Verse: Krishna's Pastimes in Vrindavan
Transcription: Her Grace Archana Dasi
Editing: Her Grace Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi
HHBCS: Yes he was killing his own children. Please start again.
Q: When does Krsna kill these demons in our heart?
HHBCS: When we become devotees then Krsna kills the demons not when we become pretenders like Bakasura. Sometimes we become Bakasura’s sisya and we pretend to be saintly but we are not actually that saintly. When we surrender unto Krsna then Krsna actually takes care of the demons. Krsna purifies our heart of all these impediments.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Yes. When all these impediments, they may come from time to time but if we surrender unto Krsna with full faith. Like if we are staying in Vrndavan that means if our heart is full of faith then in the Land of Vrndavan, Krsna will take care of all the demons.
Q: What about anger, lust and envy?
HHBCS: Anger, lust and envy, they are also taken care of by Krsna. Lust, greed, anger, Yes. At least in that book I am referring to by Bhaktivinode Thakur Krsna Samhita, so far I did not come across lust, greed, anger etc…Before one even surrenders to Krsna, enters into devotion, one has to give up these things. These are the anarthas that have to be given up.
Q: How long does it actually take for Krsna to enter our heart?
HHBCS: The process is navadha bhakti, the nine forms of devotional service that begins with sravanam, hearing then chanting. It is said that from all theses processes hearing is the most effective, the most potent. (Krsna prema krsna dita pare maha tattva) When we hear properly then gradually our devotion develops.That development is in the form of adau sraddha, the development of faith, tato sadhu-sanga, and association of devotees. Due to association of devotees begins the bhajana kriya then after bhajana kriya comes anartha nivritti. Anartha nivritti is the most difficult to cross. I heard Tamal Krsna Maharaj’s class on Madhurya Kadambini. Madhurya Kadambini deals with this aspect anartha nivritti at a great land. There are two types of devotion, one is called nisthita and anistitha bhakti. Nisthita means devotional service in a fixed up kind of consciousness or fixed up devotional service. Anisthita is unstable devotional service. This unsteady devotional service is actually different stages of anarthas. As long we have anarthas our devotion will be unstable. You can see how anarthas is the greatest obstacle to cross. Once you cross the obstacles of anarthas then you come to the statge nisthita bhakti or fixed devotional service. When your devotion becomes steady, your progress is automatically taken care of.
There are four types of anarthas:
Anarthas coming from sinful activities
Anarthas coming from pious activities
Anarthas coming from bhakti
Anarthas developing from aparadhas
These are the four types of anarthas.
There are also different stages of unsteady devotional service. There are six different stages of unsteady devotional service. That also I will describe there. The first one is utsahamayi, enthusiasm. It is full of anarthas but very enthusiastic devotion. That enthusiasm only lasts for short while. Then it becomes mental platform, sometimes steady sometimes unsteady, sometimes enthusiastic sometimes not unenthusiastic. The third stage is being unable to decide what to do. The fourth stage is a constant struggle with the material nature, the objects of the senses. The fifth stage is unable to keep up the vows.
The sixth stage is floating in the waves of success, taranga-rangini, and waves of love puja condition. So when we get across that anarthas stage then we come to nistha. After nistha comes asakti then ruci then bhava then prema. Sukadeva Goswami in Srimad Bhagavatam says
SB 1.2.18
nastha-prayeshv abhadreshu
nityam bhagavata-sevaya
bhagavaty uttama-sloke
bhaktir bhavati naishthiki
By steady hearing comes naisthiki bhakti, by proper hearing, bhagavata-sevaya. The other stages come beyond that stage, not only from hearing but by involvement and developing that spiritual emotion for Krsna leads to the level of bhava.
