Lessons from Gajendra's pastime

False shelters are namesake, only Krishna is the ultimate protector and shelter:
Gajendra was the King of elephants and he enjoyed high influence over other animals, prestige, recreation and 5 Star enjoyment ( in the beautiful lake with his many wives), he was hardworking (sparying water on his wives and children) and also responsible as he maintained his large family. However inspite of such enjoyment and status when calamity struck none of his assets above could do anything to protect him.

Sukadeva Goswami narrates in SB 8.2.28:"Thereafter, seeing Gajendra in that grave condition, his wives felt very, very sorry and began to cry. The other elephants wanted to help Gajendra, but because of the crocodile's great strength, they could not rescue him by grasping him from behind"

None of the false shelters that give us a sense of security during the course of our life can do anything for us in our times of difficulties and also in our advancement in spiritual life. What are the false shelters: money, relationships, high education, position, etc. Only Lord Krishna's mercy can help us and is of true benefit. In Gajendra's case his false shelters could not help him, neither his own strength as he tried fighting on his own for 1000 years.Only when he remembered his past life and surrendered to the Lord that he was saved from the greatest calamity.

The false shelters are temporary. However I still find solace in these false shelters and derive my confidence from those and not from the surety of Krsna's protection. This is strong bodily identification. I Pray to Krishna that He situates me in the position of the spiritual identity of servant of the servant- only then will I be able to take shelter of Krishna only and none of these false shelters.

He desires full relase from material life and the present danger

Maya will attack us where we are the weakest: Gajendra was pulled into the water and he became drained of all his energy fighting in the water as he was not an animal of water.

SB 8.2.30: Thereafter, because of being pulled into the water and fighting for many long years, the elephant became diminished in his mental, physical and sensual strength. The crocodile, on the contrary, being an animal of the water, increased in enthusiasm, physical strength and sensual power.

Similarly Maya will lure us by attacking our weaknesses - we may have a weakness for power or fame. We might be doing our devotional service only for that purpose and not for pleasing Krishna. Maya will give us a service which satifies such weaknesses and gradually we will be blinded and fall down. So how can we become strong- there are so many areas we are weak?

Srila Prabhupada states in the purport to this verse "The soldiers in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of varṇāśrama — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa." By serving in the normal condition of life our weaknesses will also be dovetailed in Krishna's service and will eventaully become purified. By chanting Hare Krishna all the cleansing will happen. So we must chant sincerely and beg to Krishna for strength.

Sincere rigourous practice is very important:
Like Gajendra we may have all the material facilities and enjoyments and also some major troubles going on in our life. Gajendra atleast came to the understanding that You are the only shelter and he offered such beaitiful prayers to You. However I find that during miseries I am spending my energy only to counteract them. I only briefly realize that You are the Supreme controller and I am powerless and You are the only shelter. However I am mostly on the side of trying to control the situation adn not accept it as Your mercy upon me. I become callous towards You again. Please save me Oh Krishna. Gajendera offered such beautiful prayers even when he was in so much pain with his leg in the mouth of the crocodile and the struggle for 1000 years. Yet he offered such eloquent prayers to the lord. This was the result of very sincere and concentrated practice which pleased the Lord and the Lord reminded him of the prayers he had learned in His past life as we see in

SB 8.3.1: Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.

Because of the gratitude King Indradyumna had in recieving Agastya Muni's curse he got the rememberance of his past devotional activity by the grace of Krishna.Please bless me Oh Lord that some sincerity develops in my heart towards wanting to be with You. I am caught on and attracted to the false shelters and think they will carry me through. Please help me understand that You are the only true object of all affection and service and You are the only protector and benefactor. Please help me surrender to You.

Please bless me so that I can diligently carry out devotional service unto You very mindfully and attentively so that when I am bewilidered by the turn of events, You will remind  me all the lessons I learned in bhakti.

Lord is the Supreme Benefactor and Supremely merciful:
In his prayers Gajendra offered wonderful prayers recognizing You as the Supreme Father(8.3.13), Supreme Director(8.3.14), supreme Cause(8.3.15),Supreme revealer of Knowledge(8.3.16) and supremely Merciful(8.3.17). He also said that he was covered by ignorance in an elephant's body and was attracted to material enjoyment.  Oh Krishna I am also covered by ignorance and I am attracted to material enjoyment.
Its amazing even before we offer our prayers You incessantly try to deliver us :
SB 8.3.17: .. Indeed, being extremely merciful, You incessantly try to deliver me. ... but I am unfortunate as I dont follow Your instructions and hear Your message because I am covered by the modes SB 8.3.16 : My Lord, as the fire in araṇi wood is covered, You and Your unlimited knowledge are covered by the material modes of nature. Your mind, however, is not attentive to the activities of the modes of nature. Those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge are not subject to the regulative principles directed in the Vedic literatures. Because such advanced souls are transcendental, You personally appear in their pure minds. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Please remove this covering so that I can hear Your instructions and desire to be with You.
Thus Gajendra very humbly accepted his condition : I am covered, I have material qualities but I am sure of your protection because you are always trying to protect us abut because we are covered we do not hear.
Only when one surrenders can one feel the Lord's protection.


