The Lord rejected this suggestion also because on the plea of such spiritual realization much havoc has been wrought by unscrupulous persons; therefore all of a sudden this is not possible. The Rāya then suggested sincere association of self-realized souls and hearing submissively the transcendental message of the pastimes of the Personality of Godhead. This suggestion was welcomed by the Lord. This suggestion was made following in the footsteps of Brahmājī, who said that the Personality of Godhead is known as ajita, or the one who cannot be conquered or approached by anyone. But such ajita also becomes jita (conquered) by one method, which is very simple and easy. The simple method is that one has to give up the arrogant attitude of declaring oneself to be God Himself. One must be very meek and submissive and try to live peacefully by lending the ear to the speeches of the transcendentally self-realized soul who speaks on the message of Bhāgavata-dharma, or the religion of glorifying the Supreme Lord and His devotees.
Miscellanious negative attitudes
Expressions researched:
"Bhattacarya’s attitude"
|"This false ego is typified by two attitudes"
|"Vrtrasura's attitude"
|"an attitude of sense gratification"
|"angry attitudes"
|"arrogant attitude"
|"attitude is also offensive"
|"attitude of enemies"
|"attitude of exploiting"
|"attitude of lording it over material nature"
|"attitude of nondevotees"
|"attitude of sudras"
|"attitude of the karmis"
|"attitude of the materialistic person"
|"attitude of wives"
|"attitudes are not favorable"
|"attitudes of Kamsa"
|"challenging attitude"
|"demoniac attitude"
|"different attitude than the devotees"
|"does not have an attitude of servitorship"
|"egocentric attitude"
|"he gives up the Krsna conscious attitude"
|"inauspicious attitudes"
|"inimical attitude"
|"lusty attitude when they beget children"
|"nonsensical attitude"
|"offensive attitude"
|"our separatist attitude"
|"these attitudes are forbidden"
|"unwanted attitude of superiority"
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Preface and Introduction
SB Canto 1
Over and above this, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a personal commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra by Śrī Vyāsadeva. It was written in the maturity of his spiritual life through the mercy of Nārada. Śrī Vyāsadeva is the authorized incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, there is no question as to his authority. He is the author of all other Vedic literatures, yet he recommends the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam above all others. In other Purāṇas there are different methods set forth by which one can worship the demigods. But in the Bhāgavatam only the Supreme Lord is mentioned. The Supreme Lord is the total body, and the demigods are the different parts of that body. Consequently, by worshiping the Supreme Lord, one does not need to worship the demigods. The Supreme Lord becomes fixed in the heart of the devotee immediately. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the spotless Purāṇa and distinguishes it from all other Purāṇas.
The proper method for receiving this transcendental message is to hear it submissively. A challenging attitude cannot help one realize this transcendental message. One particular word is used herein for proper guidance. This word is śuśrūṣu. One must be anxious to hear this transcendental message. The desire to sincerely hear is the first qualification.
Less fortunate persons are not at all interested in hearing this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The process is simple, but the application is difficult. Unfortunate people find enough time to hear idle social and political conversations, but when invited to attend a meeting of devotees to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they suddenly become reluctant. Sometimes professional readers of the Bhāgavatam immediately plunge into the confidential topics of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, which they seemingly interpret as sex literature.
To be nonviolent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of the poor animals is Satan's philosophy. In this age there is enmity toward poor animals, and therefore the poor creatures are always anxious. The reaction of the poor animals is being forced on human society, and therefore there is always the strain of cold or hot war between men, individually, collectively or nationally. At the time of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, there were no different nations, although there were different subordinate states. The whole world was united, and the supreme head, being a trained king like Yudhiṣṭhira, kept all the inhabitants free from anxiety, diseases and excessive heat and cold. They were not only economically well-to-do, but also physically fit and undisturbed by supernatural power, by enmity from other living beings and by disturbance of bodily and mental agonies. There is a proverb in Bengali that a bad king spoils the kingdom and a bad housewife spoils the family. This truth is applicable here also. Because the King was pious and obedient to the Lord and sages, because he was no one's enemy and because he was a recognized agent of the Lord and therefore protected by Him, all the citizens under the King's protection were, so to speak, directly protected by the Lord and His authorized agents. Unless one is pious and recognized by the Lord, he cannot make others happy who are under his care. There is full cooperation between man and God and man and nature, and this conscious cooperation between man and God and man and nature, as exemplified by King Yudhiṣṭhira, can bring about happiness, peace and prosperity in the world. The attitude of exploiting one another, the custom of the day, will only bring misery.