There also in Madhurya Kadambini, Visvanatha Chakravathi Thakur describes that after nisthta bhakti comes bhava bhakti then prema bhakti, depending upon our involvement in Krsna Consciousness.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Position of Vrnda Devi? Originally Vrnda Devi is also a wife of Krsna, but in these pastimes Vrnda Devi is the care taker of the forests of Vrndavana. She was the daughter of a king, she is a princess. In order to get the Supreme Personality of Godhead as her husband, she started to perform austerities. She came to the forest of Vrndavana and she used to stay in a hut. She used to undergo various types of austerity and live alone there. There are two ladies actually, Vrnda and Vira, they used to stay there, in Vrndavana. So one day Radha and Krsna had a fight over the possession of the garden in Vrndavana. The question was who it actually belongs to. Krsna and Madhumangala claimed it was their garden and Radharani and her friends, Lalita and Vishaka, claimed it was their garden. So to figure out whose garden it actually was, they approached Vrnda because Vrnda was there in the forest, she knew who it actually belongs to. So when Vrnda was asked Vrnda said that all this while I have been seeing that only Radha’s friends come and collect the flowers from here I have not seen anyone from Nanda Maharaja’s side to come and pick up flowers from here, so this garden belongs to Radha. Radharani became very pleased with Vrnda so she gave her the position of düté, to be her messenger. Whenever Radharani had to send some message to Krsna, she uses Vrnda, so that is Vrnda’s position.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: She is Yogamaya. Yes, she is Krsna’s energy yogamaya
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Well, first of all it is good to feel discouraged. It is good to feel that you are the lower. On the spiritual platform the lower we feel, it is better for us. Actually this part you have answered yourself by saying that it is the mercy. Ultimate success in spiritual life depends upon the mercy of the Lord, the mercy of the spiritual master, the mercy of the vaisnavas and that’s what I was actually explaining. After the nistha bhakti, we can actually make an endeavor, it is up to us. But after that it is up to the mercy, we don’t really have anything to do there. It is only by the mercy of the Lord and his devotees that we can go further
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Well, nityam bhagavata-sevaya will lead to that point of nistha, bhaktir bhavati naistiki but after that it is mercy. But the thing is that when we become fixed up in our devotion then the mercy automatically flows because Krsna wants to bestow His mercy upon us, we simply have to become qualified to receive that mercy.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: The thing is that when they become Kali’s sisya, they think that Kali is the greatest. You see everybody thinks that his master is the best. Right! Kamsa’s followers were thinking Kamsa is the greatest although Krsna was there and they saw how powerful Krsna was, even after they saw Krsna killed Kamsa, still they could not surrender to Krsna, many of them. And they fought like Jarasanda, Sishupala, Dantavraka and Salva, they all were fighting with Krsna. This is the demoniac nature in spite of seeing the power of Krsna they do not want to surrender to Him. This is what pride is, it is because of their pride. That is why to become a devotee one has to develop the quality which is opposite to pride. That is humbleness. So a devotee must become humble. Humble means surrender to the superior, being surrendered to the more powerful and who is more powerful than Krsna? Now let us consider in our day to day life, we are practicing devotional service.
Why can’t we surrender to Krsna? because we do not have faith. We do not have faith because we don’t believe in God. That is atheism. This is Kamsa’s influence, the part of us that is Kamsa’s sisya does not allow us to become a devotee although we know that Krsna is the greatest. That is why it is so important to hear, because more we hear, our faith will become strong but if we do not hear , we do not read, we will forget Krsna. Otherwise what is the opposite of Krsna Consciousness? Just going to Mangala arati in the temple, a few times in the temple, and seeing the Deities. We don’t see the Deities, we think it is a piece of stone. So how can we expect that we are going to develop our faith? Therefore the first thing is hearing and chanting. When devotees lose the taste for hearing and chanting, it is the most unfortunate thing that can happen and unfortunately it is happening to many devotees of our society.
No! I would not say that, I would say that it is a good sign now that the devotees are developing the taste for hearing and chanting gradually. But there was a time when devotees lost and those who lost the taste for hearing and chanting they were in trouble. So we develop our taste for hearing and chanting and the more we hear the more we develop our faith in Krsna, more we read Prabhupada’s books, more we develop our faith in Krsna. Then it becomes easy to surrender and actually what is our ultimate objective?
