B.G 11.47 - 48 class by HG Shyamsundar Prabhu: What is being humble mean?

BG 11.47: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, happily have I shown you, by My internal potency, this supreme universal form within the material world. No one before you has ever seen this primal form, unlimited and full of glaring effulgence.

BG 11.48: O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charity, nor by pious activities, nor by severe penances can I be seen in this form in the material world.

Krsna here is saying that the universal form was never shown to anyone ever till Arjuna. Few imp points:

He has shown this universal form by his internal potency. This point needs to be understood. What is this internal potency of the Lord. This internal potency has 3 Shaktis - 

a) Ladhini Shakti (pleasure giving potency) - Srimati Radharani is a representation of the internal potency of the Lord. It actually allows the devotee to enter into Krsna. People of this material world can't see me, because i'm covered by the internal potency of the Lord. To enter into the world of the Lord - name, form, pastimes etc it is very important to connect through the internal potency of the Lord. The Bliss is got only by the internal potency of Krsna. How can we get the joy or Krsna prema only through the internal potency of Krsna.Lord touches Dhruva maharaj's head by the conch shell. The internal potency of Krsna comes through the conch shell to empower Dhruva maharaj on who is Krsna and that gives him intelligence to offer poems and prayers to Krsna. That is the power of the internal potency of the Lord. Without this power of internal potency, nobody can understand Krsna as Krsna is covered. The universal form could be seen openly only by those blessed by the internal potency of the Lord and nobody else could see it. Dhruva maharaj says that Hare Krsna maha mantra is the transcendental sound vibration and is directly an internal potency of Krsna. Whenever a devotee says the Hare Krsna Maha-mantra, they are placed directly in the internal potency of Krsna and can experience the glory of Krsna when chanted with no offense. This is the direct touch of the Lord by chanting the Holy name. And when we chant this, we can actually experience what Arjuna was feeling seeing the Universal form. 

1st point to understand is to see Krsna you have to get the divine vision which you get by the internal potency or the mercy of Radha Rani and hence HARE is the first word in the mahamantra - oh Radharani, oh mother, oh maate, please with shower your mercy and can you please allow me to serve you so I can get the Love for Krsna. Without the mercy of Radharani there is no hope. 

2nd point - only by the Divine vision can you see Krsna. Who will receive this divine vision - person taking the shelter of the internal potency. Divine vision means - Krsna. Anything related to him is Divine. Only the Mahatmas will receive it - why? because they have taken shelter of daivi prakrati - the spiritual nature of the Lord the internal potency of the Lord. Hence, they are constantly singing the divine names of Krsna. Only one who has taken the shelter of the internal potency can get the divine vision to see Krsna. 

So how do you get the mercy of Radharani or take shelter of the internal potency?

Mahatmas who have got the divine vision are not interested to get liberation and they all want to only serve Krsna and see Krsna and serve the divine couple with pure Love. Srimati Radharani's mood is so openly and clearly expressed in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The mood of internal potency. So if we are interested to take the shelter of internal potency - we must take the shelter of Sri Mahaprabhu. To be the servant of the servant of Krsna. As soon as you follow in the footsteps of Mahaprabhu you immediately take the shelter of the internal potency - chant and preach with no offenses and only then you get the mercy of Radharani. 

But the first step and most important is being in the mood of humbleness and meekness. The highlight of all the teaching of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is - 3rd verse of Sistastakam - one must be more humble than the blade of grass, like the straw in the street ... be very very very humble and meek. This should become the most primary instruction in our lives and only then can we instantly attain Krsna by Radharani's mercy. 

What is being Humble mean? - I'm insignificant and Krsna and his devotees are significant. We pray more to Krsna and serve Krsna and the devotees and we completely disregard our own separate needs. One need we have is the need to serve Krsna and to nourish ourselves (that is not a separate need but an appropriate need). The separate need is something which is not aligned with Krsna but only for our desires separate from Krsna. We need to move away from it. That is true humility - only do service for Krsna and that is true humility. Humbleness is to realize the truth of life - we are insignificant and Krsna is the only significant personality. Why insignificant?  because nothing is going to exist at the time of annihilation except Krsna and our relationship with Krsna. That is pure humility and we just need to serve the lotus feet of Krsna. So with humility understand Krsna and our relationship to Krsna. That is what Mahaprabhu is saying - O my Krsna please pick me up and place me as an atom of your lotus feet. That is true humility, just as is - just pure and accept that Krsna is my master and my sustenance is dependent on Krsna

To be humble is from the core of our heart, we need to feel that we are very very low and fall down at the feet of Nityananda Prabhu and Mahaprabhu and beg them for their mercy so we can get out of this material world. A very good idea is to start with "Humble speech" i.e. words that are truthful, beneficial , pleasing and regularly reciting the sashtras. 

