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| | Enviado Miercoles, 22 de Febrero de 2006 - 06:56 pm: |  |
From Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir
Date: February 21, 2006
Verse: Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.19
Speaker: HH Bhakti Caru Swami
quote:ittham munis tuparamed vyavasthito
vijnana-drg-virya-surandhitasayah
sva-parsninapidya gudam tato 'nilam
sthanesu satsunnamayej jita-klamah
TRANSLATION:
By the strength of scientific knowledge, one should be well situated in absolute realization and thus be able to extinguish all material desires. One should then give up the material body by blocking the air hole [through which stool is evacuated] with the heel of one's foot and by lifting the life air from one place to another in the six primary places.
PURPORT:
There are many duratmas who claim to have realized themselves as Brahman and yet are unable to conquer material desires. In the Bhagavad-gita (18.54) it is clearly explained that an absolutely self-realized soul becomes completely aloof from all material desires. Material desires are based on the false ego of the living being and are exhibited by his childish and useless activities to conquer the laws of material nature and by his desire to lord it over the resources of the five elements. With such a mentality, one is led to believe in the strength of material science, with its discovery of atomic energy and space travel by mechanical vehicles, and by such tiny advancements in material science the false egoist tries to challenge even the strength of the Supreme Lord, who can finish all man's tiny endeavors in less than a second. The well-situated self, or Brahman-realized soul, perfectly understands that the Supreme Brahman, or the Personality of Godhead, is the all-powerful Vasudeva and that he (the self-realized living being) is a part and parcel of the supreme whole. As such, his constitutional position is to cooperate with Him in all respects in the transcendental relation of the served and the servitor. Such a self-realized soul ceases to exhibit his useless activities of attempting to lord it over material nature. Being scientifically well informed, he fully engages himself in faithful devotion to the Lord.
The expert yogi who has thoroughly practiced the control of the life air by the prescribed method of the yoga system is advised to quit the body as follows. He should plug up the evacuating hole with the heel of the foot and then progressively move the life air on and on to six places: the navel, abdomen, heart, chest, palate, eyebrows and cerebral pit. Controlling the life air by the prescribed yogic process is mechanical, and the practice is more or less a physical endeavor for spiritual perfection. In olden days such practice was very common for the transcendentalist, for the mode of life and character in those days were favorable. But in modern days, when the influence of Kali Age is so disturbing, practically everyone is untrained in this art of bodily exercise. Concentration of the mind is more easily attained in these days by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The results are more effective than those derived from the inner exercise of the life air.
(om ajnana...)
Often I remember the first Bhagavatam class I gave. It was in Vrindavan. Prabhupada all of a sudden gave me sannyasa. Although I became a sannyasi, I was all the time engaged in serving Srila Prabhupada. So one day, Tamal Krsna Maharaja told me, "You are a sannyasi, now you should give Bhagavatam class." Those days, Vrndavana was full of many, many very senior devotees because Prabhupada was there. So Tamal Krsna Maharaja insisted that I should give the Bhagavatam class. So anyway, I gave the Bhagavatam class. Tamal Krsna Maharaja was attending Srila Prabhupada, so he couldn't come to the class. After the class, when I came back to Prabhupada's quarters, Tamal Krsna Maharaja asked me, "So how as the class?"
I said, "I don't know."
He said, "Well, what was the reaction like?"
I said, "I don't know."
He said, "What do you mean you don't know what was the reaction was like?"
I said, "Because all the time I was just looking down. I didn't look up to see the reaction!" [laughs]
So at a time like this, when there are so many exalted devotees, I somewhat feel the same way, so I will beg all my senior Godbrothers and exalted devotees to please tolerate my defects and correct my mistakes and bless me that somehow I can repeat what I learned from Srila Prabhupada.
"By the strength of scientific knowledge, one should be well situated in absolute realization and thus be able to extinguish all material desires. One should then give up the material body by blocking the air hole [through which stool is evacuated] with the heel of one's foot and by lifting the life air from one place to another in the six primary places."
