Qualities of Maharaja Parikisit

Liberation means to become free from dehatma- buddhi

From Srila Prabhupada's purport to SB 2.4.2:

To become liberated means to become free from dehātma-buddhi, the illusory attachment for personal bodily coverings and everything connected with the body, namely wife, children and all other entanglements...........Devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa means negation of all material attachments as detailed above. By the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was awarded all material amenities and an undisputed kingdom in which to enjoy the undisturbed position of king, but by the grace of the Lord he was able to give up all connections with material attachment. That is the position of a pure devotee. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, due to his natural affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa as a devotee of the Lord, was always executing his royal duties on behalf of the Lord, and as a responsible king of the world he was always careful to see that the influence of Kali would not enter his kingdom. A devotee of the Lord never thinks of his household paraphernalia as his own, but surrenders everything for the service of the Lord. Thereby living entities under a devotee’s care get the opportunity for God realization by the management of a devotee-master.

Our lives as a Polished animal is a waste if we havent cultivated love for the Lord

SB 2.3.17 Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.

SB 2.3.18 — Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the blacksmith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen?

SB 2.3.19 — Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils.

SB 2.3.20 — One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess earholes like the holes of snakes and a tongue like the tongue of a frog.

SB 2.3.21 — The upper portion of the body, though crowned with a silk turban, is only a heavy burden if not bowed down before the Personality of Godhead who can award mukti [freedom]. And the hands, though decorated with glittering bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead Hari.

SB 2.3.22 — The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, name, quality, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of the peacock, and the legs which do not move to the holy places [where the Lord is remembered] are considered to be like tree trunks.

SB 2.3.23 — The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.

SB 2.3.24 — Certainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one’s chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change when ecstasy takes place, tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end.

Pure devotion by associating with a pure devotee

SB 2.3.11 — All the different kinds of worshipers of multidemigods can attain the highest perfectional benediction, which is spontaneous attraction unflinchingly fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by the association of the pure devotee of the Lord.

 

We dot not need the polished animal civilization, but we must focus on reviving our relationship with the Lord

Sukadeva Goswami says the following verses to Maharaja Pariksit:

SB 2.2.2 — The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.

SB 2.2.3 — For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing.

SB 2.2.4 — When there are ample earthly flats to lie on, what is the necessity of cots and beds? When one can use his own arms, what is the necessity of a pillow? When one can use the palms of his hands, what is the necessity of varieties of utensils? When there is ample covering, or the skins of trees, what is the necessity of clothing?

SB 2.2.5 — Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed? Or above all, does the Almighty Lord not protect the fully surrendered souls? Why then do the learned sages go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?

SB 2.2.6 — Thus being fixed, one must render service unto the Supersoul situated in one’s own heart by His omnipotency. Because He is the Almighty Personality of Godhead, eternal and unlimited, He is the ultimate goal of life, and by worshiping Him one can end the cause of the conditioned state of existence.

Sex Desire binds the conditioned soul in material existence

Copied from HDG Srila Prabhupada's purport to SB 2.1.12:

How Sex Desire binds?

• The grossest type of anartha which binds the conditioned soul in material existence is sex desire, and this sex desire gradually develops in the union of the male and female.
•  When the male and female are united, the sex desire is further aggravated by the accumulation of buildings, children, friends, relatives and wealth.When all these are acquired, the conditioned soul becomes overwhelmed by such entanglements, and the false sense of egoism, or the sense of “myself” and “mine,” becomes prominent, and the sex desire expands to various political, social, altruistic, philanthropic and many other unwanted engagements, resembling the foam of the sea waves, which becomes very prominent at one time and at the next moment vanishes as quickly as a cloud in the sky. 
• The conditioned soul is encircled by such products, as well as products of sex desire, and therefore bhakti-yoga leads to gradual evaporation of the sex desire, which is summarized in three headings, namely profit, adoration and distinction. 

How Bhakti Yoga helps one overcome sex desire?

