to be Krishna foremost enemy. Seeing this terrible plight her life about to be stolen away by illusion Rukmini sent a message to Krishna through a Brahman noticed that. Rukmini sent this message through a Brahman,
namo brahmaëya-deväya
go-brähmaëa-hitäya ca
jagad-dhitäya kåñëäya
govindäya namo namaù
The Brahmans are very dear to Krishna, why? When we speak about Brahmans in this case we are speaking about Brahmans who are devotees of the Lord, who are pure, who are peaceful, and who are willing to make all sacrifices to render service to humanity by helping them to become Krishna consciousness. This is the duty of a Brahman, to accept inconvenience even poverty and risks to help elevate people’s consciousness toward bhakti or devotion to Krishna. So Rukmini understood that if we approach Krishna through such a devotee, through such a kind and gentle Brahman then He will be certain to very seriously hear our message. In the same way a devotee always wants to offer everything to Krishna through the spiritual master or through the great Vaishnav’s. So this Brahman he took the message to Krishna and he heard Rukmini’s words, she was begging, she was pleading as unqualified she was that Krishna kindly come and rescue her from this terrible condition of material life. Krishna does not simply hear the words that we speak but form within the heart He hears how it is spoken. After all anyone can recite Sloka’s and anyone can even chant God’s holy name but how we chant, how we address the Lord it is what actually Krishna response to. Srila Prabhupada explained that when we address Krishna we should be like a child crying for its mother, child is helpless. When a child is in danger the child knows no one but the mother and the child realizes that there is nothing that it can do to protect itself, it’s too small, and it’s too incapable. So in that mood of helplessness the child utterly depending that my mother is my only hope, in this way we should learn to chant the holy names. Rukmini she was in that condition such a gentle young girl surrounded by these jackals, these terrible Maharathi warriors all wanting to devour her, devour her good qualities and exploit her.
Krishna’s love towards his devotees is inconceivable
So this message was so full of devotion, was so full of love and Krishna explains,
ye yathä mäà prapadyante
täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham
That according to how we approach Him, He will reward us accordingly. So here Krishna is confirming this, first He rook the Brahman’s hand encouraging him and smiling He spoke as follows. Just as Rukmini’s mind is fixed on me my mind is fixed on her, He said I cannot even sleep at night because I know that out of envy Rukmi has forbidden our marriage. Krishna is a personality and from this beautiful response to Rukmini’s prayers we can understand really what bhakti means. Rukmini knew that Krishna would respond according to her devotion and similarly a devotee understands that Krishna is a person, Krishna is not a force, Krishna is not energy; Krishna is a person and He response as a person but He is a supreme perfect person. Krishna is explaining that He cannot even sleep at night thinking of the plight that Rukmini is in. In the Brihat–Bhagavatamrita by Srila Sanantan, he explains a devotee Gopakumar how after going through so many conditions in this material world he finally returned to Goloka Vrindavan, the spiritual world. Krishna He explains to Gopakumara, His devotees that all the time that you are away I was hearing your cries, I was always longing the time when I would see you. I was with you through all your tribulations, through all your trials, through all your difficulties on the spiritual path. The love that Krishna has for His devotees is inconceivable; we are all Jiva Aatma’s that means our love for Krishna infinitesimal although it is eternal. Krishna love for every one of its parts and parcels is infinite, it is supreme, and it is without boundaries. When a devotee longs to see Krishna, Krishna longs to see that devotee. How is it that the supreme absolute truth, the personality of Godhead cannot sleep at night thinking of Rukmini? This is the greatness and the beauty of Krishna, this is the nature of His love and this is why devotees want to give everything for him. Although He is ätmäräm, He is self sufficient He does not need us we are insignificant but yet due to love He wants us so much. He is willing to come to this world and perform so many wonderful activities just to attract our heart back to him; this is the love of Krishna.
What a foolish mentality of thinking that God has no form!