Our ultimate objective is to remember Krsna at the time of death and in order to remember Krsna at the time of death we have to have a lot of faith. When the yamadutas come with the noose in their hand we have to think of Krsna, we have to call out to Krsna for help. If we don’t and we think No! My two hands are stronger than Krsna, so I will fight with those Yamadutas with my hands and see then the battle is lost, the mission is over.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Well it depends you know. Like there are certain types of living entities who love to do this job. (Laughs)
But a normal devotee from ISKCON, he, I don’t think will become a yamaduta. When he will go to Yamaraja, he will see him as a Mahajan, so he won’t ask Yamaraja , please give whist and a noose and let me go and reclaim those dead souls. On the other hand he will fall at his feet and say please let me hear some Krsna katha from you. He is one of the twelve Mahajanas, Yamaraja, so can you imagine how wonderful it will be to be with him. At that time would you like to become his duti or you want to become his disciple.
Q: The Yamadutas are they demoniac?
HHBCS: No. They are not demoniac. They are good souls with certain propensities. They are some people who want to take care of this kind of service, isn’t it? To grab people, bring them like a policeman. There are kind of policemen.
Q: Who is the God of piety?
HHBCS: Yamaraja is ultimately the God of piety. He is Dharmaraja. He actually establishes the principle of piety. By punishing the sinners, he establishes piety. Right. Yes?
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: If you have some intelligence, you won’t take the job of somebody else.
Q: same question inaudible
HHBCS: You see intelligence is intelligence. When intelligence is applied on matter, then it is material intelligence. When intelligence is applied on spirit then it is spiritual intelligence. It is the same thing but the application is different. When it is applied on matter it is material intelligence when it is applied for spiritual progress for Krsna Consciousness then it is spiritual intelligence.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: As eternally liberated souls we have to understand that all those who are participating in Krsna’s pastimes they are not ordinary living entities, they are actually with Krsna. They are playing different roles but they are actually spiritual personalities. There are two considerations. It depends from which perspective you are seeing. If you look at it from material perspective so it will look as if Kamsa is a conditioned soul or a demoniac person but being killed by Krsna he got delivered. Right. Then after being killed by Krsna he is liberated. But when you look at the spiritual side and see things in the light of Krsna Consciousness then everything is Krsna’s pastimes and those participating in Krsna’s pastimes are actually Krsna’s associates.
I will take three last questions. One, two, three. Ok will take four. (Laughs) Srinivas , Yes?
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: This question has many ramifications but I will deal with just one or two points from that.
First thing is Krsna is The Supreme Person with inconceivable potencies and he can do all kind of things. The Supreme Personality of Godhead can make one living entity expand into many forms. One personality can be present in billion different pastimes of Krsna. Right! Just as Krsna can expand, Krsna’s devotees also can expand by Krsna’s desire. They don’t desire to expand but
Krsna wants and they expand according to His desire. Now if we consider that the demons are also Krsna’s devotees, playing a role and they can expand. But not that in all cases the demons are Krsna’s devotees. Sometimes some condition souls from the material nature are recruited for the roles of a demon also. It happens. So the ultimate answer is it can be either way. A condition soul can play the role of a demon or a pure devotee can play the role of a demon but when a pure devotee plays the role of a demon, he is already pure; he does not get affected by that role, but when a conditioned soul plays the role of a demon or anyone, being able to participate in Krsna’s pastimes, he becomes delivered.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Many times or one time, it is up to Krsna.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Rasika means the mellow. How many mellows are .there? There are five, principle mellows and seven secondary mellows. Those who can enjoy these mellows in Krsna Consciousness are called rasika. muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukam SB 1.1.3
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: He was liberated but he was brought back again because Krsna as I said by His inconceivable potency, He can do anything He wants. Actually Krsna wanted to promote Him to Vrndavana. As Kamini he could not go to Vrndavana, he could go to Vaikuntha at the most. So he was brought back and given a chance to become Kamsa and there as Kamsa he got an entry to Vrndavana as an old lady. But there when she got killed by Krsna, she became a useful old lady not a useless old lady. Srinivas?
Srinivas: inaudible
HHBCS: How to invite the mood of anyone? Tell me? You have to love?
Srinivas: inaudible
HHBCS: How do you invite the mood of anyone?
