This chapter fully describes Lord Caitanya's kaiśora-līlā, or the activities He performed just before attaining youth. During this time He studied deeply and was victorious over greatly learned scholars. During His kaiśora-līlā the Lord also sported in the water. He went to East Bengal to secure financial assistance, cultivate knowledge and introduce the saṅkīrtana movement, and there He met Tapana Miśra, whom He instructed about spiritual advancement and ordered to go to Vārāṇasī. While Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was touring East Bengal, His wife, Lakṣmīdevī, was bitten by a serpent or by the serpent of separation, and thus she left this world. When the Lord returned home, He saw that His mother was overwhelmed with grief because of Lakṣmīdevī’s death. Therefore at her request He later married His second wife, Viṣṇupriyā-devī.
Assistance (Books)
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
It would be better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my teachers. Even though desiring worldly gain, they are superiors. If they are killed, everything we enjoy will be tainted with blood."
According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. Bhīṣma and Droṇa were obliged to take the side of Duryodhana because of his financial assistance, although they should not have accepted such a position simply on financial considerations. Under the circumstances, they have lost the respectability of teachers. But Arjuna thinks that nevertheless they remain his superiors, and therefore to enjoy material profits after killing them would mean to enjoy spoils tainted with blood.
BG Chapters 13 - 18
The Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the source of light in all luminous objects like the sun, moon and stars. In the Vedic literature we find that in the spiritual kingdom there is no need of sun or moon, because the effulgence of the Supreme Lord is there. In the material world that brahmajyoti, the Lord's spiritual effulgence, is covered by the mahat-tattva, the material elements; therefore in this material world we require the assistance of sun, moon, electricity, etc., for light. But in the spiritual world there is no need of such things. It is clearly stated in the Vedic literature that because of His luminous effulgence, everything is illuminated. It is clear, therefore, that His situation is not in the material world. He is situated in the spiritual world, which is far, far away in the spiritual sky. That is also confirmed in the Vedic literature. Āditya—varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8). He is just like the sun, eternally luminous, but He is far, far beyond the darkness of this material world.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
One can achieve the ultimate success of going back to Godhead if he is favored by the Lord's sending His true representative. As soon as a true representative of the Lord is met by a devotee of the Lord, the devotee is assured a guarantee for going back to Godhead just after leaving the present body. This, however, depends on the sincerity of the devotee himself. The Lord is seated in the heart of all living beings, and thus he knows very well the movements of all individual persons. As soon as the Lord finds that a particular soul is very eager to go back to Godhead, the Lord at once sends His bona fide representative. The sincere devotee is thus assured by the Lord of going back to Godhead. The conclusion is that to get the assistance and help of a bona fide spiritual master means to receive the direct help of the Lord Himself.
SB Canto 3
The impersonal time factor is the background of the material manifestation as the instrument of the Supreme Lord. It is the ingredient of assistance offered to material nature. No one knows where time began and where it ends, and it is time only which can keep a record of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material manifestation. This time factor is the material cause of creation and is therefore a self expansion of the Personality of Godhead. Time is considered the impersonal feature of the Lord.
Human beings are also eager to receive favor from the goddess of fortune. Lakṣmī is always engaged in massaging the legs and thighs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa, who is lying on the ocean of Garbha within the universe. Brahmā is described here as the son of the goddess of fortune, but actually he was not born of her womb. Brahmā takes his birth from the abdomen of the Lord Himself. A lotus flower grows from the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and Brahmā is born there. Therefore Lakṣmījī's massaging of the thighs of the Lord should not be taken as the behavior of an ordinary wife. The Lord is transcendental to the behavior of the ordinary male and female. The word abhavasya is very significant, for it indicates that He could produce Brahmā without the assistance of the goddess of fortune.
A person who is distressed because of material conditions becomes a devotee of the Lord and approaches the Lord for mitigation of his distress. A person in need of money approaches the Lord to ask for some improvement in his monetary condition. Others, who are not in distress or in need of monetary assistance but are seeking knowledge in order to understand the Absolute Truth, also take to devotional service, and they inquire into the nature of the Supreme Lord. This is very nicely described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.16). Actually the path of devotional service is one without a second, but according to the devotees' condition, devotional service appears in multifarious varieties, as will be nicely explained in the following verses.