I am uncivilized and sinful due to my neglect of brahminical culture, God consciousness and cow protection. Therefore I wish that my kingdom, strength and riches burn up immediately by the fire of the brāhmaṇa's wrath so that in the future I may not be guided by such inauspicious attitudes.
SB Canto 3
The creation of Rudra from between the eyebrows of Brahmā as the result of his anger, generated from the mode of passion partly touched by ignorance, is very significant. In Bhagavad-gītā (3.37) the principle of Rudra is described. Krodha (anger) is the product of kāma (lust), which is the result of the mode of passion. When lust and hankering are unsatisfied, the element of krodha appears, which is the formidable enemy of the conditioned soul. This most sinful and inimical passion is represented as ahaṅkāra, or the false egocentric attitude of thinking oneself to be all in all. Such an egocentric attitude on the part of the conditioned soul, who is completely under the control of material nature, is described in Bhagavad-gītā as foolish. The egocentric attitude is a manifestation of the Rudra principle in the heart, wherein krodha (anger) is generated. This anger develops in the heart and is further manifested through various senses, like the eyes, hands and legs. When a man is angry he expresses such anger with red-hot eyes and sometimes makes a display of clenching his fists or kicking his legs. This exhibition of the Rudra principle is the proof of Rudra's presence in such places. When a man is angry he breathes very rapidly, and thus Rudra is represented in the air of life, or in the activities of breathing. When the sky is overcast with dense clouds and roars in anger, and when the wind blows very fiercely, the Rudra principle is manifested, and so also when the sea water is infuriated by the wind it appears in a gloomy feature of Rudra, which is very fearful to the common man. When fire is ablaze we can also experience the presence of Rudra, and when there is an inundation over the earth we can understand that this is also the representation of Rudra.
In Bhagavad-gītā, Ninth Chapter, verses 30-32, it is clearly stated that even though a man is not well behaved, if he simply takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness he is understood to be a saintly person. As long as a person is in this material world he has two different relationships in his dealings with others—one relationship pertains to the body, and the other pertains to the spirit. As far as bodily affairs or social activities are concerned, although a person is purified on the spiritual platform, it is sometimes seen that he acts in terms of his bodily relationships. If a devotee born in the family of a caṇḍāla (the lowest caste) is sometimes found engaged in his habitual activities, he is not to be considered a caṇḍāla. In other words, a Vaiṣṇava should not be evaluated in terms of his body. The śāstra states that no one should think the Deity in the temple to be made of wood or stone, and no one should think that a person coming from a lower-caste family who has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is still of the same low caste. These attitudes are forbidden because anyone who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is understood to be fully purified. He is at least engaged in the process of purification, and if he sticks to the principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness he will very soon be fully purified. The conclusion is that if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness with all seriousness, he is to be understood as already purified, and Kṛṣṇa is ready to give him protection by all means. The Lord assures herein that He is ready to give protection to His devotee even if there is need to cut off part of His own body.
SB Canto 4
It is herein described that King Purañjana once went to the forest to kill animals. This means that he, the living entity, came under the influence of the mode of ignorance. The forest in which King Purañjana engaged in hunting was named Pañca-prastha. The word pañca means "five," and this indicates the objects of the five senses. The body has five working senses, namely the hands, the legs, the tongue, the rectum and the genitals. By taking full advantage of these working senses, the body enjoys material life. The chariot is driven by five horses, which represent the five sense organs—namely the eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue. These sense organs are very easily attracted by the sense objects. Consequently, the horses are described as moving swiftly. On the chariot King Purañjana kept two explosive weapons, which may be compared to ahaṅkāra, or false ego. This false ego is typified by two attitudes: "I am this body" (ahantā), and "Everything in my bodily relationships belongs to me" (mamatā).
the Vedic rules and regulations. The rules and regulations laid down in the Vedas are called śāstra-vidhi. Bhagavad-gītā clearly states that one who does not accept the śāstra-vidhi, or rules and regulations mentioned in the Vedic scriptures, and acts whimsically or puffed up with false pride never attains perfection in this life, nor does he attain happiness or liberation from the material condition.
- yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
- vartate kāma-kārataḥ
- na sa siddhim avāpnoti
- na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim
"He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection nor happiness nor the supreme destination." (BG 16.23) Thus one who is deliberately transgressing the rules and regulations of the śāstras is simply involving himself more and more in material existence in the three modes of material nature. Human society should therefore follow the Vedic principles of life, which are summarized in Bhagavad-gītā. Otherwise life in material existence will continue. Foolish persons do not know that the soul is passing through 8,400,000 spieces of life. By the gradual process of evolution, when one comes to the human form of life, he is supposed to follow the rules and regulations laid down in the Vedas. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that the living entity, since time immemorial, is suffering the threefold miseries of material nature due to his demoniac attitude, which is his spirit of revolt against the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
One has to learn Bhagavad-gītā from a realized soul.
- tad viddhi praṇipātena
- paripraśnena sevayā
- upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
- jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." (BG 4.34)
Thus one has to select a bona fide spiritual master and become enlightened to his original consciousness. In this way the individual soul can understand that he is always subordinate to the Supersoul. As soon as he declines to remain subordinate and tries to become an enjoyer, he begins his material conditioning. When he abandons this spirit of being an individual owner or enjoyer, he becomes situated in his liberated state. The word sva-sthaḥ, meaning "situated in one's original position," is very significant in this verse. When one gives up his unwanted attitude of superiority, he becomes situated in his original position. The word tad-vyabhicāreṇa is also significant, for it indicates that when one is separated from God due to disobedience, his real sense is lost. Again, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa and guru, he can be properly situated in his liberated position. These verses are spoken by Śrīla Nārada Muni, and his purpose in speaking them is to revive our consciousness. Although the living entity and the Supersoul are one in quality, the individual soul has to pursue the instruction of the Supersoul. That is the state of liberation.
SB Canto 5
Since Mahārāja Priyavrata was a great devotee, how could he have begotten a son who desired to be transferred to Pitṛloka? Lord Kṛṣṇa says, pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ: persons who desire to go to Pitṛloka are transferred there. Similarly, yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām: (BG 9.25) persons who desire to be transferred to the spiritual planets, Vaikuṇṭhalokas, can also go there. Since Mahārāja Āgnīdhra was the son of a Vaiṣṇava, he should have desired to be transferred to the spiritual world, Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Why, then, did he desire to be transferred to Pitṛloka? In answer to this, Gosvāmī Giridhara, one of the Bhāgavatam commentators, remarks that Āgnīdhra was born when Mahārāja Priyavrata was infatuated by lusty desires. This may be accepted as a fact because sons are begotten with different mentalities according to the time of their conception. According to the Vedic system, therefore, before a child is conceived, the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is performed. This ceremony molds the mentality of the father in such a way that when he plants his seed in the womb of his wife, he will beget a child whose mind will be completely saturated with a devotional attitude. At the present moment, however, there are no such garbhādhāna-saṁskāras, and therefore people generally have a lusty attitude when they beget children. Especially in this age of Kali, there are no garbhādhāna ceremonies; everyone enjoys sex with his wife like a cat or dog. Therefore according to śāstric injunctions, almost all the people of this age belong to the śūdra category. Of course, although Mahārāja Āgnīdhra had a desire to be transferred to Pitṛloka, this does not mean that his mentality was that of a śūdra; he was a kṣatriya.
