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Srila Narayana Maharaja's Gita,

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, Read the rest in .pdf at: http://bvml.org/SBNM/books/index.html

If Radhe Radhe can answer this question, he will defeat his own argument.

Holland, June 7, 2001

Holland, June 7, 2001 Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

Holland, June 8, 2001 Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja:

When's the Time for Raganuga, Anyway? http://chakra.org/discussions/ODiscJan06_08.html by Niscala dasi Posted January 6, 2008 In Srila Prabhupada's books we see a stress on the need for following sadhana bhakti- up to a point- and then rejecting rules and regulations in favor of the spontaneous loving platform. The difficulty is knowing exactly when to make the transition, and again Srila Prabhupada's books have the answer- when one is pure, free from material desires. But this presents another problem- devotees never think themselves pure, or advanced. So does this mean that by definition, devotees never approach raganuga? That cannot be right as the implication of this would render meaningless much of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and that of the line of acaryas before him. How can one approach raganuga while still maintaining the vaisnava standard of humility? Is it that when one is free from material desires one is automatically in raganuga, without even knowing it? That cannot be so, for then there would be no meaning to the instruction to give up rules and regulations. Clearly there must be a conscious deliberate move towards it, and one not based on an assessment of one's personal level of purity. What then is the basis of this conscious decision to move towards spontaneity? Fortunately Srila Prabhupada gives some enlightening examples of spontaneous service. A servant is forbidden to enter the king's bed chamber and on no account is he to wake the king- that is his firm instruction. One night, however, he notices the chamber is on fire and he spontaneously breaks all rules to serve the king. Then there is the example of the gopis and elderly cowherd women, who broke religious rules that forbid one to act disrespectfully towards the Lord, by offering Him their foot dust, scolding him and so on. Similarly, the servant of Ramanuja Acarya was given a firm instruction not to lie on his master's bed, yet he was found to do so- with the reason that he wanted to make sure it was comfortable enough to sleep on. In these examples, there is never an assessment of "I have served these regulations for 25 years. Now it is time to become spontaneous". Such a calculation is like saying I will become wet by staying dry. Calculation does not enter into spontaneity, by definition. Should we then wait for some event to happen that spurs us on towards spontaneity? Is that all that is required? Why then an instruction to give up rules and regulations at some point, if all that is required is for the right event to occur? Indeed, the Brahmans were given the same opportunity as the gopis to offer their foot dust and they refused. Some may say that they didn't have the mercy of the Lord, which is not true, for soon after they realized their mistake. They could not have gotten this realization without the Lord's mercy. Let us return to the first example. Clearly the servant is breaking the letter of the law to serve the spirit of the law which is the wellbeing of the king. Similarly, the gopis scolded Krsna and gave Krsna their foot dust, and even broke all the religious regulations for married women, specifically for the purpose of serving the very spirit and essence of religion- expressing love for God. It seems that while following rules and regulations, these servants of the Lord did not consider them very important, and certainly did not consider them the basis of their love. Yet in our temples we see, painted all over, the assumption that one can judge a person's merit by how many mangalarati's he attends each week, and, generally speaking, how strictly he follows all the rules and regulations, right up to how perfect he has applied his tilaka. Yet it is not right either to assume that everyone who is following strictly is "stuck in the rut" and "following the rules and regulations for the sake of following". That is not the import of these stories. Rather, they show that possessing a strong desire to cultivate the spirit and essence of the rules is part of, and precedent to, spontaneity. One who is trying to be spontaneous does not try see a rule on its own, but in its relation to the spirit and essence of a thing, which sometimes it may serve, and sometimes not. It is not hard to see from even a brief perusal of our books that the essence of our practice is love for Krsna, and that part of that essence is to love His devotees, and all things associated with Him- which are expressions of his creative delight. In order to develop this love, and avoid the anarthas which choke it, one requires a vigilance which gives birth to the qualities of a devotee- one tolerates, humbles oneself, subdues ones passions, works for another's benefit, to this end. One attempts to love and serve all living entities because they are related to the Lord, being inseparable from Him. To the extent that one focuses on this inner development, to that extent he sees the rules and regulations as external. Thus, even as the devotee is performing them, he is ready to give them up at any time, if for example, they are found to be infusing a sense of pride and superiority, or are procuring for him the undesirable situation of being adored and honored as very advanced. He may miss mangalarati or even the whole morning program just to counsel or offer comfort to a fellow devotee who is having a crisis of faith, or is distressed in some way. This is a good example of spontaneous love. After all, the process we are following is about purification- and it is specifically purification of motives. If ones is following the rules and regulations to please the Lord, it is not an impediment, but if one is doing it just to please the Lord, it is unlikely that one will always follow, as there are other ways to please the Lord, which at times become apparent to the devotee. They may not be apparent to others though, and for this the inner followers may be judged by others to be not so strict- maybe even a "fringie" but he cares not. Even Prabhupada was judged by his god brothers to be a "rotten grihasta" but he was not discouraged. The desire for fame as a great devotee is a poison we must be vigilant to avoid, as Bhaktivinode Thakura warned us that it lingers on even after gross sex desire has waned. Taking all this into consideration, let us examine again the question "When's the Time for Raganuga?". It appears the time is now, in fact, don't waste a minute, but not because you are pure, but because you have started to cultivate an understanding of the spirit of vaisnavism, as opposed to all its rules, to the letter. Don't give them up prematurely, but don't make them your foundation, for they are not. The foundation is love and all the qualities that nurture it. If you cannot love, try to, for even the attempt is loving. Then Krsna will help you from within. It might be that you need to take his mercy in the form of helping words from a counselor or psychotherapist, to find out what history of abuse you suffered long ago, that now impairs your ability to give yourself to others, which is your inner nature. It might break the rule of "avoiding association of non-devotees" but it might be, in this case, a rule that needs to be broken. And who is a non-devotee anyway, someone who helps devotees to find their hidden inherent nature, or someone who judges everyone by appearance alone- like at 4.30 am?

