Excerpts from Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami’s lectures

Excerpts from Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami’s lectures

Sri Rupanuga Paramarthika Vidyapitha
Mayapur, 2009


2.01.2009

The self-help books and movies promote the idea that one should get confidence, which is not a bad idea, but they try to gain confidence by developing false pride. They will never say that to gain confidence you should accept that you are a humble servant of Krishna. It is not that the principles they promote are necessarily wrong, but the flavor they carry is mundane, is based on sense gratification, and is therefore dangerous for the devotees.

English is a spoken language because in the dictionary the words are defined according to the usage and meaning they have at that moment in society. With normal language (like Sanskrit) it should be the opposite. The words should have fixed meaning, independent from the way they are being used.


1.11.2009 Bhagavatam class
Everything should be connected with Krishna. Let’s say you want to buy a phone. How is this connected with Kåñëa? Well, to buy the phone you need to get money; that means you have to follow certain rules how to make this money. Who made these rules? Krishna. And when you finally buy the phone and you are happy and enjoy having it, the pleasure you get from the phone is also Krishna because the soul cannot get any satisfaction from dead matter. So anything we are attracted to here in the material world is actually Krishna. When we recognize this we are in the real world, when we do not recognize it we are in maya. This is explained in the chatur sloki Bhagavatam:

[The Lord says:] O Brahmä, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.



2.11.2009
Navina Nirada Prabhu asked a question about the people who say that first they want to see a perfect example for our Vaiñnava philosophy and only then they can accept it for real and do something practical to help.
Maharaja answered that this is inconsistent. The person who proclaims this philosophy does not follow it in his practical life. For example, he sees an advertisement of a guy who wears pans, a shirt, socks, glasses, a tie, etc. So he picks up from the whole thing the pans only. And from another advertisement he picks up other things he likes. He does not say “I am going to buy clothes only if the whole set is perfect and if there is no such a set I am going to go naked.” So if he can do this in his private material life why he does not try to do the same in the spiritual path? Just because he is not sincere enough, that’s all.


5.11.2009
The Lord reveals Himself because we follow the parampara and He is pleased with this. Not because He is obliged to reveal Himself because of our studies and tapasya. He reveals Himself because of our sincere endeavors to study His words and to apply them in our live following the parampara. Bhagavad-gita As it Is carry the cit potency of the Lord, therefore we can understand Him by studding. But if it is not as it is then there is no cit potency and the result is not the same, it will not work.

The best friend if he turns unto our enemy becomes the worst enemy and the worst enemy if he becomes our friend he is our best friend. This is because if the friend becomes an enemy he knows all our week spots and if the enemy becomes a friend he knew all of your faults and still he became your friend.

We are in the material world because we think we are not the leaves of the three but the three itself. We don’t want to accept that actually we are looking for Krishna’s pleasure. The greatest offence is that we don’t want to connect ourselves with Kåñëa, not the stupid ignorant acts we are performing.


6.11.2009
The people may not like our lifestyle but this is only when we are following it superficially. If we are shallow they will not appreciate, naturally. But if we are genuine they will appreciate because everybody is looking for something outstanding.


9.11.2009
The only solution for all problems is a spiritual solution. ¾ of the creation works on the spiritual principles and it is very practical. And after we establish that we have to find a spiritual solution only then we can try to look for a practical solution which must be inside the spiritual principles.

Prabhupada says that even if one person becomes Kåñëa conscious he will be happy and Krishna will be happy, the endeavors were worthy. Of course, if there are more then Krishna will be even happier. We should remember this point while we are making big plans for preaching.

Any political system can work if the people are God conscious. The modern political systems are not working because the people are not qualified. Therefore even when the system is changed by revolution we find that the in the new system there are the same mistakes like in the old. This is because the people are still the same and they make the same mistakes.

The devotees who reject their own acharya, like for example there are people who are former ISKCON devotees who say that what Prabhupada gave is just the basics but if you want to get more confidential knowledge we have to go to another Guru, this kind of devotees will never be trusted by the Vrajavasis. This is stated by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura.
This is because in Vrindavana there is a serious service you have to make on time. There is amount of time and in this time you have to get your seva for Krishna done properly. So you have to rely on people. You should be sure that they will not let you down. So if you think your acharya is inferior that means you are not reliable person and the vrajavasis will never come close to you. They will respect you, but from a distance.

Also there are devotees who say that why you in ISKCON don’t have the raganuga sadhana and you don’t discuss the pastimes between Radha and Krishna? But let me ask you a question, let’s say we have two girls, one already is married and have a boy and the other does not. So of the two, who is going to talk more about boys? The one who does not have one. Because the other one already is having a man and she is experiencing all these things firsthand.
So in the same way we are followers of Prabhupada and Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja who are right there in the pastimes of Radha and Krishna, they are intimate servants of the divine couple. So now make your choice, you want to learn from someone who is there in the lila, or from someone who is only dreaming and talking about it?
Of course, we don’t say that they will not go home back to Godhead, they will.

We do not surrender to God because we don’t trust others. Because full surrender means full trust. This is the modern western ethos – unless I grab the mercy by force I am not going to be happy because I don’t actually trust that the mercy will be transmitted to me by the other devotees. In the spiritual relations the indirect servants get more pleasure then the direct ones because they have full trust and when they see that Radha and Krishna are happy and their superiors are happy that increases their happiness many times.
Therefore all the main stories from Mahabharata and Bhagavatam have this common element and moral that Krishna will take care. And if we have faith He will reciprocate with us like He says in Gita – ye yatha mam prapadyante…
The normal think is that you interact with someone according to his mood. So if we deal mundane with Krishna He will reciprocate in this way. But if we trust Him He will protect us. If we don’t the protection will not be so full.
Like Draupadi was asking Krishna, why it took you so long to come and help me? Krishna said, I was there, immediately after you called me the first time, but then you started to ask Bhisma and Drona and Vidura for help you and I thought OK, let Bhisma and Drona help her. But when you surrendered fully then I immediately saved you.

11.11.2009
If someone does not understand Gita that means he does not try to become a friend with Krishna. Because Krishna tells Arjuna, because you are my friend you can understand Gita. All the questions of Arjuna are serious doubts. But Arjuna is asking them in a proper mood. He has faith in Krishna although he does not understand. But the modern men are so proud and foolish that they think that anything they don’t understand must be wrong.

To perfect one’s sadhana and to perfect one’s family life takes the same amount of energy and work. But the result is different, in the family life the result is small, in the brahmacary asrama the result is perfect.


12.11.2009
The critical study of Gita will never work even if it is undertaken by a devotee. The karmi scholars are extremely impersonal; they try to take advantage of the Veda without even acknowledging the personality of Godhead. They think that just because they want to understand the Veda they can do it.

The philosophers from the 6 schools have part of the truth. But because the perfect truth is realized only by one who have a perfect devotion to God and they don’t have it, the missing parts of the knowledge they have to fill up with their intelligence, in other words with their speculations. Therefore this part is bogus.
Thus the mood in studding the scripture is very important. Prabhupada says that if you don’t get the mood right don’t even bother to study Gita.

Why we don’t want to surrender to Krishna? Because we are impersonalists. We think that if all the options in life are Kåñëa then this is tasteless and boring because Krishna is boring since He is not a person. In Krishna everything is tasteless and dry and in maya everything is exiting and fresh, we foolishly think.


13.11.2009
In Kali Yuga varnasrama also applies but because in KY the people are only capable to work in devotion then it is only daivi varnasrama that will work and this is what we have to establish. Daivi varnasrama means it is connected with Kåñëa. Asuric varnasrama means it is not connected with Krishna.

In sambanda we have the thinking, feeling, and willing. Thinking means you are aware of something, feeling means you are attracted to this thing, and willing means you are ready to do the work to get that thing. These three things are actually sambanda, prayojana, and abhidetya inside sambanda. Then after this is done one can go outside of sambanda and apply the abhideya and prayojana.
Sambanda means to understand what are the position and the nature of everything. So this definition of sambanda means to know the dharma of all things.


16.11.2009
Sometimes we say that it is Kali Yuga and because nobody is a devotee it is difficult to preach. But in the previous yugas they were not many devotees either. There were many more pious people around but not so many devotees. For example Purorava was in the beginning of treta yuga. He was pious enough so he could establish the yuga dharma for the age but he was not a devotee at that time.
Also do you know why Siva is covered with dust and has snakes around his neck and arms, and sits in crematoriums? So that the other, materialistic demigods don’t bother him. Nobody would invite him on a feast, who would like to have a guy with snakes sitting on ones table? But when he is sitting under a three covered with ashes and meditates then Narada Muni and the Kumaras are coming to see him. So he prefers this type of sanga.

