Ascertain (CC & Other Books)

Expressions researched:
"ascertain" |"ascertained" |"ascertaining" |"ascertainment" |"ascertains"

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 3.34, Purport:

According to the regulation of the disciplic succession, one who wishes to enter the renounced order in Śaṅkara's sect must first be trained as a brahmacārī under a bona fide sannyāsī, The brahmacārī’s name is ascertained according to the group to which the sannyāsī belongs. Lord Caitanya accepted sannyāsa from Keśava Bhāratī. When He first approached Keśava Bhāratī, He was accepted as a brahmacārī with the name Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Brahmacārī. After He took sannyāsa, He preferred to keep the name Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.

CC Adi 4.1, Purport:

One can ascertain the meaning of this Sanskrit śloka only when one is endowed with the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being the absolute Personality of Godhead, cannot be exposed to the mundane instruments of vision. He reserves the right not to be exposed by the intellectual feats of nondevotees. Notwithstanding this truth, even a small child can easily understand Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental pastimes in the land of Vṛndāvana by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

Even if we agree to accept that the quadruple forms of Godhead are all identical, we cannot avoid the incongruous flaw of noneternity. Unless we accept that there are some differences among the personalities, there is no meaning to the idea that Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of Vāsudeva, Pradyumna is an expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Aniruddha is an expansion of Pradyumna. There must be a distinction between cause and effect. For example, a pot is distinct from the earth from which it is made, and therefore we can ascertain that the earth is the cause and the pot is the effect. Without such distinctions, there is no meaning to cause and effect. Furthermore, the followers of the Pañcarātric principles do not accept any differences in knowledge and qualities between Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The devotees accept all these expansions to be one, but why should they restrict oneness to these quadruple expansions?

CC Adi 7.106, Purport:

According to these scholars, Vedānta is one of such sources, for it presents Vedic knowledge on the basis of logic and sound arguments. In the Bhagavad-gītā (13.5) the Lord says, brahma-sūtra-padaiś caiva hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ: "Understanding of the ultimate goal of life is ascertained in the Brahma-sūtra by legitimate logic and argument concerning cause and effect." Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra is known as nyāya-prasthāna, the Upaniṣads are known as śruti-prasthāna, and the Gītā, Mahābhārata and Purāṇas are known as smṛti-prasthāna. All scientific knowledge of transcendence must be supported by śruti, smṛti and a sound logical basis.

It is said that both the Vedic knowledge and the supplement of the Vedas called the Sātvata-pañcarātra emanated from the breathing of Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

CC Adi 10.4, Translation:

The associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were many, but none of them should be considered lower or higher. This cannot be ascertained.

CC Adi 11.40, Purport:

He was the cowherd boy named Dāma during kṛṣṇa-līlā. It is said that just after the birth of Kānu Ṭhākura, his mother, Jāhnavā, died. When he was about twelve days old, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu took him to His home at Khaḍadaha. It is ascertained that Kānu Ṭhākura was born some time in the Bengali year 942 (A.D. 1535). It is said that he took birth on the Ratha-yātrā day. Because he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the very beginning of his life, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu gave him the name Śiśu Kṛṣṇadāsa. When he was five years old he went to Vṛndāvana with Jāhnavā-mātā, and the Gosvāmīs, upon seeing the ecstatic symptoms of Kānu Ṭhākura, gave him the name Kānāi Ṭhākura.

“In the family of Kānu Ṭhākura there is a Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deity known as Prāṇavallabha. It is said that his family worshiped this Deity long before the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 13.60, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, "In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (104) it is mentioned that Nīlāmbara Cakravartī was formerly Garga Muni. Some of the family descendants of Nīlāmbara Cakravartī still live in the village of the name Magḍobā, in the district of Faridpur, in Bangladesh. His nephew was Jagannātha Cakravartī, also known as Māmu Ṭhākura, who became a disciple of Paṇḍita Gosvāmī and stayed at Jagannātha Purī as the priest of Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha. Nīlāmbara Cakravartī lived at Navadvīpa, in the neighborhood of Belapukuriyā. This fact is mentioned in the book Prema-vilāsa. Because he lived near the house of the Kazi, the Kazi was also considered one of the maternal uncles of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Kazi used to address Nīlāmbara Cakravartī as kākā, or "uncle." One cannot separate the residence of the Kazi from Vāmanapukura because the tomb of the Kazi is still existing there. Formerly the place was known as Belapukuriyā, and now it is called Vāmanapukura. This has been ascertained by archeological evidence."

