CPP class night association

CPP Class 12th July Sunday Night 9pm-10pm:

Question: 

What is the difference between Krishna consciousness and Islam, Buddhism or Christianity?

The purpose of all the religions is one. To love God. To come close to God. You can follow any religion, any one of them but the only checkpoint should be that how much close to God you have come. Does that religion bring love of God into you? How much close you have come to God consciousness?  If the very purpose of the religion which is to love God is not getting fulfilled then you should think about following such religion.

How to love God?

To love God you need to know more about that personality, you need to know His activities, His looks, His nature, His behavior, His behavior to those who are His devotees, His strength, His Weaknesses, when He becomes happy when sad & all. These details are required in order to love any person, until & unless you know all these details you can't love that person.

For Example:

Scenario: Suppose you are in love with a Girl.

let's go back to where it started first of all....how did you meet her....so you say i met her on Facebook...and then you fell in love with her....no that's not possible....you met her on Facebook ...and then you started talking to her....you get to know her name...whats does she do...what does her parents do.....where she is from...whats does she like to do....what she does not like to do.....then you met her several times.....you interacted with her....you went out for movies....spent some time together & all and then you fell in love with her....right?right ?.

So in order to love God....same way you need to know more details about Him....and all these details...extensive details....lot lot lot more details are present in the Vedas and scriptures.There are extensive details and lots of description are present in the Vedic literature and scriptures....which tells us more about God....how does He look like...what's His color...Where He lives & all.But if we go to some other religion like Islam or Christianity or Buddhism these details are not present....they think God has no form...& all....well if God can give us form...why can't He have a form....????

Question asked by one Boy to a priest:

Suppose you are riding a bicycle from 20 years, then you must be very expert in that. You don't have to put so much effort to drive it as it becomes very easy. Similarly God is managing this planet and many universes from a long long time....from millennium years.....then He must be expert in doing all these things....he would not have to put so much effort in doing so....it must be very very easy for Him to manage all these things. So now the Boy asked the question to the priest that if it's very easy for God to do all these things, then what does God do rest of the time....it must be very boring for Him there in heaven....He will be sitting uselessly having nothing to do.....then Heaven must be a Boring place....right...??

Then priest could not answer this Question of the Boy.

Whereas in the Vedas and scriptures these all details are mentioned:

It is said that there is always festival and celebration going on in heaven (Vaikuntha)....YOGMAYA (pleasure potency of the lord) is always and every moment creating situations and scenarios just to enhance the pleasure of God and for everybody there....every time celebration Dance and all is going on there.So heaven is never boring, neither God gets bored, neither anybody living there.

Prabhupada's quick reply

Prabhupada quick reply to Brainwashing- One devotee to srila prabhupada "people say that you iskcon people are brainwashing us". Srila prabhupada " yes, we are brainwashing people because their brain is so full of mud and stool , we need to wash it". Another example of how counteractive  prabhupada was - One person asked prabhupada "god has given us alcohols, drugs etc. For enjoyment ,so what is wrong in taking them?" Prabhupada replied "god has given poison also, why don't you take it!".

SB 1.7.1 class temple

1.7.1 (canto 1, chapter 7, sloka 1)

After 18 days of Mahabharata battle , lakhs of soldiers died on either sides and andavas emerged victorious, so Kauranavas were in revenge mood, so in order to please Duryadhona, Ashvathama went in the middle of the night in Pandavas tent and beheaded their 5 sons, and took their heads to duryadhona thinking that he will be very happy by seeing this, but duryadhona did not approve of this heinous act of asvathama and it disgusted him.

So, although both pandavas n kauravas were fighting furiously but they were not compromising on moral principles/values so values were kept intact not like todays world fight where people/party wants to win by hook n crooks. Like, e.g. after the sunset when the conch shell were blown and battle for that day is declared to be closed, kauravas n pandavas used to have dinner together, so that was the sportsmen spirit of fighting they had which is now missing today.

Draupadi was in full tears and lamentation to see his murdered sons. 

So, Draupadi sons killed by asvathama, arjuna promised her I will not wipe your tears, my dear wife until i bring the head of the person who put such misery on you.

Arjuna went, captured asvathma by rope and presented in front of Draupadi.

