Lord Krsna gave knowledge of Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god

 

The Vedic literatures are taught in higher planets also, as there is reference in the Bhagavad-gita (4.1) about the teachings to the sun-god (Vivasvan) by the Lord, and such lessons are transferred by disciplic succession, as it was done by the sun-god to his son Manu, and from Manu to Maharaja Ikshvaku. There are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahma, and the Manu referred to herein is the seventh Manu, who is one of the prajapatis (those who create progeny), and he is the son of the sun-god. He is known as the Vaivasvata Manu. He had ten sons, and Maharaja Ikshvaku is one of them. Maharaja Ikshvaku also learned bhakti-yoga as taught in the Bhagavad-gita from his father, Manu, who got it from his father, the sun-god.

Later on the teaching of the Bhagavad-gita came down by disciplic succession from Maharaja Ikshvaku, but in course of time the chain was broken by unscrupulous persons, and therefore it again had to be taught to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. So all the Vedic literatures are current from the very beginning of creation of the material world, and thus the Vedic literatures are known as apaurusheya (not made by man). The Vedic knowledge was spoken by the Lord and first heard by Brahma, the first created living being within the universe.

Factual Enjoyer of Krishna

Who is a guru and why it is important to have a guru? How should we reach out a guru?

If you want to understand spiritual knowledge, you have to approach guru. One meaning of the word guru is” weighty”. Therefore the guru is one who is “heavy” with knowledge. And what is that knowledge? That is explained in the Kathopanisad: srotriyam brahmanistham. Srotriyam means “one who has received knowledge by hearing the Vedas, the sruti”, and brahma-nistham indicates one who has realized Brahman, or rather Parabrahman, Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the guru’s qualification. One must hear from those who are in the line of preceptorial succession, or disciplic succession. As Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gita, evam parampara-praptam. If one wants standard transcendental knowledge, not upstart knowledge, one must receive it from the parampara system, the disciplic succession. Another meaning of the word srotriyam mentioned above is “one who has heard from a guru in the disciplic succession”. And the result of this hearing will be brahma-nistham, “He is firmly fixed in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead”. He has no other business. These are the two main qualification of a bona fide guru. He does not need to be a very learned scholar with an M.A., B.A., or Ph.D. and He simply needs to have heard from the authority in disciplic succession and be fixed in devotional service.

Therefore it is said, saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih: the guru is as good as God. When we offer respects to the guru, we are offering respects to God. Because we are trying to be God conscious, it is required that we learn how to offer respects to God through God’s representative. In all the sastras the guru is described to be as good as God, but the guru never says, “I am God.” The disciple’s duty is to offer respect to the guru just as he offers respect to God, but the guru never thinks, “My disciples are offering me the same respect they offer to God; therefore I have become God.” As soon as he thinks like this, he becomes a dog instead of God.

The genuine guru is God’s representative, and he speaks about God and nothing else. The genuine guru is he who has no interest in materialistic life. He is after God, and God only. It doesn’t matter if the guru is Christian, Muhammadan or Hindu If he is simply speaking on behalf of God, he is a guru. Lord Jesus Christ, for instance, He canvassed people, saying, “Just try to love God”. Anyone- it doesn’t matter who-be he Hindu, Muslim, or Christian, is a guru if he convinces people to love God. That is the test. The guru never says, “I am God,” or “I will make you God.” The real guru says, “I am a servant of God, and I will make you a servant of God also.” It doesn’t matter how the guru is dressed. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Whoever can impart knowledge about Kṛṣṇa is a spiritual master”. A genuine spiritual master simply tries to get people to become devotees of Kṛṣṇa, or God. He has no other business.

Therefore Visvanatha Cakravarti says, kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya. Because he is the most confidential servitor of God, the guru is offered the same respect that we offer God. God is always God, guru is always guru. As a matter of etiquette, God is the worshipable God, and guru is the worshiper God (sevaka-bhagawan). Therefore the guru is addressed as prabhupada. The word prabhu means “lord,” and pada means “position.” Thus prabhupada means “he who has taken the position of the Lord.” This is the same as saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih.