Please protect me:

Gajendra says SB 8.3.20-21: Unalloyed devotees, who have no desire other than to serve the Lord, worship Him in full surrender and always hear and chant about His activities, which are most wonderful and auspicious. Thus they always merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. Such devotees never ask the Lord for any benediction. I, however, am in danger. Thus I pray to that Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is eternally existing, who is invisible, who is the Lord of all great personalities, such as Brahmā, and who is available only by transcendental bhakti-yoga. Being extremely subtle, He is beyond the reach of my senses and transcendental to all external realization. He is unlimited, He is the original cause, and He is completely full in everything. I offer my obeisances unto Him.


Srila Prabhupada states in the purport:"Unalloyed devotees have nothing to ask from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Gajendra, the King of the elephants, was circumstantially asking for an immediate benediction because he had no other way to be rescued. Sometimes, when there is no alternative, a pure devotee, being fully dependent on the mercy of the Supreme Lord, prays for some benediction. But in such a prayer there is also regret. "

No Lamentation:
When in difficulty the devotees are not lamenting e.g Draupadi, Gajendra, Kunti devi rather the are beautifully glorifying the Lord and His energies and are offering themselves humbly for the Lord's shelter

When the Lord came to save him , Gajendra inspite of his pain was welcoming the Lord by saying :"O my Lord, Nārāyaṇa, master of the universe, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You." He wasnt comsumed in the thought of how his misery would go away but rather he was very happy to see the Lord. By offering the flower he is actually saying "I am yours" inspite of any condition I am in , I am yours.

Result of touching the Supreme Lord

SB 8.4.6:
gajendro bhagavat-sparśād
vimukto 'jñāna-bandhanāt
prāpto bhagavato rūpaḿ
pīta-vāsāś catur-bhujaḥ

Because Gajendra, King of the elephants, had been touched directly by the hands of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he was immediately freed of all material ignorance and bondage. Thus he received the salvation of sārūpya-mukti, in which he achieved the same bodily features as the Lord, being dressed in yellow garments and possessing four hands.

Purport: If one is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead by having his gross body touched by the Lord, his body turns into a spiritual body, and he can go back home, back to Godhead. Gajendra assumed a spiritual body when his body was touched by the Lord. Similarly, Dhruva Mahārāja assumed his spiritual body in this way. Arcanā-paddhati, daily worship of the Deity, provides an opportunity to touch the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus it enables one to be fortunate enough to get a spiritual body and go back to Godhead. Not only by touching the body of the Supreme Lord, but simply by hearing about His pastimes, chanting His glories, touching His feet and offering worship — in other words, by serving the Lord somehow or other — one is purified of material contamination. This is the result of touching the Supreme Lord. One who is a pure devotee (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]), who acts according to the śāstra and the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, certainly becomes purified. Like Gajendra, he assumes a spiritual body and returns home, back to Godhead.

Spiritual master helps us regain our spiritual identity

SB 7.15.43-44: In the conditioned stage, one's conceptions of life are sometimes polluted by passion and ignorance, which are exhibited by attachment, hostility, greed, lamentation, illusion, fear, madness, false prestige, insults, fault-finding, deception, envy, intolerance, passion, bewilderment, hunger and sleep. All of these are enemies. Sometimes one's conceptions are also polluted by goodness.
SB 7.15.45: As long as one has to accept a material body, with its different parts and paraphernalia, which are not fully under one's control, one must have the lotus feet of his superiors, namely his spiritual master and the spiritual master's predecessors. By their mercy, one can sharpen the sword of knowledge, and with the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's mercy one must then conquer the enemies mentioned above. In this way, the devotee should be able to merge into his own transcendental bliss, and then he may give up his body and resume his spiritual identity.
SB 7.15.46: Otherwise, if one does not take shelter of Acyuta and Baladeva, then the senses, acting as the horses, and the intelligence, acting as the driver, both being prone to material contamination, inattentively bring the body, which acts as the chariot, to the path of sense gratification. When one is thus attracted again by the rogues of viṣaya — eating, sleeping and mating — the horses and chariot driver are thrown into the blinding dark well of material existence, and one is again put into a dangerous and extremely fearful situation of repeated birth and death

