Although Bharata Mahārāja was very elevated, he fell down due to his attachment to a young deer. One day after Bharata Mahārāja had taken his bath as usual in the River Gaṇḍakī and was chanting his mantra, he saw a pregnant deer come to the river to drink water. Suddenly there could be heard the thundering roar of a lion, and the deer was so frightened that it immediately gave birth to its calf. It then crossed the river, but died immediately thereafter. Mahārāja Bharata took compassion upon the motherless calf, rescued it from the water, took it to his āśrama and cared for it affectionately. He gradually became attached to this young deer and always thought of it affectionately. As it grew up, it became Mahārāja Bharata's constant companion, and he always took care of it.
Thunder
Expressions researched:
"thunder"
|"thunderbird"
|"thunderclaps"
|"thundercloud"
|"thundered"
|"thundering"
|"thunders"
|"thunderstorm"
|"thunderstorms"
|"thunderstruck"
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Viṣṇu Svāmī Vaiṣṇava sect, in his householder life was overly attached to a prostitute who happened to be a devotee of the Lord. One night when the Ṭhākura came to Cintāmaṇi's house in torrents of rain and thunder, Cintāmaṇi was astonished to see how the Ṭhākura could come on such a dreadful night after crossing a foaming river which was full of waves. She said to Ṭhākura Bilvamaṅgala that his attraction for the flesh and bone of an insignificant woman like her would be properly utilized if it could be diverted to the devotional service of the Lord to achieve attraction for the transcendental beauty of the Lord. It was a momentous hour for the Ṭhākura, and he took a turn towards spiritual realization by the words of a prostitute. Later on the Ṭhākura accepted the prostitute as his spiritual master, and in several places of his literary works he has glorified the name of Cintāmaṇi, who showed him the right path.
Just see how the smoke encircles the sky. It appears that the earth and mountains are throbbing. Just hear the cloudless thunder and see the bolts from the blue.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, well equipped with arrows and bow and seated on a gold-embossed chariot, spoke to him (the śūdra) with a deep voice sounding like thunder.
SB Canto 2
Beginning from me (Brahmā) down to you and Bhava (Śiva), all the great sages who were born before you, the demigods, the demons, the Nāgas, the human beings, the birds, the beasts, as well as the reptiles, etc., and all phenomenal manifestations of the universes, namely the planets, stars, asteroids, luminaries, lightning, thunder, and the inhabitants of the different planetary systems, namely the Gandharvas, Apsarās, Yakṣas, Rakṣas, Bhūtagaṇas, Uragas, Paśus, Pitās, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and all other different varieties of living entities, including the birds, beasts, trees and everything that be, are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future, although He is transcendental to all of them, eternally existing in a form not exceeding nine inches.
SB Canto 3
Misty halos appeared around the sun and the moon during solar and lunar eclipses again and again. Claps of thunder were heard even without clouds, and sounds like those of rattling chariots emerged from the mountain caves.
The demon, who had golden hair on his head and fearful tusks, gave chase to the Lord while He was rising from the water, even as an alligator would chase an elephant. Roaring like thunder, he said: Are You not ashamed of running away before a challenging adversary? There is nothing reproachable for shameless creatures!
The luminaries in outer space disappeared due to the sky's being overcast with masses of clouds, which were accompanied by lightning and thunder. The sky rained pus, hair, blood, stool, urine and bones.
It is also stated that this description is of only one egglike universe. There are innumerable universes besides this one, and some of them are many, many times greater. It is considered, in fact, that this universe is the smallest; therefore the predominating superintendent, or Brahmā, has only four heads for management. In other universes, which are far greater than this one, Brahmā has more heads. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is stated that all these Brahmās were called one day by Lord Kṛṣṇa on the inquiry of the small Brahmā, who, after seeing all the larger Brahmās, was thunderstruck. That is the inconceivable potency of the Lord. No one can measure the length and breadth of God by speculation or by false identification with God. These attempts are symptoms of lunacy.
SB Canto 4
At the time of dissolution, Lord Śiva's hair is scattered, and he pierces the rulers of the different directions with his trident. He laughs and dances proudly, scattering their hands like flags, as thunder scatters the clouds all over the world.
Within a moment the whole sky was overcast with dense clouds, and severe thundering was heard. There was glittering electric lightning and severe rainfall.
Around the neck of the Personality of Godhead hung a flower garland that reached to His knees. His eight stout and elongated arms were decorated with that garland, which challenged the beauty of the goddess of fortune. With a merciful glance and a voice like thunder, the Lord addressed the sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, who were very much surrendered unto Him.
SB Canto 5
SB Canto 8
Fierce clouds, harassed by strong winds, then appeared in the sky. Rumbling very gravely with the sound of thunder, they began to shower live coals.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
The demigods and great saintly persons showered flowers in a joyous mood, and clouds gathered in the sky and very mildly thundered, making sounds like those of the ocean's waves. Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, who is situated in the core of everyone's heart, appeared from the heart of Devakī in the dense darkness of night, like the full moon rising on the eastern horizon, because Devakī was of the same category as Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
At the time for the Lord's appearance, the great sages and the demigods, being pleased, began to shower flowers. At the seashore, there was the sound of mild waves, and above the sea there were clouds in the sky which began to thunder very pleasingly.
By the influence of Yogamāyā, all the doorkeepers fell fast asleep, their senses unable to work, and the other inhabitants of the house also fell deeply asleep. When the sun rises, the darkness automatically disappears; similarly, when Vasudeva appeared, the closed doors, which were strongly pinned with iron and locked with iron chains, opened automatically. Since the clouds in the sky were mildly thundering and showering, Ananta-nāga, an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, followed Vasudeva, beginning from the door, with hoods expanded to protect Vasudeva and the transcendental child.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
Then the rainy season began, giving life and sustenance to all living beings. The sky began to rumble with thunder, and lightning flashed on the horizon.
The sky was then covered by dense blue clouds accompanied by lightning and thunder. Thus the sky and its natural illumination were covered in the same way that the spirit soul is covered by the three modes of material nature.
When the curved bow of Indra (the rainbow) appeared in the sky, which had the quality of thundering sound, it was unlike ordinary bows because it did not rest upon a string. Similarly, when the Supreme Lord appears in this world, which is the interaction of the material qualities, He is unlike ordinary persons because He remains free from all material qualities and independent of all material conditions.
Propelled by the fearsome wind-gods, the clouds blazed with lightning bolts and roared with thunder as they hurled down hailstones.
