Scar

Expressions researched:
"scar" |"scars"

SB Canto 3

All glories to Lord Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), who appeared as the boar. The earth was held between His tusks, which appeared like the scars on the moon.

SB 3.13.27, Purport:

When the Lord is offered prayers by His devotees, His transcendental activities are described. Here are some of the transcendental features of Lord Boar. As the residents of the upper three planetary systems offered their prayers to the Lord, it is understood that His body expanded throughout the sky, beginning from the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, or Satyaloka. It is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā that His eyes are the sun and the moon; therefore His very glance over the sky was as illuminating as the sun or the moon. The Lord is described herein as mahīdhraḥ, which means either a "big mountain" or the "sustainer of the earth." In other words, the Lord's body was as big and hard as the Himalayan Mountains; otherwise how was it possible that He kept the entire earth on the support of His white tusks? The poet Jayadeva, a great devotee of the Lord, has sung of the incident in his prayers for the incarnations:

vasati daśana-śikhare dharaṇī tava lagnā

śaśini kalaṅka-kaleva nimagnā

keśava dhṛta-śūkara-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare

"All glories to Lord Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), who appeared as the boar. The earth was held between His tusks, which appeared like the scars on the moon."

A devotee should be blameless because any offense by the devotee is a scar on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 3.16.5, Translation and Purport:

A wrong act committed by a servant leads people in general to blame his master, just as a spot of white leprosy on any part of the body pollutes all of the skin.

A Vaiṣṇava, therefore, should be fully qualified. As stated in the Bhāgavatam, anyone who has become a Vaiṣṇava has developed all the good qualities of the demigods. There are twenty-six qualifications mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. A devotee should always see that his Vaiṣṇava qualities increase with the advancement of his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee should be blameless because any offense by the devotee is a scar on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotee's duty is to be always conscious in his dealings with others, especially with another devotee of the Lord.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Just like a child when he's crawling, he touches a fire and he's burned. He forgets. But when he's grown-up, if he inquires from the parents, "Why this scar is in my hand?" The father reminds, "My dear child, you did like this." So because you have forgotten, that does not mean it did not take place.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Hyderabad, November 26, 1972:

Prabhupāda: Why people are getting superior and inferior types of bodies? That is explained, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu (BG 13.22). Sad-asad—good and bad, first-class and third-class. Sad-asad-janma-yonisu. Species of life, they are getting. The reason is, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. Because he's associating with different modes of nature. There are three modes of nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. So if you associate with goodness, you get one type of body. If you associate with passion, you get another type of body. If you associate with ignorance, you get another type of body. This is law of nature and the witness is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there is exactly everything in order. You cannot escape that. Divī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). It is not possible to escape. This is karmavāda. But this karmavāda, just like one man is sentenced by the law to be hanged, nobody can save him, but still there is King's mercy, he can save you.

Guest: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest: (indistinct) so that he can purify himself...

Prabhupāda: Well, that... Just like a child when he's crawling, he touches a fire and he's burned. He forgets. But when he's grown-up, if he inquires from the parents, "Why this scar is in my hand?" The father reminds, "My dear child, you did like this." So because you have forgotten, that does not mean it did not take place. You have forgotten, you do not know, what you were doing at this time yesterday. You are so forgetful. So your remembering or forgetful doesn't matter. The law of nature must work severely. It doesn't matter whether you forget or you do not know the law. Forgetfulness of law is no excuse. You must suffer. Just like the child when he touches the fire, the fire does not consider, "Oh here is an innocent child, why should I burn him?" He must be burned. That is law of karma. When you touch fire it must act and you must suffer. Without any judgement the law is already there.

If something is wrong done by any member of the family, that becomes a scar to the whole family.

Lecture on SB 1.7.45-46 -- Vrndavana, October 5, 1976:

Then, tad dharmajña mahā-bhāga bhavadbhir gauravaṁ kulam. One should act in such a way that it should be glorified in the family. The family consideration is very important in Vedic culture. A family does not mean that only a husband, wife, or a few children. No. Family means the generation. That is Vedic conception. So if something is wrong done by any member of the family, that becomes a scar to the whole family. So she is, from family-wise, she is warning that "Do not do anything which will be a discredit to the whole Pāṇḍava family." Vṛjinaṁ nārhati prāptuṁ pūjyaṁ vandyam abhīkṣṇaśaḥ. So the guru and the guru's family, they do not require to be chastised or punished. It has been misused in so many ways. In Bengal... Just like they say nityānanda-vaṁśa. Coming from Nityānanda. So Nityānanda had one son, Vīrabhadra. But Vīrabhadra did not marry. So there is no dynasty by semina. By nityānanda-vaṁśa means by disciplic succession. So sometimes extra advantage was taken as nityānanda-vaṁśa. But people have got respect for such thing, dynasty. So not only it is now, from time immemorial, guru, guru's dynasty... Even in Mohammedan religion there is such sentiment, Mohammed and his dynasty, Hussain, they are taken very respectfully. So considering all points, the guru's respect must be maintained. This is the sum and substance of the instruction. But there is other opposite instruction also.

In my childhood, when I was three, four years old, I was saved. My all cloth burned, and there is a scar. You have seen. I would have died that day, but fortunately I was saved.