CC Adi 13.90, Purport:

According to Jyotir-vedic astrology, when the relationship between the planets and the rulers of these six divisions is determined, the auspiciousness of the moment of birth can be calculated. In the book named Bṛhaj-jātaka and other books there are directions for interpreting the movements of the stars and planets. One who knows the process of calculating the aṣṭa-varga (eight divisions) can predict auspicious and inauspicious events. This science is known especially by persons who are called horā-śāstra-vit, or those who know the astrological scriptures. On the strength of astrological calculations from the horā scriptures, Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, the grandfather of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, had ascertained the auspicious moment when the Lord would appear.

CC Adi 14.13, Translation:

When Nīlāmbara Cakravartī saw those marks, he smilingly said, “Formerly I ascertained all this by astrological calculation and noted it in writing.

CC Adi 14.18, Purport:

In this connection we can particularly see how an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is ascertained by His bodily symptoms, His activities and the prediction of the śāstras. By factual evidence a person can be accepted as an incarnation of God, not whimsically or by the votes of rascals and fools. There have been many imitation incarnations in Bengal since the appearance of Lord Caitanya, but any impartial devotee or learned man can understand that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was accepted as an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa not on the basis of popular votes but by evidence from the śāstras and bona fide scholars. It was not ordinary men who accepted Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the beginning His identity was ascertained by learned scholars like Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, and later all His activities were confirmed by the Six Gosvāmīs, especially Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and many other learned scholars, with evidence from the śāstra. An incarnation of God is such from the very beginning of His life. It is not that by performing meditation one can become an incarnation of God all of a sudden.

CC Adi 16.10, Translation and Purport:

In East Bengal there was a brāhmaṇa named Tapana Miśra, who could not ascertain the objective of life or how to attain it.

One must first ascertain the object of life and then understand how to attain it. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is pointing out to everyone that the object of life is to understand Kṛṣṇa, and to attain that goal of life one must practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following the methods prescribed by the Gosvāmīs with reference to the authoritative śāstras and Vedas.

CC Adi 16.11, Translation:

f one becomes a bookworm, reading many books and scriptures and hearing many commentaries and the instructions of many men, this will produce doubt within his heart. One cannot in this way ascertain the real goal of life.

CC Adi 16.11, Purport:

Man has a general tendency toward fruitive activities, religious ritualistic ceremonies and philosophical speculation. A living entity thus bewildered since time immemorial does not understand the real goal of life, and thus his activities in life are wasted. Innocent persons misled in this way are deprived of unalloyed kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. Tapana Miśra is a vivid example of such a person. He was a learned scholar, but he could not ascertain what the goal of life is. Therefore he was given a chance to hear Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructing Sanātana Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya's instruction to Tapana Miśra is especially significant for persons who loiter here and there collecting books and reading none of them, thus becoming bewildered regarding the aim of life.

CC Adi 17.104, Purport:

Through astrology one can know past, present and future. Modern Western astrologers have no knowledge of the past or future, nor can they perfectly say anything about the present. Herein we find, however, that after hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's order, the astrologer immediately began his calculations. This was not a facade: he actually knew how to ascertain one's past life through astrology. A still-existing treatise called the Bhṛgu-saṁhitā describes a system by which anyone can immediately get information about what he was in the past and what he is going to be in the future. The brāhmaṇas who went door to door as if beggars had perfect command of such vast knowledge. Thus the highest knowledge was easily available even to the poorest man in society. The poorest man could inquire from an astrologer about his past, present and future, with no need for business agreements or exorbitant payments.