Time means movement.

Karma is the combination of the kala (time) and the three modes of material nature.

God is in control of the material energy and jivas. The jiva is a subordinate controller. So if the jiva wants to control the nature he has to control it according to the laws of God.

The principle of activity is eternal, but karma is not.

It is very important to understand the subtleties of our philosophy. But to do this we have to be able to work with two things simultaneously.
The nice thing about the Vedas is that the pattern is always the same. Just that one should be able to see how this pattern applies everywhere. Vedic literature is based on simple principles but they apply in huge variegates.


17.11.2009
Krishna consciousness means that we are in this material world and we can use its recourses, but we have to do this according with the Lord’s order. It is like the child can stay inside the house of his parents, he can play there, but he should always remember that it is his parents’ house, not his house. So if the child does not behave properly and makes a mess, then what will happen when the mam is back at night? Then the child will have a problem because he tried to turn the house in his own, he did not remember it is his parents’ house. And we can say whatever we like, we can say but why should we follow so many rules and regulations, why be so fanatic, we just want to express ourselves freely, we want to be real, we want to be practical, but the point is that practical is what is established by the Lord. Only this will work. And anything else will simply not work and it does not matter what we think. Because it is God’s world, not ours.

Things like Bhagavad-gita, chapter 13, or Bhagavatam, 11 canto, are often seen as dry, boring and unpractical parts of the scriptures. We want to be practical, we want real things, real relationships. But in this places it is explained how to have good relationships, it explains the mechanics of relationships. Therefore they are most practical; one just should have eyes to see this.

How are they practical? In 13 chapter of Gita it is explained the field of activity, ksetra, and ksetrajna, the knower of that field. So there is dead matter, called the field, and the soul and the Supersoul who are called the ksetrajna. The soul knows only his field and the Supersoul knows all the fields.
That means we have to interact with the soul if we want to have real relationships. But because the soul in front of us identifies with the body we should interact with him by the media of the gross and subtle body. But we are still trying to interact with the soul. This is in the case we understand the 13 chapter of Gita properly.

What happens if we did not understand it properly? Let’s say you did something wrong. You had to do watch the washing machine, to bake the bread in the oven, and to make a phone call. So because of your conditioned nature you forgot about the oven and in this way you let your friend down. Now you feel bad, but not because you let your friend down but because you did not get what you wanted from that situation. So when you explain to him your plight then you in fact are telling him, look, I am conditioned and I just did this because I am selfish and I can’t be changed. And if he does not understand you in the way you want, then you accuse him of being not considered, insensitive, not developed. And you decide that you cannot trust anybody anymore and you loose faith in authorities. That means you don’t actually have a relationship with your friend or with anyone else, you
have relationships with dead matter only. And this is because you did not understand 13 chapter of Gita, you don’t know what is ksetra (dead matter) and ksetrajna (the knower of the field). For you it is just the filed only. You have your field of activity where you want to achieve things, you have needs to satisfy. And in your field you think you are the only ksetrajna and everything else is just a dead matter. Your friends are dead matter. So for you there are just two kinds of dead matter – one kind is moving, the other kind is not moving. And you try to control these dead matters according to your egocentric taste and desire. That means you don’t have real relationships with anybody, not with other jivas, and not with the Lord. So if you did not pick up this science of relationships from the culture you were raised in and you did not understand and apply it from the scripture then there is a good chance you don’t actually have real relationships and all you deal is a dead matter because you never consider the needs of other people.
And the bottom line is that you don’t change. Everybody around you, the whole universe must change according to your needs and interests, just to please you.



Sat darsanas classes

According to Sankhya the buddhi is created just after the false ego. Buddhi has the qualities of sattva guna – brightness, lightness. Because of these qualities buddhi can reflect the world around us and in this way to connect the soul with the world.
By the intelligence the soul can perceive that he is not the gross material elements like earth, water, fire, air or ether. By the intellect he can also differentiate between himself and the mind. But by the intelligence he cannot differentiate from the false ego because there is nothing higher then the false ego that the soul can identify with. But for a devotee Krishna is there. Since the devotee identify as a soul, a servant of Krishna, he can go beyond even identification with the intelligence and the false ego. This is the difference between the liberation of the devotee and the liberation of the follower of sankhya. The sankhya philosopher can not actually get free from his false ego.