Bhagavad-gītā for Everyone

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Сообщение Jayanti » 13 янв 2021, 00:06

Chapter 10. The Opulence of the Absolute

TEXT 1

The Supreme Lord said: My dear friend, mighty-armed Arjuna, listen again to My supreme word, which I shall impart to you for your benefit and which will give you great joy.

PURPORT

Communication about God is basically the preaching. It is also beneficial for everyone to listen to preaching of others. Devotees can regularly lecture to each other, even if the community is small. These are all forms of spiritual practice.

Śrīla Prabhupāda lived among His disciples, He shared His real thoughts, plans with them - there was real communication between Him and His disciples; He did not lead a double life when one think or do one thing but say other "right" thing, or when someone plays the role of "guru" a couple times a week and the rest of the time do his own business. Of course, when there are many disciples, it is difficult to pay attention to everyone, but Śrīla Prabhupāda taught the leaders; also at that time everyone was busy preaching, everyone was uplifted, so no one really fell for any domestic problems. The movement went forward, people preached, distributed books, built temples, everyone felt the presence of God because uttama led the movement.

At first the movement expanded, then because of the anarthas it began to fall and shrink. When money and property become scarce, sincere people will come forward again and the movement will start again, and afterwards it will shrink again. It is similar to the movement of the rasa: the rasa increases, then because of the anarthas a crisis begins, and after purification rasa grows again.

TEXT 2

Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and the sages.

PURPORT

When a person devotes himself to God, he has no problems, the whole world is open to him, open to preaching. By preaching the message of God, a person can become dear to God and learn so much about Him. The demigods know little about God because they are busy with themselves. Also, many sages do not know much about God because they do not preach, but only develop knowledge. There are a large number of sections of near-spiritual knowledge: Karma-kāṇḍa, Yajur Veda, Āyurveda and others. Such knowledge sometimes can be useful in preaching, but if absorbed only by this knowledge, he will have little knowledge of God.

It is also an important point that Kṛṣṇa says about the source of His origin. When we talk about God, then people ask, "But what is the origin of God?" God is eternal, just as the soul is eternal. God has no beginning, just as every soul has no beginning. Thus, the answer to the question about the origin of God can be found by realizing oneself, one's eternal blissful nature.

TEXT 3

He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginningless, as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds-he, undeluded among men, is freed from all sins.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

As stated in the Seventh Chapter, those who are trying to elevate themselves to the platform of spiritual realization are not ordinary men. They are superior to millions and millions of ordinary men who have no knowledge of spiritual realization, but out of those actually trying to understand their spiritual situation, one who can come to the understanding that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the proprietor of everything, the unborn, is the most successful spiritually realized person. In that stage only, when one has fully understood Kṛṣṇa's supreme position, can one be free completely from all sinful reactions.

Here the word ajam, meaning unborn, should not be confused with the living entities, who are described in the Second Chapter as ajam. The Lord is different from the living entities who are taking birth and dying due to material attachment. The conditional souls are changing their bodies, but His body is not changeable. Even when He comes to this material world, He comes as the same unborn; therefore in the Fourth Chapter it is said that the Lord, by His internal potency, is not under the inferior material energy, but is always in the superior energy.

He was existing before the creation, and He is different from His creation. All the demigods were created within this material world, but as far as Kṛṣṇa is concerned, it is said that He is not created; therefore Kṛṣṇa is different even from the great demigods like Brahmā and Śiva. And because He is the creator of Brahmā, Śiva and all the other demigods, He is the Supreme Person of all planets.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is therefore different from everything that is created, and anyone who knows Him as such immediately becomes liberated from all sinful reaction. One must be liberated from all sinful activities to be in the knowledge of the Supreme Lord. Only by devotional service can He be known and not by any other means, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā.

One should not try to understand Kṛṣṇa as a human being. As stated previously, only a foolish person thinks Him to be a human being. This is again expressed here in a different way. A man who is not foolish, who is intelligent enough to understand the constitutional position of the Godhead, is always free from all sinful reactions.

If Kṛṣṇa is known as the son of Devakī, then how can He be unborn? That is also explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: When He appeared before Devakī and Vasudeva, He was not born as an ordinary child; He appeared in His original form, and then He transformed Himself into an ordinary child.

Anything done under the direction of Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. It cannot be contaminated by the material reactions, which may be auspicious or inauspicious. The conception that there are things auspicious and inauspicious in the material world is more or less a mental concoction because there is nothing auspicious in the material world. Everything is inauspicious because the very material mask is inauspicious. We simply imagine it to be auspicious. Real auspiciousness depends on activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in full devotion and service. Therefore if we at all want our activities to he auspicious, then we should work under the directions of the Supreme Lord. Such directions are given in authoritative scriptures such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, or from a bona fide spiritual master. Because the spiritual master is the representative of the Supreme Lord, his direction is directly the direction of the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master, saintly persons and scriptures direct in the same way. There is no contradiction in these three sources. All actions done under such direction are free from the reactions of pious or impious activities of this material world. The transcendental attitude of the devotee in the performance of activities is actually that of renunciation, and this is called sannyāsa. Anyone acting under the direction of the Supreme Lord is actually a sannyāsī and a yogī, and not the man who has simply taken the dress of the sannyāsī, or a pseudo-yogī.

TEXTS 4-5

Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, self-control and calmness, pleasure and pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy are created by Me alone.

PURPORT

When a person directly knows spiritual science, he has no doubts. Often, the term "spiritual knowledge" means theoretical knowledge of the basics of spiritual life. However, a knowledgeable person knows everything and not only at the level of abstract theoretical reasoning, he does not lack knowledge in any field. We see that Śrīla Prabhupāda commented on and understood all phenomena, He was not some formal saint who would talk exclusively "about God", avoiding other topics. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes and says very real things on any issues, for what He is sometimes criticized.

Such is the knowledgeable person. God knows everything, He is an expert in everything, He is a person, and a pure devotee is the same. Sometimes a pure devotee shocks the secular audience with his directness, but such truthfulness and frankness are liked by honest, intelligent people. For such openness, the hippies quite accepted Śrīla Prabhupāda as one of their own, it was their style - openness and truth. Prabhupada for them was both a teacher and a father and a friend, He was their own, close, open, knowledgeable. Whatever the conversation goes, Śrīla Prabhupāda always amazes with all His uncompromising truth and His understanding the essence.

Sometimes battles arose around His words. For example, here is a fragment of His purport:

«In this regard, the word vikhyātam is very significant. A man is always famous for his aggression toward a beautiful woman, and such aggression is sometimes considered rape. Although rape is not legally allowed, it is a fact that a woman likes a man who is very expert at rape».

Some unscrupulous people understand "it is a fact that a woman likes a man who is very expert at rape" as the fact that women like men who can rape them. But this is not really a description of a rapist, but a description of the highest type lover, one who is very experienced in how to possess a girl. Such possession is one of the maximum types of manifestation of sensual life. This is a form of love relationship when the girl is completely at the mercy of the man and when he is very skilled in how to took her - "a man who is very expert" is an expression of passion that becomes mutual. The quoted fragment is taken from the last paragraph of a purport about family life, so it concerns a close relationship, not a criminal rape.

Why write about variations of sex life? Why not write about butterflies, not about God? Because a pure devotee says some actual things - sex life concerns almost everyone, and in this topic, the described seduction is one of the highest points. Such kind of comments is occasionally encountered, confusing or annoying the pseudo-religious public. Their confusion is like the confusion of pseudo-priests who are sanctimoniously offended when they hear about the wives of God. If in the material world most people have a wife, why should God be deprived of wives, what is the logic here? Out of envy, they want to neutralise God to the level of impersonal Eternity.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 14 янв 2021, 16:47

TEXT 6

The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus [progenitors of mankind] are born out of My mind, and all creatures in these planets descend from them.

PURPORT

The universe was created from the top to bottom with the help of a Supreme Intelligence, a Supreme Consciousness. People also create using the mind and intelligence, and within society we also see a hierarchy. If the universe appeared by chance, then there would be no laws. The law is an immutable rule that always works, regardless of time and place. The law is the obvious expression of the existence of God and the creation of the universe. There is not a single random in the world, the concept of "randomness" is a mythical concept that can only be applied to the consciousness of people, due to our limitations. Because we do not know the whole thing, we just think that something happens by random. All this is proven, in science it is mathematically confirmed that everything obeys a strict law, even what seems to be random. If even one tiny randomness existed in the world, it would collapse all the laws of the world, because it would introduce an element of random, absence of law everywhere. Therefore, only an unintelligent person who does not have a real education can talk about randomness.

TEXT 7

He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt.

PURPORT

There is no doubt that a man who knows God is engrossed in Him alone. This is what Kṛṣṇa says and anyone who has such knowledge will confirm it. While we are not pure, our devotion may be accompanied by some material attachments, on the other hand, a pure devotee uses all of them in devotional service. A person who knows the supreme greatness of God will always think of Him. In the beginning, we rely on His protection in the material world, but as the devotee develops, He becomes less and less concerned with such things.

