Karttika is a sale like Black Friday. Everything is given away for nothing!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: Kunti was so interested in Krishna she did not care about anything else. She said, “My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” (SB 1.8.26)
As soon as we glorify the devotee, Krishna is immediately attracted.
Krishna comes from the word akarsna which means He is attractive, but Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that akarsna also means that Krishna is attracted. What is He attracted by? Devotional service.
Karttika is a sale like Black Friday. Everything is given away for nothing.
Some people during Karttika take vows to do positive things, like reading a chapter of Krishna book. Imagine you do that for 30 days. You will be off the ground by the end of the month. You just read Krishna book, and you’re already back to Godhead.
Our present emotions give just a hint of genuine spiritual emotions. Krishna’s humanlike form can capture our emotions.
We take vows to develop attachment to Krishna. I embrace the positive vows because they awaken our love for Krishna.
Because as souls we are eternal, we want things to last.
This is the abode of ignorance. We do not know what will happen.
In the spiritual world there is no unknowing.
Do you think your family members will protect you? How can they protect you when they cannot protect themselves?
The soul cannot enjoy the material world, so it takes a dormant position, and the mind takes the position of enjoying the world, but if that very mind becomes attached to Krishna it can be the cause of one’s liberation.
Krishna steals from every house in Vrindavan to accept the offerings of His different devotees.
Thank you for coming here to spend Karttika with Radha Govinda in Vrindavan. This has nothing to do with New York. You did not notice it, but when you stepped into this temple room, you stepped into Vrindavan. This is because when Radha-Govinda come here, They bring Vrindavan with them.
In the atmarama verse all the other words refer back to atmarama which is the subject of the verse.
The soul can never be satisfied with anything which is not sac-cid-ananda [eternal, cognizant, and full of spiritual pleasure].
The endeavors for liberation and mystic perfection do not free one from material desire.
The sixty-one different explanations by Lord Caitanya and the nine other explanations by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya have never been exactly enumerated. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati gives a lot of information in this regard, and Srila Prabhupada includes this in his purports to the Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
The body and mind relate to the soul but are not the soul.
Brahmananda includes the happiness of liberation from the material world and the happiness of connecting with the Lord’s effulgence, the brahmajyoti.
If we thoroughly understand that we have absolutely nothing to do with our body, we become completely fearless.
The impersonalists say everything is illusion but brahman, and the Buddhists say that everything is illusion including brahman.
We agree with the impersonalists that we are spirit and not matter, but we have an additional understanding that matter engaged in the service of the Lord can be transformed into spirit.
There are two kind of yogis, those who realize that the Supersoul is different from themselves and those who think they are the Supersoul and become impersonalists.
In Vaikuntha there are 2½ rasas, neutrality, servitude, and reverential friendship.
The mood of the unalloyed love of the gopis is the core of the Lord Caitanya’s movement.
The idea of the Radha Kunda babajis that you are given your relationship with Krishna by your guru is not actually the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy.
One yoga teacher was aghast when I mentioned I was a Hare Krishna. She explained that she was someone who could not say no, and a Hare Krishna devotee convinced her to buy an entire set of Bhagavatams, and everyone in her family teases her about it. I asked her if she read the books. She said no. I told her, “These books are actually very good. Why don’t you read the books? Then you could tell friends, ‘I did not get cheated. The books are actually very good.’”
She was very grateful for that advice saying, “You have given me a way out!”
Among other things, Arjuna was worried that so many elders would be killed in the Battle of Kurukshetra and that would not be good for society.
Chapter Three of Bhagavad-gita describes that the desire to enjoy our senses in this material world causes our consciousness become more and more covered, so that we cannot understand spiritual reality. That is what is going on today.
Yoga is regaining our spiritual consciousness by attaining transcendental knowledge.
We see form and personality in the creation. Why do we then suppose that the creator is devoid of these?
Chapter One is entitled Arjuna-visada-yoga, the yoga of Arjuna’s lamentation.
Compassion is required to perform yoga and that is why yoga is present in this chapter.
Chapter Two is sankhya-yoga. Three is karma-yoga, and Four is jnana-yoga.
