English
Date: 10 April 2024
Speaker: HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj
Topic: Question-Answer Session
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj:
Somedays ago, when I have delivered the Japa Talk. Have you remembered that topic?
The topic was Shabdayonitavah.
Word is the source of everything. Word creates the whole universe. Krishna gave some words to Brahma.
SB 1.1.1:
oṁnamobhagavatevāsudevāya
janmādyasyayato ’nvayāditarataścārtheṣvabhijñaḥsvarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdāyaādi-kavayemuhyantiyatsūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁyathāvinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā
dhāmnāsvenasadānirasta-kuhakaṁsatyaṁparaṁdhīmahi
Translation:
O my Lord, ŚrīKṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord ŚrīKṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord ŚrīKṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
With the help of those words, Brahma creates this world. And we, living beings also create our little worlds in it; this is my place, this is my city, this is my home etc. We all create such a world and covered by it. This is the reason of our material bondage. We also gave an example of silkworm. Silkworm creates the thread with its own body. The world created on the basis of lust, desires and mental speculation of the beings. As the silkworm trapped in his own thread and died in it. Human beings also trapped in the material bondage in the same way. I have told you about this in that japa talk earlier.
Word is the main cause of the creation. Words are of two types. We have to become free from all the bondages. Hence, we have to listen those words which can take us to that world.
Vedant Sutra 4.4.22:
anāvṛttiḥśabdāt, anāvṛttiḥśabdāt
Translation:
(There is) no return (for these released souls); on account of scriptural declaration (to that effect).
These words are from SrimadBhagvatam, Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures. The main conclusion of these words is:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare - Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare
SB 1.2 18:
naṣṭa-prāyeṣvabhadreṣu
nityaṁbhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavatyuttama-śloke
bhaktirbhavatinaiṣṭhikī
Translation:
By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.
CCAdi 17.31:
tṛṇādapisu-nīcena
tarorivasahiṣṇunā
amānināmāna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥsadāhariḥ
Translation:
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”
The words of Mahamantra are AnavritihShabdah. These words can stop the repetition of birth and death.
Bhaja Govindam – Adi Shankaracharya:
punarapijananaMpunarapimaraNaM
punarapijananiijaThareshayanam.h .
ihasaMsaarebahudustaare
kRipayaa.apaarepaahimuraare
Translation:
Born again, death again, birth again to stay in the mother's womb ! It is indeed hard to cross this boundless ocean of samsara. Oh Murari ! Redeem me through Thy mercy.
These words will give introduction of ourselves and Krishna. These words will introduce us to the etarnal world which is adobe of Krishna Himself. These words will instruct us to go back to that adobe. By following these words, we will go back to Goloka Dham.
AamhiJaatoAamchyaaGaawaa, Saint Tukaram:
AamhiJaatoAamchyaaGaawaa।
Aamchaa Raam RaamGhyaavaa
We have discussed on this topic and we have promised you that you can ask your questions and give your comments. Are you ready?
Question-Answer
Kamsa Nishudan Das: I also want to go back, Back to Godhead. That’s why I am joining this Japa talk every day.
Sadhya Bhakti Devi Dasi: We have created our own worlds and we get trapped in it. How we can detach from these bondages?
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj:
We will detach by hearing these AnavritihShabdah. This is the only way. By transcendental words, we may deliver from this material world. Hearing Hare Krishna Mahamantra, Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita is devotion.
SB 1.2.7:
vāsudevebhagavati
bhakti-yogaḥprayojitaḥ
janayatyāśuvairāgyaṁ
jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam
Translation:
By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, ŚrīKṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.
By hearing process, we will attain knowledge and detachment. Knowledge will further give us self-realisation.
SB 7.5.23:
śrī-prahrādauvāca
śravaṇaṁkīrtanaṁviṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁpāda-sevanam
arcanaṁvandanaṁdāsyaṁ
sakhyamātma-nivedanam
Translation:
Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.
Ananya Bhakti Devi Dasi: How we can destroy our subtle body, so that we don’t have to take another birth?
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj: Good question! We have two types of bondages: One by the Gross body and another one is subtle body. Gross body is made of five elements which will be destroy at the time of death. But subtle body will stay with us. Until it stays with us, we have to take another birth. Some times people commit suicide out of frustration. But another body will entangled him. Subtle body will leave by chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Our heart will clear out (Ceto Darpan Marjanam).
Cc. Antya 20.12:
ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ
śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁvidyā-vadhū-jīvanam
ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁprati-padaṁpūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ
sarvātma-snapanaṁparaṁvijayateśrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam
Translation:
‘Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.’
Your consciousness will be cleaned. All of our old sacraments will be washed out and new sacraments will be made.
Mind has three works to do: Thinking, feeling and willing. By hearing Hare Krishna mahamantra, SrimadBhagvatam and Srimad Bhagavad Gita, our consciousness will be cleaned.