A devotee is engaged in fulfilling the desire of God by preaching about Him, and God helps him in this sphere. Without counting on something purely material, sometimes going forward alone, at some moment a devotee may find himself surrounded by spiritual attention from all sides. His external life may not change in any way, but internally he receives spiritual association. Nevertheless, the devotee continues to preach responsibly, because he is well aware of his insignificant position, and even with all kinds of spiritual protection, he remains focused and spiritually hardworking. This is the school of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

A devotee is happy to share his direct knowledge of God, but the ordinary person without qualification will not benefit from it. Telling stories about God, even when a devotee knows Him personally, will not benefit people much. This may inspire, nevertheless, without serious practice, it will remain just beautiful stories about God, but someone will doubt the reality of the events described. When a person is knowledgeable, everything is open to him like daylight, but when people are confused, they cannot understand the obvious things. Therefore, everyone needs standard following and spiritual education.

A devotee never wants to part with his beloved God, but he knows that this can happen by His supreme will. God will not do this to beginners, He understands their desires, but mature devotees can suddenly lose sight of God, for example, like it was in the rāsa dance. We are very fortunate that presently we have complete knowledge which is crowned by the mood of separation from God. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura began that preaching, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati continued it, and Śrīla Prabhupāda completed it, put everything into its final, complete form. Śrīla Prabhupāda's books are the ultimate, complete truth of the entire sampradāya, and from the highest point of view, He is its original founder. Externally we are in the Brahma-sampradāya, but Lord Brahma does not have full knowledge of the rasas. Of course, we do not need to break the order of succession, but Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura is the head of all the devotees, and Lord Caitanya entrusts to Him the preaching of the most esoteric part of spiritual life.

TEXT 8

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.

PURPORT

A devotee, a preacher is always absorbed in God and also he always spread the knowledge of God, trying to give all people the opportunity to become happy. In the spiritual world there is no envy, there is nothing to divide – both God and property are enough for everyone. God is unlimited, so everyone is happy in the spiritual world. God gives everyone the opportunity to return to the spiritual world, but make the condition that we must help others. Help others to come back, preach, and come back yourself. That is His condition.

Of course, God can liberate everyone without conditions. Once a devotee requested Him, "Transfer upon my head all the sins of all the living entities of the universe and let them return to the spiritual world, and I will suffer for their sinful reactions in hell." It was a manifestation of true love for God. However, Lord Caitanya replied to the devotee, "Why should you suffer for the sinful reactions of other living entities? I can delivered all of them without your undergoing the tribulations of sinful activity." But then He continued: "But what is the point of such a deliberation? There are an infinite number of universes like this, and I will only deliver one." Lord Caitanya's answer was, "Rather, we will eternally conduct Gaura-līlā in all the universes of the material world and eternally liberate all who want it, teaching and leading the whole world to the highest stage of spiritual life." Therefore, God make a condition in order to show the world not just an ordinary liberation, but to elevate everyone to the higher rasa of spiritual life. He is God, He can do anything, but liberation is one of the lowest achievements: we suffer in the material world and we only want to get rid of sufferings, it is legitimate but materialistic from the highest point of view.

God thinks globally: if there are infinitely many universes, we will preach to them endlessly and we will liberate not one universe, but an infinite number of universes, and we will engage everyone in devotional service - and in the highest type of religiosity and not in some third-class religiosity. Lord Caitanya as God, as the master of everything, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead also chose the most unfavorable time in the life of the living entities for His appearance. He comes in the very darkness, in the age of Kali, in the midst of irreligiousness and atheism. This is very natural: the time of the age of Kali sets off His highest spiritual power, also intensifies His feelings of separation, and as God and the owner of everything, He gives a chance to living entities – in the most hopeless time. In the age of Kali, people have nothing to lose, nothing good is waiting for them, and God calls everyone: "Join My movement, preach, and find the highest love for God." He suggests, but He also commands: "Become a spiritual master and tell about God to everyone."

Both family people and renunciates can preach the message of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Anyone who refuses to obey His command will inevitably face the age of Kali. Humble souls will accept this order for execution. Humility means that we may not be inclined to preach, but we need to learn, change ourselves gradually, and preach. To become a guru does not necessarily mean to called oneself a "guru"; to become a guru means to understand the science of God and preach it to others. This is how one gradually becomes real guru. The movement of Lord Caitanya can fill everyone with happiness, this happiness is so strong that many follow Lord Caitanya life after life.

Preaching the teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enlightens the devotee and he cognizes Him more and more with all his mind and all his heart, ascending higher and higher along the path of spiritual life. All devotees, all rasas and types of worship are submit to Śrī Caitanya - He is the master of all worlds, the source of all knowledge, renunciation, and the source of the entire spiritual world. All this will be discussed in more detail in our commentary on the Caitanya-caritamrta - a description of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.

TEXT 9

The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me.

PURPORT

Basically, such communication is a preaching and lectures. Everyone can give lectures, everyone should listen to lectures or study Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. When a devotee's preaching in the outer world is weak, his lectures will also be weak or not according to Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. Lacking a developed spiritual life, belivers of any religion rejoice when they are recognized in the material world and worry when they are scolded. For example, they rejoice when some great materialist accepts their confession, but a mature preacher can successfully preach to the whole country or to the entire leadership. God can give any opportunities, however, it will lead nowhere with a lack of qualification. Even if you persuade some big man to chant the holy name, mature intelligent people will not be a member of denomination that acts like a sect. Thus, Bhaktisiddhānta told Śrīla Prabhupāda not to be among the neophytes of Gauḍiya Math; similarly, Prabhupada Himself protected, for example, Harrison, by not introducing him to ISKCON. Harrison is a famous man and Śrīla Prabhupāda simply took care of him so that he would not fall under the guidance of neophytes and spoil his reputation with the events that began after Śrīla Prabhupāda's departure.

Śrīla Prabhupāda "did not" initiate Harrison – for the same purpose, just to protect him. If Harrison had been publicly initiated, he would sooner or later have been dragged into some kind of official administration or would have been lured out of it for money and so on. He was not formally initiated, and from the point of view of neophytes, he was on its own. Of course, Harrison was a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda and was truly initiated because he helped and followed. He also got a liberation. Śrīla Prabhupāda initially asked Harrison for some money to publish the book Kṛṣṇa, but this was rather a correct pretext to use Harrison's popularity for preaching than a need for the money itself. So He offered to write Harrison a preface to the book, knowing that Harrison was a decent man and a sincere devotee. Śrīla Prabhupāda would never, for any amount of money, put a preface from a materialist in the book. Śrīla Prabhupāda has seen everything, He has seen the whole path of Harrison, and He also sees all His disciples and everyone else.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 17 янв 2021, 22:24

TEXT 10

To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

PURPORT

To return to God, one need intelligence, one need understanding. When a person understands everything, he becomes strong, rigid, and his practice becomes mature. With the help of knowledge, a devotee will maintain himself, thus his senses will gradually gain strength, become spiritualized, and he will elevate higher. Person cannot elevate himself by faith alone or by love in general, since faith itself is a very amorphous phenomenon. Rigid faith means a mature spiritual intelligence and all senses directed towards God. One has to follow, and knowledge is important. We understand the guru as we develop. To understand uttama, one must become uttama himself. To what extent a devotee has become madhyama-uttama, just as much he can understand the ācārya. Of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda is unique and anyone can see this uniqueness both in physical communication (vapu) and in following Him (vāṇī). Gaura-vāṇī is the association of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Gaura-vāṇī is the essence of all spiritual life, all rasas, all faith and love.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's movement is a movement of preachers, so knowledge is always relevant to us, but even ordinary spiritual life is based on intelligence. This verse says when a person loves God and is devoted to Him, God gives a person the necessary intelligence. "With love and devotion" means selflessly. As long as a person wants to get money or recognition from religiosity, it will be difficult for him to improve. And again, preaching helps us, it will be difficult to keep one's own ego while preaching in the material world. Yes, one can keep it for some time, but preaching constantly, one will not be able to keep it. The ego is a very painful thing, in fact, it is the most painful thing for a person, and it is extremely difficult to get rid of it. Whatever happens, we always want to keep ego, this is instinct, we want to be the best and so on.

Sometimes some glorification is good - this calms the person, gives him to get stronger, to feel more confident. Not always fame is bad, especially for beginners, for insecure people and similar situations. When we are materialistic, some glorification inspires us and this is good. It is bad when everything is based on that, and it is bad in such a position a person is vulnerable. The weakest point of all materialists is their ego, and the strength of all devotees is unselfishness. A materialist will never understand a devotee. Materialists are rather afraid of the devotees because materialists cannot take devotees by anything and because they do not understand the devotees. And the greatest gift that a person can give to himself is to get rid of the ego or at least reduce it by distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and preaching.

Why don't people preach? Because of selfishness. They want their preaching to bring them honor; this is mistake. They want to preach when they are accepted, praised, and glorified by everyone. At the beginning, they distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda's books for a couple of years and then they want just to get fame and honor, to become a guru, a leader and forever be superior to everyone else - this is their stupidity. So a person can keep his ego for tens of years. In that sense Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura said: "Your friend is the one who scolds you." Some people say, "Oh, yes, criticism is good, we appreciate being scolded," but they go around all experienced devotees a mile away because they can see through them.