CC Adi 17.109, Purport:

By the power of astrological science one can even ascertain the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything is to be identified by its symptoms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is identified by the symptoms mentioned in the śāstras. It is not that anyone and everyone can become God without proof from śāstras.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 2.73, Translation:

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was thus unconscious, He happened to meet the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently He got up and immediately made a tumultuous sound, very loudly declaring, "Now Kṛṣṇa, the great personality, is present." In this way, because of Kṛṣṇa's sweet qualities, Caitanya Mahāprabhu made different types of mistakes in His mind. Thus by reciting the following verse, He ascertained the presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya 2.82, Translation:

No one, not even Lord Brahmā, can ascertain or even taste a drop of this confidential ocean of ecstasy, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, out of His causeless mercy, has distributed this love of Godhead all over the world. Thus there cannot be any incarnation more munificent than Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There is no greater donor. Who can describe His transcendental qualities?

CC Madhya 8.120, Translation:

"Kindly explain all these truths to Me. But for yourself, no one can ascertain them."

CC Madhya 16.217, Purport:

Hiraṇya and Govardhana were inhabitants of Saptagrāma in the district of Hugli. Actually they were inhabitants not of Saptagrāma but of a nearby village named Kṛṣṇapura. They took their birth in a big kāyastha family, and although their family title has not been ascertained, it is known that they came from an aristocratic family. The elder brother's name was Hiraṇya Majumadāra, and the younger brother's name was Govardhana Majumadāra. Śrī Raghunātha dāsa was the son of Govardhana Majumadāra. Their family priest was Balarāma Ācārya, who was a favorite of Haridāsa Ṭhākura's, and the family's spiritual master was Yadunandana Ācārya, a favorite of Vāsudeva Datta's.

The village of Saptagrāma is located on the Eastern Railway from Calcutta to Burdwan, and presently the railway station is called Triśabighā.

CC Madhya 17.185, Purport:

People are so unfortunate that they do not accept the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead, they want to be supported by so-called mahājanas, or authorities. Tāte chaya darśana haite "tattva" nāhi jāni: we cannot ascertain the real truth simply by following speculators. We have to follow the footsteps of the mahājanas in the disciplic succession. Then our attempt will be successful. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-vāṇī—amṛtera dhāra: "Whatever is spoken by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an incessant flow of nectar." Whoever accepts His words as reality can understand the essence of the Absolute Truth.

No one can ascertain the Absolute Truth by following the philosophy of Sāṅkhya or the yoga system of Patañjali, for neither the followers of Sāṅkhya nor the yogīs who follow Patañjali accept Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31)).

CC Madhya 18.3, Purport:

Āriṭ-grāma is also called Ariṣṭa-grāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu understood that in that village Ariṣṭāsura had been killed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. While there, He inquired about Rādhā-kuṇḍa, but no one could tell Him where it was. The brāhmaṇa accompanying Him could also not ascertain its whereabouts. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could then understand that the holy places known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were at that time lost to everyone's vision. He therefore discovered Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa, which were two reservoirs of water in two paddy fields. Although there was very little water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was omniscient and could understand that formerly these two ponds were called Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa. In this way Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were discovered.

CC Madhya 19.117, Translation:

By entering the heart of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu empowered him to ascertain properly the conclusions of all truths. He made him an experienced devotee whose decisions correctly agreed with the verdicts of the disciplic succession. Thus Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī was personally empowered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Madhya 21.15, Translation:

“"My Lord, You are unlimited. Even the predominating deities of the higher planetary systems, including Lord Brahmā, cannot find Your limitations. Nor can You Yourself ascertain the limit of Your qualities. Like atoms in the sky, there are multi-universes with seven coverings, and these are rotating in due course of time. All the experts in Vedic understanding are searching for You by eliminating the material elements. In this way, searching and searching, they come to the conclusion that everything is complete in You. Thus You are the resort of everything. This is the conclusion of all Vedic experts."

CC Madhya 21.58, Translation:

“Actually it is very difficult to ascertain the number of universes. Every universe has its separate Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who are known as permanent governors. Therefore there is also no counting them.

CC Madhya 24.18, Translation:

“"The prefix "niḥ" may be used for a sense of ascertainment, gradation, construction or forbidding. The word "grantha" means "riches," "thesis" and "composition.""

CC Madhya 24.303, Purport:

The word sarva-samuccaye is significant here. It includes all classes of men—ātmārāmas, munis and nirgranthas. Everyone must engage in the service of the Lord. Taking the word api in the sense of ascertainment, there are, all together, sixty different meanings.