One is bereft of all intelligence when he is too attracted by sense gratification, and he forgets that he has to suffer the consequences also. Here the chance for recounting his activities of sense gratification is given by the dogs engaged by Yamarāja. While we live in the gross body, such activities of sense gratification are encouraged even by modern government regulations. In every state all over the world, such activities are encouraged by the government in the form of birth control. Women are supplied pills, and they are allowed to go to a clinical laboratory to get assistance for abortions. This is going on as a result of sense gratification. Actually sex life is meant for begetting a good child, but because people have no control over the senses and there is no institution to train them to control the senses, the poor fellows fall victim to the criminal offenses of sense gratification, and they are punished after death as described in these pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
SB Canto 4
The two names Khadyotā and Āvirmukhī mean "glowworm" and "torchlight." This indicates that of the two eyes, the left eye is less powerful in its ability to see. Although both eyes are constructed in one place, one is stronger than the other in the power to see. The king, or the living entity, uses these two gates to see things properly, but he cannot see unless accompanied by a friend whose name is Dyumān. This friend is the sun. Although the two eyes are situated in one place, they have no power to see without the sunlight. Vibhrājitaṁ janapadam. If one wants to see something very clearly (vibhrājitam), he must see it with two eyes and the assistance of his friend the sunlight. Within this body everyone is a king because he uses his different gates according to his own will. Although he is very much proud of his power to see or hear, he is nonetheless dependent on the assistance of nature.
SB Canto 5
Svāyambhuva Manu, with the assistance of Lord Brahmā, thus fulfilled his desires. With the permission of the great sage Nārada, he delivered to his son the governmental responsibility for maintaining and protecting all the planets of the universe. He thus achieved relief from the most dangerous, poisonous ocean of material desires.
King Rahūgaṇa told Jaḍa Bharata: How troublesome this is, my dear brother. You certainly appear very fatigued because you have carried this palanquin alone without assistance for a long time and for a long distance. Besides that, due to your old age you have become greatly troubled. My dear friend, I see that you are not very firm, nor very strong and stout. Aren't your fellow carriers cooperating with you?
In this way the King criticized Jaḍa Bharata with sarcastic words, yet despite being criticized in this way, Jaḍa Bharata had no bodily conception of the situation. He knew that he was not the body, for he had attained his spiritual identity. He was neither fat, lean nor thin, nor had he anything to do with a lump of matter, a combination of the five gross and three subtle elements. He had nothing to do with the material body and its two hands and legs. In other words, he had completely realized his spiritual identity (ahaṁ brahmāsmi). He was therefore unaffected by this sarcastic criticism from the King. Without saying anything, he continued carrying the palanquin as before.
SB Canto 6
Although Indra searched vigorously with the assistance of the other demigods, he could not find Bṛhaspati. Then Indra thought, "Alas, my spiritual master has become dissatisfied with me, and now I have no means of achieving good fortune." Although Indra was surrounded by demigods, he could not find peace of mind.
Set into motion by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and wandering in all the four directions, the disc of the Supreme Lord has sharp edges as destructive as the fire of devastation at the end of the millennium. As a blazing fire burns dry grass to ashes with the assistance of the breeze, may that Sudarśana cakra burn our enemies to ashes.
"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change." We are not the body; we are spiritual beings trapped in the body. Our real interest lies in understanding this simple fact. Then we can make further spiritual progress. Otherwise, if we remain in the bodily conception of life, our miserable material existence will continue forever. Political adjustments, social welfare work, medical assistance and the other programs we have manufactured for peace and happiness will never endure. We shall have to undergo the sufferings of material life one after another. Therefore material life is said to be duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15); it is a reservoir of miserable conditions.
SB Canto 7
The valleys between the mountains became fields of pleasure for Hiraṇyakaśipu, by whose influence all the trees and plants produced fruits and flowers profusely in all seasons. The qualities of pouring water, drying and burning, which are all qualities of the three departmental heads of the universe—namely Indra, Vāyu and Agni—were all directed by Hiraṇyakaśipu alone, without assistance from the demigods.
It is said in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayaḥ: this material world is conducted by fire, water and earth, which combine and take shape. Here it is mentioned that the three modes of nature (pṛthag guṇān) act under the direction of different demigods. For example, King Indra is in charge of pouring water, the demigod Vāyu controls the air and dries up the water, whereas the demigod controlling fire burns everything. Hiraṇyakaśipu, however, by dint of his austere performance of mystic yoga, became so powerful that he alone took charge of everything, without assistance from the demigods.