O goddesses of Vraja, when Kṛṣṇa is enjoying Himself with Balarāma on the mountain slopes, playfully wearing a flower garland on the top of His head, He engladdens all with the resonant vibrations of His flute. Thus He delights the entire world. At that time the nearby cloud, afraid of offending a great personality, thunders very gently in accompaniment. The cloud showers flowers onto his dear friend Kṛṣṇa and shades Him from the sun like an umbrella.
Śambara whirled his club swiftly about and then hurled it at the wise Pradyumna, producing a sound as sharp as a thunder crack.
The five-headed demon Mura, who slept at the bottom of the city's moat, awoke and rose up out of the water when he heard the vibration of Lord Kṛṣṇa's Pāñcajanya conchshell, a sound as terrifying as the thunder at the end of the cosmic age.
Their clubs thus ruined, those great heroes among men angrily pummeled each other with their iron-hard fists. As they slapped each other, the sound resembled the crash of elephants colliding or harsh thunderclaps.
O brāhmaṇa, do you remember what happened to us while we were living with our spiritual master? Once our guru's wife sent us to fetch firewood, and after we entered the vast forest, O twice-born one, an unseasonal storm arose, with fierce wind and rain and harsh thunder.
After that, O King, groups of multicolored clouds will gather, roaring terribly with thunder, and will pour down floods of rain for one hundred years.
That wind created a terrible sound and brought in its wake fearsome clouds that were accompanied by lightning and roaring thunder and that poured down on all sides torrents of rain as heavy as wagon wheels.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
The luster of His expansive body resembles molten gold. The deep sound of His voice conquers the thundering of newly assembled clouds.
By the supreme will of the Lord, the clouds were asked to disperse, and they did. Because of this incident, that place is still known as Meghera-cara. Since the course of the Ganges has now changed, the village of the name Belapukhuriyā, which was formerly situated in a different place, called Tāraṇavāsa, has now become known as Meghera-cara. The Madhya-khaṇḍa of Śrīla Locana dāsa Ṭhākura's Caitanya-maṅgala also relates that once at the end of the day, when evening clouds assembled overhead and thundered threateningly, all the Vaiṣṇavas were very much afraid. But the Lord took His karatālas in His hands and personally began chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, looking up toward the sky as if to direct the demigods in the higher planets. Thus all the assembled clouds dispersed, and as the sky became clear, with the moon rising, the Lord began dancing very happily with His jubilant and satisfied devotees.
The Caitanya-maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa, describes this incident as follows: Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita was performing the śrāddha ceremony for his father, and as is customary, he was hearing the thousand names of Lord Viṣṇu. At that time Gaurahari (Lord Caitanya) appeared on the scene, and He also began to hear the thousand names of Viṣṇu with full satisfaction. When He thus heard the holy name of Lord Nṛsiṁha, Lord Caitanya became absorbed in thought, and He became angry like Nṛsiṁha Prabhu in His angry mood. His eyes became red, His bodily hairs stood on end, all the parts of His body trembled, and He made a thundering sound. All of a sudden He took up a club, and people became greatly afraid, thinking, "We do not know what kind of offense we have now committed!" But then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu adjusted His thoughts and sat down on His seat.
CC Madhya-lila
Advaita Ācārya led the saṅkīrtana party, and with great pleasure He sang this verse. There was a manifestation of ecstatic perspiration, shivering, raised hairs, tears in the eyes and sometimes thundering and bellowing.
Upon seeing the condition of the Lord, all the devotees became very anxious. Then, suddenly, the Lord got up and began to make thundering sounds.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced and jumped high, roaring like thunder and moving in a circle like a wheel, He appeared like a circling firebrand.
CC Antya-lila
The luster of Kṛṣṇa's body is as beautiful as the glow of a spotless full moon that has just risen, and the vibration of His flute sounds exactly like the sweet thundering of a newly formed cloud. When the peacocks in Vṛndāvana hear that vibration, they all begin to dance.
The deep vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute surpasses the thundering of new clouds and attracts the aural reception of the entire world. Thus the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana rise and pursue that sound, drinking the showering nectar of Kṛṣṇa's bodily luster like thirsty cātaka birds.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
The highest stage of ecstasy is characterized by the following thirteen transcendental activities: (1) dancing, (2) rolling on the floor, (3) singing, (4) clapping, (5) stretching the body, (6) thundering, (7) yawning, (8) breathing heavily, (9) forgetting social conventions, (10) drooling, (11) laughing, (12) shaking the head, and (13) hiccoughing. All these symptoms are not awakened simultaneously; they appear according to the exchange of transcendental mellows. Sometimes one symptom is prominent, and at another time another is prominent.
Nectar of Devotion
Lord Kṛṣṇa's forgiving quality is described in the Śiśupāla-vadha in connection with His forbidding the killing of Śiśupāla. King Śiśupāla was the monarch of the Cedi kingdom, and although he happened to be a cousin of Kṛṣṇa's, he was always envious of Him. Whenever they would meet, Śiśupāla would try to insult Kṛṣṇa and call Him ill names as much as possible. In the arena of the Rājasūya sacrifice of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, when Śiśupāla began to call Lord Kṛṣṇa ill names, Kṛṣṇa did not care and remained silent. Some of the people at the arena were prepared to kill Śiśupāla, but Kṛṣṇa restricted them. He was so forgiving. It is said that when there is a thundering sound in the clouds, the mighty lion immediately replies with his thundering roar. But the lion doesn't care when all the foolish jackals begin to make their less important sounds.
When Kṛṣṇa was fighting with the Kāliya snake by dancing on his heads, Kāliya bit Kṛṣṇa on the leg. At that time Garuḍa became infuriated and began to murmur, "Kṛṣṇa is so powerful that simply by His thundering voice the wives of Kāliya have had miscarriages. Because my Lord has been insulted by this snake, I wish to devour him immediately, but I cannot do so in the presence of my Lord, because He may become angry with me." This is an instance of eagerness to act in ecstatic love as a result of dishonor to Kṛṣṇa.
There is another instance of this. A messenger from Kṛṣṇa came to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī while She was sleeping, and Rādhārāṇī immediately awakened. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa began to blow on His flute in the night, all of the gopīs, the beautiful daughters of the cowherd men, immediately got up from their sleep. There is a very beautiful comparison made in this connection: "The lotus flower is sometimes surrounded by white swans, and sometimes it is surrounded by black wasps who are collecting its honey. When there is a thundering in the sky, the swans go away, but the black wasps stay to enjoy the lotus flowers." The gopīs' sleeping condition is compared to the white swans, and the sound of Kṛṣṇa's flute is compared to a black wasp. When Kṛṣṇa's flute sounded, the white swans, which represent the sleeping condition of the gopīs, were immediately vanquished, and the black wasp sound of the flute began to enjoy the lotus flower of the gopīs' beauty.