In his book Sri Guru and His Grace, Srila Sridhara Maharaja said, “We may have an attraction for Vrndavana and an inner awakening for service to Krsna in Goloka, but if we associate with so many Vaikuntha sadhus, then we will be hurled down to Vaikuntha.” Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja:

Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja Feb 25, 2002

SOME SECRETS IN BHAKTI (excerpt) (Los Angeles, USA, May 13, 2001) Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja Ramananda Raya then came to jnana-sunya bhakti: jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir ye prayaso 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyam (Madhya 8.67) What is the meaning of this sloka? There are two kinds of jnana, knowledge. The first states that we are brahma: "Sarvam khalv idam brahma", "Aham brahmasmi", "So ham", and so on. What is this? It is nonsense. Krsna can say, "So'ham","I am that brahma", but no jiva can ever say it. We are brahma-jatiya, but not brahma. We are all eternal, infinitesimal parts and parcels of that brahma. We are not full brahma. Those who speak in this false way are called brahma-jnanis. Those who possess the second kind of jnana are called jnani-bhaktas, and they are personalities like Prahlada Maharaja, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Bhisma Pitamaha, and Sukadeva Gosvami in the first part of his life. Two terms are used here: jnani and jnani-bhakta. Jnanis are offenders at the lotus feet of Krsna. They don't accept His form, qualities, or potencies, and therefore they are offenders. On the other hand, jnani-bhaktas are accepted as devotees. Jnani-bhaktas are very good. They are always thinking, "The supreme Lord Krsna can create millions upon millions of universes in a moment, and He can also destroy them. He is therefore Lord of Lords. He has so much opulence and so many attributes." Jnani-bhaktas think, "I should serve my Lord so I can achieve something from Him. He is self-satisfied, He is full, He has no thirst, no appetite, and no fatigue; so how can I serve Him?" They only pray, as Prahlada prayed. He could not serve his Lord. For this reason we don't fully follow these jnani-bhaktas. The pure bhakta forgets that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we want to follow them. To make a platform, first we should know that Krsna is the supreme Godhead, and we are parts and parcels of that Krsna. We are His eternal servants. However, if you want Vraja-prema, then you will also have to forget this. You will only need to know that He is Yasoda-nandana and Nanda-nandana, that He is the friend of Sudama and Subala, that He is the beloved of all the gopis, and that He especially serves the gopis. He cannot repay these gopis, He wants to take the dust of the gopis' lotus feet, and He wants to serve them. At that time He becomes Radha-Kanta, Madana Mohana, Syamasundara, and Radha-Ramana. No one in Vraja-mandala will accept Krsna as Parabrahma, and even Krsna forgets this. He can take the prasadam remnants of Nanda Baba, He can carry the sandals of Nanda Baba on His head and, dancing and calling out, "Tey, tey", He will very happily come to Nanda Baba. As a baby, He cannot turn over on His side. He can create so many universes, but in Vraja He has no power to change sides and therefore Yasoda will come and quickly turn Him over. He cannot eat anything by Himself; rather Mother Yasoda and Nanda Baba will support and nourish Him. Sometimes He will be defeated by Sridama. He can kill Kamsa, Jarasandha, and all other demons, but when He comes to Sridama and fights with him, Sridama can defeat Him in a moment. And, when He is defeated, He will be very happy. He will even be defeated by the gopis. He wanted to wrestle with the gopis, and at once, in a moment, the gopis defeated him and He became so very happy. In this way there is so much difference between jnani-bhaktas who worship Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and these classes of Vraja-bhaktas. In this sloka, jnane prayasam udapasya, that jnana is offensive which says that Krsna is nirguna, avyakta, anadi, and asesa, that He has no shape, no attributes, no power, and no qualities. Krsna does have shape, beauty, all qualities and all kinds of opulence, but we can never realize this with our mundane eyes. Srila Jiva Gosvami has written a commentary on this sloka. In that commentary he says that if you want to serve Krsna and you want to please Him the most, like the gopis of Vraja, then try to do pranama from far away to this jnana that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You will have to forget it. If you do not forget it, you cannot love Krsna very much. You will have to forget it. First we must understand that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as Srila Swami Maharaja explained in His Gita and all other books. However, he also wanted to tell this fact: "Try to forget it".

