CONTENTS:
- LILA AVATARS (PART - 2)
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. LILA AVATARS (PART - 2)
I wanted to speak about Mahabharata today, so this Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharata and Mahabharata is the history of this world. This planet is the planet meant for human beings. The human beings reside on the earth planet. This is the history of mankind on the earth planet. What is the history? This history of Mahabharata is actually coming from the moon dynasty. There are two specific Ksatriya lineages or royal lines: one coming from Suryadeva, Sun God and the other coming from Moon God so they are known as Suryavamsa and Candravamsa.
In Suryavamsa Lord Ramchandra appeared. Vivasvan is the Sun God, his son is Manu, Manu’s son is Iksvaku and in this line of Iksvaku Lord Ramchandra appeared. So that is one line and from the moon dynasty came this Pandavas and Mahabharata is the history of that line specifically and in this line Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared? Now does it mean that Krishna was not there and was just born in that family like us? No, Krishna takes birth like an ordinary person simply out of His causeless mercy and will. Krishna does not need to take birth. God does not need to take birth He can come anywhere He wants but still sometimes He takes birth and He acts like a human being. That does not mean that He becomes a human being. He appears in the human society and acts like a human being in order to attract other human beings towards Him. Just like Krishna appeared as a fish, Matsya avatar, Krishna appeared as a tortoise as Kurma avatar, Krishna appeared as a boar Varahadeva.
Krishna appeared as half man half lion Nrsinghadeva and when Krishna appeared as Nrsinghadeva He just appeared from a pillar. His devotee Prahlad told his father who was the king of the demons Hiranyakashipu, “yes Krishna is present even in this pillar.” Hiranyakashipu asked Prahlad “Where is Krishna? Where is your Hari?” Prahlad said “Hari is everywhere.” Hiranyakashipu asked “Is He even in this pillar also?” Krishna is situated in every single universe and at the same time He is also residing within every single atom and this is how Krishna is present everywhere. So yes, He is also within the pillar. Hiranyakashipu was so powerful that he just hit that pillar with his fist and the pillar just broke but at that time he heard a terrible sound and a very strange figure came out of the pillar whose head was like that of a lion and whose body was like a man’s. Narasimha: Nara means a man and simha means a lion. Half man half lion form. So, in this way the Lord can come in any form.
As Varahadeva He came as a little thing from the nostril of Brahma and it became so big in such a short time that boar dove into the causal ocean and went into the Garbha Ocean into the nether region of the world and from there, He rescued the earth planet. The whole earth planet was lying in between His tusks. Keshava, Krishna appeared as a transcendental boar and He lifted the earth planet with His tusks. Although He appeared as a very small tiny little boar, then within no time He became so big that He could just hold the earth planet on His tusks and that’s how He lifted and rescued the earth planet.
As Krishna, He appeared as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. Although Krishna appeared as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki right after His birth, He displayed His form armed Narayana form to His parents. There is a difference between our birth and His birth. Krishna appeared as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His full glory.
When we take birth, we are born in total ignorance, we don’t know where we came from or where we are going so somehow, we just appeared here and we begin to gather information which is retained in our memory and that’s how we are able to function. But that is not the case with Krishna. Krishna was born in His full glory as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His activities are always superhuman although He appeared as a human being. His activities were unusual. Like Krishna when He was only seven days old, He killed a witch called Putana. Putana came to kill Krishna by offering Him her breasts which was smeared with the deadliest poison but Krishna not only digested the poison but He sucked her life air out.
In this way we can see that Krishna’s activities are unusual. That is the Supreme Personality of Godhead although He appears as an ordinary human being.
Krishna Himself said in Bhagavad Gita 4.9:
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so ‘rjuna
TRANSLATION
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
His birth and activities are divine or transcendental and one who knows that in truth when he leaves his body he does not come back into this world.
If we can understand that Krishna’s birth and Krishna’s activities are divine and transcendental beyond the laws of material nature then we become free from our bondage of birth and death.
Krishna also said He appeared with His internal potency.
Krishna said in Bhagavad Gita 4.6
ajo `pi sann avyayatma bhutanam isvaro `pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya sambhavamy atma-mayaya
TRANSLATION
Although I am unborn and my transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.
Although He is unborn and is the Lord and master of all the living entities but still, He takes birth as a human being through His internal potency.
In Chaitanya Charamrita it is stated that of all the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead His most wonderful activities are His human pastimes. His original form is like that of a man but that doesn’t mean that Krishna is a human being. In this context we can remember a statement from the Bible, a man has been created according to the image of God. Do we find some resemblance here? If our form is created according to His image then doesn’t it imply that his original form is like ours? But there is a difference, our form is made of matter whereas His form is spiritual, sacidanandavigraha, His form is made of eternity, knowledge and bliss. These are the three spiritual substances.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Whenever Srila Prabhupada spoke to someone, especially someone important, he would remind him or her about the real solution to all our problems – acceptance of Krishna Consciousness, “Just surrender unto Krishna and try to serve Him,” he would say. “He will take care of you in all respects and provide for everything you need. Laksmi-devi will be so pleased with you that she will shower so much wealth with her four hands that you will not be able to receive it with your two”
(Excerpt from page 138 of Ocean of Mercy, a book written by HH Bhakti Charu Swami)
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- If we can understand that Krishna’s birth and Krishna’s activities are divine and transcendental beyond the laws of material nature then we become free from our bondage of birth and death.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami entitled Lila Avatars given on 2 August 1993)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)