There is a, there is a insect which is called in Sanskrit language as indra-gopa. It is a microbe. You cannot see with these naked eyes. So this microbe is called indra, and there is another Indra, the King of Heaven. So the Brahma-saṁhitā says, yas tu indra-gopa. And Mahendra, the King of Heaven... Beginning from this indra-gopa, up to the King of Heaven, everyone is subjected to enjoy or suffer the resultant action of his karma. By karma, by the resultant action of karma, one has become the King of Heaven, and by karma, resultant action of karma, one has become the microbic insect. This is the material world. There are 8,400,000 types or forms of this material body, and we are wandering, sarva-gata, in different planets, in different forms. This is material world. And in the material world, whatever form we may have, we have got attachment for this body. Not only attachment, we are under the impression that "I am this body."
King of heaven (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
He was formerly a very powerful king. Now, in his later life he gave up everything and he wanted to be a transcendentalist and great meditator, great meditator in the yoga principle of life. He was a yogi, great yogi. Now, this Viśvāmitra was performing meditation in the forest very supremely. So the... Now, Indra, the King of heaven, he became frightened: "So, this man is performing so much penance. So he might come. He might ask from God and claim my seat. So just wake him, wake him. Just detach him from this purpose." So he had many beautiful women at his control, one of whose name was Menakā. So Menakā was ordered that "You go there and try to induce him to have your association." Because in this world our real bondage is this... Either for man or woman, this is the real bondage, the sex life. So the Menakā was sent to Viśvāmitra, and Viśvāmitra was meditating, but his eyes were closed.
That Kṛṣṇa says, "One who restrains the sense and organs of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects."
Just like Viśvāmitra Muni. There were many instances. He was a great king and he wanted to be yogi. And he went to forest, gave up his kingdom, went to forest. And he was meditating very seriously, and Indra, king of heaven, he sent some society girls of heavenly planet, Menakā. And she came. She began to dance before the closed-eyes yogi, and as soon as he heard, "Oh, there is very nice female voice and dancing," and as soon as he opened, he became captivated, embraced her. So everything gone. You see? So sense gratification, you cannot stop artificially. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe.
Therefore we advised our students, either boys and girls, that if you have... Of course, if you are serious in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you forget all these nonsense sense gratification, but still if you are disturbed, all right, get yourself married.
"Those who are engrossed with the modes of ignorance, they may be degraded from this planet to another, degraded planet, or another life, or animal life. This is the process, going on. And we forget.
Forgetfulness. There is some incidences that sometimes Brahmā, he was cursed to become a, a hog. He became a hog. Then after... Not Brahmā, Indra, the king of heaven. The king of heaven, he made some offense under, on the feet of his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati, and he cursed him that "You are just like a hog. You take the birth of a hog." So he became a hog. Now, when the throne of the heavenly kingdom was vacant due to the absence of Indra—he has become a hog in this earth—so Brahmā came. Brahmā came that, "Mr. Such-and-such, you have now become hog for your offensive activities. Now I have come to deliver you. Please come with me." Now, the hog said, "Oh, I cannot go with you. I cannot go with you. Oh, I have got so many responsibilities. I have got my children. I have got my wife. I have got my country.
This is bhakti. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54).
That is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam. There are millions and millions of living entities beginning from the king of heaven who is, whose name is Indra, yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma, beginning from that Indra... And there is one worm that is called indra-gopa, very small. You have to see with microscope. Very small, insignificant living entity. And that Indra, the king of heaven, is very important living... So beginning from that Indra up to this Indra, everyone is bound up by the fruitive resultant action of his karma. This is called karma-phala. Yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam. Going on under the laws of karma. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājāṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.54).
You know that among the living entities, the germs are in very minute forms. You cannot see even with your microscope. In a, in a space of one millimeter, you can find millions of germs. That is a scientific truth. So beginning from the germs which are called... (to kids:) Please stop! Please stop!
Beginning from the germs up to the heavenly kingdom... The king of heaven is called Indra, and the smallest, minutest germ, it is also called indra-gopa in Sanskrit language. So in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that "Beginning from this indra up to that Indra..." That means "Beginning from the germ which is known as indra-gopa up to the point of the king who is also known as Indra, all of them are bound up by the reaction of his own karma, or his own work."