CC Madhya 24.304, Translation:

“The word "api" is then used in the sense of ascertainment, and then the word "eva" can be uttered four times with four words.

CC Madhya 25.9, Purport:

If one saw the personal characteristics and activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one would certainly be convinced that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can ascertain this by following in the footsteps of the śāstric injunctions. This sincere study and appreciation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also applicable to His authorized devotees, and it is clearly stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 7.11):

kali-kālera dharma—kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana

kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nāhe tāra pravartana

In this Age of Kali, real religious propaganda should induce people to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This is possible for someone who is especially empowered by Kṛṣṇa. No one can do this without being especially favored by Kṛṣṇa.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 4.79, Translation:

“You shall have to ascertain the basic principles of a devotee, devotional service, love of Godhead, Vaiṣṇava duties and Vaiṣṇava characteristics.

CC Antya 4.97, Translation:

“I can understand from the words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that He wants you to write books about the conclusive decision of devotional service and about the regulative principles ascertained from the revealed scriptures.

CC Antya 4.140, Translation:

"I came here for my benefit, but now I see that I am getting just the opposite. I do not know, nor can I ascertain, how there will be benefit for me."

CC Antya 4.176, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the Absolute Truth, ever existing with different varieties of energies. When one is absorbed in the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa and cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, one cannot ascertain what is good for him and what is bad. Conceptions of good and bad are all imaginations or mental speculations. When one forgets that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he wants to enjoy the material world through different plans. At that time he distinguishes between material plans that are good and those that are bad. Actually, however, they are all false.

CC Antya 6.235, Translation:

“Nevertheless, if you want to take instructions from Me with faith and love, you may ascertain your duties from the following words.

CC Antya 11.23, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further inquired from Haridāsa, "Can you ascertain what your disease is?"

Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, "My disease is that I cannot complete my rounds."

CC Antya 15.43, Translation:

The gopīs then came upon a group of she-deer. Smelling the aroma of Kṛṣṇa's body and seeing the faces of the deer, the gopīs inquired from them to ascertain if Kṛṣṇa was nearby.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 8:

In this way the Lord especially stressed reference to authoritative scriptures. In other words, one should not whimsically accept a person as an incarnation but should try to understand the characteristics of an incarnation by referring to the scriptures. An incarnation of the Supreme Lord never declares Himself to be an incarnation, but His followers must ascertain who is an incarnation and who is a pretender by referring to authoritative scriptures.

Any intelligent person can understand the characteristics of a real incarnation by understanding two kinds of features—the principal features, called personal characteristics, and the marginal features, comprising His activities. The scriptures describe both kinds of features. For example, in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1), the features of an incarnation are nicely described. In that verse, the two terms param (supreme) and satyam (truth) are used, and Lord Caitanya indicated that these words reveal Kṛṣṇa's principal feature.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 9:

"No one can estimate the length and breadth of all the Vaikuṇṭha planets." Elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam (2.7.41) it is stated that not only are demigods like Brahmā and Śiva unable to make such an estimate, but even Ananta, the incarnation of the Lord's opulence of strength, cannot ascertain any limit to the Lord's potency or to the area of the different Vaikuṇṭha planets.

Again, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.21, one of the prayers of Brahmā, is very convincing in this connection: "O my dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Supersoul, O master of all mystic powers, no one can know or explain the extent of Your Vaikuṇṭha planets or how You expand Your yogamāyā energy throughout the three worlds." And a few verses earlier (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.7) Brahmā prays:

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 1:

From this statement of Padma Purāṇa it is understood that material contamination is very subtle. Its beginning, its fruition and results, and how one suffers such results in the form of distress, are part of a great chain. When one catches some disease, it is often very difficult to ascertain the cause of the disease, where it originated and how it is maturing. The suffering of a disease, however, does not appear all of a sudden. It actually takes time. And as in the medical field, for precaution's sake, the doctor injects a vaccination to prevent the growing of contamination, the practical injection to stop all the fructifications of the seeds of our sinful activities is simply engagement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

In this connection, Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks in the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Chapter, verse 17, about the story of Ajāmila, who began life as a fine and dutiful brāhmaṇa, but in his young manhood became wholly corrupted by a prostitute.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

False argument, determination, steadiness, remembrance, joyfulness, ignorance, humility and unconsciousness are also different symptoms of ecstatic love. Dependence is also grouped under ecstatic love, and this can be divided into superior dependence and inferior dependence. The direct differentiations between superior and inferior dependence are ascertained by Rūpa Gosvāmī and will be presented in due course.