Srinivas: inaudible
HHBCS: You have to love him. I am just giving a very mundane example. Say there is a big mafia leader, he has many followers and they had imbibed his mood. Why and how? Because to them he is a hero. They love him, they are willing to do anything for him because they love him, and they just want to be like him. Similarly when we love the previous acaryas, when we want to become like them with all our heart and soul, then only we will be able to imbibe their mood. In order to do that we have to admire them, it is not just going to happen in a mechanical effort. The heart has to become influenced, act accordingly. Ok. That is the last question.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Tomorrow the abhisheka will be at five o’clock. I said we will go to the temple one hour before to sing, so we will go at four o’clock to the temple. Will one hour singing be too long?
Answer: No. No.
HHBCS: (Laughs) Does everybody have the song sheet?
At the end I will discuss of Bhaktivinode Thakur’s analysis of different personalities in Krsna’s pastimes. We can’t discuss about all the personalities but we will discuss about the main personalities in Krsna’s pastimes. Bhaktivinode Thakur wrote a book called Krsna Samhita. In Krsna Samhita he actually analyzed the significance of different personalities of Krsna Pastimes
There he pointed out that Vasudeva is actually visuddha satva means transcendental goodness. Vasudeva is Krsna’s father. Krsna’s father is the personification of pure goodness or visuddha satva. In the material nature, there are three modes: ignorance, passion and goodness. Although there is some kind of goodness in this material nature, but that goodness is not pure goodness, it is mixed goodness. It is tinted with ignorance and passion. But this pure goodness exists only in the spiritual sky. Only in the spiritual sky, there is pure goodness. From that we can understand that although we have a concept of good and bad in this material nature, but actually in this material nature everything is bad. There is no good in this material nature. Real goodness is only available in the spiritual sky. That pure goodness is personified as Whom? Vasudeva. So unless and until we become completely transcendental to the material nature, we won’t be able to receive Krsna. Krsna appears in the heart of a devotee who has been completely purified from all contaminations and has become situated in perfect transcendental position.
Then Devaki, Krsna’s mother, is the mind or consciousness that has taken shelter in transcendental knowledge. So the father is the pure goodness and the mother is the mind that has taken shelter in pure transcendental knowledge. So in the womb of Mother Devaki, from the womb of transcendental knowledge, Krsna appeared as the transcendental son.
Who is Kamsa? Kamsa is Atheism personified. Atheist means a person who does not believe in God. A person who wants to go away from God, who wants to kill God, who wants to get rid of God. That is Kamsa.
So now we must remember that Bhaktivinode Thakur is not just making some mental speculation. Bhaktivinode Thakur actually has received this understanding or picked up this concept from the scriptures and it is a pure devotee like Bhaktivinode Thakur who can simply convey the spiritual knowledge. From the pure spiritual concept that is the understanding. As you already know, that in the spiritual sky everything is personalized, everything is a person, there is no impersonalism. In the spiritual sky, bliss is a person, ecstasy is a person, devotion is a person, similarly hatred is a person, envy is a person, similarly atheism is a person and what is the name of the personality called atheism? Kamsa.
So this Kamsa tries to kill Krsna. Even before Krsna appeared. When people develop this atheistic tendency what we must understand that those people have been influenced by a personality called Kamsa and although Kamsa is killed by Krsna, this personality is also eternal. Although they are killed by Krsna, they are still eternally present and they propagate their influence. When someone becomes atheistic we must understand that that person is actually a devotee of Kamsa or he has been influenced by Kamsa or he is becoming a follower of Kamsa.
Similarly when someone develops pure goodness we have to understand that he is now under the influence of Vasudeva.
sattvam visuddhah vasudeva-shabditam SB 4.3.23
visuddha satva is known as Vasudeva.
Mathura is also personified as transcendental knowledge. Now you notice one thing when Mathura was under the control of Kamsa then Krsna did not stay there although Krsna appeared in Mathura. When transcendental knowledge is influenced or predominated by atheism then The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not stay there. He leaves. What does that place become like? Under which control that place is then?
Transcendental knowledge mixed with atheism is called impersonalism. Although it is transcendental knowledge, transcendental means beyond this material nature. So that knowledge is beyond material nature, but unless and until that knowledge accepts Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, that knowledge is impersonal.