Bhagavad-gītā 4.37:
yathaidhāṁsisamiddho ’gnir
bhasma-sātkurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥsarva-karmāṇi
bhasma-sātkurutetathā
Translation:
As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.
Mind has accumulated our sacraments from so many births. These sacraments will now develop as lust in this birth. Hearing process will destroy our all sacraments, which is placed in our heart as the seed of desires. This seed will be burnt out by devotion. Krishna will give us intelligence.
BG 10.10:
teṣāṁsatata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁprīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁtaṁ
yenamāmupayāntite
Translation:
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Those who are practicing sadhana bhakti, Krishna will provide intelligence to them. Our parents, schools and other people can give us only materialist knowledge. Krishna will give us intelligence and guidance and that intelligence can be used to go back, backtoGodhead. Our subtle body will be delivered by doing Sadhna. Then we will understand us as Dasoasmi. Prabhupada told us that there are two types of ego: False ego and real ego. Real ego is, we are the servant of krishna.
Thus, our mind, intelligence and ego will be changed and purified. It will get spiritualised.
BG 8.6:
yaṁyaṁvāpismaranbhāvaṁ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaitikaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
Translation:
Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntī, that state he will attain without fail.
When it is the time to leave this body, we will remember Krishna, because we will be free from our subtle body. Those AnavritihShabdah will be freed us 96+from the cycle of birth and death. Our all further coming lives will be cancelled and wedon’t have to took birth again.
Question: We took birth with bondages. I got initiated by the grace of Krishna and spiritual master. I am practicing to be freed from materialistic bondages. How can I experience that I am getting freed or not?
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj: It can be measured by how much we are detached from the material world. Prabhupada used to give the example of marriage party. Everyone sat on the boat to reach the destination till next morning. The sailor was sailing the boat whole night. But they don’t reach to the destination, Because, the sailor had not pulled the anchor out. The materialistic bondages will be cut off by the guidance of Spiritual master. Jagai and Madhai were also delivered. Mrigari Was also delivered, when he follows the instruction of Narad Muni that take the beads and do chanting with your wife. Once, Narad Muni visited with Pravat muni to see Mrigari. When they reached there, Mrigari wants to go straight to his spiritual master. Narad Muni was expecting the same. But Mrigari came in a zigzag pattern. Narad Muni asked the reason, then Mrigari asked for forgiveness for the same. He said there are so many ants on the way. If I will come straight, many ants can be died by placing my feet on them. I could not do that. Narad Muni said,” Well done!” and he was pleased with Mrigari. Once Mrigari was very cruel that he took pleasure by killing the animals and birds. Now, he is completely changed, as he follows the instruction of his spiritual master and hear the AnavritihShabdah. He became detached. This example must give us strength to keep practicing.
We are not only told to do devotion only, but the process of devotion is also told. At the time of initiation, we are not told to do sixteen rounds of chanting only, but also to follow the four regulative principal and to avoid the ten offences against Holy name.
We must keep these things in our mind and keep practicing. We should have faith and knowledge that Krishna will protect us.
Bhakt Jayesh (Ujjain): Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj. We have listened the Japa Talk of ours on AanavritihShabdah and we were reading the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.7, I was touched by the commentary of Srila Vishvanath Chakrabarty Thakur.
ŚB 1.7.7:
yasyāṁvaiśrūyamāṇāyāṁ
kṛṣṇeparama-pūruṣe
bhaktirutpadyatepuṁsaḥ
śoka-moha-bhayāpahā
Translation:
Simply by giving aural reception to this Vedic literature, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness.
Srila Vishvanath Chakraborty Thakur said that this verse shows that srimad Bhagavatam provides love for Krishna.Then what to say about people engaging them in the process of hearing. ‘Bhakti’ here means Prema.
It was very delightful to read this.
HH Lokanath Swami: When we will experience real love, only then we can be freed from lust. Devotion makes us earn the Love.
Cc Madhya 22.107:
nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhunaya
śravaṇādi-śuddha-cittekarayeudaya
Translation:
Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.
Our Consciousness andheart will be purified by hearing. Krishna Prema and the relation with Krishna arises. Only then, we can pick off the lust. And we are doing this every day. It is not possible to free from lust, if we don’t have Love. For example, there is a watch or a toy in the hand of a child. He can play or can break it. He will not leave that toy until he got more attractive thing that he has.
SB 2.1.4:
dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv
ātma-sainyeṣvasatsvapi
teṣāṁpramattonidhanaṁ
paśyannapinapaśyati
Translation:
Persons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.
We are so much attached with the material world that we can’t see even showing it. Goloka Dham will be revealed when we will be freed from lust. We will go forward to that Goloka Dham and we will have our back towards this material world. We will be on track again.
BG 2.59:
viṣayāvinivartante
nirāhārasyadehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁraso ’pyasya
paraṁdṛṣṭvānivartate
Translation:
Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.