The format for grhastha life should be dedication to the Lord

In the chapters 11,12 and 13 of the 7 th canto Narada Muni explains the duties and activities of Brahmacaris, Vanaprasthas, Sannyasis and women. All the three varnas mentioned are very important to achieve the goal of life.Also Narada Muni wanted to stress that sex life was not at all necessary and if one so desires it he can go enter grhastha ashram.
Yudhisthira Maharaj inquires for our benefit on what should the activities of a person in grhastha ashram be. How can one in the grhastha ashram without any knowledge of the goal of life attain liberation according to the instructions of the Vedas.The asrama is very difficult and offers many diversions , how can one in such an ashram also attain the success of life.

In this post the instructions given by Narada Muni in answer to the above question are presented:

• Work to earn the livelihood but offer the results to Krishna and satisfy Him
  

Srila Prabhupada states in 7.14.2 "The format of Grhastha life should be dedication to the Supreme Personality of Godhead". One must act only to satisfy the Lord.One must live a very simple life

• Through Association one learns the science of satisfying the Lord:

In 7.14.2 "saksad upasita maha-munim" - How to satisfy Vasudeva in this life can be perfectly understood through the association of great devotees of the Lord.
maha-muni refers to those who have not only studied the goal of life but who are actually engaged in satisfying the Lord.These persons are known as devotees. Unless one associates with devotees, one cannot learn the science of "vasudevarpana" -dedicating ones life to the Supreme.

• What is the recommended way of association: Hearing from saintly persons

In 7.14.3-4 Narada Muni says: "A gṛhastha must associate again and again with saintly persons, and with great respect he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations as these activities are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Purāṇas. Thus one should gradually become detached from affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream."
By hearing from great souls on topics of SB and BG one gets purified of their sinful inclination.
One should hear repeatedly - again and again (abhiksanam) because bhagavat-katahare the words spoken by Krishna or about Krsna- thus they are amrtam. The more one drinks this amrtam one advances in his eternal life.
Srila Prabhupada says: "One should work eight hours at the most to earn his livelihood, and either in the afternoon or in the evening a householder should associate with devotees to hear about the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa and His activities and thus be gradually liberated from the clutches of māyā."
After hearing from the great souls one's detachment to material life reduces. Also the relationships within the family become based on a Krsna centric conception rather than the material conception of enjoyment.

• Simplicity(7.14.5-8) : Give up the sense of proprietorship
  

One should live unattached to family affairs even though one may look externally attached like others. Thus household life centered around Krsna may externally look like any other household but in consciousness and principle they are unattached to family affairs and are working on developing attachment towards Krishna.

Those in grhastha life should work enough to keep body and soul together and keep the focus in fulfilling the purpose of life.Even when others may give suggestions, the householder must agree externally but internally he should be fixed in the goal of life and keeping his activities centered around that.

Claim proprietorship to only as much as needed to keep body and soul together. Anyone desiring more than that must be considered as a thief. If there is extra money it should be spent in furthering the Krsna Consciousness movement- building temples, books, etc.

• Non-envious and maintain others (7.14.9 and 7.14.11)
  

Animals like deers , asses, monkeys, mice, snakes etc should be treated exactly like one's own children. They are also innocent. They should be allowed to live peacefully and we should not disturb them. Infact if possible the householder can maintain them by giving them prasad. If he doesnt do that he is envious and does not like it that all other animals also have a claim to God's property.

One should give up the attachment to one's material life and pleasures and should engage in maintaining even dogs, fallen persons, untouchables, etc.

One should give up one's excessive attachment to one's wife - i.e. the idea of ownership towards family must also be abandoned.

• Give up excessive attachment to wife(family members)

We are eternal souls and any material attachments that we have will not be eternal.Only the Supreme Lord is eternal. Thus one must develop a stronger spiritual conception and base the relationships one the spiritual conception. Excessive material attachment towards family members will divert one from services. Instead basing the relationships on devotion to Krsna and thus engaging in service to Krsna is favorable.

Thus "offering even one's wife in reception of guests and people" means offering that material attachment as an oblation in the sacrifice of devotional service.Thus giving up any activities centered around that material relationship.If one does so one can direct one's energies towards devotional service.

The relationship between man and women based on sex is the strongest relationship - if that can be given up one can conquer the Supreme.

• Grhasthas should eat only prasad.
• Respect and worship all living entities:Worship the Supreme Lord everyday by worshiping the demigods, saintly persons, forefathers, other human beings and living entities.
• Offer sacrifices with wealth and knowledge : in this day and age chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra and participating in Lord Caitanya's sankirtan movement with one's wealth and knowledge is the recommendation.
• Service to vaishnavas by serving them nice prasad and distribute prasad to other living entities.
  

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the enjoyer of sacrificial offerings. Yet although His Lordship eats the oblations offered in the fire, my dear King, He is still more satisfied when nice food made of grains and ghee is offered to Him through the mouths of qualified brāhmaṇas.

• Offer oblations to forefathers

Idea is : In one's life shouldnt be restricted to selfishness
If cannot become great devotee, or give up one's life like a brahmacari, sannyasi or vanaprasthi, or live simply - atleast one should minimize one's selfishness by becoming charitable. Charity to be done atleast to one's family members and forefathers if one cannot perform the charity of maintaining other living entities and animals.
By acknowledging that the ceremony we do now will benefit the forefathers who have passed away one develops the consciousness of eternalness of the soul. One's self is benefited by this consciousness. One's heart expands a little bit.In grhastha life - one is usually very self-centered and thinks about his benefit and that of family members. This contracts the heart and makes it heard for giving charity. One develops envy and desires all enjoyment for oneself. The contraction of the heart by which one feels one needs more and more creates greater dissatisfaction and thus UNHAPPINESS.The oblations one performs towards one's forefathers and the charity and non-enviousness exhibited towards other living entities(7.14.9-7.14.11) helps one open their heart a little bit. Thus people gradually become less selfish and more charitable. This helps one give up the sense of proprietorship over all that pervades - it helps one recognize that all entities are God's creation and they have as much right to be maintained as much as oneself. So makes some advancement by this process it is eternal.

• Any place where there is a Vaishnava, or a temple of Lord Krishna ,etc are auspicious places to perform worship and purificatory rituals.
• Lord Krsna is the best person to whom everything must be given - He is the object of all our worship. e.g Rajasuya sacrifice all the assembled sages unanimously decided that Lord Krsna must be the first person to be worshiped.
• One must be respectful to all living entities as the Lord resides as the Supersoul in all of them.
• Deity worship is recommended to overcome envy and develop respectful dealings with everyone. Refer for further explanation:One who worships the deity must be non-envious and Engagement in deity worship encourages respectful dealings between Vaishnavas
  
• Brahmanas are to be considered the best because by practicing austerity, Vedic studies and satisfaction he becomes the counterpart body of the Lord.
  

Women's duties

View this label "chaste wife" for other excerpts of Texts and Srila Prabhupada's purports on this topic.

SB 7.11.25: To render service to the husband, to be always favorably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband's relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband — these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste.

SB 7.11.26-27: A chaste woman must dress nicely and decorate herself with golden ornaments for the pleasure of her husband. Always wearing clean and attractive garments, she should sweep and clean the household with water and other liquids so that the entire house is always pure and clean. She should collect the household paraphernalia and keep the house always aromatic with incense and flowers and must be ready to execute the desires of her husband. Being modest and truthful, controlling her senses, and speaking in sweet words, a chaste woman should engage in the service of her husband with love, according to time and circumstances.

SB 7.11.28: A chaste woman should not be greedy, but satisfied in all circumstances. She must be very expert in handling household affairs and should be fully conversant with religious principles. She should speak pleasingly and truthfully and should be very careful and always clean and pure. Thus a chaste woman should engage with affection in the service of a husband who is not fallen.

SB 7.11.29: The woman who engages in the service of her husband, following strictly in the footsteps of the goddess of fortune, surely returns home, back to Godhead, with her devotee husband, and lives very happily in the Vaikuṇṭha planets.

One who worships the deity must be non-envious

7.14.40:
Sometimes a neophyte devotee offers all the paraphernalia for worshiping the Lord, and he factually worships the Lord as the Deity, but because he is envious of the authorized devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, the Lord is never satisfied with his devotional service.

From the purport:
Deity worship is especially meant for purifying the neophyte devotees. Actually, however, preaching is more important. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.69) it is said, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: if one wants to be recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he must preach the glories of the Lord. One who worships the Deity must therefore be extremely respectful to preachers; otherwise simply worshiping the Deity will keep one in the lower stage of devotion.

Engagement in deity worship encourages respectful dealings between Vaishnavas

SB 7.14.39: My dear King, when great sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings at the beginning of Tretā-yuga, Deity worship in the temple was introduced with all paraphernalia.

