Tuesday, April 29, 2014

How Krishna sees Racists and those who possess a differential outlook ?

As the blazing fire of death, I cause great fear to whoever makes the least discrimination between himself and other living entities because of a differential outlook.
Purport: 
There are bodily differentiations among all varieties of living entities, but a devotee should not distinguish between one living entity and another on such a basis; a devotee’s outlook should be that both the soul and Supersoul are equally present in all varieties of living entities.

Also Brahma says this to Lord Shiva in SB 4.6.47:
Persons who observe everything with differentiation, who are simply attached to fruitive activities, who are mean-minded, who are always pained to see the flourishing condition of others and who thus give distress to them by uttering harsh and piercing words have already been killed by providence. Thus there is no need for them to be killed again by an exalted personality like you.

Persons who are materialistic and always engaged in fruitive activities for material profit cannot endure seeing the flourishing life of others. Except for a few persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the entire world is full of such envious persons, who are perpetually full of anxieties because they are attached to the material body and are without self-realization. Since their hearts are always filled with anxiety, it is understood that they have already been killed by providence. Thus Lord Śiva, as a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, was advised not to kill Dakṣa. A Vaiṣṇava is described aspara-duḥkha-duḥkhī because although he is never distressed in any condition of life, he is distressed to see others in a distressed condition. Vaiṣṇavas, therefore, should not try to kill by any action of the body or mind but should try to revive the Kṛṣṇa consciousness of others out of compassion for them. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been started to deliver the envious persons of the world from the clutches of māyā, and even though devotees are sometimes put into trouble, they push on the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in all tolerance. Lord Caitanya advises:
tṛṇād api sunīcena
 taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
 kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
“One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” (Śikṣāṣṭaka 3)
A Vaiṣṇava should follow the examples of such Vaiṣṇavas as Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Nityānanda Prabhu and also Lord Jesus Christ. There is no need to kill anyone who has already been killed. But it should be noted herewith that a Vaiṣṇava should not tolerate the blaspheming of Viṣṇu or Vaiṣṇavas, although he should tolerate personal insults to himself.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

The Lord's Darshan makes one aloof from sex attraction and one desires to see nothing else but the Lord

From the purport to SB 3.28.32:




A yogī should similarly meditate on the most benevolent smile of Lord Śrī Hari, a smile which, for all those who bow to Him, dries away the ocean of tears caused by intense grief. The yogī should also meditate on the Lord’s arched eyebrows, which are manifested by His internal potency in order to charm the sex-god for the good of the sages.


Purport:
It is stated in this verse that the charming eyebrows of the Lord are so fascinating that they cause one to forget the charms of sense attraction. The conditioned souls are shackled to material existence because they are captivated by the charms of sense gratification, especially sex life. The sex-god is called Makara-dhvaja. The charming brows of the Supreme Personality of Godhead protect the sages and devotees from being charmed by material lust and sex attraction. Yāmunācārya, a great ācārya, said that ever since he had seen the charming pastimes of the Lord, the charms of sex life had become abominable for him, and the mere thought of sex enjoyment would cause him to spit and turn his face. Thus if anyone wants to be aloof from sex attraction, he must see the charming smile and fascinating eyebrows of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

3.28.33
With devotion steeped in love and affection, the yogī should meditate within the core of his heart upon the laughter of Lord Viṣṇu. The laughter of Viṣṇu is so captivating that it can be easily meditated upon. When the Supreme Lord is laughing, one can see His small teeth, which resemble jasmine buds rendered rosy by the splendor of His lips. Once devoting his mind to this, the yogī should no longer desire to see anything else.

Purport:
If the yogī is able to place the beautiful face of the Lord in the core of his heart, he will be completely satisfied. In other words, when one is absorbed in seeing the beauty of the Lord within himself, the material attraction can no longer disturb him.

What is the meaning of taking shelter of the Lord's Lotus Feet?

I heard this in a class by HG Vraja bihari Prabhu sometime in 2011 maybe:


What is the meaning of taking shelter of the Lord's Lotus Feet?

  • Physical Darshan
  • Humility, want to serve Krsna, become a servant of Krsna and His devotees. Take a humble position. Follow instructions
What is the qualification to take darshan of His Lotus Feet?
  • Attachment to hearing and Chanting about Krsna
  • Non enviousness
  • Hold on to the Holy Name - Kaliya was envious but by allowing Krsna to dance on his head all his dirty poison came out. Similarly if we hold on to the Lord;s Holy Name we will be cured of our envy.
How to meditate on Krsna's Lotus Feet?
  • Take Darshan step by step from His Lotus Feet progressively upwards finally to His face.
  • Follow the instructions of the spiritual master.


