Significance of Karthik

Karthika is the presiding deity of Karthik who is actually Radharani and any spiritual activity you perform in this month you get 1000 times the benefit in this month. In this month they engage in special devotional service to the Lord to please him. Krsna performed many favorite pastitimes in this month - damodar leela, diwali, govardhan puja, rasa dance, appearance of Radha kunda - various festivals in this month.

It is explained in this month it is the most purifier and best month. The effects of performing karthik vrata stays for 1000 years. The meditation in this month is on the bhakta vataslaya of the lord, that the lord he reciprocates to the love of the devotees. That is the bhakta vatsalya of Krsna. We medidate on his pasttimes with his dearmost devotees - mother yasoda, gopis, Radha and sing the damodarashtakam prayers. We offer lamps to Krsna. The gift of a lamp during the month of Karthik is the best. No gift is equal. So, today we will read this particular bhajan and will discuss about it. This bhajan is written by satyavrat muni and he is specifically when he medidates on mother yashoda binding Krsna. The leela goes as follows, one particular morning as all the lady maid servants of mother yashoda. Nanda maharaj was the king and Yashoda was the queen, they had many many maid servants to help with the household. But on one particular day of deepavali, mother yashoda is thinking Krsna loves butter so much, that he goes to the neighboring gopis and stealing their butter. Maybe the butter I make or the butter maid by the maid servants isn't good, so let me make the butter personally. So she personally takes the milk and by churning rod starts to make butter.

The focus of the activity was quality service to Krsna. That should be given to Krsna. That is the mood of a devotee. A sincere devotee gives best to Krsna. Doesn't compromise. So, the butter she is making is from the best of the best of the best milk. And while serving Krsna, mother yashoda is composing beautiful past times of Krsna as bhajans. So same way we should sing Krsna's past times while working for Krsna. Her bangels were sounding like kartals. With all her parental affection she was making butter for Krsna. Today we see that mothers aren't even cooking for their kids or taking care of her children and out of her parental affection for Krsna he breast milk (Yashoda) is oozing out. Little Krsna comes over and he wants to drink the milk from Mother Yashoda. Maya, I'm hungry please feed me. Please nourish me. While this is all happening, the milk on the stove is feeling, what is my use, I should just die so the milk is just coming out of the vessel. So Mother Yashoda runs to save this milk for butter. Now, Krsna feels very angry and he thinks I should break all the pots and feed the butter to these monkies. These monkies had helped Sri Rama and now he is helping them. So, no body should ever leave Krsna. When mother yashoda comes back she see butter foot prints and she follows them to see that Krsna is actually sitting on the grinding mortar and he is feeding it to the monkies. She thinks it is my duty to correct him, the mokies flee away seeing Krsna. Krsna seeing mother Yashoda, he starts running and this is the particular point in this bhajan of how Krsna is running and mother Yashoda is running after him.

(1)
namāmīśvaraḿ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaḿ
lasat-kuṇḍalaḿ gokule bhrājamanam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaḿ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā

1) To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who I (due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed--to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.

Please remember, Krsna is not doing a show, he is really fearful of mother Yashoda. He has so much unlimited energies that he can do anything. Krsna feeling Mother Yashoda is really going to beat him.

(2)
rudantaḿ muhur netra-yugmaḿ mṛjantam
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātańka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāńka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graivaḿ dāmodaraḿ bhakti-baddham

2) (Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.

We must hence thoroughly devote completely in Krsna with love because this is a one stop opportunity to serve Krsna completely so we aren't bound by the material desires or maya. So, start the month of Karthik very sincerely from tomorrow.