From Srila Prabhupada's purport:

"A powerful Vaiṣṇava who has converted others into Vaiṣṇavas is to be worshiped, but because of material contamination, sometimes such an exalted Vaiṣṇava is disrespected by other, minor Vaiṣṇavas. When great saintly persons saw this contamination, they introduced worship of the Deity in the temple. This began in Tretā-yuga and was especially prominent in Dvāpara-yuga (dvāpare paricaryāyāḿ). "

"A prākṛta devotee, or neophyte devotee, is still on the material platform. He certainly engages in worshiping the Deity, but he cannot appreciate the activities of a pure devotee. It has actually been seen that even an authorized devotee who is engaged in the service of the Lord by preaching the mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sometimes criticized by neophyte devotees. Such neophytes are described by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura: sarva-prāṇi-sammānanāsamarthānām avajñā spardhādimatāḿ tu bhagavat-pratimaiva pātram ity āha. For those who cannot properly appreciate the activities of authorized devotees, Deity worship is the only way for spiritual advancement. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 7.11) it is clearly said, kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: without being authorized by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot preach the holy name of the Lord throughout the entire world. Nevertheless, a devotee who does so is criticized by neophyte devotees, kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs, who are on the lower stages of devotional service. For them, Deity worship is strongly recommended."

Lord is more pleased with offerings to brahmanas than oblations to Him through the fire

SB 7.14.17: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the enjoyer of sacrificial offerings. Yet although His Lordship eats the oblations offered in the fire, my dear King, He is still more satisfied when nice food made of grains and ghee is offered to Him through the mouths of qualified brāhmaṇas.

SB 4.21.41: Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ananta, eats through the fire sacrifices offered in the names of the different demigods, He does not take as much pleasure in eating through fire as He does in accepting offerings through the mouths of learned sages and devotees, for then He does not leave the association of devotees.

SB 8.16.9:
By worshiping the fire and the brāhmaṇas, a householder can achieve the desired goal of residing in the higher planets, for the sacrificial fire and the brāhmaṇas are to be considered the mouth of Lord Viṣṇu, who is the Supersoul of all the demigods

SB 5.5.23
O respectful brāhmaṇas, as far as I am concerned, no one is equal or superior to the brāhmaṇas in this world. I do not find anyone comparable to them. When people know My motive, after performing rituals according to the Vedic principles they offer food to Me with faith and love through the mouth of a brāhmaṇa. When food is thus offered unto Me, I eat it with full satisfaction. Indeed, I derive more pleasure from food offered in that way than from the food offered in the sacrificial fire.

Following the spiritual master at all times

In the purport to SB 7.12.11 Srila Prabhupada states:

In spiritual life, one must conduct one's whole life under the guidance of the guru. Only one who executes his spiritual life under the direction of the spiritual master can achieve the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. If one desires to advance in spiritual life but he acts whimsically, not following the orders of the spiritual master, he has no shelter. Yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi.

Prahlada Maharaj Pacifies the Lord with prayers

7.9.1-7.9.4: Prahlada Maharaj is unafraid of Narsimha Dev's form

7.9.5: Narsimha Dev is very pleased to see Prahlada and He places His hand on Prahalada Maharaj's head. "the Lord placed His lotus hand upon the boy's head because His hand is always ready to create fearlessness in all of His devotees"
The only means to become fearless is Krsna Consciousness. The devotee's hope of becoming fearless is to chant the Holy Name of the Lord Narsimha deva.

7.9.9-7.9.12 Offering prayers to the Lord is beneficial to the devotee.

7.9.9-10 - No amount of material qualities and Brahminical qualifications please the Lord. The Lord is pleased by sincere devotional service.

7.9.10-7.9.11 The Lord is completely full and self-satisfied. - he does need service from anyone. Whatever service we offer is for our benefit.Thus, whatever our position we must offer prayers and service with full endeavor as much as our intelligence allows. This will purify us and remove us from material life. Even if Prahlada Maharaj was born in a demoniac family - since the Lord is pleased by only devotion and nothing else being born in a demoniac family did not become his disqualification.

Connecting the threads from 7.9.9-10 and 7.9.10-11 - the Lord is pleased if we make the endeavor of offering glorification and service to Him, even if he does not need it. He is pleased because by doing so we get purified and free from material life. Lord Narsimha Dev ki jai - the Lord's reason for pleasure is amazing.This is unconditional love.

7.9.15-7.9.16 Prahlada Maharaj is not fearful of the form of the Lord as he has the realization that shelter of the Lord's Lotus feet are the ultimate goal for liberation from conditional life.

7.9.17-21 No remedy to get out of material anxiety is complete and full proof except for the remedy of engaging in the Lord's service
Remedies are temporary and impermanent.
How can anyone get out of Maya(Krishna's energy without taking shelter of Krishna

7.9.22-25 I want only Your shelter and the association of devotees. I dont want to go to the higher planets nor desire any material pleasures. My father acheived everything but he was vanquished by you in a moment. Those pleasures are thus temporary and You are most powerful and can destroy them through Your energy of time. I dont want anything except for Your shelter and the association and service of your pure devotee.
There is no happiness in this material world.