Materialistic people are sometimes called śūdras, or descendants of monkeys, due to their monkeylike intelligence. They do not care to know how the evolutionary process is taking place, nor are they eager to know what will happen after they finish their small human life span. This is the attitude of śūdras. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is trying to elevate śūdras to the brāhmaṇa platform so that they will know the real goal of life. Unfortunately, being overly attached to sense gratification, materialists are not serious in helping this movement. Instead, some of them try to suppress it. Thus it is the business of monkeys to disturb the activities of the brāhmaṇas. The descendants of monkeys completely forget that they have to die, and they are very proud of scientific knowledge and the progress of material civilization. The word grāmya-karmaṇā indicates activities meant only for the improvement of bodily comforts, presently all human society is engaged in improving economic conditions and bodily comforts, people are not interested in knowing what is going to happen after death, nor do they believe in the transmigration of the soul.
SB Canto 6
This chapter describes Vṛtrāsura's great qualities. When the prominent commanders of the demons fled, not hearing Vṛtrāsura's advice. Vṛtrāsura condemned them all as cowards. Speaking very bravely, he stood alone to face the demigods. When the demigods saw Vṛtrāsura's attitude, they were so afraid that they practically fainted, and Vṛtrāsura began trampling them down. Unable to tolerate this, Indra, the King of the demigods, threw his club at Vṛtrāsura, but Vṛtrāsura was such a great hero that he easily caught the club with his left hand and used it to beat Indra's elephant. Struck by the blow of Vṛtrāsura, the elephant was pushed back fourteen yards and fell, with Indra on its back.
SB Canto 7
In Bhagavad-gītā (16.19-20) the Lord says:
- tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān
- saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
- kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
- āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
- āsurīṁ yonim āpannā
- mūḍhā janmani janmani
- mām aprāpyaiva kaunteya
- tato yānty adhamāṁ gatim
"Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life. Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence." One who blasphemes the Lord is put into a family of asuras, in which there is every chance of forgetting the service of the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa further states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.11-12):
- avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā
- mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam
- paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
- mama bhūta-maheśvaram
Mūḍhas, rascals, blaspheme the Supreme Lord because He appears exactly like a human being. They do not know the unlimited opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo
- mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ
- rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva
- prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ
Anything done by those who have taken the attitude of enemies will be baffled (moghāśāḥ). If these enemies try to be liberated or to merge into the existence of Brahman, if they desire to be elevated to the higher planetary systems as karmīs, or even if they desire to return home, back to Godhead, they will certainly be baffled.
One should not mistakenly think that Lord Kṛṣṇa must be worshiped by an inimical attitude like that of Śiśupāla. The injunction is ānukūlyasya grahaṇaṁ prātikūlyasya varjanam: one should give up unfavorable activities and accept only favorable conditions in devotional service. Generally, if one blasphemes the Supreme Personality of Godhead he is punished. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (16.19):
- tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān
- saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
- kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
- āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
There are many such injunctions. One should not try to worship Kṛṣṇa unfavorably; otherwise he must be punished, at least for one life, to be purified. As one should not try to be killed by embracing an enemy, a tiger or a snake, one should not blaspheme the Supreme Personality of Godhead and become His enemy in order to be put into hellish life.
O King, O hero, you were a very grateful husband and the most sincere friend of all of us. How shall we exist without you? O hero, wherever you are going, please direct us there so that we may follow in your footsteps and engage again in your service. Let us go along with you!
Formerly, a kṣatriya king was generally the husband of many wives, and after the death of the king, especially in the battlefield, all the queens would agree to accept saha-māraṇa, dying with the husband who was their life. When Pāṇḍu Mahārāja, the father of the Pāṇḍavas, died, his two wives—namely, the mother of Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma and Arjuna and the mother of Nakula and Sahadeva—were both ready to die in the fire with their husband. Later, after a compromise was arranged, Kuntī stayed alive to care for the little children, and the other wife, Mādrī, was allowed to die with her husband. This system of saha-māraṇa continued in India even until the time of British rule, but later it was discouraged, since the attitude of wives gradually changed with the advancement of Kali-yuga. Thus the system of saha-māraṇa has practically been abolished. Nevertheless, within the past fifty years I have seen the wife of a medical practitioner voluntarily accept death immediately when her husband died. Both the husband and wife were taken in procession in the mourning cart. Such intense love of a chaste wife for her husband is a special case.
Śrī Nārada Muni continued: Diti, the mother of Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa, heard the instructions of Hiraṇyakaśipu along with her daughter-in-law, Ruṣābhānu, Hiraṇyākṣa's wife. She then forgot her grief over her son's death and thus engaged her mind and attention in understanding the real philosophy of life.
