The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 09 - Further Considerations of Devotional Principles: Difference between revisions
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Latest revision as of 00:16, 7 July 2017
Pages in category "The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 09 - Further Considerations of Devotional Principles"
The following 165 pages are in this category, out of 165 total.
A
- A devotee says there, "My dear Vasundhara, any person who goes to Vrndavana and sees the Deity of Govindadeva is free from the courthouse of Yamaraj and is allowed to enter into the highest planetary system, in which reside the demigods"
- A man born in any family is not barred, but he must be cleansed. That cleansing process must be adopted
- A person who chants the holy name of Krsna once can counteract the resultant actions of more sinful activities than he is able to perform
- A person who follows the Ratha-yatra car when the Rathas (Deities) pass in front or from behind, even if born of a lowly family, will surely be elevated to the position of achieving equal opulence with Visnu
- A person who honors the prasadam and regularly eats it, not exactly in front of the Deity, along with caranamrtam immediately can achieve the results of pious activities which are obtained through ten thousand performances of sacrificial rites
- A person who is engaged in the worship of the Deities can minimize his stock of sinful reactions coming from many, many previous births
- A person who is in a jubilant spirit, who feels profound devotional ecstasy while dancing before Me, who manifests different features of bodily expression, can burn away all the accumulated sinful reactions he has stocked up for many thousands of years
- A similar statement is in the Agastya-samhita: Just to purify the impurities of our nostrils, we should try to smell the remnants of flowers offered to Krsna in the temple
- A sinful man can perform many, many sinful activities, but he is unable to perform so many that they cannot be wiped out by one single uttering of Krsna
- According to great learned scholars, the whole Bhagavad-gita contains many authorized prayers, especially in the Eleventh Chapter, where Arjuna prays to the universal form of the Lord
- Actually, in India, the temples are just like royal palaces. They are not ordinary buildings because the worship of Krsna should be performed in just the way that a king is worshiped in his palace
- And even if one has no sinful activities, still, by smelling such remnants of flowers, one can advance from mayavadi (impersonalist) to devotee
- And one who touches the body of the Deity, following such regulative principles, is immediately delivered from the contamination of material sins, and all of his desires become fulfilled without delay
- Any devotee coming into the temple should always offer something to the Deity - fruit, flowers, incense, etc. If one cannot offer anything in cash, something else must be offered
- Anyone who puts on the garlands which were offered to Krsna, there is no question of being conquered by the spell of material energy
- Arcana means worship of the Deity in the temple. By executing this process one confirms himself to be not the body but spirit soul
- As far as the conditioned soul is concerned, there is no wonder that he has some sinful activities in his past life, and this should be admitted and confessed before the Lord
- As soon as this is done the Lord excuses the sincere devotee. But that does not mean that one should take advantage of the Lord's causeless mercy and expect to be excused over and over again, while he commits the same sinful activities
- As we have already explained, there are different ceremonies to be observed, such as the birthday of Krsna, the birthday of Lord Ramacandra, the birthday of some prominent Vaisnavas
- As we have explained previously, in Vrndavana, Mathura and Dvaraka the system is that all the devotees take advantage of visiting various temples situated in those holy places
- At the time of death, there is no question of such a person being called by the constables of Yamaraj
B
- Brahma tells Narada, "My dear Narada, anyone who puts on his neck the flower garland which was formerly used by Krsna becomes relieved from all disease and reactions to sinful activities, and gradually he gets liberated from the contamination of matter"
- By such circumambulation, one is understood to have seen all the holy places where the Ganges water is flowing, and by following the regulative principles of Caturmasya one can very quickly be raised to the platform of devotional service
D
- Devotees whose tongues are decorated always with prayers to Lord Krsna are always given respect even by the great saintly persons and sages, and such devotees are actually worshipable by the demigods