So he renounced his kingdom. He wanted to advance. He was kingly, royal order, but still, he wanted to advance in the spiritual orders. So he adopted yoga process, meditation. That time it was possible for adopting this process, yoga process. So he was meditating in such a way that the Indra, who was the king of heaven, he thought that "This man is trying to occupy my post." As there is competition... This is also... Heaven means that is also material world. So this competition—no businessman wants an another businessman go ahead. He wants to cut down. Competition of price, quality. Similarly, that Indra, he thought that "This man is so strongly meditating, it may be that I may be deposed and he come to my seat." Then he arranged one of his society girls, Menakā, to go there and allure this muni. So when Menakā approached that ṛṣi, Viśvāmitra Ṛṣi, he was meditating. And simply by the sound of her bangles, he could understand, "There is some woman."
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So Brahma-saṁhitā says that beginning from this indra, the indra-gopa bacteria, up to the Indra... Another Indra is, he is called the heavenly king. His name is also Indra. This bacteria is called indra-gopa, and the other Indra, who is king of the heaven, he is called Indra. So Brahma-saṁhitā says beginning from this Indra up to that Indra... Beginning from that bacteria up to the king of heaven, yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma, everyone is enjoying or suffering according to his own activities. Gopam aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam ātanoti (Bs. 5.54). Bandha, the same thing, nibandhanam. According to the knot of fruitive result, everyone is enjoying or suffering. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām. But one who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service, his karma-nibandhana is cut off. Karmāṇi chindanti.
Real attachment is here. Just like the hog; the real attachment is the stool. But he's getting very fat, "Oh, I am so happy." You see? So this is going on. Nature is very clever. Just to make you attached to stool, she gives you certain body, type of body, hog. You become very pleased: "Oh, I am so happy. I am living in heaven." Sometimes actually Indra, the king of heaven, he was cursed to become a hog, and he was, he became hog. He had so many kiddies, wife, and living in filthy place, eating stool. So Brahmā came that for his absence, the management in the heavenly kingdom is not going nice. So he came: "Indra, now please come with me." "Where shall I go to, sir?" "Heaven." "What is that? I cannot go. I have got responsibility. I have got my wife, my children, and I am happy here. I do not know what is heaven."
Yas tu indra. Indra means the King of heaven. And there is another indra, indra-gopa. It is a, it is an insect, very small. That is called indra-gopa. So it is said, "Beginning from that Indra, the King of heaven, down to this indra, the small insect," yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma, "everyone is enjoying, suffering according at the karma." The, that Indra, the King of heaven, is... You can become the King of heaven, provided you have got a mass of pious activities. You are promoted. Just like if you have got sufficient education, you can become high-court judge. It is not very difficult. Similarly, this Indra, Candra, Brahmā, big, big demigods, they have got all these posts on account of their great pious activities. Puṇya. Puṇya-karma. Similarly, the hogs and dogs and other animals, they are due to the pāpa-karma, impious activities. So both of them are resultant action of our karma.
So not only European, American, but there are other improved condition of life in higher planetary system. They're all made of rajo-guṇa. Rajas-tamas. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19). Because everywhere you'll find the prominence of greediness and lust, everywhere. Even in the heavenly planet, the King of Heaven, he's very, very, very much lusty. There are so many instances. He's very much fond of sex life, Indra.
So this will not help us. We must come to the platform of sattva-guṇa, goodness, the brahminical stage. Then our life, our evolutionary process, will be successful. Tamasas tu rajas tasmāt sattvaṁ yad brahma-darśanam. Gradually, evolutionary process... I think in Darwin's theory there is no such conception of coming to the point of sattva-guṇa, goodness. They do not know even what it is, sattva-guṇa. Simply they are studying the animal bones. That's all.
So because we have accepted this material body, asad-grahāt, therefore we must be always in anxiety. This is the law. Tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehinām, dehinām. One who has accepted this material body, he must be full of anxiety. He may be the King of heaven, Indra, or he may be a small ant in the stool. It doesn't matter. Everyone is full of anxiety. So Prahlāda Mahārāja recommended that when his father asked him: "What is the best thing, my dear boy, you have learned?" He explained, "My dear father..." He did not say "father." He addressed his father as "the best of the demons," asura-varya. Asura-varya. Because he was... (Hindi, aside) Asura-varya. Varya means the best, varīyān, varya.