On the bank of the Yamunā, once there was the crackling sound of dry leaves, giggling from the cowherd boys and thundering from the sky. Śrīdāmā was tightening his belt to fight with Kṛṣṇa, the conqueror of the demon Agha. This is an instance of chivalry in ecstatic love.
A devotee once said, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, may Your challenger Śrīdāmā become glorious for his chivalrous activities, such as vibrating like a thundercloud and roaring like a lion. May all glories go to Śrīdāmā's chivalrous activities!" Chivalrous activities in the matter of fighting, charity, mercy and execution of religious rituals are called constitutional, whereas expressions of pride, emotion, endurance, kindness, determination, jubilation, enthusiasm, jealousy and remembrance are called unconstitutional. When Stoka-kṛṣṇa, one of the many friends of Kṛṣṇa, was fighting with Him, his father chastised him for fighting with Kṛṣṇa, who was the life and soul of all residents of Vṛndāvana. Upon hearing these chastisements, Stoka-kṛṣṇa stopped his fighting. But Kṛṣṇa continued to challenge him, and thus, in order to meet the challenge, Stoka-kṛṣṇa took his pole and began to display his dexterity by whirling it.
One of the elderly friends said, "My dear Maṇḍalībhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you were running toward Ariṣṭāsura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You unnecessarily bearing that heavy plow? My dear Vijaya, don't be unnecessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no need to make these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely you will see that it is only a thundercloud upon Govardhana Hill; it is not the Ariṣṭāsura in the shape of a bull, as you have imagined." These older, well-wishing friends of Kṛṣṇa had imagined a large cloud to be the Ariṣṭāsura, appearing in the shape of a huge bull. In the midst of their excitement one of them ascertained that it was actually only a cloud on Govardhana Hill. He therefore informed the others not to take the trouble of worrying about Kṛṣṇa, because there was no present danger from Ariṣṭāsura.
When Kṛṣṇa used to play on His flute, the vibration appeared just like the roaring of clouds in the sky during the constellation of Svātī. According to Vedic astronomical calculation, if there is rain during the constellation of the Svātī star, any rain falling on the sea will produce pearls, and rain falling on a serpent will produce jewels. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa's flute roared like a thundercloud under the Svātī constellation, the resulting perspiration on Śrīdāmā's body appeared to be just like pearls.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
The great sages and the demigods, being pleased, began to shower flowers. At the seashore there was the sound of mild waves, and above the sea there were clouds in the sky which began to thunder very pleasingly.
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that Kṛṣṇa is just like sunlight and that wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the illusory energy, which is compared to darkness, cannot remain. When Vasudeva was carrying Kṛṣṇa, the darkness of the night disappeared. All the prison doors automatically opened. At the same time there was thunder in the sky and severe rainfall. While Vasudeva was carrying his son Kṛṣṇa in the falling rain, Lord Śeṣa in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamunā and saw that the water of the Yamunā was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rāma when He was bridging over the gulf. In this way Vasudeva crossed the river Yamunā. On the other side, he went to the place of Nanda Mahārāja, situated in Gokula, where he saw that all the cowherd men were fast asleep. He took the opportunity to silently enter the house of Yaśodā, and without difficulty he exchanged his son for the baby girl newly born there. Then, after entering the house very silently and exchanging the boy for the girl, he returned to the prison of Kaṁsa and silently put the girl on the lap of Devakī. He again clamped the shackles on himself so that Kaṁsa could not recognize that so many things had happened.
The killing of Pralambāsura and the devouring of the devastating forest fire by Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma became household topics in Vṛndāvana. The cowherd men described these wonderful activities to their wives and to everyone else, and all were struck with wonder. They concluded that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were demigods who had kindly come to Vṛndāvana to become their children. In this way, the rainy season ensued. In India, after the scorching heat of the summer, the rainy season is very welcome. The clouds accumulating in the sky, covering the sun and the moon, become very pleasing to the people, and they expect rainfall at every moment. After summer, the advent of the rainy season is considered to be a life-giving source for everyone. The thunder and occasional lightning are also pleasurable to the people.
After the first rainfall, when there is a thundering sound in the clouds, all the frogs begin to croak, like students suddenly engaged in reading their studies. Students are generally supposed to rise early in the morning. They do not usually arise of their own accord, however, but only when there is a bell sounded in the temple or other spiritual institution. By the order of the spiritual master they immediately rise, and after finishing their morning duties they sit down to study the Vedas or chant Vedic mantras. Everyone is sleeping in the darkness of Kali-yuga, but when there is a great ācārya, by his calling only, everyone takes to the study of the Vedas to acquire actual knowledge.
Sometimes, in addition to the roaring thunder of the clouds, there is an appearance of a rainbow, which stands as a bow without a string. Actually, a bow is in the curved position because it is tied at its two ends by the bowstring; but in the rainbow there is no such string, and yet it rests in the sky so beautifully. Similarly, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends to this material world, He appears just like an ordinary human being, but He is not resting on any material condition. In the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that He appears by His internal potency, which is free from the bondage of the external potency. What is bondage for the ordinary creature is freedom for the Personality of Godhead. In the rainy season, the moonlight is covered by clouds but is visible at intervals.
Ordered by King Indra, all the dangerous clouds appeared above Vṛndāvana and began to pour water incessantly, with all their strength and power. There was constant lightning and thunder, blowing of severe wind, and incessant falling of rain. The rain seemed to fall like piercing sharp arrows. By pouring water as thick as pillars, without cessation, the clouds gradually filled all the lands in Vṛndāvana with water, and there was no visible distinction between higher and lower land. The situation was very dangerous, especially for the animals. The rainfall was accompanied by great winds, and every living creature in Vṛndāvana began to tremble from the severe cold. Unable to find any other source of deliverance, they all approached Govinda to take shelter at His lotus feet. The cows especially, being much aggrieved from the heavy rain, bowed down their heads, and taking their calves underneath their bodies, they approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead to take shelter of His lotus feet. At that time all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana began to pray to Lord Kṛṣṇa. "Dear Kṛṣṇa," they prayed, "You are all-powerful, and You are very affectionate to Your devotees. Now please protect us, who have been much harassed by angry Indra."
The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and their animals remained there for one week without being disturbed by hunger, thirst or any other discomforts. They were simply astonished to see how Kṛṣṇa was holding up the mountain with the little finger of His left hand. Seeing the extraordinary mystic power of Kṛṣṇa, Indra, the King of heaven, was thunderstruck and baffled in his determination. He immediately called for all the clouds and asked them to desist. When the sky became completely cleared of all clouds and there was sunrise again, the strong wind stopped. At that time Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, known now as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, said, "My dear cowherd men, now you can leave and take your wives, children, cows and valuables, because everything is ended. The inundation has gone down, along with the swelling waters of the river."
