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Elucidation

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 3

SB 3.4.13, Translation and Purport:

O Uddhava, in the lotus millennium in the days of yore, at the beginning of the creation, I spoke unto Brahmā, who is situated on the lotus that grows out of My navel, about My transcendental glories, which the great sages describe as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The explanation of the Supreme Self, as given to Brahmā and already explained in the Second Canto of this great literature, is further clarified herein. The Lord said that the concise form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as explained to Brahmā was meant to elucidate His personality. The impersonal explanation of those four verses in the Second Canto is nullified herewith. Śrīdhara Svāmī also explains in this connection that the same concise form of the Bhāgavatam concerned the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa and was never meant for impersonal indulgence.

SB 3.4.28, Purport:

According to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, nidhanam means the transcendental abode of the Lord. Ni means the highest, and dhanam means opulence. And because the abode of the Lord is the highest manifestation of transcendental opulence, His abode can therefore be called nidhanam. Apart from the grammatical elucidation, the real purpose of the word nidhanam is to indicate that all the members of the Vṛṣṇi and Bhoja dynasties were direct associates of the Lord, and after the end of His pastimes, all the associates were dispatched to their respective positions in the transcendental abode.

SB 3.4.28, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura elucidates the meaning of ākṛtim as pastimes. A means complete, and kṛtim means transcendental pastimes. Since the Lord is identical with His transcendental body, there is no question of His changing or quitting His body. To act in accordance with the rules and customs of the material world, the Lord seems to take His birth or leave His body, but the pure devotees of the Lord know well the actual fact. It is necessary, therefore, for the serious students of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to follow the notes and comments of the great ācāryas like Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 11.19.40-45, Translation:

Actual heaven is the predominance of the mode of goodness, whereas hell is the predominance of ignorance. I am everyone's true friend, acting as the spiritual master of the entire universe, and one's home is the human body. My dear friend Uddhava, one who is enriched with good qualities is actually said to be rich, and one who is unsatisfied in life is actually poor. A wretched person is one who cannot control his senses, whereas one who is not attached to sense gratification is a real controller. One who attaches himself to sense gratification is the opposite, a slave. Thus, Uddhava, I have elucidated all of the matters about which you inquired. There is no need for a more elaborate description of these good and bad qualities, since to constantly see good and bad is itself a bad quality. The best quality is to transcend material good and evil.

SB 12.12.42-43, Translation:

How the Lord withdrew His own dynasty on the pretext of the brāhmaṇas' curse; Vasudeva's conversation with Nārada; the extraordinary conversation between Uddhava and Kṛṣṇa, which reveals the science of the self in complete detail and elucidates the religious principles of human society; and then how Lord Kṛṣṇa gave up this mortal world by His own mystic power—the Bhāgavatam narrates all these events.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 20.397, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura elucidates this complicated explanation of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Kṛṣṇa's pastimes are always present in the material world in one of the many universes. These pastimes appear in the universes one after the other, just as the sun moves across the sky and measures the time. Kṛṣṇa's appearance may be manifested in this universe at one moment, and immediately after His birth, this pastime is manifested in the next universe. After His killing of Pūtanā is manifested in this universe, it is next manifested in another universe. Thus all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are eternally existing both in the original Goloka Vṛndāvana planet and in the material universes.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 24:

"My dear sir," the Lord replied. "As far as the Vedānta-sūtra or the codes of Vedānta are concerned, I can understand the meaning quite well. However, I cannot understand your explanations. There is nothing really difficult about the meaning of the original Vedānta-sūtra, but the way you explain Vedānta-sūtra appears to obscure the real meaning. You do not elucidate the direct meaning but imagine something and consequently obscure the true meaning. I think that you have a particular doctrine which you are trying to expound through the codes of Vedānta-sūtra."

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 49:

The following statement elucidates the subject of part and whole: "All living entities are just like sparks from the supreme fire, and as such, I do not know if I, a tiny spark, shall be able to engage myself in the transcendental loving service of this supreme fire, Lord Kṛṣṇa." In this statement, the feelings of neutral love are taken as the whole, whereas the desire to serve the Lord is taken as the part. Actually, in the Brahman effulgence there is no chance for reciprocation of loving ecstasy between the Lord and the devotee.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 8, Purport:

When one makes Vṛndāvana his residence, he should take shelter of an advanced devotee there. In this way one should always think of Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes. This is further elucidated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.294):

kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya
preṣṭhaṁ nija-samīhitam
tat-tat-kathā-rataś cāsau
kuryād vāsaṁ vraje sadā

"A devotee should always reside in the transcendental realm of Vraja and always engage in kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya preṣṭham, the remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His beloved associates. By following in the footsteps of such associates and by entering under their eternal guidance, one can acquire an intense desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

The most widely recognized scriptures in the world are the Vedas. The Vedas have been divided into four parts: Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg and Atharva. The subject matter of the Vedas is very difficult for a man of ordinary understanding. For elucidation, the four Vedas are explained in the historical epic called the Mahābhārata and in eighteen Purāṇas. The Rāmāyaṇa is also a historical epic which contains all the necessary information from the Vedas. So the four Vedas, the original Rāmāyaṇa by Vālmīki, the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas are classified as Vedic literatures.