- Due to their unclean habits they are prohibited, but at the same time they are given other facilities so they may be elevated to the highest grade of devotional service by association with pure devotees
- During these four months, saintly persons who are accustomed to travel from one place to another to propagate Krsna consciousness remain at one place, usually a holy place of pilgrimage
- During these times, there are certain special rules and regulations which are strictly followed
E
- Even an ordinary person who goes to Vrndavana out of inquisitiveness and by chance sees the temple, especially that of Govindadeva, even if he is not elevated to the spiritual kingdom, is still assured promotion to the higher planetary systems
- Even if one does not accept all the Vaisnava principles, but still takes the remnants of foodstuff offered to Krsna, or Krsna-prasadam, he will gradually become qualified to rise to the platform of a Vaisnava
- Even one who has never done any pious activities - if he simply drinks the caranamrtam which is kept in the temple, he will become eligible to enter into the kingdom of God. In the temple it is the custom that the caranamrtam be kept in a big pot
F
- For example, the maha-mantra (Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare) when uttered very softly only for one's own hearing is called japa
- From the above verse it appears that the mayavadis or impersonalists are more or less contaminated. They are not pure
- From the body of any person who claps and dances before the Deity, showing manifestations of ecstasy, all the birds of sinful activities fly away upwards
H
- He (a devotee) also wishes that the Personality of Godhead will be pleased to give him directions as to how to fan
- Here it is stated that a devotee who is always engaged in offering prayers to the Lord is worshipable even by the demigods themselves
- Here the devotee is desiring to become a servant of the Lord and desires to fan the Lord, as does His internal energy, Laksmi, the goddess of fortune
I
- If a devotee does not do any of the above-mentioned three processes, he falls down from his position of devotion
- If a person is not ashamed of his sinful activities and continues to commit the same sinful activities with the knowledge that the Lord will excuse him, that is a most nonsensical proposition
- If he is unable to defeat the opposing party, then the next step is that he should not just stand there meekly, but should give up his life
- If one develops this laulyam, or excessive eagerness for meeting and serving the Lord in a particular way, that is the price to enter into the kingdom of God
- If someone sees the face of the Lord while aratrika is going on, he can be relieved of all sinful reactions coming from many, many thousands and millions of years past. He is even excused from the killing of a brahmana or similar prohibited activities
- If these songs are heard by any person, he can easily get out of the clutches of material contamination
- In all festivals the Lord is seated on the car, and the car moves through different streets of the city so that people may take advantage of visiting the Lord
- In India the system is that all the ladies and gentlemen who come in the morning to visit the temple bring so many things. Even one morsel of rice or one morsel of flour can be offered
- In India there was agitation during Gandhi's political movement because the lowborn classes of men like street-sweepers and candalas are prohibited, according to the Vedic system, from entering the temple. Due to their unclean habits they are prohibited
- In one of Lord Caitanya's Siksastaka verses it is stated, "The devotee should be more tolerant than the tree and more submissive than the grass. He should offer all honor to others, but may not accept any honor for himself"
- In order to make an escape from this material condition, one is advised to visit a temple of Visnu with devotional consciousness. Then one can very easily get out of the miserable condition of material birth
- In other words, even a common man, simply by visiting such a temple, will be able to attain the highest benedictions, not to mention the devotees who are constantly engaged in the service of the Lord in full Krsna consciousness
- In spite of Lord Caitanya's being so humble and meek as a devotee, when He was informed about injuries inflicted on the body of Sri Nityananda, He immediately ran to the spot and wanted to kill the offenders
- In the Bhavisya Purana it is said, "In such a ceremony, if even a candala (dog-eater), simply out of curiosity, sees the Lord on the cart, he becomes counted as one of the associates of Visnu"
- In the Brahmanda Purana it is said, "A person who sees the Lord's Ratha-yatra car festival and then stands up to receive the Lord can purge all kinds of sinful results from his body"
- In the Dvaraka-mahatmya the importance of dancing before the Deity is stated by Lord Krsna
- In the Garuda Purana it is stated, "Any person who in gladness sees the worship of the Deity in the temple will obtain the results of kriya-yoga which are described in the Pancaratra scripture"
- In the Gautamiya Tantra all the verses are called prayers. Again in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, there are hundreds of prayers to the Lord. So a devotee should select some of these prayers for his recitation
- In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya, there is a statement about the benefit of visiting the temples of Lord Krsna
- In the Narada-pancaratra there is a statement of submission accompanied by the desire for perfection
- In the Naradiya Purana there is a statement about bowing down and offering respect to the Deity
- In the Padma Purana there is a statement describing how a Vaisnava should decorate his body with tilaka and beads
- In the Padma Purana there is a statement, "For any person who is chanting the holy name either softly or loudly, the paths to liberation and even heavenly happiness are at once open"
- In the same Skanda Purana there is a statement about submission and humbleness. It is stated there - I am so greatly sinful and offensive that when I come to confess my sinful activities before You, I am ashamed
- In the same Skanda Purana there is a statement about submission and humbleness. It is stated there - My dear Lord, there is no sinful living entity who is more of a sinner than myself. Nor is there a greater offender than myself
- In the Skanda Purana there is a statement about submission unto the lotus feet of the Lord
- In the Skanda Purana there is a statement by devotees praying to the Lord, "I am praying at Your lotus feet that my mind may become attracted unto You in the same spontaneous way"
- In the Skanda Purana there is a statement by devotees praying to the Lord, "My Lord, I know that young girls have natural affection for young boys, and that young boys have natural affection for young girls"
- In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, in the narration of Ajamila's deliverance, it is said that Yamaraj gave clear instructions to his assistants not to approach the Vaisnavas. Vaisnavas are beyond the jurisdiction of Yamaraj's activities
- In the Varaha Purana, also, there is a statement praising the touching of the Deity of Sri Krsna in the temple
- In the Visnu-rahasya also, it is stated, "Any person within this world who is engaged in the worship of Visnu can very easily achieve the ever-blissful kingdom of God, known as Vaikuntha"
- In this way this caranamrtam not only becomes very tastefully flavored, but it also has tremendous spiritual value
- In this way, everyone will be given the chance to elevate himself to the kingdom of God
- It is a regulative principle that one should not go to see a saintly person or the Deity in the temple without any offering. The offering may be very humble, or it may be priceless. Even a flower, a little fruit, a little water...
- It is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, "One who has not washed off all reactions of sinful activities cannot be a pure devotee"
- It is described in the Padma Purana that even a person who has never been able to give in charity, who has never been able to perform a great sacrifice, who has never been able to study the Vedas, who has never been able to worship the Lord
- It is indicated here that chanting and glorifying the Lord is the ultimate activity of the living entity
- It is said in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya, "A person who is circumambulating the Deity of Visnu can counteract the circumambulation of repeated birth and death in this material world"
- It is said there that those who are sober devotees can offer their submission to Krsna in three ways: 1) samprathanatmika, very feelingly offering prayers; 2) dainyavodhika, humbly submitting oneself; 3) lalasamayi, desiring some perfectional stage
- It is said there, "A brahmana who is constantly engaged in singing the glories of the Lord is surely elevated to the same planet as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Krsna appreciates this singing even more than the prayers offered by Lord Siva"
- It is said there, "A person who has performed a great ritualistic sacrifice and a person who has simply offered his respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord cannot be held as equals"
- It is said, "Only a person who is initiated as a Vaisnava and is executing devotional service in Krsna consciousness has the right to touch the body of the Deity"
- It is stated in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya: "Persons who are impelled by pure devotional service in KC and who therefore go to see the Deities of Visnu in the temple will surely get relief from entering again into the prison house of a mother's womb"