Chapter Five is the yoga of renunciation.
Living simply keeps our consciousness free, and it gives us energy to pursue the spiritual.
Chapter Six is dhyana-yoga. The final verse of Chapter Six is the verse that speaks about meditation.
Yoga is not something you do for a while, but a way of life. That way of life frees one from the cycle of birth and death, which is not everything but is valuable.
Desire is like a spotlight, and wherever that spotlight is there we will go.
Chapter Seven is vijnana-yoga, the yoga of wisdom.
Srila Prabhupada’s titles of the Gita chapters are not always literal translations but capture the essence.
We think of karma in terms of action and reaction, but Krishna defines karma as action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities. If we are busy working to enjoy the material world, we will get another material body.
The suffering in old age is to remind us to focus on the Supreme Lord as there is not much time left.
The Ninth Chapter is the yoga of royal and hidden knowledge.
We learn that to get the most confidential knowledge we have to overcome envy.
If we are not free from envy, we have to try to control our envy with our intelligence.
We learn everything is controlled and connected to Krishna.
If the Lord did not appear in a human form how could we relate to Him? Arjuna has difficulty relating to Krishna when in Chapter Eleven He appears in His universal form.
Many verses in Chapter Nine warn us of distraction and misunderstanding, but 9.13, 9.14 and 9.34 tell about the most confidential knowledge.
We learn our complete focus should be on Krishna.
Chapter Ten shows how we can see Krishna in the manifestation of great power in this world.
It is not enough to understand Krishna is the Supreme Lord, but we also have to see Him everywhere.
There are four verses that are said to summarize the Bhagavad-gita. In this day and age people are always looking for brief expressions.
In Bg. 10.8, we learn that beyond seeing Him everywhere, we have to worship the Lord with all our hearts.
Because the heart is involved, the devotees derive bliss talking about Him.
Chapter Eleven is called visvarupa-darsana-yoga, and the important thing to learn here is that God is ultimately a person.
Chapter Twelve is bhakti-yoga.
Who can fix their mind on Krishna without deviation? Therefore we have to practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga.
The other options are like the slow boat to China, but they are there.
Chapter Twelve makes it clear that the essence of bhakti-yoga is to please Krishna. That is clear because the last eight verses describe the qualities of one who is dear to Krishna.
Chapter Thirteen is the yoga of distinguishing matter from spirit.
In this chapter we learn that we are not the proprietor of our own bodies.
Srila Prabhupada explained to one guest that the soul does not die because it is eternal, and the body does not die, because being matter, it is already dead.
The mode of goodness is more transparent to spirit.
It is difficult to try to act in goodness. It is easier to associate with goodness.
You could not catch Srila Prabhupada doing something that was unconnected to Krishna.
Q: What is the difference because love and attachment?
A: Love has a component of wanting to please the other person which may not be there in attachment.
A transcendental person has unconditional love. Parents love their child, but then they want him to be a doctor.
In Bhagavad-gita 2.7, Arjuna accepts Krishna has his guru, but he does not completely give up his own ideas till later in the book.
To be a disciple in this age is difficult because we are so independent.
To take birth in a wealthy family is good karma, but to take birth in a family where spiritual values are cultured is better karma.
Ultimately suffering is a blessing because it wakes you up.
Who in Kali-yuga has a good deal?
We stand before the deity with devotion, but we do not fall down in spiritual ecstasy like Lord Caitanya, so how much do we actually realize that the deity is Krishna Himself?
It described when the demon Putana fell down dead, her body destroyed Kamsa’s favorite orchard.
Putana represents the false teacher because the first guru is one’s mother, and though acting as if a mother, she betrayed Krishna.
Aghasura took the form of snake because he had absolutely no feeling for others.
Why did Krishna appear as a child? Somehow children have the ability to attract attention. If kids were not cute, why would you want to look after them?
When we see Krishna as a child, so many opportunities for service are there.
Although we value liking our job, if we like our job too much, our job could take our attention away from Krishna.
Krishna is one of those kids who likes to sleep in.