Materialists always want to live well, and peace of mind is also important to them, so they are weak. The brāhmaṇa of Kali-yuga is one who is "pure" in his imagination and avoids all "contaminations.'' In this way he harried himself avoiding imaginary impurity all the time, while the devotee calmly goes to any place with preaching. People who evaluate everything in terms of "pleasant or not pleasant" will also always suffer. One should rise above that, which is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. If a person is sensibly ascetic, he will always be healthy, calm and full of energy.

When a person begins to preach, he gets under the attention of people and this can make him uneasy, "Maybe people will think I am a sectarian and I do not want them to think so. I am not a sectarian, this is the true religion," and so on. Beginners are afraid or unable to approach people on the street. In the material world, everyone is blinkered, in fact, people avoid each other, and it is often difficult for a person to get out of these blinders. Humility is following directions, it is preaching; preaching is the fastest way in the spiritual life. The other extreme is not to be afraid, but on the contrary, to behave with a challenge, thinking, “I am a devotee, God protects me, all others are materialists,” and the like. One way or another, mistakes are always inevitable; one should not be too afraid of mistakes. No one is able immediately do everything right or ideally, we have a movement of God consciousness, not a movement of personal perfection. We are all imperfect, this is a fact; the one who is under the control of God becomes perfect and without preaching this is unlikely to happen.

TEXT 11

Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

PURPORT

These are all central verses of the Bhagavad-gītā and many of the purpurts on them have been deliberately devoted to the topic of distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because sometimes practical instructions are more important than direct knowledge of God. The summary is that the preaching continues and will continue to spread more widely. A religious organization may represent spiritual life or may not. It is like in Christianity, take any church - there are five percent left from the instructions of Christ. I am not even exaggerate, there really is about five percent of what Jesus Christ told them to do. Almost everything else is invented, beginning with the symbol of faith. Any spiritual movement is everyone who follows the instructions of the scripture - in a religious society, outside of society, in their own societies. The point is everyone should learn and preach.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's plan is no one will hide from His desire to preach. It often happens that when people preach, especially if they do it fanatically, some problems arise in families and everywhere - all this has already happened to us, we have already passed through that - but we need a preaching, not institutions of noble maidens or stories about "divine love". Religion is also not a means to improve everyday life. Śrīla Prabhupāda blessed the couples at the beginning, however, when He saw that the blessed ones were getting divorced, He refused to do so any further. He has a lot of different directions like: “should take care” and “should not take care” - this is must be understood at all the contexts in order to apply it correctly. Of course, there are people who improve slowly, there are others who value the combination of the material and the spiritual, for example, the combination of family and spiritual life. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave instructions for everyone. However, dealing with one own personal problems, it is difficult to count on the special mercy of God. Therefore, the ordinary religions, including the Vedic ones, are almost all dominated by prejudice and solving the material problems. Materialism does not need to be cultivated and protected, anyway it will always be present by itself.

One need to understand the accents: what is important and what is secondary. Books are important, preaching is important, everything else is secondary. Holidays as a preaching, help in solving social problems as a preaching are sometimes good. But the basis of everything is the direct preaching of spiritual science, so that the essence does not drown in horoscopes and families. At least you can see that Śrīla Prabhupāda with His books was much more effective than anyone who preach a mixed message.

TEXTS 12-13

Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.

PURPORT

Arjuna immediately realized that Kṛṣṇa is God. Spiritual knowledge is always based on God-realization. We as souls are the part of His energy, so we say, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," Hara (Rādhārāṇī) is the supreme energy of God or His eternal companion. We turn to God through Her, but all our thoughts are focused on Him. God is the center both for Her and for us. Perhaps we will learn about Her last of all - in some ways this is natural and should not confuse us. Just like us, She is attracted by Kṛṣṇa. In the higher rasas, They do not realize Themselves as God, and She is there a simple girl - the embodiment of all beauty and femininity. She is kind, nice, skillful, She is also always decorates everything with Her actions. Hara is the Supreme energy of God, but we are just souls, therefore we are always servants of both God and His energy. Rādhārāṇī can participate in any rasas, for example, She also likes little Kṛṣṇa.

In the spiritual world, many incarnations of God can be present at the same time, due to different kinds of relationships, but this is usually not illustrated in the scriptures because otherwise we will get confused. We will begin to try to imagine all of that and there will be chaos in our mind, therefore the emphasis is placed on one or two manifestations of God. Basically on one point: there are God and some rasas with Him. Or: there are God and His energy. A devotee must have an even mind, one-pointedness of mind, everything must be clear, whole, then the devotee will be strong and will develop. This is also the reason why person should not read about rasas in many scriptures, all this will be confusing and the theoretical study of rasas will not give anything. Uttama beginners are sometimes tempted to share their impressions with others, but once they say something at the wrong time, they may lose their vision. After that, having prayed everything anew, they remember this lesson for a long time and always restrain themselves. Nevertheless, since we have strong leaders who are very experienced, sometimes we have the opportunity to tell some episodes of personal rasa.

In Kṛṣṇa-līlā, devotees may emphasize the worship of Rādhā - She is the embodiment of devotion, devotional service - but we do not emphasize Her, because the main line of service is directed towards Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In Kṛṣṇa-līlā, some devotees receive spiritual female bodies and thus serve under the auspices of Rādhārāṇī (Rādhā-dāsya); but even better is the position when devotees receive the spiritual bodies of children or the consciousness of children (mañjarīs) who have access to a more closed part of communication.

Such a spiritual body of a child means complete absence of lust, purity. A devotee as a child does not distinguish between the components of spiritual passion, so devotees in the bodies of children, or with pure consciousness, do not interfere with the communication of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Such devotees, of course, understand everything; such a child's body is simply a lack of claims to direct personal relationships, a lack of desire for personal spiritual exchange. This level is not simulated, it can only be gradually developed. On the other hand, having some other spiritual experience, a devotee can be calm: if he wants exactly such a relationship, it can be fulfilled later; there is no point to worry about anything, nothing will be lost, it will not go anywhere or run away.

It is interesting said about children in the Bible:

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew, 18.2-4).

In other words, the one who is pure in soul, the one who has no developed ambitions, the one who is least of all, sometimes literally being a spiritual child, is the one who is ahead of all. But then Christ taught to preach, so this is not an example of how to be just naive children in the middle of a materialistic world.

When our favourite is Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī will also definitely come. Now we cognize both God in greatness and His energy in greatness, yet even if by addressing to Rādhārāṇī in ecstatic emotions we will elevate to the level of the rasa, our goal is still preaching and we cannot preach such things in the middle of the age of Kali. Also, the position of a gopī or a mañjarī is not the highest position in terms of rasa. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura were only preparing the ground for the preaching of the higher rasa - the mood of Lord Caitanya. Nevertheless, Rādhārāṇī bestows Her blessings on all sincere devotees. Where Lord Caitanya is, indeed, all Vṛndāvana is there.

TEXT 14

O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality.

PURPORT

The greatness of God is infinite and the devotee is amazed by it. He is amazed by His unlimited strength and His unlimited power. Arjuna, as a pure devotee, immediately directly perceived all these qualities of God. Kṛṣṇa only spoke a little about Himself, but Arjuna immediately saw this all. He saw that Kṛṣṇa is God and He saw His infinite power. "Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality" - this is the true vision of God. A devotee realizes that no mundane person cannot understand what God is like, until he perceives God himself. The qualities of God cannot be fully expressed in words, but great devotees try to describe them through spiritual poetry. The point is when we gradually elevate, realize God then, accordingly, we become able to understand these words of Arjuna. Or by listening to Arjuna, we can feel the greatness of God. Thus, by studying spiritual science year after year, a devotee reading the same verses or texts, gradually realizes God.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes that knowledge of God must be gained through the paramparā (disciplic chain of spiritual masters), and when the paramparā is interrupted, God gives knowledge anew. In this case, God gave knowledge anew by preaching to Arjuna. Similarly, the knowledge given by Lord Caitanya was faded over time, then first came Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura who mainly reformed the bābājī movement, preached to the mundane people, and started a war against the sahajiyās, since over five hundred years the movement degenerated to the level of bābājī (monks of the renounced order) and temple worship. (We see the same example in other religions, for example in Christianity: when a religion falls, it tries to survive at the expense of the asceticism of monks and moving to the forefront of ceremonies and rituals.) Further Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura continued, elevated the movement one step higher: introduced sannyāsa, preaching, and brāhmaṇic initiations on the basis of knowledge, not caste inheritance. That was already an attempt to bring everything directly to the form of Lord Caitanya's times.

Both Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura knew all the truth completely which is not difficult to show in Their writings, but they made accents in accordance with the situation of that time. Bābājī somehow had to be moved, then sannyāsa had to be introduced as the principle of preaching and the beginning of varṇāśrama, the main part of which is the brāhmaṇas. Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura did not even have anyone to receive sannyāsa from at that time, and He accepted sannyāsa from the image of His spiritual master Gaurakishora dasa Bābājī. Actually, He might not take sannyāsa at all or take it without any ritual, but the formality was observed as much as possible in order to maintain a standard example for everyone else. They are masters in the line of succession and are obliged to do everything right. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta became the first sannyāsī since the time of Lord Caitanya. Hereditary bābājīs still criticize Him for both sannyāsa and brāhmaṇa initiations.