The procedure to reach out a guru is given by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gita: tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. “One must offer obeisance’s to the guru, inquire from him, and serve him”. If you simply go and ask the spiritual master questions in a challenging spirit but do not accept his instructions and do not render service, then you’re wasting your time. The word used here is pranipatena, “offering obeisances with no reservation”. So reception of transcendental knowledge is based on this pranipata. That is why Kṛṣṇa says later, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: [Bg. 18.66] “Give up everything else and just surrender unto Me”. Just as we have to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, we have to surrender to Kṛṣṇa’s representative, the spiritual master.

What scriptures advice to promote religion?

The principles of religion, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness may be followed by the follower of any faith. There is no need to turn from Hindu to Mohammedan to Christian or some other faith and thus become a renegade and not follow the principles of religion. The Bhagavatam religion urges following the principles of religion. The principles of religion are not the dogmas or regulative principles of a certain faith. Such regulative principles may be different in terms of the time and place concerned. One has to see whether the aims of religion have been achieved. Sticking to the dogmas and formulas without attaining the real principles is not good. A secular state may be impartial to any particular type of faith, but the state cannot be indifferent to the principles of religion as above-mentioned. But in the age of Kali, the executive heads of state will be indifferent to such religious principles, and therefore under their patronage the opponents of religious principles, such as greed, falsehood, cheating and pilfery, will naturally follow, and so there will be no meaning to propaganda crying to stop corruption in the state.

Therefore the state should categorically stop all sorts of gambling, drinking, prostitution and falsity. The state which wants to eradicate corruption by majority may introduce the principles of religion in the following manner:

1. Two compulsory fasting days in a month, if not more (austerity). Even from the economic point of view, such two fasting days in a month in the state will save tons of food, and the system will also act very favorably on the general health of the citizens.

2. There must be compulsory marriage of young boys and girls attaining twenty-four years of age and sixteen years of age respectively. There is no harm in coeducation in the schools and colleges, provided the boys and girls are duly married, and in case there is any intimate connection between a male and female student, they should be married properly without illicit relation. The divorce act is encouraging prostitution, and this should be abolished.

3. The citizens of the state must give in charity up to fifty percent of their income for the purpose of creating a spiritual atmosphere in the state or in human society, both individually and collectively. They should preach the principles of Bhagavatam by (a) karma-yoga, or doing everything for the satisfaction of the Lord, (b) regular hearing of the Srimad-Bhagavatam from authorized persons or realized souls, (c) chanting of the glories of the Lord congregationally at home or at places of worship, (d) rendering all kinds of service to bhagavatas engaged in preaching Srimad-Bhagavatam and (e) residing in a place where the atmosphere is saturated with God consciousness. If the state is regulated by the above process, naturally there will be God consciousness everywhere.

Gambling of all description, even speculative business enterprise, is considered to be degrading, and when gambling is encouraged in the state, there is a complete disappearance of truthfulness. Allowing young boys and girls to remain unmarried more than the above-mentioned ages and licensing animal slaughterhouses of all description should be at once prohibited. The flesh-eaters may be allowed to take flesh as mentioned in the scriptures, and not otherwise. Intoxication of all description–even smoking cigarettes, chewing tobacco or the drinking of tea–must be prohibited.

Krisna Spiritual Life

A pure devotee is never entangled in material worldy affairs

One may question how one can always think of Lord Krishna in regard to His name, fame, quality, etc., if one is embarrassed by thoughts of family affairs. Everyone in the material world is full of thoughts about how to maintain his family, how to protect his wealth, how to keep pace with friends and relatives, etc. Thus he is always in fear and lamentation, trying to keep up with the status quo. In answer to this question, this verse spoken by Brahma is very appropriate.

A pure devotee of the Lord never thinks of himself as the proprietor of his home. He surrenders everything unto the supreme control of the Lord, and thus he has no fear for maintaining his family or protecting the interests of his family. Because of this surrender, he no longer has any attraction for wealth. Even if there is attraction for wealth, it is not for sense enjoyment, but for the service of the Lord. A pure devotee may be attracted to accumulating wealth just like an ordinary man, but the difference is that a devotee acquires money for the service of the Lord, whereas the ordinary man acquires money for his sense enjoyment. Thus the acquisition of wealth by a devotee is not a source of anxieties, as is the case for a worldly man. And because a pure devotee accepts everything in the sense of serving the Lord, the poisonous teeth of accumulation of wealth are extracted. If a snake has its poison removed and bites a man, there is no fatal effect. Similarly, wealth accumulated in the cause of the Lord has no poisonous teeth, and the effect is not fatal. A pure devotee is never entangled in material worldly affairs even though he may remain in the world like an ordinary man.