As the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa danced together, a very blissful musical sound was produced from the tinkling of their bells, ornaments and bangles. It appeared that Kṛṣṇa was a greenish sapphire locket in the midst of a golden necklace decorated with valuable stones. While Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs danced, they displayed extraordinary bodily features. The movements of their legs, their placing their hands on one another, the movements of their eyebrows, their smiling, the movements of the gopīs' breasts, clothes and earrings, their cheeks, their hair with flowers—as Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs sang and danced these combined to appear like clouds, thunder, snow and lightning. Kṛṣṇa's bodily features appeared just like a group of clouds, the gopīs' songs were like thunder, their beauty appeared to be just like lightning in the sky, and the drops of perspiration visible on their faces appeared like falling snow. In this way, the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa fully engaged in dancing.
One gopī said, "My dear friends, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are nicely dressed with earrings and pearl necklaces. They enjoy Themselves on the top of Govardhana Hill, and everything becomes absorbed in transcendental pleasure when Kṛṣṇa plays on His flute, charming the whole created manifestation. When He plays, the clouds stop their loud thundering out of fear of Him. Rather than disturb the vibration of His flute, they respond with mild thunder and so congratulate Kṛṣṇa, their friend."
Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the friend of the cloud because both the cloud and Kṛṣṇa satisfy the people when they are disturbed. When the people are burning due to excessive heat, the cloud satisfies them with rain. Similarly, when people in materialistic life become disturbed by the blazing fire of material pangs, Kṛṣṇa consciousness gives them relief like a cloud. The cloud and Kṛṣṇa, having the same bodily color also, are considered to be friends. Desiring to congratulate its superior friend, the cloud poured not water but small flowers and covered the head of Kṛṣṇa just like an umbrella to protect Him from the scorching sunshine.
Kṛṣṇa continued to talk with His brāhmaṇa friend: “My dear friend, I think you remember our activities during the days when we were living as students. You may remember that once we went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of the guru's wife. While collecting the dried wood, we entered the dense forest and by chance became lost. There was an unexpected dust storm and then clouds and lightning in the sky and the explosive sound of thunder. Then sunset came, and we were lost in the dark jungle. After this, there was severe rainfall; the whole ground was overflooded with water, and we could not trace out the way to return to our guru's āśrama. You may remember that heavy rainfall—it was not actually rainfall but a sort of devastation. On account of the dust storm and the heavy rain, we began to feel greatly pained, and in whichever direction we turned we were bewildered. In that distressed condition, we took each other's hand and tried to find our way out. We passed the whole night in that way, and early in the morning, when our absence became known to our gurudeva, he sent his other disciples to search us out. He also came with them, and when they reached us in the jungle they found us very much distressed.
“My dear Lord, although the forces of the senses, the mental power of thinking, willing and feeling, and the strength, movement and growth of the body appear to be performed by different movements of the airs within the body, they are all ultimately manifestations of Your energy. The vast expanse of outer space rests in You. The vibration of the sky (its thunder), the supreme sound (oṁkāra) and the arrangement of different words to distinguish one thing from another are all symbolic representations of You. The senses, the controllers of the senses (the demigods) and the acquisition of knowledge, which is the purpose of the senses, as well as the subject matter of knowledge—all are You. The resolution of intelligence and the sharp memory of the living entity are also You. You are the egoistic principle of ignorance, which is the cause of this material world, the egoistic principle of passion, which is the cause of the senses, and the egoistic principle of goodness, which is the origin of the different controlling deities of this material world. The illusory energy, or māyā, which is the cause of the conditioned soul's perpetual transmigration from one form to another, is You.
Light of the Bhagavata
A living entity is as pure as the limitless sky. He becomes covered by the cloud of forgetfulness, however, in his tendency for enjoying the material world. Because of this quality, called tamas (ignorance), he considers himself different from the Absolute Whole and forgets his purity, which is like that of the clear sky. This forgetfulness gives rise to separatism in false ego. Thus the forgetful living entities, individually and collectively, make sounds like thundering clouds: "I am this," "It is ours," or"It is mine." This mood of false separatism is called the quality of rajas, and it gives rise to a creative force for separate lordship over the mode of tamas. The flash of lightning is the only beam of hope that can lead one to the path of knowledge, and therefore it is compared to the mode of sattva, or goodness.
The limitless sky, or the all-pervading Absolute Truth (Brahman), is nondifferent from the covered portion of the sky, but simultaneously the whole sky is different from the fractional portion that is liable to be covered by the dark cloud. The cloud, accompanied by thunder and lightning, cannot possibly cover the limitless sky. Therefore the Absolute Truth, which is compared to the whole sky, is simultaneously one with the manifested living being and different from him. The living being is only a sample of the Absolute Truth and is Prone to be covered by the circumstantial cloud of ignorance.
By His inconceivable energy, the Supreme Lord can appear and disappear like a rainbow, which appears and disappears without being affected by the roaring thunder and the cloudy sky. The Lord is eternally the biggest of the big and the smallest of the small. The living beings, who are His parts and parcels, are the smallest of the small, and He is the biggest of the big as the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
The passive relationship is simply realizing, "Oh, how God is great". God is great. One is thunderstruck with the greatness of God. That is passive relationship: "God, God is great." When that relationship is enhanced a little, more the next stage is that "If God is great why not give Him some service?" just like we are accustomed to give some service to some person who is greater than me. That is the laws of nature. Just like the animals. The animals are giving service to the man, because the man is supposed to be greater than the animal. Similarly, one man is greater than the other, so the smaller man is giving service to the greater man. That is the law of nature. So when this sense comes, "If God is so great," not that "God is great; therefore exact from God the things of my sense gratification." No. The real love is that "God is great, God is supplying us so many things, all of our necessities, why not render some service to God?" This consciousness is part of development. The next developmen is to give service to God as friend, just like Arjuna is giving. And the next development is to render service to God as parents. And the highest platform of service rendering to God is conjugal love. So there are different stages. That is explained.
So Kṛṣṇa is being asked by Arjuna whether a person who is trying for perfection of life in spiritual advancement, if he finishes only a portion or half, so what happens to him? Does he become useless or worthless? Simply wasted time? Kaccin na ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ chinnābhram iva naśyati: "Is it not like that, that a cloud assembles..." When the clouds are compact together then there is possibility of raining, but if by wind it is broken, now there is no possibility of rain. The example is very nice. Kaccit na ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ. There was cloud, there was thundering, but there was no rain. There was no rain. It... Especially in the morning... These are some of the rules. One may know that in the morning, if there is assembly of clouds and there is thundering, you must surely know that there will be no rain. If there is rain, it will be a drop only. There will be no much rain.