Does it make sense? That is Bhaktivinode Thakur so you have to understand. And Krsna left Mathura, the place of transcendental knowledge under the influence of Kamsa. Where did he go? He went to Vrndavana. What is Vrndavana? Vrndavana is the land of faith. In Vrndavana , there is no room for atheism. Kamsa cannot enter into Vrndavana. In order to enter Vrndavana, one has to get the permission of Yogamaya. And if somebody wants to trespass in Vrndavana then he is in trouble. You know that story. Many of you must have heard it before but many of you may not have heard it, anyhow you will benefit I will tell you.
One day Kamsa thought that this boy Krsna is killing all my friends. So now I will go and kill Krsna myself. Thinking like this that Kamsa came to Vrndavana. So from Mathura when you come to Vrndavana there is an area which is near the place called Badarikashrama, so Kamsa entered there and he saw there is an old lady and there are some young cowherd girls.
So Kamsa asked the old lady: “Can you please tell me where the house of Nanda Maharaja is?”
So this old lady said: “Oh! you want to see the house of Nanda Maharaja? Come, I will show you.”
Saying that she grabbed Kamsa by his hair.
Actually the ksatriyas used to keep long hair. It works as a kind of a helmet. Like the sikhs today wear that, they are actually ksatriyas, they are supposed to be ksatriyas now they have become taxi drivers. So they keep their long hair and they make a knot above their head with a turban used as a shock absorber; so Kamsa had that, she slapped Kamsa’s head and let the turban fly, then she grabbed Kamsa by his hair and picked him up and dunked him in a pond, in the water. Kamsa became an old lady, when she pulled Kamsa up, Kamsa was an old lady, he could not stand straight, his body became wrinkled, and all the cowherd girls started laughing seeing the transformation. The old lady is Yogamaya, Purnamasi. So Purnamasi told the girls, so now you try to engage him in some service. We got a newcomer here in Vrndavanaso you engage him in some service. So the cowherd girls said she is so old what she will do?
She is good for nothing. So then they felt that maybe this useless woman can do one thing, she can make some cow dung cakes. This cow dung cake is very easy to make and very useful. In Vrndavana there are many many cows so plenty of cow dung; so they take the cow dung and slap it against the wall so it sticks on the wall and it becomes baked by sun and they use it for cooking. In Bengali it is called gobar. So they said then at least maybe she can make some gobar, cow dung cakes. But this old lady was useless, she could not even make some cow dung cakes, she tried to lift up the cow down, but by the time she slapped it , it all got scattered, it did not stick on the wall, they all started laughing at first and when they tried to teach her and she could not learn, they told her that you get out of here, you are good for nothing. The gopis, the cowherd damsels of Vrndavana started telling her you seem to be a trespasser in Vrndavana, you can’t stay in Vrndavana, and you are not fit to stay in Vrndavana. They started to harass her, so this old lady namely Kamsa, was so distressed, she started crying and telling Purnamasi: “Please let me go let me go! I will never come back.”
(Laughs)
Purnamasi grabbed her by her hair again dunked her in the water again, she got back her form as Kamsa and she told him: “Now go.” He ran for his life and he took a vow that he will come back to Vrndavana. This way unless or until one is qualified one cannot enter into Vrndavana.
In order to enter into Vrndavana, one must have complete faith.
So Vrndavana is the land of faith. As you know before Krsna’s birth, Devaki gave birth to six sons who were killed by Kamsa. These six sons are personified as fame, glory etc…There are six such things just as there are six enemies: lust, greed, anger etc…, there are six aspects of pride: fame, glory etc…so they were killed by Kamsa.
Before Krsna comes, Balarama comes.
Who is Balarama?
Balarama is a pure living entity decorated with the service attitude. The pure living entity is Balarama.
How does the living entity become purified?
How does the living entity become situated in his constitutional position? Through his servitor ship.
jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—Krishnera ‘nitya-dasa’ Madhya 20.108-109
So Balarama is the personification of that pure living entity with pure service attitude.
So Rohini is the consciousness full of faith, sraddha. Here is the difference between Devaki and Rohini. Devaki is consciousness or mind having taken shelter of transcendental knowledge, so Devaki is mind full of transcendental knowledge, but Rohini is mind full of faith. So Balarama was transferred from Devaki’s womb to Rohini’s womb. Rohini is the personality full of faith.