Lecture on SB 1.8.30 -- Mayapura, October 10, 1974:

So here Kuntī says, janma karma ca viśvātmann ajasya. Aja means who never takes birth. Ajasya. Aja, the living entities, they are also aja, but sometimes the living entity, being attracted by the material energy, they come to this material world. Then their quality of aja, or not to take birth, becomes vanquished, because in the material world one has to take birth. But actually spirit soul, or the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa, they are aja. Ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said clearly that living entity is aja, nitya, śāśvata, ayam. "Then how he is dying?" one may question. That is also replied: na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Don't think... That dying means he's changing body, not dying. Therefore... Because Kṛṣṇa says the living entity is aja, everyone can question that "If he's aja, he does not take birth, then why he's taking birth? Why he's dying?" The answer is immediately there: na hanyate: "Don't think that he's dying." Na hanyate. "No, I see his body's being burned." No, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). That body is being burned. That...

Suppose if your cloth is burned... In my childhood, when I was three, four years old, I was saved. My all cloth burned, and there is a scar. You have seen. I would have died that day, but fortunately I was saved. The cloth was burning. That, what is that called, matches color? So I was trying to burn, and it caught my cloth. So the cloth burned, but I did not burn. Similarly, this body also burns, but the soul... Nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi na dahati pāvakaḥ. The soul is never cut into pieces by any weapon, neither it is burned by the fire, soul. That is eternity. Anything material, it will burn, it will be cut into pieces, it can be dried up, it can be moistened. Because we cannot see the soul, so Kṛṣṇa has explained in a negative definition what is the characteristic of the soul. Nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ, na śoṣayati mārutaḥ (BG 2.23). Like that.

When he was Nawab, so his wife saw it and inquired, "What is this scar?" So he replied the whole story, that "I was formerly a menial servant to this Buddhimanta Khan and I did something wrong. So as my father, he punished me. That's all.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Bombay, November 6, 1970:

You have read in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that one Buddhimanta Khan, he was formerly... He was very rich man and Nawab Hussain Shah was the servant when he was not Nawab. So he was menial servant. So he stole some money as servants are generally habituated. So he whipped him with his cane. So that whipping stripe was on his back side. When he was Nawab, so his wife saw it and inquired, "What is this scar?" So he replied the whole story, that "I was formerly a menial servant to this Buddhimanta Khan and I did something wrong. So as my father, he punished me. That's all. He was treating me as my son." So he admitted that he was so kind. But his wife said, "Oh, this scar is a defamation. If somebody sees and you explain, then it will be known that you were a menial servant previously." So the Nawab did not mind. He: "What is that? I may be... Now what I am, that's all." So the wife requested that "This man should be killed so that he may not disclose the secret of your life, that you were a menial servant in his house." And "No, no, no. This is... This cannot be. He is just like my father. How can I kill him? This is not possible." And just see. Then she advised, "At least make him Mohammedan. Convert him to be a Mohammedan." In those days it was not very difficult.

General Lectures

When he was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy, his father regretted that "My dear boy, you have brought a scar amongst the brāhmaṇa society by cursing a king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit."

Speech to Maharaja and Maharani and Conversations Before and After -- Indore, December 11, 1970:

So the Vedic civilization accepts the king or the ruler as representative of God, and he is given the... Not only in India. In other countries also, so far we know, in England also the royal family, the king and the queen is given respect as good as to the God. In every country, in Japan also. That was the system all over the world, the relationship between the citizen and the king. Gradually, with the progress of the Kali-yuga, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the last kṣatriya king to give protection all over the world. And when he was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy, his father regretted that "My dear boy, you have brought a scar amongst the brāhmaṇa society by cursing a king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit." So Mahārāja Parīkṣit was protected by Kṛṣṇa. He could counteract it, but still, he tolerated that punishment or the curse given by a brāhmaṇa boy. He immediately resigned from his royal throne, handing over the charge to his son. And he retired on the bank of the Ganges although he had only seven days' time to live. And during those seven days the whole Bhāgavata was recited. So, I mean to say, the royal family has got very intimate relationship with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And as soon as that was broken, because sometimes it breaks, the religious process declined and the royal power also declined. That is the whole history of the world.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Even it is beyond your conception, what to speak of others. But it is growing. It is... If there is any scar or if the nail is broken some way or other, it will come out.

Morning Walk -- April 3, 1975, Mayapur:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They think that we are limiting God by saying that He's a person, or that He has form.

Prabhupāda: That is their foolishness. That is their foolishness. They are thinking God a person like me, like himself. That is foolishness. They cannot conceive that a person can become so powerful than myself. That is the defect. A person has acintya-śakti, acintya-śakti, inconceivable power. Now, just like you are person. You cut your hair. It is growing. Do you know how it is growing?

Haṁsadūta: No.

Prabhupāda: Then? Even it is beyond your conception, what to speak of others. But it is growing. It is... If there is any scar or if the nail is broken some way or other, it will come out. But... You cannot manufacture it by conceiving. But it is coming out. That means within you there is an inconceivable power. So if you have got, an ordinary human being, so much inconceivable power, how much God has got inconceivable power. That is God.