He appears as soon as there is discrepancies in the methodical way. Another place, indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokam (SB 1.3.28). Indra. Indra means the heavenly god, and ari means enemy. So indrāri, the enemy of the king of heaven. That means demons. There are two classes of beings, human being, in the human state: the devatā and asura. So devatā means God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious. Anyone who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is devatā, demigod. And anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he's demon. This is the difference. So that demon may be very big or small, it doesn't matter, but... Asuras tad-viparyayaḥ. Viparyayaḥ means "just the opposite." The devotees, they are demigods, and asura means just the opposite number of devotee; that means nondevotees. Those who are nondevotees, those who are not devotees of the Lord, they are all demons.
So Lord Rāmacandra appeared for the purpose of satisfying the sura. Kṛṣṇa appears for protection of the sura. Sura and asura. Asura means nondevotees, and sura means devotee. So for killing the asuras, Kṛṣṇa does not require to come down. Any agent. There are... Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). By simply advising the King of heaven, Indra, to send a strong wind, so many asuras can be immediately annihilated. So for that purpose, Kṛṣṇa does not require to come. He comes for satisfying the devotees. The devotees are so anxious to see Him. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja. Nṛsiṁha-deva appeared not to kill his teeny father. To kill his teeny father... Simply by directing the māyā, he could be killed. But He wanted to come before Prahlāda Mahārāja, that "You are My such nice devotee. You are suffering for Me. Now I have come. You see." This is the purpose. By the by, to kill the atheist, keeping the promise of Brahmā intact... He took benediction from Brahmā that "I shall not die in this way and this way, this way."
There is no problem. Viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate. And vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate. And when a person is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he knows what is what. He knows what this learned scholar is. He knows what is this. Vidhi-mahendra. What to speak of ordinary scholars and big men. Vidhi, vidhi means Lord Brahmā, and mahendra means the king of heaven. So they are also treated as ordinary human being or ordinary living entities. They are not given any importance. "Well, as..." Ābrahma-bhuvana-stham. Ābrahma. For a devotee, as Brahmā is also living entity, a small ant is also living entity, all Kṛṣṇa's parts and parcels. They have no quarrel with anybody. As Kṛṣṇa's part and parcel, we offer respect to everyone. So not that they are amazed with the greatness of a living entity. He thinks that his greatness is due to Kṛṣṇa's favor. Because Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad-gītā, yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ tat tad eva mama tejo 'ṁśa-sambhavam. Nobody can become great unless...
This is the position of devotee. Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tri-daśa-pūrākāśa-puṣpāyate durdānta indriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate.
And what is the other? Now, vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate. I was going to come to this point. Vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate. Vidhi means Brahmā, and mahendra means the king of heaven, Indradeva. Such, such, big, big men, what to speak of these Churchill or Subhash Bose or... These big, big, they're kīṭāyate. Kīṭāyate means a devotee thinks this Brahmā and Indra exactly like these insect. That is the conception. So that is actually the fact. Everyone... It is the relative world. Relatively, it looks very gorgeous, but the actually... Just like proportionate. You put five upon ten, and five millions upon ten millions. The ratio is the same, half. Similarly, these big, big men, these big, big politicians, they are struggling exactly like the insect. The whole life, they struggle. And in the morning, at a certain time, they're heap, heaps of dead body. That's all. We have seen it in Calcutta.
Just like at the present moment, India is a small tract of land, and that is also being divided now. Bangladesh has gone out. Pakistan has gone out. Some day some other province will... Not that. The whole world. He took charge of ruling over the whole world. śaśāsa gām indra iva. Indra. Indra is the king of heaven, heavenly planets. So as Indra is powerful... Nobody can even... Indra is never defeated. Sometimes there is fight between the devāsura, asura and deva. But when there is fight between the deva and asura... Deva means the demigod, and asura means the atheist class. They are always existing, the atheist class, two classes of men, atheist class and theist class. Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daiva āsuras tad viparyayaḥ. Those who are devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, Vaiṣṇava, they are demigods, and anyone else—all demons. Except Vaiṣṇava, everyone is a demon. You can say, "Now I am devotee of Lord Śiva. How can I be demon?" Yes, you are demon. Because Rāvaṇa was a great devotee of Lord Śiva, but he is described as a demon, rākṣasa. Rākṣasa.