So let's follow in his footsteps just like Narattom das thakur says in his poem - http://kksongs.org/songs/s/srikrsnacaitanyaprabhu.html

b)Sandhini shakti:

c)Samvit shakti: These two are meant for the creation and maintenance of the spiritual realm. One shakti creates and other nourishes the spiritual realm with bhakti.

BG 11.34 -38 summary by HG Shyamsundar prabhu

We are continuing with Arjuna's prayers after he saw the Universal form. We saw that he started to offer prayers to Krsna and the lesson we learnt from the last verse is that name of Krsna is so powerful that all in-auspiciousness will go away from our life and all auspiciousness will begin. In today's verse he is explaining Krsna's position as being the original creator and you are even greater than Brahma. Most people think Brahma is supreme, even Naradji thought Brahma is the supreme and he prayed to Brahma that you are the Supreme and please clarify the doubts in my mind. Then Brahma chastised him that I'm not the supreme but I'm the secondary creator and above me is Krsna who is the supreme creator.

Brahmaji clarified how he is born from the navel of Lord Visnu and is sitting on the lotus flower which sprouts from there and he climbed down the stem but still didn't see anything and he heard TAPA which means he needed to do tapasya. So after millions of years he did tapasya to understand who He is and who is the supreme personality of Godhead Krsna. Also, Arjuna after seeing the Universal form he understands that Krsna is the supreme personality of Godhead.

But we, even after reading BG and hearing from so many devotees still don't accept or even if we accept we don't act on it because of our conditioned state. The process of getting over our conditioning is by giving aural reception to the words of Lord Krsna. By regularly hearing and reciting the words of Lord Krsna it will help us uncover the dualities of this world and come to the point of being the servant and true self with our relationship with Krsna.  Hence it's very imp to have some serious understanding. Here Arjuna is saying he's greater than Brahma. But Brahma is not an ordinary person. He is the engineer of this entire manifestation. His 1 day is 43 trillion years of our time and same time for a night and he lives for 100 years. He is an exalted soul and here Arjuna is saying Krsna you are greater than Him. Hence, after this deep understanding Arjuna is saying you are the Supreme and we should offer obeisances to you. You are the shelter of this entire universe. This entire universe is resting on you.You are the refuge of everything just like pearls are strung on a string. He is holding everything.

Krsna is telling Arjuna very clearly that foolish people think that I am an ordinary human being. Just because I've come in my original form people think I'm ordinary. But they are mudas because they don't know my transcendental form which is actually transcendental to this material creation but they don't understand. But because they don't understand this, all their attempts to fulfill their desires, their attempts to gains knowledge and on the contrary they fall to the demons. Hence no one should make the mistake to put Krsna as a common person. People these days are bringing the dog to the position of God and are calling God as a common person. One who may make the biggest mistake is that they think Krsna is an ordinary person. But he is actually a Transcendental being and is completely aloof of this material world. We are actually nobodies. A sincere student tries to put Krsna on an alter and he is the Supreme personality of Godhead. Krsna is too too high which we can't even fathom.

"You are the original Personality of Godhead, the oldest, the ultimate sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You are the knower of everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are the supreme refuge, above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by You!"

Here again Arjuna is saying that you are the oldest and is declaring that you know everything past, present and future. He is all knowing. He knows everything. He know what is happening in our lives, in our heart. Sometimes we feel Krsna doesn't know our problems, he isn't listening to me. But Krsna knows everything, past, present and future. He is all pervading. He knows it all. He is transcendental, provided we learn to seeing him in everything of this world. Ex. Prahlad maharaj had seen the art of seeing Krsna everywhere. Prahalad maharaj said with full confidence that Krsna is present in this pillar, that is the perfect way of seeing Krsna completely in everything. That is the art of seeing Krsna. How can we see God everywhere - LOVE FOR KRSNA - When we get love for Krsna all the time then the devotees of Krsna are constantly seeing Krsna through their hearts everywhere, all the time. Because their eyes are covered with the ointment of Love they are seeing Krsna everywhere. Just like the child remembers the mother everywhere and the mother sees the child everywhere. The whole purpose of getting faith, having determination, being the servant of the servant of devotees, reading BG, SB, chanting all for just one goal - TO LOVE KRSNA. BY THIS LOVE WE CAN PURCHASE KRSNA.