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A Lila Without the Amrita BY: NAVA JAUVANA DASA (ACBSP) Jan 25, USA (SUN) — I hesitate to share this because it is neither transcendental nor tragic. It's a part of my personal history and the tiniest of footnotes in the story that was ISKCON in the 70's. I always thought that if I had been gifted to be a novelist, I could have written a classic book based on my experiences in the "good old days." But this is not where my talent lies. So the reader will need to lower his expectations and forgive my clumsy prose. This little story is related to my personal encounters with leaders back in the glory days of ISKCON. I met and knew almost all of them, some more, some less. But enough to know, by 1984, that I could no longer keep my personal integrity and remain within ISKCON. That was already 24 years ago, a double yuga of years have passed since. Some of the new leaders like to say that ISKCON has changed, and I agree. But change is not always progress. My impression is that in ISKCON's case, change is regressive, from a movement flawed by ambitious and sick leaders but which had the pure force of Srila Prabhupada's desire, to a sophisticated institution that has become banal and corrupt. The proof of the pudding, at least in the West, is that the preachers, pujaris and cooks are all imported. But this is a story about the past. It begins when I first moved into a temple in 1970. It was early winter, in Chicago. That is where I met my first "leader," Bhagavan das. Even in those days, he rarely used the "das" in the name given to him by Srila Prabhupada. He was always arrogant, but he was also very serious about his role as a leader. He personally drove with me from Chicago to his own temple in Detroit, answering my questions as a new man. At that time the devotees had rented a freezing storefront in Chicago, so Bhagavan took me to Detroit where there was a "real" temple, a heated house filled with incense wafting thru it, transcendental paintings on the walls and Lord Jagannath deities on the altar. It was full of enthusiastic young men and women who were eager to get up at 4 am to chant and engage in austerities. Bhagavan ran it like a boot camp. We had four or five classes per day, with arotiks, prasadam and street sankirtan squeezed in between. We did everything together -- like clockwork -- from rising to taking rest. Bhagavan participated in most of the activities, except going out on the street. The atmosphere was military-like but transcendental. This was 10 years before the gold plated bathroom fixtures and closets full of cashmere sweaters. Bhagavan was a controller, but a modest one. It was in Detroit that I shaved my head and decided to give this new philosophy and the path offered by Srila Prabhupada a real try. But the discipline and mood of Bhagavan's was a bit rough on me, so as soon as a chance for a more liberal adventure came by, I took it. That came in just a few weeks time when Kirtanananda turned up on a brief stopover on his way back from India. He was like a special forces colonel (Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now?) compared to Bhagavan's role as an upcoming lieutenant on the front lines. Kirtanananda had just returned from India, and his reputation as ISKCON's first sannyasi (at that time there were fewer than 10 sannyasis in the whole movement) preceded him. I asked him if I could go with him to New Vrindavan. He replied that only a handful of brahmacaris were spending the winter there and they had to chisel ice out of their shoes when they got up in the morning. But, I could accompany him to Pittsburgh, where he had a city temple he told me. I signed up, and because he outranked Bhagavan, I was on my way to Pittsburgh. I was a little awe-struck by Kirtanananda when we first met. He played the role of the charismatic ascetic so well. He spoke with power and conviction. He had a grasp of the philosophy that I was just starting to know. He seemed genuinely austere and determined, generating that "first disciple" aura. But as soon as we got to Pittsburgh, I knew I was in trouble. The temple was in a giant former Polish dance hall. It was filled with toxic fumes from vats of chemical dyes used for dipping incense sticks. It was the home of Spiritual Sky. I guess it was funding Kirtanananda's work because he seemed to love the smell. After the trip from Detroit to Pittsburgh, I had very few personal dealing with K. He was busy, and it was up to me to find some engagement in Pittsburgh. He never did anything overtly evil or suspect, but I never felt completely comfortable around him. He always seemed ambitious, on the make. For a long time, I thought that was his desire to serve. Only much later I understood he had his own internal demons he was fighting. And his ambition had a ruthless, even sadistic quality to it. In Pittsburgh, I got involved in acting in some plays that we performed for guests on Sundays. And trying to keep my sanity at nites from what appeared to be a number of ghosts who frequented the temple. Perhaps some long deceased jilted Polish lovers. Soon I was again feeling restless. My friend, whom I had been living with before he joined ISKCON, Marz Attar (who later became Atreya Rishi), was now living in the New York temple. They had recently moved from Second Avenue to Henry Street in Brooklyn. So New York was my next stop. Bhavananda was TP, or TA, Temple Autocrat. Bhavananda was always surrounded by beautiful young brahmacarinis. We called them the "gopi club." It had nothing to do with philosophy: the girls just served Bhavananda's wishes. Everyone thought he was so renounced to engage these pretty young girls without becoming attracted to them. That was 