• All conditioned souls are mad after these different forms of sex desire, and one shall see for himself how much he has been freed from such material hankerings based primarily on the sex desire. As a person feels his hunger satisfied after eating each morsel of foodstuff, he must similarly be able to see the degree to which he has been freed from sex desire. 
• The sex desire is diminished along with its various forms by the process of bhakti-yoga because bhakti-yoga automatically, by the grace of the Lord, effectively results in knowledge and renunciation, even if the devotee is not materially very well educated. 
• Knowledge means knowing things as they are, and if by deliberation it is found that there are things which are at all unnecessary, naturally the person who has acquired knowledge leaves aside such unwanted things.
•  When the conditioned soul finds by culture of knowledge that material necessities are unwanted things, he becomes detached from such unwanted things. This stage of knowledge is called vairāgya, or detachment from unwanted things. 
• So by the gradual process of devotional service under the guidance of a proper spiritual master, and following the principles of the Bhāgavatam, one must be able at least to control the gross sex desire before one accepts the renounced order of life factually.
• So purification means getting free gradually from sex desire, and this is attained by meditation on the person of the Lord as described herein, beginning from the feet. One should not try to go upwards artificially without seeing for himself how much he has been released from the sex desire. The smiling face of the Lord is the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and there are many upstarts who at once try to begin with the Tenth Canto, and especially with the five chapters which delineate the rāsa-līlā of the Lord. 

Percieving the Lord through intelligence

From SB 2.2.35:
Translation:
The Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in every living being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the intelligence.

Srila Prabhupada's purport explains this aspect.

Significance of the virat rupa by Srila Prabhupada

From the purport to SB 2.1.38:

In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), the Supreme Personality of Godhead has verily explained that the material nature is only an order-carrying agent of His. She is one of the different potencies of the Lord, and she acts under His direction only. As the supreme transcendental Lord, He simply casts a glance over the material principle, and thus the agitation of matter begins, and the resultant actions are manifested one after another by six kinds of gradual differentiations. All material creation is moving in that way, and thus it appears and disappears in due course.

Less intelligent persons with a poor fund of knowledge cannot accommodate the thought of this inconceivable potency of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, by which He appears just like a human being (Bg. 9.11). His appearance in the material world as one of us is also His causeless mercy upon the fallen souls. He is transcendental to all material conceptions, but by His unbounded mercy upon His pure devotees, He comes down and manifests Himself as the Personality of Godhead. Materialistic philosophers and scientists are too much engrossed with atomic energy and the gigantic situation of the universal form, and they offer respect more seriously to the external phenomenal feature of material manifestations than to the noumenal principle of spiritual existence. The transcendental form of the Lord is beyond the jurisdiction of such materialistic activities, and it is very difficult to conceive that the Lord can be simultaneously localized and all-pervasive, because the materialistic philosophers and scientists think of everything in terms of their own experience. Because they are unable to accept the personal feature of the Supreme Lord, the Lord is kind enough to demonstrate the virāṭ feature of His transcendental form, and herein Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has vividly described this form of the Lord. He concludes that there is nothing beyond this gigantic feature of the Lord. None of the materialistic thoughtful men can go beyond this conception of the gigantic form. The minds of the materialistic men are flickering and constantly changing from one aspect to another. Therefore, one is advised to think of the Lord by thinking of any part of His gigantic body, and by one’s intelligence only one can think of Him in any manifestation of the material world — the forest, the hill, the ocean, the man, the animal, the demigod, the bird, the beast or anything else. Each and every item of the material manifestation entails a part of the body of the gigantic form, and thus the flickering mind can be fixed in the Lord only and nothing else. This process of concentrating on the different bodily parts of the Lord will gradually diminish the demoniac challenge of godlessness and bring about gradual development of devotional service to the Lord. Everything being a part and parcel of the complete whole, the neophyte student will gradually realize the hymns of Īśopaniṣad which state that the Supreme Lord is everywhere, and thus he will learn the art of not committing any offense to the body of the Lord. This sense of God-mindedness will diminish one’s pride in challenging the existence of God. Thus one can learn to show respect to everything, for all things are parts and parcels of the supreme body.

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verses

SB 1.8.18

kunty uvaca

namasye purusam tvadyam isvaram prakrteh param
alaksyam sarva-bhutanam antar bahir avasthitam

Translation: 

Srimati Kunti said: O Krsna, I offer my obeisances unto You because You are the original personality and are unaffected by the qualities of the material world. You are existing both within and without everything, yet You are invisible to all.

SB 1.8.19

maya-javanikacchannam ajñadhoksajam avyayam
na laksyase mudha-drsa nato natyadharo yatha

Translation: 

Being beyond the range of limited sense perception, You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of deluding energy. You are invisible to the foolish observer, exactly as an actor dressed as a player is not recognized.