Why 2 inches 2 shorts - 1. Our effort to bind Krsna must be so deep and it should attract the attention of Krsna. Because by ourselves we can't do anything by our own accord. Krsna says I give rememberence and forgetfullness in everybody. 2. Only by Krsna can it happen to be bound.

more on the verses in the next class:
(3)
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaḿ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaḿ
punaḥ prematas taḿ śatāvṛtti vande



(4)
varaḿ deva mokṣaḿ na mokṣāvadhiḿ vā
na canyaḿ vṛṇe ‘haḿ vareṣād apīha
idaḿ te vapur nātha gopāla-bālaḿ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāḿ kim anyaiḥ

(5)
idaḿ te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair
vṛtaḿ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaḿ bimba-raktādharaḿ me
manasy āvirāstām alaḿ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ

(6)
namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaḿ batānu
gṛhāṇeṣa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ

(7)
kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktiḿ svakāḿ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me ‘sti dāmodareha

(8)
namas te ‘stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ‘nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam

B.G 11.23 - 33 (Universal Form of Krsna) Verses Summary

All mighty armed one seeing your universal form and many teeth I'm so terrified. Your gaping mouth etc - my mind is so perturbed and can't hold it.

Arjuna after seeing the universal form is seeing everyone rushing into the mouth of the Universal form. He is so perplexed as his understanding of Krsna is becoming better and better. He is first feeling that how low was he that he thought Krsna is his friend and now Arjuna is perplexed seeing the gigantic form.

Example - When prabhuji was driving and a lound noise of a truck hitting a bicyle and he died on the spot - this incident caused such an impact on him. Similarly imagine when a small incident like this can cause such an impact how would the universal fearful form of Krsna have an impact on Arjuna.

Krsna's form is so loving as a cowheard boy and it doesn't sometimes have a strong impact or put fear in our hearts and hence sometime it is so important to be fearful. Sometimes helps to be shaken up and take KC seriously. Now by having Krsna show his gigantic form he is putting fear in Arjuna's heart so he can be more serious and understand that the material world is temporary and he will have some awe and reverance for Krsna and hence none of us should take KC lightly and actually take him and his Vrindavan pasttimes very seriously.

Same way Duryodhana took Krsna lightly and he thinks that by his soldiers he will capture him. But little did he know that it was Krsna who would bring everything to a stand still.

Similarly, devotees enter into our lives so when Krsna's universal form will enter into our lives we will become serious about KC. Just as why deamons are there so Demigods can go to Krsna for help. Same way Devotees keep reminding us that Krsna is our Goal and Boss! We should NFK AND ARK. This Universal form makes us have awe and reverence for Krsna and we understand that Krsna is everything. So now Arjuna is offereing his prayers - Krsna you are the supreme. Please tell me what is happening Krsna then says:

Time I am and reveals his mission. Krsna says all of these are already dead and you Arjuna have a chance to be an instrument and hence have a Golden chance to go back to Godhead. Similarly Mahaprabhu has already determined that every town and village it is going to happen. Ex- SP the senapati of this movement was an instrument. So the question is, do you want to be an instrument of this preaching mission of SP. If we don't, the mission isn't stopping. It will still happen. Hence, we need to take it up seriously, so we can't get the credit of this. Just desire and act and Krsna will make arrangements. Ex - Arjuna couldn't have won against all maharathis, only by K's help it was made possible. Similarly all we need is a willing heart to serve Krsna and Krsna will take care of you and will help you at every step.

Devotees, don't want to take any credit, but just want to serve to give pleasure to their GM.They are only thinking that let me just serve my GM so they can get credit not me. Just do it as an offering to my GM and when you have this mood Krsna will have mercy on you. And when all the glory and credit come, the pure devotee just wants to pass that credit to our GM. We are just servants to pass that credit to our GM. We are just servants of the servants of the servant of SP and more glory that comes to us, (we want more and more to come to us), so we can offer to our GM. To take the opportunity to serve the vaishnavas is the best mood to have and all we want is the GM mercy and hence we become an instrument take the opportunity to serve and take credit to offer to GM. The reason we chant is to ask for seva and when seva comes, you should take it with all arms. We shouldn't run aways from it saying, sorry we are busy!!! Try to do it with your best ability. Next Friday is Karthik so let us all pray that we become more sincere and chant more, read Krsna katha more, SB and do everything very sincerely!