Today is the disappearance day of Sripad Madhavacarya, this afternoon we will discuss the life of Shri Madhavacarya. But one of the principles that he established so strongly in this world was that god is a person, in the ultimate issue He is the personality of Godhead and that the Jiva, soul is eternally the servant of the Lord. In this way Madhavacarya established the principles of real bhakti, you will find that many of the people who teach bhakti are not really Bhaktas at all. So many of the biggest reciters of Srimad Bhagvat or Ramayana they talk about practically nothing but bhakti but they have no real conception of bhakti. They will discuss how bhakti is the most simple and direct process of self realization. They will use the same examples that we do and even tell the same stories that we do but their conception is that ultimately bhakti is the means of fixing our mind on what is transcendental and through that transcendental medium of the Lord’s pastimes and the Lord’s names you can transcend all duality and you can transcend that form of God that you worshiping and you can transcend the temporary of rendering devotional service to the Lord and you can enter into this fear of what they considered the highest truth impersonal realization that ultimately God is impersonal, He is a supreme formless energy in whom we all ultimately merge. That for our deliverance the Lord will temporarily accept a form within this world and because we have form and because we have personality and because in our condition state we can only things we can see and we can hear and we can talk about. Therefore the Lord appears in this way just to give us the chance to purify our existence and such persons when they are narrating Ramayana or Bhagvatam sometimes in thinking of Rama or thinking even tears flow from their eyes because they actually are attracted to the personality. But still their aim, their conception is that just see how wonderful the supreme Brahman is, this formless Lord that He appeared in such a wonderful attractive form that brings tears to our eyes. Just like we also when we go to the Cinema house and we see some tragedy we cry but we see something very funny and we laugh or we something very frightening and we become scared and then the person who is the hero who have been so attached too when they hear always some terrible plight again we began to cry. But actually behind it we know that all it is lights that are just flashing against the screen making an appearance of these people but actually the people really they don’t exist it’s just light, it’s just the screen. We know that it’s really just an illusion the whole Movie but still we identify with it so much our minds become so captivated by it. So similar to this when such philosophers narrate the Lord’s pastimes they understand that ultimately the Lord is just light but this light is taking so many forms and they are so entertaining and they are so enjoyable to our senses to watch but ultimately when the movie is over there is just a blank screen. So similarly we recite Ramayana, we recite Bhagavat we cry and we dance and we chant and we sing and we are completely absorbed in all these narrations they are just temporarily manifestations of light but ultimately when everything is set and done there is just the blank screen, when the show is over there is only, Ahaà brahmäsmi that I am God, I am the supreme. Therefore devotees must be very careful because by hearing such narrations from persons who appeared to have great bhakti we become influence by that consciousness and it actually disturbs a devotees really service attitude. In fact the Acaryas would claim that there is no real service attitude at all, therefore Madhavacarya wanted to established in such clear undefeatable terms that ultimately Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead that ultimately Lord Narayana is the cause of all causes and when we hear of His pastimes, when we chant His names we should be conscious that the absolute truth reciprocates and response to our prayers in the spiritual world and within our hearts. Madhavacarya’s philosophy is so important to understand and this is why Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu particularly accepted Initiation in his Sampradaya. Today everything is so mixed up Personalism, Impersonalism you can be listening to a person for hours and days and weeks and months and years and you don’t even really know whether we believe in real bhakti or not, everything is so unclear and if you ask someone they don’t even know. Do you believe God is a person or not a person? Ultimately is He formless or form. To get a clear answer is very difficult, yes untimely He is formless most of them will tell you this, ultimately He is formless. But at the same time we love His form, we love His form so much, we love His personality so much, we love His pastime so much but what is love there is still envy within that love because ultimately you are thinking that is your pastimes, you are thinking that is your form.
Teachings of Madhavacarya and Lord Caitanya
Anyways the Hindu religion today is so mixed up and so confused and without any real, clear conception. Madhavacarya teachings he came to make everything so strikingly clear that it reach fear in the hearts of everyone, unless they were willing to accept it and surrender to it. He taught dvaita philosophy, the philosophy dualism where he established that you never were God and you will never be God, you are Jiva and you are always subordinate to Narayana and you must surrender and serve Narayana. He explained the diversified energy of the absolute truths, he didn’t say this material world was an illusion he said it is real but it temporary. In the fact he didn’t accept this doctrine of illusion; he accepted the reality of everything and he categorized everything according to its proper Tattva and he would explain how we can be realized, the illusion is when we identify with something that we are not. Sankaracarya, he used to use this example of the snake and the rope that if you think a rope is a snake that is an illusion but Madhavacarya said but the fact you think that the rope is a snake means somewhere there is snake that means the snake is a reality and the rope is also a reality and you are also reality. The illusion is misidentification; anyways it’s a very, very deep and wonderful philosophy and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu He took the essence of that and the essence of all the great philosophies and He revealed Achinta Vedaveda Tatwa the simultaneous one and different philosophy because, if we have an understanding of this one and different dualistic conception that we are persons and God is ultimately a person then we can truly understand in its light, how we can have a loving reciprocation with God eternally? Then with real bhakti, true bhakti we could call out his holy name, with true bhakti we can pray to the Lord to protect us and to deliver us from the clutches of Maya. Is there any questions?