A normal women would have killed him, tortured him.

But draupadi, was a devotee.  That's why she was a soft-hearted woman so she immediately told arjuna to release him because she could not see a person bound like an animal.

Also, she logically supported her plea by saying

"He is Son of ,brahmana(saintly person), so it not right to do such act to him.  Kripi, his mother should not go through same lamentation she has gone through"

Arjuna was  perplexed.

Krishna then said

But brahma-bandhu , a person born in family of brahmana but do not having any such quality is called brahma-bandhu (just blood relative), so because of his karma he cannot be accepted as qualified brahmana and thus should not be spared.

Then draupadi again used others arguments to support her decision to set him free, although loosing her 5 sons from that murderer brahmana son. Finally everybody agreed except Bhima.

"He said because he is an aggressor, 6 symptoms of being an aggressor-so he should be killed."

So, Krishna concluded to balance both party, to appease all the personalities, he as a super soul(paramatma) guided his devotee arjuna, to cut hair from his head, it is very shameful and considered as worse than death. So, he appeased both Bhima and Draupadi by not actually killing him.

However Asvathama was not to take the insult lightly. He decided to finish the race of Pandavas by killing Arjuna's grandson (Parikshit) by sending Brahmastra weapon  into the womb of Uttara, the wife of Arjuna's son.

Uttara story- Krishna saved his devotee, while uttara's child, parikshit was in danger because of Asvathama brahmastra weapon, thats why he is called bhakta-vatsala.

So, uttara prayed to save his son, who was a devotee.

Chaitanya mahaprabhu also prayed to keep his devotional life on going, not like good health , wealth, wife etc. unlike today people demands or pray to lord. Not ask for devotional service.

Why these stories we should hear?

Because these are dealings of lord with his devotees so they r transcendental, full of nectar (spiritual bliss) and will purify our mind, intelligence. So remembering lord n his devotees such way purifies us.

Kunti maharani prays to krsna give me more pain/misery..why?

Bcoz if u stop putting me in misery i might start forgetting u , my lord, so give me more miseries so that i can remember u always. Such was the prayers of kunti devi who was a great devotee of lord.

So, we shud read these prayers from bhagvatam and learn from these.

So, prabhupada used to say..

U keep on adding zero, zero in ur account but if u do not have 1 do they will have any value...like 0000000 they all zeroes hv no value if there is no 1 in front, so prabhupada says to add 1 that is Krishna in life then ur life will hv value like now add 1..so 1000000 it is valuable.

So, by reading, spending time more in association of devotees to develop all the good qualities of a devotee and thus by purifying ourselves we can come closer to Krishna and thus our life's account will become valuable bcoz we will add 1 in this way to so many zeroes and thus the amount will have a nice value.

So, we r so much fortunate that we have the contact of srila prabhupada and thus by his grace, his mercy today krsna , chaitanya mahaprabhu , radharani, balaramji all came in our life .

Pastime of  Srila Prabhupada (SP) :-

Chennai, leading newspaper covered SP lecture for a week, one day after a few weeks SP disciple recieved a call that he is completely moved by his philosophy and messages in form of lectures n he want to organize an event and invite all elite to attend the gathering , SP was called to speak on transcendental matter , so all the judges n ministers were gathered there n SP was giving them a lecture on renunciation, so no compromise in his presentation , giving examples of ministers who became a devotee of chaitanya mahaprabhu and giving up their positions, wealthy possessions in the service of Krishna consciousness. So, bcoz of the purity of SP, the chief justice of madras got completely mesmerized n invited SP to his home, then he became a good committed devotee.

So, that chief judge gifted a deity of Krishna to SP . so , a 3 year old girl named sarasvati, was asked by SP, who is this deity? 

She said "Krishna", thus she chanted Krishna this way. Then, while talking he hides Krishna behind his back, then SP asked sarasvati " where is Krishna". Then, she became anxious not to see Krishna whom she saw just a moment. So , SP developed hankering for Krishna in that small child which only can deliver us by giving Krishna.

A devotee among them asked then"who has Krishna".she answered "Srila Prabhupada".

Adi shankarcharya-

Gurubastkam (thatha kim) what is the use of all such wealth, fame, position, and family if ones mind does not bow at the feet of teacher, guru, who is a devotee bcoz he only can give us krsna.

