Photo & Design: RK / RwB
Have attempted to write what little I could remember of the first day’s discourse here. Mahaneeyulaara manninchandi!
It is truly a refreshing experience attending the Pravachana Maalike (lecture series) on ‘Bhagavatha’ by the eminent scholar Sri KS Narayanacharya.
Sri Narayanacharya’s mastery over the religious texts and his sharp memory even at the age of 80 is mind-blowing. It is a pleasure listening to the intricate details he gives about the Vedas, Puranas, Samhitas, Upanishads, Itihasa, Kavya, sacred scriptures, the mythological and historical characters between the lectures. The audience love it when he connects the historical/ mythological events/ characters to contemporary events/ characters.
In today’s pravachana, the acharya told: a scholar who doesn’t prepare well before giving a lecture, and a listener who doesn’t brush up on what he has heard after the lecture, both are useless.
He told – Srimad Bhagavatham says that there are nine types of BHAKTI (Devotion) :
- Shravana = hearing the name and glory of the deity
- Kirtana = singing the praise of Lord
- Smarana = thinking about the deity
- Padasevena = Serving (worshipping) the feet of the Lord
- Archana = homage to the Lord
- Vandana = showing reverential obeisance to God
- Dasya = servitude to God
- Sakhyam = friendship towards or with God
- Atmanivedanam = self-gift or offering one’s self to God, dedication of one’s own self
shrI vishhNostu shravane parIxidabhavat.h |
vaiyAsakiH kIrtane prahlAdassmaraNe ||
tadanghribhajane laxmiH pR^ithuH pUjane |
akrUrastvabhivandane kapipatirdAsye cha ||
sakhye.arjunaH sarvasvAtmanivedane |
balirabhUt.h kaivalyameshhAm phalam.h ||
- shravana – parIxit
- kIrtana – Shuka maharshhi
- smaraNa – Prahlada
- pAdasevana – Laxmi
- archana – pR^ithu (king)
- vandana – akrUra
- dAsya – Hanuman
- sakhya – Arjuna
- Atmanivedana – Bali
There are many songs sung by Sri Purandara dAsaru & other HaridAsa koota who have sung on this Navavidha Bhakthi. ‘dAsanA mAdiko enna’ comes to mind immediately.
The acharya, in his inimitable style, singing and quoting from various sources like sarvajna, divya prabhandam, dasa sahitya…giving perfect examples, filled with humour, where ever necessary, narrated the instances of all these Bhaghavathas serving the lord & how they worshiped Sri Hari. Practically, in Kaliyuga, the only way possible to be devoted to Sri Hari is only by becoming a dAsa.
The manner in which he quotes from various books, shaastras, vedas… is simply amazing. I enjoy when he sings a few shlokas at the beginning of each lecture. He chooses rare raagas for each shloka to go with the meaning.
I feel really fortunate and blessed to have been attending Sri Narayanacharya’s lectures for sometime now. It is impossible to express in words the feelings one gets while listening to his lectures and reading his books.
May god’s grace be upon us!
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Discourse invite:
Bhagavatha Pravachana Maalike [Ekadasha Skandha] by Sriyutha Dr.K.S.Narayanacharya
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Posts related to KS Narayanacharya on RwB.
Rambling with Bellur 
May 22, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Thanks for sharing Bellur.Ninninda nanagoo swalpa punya bandirabahudu!Really appreciate your time & energy.
Great memory too.Enjoy rest of the sessions.
Uma
May 22, 2012 at 3:20 pm
glad you are finding this useful, uma. we need to thank latha aunty for her insatiable energy and time! hats off to her!
May 24, 2012 at 11:29 am
discussing about the Bhagavata pravachana on blog site is also a form of Keertana seve – e keertana! and this is a small “navilu seve” that we can do to krishna (lke the alilu seve to Raama) :))
May 24, 2012 at 11:36 am
well said, aunty!
raamana seve maadi saarthankagondithu ALILU
krishnanige bhushanavayithu gari hondida NAVILU
harige yenu seve maadade ardha aayssu vyarthamaadidenalla annodu nanna ALALU!
May 24, 2012 at 1:13 pm
innardha aayassu oodu KOLALU!
May 22, 2012 at 1:55 pm
thank you, RK, for mentioning the points that Dr KSN made in his first day’s pravachan. here are few more points that i remembered that i thought would interest the readers and hence i am putting them down here:
sri Dr.KSN mentioned about the different ways of Upaasanaas that were done during the other yugas:
krita yuga: ‘Niraalambana upaasane’, ie, worship wthout depending on the external rituals, ie, doing japa-dhyaana in one’s mnd imagining the parabrahma in one’s own heart (hridaya kamaladalli)
he gave the example of sage vaamana who was a jnaani while still inside his mother’s womb and how he overcame the three entanglements of sattwa, rajo and tamas and emerged out wthout the Maya encircling hm!
in Treta yuga: people worshiped god through yaaga and yajnas. even at that point of time the “aasuri” elements were present to disturb the sages performng these rituals.
during Dwapara yuga: through archana. people made idols with stones and mud and other materials, made drawings of ther ishta devatas and worshipped them.
as the ‘kaala’ and ‘yugas’ changed, the mode of worshppng also changed and that during the kali yuga, ‘naama sankeerthana’ itself is capable of givng mukti to people! just utterng the name of “Hari” itself is sufficient to keep the effects of kali yuga away from us!
He made an interesting point here about when exactly the kali yuga dawned – was it after the completion of Krishnaavataara and Lord Krishna returned to His Abode? no, some Bhaashyakaaras say that Kaliyuga dawned when Arjuna’s son young Abhimanyu was attacked inside the chakravyuha by the veteran, none other than Drona himself, who broke his bow through cunning means!!!
Dr KSN also mentoned how the “Bhoo Bhaara” (the heavy weight of the negative elements on earth) can be reduced to give relief to mother earth – through the presence of these elements- followers of dharma, presence of Cows, those who are immersed n the contemplaton of Brahma, through Vedaadhyayana, by dutiful wives and mothers, by those who speak the Truth and by those who do charity.
May 22, 2012 at 3:19 pm
thanks a million, for taking time to share so many points from y’day’s lecture, aunty! it is surely going to help me (though i attended), and many others who missed it.
my humble request: please keep dropping by and kindly share your experiences / acharya’s words. sorry for the trouble.
regards
rk
May 22, 2012 at 11:06 pm
DAY 2: Today’s discourse began with the release of a book written by Sri Narayanacharya 16-18 years ago. Titled ‘Sri Ramakathaavathara’, it seems it was written on the request of a film producer. Hence there are songs and the dialogues are more filmy, for a dramatic effect. The Acharya said that there is a bit of suspense too. But the film was never made.
The Acharya got emotional and said: “It is difficult to talk about anything once I get into RAMAYANA. Lord Rama is always my favourite. And I have given my heart to Valmiki. ” He asked us to somehow get into Srimad Bhagavatham mood and stay put.
At the dawn of the Kaliyuga, in 3102 BC, Veda Vyasa, the compiler of all the Vedic literature, foresaw the age we now live in deteriorating more and more through quarrel and hypocrisy. To help man not spoil the actual purpose of his human life, he compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Srimad-Bhagavatam gives clear directions on how we can live a contented and happy life.
In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.
In Kaliyuga, there are lots of obstrucions for good people. There are many people who are jealous of those who want to attend satsangs. A elderly father may stop a son from attending discourses, and would like all the attention on himself. Even if the father is fit and healthy, he condemns the son who wants to listen to a Bhagavatha discourse! Our attachments should not bind us, or hinder us from serving the lord.
The Acharya completed seven shlokas from 2 days. (Two yesterday, and five today). He said that each scholar says different skandas are difficult to lecture on. But the most difficult is the Ekadasha skanda.
Lord Krishna, along with Balarama and surrounded by the Yadu dynasty, executed the killing of many demons. Then, further to remove the burden of the earth, the Lord arranged for the great Battle of Kurukshetra, which suddenly erupted in violence between the Kurus and the Pandavas.
Because the Pandavas were enraged by the numerous offenses of their enemies, such as duplicitous gambling, verbal insults, the seizing of Draupadi’s hair, and many other cruel transgressions, Krishna engaged those Pandavas as the immediate cause to execute His will. On the pretext of the Battle of Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna arranged for all the kings who were burdening the earth to assemble with their armies on opposite sides of the battlefield, and when the Lord killed them through the agency of war, the earth was relieved of its burden.
The Acharya compares Dhritharashtra and Gandhari to the present President and PM. He says if only Gandhari had not blindfolded herself, and if she knew what was happening in the Rajasabhe when Draupadi was ill treated…IF ONLY!
At this juncture, I noticed a funny thing: The hall is full of elderly folks, who have come to savour the lecture. These elderly folks are all owners of hi-fi mobile sets, usually an iPpad or an Apple phone (mostly gifted by sons or daughters in the US – It is another matter that these elderly folks are forced to accept the gift). Half an hour into the discourse, we hear a loud noise, usually a ‘Gayatri Mantra’ or a loud ‘Om’… The Thatha who owns the mobile has dozed off, and his neighbour wakes him up. By this time we see lots of heads turning left, right, front and back…hear a lot of ‘Tch Tchs’. When the Thatha has got to know it is his mobile ringing, he happily taps the back of the person sitting in front of him and gives it to him. The other person is petrified, but the Thatha tells him (happily grinning) “Please switch off the mobile. I know only to receive a call or dial my son’s number…”
The Acharya is narrating a very emotional scene at this point. He pauses for a second, removes his spectacles, wipes his face and says,” Please switch off the mobile. Rasaanubhanga aagatthe”. Our Thatha nods his head up and down, in agreement!
Krishna used the Yadu dynasty, which was protected by His own arms, to eliminate the kings who with their armies had been the burden of this earth. Then the unfathomable Lord thought to Himself, “Although some may say that the earth’s burden is now gone, in My opinion it is not yet gone, because there still remains the Yādava dynasty itself, whose strength is unbearable for the earth.”
Krishna thought, “No outside force could ever bring about the defeat of this family, the Yadu dynasty, whose members have always been fully surrendered to Me and are unrestricted in their opulence. But if I inspire a quarrel within the dynasty, that quarrel will act just like a fire created from the friction of bamboo in a grove, and then I shall achieve My real purpose and return to My eternal abode.”
Just as we don’t have any feelings towards the garbage in our house, just as we throw it without any hatred, the Lord carried the purpose behind his avatara -that was to reduce the BHUMI BHARA.
When the supreme almighty Lord, whose desire always comes to pass, had thus made up His mind, He withdrew His own family on the pretext of a curse spoken by an assembly of brāhmaṇas.
The Acharya told that Krishna did not get caught in VYAMOHA – that we see in most politicians today. He did not protect his dynasty, cause he knew what would pass, even if a small spark of fire is left. He showed no mercy, when he saw anything or anyone that needs to be disposed. It is difficult for us to do this way. It is difficult for us to see Krishna everywhere, and in everyone. Just as a tiny hole is enough to spill the milk in a packet, if we look down upon someone for even a fraction of a second, all our good deeds will be lost.
It was 8pm. The acharya stopped and told us that he had to travel to Mysore tonight, but will be back tomorrow evening for the Pravachana. And as is the tradition, he chanted the mangala shloka (which is the last sloka of Bhagavatham that describes the importance of Nama Sankeertanam as):
NAAMA SANKEERTHANAM YASYA SARVAPAPA PRANAASHANAM
PRANAMO DUKKHA SAMANAHA THAM NAMAAMI HARIM PARAM
which means,
He, the Lord, whose Name when chanted destroys all sins,
He, who removes all sorrows when one prostrates,
Unto such Hari, I bow down.
May 24, 2012 at 2:21 am
you have nicely summarized Day 2 Pravachana, RK.
a few additional points:
* 11th Skanda is not only difficult to present as a discourse, it s also very difficult for the listeners to avail the opportunity fully as some obstacle or the other comes in between and spoils our desire to partake sri krishna’s blessings. hence sri Acharya considered all of us as Blessed Beings to be sitting there and listening to the Holy Bhagavatam’s Ekadasha Skanda!
*Kali yuga brings in inertia everywhere and Acharya referred to the current day youth being ‘drugged by the machines and the mechanical life’ that has sapped all enthusiasm in them.
*Acharya said that only India has the concept of an ‘evolving society’ that is backed by a sound system of categorization of Objectives of life – the Purusharthas of Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha and he told us to observe how the objectives of achieving the Artha and Kaama are well buffered between Dharma and Moksha! only those Artha (wealth) and kaama (desires) achieved within the bounds of Dharma can lead us to the ultimate goal of Moksha. whereas, many other countries have the concept of an ‘affluent society’ where importance is given to only Artha and Kaama as highest objectives to be achieved in life without the scruples of Dharma or Moksha. such societies are certainly going to be doomed!
* the foundation of Dharma lies in compassion – “Dayeye Dharmada Moolavayya”. if anybody makes tall claims that they are treading the path of Dharma always, let them introspect and check if they have compassion in their heart for the lesser beings and whether they can see ‘Krishna’ in everybody’s heart!
jai srikrishna!
May 24, 2012 at 10:02 am
thanks for those additional points, aunty. it was humourous when sri KSN told that he had a guru in mysore where KSN was the only sisya, and for KSN, he was the only guru. – neenu tappiskondre nanage rajaa, naan bardidre ninage rajaa! 🙂
May 24, 2012 at 11:34 am
🙂
whereas, in dr KSN’s assembly, audience-ge majaa while KSN remains “anabhishikta Raaja” !
May 23, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Very interesting.Thanks once again Bellur & dear Latha aunty.
Hari Hari yennuta nee hadu Hari namada mahimeya nee nodu.This song from the movie Bhakta Prahlada came to my mind & I absolutely love this song.And also Hari namave chanda ada nambiko kanda from the movie Bhakta Kumbara.
Just like Dr.KSN I love Sampoorna Ramayana!
regards
Uma
May 24, 2012 at 9:59 am
thanks uma, for telling about your fav. songs! both are very meaningful, specially the one that kumbara sings.
acharyaru ninne ondhu prasanga helidru – yaro obbaru manel hasu saakidru. aa manushya saayo samayadalli avara maneliddavru, narayana antha omme helappa andre, avaru ayyo hasu parake meytha ide antha heli ‘gotak’ andranthe.
marana kaaladalli hari naama baayalli barodu bahala bahala bahala kashta!
