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Touchstone means

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Touchstone means the stone which you touch to the iron and the iron becomes gold. So such touchstone, they're used as brick. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu (Bs. 5.29).
Lecture on SB 1.5.35 -- Vrndavana, August 16, 1974:

Just like Brahmā, the best authority because he is the first living being created within the universe. Ādi-puruṣa. Not ādi-puruṣa; ādi-kavi. Ādi-puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā is ādi-kavi, the original learned scholar. So our theory of creation means first of all Brahmā is created. So Brahmā is called ādi-kavi. Tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye (SB 1.1.1). Ādi-kavaye means Brahmā. So Brahmā's knowledge, what does he say? Brahmā says govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Brahmā says Govinda, Kṛṣṇa. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). He's giving description about Kṛṣṇa in the Brahma-saṁhitā. And the description of Kṛṣṇa's abode. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). Everything is there. This is authority, śruti. Kṛṣṇa is very much fond of tending cows. Surabhīr abhipālayantam. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu. He has got His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the residential houses are made of cintāmaṇi, touchstone. Touchstone, we have heard the description. Touchstone means the stone which you touch to the iron and the iron becomes gold. So such touchstone, they're used as brick. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu (Bs. 5.29).

And kalpa-vṛkṣa. This is Kṛṣṇa's abode. They are not like this. They are all spiritual. Here it is, everything is material, but there is spiritual touch. That spiritual touch we are describing in the Bhagavad-gītā, bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām (Bg 7.10). Without spiritual touch, there is no question of material manifestation. That is not possible. This body, your body, my body, this is material—everyone knows. It is made of earth, air, water, fire, like that. But how it is manifested? How the beautiful body is manifested? Because there is spiritual touch. The spirit soul is there. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā... (BG 2.13). This external body is changing, but it is forming on account of that spiritual touch. That spiritual touch means Kṛṣṇa. Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām. So therefore the origin of everything is Kṛṣṇa. Just like the origin of a big tree is the root. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the ādi-puruṣam. Govindam ādi-puruṣam, sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1). Just like in the tree there are trunk, branches, twigs, sub-branches, leaves, flowers, so many things. But the cause is the root.

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Touchstone means the stone which if it touches a iron, it transforms into gold.
Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Verse 34 -- San Francisco, September 13, 1968 :

This prayer for Govinda is from Brahma-saṁhitā. It is very old literature, and nobody can say when it was spoken, but it is understood that these verses were written by Brahmā, and when Lord Caitanya was traveling in South India He picked up this book from a temple, hand-written, and He delivered to His devotees. So, it is very authorized book. In this book the description of Kṛṣṇa is very vivid, vividly given. There His place, His activities, His form, everything is there nicely given. So, this, this verse, it is, it is not first verse. This is the 34th verse of the Fifth Chapter. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam. That, that place, cintāmaṇi ... Cintāmaṇi, a stone. In the transcendental world the, as we have got experience here, the houses are made of bricks, there the houses are made of cintāmaṇi stone. The cintāmaṇi stone is..., of course there is no exact translation, but it is understood it is something like touchstone. Touchstone means the stone which if it touches a iron, it transforms into gold.

So, the abode of Kṛṣṇa is described that there are houses, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu. Prakara means house. And cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa, and that the trees are desire trees. What is that desire tree? Just like here in, in this material world, a tree is meant for delivering a particular fruit or flower, but desire tree means whatever you desire you get immediately delivered from the tree. That is called, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu, kalpa-vṛkṣa. Kalpa means whatever you like, whatever you will. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu. Such trees are not one. Just like here in your country, as soon as you go outside the city there are hundreds and thousands of trees, there is neither fruit nor flower, but they are meant for fuel or some other purposes. But there, there are many millions of trees which are all desire trees. Whatever you want, it is present there. The tree will supply immediately. Prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu. And surabhīr abhipālayantam. Kṛṣṇa is engaged in, as, a cowherds boy. He is herding cows. What sort of cows? Surabhiḥ. Surabhiḥ means that cow supplies you milk as much as you like, and as many times you can, you like, you can draw milk from that cow. Immense supply of milk, surabhīr abhipālayantam. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam, and the Lord is worshiped by many hundreds, thousands of goddess of fortune. The gopīs, here you see the picture. That is a little sample only. But in the transcendental kingdom the Lord is always served with all great respect and obeisances and devotion, many thousands of goddess of fortune. That goddess of fortune means they are most beautiful, and everything is complete, that such a place and such abode and such activities are described about Kṛṣṇa.

Page Title:Touchstone means
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:07 of Nov, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:2