So you can reign over." There it is said, niśamya bhīṣmoktam athācyutoktaṁ pravṛtta-vijñāna-vidhūta-vibhramaḥ. He understood that "When such great personalities are giving their opinion, that it was no wrong on my part," then he agreed. Śaśāsa gām indra ivājitāśrayaḥ. Gām indra iva ajitāśrayaḥ. Indra, the king of heaven, he ruled over this planet as perfectly as the heavenly king Indra does. How? Ajitāśrayaḥ, completely being devotee. So the king can rule over the country... Why country? The world, world over. If he takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa, Ajitā means Kṛṣṇa conscious, God conscious, such person, as they are advised in the śāstra, then they can rule over the any part of the world or the whole world exactly like Indra, the king of heaven. He is ruling over perfectly. Paridhyupāntām anujānuvartitaḥ. So in this way Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira... (reading:) "Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after being enlightened by what was spoken by Bhīṣmadeva and Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the infallible, engaged himself in matters of perfect knowledge because all his misgivings were eradicated. Thus he ruled over the earth and seas and was followed by his younger brothers."
So he was not ordinary man. So he cultivated spiritual consciousness. Now, after leaving this body, he returned again, pitṛbhiḥ sva-kṣayaṁ yayau. He again returned to his original post. Temporary, he got the life of a śūdra; again he returned back by his pious activities. Similarly, there are many narrations in the Purāṇas. Sometimes Indra, the king of heaven, he was also cursed by Bṛhaspati to become a hog in this planet.
So there are many incidences by cursing, by accident. Even by accident, you have to accept a body which you do not desire. So that is, just like Bharata Mahārāja. Bharata Mahārāja, he was the king of this planet, and at the age of twenty-four years, very young age, young wife, young children, kingdom of the whole planet, he left everything. He went to the forest for cultivating spiritual advancement. But one day he saw that a deer was drinking water in front. In the meantime there was a roaring of a lion, and the deer was pregnant. She gave birth to a calf and she fled away.
So this exchange of going and coming is not difficult, provided a person is qualified. Not a cat and dog can go. That is not possible.
So another important point is... Ājahārāśva-medhāṁs trīn, three times. The aśvamedha-yajña is so expensive that the king of heaven, Indra, he executed the aśvamedha-yajña seven times. So Mahārāja Pṛthu was also going to complete seven times. So there was some, I mean to say, competition. The Indra would not allow him to complete seven times. Otherwise he would become equal with him. So amongst the kings, not only in this planet, but in other planets also, the aśvamedha-yajña was performed by very, very powerful rich kings, not ordinary kings. It is very expensive job. Because it is stated, bhūri-dakṣiṇān, and vast amount of money required for distribution in charity. Then you can perform aśvamedha-yajña.
Monarchy, that is required, monarchy. Because a monarch is rājarṣi. He should be rājarṣi, a saintly person. Without being saintly person, how he can become representative of God? A king is supposed to be representative of God. So unless he has got godly character, saintly character, great devotee, how he can become the head of a state? Just like the demigods in the heavenly planets... The king of heaven is Indra. So Indra is materially very opulent, although they are after material enjoyment. You cannot compare their material enjoyment with this material enjoyment on this earthly planet. There are thousand, thousand times better standard, the duration of life, paraphernalia for enjoyment, facilities, so many things. They are higher and higher. As you go to the higher planets, they are higher and higher, thousand times. Just like in this planet also we see that some nation's standard of living is higher than other nation. Take for example you Americans.
Everyone is enjoying or suffering the sequence of his karma. Yas tu gopam. Indra-gopa, a small insect. It's name is indra-gopa. Beginning from this indra up to that Indra, the king of heaven, everyone is enjoying and suffering about his karma. Yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma. Sva-karma, one's own activities, we are creating. We are creating our next body in this life. As we have got this life as the resultant action of my past karma, similarly, I am creating another body, after death, on account of my present karma. This is going on.
So we should work in such a way that we may not get another body next life. That is wanted. That is wanted. And how it can be done? It can be done very easily. What is that? Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. This is the simple method.