May 24, 2012 at 7:54 am
DAY 3: Krishna destroyed his own vamsha because he saw evil forces in it.
Being in Vaikunta, just by his chittha, the lord could have destroyed all evil forces on earth. So why did he take so many avatharas? Usually, we think Ramaavatara’s main purpose was to kill Ravana, Krishnaavatara’s main purpose was to kill Kauravas and the other evil forces. By doing so, we are undervaluing the lord’s ways. These avataras were done to please his bhagavathotthamas and loyal devotees in Shabari, Vibheeshana, Hanuman, Guha, Vidura… who gave 100% love and bhakti to Krishna. And that is what he expects too – 100%..not 87.9% or 75%.
The supreme godhead must have tonnes and tonnes of kshama guna – forgiving nature. When the question arose as to who shold get the havirbhaaga of the yaaga, Brigu wanted to test the trimurthys. And when he stamped his feet on Narayana’s vakshasthala, the lord smiled, and did not get angry, thus forgiving Brigu. Another interpretation is that the vakshasthala, where goddes Lakshmi resides, became paavana by the sparsha of the bhagavatha / guru.
The Acharya looked so energetic today, in spite of having travelled to Mysore the previous night. He later said in the lecture – Bhagavatha is like a energy giving tonic! It makes us forget all the pain.
We can see so much enthusiasm when the Acharya keeps asking questions to the audience – he recites a portion of a shloka and asks from where is this taken from? Some times he hears many people answering. At that time, he is so curious to know who answered first – he quickly asks: “Yaaru modalu uttara kottiddhu? Yaaru?” and when sometimes he hears a lone voice saying the correct answer, he tells: “Hooo! Gattiyaagi?”. If he does not hear an answer, he asks the pandits seated in the front: “Innu paatha aagilva?”
The lord, who bore his body as the amalgamation of everything beautiful, dutifully executed the most auspicious activities while on the earth, although he was, in fact, without any endeavor already satisfied in all desires. Residing in his abode and enjoying life, the Lord, whose glorification is in itself magnanimous, now wanted to annihilate his dynasty, as there still remained some small part of his duty to be carried out.
Veda says that God is the first preacher and He is called as Kashyapa because He is the pashyaka. Since, the meaning of pashyaka is that He who sees the subtle meaning of the scripture (Kashyapah pashyako bhavati)
The sages Vishwamitra, Asita, Kanva, Durvasa, Bhrigu, Angira, Kashyapa, Vamadeva, Atri and Vasishta, along with Narada and others, once performed fruitive rituals that award abundant pious results, bring great happiness and take away the sins of Kali-yuga for the whole world by merely being recounted. The sages duly executed these rituals in the home of the chief of the Yadus, Vasudeva, the father of Lord Krishna. After Lord Krishna, who was staying in Vasudeva’s house as time personified, respectfully sent the sages off at the conclusion of the ceremonies, they went to the holy place called Pindaraka.
To that holy place, the young boys of the Yadu dynasty had brought Samba, son of Jambavati, dressed in woman’s garb. Playfully approaching the great sages gathered there, the boys grabbed hold of the sages’ feet and impudently asked them with feigned humility, “O learned brahmanas, this black-eyed pregnant woman has something to ask you. She is too embarrassed to inquire for herself. She is just about to give birth and is very desirous of having a son. Since all of you are great sages with infallible vision, please tell us whether her child will be a boy or a girl. And if it is a girl bruna, can you make it a boy as she is desiring a boy?”
Thus ridiculed by deceit, the sages became angry, and told the boys, “Fools! She will bear you an iron club that will destroy your entire dynasty.”
The young men of the Yadu dynasty said, “Oh, what have we done? We are so unfortunate! What will our family members say to us?” Speaking thus and being very disturbed, they returned to their homes, taking the club with them.
The Yadu boys, the luster of their faces completely faded, brought the club into the royal assembly, and in the presence of all the Yādavas they told King Ugrasena what had happened.
When the inhabitants of Dvaraka heard of the infallible curse of the brahmanas and saw the club, they were astonished and distraught with fear.
After having the club ground to bits, the Yadavas personally threw the pieces, along with the remaining lump of iron, into the water of the ocean.
A certain fish swallowed the iron lump, and the bits of iron, carried back to the shore by the waves, implanted themselves there and grew into tall, sharp canes.
The fish was caught in the ocean along with other fish in a fishermen’s net. The iron lump in the fish’s stomach was taken by the hunter Jara, who fixed it as an arrowhead at the end of his shaft.
Knowing fully the significance of all these events, the Supreme Lord, though capable of reversing the brahmanas’ curse, did not wish to do so. Rather, in his form of time, he gladly sanctioned the events.
Again yesterday, an old Thatha sat behind me. And his mobile had a Nokia ringtone. Every half and hour, his mobile rang. And everythime I looked at him, his right thumb would go near the red button, green button, red , green…he would neither cut the call, or pick up, and he did not switch off the mobile or keep it in silent mode. The funniest part was when the mobile rang again, a lady near him shouted “Shh!” and he immediately sat on it. But the stratefy worked as the ringtone was feeble!
May 24, 2012 at 2:11 pm
RK, i have provided the link to these discussions on my FB page. hope its ok with you. thanks.
May 24, 2012 at 3:01 pm
aunty, that’s nice of you! 🙂
May 24, 2012 at 1:56 pm
tit-bits from yesterday’s pravachana:
* would cultivating human values sufficient to raise us to higher spiritual plane?
no, along with “brotherhood of man”, it is imperative to inculcate the “fatherhood of God”, ie, showing unconditional love to all beings, like how, God showers unconditional love upon all of us.
* Bhakthi, devotion to God, needs to be the sound foundation for all human values. without Bhakthi the other values do not carry any value at all!
* sage Yaagnavalkya makes a bold statement that “aatmanastu kaamaaya sarvam priyam bhavati” – all things/people become dear to us not because they are good, but because they serve our desires! (once that desire vanishes in us, they no longer are considered dear to us)
* as long as we are attached to people and properties, true vairaagya can not develop in us. and it is God who chooses who should be His Bhaktha! Lord says “yasyaabhyudayamichchaami (yasya+abhyudayam+ichchaami) tasya vittam haraamyaham” – “I will snatch away all wealth from those whom I decide to uplift” !
* the samskrita word ‘sugandhi’ means natural scent that emanates from flowers and fruits (the natural goodness of a person, the true Bhakthi) that is dear to God.
the word ‘sugandha’ is the artificial scent or the synthesized scent which God refuses to accept (God does not accept if a person puts on a ‘show’ of Bhakthi)
jai Acharya!
jai Srikrishna!
May 24, 2012 at 2:04 pm
it is indeed a boon that we are getting to hear Sri KS Narayanacharya!
aunty, thanks for jotting, and then sharing those points!
dhanyosmi!
May 25, 2012 at 6:47 am
DAY 4: Dr. KS Narayanacharya began the discourse as always with the shloka to the lord Hayagriva:
SrImAn venkaTanAthArya: kavitArkika kesarI
vedAntAcAryavaryO me sannidhattAm sadA hrudi
Meaning: May the divya svaroopam of the lion among the poets and logicians, the most illustrious among VedAnta AchAryAs with the name of VenkatanAthar reside always in my heart lotus!
Gnanananda Mayam Devam
Nirmala Spatika Kruthim
Aadharam Sarva Vidyanam
Hayagrivam Upasmahe
Meaning: I pray to lord Hayagriva who bestows the devotees with knowledge and wisdom. His beauty is like crystal, is an auspicious brilliance that never decays.
The acharya said that today’s lecture is again a Peetike for Uddhavagita. And he asked himself: Four days into the lecture, and if today is still a Peetike, when is the main portion coming?
He also said: I am in a very sublime mood today due to various factors. Today. the biggest help that a person can do to another is to remind him / her that GOD IS THERE! because most of us have forgotten that THERE IS GOD!
Eager to engage in the worship of lord Krishna, Narada stayed for some time in Dwaraka, which was always protected by the arms of Govinda.
In the material world the conditioned souls are confronted by death at every step of life. Therefore, who among the conditioned souls would not render service to the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda, who is worshipable even for the greatest of liberated souls?
One day the sage among the demigods, Nārada, came to the house of Vasudeva. After worshiping Nārada with suitable paraphernalia, seating him comfortably and respectfully bowing down to him, Vasudeva spoke as follows.
Śrī Vasudeva said: My lord, your visit, like that of a father to his children, is for the benefit of all living beings. You especially help the most wretched among them, as well as those who are advanced on the path toward the Supreme Lord, Uttamashloka.
The activities of demigods lead to both misery and happiness for living beings, but the activities of great saints like you, who have accepted the infallible Lord as their very soul, result only in the happiness of all beings.
Those who worship the demigods receive reciprocation from the demigods in a way just corresponding to the offering. The demigods are attendants of karma, like a person’s shadow, but sadhus are actually merciful to the fallen.
Here the Acharya said: All the gods are like businessmen. If you give something, they give a boon. If ou do tapas, they give a boon. But our Krishna is the opposite. If you tell him – Lord! I have nothing to offer you, then he does everything to you, just like how he helped Sudhama (Kuchela). If you tell him, I have lots of money, please come….he doesn’t oblige.
My dear lord, you are always true to your vow. Please instruct me clearly, so that by your mercy I may easily free myself from material existence, which is full of many dangers and keeps us constantly bound in fear.
Devarshi Narada was pleased by the questions of the highly intelligent Vasudeva. Because they suggested the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they reminded Narada of Lord Krishna.
We must develop the quality to ask relevant questions at the right time.
Narada replied: Vasudeva, you have quite correctly asked about the eternal duty of the living entity toward the Supreme Lord. Such devotional service to the Lord is so potent that its performance can purify the entire universe.
Today you have made me remember my Lord, the supremely blissful Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. The Supreme Lord is so auspicious that whoever hears and chants about Him becomes completely pious.
To explain the devotional service of the Lord, sages have related the ancient history of the conversation between the great soul King Videha and the sons of Rishabha.
Svayambhuva Manu had a son named Maharaja Priyavrata, and among Priyavrata’s sons was Agnidhara. From Agnidhara was born Nabhi, whose son was known as Rishabhadeva.
Rishabhadeva is accepted as an expansion of the Supreme Lord, Vasudeva. He incarnated in this world to propagate those religious principles that lead living entities to ultimate liberation. He had one hundred sons, all perfect in Vedic knowledge.
Yet again, the mobile rang. This time it was not a Thatha, it was a middle aged lady. And ladies usually bury their mobiles into their bags. But our lady somehow dug into her bag and immediately cut the call. I thought: Not bad! She is quick. But the mobile rang again. And again she cut the call. The third time it rang. Again lot of “Tch Tchs”. Her nighbour suggested this lady to switch off the mobile. And that is when our lady asked: How to switch it off?!
Of the one hundred sons of Lord Rishabhadeva, the eldest, Bharata, was completely devoted to Lord Narayana. It is because of Bharata’s fame that this planet is now celebrated as the great Bharata-varsha.
King Bharata rejected this material world, considering all types of material pleasure temporary and useless. Leaving his beautiful young wife and family, he worshiped Lord Hari by severe austerities and attained the abode of the Lord after three lifetimes.
Long ago, it seems the earth had nine dweepa, but today we have sapta dweepa. Nine of the remaining sons of Rishabhadeva became the rulers of the nine islands of Bharata-varṣa (with the centre of those nine islands being the Himalayas), and they exercised complete sovereignty over this planet. Eighty-one sons became twice-born brahmanas and helped initiate the Vedic path of fruitive sacrifices [karma-kanda].
The nine remaining sons of Rishabhadeva were greatly fortunate sages who worked vigorously to spread knowledge of the Absolute Truth. They wandered about naked and were very well versed in spiritual science. Their names were Kavi, Havir, Antariksha, Prabuddha, Pippalayana, Avirhotra, Drumila, Camasa and Karabhajana.
If things go as per the plan, the Acharya told there might be a month long Bhagavatha Pravachana at Hymamshu Jyothi Kala Peetha, from April 1-30, 2013. And there was a huge round of applause from the audience!
May 25, 2012 at 11:24 am
Dear RK,
Some where you had mentioned that the Bhagavatha Maalike was sponsored by RK family. Can you pl.elaborate.
with best wishes
May 25, 2012 at 1:13 pm
very nice recap, Bellur!
few more simple but profound points:
* God provides us a noble birth of a humanbeing, gives us knowledge and material wealth too. instead of developing humbleness, our ego becomes larger than life with arrogance! that should not be. humility and grace should adorn us.
* when matter of Faith s being discussed, please do not ask irrelevant and irrational questions, the answers to which may not be available or understood by ordinary minds. also, before asking a question, question yourself whether you have sufficiently studied the subject and have the eligibility to ask such a question! there can not be logical reasoning provided for things concerning Bhakthi and emotions. ಅಚಿಂತ್ಯ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ತರ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊಂದಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಬೇಡ, Acharya tells us.
* ತ್ಯಾಗದಿಂದ ದುಷ್ಟರ ಸಂಹಾರವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಭೋಗದಿಂದ ಸ್ವಯಂ ಸಂಹಾರವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. Through renunciation Evil forces can be overcome. through sensorial indulgence one destroys one’s own self.
* Sincere devotion to Lord can alone save this Samsaara. and the rope of Bhakthi alone is capable of binding the Lord to us. and Lord willingly gets bound by Bhakthi!
* why is there a need for Bhaagavat Dharma?
Vaidhka Dharma can not be observed at all times because many a times in the history we have seen that it can get eclipsed by Evil forces, like Kamsa, Hiranyakashipu, and in recent history, during the invasions by Moguls.
Bhaagavat Dharma is the propogation of Bhagavat Bhakthi through epics lke Ramayana and Mahabharata, the story of Bhaagavata, Bhagavadgita, Vishnusahasranama etc.
* in this samsaara, Fear is the Death that we face everyday in every situation. Bhakthi is the weapon that can destroy Fear! Bhakthi is the element that restores meaning to this Life! Bhakthi s the safe Deposit that can buy us ticket to current and future happiness!
sadguro paahi parama dayaalu paahi!
jai srikrishna!
*
May 25, 2012 at 1:27 pm
aunty, i remember him talking about names that sounds like sanskrit but do not have any meaning. eg: nitin. but i forgot the context. did he say this when he started telling about the sons of Rishabhadeva?