Folk Fiesta class (BG) on Fear

BG class (Saturday) notes:

Topic : fear, symptoms and solutions.

Reason of Fear- due to absorption in illusory energy (maya).- Sb 11.2.37

9 types of fear defined from shastra-

1. Bhoga roga bhayam- fear due to illness to body and consequently unable to enjoy.

A. The boeing company owner very rich, but diseased from high degree of dialysis attack (great pain while urine pass), so he was fearful of going to pee , although he was extremely rich, he was still fearful.

B. Superman story-spine injury, while horeseriding name chris reeves, suffered fear of life.

2. Kule cyuti bhayam- fear of loss of position and infamy to dynansty 

A. john d rockfeller- one son, very rich, went island, eaten by cannibals.

So, when this person said interview-deathbed, he said that he could not die peacefully bcoz his dearmost son not with him.

B. Example, Fear of parents when child comes to iskcon-twin brothers brahmananda and gargamuni earlier were hippies but now since they are serving for iskcon.-mother scared although they left all their wrongful acts..read full pastime.

3. Vitthe Nrupalat Bhayam- (Fear due to excessive wealth possession)

Dr. Cooley story- huge wealth lost ->nervous breakdown, heart surgeron but now couldnt operate.

4. Mane dainya bhayam- fear of infamy.

nixon resigns after scandle.

Reprorter asked during his death, how u look back, from the time scandal exposed, i never slept peacefully.

5. Bale ripu bhayam-  Fear of enemies or defeat

alaxender- died of mosqito ,india.

Alaxender during death, 

3 wishes

A. Dead body must be carried by physician.

-wanted to give msg to society, that this false hope dat doctor can save us from death.no breadh count fixed, so if time has cm, then noone can save.

B.. Hands must be hanging outisde of coffen- to msg, empty handed we hv cm n we go also.

C. Money distribute- whole life he collected wealth, but he could not get one extra breadth from thqt wealth, pleading begging to doctors to give him dat.

:: Nepolian story read- forced to drink his own urine at the time of death (so nature forces, no one can escape) although a king of many kingdoms under his belt.

6. Rupe jaraya bhayam .- fear of getting old  

French actress Brigade bardo-adored by public did suicide just on seeing her first white hair- how cheap death!

7. Sastre vadi bhayam- fear of loosing in arguments when one thinks he is scholar 

Edison, he discovered DC current, but at the same time AC current was also invented, so he tried to put hurdles in its paper release n discover (envious).

8. Khale guna bhayam- getting exposed in front of more genuine learned.

Ramanujacharya 2 disciples:

Dasarathi - wanted to understand 18.66 BG, so sent to some acharya, did a great selfless service  but once he was asked by his master about his identity n purpose of being here, so hearing that he is disciple of ramanujacharya nd was sent by him to realize 18.66 verse of BG he said he couldn't tell him only his master can instruct the meaning so he was sent back, there ramanujacharya daughter (i think) was having problem in maintaining household activities bcoz she was a mother of a new born baby so he was immediately directed by ramanujacharya to help her in menial tasks like cleaning poop of that child and other household things..one day some brahmana came with followers and started giving lecture ob impersonal explanation of a verse, that disciple could not hear that explanation and immediately he protested that this is wrong meaning then that brahmana said u have no qualification to have a say on this, u r a sudra so do ur duty, but then he easily defeated that puffed up brahmana bh quoting many verses and then asked to reveal his true identity by all of the followers present, he said "i am the disciple of ramanujacharya" then he was taken on pallaki to ramanujacharya by all those followers of that defeated brahmana, so ramanucharya said "he has realized the message/meaning of BG 18.66".

G. Kaale kruthanta bhayam- fear of loosing body. Fear of death.

Solutions to this fear-how to overcome?

Understand krsna n Absorb in krishna's rememberance.

How?

Nice bhajan song on srila prabhupada's fearlesness by Lochan das prabhu

song-bhaja hu re man, abhay charan (prabhupada) ravinde

How to overcome fear?

Know about this fear-why?

Bcoz Tiger illusion-in dream a man chased by tiger fully panicking, perspiration and terrorized.

Now Suppose a person is sitting there beside him in wakeful state and he is seeing that the other person who ia sleeping is so much restless bcoz terrified by tiger in dream. So what the best can he do, can he go and help in his pain by going inside dream no the beat help is to just wake up that person from his dream.

So, bcoz of the forgetfulness of our true identity is why we are getting fear.

Bg 2.49 - most encouraging verse- any small endeavor is not lost in Krishna's service over lifetimes.

18.66- Krishna says you surrender, i will tale charge of you and then you need not to fear.

Practical methods to overcome fear-

Quotes from SB

1. By chanting even unconsciously a living being can come out of the fear of birth n death.

Etan nirvidyamananam

Icchatam akuto-bhayam

Yoginam nroa nirnitam

Harer namanukirtana.

Chanting is undoubtedly perfect process to give success from fearful life-for all kinds of persons , free from material desires, desirous of material enjoyment, self-realized or self-satisfied.

2. Hearing krsna-katha, feeling for loving devotional service sprouts up to end the fire of lamentation, illusion n fearfulness.

3. Meditation on krsna's transcendental body.

4. Association of devotees-path followed by pure devotees are free from fear, so having association of such fearless person will make us also fearless. Haribol.

True story-famous thief ghatam, rajasthan.

He was a Notorious thief  had lots of followers  coming from dynasty thieves.

When his father dying-told him 2 things to follow.

1. Continue our thief business.

2. Never associate with devotees.

Once nail stuck in ghatam, near to one satsung happening in temple, he tried to follow his fathers advice by not hearing and thus he put one hand on ear n other to nail pricking, but time to time he has to use the hand on ear to help himself in removing the nail.so, in this way he heard a little about demigods i.e.

Heard 3 things about demigod-

They have No shadow, no touch feet,do no blink.

Then ,one fraud disguised as kali, came in front of his followers (thieves) other thief gave all money n got looted and when they bowed down , they were murdered but ghatam check the 3 signs n found her fraud.

So, he saved his looted money and saved his life also so he realized that by hearing just one instructions from satsung his life got saved, so he thought how wrong his father was so he went in temple and desired for initiation from the priest, priest got surprised n scared too so he asked 2 promise to follow first then he will give initiation-

1. Tell always Truth.

2. Mangal Arati attend.

Ghatam went to king palace, got his horse n each time he asked by solders who is he?

He said the truth as he promised,that i m thief n ppl do not believe him and thua let him go thus he looted the kings money using his horse.

Morning attending mangal arati, then solders captured him, he was asked how he did all this?

He narrated everything -> king got shocked, such transformation, also horse's color miraculously changed from black to white (signifying the change of heart of ghatam) , ppl observed this so king set him free.

Later He became a very famous devotee. 

Acronym of fear

1. Forget everything and run.

OR

2. Face everything and rise.

Which one u want to choose?

QA.

Shoud we fear god?

Yes. (krsna says in BG that for those who do not believe in god , he comes as death so Atheist shud fear lord as death).

One can have different relationship with lord like relationship in form of Fear, 

in form of love (most preferred n desired n strongest), 

in form of duty (like in case of self-manager relationship)

But chaitanya mahaprabhu distributed krsna prema freely, no terms n conditions, so we should accept that type of relationship.

Next life existence

For those who are atheistic in nature, if we say to them that "Don't do sinful activities like meat eating, gambling, intoxication etc. otherwise you have to suffer a great deal of punishment because of the reactions of those sinful activities." They most of the time do not believe because they deny any future existence after this life.
But, suppose if you do not have faith in god, do not faith in karma, do not faith in pious and sinful actions. But, still if you are intelligent you should not take chance/risk. Why?
Because just like I cannot prove that there's next life although even if I give lots of proof from shastra and small children who recalled incidents from their past birth but if still you adamant in not taking them as proper proof then still, you cannot disprove this argument that there is no next life.

    So, an intelligent person will think in this way suppose there is 50-50 probability of existence of next life or not,  and so I do not have full faith (100%) in its existence, but still because of 50% chance, if I will suffer for my sinful acts next life then I should not take risk and try to avoid those actions. Means, suppose if it is true that there is next life and I have to suffer for all the wrong deeds then I should be careful and thus live a pious life.