15 years before he was outed as a flaming gay queen. His choice of decor should have tipped us off, but we were really innocent kids at the time. Bhavananda's istagostis and classes were exercises in power politics. It was fear, not love that ruled. No one had the courage to raise an objection without inciting his sarcasm or wrath. In class, if you asked a question starting with "I think," you were told to go into the closet. It was the beginning of cult consciousness. After a few months in New York, I told my friend Marz that the movement would fail because the leaders I had seen were all egomaniacs. Marz didn't disagree with me, but he excitedly told me that we could change ISKCON. Within six months, his desire to lead was recognized by some of the others and he was added to the GBC, only to be removed by Srila Prabhupada (who temporarily disbanded the GBC for acting without his approval). Later, Prabhupada requested him to join the newly reactivated GBC. Marz, who became Atreya Rishi that summer, was a different type of leader. He was more intellectual and professional than the rest. He was a graduate of Harvard Business School and a CPA working for a multinational company. He was also coming from a different cultural background, from Iran. Because we had been friends prior to joining, I had a different relationship with him than with the other leaders. It was closer and I trusted him more. He took a lot of crap from the others; he was seen as a misfit and an oddball. He made alliances with some of them, but in the end, after 15 years of being the class clown he left ISKCON, along with his own doubts. To this day, I think he remains traumatized by his experiences with his colleagues on the GBC. My next encounter was with Rupanuga, a GBC at that time. We shared a plane ride. I had left the movement just before Srila Prabhupada returned to the US in the summer of 1971. I had Prabhupada's darshan for the first time in Detroit, then I sat directly behind Prabhupada on a plane going to Boston. Rupanuga sat next to me. I had wanted to meet Prabhupada personally, but I could not find the right words to introduce myself on the flight, so I kept quiet, listening to Rupanuga. He was trying to convince me to rejoin ISKCON. His argument was that ISKCON was destined to become a big organization, and I could get in on the ground floor. It was basically a sales pitch to join a corporate start up and work my way up the ladder. As a musician and semi-hippie, I thought his rationale was way off-base. I was thinking, I'm here because of that pure devotee who is sitting in front of me, not because I want to join a company. But his words show that even way back then, in 1971, the leaders were already thinking about power and success, not about love or even about Prabhupada. I failed to meet Prabhupada personally that summer, but I did send him a tape of a couple of songs about Krishna I recorded, and he wrote me back a short but inspiring letter, to use my artistic abilities to please him and Krishna. I immediately decided to join a group of devotees who were forming in New Vrindavan, in what was to become known as "The Road Show." Again, that meant to be under the influence of Kirtanananda, but I didn't mind, since I would be with a group of talented devotees, doing what I enjoyed most: music and theatre. Rehearsals with the musicians at New Vrindavan went pretty smoothly for a few weeks, until an extremely agitated and pushy brahmacari came to join the band. His name was Harikesa, who later became a Swami and one of the infamous Zonal Acaryas. His self-described style of music was jazz-rock, but in my opinion he was just a terrible musician. Worse, he was a bully, and forced his style on the rest of us. I lasted about 2 months with the "Road Show." Soon after a letter arrived from India giving me my spiritual name in Hari Nama initiation by Srila Prabhupada. I left Sarasota, Florida where we were rehearsing. That spring (1972) I went to L.A. It was one of the best organized and largest temples in ISKCON at the time. It had a recording studio and produced a weekly radio show. That was where I met Jayatirtha who was the TP at the time. Jayatirtha was always a gentleman with me. This was a welcome contrast for me. He had a more inclusive style and generally seemed a lot less of a sociopath than the others I had seen. I enjoyed the time I spent in L.A., and the great bonus for me was that Prabhupada spent 4 months there, giving morning Bhagavatam classes that spring and summer. He also gave private darshans in his room in the late mornings, and regularly I was allowed to attend those, and occasionally readings of Krishna Book in his small garden just outside the temple. Looking back, I was foolish to leave L.A. when I did. But I was feeling agitated by all the young brahmacarinis at the time. I went to the Chicago temple and worked with a brilliant artist named Jaya Rama on a newspaper project I named "Easy Journey to Other Planets," after Prabhupada's book of the same title. In the spring of 1973 I left Chicago to return to New York. By then Atreya was making plans to go to Tehran to open the first branch of ISKCON in the Muslim world, and he had asked Prabhupada if he could bring me along. After 6 months of preparations and delays, I left for Iran in September. Tehran was really off the beaten path of ISKCON. There were only 4 of us there at first: Atreya, myself and our 2 wives. We were joined by a young sannyasi, Paribrajakacarya, in 1974. I spent probably the 4 best years of my ISKCON life in Tehran, doing a bit of preaching, selling a few sets of Prabhupada's Bhagavatams to the Iranian Parliament's Library, doing street kirtan in the park on Fridays (the Muslim holy day of the week), and best of all, spending 11 days with Srila Prabhupada during his 2 visits to Tehran. I had to leave Iran twice. Once I left after Prabhupada's final visit in 1976, to get some career training in the US. I needed to work in Tehran, to maintain my visa, so I left for 18 months. I returned and got a great job as the director of a health club for the elite of Tehran, only to be forced to leave during the revolution against the Shah of Iran in early 1979. I went to London (after spending 24 hours at the Tehran airport trying to get a booking -- all flights overbooked, everything on strike, high tension in the air and a possible civil war at any moment). In London I met a Bengali doctor who invited me to go to Calcutta with him. I took him to Mayapur and introduced him to Bhavananda (who was now the King -- & Queen -- of ISKCON's World Headquarters) and Jayapataka. This was in the early days of Zonal Acaryaism. The jury was still out as we, the godbrothers were naive and still hopeful that ISKCON would continue with the faith Prabhupada had given us. We were, in retrospect, partially responsible for the inevitable outcome by our ignorance. We were complicit. I certainly was. I needed an engagement. I couldn't return to Iran. So I asked Rameswar if I could go back to L.A. to become his personal secretary. He didn't know me well. I had known him as a super sincere, dedicated brahmacari. Now he was a sannyasi and guru. It was a big mistake for me to work for him. When I got to L.A., I was so emotionally disturbed by what I experienced in his office, I could not eat any solid food for 3 weeks. I lived on buttermilk. Rameswar was a meticulous fault-finder. He criticized anyone and everyone. He spent thousands of dollars each month on international phone calls. He had his own private Mercedes which he would use to go to see films. The Godfather was his favorite. He would put on an expensive hair piece and karmi clothes and slip into his Benz at nite. I assumed that watching films was all he did. That's what the resident President at the time, Dhira Krishna, another sannyasi, told me. After 4 months of being his secretary, I somehow convinced Sruti Kirti to come from Hawaii and take over for me. But during that period, I met all the Zonals who came over for a big meeting. Jayatirtha, one of my few friends amongst the leaders, had started taking drugs. He was going into "trance" while sitting on the vyasasan. One of the 2 gurus who was still a householder at that time, the other zonals brought him to the meeting in L.A., and confronted him. They told him to take sannyas, or they would out him as an LSD user and remove him as "acarya." The poor guy was attached. He put on saffron. That was the end of his marriage and the end of any chance he had to rectify himself. It was not the end of his taking drugs. He later left ISKCON to start his own apa cult, only to be brutally murdered by one of his own disgruntled disciples. It was at that meeting I met the rest of the Zonals. Of course I knew Satsvarup from BTG days. He was quiet but restless and dictatorial. Hridayananda was the most blatantly arrogant, like a gifted child who was completely spoiled. He was also a glutton, stuffing himself with chocolate cake whenever he could. (The Zonals always had special cooks and the very best prasadam.) Tamal was there as well. He invited me to go with him on a one week visit to Fiji. I accepted his invitation. We ate very well during that visit. Besides the prasadam, all I remember is him arguing with the local devotees about the exact dimensions that was needed for his vyasasan in the temple in Fiji. Everyone of the Zonals was playing a role. None of them showed any transcendental symptoms. Rather they acted like Mafia bosses who sometimes cooperated and sometimes fought with each other. The next year, I left L.A. to rejoin Atreya in San Francisco. By then, the revolution in Iran had forced him to leave as well. He started a small community in S.F., called the Bhaktivedanta Fellowship. The idea was to create an alternative within ISKCON based not on megalomania but on brahminical standards. We had a brahminical council that met weekly, and while our exchanges were more collegial than in the typical temple, none of us really had any idea of how to interact as brahmins. In addition, all of us were already tired from a decade of mismanagement. I noted that Atreya, who was the leader, wanted to do the right thing, but wasn't fully committed himself. And neither were any of us. The Fellowship was doomed. During that time I met Hansadutta. He was across the Bay in Berkeley. I walked into his room one evening while he was going on about the glories of Hitler. I just sat there listening for about an hour. After that one session, I was afraid of visiting the Berkeley temple again until after he left. My instincts were correct. He was soon busted for shooting up an auto showroom in Berkeley with automatic weapons. It's been a long time -- 30 plus years -- and memories fade. But what I do know is that I don't think I will see such madness, and such disparity between potential and reality again in this life. That was ISKCON then. What it is now does not attract me. As Rocana has written, not a single leader has invited me, over the past 24 years, for any service or association. On my own, I have spent a bit of time with 1 or 2 leaders of the new ISKCON. They were polite to me. I am addressed as a "senior devotee," which in my opinion only marginalizes me. ISKCON appears to be more polished and saner now than it was 30 years ago. But for me, it's also lost its own heart and soul. That is the heart and soul of Srila Prabhupada. Check out my blog: Jauvana BlogSpot Free song downloads: Jauvana.com