May 25, 2012 at 2:43 pm
it is so. i have not made a note of this. i remember him mentioning ‘hundreds of patils will be there in Dharwad univ and without a first name it is difficult to find out’. he also said that these days people keep names that have no meaning at all…… it was in the context that you have mentioned.
May 26, 2012 at 8:03 am
DAY 5: Sri Narayanacharya began the discourse thus: Vedas teach two types pf Dharmas: Nivrutthi dharma and Pravrutthi dharma.
Nivrutthi dharma teaches or directs us towards Aathmajnaana or knowledge of soul or knowledge about the relationship between jeevathma and parmaathma where as Pravrutthi dharma is all about material activities or samsaara. He jokingly said: Today, a person shows bhakti towards his wife and nivrutthi towards god!
Impelled by deep-rooted material desires, the embodied living entity engages his active sense organs in fruitive activities. He then experiences the results of his material actions by wandering throughout this world in so-called happiness and distress.
To give Self-knowledge is the only job of a guru. It is said that if god and guru both are standing, whom should a person bow first. One should naturally bow first to guru who brought the disciple close to god.
To think of god is sampatthu. To forget him is vipatthu. It seems we are getting petrol from the Arab countries by giving them Govu mamsa as an exchange. The Acharya told: It is better if our economy goes to dogs instead of this barter system.
One should practice meditation by constantly seeing oneself to be an eternal cognizant spirit soul and seeing the Lord to be the absolute controller of everything. To increase one’s meditation, one should live in a secluded place and give up false attachment to one’s home and household paraphernalia.
One who desires his ultimate self-interest should cultivate friendship with those persons who have accepted Krishna as the Lord of their life. One should further develop an attitude of service toward all living beings. One should especially try to help those in the human form of life and, among them, especially those who accept the principles of religious behavior. Among religious persons, one should especially render service to the pure devotees of Krishna.
The devotee should gather whatever ingredients for worshiping the Deity are available, make ready the offerings, the ground, his mind and the Deity, sprinkle his sitting place with water for purification and prepare the bathing water and other paraphernalia. The devotee should then place the Deity in His proper place, both physically and within his own mind, concentrate his attention, and mark the Deity’s heart and other parts of the body with tilaka. Then he should offer worship with the appropriate mantra.
In the morning, we must read stories about Pandavas. In the afternoon- the Ramayana. And before going to sleep, we must read about Bala Krishna’s adventures. Thus, Mahabharatha – Ramayana – Bhagavatha would be covered.
The worshiper should become fully absorbed in meditating upon himself as an eternal servant of the Lord and should thus perfectly worship the Deity, remembering that the Deity is also situated within his heart. Then he should take the remnants of the Deity’s paraphernalia, such as flower garlands, upon his head and respectfully put the Deity back in His own place, thus concluding the worship.
Sri Camasa said: Each of the four social orders, headed by the brahmanas, was born through different combinations of the modes of nature, from the face, arms, thighs and feet of the Supreme Lord in His universal form. Thus the four spiritual orders were also generated.
There are many persons who have little opportunity to take part in discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, and thus it is difficult for them to chant His infallible glories. Persons such as women, śūdras and other fallen classes always deserve mercy.
In Satyuga, people had to do tapas for lakhs of years to see the lord. In Tretayuga, people had to do tapas for thousands of years to see the lord. In Dwaparayuga, people had to do tapas for hundreds of years to see the lord. In Kalyuga, people can see the lord withing moments by doing sankirthana.
Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirthana.
The Acharya told: Even if we are admitted in a hospital, we must have the Bhagavadgita under the pillow. If we are unable to read it, atleast we must chant his holy name and continue our tapas.
Everyday, before the start of the lecture, an announcement is made to switch off the mobiles. But everyday, I hear atleast 15-20 ringtones. Today an elderly lady got a call. She tried not to lift the phone out of her vanity bag, and tried to cut the call. But finally, the phone kept ringing, and she held the bag in her right hand, and walked out. I remembered the Acharya’s words a couple of days ago, when he told: Not only is it difficult to give a discourse, it is also very difficult for the listeners to avail the opportunity to hear Bhagavatha Ekadasha skanda lecture fully as some obstacle or the other comes in between and spoils our desire to partake sri krishna’s blessings. How true I felt!
It was 125 years since Krishna avatara started, and Brahma, accompanied by all the gods, came to remind Krishna that the supreme lord had to get back to Vaikunta.
The Acharya said he will start Uddhava Gita from the next lecture. Uddhava was the closest friend and righthand man of Krishna since childhood. He was Krishna’s cousin, born at around the same time as Krishna and sent from Mathura to Vrindavan as an infant to be a playmate to Krishna. From then, Uddhava became the most intimate friend and follower of Krishna.
We’re blessed to listen to the great Acharya’s pravachana everyday. We’re also blessed to have the divine prasada after the lecture! Indeed we’re blessed!!
May 26, 2012 at 1:03 pm
dear Bellur, you have covered the yesterday’s pravachana very well.
the discourse is running very interestingly and has captivated the minds and hearts of the devotees who have been blessed to attend the programme. Dr KSN’s delivery of the pravachan is extraordinary and out of this world with a very liberal sprinkling of quotes and anecdotes from scriptural and literary world of various languages and from his own life experience as well as from contemporary events of the whole world! his spontaneous retrieval and presentation from the treasures of his memory is to be listened to be believed!
Bellur, my perception of the Acharya’s lecture yesterday is slightly different from your version in some parts. we need to seek clarification from Acharya himself or any other knowledgeable listener. we will do so in our own interest so that we can understand in the right sense.
you have mentioned that “One should especially try to help those in the human form of life and, among them, especially those who accept the principles of religious behavior. Among religious persons, one should especially render service to the pure devotees of Krishna”
yes, the above things need to be done. this is one kind of Bhaktha, who differentiates between a bhaktha and a non-bhaktha, a friend and a stranger, a scholar and an ignorant, a human and an animal. this Bhakthis is immature and is of second level. instead of discriminating that way, we need to have sympathy and include all.
but a True Bhaktha recognizes God in all jeevas/all elements. “sarva bhooteshu yah pashyati”. such a Bhaktha can see God even in a person who may have been marginalized by the society – a beggar or a person with disability or any such under privileged person. this is the highest form of Bhakthi, recognzing Atma/Brahma in every form of God’s Creation.
still lower level of Bhaktha recognizes God only in God’s idols and Temples. when such a person is doing pooja, if another Bhagawatbhaktha comes home, instead of welcoming him he gets angry that his pooja got disturbed!
hence Acharya says, service to others is service to God. ಭಾಗವತರಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರಿಸುವ ಭಕ್ತಿ ಭಗವಂತನಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರಿಸುವ ಭಕ್ತಿಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನದ್ದಾಗಿದೆ.
* Acharya told us how scriptures have advised us to divide the day into 5 parts, doing all our activities with detachment. yes, we must have concern for all beings, but not blind attachment to anything.
part 1: ‘Abhi Namana’: as soon as we get up in the morning, first say a prayer of gratitude for receiving one more day in your life that can be spent in a purposeful way and it is time for morning ablutions.
part 2: ‘Upaadaana’: this is to be spent to gather materials for pooja. this also refers to one’s job through which one earns money in an ethical way so that the money can be spent for pooja materials and also for the family’s welfare.
part 3: ‘Prasada’: whatever is cooked needs to be offered to God first and then partaken by all with gratitude for getting that day’s meal!
part 4: evening ‘yoga’: yoga is once again a word that refers to joining our being with that of God. the evening activities of Sandhyavandana or dhyana or meditation can do this. or any other recreational activities also can be associated with God.
part 5: ‘Abhi Gamana’: time to retire to bed before which once again prayers of gratitude to be offered for the well accomplished day. do sankeertanas in the form of reading stotras or a portion from Bhagavatam or any thing that can increase our Bhakthi towards the Lord.
Acharya once again stressed upon us the importance of spending time with the noble souls – satsangha. even a minute of satsangha is like a safe deposit earned that alleviates difficulties and assures us noble birth hereafter.
* whom should we honour – a Karma yogi who diligently does all the work with utter devotion or a Pundith who has mastered all the 4 vedas, but has no devotion in his heart?
ofcourse, the karma yogi, from whatever varna or aashrama he may be from, who is dedicated and devoted to his work. the pundith, who with all his scholarly accomplishment has no Bhakthi in his heart and has no humility, accrues no merit or punya.
thus Karma, Jnaana and Bhakthi yogas are to be accomplished together and not in isolation.
hari om
sri krishnaarpanamastu
May 28, 2012 at 10:40 am
some errors have crept in in my interpretation of sri Acharya’s pravachan due to my ignorance. readers, kindly excuse. here is the correction:
the part 4 of the day is not ‘yoga’. sorry. it should be ‘swaadhyaaya’ or self studies. we need to spend our time usefully by reading, chanting, studying and discussing stotras or veda mantras and making a revision of what has already been taught by a Guru or any elder who is in the Guru sthaana.
part 5 is ‘yoga’, when we rejoin with God during sleep. even before going to bed we must cultivate the habit of reading or listening to materials that increase our Bhakthi.
May 27, 2012 at 8:36 am
DAY 6: Now due to the brahmanas’ curse the Yadu dynasty will certainly perish by fighting among themselves; and on the seventh day from today the ocean will rise up and inundate this city of Dwaraka.
I poured nectar in the form of Bhagavadgita into Arjuna’s mouth, hoping that he would drink it and give it to others too. But that was not to be. Hence I am pouring it into your ears to drink. You must propogate it far and wide.
Dear Uddhava, you should not remain here on the earth once I have abandoned this world. My dear devotee, you are sinless, but in Kali-yuga the people will be addicted to all types of sinful activities; therefore do not stay here.
One who has transcended material good and evil automatically acts in accordance with religious injunctions and avoids forbidden activities. The self-realized person does this spontaneously, like an innocent child, and not because he is thinking in terms of material good and evil.
Lord Krishna, thus instructed His pure devotee Uddhava, who was eager to receive knowledge from the Lord. Uddhava then offered obeisances to the Lord and spoke as follows.
My dear Lord, You alone award the results of yoga practice, and You are so kind that by Your own influence You distribute the perfection of yoga to Your devotee. Thus You are the Supreme Soul who is realized through yoga, and it is You who are the origin of all mystic power. For my supreme benefit You have explained the procedure for giving up the material world through the process of sannyasa, or renunciation.
O Lord, feeling weary of material life and tormented by its distresses, I now surrender unto You because You are the perfect master.
Krishna replied: Generally those human beings who can expertly analyze the actual situation of the material world are able to raise themselves beyond the inauspicious life of gross material gratification.
Although I, the Supreme Lord, can never be captured by ordinary sense perception, those situated in human life may use their intelligence and other faculties of perception to directly search for Me through both apparent and indirectly ascertained symptoms.
In this regard, sages cite a historical narration concerning the conversation between the greatly powerful King Yadu and an avadhuta, Sri Dattatreya. with whom always are four dogs, representing.the four vedas.
Yadu said: O brahmana, I see that you are not engaged in any practical religious activity, and yet you have acquired a most expert understanding of all things and all people within this world. Kindly tell me, sir, how did you acquire this extraordinary intelligence, and why are you traveling freely throughout the world behaving as if you were a child?
Dattatreya replied: O King, with my intelligence I have taken shelter of many spiritual masters. Having gained transcendental understanding from them, I now wander about the earth in a liberated condition.
I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon and python; the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief; the deer, the fish, the prostitute Pińgalā, the kurara bird and the child; and the young girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp. My dear King, by studying their activities I have learned the science of the self.
Earth
A sober person, even when harassed by other living beings, should understand that his aggressors are acting helplessly under the control of God, and thus he should never be distracted from progress on his own path. This rule I have learned from the earth.
Air
Although a self-realized soul may live in various material bodies while in this world, experiencing their various qualities and functions, he is never entangled, just as the wind which carries various aromas does not actually mix with them.
Sky
A thoughtful sage, even while living within a material body, should understand himself to be pure spirit soul. Similarly, one should see that the spirit soul enters within all forms of life, both moving and nonmoving, and that the individual souls are thus all-pervading. The sage should further observe that the Supreme God, as the Supersoul, is simultaneously present within all things. Both the individual soul and the Supersoul can be understood by comparing them to the nature of the sky: Although the sky extends everywhere and everything rests within the sky, the sky does not mix with anything, nor can it be divided by anything.
Water
a saintly person is just like water because he is free from all contamination, gentle by nature, and by speaking creates a beautiful vibration like that of flowing water. Just by seeing, touching or hearing such a saintly person, the living entity is purified, just as one is cleansed by contact with pure water. Thus a saintly person, just like a holy place, purifies all those who contact him because he always chants the glories of the Lord.
Fire
Just as fire manifests differently in pieces of wood of different sizes and qualities, the omnipotent Supreme Soul, having entered the bodies of higher and lower life forms created by His own potency, appears to assume the identity of each.
Moon
The various phases of one’s material life, beginning with birth and culminating in death, are all properties of the body and do not affect the soul, just as the apparent waxing and waning of the moon does not affect the moon itself. Such changes are enforced by the imperceptible movements of time.
Sun
Just as the sun evaporates large quantities of water by its potent rays and later returns the water to the earth in the form of rain, similarly, a saintly person accepts all types of material objects with his material senses, and at the appropriate time, when the proper person has approached him to request them, he returns such material objects. Thus, both in accepting and giving up the objects of the senses, he is not entangled.
Pigeon
One should never indulge in excessive affection or concern for anyone or anything; otherwise one will have to experience great suffering, just like the foolish pigeon.
The two pigeons were very much devoted to their household duties. Their hearts being tied together by sentimental affection, they were each attracted by the other’s glances, bodily features and states of mind. Thus, they completely bound each other in affection. And they soon had a baby.
One day when they were both out wandering through the forest in search of food, a hunter had spread out his net, in which he captured the baby. Seeing this, both the pigeons, who were so attached to each other, tried to rescue the chick, but finally got caught in the net.
The cruel hunter, having fulfilled his desire by capturing the head pigeon, his wife and all of their children, set off for his own home.
In this way, one who is too attached to family life becomes disturbed at heart. Like the pigeon, he tries to find pleasure in mundane sex attraction. Busily engaged in maintaining his own family, the miserly person is fated to suffer greatly, along with all his family members.
Python
Following the example of the python, one should give up material endeavors and accept for one’s maintenance food that comes of its own accord, whether such food be delicious or tasteless, ample or meager.