SB Canto 8
It was in your dynasty that Hiraṇyākṣa was born. Carrying only his own club, he wandered the globe alone, without assistance, to conquer all directions, and no hero he met could rival him.
SB Canto 9
To satisfy the sage Utaṅka, the greatly powerful Kuvalayāśva killed a demon named Dhundhu. He did this with the assistance of his twenty-one thousand sons.
The moon-god is one of the demigods, but to fight against the other demigods he took the assistance of the demons. Śukra, being an enemy of Bṛhaspati, also joined the moon-god to retaliate in wrath against Bṛhaspati. To counteract this situation, Lord Śiva, who was affectionate toward Bṛhaspati, joined Bṛhaspati. The father of Bṛhaspati was Aṅgirā, from whom Lord Śiva had received knowledge. Therefore Lord Śiva had some affection for Bṛhaspati and joined his side in this fight. Śrīdhara Svāmī remarks, aṅgirasaḥ sakāśāt prāpta-vidyo hara iti prasiddhaḥ: "Lord Śiva is well known to have received knowledge from Aṅgirā."
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
Whenever there is a burden created by the demons and whenever the innocent devotees are distressed by demoniac rulers, the Lord appears in due course of time to kill the demons with the assistance of His real representatives, who are technically called demigods. In the Upaniṣads it is stated that the demigods are different parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is the duty of the parts of the body to serve the whole, it is the duty of Kṛṣṇa's devotees to serve Kṛṣṇa as He wants. Kṛṣṇa's business is to kill the demons, and therefore this should be a devotee's business also. Because the people of Kali-yuga are fallen, however, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, out of kindness for them, did not bring any weapon to kill them. Rather, by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, love of Kṛṣṇa, He wanted to kill their nefarious, demoniac activities.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
You should thus return to the sacrificial arena, because your husbands, the learned brāhmaṇas, are householders and need your assistance to finish their respective sacrifices.
The Lord of the universe, Nārāyaṇa, is the worshipable God of all living entities. Without extraneous assistance, the Lord creates this universe by His own potency, and at the time of annihilation the Lord destroys the universe through His personal expansion of time and withdraws all of the cosmos, including all the conditioned living entities, within Himself. Thus, His unlimited Self is the shelter and reservoir of all potencies. The subtle pradhāna, the basis of all cosmic manifestation, is conserved within the Lord and is in this way not different from Him. In the aftermath of annihilation the Lord stands alone.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Lord Caitanya has accepted the role of Rādhārāṇī, and we should support that position, as Svarūpa Dāmodara did in the Gambhīrā (the room where Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed in Purī). He always reminded Lord Caitanya of Rādhā’s feelings of separation as they are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Lord Caitanya appreciated his assistance. But the gaura-nāgarīs, who place Lord Caitanya in the position of enjoyer and themselves as His enjoyed, are not approved by Lord Caitanya or by Lord Caitanya's followers. Instead of being blessed, the foolish imitators are left completely apart. Their concoctions are against the principles of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The doctrine of transcendental enjoyment by Kṛṣṇa cannot be mixed up with the doctrine of transcendental feeling of separation from Kṛṣṇa in the role of Rādhārāṇī.
“Sometimes the material scientist suggests that trees grow from the earth automatically, without assistance from a gardener, because that is a tendency of matter. They also consider the intuition of living creatures from birth to be material. But such material tendencies as bodily intuition cannot be accepted as independent, for they suggest the existence of a spirit soul within the body. Actually, neither the tree nor any other body of a living creature has any tendency or intuition; the tendency and intuition exist because the soul is present within the body. In this connection, the example of a car and driver may be given very profitably. The car has a tendency to turn right and left, but one cannot say that the car itself, as matter, turns right and left without the direction of a driver. A material car has neither tendencies nor intuitions independent of the intentions of the driver within the car. The same principle applies for the automatic growth of trees in the forest. The growth takes place because of the soul's presence within the tree.