Now, if you take the advantage of electric light and heat, you have to pay bill. But here we don't pay bill. That means we are becoming debtor. If we don't pay bill anywhere, then we become debtor. So we are debtor to so many demigods. The sun is supplying heat and light. The king of heaven, Indra, he is supplying water. These rascals, they say it is coming by nature. It may come from nature, but nature is controlled. Just like we are getting water. If somebody says, "Oh, what is that? It is coming from the water tank. So where is the question of paying taxes or rent?" No. The water tank is being filled up by the Municipality. If you don't pay tax, it will be cut off. Similarly, don't think that the water is coming as your father's property. No. You are becoming debtor. You are becoming debtor. Therefore, if you don't pay debts, if you don't perform sacrifices, then there will be scarcity of water. And one day it will come there will be no water. That you expect.
Kṛṣṇa takes charge. Kṛṣṇa says, buddhiḥ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi. He can do that. He can nullify the destiny. Karmṇnirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājāṁ. Everyone is bound up by the laws of karma. Yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam ātanoti (Bs. 5.54). Everyone, beginning from that small microbe, indragopa, and up to the king of heaven—his name is also Indra. So from this Indra to that Indra, all different types of living entities, they are suffering, not enjoying; suffering the resultant action of their past sinful life. This is material existence. Everyone is suffering, but māyā is so kind that he (she) misleads the sufferer to understand the suffering is enjoying. This is māyā. Actually everyone is suffering, but he is misled to think that he is enjoying.
So if we keep ourself always in contact with Kṛṣṇa, then we become pious more and more, and as soon as our sinful reaction of life is counteracted by these pious activities, we begin to understand Kṛṣṇa. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpam.
Your president, he is the richest person in this country, and he is the third richest man in the world, somebody. But do you think he is without anxiety? No. That is not possible. That is not possible. He is full of anxiety: "The other party may not take." (aside:) You sit down properly. Other party may not take his position. This is all politicians' anxiety. Even the king of heaven, Indra, he is also full of anxiety. There are Hiraṇyakaśipus. So sometimes they drive away that Indra, King Indra, and he enjoys there. This is going on, not only in this planet. In all planet, wherever you go, the same condition prevails. Ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokān punar āvartino 'rjuna. Don't think that by going to the heavenly planet you'll be happy there. No. There is no possibility. Either you go to the heavenly planet or you go to the hell, you will have to undergo the threefold miserable conditions.
Superior to animals are human beings, and superior to human beings are ghosts because they have no material bodies. Superior to ghosts are the Gandharvas, and superior to them are the Siddhas. Superior to the Siddhas are the Kinnaras, and superior to them are the asuras. Superior to the asuras are the demigods, and of the demigods, Indra, the king of heaven, is supreme. Superior to Indra are the direct sons of Lord Brahmā, sons like King Dakṣa. And supreme among Brahmā's sons is Lord Śiva. Since Lord Śiva is the son of Lord Brahmā, Brahmā is considered superior, but Brahmā is also subordinate to Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because I am inclined to the brāhmaṇas, the brāhmaṇas are best of all." (break)
Yajñārthe karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). If you work for Kṛṣṇa, it appears to be ordinary work, but it is not ordinary work. It is not the cause of bandhanaḥ. But if you work for Kṛṣṇa, there is no more karma-bandhanaḥ. Karmāṇi nirdahati ca kintu ca bhakti-bhājām. All others... Yas tv indragopam mahā indra... There is a germ, it is called indragopa. From indragopa to that Indra the King of heaven, everyone is bound up by the laws of karma. Everyone is bound up. But a bhakta is not bound up. How he can be bound up? Because as soon as he surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa gives him assurance, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi; immediately finish...
So we can become immediately liberated. Liberated means who has no karma-bandhana, no resultant action. Ava-bharjitāni. That is liberation. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). Devotee, he may seem, it may appear, that he is also dying, but his death and ordinary death is different.
"Where is Moscow?" (laughter)
So our attachment is so strong. That even it is duḥkhālayam... Just like some hogs, they are living in filthy place and eating stool. And if you say that "I will take you somewhere else, a good place," then they will not go there. This happened. It is stated in the Bhāgavata that once the king of heaven, he was cursed to become hog. And he was living amongst the hog society. And when Lord Brahmā came to call him back, that "Mr. such and such, for your bad behavior you became hog. Now come back to heaven," so he refused, "No, I have got so much responsibility. I cannot go." You see? This is material... It is called māyā, illusion. Even you are in the most abominable condition of life, we will feel, "Now we are very happy." So that is our position. We do not want to leave this place. Therefore we create nationalism, Communism, this "ism," that "ism," because we want to stay here permanently. But unfortunately nobody will be allowed to stay even if you want to stay.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
That is jñāna-kāṇḍa. So karma-kāṇḍa jñāna-kāṇḍa. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says everything is viṣa bhāṇḍa, the poison pot. Why poison pot? Karma-kāṇḍa amṛta yeba baliyā khāya. If we drink poison pot, thinking it as nectar, then the result will be that we have to accept another body and we have to be under the tribulation of material nature. And sometimes we get the body of the King of Heaven, and sometimes we get the body of a hog for eating stool. This is going on. Nānā yoni brahman kare. We have to wander in different species of life and we have to eat all abominable things. Tāra janma adhah-pāte yāya.