Once there was a devotee Mukunda sarkar. He was a great devotee of Krsna. Once he was called upon by the king who was muslim. Mukunada sarkar goes and as he goes he sees that the servants are fanning the king with peacock feathers - just seeing the peacock feather he remembers Krsna and he goes into Ecstasy. He was on a raised platform and he fell down and when he came back to his material consciousness they asked him how are you doing and out of his humility he said that I get these epileptic attacks. This way we should develop the love for Krsna so we can see Krsna everywhere. Just like Sun is the cause of shadow, similarly only when there is Krsna there is everything, hence is the cause of all causes. Only because of him we are all there. When Krsna is absent in a person then he becomes sinful and even here he becomes the cause. Hence he is the cause for both the good and the bad.

Here we see in this verse how Arjuna after such deep realization he is giving such beautiful prayers. Haribol!

Chapter 11: The Universal Form 1-4 Verses Summary (HG Shyamsundar Prabhu)

11.1: Arjuna said: By my hearing the instructions You have kindly given me about these most confidential spiritual subjects, my illusion has now been dispelled.

BG 11.2: O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the appearance and disappearance of every living entity and have realized Your inexhaustible glories.

BG 11.3: O greatest of all personalities, O supreme form, though I see You here before me in Your actual position, as You have described Yourself, I wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.

BG 11.4: If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that unlimited universal Self.


So in the 10th chapter, Krishna is talking about him and he mentions that everything is coming from him. Everything is representing Krishna, whether it is high or low. That representation made by Krishna to Arjuna is good enough for him to accept that Krishna is the supreme. He has accepted every word and is believing Krishna. His illusion is now dispelled. So here is the reason to listen to Krishna's opulences. For his pure devotees, his opulences are good enough to wake us up from the slumber and come to KC. When new devotees come to KC, they are said to read SP Lila amrita. Why? How a pure devotee is empowered to do things which are impossible by the Supreme Lord and those illusions are dispelled from hearts of non-devotees. That is why it is greatly emphasized from pure souls and acharyas and by Krishna himself that 1 must regularly engage in listening about Krsna and his devotees.

Nitya Bhagvat sevaiya...nasta badreshu...- By regularly attending classes of SB, all that is troublesome to the heart will be destroyed and when it is destroyed then BHAKTI will start in the heart and that is the sum and substance of bhakti yoga to have unalloyed dev service to Krishna. Every lila, every pasttime of Krishna - everything of Krishna reveals his oppulences to us. The name, says he has invested everything in his name and that is an oppulence that when we say the name everything and hence we should recite daily his name, think of his form and talk about his glories so all the darkness that trouble the heart will be dispelled.

Here Arjuna is convinced, then the natural dev in his conciousness is that he wants to share that wih everybody. He wants the whole world to know who is Krishna. To share this knowledge with everybody he wants to make HIS personality known to everybody as everyone is not willing to hear about Krsna with conviction. In order to dispel the doubts of everybody he is asking these questions.

Now he is curious, he's inquisitive, and he wants to know more information. Show me how you have entered into this material creation. Here Arjuna is asking on behalf of all the living entities. And then he says, if you feel I'm qualified please show me that Universal form. Hence, these 4 verses are the foundation of this chapter and he is very clearly Arjuna is expalining that his illusion has gone and he wants Krishna to show his universal form if he is capable of seeing and help everybody show how Krishna is the Supreme.

Imp to take home - when we are engaged in dev serv properly, if we are truly engaging properly, the result is that we want to do more dev service. For ex - if chanting properly then proof is - after chanting the holy names, we want to chant more. If we are hearing Hari katha properly, we want to hear more. Anything in contact wih Krishna if doing properly, we want to do it more and more and more and forever. That is the proof and gurantee that we are doing it properly. If after the dev serv we haven't got the taste then we aren't doing our dev serv properly. We should understand this and keep in our mind always! Hearing, chanting, our dev serv - deity worship, serving Vaishnavas and that is not resulting in hearing more about Krishna then it is lacking somewhere. After he has been enlightened here Arjuna is saying I want to know more. Not that Krsna you have spoken so much and now I am bored No. He says I want to know more and more and more. In that mood to know more about Krsna he is requesting Krsna please show me your Universal form.

