Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 10 - Techniques of Hearing and Remembering
Pages in category "The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 10 - Techniques of Hearing and Remembering"
The following 78 pages are in this category, out of 78 total.
A
- A devotee should not expect immediate relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is free from such reactionary experiences because material existence means continued suffering or enjoying of past activities
- A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Krsna consciousness seriously, even though there may be so many impediments
- A person who desires unalloyed devotional service to Lord Krsna, who is praised by transcendental sound vibrations, should always hear about His glorification & transcendental qualities. This will surely kill all kinds of inauspiciousness in the heart
- A pure devotee who is prepared to undergo all kinds of tribulations in executing Krsna conscious duties becomes lawfully qualified to enter into the transcendental abode
- About this remembrance there is a nice statement in the Visnu Purana, where it is said, "Simply by remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead all living entities become eligible for all kinds of auspiciousness"
- After cleansing the temple, he (the brahmana) imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver, and he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy water
- All these waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered to the Deities to Their satisfaction
- Any person who is constantly awaiting Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him, & who goes on suffering the resultant actions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible to become liberated
- Anyone who is in the material world is also sleeping, as he is ignorant of his actual self or his actual duty and his relationship with God
- Arjuna gave aural reception to such vibrations, and thus he became freed from all the illusions of material problems
- As is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, "A materialistic person can give up his material hankerings only by becoming situated in Krsna consciousness"
- As soon as he (the brahmana) touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately was burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke
- As soon as one becomes perfect in Krsna conscious activities, he is not going to take birth again in this material world
- At one such meeting, while he (the brahmana) was very faithfully hearing about Vaisnava activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed even by meditation
B
- Because he (the brahmana) was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never thought that his finger would actually become burnt
- Because the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he decided that he would simply meditate on grand, royal devotional activities, and he began this business thusly
- By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into the kingdom of God. The exact word used in this verse is dayabhak. Dayabhak refers to a son's becoming the lawful inheritor of the property of the father
H
I
- If one gives aural reception to the sound vibrated by great devotees and acaryas, that alone will give him relief from all material contamination
- If one has finished his material activities then there is no more birth. This is possible only when one begins Krsna conscious activities, because such activities do not produce reaction
- If someone eagerly continues to hear such transcendental sounds, then certainly he will become freed from all material hunger, thirst, fear and lamentation, as well as all illusions of material existence
- If someone is simply meditating on devotional activities, he has achieved the desired result and has seen face to face the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- If we hear from those who are actually self realized, then the nectarean rivers, like those which are flowing on the moon planet, will flow into our ears. This is the metaphor used in the above verse
- In other words, if a person is unable to actually perform Vaisnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the Vaisnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results
- In other words, no one can enter into the kingdom of God without being freed from all sinful reactions. Sinful reactions can be avoided simply by remembering the form, qualities, pastimes, etc., of the Lord
- In the Garuda Purana the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely. It is said there, "The state of conditioned life in the material world is just like a man lying unconscious, having been bitten by a snake"
- In the Garuda Purana the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely. It is said there, "This is because both such unconscious states can be ended by the sound of a mantra"
- In the material world everyone is engaged in the illusory activities of inferior energy, but when one is given the opportunity to relish the activities of the superior energy performed by Krsna, then he forgets all his lesser pleasures
- In the Nrsimha Purana there is a statement about meditation on the form of the Lord
- In the Padma Purana there is a statement about remembering the activities of the Lord, "A person who is always engaged in meditation on the sweet pastimes and wonderful activities of the Lord surely becomes freed from all material contamination"
- In the Visnu-dharma there is a statement about meditation on the transcendental quality of the Lord
- In this age it is very difficult to follow thoroughly the regulative principles and studies of the Vedas which were formerly recommended
- In this connection, there is a story in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana that in the city of Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was not very well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself
- It is said there, "Meditation focusing on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been accepted as transcendental and beyond the experience of material pain and pleasure"
- It is said, "Persons who are constantly engaged in K C, and who remember the transcendental qualities of the Lord, become free from all reactions to sinful activities, and after being so cleansed they become fit to enter into the kingdom of God"