Krishna begins milking the cows even before his bath as their udders are quite full, and the cowherdmen will not begin their milking until Krishna starts.
The great dependence of Krishna upon devotees is unique to this tradition. Elsewhere we just see the dependence of the devotees on the Lord.
Krishna’s pastimes are so human and so within the range of human emotion that they are very attractive.
After Krishna and Balarama defeated Canura and Mustika, then They wrestled with some of the cowherd boys, and They were defeated, which did not make Kamsa feel very good.
The pastime of Nrsimha is finished very quickly, but Krishna’s pastimes are extensive and have many nuances.
One of the best things to read during Karttika is the Krishna book.
Although the residents of Vrindavan do not think of Krishna as God they see Him as the most wonderful person they have ever known and who has ever been in this world.
Krishna empowers yoga-maya to put a spell on Him. He can shake it off if he wants to, but He generally does not.
At times it dawns upon the residents of Vrindavan that Krishna is God but at most times not.
This month of Karttika is meant to meditate on Krishna’s pastimes.
What takes birth can be controlled by astrological influence, but that applies just to the body by not the soul. Likewise karma can affect only the body but not the soul. But as long as we identify with the body, we will be affected.
Although there is no reaction to sinful thoughts in this age of Kali, we if continue to meditate on sinful thoughts, some day will end up performing sinful actions.
Someone asked Srila Prabhupada about Freud’s idea of an Oedipus complex that every man has an idea of having sex with his mother. Srila Prabhupada said, “Maybe you but not me.” Srila Prabhupada came from a different realm.
Lord Caitanya could have accepted the most famous guru of his time, Madhavendra Puri, as his spiritual master, but instead he decided to accept the servant of Madhavendra Puri, Isvara Puri, as his spiritual master, thus highlighting the glory of the servant of the great personality.
Lord Caitanya writes the script of His own life, but as for ourselves we are not really sure about the script of our life, and sometimes we are not particularly happy about it.
The deity that we have served we experience to be the most beautiful deity.
We are very much conscious that the body is not the self but rather an awkward encasement that is embarrassing.
Bhakivinoda Thakura says we have to admit that we are ultimately defeated by materialistic life.
In the beginning we are too young for this and that, and then all of a sudden, we become too old for this and that.
In Krishna consciousness, we realize the material body is simply to be used in devotional service.
We can work to maintain ourselves, but to maintain ourselves in Krishna consciousness.
Our main focus is not going back to Godhead but taking others back to Godhead. How can we take others back to Godhead if we are not sure we are going ourselves? By being messengers.
Whether we have material desires or we do not have material desires, we are meant to forcefully engage in devotional service.
In one Jesuit book it says that if you have a sinful thought you have to repent, and if you have the same thought again, you have to repent again and to also repent that your first repentance was not sincere. In reality, just by doing devotional service we will surpass all these sinful reactions.
This movement is ours to take care of, not ours to take advantage of.
Working to expand the movement gets us beyond the platform of the body.
Parasurama Prabhu asked me, “Where are you going?”
I said, “To a retreat.”
Parasurama Prabhu replied, “Don’t retreat. Go forward.”
We all have some special qualities. Someone threw a rock at a beehive, and all the bees came out and covered Jagadisa Prabhu. He remained silent for fifteen minutes, and the bees went away, and he did not have a single sting.
Ayurveda is the science that occupies itself with the machine.
Our body has certain advantages and disadvantages based on the consciousness we had at our previous death.
Ayurveda is not about curing diseases, but it is about maintaining health, which is a better strategy.
We keep the body healthy, and we engage the mind in spiritual activities. The mind must always be engaged in positive activities.
Luther was a monk who later gave it up and got married. He exposed a lot of corruption in the church, but he realized that he had a lot of corruption within himself. He came to the realization that only through grace could he surpass his internal corruption, and he taught that.
Twenty-six Second Avenue is a place of pilgrimage on the level of Vrindavan, where Krishna appeared, Navadvipa, where Lord Caitanya appeared, and Jagannatha Puri, where Lord Jagannatha appeared, because it is the place where Krishna appeared in the West in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