This is an imp aspect of bhakti. When we chant everyday that is our connection with Krsna and we are connecting with him everyday. If we are connected withe Krsna we want to chant more. But because we don't chant attentively, we just are deprived of the great opportunity of getting out of illusion and hence we get stuck. This is an imp principle. How can we get this taste? - REGULARLY HEAR THE PASTTIMES OF Krishna.

Everyday we are chanting the same mantra, but everyday it gives us new experiences and hence the key is regularly hearing, chanting, listening to Krsna Katha is very very important. Unless we are shaken up, and somebody tell us that we are going in the wrong direction, we are totally intoxicated. But Krsna's devotees are so merciful, they tell us that we are going in wrong direction and hence such shocking experiences help us realize that Krishna is the real thing and everything else is false.

Example - alarm clocks are harsh - why? because only if the experience is harsh we wake up, if not we will keep sleeping. Same way experiences in life are harsh, so we can realize that this material world is false and we wake up that this life is very embarassing, shocking, saddening and whatever makes us come closer to Krsna we should take it. If any experience is our life is harsh and it makes us realize about Krsna then that experience is good. We should try to see Krsna in everything in our life.

Some experiences in our life, we feel what's going on? And we should remember that in those difficult situation only thing which should come out of our mouths should be the holy name which will help us. If we want to make progress in spiritual life, we should remember that anyday/anytime death can come and we can die anytime and at that time of death we should be prepared to remember Krsna so we don't come back to this material world but go back home to the spiritual world.  But if we are in the material conciousness we are always thinking, its too early, we will chant our rounds tomorrow, whats the rush, and sometimes we justify our not doing dev service and not jumping on the opportunities we get. So these are lessons which daily the material world around us is teaching us that how imp it is to constantly hear about Krsna and his opulences and glories. And this is actually the only way to come out of illusion as no other talks, no other things will be able to get us out of illusion of this material world. So contantly remember Krsna in everything and anything you do.

Summary - BG 10.9 - Thursday Call with HG Shyamsundar Prabhu

"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."

This describes the characteristics of the pure devotee. When we come in contact with a great person we want to make a connection with him and try to attract him, please him. How can we do that? By offering our attention to him and by serving him. When we give our attention to somebody we care for them. Krishna loves all of us and how can we get his attention by service. There is absolutley no meaning of love if you don't do any service. Lust is you do something for my sense pleasure and love is doing service to them. So to understand Krishna's position is the most important.

This is a very nice progression of devotees when the pure devotees dwell in me and their service is devoted to his service and they get a lot of bliss by conversion with him. So serving Krishna is always such a blissful experience for everybody. When we engage in such a service to the lord, then one begins their journey to the highest platform what a living entity can reach.

Chaitanya mahaprabhu is instruction Rupa Goswami about the Bhakti-Lata seed - the living entity is traversing from one planet to another in search for joy. One rare soul begins fortunate to meet a pure devotee and gets a chance to serve him. And the pure devotee the Guru puts the seed of Bhakti-lata seed into the devotee and then the creeper starts growing and growing and it reaches Goloka Vrindavan where Krishna is residing and reaches Krishna's lotus feet. When the devotee waters the seed - it is hearing and chanting. With such regular hearing and chanting it produces the love of God.

This verse puts great emphasis on Sravanam and Kirtanam. This is the root of the 9 parts of Bhakti. Actually when we have full control of hearing and chanting then we give up the material covering.

Ex: Ghandi's 3 monkeys - don't hear anything bad, don't speak anything bad and don't see anything bad.

So one should choose one's hearing and chanting only by the pure devotee. Hearing and Chanting should be very carefully guarded and is the crux of Krishna conciousness.

In SB there is a very nice verse - "By dear Rajendra, in this material world, there are 100 and 1000s of subject matters for hearing and seeing, however, people who are blind to the ultimate truth have relish for them." This drains the life energy and is feeling suffocated by not talking about Krishna. If Krishna prem is dormant in the heart of a subject matter then they enjoy other matters other than Krishna. It is the transcendental subject matter to study about Krishna. It gives great joy to the heart - Why? Because scientifically we are part and parcels of Krishna and we are directly related to Krishna. Krishna is father and we are children. Right now only of - lust, anger, greed, power, - hence we are denying only things which aren't good for us. We are in denial.

When we hear about Krishna, we get rejunated about it. ex: When a mother is told about a child, she is all ears, same way when we talk about Krishna we get a lot of Joy. That is the power of Krishna katha. In such a state the devotee becomes purer.