The center of all bābājīs is located on Rādhā-kuṇḍa, where most of them only imitate renunciation mainly interested in money and television, apparently to watch serials about Kṛṣṇa. Even if some of them know their own rasa but are not spiritually educated, such knowledge, in fact, is of little use because they are not qualified to teach. Maybe someone there knows his rasa or maybe he is invent it - this is veiled in obscurity. Similarly, the holy places restored by Goswāmīs - there are mainly the objects of preaching for us. Śrīla Prabhupāda said at the Kumbha-chalk: "We have come here in this paṇḍal or in this Kumbha-melā not for any other purpose than to glorify the Supreme Lord so that people may understand the importance of this movement" (Lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.12-14, Allahabad, January 17, 1971, at Kumbha-melā).

So, after Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura, Śrīla Prabhupāda came and spread Lord Caitanya's movement in complete form - in the form of sannyāsīis, gṛhasthas, brahmacārīs, brāhmaṇas who preach and chant the holy names all over the world. After the departure of the founder everything always goes into disarray, distortions, abuses and various philosophies begin to breed. Nevertheless, Śrīla Prabhupāda wants to point out to us the essence of the movement and our mistakes in order to lead everyone forward again.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 17 янв 2021, 22:42

TEXT 15

Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe!

PURPORT

When God reveals Himself, the devotee understands this is God before him. Such knowledge has no duality. Just as Brahman is absolute, so God is absolute. He is the one, the only one, and when God reveals Himself, it appears as an obvious truth. In some ways it is higher than meditation, it is a form of direct blessing. Thus the devotee becomes madhyama and his whole life is immediately turned towards God. We can practice for a long time, being in a half-asleep state, but further everything is filled with life.

It is not so important to receive such a blessing personally - even if someone else received it, the preaching of such a devotee will affect everyone else. God is absolute, therefore, it is the same thing to see Him directly or to listen to those who see Him directly. Listening is even better in some ways because it includes all the subsequent experience of the person received this blessing, which simplifies spiritual life. Of course, anyone can achieve the vision of God himself, but if we do not want to do even something miserable, even some feasible preaching, what to say about more? One way or another, by following the teachings, one can gradually acquire everything.

TEXT 16

Please tell me in detail of Your divine powers by which You pervade all these worlds and abide in them.

PURPORT

Arjuna was a friend of Kṛṣṇa for a long time and he did not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, when he knew that Kṛṣṇa is God, he became very interested in how Kṛṣṇa maintains all the worlds. Arjuna suddenly finds himself near the source of everything that exists, and as an educated person, he immediately wants to understand the essence of everything. How does God, who has a two-armed form, maintain this and all other universes? The relationship of friendship has temporarily become hidden, and Arjuna wants to know about the greatness of God.

Of course, friendship is higher than knowledge of greatness, yet such knowledge is also spiritual and arouses the interest of devotees of any rasa. Sometimes devotees elevate to the spiritual level by blessing and then, continuing to admire God, they study the scripture for many years in order to learn the whole science completely. There is no difference between God Himself and the scripture about Him. The devotees of Lord Caitanya are always in the highest position, they are experts in all rasas and also have knowledge of the greatness of God and all the nuances of spiritual science. Lord Caitanya is the head of all devotional service, He is truly kingly gives us all spiritual opulences.

TEXT 17

How should I meditate on You? In what various forms are You to be contemplated, O Blessed Lord?

PURPORT

Arjuna did not realize the real position of Kṛṣṇa for many years. Of course, Arjuna was religious and knowledgeable, but still he could not figure out Kṛṣṇa and considered Him his friend. He asks, "How should I meditate on You?" - although he is always in the company of Kṛṣṇa and constantly thinks only of Him. Such is the influence of yoga-māyā when, for example, a devotee thinks that he is separate from God, but in fact is strongly connected with Him. However, Arjuna also asks for everyone else, so that ordinary people will know about God and learn to think about Him.

Arjuna is a little discouraged because the knowledge of the greatness of Kṛṣṇa has confused all their relationship. Devotees in the higher rasas may also know that their beloved is God, but somehow they will either forget it or they will separate - separately worship Lord Nārāyaṇa and separately have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa, since in the close rasas there is no worship and the concept of God is certainly always present.

Even knowing that their child is God, devotees do not ask Him for anything. Devotees do not ask anything from God at all, especially when He is their child - the desire of the devotees is only to give to Him. If danger threatens, they will protect Him because He is their child. They can pray to Lord Nārāyaṇa, but not to their son. Kṛṣṇa, of course, can do anything, but as a rule, He remains dependent on His parents, although He can do these or other types of protection simply as a pleasure to His parents. Realizing that all this is done by their baby, they admire Him, nevertheless, the relationship remains the same. Of course, such devotees are beyond all rituals, rules, and regulations.

TEXT 18

Tell me again in detail, O Janārdana [Kṛṣṇa], of Your mighty potencies and glories, for I never tire of hearing Your ambrosial words.

PURPORT

Arjuna is a devotee in a spontaneous relationship with God. He always considered God to be his friend, but when he knew that He is the Personality of Godhead, his spiritual enthusiasm did not diminish in the least. Although Arjuna feels a little confused, both his feelings and his interest are growing stronger. Friendship is a high rasa, but knowledge of the greatness of God is also filled with attraction. A devotee is happy in any rasa, filled with happiness from both intimacy and the realization of the greatness of God. Arjuna understands that Kṛṣṇa is capable of anything and he wants to cognize how God acts in such a global way.

Such liberated devotees are always near to God when He comes into this material world. However, there are those who only follow God, who preach when He is not on the planet, in some ways this is an even more difficult and higher position. It is much more difficult for a devotee to maintain his consciousness being outside the pastimes of God, but after went through many such births and carried out a large amount of preaching, these devotees gain strength and experience. As Arjuna suddenly discovered that Kṛṣṇa is God (although Arjuna is always associated with God), similarly these devotees, after being born, gradually elevate to the platform of God consciousness. They are like undercover agents, only they are "undercover agents" of God and, of course, there are special requirements for them and a special demand from them. Usually such devotees take birth once or twice in the yuga in which they preach.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 17 янв 2021, 22:51

TEXT 19

The Blessed Lord said: Yes, I will tell you of My splendorous manifestations, but only of those which are prominent, O Arjuna, for My opulence is limitless.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa replies to Arjuna with some condescension: "Yes, I will tell you of My splendorous manifestations, but only of those which are prominent." He is the only Person who can respond somewhat condescendingly, since He is the only one who is superior to everyone. He is also the most ancient and remembers everything. Kṛṣṇa told the spiritual science to Arjuna more than once, it is not difficult for Him to repeat everything again, but this is part of the greatness and some modesty of God - to say that His opulence is limitless and therefore it is not possible to discuss everything completely.

In the material world, souls only make a parody of greatness or superiority, none of them is great and does not have superiority; only God alone takes this position. One of the main desires of the bewildered souls is to try to show their greatness in front of others, although their greatness is false, but the One who really has greatness does not brag about it. When the soul are able to comprehend God more and more, it gives Him pleasure, just as a growing child understands his parents more and more. Even Lord Nārāyaṇa smiles when we open another page of His superiority. Such devotees certainly are eternally happy in their relationship with God in greatness.

We think we have a father and a mother, but this is all a performance - none of them are actually parents. On the other hand, a devotee gives his parents a debt - after all, they gave birth to him and raised him, so he preaches to them correctly or if he becomes a pure devotee, they will automatically receive liberation. Sometimes such liberation does not happen immediately: if the parents are not pure enough, they will be born several more times and agter coming into contact with devotional service, they will already reach the spiritual world.

As for the birth of liberated souls, God determines the family that will be privileged with such an honor – to become the parents of a liberated soul; these are either spiritually developed people or those who are already worthy of liberation to some extent. Sometimes it can be a quite low birth to make a devotee, after passing through all the stages of life, better understand the mentality of the inhabitants of the material world.

TEXT 20

I am the Self, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

PURPORT

What God talks about immediately comes before our eyes. Whatever phenomena we take, He is the beginning and the end of everything. He created this world and He will destroy it in the end. When we hear God's words, we feel His power in them. It is He Who is the Lord of everything and the Lord of all births and ages. He is also the Paramātmā in everyone's heart. He is birth and death. The greatness of God is immeasurable, however the entire material world bears a certain mood of sadness, due to its meaninglessness.

TEXT 21

Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, of lights I am the radiant sun, I am Marīci of the Maruts, and among the stars I am the moon.

PURPORT

There is one sun in the universe and we perceive it in the form of our “local” Sun. The universe is arranged in a complex way, so it seems to us that there are many suns in it, but all these are reflections of one original sun. Even if we accept the Big Ban Theory, it means that there must be an initial epicenter of such an explosion from where all the stars and suns originated. This epicenter is the original sun from which all other suns were formed or whose energy supports all existing stars and suns. We can understand how far we are from this epicenter that we do not even see this original giant sun.