7.9.26-7.9.29Service to pure devotee must be done before aspiring for personal service of the Lord. You reciprocate as per the devotee's service attitude. As for me I recd your mercy even if I was born in a demoniac family because of the connection with Narada Muni who is Your pure devotee.Thus please bless me that I can serve him(7.9.24)

7.9.30- You act to prove true the words of Your devotee.
Lord saved Prahlada to fulfill the promise in BG(my devotee never perishes - na me bhaktya pranasyati.Also to fulfill Narada Muni's promise to Kayadhu that Prahlada would always be saved from the enemy's hands.

7.9.39-42 Mind is polluted with desires, thus it is not satisfied with topics concerning You.How will I then be able to discuss Your activities.My senses are also extremely agitated. You are stading on the otehr side of this river of death. Only by Your mercy it is possible that we can be delivered. Therefore please look upon not only on me but also on others who are suffering.

7.9.43-44 Extent of Prahlada Maharaj's compassion
I am not afraid of material existence because I am absorbed in Your glories and activities. I am concerend of the others who are completely involved in material existence.I do not wish to be liberated alone like other saintly persons who go to the Himalayas.Without Your shelter one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to the suffering souls back to the shelter of Your Lotus feet.

7.9.45: Pleasure in sex life is like the pleasure in relieving an itch.It is the greatest form of distress.Those who can tolerate this itch are not subjected to the suffering of those who cannot.

7.950:Therefore, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, the best of all persons to whom prayers are offered, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because without rendering six kinds of devotional service unto You — offering prayers, dedicating all the results of activities, worshiping You, working on Your behalf, always remembering Your lotus feet and hearing about Your glories — who can achieve that which is meant for the paramahaḿsas?

Serving Vaishnavas gives freedom from material contamination

SB 7.5.32
Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.

Vaikuntha Consciousness - everyone is a friend

We think of someone in terms of friend or enemies when we are situated in duality - when we are worried about losing something to someone we consider that person our enemy and when we feel we are gaining something from someone we consider them are friends. Because we are in the material conception of life our relationships are also based on the material conception we carry.

However a spiritually elevated person does not make this distinction - for him everyone is a friend and he is a well-wisher of everyone. He sees everyone as a servant of Krishna and a part and parcel of Krishna. Because he is situated in the spiritual conception , he is not disturbed by duality, he is satisfied in executing devotional service to the lord. Because he desires only service and desires that all living entities experience the taste of devotional service to the Lord he considers everyone his friend.

Prahlada Maharaj clarifies this in SB 7.5.12:

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with the living entity because of his devotional service, one becomes a paṇḍita and does not make distinctions between enemies, friends and himself. Intelligently, he then thinks, "Every one of us is an eternal servant of God, and therefore we are not different from one another."

So the neither is the Lord an enemy of anyone and neither is His sincere devotee.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu states "jivera ssvarupa haya- krsnera nitya dasa" - the eternal nature of a living entity is to be a servant of Krsna. Srila Prabhupada elaborates in this regard "As servants of the Lord, we are one, and there can be no questions of enmity or friendship. If one actually understands that every one of us is a servant of the Lord, where is the question of enemy or friend?"

Since the servants of the Lord desire only that the Lord be served and glorified in the best possible way how can there be any question of animosity or envy?
Animosity would come in if the servants were also looking for some satisfaction to their ego - but when Krishna is the center and all servants think about how best He can be served then there is no question of enmity.

I also heard in a class by HH Radhanath Maharaj that Prahlada Maharaj considered everyone as his friend because everyone helped him remember Krishna even the demons who were killing him and even his father Krinayaksipu who was envious of him and wanted to kill him. Infact he prayed to Narsimha dev for his fathers liberation.

Srila Prabhupada then wonderfully elaborates the relationship between the servants and their consciousness in service:

"Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another's service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaiṣṇava thinking, Vaikuṇṭha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuṇṭha competition. There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuṇṭha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability."

We see an example of this in the description of Vaikuntha in SB 3.15.18-19

"Although flowering plants like the mandāra, kunda, kurabaka, utpala, campaka, arṇa, punnāga, nāgakeśara, bakula, lily and pārijāta are full of transcendental fragrance, they are still conscious of the austerities performed by tulasī, for tulasī is given special preference by the Lord, who garlands Himself with tulasī leaves."

Srila Prabhupada states in the purport "The most important thing about the spiritual world is that there is no envy among the devotees there. This is true even among the flowers, which are all conscious of the greatness of tulasī."