SB 1.8.20

tatha paramahamsanam muninam amalatmanam
bhakti-yoga-vidhanartham katham pasyema hi striyah

Translation: 

You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service unto the hearts of the advanced transcendentalists and mental speculators, who are purified by being able to discriminate between matter and spirit. How then can we women know You perfectly?

SB 1.8.21

krsnaya vasudevaya devaki-nandanaya ca
nanda-gopa-kumaraya govindaya namo namah

Translation: 

Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devaki, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of Vrndavana, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.

SB 1.8.22

namah pankaja-nabhaya namah pankaja-maline
namah pankaja-netraya namas te pankajanghraye

Translation: 

My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.

SB 1.8.23

yatha hrsikesa khalena devaki
 kamsena ruddhaticiram sucarpita
vimocitaham ca sahatmaja vibho
 tvayaiva nathena muhur vipad-ganat

Translation: 

O Hrsikesa, master of the senses and Lord of lords, You have released Your mother, Devaki, who was long imprisoned and distressed by the envious King Kamsa, and me and my children from a series of constant dangers.

SB 1.8.24

visan mahagneh purusada-darsanad
 asat-sabhaya vana-vasa-krcchratah
mrdhe mrdhe ’neka-maharathastrato
 drauny-astratas casma hare ’bhiraksitah

Translation: 

My dear Krsna, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Asvatthama.

SB 1.8.25

vipadah santu tah sasvat tatra tatra jagad-guro
bhavato darsanam yat syad apunar bhava-darsanam

Translation: 

I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

SB 1.8.26

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir edhamana-madah puman
naivarhaty abhidhatum vai tvam akiñcana-gocaram

Translation: 

My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.

SB 1.8.27

namo ’kiñcana-vittaya nivrtta-guna-vrttaye
atmaramaya santaya kaivalya-pataye namah

Translation: 

My obeisances are unto You, who are the property of the materially impoverished. You have nothing to do with the actions and reactions of the material modes of nature. You are self-satisfied, and therefore You are the most gentle and are master of the monists.

SB 1.8.28

manye tvam kalam isanam anadi-nidhanam vibhum
samam carantam sarvatra bhutanam yan mithah kalih

Translation: 

My Lord, I consider Your Lordship to be eternal time, the supreme controller, without beginning and end, the all-pervasive one. In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone. The dissensions between living beings are due to social intercourse.

SB 1.8.29

na veda kascid bhagavams cikirsitam
 tavehamanasya nrnam vidambanam
na yasya kascid dayito ’sti karhicid
 dvesyas ca yasmin visama matir nrnam

Translation: 

O Lord, no one can understand Your transcendental pastimes, which appear to be human and so are misleading. You have no specific object of favor, nor do You have any object of envy. People only imagine that You are partial.

SB 1.8.30

janma karma ca visvatmann ajasyakartur atmanah
tiryan-nrsisu yadahsu tad atyanta-vidambanam

Translation: 

Of course it is bewildering, O soul of the universe, that You work, though You are inactive, and that You take birth, though You are the vital force and the unborn. You Yourself descend amongst animals, men, sages and aquatics. Verily, this is bewildering.

SB 1.8.31

gopy adade tvayi krtagasi dama tavad
 ya te dasasru-kalilañjana-sambhramaksam
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
 sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti

Translation: 

My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your perturbed eyes overflooded with tears, which washed the mascara from Your eyes. And You were afraid, though fear personified is afraid of You. This sight is bewildering to me.

SB 1.8.32

kecid ahur ajam jatam punya-slokasya kirtaye
yadoh priyasyanvavaye malayasyeva candanam

Translation: 

Some say that the Unborn is born for the glorification of pious kings, and others say that He is born to please King Yadu, one of Your dearest devotees. You appear in his family as sandalwood appears in the Malaya hills.

SB 1.8.33

apare vasudevasya devakyam yacito ’bhyagat
ajas tvam asya ksemaya vadhaya ca sura-dvisam

Translation: 

Others say that since both Vasudeva and Devaki prayed for You, You have taken Your birth as their son. Undoubtedly You are unborn, yet You take Your birth for their welfare and to kill those who are envious of the demigods.