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja: Aug 4, 2001 Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja: May 8, 2004

Beggar is Beelzebub. Only Beelzebub could know this.

One day Srila Narayana Maharaja was telling the class, "I am the real acarya of Iskcon and nobody else". The next day he told one man, "I don't even think that I am a madhyama adhikari (second class devotee)." The first statement must have been this "guru abhiman". The second was a manifestation of his humble devotional mood. When this got back to Iskcon they wrote articles saying that he cannot be the acarya of Iskcon or anything because he admits that he is not even a madhyama adhkirari. They have no idea of the different moods of the guru.

Srila Narayana Maharaja, pla·gia·rism [url="http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/"][pley-juh-riz-uhm, -jee-uh-riz-] –noun <table class="luna-Ent"><tbody><tr><td class="dn" valign="top">1.</td><td valign="top">the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. </td></tr></tbody></table> <table class="luna-Ent"><tbody><tr><td class="dn" valign="top">2.</td><td valign="top">something used and represented in this manner. <cite> Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table>

IS GOD BAD? Badger, CA USA, May 5, 2001 Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja First, I want to explain that dusanga, bad association, is very dangerous for any devotee. In that bad association so many varieties of doubts will come - doubts about devotees, about bhakti, and about Krsna and Mahaprabhu. They are bound to come if you are not in good association. Thus, gradually, you will go very far, far, far away from bhakti and you will be ruined. I want to caution you so that you will be aware of all these dangers. Once, with all His queens, sons, daughters and all other relatives, Krsna came to Kuruksetra before the Mahabharata battle. So many emperors and kings from all over India assembled in Kuruksetra with their entire families, because at that time Kuruksetra was the prominent tirtha-sthali, holy place, of India. It is the place where Parasurama had performed many sacrifices, and the place where Prthu Maharaja delivered his father, King Vena, from his sinful reactions. All were assembled there, including the Pandavas, Mother Kunti, Draupadi, and Subhadra, and also including Bhisma-pitama and Duryodhana and all his relatives. Somehow Nanda Baba heard that his dear son was going to Kuruksetra, and he therefore quickly announced to the Vrajabasis, "Tomorrow we will go by bullock cart with all our relatives. Only some old persons will remain behind to look after Vraja, and the rest of us should go." Thus all the gopis, Mother Yasoda, and everyone else went to Kuruksetra. After taking bath during the solar eclipse, everyone met with each other there, and all the pilgrims were donating whatever they had - golden ornaments, garments, and wealth. After this Draupadi, Kunti, and others came to meet Vasudeva, the father of Krsna. Kunti was weeping very much and telling her brother, "Brother, why did you become so cruel? My sons were given poison, they were attacked by fire, and we were forced to go to the forest and give up our whole kingdom. We were all dying, but you never came to us. Why did you become so cruel?" Vasudeva Maharaja also began to weep, saying, "My dear sister, we were at that time in prison, and our six sons were killed there. This cruel Kamsa killed our sons and he was torturing us so greatly. How could we have come? We were bound under lock and key. At that time we sent Krsna to Gokula in order to save Him, when He was like a baby. "Don't be worried about all these mishaps. We could not do anything. We were bound to tolerate all of these sufferings. My dear sister, try to realise this fact. We are puppets in the hands of Krsna. Although to some extent we are svatantra, independent to do anything new, we are bound to enjoy the fruits of our bad and good activities - we are bound to. Don't blame the supreme God or us." We may think that Hitler was very cruel for putting so many Jews in jail. They were tortured so much - so much - and so many were killed. If God was there, why did He become cruel? Why didn't He stop that cruelty? A doubt may come as to why He allowed this to happen? So many doubts may come. If God was there, why did He become neutral? He should not have become so hard-hearted. If you are in any bad association, they will raise all these points and say, "There is no God at all. He is not merciful. He cannot do anything because He has no form, no hands, and no mind to think. He is nirguna, He is avyakta, He is nothing - zero. What, then, is the need of worshipping Him or accepting Him? We don't want to accept Him. Why could He not have stopped Hitler?" All these questions have been answered in our scriptures. Why could Krsna not have stopped Him if He wished? Everything could have been totally stopped. We cannot do anything. As I said, we are like puppets. You can see this in Gita (18.61): isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati bramayan sarva-bhutani yantrarudhani mayaya ["The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities who are seated as on a machine made of the material energy."] Isvara, in the form of Paramatma, as a saksi, witness, is here. The jivas are standing on their karma-cakra. Just as a clay pot maker is spinning a wheel with a stick and so many pots are being made, we are all sitting on the results of the bad or good activities we have done in the past. That has become our karma-cakra. Krsna is doing nothing. He is only witnessing. Whatever we are suffering and tasting is our own fault. It is due to our good and bad activities. Krsna is not responsible for our sufferings. If someone kills a person in America, is the president of America, Mr. Bush, responsible for that murder or not? He has made rules and regulations against murder, and he has announced to everyone that they should not kill anyone. However, if someone does not obey, the police and the court are there to punish that person. In the same way, Krsna has announced in the Vedas, in sastra, and through devotees, that you should not do certain activities. If you do so anyway, you will be pulled onto the karma-cakra and you will have to suffer for your actions. Krsna is not responsible because He has warned you. The jivas have some independence to do what they like, but they are bound to enjoy the fruits of their activities. Now you can take a look at the situation more clearly. Why was the father of the Supreme Lord Krsna suffering? We should try to understand why he was suffering. He is one of the associates of Krsna, and he has come with Him to this world to give many teachings. He was playing as an actor in Krsna's pastimes to establish dharma. Secondly, if someone is a bhagavad-bhakta, a devotee, he should have tolerance. If one is a devotee but has no tolerance, then he is not a pure devotee. One must be like Sri Haridasa Thakura, like Sri Prahlada Maharaja, and like Vasudeva Maharaja. They came as examples to show the whole world how to be tolerant. Why did Vasudeva Maharaja tolerate so many difficulties? There are many reasons. When the voice from the sky announced that the eighth child of the womb of Devaki would kill Kamsa, he became upset and he wanted to kill Devaki - from whose womb the eighth child would come. He was in a dilemma. He heard the aerial voice and he believed that the eighth son would come and kill him, but still he wanted to make the prediction false. He thought, "I will kill Devaki, and thus there will be no womb to produce Him." He wanted to kill Devaki, but Vasudeva Maharaja had strong faith in Krsna and in