Hence a pure devotee of Krishna is always conversing about Krishna. This is Vrindavan. The only talk going on 24 hrs was about Krishna. Mother yashoda - was only talking about Krishna all the time. When he wakes up at night terrified I need to give him a hug. Sometime I need to punish him, how can he be the Lord, he's my son. Gopis are talking about him. Gopas are talking about him everybody is talking about him.

Even in brhmasamhita all are talking about him. When SP was on the planet - hours and hours he was talking about Krishna.

Hence if we are talking about naything other than Krishna it is only for our sense pleasure about our lust, our pride, our anger etc - this results in pain and when the same energy is diverted to Krishna, then the same hearing and chanting will give us solace, peace, happiness and bliss and that is the only way to get to Krishna in this and the next life. Chant and be happy! The pure devotees and relishing hearing and chanting.

By chanting, reading, serving, you can start thinking about Krishna all the time and increase our talks about Krishna. ex- adopt a highway - adopt the highway to Krishna. - This is the outlook of a devotee he reads, hears, sees anything and is always thinking of Krishna and is constantly serving Krishna and engaged in him then you are seeing everything in relation to Krishna. You might be reading something ordinary yet you might have a powerful realization about Krishna. Because you have a strong sadhana. This will bring you to a powerful position of always thinking about Krishna and talking about him all the time. Hare Krishna!

Thursday Call by Shyamsundar Prabhu

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 10.2

na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ
prabhavaḿ na maharṣayaḥ
aham ādir hi devānāḿ
maharṣīṇāḿ ca sarvaśaḥ
"Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and sages."

In the 9th chapter we learnt the most confidential knowledge. And Krishna gives the most important verse in "Always engage in my service and surely you will come to me - Man mana..." Now in this chapter Krisna is giving more knowledge about himself. The mind is so dynamic that every moment we are constantly thinking about something or the other. Why are we forced to think - because they seem to be very attractive. We desire things, we desire people, because we feel very attracted to them. But we need to research about Krishna and hence Krishna's opulence is so absolute as they draw us in his attention and it forces us to think who is think, why is this. Having said that Krishna is now about to explain something which is so extraordinary. I'm the source of all demigods, all devatas are coming from him.

All sages are also coming from him. Brhamaji is also bewildered seeing his opulence as nobody can understand him. Even Krishna can't understand himself. One cannot even fathom and understand Krishna - why? Because his pastitmes, qualities, leelas, are all unlimited. Not only unlimited but also on a different platform altogether. Because it is under the jurisdiction of his internal energy - the ladini energy. Hence we need the mercy of Radha rani to understand Krishna.

The first opulence is Krishna's unlimitedness. No one can catch Krishna. So many demons were trying to catch Krishna but nobody could catch Krishna, No body could catch him at all. So many yogis are trying to catch Krishna but how is he caught - Only by Bhakti baddam. Only by Bhakti he is caught. Ex - Yashodamata trying to catch him. Or Radha rani's bhakti to catch him. But only by Krishna's mercy it is possible.

Pleasing Krishna is so simple, just please the devotees and just adopt that mood just what Krishna wants. Be humble, more humble than the blade of grass. Don't expect anything, just keep giving. The opulences of Krishna is also for us to become humble. That we are just fireflys we are so insignificant. Krishna is so great. This is the beginning of Bhakti. Demigods can't understand, sages can't understand. But Krishna can reveal to you if he wants only if he sees you are sincere. Same way concentrate on Sri Chaitanya prabhu and give your soul to sankirtan yajna. How was he teaching - When he went to Gaya and comes back he says I have wasted my life and now I want to take initiation and to just service the devotee and do menial services to the devotees so he can serve the Vaishnavas. Supreme Personality of Godhead is telling us with his own experience how to please Krishna by serving the vaishnavas.

No body can understand krishna but only the devotee with his dint of devotion to the vaishnavas can please Krishna.

Everybody in Vrindavan is under yoga maya which is the internal energy of Krishna or the ladhini energy which is Radha rani. So you might be in any bhava ex yashoda mata was in vatsalya bhava but her love towards Krishna is only through the mercy of Radharani. So, we should pray to Radharani to get her mercy. And the way to it is by serving the Spiritual master, because only through him can he light the torchlight of darkness. And by serving the devotees and the spiritual master you can get the mercy of Krishna and Srimati Radharani.