Meditation on the Lord's Lotus Feet

From 3.28.1:
The devotee should first concentrate his mind on the Lord’s lotus feet, which are adorned with the marks of a thunderbolt, a goad, a banner and a lotus. The splendor of their beautiful ruby nails resembles the orb of the moon and dispels the thick gloom of one’s heart.

From the purport to the verse : 3.28.22

The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.


Purport:
Another significant point of this verse is that the mind of the conditioned soul, on account of its association with the material energy from time immemorial, contains heaps of dirt in the form of desires to lord it over material nature. This dirt is like a mountain, but a mountain can be shattered when hit by a thunderbolt. Meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord acts like a thunderbolt on the mountain of dirt in the mind of the yogī. If a yogī wants to shatter the mountain of dirt in his mind, he should concentrate on the lotus feet of the Lord and not imagine something void or impersonal. Because the dirt has accumulated like a solid mountain, one must meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for quite a long time. For one who is accustomed to thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord constantly, however, it is a different matter. The devotees are so fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord that they do not think of anything else. Those who practice the yoga system must meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time after following the regulative principles and thereby controlling the senses.

Loneliness of the heart- looking for Krishna

We are like lutes once held by God.

Being away from his warm body

Fully explains 

This constant yearning.
---Hafiz

Breath Control versus chanting Hare Krsna

In the purport to this verse SB 3.25.9, Kapila Deva instructs His mother Devahuti:

The yogī should clear the passage of vital air by breathing in the following manner: first he should inhale very deeply, then hold the breath in, and finally exhale. Or, reversing the process, the yogi can first exhale, then hold the breath outside, and finally inhale. This is done so that the mind may become steady and free from external disturbances.
Purport: 
These breathing exercises are performed to control the mind and fix it on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ: the devotee Ambarīṣa Mahārāja fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day. The process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and to hear the sound attentively so that the mind is fixed upon the transcendental vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s name, which is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa the personality. The real purpose of controlling the mind by the prescribed method of clearing the passage of the life air is achieved immediately if one fixes his mind directly on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. The haṭha-yogasystem, or breathing system, is especially recommended for those who are very absorbed in the concept of bodily existence, but one who can perform the simple process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa can fix the mind more easily.
Three different activities are recommended for clearing the passage of breath: pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka.Inhaling the breath is called pūraka, sustaining it within is called kumbhaka, and finally exhaling it is calledrecaka. These recommended processes can also be performed in the reverse order. After exhaling, one can keep the air outside for some time and then inhale. The nerves through which inhalation and exhalation are conducted are technically called iḍā and piṅgalā. The ultimate purpose of clearing the iḍā and piṅgalā passages is to divert the mind from material enjoyment. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, one’s mind is his enemy, and one’s mind is also his friend; its position varies according to the different dealings of the living entity. If we divert our mind to thoughts of material enjoyment, then our mind becomes an enemy, and if we concentrate our mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then our mind is a friend. By the yoga system of pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka or by directly fixing the mind on the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa or on the form of Kṛṣṇa, the same purpose is achieved. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that one must practice the breathing exercise (abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena). By virtue of these processes of control, the mind cannot wander to external thoughts (cetasā nānya-gāminā). Thus one can fix his mind constantly on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and can attain (yāti) Him.
Practicing the yoga system of exercise and breath control is very difficult for a person in this age, and therefore Lord Caitanya recommended, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ: one should always chant the holy name of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, because Kṛṣṇa is the most suitable name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The name Kṛṣṇa and the Supreme Person Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent. Therefore, if one concentrates his mind on hearing and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, the same result is achieved.

Theft in spiritual terms

We understand theft as one person taking away another person's property by force or by cunning.

In Text 3.28.4 Kapila Muni instructs his mother :

SB 3.28.4 — One should practice nonviolence and truthfulness, should avoid thieving and be satisfied with possessing as much as he needs for his maintenance. He should abstain from sex life, perform austerity, be clean, study the Vedas and worship the supreme form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In the purport Srila Prabhupada explains the word asteyam, theft as :
"The word asteyam is also very important for a yogī. Asteyam means “to refrain from theft.” In the broader sense, everyone who accumulates more than he needs is a thief. According to spiritual communism, one cannot possess more than he needs for his personal maintenance. That is the law of nature. Anyone who accumulates more money or more possessions than he needs is called a thief, and one who simply accumulates wealth without spending for sacrifice or for worship of the Personality of Godhead is a great thief."

Earth --> Heavenly Planets-->Universe where the Lord's pastimes are going on--> Goloka Vrindavan

SB 10.1.23 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has full potency, will personally appear as the son of Vasudeva. Therefore ...