When we probe into the Vedic knowledge, Vedic culture, we actually see that the Vedic culture actually teaches us the art of dying, how to die. That is what we have come to learn. And very expertly, the Vedic teachings lead us to the realm of immortality, where we enter through the gateway of death. A very wonderful example is Dhruva Maharaja. When the time came for Dhruva Maharaja to go back to the spiritual sky, the chariot came from Vaikuntha. And Dhruva Maharaja, who was in Badarikasrama at that time, he took his bath, he bade farewell, good-bye, to all the sages there, he circumambulated the chariot from Vaikuntha three times, and then when he was about to climb onto the chariot, he found that Death was standing there with folded hands. Death was urging Dhruva Maharaja to put his foot on his head and Dhruva Maharaja did that. He placed his feet on the head of Death and climbed into the chariot. To a devotee, death is not an object of fear, but to a devotee, death is actually an opportunity to enter into his ultimate goal of life, his ultimate destination, the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In Satya-yuga, the process was dhyana, meditation. By meditating, by controlling the senses, the life air, a yogi used to attain perfection, and at the time of death, he used to lead his life air through different cakras, which starts from the base of the spinal column. In this verse, it has been pointed out that he very systematically used to close the anus. The body has nine holes. Seven are in the upper part of the body and two are in the lower part of the body. The two lower parts are anus and genitals and these two paths lead to the hellish planets. We have noticed, it is not only in the scriptures we hear, even practically I have heard that at the time of death people have passed stool. That clearly indicates in what kind of consciousness they left their body and what was their destination after they left their body. So people can leave their bodies through these two holes in the lower regions, lower parts, of the body.
So the yogi very systematically blocks these two holes, especially the anus. Then he gradually makes the spirit soul, with the help of the life air, rise from one cakra to another. It has been pointed out as satsuna (?) the six upper regions of the body. Prabhupada very systematically analyzed them that they are navel, abdomen, heart, chest, palate, eyebrows and cerebral teeth (?). Now these are actually, according to yoga, known as the sat-cakras, six cakras. These cakras are on the spinal column. They are the centres of the nervous system. The ultimate centre of the nervous system is the brain centre, which has been considered to be a thousand-petalled lotus or sahasradhar (?). A yogi makes his life air rise from the lower part of the spinal column into the topmost region of the spinal column, which is the brain centre. By leaving his body in this way, a yogi attains his ultimate destination.
But Prabhupada also pointed out that in this age of Kali, this process is not practical. It is not possible. We are not properly trained. Our bodies are not equipped to perform such activity. In Satya-yuga, people had a very wonderful control over their bodies. Or in other words, we can say, the link between the soul and the body was very well established. The bodies were actually spiritually very advanced and very capable. And a yogi could do that. For example, a yogi could stop breathing. Out of astanga yoga, the eight-fold yoga system, the fourth process is called pranayama. Pranayama is the process of controlling the life air, prana. This pranayama system actually equips one or trains one to practically stop breathing. And after one had completely stopped breathing, by holding the life air inside through a process called kumbhaka, one used to become qualified to withdraw his senses, or pratyahara, the fifth stage. And after one has completely withdrawn his senses through the process of pratyahara, then only he would become qualified to meditate, or dhyana, the sixth stage of this eight-fold yoga system. After dhyana comes the stage of dharana and then the stage of samadhi. The stage of samahdi means the perfect perception of the Supersoul in the heart.
But in this age, what to speak of completely stopping our respiratory system, we are not even able to stop breathing for even a minute. Beyond a minute it starts to become difficult. After a minute one starts to gasp for air. But Krsna is very kind, Krsna is very merciful. When we become unqualified, Krsna makes the process easier and easier to attain his lotus feet. Therefore, in this age of Kali, Krsna came as Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And coming here, he established the yuga-dharma, the process of spiritual advancement which is appropriate for this age. He saw that we are very, very unqualified in this age. Therefore, he gave us a system which is extremely easy.