So bambhārambhe, the attempt is very great, but the effect is little. Aja-yuddhe muni-śrāddhe: "And a ceremony observed by some sages in the jungle..." What they have got? They have got some leaves and flowers. That's all. What arrangement will be made? And prabhāte megha-ḍambare: "And in the morning, thundering sound of the cloud..." And similarly, dam-pate kalahe, I mean to say, "war between husband and wife..." So these things are to be taken as insignificant. So, of course, in India the quarrel between husband and wife, nobody cares. Nobody takes very seriously. The husband may complain, the wife may complain. Everyone says, "Yes, yes. That's all right. It will be all right." They never go to court for divorce. You see? But it is... There is no seriousness. And actually it is fact. I have seen a serious. They are divorced, but still, the husband is anxious for the wife, and the wife is anxious for the husband. The divorce is artificial. The husband and wife, the combination, that cannot be cut off. So one should tolerate these things. If there is some misunderstanding, they should not go to the court for divorce. They should tolerate. These are some of the rules for spiritual advancement.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So simply by vibration the atmosphere will be cleansed and purified. Just like when there is thundering sound in the sky, it does not require to understand by any particular language. That very vibration And the origin of creation is sound. The grosser elements are visible, but the creation takes place from finer elements. The sound is the symptom of the sky. By sound we can understand that there is sky, ether. Then, by sound vibration, there is circulation of air. And you have got practical experience. When there is very loud sound vibration, sometimes there is very strong wind also. So by sound vibration, the wind is started, and by strong wind electricity is produced. From electricity, water is produced, perspiration. And from water, earth is produced.
So behind this material energy... Material energy, just like we see, there is cloud, there is thundering sound, there is rain. And from the rain, there is crops, there is food grain. Then we eat those food grains. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. Then, yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ (BG 3.14). These things are already stated. Everything, the origin is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yajña. Yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ. Yajña means we have to satisfy the Supreme Person. That is called yajña. And this process can be executed when the human society is very regulated. Regulated means there must be division of these varṇas and āśramas. Varṇa means four varṇas: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. And four āśramas: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. They have got their respective duties. So unless the human society is divided into these eight scientific divisions and everyone acts according to his position, there cannot be any peace in the world. That is called varṇāśrama.
Some of them are described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. As I was describing yesterday that durbhikṣa, anāvṛṣṭyā durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ, ācchinna-dāra-draviṇā gacchanti giri-kānanam (SB 12.2.9). The Kali-yuga will be so much disturbing that people will be harassed especially by three things. Anāvṛṣṭi: there will be practically no rainfall. It is stated that there will be cloud in the sky. When there is no rainfall, people will be hankering after. Just like sometimes we hanker after rain in summer season, looking after, "When rainfall will come?" The people will be disappointed. There will be cloud, there will be thundering bolt, but there will be no rain. This time will be like that. Anāvṛṣṭi. Anāvṛṣṭi and durbhikṣa. And if there is anāvṛṣṭi, scarcity of rain, certainly there will be no food grain production, as it is now, we are feeling. Food grain production-eight rupees kilo, rice. So why? The food grain is shortage. So anāvṛṣṭi durbhikṣa and taxation, kara-pīḍitāḥ. Government will... Dasyu-dharmabhiḥ. It is said, "The government means a gang of rogues and thieves." That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They'll plunder. The rogues and thieves, they seek opportunity secretly, and government, by law, they will plunder. And still, they will go on as big minister. This is all stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So they are arranging for some festivals to offer oblations to the forefathers, śrāddha. So what they have got? They have got some fruits and leaves. That's all. So the arrangement may be that "Tomorrow, we are going to have this festival." But the festival means some leaves and some water. That's all. No utensils, no gold, no jewels, nothing of the sort. So this is another bahvārambhe laghu kriyā. Arrangement is very big, but fact is nothing. And dāmpatya kalahe caiva. And fight between or quarrel between husband and wife. In India, there is no question of divorce. So nobody takes very serious care when there is fight between husband and wife. So there also: "I'm going to immediately leave you, going to kill you..." and so many things. But after an hour, everything is finished. No more quarrel. Dāmpatya kalahe caiva prabhāte megha-garjane. And in the morning, if you see big cloud assembly and thundering sound, but you rest assured. There will be no rain in the morning. So these things are bahvārambhe laghu kriyā. Ārambha, beginning is very gorgeous. But end is nothing. So that is not good, bahvārambhe laghu kriyā.
Now, Śrīdhāra Swami is commenting why they were smiling, these Viṣṇudūtas, because the Yamadūtas were criticizing, "Why you are interfering?" The Yamadūtas did not know that whatever action is taken by the representative of Viṣṇu, they are not, I mean to say, unnecessarily interference. They are actual fact. Therefore they are smiling, that "These Yamadūtas, without knowing our position, they are trying to criticize us." So they were smiling. Prahasya, prahasya. Just like if a child speaks something to a learned man, he smiles. So Viṣṇudūta were smiling, hearing the Yamadūtas. Meghasya eva nirhrāda hānir yasya prayātaḥ:(?) "They began to speak in grave voice, as if the thundering cloud."
- śrī-viṣṇudūta uvāca
- yūyaṁ vai dharma-rājasya
- yadi nirdeśa-kāriṇaḥ
- brūta dharmasya nas tattvaṁ
- yac ca adharmasya lakṣaṇam
"You are claiming to be representative of Dharmarāja, Yamarāja." Yamarāja is Dharmarāja. So Viṣṇudūta knows that they are representative. So he challenged. The Viṣṇudūtas challenged the Yamadūtas, that "You are accusing us that we are interfering with your business which is entrusted unto you by the Dharmarāja, the maintainer of dharma. Would you kindly explain what is dharma and what is adharma?" It is very intelligent answer. Yūyaṁ vai dharma-rājasya: "If you are actually representative."
So that is not very expensive. So... And in the forest you haven't got to pay anything for flowers and fruits. You can get from the trees. Aja-yuddhe muni-śraddhe, and prabhāte megra-dumbhake (?). In the morning if there is thundering sound in the cloud, you should know it will not rain. It will never rain. That thundering may be very loud, but there will be no rain. That means you can neglect. As you can neglect the fight between two goats, as you can take not seriously the śraddhā ceremony of muni, as you do not take very seriously the thundering sound of the cloud in the morning, similarly, dāmpatye kālahe caiva, similarly, whenever there is fight between husband and wife, you should take like that. Don't take it seriously. But at the modern civilization, the husband and wife quarrel is taken so seriously that immediately they go to the court and there is filing of divorce, and the combination, the married life, dissolved, and both are unhappy. And this psychology is, as it is stated... I do not know, but probably it is right, that disagreement between husband and wife is due to sex difficulty. That's all. It is clearly stated here.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Martin: I studied one.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Martin: I studied one.