Vyasa Puja Class by Gurudev (2013 at ISV)

In KC, we say Krsna you are BOSS! Out of millions only one comes to Krsna. Only these rare souls take to this KC movement. We are offering and gloryfing Vyasa dev on this day. Narad muni actually told him that if you don't write SB, then it's not fulfilling. Hence for our benefit Srila Vyasa dev wrote the entire SB.

Just by reading the SB one can come to the point of KC and transcend this material world. Krsna doesn't compell anyone to serve him. He says - if someone approaches me, I live in them and they live in me. This comes for the representatives of Krsna - example - Vyasa Dev.

Sound in the spiritual world is a different sound and it is a different creation. If someone listens to it, it can change our trajectory and we start our journey back to Godhead and Srila Vyasadev makes it available to all of us.

Mass consual trance - everyone tries to do what others are doing - how strong forces in this material world do it.

Srila Vyasa Dev actually gives us this in SB by giving the message of another world. Just like a postman who delivers the message as it is. We celebrate this transmission of knowledge on Vyasa Puja Day. Guru is the via-medium, nothing changes - he just listens from the disciplic succession and conveys to his disciples and we are celebrating that today.

When one takes and understands and surrenders by reading SB, Vedamata conming from the vedas then our spiritual life begins. Hence, it is so important to read the SB.

So our goal is to Read/receive it nicely, understand it, preach it after understanding it.

In Kali-Yuga - Srila Vyasa dev kenw that problems were coming and hence he divided the vedas and then wrote the BG, Mahabharat and then SB.

Mind is like a fish. Fish can't stop to bite these lures and similarly mind keeps biting the lures of maya. Nistha is anybody who understands this and can become a Guru and surrender.

Where attention goes - inattention comes!

Who has a slight interest in this philosophy is ripe to go back home. There is a place for everything and everything in its place. Only when one understands that Krsna is a person and he has eyes, we are parts and parcels of Krsna and only then can we understand our spiritual form.

Sukhadev Gosvami by his mercy gave us this revealed secret. So, learn it and preach it. The secret of advancing in spiritual life and he STRAINED his ears (just like SP), and SP got this instruction from his Gurudeva and he took it to heart and he wanted to do it, nobody forced him to do it. That's why SP was successful - because he was just the messenger.

A Guru- vyasa puja is to use your will to simply adhere it to Krsna and then something relevant has happened. But one with free will takes it to heart and then moves forward that person grows in KC.

Follow this instruction - whatever happens do or die follow your GMaster's order as life and soul is the qualification to connecting back to spritiual world. Also, they say you can be in 2 leelas at the same time. There can be somebody in Krsna (Madhurya - love spontaneous) and C.Mahaprabhu leelas (Adaurya - sweetness) at the same time.

Just make the attempt with the right frame of mind and look at the potential in everybody!

Developing a Non-Critical Attitude (Gurudev's lecture)

Video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu_bDiLKae4

Summary:
We need to be very careful about Aparadha and know what it means so we know what kind of offence we are commiting. Also need to remember that radha is there in Aparadha and we should never be removed from radha when we perform our service.

It is very important be refined in your dealings with devotees. One is sadhu ninda - It is harmful and not good. Krsna in the BG warns us that even if the devotee seems to be of lose character or exhibit some wordliness we should still consider them as devotees. The goal of life is to serve the lotus feet of Krsna and that is the most important devotional service and if other ones aren't manifest then we should accept them as a devotee. Only considered as a spot on the moon and very quickly he says such a person very quickly will come to the stage of righteousness by devotional service. And Krsna says you say it Arjuna that you say it boldly.

Accepting the supreme personality of Godhead as the supreme. Even if they say Hare Krsna at the tip of their tongues then they are qualified to be called devotees.

One who becomes a servant of the servant of the servant a million times removed, then he becomes a devotee of Krsna. First we offer pushpanjali to our Guru, then Acharyas and then Nityananda and chaitanya mahaprabhu - gives us the proper way to pay obeisances and etiqutte to become a nice vaishnava.

