CONTENTS:
- SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 3.5.12 (PART - 5) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 3.5.12 (PART - 5) QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
SB 3.5.12
munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁ
sakhāpi te bhāratam āha kṛṣṇaḥ
yasmin nṛṇāṁ grāmya-sukhānuvādair
matir gṛhītā nu hareḥ kathāyām
TRANSLATION
Your friend the great sage Krishna-dvaipayana Vyasa has already described the transcendental qualities of the Lord in his great work the Mahabharata. But the whole idea is to draw the attention of the mass of people to Krishna-katha [Bhagavad-gita] through their strong affinity for hearing mundane topics.
Question unclear
A: Again, Mahabharat has been written for whom? Less intelligent class of people. Mahabharata, the presentation as Prabhupada has pointed out that Mahabharata is actually not leading to the spiritual sky. Apparently, the goal of Mahabharata is the heavenly planets, the general goal is heavenly planets but when you read the Bhagavad Gita then everything becomes clear. It’s like a sugar-coated medicine, the medicine is there but you tell the child look here’s such a nice candy and the child being attracted to the candy takes it but eventually he takes the medicine. So, Mahabharata is something like that sugar coated Vedanta philosophy.
Q: Why did Yudhistir Maharaja have to go to hell?
A: A devotee whether he goes to hell or heaven that is always spiritual for him. A king’s man goes to the prison does he become a prisoner? So, if you consider hell to be the prison then if Krishna’s devotee goes to hell does he go to hell? He goes there to accomplish some purpose. One does not get the real understanding from Mahabharata. Yudhistir Maharaja although he went to heaven he had to go to hell. Why? He had to go to hell not because he told a lie, he didn’t tell a lie but his mistake was that Krishna told him something and he didn’t do that and that was his fault. Ultimately you see they are all pure devotees of the Lord. When you see things in the light of Krishna Consciousness then you get another picture and that picture is the real picture. The picture that has been drawn in Mahabharata is not the real picture.
Q: Is it bad fortune to be born in a woman’s body?
A: See that is according to the body’s nature but when you come to the soul it’s a different consideration altogether. In one hand scriptures are saying women are less intelligent, their birth is not so exalted and so forth but then again, we are seeing who are the greatest devotees of Krishna? All the women are the greatest devotees of Krishna so do you see the difference? Materially they may seem that way but the spiritual consideration is completely different. When you come to spiritual consideration one is praying let me become a woman. For example, Bhaktivinod Thakur is praying that when I achieve my spiritual perfection may I become a maidservant of Srimati Radharani, aims to become a woman, a maidservant. That’s why we prone to develop some misconception, even scriptural conclusions from a mundane perspective therefore one has to take it from a spiritual perspective. So, you are very fortunate that you have taken birth in a woman’s body.
Question unclear?
A: See the Vedic understanding is that if the husband dies without having an offspring, then the wife can have a child from the brother-in-law. In other ages that was the custom and that custom has been forbidden in this age of Kali. When one tries to reach liberation through sanyas that sanyas is forbidden in this age but to accept sanyas in order to offer one’s body, mind and soul to Krishna, that sanyas is alright. In ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada and Bhaktisidanta Sarasvati Thakur instituted that sanyas, tridanda sanyas not ekadanda sanyas.
Q: Who was Vicitravirya?
A: He was the son of Shantanu and Satyavati. They had to sons Citrangada and Vicitravirya. Satyavati became the queen Shantanu’s wife and had these two sons. Vicitravirya was married to two princesses of the King of Kashi, Ambika and Ambalika. There were three sisters and Amba wanted to marry Shalva and when she told Bhisma that she gave her heart to Shalva then he said OKAY you go back to him but when she went back to Shalva, he didn’t want to take her and said that the lion doesn’t take the remnants of other animals. You have been taken by Bhisma now he is giving me charity, you go back to him. She appealed to Bhisma to marry her and he said that he can’t and she insisted that no one wants to accept her so Bhisma must accept her. Bhisma refused so then she approached Parasurama and he appealed to Bhisma and Bhisma said that he had taken a vow so how can he marry.
Parasurama said I am your guru and I am e you to marry her and still Bhisma would not listen to him. Finally, they got into a fight. Fighting with Parasurama was not easy and eventually Bhisma won and Parasurama told Amba he was sorry and could not do anything. She entered into fire to give up her body with an intense desire to kill Bhisma and as a result she appeared Shikandi in her next life as the son of King Drupad, Draupadi’s brother. Shikandi eventually became the cause of Bhisma’s death. Bhisma knew that Shikandi in her previous life was Amba and Bhisma will not release arrows towards a lady he will be cautious and Krishna knew this and Krishna advised that Arjuna takes Shikandi as his charioteer and because she was there Arjuna could shoot arrows at Bhisma. Bhisma took the arrows from Arjuna without any defence or protest and as a result of that he fell. All these arrows pierced his body and went out the other side and when he fell, he fell on this bed of arrows.
Q: This Mahabharata and Krishna’s pastimes is like a play and what if we become a demon in these pastimes?
A: The proper understanding is the even if we become a demon in Krishna’s pastimes still this is the benefit so think what kind of benefit we will derive if we become a devotee of Krishna? A Krishna Conscious person will take it in this way not a demon. The disadvantage of becoming a demon is that we have to be killed by Krishna and if we not killed by Krishna then we are in trouble. If we killed by Krishna, we will derive benefit but if we are not then what? If we become a devotee of Krishna whoever we killed by we will still derive the ultimate benefit.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Then fortunately Srila Prabhupada came, our Srila Prabhupada came. Prabhupada was actually an insignificant personality during that time, it is not that he was lacking in his brilliance by any chance. But nobody could see that. I discovered some early writings of Srila Prabhupada from 1948, 1940 onwards of the Gaudiya Math magazines. I discovered some early writings and I could see they were such brilliant writings. But Srila Prabhupada was not really recognized. Because they saw him as a householder so there was no exposure to his brilliance, although it was there. It was not that all of a sudden, he became saktyaveshar avatar, as some less intelligent persons think. They think that Srila Prabhupada was a nobody and then suddenly he became a saktyaveshar avatar. But that is not the case. Srila Prabhupada has always been that great personality. From his writing and his actions, we saw Srila Prabhupada’s surrender and sacrifice. Who can make such a sacrifice?
(Excerpt from Prabhupada realizations)
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- When you read the Bhagavad Gita then everything becomes clear;
- When you see things in the light of Krishna Consciousness then you get another picture and that picture is the real picture;
- That’s why we prone to develop some misconception, even scriptural conclusions from a mundane perspective therefore one has to take it from a spiritual perspective; and
- If we become a devotee of Krishna whoever we killed by we will still derive the ultimate benefit.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on 26 August 2008 in ISKCON Ujjain)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)