When a relative dies one certainly becomes very much interested in philosophy, but when the funeral ceremony is over one again becomes attentive to materialism. Even Daityas, who are materialistic persons, sometimes think of philosophy when some relative meets death. The technical term for this attitude of the materialistic person is śmaśāna-vairāgya, or detachment in a cemetery or place of cremation. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, four classes of men receive an understanding of spiritual life and God—ārta (the distressed), jijñāsu (the inquisitive), arthārthī (one who desires material gains) and jñānī (one who is searching for knowledge). Especially when one is very much distressed by material conditions, one becomes interested in God. Therefore Kuntīdevī said in her prayers to Kṛṣṇa that she preferred distress to a happy mood of life. In the material world, one who is happy forgets Kṛṣṇa, or God, but sometimes, if one is actually pious but in distress, he remembers Kṛṣṇa. Queen Kuntīdevī therefore preferred distress because it is an opportunity for remembering Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was leaving Kuntīdevī for His own country, Kuntīdevī regretfully said that she was better off in distress because Kṛṣṇa was always present, whereas now that the Pāṇḍavas were situated in their kingdom, Kṛṣṇa was going away. For a devotee, distress is an opportunity to remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly.
Just as uncontrolled senses are the enemies of all yogīs engaged in advancing in spiritual life, this Prahlāda, who appears to be a friend, is an enemy because I cannot control him. Therefore this enemy, whether eating, sitting or sleeping, must be killed by all means.
Hiraṇyakaśipu planned a campaign to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja. He would kill his son by administering poison to him while he was eating, by making him sit in boiling oil, or by throwing him under the feet of an elephant while he was lying down. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu decided to kill his innocent child, who was only five years old, simply because the boy had become a devotee of the Lord. This is the attitude of nondevotees toward devotees.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
The kings said (as related through their messenger): O Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, O immeasurable Soul, destroyer of fear for those surrendered to You ! Despite our separatist attitude, we have come to You for shelter out of fear of material existence.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Only out of His immense compassion does the Personality of Godhead reveal Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore in the dealings of an ācārya there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. He is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. It is worthwhile to take shelter of such a steady devotee, who is called āśraya-vigraha, or the manifestation or form of the Lord of whom one must take shelter.
If one poses himself as an ācārya but does not have an attitude of servitorship to the Lord, he must be considered an offender, and this offensive attitude disqualifies him from being an ācārya. The bona fide spiritual master always engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine representative of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Such a spiritual master is known as ācāryadeva. Influenced by an envious temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of sense gratification, mundaners criticize a real ācārya. In fact, however, a bona fide ācārya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an ācārya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself. This will produce an effect subversive of transcendental realization.
Only out of His immense compassion does the Personality of Godhead reveal Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore in the dealings of an ācārya there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. He is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. It is worthwhile to take shelter of such a steady devotee, who is called āśraya-vigraha, or the manifestation or form of the Lord of whom one must take shelter.
If one poses himself as an ācārya but does not have an attitude of servitorship to the Lord, he must be considered an offender, and this offensive attitude disqualifies him from being an ācārya. The bona fide spiritual master always engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine representative of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Such a spiritual master is known as ācāryadeva. Influenced by an envious temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of sense gratification, mundaners criticize a real ācārya. In fact, however, a bona fide ācārya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an ācārya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself. This will produce an effect subversive of transcendental realization.
The conditioned state is caused by misuse of the individual independence of the spiritual platform, for this separates the living entity from the association of the spiritual energy. But when the living entity is enlightened by the grace of the Supreme Lord or His pure devotee and becomes inclined to revive his original state of loving service, he is on the most auspicious platform of eternal bliss and knowledge. The marginal jīva, or living entity, misuses his independence and becomes averse to the eternal service attitude when he independently thinks he is not energy but the energetic. This misconception of his own existence leads him to the attitude of lording it over material nature.