Who is Yasoda?
Yasoda is jubilation. She is always jubilant and in jubilation appears Krsna.
Balarama appears as the seventh son and then came Krsna as the son of Yasoda. Balarama was the son of Rohini and Krsna was the son of Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja. When Krsna was only seven days old, Kamsa wanted to kill Him and in order to kill Him, Kamsa sent a demon.
HHBCS : When the boys come, ask them to come from that side. HHBCS talks in Bengali.
So Kamsa sent Putana. Who is Putana? Putana is deception. Putana came apparently as a mother. Mother is actually full of affection and her affection is manifested in the form of her milk. Out of her affection, mother’s blood turns into milk. And the mother gives that milk as a token of affection to her son. Putana came as a mother but instead of milk what did she give? She wanted to give Krsna poison. Instead of affection her heart was filled with hatred. This is deception, when it pretends to be one thing but actually it is something else. So Putana is personification of deception. But Krsna is the all powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now when a devotee takes shelter of Krsna, Krsna takes care of everything. Krsna removes all the impediments. So Putana came to kill Krsna but Krsna killed Putana. So in Krsna Consciousness, there is no chance of deception. Deception can not do anything to a devotee. Deception same as atheism can’t do anything to a devotee because a devotee is always protected by Krsna.
Then came Trinavrta who came as a world wind. When there is a world wind everything becomes topsy-turvy. Remember how Trinavrta came, he came covering the entire place with dry grass, dust, sand and broken stone chips so the whole place became completely covered by that and Krsna could not be seen. Trinavrta carried Krsna high up in the sky in order to kill Him. So who is Trinavrta? Trinavrta is argument and logic. When people become argumentative, often we find and come across people who are so argumentative, and sometimes they are very intelligent and they are completely bewildered, cover the whole consciousness with dust, grass, stone chips, fans and we can’t see Krsna we get completely baffled What does Krsna do? Krsna puts only His arms around this person and gives a little squeeze and as the result of that the person is finished. So unnecessary argument same as atheism is also destroyed by Krsna, Trinavarta demon is destroyed.
Sakatasura is the tendency to carry the big burden. Sometimes people carry big burdens like some people think how can I become a big devotee? How can I accept Krsna, I have so many responsibilities? I have my wife, my children, my grand children, my great grand children and what to speak of the “great great grand” children who are going to come. This way some people just carry unnecessary burden on their back as an ass. Like here it is not exactly an ass, it is a cart. Sakat means a cart; the demon came as a cart to kill Krsna. Kamsa sent Sakatasura to kill Krsna. Krsna just gave a little kick and Sakatasura was finished. So in this way with a little touch from Krsna’s lotus feet we can become free from this tendency to carry the big burden on our back.
Then Bakasura. Do you remember Bakasura?
Who is Bakasura?
Answer: a bird
What kind of bird is that?
Answer: “Crane.”
Crane. Okay! Right. You all have seen crane in India! Did you ever watch a crane?
How does it look like? What does he do?
Answer: It keeps something in the mouth.
What is that? Okay.
Crane actually goes to the water and just stands on the water and it looks as if they are meditating. But what are they meditating on? They are meditating on fish. Apparently it seems that he is a very saintly person, isn’t? So peaceful, so quite, his body is milk white but he is always thinking of fish. Right. Bakasura is pretentious saint. You see Baka crane and a swan look quite alike, but a swan is actually a saintly person, but the crane baka is the false saint, pretentious saint. Bakasura came to kill Krsna but he became killed by Krsna.
Then Aghasura. Who is Aghasura demon? Aghasura came as a snake. Whose personification is Aghasura?
Answer from the audience.
No. Aghasura is the personification of cruelty but Krsna killed him also.