It is like what revolves around what: if we take the Earth as the center of rotation, it turns out that everything will revolve around the Earth; if we take the Sun as the center, we get a diagram that everything revolves around the Sun; but rotation is relative, so it is impossible to strictly prove what revolves around what. In the same way, we see that the Sun is shining over us, and those who are in another place see that the Sun is shining over them. Now scientists say that there are many suns; in the end it will turn out that Vedic knowledge is more accurate than science, but we do not have time to wait until they understand it or maybe they will never understand it. Either way, it is not that important. If someone wants to think there are many suns, let him think so, it is not so important and does not affect devotional service or the position of God in any way.

Scientists see everything happens through law everywhere, while talking about the randomness of creation. This is due to their complete lack of ability for logic. With the growth of chaos, entropy, they say that everything develops - people have degenerated to the level of some insane teenagers. It is the same with "flat Earth." In multidimensional space, the universe ("earth") is flat. Often in the scripture where the word "earth" used, it does not mean our planet, but the entire earth of the universe, the totality of all planets. In three-dimensional space, everything is divided into planets, but the demigods and yogīs see the universe as a single continent. Moreover, everything is arranged in so complex way that there are many descriptions of creation and they differ because they are made from different points of view. This is done to make possible for a person, by studying them, gradually understand everything in the aggregate. In any science, you must first study many descriptions in order to later understand the operation of the entire system as a whole. Scientists reject the idea of ​​a flat earth without having the slightest idea of what is meant by this.

The universe is not just an empty sphere where planets and holes were scattered all over the place by an explosion; it is a large and very complex structure. Even any molecule is a complex structure, what about the whole universe? Scientists do not even roughly imagine the world order, being at the level of the aborigines with a primitive linear view of everything. Modern science factually is the barbarism when they find some kind of law and begin to "poke" it everywhere, only leading to destruction. The fact that the Earth is round was written in antiquity, but scientists and atheistic propagandists deceive people, saying that this was unknown in antiquity.

"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7) - 1500 BC.

"It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in" (Isaiah 40:23) - 740 BC.

"According to the Talmud, the Earth has a round shape and is surrounded on all sides by water. Thus, the Haggadah describes that Alexander the Great rose up and saw the Earth as a ball, and the ocean as a bowl of water. (Jerusalem Talmud, 1924. Avoda Zara 3:1). "

"Along with this, there was a clear understanding that the Earth is a sphere (TI., Ab. Zar. 3:1, 42 b; Chis. P. 13; 14)."

Earth and a round Earth, and both understandings are quite correct. When people assume a priori that their ancestors were ignorant, this is a biased approach, and if we continue in this vein, then our descendants, after seeing the map of the Earth that we have compiled, should decide that we think that the Earth is flat.

Other sources

The Sūrya-siddhānta: The earth is described as a ball with a diameter of 1,600 yojanas. This is quite close to the diameter of the Earth that is accepted by modern science.

"Twice eight hundred yojanas are the diameter of the earth: the square root of ten times the square of that is the earth's circumference" (Sūrya-siddhānta, 1.59).

If one yojana is equal to eight miles and a mile is equal to 1.6 kilometers, then the diameter of the Earth is 1600 ∙ 8 ∙ 1.6 = 20480 km. However, if we take one yojana equal to eight kilometers (according to various sources, one yojana equals from 8 to 13 km), then it turns out that the diameter of the Earth is 1600 ∙ 8 = 12800 km. That is, it practically coincides with modern data according to which the diameter of the Earth is 6371 ∙ 2 = 12742 km.

As for the formula given in the Sūrya-siddhānta, it also practically coincides with the modern one. According to it, the circumference is equal to the square root of 10 multiplied by the diameter. This is close to the modern formula for the circumference of a circle, according to which the circumference is equal to the diameter multiplied by the number π (Pi). The square root of ten is close in value to π (π = 3.14; √10 = 3.16). Perhaps, such descriptions did not pursue the idea of ​​absolute accuracy of measurements, giving only general ideas about the size. There is also an option that modern scientists are mistaken and conventional formulas work differently in measurements of a cosmic scale.

Generally, for geodetic and space research, about four models of the Earth's shape and associated coordinate systems are used, since in reality the Earth is not a ball and not even a regular ellipsoid. The North Pole of the Earth protrudes slightly upwards, and the South Pole is slightly concave inwards. Therefore, to describe the shape of the Earth, the word "pear” is sometimes used, while all these details are invisible to the eye (for example, to the eye of an astronaut). There is also evidence that presently the Earth is "swelling" at the equatorial region, that is, it began to flatten, although a few decades ago, on the contrary, it was restore to the ball. Thus, the nominal diameter of the Earth can change, and most likely, the Earth pulsates, changing its size.

Modern scientists measure the size of the Earth at a microscopically small period of time, so it would be foolish to accept their data as absolute truth. In the world of matter, everything goes in a cycle and the size of the Earth may also cycle in time or in connection with the four yugas, quite possibly it decrease in size by the age of Kali. Also modern science, obviously, does not know the nature of the existence of the Earth, therefore, for example, it has not yet been able to explain the reason for the "swelling" of the Earth at the equator.

In addition, there is a hypothesis the earth does not just "swell", but is capable to expand. The main argument for the expansion of the Earth is observation: the continents are such in their contours that they can be collected in a ball approximately half the diameter of the Earth presently. If we accept this argument, then the idea of ​​fluctuations in the size of the Earth turns out to be reasonable. Of course, changing the size of the Earth in half sounds very revolutionary, but this idea is based on practical fact. On the other hand, in modern amorphous science, it is nothing prevents from accepting any idea. Also, there is no reason to reject the Vedic view of the world and the universe. The Vedas give a good description, this description is much better than the description of modern science which brings people only evil.

Generally, reading modern scientific articles, it can be firmly make only one conclusion: that today's scientists are fraudsters, since they write their hypotheses as the ultimate truth. Knowing almost nothing even about our planet, these apes rant about what will happen to the universe in 5 billion years. Therefore, we consider modern scientific data very conditionally, by and large not considering them true. People who say that everything evolves, while in fact everything degrades, do not even have the rudiments of objective thinking.

Ṛg-veda, 10.189.1: "Being a satellite of the Earth, the Moon revolves around its mother planet and accompanies it in rotation around the father planet - the Sun."

In any case, all this is not so important. It may be worth to deal with cosmology sometimes, but cosmology is a complex subject, much more complex than modern physics, and also requires spiritual qualifications. It takes years to understand such things, so one do not have to focus too much on them. In general, when something in the scripture is not clear or in doubt, one can leave this question for a while. For example, the birth of Brahma from a lotus flower can also be understood or seen, but it takes time. On the other hand, who can refute this? Science is about following facts, and the facts that the universe is arranged beautifully and harmoniously are much more than the facts of the explosion of an incomprehensible point. We see with our own eyes the beauty of the world, and the "scientists" who follow the Big Bang Theory are only busy with destruction, this is a fact.

TEXT 22

Of the Vedas I am the Sāma-veda; of the demigods I am Indra; of the senses I am the mind, and in living beings I am the living force [knowledge].

PURPORT

The mind is the center of all the senses and it is itself also capable of perception, therefore God speaks of its primacy among the senses. Although Brahma's position is higher than Indra's, Kṛṣṇa points to Indra because he represents the executive authority of the entire universe. As an image of power, Indra in this sense is the best personification of God. The soul, or consciousness, is you and me, and we need to cognized both ourselves and God. When a person constantly thinks of God, he becomes satisfied.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 18 янв 2021, 20:04

TEXT 23

Of all the Rudras I am Lord Śiva; of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas I am the lord of wealth [Kuvera]; of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of the mountains I am Meru.

PURPORT

Lord Śiva is also attractive. Devotees sometimes worship Śiva, the friend of all living entities. Sometimes, people ask Him to fulfill their desires, but then they do not know how to hide from the consequences. Lord Śiva is renounced and reflects the greatness of God to a certain extent. Why are people attracted to Śiva? Because it is easier to approach Him and easier to understand Him. In general, we worship Lord Śiva as a devotee.

TEXT 24

Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Bṛhaspati, the lord of devotion. Of generals I am Skanda, the lord of war; and of bodies of water I am the ocean.

PURPORT

To understand what is it talking about, we need to know all these personalities and their qualities, it will be not enough just read about them. On the other hand, if God Himself says that they are the best in their field, then one can understand how exalted Bṛhaspati is and how strong Skanda is.

TEXT 25

Of the great sages I am Bhṛgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental om. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himalayas.

PURPORT

The planets of the universe in multidimensional space form the continent of the universe, which includes all of them from the highest to the lowest ones. All the planets of space are just parts of this continent. When people were developed, they could travel to different parts of the "earth" (universe), presently, due to materialism, we are limited to the physical three-dimensional Earth.

Among all kinds of sacrifices, the best is the chanting of the holy names. This is the most versatile and most powerful practice. When people are materialistic, it seems to them that lavish ceremonies, the sacrifice of money or some kind of property are more significant than chanting the name of God. The sound "om" is repeated by mystic yogīs who enter into trance, but chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is the more powerful process. The yogīs chanting om are rather engaged in impersonal meditation, and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is personal, since it is a combination of the names of God. Om is the best among sounds.

TEXT 26

Of all trees I am the holy fig tree, and amongst sages and demigods I am Nārada. Of the singers of the gods [Gandharvas] I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.