Example, suppose you are going on a road and I am running towards you from the opposite direction and I tell you that Don't go on this road , there is a snake at the end of the road and it is biting anyone who goes towards him.
So, now you have two options:
1) Go straight and find out yourself risking the fact if there is a snake it will bite you and you can die.
2) Or you follow my advice and change your route.
I think an intelligent person will think objectively that there is 50-50 chance that my words may be true so I should not risk my life based on that chance of 50%.
Similarly, if one is intelligent he will think that since there is a 50% of chance that Scriptures are right and there is a next life where I have to pay for all my sins so better let me not take the risk and keep myself away from sins as much I can.

Vilasa Vigraha Prabhu Lecture

Today we have got association of vilasa vigraha prabhu in our hostel who has post graduated from IIT guwahati and worked for TEjas networks for two years, now for last five years he changed his job and is working as full time devotee for Iskcon Bangalore.
Last yesterday night and today morning we were very fortunate to have association of vilasa vigraha prabhu in folk hostel btm, we all are feeling enlightened to receive nectar of spiritual instructions coming out of prabhu's mouth and I am very fortunate to have this opportunity of posting it in whatever small amount my tiny mind could receive -
Prabhu talked about mainly two topics:
1. The difference in nature of material happiness and spiritual happiness using instructions given in BhagwadGita.
2. The two C that can only enable us to taste that transcendental happiness which is only possible to attain in human form of life only.
The following acronym prabhu used to explain material happiness- PARIS
P - pain. Material happiness have its side effects in form of pain. Like if we eat a palatable dish too much then we have to suffer from indigestion.
A - addictive . The more we indulge in material enjoyment the more we hanker for it and because of the P (pain) it results in a prolong misery.
R - Risky. Yes because we are spirit soul and body is simply a machine given by material nature based on our karma and desires so we should be very cautious to know what kind of body we are going to get in next life and then work towards achieving not simply wasting our time in animalistic life of sleeping, eating, mating and defending. So, because these fruitive activities create a different types of karma and hence it is simply enjoying materially is too risky as depending on the karma we may get different variety of bodies in next life which we may not like.
I- illusory. Actually material happiness is considered as a drop in terms of quantity in comparison to the ever increasing oceanic nature of spiritual happiness. But since we wanted to enjoy this drop only so god had to do some trick inside our mind to amplify our perception of that happiness. So it is out of illusion only we hope of being extremely happy we hanker for it and this chasing pleasure is what is running this material world.
S - stale. Material happiness has a beginning and an end but spiritual happiness or happiness in Krishna is like an ocean which is ever increasing in nature. eg. we purchase mobile phones or some new clothes but after sometimes the pleasure we were earlier getting in wearing it becomes stale.

Now , for explaining spiritual nature , prabhu used following acronym: SING
S- special. More than 99% of society is simply involved in four kind of things that is sleeping , eating, mating and defending but nobody is interested in finding out anything beyond it like our true nature, nature of god, his activities and what is our relationship with him. So, it is very unique  to have such curiosity ..athato brahma jigyasa and to endeavor for attaining this timeless knowledge and establishing the lost forgotten relationship is indeed very special in itself.
I - increasing. As explained earlier also, spiritual happiness is compared to an ocean which itself is big in comparison to droplike material happiness. But not only that, it is always increasing also..anandamayo 'bhyasat. So, once someone start relishing spiritual happiness and develops taste for it who will want to hanker for tiny material happiness.
N- non dependent. Material happiness always depend on some external sense object because material happiness develops by interaction of senses with sensory objects. Like, someone planned to watch movies while travelling full day via train and is thinking that he will be very happy in that way but when he opened his laptop he found that the battery is very less ..so this material happiness is always dependent on external things..and these external environment sometimes is favorable and sometimes not. But since the source of spiritual happiness is within the spirit soul and since its true nature is sat-chit-ananda ..so spiritual happiness is not dependent on any outside element.
G - generous. Spiritual happiness is always full of generosity and expanding/sharing as someone sees a person being very calm in all situations..people ask him to tell his secret and want to follow whatever it is. So, this way there is no competition but only sharing which enhances its blissfulness.