Therefore offending devotees is like biting the hand which feeds us. Hence, we shouldn't offend such devotees. "If the devotee commits an offense at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava while cultivating the creeper of devotional service in the material world, his offense is compared to a mad elephant that uproots the creeper and breaks it. In this way the leaves of the creeper are dried up. - Mahaprabhu particularly tells us about this.

A word uttered in malice is like a spear and it can pierce the heart like an arrow. Imagine whatever you say or think becomes like a writing on your body for everybody to see, then you will make sure what you utter or not to criticize others. If I criticize others, we feel it makes us feel better, but it's completely wrong.

Mahaprabhu says, instead of critizicing somebody, it's better to rather say nice things about them and see the potential in them and when you do it, suddenly you will feel like you drank some nectar!

If you have offended a vaishnava in your previous life then you will feel that you have lost the taste of chanting hare krsna maha mantra and the prescription then is to keep chanting the hare Krsna maha mantra and keep serving the vaishnava and pray that they will be forgiven so their offense will be cleaned up.

Always feel that you are a murkha, a fool so you can always keep learning and hence you won't be critical of everybody.

Canto 9 - about maharaj ambrish's life - Durvasha muni was invited to please come and purify my home and have prasad. This is wow - http://vedabase.net/sb/9/4/63/en - It's not what you know, it's who you know - become the devotee of a devotee. Without becoming a devotee of a devotee on cannot be released from material entanglement.

Hence, when someone sees themselves as the servant of the servant of the servant then you are truly liberated. So, try to serve the servant of a spiritual master. Better than serving SP is to serve tadiya. The paraphernalia of the servant of the servant of Krsna.

Unless one is ones's disciple, they are not in the position to correct themselves. And hence, you have the duty to correct people sometimes. But the way to do it to correct people is by lots of ways by NVC - Non Violent Communication.

People are sensitive and hence it's very important on how to criticize people. Dhruva maharaj wasn't even allowed to sit on the lap of his father. Her step-mother actually offended him before he even became a vaishnav and see what happened, when Dhruva came back after becoming a vaishnava then his step mother and uttama were killed. Hence, we should always remember that this person can become a great devotee and hence we shouldn't offend them and hence we should always keep asking for forgiveness from vaishnavas. read SB 4.9.23!

Another example - life of Akrura - he's a pure devotee of the Lord and he has been ordered to get Krsna and Balaram to be killed by Kamsa. But he was thinking I'm a devotee of Krsna and hence Krsna knows my heart. Bhimsmadev was in the wrong side and yet he was a great devotee of Krsna. So, the conciousness is very important and should always protect yourself from committing any offenses to anybody because they can become a great devotee.

Because of the personality of the soul, there will still be differences in spiritual environments and hence we should be able to tolerate the differences in opinions.

Another example of Prithu maharaj - compromised to have only 99 sacrifices and then the Lord personally came to glorify him, Sometimes, you just need to compromise and still have the right conciousness.

Anyone who can do this managerial position but at the same time is equipoised, that person is always in Krsna's heart.

When you hear stories from SB or CC about pure devotees having arguments (Ex - Nityananda prabhu and Advaita Acharya heated argument) don't take sides or your dev service will be destroyed. These instances are mentioned only for us to learn and tolerate and grow spiritually. All these stories are for fallen souls as lessons !

CHANT HARE KRSNA AND VERY CONCIOUSLY DON'T OFFEND VAISHNAVAS OTHERWISE YOU WILL NEVER GROW SPIRITUALLY.

Mood of VDA  (mood of the gopis)- Chant Hare Krsna, Preaching (book distribution), have prasad and always think of Krsna. ARK, NFK.

Due to the severity of offences to Vaishnavas you can be really way led and your taste for Krsna goes away. They can get locked out.

And you can do all this only by Practice and a lot of Practice and by always chanting Hare Krsna and ARK AND NFRK. Good dog vs the bad dog - which dog do you feed? Feed the Good one and all this can happen only by increments! The smallest victory is always a victory and it will give us momentum towards our goal. So look for the small victories.

Write yourself a mission statement on how you will deal with criticism - "I will never talk about devotees behind their back".

Please read what Narad muni says to Dhruva maharaj,