Prabhupāda: One only?
Martin: One. (laughs) I, I concentrated on one. I learned of some of the (indistinct), (loud crack of thunder in background) maybe a thousand.
Prabhupāda: Nine hundred thousand, exact number. (aside:) Bring that socket.
Devotee: Oh, this? (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. And 2,000,000 of leaves and plants, botany, botanical. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. Insects, there are 1,100,000 forms. (Sanskrit) Then (Sanskrit). From insect, they become flies and birds. (Sanskrit) One million. Then from birds, the beasts come, four-legged. (Sanskrit). Three million species of beasts. Then from beasts, the human form comes—either from monkey or from lion or from cows. Out of these three, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Those who are coming through rajo-guṇa, their last birth before human form of birth is lion. And those who are coming in the form ignorance, Darwin's father-in-law, (laughs) monkey, and ignorance. And those who are coming in goodness, their last form of birth is cow. So this is our scientific information from the Vedas. We haven't got to make research. Everything is there. That is Vedic knowledge. They have got already everything written there. The astronomy, everything is written there; simply you have to calculate. Astrology, we say simply mathematical calculation.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Martin: Primitive cavemen?
Prabhupāda: No, not only cavemen: the animals, birds, beasts, other than.
Martin: Oh, I see. (more thunder)
Prabhupāda: But this human form of life is better than demigods' life because demigods, they are materially very opulent. Just like when the Americans came in India, they thought, "Demigods." Is it not?
Martin: The Indians thought. Hm.
Prabhupāda: Because they're better looking, good looking, intelligent, powerful. Similarly, just like this controller or director of this rain department is Indra. This thundering, it is under his direction this thundering is going on. He throws the thunderbolts and cracks the mountain, and then we get chunks. That is his business. As in government there are different departments, similarly, God has got different departments, and the in-charge of that department is demigod. Creation, that's Brahma; sustenance or maintenance, Himself, Viṣṇu; and dissolution, Lord Siva.
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Karandhara: Yes. He thought "rascals" was a bit harsh.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa says rascal; therefore...
Yaśomatīnandana: But he... The professor, when he left he said that "Prabhupāda is very, very gentle," he said. He's the most gentle man he's ever seen.
Devotee: Gentle like a rose, and strong like a thunderstorm. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...India. Just start this movement seriously.
Yaśomatīnandana: Yes, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And Bombay is the best center.
Yaśomatīnandana: I'm being very enthused when you say these things to...
Prabhupāda: Yes. There is great field to conquer, and you are educated and intelligent, capable. You have got qualification, you can do this very good work.
Prajāpati: Many of these bogus groups, Prabhupāda, they claim that God is simply sound and light. So their meditation means seeing what they call ājñā-cakra, or point between eyebrows. They see there and they hear sounds, bells and thunder and flute all within. And that is their meditation. Hearing these sounds and see these lights.
Prabhupāda: That's all right, but what do you gain by that?
Prajāpati: Supposedly they go to higher levels of existence, higher levels of consciousness. They change the sound and the colors change...
Prabhupāda: But you cannot give up even smoking. You are in higher level of consciousness? So what is the proof that you are on the higher level of the consciousness? You cannot give up even ordinary things.
Jayatīrtha: They say that the scriptures aren't relevant in this age, that they don't make any difference in this age. They were for previous ages.
Prabhupāda: Why?
Jayatīrtha: Because people cannot understand them, so Guru Maharaji has simply come and making it very simple. He just makes them see the light and then everything is simple. They don't have to do anything else.
Prabhupāda: And what is the benefit of seeing that light? He has to work, he has to search out for food. So what is the benefit by seeing the light? By seeing the light, has he become freed from all this botheration? Then what is the use of that light he has seen?
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Karandhara: Looks like it may start raining a bit, Prabhupāda. We may cut over here.
Prabhupāda: All right.
Karandhara: And I can bring the car over.
Prabhupāda: No, no, what is that? We shall not die. (devotees laugh)
Bali Mardana: We will melt.
Prajāpati: The soul cannot be wet.
Prabhupāda: No, it is pleasant. Viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate. For a devotee, everything is very happy. There is no unhappiness. Any condition, they are happy. Viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate. For nondevotees everything is a problem. (devotees laugh) And for devotee everything is happiness. That is the difference.
Devotees: Jaya. (thunder sounds in background)
Prabhupāda: This is fact. This is not imaginary..., I mean to say... Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). The suffering is due to sinful activities. So a devotee is not acting sinfully; he's fully surrendered... (end)
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Ācchā? (laughter) Yes. That is for car or...?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Car, yes. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...any bird called thunderbird?
Bahulāśva: Thunderbird? A big bird, big eagle, in the United States.
Prabhupāda: No, big eagle, thunderbird. You have seen in this car?
Brahmānanda: Automobile is called.
Prabhupāda: But actually is there any bird called thunderbird?
Jagadīśa: It's a legendary bird from Indian legend. American Indian.
Prabhupāda: Indian legend?
Brahmānanda: Of the American Indians, the red Indians. Sometimes their chiefs are called Chief Thunderbird. It's a popular name for their chiefs.
Prabhupāda: Oh. Oh. We have got an idea of thunderbird. The bird flies in the, near the cloud in expectation of water, and they are not afraid of thunder. That is called cataka. That example is given by Rūpa Gosvāmī. The cataka does not take water from ground. They will take water when it falls from the cloud. So in the beginning of every cloud there is thunder. So this bird, because they expecting water from the cloud, the cloud is giving him thunder, but still he does not, will not take water from ground.
Dhīra Kṛṣṇa: In what connection do the Gosvāmīs use that example to illustrate?
Prabhupāda: Example means a devotee will take mercy from Kṛṣṇa, not from the material world. Even there is thunder, Kṛṣṇa does not give mercy but puts him into difficulty, still, he will not take any mercy from the material world.
Dhīra Kṛṣṇa: You are showing your mercy upon us. How do we prevent ourselves from becoming guru-druha, or ungrateful for the benediction you are giving us?
Prabhupāda: So, you want to be guru-druha? Eh?
Dhīra Kṛṣṇa: No.