One devotee exclaimed, "Oh, I cannot see the district of Mathurā! Even though by simply hearing the name of Mathurā the hairs of my body are standing up, I cannot see the place. So of what use are my eyes?" This statement reveals a strong anxiety to see the district of Mathurā resulting from a strong attachment to Kṛṣṇa. There is another instance of this strong attachment for Kṛṣṇa expressed by Bhīma when he began to murmur, "My arms are just like thunderbolts, but despite these arms I could not smash Śiśupāla while he was blaspheming Kṛṣṇa.

Nectar of Devotion 41:

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.

Among the well-wisher friends, Maṇḍalībhadra and Balabhadra are the chiefs. Maṇḍalībhadra is described as follows. His complexion is yellowish, and his dress is very attractive. He always carries a stick of various colors. He wears a peacock feather on his head and always looks very beautiful. Maṇḍalībhadra's attitude is revealed in this statement: "My dear friends, our beloved Kṛṣṇa is now very tired from working with the cows in the pasturing grounds and from traveling all over the forests.

Nectar of Devotion 49:

When a friend meets another friend, the mellow produced out of that meeting is generally taken as very palatable. But actually with such meetings between two friends, there are so many feelings involved that it is difficult to ascertain when these feelings are actually becoming compatible and when they are becoming incompatible.

Expert literary scholars have analyzed the rasas which are compatible with one another by contrasting the various rasas in a particular mixture under the names whole and part. According to this method, the prominent feeling is called the whole, and the subordinate feeling is called the part.

The following statement elucidates the subject of part and whole: "All living entities are just like sparks from the supreme fire, and as such, I do not know if I, a tiny spark, shall be able to engage myself in the transcendental loving service of this supreme fire, Lord Kṛṣṇa."

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 7:

Mother Yaśodā and all the gopīs, as well as Mahārāja Nanda and the cowherd men, were astonished as to how the cart could have collapsed by itself. All the men and women who were assembled for the holy function crowded around and began to suggest how the cart might have collapsed. No one could ascertain the cause, but some small children who were entrusted to play with baby Kṛṣṇa informed the crowd that it was due to Kṛṣṇa's striking His feet against the wheel. They assured the crowd that they had seen how it happened with their own eyes, and they strongly asserted the point. Some were listening to the statement of the small children, but others said, "How can you believe the statements of these children?" The cowherd men and women could not understand that the all-powerful Personality of Godhead was lying there as a baby and that He could do anything. Both the possible and impossible were in His power.

Krsna Book 13:

How is it that a similar batch of boys and calves is playing with Kṛṣṇa? Is it that they are not influenced by my mystic power? Have they been playing continually for one year with Kṛṣṇa?” Brahmā tried to understand who they were and how they were uninfluenced by his mystic power, but he could not ascertain it. In other words, he himself came under the spell of his own mystic power. The influence of his mystic power appeared like snow in darkness or a glowworm in the daytime. During the night's darkness, the glowworm can show some glittering power, and the snow piled up on the top of a hill or on the ground can shine during the daytime. But at night the snow has no silver glitter, nor does the glowworm have any illuminating power during the daytime. Similarly, when the small mystic power exhibited by Brahmā was before the mystic power of Kṛṣṇa, it was just like snow at night or a glowworm during the day.

Krsna Book 39:

Mathurā City contained different communities, known then as Daśārha, Bhoja, Andhaka and Sātvata. All these communities were different branches of the same family in which Kṛṣṇa appeared, namely the Yadu dynasty. They were all expecting the arrival of Kṛṣṇa. It had already been ascertained that Kṛṣṇa, who is the resting place of the goddess of fortune and the reservoir of all pleasure and transcendental qualities, was going to visit Mathurā City.

The gopīs then began to condemn the activities of Akrūra. They stated that he was taking Kṛṣṇa, who was more dear than the dearest to them and who was the pleasure of their eyes. He was being taken from their sight without their being informed or solaced by Akrūra. Akrūra should not have been so merciless but should have taken compassion on them.

Krsna Book 48:

In spite of giving Yourself to Your devotees, You are never depleted of Your original potency. Your potency neither decreases nor increases in volume.

"My dear Lord, it is very difficult for even great mystic yogīs and demigods to ascertain Your movements or approach You, yet out of Your causeless mercy You have kindly consented to come to my home. This is the most auspicious moment in the journey of my material existence. By Your grace only, I can now understand that my home, my wife, my children and my worldly possessions are all bonds to material existence. Please cut the knot and save me from this entanglement of false society, friendship and love."

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was very much pleased by Akrūra's offering of prayers. With His smile captivating Akrūra more and more, the Lord replied to his submissive devotional statements with the following sweet words: “My dear Akrūra, in spite of your submissiveness, I consider you My superior, on the level with My father and teacher and most well-wishing friend. You are therefore to be worshiped by Me, and since you are My uncle I am always to be protected by you.

Krsna Book 53:

Meanwhile, inside the palace, Rukmiṇī was expecting Kṛṣṇa to arrive, but when neither He nor the brāhmaṇa who took her message appeared, she was full of anxiety and began to think how unfortunate she was. "There is only one night between today and my marriage day, and still neither the brāhmaṇa nor Śyāmasundara has returned. I cannot ascertain any reason for this." Having little hope, she thought that perhaps Kṛṣṇa had found reason to become dissatisfied and had rejected her fair proposal. As a result, the brāhmaṇa might have become disappointed and not come back. Although she was thinking of various causes for the delay, she expected them both at any moment.

Rukmiṇī further thought that demigods such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Goddess Durgā might have been displeased. It is generally said that the demigods become angry when not properly worshiped.

Krsna Book 66:

When they found out that there were earrings on it, they could understand that it was someone's head. They conjectured as to whose head it might be. Some thought it was Kṛṣṇa's head because Kṛṣṇa was the enemy of Kāśīrāja, and they calculated that the King of Kāśī might have thrown Kṛṣṇa's head into the city so that the people might take pleasure in the enemy's having been killed. But they finally detected that the head was not Kṛṣṇa's but that of Kāśīrāja himself. When this was ascertained, the queens of the King of Kāśī immediately approached and began to lament the death of their husband. "Our dear lord," they cried, "upon your death, we have become just like dead bodies."

The King of Kāśī had a son whose name was Sudakṣiṇa. After observing the ritualistic funeral ceremonies, he took a vow that since Kṛṣṇa was the enemy of his father, he would kill Kṛṣṇa and in this way liquidate his debt to his father. Therefore, accompanied by a learned priest qualified to help him, he began to worship Mahādeva, Lord Śiva. (Lord Śiva, who is also known as Viśvanātha, is the lord of the kingdom of Kāśī.

Krsna Book 74:

I cannot understand how you have selected this cowherd boy, Kṛṣṇa, and have left aside all these great personalities. I think Kṛṣṇa to be no better than a crow—how can He be fit to accept the first worship in this great sacrifice?

"We cannot even ascertain which caste this Kṛṣṇa belongs to or what His actual occupational duty is." Actually, Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any caste, nor does He have to perform any occupational duty. It is stated in the Vedas that the Supreme Lord has nothing to do as His prescribed duty. Whatever has to be done on His behalf is executed by His different energies.

Śiśupāla continued: "Kṛṣṇa does not belong to a high family. He is so independent that no one knows His principles of religious life. Indeed, it appears that He is outside the jurisdiction of all religious principles. He always acts independently, not caring for the Vedic injunctions and regulative principles. Therefore He is devoid of all good qualities."

Krsna Book 87:

How then can Brahman, the Absolute Truth, be described by your words? I do not see how it is possible to understand transcendence from such expressions of material sound.”