SB 1.8.34

bharavataranayanye bhuvo nava ivodadhau
sidantya bhuri-bharena jato hy atma-bhuvarthitah

Translation: 

Others say that the world, being overburdened like a boat at sea, is much aggrieved, and that Brahma, who is Your son, prayed for You, and so You have appeared to diminish the trouble.

SB 1.8.35

bhave ’smin klisyamananam avidya-kama-karmabhih
sravana-smaranarhani karisyann iti kecana

Translation: 

And yet others say that You appeared for the sake of rejuvenating the devotional service of hearing, remembering, worshiping and so on in order that the conditioned souls suffering from material pangs might take advantage and gain liberation.

SB 1.8.36

srnvanti gayanti grnanty abhiksnasah
 smaranti nandanti tavehitam janah
ta eva pasyanty acirena tavakam
 bhava-pravahoparamam padambujam

Translation: 

O Krsna, those who continuously hear, chant and repeat Your transcendental activities, or take pleasure in others’ doing so, certainly see Your lotus feet, which alone can stop the repetition of birth and death.

SB 1.8.37

apy adya nas tvam sva-krtehita prabho
 jihasasi svit suhrdo ’nujivinah
yesam na canyad bhavatah padambujat
 parayanam rajasu yojitamhasam

Translation: 

O my Lord, You have executed all duties Yourself. Are you leaving us today, though we are completely dependent on Your mercy and have no one else to protect us, now when all kings are at enmity with us?

SB 1.8.38

ke vayam nama-rupabhyam  yadubhih saha pandavah
bhavato ’darsanam yarhi  hrsikanam ivesituh

Translation: 

As the name and fame of a particular body is finished with the disappearance of the living spirit, similarly if You do not look upon us, all our fame and activities, along with the Pandavas and Yadus, will end at once.

SB 1.8.39

neyam sobhisyate tatra yathedanim gadadhara
tvat-padair ankita bhati sva-laksana-vilaksitaih

Translation: 

O Gadadhara [Krsna], our kingdom is now being marked by the impressions of Your feet, and therefore it appears beautiful. But when You leave, it will no longer be so.

SB 1.8.40

ime jana-padah svrddhah supakvausadhi-virudhah
vanadri-nady-udanvanto hy edhante tava viksitaih

Translation: 

All these cities and villages are flourishing in all respects because the herbs and grains are in abundance, the trees are full of fruits, the rivers are flowing, the hills are full of minerals and the oceans full of wealth. And this is all due to Your glancing over them.

SB 1.8.41

atha visvesa visvatman visva-murte svakesu me
sneha-pasam imam chindhi drdham pandusu vrsnisu

Translation: 

O Lord of the universe, soul of the universe, O personality of the form of the universe, please, therefore, sever my tie of affection for my kinsmen, the Pandavas and the Vrsnis.

SB 1.8.42

tvayi me ’nanya-visaya matir madhu-pate ’sakrt
ratim udvahatad addha gangevaugham udanvati

Translation: 

O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else.

SB 1.8.43

sri-krsna krsna-sakha vrsny-rsabhavani-dhrug-
 rajanya-vamsa-dahananapavarga-virya
govinda go-dvija-surarti-haravatara
 yogesvarakhila-guro bhagavan namas te

Translation: 

O Krsna, O friend of Arjuna, O chief amongst the descendants of Vrsni, You are the destroyer of those political parties which are disturbing elements on this earth. Your prowess never deteriorates. You are the proprietor of the transcendental abode, and You descend to relieve the distresses of the cows, the brahmanas and the devotees. You possess all mystic powers, and You are the preceptor of the entire universe. You are the almighty God, and I offer You my respectful obeisances.

SB 1.8.44

suta uvaca

prthayettham kala-padaih parinutakhilodayah
mandam jahasa vaikuntho mohayann iva mayaya

Translation: 

Suta Gosvami said: The Lord, thus hearing the prayers of Kuntidevi, composed in choice words for His glorification, mildly smiled. That smile was as enchanting as His mystic power.

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verse

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verses 37-43

• 37
• Separation is like a thunderbolt
• Just like the Pandavas we are also in a condition of enmity and the best way of living is to completely dependent upon the will of the Lord and overcome the difficulties of material existence
• 
  
• 38
• Expressions of complete dependence
• everything possible only because of the Lord's presence - where is the Lord present?
• where the devotees are chanting his names
• cooperation
• endeavoring to serve the Lord with sincere devotion together
• 
  

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verse

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verse

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verse

Prayers by Queen Kunti- verse

Prayers by Queen Kunti verse 1.8.26 -27 - False Shelters Are Obstacles

janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir
 edhamāna-madaḥ pumān
naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai
 tvām akiñcana-gocaram

Translation:
My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.