Question: Maharaj, Krishna is absolute, as Bhagavan He is a person and His Brahmajyoti effulgence as all pervading Brahman He is there. So suppose some soul out of ignorance get attracted to impersonal Brahman and really loves it. So Krishna is absolute and since Krishna is the bestowal of knowledge does Krishna ultimately give that soul knowledge of the person Krishna or soul remains ignorant at that only?
Answer: If you approach the Lord as impersonal He will reveal Himself as impersonal. You cannot love the impersonal Brahman; a person can only love a person. You see because of this great misrepresentation of the absolute truth you will find that all the Vaishnav preachers they really do not put on the emphasis on the impersonal because they know it’s very dangerous, they put all emphasis on the person. Impersonalists put emphasis on the oneness of us and god and the Vaishnav always put the emphasis on the difference. Why? For two reasons because it is through the difference that devotion is born and also because there is so much pseudo philosophy and Impersonalism that is literally misleading people of all religions all over the world that we don’t want to give credence to those misconceptions which are already plaguing so badly. Therefore Srila Prabhupada what is his Pranam Mantra,
namas te särasvate deve gaura-väëé-pracäriëe
nirviçeña-çünyavädi-päçcätya-deça-täriëe
That this great disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur which is relevant in itself because what was Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, one of his very famous qualities. He was known as Siàha Guru, Siàha Guru didn’t mean that he would just yell at people. For his devotees he was not Siàha Guru for his devotees he was the most loving father, friend and guide but for the Impersonalists he was Siàha Guru, for the Impersonalists he would roar at them, not only for their sake but for the sake of everyone. If a Mayawadi was walking down the street and they saw Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati walking they would run and hide because they knew that Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati would attack them like a lion and devour their misconceptions in front of everyone and no one could defeat him, no one could defend themselves against him because he was right. So either had to surrender or they had to run and hide. Srila Prabhupada in Vyas Puja offering to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati he wrote a poem and in that poem it was a beautiful poem there was one verse Absolute is sentient, Thou hast proved, Impersonal calamity though has removed and when Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati read that the whole rest of the poem and all the other Vyaspujam offering were glorifying his mercy, his knowledge and his various attributes and qualities but Bhaktisiddhanta said, this verse shows that Abhay Caranaravinda has captured the true essence of my mission and he would read this verse wherever he would go and to show people how this Abhay Caranaravinda has really captured the essence of his mission. Absolute is sentient, Thou hast proved, Impersonal calamity though has removed; this is very much his mission because you cannot establish real bhakti unless you completely annihilate and liberate the Mayawad conception. The residue of which has his very subtle and contamination in almost everyone’s heart we cannot give credibility to that, we do not find the Vaishnav Acarya’s doing that. Therefore Srila Prabhupada being the humble servant of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati he came to world to the western world to remove that voidism and Impersonalism nirviçeña-çünyavädi-päçcätya-deça-täriëe. He has come to the western world; he is traveling throughout the world to remove, to liberate us from the contaminations voidism and Impersonalism, why, this is his mercy because without surgically taking this misconception from our hearts we can never understand what love is, what is eternal love, what is real bhakti? So Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught that we are one and different then the Lord but He explained it thoroughly in terms of Personalism and Bhakti. Those who explained from d impersonal point of view Caitanya Mahaprabhu for Sarvabhooma He completely defeated him. Prakashananda Saraswati and the Mayawadi’s He would have nothing to do with them, ultimately He defeated them and converted them. In this way what is oneness and different mean in the terms of Mahaprabhu philosophy, we are one in quality but the emphasis is not that, the emphasis is that we are eternally the servant, we are part and parcel we are different in quantity. Krishna is the lord and we are the servant because Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s philosophy is meant to bring us back to Vrindavan, the spiritual world. All of these contaminations must be removed, otherwise so many people are speaking about Bhakti but they are Mayawadi’s or they are just basically confused they don’t really know what they are. We will fall prey to that contamination unless great souls like Madhava and the disciplic representative of him established it very clearly, no; we are eternally servants of Krishna. Is that answer to your question?
Question: In India it is seen now that most of the people have this conception of impersonal Brahman, what is the way of deliverance to this people now, many of them, how they can be delivered?