So, so long we are tinged with sinful activities, we have to accept different varieties of body, either the body of Lord Brahmā or the body of an ant, indragopa, a small microbic insect, yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma (Bs. 5.54). From this indragopa, the microscopic insect which is called indragopa insect, from this indragopa insect, to the real Indra, the King of Heaven, everyone is suffering or enjoying—actually it is suffering—the resultant action of his karma. It doesn't matter what kind of body a living entity has got, but the body itself is the symptom, is the sign that one is sinful. This is the conclusion of the śāstra. Because as soon as one is free from sinful activities, at that time, he goes back to home, back to Godhead. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). So our, this material body is achieved due to sinful activities. And sinful activities are performed due to ignorance.
Mādhavānanda: "There is a similar statement by Indra, the King of heaven, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixth Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, 52nd verse. There Indra addresses his mother in this manner: 'My dear Mother (Aditi), persons who have given up all kinds of desire and are simply engaged in devotional service to the Lord know what is actually their self-interest. Such persons are actually serving their self-interests and are considered first-class experts in the matter of advancing to the perfectional stage of life.' "
Prabhupāda: That is... Everyone is after his self-interest, but real self-interest is to approach Viṣṇu. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti surayaḥ. And in the Bhāgavata it is said: na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Svārtha-gati. Our real self-interest is in Viṣṇu. They do not know. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Durāśayā. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. So one who has fixed up to render service to Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa... Viṣṇur ārādhyate puṁsāṁ nānyat tat-tosā-kāraṇam. So this is the ultimate goal of life, to approach Viṣṇu. And the origin of Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa.
"Similarly, in the same Seventh Canto, Eighth Chapter, 39th verse, when the demigods are offering prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁha, Indra, the King of heaven, says, 'O Supreme One, these demons talk of our share of participation in the performance of ritualistic sacrifices, but simply by Your appearance as Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva You have saved us from terrible fears. Actually our shares in the sacrificial performances are due to You only because You are the Supreme Enjoyer of all sacrifices. You are the Supersoul of every living entity, and therefore You are the actual owner of everything. Long were our hearts always filled with fear of this demon, Hiraṇyakaśipu. But You are so kind towards us that by killing him, You have removed that fear from within our hearts and have given us the chance to place Your Lordship within our hearts again. For persons who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Your Lordship, all the opulences which were taken away from us by the demons are counted as nothing.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
He'll dictate, "Yes, you do like this. You do like this." So in every respect the Lord is trying to help us. But we are so much stubborn, we don't like to take advantage of this position. Oh, he says, "Why shall I take all this? I am very happy." There is a story in the Bhāgavata that once Indra, the king of heaven, he was condemned by his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati, that "You are so foolish. You should have become a hog." So he became a hog. So after some days, when the throne of the heavenly kingdom was vacant, Brahmā went to reclaim this hog, Indra, that "Come to your place." So when the hog was requested that "You are Indra. Why you are suffering? Now you come. I have come to take you," so the hog says, "Oh! I do not know what I am, Indra. I have got my responsibility. I cannot leave this place." Just see. Even the hog—you can just imagine what is the standard of his living—he thinks also that "I am very happy. I am very happy." The stool-eating and this nasty place, and "Oh, I have got a very comfortable life." So this is the, I mean to say, prakṣepātmikā.
So all these list... Bhāgavata is specifying about Kṛṣṇa. All this full list of God's incarnation... Either they are part, plenary part, or parts of the parts of the parts of the Supreme, but here, the name Kṛṣṇa, He's the original God. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: (SB 1.3.28) "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa." That has been particularly pointed out in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, although there are list of many. So that, that Kṛṣṇa, although He is original, still, indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge. Indrāri. Indra. Indra is the king of heaven. And ari, ari means enemy. Just like the heavenly king and the Satan, conception of Satan. So when there is satanic influence over the kingdom of God, or the devotees, or the appointed demigods, they are disturbed by satanic influence, then Kṛṣṇa comes. Yadā yadā hi... That is stated, confirmed, in Bhagavad-gītā.