If at any time food does not come, then a saintly person should fast for many days without making endeavor. He should understand that by God’s arrangement he must fast. Thus, following the example of the python, he should remain peaceful and patient.
Sea
A saintly sage is happy and pleasing in his external behavior, whereas internally he is most grave and thoughtful. Because his knowledge is immeasurable and unlimited he is never disturbed, and thus in all respects he is like the tranquil waters of the unfathomable and unsurpassable ocean.
Moth
One who has failed to control his senses immediately feels attraction upon seeing a woman’s form, which is created by the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. Indeed, when the woman speaks with enticing words, smiles coquettishly and moves her body sensuously, his mind is immediately captured, and thus he falls blindly into the darkness of material existence, just as the moth maddened by the fire rushes blindly into its flames.
Honeybee
A saintly person should accept only enough food to keep his body and soul together. He should go from door to door accepting just a little bit of food from each family. Thus he should practice the occupation of the honeybee.
Just as the honeybee takes nectar from all flowers, big and small, an intelligent human being should take the essence from all religious scriptures.
Elephant
A saintly person should never touch a young girl. In fact, he should not even let his foot touch a wooden doll in the shape of a woman. By bodily contact with a woman he will surely be captured by illusion, just as the elephant is captured by the she-elephant due to his desire to touch her body.
Honey Thief
A greedy person accumulates a large quantity of money with great struggle and pain, but the person who has struggled so much to acquire this wealth is not always allowed to enjoy it himself or give it in charity to others. The greedy man is like the bee who struggles to produce a large quantity of honey, which is then stolen by a man who will enjoy it personally or sell it to others. No matter how carefully one hides his hard-earned wealth or tries to protect it, there are those who are expert in detecting the whereabouts of valuable things, and they will steal it.
Deer
A saintly person dwelling in the forest in the renounced order of life should never listen to songs or music promoting material enjoyment. Rather, a saintly person should carefully study the example of the deer, who is bewildered by the sweet music of the hunter’s flute and is thus captured and killed.
Fish
Just as a fish, incited by the desire to enjoy his tongue, is fatally trapped on the fisherman’s hook, similarly, a foolish person is bewildered by the extremely disturbing urges of the tongue and thus is ruined.
Prostitute Pingala
Once a prostitute in Videha, named Pingala, desiring to bring a lover into her house, stood outside in the doorway at night showing her beautiful form.
She was very anxious to get money, and as she stood on the street at night she studied all the men who were passing by, thinking, “Oh, this one surely has money. I know he can pay the price, and I am sure he would enjoy my company very much.” Thus she thought about all the men on the street.
As the night wore on, the prostitute, who intensely desired money, gradually became morose, and her face dried up. Thus being filled with anxiety for money and most disappointed, she began to feel a great detachment from her situation, and happiness arose in her mind.
The prostitute felt disgusted with her material situation and thus became indifferent to it. Indeed, detachment acts like a sword, cutting to pieces the binding network of material hopes and desires. Now please hear from me the song sung by the prostitute in that situation.
Certainly in this city of Videha I alone am completely foolish. I neglected the Supreme God, who awards us everything, even our original spiritual form, and instead I desired to enjoy sense gratification with many men.
With devotion I accept the great benefit that the Lord has bestowed upon me. Having given up my sinful desires for ordinary sense gratification, I now take shelter of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Material desire is undoubtedly the cause of the greatest unhappiness, and freedom from such desire is the cause of the greatest happiness. Therefore, completely cutting off her desire to enjoy so-called lovers, Pingala very happily went to sleep.
Kurara bird
Once a group of large hawks who were unable to find any prey attacked another, weaker hawk who was holding some meat. At that time, being in danger of his life, the hawk gave up his meat and experienced actual happiness.
A child
In family life, the parents are always in anxiety about their home, children and reputation. But I have nothing to do with these things. I do not worry at all about any family, and I do not care about honor and dishonor. I enjoy only the life of the soul, and I find love on the spiritual platform. Thus I wander the earth like a child.
Young girl
Once a marriageable young girl was alone in her house because her parents and relatives had gone that day to another place. At that time a few men arrived at the house, specifically desiring to marry her. She received them with all hospitality.
The girl went to a private place and began to make preparations so that the unexpected male guests could eat. As she was beating the rice, the conchshell bracelets on her arms were colliding and making a loud noise.
The young girl feared that the men would consider her family to be poor because their daughter was busily engaged in the menial task of husking rice. Being very intelligent, the shy girl broke the shell bracelets from her arms, leaving just two on each wrist.
Thereafter, as the young girl continued to husk the rice, the two bracelets on each wrist continued to collide and make noise. Therefore she took one bracelet off each arm, and with only one left on each wrist there was no more noise.
When many people live together in one place there will undoubtedly be quarreling. And even if only two people live together there will be frivolous conversation and disagreement. Therefore, to avoid conflict, one should live alone, as we learn from the example of the bracelet of the young girl.
Arrow maker
The mind can be controlled when it is fixed on the Supreme God. Having achieved a stable situation, the mind becomes free from polluted desires to execute material activities; thus as the mode of goodness increases in strength, one can completely give up the modes of passion and ignorance, and gradually one transcends even the material mode of goodness. When the mind is freed from the fuel of the modes of nature, the fire of material existence is extinguished. Then one achieves the transcendental platform of direct relationship with the object of his meditation, the Supreme Lord.
Serpent
When a person living in a temporary material body tries to construct a happy home, the result is fruitless and miserable. The snake, however, enters a home that has been built by others and prospers happily.
Spider
Just as from within himself the spider expands thread through his mouth, plays with it for some time and eventually swallows it, similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands His personal potency from within Himself. Thus, the Lord displays the network of cosmic manifestation, utilizes it according to His purpose and eventually withdraws it completely within Himself.
Wasp
If out of love, hate or fear an embodied soul fixes his mind with intelligence and complete concentration upon a particular bodily form, he will certainly attain the form that he is meditating upon.
Once a wasp forced a weaker insect to enter his hive and kept him trapped there. In great fear the weak insect constantly meditated upon his captor, and without giving up his body, he gradually achieved the same state of existence as the wasp. Thus one achieves a state of existence according to one’s constant concentration.
The acharya ended the day’s discourse saying that the next lecture would be on the Glory of Satsanga, and how to perform one’s prescribed duty.
May 27, 2012 at 4:42 pm
Heartfelt thanks to Sri BN Rao for sharing this afternoon the below extract from the holy Bhagavata Maha Purana – Pg.566 of Vol.2 – Gita Power Press, Gorakhpur edition). He asked me to read it before attending today’s lecture on SATSANGA.
The glory of Satsanga – How to perform one’s prescribed duty and how to relinquish it?
The glorious lord began: Neither Yoga (consisting of eight limbs, enumerated in the Yoga sutras of Patanjali), nor Sankhya (knowledge of the distinctive character of the different categories discussed in the Sankhya system of philosophy), nor Righteousness (consisting of non-violence, benevolence etc.), Study of the vedas (or Japa of the divine name), Austerity and Renunciation, nor pouring oblations into the sacred fire and works of public utility (such as digging of wells, constructing tanks and laying out gardens), nor the bestowing of gifts, observing of fasts, worshipping of gods, muttering secret spells, resorting to holy waters and visiting pilgrimage places, undertaking sacred observations such as purity of body and mind, and forms of self-abnegation (non-violence etc.)….gain Me over as SATSANGA captures me.
Satsanga is the one that puts an end to all other attachments, thanks to the fellowship of saints. A number of Daityas, sons of Diti, Yatudhanas (orges), beasts and birds, Gandharvas and Apsaras, , Nagas, Caranas, Siddhas, Guhyakas (Yakshas), Vidyadharas, and among human beings, even Vaishyas and Shudras, womenfolk and the lowest born, possessed of a Rajasik and Tamasik disposition, such as Vritrasura (son of a god Twasta through a Daitya mother), Prahlada (son of Kayadhu), Jambavan (a bear), the celebrated elephant Gajendra, Jatayu (a vulture), Tuladhara (a merchant), Dharmavyadha (a hunter), Kubja (a hunch-backed damsel), the Gopis (cowherdesses), as well as the wives of Brahmanas (engaged in performing sacrifices) of Vraja and others ascended to My realm in different Yugas,
O sinless Uddhava. Although they had never studied the Sruti texts, had never waited upon the most exalted ones (for the said purpose), had not observed any sacred vows nor practised any austerities, they nevertheless attained me through the fellowship of Saints alone. Through mere love indeed the cowheresses and the cows, nay, trees and antelopes, cobras and other dull witted creatures accomplished the object of their life and easily attained me, whom one cannot reach even with great exertion through Yoga or Sankhya, liberally, sacred vows, austerities, and sacrificial performances, exposition of sacred texts, study of the Vedas (or Japa of the divine name) and renunciation. When I was taken to Mathura alongwith Balarama by Akrura (the son of Swaphalka).
The Gopis, whose mind was attached to me through intense devotion and who suffered acute pangs of separation from me did not look upon anyone else other than me as a source of delight. Those very automnal nights of ineffable sweetness which had during the Rasa dance, been spent by them like a half a second with me, the highest object of their lovewhen I was present by their side in the woods of Vrindavana hung heavy on them like a Kalpa (a thousand revolutions of the four Yugas) now that they were bereft of me, O loved one! With their mind fastened on to me with chords of love they were to longer conscious of their own people or even of their own self, much less of this world or the next, any more than sages lost in Yogic trance are conscious of this world consisting of names and forms and merged into become one with me like rivers that lose themselves in waters of the ocean. Full of passion for me, thinking me only as their lover, nay paramour, women of Vraja in their hundreds and thousands, who did not know my essential divine character, attained to me, the supreme Brahma, through the fellowship of the righteous. Therefore turning your back upon injections as well as upon interdictions, nay, renouncing worldly activity as well as cessation from activity, and rejecting that which has been learnt, and that which is yet to be learned, O Uddhava, seek as your refuge Me alone, the one self that embodies all creatures wit all your being, for with me alone as your Master you can be rid of fear from all quarters.
May 31, 2012 at 7:17 pm
RK, you have explained the 24 gurus of Lord Dattatreya very well, thus teaching us how we can acquire knowledge from various forms of God’s creation.
i thought of including some points that i had noted down. hope you will welcome them.
Earth:
selfless service. lives for other’s sake – “paraartha”. we need to learn patience, forbearance and selflessness from mother Earth.
Wind:
remains untainted though blowing over scent or obnoxious smell. it does not discriminate. learn to be like wind without getting affected by the situations that surround us.
sky:
“guna shoonyattwa”, attributeless. holds everything in its belly. learn to accept all, without undue judgments.
Water:
washes off all dirt by flowing over it. does not remain still but keeps flowing. we need to learn to “go with the flow” in life.
(at this juncture sri Acharya mentioned how some very religious people consider water as ‘pure’ only when it has not touched the ground. they collect water for pooja and other rituals only from well or river! and in places where only bore well water is available, they dig a pit, let the pit collect water from the borewell and then collect the water from the pit! for them water is holy only when “Bhoo sparsha” has not happened)
Fire:
“paapa vinaashaka” thus, just a “drishti” or a word from their heart has enough “tapahshakthi” to purify us from all sins!
Moon:
remains equanimous both during the waxing phase and the waning phase. we also need to develop such an equanimity of mind, both during the ‘lows’ and ‘highs’ of life.
Sun:
“sneha doorattwa”, keep people away so that you can concentrate on your duties without wasting time here and there.
pigeon:
do not get deluded by “moha”, attachments.RK, you have described the story very well.
python:
like how sorrow comes into our life without us making any attempts to acquire it, understand that sukha or happiness will also come into our life as destined. no need to run after things in the hope of attaining happiness.
a sage, like a python, though filled with physical and mental prowess will remain quiet and accept whatever comes to him in life. total nivritti dharma.
Sea:
inspite of all the river water entering it, it maintains its level always. it does not flood during rainy season nor does it become dry during summer season. again, learn equanimity – “sama chittattwa” from sea.
we also need to remain level headed always despite the flow of sensory temptations flooding us from all around.
Moth:
it loses its sense and gets burnt by the flame in the lamp. hence do not lose “viveka”, use discretion at all situations.
Honey bees:
they do not discriminate flowers by their sizes, colours or scent. they collect honey from all. we too need to gather good qualities that we observe in people of all ages and class.
we also learn from them how honey collected over a long period of time and not made use of by the bees gets snatched away from honey collectors. same fate awaits us if we do not spend our hard earned money for the welfare of all including self. in kannada, “kooditta hana pararige”
Elephant:
attraction to sensory pleasures will put us into problems and we get captivated, like how an elephant gets captured by the attraction towards a female elephant.
Child:
like how a child remains free from worries and keeps itself happy playing around as it has supreme confidence in its parents’ caretaking-ability, we also need to stop worrying as God is our parent and He will take care of all our needs (but not our greeds!)
serpent:
like how a serpent lives in a burrow made by other animals and has no attachment to its dwelling place, have no attachment to your body that is lent to you as a dwelling place in this birth by God. even if this body is lost, another will be ready to become yours as per your punya-paapa. have no attachment to the body.
silk worm:
the worm weaves its own nest by a golden thread created out of its own saliva and gets captivated inside, unable to escape. we have also been captivated inside the ‘samsaara’ that we have created for ourselves and got entangled and find no way of escaping from it. only through constant “bhagavat Dhyana” can we escape from this samsaara.
the oil lamp:
burns itself and gives light to others. thus be a light unto others.
at the end of the pravachan, sri Acharya gave the example of a grain and its shaft. the grain gets used up and the shaft when planted grows again into a new plant. Acharya told us to be like a grain of ‘avalakki’ that takes us towards SriKrishna and not become its shaft that grows into samsaara again and again!
each word that sri Acharya utters is smeared with honey and viveka, we are so blessed to be there and listening to his words live. mere listening will not be sufficient. we need to reflect upon the purport and inculcate the teachings in our everyday life.
jai srikrishna
sri krishnaarpanamastu.
May 28, 2012 at 8:05 am
DAY 7: Sri Narayancharya said the Bhagavatha is so fresh every second, that if he completes the series on the 30th, as per schedule, and starts a fresh series on the same Ekadasha skanda, it will sound so enriching and refreshing. He said he can talk jus on Uddhava Gita for a year!
He continued the lecture: The Supreme lord said: Taking full shelter in Me, with the mind carefully fixed in the devotional service of the Lord as spoken by Me, one should live without personal desire and practice the social and occupational system called varnasrama.