What is the meaning of akincana?
 e.g Ramananda Raya, Gaura Kisora Dasa Babaji

Why are these an impediment to our devotional life?

What do we consider a shelter for ourselves when we are in difficulty?

What would your instant reaction be if after this conference call you lost everyone?
e.g Mayapur Floods, Srila Prabhupada's story

How would you then proceed in your devotional service?


References: BG 2.44- bhog aisvarya prasaktanam Quote by HH Radhanath Swami(from his facebook page on Dec 25th, 2012)
"To the degree we think that we are great, we are intelligent, we are beautiful, we are spiritually advanced, we are coming from a high family – to that degree whatever we do is useless in the eyes of God."

Another quote from HH Radhanath Swami on this point:
“It is not success or beauty, knowledge or wealth in themselves that are disqualifications for approaching God, but rather it is the tendencies of greed, egoism and selfishness, which so often come with these things, that are the greatest disqualifications. The culture of wealth should be a culture of gratitude and humility"

H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Prayers by Queen kunti- Verses 23- 25 Bridging the Gap

Bridging the gap between our consciousness and Queen Kunti's consciousness is a tall order.We are very far removed from the spiritual realm to understand her mood and consciousness. However a sincere attempt however insignificant will be pleasing to the Lord and therefore we try even if we know we may fail.

Below we will examine some of Queen Kunti's qualities that set her apart from us. We will also try to examine our own consciousness and based on the teachings of the parampara see how we can bridge the gap:

• The spiritual conception - identification as a spirit soul who is the servant of the Lord
• We have a strong identification with our material identity. This identification bewilders us in difficult situations as all that we identify with seems to be at stake. We become fearful and anxious about losing those gross and subtle "things" that define our material identity. We get further lost in trying to protect ourselves. Its a huge stab on our false ego because we realize we are powerless and are not able to do anything to protect ourselves.
• Kunti Maharani on the other hand maintains her poise because she was firmly situated in the spiritual conception
  
• She had full understanding of the Lord's position, she had full connection with her identity as a spirit soul - an eternal servant of the Lord and she was fully situated in her relationship as the Lord's servant and part and parcel. Service to the Lord and the Lord's association were the only things of value for her- nothing else mattered.
• She did not care if she lost "anything"  because she did not identify with anyone save and except the Lord and His service.
• Cultivating Gratitude:
• I read a quote by HH Radhanath Swami(on his facebook page) on gratitude "Of all disgraceful behavior, there is nothing worse than ingratitude."Kunti Maharani had gratitude for the Lord that He was present with them in times of difficulty- she was very thankful for the protection that He awarded on them- she was not complaining that why was there calamity in the first place if You were there with us- because of her spiritual conception she did not care for anything save and except the association of the Lord.
• We on the other hand because of our strong identification with matter feel incomplete in our lives constantly. Because we define our lives based on matter- anything missing makes us feel incomplete compared to others and hence we are constantly complaining.
• As we try to situate ourselves more and more in the spiritual identity we must mindfully  cultivate gratitude for all that Lord Krishna has given to us.What would our lives have been without all the opportunities for service, without the Holy Name, Srila Prabhupada's books, association of devotees, and prasad. We would not be able to get closer to Krishna at all.
• Mindfully reminding ourselves of our good fortune is a good exercise for us to brace ourselves in times of difficulty.
• We must also remember that each part of Krishna is a Complete Whole- we being parts and parcels of Krishna are Complete to the extent to which we identify ourselves as a soul is who is an eternal servant of Krishna. Our identification with matter makes us feel incomplete even if matter seems to be equipped to fulfill our desires- our identification with it makes us feel incomplete.
• Understand why this is happening to me:
• In HG Narayani Mataji's seminar on Prayers of Kunti Maharani she says that only if we understand properly why the difficult times are upon us can we respond in a proper way when the times way. What is that proper way- to respond as a servant of Krishna would.
• Why is this happening to me?
1. Past desire
2. Past prayer
3. Test us- we should not complain
4. Make us more dependent
5. To shake us from our complacency
6. To make us aware of our real identity- we are not controllers but servants
7. To show us how miserable this place is
8. Our own Karma
9. Krishna's plan
10. By giving difficulty Krishna takes away the bad thing

How should we respond to Difficulties?