After killing Aghasura, What did Krsna do? With his friends he went on the bank of Yamuna and had a picnic. So after cruelty comes the simplicity. Picnic is significant to simplicity. All the boys sitting together and as I mentioned the other day, when was that? Brahma could not figure out how come the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eating the remnants’ of others that is why Brahma started to doubt Krsna’s identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He thought that he can’t be the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Supreme Personality of Godhead will not take any remnants from anyone. Why Brahma got this doubt because at that time Krsna was having a picnic with his friends. That day Krsna actually thought that I am the son of a king, in our house there is so many cows and my mother sent so many delicious milk products for me to eat, but all my friends are not coming from such wealthy family and many of them, they have to sell their milk in the market and therefore their parents can not give them nice prasadam. So today we will all share each others foods. Actually everyday they used to share each others foods, so that day they were also sharing each others foods. Krsna gave his delicious prasadam to somebody else and he took their simple prasadam and this way they were exchanging their food. And then some of the boys took a bite of something and when he liked it very much and he would say Krsna you take this, it is very delicious because in Vrndavan, everybody simply cares about Krsna’s pleasure, they do not care for their pleasure, they do not want to enjoy anything themselves. Anything that is enjoyable they want to offer that to Krsna. In this way they were offering things to Krsna and Krsna also was accepting their offerings. So when Brahma saw that he felt how the Supreme Personality of Godhead will eat somebody else remnants. In Vaikunta Krsna, Narayan , never does that but Vrndavan is something different. Vrndavan is beyond Vaikunta. Voluntarily by the influence of Yogamaya, Brahma forgot about it, he could not understand Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead who resides in Goloka Vrndavan that is why he stole the cowherd boys.
Then came Dhenukasura?. Who is Dhenukasura?
Do you remember Dhenukasura? Who killed Dhenukasura?
No answer from the audience.
This is one demon that Krsna Himself did not kill. Dhenukasura was killed by Balarama. Who is Dhenukasura? Dhenukasura is materialism.
Material intelligence is like although appears to be intelligent but actually they are just a bunch of fools.
Dhenuk means what? Do you know? Dhenuk means an ass. An ass is famous as a fool. When you see someone who is very stupid, what do you say? You say he is an ass or you say he is a donkey.
Dhenukasura is material intelligence and material intelligence is like a donkey. Donkey is very famous as a gift of God. In India not now not anymore but even a few years ago, donkeys were used to carry big burdens, big loads especially the washer men used to have the donkeys and they used to carry the clothes for washing on the donkey’s back and I have seen when I was young these loads used to be so big on two sides, huge big loads, you can barely see the donkey, it is like two big bags are walking. Material intelligence is like carrying a big load.
What is material intelligence?
Material intelligence is collection of information. More intelligence means a person who is more informed materially. He carries lots of information and he has the ability to live between this information and he uses the intelligence for what? Just for his maintenance, just to sustain himself. Similarly an ass also carries the big burden because the ass thinks that unless he carries the burden the washer man will not give him any grass to eat. The ass needs just a little bit of grass which is available everywhere. At least in India you get grass everywhere and for that one does not have to do anything, but a ass thinks that unless he carries the burden, his master will not give him the grass. Similarly the materialistic people carry a big burden. With the big burden what does he do? He works for somebody.
Like somebody studied at least sixteen to seventeen years, collect all kind of information, at the end of his study what does he want? He wants a job and then he get employed by somebody and that man gives him some money at the end of the month or at the end of the week and makes him work as a donkey, he carries the burden and he thinks unless he works for his boss, he is not going to get the money at the end of the month and he will starve. This is the materialistic intelligence or the materialistic mentality. Therefore according to the vedic understanding no intelligent man should take a job, work for somebody else, become a slave of somebody else. Only the sudras work for somebody else. Only the sudras look for employment otherwise vaisya, ksatriyas, and brahmanas are independent. That is Dhenukasura. Another thing about Dhenukasura that is material knowledge, material intelligence, and a person thinks I know so much, I am so wise but Dhenukasura; this wise man with material intelligence is straightened out by Balarama. Balarama is the spiritual master. That is why Dhenukasura was killed by Balarama. So the spiritual master takes care of that so called material intelligence. So when you come in front of the spiritual master when one accepts a spiritual master he should give up all his material intelligence and he should become a fool and that is real intelligence. Dhenukasura was killed and a person becomes really sheltered by the spiritual master.