Although subsequently, in different ages, the process becomes easier. In Satya-yuga, the process was very, very difficult, dhyana, astanga-yoga system, krte yad dhyayato visnum. But in Treta-yuga, they lost that qualification to achieve spiritual perfection by the process of meditation or astanga-yoga. Therefore, the process has become simplified. Tretayam yajato makhaih, in Treta yuga, the process was just offering sacrifice to Yogesvara, Visnu, the Lord of the sacrifice, Visnu, yajato makhaih. Dvapare paricaryayam, in Dvapara Yuga, people became even more unqualified. Therefore, they were not able to perform yajna and achieve spiritual perfection in that way. Therefore, in Dvapara-yuga the process became just serving the Lord in the temple as his arca-vigraha.
But in the age of Kali, one became totally unqualified. In Kali yuga, one is not even able to perform the Deity worship. And most of the people will not even be inclined to go to the temple to have darsana of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, in the age of Kali, the process became even more simplified: kalau tad dhari-kirtanat--we don't have to go to the temple, we don't have to perform sacrifice, we don't have to meditate, we simply have to chant the holy name of the Lord, wherever we are. Wherever we are:
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
My Lord, your mercy is so boundless, you are so merciful, that in this age, you have invested your entire potency in your many, many names... You have invested your entire potency in your Holy Names. Entire potency has been invested means there is no difference between name of the Lord and the Lord Himself. The Lord is the name in this age. There is no restriction of time, place, circumstances, qualifications. Anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances can chant this holy name and he can derive the highest benefit just by chanting the holy name, which one could not get in Satya-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, Treta-yuga.
The goal that one achieves by chanting the holy name was not revealed in the other ages. In the other ages they had access only to Vaikuntha; at the most, Ayodhya and Dvaraka, but not Vrindavan. But in the age of Kali, Caitanya Mahaprabhu came and opened the gates of Vrindavan. That is why he is maha-vadanya, the most munificent appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna prema pradayate, what is this krsna-prema? This krsna-prema is rare even for Brahma, brahmara durlabha prema sabakare jace.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute this krsna-prema without any reservation to everyone and everyone. And this prema is rare even for Lord Brahma. This prema is rare even for Lord Siva. This prema is rare even for the residents of Vaikuntha. This is how rare a spiritual object Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute, and he distributed it without any reservation, without any restrictions, without any consideration of qualifications. Anyone can chant, anyone. It doesn't matter. Rather, the qualification is that the more fallen one is, the more qualified he is:
patita-pavana-hetu tava avatara,
mo sama patita prabhu na paibe ara
My Lord, you have descended to deliver the fallen souls. . . And you will never get anyone as fallen as I am. Therefore, in the age of Kali, to become fallen is not a disqualification; rather, it's a qualification. "You have come to deliver the fallen souls, and I am the most fallen soul, therefore, I am most deserving." But Prabhupada pointed out, before you received Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy, you may be fallen, but once you receive Mahaprabhu's mercy, you can't afford to fall down. You have to remain situated. Yes, if there is some weakness or some accidental falldown, OK, but never, ever allow to give up the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Never ever give up the shelter of Mahaprabhu's lotus feet. Whatever happens, remain at his lotus feet.
And what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute is the highest. Mahaprabhu gave very simply and it was meant for the simple-hearted people. But still there is a consideration that people will question that, "You are claiming that this is the highest, your followers are claiming that this is the highest spiritual gift that one can ever receive. Now what is the proof?"
Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed the Gosvamis to establish his teachings through scriptural evidence, and they did that:
nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau sad-dharma-samsthapakau
lokanam hita-karinau tri-bhuvane manyau saranyakarau
Very expertly the Goswamis, vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau,. . . Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Raghunath Das Goswami, Jiva Goswami, Raghunath Bhatta Goswami and Gopal Bhatta Goswami, and the other Goswamis in Vrindavan like Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja Goswami, and many other Goswamis they have established the supremacy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's gift with the scriptural evidence. No one can question.
And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu himself also, through his conversation with Ramananda Raya, he established that what he gave is the highest. The highest conclusion of Srimad Bhagavatam is the gift of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Through his conversation with Ramananda Raya. . . Mahaprabhu is asking questions. The Supreme Personality of Godhead spoke Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna in Dvapara yuga, but now in the age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is asking the questions like a teacher asks the question to a student, "Did you understand what I taught?" So he is asking, "What is the goal of life?"