Material nature appears to be just the opposite of the spiritual energy. The fact is that the material energy can work only when in contact with the spiritual energy. Originally the energy of Kṛṣṇa is spiritual, but it works in diverse ways, like electrical energy, which can exhibit the functions of refrigerating or heating through its manifestations in different ways. The material energy is spiritual energy covered by a cloud of illusion, or māyā. Therefore, the material energy is not self-sufficient in working. Kṛṣṇa invests His spiritual energy into material energy, and then it can act, just as iron can act like fire after being heated by fire. The material energy can act only when empowered by the spiritual energy.
"Why are You chanting the names "gopī gopī" instead of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is so glorious? What pious result will You achieve by such chanting?"
It is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā-mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: (CC Madhya 23.39) no one can understand the activities of a pure devotee. A student or neophyte devotee could not possibly understand why Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was chanting the name of the gopīs, nor should the student have asked the Lord about the potency of chanting gopī gopī. The neophyte student was certainly convinced of the piety in the chanting of Kṛṣṇa's holy name, but this sort of attitude is also offensive. Dharma-vrata-tyāga-hutādi-sarva-śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādaḥ: to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in exchange for the achievement of piety is an offense. This, of course, was unknown to the student. Thus he innocently asked, "What piety is there in the chanting of the name gopī?" He did not know that there is no question of piety or impiety. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa or the holy name gopī is on the transcendental platform of loving affairs. Since he was not expert in understanding such transcendental activities, his question was merely impudent. Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, apparently greatly angry at him, reacted as follows.
CC Antya-lila
“When a Vaiṣṇava listens to the Śārīraka-bhāṣya, the Māyāvāda commentary upon the Vedānta-sūtra, he gives up the Kṛṣṇa conscious attitude that the Lord is the master and the living entity is His servant. Instead, he considers himself the Supreme Lord.
He also compiled the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, from which we can understand the standard behavior of a devotee and the full extent of a Vaiṣṇava's duty.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes, "The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa was originally compiled by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī. Later, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī produced a shortened version of it and added the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā. In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa there are so many quotations from the sātvata scriptures that sometimes it is inquired how the atheistic smārtas can refuse to accept them and instead imagine some other opinions. What is recorded in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa strictly follows the Vedic scriptures and is certainly pure, but the attitude of the karmīs is always one of giving up the conclusion of pure Vaiṣṇava understanding. Because the karmīs are very much attached to the world and material activities, they always try to establish atheistic principles that oppose the understanding of the Vaiṣṇavas."
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
The method by which the transcendental message is received is the method of submissive hearing. A challenging attitude cannot help one receive or realize the transcendental message; therefore in the second verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the word śuśrūṣu is used. This word indicates that one should be anxious to hear the transcendental message. The desire to hear with interest is the primary qualification for assimilating transcendental knowledge. Unfortunately many people are not interested in patiently hearing the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The process is simple but the application difficult. Those who are unfortunate will find time to hear ordinary social and political topics, but when they are invited to attend an assembly to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are reluctant to attend. Sometimes people indulge in hearing portions of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which they are not prepared to hear. Professional readers of the Bhāgavatam indulge in reading the confidential portions dealing with the pastimes of the Supreme Lord.
Nectar of Devotion
The gopīs may be considered to be examples of spontaneous love in sensual attraction. The gopīs are young girls, and Kṛṣṇa is a young boy. Superficially it seems that the gopīs are attracted to Kṛṣṇa on grounds of sex. Similarly, King Kaṁsa was attracted to Kṛṣṇa because of fear. Kaṁsa was always fearful of Kṛṣṇa, because it had been foretold that his sister's son, Kṛṣṇa, would kill him. Śiśupāla was also always envious of Kṛṣṇa. And the descendants of King Yadu, due to their family relationship with Kṛṣṇa, were always thinking of Him as one of their members. All of these different kinds of devotees have a spontaneous attraction for Kṛṣṇa, in different categories, and they achieve the same desired goal of life.
