16 October 2020

Understand the value and goal of a human birth

Hare Krsna! Devotees from 766 locations are chanting with us. Welcome! Good morning!

Sundar te dhyan ubhe vitewari |
Kar katawari thevuniya ||
Tulasi har gala kanse pitambar |
Aawde nirantar techi roop ||
Makar kundale talapati shrwani |
Kanthi koustubhmani virajit ||
Tuka mhane maze he chi sarva sukha |Pahin shreemukh aawadine ||

Translation
This abhanga is a beautiful description of the Lord! The beautiful, great pleasure to behold, ie Lord Vithoba, is standing on the brick with His hands resting on the waist. There is a Basil leaves’ necklace around His neck and He is wearing a yellow golden silk garment around His waist. I am in perpetual love with this face of the Lord. Fish shaped ear rings are shining in His ears and the well known ‘Kaustubh’ precious stone is glistening in His neck. Tukaram says, I will keep looking ceaselessly at the lotus face of God with love; this is my complete happiness. (Tukaram Gatha Abhanga 14 – Sundar te dhyan)

jaya sri-krisna-caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Please pray for the devotees in Pandharpur. The Lord and the devotees there are in trouble. The Candrabhaga River has flooded. There is lot of water here, all around. You must have seen the river flowing nearby the temple if you have ever visited. But this water has come inside the temple now. The small Deities of Radha Pandharināth have been brought out of the temple and Their worship is being done. We are living on a sort of island. We have shifted around 50 cows to a safer place. There is no electricity here and we are running on the inverter which may get exhausted at any time. The situation is critical.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

dukh me sumiran sab kare
sukh me kare na koi
jo sukh me sumiran kare
toh dukh kaahe ko hoy

Translation
In trouble everyone prays to Him, in joy does none
To one who prays in happiness, how can sorrow come

The devotees here are also remembering the Lord in this time of trouble. Radha Pandharinātha is in Yoga nidra (yogic sleep) like Mahā Visnu always lie in the Kārana ocean in Yoga nidra.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This situation is like that of Markandeya Muni who had got the boon of a long life. Seven times as long as that of Brahma. But he was caught in a flood and somehow, floating and drowning he reached Jagannātha Puri. He had a long life, thus he could not die. Upon reaching Jagannātha Puri, he had an amazing darsana. He saw that on a leaf of a Banyan tree, a baby was lying. The child was sucking His own toe.

kararavindena padaravindam
mukharavinde viniveshayantam
vatasya patrasya pute shayanam
balam mukundam manasa smarami

Translation
The one who keeps his lotus like feet on his lotus like mouth with his lotus like hand, I think of Balamukundan who sleeps on the vata pathra leaf. (Text 1, Sri Bala-Mukunda-Astakam)

This was an amazing sight. This is a common image that we get to see in paintings. Have you seen it? When I visited Jagannātha Puri last time, I saw a Banyan tree in the courtyard there and under this tree, there is such darsana available. You may also visit and see. When Markandeya Muni was seeing the Lord from outside, the Lord took him inside of Himself. Markandeya Muni could perceive that the Lord is the same inside and outside. The Lord is inconceivable.

tad ejati tan naijati
tad dūre tad v antike
tad antar asya sarvasya
tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ

Translation
The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything. (verse 5, Śrī Īśopanishad)

The Lord walks and does not walk. The Lord is both far and away at the same time. Everything is simultaneously outside and inside the Lord. This is explained in Śrī Īśopanisad. Markandeya Muni had a very long life, but he was not taking full benefit out of it. He was seeing so many generations being born and then dying.

taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti
bhastrāḥ kiṁ na śvasanty uta
na khādanti na mehanti
kiṁ grāme paśavo ’pare

Translation
Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the blacksmith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen? (ŚB 2.3.18)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says such a life is like that of an old tree which is also witnessing many generations coming and going, but doesn’t do anything fruitful. If you are also living a life like that of an animal which is busy eating and mating then what is the benefit? Therefore, such a life is no better than that of an insect, animal or a tree.

āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṃ cha
samānam_etat_pashubhir_narāṇām |
dharmo hi teṣhāmadhiko visheṣho
dharmeṇa hīnāḥ pashubhiḥ samānāḥ ||

Translation
Food, sleep, fear and mating, these acts of humans are similar to animals. Of them (humans), dharma is the only special thing, without dharma humans are also animals. ( Hitopadesh verse 0.25)

A life without Krishna consciousness is an animal life. Khatvanga Muni desired to know how much life is left. The answer was 1 muhurt, meaning 24 minutes or 44 minutes. This katha we get to read in the beginning of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam when Pariksit Maharaja gets to know that he will die on the seventh day by Takshaka serpent. He was wondering that how can he remember the Lord in these seven days or at the end of his life.

etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ
sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā
janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām
ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ

Translation
The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life. (ŚB 2.1.6)

The aim of life is remembrance of Nārāyana at the end. It is the perfection of Sādhanā. Then King Pariksit was told that 7 days are more than 1 muhurt. Khatvanga Muni made himself fully Krishna conscious in that 1 muhurt. He had such a strong dedication that he achieved perfection in just 24 minutes. He relished everything from śraddha (faith) to prema (love). That’s why it is said that time is very important and powerful. Chanakya Pandit said that even by paying billions of gold coins, one cannot get back one single second of life. That second is gone forever. Therefore, we need to understand the importance of time. At least King Pariksit knew that he had just seven days left, but we are so unfortunate that we don’t even know when we will die.

ahany ahani bhūtāni
gacchantīha yamālayam
śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti
kim āścaryam ataḥ paraṁ

Translation
Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world. (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116)

Many people are dying daily. Many of our known, relatives and friends die. Many of our Hare Krsna devotees also leave their bodies. HH Nitai Caitanya Swami Maharaja of Russia left us yesterday. He had joined our movement in the early 1980s. He got trained and also accepted Sannyāsa. He was with us the day before yesterday. Although there is a difference in the death of a devotee and a material person, but still it’s a death. We don’t know who may die and when. We also have to die, but we don’t take it seriously. We are being compared with animals. Many animals are taken to the slaughter houses and they are killed in batches. Those who are waiting are not even aware that their turn is next. They are somewhat relaxed, lying down, grazing or chewing the cud. He goat is attracted towards the she goat. They think that it is the last chance for them though. Next moment their lives are going to be taken. But they are totally oblivious to the surroundings and are engaged in eating, sleeping, mating and defending.

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varānnibodhata |
kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṁ pathastatkavayo vadanti ||

Translation
Arise, awake; having reached the great, learn; the edge of a razor is sharp and impassable; that path, the intelligent say, is hard to go by. (Verse 1.3.14, Kathopanishad)

O Human! Wake up! Better understand and realise this special boon of a human body.

bhajahū re mana śrī-nanda-nandana
abhaya-caraṇāravinda re
durlabha mānava-janama sat-sańge
taroho e bhava-sindhu re

Translation
O mind just worship the lotus feet of the son of Nanda, which make one fearless. Having obtained this rare human birth, cross over this ocean of worldly existence through the association of saintly persons. (Verse 1, Bhaja Hu Re Mana, Govinda Dāsa Kavirāja)

durlabho mānuṣo deho
dehināṁ kṣaṇa-bhaṅguraḥ
tatrāpi durlabhaṁ manye
vaikuṇṭha-priya-darśanam

Translation
For the conditioned souls, the human body is most difficult to achieve, and it can be lost at any moment. But I think that even those who have achieved human life rarely gain the association of pure devotees, who are dear to the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha. (ŚB 11.2.29)
What is another boon? That humans have the chance to get the association of pure devotees, who are also called Vaikuntha Priya as Lord’s another name is Vaikuntha Pati.

sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

Translation
The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord, because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Shri Hari [Krishna]. (Verse 7, Gurvastaka)

The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord and most dear to Lord Krsna simultaneously. Getting to see them, being in their association is a boon. Therefore, O Human! Wake up! Understand and realise the special boon of a human body. This human life is very rare and is obtained after many, many lifetimes. If you want to be saved and rescued from this dangerous Bhava Sagar then you should engage in satsanga and chanting the names of Krsna, Pandurang or Vitthal.

Kar katawari thevuniya, If you see Vitthala here in Pandharpur, He is standing on the brick with His hands on His waist. He is also giving a message through this, ”Dear devotee, you have come to have My darsana, since you have seen Me and you are in front of Me, this means that you have crossed the ocean or bhava sagar. You have reached the banks. Here the water is not much, It is only upto the waist. You will not drown. You can easily swim through or walk through.”

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Pray and help the devotees. Serve the cows. Chant and do kīrtana. Practice Krishna consciousness. If you have any questions, you may ask.

Hare Krsna!