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead 2:

Bhagavad-gītā (5.17) further elucidates that when a learned man attains to absolute vision, he can observe every living being—whether a learned and gentle brahmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, or a dog-eater—with equanimity. A learned and gentle brahmaṇa is the embodiment of nature's mode of goodness. Among the beasts, the cow is the embodiment of this same mode of goodness. The elephant and the lion are embodiments of the passionate mode of nature, while the dog and the caṇḍāla (dog-eater) are the embodiments of nature's mode of darkness, or ignorance.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 13.15 -- Bombay, October 9, 1973:

Sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam. He's the origin of all senses, but He has no senses. Sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam. Asaktam: He has no attachment, but at the same time, sarva-bhṛc ca, He's maintainer of everyone. Nirguṇam, without any qualities. Guṇa-bhoktṛ ca, but He is the enjoyer of all qualities. So this requires elucidation, how these contradictions are adjusted. This requires knowledge. Somebody is taking that God is without any form because here it is said, sarvendriya-varjitam, vivarjitam. Vivarjitam, specifically He has no indriyas. So if God has no indriya, then He's nirākāra. But in the previous verse Kṛṣṇa has said that, "Yes, I have got my indriyas. I can see everything, I can hear everything."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.26.9 -- Bombay, December 21, 1974:

Devahūti wants elucidation of the characteristics of puruṣa and prakṛti. So puruṣa is one, but prakṛti, there are many, energies. Prakṛti, energy. Just like we have got practical experience that husband and wife, the wife is supposed to be the energy. The husband works day and night very hard, but when he comes home, the wife gives him comfort, eating, sleeping, mating, in so many ways. He gets fresh energy. Especially the karmīs, they get energy by the behavior and service of the wife.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Kim Cornish -- May 8, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: It requires elucidation. "Complete whole" means, just like your body is complete whole, and there are so many other things, there are so many holes in the body, there are so many hairs on the body, there are so many hairs on the head, so many fingers, eyes, ears—so many things—but the body is a complete unit, working as a complete machine. And there are so many things. Similarly, the whole cosmos is complete, exactly like this body is a machine.

Correspondence

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Juggannath Babu -- Calcutta 14 March, 1949:

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam when Karabhajana Muni was elucidating the different incarnations of Godhead in different yugas, he said that "In the Kali-yuga the intelligent persons will worship the incarnation of Sri Krishna, by the transcendental sankirtana method. This incarnation of Sri Krishna will be non-blackish in the color of His body but will constantly chant the name of Krishna along with His many disciples who will act as the soldiers for the deliverance of the fallen souls of the Kali-yuga."

Letter to Juggannath Babu -- Calcutta 14 March, 1949:

The living entities souls, the process of migration of the souls the description of the mahatmas, their duties and lastly the duty of everybody after elaborate elucidation of the three modes of nature, satya raja tama and the different human races, work, knowledge, devotion, worship activities under the influence of such modes of nature. In the Bhagavad-gita a clear distinction has been made between the asura prakrti and daiva prakrti and He has vehemently deprecated the demonic or asuric prakrti and eulogized the daiva prakrti.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Gurudasa -- London 11 July, 1972:

I do not know what you mean when you mention the government is discouraging Americans from Vrindaban area, and that Subala may be deported. Kindly elucidate. So far the Delhi deities, one man here in London, Dr. Shah, wants to pay for the freight to bring them to Edinburgh where we have got one nice center for installing them there. But I do no know how it will be done. Anyway, keep them safely and we shall see later on.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Paris 25 July, 1972:

The Bhagavata class should go on, just as I have shown you, with everyone attending, including the children. Read the Sanskrit sloka all together, word meanings, translation, purport and give elucidation on all points. The children should be doing the same thing we are doing, plus giving them the playing facility, a little ABC, history, mathematics, geography, like that. They should not help in cooking, nor should they take part in any hard work, they must study. After initiation, then they can learn cooking. They should not be utilized for giving service to the elderly members, they should be given chance for reading and writing. So far marriage is concerned, they must be legally married.

Page Title:Elucidation
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas, Serene
Created:18 of May, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=5, CC=1, OB=5, Lec=2, Con=1, Let=4
No. of Quotes:18