When we will have the higher taste, we can easily give upthe lower taste. The higher taste is chanting and Krishna Katha. Our gaol is not only to become detached from this material world. Our Main goal is to awaken the Love for krishna. Our goal is not only to get the Dharma, Artha, kaam and Moksha. Our ultimate goal is getting the love of Krishna. premāpumarthomahān. Pumartho. We want some achievement in this life. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Achieve love of Godhead. That is the best [indistinct]." Premāpumarthomahān. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for that purpose, how we can develop our love for Kṛṣṇa.
This is the addition benefit given by our acharyas. We not only have to be free, but to become a devotee.
Love for Krishna is within us, we don’t need to purchaseit from super market. These exposure words will help us to revive that love. The words of Mayavadis can be freed from the materialistic bondage only. We can’t get the Love of Krishna by hearing those words.
These exposure words must come from an authentic spiritual master. This world is full of psudo Guru and those Gurus have their own words. These words can get you the swarga loka maximum. There are no loving exchanges.
Krishna says,” Oodhu Mohin Braj Bisrat Nahin”. I can’t forget the Vraja. There is the dealing of love exchange. Here in this world, there are business dealing. There are two types of words. There are some words which inspire us to do lusty things and there are some words, which inspire us to get Love.
We create the world on the basis of the words, we are inspired with.
Gita Mahatmay, Verse 4:
gītāsu-gītākartavyā
kimanyaiḥśāstra-vistaraiḥ
yāsvayaṁpadmanābhasya
mukha-padmādviniḥsṛtā
Translation:
Because Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not read any other Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hear and read Bhagavad-gītā. In the present age, people are so absorbed in mundane activities that it is not possible for them to read all the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This one book, Bhagavad-gītā, will suffice, because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures and especially because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
These are the words of Krishna. These words will lead us to the eternal destination.
A devotee asks question from the side of many devotees. As, Arjuna asks question from the side of all of us.
Question: Yesterday we listened in the class that Krishna resides within our heart. How can we understand that?
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj: You should have faith on that as Krishna himself is telling this in Bhagavad Gita.
BG 15.15:
sarvasyacāhaṁhṛdisanniviṣṭo
mattaḥsmṛtirjñānamapohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvairahamevavedyo
vedānta-kṛdveda-vid evacāham
Translation:
I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
If Krishna has said this, so, we must trust him.
BG 4.40:
ajñaścāśraddadhānaś ca
saṁśayātmāvinaśyati
nāyaṁloko ’stinaparo
nasukhaṁsaṁśayātmanaḥ
Translation:
But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.
Those, who don’t trust Krishna will be destroyed.
Why Krishna will not reside us? He worried about us. He is our father and mother. The lord is always with us just like the parents are always keeping an eye of the little helpless child. They never leave them alone. So, the lord is concerned about us and so he never leaves us. So, even if we become pig in the next life.Our current wife and kids many not follow us to a pig’s life. But Krishna will be there in those spices also. Does the lord is trying to take soul back home to him? So, he is always awaiting, when will the soul turn to me? Krishna sends spiritual master to them. He resides in the heart and guides from within.But we don't hear those sounds.Even on seeing we don't see.
SB 2.1.4:
dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv
ātma-sainyeṣvasatsvapi
teṣāṁpramattonidhanaṁ
paśyannapinapaśyati
Translation:
Persons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.
So, Krishna then comes as spiritual master.
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.151:
brahmāṇḍabhramitekonabhāgyavānjīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasādepāya bhakti-latā-bīja
Translation:
“The fallen, conditioned living entity, trapped by the external energy, loiters in the material world, but if by good fortune he meets a bona fide representative of the Lord, and if he takes advantage of such a guru, he receives the seed of devotional service.” (
Guru and Gauranga are a team. Krishna sends spiritual master and he tells the same things that Krishna from within was saying. Then we hear and ask questionsand spiritual master answers and delivers us. This is teamwork of Guru and Gauranga. If one wants to hear that there is no God. So, we can do sin.Then, God gives this idea too. We will get the reaction for our actions.Vinashkaleviparita Buddhi. When we are transferred from one body to another, we don’t know anything that what we have to do, if Krishna will not with us. Krishna guides us from within.
BG 15.15:
sarvasyacāhaṁhṛdisanniviṣṭo
mattaḥsmṛtirjñānamapohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvairahamevavedyo
vedānta-kṛdveda-vid evacāham
Translation:
I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
Krishna says I am the source of remembrance and forgetfulness. If Krishna is everywhere then why can’t He be in the heart, in deities.
Question:If spiritual world is eternal happiness and why we have to come in this material world which is full of miseries?
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj: We should ask how can get out from this materialistic world. This is not important to ask when and why I have fallen. The intelligent question is how we can arise from this material world. We should concentrate on how we can go back, back to Godhead, how we can become devotee. If we will focus on tis, then there will be no worries.
Hare Krishna!