Near the temple is a place named Āmalītalā (Imlitala), which is so named because of a big tamarind tree there. According to a party named the Neḍādi-sampradāya, Vīrabhadra Prabhu, with the assistance of twelve hundred Neḍās (Buddhist monks), dug a great lake of the name Śvetagaṅgā. Outside of the temple are tombs of the Gosvāmīs, and there is a small river known as the Mauḍeśvara, which is called the water of Yamunā. Within half a mile from this small river is the birthplace of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. It appears that there was a big kīrtana hall in front of the temple, but later it became dilapidated. It is now covered by banyan trees. Later on, a temple was constructed within which Gaura-Nityānanda Deities are existing. The temple was constructed by the late Prasannakumāra Kārapharmā. A tablet was installed in his memory in the Bengali year 1323 (A.D. 1916), in the month of Vaiśākha (April-May).
CC Madhya-lila
After seeing the bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannātha, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu washed and cleaned Śrī Guṇḍicā temple with the assistance of many devotees.
"Please give Him all assistance so that He can go there. This is your first great order, and if you can comply, you will render a great service."
Since Kṛṣṇa gives this assurance, the devotee lives in Kṛṣṇa and has no desire for personal benefit. The background for the devotee is the all-good Himself. Why should the devotee aspire for something good for himself? His only business is to please the Supreme by rendering as much service as possible. A kṛṣṇa-bhakta has no desire for his own personal benefit. He is completely protected by the Supreme. Avaśya rakṣibe kṛṣṇa viśvāsa pālana. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that he is desireless because Kṛṣṇa will give him protection in all circumstances. It is not that he expects any assistance from Kṛṣṇa; he simply depends on Kṛṣṇa just as a child depends on his parents. The child does not know how to expect service from his parents, but he is always protected nevertheless. This is called niṣkāma (desirelessness).
When we began distributing the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the Western countries, a similar thing happened. In the beginning we were very much disappointed for at least one year because no one came forth to help this movement, but by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, some young boys joined this movement in 1966. Of course we distributed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's message of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without bargaining or selling. As a result, this movement has spread all over the world, with the assistance of European and American boys and girls. We therefore pray for all the blessings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu upon all the devotees in the Western world who are spreading this movement.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Sanātana at once took the gold coins and offered them to the hotelkeeper. He then requested that the hotelkeeper help him through the jungle. He informed him that he was on a special journey for the government and that since he could not travel on the open road, it would be very kind if the hotelkeeper would help him through the jungles and over the mountains.
"I understood that you had eight coins with you, and I was thinking of killing you to take them," the hotelkeeper confessed. "But I can understand that you are such a good man that you don't have to offer me the money."
"If you don't accept these coins, then someone else will take them from me," Sanātana replied. "Someone will kill me for them, so it is better that you take them. I offer them to you." The hotelkeeper then gave him all assistance, and that very night he helped him get past the hills.
Nectar of Devotion
A person who can affect the mind of everyone is called predominating. As far as Kṛṣṇa's predomination is concerned, in the Tenth Canto, Forty-third Chapter, verse 17, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kṛṣṇa is described thus by Śukadeva Gosvāmī to King Parīkṣit: "My dear King, Kṛṣṇa is a thunderbolt to the wrestlers; to the common man He is the most beautiful human being; to the young girls He is just like Cupid; to the cowherd men and women He is the most intimate relative; to the impious kings He is the supreme ruler; to His parents, Nanda and Yaśodā, He is just a baby; to Kaṁsa, the King of Bhoja, He is death personified; to the dull and stupid He is just like a stone; to the yogīs He is the Supreme Absolute Truth; and to the Vṛṣṇis He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In such a predominating position, Kṛṣṇa appeared in that arena along with His older brother, Balarāma." When Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of all mellows, was present in the arena of Kaṁsa, He appeared differently to the different persons who were related to Him in different mellows. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that He appears to every person according to one's relationship with Him.
Sometimes learned scholars describe "predominating" to mean a person intolerant of being neglected. This peculiarity in Kṛṣṇa was visible when Kaṁsa was insulting Mahārāja Nanda. Vasudeva was asking Kṛṣṇa's assistance in killing Kaṁsa, and Kṛṣṇa was glancing over Kaṁsa with longing eyes, just like a prostitute, and was just preparing to jump at the King.