The servant or disciple of the spiritual master should be free from false prestige, never considering himself to be the doer. He should be active and never lazy and should give up all sense of proprietorship over the objects of the senses, including his wife, children, home and society. He should be endowed with feelings of loving friendship toward the spiritual master and should never become deviated or bewildered. The servant or disciple should always desire advancement in spiritual understanding, should not envy anyone and should always avoid useless conversation.
Although the performer of fruitive activities desires perpetual happiness, it is clearly observed that materialistic workers are often unhappy and only occasionally satisfied, thus proving that they are not independent or in control of their destiny. When a person is always under the superior control of another, how can he expect any valuable results from his own fruitive actions?
It is observed within the material world that sometimes even an intelligent person is not happy. Similarly, sometimes even a great fool is happy. The concept of becoming happy through expertly performing material activities is simply a useless exhibition of false egotism.
If on earth one performs sacrifices for the satisfaction of the demigods, he goes to the heavenly planets, where, just like a demigod, he enjoys all of the heavenly pleasures he has earned by his performances.
Having achieved the heavenly planets, the performer of ritualistic sacrifices travels in a glowing airplane, which he obtains as the result of his piety on earth. Being glorified by songs sung by the Gandharvas and dressed in wonderfully charming clothes, he enjoys life surrounded by heavenly goddesses.
Until his pious results are used up, the performer of sacrifice enjoys life in the heavenly planets. When the pious results are exhausted, however, he falls down from the pleasure gardens of heaven, being moved against his desire by the force of eternal time.
In all the planetary systems, from the heavenly to the hellish, and for all of the great demigods who live for one thousand yuga cycles, there is fear of Me in My form of time. Even Brahma, who possesses the supreme life span, is also afraid of Me.
The material senses create material activities, either pious or sinful, and the modes of nature set the material senses into motion. The living entity, being fully engaged by the material senses and modes of nature, experiences the various results of fruitive work.
As long as the living entity thinks that the modes of material nature have separate existences, he will be obliged to take birth in many different forms and will experience varieties of material existence. Therefore, the living entity remains completely dependent on fruitive activities under the modes of nature.
The conditioned soul who remains dependent on fruitive activities under the material modes of nature will continue to fear Me, the Supreme lord, since I impose the results of one’s fruitive activities. Those who accept the material concept of life, taking the variegatedness of the modes of nature to be factual, devote themselves to material enjoyment and are therefore always absorbed in lamentation and grief.
When there is agitation and interaction of the material modes of nature, the living entities then describe Me in various ways such as all-powerful time, the Self, Vedic knowledge, the universe, one’s own nature, religious ceremonies and so on.
Those who are without any desire for personal gratification, whose minds are always attached to Me, who are peaceful, without false ego and merciful to all living entities, and whose consciousness is never affected by opportunities for sense gratification — such persons enjoy in Me a happiness that cannot be known or achieved by those lacking such detachment from the material world.
The mind of one meditating upon the objects of sense gratification is certainly entangled in such objects, but if one constantly remembers Me, then the mind is absorbed in Me.
Therefore, one should reject all material processes of elevation, which are like the mental creations of a dream, and should completely absorb one’s mind in Me. By constantly thinking of Me, one becomes purified.
The Supreme lord said: My dear Uddhava, the mystic perfections of yoga are acquired by a yogī who has conquered his senses, steadied his mind, conquered the breathing process and fixed his mind on Me.
The Supreme lord said: O best of those who know how to inquire, on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Arjuna, desiring to fight with his rivals, asked Me the same question that you are now posing.
On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra Arjuna thought that killing his relatives would be an abominable, irreligious activity, motivated only by his desire to acquire a kingdom. He therefore desisted from the battle, thinking, “I would be the killer of my relatives. They would be destroyed.” Thus Arjuna was afflicted with mundane consciousness.
At that time I enlightened Arjuna, the tiger among men, with logical arguments, and thus in the front of the battle Arjuna addressed Me with questions in the same way that you are now inquiring.
My dear Uddhava, I am the Supersoul of all living entities, and therefore I am naturally their well-wisher and supreme controller. Being the creator, maintainer and annihilator of all entities, I am not different from them.
Uddhava said: My dear Lord, previously You described the principles of devotional service that are to be practiced by followers of the varnasrama system and even ordinary, unregulated human beings. My dear lotus-eyed Lord, now please explain to me how all human beings can achieve loving service unto You by the execution of their prescribed duties.
The Supreme lord said: My dear Uddhava, your question is faithful to religious principles and thus gives rise to the highest perfection in life, pure devotional service, for both ordinary human beings and the followers of the varṇāśrama system. Now please learn from Me those supreme religious principles.
In the beginning, in Satya-yuga, there is only one social class, called haḿsa, to which all human beings belong. In that age all people are unalloyed devotees of the Lord from birth, and thus learned scholars call this first age krita-yuga, or the age in which all religious duties are perfectly fulfilled.
In Satya-yuga the undivided Veda is expressed by the syllable oḿ, and I am the only object of mental activities. I become manifest as the four-legged bull of religion, and thus the inhabitants of Satya-yuga, fixed in austerity and free from all sins, worship Me as Lord Hamsa.
O greatly fortunate one, at the beginning of Treta-yuga Vedic knowledge appeared from My heart, which is the abode of the air of life, in three divisions — as Rig, Sama and Yajur. Then from that knowledge I appeared as threefold sacrifice.
In Treta-yuga the four social orders were manifested from the universal form of the Personality of Godhead. The brahmanas appeared from the Lord’s face, the kṣatriyas from the Lord’s arms, the vaishyas from the Lord’s thighs and the śūdras from the legs of that mighty form. Each social division was recognized by its particular duties and behavior.
The married order of life appeared from the loins of My universal form, and the celibate students came from My heart. The forest-dwelling retired order of life appeared from My chest, and the renounced order of life was situated within the head of My universal form.
The various occupational and social divisions of human society appeared according to inferior and superior natures manifest in the situation of the individual’s birth.
Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to Me, mercy and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brahmanas.
Dynamic power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, tolerance, generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brahmanas and leadership are the natural qualities of the kṣatriyas.
Faith in Vedic civilization, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy, service to the brāhmaṇas and perpetually desiring to accumulate more money are the natural qualities of the vaiśyas.
Service without duplicity to the brahmanas, cows, demigods and other worshipable personalities, and complete satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service, are the natural qualities of śūdras.
Dirtiness, dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust, anger and hankering constitute the nature of those in the lowest position outside the varṇāśrama system.
Nonviolence, truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare of all others and freedom from lust, anger and greed constitute duties for all members of society.
The twice-born member of society achieves second birth through the sequence of purificatory ceremonies culminating in Gāyatrī initiation. Being summoned by the spiritual master, he should reside within the guru’s āśrama and with a self-controlled mind carefully study the Vedic literature.
My dear Uddhava, general cleanliness, washing the hands, bathing, performing religious services at sunrise, noon and sunset, worshiping Me, visiting holy places, chanting japa, avoiding that which is untouchable, uneatable or not to be discussed, and remembering My existence within all living entities as the Supersoul — these principles should be followed by all members of society through regulation of the mind, words and body.
May 31, 2012 at 9:44 pm
RK, thanks for the elaborate explanation of the points discussed in sri Acharya’s lecture.
Acharya clearly says that the varnaashrama division has been created by god for the smooth and stable running of the society. the varnaas are NOT TO BE INTERPRETED as High and Low as each of them have their own merits and capabilities. only a harmonious function through cooperation of all varnaas can make our society secure.
Acharya even briefly narrated the story of a Brahmin Chanda Koushika who was taught the principles of the Highest Tattwa by a butcher Dharma Vyadha who was doing his profession with utmost sincerity and detachment. Brahmin Chanda Koushika had renounced his parents and other family members to do tapas in the forest. once when he was doing Tapas sitting under a tree, a crow’s excreta is dropped on his head. the brahmin gets so angry that he burns the crow with an angry look!
then he goes into the village for “Bhikshaanna”, when he arrives at a house of another brahmin for Bhiksha, the lady of the house delays giving bhiksha to him as she is engaged in serving food to her husband who would have just returned home from work. Chanda koushika is made to wait. at last after finishing her service to her husband, she comes out to give Chanda Koushika Bhiksha. he is so angered by the delay that he gives her an angry look for which the lady tells him that ‘she is not a crow to be burnt by his angry look’, but a patiivrataa who was doing her foremost duty of serving her husband first! the brahmin is shocked to know that the lady through her pati seva tapas has come to know about the crow and his angry look! he is humbled by her tapas shakthi and requests her to teach him how to realize God Almighty. she tells him about a Vyadha, who lives by selling animal meat, who lives in Mithila town. he would give the Brahmin the required Jnaana!
now Koushika comes in search of Dharma Vyaadha’s shop and finds it. the Brahmin koushika gets agitated by the sight of meat hung inside the shop. seeing the brahmin disturbed by this sight, the Vyadha comes out, does namaskaara to the Brahmin and requests him to go to his house where they can talk leisurely. as soon as the vyadha reaches home accompanied by the brahmin, he gives water to him to wash his hands and legs and invites him inside. there the brahmin watches the vyadha doing namaskaara to his parents first and enquiring them about their well being and offers them food. the vyadha then turns towards the brahmin and asks him how is that pativrata doing whom he just visited! koushika is even more shocked that this meat seller has “divya drishti” that even he has not acquired after all these years of tapas! he then requests the butcher to give him Jnaana for which the butcher answers that he has no jnaana but only does sincere service to his parents everyday and that he does his profession without deceiving anybody. he takes care of his family with the money thus earned and is not ashamed of his profession. he does not ever try to follow others dharma but sticks to his own.
thus humbled by the jnaana that a woman and a meat seller possessed, he returns to his family to serve them and do his duty diligently and acquire jnaana in due course.
thus we all need to follow our respective dharmas sincerely and find fulfillment through that.
May 31, 2012 at 10:28 pm
dear Bellur, sri Acharya also mentioned about the uniqueness of each of us with our own nature varying according to the trigunas – sattwa, rajo and tamo gunas operating in different proportions at different times. thus we see the predominant swabhava of each of us that is decided by these gunas. instead of worshipping these gunas, we need to worship Him – the “Guna Nidhi”!
because of the trigunas man falls into the trap of ahankaara and mamakaara. these two cover up the true jnaana that is in all of us. the trigunas are like the thorns upon which the fabric of our mind has fallen. to extricate the fabric without any tear in it we have to exercise extreme caution and patience! this has to be cultivated (vyavasaayatmaka budhdhi).
Acharya also said that we can not give these swabhavas as excuse for our irrational behaviour at times. through His Grace and our own sincere attempts we need to elevate ourselves from tamo guna to rajo guna and from rajo guna to sattwa guna and in the end go beyond all the Gunas and keep only the “Guna Nidhi Sri krishna” in mind.
June 1, 2012 at 7:39 am
aunty, was waiting for your contribution! this space is all yours! thanks for adding those priceless examples and points that the acharya gave us.
May 28, 2012 at 10:45 am
dear RK, due to preoccupation with other concerns, i am unable to post my comments for the latest pravachan summaries that you have made. i shall do so as soon as i get some leisure.
thanks.
May 29, 2012 at 11:28 am
DAY 8: The following two points stood out in my mind from the day’s lecture: Sri Narayanacharya quoted Sri Vedanta Deshikar’s comparison to our body as a wound (Hunnu). Just like a wound is cleaned everyday, we clean our body in water. Just as medicine is applied to a wound, we eat food, which is the medicine for our body. Just as a wound needs dressing and a cloth is wrapped, we need clothes to cover our body.
When a person dies, we hear people say/write: “avaru daivadheenaraadaru.” There are three things – Daivadheena, Swadheena, Karmadheena. Even when alive, we are daivadheena.
The Acharya continued Uddhava Gita: My dear Uddhava, the material body and mind, composed of the three modes of material nature, attach themselves to you, but they are actually illusion, since they appear only at the present, having no original or ultimate existence. How is it possible, therefore, that the various stages of the body, namely birth, growth, reproduction, maintenance, dwindling and death, can have any relation to your eternal self? These phases relate only to the material body, which previously did not exist and ultimately will not exist. The body exists merely at the present moment.
I will now speak unto you those religious principles of Vedic knowledge, detachment, self-realization, faith and devotional service that were heard directly from the mouth of Bhishmadeva.
I personally approve of that knowledge by which one sees the combination of nine, eleven, five and three elements in all living entities, and ultimately one element within those twenty-eight.
When one no longer sees the twenty-eight separated material elements, which arise from a single cause, but rather sees the cause itself, the Personality of Godhead — at that time one’s direct experience is called vignana, or self-realization.
Commencement, termination and maintenance are the stages of material causation. That which consistently accompanies all these material phases from one creation to another and remains alone when all material phases are annihilated is the one eternal.
From the four types of evidence — Vedic knowledge, direct experience, traditional wisdom and logical induction — one can understand the temporary, insubstantial situation of the material world, by which one becomes detached from the duality of this world.
An intelligent person should see that any material activity is subject to constant transformation and that even on the planet of Lord Brahmā there is thus simply unhappiness. Indeed, a wise man can understand that just as all that he has seen is temporary, similarly, all things within the universe have a beginning and an end.
O sinless Uddhava, because you love Me, I previously explained to you the process of devotional service. Now I will again explain the supreme process for achieving loving service unto Me.
Actual religious principles are stated to be those that lead one to My devotional service. Real knowledge is the awareness that reveals My all-pervading presence. Detachment is complete disinterest in the objects of material sense gratification, and opulence is the eight mystic perfection, such as anima-siddhi.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Nonviolence, truthfulness, not coveting or stealing the property of others, detachment, humility, freedom from possessiveness, trust in the principles of religion, celibacy, silence, steadiness, forgiveness and fearlessness are the twelve primary disciplinary principles. Internal cleanliness, external cleanliness, chanting the holy names of the Lord, austerity, sacrifice, faith, hospitality, worship of Me, visiting holy places, acting and desiring only for the supreme interest, satisfaction, and service to the spiritual master are the twelve elements of regular prescribed duties. These twenty-four elements bestow all desired benedictions upon those persons who devotedly cultivate them.
Uddhava said: My dear Krishna, You are the Supreme Lord, and thus the Vedic literatures, consisting of positive and negative injunctions, constitute Your order. Such literatures focus upon the good and bad qualities of work.