Kaliya is wickedness. When a person is wicked, he simply wants to create difficulties for others, harass others. That’s what Kaliya was doing. Kaliya vitiated the entire Yamuna river and innocent cows when they drunk the water they lost their lives. This wicked people, although there is no reason to do harm to others but they go out of their way to harm others that is Kaliya. This tendency of being wicked is subdued by Krsna just by dancing on his heads.
Who is Nanda Maharaja? Nanda Maharaja is bliss personified. Nanda is ananda. Ananda means bliss. So Nanda Maharaja is bliss personified. Do you remember one day in Govardhana a snake came out of the cave and coiled Nanda Maharaja. Who is that snake? That snake is Impersonal liberation. So when one is coiled by the snake of impersonal liberation. What happens to your bliss? Your bliss is gone. Right. So Krsna rescued Nanda Maharaja from impersonal liberation. Actually impersonal liberation does not have any bliss, it destroys bliss.
Then Sankhasura. Do you know Sankhasurasura?
I think I have said yes
Sankhasura stole the gopis. Right after the rasa dance this demon came and saw Krsna surrounding by so many beautiful women, so he thought why this cowherd boys have so many beautiful women so he wanted to steal these women. So he stole some girls and at this time Lalita and Visaka came and informed Krsna. So Krsna immediately ran after Sankhasura. He grabbed him and punched him to death. Not only that then opened his ribs and pulled out a jewel. This jewel is called Srimantha, he gave that jewel to Balarams and Balarams ultimately gave it to Sridhams and Sridhams gave it to Radharani. Radharani wears this jewel. Who is Sankhasura? Sankhasura demon is fame. Fame is an impediment on the path of devotion that is also destroyed by Krsna.
Then just before Krsna was about to leave for Mathura, the last demon Krsna killed in Vrndavan is Kesi. Kesi is pride. Kesi was killed by Ksna so pride is subdued.
Then in Mathura Krsna killed Kamsa, atheism is destroyed. After Kamsa was killed, Kamsa’s two wives Asti and Prapti. Who are the wives of atheism? Who goes along with atheism? Possession and Achievement.
These possession and achievement are actually the two daughters of Jarasanda.
Who is Jarasanda? Jarasanda is karma kanda
When one is involved in karma kanda section of the Vedas. What is the result of practicing karma kanda? They possess lots of material possessions and there is a lot of achievements for them. So the two daughters of Jarasanda Asti and Prapti became widows after Kamsa’s death, so they went and told their father that Krsna killed their husband and they became widows. So Jarasanda attacked Mathura seventeen times and finally on the eighteen time Krsna left Mathura and went to Dwaraka. That also is significant because in karma kanda section there are eighteen different activities. So a pure devotee must give up them also. In this way, Bhaktivinode Thakur analyzes different aspects of Krsna’s pastimes.
Thank you.
Hare Krsna. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur ki!
Audience: Jaya!
Any questions?
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: There is a difference between Paramatma and Krsna. Paramatma although Krsna but he is inactive, but Krsna is active
Q: devotee develops his question
HHBCS: He may see but the devotee does not see Paramatma. Jnanis when they achieve perfection then they see paramatma. Krsna is situated in the heart of every living entity, but when the living entity begins to love Him, Krsna sitting in the heart, he can’t remain inactive, he can’t resist to the temptation to reciprocate to the love and then Krsna becomes active
Q: How come the other demons could enter Vrndavana and not Kamsa?
HHBCS: Well the other demons were more fortunate than Kamsa. Kamsa was totally unqualified. Atheism can’t enter into Vrndavana. The other demons were not atheism personified, they were the associates of atheism so they were allowed to enter into Vrndavana in the land of faith, then their atheism got smashed and then they got faith and got delivered.
Q: inaudible
HHBCS: Impersonalists believe in transcendence but they do not have the understanding of The Supreme Personality of Godhead while the mayavadis they deliberately deny the existence of the Personality of Godhead. In that sense the difference between impersonalists and mayavadis is that the impersonalists are somehow positive while the mayavadis are negative.
Q: Atheists are they considered as demons?
HHBCS: Do you have any doubt? (Laughs)
Atheists are demons in order to be a demon you have to be an atheist. In order to go against God you have to defy Him, you have to deny.