Prabhupāda: That's nice. (break) ...come when there will be lightning, thunder but there will be no rain. (end)
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Hṛdayānanda: These books will satisfy everyone, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Hṛdayānanda: These books will satisfy everyone's desires.
Hari-śauri: If they want blood and thunder, it's this. (laughs)
Prabhupāda: So you can give one shirt to him and one to...
Hari-śauri: He's getting one now.
Prabhupāda: Oh, he has got.
Hari-śauri: He's got one. He's getting one for Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja.
Devotee: Prabhupāda is giving him one of his personal shirts.
Jagadīśa: A lawyer, he's come to see your darśana in the garden for the last two nights. He's been giving us a lot of assistance in our legal needs. He seems to be very inquisitive about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He's downstairs now. I wonder if he could come up.
Prabhupāda: He has some inquiries?
Jagadīśa: Well, he seems to be eating up the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He's very eager to hear.
Prabhupāda: Hm.
Dr. Sukla: Well, it's documented that he was kind of deranged, of a deranged mind. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the proof.
Dr. Sukla: Yes, because he was, when he was thirteen or seventeen he was walking, he was going from one village to another village through the paddy fields, and the clouds were very thick and thunder and lightning, and he writes that he saw Kali, and I have a friend in England, Carl Wilson, who has done some work on Ramakrishna, he believes that at that very moment...
Prabhupāda: These are miracles, that's all. It has no value. People are after miracles. So in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajante 'nya-devatāḥ (BG 7.20). Those who are worshipers of other demigods, they are hṛta-jñānāḥ. Hṛta-jñānāḥ. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives his comment, hṛta-jñānāḥ naṣṭa buddhayaḥ, one who has lost his intelligence. So by worshiping the demigod Kali he is to be considered as hṛta-jñānāḥ, one who has lost his intelligence—and he becomes God. Is it possible? One who has lost his intelligence, he becomes God. With that lost intelligence. And this is the proof that on account of lost intelligence, he says yata mata tata pat. Kṛṣṇa says mām ekam. Sarva dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). And when he became Ramakrishna, same Kṛṣṇa is speaking, yata mata tata pat. So he has changed his view. We have to accept this? And how he gave up his wife, that's a long history, I don't wish to discuss. We know everything. So we cannot accept something which is beyond the instruction of śāstra.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Raso 'ham apsu?
Prabhupāda: Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ (BG 7.8). When you drink water, you drink water for some taste, nice taste to quench your thirst. So that taste is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. Apsu does not mean only water. Suppose you are drinking, so you are getting some pleasure by the taste of the drinking, and if you think that this taste is Kṛṣṇa, then gradually you'll give up this drinking. Because you'll be purified by thinking of Kṛṣṇa. So some way or other think of Kṛṣṇa and your life is successful. Yena tena prakāreṇa manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet. So the process is given, you can think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours if you practice. Who can avoid drinking water? At least twice, thrice, we drink water, and if we think the taste is Kṛṣṇa... Prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ. Who can avoid seeing the sunshine and moonshine? As soon as you see the sunshine and the moonshine, if we think "Here is Kṛṣṇa," the sunshine is Kṛṣṇa. So this thinking of Kṛṣṇa, yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā (BG 6.47). He is first-class yogi who is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa in every step of life. That is first-class yogi. He does not see anything except Kṛṣṇa. And the process is there. If we adopt, we can think of Kṛṣṇa. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14). It is not difficult, simply it requires practice. (sound of thunder) Śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu. Now this sound in the sky, that is recommended, that the sound in the sky, Kṛṣṇa says, "I am the sound." So we can think of Kṛṣṇa as soon as there is sound. Not only this sound, when the airplane goes, drurururururu, that is also Kṛṣṇa. The practice. It doesn't require much learning, much education, simply take the words of Kṛṣṇa and he becomes a vast learned person. Kṛṣṇa is giving all the instruction. (sound of thunder) And actually, that is Kṛṣṇa. You cannot create such sound. It is Kṛṣṇa's management that there is sound while the cloud is rolling by air.
Prabhupāda: That is their fault. They should not have done so. That is their, what is called? Sectarian prejudice.
Guest (4): Was that the policy when Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura ran the temple? I understand that he at one time was the main administrator. (loud crashing of thunder)
Prabhupāda: So you don't take simply Jagannātha temple. There are many other temples, they allow. It is a particular management body, they do not allow. But that is not the sanction of the śāstra. That is not the sanction. Suppose in your private house you make some private law. That is your business. But actually temple is open for everyone. That is stated. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). Even one is born of low-grade family, he can accept. There is no injunction. That is śāstra. But there are rascals who do not follow. They have their own imagination. That is another thing. Kṛṣṇa never said that "Only the brāhmaṇas or Indians or Hindus can take shelter of Me." Kṛṣṇa never said. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ, whatever he may be. There is no restriction. Just like Ganges water, anyone can take bath. It is not that only a particular person or particular community can take bath. Anyone can take, and he becomes purified. There is an example, na hi harate jyotsnā candraś caṇḍāla veśmani.(?) When there is moonlight, there is no discrimination that here is a bhaṅgi's house, caṇḍāla's house, there should be no moonshine. The moonshine is open in the palace of the king or in the house of a caṇḍāla, na hi harate jyotsnā candraś caṇḍāla veśmani. So Kṛṣṇa's mercy is for everyone. It is not restricted to a certain community or class of people, no. Anyone can take advantage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And that is, practically they are doing. Therefore in India, so they say that I am killing Hindu dharma, the Māyāvādīs, that Bhaktivedanta Swami hindu-dharma ka naṣṭa.
Bhagavān: ...devotees came, and we carried Jagannātha around the land. It was very blazing hot, and we stopped at one point to read Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the part where Lord Caitanya is going in front of the Ratha cart. And thunder came and lightning, and it started to rain. (break) (lecture:)
Prabhupāda: Kṣetra-jñākhya tathā para. Avidyā karma saṅgaḥ anya tṛtiya śaktir iśyate. Viṣṇu-śakti, Viṣṇu, the supreme controller, all-pervading Godhead, Viṣṇu, He and His potency, viṣṇu-śakti parā proktaḥ, both of them are transcendental. (someone translates into French throughout) So the Viṣṇu-śakti potency is one. Another reflection of the Viṣṇu-śakti is karma-saṅga anya, that is, you have to work. That is called tṛtiya, the third, karma-saṅga, where you have to work. The idea is that original Viṣṇu potency, you haven't got to work. Everything is supplied automatically. And the avidyā karma-saṅga anya, and the other reflection or perverted reflection, is this material world. Just like you have recited this verse, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). In the spiritual world the trees are desire tree—means whatever we want, we can get—whereas in this material world, trees are not like that, they are limited potency. The cows there, unlimited potency. Surabhī means you can milk out as many times as you like, and as much as you like. So the idea is the spiritual world means there is no need of endeavoring for getting anything; everything is there automatically. And the material world, we have got experience, for everything we have to work so hard, then we can get something. So actually this material world is perverted reflection. Just like this body, without the spirit soul, it is useless; similarly, this material world, even if there is no spiritual touch, it is useless.
