Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

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Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

Who is a yogi and happy in this world?

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakthivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, explains the words of Krishna in BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS (C-5, T-23):

saknotihaiva yah sodhum
prak sarira-vimoksanat
kama-krodhodbhavam vegam
sa yuktah sa sukhi narah

TRANSLATION

Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogi and is happy in this world.

PURPORT

If one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called gosvami, or svami. Such gosvamis live strictly controlled lives, and forgo altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.

गीता सार

गीता सार
प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढ़ाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु ।
तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत्‌ ॥ श्री मदभग्वद्गीता (३:२९ )
अर्थ : प्रकृतिके गुणोंसे अत्यन्त मोहित हुए मनुष्य गुणोंमें और कर्मोंमें आसक्त रहते हैं, उन पूर्णतया न समझने वाले मन्दबुद्धि अज्ञानियोंको पूर्णतया जाननेवाला ज्ञानी विचलित न करे॥
भावार्थ : सम्पूर्ण सृष्टि भिन्न आध्यात्मिक स्तरपर है अतः ज्ञानीने इस सिद्धान्तको जानकार वर्तन करना चाहिए क्योंकि जीवोंका वर्तन उनके आध्यात्मिक स्तरके अनुसार होता है | मनुष्य जन्म लेकर भी अनेक जीव जिनका आध्यात्मिक स्तर निम्न होता है वे सांसरिक सुख उपभोगमें लिप्त रहते हैं, उन्हें लगता है कि मैं देह हूँ और इस संसारमें आनेका मुख्य कारण है विषयोंका उपभोग कर सुखका अनुभव करना | ऐसे मनुष्यको अध्यात्म और साधनामें तनिक भी रुचि नहीं होती , भगवान श्री कृष्ण कहते हैं ऐसे मनुष्यको ज्ञान देना उचित नहीं है और उन्हें मंद बुद्धि संबोधित किया गया है | ऐसे मनुष्यको अपने तमोगुणी प्रकृति अनुरूप वर्तन करने हेतु छोड देना चाहिए, ज्ञानी यदि इस बातको समझ ले कि सृष्टि आगे सहस्रो वर्ष चलने वाली है और प्रत्येक जीव सृष्टिके संचालनकी घटनाक्रममें अपना स्थान और महत्व रखता है और ऐसी सोच रखनेपर उन्हें मायामें लिप्त देखकर ग्लानि नहीं होगी |
ज्ञान देते समय जिसे ईश्वर में तनिक भी रुचि नहीं है और वह कुछ जानना भी नहीं चाहता है उन्हें ज्ञान नहीं देना चाहिए, उसी प्रकार जिसे यह लगता है कि उसे अत्यधिक ज्ञान है और उसमें अहंकारका प्राबल्य अधिक है उसे भी ज्ञान नहीं देना चाहिए | ज्ञान मात्र उसे देना चाहिए जिसे अध्यात्म पता नहीं है परंतु जब बताया जाये तो वह नम्रतासे सुनकर उसे आचरणमें लानेका प्रयास करता है या ज्ञान उसे देना चाहिए जो नम्र है और जिज्ञासु प्रवृत्तिका है | अतः ज्ञानीको ज्ञानका प्रसार करते समय जिसे वह ज्ञान देने वाला है उसके बारेमें थोडा अभ्यास करना चाहिए तभी उसके ज्ञान देने की कृति परिणामकारक होगी | अनेक जीव इस सृष्टिमण्डलमें आध्यात्मिक स्तरके भिन्न चरणपर है और कालानुरूप उनमें भी निम्न गतिसे उतरोत्तर प्रगति होगी और ज्ञानीने इस तथ्यको स्वीकार कर साक्षीभावसे वर्तन करना चाहिए और सभी ईश्वर उन्मुख हो जाये और इस हेतु बिना पात्रता देखे ज्ञान देना अयोग्य होगा | अत: तमोगुणी प्रवृत्तिके व्यक्तिको संसारमें पूर्णत: लिप्त देखकर ज्ञानीने विचलित नहीं होना चाहिए |
courtesy : www.tanujathakur.com

Who have already conquered the conditions of birth and death?

Friends of Lord Krishna, By Subuddhi Krishna Das

Who have already conquered the conditions of birth and death?

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakthivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, explains the words of Krishna in BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS (C-5, T-18):

ihaiva tair jitah sargo
yesam samye sthitam manah
nirdosam hi samam brahma
tasmad brahmani te sthitah

TRANSLATION

Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.

PURPORT

Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of self realization. Those who have actually attained to such a stage should be considered to have conquered material conditions, specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this body, he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the stage of equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer subject to take birth in the material world but can enter into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is flawless because He is without attraction or hatred.

Similarly, when a living entity is without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.

Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

What is the highest level of devotion as introduced to us by Sri Caitanya Maha Prabhu?

Srila Prabhupada writes beautifully in SRI CAITANYA CARITAMRUTHA:

“Lord Caitanya's greatest gift was His teaching that Krsna can be actually treated as one's lover. In this relationship the Lord is so much attached that He expresses His inability to reciprocate.

Krsna was so obliged to the gopis, the cowherd girls of Vrndavana, that He felt unable to return their love.

"I cannot repay your love," He told the gopis. "I have no more assets to return."

Thus devotional service is performed on this excellent platform, and knowledge of the devotee's relationship to Krsna as lover and beloved was given by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It was never given by any previous incarnation or acarya.

How a humble sage views others around him?

Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

Pic sent by Abhishel Sharma.

How a humble sage views others around him?

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakthivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, explains the words of Krishna in BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS (C-5, T-18):

vidya-vinaya-sampanne
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva-pake ca
panditah sama-darsinah

TRANSLATION

The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].

PURPORT

A Krsna conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brahmana and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramatma, is present in everyone's heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramatma regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramatma is present in both the outcaste and in the brahmana, although the body of a brahmana and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body whereas the Paramatma is present in each and every body. A Krsna conscious person has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and the Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction.

Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

Krishna and Bhagavad Gita

Pic: Sent by Vishal Shah.

What is the meaning of initiation?

Srila Prabhupada says in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta ---2:9:61--purport:

"It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches of maya by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra. In this way a sleeping human being can revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In other words, the spiritual master awakens the sleeping living entity to his original consciousness so that he can worship Lord Visnu.

This is the purpose of Diksa, or Initiation. Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness."