Bhagavad-gītā for Everyone

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Сообщение Jayanti » 24 янв 2021, 21:17

Chapter 11. The Universal Form

TEXT 1

Arjuna said: I have heard Your instruction on confidential spiritual matters which You have so kindly delivered unto me, and my illusion is now dispelled.

PURPORT

Arjuna realized that God is the cause and essence of everything. Arjuna understood this quickly because he is a liberated soul, but we need decades to understand. A person with spiritual skill even hearing one name "Kṛṣṇa" will be attracted by it, because it is very unusual. How many years have passed, but this name "Kṛṣṇa" remains incomprehensibly attractive.

The words of God are nondifferent from Himself, therefore a person can perceive God through His words. Kṛṣṇa also performed many superhuman activities which also helps us to understand Him. On the other hand, God has many names and forms and all of them are also God. Why is Kṛṣṇa original? Since He manifests the greatness and the close relationships. We see parental, friendly, and marital relationships everywhere, hence it must also be in God. But then there must be deception, betrayal, and jealousy in God - indeed, these are also present in Him. Lord Nārāyaṇa (God in greatness) is perfect, He does not violate anything, but Kṛṣṇa, for example, like a child can do whatever He wants. The Absolute must have all qualities.

Everyone of us seek love, justice, eternity, and happiness - all these are in God. One may believe in it, but knowledge and practice are better. In any case, knowledge and practice are necessary for spiritual development. People have no knowledge because they are busy with themselves. Self-absorption is the main disease of the material world. Whether a person is in religion or out of religion, usually he is focused on himself and because of this he has very little knowledge. One can get rid of self-absorption by following the instructions of the scripture, working for God, or even better - by preaching. One of the main defilements is selfishness which manifests itself as a desire to be someone, to appear as someone in the eyes of others, a painful perception of criticism, a desire for glorification; all these can be corrected mainly by preaching. One can live for tens of years in temples, be an ascetic, give lectures within a spiritual society, but still keep one's ego. This fact is not a theory, we see such things everywhere. Therefore, the scripture is very clear: preach "from door to door," from person to person. By preaching to others, the personality is purified the fastest. Of course, one can do everything nominally in this case too, but it is more difficult to do it by preaching to others.

TEXT 2

O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the appearance and disappearance of every living entity, as realized through Your inexhaustible glories.

PURPORT

Śrīla Prabhupāda usually gives five to ten spiritual contexts in one purport, I usually describe one to three contexts. Śrīla Prabhupāda has a very succinct, concise presentation in which there is a lot of information, I have a detailed presentation of one or two points. Why is that? Because I write at a simpler level. When people have developed intelligence, it is enough for them to hear a thought briefly to understand everything completely; when there is little intelligence, the thought must be expanded, illustrated.

Kṛṣṇa spoke in general, briefly, thesis, but listened to these theses, Arjuna understood the whole subject, therefore he speaks here about the inexhaustible greatness of God. Kṛṣṇa has already told briefly, thesis a lot, and when a person has intelligence, he can quickly understand all what Krishna said is true. God created this world, He also created souls, living beings. Kṛṣṇa talks about different parts of creation, about the methods of spiritual life briefly, succinctly, beautifully and logically, so Arjuna easily understood that God is before him. Arjuna also realized the greatness of God, although he always considered God to be his friend.

Arjuna's and ours possibilities of realizing God are similar; listening to God or reading about Him are generally the same, because there is no difference whether a person listens to God or reads about Him. Similarly as Arjuna realized the greatness of God by listening, we can realize - perceive directly - the greatness of God by reading, by personally verify this. Through the text, through logic, through the realization of the greatness of God manifested in nature, or the realization of Brahman, the Supersoul. Wherever we look, everything shows God exists and what His qualities are. A person sees a blade of grass or a computer - all these point to God in many details.

For example, we see a computer: it is created, made by man. If the world had not been created, no one would have been able to create within the world. If everything had arisen by chance, there would be no laws, everything would continue to happen by chance, and there would be no directed activity – it would be impossible. By creating a computer, people model the world, they model thinking, they model activities, and forms. The desire of people is domination, at least over the computer world. The computer, virtual reality, is simply an extension of the desire for domination and the desire to imitate God. God created all these in reality, people make only a mock up but how passionate they are about it! Any scientific invention is a manifestation of the desire to gain freedom from the laws of nature, in other words, the same desire to free oneself from the power of matter.

This understanding of God through the surrounding reality is not spiritual emotions, but it is sometimes more important than spiritual emotions because it is based on obvious facts. When a person ascends, it may be difficult for him (for example, in the emotions of separation) and it is necessary to maintain steadfastness, so knowledge is needed. Second point: people need a fact-based preaching. The initial preaching speaks of simple things, yet it is as absolute as the more exalted preaching, and it should be learned. By gaining qualifications, a devotee will become convincing, and by elevating any people to the beginning of spiritual life, he will be able to get out of the influence of the material world, that is, realize God.

When a person sees everything in fact, without faith, he becomes steadfast. Realizing spiritual life through facts, a person will always be devoted to God in one way or another. Those who either accept God, or doubt His existence, or only blindly, fanatically believes - simply know nothing about Him. If we see the facts of God's existence everywhere, how can we doubt? Sometimes people think that principles and commandments are very important, but spiritual knowledge is needed, one can not worry about commandments for a while and understand something about God. While a person does not know anything about God, the commandments are ineffective. People only believe in God because they know nothing about Him, have no interest in Him and are absorbed in themselves. There are huge denominations and they know almost nothing about God, they are busy with their personal affairs. If you see, they only care about glory, to be recognized as true and great, that's all.

Wherever a person is, he can learn, read, think about God, then inwardly gradually renounce the fruits of labor - and he will immediately become happy. When talking about achieving God consciousness, Śrīla Prabhupāda often gives Rūpa Gosvāmī's analogy about hunger and food: "Just like hungry man. If he is given food, he takes it, but as he takes it, he becomes satisfied”(Lecture on the Bhagavad-gītā, 16.7, Sanand, December 26, 1975). Accordingly, when a person gains knowledge about God through reading, meditation, when he leaves (mostly inwardly) everything unnecessary and practices, he attains the consciousness of God and becomes enlightened and happy.

We are souls, we are eternal, we are also eternal servants of God. To be an eternal servant of God is sambandha (spiritual self-awareness). As long as a person is attached to the fruits of labor, to the third, fifth, tenth material things, he will be conditioned. Sometimes it happens that people come to spiritual life, then engage in some kind of intra-confessional squabbles or machinations, and it can be seen how they begin to fall down. Renouncing the fruits of labor, including in some cases avoiding external religiosity, a person becomes happy and goes to preach, or one may immediately go to preach - the effect will be the same.

At the beginning, one may not change anything outwardly, and it is even better not to change anything, neither family nor work, but just add spiritual life. Being in his position, a person does not fall, does not degrade, and does not get into an extreme situation. For example, if somebody is not a brāhmaṇa, it is better for him not to imitate brāhmaṇism. When a person undertakes to imitate something, part of his energy will be spent on such an imitation; only for the sake of what? This is just stupidity or a desire for prestige, that is, he is just busy with himself. Kṛṣṇa does not tell Arjuna to become a brahmana or anything like that. On the contrary, Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna and us to remain who we are but to accept spiritual activities, knowledge, and preaching. Everything that needs to be changed will change over time itself.

People are unhappy not because they have little money or a bad wife, but because there is no piety (awareness of oneself and God). When there is a lot of piety, everyone will be happy, in any position. Therefore, as soon as we renounce the fruits of labor, immediately will come happiness, Brahman, and sambandha, and whether we are a man or a woman does not matter. But if we sit among the "sacred" pots, invented ideas, some minor rituals, from year to year, then getting married, then getting divorced, of course, there will be little progress. When a person is unhappy, he seeks outward respect for himself and other materialism.

Knowledge and renunciation are the two great pillars of the spiritual life. Some may say that knowledge and renunciation are the preliminary principles of bhakti, but no real guru will ever reject knowledge and renunciation. When there is knowledge and renunciation, one is strong. We need to realize ourselves and preach, so we will be happy personally and bring good to others, and then we will realize God.

TEXT 3

O greatest of all personalities, O supreme form, though I see here before me Your actual position, I yet wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.

PURPORT

Arjuna understood from the words of Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa is God. Arjuna does not believe in this, he understands it clearly in his mind and feels it when he hears Kṛṣṇa. So Arjuna immediately says to Kṛṣṇa, show me how You maintain the whole universe. Arjuna is not a thinker, not an ascetic, not a mystic or a sage, he is a great warrior, but he is in the role of an ordinary person now. Sages would begin to clarify some complicated aspects of spiritual life, but Arjuna has something of a merely childish interest: how, in what form does God maintain the whole world? At the same time, such interest is natural for Arjuna because God is always with him. Although Arjuna did not realize that Kṛṣṇa is God, nevertheless he was always connected with the complete whole and perhaps the universal form is one of the few things that Arjuna has not yet seen in his life.

On the other hand, ordinary people, in addition to explanations, need some other miracles and "material" evidence that Kṛṣṇa is God. It is clear that materialists will not accept this kind of evidence and will say that everything is invented. However, Kṛṣṇa is God and a devotee who follows His instructions will receive quite a lot of evidence of this in his own life. Arjuna is a kṣatriya, a warrior, and kṣatriyas are characterized by both curiosity and some passion, so Arjuna, when he learned that Kṛṣṇa is God, immediately wanted to see His universal form.

TEXT 4

If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that universal self.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

It is said that one can neither see, hear, understand nor perceive the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, by the material senses. But if one is engaged in loving transcendental service to the Lord from the beginning, then one can see the Lord by revelation. Every living entity is only a spiritual spark; therefore it is not possible to see or to understand the Supreme Lord. Arjuna, as a devotee, does not depend on his speculative strength; rather, he admits his limitations as a living entity and acknowledges Kṛṣṇa's inestimable position. Arjuna could understand that for a living entity it is not possible to understand the unlimited infinite. If the infinite reveals Himself, then it is possible to understand the nature of the infinite by the grace of the infinite. The word yogeśvara is also very significant here because the Lord has inconceivable power. If He likes, He can reveal Himself by His grace, although He is unlimited. Therefore Arjuna pleads for the inconceivable grace of Kṛṣṇa. He does not give Kṛṣṇa orders. Kṛṣṇa is not obliged to reveal Himself to anyone unless one surrenders fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages in devotional service. Thus it is not possible for persons who depend on the strength of their mental speculations to see Kṛṣṇa.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 24 янв 2021, 21:28

TEXT 5

The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, O son of Pṛthā, behold now My opulences, hundreds of thousands of varied divine forms, multicolored like the sea.

PURPORT

A close relationship with God is higher than the realization of God's greatness or the vision of the universal form. When we ascend from below, we understand this quite clearly, but when the devotees are initially in a close relationship with God (as in the case of Arjuna), they may become interested in seeing different forms of greatness. Arjuna is a warrior and a friend of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is equally powerful as a friend and as the Lord of Existence, but when God is acting as Lord Nārāyaṇa, His strength and power are manifested directly and obvious to everyone.

TEXT 6

O best of the Bhāratas, see here the different manifestations of Ādityas, Rudras, and all the demigods. Behold the many things which no one has ever seen or heard before.

PURPORT

Although the vision of the universal form is grandiose and colossal, nevertheless it cannot compare with the vision of the greatness of God as a Person. The grandiosity of the universal form is still only a part of the greatness of God, since this form is associated with the material world. The vision of Brahman or the vision of all the forms of the universe have an impersonal shade, while the vision of the Personality of Godhead is full of perfect splendor. For example, the fighting Lord Nārāyaṇa is a truly unique picture of greatness, beauty, power, and anger. Therefore, Lord Nārāyaṇa is always the heart of all great kṣatriyas.

The silence before the battle concentratedly sets off the battle that already ready to begin, where the infinite glory and power of almighty God will be revealed. Kṛṣṇa did not actually manifest such qualities on Kurukṣetra, so the great warrior and devotee Bhīṣma would provoke Him later during the battle to anger Him and see the brilliant picture - to see God in His infinite beauty and power.

TEXT 7

Whatever you wish to see can be seen all at once in this body. This universal form can show you all that you now desire, as well as whatever you may desire in the future. Everything is here completely.

PURPORT

Since Arjuna is a friend, Kṛṣṇa shows him even more than he asked. Such moments are typical for close relationships, and appeared before Arjuna in the role of God, Kṛṣṇa still retains the elements of friendship in communication.

TEXT 8

But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence.

PURPORT

Devotees in a spontaneous relationships do not want to interrupt them, so they usually do not ask God to reveal Himself in greatness or to show His universal form. But when we preach, we actually never forget Lord Nārāyaṇa by thinking of Him directly or more indirectly. Since God is omnipotent, a devotee can combine both close relationship and the awareness of greatness. Kṛṣṇa could show Arjuna the universal form and at the same time be next to Arjuna in a two-armed form. Sometimes the simultaneous (parallel) manifestation of relationship with God in greatness and one of the rasas of spontaneous relationship occurs episodically, but if desired or if necessary, it can be more permanent.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 30 янв 2021, 20:03

TEXT 9

Sañjaya said: O King, speaking thus, the Supreme, the Lord of all mystic power, the Personality of Godhead, displayed His universal form to Arjuna.

PURPORT

Some say they are God or they will become God in the future, but God is God forever and He never becomes conditioned like a soul. As the source of creation, God is always and eternally aware of everything, of the whole world, possessing all kinds of abilities and powers. Therefore, if someone says that He is God, then let him demonstrate the universal form. Some people show miracles or magic tricks as proof that they are God, but let them show the whole universe in themselves and show comparable power.

It is common to hear from Christians that God became man in order to know people, to atone for original sin and to save them. But God does not need to become a man for cognition, He already knows everything. He also does not have to do any austerity or sacrifice in order to save someone. He is God, everything is always in His power. Jesus Christ is a great devotee of God, he preached the glory of God for which he was crucified by religious materialists. And the same religious materialists a little later decided to declare Christ as God, thus again opposing Christ and distorting religion.

Christ is one with God and different from Him. "I and my Father are one." "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." But Christ does not say about himself that he is Father God. There is a Father, this is God, and there is a son, the messenger of God. Christ says, "I am the way", "I am the door: be me if any man enter in, he shall be saved", Jesus Christ is the mediator, the preacher of the glory of God, one of the best sons of God. God does not have one son, He has many sons who preach, who present God to the conditioned souls at the risk of themselves.

Christians say that God became a man to atone for the sins of people, but this is nonsense because in order to free people, God does not need to atone anything and become anyone. The scripture gives examples of how God sets the entire universe free without any atonement. If God is omnipotent, then why cannot He free the entire universe without redemption? God can free everyone at once – whether people want it or not, whether they are sinful or righteous. Every soul is a part of Him, and every soul is transcendent to this world, so there is no difficulty for God to liberate any or all of them at once.

People do not want to know about God, so He does not interfere, respecting their desire, but this does not mean that God cannot free anyone and everyone. People become religious outwardly, but they continue to maintain materialistic tendencies in which case God does not interfere. People want material success and liberation at the same time which is mutually exclusive. Sometimes such religious materialists gradually develop, sometimes they also gradually fall down. Mixed religiosity is always very dangerous and also dangerous is the distortion of the scripture when materialists invent that God has become a man and similar nonsense. Other fools say that man will become a God in the future; all these are one field of berries, the berries of ignorance.

TEXTS 10-11

Arjuna saw in that universal form unlimited mouths and unlimited eyes. It was all wondrous. The form was decorated with divine, dazzling ornaments and arrayed in many garbs. He was garlanded gloriously, and there were many scents smeared over His body. All was magnificent, all-expanding, unlimited. This was seen by Arjuna.

PURPORT

The universal form contained everything that exists, but the forms of various expansions of God and the demigods are especially distinguished in it. The number of forms and living beings in the universal form was infinite, but the expansions of God, demigods and powerful demons were central to it. Everyone wants to look beautiful, this is the desire of the soul, therefore all developed living entities shone in universal form with all kinds of beauty and all kinds of clothing, which everyone aspires to. All these living entities could be seen simultaneously and each one separately.

The whole universal form comes from God who is the original and highest form of beauty and attractiveness. At the head of everything is God who is infinitely beautiful, then His expansions follow, souls are even lower, and in the world of matter all these souls, envious of God, want to take His place to conquer others with their beauty and abilities. But the problem is the soul is limited and such an attempt to become God or to live outside of God leads to sad and ultimately terrible consequences. Desiring to dominate, the souls end up creating chaos and unnecessary violence everywhere.

Atheists deny God, so we ask them: “Why do you want to dominate others? Why do you want others to like you, look for love, and want to have unlimited wealth and power?" They will say they are not looking for unlimited wealth and power, but this is a lie, since every person and all of humanity as a whole want exactly unlimited expansion of themselves. People are simply limited in their capabilities, but give free rein to any of them - and each such materialist will immediately manifest his infinite desires.

Materialists imagine the universe as mostly empty and faceless. The cosmic space for them is just a cluster of stars, dust and holes that they have invented. However, for some reason in their life materialists want good clothes, to become the head of a department or even better the rector of the entire institute, to get more money, to have a beautiful wife, to eat good food. Hearing the description of the universal form, such professors will only grin, but then they will go to their cottage to enjoy food, music, and the company of a beautiful wife there. If the universal form is just a fantasy, why are such professors so eager for domination, prestigious clothing, and women's forms?

Such rascal professors say that everything has arisen from dust, but for some reason they do not want to live in this “life-giving dust”. They deny God as a person, but at the same time they are proud of themselves, portray themselves as very intelligent and important people. Professors and academics say there is no God, everything arose by chance, while they are busy looking for laws and vaunt themselves or their scanty science. Denying God as a person with all their might, they are busy with all their might to exalt themselves and to occupy the highest possible position in society. The professors are jarred about worship God in the temple, but they are glad of their own recognition and glory and when someone expresses reverence to them. They consider religion dark and barbaric, present themselves as a source of knowledge and truth, while destroy all life on the planet with their science.

TEXT 12

If hundreds of thousands of suns rose up at once into the sky, they might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form.

PURPORT

It was a grand picture. Such grandiosity is important for materialists, yet, although they see before them a vast universe with strict laws, they refuse to recognize God. Therefore, Arjuna requested to see the universal form to inspire such materialists to spiritual life. It is no coincidence that Oppenheimer quoted this very verse of the Bhagavad-gītā when they were driving from the test site after the first nuclear bomb test. All the scientists were suppressed and all the military were rubbing their hands. Scientists realized what kind of monster they had invented once again and the brainless military rejoiced. 

Kṛṣṇa created this world, and He shows the universal form for the benefit of everyone, but scientists by their actions only destroy everything. The topic of nuclear weapons is the topic of the future, and when a nuclear war takes place, those who survive will quickly understand the relevance of religion. In the meantime, people can live relatively well, they are indifferent to religion or they profess religion purely nominally, outwardly. In fact, mankind has been sitting on a powder keg for a long time, talking about development and progress.

TEXT 13

At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place although divided into many, many thousands.

PURPORT

The universe is very complex, we perceive only a small piece of the space of the universe. The universe can only be understood through intelligence, not through mechanical research. The linear and mechanical approaches are useless here. Even the presence of some facts and experiments does not solve the problem, because facts can be interpreted in any way. Many theories can be created for any fact, each of which can "explain" why this happens.

There are many expansions of the universe, that is, many universes, but within the universe there are also many spaces, or subuniverses, that are divided among themselves. In ancient times, people were more developed and understood all these things to a greater extent. Also, because people were more advanced, they were less interested in mechanisms and amenities. Modern civilization is a female civilization that creates a large number of unnecessary things, such as different brands of cars. The lack of culture and intelligence leads to this.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 30 янв 2021, 20:12

TEXT 14

Then, bewildered and astonished, his hair standing on end, Arjunabegan to pray with folded hands, offering obeisances to the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT

A devotee cannot have a close relationship with God in greatness. It is the eternal position of the soul to be a servant of God. God is the source of everything, we are just His little sparks. Now we decide to try to establish our personal domination over material nature and the sooner a person realizes the meaninglessness of this idea, the more successful and intelligent he is. Nevertheless, since God is omnipotent, the soul can have a friendly, parental, or marital relationships with Him if the soul is spiritually developed. 

Both close relationships and relationships of greatness are filled with feelings or ecstatic emotions. We are small, helpless souls and we are always very impressed by the vision of God's power, His boundlessness. In the material world, everyone is looking for strength, beauty, and prosperity thus trying to protect themselves and become happy, but only by realizing the greatness of God one will become both happy and protected. When a person is stupid, he seeks material success, but intelligent people seek spiritual success by preaching the glory of God everywhere. Material nature is constantly changing, but only those who are associated with God are able to go through all such changes, while materialists are defeated in this.

TEXT 15

Arjuna said: My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I see assembled together in Your body all the demigods and various other living entities. I see Brahmā sitting on the lotus flower as well as Lord Śiva and many sages and divine serpents.

PURPORT

Such a vision may seem unusual to materialists, but the devotees are fully aware of the omnipotence of God. Kṛṣṇa has directly shown to all materialists that He is the source of everything, but to the devotees this is always the obvious truth. God created everything and it is a natural fact everything that exists is in Him. 

We see everywhere there are creative functions and destructive ones, so it is not difficult to understand that in the universe there is a personification of both the creative forces - Brahma, and the forces of destruction - Śiva. Materialists say that faith is needed, but the whole world is knowable.

Similarly, Kṛṣṇa showed His mother the whole universe in His mouth; this was also done mainly for the beginners in spiritual life. God's parents do not care so much about miracles or the knowledge that their child is God, their relationships with Kṛṣṇa are much stronger than such miracles.

TEXT 16

O Lord of the universe, I see in Your universal body many, many forms-bellies, mouths, eyes-expanded without limit. There is no end, there is no beginning, and there is no middle to all this.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is unlimited; thus through Him everything could be seen.

TEXT 17

Your form, adorned with various crowns, clubs and discs, is difficult to see because of its glaring effulgence, which is fiery and immeasurable like the sun.

PURPORT

Arjuna also saw all the existing incarnations of God that come into the material world or support it. God is omnipotent, so He expands Himself unlimitedly. All His expansions are Him; His brothers, friends, and wives are also mostly Him. When a person sees all this directly, he is shocked, and also everything is somewhat confused in his mind. Therefore, the scripture preaches to us gradually, in stages. Yoga-māyā makes the close relationships with God attractive, and they are all basically an endless expansion of the One Personality. And as the completion of His perfection, God creates souls - separate, small beings endowed with their own consciousness. 

The more we know God, the stronger and sturdier our position will be. Even if a devotee has spontaneous love in the higher rasas, all kinds of knowledge of God make him even stronger, even more stable. Such a devotee becomes the embodiment of knowledge and spiritual power, and even with his single instruction, he becomes able to elevate the disciple to the level of seeing God. Uttama says, "Chant the holy name regularly," and by chanting the holy name regularly, one elevates to the spiritual level and attains enlightenment. Further, such an enlightened devotee fully assists uttama in his preaching. This is the glory and power of Śrīla Prabhupāda who can spiritualize anyone who follows His teachings.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 30 янв 2021, 20:22

TEXT 18

You are the supreme primal objective; You are the best in all the universes; You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest; You are the maintainer of religion, the eternal Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

Seeing the limitless greatness of God, Arjuna describes the qualities of God. A person who sees God understands that God is the essence of everything and the only object of love, and that He is also the supreme happiness. The happiness of a devotee is unparalleled in the material world. Even if a person has experienced such happiness only once, his whole life will be completely focused on preaching. Preaching is the only worthwhile thing; everything else is not so important. However, in order to uplift people, sometimes many methods and some compromises are required.

TEXT 19

You are the origin without beginning, middle or end. You have numberless arms, and the sun and moon are among Your great unlimited eyes. By Your own radiance You are heating this entire universe.

PURPORT

Death and annihilation are one of the main components of the material world. God maintains the whole world, but He also destroys it. Everything material always bears the seal of decay, annihilation which are quite natural for a temporary illusory nature. There is no injustice in this. Everything would collapse even faster without religion, so God cares about His creation and supports both humanity, showing it the path to liberation, and the entire universe.

We see the universe as a set of mechanical principles, but in reality there are individuals behind all the phenomena of the universe. People want to live without God, so the universe seems to them desolate and deserted, but there is life everywhere in it. If a person is more developed, he sees that there are demigods and other powerful beings in the universe who control the universe as a whole or its various spheres, and an even more developed personality sees God everywhere.

People think the descriptions of God are anachronistic, while they want to see themselves in a halo of radiance. They put expensive plastic teeth in to make their smile "shine", buy jewelry that would shine with diamonds, use cosmetics to look as good as possible, buy beautiful prestigious cars, expensive watches, build themselves houses that should show the taste and greatness of their owner, but when it comes to God, such rascals say that there is no God in the universe or that God is impersonal. They say if God exists, then He does not look so radiant or why does God need decorations? If He has no decorations, why then do you bring so much decorations into your life? Why are your house, apartment, clothes, and body always decorated? Why spend money on cosmetics and polish cars to shine?

If you are a random collection of atoms which according to your nefarious theory arose by chance, then why in your life so many decorations? If you are random collection of atoms, then why are you making so many colorful decorations by wasting paint and electricity? Have been born from monkeys, do you recognize now that development also means decoration? Monkeys do not wear decorations though. They run around with naked asses, periodically copulate with each other. It turns out that you, the heirs of the monkeys, have become more elevated when modern society began to decorate themselves and their homes? But why then deny God's decorations?

Come to any party or concert, there are all kinds of lights, spotlights, fireworks and salute everywhere. Why spend so much money on such things? You are stupid derivative of atoms, fools randomly emerged from space junk, who consider yourself the pinnacle of the universe, how can you deny the radiance and splendor of God when you are only striving for this? How can you deny the attributes of God while producing hundreds and thousands of your own attributes? These random children of the galaxy are continually striving for their own greatness and their own radiance of all kinds while madly deny the greatness and radiance of God.

TEXT 20

Although You are one, You are spread throughout the sky and the planets and all space between. O great one, as I behold this terrible form, I see that all the planetary systems are perplexed.

PURPORT

The demigods, being religious, also saw this universal form, feeling spiritual fear and confusion. God does not show His greatness in the material world, so as not to prevent souls from sleeping peacefully under the cover of the darkness of matter. When He reveals Himself, it is a blessing for the souls to get out of here as quickly as possible. 

The vision of the greatness of God is overwhelming and in some cases can cause fear, but such fear is also filled with happiness. It would be wrong to think that the vision of God causes ordinary fear. God has infinite power and when the soul can perceive this, he is seized with a reverent, purifying fear.

TEXT 21

All the demigods are surrendering and entering into You. They are very much afraid, and with folded hands they are singing the Vedic hymns.

PURPORT

The demigods tried to appease the God as was the case with Prahāda. Such appearance of the universal form is also a sign to the entire universe that the primordial God, Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of all the worlds is on Earth. Pure devotees are not afraid of the forms of greatness or anger of God, they are always delighted with Him. Materialists think that a loving relationship with God is better than the anger of God, but any qualities of God are absolute, and pure devotees without taking their eyes off Him absorb the happiness of seeing God in greatness or seeing God in anger.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 30 янв 2021, 20:31

TEXT 22

The different manifestations of Lord Śiva, the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, the Viśvadevas, the two Aśvins, the Māruts, the forefathers and the Gandharvas, the Yakṣas, Asuras, and all perfected demigods are beholding You in wonder.

PURPORT

Even the demigods do not know the greatness of God completely. No matter how much we know about God, we cannot fully realize His greatness. The impossibility to fully realize the greatness of God does not mean that one should not try to realize Him or that one should only believe in God. The impossibility of full realization of God means that the devotee develops spiritual knowledge endlessly while experiencing infinite happiness. No matter how much we realize the greatness of God, then we realize His greatness even more or we realize the various qualities of God's greatness, the facets, shades, beauty of greatness. His power, anger, benevolence, gentleness, inflexibility, supreme intellect. The vision of God never gets boring, the attraction of God always grows, it grows endlessly without limits. 

This is not a belief or a general inspiration, but this is a fact – the attraction of God, both in greatness and in the rasas of close relationships, is always and continuously growing as anyone can see practically. The material mind does not understand how the same person can be infinitely attractive, but this is a practical fact and those who do not want to realize this fact will suffer endlessly in the world of matter.

Therefore, by revealed Himself to the demigods to a greater extent than they knew, God surprised all the demigods although their knowledge of Him is quite advanced. The demigods are superior to humans and their capabilities are far superior to ours, but because of their absorption with sensual life, wealth, and beautiful poetic mundane love, it is more difficult for them to develop spiritual knowledge. This is a form of extreme ignorance and a completely absurd idea to think that life exists only on the tiny Earth planet.

TEXT 23

O mighty-armed one, all the planets with their demigods are disturbed at seeing Your many faces, eyes, arms, bellies and legs and Your terrible teeth, and as they are disturbed, so am I.

PURPORT

A pure devotee may also feel fear of God, but it is spiritual fear, fear which is also happiness. Devotee is afraid but at the same time this is overwhelm and attract him.

Lord Nārāyaṇa is inflexible, He cannot be flattered. A person can feel fear talking to Him. Nārāyaṇa sees everything, He is really sees through us, any shades of our thoughts, guile, deception and other things, it makes one feel uncomfortable. So a person can quickly be purified because, like it or not, before Him we have to show all the honesty and all the sincerity that we are capable of. Of course, Lord Nārāyaṇa is benevolent and in general His devotees do not feel fear of Him, but at some moments of revelation, like Arjuna's, or in other situations we may "encounter" Him as a wall that cannot be bypassed.

Such an "encounter" causes a certain fear, but it is both happiness and some pride to receive a reprimand from Him. Although we are afraid to repeat that experience but remembering it is also ecstatic; remembering God in that situation again and again, the devotee is filled with happiness. In fact, when God is harsh on us, it is good for us, because by nurturing He can raise us to an even higher level. 

God revealed Himself to Arjuna and Arjuna saw both His beauty and His power. God controls everything, and in the highest sense everything is His expansion. In the previous verses, we have already read He is both the beginning of everything and the end of everything. He is beauty incarnate and He is also fear incarnate from the vision of His boundless power. We are ready to talk about God endlessly, both about God in greatness and about God in higher rasas.

TEXT 24

O all-pervading Viṣṇu, I can no longer maintain my equilibrium. Seeing Your radiant colors fill the skies and beholding Your eyes and mouths, I am afraid.

PURPORT

We have a very local experience of perception forms and spaces. We see a static sky and the surface of the earth extending beyond the horizon, some objects - houses and so on. The world we perceive is scanty, and we have no experience of perceiving something really big. Even some forms of art or fantasy - all these are still small against the background of the scale of the spiritual world or universal form. Arjuna is a brave warrior, but he could not remain calm at the sight of the picture he was observing. Arjuna is a friend of God, but when a devotee is in the rasa of realizing the greatness of God, in the rasa of a servant, he can perfectly cognize the power of God.

TEXT 25

O Lord of lords, O refuge of the worlds, please be gracious to me. I cannot keep my balance seeing thus Your blazing deathlike faces and awful teeth. In all directions I am bewildered.

PURPORT

God is not only birth, but He is also death. As much as God is attractive, death and defeat from Him are inevitable. Perfection is to realize God in all manifestations, and not only those His qualities that make us feel good and pleasant. All types of sufferings are also Him, and death incarnate is also God.

Arjuna perceived God as a friend, but when he saw His power, he was shocked and frightened. The rasas of Kṛṣṇa-līlā are only the beginning of spiritual life. As the devotee develops further and further, he can gradually realize God in more and more qualities, and the peak of such knowledge is the realization of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In order to develop spiritually well, a devotee must become stronger and get out of the duality of happiness and unhappiness. When a person is constantly affected by happiness and unhappiness, he is weak and it will be difficult for him to follow the path of God-realization. Also, the highest emotions of spiritual life always imply steadfastness. For the realization of the greatness of God, steadfastness is needed, for the realization of the higher rasas, including the mādhurya-rasa, steadfastness is needed, and feelings of love in separation require even greater steadfastness.

Love must be stronger than death: "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it" (Song of Songs, 8:6,7).

"Without giving me audience, You kill me, You break my heart; still, You are my Lord, You are my worshipable Lord, nobody else." This is love. This is love" (A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda).
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Сообщение Jayanti » 31 янв 2021, 20:04

TEXT 31

O Lord of lords, so fierce of form, please tell me who You are. I offer my obeisances unto You; please be gracious to me. I do not know what Your mission is, and I desire to hear of it.

PURPORT

Arjuna was horrified by the universal form, since it directly showed the absolute power of the supreme authority. The Supersoul helps souls by suggesting, but also dispassionately distributes the consequences of the activities of the souls. Lord Nārāyaṇa is the embodiment of supreme strength and prowess. Although both the Supersoul and Lord Nārāyaṇa are God in greatness and He is one, that is, They are not different from each other, yet Lord Nārāyaṇa acts much more personally. The Supersoul, Paramātmā, maintains the universe; God, Bhagavān, is above this world and manifests His personal will. Therefore the position of God as Bhagavān is spiritually higher than the position of God as the Supersoul.

There are many powerful personalities in the world - demigods, demons, and spirits - but none of them control the entire world and none of them have absolute power. People may see some demigods or demons and think that this is God. Demigods and demons can show various miracles or impress with their power, but they do not have absolute power over the entire world, nor can they show everything that exists. After showing the universal form, God made a test so that no one could claim to be God. If someone says that He is God, then let him show in himself all that exists, all times and all spaces of the universe. Kṛṣṇa showed everything immediately on the spot, it is not difficult for God to do this, just as it is not difficult for Him to rule the entire universe.

Who is God and who is not God is not a matter of faith or some kind of mechanical choice of human. Understanding God becomes possible with spiritual development, and understanding God is not at the level of blind faith, worship, ordinary feelings, or mechanical acceptance. Understanding and accepting God is a matter of intelligence, not faith; it is a matter of developing knowledge and spiritual experience. Even if one worships the true form of God, without spiritual perfection, a person will never understand and attain Him, so what can we say about various false forms of worship? God is everywhere; He is not an ordinary object. The one who is everywhere and who is in every atom is God.

God is the One who created everything, the One who rules everything, and the One who is everywhere. God is perceived by the development of intelligence, knowledge, and devotion, and people who do not develop knowledge of God are either materialists or cheaters. Generally speaking, in the material world, everyone is a cheater, just to varying degrees, also everyone has all kinds of defilements. If a person does not understand that he is contaminated by all kinds of anarthas, then he is simply stupid and under an illusion. People are mostly self-aggrandizing, while others are too self-deprecating, and both are forms of selfishness. Some see themselves as ideal, perfect, others see themselves as fallen and unworthy, however, both of them think about themselves day and night and therefore they are immersed in illusion. Pure devotees see themselves as fallen, but they preach and act for God in all circumstances, and they do not sit and mourn about themselves who they are in love with.

It is possible to understand God only to the extent of spiritual development; worship one or another form of God without spiritual development, in fact, gives little. People are busy with themselves, so if they accept some form of God (religion, temple) for worship, but do not develop knowledge and do not preach, the vast majority of such believers fall back into the lower forms of life again. By worshiping God such people are purified and feel inspired, then they are quite satisfied with themselves, glorify their religion, faith, their guru, and solve their affairs, dealing with the welfare of their families or earning a living. Thus, having no interest in God, a small part of them can get liberation yet surrender to God at the end of their lives; another small part of such faithful will ascend to paradise (most of them will then fall down again). The largest, overwhelming part of religious materialists will not be able to ascend even to paradise, about a tenth of them will receive human bodies, the rest will fall down and most of them will never receive liberation.

Just because a person has become a Christian, a Vaiṣṇava, a Muslim, or a Buddhist, this does not mean that he will be liberated. If a person has received initiation, baptism, goes to the temple, does namaz, chants a mantra, but he is not concerned with the cognotion of God, self-improvement and preaching, most likely he will fall down and all these attributes will not help him. Religious materialists have no interest in God and understand the scripture at random. They are not interested in God, they go to the temple just as a precaution, according to tradition or considering themselves great Christians or Vaiṣṇavas. All such people then basically degrade. A religious position (priest, sannyasi, brahmana, guru) without spiritual development is also mostly irrelevant and can even worsen a person's situation if it is used for selfish purposes.

The one who develops spiritually learns spiritual science in all its details and applies the scripture in his life. Such a devotee cognizes Brahman, the impersonal aspect, further the greatness of God. As a result, he becomes free from any special desire for personal property and for personal glory. He is interested in God and aspects of the spiritual life, he does not pursue selfish goals in this. Having only one gyrus (because of the desire for domination), how can a person understand God who has an infinite number of aspects? Some say that it is enough just to love God, but love alone is not enough, especially since some materialistic love is nothing of value.

Thus, all religious materialists who have no real interest in God and do not put enough efforts into His preaching mission risk themselves, and most of them fall back into the lower forms of life. Of course, basically all devotees should be enthusiasts and think about positive development, and such words do not look too optimistic, but still it would be wrong to believe that by following only external religiosity or worshiping God sporadically, having no interest in the scripture, distorting it or using it for personal purposes, one will get liberation.

A devotee should start with the general things, ascending to higher and higher ones. One can understand God only in time, in the course of spiritual development. It is not just a matter of seeing God, there are those who see Him, but it is necessary to go further, which requires spiritual experience and the experience of preaching. Even when the soul has got liberation, this is not the end, but only the beginning. Souls simply want personal happiness, so they seek it within matter, or, having obtained liberation, they live on one of the planets of the spiritual world, but our goals are much higher than that. Therefore, only those who develop conscientiously can cognize God more and more and, of course, this does not apply to the ordinary blind faith or outward following of religion.

Kṛṣṇa says that out of thousands of thousands of people who are striving for spiritual perfection, maybe only one has known Him. Therefore, when we say that in the modern world among all those who worship God only about a tenth of them receive liberation, there is no understatement and everyone should sober up and treat religion responsibly and do not think that by doing everything carelessly, they will get to paradise or to the spiritual world. Religion, in fact, is not contained in external rules and regulations. If a person has no interest in God (and He deserves such an interest, and all the interest), then following the rules will give nothing.

In the spiritual world, God is at the center. The spiritual world is not just some kind of planet with beautiful landscapes and fabulous trees. There are landscapes and trees, but everything is dedicated to God and everyone discusses mainly Him alone. People think, "How can we discuss one person?" - it is because they know nothing about Him. Knowing nothing about God, they discuss each other and some news never coming to happiness. Sitting in the darkness of the material world, they think God is like them or religion is needed only for salvation. But God is so attractive that those who know Him only talk about Him. Religious materialists can also talk about God, but this does not purify anyone because they do not really know Him.

Knowledge of God puts an end to material development and personal domination and leads to real happiness, but religious materialists, knowing nothing about God and doing everything mainly for themselves, get restless about this and carefully avoid real religion; other materialists accept religion for personal fame and money. Both of these categories fall down, endlessly being born here and dying, because that is their choice. Once the soul begins to think about God and has really come into contact with Him even just once, then the soul continues to think about God forever because this is the highest attractiveness of this one Personality. When one think about God or come into contact with Him, the perception of His attractiveness grows more and more, replacing all undesirable things.

The others who do not want to understand this fact and study are like pigs who crowd around a dirty trough, fighting among themselves for money, fame, and power in various forms, including religious ones.

TEXT 32

The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people. With the exception of you [the Pāṇḍavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.

PURPORT

Everyone is destined to die from the influence of time and their own actions, the only question is how we will live this life. It is better for a person to devote himself to studying and following the holy scripture. It makes no sense to exchange life for attempts to achieve comfort, also a knowledgeable and ascetic person will be more stable in the material sphere too.

Both sides will die, but the Pāṇḍavas will win. Anyone who is liberated are always winners and those who continue to take birth and die in the material world are losers. However, God wants to show the entire world the triumph of justice and demonstratively destroy the Kauravas who have much more superior military forces. Sometimes people think, "Why do rascals sometimes thrive and not be punished?" They will all be punished, but one must understand that without spiritual life any type of justice is temporary and incomplete.

TEXT 33

Therefore get up and prepare to fight. After conquering your enemies you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācin, can be but an instmment in the fight.

PURPORT

God is the eternal owner and ruler of everything and He inspires Arjuna to fight this battle. God's words are indistinguishable from Himself and His every desire is immediately fulfilled. Inspiring Arjuna, God simultaneously blesses him for victory. After contemplating the universal form, Arjuna understands that Kṛṣṇa is God. This understanding, as well as the immeasurable power of Kṛṣṇa just seen, fills Arjuna with happiness, strength, and determination. Before that, Arjuna did not know that Kṛṣṇa is God, but even then he was a great warrior only because of his connection with Him, because of his devotion to Him. Arjuna now sees directly the source of all power, glory, and justice.

The important point is that Arjuna is only an instrument in the hands of God. We have neither power nor knowledge by ourselves, but only when we are connected with God. We must all become instruments of preaching and knowledge in the hands of God and a spiritual master who is on the level of God consciousness.

TEXT 34

The Blessed Lord said: All the great warriors-Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Jayadratha, Karṇa-are already destroyed. Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa can defeat them all by Himself even without fighting, but He likes to give this prerogative to the sincere soul, His devotee. God's gaze on the battlefield is the gaze of an irresistible Eternity that will destroy both sides. The vision of Eternity, dominion of God, and power are characteristics of the servant rasa. Kṛṣṇa knows that we are often worried because we are small, but when His will is behind the devotee's actions, devotee can be calm. Sometimes God deliberately guides a devotee along the edge in order to either test or make him stronger, and finally, the skill of dependence on God makes the devotee invulnerable in any course of actions.

God is great, He is much higher than the causes of our worries, sometimes He helps us and sometimes He does not help us, so that we ourselves rise even higher, pass the next step of elevation above material problems. God is great and absolutely clever, and the more we depend on Him, the easier it is for us to go through various vicissitudes. In the end, such dependence leads to awareness of Himself, delight in His qualities and attachment to Him.

On the part of God, such love in a servant relationship can be manifested in the form of His protection and empowerment of the devotee. Similarly, there at Kurukshetra, He empower Arjuna to win. God does not enjoy the matter or even domination, this battle is insignificant to Him. God gives the opportunity of personal victory to Arjuna as His friend, while He Himself enjoys the rasas of relationships with His devotees. This is how His greatness and close relationship with Him are manifested.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 31 янв 2021, 20:16

TEXT 35

Sañjaya said to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: O King, after hearing these words from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna trembled, fearfully offered obeisances with folded hands and began, falteringly, to speak as follows:

PURPORT

After seeing the greatness of God, Arjuna has not yet come to his senses. No one can be familiar with Lord Nārāyaṇa, He is always offered prayers and obeisances. Now are learn to do this, but when a person sees the greatness of God, he bows to Him in a natural way. The greatness of God is unlimited and the happiness of realizing His greatness is also unlimited. Although Arjuna feels fear, he still feels satisfaction inside too. Knowledge of the Supreme Truth always brings happiness and liberation.

TEXT 36

O Hṛṣīkeśa, the world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name and thus everyone becomes attached to You. Although the perfected beings offer You their respectful homage, the demons are afraid, and they flee here and there. All this is rightly done.

PURPORT

Arjuna describes the eternal situation of the material world: the faithful rejoice at the sight of God, and demons run away in different directions. Great scientists, learning about the world, recognize its grandeur and magnificent structure. Quite often, scientists also talk about religion as the source of their knowledge. For example, Einstein, without accepting the church and God as a person, writes that religion and religious feeling are the driving force and source of his inspiration and discoveries.

"I maintain that the cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research" (A. Einstein. Religion and Science, 1930).

"It is cosmic religious feeling that gives a man such strength. A contemporary has said, not unjustly, that in this materialistic age of ours the serious scientific workers are the only profoundly religious people" (A. Einstein. Religion and Science, 1930).

"But science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration towards truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion" (A. Einstein, Science and Religion, 1941).

Great scientists often talk about the connection between science and religion, but unfortunately, their discoveries are exploited by scientists-engineers who see only a utilitarian effect. True scientists are essentially thinkers and they as honest researchers cannot deny God, the Supreme Intelligence, or the highest power behind the outside world.

TEXT 37

O great one, who stands above even Brahmā, You are the original master. Why should they not offer their homage up to You, O limitless one? O refuge of the universe, You are the invincible source, the cause of all causes, transcendental to this material manifestation.

PURPORT

God is the creator of everything and pure, honest or simple-minded people pay homage to Him, which is not the case with demons. Even if a person wants to enjoy the matter and all kinds of pleasures, what does prevent him from express gratitude to God? Whatever a person wants in his life, God has given him all the opportunities for this, hasn't He? But the primitive materialists and demons are not like that - they are always not enough no matter how much you give them, and although they do only what they themselves decide, on their own free will, eventually they are blame God for imperfection. "If God were perfect, then we would also be perfect," the materialists say. "If God were perfect, would we have to work so hard or experience any misfortunes?"

But aren't all these materialists and demons act on their own accord? Acting on their own personal will, including committing stupid things, how do they want to reach perfection as a result? God is always perfect and the soul is perfect when he follows His instructions. The soul himself cannot be perfect, because he is small and prone to make mistakes. The materialists want to do as they please while get perfect results and live without the hassle and worries. But, inevitably making mistakes or acting knowingly sinful, they get the corresponding consequences. After that, the materialists accuse God of imperfection. When pious people suffer, they pray to God for deliverance from sufferings, and when demons suffer, they accuse God of imperfection.

Ultimately, the materialists declare there is no God, because if there were God, then He would be able to provide these base creatures with both free will and all kinds of happiness and pleasure at the same time. (This desire is also fulfilled by God by creating the bodies of pigs and the like, in which the conditioned souls enjoy even disgusting things and feel happiness at the same time.) Acting on his own choice, the soul himself is responsible for the consequences of his actions, but by following the direction of the scripture, the soul is freed from responsibility and unnecessary sufferings. It is necessary to understand the soul can be neither perfect nor happy being separated from God. The soul is atomic and acting from the point of view of his atomic mind, of course, he will never come to perfection. The birth of the soul within matter is already a manifest fact of his desire for dominion, so one must accept religion in order to gradually understand the supreme position and attractiveness of God.

God is perfect and we need gradually come under His control through the study of the scripture, chanting His name, and regular preaching. The scripture is multifaceted, capacious and implies the presence of intelligence in the reader. It is impossible to understand the scripture without following it and getting rid of selfish motives. "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" – if a person is absorbed in the desire for material prosperity and personal glory, even while being in religion too, in this case it will be difficult for him to cognize God. Demons and materialists can also accept religion, but they still pursue their own selfish goals within religion.

Demons accept religion only for the sake of money and personal glory, demons are also very purposeful in this, so it is not surprising when they take leadership positions in religion becoming priests, gurus, and various lecturers. Sometimes demons can be used in this capacity because they are active, but in general it is better to avoid doing this, since it is quite difficult to change the nature of demons. Of course, demons are also human, they are also souls, but we should be careful with this category of beings.

What is the main criterion for a demon? He always wants to be a leader and he always strives for personal glory. What is the main criterion for a devotee? He is always looking for the truth and does not try to use the truth to dominate others. Demons and materialists also want money, they are always looking for wealth, but advanced demons can be ascetic, they even like it. The devotees are simple, but the demon who goes to power and fame can take on any austerities and perform feats, because this is the main goal of his life.

A demon always sees himself at the top of the world covered with glory. A demon is always a leader, a guru, a chieftain leading the masses. A demon is always a winner, dexterous, brave, skillful, and he must always be in the center as a result of all his actions. Garlands are brought to him praising his qualities, his intelligence, his caring for others. Whether a demon is strong or weak, whether he behaves with a challenge or behaves modestly, he always and everything uses only for himself, for his own benefit and personal domination. The demon does not care who to recognize - God or the devil - as long as a result he became rich, famous and powerful. When the state is atheistic, demons become the leaders of atheism; when the state is religious, demons occupy the first rank of religious leaders and gurus.

A demon cannot be an ordinary person, he must always shine and everyone should see his uniqueness. The demon has everything extraordinary - his thoughts, his plans, the brilliant ideas comes to demon's mind, and within the religion the demons invent more and more new concepts more often on the basis of impersonalism; if religion is personal, then the demon will profess personalism. The demon is always looking for the path of his personal eternal expansion. If religion speaks of God, then the demon believes that he is almost the right hand of God or convinces others of this. The demon must always be on Olympus: in Christianity the demon portrays himself sitting next to Christ, in Vaiṣṇavism the demon says that he is Rādhā's confidant. The demon always pretends to be the highest, unearthly, abstruse, wise or whatever else to your taste, so that you believe in his highest position, and so he will always be great in your eyes, collecting recognition and money from you, but ultimately the demon wants to be great at the level of all humanity.

This kind of motivated religiosity, motivated study of the scripture, motivated chanting the mantra, and motivated adherence to principles will not benefit a person and often, on the contrary, can cause his degradation. On the way to his "eternal glory" the demon will stop at nothing, deceiving or even killing people. If the demon fails to become a leader in one religion, then he goes to another. If the demon could not become a leader within the matter, then he goes to religion. The demon cares only about his personal glory and power, no matter where. Nowadays all people are demonic to varying degrees, but a mature demon is ready to turn the whole world upside down for the sake of personal domination. To be glorified in the eyes of other people, in fact, is a completely worthless thing, but the demons know nothing but this, and for them it is like heavenly nectar which they desire to revel in forever.

As for the devotees, they behave in exactly the opposite way - avoid domination and glory in every possible way. A devotee cultivates knowledge without ever thinking that he can be a guru. A demon always considers himself perfect; a devotee always considers himself imperfect. A demon, no matter how sinful he is, still turns out perfect in his own eyes; a devotee who is even already liberated still sees himself as imperfect. Devotees can also be determined and active, but their activity does not imply personal exaltation, so they are not defiled by such things. For a demon, the loss of money, power, and fame is a disaster; for a devotee, his personal fame and reputation are irrelevant.

Rich or poor, pious or sinful, the devotee always thinks of God, the demon always thinks of himself - this is the difference between demons and devotees. A devotee does not attach importance to himself, his fame, his image, whether he has them or not, but for a demon - money, power and fame are his life and soul. By and large, until a devotee becomes an uttama, it will be difficult or even impossible for him to accurately distinguish a devotee from a demon, because demons and devotees may behave in the same way, but they have different goals and different motives. Therefore, everyone should become a preacher, preaching from person to person. Lord Caitanya creates a union of preachers outside of any religious system, because in the age of Kali all such systems and religions are doomed to failure and they are all eventually taken over by demons or materialists, which happened with both the Gauḍīya Math and ISKCON.

Had been observing the fate of the Gauḍīya Math, Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura said to publish and distribute books, since organized religion is no longer possible in the age of Kali. Organizations may arise, but demons will always prevail in them, therefore our movement is mostly without organizations just it was in the time of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Prabhupāda set up an organization to distribute the books given to us by Lord Caitanya and set a general example of organization, mostly for the future; but organized religion, for at least the next three hundred years, will always eventually become a stronghold of demonism or materialism. After the collapse of modern civilization, religion will acquire a more spiritual character, but even in this case, it is generally worth avoid the official churches and Vaiṣṇava communities and follow the path of selfless preaching.

The secret is that by preaching in this way, everyone can personally realize God after which all spiritual knowledge will be revealed to him and all spiritual possibilities will be revealed. The goal of a sampradāya is one pure devotee who can attain such a position, even outside of any religious system. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, and Śrīla Prabhupāda were not in any of the religious communities when they started preaching, which was one of the conditions for their truthfulness and effectiveness. Jesus Christ was also outside all the churches of that time, moreover, all of the listed leaders were mostly critical of the existed materialistic religions. To join any of these communities meant either to accept or to recognize their false concepts. On the other hand, Lord Caitanya took initiation in the Tattvavādī succession and sannyāsa - from the Māyāvādī, which means that in some cases we can formally associate with certain societies for the sake of preaching.

Lord Caitanya also did not perfom initiations to anyone because in Kali-yuga all these initiations are mostly just a formality. People are baptized or initiated, but most often this is a fiction, a meaningless rite. In the age of Kali also most gurus are either materialists or demons, so Lord Caitanya generally did not play the role of guru and did not officially accept disciples. There are only a few examples where He gave a name to someone without an official initiation. Lord Caitanya exalted everyone in fact, on the spot; we should act an exactly the same way - exalt people in fact by preaching, not play the role of guru and mostly not give anyone initiation. If a person learns, he is initiated, otherwise he is not.

There will be a surge in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in China in the near future. In this case, the authorized representative may try to create the organization again, since, apparently, the Chinese devotees will be a lot, if not a sea, then a deep river. They can re-establish the "Gauḍīya Math - ISKCON", most likely this organization will also eventually fall apart, but it will fulfill some function. Since we are all spiritually impotent, God sends His devotee again to open a new page of the movement. However, by follow my comments, anyone and everyone, anywhere in the world and at any time can achieve the highest perfection, including by act completely alone. This is the blessing of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

TEXT 38

You are the original Personality, the Godhead. You are the only sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You know everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by You!

PURPORT

Arjuna talks about what he just saw himself. He saw everything that exists is in God and God as ruler of the whole world. God is both the source and ultimate refuge of everything. He knows everyone, He has no limits and He is outside of matter, although He supports it. This is a description of God. God may have different names, but He is always like that. Whatever religion a person is in, he should understand the qualities of God. This is available through the scripture, and through the study of the world, and through the study of ourselves as a soul, because we are His parts. When the faithful realize God, they will see and feel Him in any scripture, for example, how wonderful are the descriptions of the greatness of God in the Koran. When the faithful realize God, there is nothing to argue about.

Also an important point: Arjuna says the form of God is unlimited. Every materialist is looking for the unlimited: scientists think about unlimited space, businessmen - about unlimited money, and people in general - about unlimited happiness or eternal love. Our experience says that any form is limited, but the form of God is transcendental and unlimited. This is similar to how the planet Sun has a specific size, but the rays of the Sun spread out everywhere, spreading the influence of the Sun. Perhaps this is a crude example, since God expands Himself everywhere personally and not only as impersonal rays.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 07 фев 2021, 09:41

TEXT 39

You are air, fire, water, and You are the moon! You are the supreme controller and the grandfather. Thus I offer my respectful obeisances unto You a thousand times, and again and yet again!

PURPORT

Arjuna describes God by saying that God is air, fire, and water. But he also mentions the moon which is a more local object, however, similar objects or categories also come from the power of God. Arjuna bows to God again and again from an excess of feelings and happiness that fills him. Since God is the creator of all that exists and the progenitor of all souls, then when He reveals Himself to a devotee, such a vision is absolute, non-dual. When a devotee sees God in that way, there is no doubt about that vision, the devotee clearly understands that God is before him. God is all-pervading and maintain all that exists, therefore, there is no question of any error or delusion in the gradual realization of God.

TEXT 40

Obeisances from the front, from behind and from all sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless, might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everything!

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

Out of loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa, his friend, Arjuna is offering his respects from all sides. He is accepting that He is the master of all potencies and all prowess and far superior to all the great warriors assembled on the battlefield. It is said in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa: yo 'yaṁ tavāgato deva-samīpaṁ devatā-gaṇaḥ sa tvam eva jagat-sraṣṭā yataḥ sarva-gato bhavān. "Whoever comes before You, even if he be a demigod, is created by You, O Supreme Personality of Godhead."

PURPORT
This is a perfect description of God. God is infinite and all-pervading. He is the source of all types of energy and His power is unlimited. A person may not see God, but clearly understand these facts and meditate on Him. To the extent of renouncing attachment to the fruits of labor or attachment to all kinds of activities (the activity itself does not necessary to stop) such meditation becomes more and more constant. It is not enough to say God is omnipotent, we need to realize this, including renouncing the fruits of labor, materialistic feelings and the like, realizing God. On the other hand, the whole world was created by God, so any phenomenon can be understood in this way of awareness of God.

What happens when a person increases his awareness of God? He becomes peaceful and his knowledge also deepens. After realizing himself as a soul, realizing the greatness of God, then the devotee begins to preach out of a sense of duty or spontaneous preaching. People believe that there is something that binds them, but no one is bound by anything in the process of realizing God. Materialistic believers want to renounce all external activities in order to realize God, while a devotee gradually comes to active samādhi in the process of preaching when he realizes God under all circumstances. The formula for peace and success is to realize God oneself and further preach spiritual science everywhere, basically without creating churches, temples, communities and without claims to one's own greatness. In the process of such a creative selfless preaching, a person can certainly reach the heights of spiritual knowledge and happiness.

TEXTS 41-42

I have in the past addressed You as "O Kṛṣṇa," "O Yādava," "O my friend," without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times while relaxing or while lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. Please excuse me for all my offenses.

PURPORT

The relationship of friendship is higher than the relationship of a servant, but Arjuna realized Who his friend is, seeing the greatness of God, asks for forgiveness for his former behavior. In the presence of almighty God, every soul will feel awe and reverence. God can appear to anyone in this way and anyone, even an atheist or a demon, recognizes Him; but Kṛṣṇa allows the living entities to fulfill their materialistic desires, gives freedom to everyone without showing Himself. Atheists and demons always try to distort spiritual knowledge, destroy it, including become religious leaders or portray devotees; when they are powerless in this, they withdraw. This attitude of demons is cultivated life after life, so they are firm in it. But not all atheists and unbelievers are demons, there are few real demons, the rest are innocent souls who have fallen under their influence. The average unbeliever is most often an innocent soul who has been taught to deny God and who, as a rule, knows almost nothing about religion. Materialists flood society with negative cliches about religion, so that people do not accept spiritual ideas.