- It is stated in the Puranas, "Persons who attempt to visit the holy places of pilgrimage, like Vrndavana, Mathura or Dvaraka, are actually glorified. By such traveling activities, they can pass over the desert of material existence"
- It is stated in the Skanda Purana that during this period (Caturmasya), if someone circumambulates the temple of Visnu at least four times, it is understood that he has traveled all over the universe
- It is stated in the Tantra-sastra, "If the smell of the garland which was offered to the Deity in the temple enters into the nostril of a person, immediately his bondage to sinful activities becomes cleared"
- It is stated in the Visnu-rahasya, "Any person who can arrange for service to the Lord in the same way that a king is given service by his attendants is surely elevated to the abode of Krsna after death"
- It is stated, "If a person stays in the Lord's temple even for a few moments, he can surely achieve the transcendental kingdom of God"
- It is stated: "Any person who comes before the Deity of Lord Krsna and begins to chant different prayers is immediately relieved from all the reactions of sinful activities and becomes eligible, without any doubt, to enter into the Vaikuntha-loka"
L
- Lord Caitanya also desired that "a moment will appear unto Me as twelve years of time, and the whole world will appear to Me as vacant on account of not seeing You, My dear Lord"
- Lord Caitanya's behavior is very significant. It shows that a Vaisnava may be very tolerant and meek, foregoing everything for his personal honor, but when it is a question of the honor of Krsna or His devotee, he will not tolerate any insult
M
- Maharaj Prahlada offers the following prayers to the Lord, "My dear Lord Nrsimha, if I can be elevated to the position of Your servant, then it will be possible for me to hear about Your activities"
- My dear King, this word 'Krsna' is so auspicious that anyone who chants this holy name immediately gets rid of the resultant actions of sinful activities from many, many births
N
- Narada Muni tells his disciple, Vyasadeva, "My dear Vyasa, you should know that persons who are engaged in executing austerities and penances, studying the Vedas, performing big sacrifices, chanting the hymns of the Vedas"
- Narada said, "Persons engaged in speculating on transcendental knowledge and performing charitable functions have for all their auspicious activities simply to gain a place in the association of devotees and to chant the glories of the Lord"
- No demigod can perform this act of delivering the conditioned souls, because the demigods themselves are conditioned
O
- Of course, any devotee in any capacity, either as servant, friend or conjugal lover, always has direct association with the Lord. But according to his different individual taste, a person desires for just one of these relationships
- One should feelingly pray and become eager to render his particular type of service to the Lord. This is the teaching of all great devotees, especially Lord Caitanya
- One should learn how to cry for the Lord. One should learn this small technique, and he should be very eager and actually cry to become engaged in some particular type of service. This is called laulyam
- One should not tolerate blaspheming of the Lord or His devotees
- Only one who is properly initiated, who is properly following the rules and regulations, can enter and touch the Deity - not all
P
- Persons on whose neck and breast there are tulasi beads, are never approached by the Yama-dutas
- Persons who are decorated with tilaka or gopi-candana (a kind of clay resembling fuller's earth which is produced in certain quarters of Vrndavana), and who mark their bodies all over with the holy names of the Lord
- Persons who have Visnu tilaka on their forehead, are to be understood as the devotees of Lord Visnu in this world. Their presence makes the world purified, and anywhere they remain they make that place as good as Vaikuntha
- Persons who put tulasi beads on the neck, who mark twelve places of their body as Visnu temples with Visnu's symbolic representations
- Prahlada prayed to Nrsimhadeva, "I shall not care for all those sinful activities because simply by hearing about Your pastimes I shall get out of all the contamination of material attachment"
- Prahlada prayed to Nrsimhadeva, "You are the supreme friend, the supreme worshipable Deity. Your pastimes are transcendental, and simply by hearing of them one can counteract all his sinful activities"
- Prthu said, "So what need is there to speak of the deliverance of persons who are always engaged in the service of the Lord"
- Prthu says to his subjects, "My dear citizens, please note that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is actually the deliverer of all fallen conditioned souls"
S
- Simply by worshiping Krsna one can easily achieve all the results of heavenly opulence, liberation, supremacy over the planetary systems of the universe, all the opulences of this material world, and the mystic power of performing the yoga system