The purpose of King Parīkṣit's inquiry was to ascertain from Śukadeva Gosvāmī whether the Vedas ultimately describe the Absolute Truth as impersonal or as personal. Understanding of the Absolute Truth progresses in three features—impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā localized in everyone's heart, and, at last, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

The Vedas deal with three departments of activities. One is called karma-kāṇḍa, or activities under Vedic injunction, which gradually purify one to understand his real position; the next is jñāna-kāṇḍa, the process of understanding the Absolute Truth by speculative methods; and the third is upāsanā-kāṇḍa, or worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and sometimes of the demigods also. The worship of the demigods recommended in the Vedas is ordered with the understanding of the demigods' relationship to the Personality of Godhead.

Krsna Book 87:

It is stated in several places that the living entities are like sparks of the fire and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like the fire itself. If the sparks somehow or other fall out of the fire, they lose their natural illumination; thus it is ascertained that the living entities come into this material world exactly as sparks fall from a great fire. The living entity wants to imitate Kṛṣṇa and tries to lord it over material nature in order to enjoy sense gratification; thus he forgets his original position, and his illuminating power, his spiritual identity, is extinguished. However, if a living entity takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is reinstated in his original position. To preach this process of devotional service, sages and saints like Nārada and the Kumāras travel all over the universe educating people and increasing their disciples. Their aim is that all the conditioned souls may be educated to revive their original consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus gain relief from the miserable conditions of material life.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

His main aim was to establish the authorized religious principle for this age-saṅkīrtana—and thereby liberate all living entities. His reply to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was very simple, as if coming from an ordinary mortal. The Lord said,

Respected Swamijī, please listen to the reason why I act as I do. My guru saw that I was ignorant, and so he instructed Me as follows: 'You are foolish and have no proper understanding of Vedānta philosophy. So simply chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the essence of all mantras. This mantra will deliver You from the entanglement of material existence and award You the shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. In the Age of Kali there is no religious principle except chanting Kṛṣṇa's name. It has been ascertained from all the scriptures that Kṛṣṇa's holy name is the essence of all mantras.'

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead 2:

We have to earn some wealth just in order to push on with our material existence. In exchange for that wealth, we have to secure the necessities of life, and primarily, we have to cook something for our hungry stomach. For if we do not eat, we cannot keep a healthy body, and if we do not keep a healthy body, we cannot earn our livelihood. It is very difficult to ascertain which exigency is the cause of the other, but we can describe this process of reciprocity as the wheel of work. And to travel all over the universe is to circumambulate the wheel of work. There is no estimation of our circumambulation and the concomitant distress resulting from such travel life after life for illusory, material happiness, which is compared to the will o' the wisp. In the capacity of a false enjoyer, without any obedience to the supremely powerful Lord, the living soul searches for permanent happiness life after life, but he does not know where the real happiness is.

Message of Godhead 2:

Without knowing the goal of our self-realization, we are aimlessly voyaging on the ocean of material existence, life after life. And tossed as we are by the waves of action and reaction, we cannot ascertain the volume of our distresses in undertaking such an ominous journey. Here we must know that the goal of our voyage is to reach the Absolute Truth, Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Godhead. Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this goal of life by saying that everything must be performed for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, or Yajña. In the Ṛg Veda the same truth is described: Viṣṇu is the Supreme Deity, and thus all the subordinate gods, the suris, look to Viṣṇu and His lotus feet. The author of the Vedas is the Personality of Godhead Himself. Consequently, His Bhagavad-gītā is the finest summary of all the teachings in the Vedas (the books of knowledge), and there is no doubt about it.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 6, Purport:

The kaniṣṭha-adhikārī is in the lowest stage of realization. He goes to a place of worship, such as a temple, church or mosque, according to his religious faith, and worships there according to scriptural injunctions. Devotees in this stage consider the Lord to be present at the place of worship and nowhere else. They cannot ascertain who is in what position in devotional service, nor can they tell who has realized the Supreme Lord. Such devotees follow the routine formulas and sometimes quarrel among themselves, considering one type of devotion better than another. These kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs are actually materialistic devotees who are simply trying to transcend the material boundary to reach the spiritual plane.

Those who have attained the second stage of realization are called madhyama-adhikārīs.