Festival Lectures
Otherwise everyone thought that "He is an ordinary man just like one of us, but most powerful. That's all." Similarly, the demigods in other planets, they also thought, "Oh, he's a foolish person. They are thinking of a cowherd boy as God," sophisticated, like that. And especially Indra, the heavenly kingdom..., king of heaven. He was... He's very powerful, so he thought, "What god he has come? My God, He cannot come." This was some speculation. Even Brahmā also speculated. But Kṛṣṇa wanted to show Indra that "Yes, actually I have come." So that incidence is today, Govardhana-pūjā.
Initiation Lectures
Mahendra. Mahā-indra. Mahā-indra is the heavenly king. Yas tu indra-gopa-mahā indra. There are two kinds of indra. One is a small insect which is called indra-gopa, and beginning from this indra up to the mahā-indra, the king of heaven, they are all under the reaction of fruitive activities. Yas tv indra-gopa-mahendra-mahā-sva-karma-phala-bhājanam āta... Everyone is enjoying and suffering the result of his fruitive activities. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54). But those who are in devotional service, they have no reaction of their work because they do not work for themselves. They are for Kṛṣṇa. Therefore there is no reaction. So Mahendra means the greatest king within this universe. So because he is representative of Kṛṣṇa, therefore we accept him as one of the devotees. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (aside:) Don't take this. (end)
General Lectures
That is God. When it was needed to protect the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, He lifted a big hill, and since then His name is Giri-vara-dhārī. Giri-vara-dhārī means that hill, and He sustained that hill. He was at that time seven years old from material calculation.
But in the original Vṛndāvana there is no such thing as the wrath of Indra, the king of heaven, and danger or torrents of rain overflood, inundation. There is no such thing. There everything is blissful, transcendental and eternal. Here we have got a little sample, because whatever you have got in this material world, that is simply imitation, a shadow of the original. Sometimes... You can understand that on the desert sometimes it appears there is a vast ocean of water, mirage. But actually there is no water. Those who are animals, they sometimes are misled. They are thirsty, and they think that there is water in the desert, and they run over, but actually there is no water.
There was fight between the demons and the demigods, so the demons—sometimes when there is fight, sometimes one party is victorious, sometimes the other party is victorious—so the demigods' party became victorious, and they were harassing the demons like anything. So Hiraṇyakaśipu's wife, she was pregnant, she was captured by Indra, the King of heaven, and she was being dragged to take her in the house of Indra. In the way, Nārada Muni met them; he chastised Indra. Nārada Muni was devarṣi, ṛṣi amongst the demigods. So he said, "Why you are giving trouble to this woman? This is not good." So the demons replied, demigods replied that "This woman is pregnant, and there is Hiraṇyakaśipu's son. So we want to kill that son also, because he is demon. So we are taking this woman to our place just to wait for the time of her delivering the child." At that time Nārada Muni said, "No, no. This child is not a demon child. This child who is within the womb of this woman, he is a great devotee, so don't try to kill him. Neither you can kill him, that is not possible."
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: Yes. What is the demigods? They are also rotting in this material world. So devotees are not concerned how to become a demigod. They do not care. That is said by Prabodānanda Sarasvatī: vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate. Vidhi means Lord Brahmā, and mahendra means the king of heaven, Indra. So he says, "I think this Brahmā and Indra, Candra, the demigods just like as good as the germs and small insects." He says that. Vidhi-mahendrādiś. You have to attain such a position that you think this Brahmā and Indra and demigods, they are as good as the insects. Vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭa. Kīṭa means a small insect. So actually that is the position. Everyone has got a different type of body according to his karma, either Brahmā's body or ant's body, so he is under material laws. So that is not the position of freedom. One has to become above these material laws. That is brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). So anyone who has actually attained that position, what is the importance of Brahmā's body or Indra's body? He is not concerned with the body, just, therefore devotees are not interested to be elevated to the higher planetary system in the heaven. They are not interested.
| Page Title: | King of heaven (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 26 of Jun, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=39, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 39 |