- So in Vrndavana there are many hundreds of temples wherein the Deity is worshiped exactly like a king
- Someone may think, "For a whole week I may commit sinful activities, and for one day I will go to the temple or church and admit my sinful activities so that I can become washed off and again begin my sinning"
- Sri Krsna had ordered His friend Sudama to go to a brahmana's house and ask for some food. The brahmanas were performing a great sacrifice, and Sri Krsna told Sudama to plead with them that He and Balarama were feeling hungry and needed some food
- Srimad-Bhagavatam says, "A pure devotee has no more doubts about the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead, and thus he engages himself in Krsna consciousness and devotional service"
- Such a mentality is only for shameless persons. Here it is clearly said, "When I come to confess my sinful activities I become ashamed"
- Such an idea is not accepted in any part of the Vedic literature. It is a fact that by chanting the holy name of the Lord one becomes washed clean of all sinful activities from his past life
- Sukadeva Gosvami tells Pariksit Maharaj, "My dear King, if a person, after hearing blasphemous propaganda against the Lord and His devotees, does not go away from that place, he becomes bereft of the effect of all pious activities"
T
- That does not mean that after being washed off, one should again begin sinful activities and expect to be washed again. These are nonsensical propositions and are not admitted in the devotional service
- That is called lalasamayi, or very eagerly desiring to go to one's natural position
- The Caturmasya ceremony is observed during the four months of the rainy season in India (approximately July, August, September and October), beginning from Sravana
- The ceremony of Jhulan-yatra with the Lord sitting on a swing, Dola-yatra (the Lord's activities in the month of March), and so on
- The conclusion is that those who are rich men in society should construct beautiful temples and arrange for the worship of Visnu, so that people may be attracted to visit such temples and thereby be offered the opportunity of dancing before the Lord
- The conditioned soul forgets the trouble of living within the mother's womb during birth, but it is a very painful and terrible experience
- The conditioned soul is circumambulating through repeated births and deaths on account of his material existence, and this can be counteracted simply by circumambulating the Deity in the temple
- The devotee says, "My dear Lord, O lotus-eyed one, when will that day come when on the bank of the Yamuna, I shall become just like a madman and continue to chant Your holy name while incessant tears flow from my eyes"
- The devotee says, "My dear Lord, when shall that day come when You will ask me to fan Your body, and according to Your pleasure, You will say, 'You just fan Me in this way'"
- The devotees who come to visit and offer respects to the Deity very submissively take three drops of caranamrtam and feel themselves happy in transcendental bliss
- The Ganges water which is flowing down from the toe of Lord Visnu falls upon the earthly planet and other planets and thereby delivers all the conditioned sinful living entities
- The idea in this verse is that the devotee is desiring to personally fan the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That means that he is desiring to become the personal associate of the Supreme Lord
- The maha-mantra can be used for japa and kirtana also. When japa is practiced it is for the personal benefit of the chanter, but when kirtana is performed it is for the benefit of all others who may hear
- The next instruction is that one should put on flower garlands which are offered to the Deity
- The person who has executed many great sacrifices will attain the result of his pious activities, but when such results are finished, he has to take birth again on the earthly planet
- The person who has once offered respects, bowing down before the Deity, will not again come back to this world, because he will go directly to the abode of Krsna
- The present law is the law of all scripture - that if anyone is purified he can enter into the temple. Actually, that is the position
- The pure devotees have nothing to ask from any demigod, but rather the demigods are anxious to offer prayers to the pure devotees
- The purport of this verse is that for any person who simply follows these rules and regulations of decorating the body with the marks of tilaka of gopi-candana or sandalwood pulp, there is no question of being conquered by the spell of material energy
- The same mantra, when chanted loudly for being heard by all others, is called kirtana. The maha-mantra can be used for japa and kirtana also
- The third process is followed if he is unable to execute the above-mentioned two processes, and this is that one must leave the place and go away