According to Vedic literature, the superior and inferior varieties found in the human social system, varnasrama, are due to pious and sinful modes of family planning. Thus piety and sin are constant points of reference in the Vedic analysis of the components of a given situation — namely the material ingredients, place, age and time. Indeed, the Vedas reveal the existence of material heaven and hell, which are certainly based on piety and sin.
Without seeing the difference between piety and sin, how can one understand Your own instructions in the form of Vedic literatures, which order one to act piously and forbid one to act sinfully? Furthermore, without such authorized Vedic literatures, which ultimately award liberation, how can human beings achieve the perfection of life?
My dear Lord, in order to understand those things beyond direct experience — such as spiritual liberation or attainment of heaven and other material enjoyments beyond our present capacity — and in general to understand the means and end of all things, the forefathers, demigods and human beings must consult the Vedic literatures, which are Your own laws, for these constitute the highest evidence and revelation.
My dear Lord, the distinction observed between piety and sin comes from Your own Vedic knowledge and does not arise by itself. If the same Vedic literature subsequently nullifies such distinction between piety and sin, there will certainly be confusion.
The Supreme lord said: My dear Uddhava, because I desire that human beings may achieve perfection, I have presented three paths of advancement — the path of knowledge, the path of work and the path of devotion. Besides these three there is absolutely no other means of elevation.
Among these three paths, gnana-yoga, the path of philosophical speculation, is recommended for those who are disgusted with material life and are thus detached from ordinary, fruitive activities. Those who are not disgusted with material life, having many desires yet to fulfill, should seek perfection through the path of karma-yoga.
If somehow or other by good fortune one develops faith in hearing and chanting My glories, such a person, being neither very disgusted with nor attached to material life, should achieve perfection through the path of loving devotion to Me.
As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by sravanam keerthanam vishnoh one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.
My dear Uddhava, a person who is situated in his prescribed duty, properly worshiping by Vedic sacrifices but not desiring the fruitive result of such worship, will not go to the heavenly planets; similarly, by not performing forbidden activities he will not go to hell.
One who is situated in his prescribed duty, free from sinful activities and cleansed of material contamination, in this very life obtains transcendental knowledge or, by fortune, devotional service unto Me.
The residents of both heaven and hell desire human birth on the earth planet because human life facilitates the achievement of transcendental knowledge and love of Godhead, whereas neither heavenly nor hellish bodies efficiently provide such opportunities.
A human being who is wise should never desire promotion to heavenly planets or residence in hell. Indeed, a human being should also never desire permanent residence on the earth, for by such absorption in the material body one becomes foolishly negligent of one’s actual self-interest.
A wise person, knowing that although the material body is subject to death it can still award the perfection of one’s life, should not foolishly neglect to take advantage of this opportunity before death arrives.
Without attachment, a bird gives up the tree in which his nest was constructed when that tree is cut down by cruel men who are like death personified, and thus the bird achieves happiness in another place.
Knowing that one’s duration of life is being similarly cut down by the passing of days and nights, one should be shaken by fear. In this way, giving up all material attachment and desire, one understands the Supreme Lord and achieves perfect peace.
The human body, which can award all benefit in life, is automatically obtained by the laws of nature, although it is a very rare achievement. This human body can be compared to a perfectly constructed boat having the spiritual master as the captain and the instructions of the Personality of Godhead as favorable winds impelling it on its course. Considering all these advantages, a human being who does not utilize his human life to cross the ocean of material existence must be considered the killer of his own soul.
Persons who seriously follow these methods of achieving Me, which I have personally taught, attain freedom from illusion, and upon reaching My personal abode they perfectly understand the Absolute Truth.
In this world the mode of goodness is recognized as knowledge, the mode of passion as fruitive work, and the mode of darkness as ignorance. Time is perceived as the agitated interaction of the material modes, and the totality of functional propensity is embodied by the primeval sūtra, or mahat-tattva.
I have described the nine basic elements as the enjoying soul, nature, nature’s primeval manifestation of the mahat-tattva, false ego, ether, air, fire, water and earth.
Hearing, touch, sight, smell and taste are the five knowledge acquiring senses, My dear Uddhava, and speech, the hands, the genitals, the anus and the legs constitute the five working senses. The mind belongs to both these categories.
Sound, touch, taste, smell and form are the objects of the knowledge-acquiring senses, and movement, speech, excretion and manufacture are functions of the working senses.
My dear Uddhava, My material energy, comprising three modes and acting through them, manifests the varieties of creation along with varieties of consciousness for perceiving them. The manifest result of material transformation is understood in three aspects: adhyātmic, adhidaivic and adhibhautic.
O most charitable Uddhava, what is called birth is simply a person’s total identification with a new body. One accepts the new body just as one completely accepts the experience of a dream or a fantasy as reality.
Just as a person experiencing a dream or daydream does not remember his previous dreams or daydreams, a person situated in his present body, although having existed prior to it, thinks that he has only recently come into being.
Because the mind, which is the resting place of the senses, has created the identification with a new body, the threefold material variety of high, middle and low class appears as if present within the reality of the soul. Thus the self creates external and internal duality, just as a man might give birth to a bad son.
When the mode of goodness, which is luminous, pure and auspicious, predominates over passion and ignorance, a man becomes endowed with happiness, virtue, knowledge and other good qualities.
When the mode of passion, which causes attachment, separatism and activity, conquers ignorance and goodness, a man begins to work hard to acquire prestige and fortune. Thus in the mode of passion he experiences anxiety and struggle.
When the mode of ignorance conquers passion and goodness, it covers one’s consciousness and makes one foolish and dull. Falling into lamentation and illusion, a person in the mode of ignorance sleeps excessively, indulges in false hopes, and displays violence toward others.
When consciousness becomes clear and the senses are detached from matter, one experiences fearlessness within the material body and detachment from the material mind. You should understand this situation to be the predominance of the mode of goodness, in which one has the opportunity to realize Me.
Therefore, having achieved this human form of life, which allows one to develop full knowledge, those who are intelligent should free themselves from all contamination of the modes of nature and engage exclusively in loving service to Me.
The Supreme Personality of God said: Yes, I shall describe to you the principles of devotion to Me, by executing which a mortal human being will conquer unconquerable death.
Always remembering Me, one should perform all his duties for Me without becoming impetuous. With mind and intelligence offered to Me, one should fix his mind in attraction to My devotional service.
One should take shelter of holy places where My saintly devotees reside, and one should be guided by the exemplary activities of My devotees, who appear among the demigods, demons and human beings.
Either alone or in public gatherings in the form of SATSANGA, with singing, dancing and other exhibitions of royal opulence, one should arrange to celebrate those holy days, ceremonies and festivals set aside specially for My worship.
With a pure heart one should see Me, the Supreme Soul within all beings and also within oneself, to be both unblemished by anything material and also present everywhere, both externally and internally, just like the omnipresent sky.
The acharya’s lecture got extended as he made us chant the Sri Krishna Mangalam that he composed (on the request of his Srimathi) as a Mangala for Srimad Bhagavatha. After this, he made us say, the shloka:
bhave bhave yathA bhakti: pAdayo: tava jAyate
tathA kurushva deveSa natha: twam na: yata: prabho
O Lord of lords, O master, please grant us pure devotional service at Your lotus feet, life after life.
May 29, 2012 at 11:37 am
While having the Prasada, a close Sisya of the Acharya (he has been with the Acharya since 2005), said: “From what I have heard, Acharya was at his peak today, and today’s lecture has to be the best that I’ve heard!” I felt blessed to be among the shrothrus. Dhanyosmi!
June 2, 2012 at 11:11 pm
very nicely summed up, Bellur!
along with the Trigunaas, Acharya today mentioned the 3 categories of nature (prakruti) of our body as mentioned in Ayurveda – Kapha, vaata and pitta’s predominance. changes in the nature of this can change the predominance of the Sattwa, rajo and Tamo gunas too. our mind is conditioned by the food we eat and hence we need to exercise utmost control over our eating habits.
our body is the vehicle, a boat, given to us by god to help us cross over this “samsaara saagara”. hence we need to keep the vehicle healthy and fit to reach us to our destination – God.
“swabhaava vijayam” – it is very important for us to do introspection everyday to understand our weaknesses and strengths. it must come from within us to overcome our weaknesses and transform them into strengths. no amount of outside forcing can help a man to transform himself. we need to pray god and seek His Grace to cleanse our mind. otherwise, our negative thinking mode will accompany us through subsequent births that we take. when God has endowed us with a human birth and all the faculties right, it is with utmost urgency that we need to change our ineffective nature and cultivate effective ways of thinking and Bhakthi bhaava and turn towards Him. only through Guru Seve and Ishwara Bhakthi can we elevate ourselves to Higher planes. even the sight of pure devotees of God, Bhagavatbhakthas can bring about positive changes in our swabhava. ‘satsangha’ can help us reaffirm our devotion and stabilise it to take us closer to God. thus our mind gets purified (good samskaara to our mind) and impurities will disappear. our intellect gets sharpened and becomes skillful to acquire spiritual knowledge – “vishaarada Budhdhi”. this intellect can overcome the Trigunaas and help us go beyond delusions.
at this point Acharya asked us “what is fatigue or “aayaasa”? we started giving synonyms to the word but we could not define it. then he gave us a beautiful definition of what fatigue is – “it is a state of mind/body that poses obstacle to the acquirement of knowledge”.
ಜ್ಞಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರತಿಭಂಧಕವಾದ ಶಾರೀರಿಕ/ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಅವಸ್ಥೆ.
Acharya also said that mere studying and understanding the words given in vedas will not lead us to the ultimate knowledge of Brahma or Atma. the theoritical knowledge understood by the intellect has to be transformed to experiential knowledge and this can happen only through Guru’s and God’s Grace. that Grace can easily flow wherever devotees have gathered to conduct satsangha. hence the importance of satsangha can never be overstated.
jai srikrishna
srikrishnaarpanamastu.
May 29, 2012 at 9:06 pm
dear RK,
are the lectures of the acharya being recorded which can be accessed through sale?
Enduro mahanubhavulu.Sri Acharya is definitely one of them.
blessed are thou
May 30, 2012 at 12:14 am
dear tssm, the lecture is concluding on wednesday. it is being recorded. will let you know when it gets released.
May 30, 2012 at 8:03 am
DAY 9: The sisyas, krishna’s devotees and listeners gave the acharya a surprise welcome by showering flower petals on him at the entrance. After he was seated, he was adorned with a Mysore Peta and a Shawl, apart from several flower garlands.
The Acharya began thus: All this is for your satisdaction. Personally, I feel you must show this devotion towards Him! Actually we have lost 20 minutes in this exercise.
The Supreme Personality of God said: My dear Uddhava, by associating with My pure devotees one can destroy one’s attachment for all objects of material sense gratification. Such purifying association brings Me under the control of My devotee. One may perform the ashtanga-yoga system, engage in philosophical analysis of the elements of material nature, practice nonviolence and other ordinary principles of piety, chant the Vedas, perform penances, take to the renounced order of life, execute sacrificial performances and dig wells, plant trees and perform other public welfare activities, give in charity, carry out severe vows, worship the demigods, chant confidential mantras, visit holy places or accept major and minor disciplinary injunctions, but even by performing such activities one does not bring Me under his control.
In every yuga many living entities entangled in the modes of passion and ignorance gained the association of My devotees. Thus, such living entities as the Daityas, Rakṣasas, birds, beasts, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Nagas, Siddhas, Caraṇas, Guhyakas and Vidyadharas, as well as such lower-class human beings as the vaiśyas, shudras, women and others, were able to achieve My supreme abode. Vritrasura, Prahlada Maharaja and others like them also achieved My abode by association with My devotees, as did personalities such as Vrishaparva, Bali Maharaja, Baṇasura, Maya, Vibhishana, Sugriva, Hanuman, Jambavan, Gajendra, Jaṭayu, Tuladhara, Dharma-vyadha, Kubja, the gopis in Vrindavana and the wives of the brāhmaṇas who were performing sacrifice.
The persons I have mentioned did not undergo serious studies of the Vedic literature, nor did they worship great saintly persons, nor did they execute severe vows or austerities. Simply by association with Me and My devotees, they achieved Me.
My dear Uddhava, just as great sages in yoga trance merge into self-realization, like rivers merging into the ocean, and are thus not aware of material names and forms, similarly, the gopīs of Vrindavana were so completely attached to Me within their minds that they could not think of their own bodies, or of this world, or of their future lives. Their entire consciousness was simply bound up in Me.
When sticks of kindling wood are vigorously rubbed together, heat is produced by contact with air, and a spark of fire appears. Once the fire is kindled, ghee is added and the fire blazes. Similarly, I become manifest in the sound vibration of the Vedas.
The functions of the working senses — the organ of speech, the hands, the legs, the genital and the anus — and the functions of the knowledge-acquiring senses — the nose, tongue, eyes, skin and ears — along with the functions of the subtle senses of mind, intelligence, consciousness and false ego, as well as the function of the subtle pradhāna and the interaction of the three modes of material nature — all these should be understood as My materially manifest form.
When many seeds are placed in an agricultural field, innumerable manifestations of trees, bushes, vegetables and so on will arise from a single source, the soil. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gives life to all and is eternal, originally exists beyond the scope of the cosmic manifestation. In the course of time, however, the Lord, who is the resting place of the three modes of nature and the source of the universal lotus flower, in which the cosmic manifestation takes place, divides His material potencies and thus appears to be manifest in innumerable forms, although He is one.
Just as woven cloth rests on the expansion of lengthwise and crosswise threads, similarly the entire universe is expanded on the lengthwise and crosswise potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is situated within Him. The conditioned soul has been accepting material bodies since time immemorial, and these bodies are like great trees sustaining one’s material existence. Just as a tree first blossoms and then produces fruit, similarly the tree of material existence, one’s material body, produces the various results of material existence.
This tree of material existence has two seeds, hundreds of roots, three lower trunks and five upper trunks. It produces five flavors and has eleven branches and a nest made by two birds. The tree is covered by three types of bark, gives two fruits and extends up to the sun. Those lusty after material enjoyment and dedicated to family life enjoy one of the tree’s fruits, and swanlike men in the renounced order of life enjoy the other fruit. One who with the help of the bona fide spiritual masters can understand this tree to be a manifestation of the potency of the one Supreme Truth appearing in many forms actually knows the meaning of the Vedic literature.
With steady intelligence you should develop unalloyed devotional service by careful worship of the spiritual master, and with the sharpened ax of transcendental knowledge you should cut off the subtle material covering of the soul. Upon realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you should then give up that ax of analytic knowledge.