what this aerial voice had said. He believed that Kamsa could not kill Devaki, that the eighth child would surely come, and that this eighth child would kill Kamsa. As Vasudeva Maharaja had firm belief in this and was very confident, we too should be confident. If anyone will chant the name, hear the pastimes of Krsna, and do any service, he will never be able to be killed by anyone. We should have confidence like Vasudeva and learn this lesson. There is something more to be said in this regard. Who were the six sons of Devaki? They were previously the sons of Marici Muni, who was a very high-class realised muni. His sons were in the council of Brahma, and they once criticised Brahma, who was a maha-bhagavata. For this offence, they had to come in the womb of the wife of Kalanemi, the grandson of Hiranyakasipu. By the fruit of their offence to a maha-bhagavata, Hiranyakasipu cursed them that they would be killed by their own father. After that Kalanemi became Kamsa and the six sons became the sons of Vasudeva, and they had to suffer at the hands of Kansa. We are not seeing that their suffering is coming from their past lives' offense. We are only seeing the events externally. We should understand that those whom Hitler killed had performed many bad activities. They also must have killed many persons in some horrible way, and thus they took birth as Jews. Why were all Jews not killed? Many were killed, but others escaped and were saved. Why did everything happen in this way? Those who were killed were guilty for their own past activities. We are so foolish. We cannot imagine what they had done in their past lives. As a saksi, however, Krsna knows, and He thus arranged all these events because they had to be killed. Now we are seeing that many cows in India and other countries are being slaughtered. Why? In a previous birth, as humans, they had eaten meat themselves, and now they are tasting the results of their bad activities. If one keeps bad association, one may think that all this killing is going on without reason. One may doubt God's fairness, and we should be very careful about this. Don't associate with those who have no bhakti. In Gita (4.40) it has also been said: samsayatma vinasyati. Those who have any doubt in Krsna, in His associates, and in bhakti will be destroyed very soon. We should be very, very careful about this. Now I am coming to the main subject of my class. I want to speak about the glorification of Srila Haridasa Thakura. He was born as a Muslim, but in reality he was both Brahma and Prahlada Maharaja. They both wanted to come and serve Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and so they came by the wish of Krsna. Though Haridasa Thakura was a Muslim, still he had so much faith in harinama. He was chanting the name from the beginning of his life. Who was his gurudeva? He really did not have a gurudeva, but his gurudeva was Advaita Acarya - Maha-Visnu, because He is superior to Brahma. When Haridasa Thakura was in his native place, everyone was very much attracted to him. He was renounced, wearing only dor kopin and nothing else, and he was always chanting harinama. From the beginning he was chanting three lakhas of names. Some names he chanted loudly, some he chanted very softly so that only he himself could hear, and some he chanted by mind. Sometimes he chanted without a mala, dancing and rolling down on the earth, day and night, and in this way he would complete three lakhas of names daily. All common persons became very attracted to him. In fact, they used to give him so much respect that the king of that place, Ramacandra Khana, became upset. The king thought, "I am the king of this place, but no one respects me as they do him. He is a Muslim, and yet everyone is honoring him." He called a very beautiful teenage prostitute and said, "I will give you half my kingdom and wealth if you can deviate that Haridasa Thakura." The prostitute replied, "Oh, don't worry. In a moment I can entice him. Give me some time. He is chaste, but as soon as he sees me, his chastity will go away. So give me time." Thus, one night, she went to Haridasa Thakura's kutira. He was alone in the night. It was purnima and there was a cool breeze on the bank of the Ganges. He had a Tulasi plant which he used to worship daily, and he used to chant harinama the whole day in his cave under the shelter of that Tulasi. Being half-naked, sometimes revealing even more, and alluring him with so many poses, the prostitute tried very intently to attract Haridasa Thakura. He told that prostitute, "I will obey you. I will fulfill your desire, but let me finish my task to chant one crore harinama -10 million names." Some say he was chanting 3 lakhs, but actually, since he was chanting the whole day and night, he must have been doing 4 or 5 lakhs. He said, "I have taken a vow for this. You should wait. Sit here, and when I finish I must obey you. I must fulfill your desire." The prostitute sat down and waited, but when the morning came she returned to the king. He asked, "Have you been successful?" "I must be successful," she replied, "Today he has promised to serve me." She came again the next evening and stayed throughout the whole night. Haridasa Thakura said, "Oh, you should wait a little. Very soon I am going to complete my chanting." Thus, when the third night came, she was totally changed by hearing suddha-name from a high-class devotee. At once she fell flat at the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura and said, "I came by the order of the king. He is a very bad person. He is envious and does not want anyone else to be honored. That is why I came to you, but I have been changed now. I am offensive. I was so lusty, but now I want to take the shelter of your lotus feet." Then Haridasa Thakura told her, "At once return to your home, and, whatever money you have collected from your work as a prostitute, distribute to the greedy brahmanas. Kali-yuga brahmanas will gladly take these things." She went home and then, with only one ordinary white cloth, she returned to the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura. He said, "I knew what was going on, but I remained here three days for you. I would have gone, but only to purify you I stayed here. I am giving you my asrama, my Tulasi plant, and my cottage on the bank of the Ganges. You should stay here. Don't go anywhere. Many people will come and offer you so many donations, so many kinds of preparations of prasadam, and other things. You should not accept these. Accept only what you need to maintain your life, and nothing else. Stay here, and everything will come to you." Many high-class Vaisnavas began to come there, to see how this prostitute had now been transformed. She had become like a maha-bhagavata by her association with Haridasa Thakura, who was a very high-class devotee. He was Brahma plus Prahlada Maharaja, and he came as an associate of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In our next class we will glorify him further. So many teachings are found in his life, and an entire Mahabharata can be written about him - a large Mahabharata. Now you should prepare for the drama. Devotee: You said earlier that so many people were put to death by Hitler. They were put to death because of their past activities. But a personality like Hitler, who was inflicting the punishment, did he create bad karma for his activities? Srila Narayana Maharaja: Yes, he was punished at once. He commited sucide. Devotee: Also, for so many lives he will have to suffer. Srila Narayana Maharaja: Yes, so many - for them. Devotee: Who is the istadeva of Haridasa Thakura? Srila Narayana Maharaja: The worshipful Deity of Brahma is Garbodakasayi Visnu.