PURPORT

A number of plants of the ficus genus (including the banyan tree) are considered sacred in various religions. The phrase "fig tree" used by Śrīla Prabhupāda usually refers to almost all types of ficuses, although it especially refers to the fig tree (Ficus carica - lat.), that is, to the tree on which the figs are grown. In the Bible, the fig tree is mentioned quite often and symbolizes wisdom, healing, prosperity, wealth, and spiritual blessing. In the Koran, sura 95 it is called fig (At-Tin). In Buddhism, the religious ficus (Ficus religiosa - lat.) is revered, it is called the bodhi tree ("tree of awakening"). Finally, the Bengal ficus (Ficus benghalensis - lat.), or the sacred banyan tree, is revered in Hinduism and is the national tree of India.

Modern researchers of Vedic knowledge agree that the Sanskrit word aśvatthaḥ from this verse means a religious ficus, that is, a bodhi tree. But Śrīla Prabhupāda in synonims for aśvatthaḥ writes "the banyan tree", that is, He means Bengali ficus, which is the national tree of India.

From a spiritual point of view, it is not so important which tree is meant in the text, since each of them is colorful and created by God. The bodhi tree is long-lived and is large enough; the Bengal ficus is a tree that lowers from its branches many aerial roots to the ground, then they thicken over time and turn into trunks, so one tree eventually grows like a whole grove, and it is also a long-lived one. In other words, both trees are unusual and can be representatives of God.

Thus, in the verse itself to designate this tree, Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the phrase "the holy fig tree", which means all types of sacred trees of this genus - the bodhi tree, and the Christian and Muslim fig trees, and the Indian banyan tree. However, in synonyms Śrīla Prabhupāda writes "the banyan tree", which primarily refers to itself. Consequently, a person can accept any of these trees as sacred, nevertheless, among all of them, the sacred banyan tree in its unusualness for trees and in size (one banyan tree can grow on an area of ​​up to 1.5 hectares) surpasses all the others, therefore it is the sacred banyan tree best taken as representation of God among the trees.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 20 янв 2021, 16:57

TEXT 27

Of horses know Me to be Uccaiḥśravā, who rose out of the ocean, born of the elixir of immortality; of lordly elephants I am Airāvata, and among men I am the monarch.

PURPORT

From the churning of one of the oceans of the universe, fourteen treasures arose, including the horse Uccaiḥśravā and the elephant Airāvata. Uccaiḥśravā is a flying horse that can also raise the dead. As for Airāvata, even without seeing him, but meditating on his name, one can feel his power and strength.

Much can depend on the tsar or the president in the state, and ideally the president should take care of the spiritual culture of the people. Now most states have become secular, which is natural and sometimes even favorable, since religious leaders who are lust for material wealth kill the real religion. We see in practice that it is often in non-religious states the sprout of living religion can germinate, rather than in states where religiosity is observed only externally.

Demigods churned the ocean of the universe, modern scientists "churn" DNA nowadays, which will lead to further troubles created by science. Modern science only violates harmony and worsen the living conditions of people.

TEXT 28

Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi, givers of abundant milk. Of procreators I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vāsuki, the chief.

PURPORT

Lightning strike is the most destructive weapon, it is also selective and does not kill everyone. Nowadays people do not have mystical powers to wield this kind of weapon - with the decline of morality and the loss of spiritual knowledge, people's capabilities are also reduced.

God is omnipotent, so in the spirit world one can do nothing at all. Even here on earth, for example, God gave Moses manna from heaven and people ate it. Especially in the spiritual world - everything can appear simply at will. However, there are different types of activities when we do something for God out of love. It is one thing when an offering to God simply appears from somewhere out of space, and it is quite another thing when a devotee make it himself and bring it to God. Therefore, out of desires, there are also different activities as an expression of love relationships. There are also creativity, art, knowledge and more. There are travellings there too. Although in the spiritual world, one can instantly be transported anywhere you want, but to fly on a ship is inspiring, and it is also an reason for communication. Sometimes devotees fly around the entire planet to see all its beauties.

Earlier, people were richer and could have many children, presently, due to poverty and deteriorating family relationships, it is becoming more and more difficult to have many children.

TEXT 29

Of the celestial Nāga snakes I am Ananta; of the aquatic deities I am Varuṇa. Of departed ancestors I am Aryamā, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, lord of death.

PURPORT

Ananta means unlimited. This snake is the embodiment of infinity, eternity, or Brahman. Yogīs and devotees meditate on Him. He is also the embodiment of the power of Lord Balarama.

Yamaraja is the god of death. After death, people are sent to his court. There is a description of this court: sinners are lined up before him, all their sins are read to them and their punishment is determined. The righteous enter the other gate of the Yamarāja's kingdom, where they are greeted with rejoicing. This is also described In the Bible: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

The fear of punishment is a natural fear. Sometimes atheists boast and say that they do not mind going to hell, but no one will remain brave in front of Yamarāja who is death incarnate. When Yamarāja turns into his terrifying form, many lose unconsciousness at the sight of him. However, God's anger is even more powerful and only pure devotees can stand before Him. Sometimes a pure devotee can also embody the power and anger of God.

TEXT 30

Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda; among subduers I am time; among the beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa, the feathered carrier of Viṣṇu.

PURPORT

Among the demons, the greatest devotee is Prahlāda Mahārāja. Demons and demigods are the two main categories of living entities in the universe. The demigods are religious and the demons are atheistic. However, both are materialists, and in the highest sense, from the point of view of devotional service, both categories are not very religious. Therefore, devotional service can be performed both among the demigods and among the demons, because it is transcendental.

Time destroys everything. The universe emerges from the movement of time, and time destroys everything every second. Garuḍa is a giant bird, the embodiment of Brahman, power and greatness of God.

The bottom line is that any outstanding phenomenon represents God. Whatever a person sees, he can remember God. By doing so, ultimately a person realizes that all manifestations of strength, beauty, wealth, and other have their source in God. A person's mind is aligned, a person becomes peaceful and so continues to elevate further and further. Of all the comparisons given in these verses, we could see, as an option, the ocean, the lions, and the lightning, and not see the rest, but all these are important as an example, as an illustration of the principle. We also see people with different qualities around us, and the main problem is they are all mortal. Until one understands that death is the main problem of this whole world, he is still infinitely stupid.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 20 янв 2021, 17:06

TEXT 31

Of purifiers I am the wind; of the wielders of weapons I am Rāma; of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

Of all the aquatics the shark is one of the biggest and is certainly the most dangerous to man. Thus the shark represents Kṛṣṇa. And of rivers, the greatest in India is the Mother Ganges. Lord Rāmacandra, of the Rāmāyaṇa, an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, is the mightest of warriors.

PURPORT
For some reason, ISKCON editors did not publish part of Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on this verse, although it is very short. They did not put the words of Śrīla Prabhupāda about the Ganges, apparently thinking the Ganges is not the largest in India. However, in terms of basin area, the Ganges is the largest river in India, surpassing the Indus and Brahmaputra rivers, which are longer than the Ganges. A river is measured by its volume of water, not by its length. What was the fault of Lord Ramacandra, whom ISKCON also did not mention, is not clear.

The shark is the most dangerous to humans and therefore represents God. The question may arise: why is such a dangerous fish mentioned as a representative of God? God must be all-good, right? Modern people have degenerated, so they consider sensual pleasure a good thing, and they see sufferings as an unfavorable factor. Modern people have degraded so much that they have already distorted the definition of truth for themselves, truth for them is what gives them pleasure and everything that bothers them, they consider false. In order for such ordinary people to sober up, they are reminded that time, death, and a shark - all these are also the energy of God.

Materialists respond by saying that if God were perfect, He would create a world without death. God can create a world without death and He has already created such a world, but the world of matter is a specific creation that arises at the desire of souls. When souls want to act independently, then the world of matter is created, where death also arises due to mistakes and desires of living beings. Thus, death is a consequence of the souls' desires and not the will of God. Death, misfortune, diseases, crimes - all these are derived from the actions and desires of souls and is not the desire of God.

To this, the materialists again say that if God were omnipotent, He would still create a world without death, fulfilling all their desires. Such materialists ignore the truth and do not even want to think about the origin of all their misfortunes. They themselves are to blame for their own fate, because they want to have the freedom to do whatever they please, and when they refuse to understand the truth, then diseases, old age and death haunt them endlessly. Materialists consider themselves perfect, standing in the way of the great progress of mankind, but still old age, diseasees and death continue to mow down their ranks. They say that being exists only in the mind, that there is no truth, that truth is relative, that everyone has their own truth, therefore the consequences of such a philosophy - old age, diseases, and death - destroy them continuously.

As a result, the materialists say that there is no God, and the spiritual world is invented, that the spiritual world is a fairy tale and there is no eternal life, then death again comes to them in all forms, destroying them endlessly. Such an endless death, although caused by the actions of people themselves, but in the highest sense, is certainly a representation of God.

The materialists, sitting in the swamp of the material world, like frogs, croak in all sorts of ways. These frogs have invented various techniques and burn oil at 100 million barrels a day (an oil barrel is equal to 159 liters). The countdown to the moment when the oil will run out has already been started. But the problem is not even in the presence or absence of oil, but in the fact that, since a huge amount of energy resources are burned, the world climate is getting worse and worse, and then the loss of crops will begin. Frogs slowly warm up the water in which they live, and do not realize that they can cook themselves in it. Although such death will be the result of the activities of the frogs themselves, but, nevertheless, gentlemen, it must be admitted that such a death is extremely fair for brainless frogs who imagine themselves to be independent.

Frogs invented a philosophy that the world arose by chance, by itself, that frogs, building cars and rockets, would eventually conquer the entire universe, that frogs appeared as a result of evolution, and then, changing body parts using genetic engineering, they would live forever. Frogs do plastic surgery on themselves, admiring their own beauty and amaze others with their attractiveness. When a frog grows up, it becomes a full-fledged toad, and such a toad certainly has weight in the society of other toads. By their activities, toads and frogs only hasten their own death, but still death, in its inevitability, in its greatness, represents God. This is similar to how a shark attacks its prey or a large snake grabs a frog, interrupting its croaking about evolution and world progress.

TEXT 32

Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the Self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

Among created manifestations, the total material elements are first created by Mahā-Viṣṇu and are annihilated by Lord Śiva. Brahmā is the secondary creator. All these created elements are different incarnations of the material qualities of the Supreme Lord; therefore He is the beginning, the middle and the end of all creation.
Regarding the spiritual science of the Self, there are many literatures, such as the four Vedas, the Vedānta-sūtra and the Purāṇas, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Gītā. These are all representatives of Kṛṣṇa. Among logicians there are different stages of argument. The presentation of evidence is called japa. The attempt to defeat one another is called vitaṇḍa, and the final conclusion is called vāda. The conclusive truth, the end of all reasoning processes, is Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT
In modern editions of the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, ISKCON editors and translators have changed the text of this commentary in many places, including adding whole sentences of their own writing (they do this regularly in Śrīla Prabhupāda's purports). Changes were made to the English edition of the Gītā and partly to the Russian one. We have deleted everything added here by editors and translators. ISKCON's editors and translators make their corrections and additions to Śrīla Prabhupāda's texts apparently to demonstrate their erudition. But Śrīla Prabhupāda writes everything scientifically and accurately, so nothing needs to be changed in his texts, nothing needs to be added there or removed from there. Such kind of additions and changes to the text by editors are stupid and generally offensive. The main value of Śrīla Prabhupāda's comments is not in the scope of academic knowledge, but in the fact that He is associated with God. By reading the person associated with God, everyone can develop such a connection.

TEXT 33

Of letters I am the letter A, and among compounds I am the dual word. I am also inexhaustable time, and of creators I am Brahmā, whose manifold faces turn everywhere.

PURPORT

Sanskrit is the most capacious, beautiful and harmonious language. Even the Sanskrit alphabet looks harmonious and beautiful. It is not necessary to know Sanskrit in order to develop spiritually, however some devotees may study it as part of the study of scripture and spiritual academism. God can speak any language, and in any case, all languages ​​are derived from Sanskrit.

Eternal time is Brahman. The real perception of time is the perception of it as eternity, a time that has neither beginning nor end. Most of the poetry is a reflection of boundless eternity. Brahma is the creator of the universe and only he, having a huge intellect, sees all its subtleties and subdivisions, all other inhabitants of the universe perceive it only partially. Brahma has four heads each of which thinks in accordance with one of the four principles of thinking. Looking at the world from four different points of view, Brahma sees it in the most comprehensive way.

Without any scientific development, without Vedic knowledge, all stories about Brahma and other demigods will look like ordinary mythology. To understand Brahma or Śiva, a person must be sufficiently developed and elevated. Ordinary people may like some kind of stories about God or demigods, but as long as a person does not understand the essence, it will be at the level of entertaining stories for him. People listen to such stories - today about Brahma, tomorrow about Buddha, the day after tomorrow about Napoleon or Newton, simply out of their materialistic interest in hearing about someone. This kind of hearing about God or demigods has very little effect, so many people can flow through the spiritual movement who seem to have heard about God, but have not heard anything.

A pure devotee differs from an ordinary guru in that he can convey the essence to a person, give him understanding, perception. Some formal stories about God or even some emotions about God, therefore, may not uplift. Śrīla Prabhupāda is the perfect example of such a pure devotee who also gave an example of knowledge, speaking about ordinary mundane things too. Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke on any topic and showed everyone the essence in any topic. A pure devotee knows everything, and no matter what he talks about, everyone feels inside the joy of knowing the truth. The process of developing knowledge always brings inner happiness and liberation. Listening to Śrīla Prabhupāda, people wanted to follow Him to the ends of the earth and do whatever He asked. Therefore, in the movement, everyone preached and did not engage in their own petty life, everyone was happy and inspired.

What about our case when we are not pure devotees? It is very simple: we just need not to talk about topics that we do not understand. If one do not know, for example, Brahma or doubt his existence, one should not take up this topic. If one do not know love of God or spontaneous devotion, one should not lecture on this topic, defiling it with his materialistic ideas. The lecture is interesting when a person talks about what really excites him. I know materialists who talk about their materialistic ideas in religion with some success, because it comes "from a pure heart." He speaks sincerely and the audience also listens sincerely, because it is close to them, and hence the mutual interest.

When a person is materialistic inside but he tries to portray devotion, all his words will come with an underlying feeling of "this is a lie." If the same person, instead of simulating devotion, says a few words about his real spiritual problems and thoughts about spiritual life, everyone will be interested. These are interesting what is true and what is relevant. Therefore, among other things, it is worth to talk about some actual problems. If, for example, there are problems in a spiritual society, then you can discuss them, not Brahma. If a person has the same problem every day, it is necessary to solve it or tell him that his problem will never be solved, and if this is true, he will feel happiness and understand that there is no point in thinking about this problem.

The principle of the lecture is very good, but it is better to preach in it from one's own position, then it will always be interesting and effective. Usually, in a society it is like: at lectures - about the spiritual, on the sidelines - gossips. Why do people like gossips? Because it is their lust and envy, and because gossips spread unofficial truth which, sometimes, really coincides with reality. Gossips are often the main source of news for people, their main interest.

TEXT 34

I am all-devouring death, and I am the generator of all things yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, speech, memory, intelligence, faithfulness and patience.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

As soon as a man is born, he dies at every moment. Thus death is devouring every living entity at every moment, but the last stroke is called death itself. That death is Kṛṣṇa. All species of life undergo six basic changes. They are born, they grow, they remain for some time, they reproduce, they dwindle and finally vanish. Of these changes, the first is deliverance from the womb, and that is Kṛṣṇa. The first generation is the beginning of all future activities.
The six opulences listed are considered to be feminine. If a woman possesses all of them or some of them she becomes glorious. Sanskrit is a perfect language and is therefore very glorious. After studying, if one can remember the subject matter, he is gifted with good memory, or smṛti One need not read many books on different subject matters; the ability to remember a few and quote them when necessary is also another opulence.

PURPORT
And in this verse, the "smart" editors added their suggestions and we also deleted all their speculations.

In this book, due to its limited size, we present very few Śrīla Prabhupāda's purports on the verses, but even these few purports, after being edited by editors and translators in editions later than 1972, are full of distortions and changes. Moreover, not only purports were distorted and added, but also verses. Nevertheless, you can use such purports, since the main essence has not been distorted. ISKCON's editors and translators, because they are materialists, distort mostly secondary things. Considering themselves smart and expert, they do not understand basic things and therefore do not touch them.

As for editing, sometimes they edit bringing in exactly the opposite meaning. For example, Śrīla Prabhupāda: "One need not read many books on different subject matters..." ISKCON's editors in English: "And the ability not only to read many books on different subject matters but to understand them..." Translators into Russian added from themselves too: "And the ability, having read many books on different fields of knowledge, to assimilate their content..."
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Сообщение Jayanti » 24 янв 2021, 20:50

TEXT 35

Of hymns I am the Bṛhat-sāma sung to the Lord Indra, and of poetry I am the Gāyatrī verse, sung daily by brāhmaṇas. Of months I am November and December, and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring.

PURPORT

The Gāyatrī mantra is intended for those who are highly advanced spiritually. Materialistic brāhmaṇas say that without purity and chanting of the Gāyatrī mantra, success in spiritual life is impossible, but the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra alone is sufficient to achieve success. Others say that the Gāyatrī mantra is unimportant - this is the other extreme, because the Gāyatrī mantra is also sublime. With the Gāyatrī mantra one can reach the spiritual world, and the same can be done with the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

The answer is the status of a brāhmaṇa used for materialistic purposes is false, just as it is materialistic to belittle true brāhmaṇism. When the brāhmaṇas are materialistic, they are rejected along with their materialistic mantras, when the brāhmaṇa status is used correctly, then the position of the brāhmaṇas is exalted. That a person is a brāhmaṇa means that he has realized himself as an immortal soul - that is the minimum qualification of a brāhmaṇa.

The months of November and December are the best months in India because grain is harvested during this time. In other countries, the harvest takes place in other months, but the principle is that autumn is the time of harvest and the joy of people. In the Tenth Canto of the Bhagavatam there is a chapter "Description of autumn"; it is not so important what months fall in autumn, it means the time when people reap the fruits of their labor.