Why drinking & flesh eating by sacrifices is permitted in scriptures

The basic principles of irreligiosity, such as pride, prostitution, intoxication and falsehood, counteract the four principles of religion, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. The personality of Kali was given permission to live in four places particularly mentioned by the King, namely the place of gambling, the place of prostitution, the place of drinking and the place of animal slaughter. Srila Jiva Gosvami directs that drinking against the principles of scriptures, such as the sautramaniyajna, association with women outside marriage, and killing animals against the injunctions of scriptures are irreligious. In the Vedas two different types of injunctions are there for the pravrttas, or those who are engaged in material enjoyment, and for the nivrttas, or those who are liberated from material bondage.

The Vedic injunction for the pravrttas is to gradually regulate their activities towards the path of liberation. Therefore, for those who are in the lowest stage of ignorance and who indulge in wine, women and flesh, drinking by performing sautramani-yajna, association of women by marriage and flesh-eating by sacrifices are sometimes recommended. Such recommendations in the Vedic literature are meant for a particular class of men, and not for all. But because they are injunctions of the Vedas for particular types of persons, such activities by the pravrttas are not considered adharma. One man’s food may be poison for others; similarly, what is recommended for those in the mode of ignorance may be poison for those in the mode of goodness.

Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhu, therefore, affirms that recommendations in the scriptures for a certain class of men are never to be considered adharma, or irreligious. But such activities are factually adharma, and they are never to be encouraged. The recommendations in the scriptures are not meant for the encouragement of such adharma, but for regulating the necessary adharma gradually toward the path of dharma.

Check out the website: www.iandkrsna.com

 

Why God name is Kṛṣṇa ?

Actually God has no particular name. By saying He has no name, we mean that no one knows how many names He has. Since God Krsna is unlimited, His names also must be unlimited. Therfore we cannot settle on one name. For instance, Kṛṣṇa is sometimes called Yasoda-nandana, the son of mother Yasoda; or devaki-nandan, the son of Devaki; or vasudeva-nandana, the son of Vasudeva; or Nanda-nandana, the son of Nanda. Sometimes He is called Partha-sarathi, indicating that He acted as the charioteer of Arjuna, who is sometime called Partha, the son of Prtha.

God has many dealings with His many devotees, and according to those dealings, He is called certain names. Since He has innumerable devotees and innumerable relations with them, He also has innumerable names. We cannot hit on any one name. But the name Kṛṣṇa means “all attractive”. God attracts everyone; that is the definition of God. We have seen many pictures of Kṛṣṇa and we see that He attracts the cows, calves, birds, beasts, trees, plants, and even the water in Vrndavana. He is attractive to the cowherd boys, to the gopis, to Nanda Maharaja, to the Pandavas, and to all human society. Therefore if any particular name can be given to God, that name is “Kṛṣṇa”.

Some people say that God has no name – that we can call Him only “Father”. A son may call his father “Father”, but the father has a specific name. Similarly, “God” is the general name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose specific name is Kṛṣṇa. Jesus, as the son of God, has revealed to us the actual name of God: Christ. We can call God “Father”, but if we want to address Him by His actual name, we have to say “Christ”. “Christ” is another way of saying Krsta, and “Krsta” is another way of pronouncing Kṛṣṇa, the name of God. Jesus said that one should glorify the name of God. Therefore whether you call God “Christ”, “Krsta”, or “Kṛṣṇa”, ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “the anointed one” and Christos is the Greek version of the word Kṛṣṇa. So when we address God as “Christ”, “Krsta” or “Kṛṣṇa”, we indicate the same all attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sri Caitanya said: namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktih. “God has millions and millions of names, and because there is no difference between God’s name and Himself, each one of these names has the same potency as God.” Therefore, even if you accept designations like “Hindu,” “Christian,” or “Muhammadan,” if you simply chant the name of God found in your own scriptures, you will attain the spiritual platform. Human life is meant for self-realization-to learn how to love God. That is the actual beauty of man. Whether you discharge this duty as a Hindu, a Christian, or a Muhammadan, it doesn’t matter-but discharge it.