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur: It applies like this: Audarya Fellowship, Spritual Discussions should display this to everyone registering and then it should say, "Post at your own risk!"<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p> <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p>

I accept the two different viewpoints, that is the viewpoint from this world and the viewpoint from Goloka Vrndavana. But I don't think it's proper to take the next step and make the above statement. You may think that Srila Prabhupada inferred that conclusion but despite all your quotes you have not shown anywhere where he would say this. Srila Prabhupada was giving the Goloka Vrndavana viewpoint because that was the level of his consciousness. Until we are on that level of realisation we should not give what amounts to an interpretation and then expand on what he is saying. That kind of expansion means to "add" something to the philosophy and we have been strongly warned by Srila Prabhupada not to do this.

Sanatana dharma, Krsna's service, uttama bhakti, suddha bhakti and pure devotional service are all interchangeable terms. Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, Sanatana dharma is not just accepting "the philosophy".

We are discussing the ideal, not analyzing the misbehavior of kannistha's. Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja said that many in Iskcon actually hate the idea of madhurya rasa. Srila Sridhar Maharaja said that many of the persons who Srila Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada gathered were not in fact, Gaudiya Vaisnavas. So, yes, what you are saying is a relative truth. But those who are really attracted to Mahaprabhu have some connection with madhurya in their hearts coming from their very eternal swaupa.

Generally bhaktas are attracted to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu because they have a hidden attraction in their heart for Sri Sri Radha Krsna, and Their madhurya rasa with parakiya bhava. For those who are attracted to Bala Gopal and vatsalya rasa, they will tend towards Madhvacarya's line (without Mahaprabhu). Each soul has an eternal relationship with the Lord in a particular rasa so different jivas will go here and there on their sojourn but will only feel inner peace and contentment when they arrive at their proper destination. This was shown by the story of the Gopa Kumar in Srila Santana Goswamipada's Brhat Bhagavatamrta Real spiritual life is not an intellectual exercise.

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja: So, "it is told like this in the scriptures", ... "to convince ordinary jivas, conditioned souls." And your opposition has shown many quotes by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada where he also tells like this in the scriptures. But obviously he has also given the way things are seen in Goloka Vrndavana dhama. So he gives both according to which one is applicable according to time, place and circumstance. If we just give one viewpoint then we must twist his words to make them fit everywhere. Politicians twist words. Srila Prabhupada was not a politician. For instance he did not campaign against the different Gaudiya Math "acaryas" in India. He didn't waste his time in politics, but rather immersed himself in serving his guru maharaja and Krsna and came to the West to preach. To just grab one part or aspect of the Krsna Conscious philosophy and try to convince everyone about it is to project our ego into a vain attempt to control others. Srila Prabhupada gave the entire philosophy and as many scriptures as he could in a short time. He always knew that the results were up to Krsna because Krsna is the Supreme Controller. Sometimes he gave the advice, "do as I am doing". So when discussing Krsna Conscious philosophy we should give it all like Srila Prabhupada did, depending on Krsna and knowing that the results are up to Him. Otherwise it becomes about control and that is an illusion that will help bind us to this world of repeated birth and death.