And Ramananda Raya very systematically said, "To follow varnasrama dharma is the goal of life." And he gave the scriptural evidence:
varnasramacara-vata purusena parah puman
visnur aradhyate pantha nanyat tat-tosa-karanam
To please the Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu is to follow the varnasrama and there is no other way.
But Caitanya Mahaprabhu rejected that, "No, this is external. This consideration is actually a material consideration. Tell me what's beyond that."
Ramananda Raya said, "Following the karma-yoga, or karma-misra bhakti, is the goal of life":
yat karosi yad asnasi yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusva mad-arpanam
Mahaprabhu rejected that also, "This is also external." Then Ramananda Raya mentioned about renunciation of karma:
sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
Mahaprabhu rejected that also.
Then Ramananda Raya mentioned about jnana-misra bhakti:
brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu mad-bhaktim labhate param
Mahaprabhu rejected that also. In this way, very systematically, through Ramamnada Raya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is establishing the rare gift, the supremacy of his gift. Then Ramananda Raya came to devotional service, prema-bhakti:
jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam
sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir
ye prayaso 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyam
Mahaprabhu accepted that, "Yes, iha haya, this is right. Now tell me, what is beyond that." Ramananda Raya gradually spoke about dasya-bhakti, sakhya-bhakti. Mahaprabhu accepted, "Yes, it is true, but tell me what's beyond that."
Then finally Ramananda Raya speaks about prema-bhakti, srngara, devotional service in conjugal mellow. Mahaprabhu accepted that, but then he said, "Tell me, what is beyond that." Ramananda Raya said, "I didn't know anybody could ask what is beyond that, but since you asked me and since you are actually empowering me to answer the questions that you are asking, if you empower me, probably I'll be able to answer."
Then through the prema-bhakti, Ramananda Raya finally speaks about the loving relationships of Vraja-gopis and the highest of them is Srimati Radharani. He gives the evidence of why Radharani is the supreme. Because Krsna is dancing with 64,000 gopis in the rasa dance, but there is one gopi with whom one Krsna is dancing in the centre. One Krsna is dancing with just one gopi. Otherwise, there is one Krsna and two gopis in the circles. So this gopi with whom Krsna is dancing alone must be very special. Then he points out that when this gopi decided to leave, Krsna left all 64,000 gopis and followed her. Therefore she must be very, very special.
In this way, through Ramananda Raya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the highest devotion of Srimati Radharani. Krsna is Rasaraja and Srimati Radharani is Mahabhava. Then Ramananda Raya pointed out that at some point this Rasaraja and Mahabhava became one. At that point, Caitanya Mahaprabhu covered his face, no more, there is no need to speak more. Why? Because his identity is going to become revealed. [chuckles]
So this is what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to give. Although it is such a simple process, but when we practice the process, the achievement is the highest that no one ever received. Only some fortunate souls like the 108 exponents of the Upanisads and the sages of Dandakaranya who had an encounter with Lord Ramacandra in Treta-yuga, some rare fortunate souls had the opportunity to enter into Krsna's Vraja-lila, but now, in this age, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to offer that inconceivable opportunity to anyone and everyone. Whoever will follow him, whoever will follow his loyal devotees will achieve that destination and there is no doubt about it.
Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai! Jagat-guru Srila Prabhupada ki jai!, who came to distribute this mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, fulfilling his prediction, all over the world. Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is considered to be maha-vadanya, Srila Prabhupada actually, by the appointment of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is the maha-maha vadanya, the most munificent personality. And the manifestation of his most wonderful gift is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Although Prabhupada left this planet, although Prabhupada withdrew his pastimes, he is still present, he is still continuously distributing his mercy through the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Whoever will take shelter of this wonderful opportunity given by Srila Prabhupada will undoubtedly go back to the spiritual sky.
Jai Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Gaura-premanande, hari hari bol!
[extended applause]
The time actually I already passed nine o'clock which was the limit, therefore I won't invite any questions today. . . . no meeting today. [laughter] OK then, any question or comment. Yes, Hari Vilasa Prabhu:
Hari Vilasa: One time a devotee told Srila Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, I am the most fallen." And Prabhupada said, "You are not the most anything." Thinking that type of specialty, I am more fallen than everyone else is actually...
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