Sexual intercourse according to religious principles is a representation of Krsna consciousness

The conditions for having good progeny in society are that the husband should be disciplined in religious and regulative principles and the wife should be faithful to the husband. In Bhagavad-gita (7.11) it is said that sexual intercourse according to religious principles is a representation of Krsna Consciousness. Before engaging in sexual intercourse, both the husband and the wife must consider their mental condition, the particular time, the husband’s direction, and obedience to the demigods. According to Vedic society, there is a suitable auspicious time for sex life, which is called the time for garbhadhana.

Diti (mother of demon Hiranyakasipu) neglected all the principles of scriptural injunction, and therefore, although she was very anxious for auspicious children, she was informed that her children would not be worthy to be the sons of a brahmana. There is a clear indication herein that a brahmana’s son is not always a brahmana. Personalities like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu were actually born of brahmanas, but they were not accepted as brahmanas because their fathers did not follow the regulative principles for their birth. Such children are called demons, or Raksasas. There were only one or two Raksasas in the previous ages due to negligence of the disciplinary methods, but during the age of Kali there is no discipline in sex life. How, then, can one expect good children? Certainly unwanted children cannot be a source of happiness in society, but through the Krsna Consciousness movement they can be raised to the human standard by chanting the holy name of God. That is the unique contribution of Lord Caitanya to human society.

Are followers of different religions also vaishnavas?

Christians and Muslims are also Vaisnavas, devotees, because they offer prayers to the Lord. “O God”, they say, “give us our daily bread “. Those who offer this prayer may not know very much and may be at a lower stage, but this is a beginning, because they have approached God. Going to a church or mosque is also pious (catur-vidha bhajante mam janah sukrtino rjuna). Therefore those who begin in this way will one day become pure Vaisnavas. But the atheistic propaganda that one should not go to a church, temple, or mosque is very dangerous to human society. One may not be very advanced, but one should try at least to do something to understand God.

A child is sent to school, and although he may simply learn ABCD, if he is interested he may one day become a very good scholar. Similarly, one day a pious man may become a pure devotee.

Check out the website: www.iandkrna.com

Why God name is Kṛṣṇa?

Actually God has no particular name. By saying He has no name, we mean that no one knows how many names He has. Since God is unlimited, His names also must be unlimited. Therfore we cannot settle on one name. For instance, Krishna is sometimes called Yasoda-nandana, the son of mother Yasoda; or devaki-nandan, the son of Devaki; or vasudeva-nandana, the son of Vasudeva; or Nanda-nandana, the son of Nanda. Sometimes He is called Partha-sarathi, indicating that He acted as the charioteer of Arjuna, who is sometime called Partha, the son of Prtha.

God has many dealings with His many devotees, and according to those dealings, He is called certain names. Since He has innumerable devotees and innumerable relations with them, He also has innumerable names. We cannot hit on any one name. But the name Kṛṣṇa means “all attractive”. God attracts everyone; that is the definition of God. We have seen many pictures of Kṛṣṇa and we see that He attracts the cows, calves, birds, beasts, trees, plants, and even the water in Vrndavana. He is attractive to the cowherd boys, to the gopis, to Nanda Maharaja, to the Pandavas, and to all human society. Therefore if any particular name can be given to God, that name is “Kṛṣṇa”.

Some people say that God has no name – that we can call Him only “Father”. A son may call his father “Father”, but the father has a specific name. Similarly, “God” is the general name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose specific name is Kṛṣṇa. Jesus, as the son of God, has revealed to us the actual name of God: Christ. We can call God “Father”, but if we want to address Him by His actual name, we have to say “Christ”. “Christ” is another way of saying Krsta, and “Krsta” is another way of pronouncing Kṛṣṇa, the name of God. Jesus said that one should glorify the name of God. Therefore whether you call God “Christ”, “Krsta”, or “Kṛṣṇa”, ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “the anointed one” and Christos is the Greek version of the word Kṛṣṇa. So when we address God as “Christ”, “Krsta” or “Kṛṣṇa”, we indicate the same all attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sri Caitanya said: namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktih. “God has millions and millions of names, and because there is no difference between God’s name and Himself, each one of these names has the same potency as God.” Therefore, even if you accept designations like “Hindu,” “Christian,” or “Muhammadan,” if you simply chant the name of God found in your own scriptures, you will attain the spiritual platform. Human life is meant for self-realization-to learn how to love God Krsna. That is the actual beauty of man. Whether you discharge this duty as a Hindu, a Christian, or a Muhammadan, it doesn’t matter-but discharge it.