The attraction of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa and the affection of the members of the Yadu dynasty are both accepted as spontaneous, or rāgānugā. The attraction of Kaṁsa to Kṛṣṇa in fear and the attraction of Śiśupāla in envy are not accepted as devotional service, however, because their attitudes are not favorable. Devotional service should be executed only in a favorable frame of mind. Therefore, according to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, such attractions are not considered to be in devotional service. Again, he analyzes the affection of the Yadus. If it is on the platform of friendship, then it is spontaneous love, but if it is on the platform of regulative principles, then it is not. And only when affection comes to the platform of spontaneous love is it counted in the category of pure devotional service.
There may be some difficulty in understanding that both the gopīs and Kaṁsa achieved the same goal, so this point should be clearly understood, because the attitudes of Kaṁsa and Śiśupāla were different from that of the gopīs. Although in all these cases the focus is on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all of the devotees are elevated to the spiritual world, there is still a distinction between these two classes of souls. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that the Absolute Truth is one and that He is manifested as impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā (Supersoul) and Bhagavān (the Supreme Personality of Godhead). Here is a spiritual distinction. Although Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are the same-and-one Absolute Truth, devotees like Kaṁsa or Śiśupāla could attain only to the Brahman effulgence. They could not have realization of Paramātmā or Bhagavān. That is the distinction.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, Thirteenth Chapter, verse 33, Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells King Parīkṣit, "My dear King, as soon as the elderly gopīs saw their sons coming, there was an inexpressible sign of parental love, and all of them became absorbed in affection. At first they were planning to chastise their sons for stealing butter, but as soon as the sons came before their eyes, they lost all of their angry attitudes and became overwhelmed with affection. They began to embrace their sons and smell their heads. While doing this, they became almost mad after their children." In their childhood pastimes, all these cowherd boys joined with Kṛṣṇa in stealing butter. But rather than become angry, mother Yaśodā became wet from the milk flowing out of her breasts. Out of her affection for Kṛṣṇa, she began to smell His head repeatedly.
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
For instance, that, when in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, fighting was going on between Kṛṣṇa and Bhīṣma, both of them... Kṛṣṇa, of course, did not touch any weapon because He promised. But Grandfather Bhīṣma was very severely piercing Kṛṣṇa's body with arrows, and Kṛṣṇa was enjoying. That is the relationship between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Kṛṣṇa can be worshiped, Kṛṣṇa can be loved, by any capacity. The gopīs loved Kṛṣṇa out of seemingly lust, lusty desires, and Śiśupāla remembered Kṛṣṇa out of anger. Kāmāt krodhād bhayāt. And Kamsa remembered always Kṛṣṇa out of fear. And, of course, they were not devotees. Devotees means they should be always favorably disposed to Kṛṣṇa. Not inimical. But Kṛṣṇa is so kind, even somebody is disposed to Him in an inimical attitude, he also gets salvation. For example, Kamsa, Dantavakra, Śiśupāla, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa. They were not friendly. Still, because they thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, consciousness were there, but it was unfavorable. Bhakti means favorable. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). Favorably. That is bhakti. And pratikūlyena, just in the opposite way, thinking of Kṛṣṇa in inimical way, that is also accepted by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. Anyone who thinks of Kṛṣṇa always, he is the greatest yogi. So even the enemies who think of Kṛṣṇa always, although unfavorably, he becomes a yogi because thinking of Kṛṣṇa.
Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
I am very glad to receive your letter (undated). Yes I am feeling stronger. I always think of you because you are so nice in Krishna Consciousness. Several times I talk about your nice qualifications which you are employing amongst my visitors. Krishna Consciousness is always dormant in everyone's heart & it can be awakened simply by service attitude. You are already allotted a nice service & if you continue this reponsibility anywhere you live & at the same time chant at least 16 rounds a day you will do all right in any circumstances. You have written to say that I am "as hard as the thunderbolt & softer than a rose" is quite right in the line of Krishna Consciousness. I am very sorry to inform you that Kirtanananda is playing the part of a foolish man after his return to N.Y. & it is necessary for me to play the part of a thunderbolt for his nonsense activities. He has unnecessarily instructed something to Damodara which is not sanctioned by me. Since he has developed this nonsensical attitude so much so that he is dictating something which is not sanctioned by me, all his instructions should be neglected. Please inform this to all centers.
| Page Title: | Miscellanious negative attitudes |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 29 of Sep, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=18, CC=6, OB=4, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 30 |