{"id":10311,"date":"2020-08-08T11:41:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T15:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/?p=10311"},"modified":"2020-08-08T10:49:34","modified_gmt":"2020-08-08T14:49:34","slug":"krishna-book-chapter-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/krishna-book-chapter-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Krishna Book, chapter 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER 2<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPrayers by the Demigods for Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Womb<\/span><\/p>\n

King Ka\u1e41sa not only occupied the kingdoms of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties and the kingdom of \u015a\u016brasena, but he also made alliances with all the other demoniac kings, as follows: the demon Pralamba, demon Baka, demon C\u0101\u1e47\u016bra, demon T\u1e5b\u1e47\u0101varta, demon Agh\u0101sura, demon Mu\u1e63\u1e6dika, demon Ari\u1e63\u1e6da, demon Dvivida, demon P\u016btan\u0101, demon Ke\u015b\u012b and demon Dhenuka. At that time, Jar\u0101sandha was the king of Magadha Province (known at present as Bihar State). Thus by his diplomatic policy, Ka\u1e41sa consolidated the most powerful kingdom of his time, under the protection of Jar\u0101sandha. He made further alliances with such kings as B\u0101\u1e47\u0101sura and Bhaum\u0101sura, until he was the strongest. Then he began to behave most inimically toward the Yadu dynasty, into which K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was to take His birth.<\/span>
\nBeing harassed by Ka\u1e41sa, the kings of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties took shelter in different states, such as the state of the Kurus, the state of the Pa\u00f1c\u0101las and the states known as Kekaya, \u015a\u0101lva, Vidarbha, Ni\u1e63adha, Videha and Ko\u015bala. Ka\u1e41sa broke the solidarity of the Yadu kingdom, as well as the Bhoja and Andhaka. He made his position the most solid within the vast tract of land known at that time as Bh\u0101rata-var\u1e63a.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nWhen Ka\u1e41sa was killing the six babies of Devak\u012b and Vasudeva one after another, many friends and relatives of Ka\u1e41sa approached him and requested him to discontinue these heinous activities. But all of them became worshipers of Ka\u1e41sa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nWhen Devak\u012b became pregnant for the seventh time, a plenary expansion of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a known as Ananta appeared within her womb. Devak\u012b was overwhelmed with both jubilation and lamentation. She was joyful, for she could understand that Lord Vi\u1e63\u1e47u had taken shelter within her womb, but at the same time she was sorry that as soon as her child would come out, Ka\u1e41sa would kill Him. At that time the Supreme Personality of Godhead, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, being compassionate upon the Yadus, who were fearful due to the atrocities committed by Ka\u1e41sa, ordered the appearance of Yogam\u0101y\u0101, His internal potency. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the Lord of the universe, but He is especially the Lord of the Yadu dynasty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nYogam\u0101y\u0101 is the principal potency of the Personality of Godhead. In the Vedas it is stated that the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has multipotencies: par\u0101sya \u015baktir vividhaiva \u015br\u016byate. All the different potencies are acting externally and internally, and Yogam\u0101y\u0101 is the chief of all potencies. The Lord ordered the appearance of Yogam\u0101y\u0101 in the land of Vrajabh\u016bmi, in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, which is always decorated and full with beautiful cows. In V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, Rohi\u1e47\u012b, one of the wives of Vasudeva, was residing at the house of King Nanda and Queen Ya\u015bod\u0101. Not only Rohi\u1e47\u012b but many others in the Yadu dynasty were scattered all over the country due to their fear of the atrocities of Ka\u1e41sa. Some of them were even living in the caves of the mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Lord thus informed Yogam\u0101y\u0101, \u201cUnder the imprisonment of Ka\u1e41sa are Devak\u012b and Vasudeva, and at the present moment My plenary expansion \u015ae\u1e63a is within the womb of Devak\u012b. You can arrange the transfer of \u015ae\u1e63a from the womb of Devak\u012b to the womb of Rohi\u1e47\u012b. After this arrangement, I am personally going to appear in the womb of Devak\u012b with My full potencies. Then I shall appear as the son of Devak\u012b and Vasudeva. And you shall appear as the daughter of Nanda and Ya\u015bod\u0101 in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana.<\/span>
\n\u201cSince you will appear as My contemporary sister, and since you will quickly satisfy desires for sense gratification, people within the world will worship you with all kinds of valuable presentations \u2013 incense, candles, flowers and offerings of sacrifice. People who are after materialistic perfection will worship you under the different forms of your expansions, which will be named Durg\u0101, Bhadrak\u0101l\u012b, Vijay\u0101, Vai\u1e63\u1e47av\u012b, Kumud\u0101, Ca\u1e47\u1e0dik\u0101, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47\u0101, M\u0101dhav\u012b, Kanyak\u0101, M\u0101y\u0101, N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47\u012b, \u012a\u015b\u0101n\u012b, \u015a\u0101rad\u0101 and Ambik\u0101.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\nK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and Yogam\u0101y\u0101 appeared as brother and sister \u2013 the Supreme Powerful and the supreme power. Although there is no clear distinction between the Powerful and the power, power is always subordinate to the Powerful. Those who are materialistic are worshipers of the power, but those who are transcendentalists are worshipers of the Powerful. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the Supreme Powerful, and Durg\u0101 is the supreme power within the material world. Actually people in the Vedic culture worship both the Powerful and the power. There are many hundreds and thousands of temples of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u and Dev\u012b, and sometimes they are worshiped simultaneously. The worshiper of the power, Durg\u0101, or the external energy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, may achieve all kinds of material success very easily, but anyone who wants to be elevated transcendentally must engage in worshiping the Powerful in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Lord also declared to Yogam\u0101y\u0101, \u201cMy plenary expansion Ananta \u015ae\u1e63a is within the womb of Devak\u012b. On account of being forcibly attracted to the womb of Rohi\u1e47\u012b, He will be known as Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a and will be the source of all spiritual power, or bala, by which one can attain the highest bliss of life, which is called rama\u1e47a. Therefore the plenary portion Ananta will be known after His appearance either as Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a or as Balar\u0101ma.\u201d<\/span>
\nIn the Upani\u1e63ads it is stated, n\u0101yam \u0101tm\u0101 bala-h\u012bnena labhya\u1e25. The purport is that one cannot attain the supreme platform of self-realization without being sufficiently favored by Balar\u0101ma. Bala does not mean physical strength. No one can attain spiritual perfection by physical strength. One must have the spiritual strength which is infused by Balar\u0101ma, or Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a. Ananta, or \u015ae\u1e63a, is the source of the power which sustains all the planets in their different positions. Materially this sustaining power is known as the law of gravitation, but actually it is a display of the potency of Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a. Balar\u0101ma, or Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a, is the source of spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. Therefore Lord Nity\u0101nanda Prabhu, who is also the incarnation of Balar\u0101ma, is the original spiritual master. And the spiritual master is the representative of Balar\u0101ma, the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who supplies spiritual strength. In the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta it is confirmed that the spiritual master is the manifestation of the mercy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThus ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yogam\u0101y\u0101 circumambulated the Lord and then appeared within this material world according to His order. When Yogam\u0101y\u0101, the supreme power of the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead, transferred Lord \u015ae\u1e63a from the womb of Devak\u012b to the womb of Rohi\u1e47\u012b, both Devak\u012b and Rohi\u1e47\u012b were under Yogam\u0101y\u0101\u2019s spell, which is called yoga-nidr\u0101. When this was done, people thought that Devak\u012b\u2019s seventh pregnancy had been a miscarriage. Thus although Balar\u0101ma appeared as the son of Devak\u012b, He was transferred to the womb of Rohi\u1e47\u012b to appear as her son. After this arrangement, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who is always ready to protect His unalloyed devotees, entered within the mind of Vasudeva as the Lord of the whole creation, with full inconceivable potencies. It is understood in this connection that Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a first of all situated Himself in the unalloyed heart of Vasudeva and was then transferred to the heart of Devak\u012b. He was not put into the womb of Devak\u012b by seminal discharge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable potency, can appear in any way. It is not necessary for Him to appear in the ordinary way, by seminal injection within the womb of a woman.<\/span>
\nWhen Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. The appearance of the form of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dh\u0101ma. Dh\u0101ma refers not only to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s form but also to His name, His qualities and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devak\u012b, exactly as the setting sun\u2019s rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thus entered the body of Devak\u012b from the body of Vasudeva without being subject to any of the conditions of an ordinary living entity. Since K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a, and incarnations like Lord N\u1e5bsi\u1e41ha and Var\u0101ha, were with Him, and They also were not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devak\u012b became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devak\u012b became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was confined within the house of Ka\u1e41sa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devak\u012b was kept within the prison walls of Ka\u1e41sa\u2019s palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty, which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nKa\u1e41sa, however, saw the transcendental beauty of his sister Devak\u012b, and he at once concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had taken shelter in her womb. She had never before looked so wonderfully beautiful. He could distinctly understand that there was something wonderful within the womb of Devak\u012b. In this way, Ka\u1e41sa became perturbed because he was sure that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who would kill him in the future, had now come. Ka\u1e41sa began to think, \u201cWhat is to be done with Devak\u012b? Surely she has Vi\u1e63\u1e47u or K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a within her womb, so it is certain that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a has come to execute the mission of the demigods. And even if I immediately kill Devak\u012b, His mission cannot be frustrated.