TEXT 43

You are the father of this complete cosmic manifestation, the worshipable chief, the spiritual master. No one is equal to You, nor can anyone be one with You. Within the three worlds, You are immeasurable.

PURPORT

As we have already written, there is only one God and all His expansions are also Him. The Absolute is both the greatest and the smallest. He is a Personality who spiritual form, but He is also an absolute formlessness devoid of any qualities (Brahman). The Absolute is movement and rest, infinite antiquity and eternal youth. The Absolute includes everything that Exists in Himself. This is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Who exists eternally, Who has created everything, and Who controls everything completely.

The Absolute is perfect and has qualities. He manifests wisdom, knowledge, beauty, greatness, and power. He shows gentleness and inflexibility, intelligence and sophistication. The Absolute contains all qualities, there is no limit to these qualities, and each of His qualities is also unlimited. The Absolute has neither beginning nor end, and the soul, has came in contact with the absolute world, finds peace and happiness. Now we are in a specific situation where everything is temporary and has a beginning and an end, so we also think in similar categories, consider that any form and any quality is somehow limited. However, we ourselves, as souls, are of the absolute nature, and therefore, in the highest sense, we seek the eternal and the infinite. There is no one equal to God anywhere and He is the source of everything. We do not understand it now or we are just beginning to understand it to some extent. When person gradually realizes this, he surrenders to God as his shrine, the lord, and the supreme master.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 07 фев 2021, 15:26

TEXT 44

You are the Supreme Lord, to be worshiped by every living being. Thus I fall down to offer You my respects and ask Your mercy. Please tolerate the wrongs that I may have done to You and bear with me as a father with his son, or a friend with his friend, or a lover with his beloved.

PURPORT


Arjuna did not commit offenses to God, however, seeing His greatness, he perceives his past behavior as offensive. When God appears in His greatness, we feel like the smallest atom in comparison with Him and this is a natural position - His sovereignty and our subordination to Him. In the presence of God, one feels awkward from any form of one's selfishness. When we are relaxed, we do not notice our selfishness, we are used to living with some degree of domination, and in the presence of God in greatness, this will cause a feeling of great awkwardness. In the presence of the highest power, all our habits, jokes, independence, some kind of challenge look inappropriate and grotesque. Therefore, a devotee immediately realizes such a materialistic set that he has and, like Arjuna, also bows to God and begs for indulgence. Someone might think that it is a joyless life to be in such a position all the time, but this is not so because the devotees are filled with delight when they see the supreme greatness of the Supreme God.

Arjuna was on friendly terms with God, so now he feels awkward, nevertheless, such their relationship (the relationship of a servant and a master) is also harmonious and full of happiness. The greatness of God can also attract those who are in the higher rasas, in a spontaneous relationships with God. In the material world everything is within a rather rigid framework due to the limitations of existence, but in the spiritual world the possibilities are endless. Therefore a devotee can be both in the superior rasas (friendly, parental, and marital) and in a relationship with Lord Nārāyaṇa, there is no mixing of rasas, rasābhāsa. As, for example, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna traveled to Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu - this is a variant of combining friendship and greatness relationships, but this is not a mixing of rasas, this is a parallel relationships.

A relationship with God in greatness develops into friendship, but devotees can maintain a relationship of greatness without becoming friendly, because God's greatness is also all-attractive. Friendly relations are closer, but they begin to hide the power of God from the devotee's vision. The more friendship develops, the less the devotee realizes the power of God. When a devotee wants to be continuously aware of the power of God, then he remains in the position of a servant without turning into friendship (or he develops friendship in parallel with the awareness of the greatness of God). God knows our desires and always helps us to fulfill them. A mature devotee, absorbed in the greatness and power of God, also becomes an embodiment of these qualities. Arjuna was already a great warrior, but after received association with Lord Nārāyaṇa (Kṛṣṇa), he got the blessings for that war.

God is equally powerful in any form; He is powerful in the form of a child too, but when God manifests Himself as Lord Nārāyaṇa, His power is expressed directly as an absolute fact. Therefore, great warriors and great kings worship God in His form of greatness, and if they receive His patronage, then they act as the true executive authority. The soul is one with God and different from Him, and a qualified devotee acts on behalf of God, displaying His power and His other qualities in varying degrees. All materialists imitate God by trying to show strength or power, but an empowered devotee is an incarnation of God or His śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Such an incarnation of God acts as a great warrior or as a holy king; and just as God rules over His unlimited kingdom, similarly the great king rules over the Earth for the benefit of all living entities.

TEXT 45

After seeing this universal form, which I have never seen before, I am gladdened, but at the same time my mind is disturbed with fear. Therefore please bestow Your grace upon me and reveal again Your form as the Personality of Godhead, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.

PURPORT

Seeing the infinite power of God, Arjuna became depressed, but apart from that, their friendly relations were interrupted. A close relationship with God is full of happiness and the devotees do not want to interrupt it, therefore, seeing God in the form of greatness, Arjuna begged Him to be indulgent, asked Him to reestablish friendly relations. Although devotees may know that their friend or their child is God, the relationships itself is so exciting that later the devotee, attracted by them, forgets about it. On the other hand, if a person does not know the greatness of God, his attempts to establish a close relationship with God will most often be materialistic or technically it is called "sahajiyā".

The universal form of God, in addition to making an indelible impression from the vision of the supreme power of God, also suppressed with the picture of endless overall death. Death takes at least half of creation, since everything that is born dies later. Nevertheless, death in the highest sense is the main quality of matter, because finally everything is destroyed at all. Arjuna was frightened by the gigantic universal form of God - since death dominates everything, so this form looked terrifying.

Further Arjuna will ask God to take His four-armed form, and although Lord Nārāyaṇa is greater than the universal form of God, this four-armed form will bring peace to Arjuna. To realize the greatness of God, it is not necessary at all to meditate on the universal form which is somehow secondary, because it is connected with the matter. Lord Nārāyaṇa is far beyond the universal form, although this is the same God. The greatness of Lord Nārāyaṇa is unsurpassed and His supreme prowess and power are certainly manifested out of connection with this temporary and dead universe. Engrossed in His supreme power, the devotees experience immeasurable happiness and love for Him.

TEXT 46

O universal Lord, I wish to see You in Your four-armed form, with helmeted head and with club, wheel, conch and lotus flower in Your hands. I long to see You in that form.

PURPORT

Arjuna was both delighted and frightened by the universal form of God and wants to see God in the more familiar form of Lord Nārāyaṇa, in His four-armed form. The universal form is a derivative form of God, it is more impersonal. Ordinary people do not understand how God, having a body similar to a human, can maintain the entire universe. Therefore, God showed Arjuna directly the form in which He is present everywhere. In a sense, the universal form is secondary, since God permeates the whole world as the Supersoul, but the universal form is more visual for ordinary people who cannot understand the mystical power of God and want to see everything directly. Such believers have a better understanding of the superiority of God manifested more clearly - as a universal form - but mature devotees see even greater power of God, when He is in the form of Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Neophyte devotees want to quickly "skip" the greatness of God and elevate to the level of more close relationships; mature devotees have a taste from all rasas, and preachers never neglect the knowledge of the greatness of God.

TEXT 47

The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, happily do I show you this universal form within the material world by My internal potency. No one before you has ever seen this unlimited and glaringly effulgent form.

PURPORT

God fulfills everything just by willing it. Since He owns everything, His will is immediately fulfilled. Since God is perfect, He does not need to think about how to create, for example, the material world. He does not sit and think, "How can I create atoms or molecules?" - He does not make calculations, He simply desires, and since God is the only reality, since everything is always in His power and He knows absolutely everything at the same time, then any of His creations is immediately created perfect and all His desires are always fulfilled in an incomprehensible way for us. God is unlimited, therefore He also creates unlimited, and even in the material world, although the total number of life forms is fixed, the number of life forms in details still forms a gigantic variety.

The material world fulfills the desire of the soul, the essence of which is: "Why don't I become God and the master of everything?" Since there are many such persons, the law of justice is established to regulate the relationship between them.
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