Easy Journey to Other Planets
This process is very pleasant: we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, we dance rhythmically, and we eat nice prasāda. While enjoying this life, we are preparing to enter into the kingdom of God in our next life. This is not a fabrication—it is all factual. Although to a layman this appears to be a fabrication, Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself from within to one who is serious about God realization. Both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master help the sincere soul. The spiritual master is the external manifestation of God, who is situated in everyone's heart as Supersoul. For one who is very serious about understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Supersoul immediately renders assistance by directing him to a bona fide spiritual master. In this way the spiritual candidate is helped from within and without.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Rukmī, having run out of arrows, took assistance from swords, shields, tridents, lances and similar weapons used for fighting hand to hand, but Kṛṣṇa immediately broke them all in the same way. Being repeatedly baffled in his attempts, Rukmī took his sword and ran swiftly toward Kṛṣṇa, just as a fly proceeds toward a fire. But as soon as Rukmī reached Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa cut his weapon to pieces. This time Kṛṣṇa took out His sharp sword and was about to kill him immediately, but Rukmī’s sister, Rukmiṇī, understanding that this time Kṛṣṇa would not excuse her brother, fell down at Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet and in a very grievous tone, trembling with great fear, began to plead with her husband.
To combat the mystic powers of Śambarāsura, Pradyumna invoked another mystic power, known as mahāvidyā, which was different from the black mystic power. The mahāvidyā mystic power is based on the quality of goodness. Śambara, understanding that his enemy was formidable, took assistance from various kinds of demoniac mystic powers belonging to the Guhyakas, the Gandharvas, the Piśācas, the snakes and the Rākṣasas. But although the demon exhibited his mystic powers and took shelter of supernatural strength, Pradyumna was able to counteract his strength and powers by the superior power of mahāvidyā. When Śambarāsura was defeated in every respect, Pradyumna took his sharp sword and immediately cut off the demon's head, which was decorated with a helmet and valuable jewels. When Pradyumna thus killed the demon, all the demigods in the higher planetary systems showered flowers on him.
Taking with Him some of the important inhabitants of Dvārakā, Kṛṣṇa went to search out Prasena, the brother of Satrājit, and found him dead, killed by the lion. At the same time, Kṛṣṇa also found the lion killed by Jāmbavān, who is generally called Ṛkṣa. It was found that the lion had been killed by the hand of Ṛkṣa without the assistance of any weapon. Kṛṣṇa and the citizens of Dvārakā then found in the forest a great tunnel, said to be the path to Ṛkṣa's house. Kṛṣṇa knew that the inhabitants of Dvārakā would be afraid to enter the tunnel; therefore He asked them to remain outside, and He Himself entered the dark tunnel alone to find Ṛkṣa, Jāmbavān. After entering the tunnel, Kṛṣṇa saw that the valuable jewel known as Syamantaka had been given to the son of Ṛkṣa as a toy. To take the jewel from the child, Kṛṣṇa approached and stood before him.
After hearing Their mother speak in this way, Lord Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa immediately called for the assistance of yogamāyā and started for the lower planetary system known as Sutala. Formerly, in His incarnation of Vāmana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead had been satisfied by the King of the demons, Bali Mahārāja, who donated to Him everything he had. Bali Mahārāja was then given the whole of Sutala for his residence and kingdom. Now when this great devotee, Bali Mahārāja, saw that Lord Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa had come to his planet, he immediately merged in an ocean of happiness. As soon as he saw Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in his presence, he and all his family members stood up from their seats and bowed down at the lotus feet of the Lords.
Sri Isopanisad
There is a spiritual sky. There is another nature, which is beyond manifestation and nonmanifestation. But how will you know that there is a sky where the planets and inhabitants are eternal? All this knowledge is there, but how will you make experiments? It is not possible. Therefore you have to take the assistance of the Vedas. This is called Vedic knowledge. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we are accepting knowledge from the highest authority, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the highest authority by all classes of men. I am speaking first of the two classes of transcendentalists. One class of transcendentalists is called impersonalistic, Māyāvādī. They are generally known as Vedāntists, led by Śaṅkarācārya. And there is another class of transcendentalists, called Vaiṣṇavas, like Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī. Both the Śaṅkara-sampradāya and the Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya have accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
| Page Title: | Assistance (Books) |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Matea |
| Created: | 20 of Dec, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=19, CC=8, OB=8, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 37 |