- The Yama-dutas are the constables of King Yama (the Lord of death), who punishes all sinful men. Vaisnavas are never called for by such constables of Yamaraj
- There are many songs about the Lord's activities. For example, there is the Brahma-samhita, sung by Lord Brahma, Narada-pancaratra, sung by Narada Muni, and Srimad-Bhagavatam, sung by Sukadeva Gosvami
- There are several instances of this, a prime one being the advancement of the four Kumaras
- There are three ways of dealing with such insults. If someone is heard blaspheming by words, one should be so expert that he can defeat the opposing party by argument
- There is an herb found in the jungles which expert persons know how to use to revive the consciousness of one who is bitten by a snake. Simply by smelling that herb one becomes immediately relieved of the poisonous effects of the snakebite
- There is no material calculation for the value of the ticket by which one can enter the kingdom of God. The only price for such entrance is this laulyam lalasamayi, or desire and great eagerness
- There is this specific statement in the Padma Purana, "A person who honors the prasadam and regularly eats it, not exactly in front of the Deity, along with caranamrtam"
- There should be no difficulty in hearing these songs of God. They are coming down from many, many millions of years ago, and people are still taking advantage of them. So why, at this time, should one not take full advantage and thus become liberated
- They (Four kumaras) were impersonalist mayavadis, but after smelling the remnants of flowers and incense in the temple, they turned to become devotees
- This desiring some perfectional stage in spiritual life is not sense gratification
- This is most nonsensical and offensive and is not acceptable to the author of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
- This lalasa-mayi stage of submission comes in the stage of perfect liberation, which is technically called svarupa-siddhi, when the living entity understands, by perfect spiritual advancement and revelation, his original relationship with the Lord
- This means that simply by visiting the Deity of Govinda in Vrndavana one becomes highly elevated in pious life
- This natural attraction for the Lord is the perfectional stage of self realization
- This process of worshiping the Deity has already been described, and one should try to follow these rules and regulations seriously
- This submission with transcendental desire, or lalasa-mayi vijnapti, is the highest perfectional stage of spiritual realization
- Those who are less intelligent want to worship different demigods for some material gain rather than worship Krsna
U
- Uddhava said to krsna, "I am sure that I shall not be attacked by the spell of material energy"
- Uddhava says to Krsna, "My dear Krsna, I have taken things which You have used and enjoyed, such as garlands of flowers, saintly articles, garments and ornaments, and I eat only the remnants of Your foodstuff because I am Your menial servant
W
- What need is there to speak of the deliverance of persons who are always engaged in the service of the Lord? There is no doubt about their liberation, even if they have stocks of sinful activities from many, many births
- When a devotee comes to offer something to the Deity in the morning, he is sure to smell the good flavor of the incense, and then at once he will become cleansed of the poisonous effect of material existence
- When a mantra or hymn is chanted softly and slowly, that is called japa. The same mantra, when chanted loudly, is called kirtana
- When a person loudly chants the glories of the Lord's activities, qualities, form, etc., it is called sankirtana. Sankirtana also refers to the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord
- When a young boy or girl sees a member of the opposite sex there is a natural attraction, without the need for any introduction
- When one realizes something of his constitutional relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he understands his original position and wants to be reinstated in this position, either as friend, servant, parent or conjugal lover of Krsna
- When Sudama went there, the brahmanas refused to offer anything, but the wives of the brahmanas, upon hearing that Sri Krsna wanted some foodstuff, immediately took many palatable dishes and went to offer them to Sri Krsna
- When the devotees smell the good flavor of the incense which is offered to the Deity, they thus become cured of the poisonous effects of material contamination, as much as one becomes cured of a snakebite by smelling the prescribed medicinal herbs
- Without any training there is a natural attraction due to the sex impulse. This is a material example, but the devotee is praying that he may develop a similar spontaneous attachment for the Supreme Lord