TEXT 36

I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.

PURPORT

Gambling can strongly absorb a person. Sometimes people lose all their money in gambling or devote most of their time to such games. The desire to accumulate wealth is also a kind of gambling or greed. No matter how much a person has, he wants more and more. Modern business is often not a business as such, but a form of gambling: where to invest money to make a profit. But the manufacturer should create benefits for people, be a master of his craft, and not a gambling cheater. A person has to become a specialist and produce food, clothing or build something, for example. A business like “where to get even more money” is a gamble and a violation of the principle. This is a Western style, economic totalitarianism, where everything is controlled by money. The CIS countries should stay away from such cheater and strive to preserve traditional values.

A hero of our time is often a clever adventurer who skillfully makes connections, artistically throwing dust into someone's eyes where it is necessary. He is not devoid of intelligence and some kind of charisma, in some ways he is even charming - a sort of Ostap Bender, going to his goal. However, this approach lacks depth, so this kind of life is meaningless. In the age of Kali, most people live very superficially, they have no idea how attractive spiritual life can be. It seems to them that religion is something boring in contrast to their materialistic life which is full of interesting events. However, the most interesting is God.

Here again the negative quality (gambling) is presented as the energy of God. We must understand that all qualities come from God, but inside matter almost all of them acquire a negative character. Cheating is clearly negative, but, for example, mutual love can also be quite negative, because it ties people to the world of matter. Modern people consider the pleasant as good and the unpleasant as evil, but the pleasant is not always good. Splendor, victory, adventure, and strength can be positive or negative, but here it is described as a principle: God is so attractive that He can be compared to an exciting gambling, adventure and great victory. We need to understand exactly this: God is perfect and He is attractive in a perfect way, this is the meaning of all the above comparisons.

TEXT 37

Of the descendants of Vṛṣṇi I am Vāsudeva, and of the Pāṇḍavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyāsa, and among great thinkers I am Uśanā.

PURPORT

There is no difference between the expansions of Kṛṣṇa, this is always the same Person. Within the framework of theology, we study various manifestations of God, but within the framework of relationships, this does not play any role. For example, if Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself in many forms for His wives, this is still the same Kṛṣṇa for each of them; the fact that every Kṛṣṇa is an expansion has no practical meaning for them. The Absolute is unchanging, but He can manifest His different qualities in different situations.

Kṛṣṇa has divided sages and thinkers here. A sage is one who can understand the essence of life, and a thinker is one who can understand the essence of simpler phenomena. A thinker is, for example, a politician or public figure, and a sage is one who knows God.

TEXT 38

Among punishments I am the rod of chastisement, and of those who seek victory, I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am wisdom.

PURPORT

Nowadays there is often little justice in states, but everyone can be sure that none of the criminals will escape punishment. Of course, ideally, the state should ensure the implementation of all laws, but if this does not happen, universal justice works flawlessly and will recompense all that is missing. The action of universal justice is not an object of faith and is not always a matter of some distant future, it is quite possible to see it during life – all rascals degrade in front of our eyes and everything that is based on rascality does not live long. Sometimes atheistic states exist for decades, this is due to the collective desire of people, or some karma of society can also be manifested in this way.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 24 янв 2021, 20:59

TEXT 39

Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being-moving or unmoving-that can exist without Me.

PURPORT

Both the spiritual and the material worlds rest on God. God is not manifest in the material world, but He is also the essence of everything. For example, we do not form our body, we do not know how the entire cosmos is arranged and exists - all these are created and functions thanks to the will and energy of God. By surrendering to God, a person can escape of the influence of matter and achieve eternal happiness. As a person develops, he is more and more aware and feels the presence of God in everything.

TEXT 40

O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences.

PURPORT

Indeed, Kṛṣṇa has said very little here about Himself. He gave only a few examples so that, looking at the material world, a person could remember God. All the qualities of God exist to an infinite degree. Someone might think, "But perhaps there is another similar God with unlimited qualities somewhere else?" Such questions can be resolved basically practically: when a person realizes Eternity, he sees its only infinity. In the material world, we also see the reflection of this Eternity as the infinity of the sky or space for us. If such gigantic phenomena exist, then their source is also not small? And each of us want unlimited happiness, is not that right? Therefore, both experience and logic give an answer to these questions.

Of course, the sky, the space, and the earth are all limited. When we look at them, the feeling of infinity arises exactly from the soul, because the soul is a part of the infinite Brahman. Nevertheless, we are in the material world, in a constant stream of causes and effects; it is also a relative world where, for example, big or small is defined as the ratio of objects - a tree is bigger than grass, but smaller than planet itself. So, it is natural for us to ask: if there is one God, why cannot there be a second one? People often choose to "believe", because they are internally afraid of many questions. On the other hand, with true faith, a person is not afraid to go to the end: to understand and find out everything.

So there is only one infinity. There can be no two infinities, two infinities will mutually exclude each other. If we assume that there are two Gods, then the impersonal Brahman becomes infinite, as their one source. These two (three, four) "gods" that have appeared are our current mentality, our understanding of any form and personality. Matter is limited, each form is limited, so pointing to any form is an indication of limitation for us: every material phenomenon has a cause, therefore, God must also have a cause. The way out of such mentality is the cognition of impersonal Brahman which lacks any qualities or definitions; God can be understood when a personality elevates above Brahman. There are also infinite expansions of God, but they are all just Him alone again. This is further cognition of the Absolute.

The answers to these questions have long been given even in Western philosophy, Descartes's cogito ergo sum ("I think, therefore I am") - this is the final point in the inventions of the mind. Descartes reasoned that everything I see may be an illusion created in my mind, but since I think about it, therefore I am as a person is real. If Descartes is not real, then who reasons about illusion? Indeed, everything around us may be an illusion, but the reasoner is obviously real. If there were no reasoner, there would be no reasonings, there would be no one to doubt the truth or the illusion. Further Descartes continues that since I am real, God is real too. This is, in principle, perfect proof of the existence of both the soul and God. If I am real, then my source should be real too, shouldn't it? Obviously, we are not self-sufficient and did not arise out of our own desire. Also, the entire material world was not created by us, so it was created by someone else, wasn't it? If I am a personality then the source should also be a Personality. If I am, a limited personality, seek limitlessness, then limitlessness exists somewhere or in someone.

There can be dozens and hundreds of proofs of the existence of the soul and God. On the other hand, we can also be given hundreds of arguments in response that "refute" our evidence. If one follows the correct logic, then it is impossible to refute them – all such "refutations" are obtained only by misrepresenting the logic or by distortion. People do not want to recognize God, so they are ready to say white to black, contrary to any common sense.

Is such logic necessary in the spiritual life and is it part of the spiritual life? Lord Caitanya is a great logician; logic is a direct understanding of both God and the laws of the world. Moreover, logic and knowledge are the most perfect weapons capable to defeat anyone and establish the truth for millennia. Even when a person does not recognize logic and stubbornly follows his ideas, such a conversation will still have an effect later, or in other cases, an entire state or even the entire world system can be crushed by logic. Why do the rulers not adopt such a powerful tool for themselves? They try, but without knowing God, it is difficult or impossible to use such things. Also, if one tries to deceive others, these methods will not work - these are methods of truth and the truth always points to God.

TEXT 41

Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.

PURPORT

All the beauty of the material world is just a reflection of spiritual beauty. Spiritual beauty is eternal, but material beauty is both temporary and dangerous.

TEXT 42

But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.

PURPORT

Since everything was created by God, then He can be understood and cognized using the mind, intelligence, and senses. Is there a second God? Is there any other reality? All forms and all reflections end at the level of Brahman, so without realizing Brahman, a person can wander in his mind endlessly, but knowing Brahman, a person finds peace. Kṛṣṇa describs the whole world - all this also can be seen. He is God, He knows everything. However, the question arises about His expansions: aren't they the similar Gods too? No, all of them is He alone. Acting in eternity, God expands Himself unlimitedly, and we are part of this expansion. Therefore, wherever a devotee looks, he sees God everywhere. With logic, he can support his mind and beliefs, and with practice, he can see everything directly - both matter and spirit.

When there is no knowledge, people do not understand what is spiritual and what is not, they are afraid of everything or they do a cult. The criterion of truth they take is what they like or what is recognized in society. There is also little use in formal knowledge of God. As long as a person does not devote himself sufficiently to the spiritual life, only formally know about God, he will be in the power of matter. The most important thing is to occupy our own consciousness, and occupy the body is a secondary moment. Of course, ideally a devotee occupies both the body, the senses, and the mind, but it is important to become self-realized. People may be engaged in rituals, diligently performe them and consider such activities sacred, but they still know little about God. They pray, they realize the general greatness of God, only they know nothing about Him.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Purity of heart is purity of motives, as well as knowledge. Until a person does not know, it will be difficult for him to orientate. Monks, instead of preaching, struggle with their own senses for years, never learning anything about God. People devote to God their prayers, work, build large temples. For a thousand years of Christianity in Russia and for two thousand years of Christianity in the Western world, people have almost no any knowledge of God, because the New Testament speaks about the need for preaching and not about temple worship.

God supports the entire universe only with His part, His expansion, and there are an infinite number of such universes like ours - all this is the expansion of the infinite.
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