If this can be developed in our consciousness we will be able to serve Krishna in a much more attentively and enthusiastically and thus glorify Krishna.

Hiranyakasipu ruined due to offenses to Prahlada - a mahabhagavat

SB 7.4.29
When Hiraṇyakaśipu teases the great devotee Prahlāda, his own son, who is peaceful and sober and who has no enemy, I shall kill Hiraṇyakaśipu immediately, despite the benedictions of Brahmā.

Purport:
Of all sinful activities, an offense to a pure devotee, or Vaiṣṇava, is the most severe. An offense at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava is so disastrous that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has compared it to a mad elephant that enters a garden and causes great havoc by uprooting many plants and trees. If one is an offender at the lotus feet of a brāhmaṇa or Vaiṣṇava, his offenses uproot all his auspicious activities. One should therefore very carefully guard against committing vaiṣṇava-aparādha, or offenses at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava. Here the Lord clearly says that although Hiraṇyakaśipu had received benedictions from Lord Brahmā, these benedictions would be null and void as soon as he committed an offense at the lotus feet of Prahlāda Mahārāja, his own son. A Vaiṣṇava like Prahlāda Mahārāja is described herein as nirvaira, having no enemies. Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.25.21) it is said, ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ: a devotee has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime. A devotee does not create enmity with anyone, but if someone becomes his enemy, that person will be vanquished by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, despite whatever benedictions he may have received from other sources. Hiraṇyakaśipu was certainly enjoying the fruitful results of his austerities, but here the Lord says that as soon as he committed an offense at the lotus feet of Prahlāda Mahārāja he would be ruined. One's longevity, opulence, beauty, education and whatever else one may possess as a result of pious activities cannot protect one if one commits an offense at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava. Despite whatever one possesses, if one offends the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava he will be vanquished.

Purport to SB 7.4.45:
When a demon like Hiraṇyakaśipu, despite his elevated position due to severe austerities, begins to tease a devotee, he begins falling down, and the results of his austerities dwindle. One who oppresses a pure devotee loses all the results of his austerities, penances and pious activities. Since Hiraṇyakaśipu was now inclined to chastise his most exalted devotee son, Prahlāda Mahārāja, his opulences began dwindling.

The Lord is impartial : we can understand that if we are not envious

In SB 7.1.1 King Pariksit asks Suta Goswami as to why the Lord became partial towards Indra and helped him kill his enemies(Hiranyaksa, Hiranyakasipu, Vrtrasura, etc). Since the Lord says that He is suhrda-sarva-bhutanam [Bg. 5.29], the well-wisher of all living entities, how could He act with partiality by killing demons?

To this Sukadeva Goswami replies (from purport to 7.1.8)"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not partial to anyone. Everyone works under the influence of various modes of material nature, and when the various modes are prominent, the demigods or demons appear victorious under the influence of these modes." Also because we are covered we cannot fathom the activities of the Lord and consider Him to be partial.

And then Sukadeva Goswami finally says in SB7.1.9 "The all-pervading Personality of Godhead exists within the heart of every living being, and an expert thinker can perceive how He is present there to a large or small extent. Just as one can understand the supply of fire in wood, the water in a waterpot, or the sky within a pot, one can understand whether a living entity is a demon or a demigod by understanding that living entity's devotional performances. A thoughtful man can understand how much a person is favored by the Supreme Lord by seeing his actions."

The essence is the Lord is not partial, He is equally available to everyone.His favor on us depends on our receptivity. As Srila Prabhupada explains this very nicely in his purport : "A teacher instructs the student if the student is capable of taking more and more instructions. Otherwise, in spite of being instructed by the teacher, the student cannot make strides in his understanding. This has nothing to do with partiality. When Krsna says tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam/ dadami buddhi-yogam tam, this indicates that Krsna is prepared to give bhakti-yoga to everyone, but one must be capable of receiving it. That is the secret. Thus when a person exhibits wonderful devotional activities, a thoughtful man understands that Krsna has been more favorable to this devotee.

Non-Enviousness
Thus devotees must be non-envious and must understand that Krsna has bestowed His favor upon a devotee owing to his advanced position and because of that Krsna does not become partial. We must not become envious and try to minimize the devotee's activities.

A Vaishnava should thus be nirmatsara - non envious and must appreciate the service rendered to the Lord by other devotees.