Answer: To preach Krishna consciousness, you see simply to give them the holy name of Krishna is very important but we must also give them the understanding of how to properly chant the holy name of Krishna. Srila Prabhupada gave the name but he also wrote so many books to teach us how to chant the name. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, Bhaktivinoda, Narottam Das, Jiva Goswami, Rupa Goswami, and Sanatan Goswami they all taught that the Yuga Dharma is Harinam but they also said so many books to establish the personality of Godhead and the real principles of true Bhakti. Almost every Impersonalists chants the name of god and no doubt there is benefit but through their chanting they will never attain pure Bhakti unless we approach the name with the desire for pure Bhakti. Perhaps not everyone can read all these wonderful books but, if you read it then you explain it simple way and convince people that’s all is required. That is the mission we have accepted in our life, not just to become purified ourselves but to help everyone understand, everyone possibly what are the real principles of love, devotion, Krishna consciousness. In the Madhavacarya, the best way to glorify Madhavacarya is to defeat Mayawad philosophy is that was his specialty. When we go to Udipi if you talk to Madhavacarya’s that’s the first thing they liked to do is to defeat Mayawad philosophy, they are trained. When they are sent to Gurukul that’s the first thing they are trained to do is to defeat the Mayawadi’s, defeat the Impersonalists. It’s not ego is compassion, someone have a diseased well, you don’t say well you are all right, you are all right I am all right, no you say you are diseased and I am going to cut it out its love. It’s not love saying oh! Very nice you have your diseased on your leg and I have my leg so it’s all one. No, you are diseased and I am going to cut it and its going to hurt but I am going to cut it, its love; it’s not fanaticism, it’s not sectarianism its love. Madhava was powerful in this way, he would defeat one way of other.
Question: When we follow the Madhvacarya Sampradaya there is basically two points there is little difference the philosophy. So in what relation we should see? The first thing I like to know about the Madhavacarya they don’t accept the Goloka conception, they only have the Vaikuntha platform and the other thing when Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally went on the tour of South India he has discussion with Madhavacarya and He says Krishna how Krishna’s form is superior to Narayanan. Third is Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami in one of his book that who don’t accept Caitanya and only accept Krishna. We accept many people in Karnataka when they see that we are followers of Madhavacarya?
Answer: You see Madhavacarya thought the principles of Pure Bhakti but Caitanya Mahaprabhu he extracted the essence of all the four Sampradaya’s because Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself. In fact in the Navadwip Mahatmya it describes how lord Caitanya gave his Darshan to Madhavacarya and He was praising him for his great quality of defeating the Adviata conceptions and establishing the pure principles of devotional service or Bhakti. But these great Acarya’s were giving a progressive understanding of the absolute truth; they all actually had a mission. Although Navadwip Mahatmya Madhavacarya actually surrendered to Lord Caitanya, Lord Caitanya told him you must keep as a secret and continue teaching people to surrender to Lord Narayana. Because Madhava was teaching what had to be taught at the time in the sense that Buddha had just completely nullified any respect for the Vedic literatures but He had His purpose He was a Vishnu Avataar to reestablished Non-violence and proper human behavior and meditation on self control. Then Sankaracarya reestablished the Vedas but in order to do it in a society there was completely Voidistic he established the Vedas with an impersonal conception. Mayawad is basically covered voidism; they are talking about a void but calling it God and discuss it in terms of energy rather than a nothing. Ramanuja Acarya he extracted from the Vedas the real essence which is devotion to Lord Narayana and Madhavacarya really crash down and made distinction with unclear terms of the difference between Impersonalism and Personalism. But he was teaching love of the supreme lord and service of the supreme lord in on reverence, on reverence means Narayana. It was through Caitanya Mahaprabhu Madhavendra Puri and others that the evolution of the revelation of the essence of the scriptures was brought about. Yes, Madhava established Narayana as Supreme because he was teaching, basically his mission was to defeat the Impersonalists conception and teach devotion to the lord in the mood of servitude, to with reverence that god is great. Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed beyond god greatness is it sweetness. In this way he revealed the supreme position of Krishna. So in this sense there is no contradiction, there is no conflict between Madhavacarya’s teaching and Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s it is just the higher and fuller revelation that was given by Lord Caitanya. It is said that in Madhavacarya Sampradaya that sweetness of Madhurya Rasa did not appear until Madhavendra Puri but that was the master plan that was arrange by the lord from the very beginning. So in essence they are the same philosophy but in detail there are differences and there is purpose for those differences.
Question: Maharaji you said, we can ask for pure devotion Bhakti, if somebody destiny is written this is how it is going to be, even if he asks, what the use is?
Answer: Krishna is the supreme controller and He can intervene with our destiny. Destiny means our Karmic condition. Krishna says sarva-dharmän parityajya when you surrender to him he removes you from your Karmic conditional life. That is your free will, if you turn to Krishna He can change your destiny, if you do not turn to Krishna you are helplessly going to be moved about by your destiny by your Karmic conditions.
Haribol!!!