The glorious lord began: Neither Yoga (consisting of eight limbs, enumerated in the Yoga sutras of Patanjali), nor Sankhya (knowledge of the distinctive character of the different categories discussed in the Sankhya system of philosophy), nor Righteousness (consisting of non-violence, benevolence etc.), Study of the vedas (or Japa of the divine name), Austerity and Renunciation, nor pouring oblations into the sacred fire and works of public utility (such as digging of wells, constructing tanks and laying out gardens), nor the bestowing of gifts, observing of fasts, worshipping of gods, muttering secret spells, resorting to holy waters and visiting pilgrimage places, undertaking sacred observations such as purity of body and mind, and forms of self-abnegation (non-violence etc.)….gain Me over as SATSANGA captures me.
Satsanga is the one that puts an end to all other attachments, thanks to the fellowship of saints. A number of Daityas, sons of Diti, Yatudhanas (orges), beasts and birds, Gandharvas and Apsaras, , Nagas, Caranas, Siddhas, Guhyakas (Yakshas), Vidyadharas, and among human beings, even Vaishyas and Shudras, womenfolk and the lowest born, possessed of a Rajasik and Tamasik disposition, such as Vritrasura (son of a god Twasta through a Daitya mother), Prahlada (son of Kayadhu), Jambavan (a bear), the celebrated elephant Gajendra, Jatayu (a vulture), Tuladhara (a merchant), Dharmavyadha (a hunter), Kubja (a hunch-backed damsel), the Gopis (cowherdesses), as well as the wives of Brahmanas (engaged in performing sacrifices) of Vraja and others ascended to My realm in different Yugas,
O sinless Uddhava. Although they had never studied the Sruti texts, had never waited upon the most exalted ones (for the said purpose), had not observed any sacred vows nor practised any austerities, they nevertheless attained me through the fellowship of Saints alone. Through mere love indeed the cowheresses and the cows, nay, trees and antelopes, cobras and other dull witted creatures accomplished the object of their life and easily attained me, whom one cannot reach even with great exertion through Yoga or Sankhya, liberally, sacred vows, austerities, and sacrificial performances, exposition of sacred texts, study of the Vedas (or Japa of the divine name) and renunciation. When I was taken to Mathura alongwith Balarama by Akrura (the son of Swaphalka).
The Gopis, whose mind was attached to me through intense devotion and who suffered acute pangs of separation from me did not look upon anyone else other than me as a source of delight. Those very automnal nights of ineffable sweetness which had during the Rasa dance, been spent by them like a half a second with me, the highest object of their lovewhen I was present by their side in the woods of Vrindavana hung heavy on them like a Kalpa (a thousand revolutions of the four Yugas) now that they were bereft of me, O loved one! With their mind fastened on to me with chords of love they were to longer conscious of their own people or even of their own self, much less of this world or the next, any more than sages lost in Yogic trance are conscious of this world consisting of names and forms and merged into become one with me like rivers that lose themselves in waters of the ocean. Full of passion for me, thinking me only as their lover, nay paramour, women of Vraja in their hundreds and thousands, who did not know my essential divine character, attained to me, the supreme Brahma, through the fellowship of the righteous. Therefore turning your back upon injections as well as upon interdictions, nay, renouncing worldly activity as well as cessation from activity, and rejecting that which has been learnt, and that which is yet to be learned, O Uddhava, seek as your refuge Me alone, the one self that embodies all creatures wit all your being, for with me alone as your Master you can be rid of fear from all quarters.
June 6, 2012 at 6:03 pm
RK, your tempo has increased like sri Acharya’s and you have written very elaborately about Bhakthi as the Saadhana that can fetch us Moksha!
nothing much left for me to say on today’s talk.
Acharya compared our Maanasika saadhana to that of “samudra mathana”. Like the depths of the sea, even our mind is very deep and our Soul or Atma is sitting deep down like a big support comparable to the Kurmaavatara of the Lord. when we churn this Mind Sea with Bhakthi, first all the evils are cleared up like how the Aasuri shakthi was vanquished during the samudra mathana. then the Lord bring up to the surface the Amruta, the positive potential that we all have within us, but has been masked due to our material pursuits. once Bhakthi is cultivated and the longing to join Him and Him alone appears in our mind, our potential is realized and the great Union with the Lord can take place! our mind becomes Full and that is the true fulfillment of our human existence. it is not ‘the emptying of mind’ that we need to achieve as some other schools of philosophy suggest, but ‘Filling up our mind’ with Madhava.
let people continue their saadhana with yoga, saankhya, swaadhyaaya, yaaga and yagna and dakshina etc. but they should never for a moment forget that He is the Ultimate Truth and He is Everything and Everything is in Him. we do not have to seek any ‘phala’ from Him. HE IS THE PHALA.
Acharya extolled the “Eternal Preparedness” of Gopis to join srikrishna. the moment Krishna played a tune on His flute just to test the Bhakthi of Gopis of vrindavan, all of them left their homes, husband and children and whatever work they were doing and ran to join Lord Krishna. such was their Bhakthi! that should be the quality of Bhakthi in our hearts too, to be ever ready to drop the samsaara and join the Lord! nothing on this earth should be binding us at any point of time. let the concern be there but not attachment. even concern need not be there as we need to trust Him totally as the Caretaker of all!
Acharya again stressed the importance of “praanaayaama”, the technique of breath control, through which one can stabilize the mind. it can stabilize the body too and keep diseases away. hence it is all the more important to regularly perform praanaayaama as one ages and the physical activities become less.
as we practice sincere devotion to Lord, it leads to “ananya bhakthi”, ie, our whole Bhakthi is only towards God and nothing else would occupy our mind. when the Bhakthi ripens, it becomes Jnaana!
June 8, 2012 at 11:00 am
you’re being generous in your praise… 🙂
no one can match the tempo and enthusiasm of the acharya, who is nearing 80! may he enlighten us for many more years!
May 30, 2012 at 9:10 am
The word meaning of Satsangh or satsanga is “association with wise, true or good people”. Sanga means association and Sat means Truth, reality and can be extended to people following the truth, people associated with the reality, people established in the reality etc.
Satsanga means any activity which leads the seeker towards the ultimate reality of God whether it be just chanting of a name or learning the scriptures. Any work which when done leads to the reality is Satsanga alone. There are always two things a seeker needs to do in the spiritual path. One is anukoola sevanam – doing actions or activities which will give progress in the spiritual path. Second is Prathikoola nivartanam – removal of things which will lead one far away from the reality. These two are very important for a seeker & a seeker should always keep in mind these two things & should progress in the spiritual path. There are some things which are always obstructions to the spiritual path (for any seeker). These include the very famous dual material of Kaamini (women) and Kanchana (wealth). These are two very great passions which attack the seeker and thereby obstruct his spiritual progress. Thus a seeker should always remember that WOMEN or the physical body itself is made of flesh, fat etc. & there is nothing special pleasure in attaining it. Wealth never gives a person eternal happiness as it always is changing. Here wealth is not just money but it includes all sense objects. Sense objects are transitory, always changing and temporary. Hence a seeker can never get eternal and ever-lasting bliss out of it. Instead the seeker should always try to be content with what he has and instead of going after the illusory women and wealth, he should seek the ultimate reality of God which is permanent and eternal. The path or the means through which a seeker seeks the ultimate reality of God comes under satsanga.
Satsanga in its fullest meaning is ASSOCIATION with the REALITY of God. This is possible only for realized beings who are always established in the ultimate reality of God. For seekers, they are not yet established in the reality of God, hence satsanga is the various means through which the seeker tries to fix his mind on God.
Bhajans, pooja, chanting, discussing about God, reading spiritual books, hearing discourses-lectures, attending spiritual yajnas and classes all these come under Satsanga. All these are external Satsanga – the pressure and outcome being from the external world. The real Satsanga is fixing of the mind on the ultimate reality of God. All these external activities are meant for fixing the mind on God. If these do not lead to fixing of the mind on God, then these cease to be Satsanga instead they become mere mechanical activity which will not give any spiritual output.
Thus through all these activities, the real Satsanga of constant remembrance of the ultimate reality of God is what is to be achieved. If a person is able to constantly dwell on the ultimate reality of God, then even though he doesn’t perform any of these activities, even though he doesn’t go to any saint or avatar, still he is completely in Satsanga only.
Whatever is being discussed through mails, whatever about God is being discussed through the daily postings, through interaction etc. are all activities which help in fixing the mind on God. When the mail is being read, at least the mind will be fixed on God. Yes, the world that we are living in is a tough place indeed for fixing the mind on God. There are temptations in each and every direction. There are temptations each minute in the life of the seeker. But we have to remember that even Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan. Hence, these will always be there for the spiritual aspirant. If a person has to attain the ultimate reality of God, then he has to undergo tough times. Everyone is willing to stand in hot sun and in long queue in the hospital or outside theatres but when it comes to God, there is no time!!! J Isn’t this impartiality towards God??? A seeker has to constantly remember that God doesn’t require devotion as he is perfect and complete. But devotion, surrender, satsanga all these are for the welfare of the seeker alone. These purify the mind of the seeker wherein he becomes eligible to realize the ultimate reality of God who resides in his very heart as his own very nature of Consciousness and Bliss absolute.
Thus it rests on the seeker as to whether he wants the illusory things in the world (which seem to give happiness in the beginning but will give sorrow alone in the long run) or the eternal ultimate reality of God knowing which there remains nothing to be known, realizing which one rejoices in the eternal bliss which is the very nature of God.
This is the reason why Sri Krishna beautifully says in Gita Chapter 7 3rd Sloka
Manushyaanaam sahasreshu kaschit yathathi siddhaye
Yatataam api siddhaanaam kaschit maam vetthi tattvatah
Out of thousands of people, only a few (Kaschit means very few) strive for perfection (to realize the ultimate reality of God). Out of such striving people, very few really know Me (the ultimate reality of God) in essence (as their own very nature of Consciousness).
Thus, the path of spirituality is not very easy. The objects in the world are very tempting indeed and the sense organs along with the mind is always looking for a moment of lack of concentration from the seeker’s part so that it may run behind the sensual pleasures. Thus, it is very tough indeed to constantly remember the ultimate reality of God and be focused on it at all points of time. Therefore, the simple way of Satsanga is put forth to the seeker. IF a person meets a spiritual person, the spiritual person will talk about God – thus the mind will automatically be dwelling on God. Similarly when there is bhajan or chanting, automatically the mind will be fixed on God (whether one likes or not). The biggest and most advantageous of the various forms of Satsanga is that in which the seeker associates himself with Mahatmas or realized saints. Realized saints are people who have realized the ultimate reality of God – thus their very presence & surrounding emanates with vibration of God. In such a vibration, a seeker has no choice but to dwell on the ultimate reality of God.
Thus, a seeker has to make sure that atleast some part of a day (24 hours) he spends time of Satsanga. This alone can make his conviction and contemplation on the ultimate reality of God stronger so that he realizes the ultimate reality in this very birth itself (instead of entering into the vicious circle of birth and death).
What happens through Satsanga (the various activities that help a seeker to progress in the path of spirituality)?
Sankaracharya explains this clearly, crisply and beautifully in Bhaja Govindam
Satsangatve nissangatvam
Nissangatve nirmohatvam
Nirmohatve nishchalatattvam
Nishchalatattve jeevan mukthi
Satsanga leads to disassociation with the things in the world. Dis-association with the sense objects leads to removal of delusion (delusion that the world is real and it will give eternal bliss). Removal of delusion leads to removal or stilling of all thoughts in the mind. When there are no thoughts in the mind, then the seeker always stays or resides in the ultimate reality of God or Self. This is termed as jeevanmukthi wherein the seeker rejoices, rejoices and rejoices alone. He is not at all affected by the activities in the world but is always happy and content with whatever is there in the world as he doesn’t see anything other than the ultimate reality of God.
When association with good is there, then disassociation with the things in the world happens. Slowly the seeker gets established in the Self alone & the association with the worldly objects is completely stopped. When there is no association with the worldly objects, then the seeker is not deluded into the sense objects. Only when there is thought or association with the worldly objects can they delude the seeker which would make him seek them earnestly thinking that they are real and will bestow eternal bliss. When there is no delusion, there are no thoughts & the mind becomes still. Here stilling doesn’t mean the state of voidness but stilling due to the mind being established in the ultimate reality of God. When the mind is stilled & the seeker merges into the ultimate reality of God or Self, then there is nothing but God alone. This state of non-dual bliss and contentment is stated as jeevan mukthi. Such a person is realized even while living in the body (he never lives in the body but he is seen as living in the body by the ignorant seeker). Thus, he doesn’t have any grudge, any desire, any delusion, any lust but just has bliss and peace alone.
Not only that he is blissful, but those who go near him or seek him also will be able to get that bliss & realize the ultimate reality of Brahman or God. This realization is the final goal of life & thus it is achieved through Satsanga.
Courtesy: srimad bhagavatham
June 6, 2012 at 6:06 pm
very neat compilation of matter on ‘satsangha’! i appreciate your work, Bellur.
June 8, 2012 at 10:56 am
thanks aunty! 🙂
May 30, 2012 at 2:08 pm
When the lord comes and calls us to his abode, we must be ever prepared to leave everything and resume our journey immediately. We must not delay or think for even minute when he calls us – we must not tell him we need to bring milk, we must pay the water bill, we need to feed the kid…WE MUST LEAVE THEN & THERE!
The acharya asked us how prepared are we: Most people among the audience lifted their hands.
May 31, 2012 at 9:48 am
DAY 10: The last two days of the discourse is etched in our memories, so much so that some of the Acharya’s disciples, who have been with the Acharya for a few years, said that the discourse was at its peak on these two days, like none other!
‘Viraha’ bhaava has engulfed us from the time the discourse gradually came to an end, which for most of its part, was about Krishna’s final moments before going back to Vaikunta.
Lord Krishna said to Uddhava: Having achieved this human form of life, which affords one the opportunity to realize Me, and being situated in My devotional service, one can achieve Me, the reservoir of all pleasure and the Supreme Soul of all existence, residing within the heart of every living being.