1. Take shelter of the Vaishnavas
2. Depend on Him more - through chanting, hearing, reading, serving
3. Correcting our mistakes- Becoming free from my body
   From Bhurijana Prabhu's notes in "Unveiling His Lotus Feet"
   Understand what Krishna wants me to understand from this
   Bhurijana Prabhu says : Life's real challenge is to transform difficulties into sources of freedom- sever material attachment and seek Krishna's shelter. Hold on more tightly to Krishna
4. Krishna is minimizing my karma - like Kunti Devi
5. Prayer 
6. Engage in service- Prahlada Maharaja says 7.19.17 - only remedy is to engage in your service
   "Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Therefore I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service."
   Attempts to mitigate the miseries of material existence by material methods will never be successful. One must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness to become really happy;
   "My Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man"
7. Change your attitude towards service 
8. Gratefully search for Krishna's love in that difficulty like Kunti Maharani did
9. Chance to remember Krishna
10. Somehow or other contact Krishna when in danger- if you have DS then you can use any of the 9 processes to contact Krishna
11. A servant does not complain - but accepts
12. even great exalted pure devotees go through difficulties- then what is my position and audacity to not expect difficulties
13. This is just a token - I deserve worse

How to care for yourself /others who are going through calamity?

1. Do not deny your/their feelings - it is natural to be affected emotionally
2. Give compassion to yourself/others for your situation
3. Resolve your feelings
4. Help yourself/others maintain your integrity as a devotee by not responding to difficulties in a non- Krishna Conscious way
5. .....
6. ......

Prayers by Queen Kunti - verse 1.8.25 Attraction to the Lord

vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat
 tatra tatra jagad-guro
bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād
 apunar bhava-darśanam

SB 1.8.25 — I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

In Texts 23 and 24 she expresses gratitude to the Lord for always being there with them. In this text she further reveals her ecstasy and wishes that those difficult calamities happen again and again because in all the difficulties the Lord was personally present with them to help them.

Kunti Devi had single minded attraction towards the Lord. Because of her exalted status as a devotee and being fully situated in love for the Lord she was oblivious to the external very difficult material situations she went through- in fact she was happy that those difficult situations came because of which Kunti and the Pandavas got association of Their object of devotion- the all merciful all loving Lord Sri Krishna. 

She is feeling immense separation from the Lord as the Lord is about to depart for Dwarka and they would miss the darshan of the Lord. Thus she prays " I wish the calamities happen again and again so that the Lord is always with us"

This is the greatness of a devotee of the Lord- The devotee is ready to go through any situation as long as they get the association and darshan of the Lord and the devotees. 

How do we bridge the gap?
Hearing Kunti Devi's prayers is an eye opener. Her prayers reveal the mood of a devotee who is very dear to the Lord.
One of the reasons that reading Srimad Bhagavatam is encouraged  is so that we can go deeper in the mood of these devotees of the Lord and try to follow in their footsteps.
Considering we are so fallen, covered, ignorant, attracted to matter and so far away removed from the goal how can we possibly try to emulate Kunti Maharani's poise in difficulties and her attraction to Krishna?

We will examine that and more in the next post:
Prayers by Queen Kunti- Verses 23- 25 Bridging the Gap
 

 

Prayers by Queen Kunti- Verses 1.8.23-24 - Gratitude

Verses 23-25 are especially instructive for us - through these verse we see how Kunti viewed the various dangerous events of her life . How she was full of gratitude for the Lord for helping them and saving them from various dangerous situations and how because he personally came in each of those situations to save them, she wished that those difficult situations would repeat themselves.
In this post we will take inspiration from the mood of gratitude that she expresses in the verses 23 and 24 and see how we can practically apply this in our lives

1.8.23
yathā hṛṣīkeśa khalena devakī
 kaṁsena ruddhāticiraṁ śucārpitā
vimocitāhaṁ ca sahātmajā vibho
 tvayaiva nāthena muhur vipad-gaṇāt

SB 1.8.23 — O Hṛṣīkeśa, master of the senses and Lord of lords, You have released Your mother, Devakī, who was long imprisoned and distressed by the envious King Kaṁsa, and me and my children from a series of constant dangers.