Prabhupāda: It is in West Bengal?
Jayapatākā: West Bengal. That's in Nadia district. Just before Pulasi, south of Pulasi. And when we came there and I saw the police in the afternoon, we told them we were going to have a function. So they said that they would send a few policemen. They said that "We will send some policemen for keeping the order." But that night so many people came the space could only hold four thousand. But another two, three thousand people came, and they were turned away because of insufficient space. So they were standing on the wall and on the rooftops all around, and all you could see were people's heads, just like an ocean. The policemen, after it was over... When I chanted, I chanted, "Everyone please chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." And I chanted the full mantra three times. They chanted so loud that even two, three blocks away people thought that the heavens were shouting. It was like a thunder...
Prabhupāda: Thunderbolt.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Lightning.
Maṇihāra: Thunder.
Prabhupāda: No.
Hari-śauri: Hail.
Prabhupāda: Hailstorm. And they became entrapped in the jungle whole night. And in the morning guru with other disciples came to search out them. And this Sudāmā Vipra and Kṛṣṇa was stranded, and they were found out, then taken back. So even Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He served the guru as menial. The guru's wife asked Him, "Bring some fuel from the jungle," and they went immediately. This is gurukula. No, I mean to say, prestigious position. "Guru has said—has to be done." This training. Then?
Maṇihāra: There's just a few more sentences. "The Society has indeed set for itself a noble and laudable ideal, producing men and women of high character, sincerity, and God consciousness."
Prabhupāda: Send this rascal.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Gargamuni: It makes us serve with great..., more enthusiasm, even the demons.
Prabhupāda: That is the way of electricity. Electricity. Some thunder. That is electricity. The word is used, apratihatā. Pratihata means checking. When your devotional service will make progress in spite of checking, that is pure devotion. Ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati. And that is pure devotion. I was attacked by heart attack thrice. While on the ship, twice.
Gargamuni: On the ship twice? Oh.
Prabhupāda: Consecutively two days, attack. Actually I would have died on the ship before reaching your country. I could not understand that was heart attack. The pain was so severe, I thought, "I am now dying." And it was done two nights. And I was very much afraid whether on the third night, that "If this night also again some pain like that comes, then I'll die." But third night did not pain. It was suspended. It came in New York. And you know it, left side was paralyzed.
Prabhupāda: Let us try to give a substantial platform of civilization. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Hari-śauri: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ (BG 3.14). (sound of thunder and rain) This time rainfall is very beneficial for crops. This is the way of living. You perform yajña, there will be rain. And as soon as the ground is moist, you can produce anything, whatever you want. Sarva-kāma-dughā mahī. From the field, you can get all your necessities of life. The first necessity is the food grain. So food grain you can eat, and the rejected grass portion, you give to the cows. So both the animal and the man get sufficient food. And the cows will give you nice milk, and from milk you can get butter, ghee, yogurt, so many nice sweetmeat. And there is ghee, and here is food grain, then you make kacuri, puri, samosā. Then sufficient foodstuff, nice, palatable, nutritious. First necessity is āhāra. You get sufficient āhāra. Then make little cottage for shelter. Just like there is rainfall. Now you require little... (thunder sounds) Āhāra, nidrā, bhaya, and sex. So marry. Then the whole problem is solved. And then, rest time you save and advance in Kṛṣṇa conscious... This is civilization. Why you create unnecessary necessities of life and become complicated and forget Kṛṣṇa? What is this civilization? Rascal civilization. Instead of giving protection to the cows, you are cutting the throat. Is that civilization? So this is a civilization of duṣkṛtina, means mischief monger. Therefore they must suffer, and suffering. And asuras are being created. And Kṛṣṇa's business is to kill the asuras. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). This is going on. This is material nature.
Prabhupāda: They must doing something.
Gargamuni: The thunder showers have started in Bengal now. So it is not so hot when I was there.
Prabhupāda: Kala-vaise.(?) (devotees discuss weather) So get a bank immediately here.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I'll do that first thing in the morning. Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Gargamuni: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Jaya. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (devotees offer obeisances)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, do you think that you'll be lecturing this evening? I mean, are people going to be here or at the pandal?
Girirāja: I think most people will be at the pandal today. Maybe we could send out invitations and make publicity for next Sunday.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It should be a big thing, prominent. (end)
Prabhupāda: Hm.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But it's cool.
Prabhupāda: Calcutta and Bengal has got a facility. Every evening there is a small shower of rain. That keeps the temperature mild. During this April-May, you will find every evening there is a thunderstorm and little shower. That is in Bengal's special... A good wind will come. Sometimes it is cyclonic. And immediately the whole atmosphere will be reduced temperature. Sometimes in U.P. also.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Another advantage of these months is that the mango starts to come into season.
Prabhupāda: Hm. In Bombay mango is the first-class.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But you are leaving Bombay.
Prabhupāda: Doesn't matter. I am not after eating. There is no scarcity of mango, but who will eat?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: From Bombay, mango is sent everywhere in India also.
Prabhupāda: All over the world. Bombay apus.(?)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They are called langar?
Prabhupāda: Apus. Here in the Ratnagiri District, especially in that place, this mango grows. In India it is known as Bombay ām. In India, in Northern India, there is, there are so many mangoes, very nice. One is langara, another is a small. I forget the name. That is also very nice.
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
I beg to thank you for your letter dated September 11th and the contribution check for the Bhakti-sastri examination. You have asked me for suggestions of what to say to different persons on Sankirtana Party, but there is no specific saying to any person. Whatever we say we say to everyone. It doesn't matter what is his age. Krishna Consciousness teaching does not depend on the age. It is the eternal platform of the soul. This is the meaning of transcendental; that is is beyond any consideration of material qualifications such as age or intelligence. Just like thunder in the sky does not need any explanation to any old person or to a young child, similarly, the transcendental sound vibration of Hare Krishna and preaching of Bhagavad-gita philosophy will act on everyone, regardless of whether or not they are understanding at first. When preaching you only repeat what you have heard from the disciplic succession and this will act.
| Page Title: | Thunder |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 17 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=27, CC=8, OB=21, Lec=9, Con=18, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 84 |