Vairagya, renunciation, means giving up everything that has no relation with the Absolute Truth. Saintly devotees and demigods are enthused by the nectar of the Lord’s spiritual pastimes, which are the essence of all Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge elaborately negates the ultimate reality of material things by emphasizing their temporary, fleeting existence. The ultimate goal is vastu, the factual substance, which is advitiyam, one without a second. That unique Absolute Truth is a transcendental person far beyond the mundane categories and characteristics of personality found in our pale material world. Thus the ultimate goal of Srimad-Bhagavatam is to train the sincere reader in love of Godhead. Lord Krishna is supremely lovable because of His eternal, transcendental qualities. The beauty of this world is a dim reflection of the unlimited beauty of the Lord. Without compromise, Srimad-Bhagavatam persistently declares the glories of the Absolute Truth and is therefore the supreme spiritual literature, awarding a full taste of the nectar of love of Krishna in full Krishna consciousness.
Uddhava said: My dear Lord Acyuta, I fear that the method of yoga described by You is very difficult for one who cannot control his mind. Therefore please explain to me in simple terms how someone can more easily execute it.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Yes, I shall describe to you the principles of devotion to Me, by executing which a mortal human being will conquer unconquerable death.
Always remembering Me, one should perform all his duties for Me without becoming impetuous. With mind and intelligence offered to Me, one should fix his mind in attraction to My devotional service.
He who loudly recites this supreme knowledge, which is the most lucid and purifying, becomes purified day by day, for he reveals Me to others with the lamp of transcendental knowledge.
Uddhava said: O unborn, primeval Lord, although I had fallen into the great darkness of illusion, my ignorance has now been dispelled by Your merciful association. Indeed, how can cold, darkness and fear exert their power over one who has approached the brilliant sun?
Obeisances unto You, O greatest of yogīs. Please instruct me, who am surrendered unto You, how I may have undeviating attachment to Your lotus feet.
The Supreme Personality of God said: My dear Uddhava, take My order and go to My āśrama called Badarikā. Purify yourself by both touching and also bathing in the holy waters there, which have emanated from My lotus feet. Rid yourself of all sinful reactions with the sight of the sacred Alakanandā River. Dress yourself in bark and eat whatever is naturally available in the forest. Thus you should remain content and free from desire, tolerant of all dualities, good-natured, self-controlled, peaceful and endowed with transcendental knowledge and realization. With fixed attention, meditate constantly upon these instructions I have imparted to you and assimilate their essence. Fix your words and thoughts upon Me, and always endeavor to increase your realization of My transcendental qualities. In this way you will cross beyond the destinations of the three modes of nature and finally come back to Me.
Thus addressed by Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose intelligence destroys all the suffering of material life, Śrī Uddhava circumambulated the Lord and then fell down, placing his head upon the Lord’s feet. Although Uddhava was free from the influence of all material dualities, his heart was breaking, and at this time of departure he drenched the Lord’s lotus feet with his tears.
Greatly fearing separation from Him for whom he felt such indestructible affection, Uddhava was distraught, and he could not give up the Lord’s company. Finally, feeling great pain, he bowed down to the Lord again and again, placed the slippers of his master upon his head, and departed.
Thereupon, placing the Lord deeply within his heart, the great devotee Uddhava went to Badarikāśrama. By engaging there in austerities, he attained to the Lord’s personal abode, which had been described to him by the only friend of the universe, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.
The violent anger of the Yadu warriors, who were overcome by the brāhmaṇas’ curse and bewildered by Lord Kṛṣṇa’s illusory potency, now led them to their annihilation, just as a fire that starts in a bamboo grove destroys the entire forest.
When all the members of His own dynasty were thus destroyed, Lord Krishna thought to Himself that at last the burden of the earth had been removed.
Lord Balarama then sat down on the shore of the ocean and fixed Himself in meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Merging Himself within Himself, He gave up this mortal world.
Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki, having seen the departure of Lord Balarama, sat on a pippala tree.
The Lord was exhibiting His brilliantly effulgent four-armed form, the radiance of which, just like a smokeless fire, dissipated the darkness in all directions. His complexion was the color of a dark blue cloud and His effulgence the color of molten gold, and His all-auspicious form bore the mark of Śrīvatsa. A beautiful smile graced His lotus face, locks of dark blue hair adorned His head, His lotus eyes were very attractive, and His shark-shaped earrings glittered. He wore a pair of silken garments, an ornamental belt, the sacred thread, bracelets and arm ornaments, along with a helmet, the Kaustubha jewel, necklaces, anklets and other royal emblems. Encircling His body were flower garlands and His personal weapons in their embodied forms. As He sat He held His left foot, with its lotus-red sole, upon His right thigh.
Just then a hunter named Jara, who had approached the place, mistook the Lord’s foot for a parrot’s beak. Thinking he had found his prey, Jara pierced the foot with his arrow, which he had fashioned from the remaining iron fragment of Samba’s club.
Then, seeing that four-armed personality, the hunter became terrified of the offense he had committed, and he fell down, placing his head upon the feet of the enemy of the demons.
Jara said: O Lord Madhusudana, I am a most sinful person. I have committed this act out of ignorance. O purest Lord, please forgive this sinner.
The Supreme Personality of God said: My dear Jara, do not fear. Please get up. What has been done is actually My own desire. With My permission, go now to the abode of the pious, the spiritual world.
As soon as Lord Sri Krishna left the earth, Truth, Religion, Faithfulness, Glory and Beauty immediately followed Him. Kettledrums resounded in the heavens and flowers showered from the sky.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the essence of all Vedānta philosophy. One who has felt satisfaction from its nectarean mellow will never be attracted to any other literature.
The all-auspicious exploits of the all-attractive incarnations of Lord Sri Krishṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and also the pastimes He performed as a child, are described in this Srimad-Bhagavatam and in other scriptures. Anyone who clearly chants these descriptions of His pastimes will attain transcendental loving service unto Lord Krishna, who is the goal of all perfect sages.
The felicitation ceremony to the Acharya was a grand finale, after which Prasada was distributed to everyone.
Those of us who attended the series from DAY 1, are surely going to miss , from today, being at the auditorium and listening to the great Sri KS Narayanacharya.
Long live the acharya!
May 31, 2012 at 12:39 pm
the pravachan series was successfully concluded yesterday evening. all the bellur brothers were present. after Acharya’s pravachan, sri BSN gave a short speech appreciating sri Acharya’s pravachan and also about his interest in sanskrit language and scriptures and how he got initiated into these interests. a nice vote of thanks was given by smt nagalakshmi and there was felicitations done to sri Acharya and his wife. our dear rk had specially done a collage of Lord Sri Krishna, comprising of 1008 pics of
Sri Acharya that was appreciated by one and all. every evening rk also sang beautiful daasara padagalu on sri krishna before the arrival of sri Acharya that the audience enjoyed immensely. Prasada bhojanam of delicious Bisibelebhath, sweet Pongal and Mosaranna was distributed to all the devotees in the end.
it is indeed sri Gurugalu’s Grace and Elders’ blessings that the 10-day long programme went off very smoothly without any hitch and devotees lapped up the Bhagavataamruta that Sri Narayanacharya distributed to all on these 10 evenings!
May Lord Srikrishna’s Grace be on all of us and specially on Sri BSD’s family who took the pleasure of arranging this! thank you, sri BSD n Family. the seed of this programme was sown in dear Purandara’s head 12 years ago when he had listened to sri Acharya’s pravachan at sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple at Vyalikaval. we hail Lord srikrishna for nurturing the seed into a plant and then a big tree under which we all sat and listened now! thank you, purandara!
Jai Srikrishna
Lokaa samastaa sukhino bhavantu
sarvam srikrishnaarpanamastu
June 6, 2012 at 6:36 pm
hey RK, the above words were for private circulation among kith n kin that i sent on email! and they are appearing here!! no probs. as long as you feel these words would fit in well here on your blog as concluding words for the 10-day long (short for us) pravachan series, it is ok with me.
congratulations to you on the wonderful coverage of the pravachana series! you have done a commendable job – all by sri Acharya’s and Lord Srikrishna’s Anugraha!
the evenings are seeming dull now……….
jai srikrishna!
sarvam srikrishnaarpanamastu!
June 6, 2012 at 9:48 pm
sorry, aunty…i took the liberty of posting it in this thread as i felt they were apt for the audience here too! 🙂 i am indebted to you for having added value to the discussion here. thank you once again.
god bless us all! krishnam vande jagad gurum!
June 8, 2012 at 10:15 am
JAI SRIKRSNA
Many thanks for blogging Acharya’s pravachanas. I live in Melbourne, Aus. I was a student of his between 1980 – 1983. I had the great fortune of learning from him during that period. I left India soon after and have been living overseas since.
I have been searching for Acharya’s work on internet for many years now, but could find complete works only recently. I was ecstatic when I found full audio pravachanas on Mahabharata and Vishnu Sahasranama. I could not wait to finish listening to them! Your blog on his Srimad Bhagavatham pravachana is excellent. I hope you will publish more of Acharya’s lectures on the internet so that those of us living abroad can benefit as well.
Even after decades, I cannot forget Acharya. He was our favorite. We would eagerly look forward to his lectures! Acharya’s erudition and knowledge is very rare. He is great teacher- a teacher in the true sense – a guru who shows the right path. We all should learn from him as much as we can and inculcate the values he emphasises.
Just a thought…any chances of webcasting his pravachanas? That would be great!
Please keep posting more knowledge from Acharya.
Thanks again,
Nagendra
June 8, 2012 at 10:27 am
dear nagendra
namaste!
great to know that did shishya vrutthi with the acharya! indeed you’re blessed!
felt really nice reading your comment.
acharya’s pravachana are available on CD.
maybe you’ve them. if not, you can buy them on your next visit to bangalore.
i thoroughly enjoyed attending the bhagavatha pravachana maalike. on the first day of the discourse, the acharya said:
a scholar who doesn’t prepare well before giving a lecture, and a listener who doesn’t brush up on what he has heard after the lecture, both are useless.
that is waht inspired me to write this post. i am immensely thankful to smt.latha vidyaranya for adding valuable points to this post. she is a Special Educator and Counsellor and has founded ‘Empower Counselling Centre’ in Malleswaram, Bangalore. actually, it was she who informed me about this lecture! god bless her!
sarve janaah sukhino bhavanthu!
regards
bellur ramki
June 8, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Dear Ramki,
Namaskara
You have been a great student! Between Smt. Latha and yourself, you both have done a great job of reproducing the lectures.
Somewhere above I noted Acharya plans to give a month long lecture in April 2013. Where is this place? Bengaluru or Mysore? Please keep me posted on this one. I will plan to attend this one. Hope I can make it. It will be a great holiday for me, listening to Shrimad Bhagavatam from Acharya!
Haribol!
Nagendra.
June 8, 2012 at 3:14 pm
dear nagendra,
thanks for your kind words.
acharya’s month long discourse on ‘srimad bhagavatha’ is tentatively being planned in april 2013 at hymamshu jyothi kala peetha (popular school in malleswaram).
on getting the exact dates, will surely inform you.
will be a memorable holiday for you!
regards
rk
August 7, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Please let me know where we can get audio CDs of Sri Narayanaacharya
August 7, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Dear Lavanya,
CD-DVD list of a few of Sri KS Narayanacharya’s lectures:
1.Indina Jeevanada mele Mahabharathada Belaku – 1 to 3
2.Srimad Bhagavadgita Gudartha Visheshagalu – 1 to 4
3.Srimad Ramayanada Rasya Rahasyagalu – 1 to 7
4.Veda Samskruthi Parichaya
5.Srimad Valmiki Ramayana Pravachana Maale (Lectures series in Gokarna)
6.Mahabharatha Pravachana – 1 to 7 CD/ 1 DVD (Lectures series in Sri Venugopala Krishnaswamy Devasthana, Malleswaram)
7.Daya Shathakam (Lectures series in Sri Venugopala Krishnaswamy Devasthana, Malleswaram)
***
Also, here is the list of few books authored by Sri KS Narayanacharya:
1.Sri Ramayana Paatra Prapancha
2.Sri Mahabharatha Paatra Prapancha
3.Sri Ramanuja, Melukote and Srivaishnavism
4.Rashtriya Chintanegalu matthu Paramarshegalu
5.Insights into the Taittareeya Upanishad
6.Semetic Challenges
7.Dashavatara
8.Fundamentalism vs Hinduism
9.Aa 18 Dinagalu
10.Sri Ramayanada Mahaprasangagalu
11.Chanakya
12.Sri Mahabharatha Kaala Nirnaya
13.Relevance of Kautilya for Today
14.Sri Aurobindo: Secularist? Or Nationalist?
15.Uddhava Gita
16.Samaja matthu Aadhyathmikarana
17.Sri Krishnavatara (Purvardha matthu Uttarardha)
18.Hindu Society and the Dynamics of Spiritual Evolution
19.Tiruppavai (Ghantanada Vyakhyana)
20.TS Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’: Kavanadalli Bharathiya Tattva Shastra Prabhava
21.Bharatha, Islam matthu Gandhi
22.Draupadi-Satyabhama Samvada Swarasya
23.Bharathiya Itihasa Puranagalu
24.Sri Krishna matthu Mahabharatha Yuddha
25.Kunthi Sthuthi
26.Agastya
27.Sri Krishnavatarada Koneya Ghaligegalu
28.Veda Samskruthi Parichaya
29.Sri Ramayana Sahasri – 1 to 5
30.Sri Gitartha Ratnanidhi
31.Srimad Ramayanada Mahavakyagalu
32.Tat Tvam Asi & Neti Neti
33.Visistadvaitha
34.Nala Damayanthi
35.Tiruvaimozhi (Bakula Parimala Vyakhyana) – 1 & 2
36.Mahamathe Kunthi Kanderedaga
37.Sri Lakshmi Soumya Keshavaswamy
38.Sri Vyasa Sukti Sudha
39.Tiruppavai (Subhodhini Sahita)
40.Gopika Gitam
41.Bendre Kavyadalli Aadhyatma Nele matthu Aarshadrishti
42.Those 18 days – 1 & 2
***
Sri KS Narayanacharya’s books are available at:
Sahitya Bhandara (Bangalore):
Jangamamestri Galli, Balepet, Bangalore 560053.
Tel: 080-22877618
Mobile: 9449695586
Sahitya Bhandara (Hubli):
Contact Sri Subramanya
Tel: 0836-2367676
CDs and DVDs of the lectures available at the following addresses:
Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs
Bull Temple Road, Narasimharaja Colony
Bangalore – 560019
Phone: 080-26613148
KS Badarinath
27, Srushti Dhama Apartments
5th cross, AECS layout
Sanjaynagar
Bangalore 560094
Mob: 9448000202