- It is the recommendation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that one should simply hear from authorities who are actually devotees of the Lord. Hearing from professional men will not help
M
- Meditation does not mean anything impersonal or void. According to Vedic literature, meditation is always on the form of Visnu
- Meditation means to engage the mind in thinking of the form of the Lord, of the qualities of the Lord, of the activities of the Lord and of the service of the Lord
- My dear King, one should stay at a place where the great acaryas (holy teachers) speak about the transcendental activities of the Lord, & one should give aural reception to the nectarean river flowing from the moonlike faces of such great personalities
N
- Not only did he collect water from Godavari, but he collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a Vaisnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these rivers by mantra chanting
- Now, when he (the brahmana) looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened
- Nrsimha Purana said, "By such meditation even one who is grossly miscreant can be delivered from the sinful reactions of his life"
O
- On seeing this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune who were attending the Lord became very curious and asked Lord Narayana why He was smiling
- One can be brought back into Krsna consciousness from the deadly unconscious state of material life by hearing of the maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
S
- So because the sweet rice was prepared by the brahmana very recently, he wanted to touch it so that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord
- So he (the brahmana) was not at all sorry for his poor material position, and he used to live very peacefully. He was very openhearted, and sometimes he went to hear some lectures delivered by great realized souls
- So materialistic life means that one is bitten by the snake of maya, illusion, and thus, without any Krsna consciousness, he is almost dead. Now the so-called dead man bitten by a snake can be brought back again to life by the chanting of some mantra
- Some way or other, if someone establishes in his mind his continuous relationship with Krsna, this relationship is called remembrance
- Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After taking his bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the river, and, by practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual breathing exercise, he would concentrate his mind
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also recommended this process of hearing as a means of self realization in the present age of Kali
T
- The beginning of Krsna consciousness and devotional service is hearing, in Sanskrit called sravanam. All people should be given the chance to come and join devotional parties so that they may hear
- The brahmana was then fortunate enough to get an eternal place in Vaikuntha in the association of the Lord and His Laksmis
- The Lord, however, did not reply to their inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the brahmana. An airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana into Lord Narayana's presence
- The so-called dead man bitten by a snake can be brought back to life by the chanting of some mantra. There are expert chanters of these mantras who can perform this feat
- Then he (the brahmana) offered aratrika, and with the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the correct worshiping method
- Then he (the brahmana) offered his respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing the dressing he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple very nicely
- Then he collected all kinds of worshipful paraphernalia - flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity
- Then one day the brahmana imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some sweet rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity
- There is a nice statement in the Visnu Purana, where it is said, "let me always remember the Lord, who is unborn and eternal"
- Thinking that because of his past misdeeds, and by the desire of Krsna, he did not get sufficient money and opulence
- This brahmana, instead of chanting some mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all these rivers in golden and silver water pots
- This breathing exercise is meant to mechanically make the mind fixed upon a particular subject. That is the result of the breathing exercise and also of the different sitting postures of yoga
- This hearing is very important for progressing in Krsna consciousness. When one links his ears to give aural reception to the transcendental vibrations he can quickly become purified and cleansed in the heart
- This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler the sweet rice, the better its taste
- This shows how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally situated in His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuntha, He was present also in the heart of the brahmana when he was meditating on the worshiping process
- This statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8) should be the guide of all devotees
- Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even in meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the desired result
W
- When a man is snake-bitten he does not die immediately, but first becomes unconscious and remains in a comatose condition
- When he had fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he (the brahmana) began to imagine in his meditations that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia
- When Krsna speaks on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, to the materialistic person it appears that this is simply talk between two friends, but actually it is a river of nectar flowing down from the mouth of Sri Krsna
- When such impediments (to Krsna consciousness) arise he should simply think of Krsna and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the abode of the Lord
- When the brahmana was thus present before the Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole story
- While he (the brahmana) was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana, seated with the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, began to smile humorously