Srila Prabhupada further elaborates with an analogy:

"Krsna is equal to everyone, and according to one's ability to receive the favor of Krsna, one advances in Krsna consciousness. Srila Vishwanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives a practical example in this connection. In the sky there are many luminaries. At night, even in darkness, the moon is extremely brilliant and can be directly perceived. The sun is also extremely brilliant. When covered by clouds, however, these luminaries are not distinctly visible. Similarly, the more one advances in sattva-guna, the more his brilliance is exhibited by devotional service, but the more one is covered by rajo-guna and tamo-guna, the less visible his brilliance, for he is covered by these qualities. The visibility of one's qualities does not depend on the partiality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; it is due to various coverings in different proportions. Thus one can understand how far he has advanced in terms of sattva-guna and how much he is covered by rajo-guna and tamo-guna."

Indra's 3rd offense:Kills a great devotee Vrtrasura and Rsi Dadhici

Vrtrasura was a devotee in the guise of a demon and he was performing his devotional service on the battlefield by fighting with Indra. Vrtrasura the demon was created because of Indra's offense of killing Vishwarupa.To protect himself from the reaction of killing Vishwarupa , Indra had to commit 2 more offenses - asking Rsi Dadhici for his bones to make the thunderbolt(i.e asks Dadhici for his life) and kill a great dvotee like Vrtrasura.

Lessons from 3rd offense:

Offenses are entangling. To protect ourselves from reactions to our offense we commit further offenses and get entangled in the mess. Best is to take a humble position and ask for forgiveness from the Vaishnavas and the Lord and tolerate the reaction instead of trying to counter attack it with further arrangements.

We see that Indra does not learn between these offenses as he is overwhelmed in trying to counteract these offenses.On hearing this story we can see the correlation between his offenses and the reaction and may wonder why Indra does not humbly accept the situation and try to understand Krsna's message for him.However in our personal situation when we encounter difficult times we fail to realize it is due to our past offenses.My personal situation is not very different from Indra.I fail to learn the lessons from difficult situations. I am very far from the realization that they are due to my past Krma even if I theoretically understand it. I spend a lot of time in trying to counteract the difficulty and forget on using this as an opportunity to further my relationship with Krsna. I pray that this important message stays with me.

The Lord has used His devotee Indra to perform these pastimes to teach me some wonderful messages and I hope and pray that I can learn from them.

Indra 1st offense: does not offer proper respect to his Guru Brhaspati

In the 6th canto, in the story of Vrtrasura- a great devotee of the Lord we read about Indra offending the three Brahmanas - Brhaspati, Vishwarupa and Vrtrasura.He is haunted by the resulting sinful reactions and does not find peace anywhere. To protect himself from the results of each offense he commits a new offense each time. We see that he keeps getting thus entangled due to his attachment for material opulence and power.This is not very different from what neophytes like me get entangled in.

This is a three part article that helps us examine the different motivations for each of the offenses and the lessons to be learned from each so that we can try to avoid the same and be more respectful in our interactions.In each part we will examine each offense.

Indra's first offense : Indra Offends Brhaspati, his Guru
Once when Brhaspati , the spiritual master of all the demigods was visiting Lord Indra, Indra did not get up from his seat , did not offer obeisances and neither offered a seat to him, even when he was his Guru. This was a grave transgression of etiquette. Indra was also accepting worship and glorification in his Guru's presence and because of being overly attached and proud of his material opulence he forgot his duties.

Lessons from the first offense :
Srila Prabhupada states in the purport to SB 6.7.12 "According to the laws of nature, when one is extremely opulent one becomes degraded, and this is true both individually and collectively".
Material opulence leads to pride. As we see in this pastime - pride and obsession with the material energy makes us callous towards vedic ideals. We may not experience such gross material opulence like Indra- being fanned by Gandharvas, Kinnaras with Apsaras dancing and white umbrella's over our head.However we experience the subtle opulence of fame, prestige, extraordinary talent, high position at work, etc.If we are not firmly rooted in our sadhana we will remain in material consciousness by enjoying those things and go further deep in material consciousness. We will become callous and commit offenses to people around us.

By committing offenses - aparadha , Radharani's mercy will leave us and we will slip in our devotional service. Offenses make us weak in our spiritual life. We not only slip from the spiritual platform but we also become increasingly susceptible to Maya's attacks.. We can also see this with Indra- because of this offense we see him gliding down further in the material pool and committing further offenses.Being firmly rooted in our sadhana, in strong association of devotees and developing a service attitude towards devotees will help us protect ourselves from mundane pride and its effects. By associating and serving devotees we will be able to see their wonderful qualities which our many times better than us.

We must accept our situation as a result of our previous actions and thus pray fervently to the Supreme Lord Krsna for His mercy and offer devotional service unto Him. This will clear all the misgivings in our heart.

In the next post we will see the effects of the first offense and how Indra gets entangled as a result of this offense. And then how he commits another offense to counteract the effects of this offense.