1 January 2021
Krsna descends for His devotees
Hare Kṛṣṇa! Devotees from 778 locations are chanting with us.
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya!
Today the new year commences, 1 January 2021, the 21st year of the 21st century. Wish you all a very happy new year! It’s a new year just to say that the year has changed. Are you able to experience any new change? I’m not seeing anything different. The same sun has risen today. We still have the same 24 hours. This year will also have 24 hours in a day, 12 months a year.
Baldeva Vidya Bhushan has written his commentary on Bhagavad-Gita, Srila Prabhupada has also written his purports. In the preface of Bhagavad Gita, Srila Prabhupada writes, there are 5 subjects matters – Ishvara (God), Prakriti (Material Nature), Jiva (living entity), Kala (time) Karma (work). Besides Karma all other subject matters are eternal, the Supreme Lord (Ishvara) is eternal, His energy (Prakriti) is also eternal,
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca
Translation
“The Supreme Lord has got multi-varieties of energy, and they are working.” [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad]
The five elements of nature namely earth, air, water, fire, ether are also eternal; Jiva is an eternal energy of the Lord. Only the Lord and His energies exist eternally. There are different energies in the whole universe, antaranga shakti, bahiranga shakti (material world), adhyatmika shakti (spritual world), tatastha shakti (living entity) all these energies are eternal.
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
Translation
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. (BG 15.7)
Next is kala, time which is also eternal, inconceivable. The Lord says, aham kalosmi; I am death for the living entity.
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi
Translation
One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament. (BG 2.27)
mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham
udbhavaś ca bhaviṣyatām
kīrtiḥ śrīr vāk ca nārīṇāṁ
smṛtir medhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā
Translation
I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience. (BG 10.34)
I am Kṛṣṇa, I am Govind. govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami.
rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan
nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu
kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
Translation
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who manifested Himself personally as Kṛṣṇa and the different avatāras in the world in the forms of Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, etc., as His subjective portions. (BS 5.39)
People who do not take shelter of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa arrives in the form of death. Tan anay dhavam….. Yamaraja orders the Yamdutas to get those untruthful persons to him for severe punishment. The material existence is full of of thousands types, one of which is birth and death.
With every activity that we do, we sow a seed. A seed of desire or a seed of sin or piety and in this way karma is not eternal. By time it fructifies and is given to us.
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa
jantur dehopapattaye
striyāḥ praviṣṭa udaraṁ
puṁso retaḥ-kaṇāśrayaḥ
Translation
The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body. (SB 3.31.1)
If one has committed pious deeds and similarly if sins are committed, then the influence of time will derive its results.
ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā
madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā
adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
Translation
Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the abominable mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds. (BG. 14.18)
Therefore as work is done, one will get the results by the influence of time. It may even take several lifetimes.
āyur harati vai puṁsām
udyann astaṁ ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta
uttama-śloka-vārtayā
Translation
Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. (SB 2.3.17)
The Lord is known as uttama-śloka, because He is glorified by the best of the verses (sloka) by great demigods and devotees. When a person is engaged in the talks of the Lord, uttama-śloka, the time in the form of death does not affect that person.
mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca
Translation
The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. (BG 10.9)
This means that they will not have to suffer the consequences or fruits of any of their deeds or actions. They will be freed from the cycle of birth and death. Both pious and sinful activities are binding by nature. A sinner goes to hell and a pious man goes to heaven, but both are temporary. A devotee doesn’t desire either of these. Devotional activities don’t belong to this world so they do not result in pious or sinful deeds. There are 3 types of activities : akarma (devotional activities), karma (dutiful or piety), vikarma (sinful).
vāsudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ
jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam
Translation
By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world. (SB 1.2.7)
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
Translation
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. (BG 10.10)
Krsna said those who have gained knowledge, by reading and hearing Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagwatam, their karma will get burnt.
yathaidhāṁsi samiddho ’gnir
bhasma-sāt kurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi
bhasma-sāt kurute tathā
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. ( BG 4.37)
The seeds instead of fructifying will get destroyed by knowledge. The three gates to hell are lust, envy and greed. A person who is not interested in enjoying the fruits of his pious deeds and engages in devotional service attains the eternal abode of Krsna. As stated in Caitanya-caritamrta,
kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali ‘aśānta’
Translation
Because a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jñānīs desire liberation, and yogīs desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful. (CC Madhya 19.149)
Krsna sends death for everyone, He takes away everything from that person, but for His devotees, He Himself descends to take that soul. When you practice devotional service your whole life then at the last breath you shall remember Kṛṣṇa and you will certainly attain Kṛṣṇa. Any engagement in the nine process of devotional service is bhakti.
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
Translation
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. (SB 7. 5.23)
In this way we understand death (kaal) and karma (action). These are the total five topics explained in Bhagavad Gita. New year has arrived, but we don’t have to do anything new. You are supposed to continue with your devotional activities. Engage in hearing, chanting and singing the glories of Kṛṣṇa, uttama-śloka-vārtayā. We are discussing on several topics daily, go and preach them to others. Distribute more and more books.
In this world we are experiencing lots of ups and downs, round and rounds like a roller-coaster ride. To be protected and saved we must engage ourselves in devotional activities.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Utilize the media, make it spiritual media, reach out with knowledge of Bhagavad Gita to more and more people.
Hare Krsna!