1.8.24

viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād
 asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ
mṛdhe mṛdhe ’neka-mahārathāstrato
 drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare ’bhirakṣitāḥ

SB 1.8.24 — My dear Kṛṣṇa, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Aśvatthāmā.

No Bitterness and No Complains

One can get very bitter in ones outlook of life and of people if one has gone through a very difficult life.Usually such people also lose faith in God. Reading Kunti Dev's prayers we see that she has absolute no bitterness about any of the trials and tribulations she had to face that in spite of being a very elevated devotee of the Lord. She did not think why did the Lord put us through so much when we are such nice devotees of the Lord? Why should we have to face any difficulty if the Lord is always by our side?

Instead Kunti devi offers her gratitude "thank you Lord for being there with us in all the difficult situations and protecting us and giving us strength. We are fortunate that there were so many difficulties - because of which you always came to protect us and we got to see You."

Gratitude:

Queen Kunti is thankful to the Lord for His presence and protection in all the difficult situations she and her family went through. Through these verses she has expressed that the Lord was constantly with them in every situation of their life and she is extremely grateful for that.

• In spite of losing her husband at a very young age and raising five children alone she considers herself more fortunate than Devaki. Devaki lost 6 of her children and she also did not get to live with her sons Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama. However Kunti Devi had all her five sons with her inspite of all the dangerous situations
  
•  Also Devaki did not get association of her own Son- Lord Krishna  but Lord Krishna was always present with Kunti Devi and her sons in all their good times and bad times.

Prayers by Queen Kunti Devi -1.8.22- See a Lotus- Remember Krishna

1.8.22

namaḥ pańkaja-nābhāya namaḥ pańkaja-māline

namaḥ pańkaja-netrāya namas te pańkajāńghraye

My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.

Here again Kunti Devi is further describing the Supreme Lord. that His abdomen is marked with a Lotus like depression, His garland is of lotus flowers, His glance is as cool as a Lotus and His feet are engraved with lotuses.

Seattle Sri Sri Radha Neela Madhav Balarama Jayanti 2012

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport "The Pańkajanābhi Lord accepts the arcā-vigraha  (His transcendental form) in different elements, namely a form within the mind, a form made of wood, a form made of earth, a form made of metal, a form made of jewel, a form made of paint, a form drawn on sand, etc."

Thus women and other devotees can worship Him and see Him.(as she had mentioned in verses 1.8.20 that how can women perceive the Lord?)

From Srila Prabhupada's lecture(If You actually Love God):

pankaja maline

pankaja nabhaya

pankaja janghraya

pankaja netraya

"So this Krsna consciousness movement is so nice. Here Kuntidevi, a great devotee, is giving us opportunity to become Krsna conscious: simply concentrating your mind on lotus flower. That's all. Lotus flower. As soon as you see a lotus flower, you will immediately think of namah pankaja-nabhaya. "Oh, Krsna's navel is just like lotus flower. From the navel of Krsna there was a stem of lotus flower, and from that lotus flower, Brahma came out. And Brahma created this universe. This universe means so many planets, so many seas, mountains and cities, motorcars, everything. Within that lotus flower, the beginning is..." Namah pankaja-nabhaya. And namah pankaja-maline. So such wonderful lotus flower which contains the seedling of the whole universe... That is not only one. Pankaja-maline. Just like here is a garland. There are so many flowers. So Krsna is not so poor that simply producing one lotus flower, He's finished. No. There is a garland of lotus flowers, big garland. Or as many lotus flowers as you want."

"So if you simply think only one verse, as it is explained here, and the pankaja, lotus, in reference with Krsna's body, you can meditate the whole life how Krsna is beautiful, how Krsna is wise, how Krsna's creation, how... This is meditation. Thinking of Krsna. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. Yoginah means... Yogi means he's always thinking of Krsna. Mat-parah. That is yogi. These rascals are not yogi, thinking something impersonal and being harassed. Kleso 'dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam [Bg. 12.5]. They are simply, they are simply laboring, adhikatarah, more and more. They cannot get anything substantial. Therefore after meditation: "Come on, give me cigarette. Come on. My throat is now dried up. Give me cigarette." That is not meditation. Meditation means, this is: namah pankaja-netraya."

"You cannot approach Krsna impurified. But if you think of Krsna always, in this way, meditate upon Krsna, then you'll be purified. Punya-sravana-kirtanah [SB 1.2.17]. That meditation can be possible by hearing and chanting. Then thinking will automatically come. That is the process of Krsna consciousness. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam [SB 7.5.23]. Smarana means remember. If you chant and hear, then remembrance will automatically come. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam. Then you will be engaged in worshiping His lotus feet. Arcanam. Then you'll be engaged in arcanam, the temple worship; vandanam, offering prayers; dasyam, you'll engage yourself as servant; sakhyam, you'll become friend of Krsna; atma-nivedanam, and surrender everything to Krsna. This is the process." 

Prayers by Queen Kunti- 1.8.21- Krishna has now appeared to be visible

1.8.21

kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya devakī-nandanāya ca

nanda-gopa-kumārāya govindāya namo namah

Krishna is the son of Vasudeva

Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devakī, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of Vṛndāvana, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.

• Kunti Devi in her first prayer addresses Krishna as purusam tvadyam isvareh prakritim param - means that He is the Supreme Person not a personality of the material realm but beyond it(prakrteh param)- she establishes that He is a supreme Person. By the grace of Kunti Devi we can understand that, that Krishna who is alaksya to the mudhas , He is invisible to us has now appeared to be visible:
• Krsnaya vasudevaya- 
• The Vasudeva conception , absolute Truth. Impersonalits think vasudeva conception means all pervading. 
• From Srila Prabhupada's lecture:" So Kuntidevi is pointing out, "That Vasudeva is Krsna, all-pervading." Krsna, by His Vasudeva feature, He is all-pervading. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. This feature of Krsna... Krsna, the original person, has got three features: as the Supreme Personality of Godhead; as all-pervading Paramatma, Supersoul; and impersonal Brahman effulgence."



Krishna also known as Devakinandana

• "So, by the grace of devotees like Kuntidevi, we can understand that here is Vasudeva. The all-pervading Absolute Truth, Paramatma, Vasudeva, is here. Krsnaya vasudevaya. So this vasudeva realization is possible by the impersonalists after many, many births.(bahunam janmanamante)" 
• Devaki nandanaya ca
• "Although Krsna, the Supreme Person, is without and within, still, to the rascals and fools, He is invisible. Therefore she is pointing out: "Here is the Lord, krsnaya vasudevaya." He is the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He's very much pleased to become the son of Devaki. Devaki-nandanaya. Devaki-nandanaya is mentioned in Atharva-Veda also. "
• Nanda Gopa Kumaraya-



Nanda maharaja celebrating Nandotsava

• Krsna comes as Devaki-nandana, and His foster father is Nanda-gopa, Nanda Maharaja.So Krsna likes to be related with His devotee as father and mother. Here, in this material world, we try to make our relationship with the Supreme as father, but Krsna wants to become the son. Therefore nanda-gopa-kumaraya. He takes pleasure to become a devotee's son.  
• Mental speculators often like to establish their own descriptions of Krishna and some of them call themselves Krishna.To teach these speculators - Kunti Devi is explaining here that the Supreme Person Krishna whom she is describing here is the foster son of Nanda and  , he was a Kumara in Vrindavan - never married. Krishna is thus fittingly described by Kunti Devi in these verses.
  
• From Unveiling His Lotus Feet Pg 139 "Kunti Devi's prayer 1.8.21 also gives hope to women- and everyone else as it names Krishna in relationship to many of His beloved devotees .Krsna's devotees are especially dear to Him - Indeed His most intimate names are those that indicate His dealings with His devotees. When Krishna is called by anyone of those names, He remembers Himself in relation to the particular devotee connected to that name and His heart melts. Thus devotee's pray to Krishna by those names to evoke compassion from His already softened heart. Because of His quality of bhakta vatsala, the lover of His devotees, He maybe known by His grace."

Kunti Devi thus begins her prayers with these 4 verses (1.8.18- 1.8.22)- describing that the Lord is beyond the material nature, He is the Lord of everything, He is the Supreme Person he cannot be percieved by material vision, he is invisible to the fools who are engaged in sense gratification, a curtain of Maya separates Krishna from the materialists, he is the son of vasudeva, That Krishna is the vasudeva conception, he is the son of devaki, he is the foster son of nanda and He is known as Govinda- that Krishna I offer my respectful obeisances.

Through this she establishes who is she praying to- He is not an ordinary person, not just her nephew but He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.