Now in 2nd topic..prabhu told about what is needed to start relishing this spiritual happiness that is all auspicious for us:
2 C's - conviction and commitment.
One has to be fully convinced first about the instructions given in scriptures to be cent percent true and then only when we have the answer of why we have to endeavor for it? We can only start doing it with commitment and that conviction can easily be attained by the strong association of devotees like today we had. So,once again we want to thank all the prabhus who have given us their valuable time in form of such a nice blissful association.

26 Qualities of Srila Prabhupada

Please read this post (I know it is long), but to tell you more about our beloved master Srila Prabhupada who is still present in our heart in form of his books, the subtile has been written down by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada (The video is among the one offered to"Thank you Srila Prabhupada" Jagruti '14).

The Vedic scriptures states that only one who is free from material bondage can posses these qualities in full. Such a great soul is very rarely found this material realms, and owing to his unparalleled purity and exalted status as an intimate associate of Lord Krishna, he is worship-able by the entire world.

The 26 qualities:
1. Merciful- "I have come to your country not to take anything, but to simple give."
2. Truthful- He spoke the truth about the BG.
3. Magnanimous- He gave us wonderful philosophy, holy name of Krishna, beautiful Deities. But in return never asked anything.
4. Desire-less- He was completely absorbed in the desire to please Krishna.
5. Indifferent to Material acquisitions- He always preached KC all over the world without settling in his ornate temples.

The lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow to his lotus feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Krsna.

06. Without material acquisition- He used every penny in the service of Krishna.
07. Fixed- He fixed his determination to carry out his master's order diligently; to spread Krishna's message.
08. Without False Prestige- He considered his disciples to be representatives of his spiritual master, sent to him to assist him in his mission.
09. Grave-He was most vibrant personality abounded with Laughter yet he was always serious about KC.
10. Not Defiant-He was always surrendered to his spiritual master & never evinced even a hint of defiance in his character .

My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the word emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires.

11. Respectful- He treated everyone with the utmost respect, thus softening their hearts & rekindling their spiritual sentiments.
12. Equal to everyone- He was constantly immersed in distributing Chaitanya's mercy & love of Krishna to everyone
13. Clean- His hearts & mind were constantly submerged in the purifying waters of love of Godhead
14. Peaceful- Inspire of immense pressure, responsibility, & problems of ISKCON, He meted out love, guidance with full composure
15. Mild- He never displayed even a drop of false pride & always maintained a mildness due to which everyone felt at ease.

He opens my darkened eyes and fills my heart with transcendental knowledge He is my lord birth after birth., From him ecstatic prema emanated; by him ignorance is destroyed. The vedic scriptures sing of his character.

16. Poetic- His gesturing, walking, talking, singing, smiling, dancing & worship were all done with a natural poetic grace.
17. Sane- Never was there a moment I have not thought of Krishna in this life
18. Faultless- He sacrificed own bodily comforts for the service of mankind without having a tendency to cheat others
19. Surrendered to Krishna- He was constantly engaged in devotional service with mind, body and words.
20. Eats only as much as required- Although presented with opulent prasandam, he only took modest portions, distributing the remaining to devotees.
O Spiritual master, Ocean of mercy and friend of the fallen soul . You are the teacher of everyone and the life of all people. O master, Be merciful onto me,and give me the shade of your lotus feet. May your glories now be proclaimed in three world.

21. Completely controls the six bad qualities- Like a Vaidurya gem, he manifested many beautiful, transcendental qualities at every moment.
22. Performs welfare work for everyone- He offered a potent spiritual program , capable of eradicating the material existence of anyone who takes to it seriously
23. Expert- He miraculously ignited a spiritual explosion, whose vibrations are still resonating through out the world
24. Silent- His words are a river of nectar flowing mercifully into the hearts of the devotees
25. Compassionate- His words are a river of nectar flowing mercifully into the hearts of the devotees
26.Friend- The spiritual friendship of Srila Prabhupada is the rarest of gems, & intelligent persons will guard it as life's treasure.

It is due to your scintillating quality of exhibiting these 26 qualities that our path to back to godhead is illuminated. We don't have any words to show our gratitude unto you. The only thing which we can do is- serve your mission to the fullest.