\u201d Ka\u1e41sa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His purpose will be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. Ka\u1e41sa thought, \u201cIf I kill Devak\u012b at the present moment, Vi\u1e63\u1e47u will enforce His supreme will more vehemently. To kill Devak\u012b just now would be a most abominable act. No one desires to kill his reputation, even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devak\u012b now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devak\u012b is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately my reputation, the results of my pious activities and my duration of life will all be finished.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\nHe further deliberated, \u201cA person who is too cruel is as good as dead, even in this lifetime. No one likes a cruel person during his lifetime, and after his death, people curse him. On account of his self-identification with the body, he must be degraded and pushed into the darkest region of hell.\u201d Ka\u1e41sa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing Devak\u012b at that time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nKa\u1e41sa finally decided not to kill Devak\u012b right away but to wait for the inevitable future. But his mind became absorbed in animosity against the Personality of Godhead. He patiently waited for the delivery of the child, expecting to kill Him, as he had done previously with the other babies of Devak\u012b. Thus being merged in the ocean of animosity against the Personality of Godhead, he began to think of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or Vi\u1e63\u1e47u while sitting, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working \u2013 in all the situations of his life. His mind became so much absorbed with the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that indirectly he could see only K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or Vi\u1e63\u1e47u around him. Unfortunately, although his mind was so absorbed in the thought of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u, he is not recognized as a devotee because he was thinking of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as an enemy. The state of mind of a great devotee is also to be always absorbed in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, but a devotee thinks of Him favorably, not unfavorably. To think of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a favorably is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, but to think of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a unfavorably is not K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nAt this time Lord Brahm\u0101 and Lord \u015aiva, accompanied by great sages like N\u0101rada and followed by many other demigods, invisibly appeared in the house of Ka\u1e41sa. They began to pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in select verses, which are very pleasing to the devotees and which award fulfillment of their desires. The first words they spoke acclaimed that the Lord is true to His vow. As stated in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a descends to this material world just to protect the pious and destroy the impious. That is His vow. The demigods could understand that the Lord had taken His residence within the womb of Devak\u012b to fulfill His vow, and they were very glad that the Lord was appearing in order to fulfill His mission.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThen the demigods addressed the Lord as satya\u1e41 param, or the Supreme Absolute Truth. Everyone is searching after the truth. That is the philosophical way of life. The demigods give information that the Supreme Absolute Truth is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. One who becomes fully K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the Absolute Truth because, unlike relative truth, He is Truth in all the three phases of eternal time. Time is divided into past, present and future. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is Truth always \u2013 past, present and future. In the material world everything is being controlled by supreme time, in the course of past, present and future. But before the creation, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was existing, and when there is creation, everything is resting in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and when this creation is finished, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a will remain. Therefore, He is the Absolute Truth in all circumstances. If there is any truth within this material world, it emanates from the Supreme Truth, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. If there is any opulence within this material world, the cause of the opulence is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. If there is any reputation within this material world, the cause of the reputation is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. If there is any strength within this material world, the cause of such strength is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. If there is any wisdom and education within this material world, the cause of such wisdom and education is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Therefore K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the source of all relative truths.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThis material world is composed of five principal elements \u2013 earth, water, fire, air and ether \u2013 and all such elements are emanations from K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. The material scientists accept these five primary elements as the cause of the material manifestation, but the elements in their gross and subtle states are produced by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. The living entities who are working within this material world are products of His marginal potency. In the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101, it is clearly stated that the whole manifestation is a combination of two kinds of energies of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the superior energy and the inferior energy. The living entities are the superior energy, and the dead material elements are His inferior energy. In its dormant stage, everything remains in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe demigods continued to offer their respectful prayers unto the supreme form of the Personality of Godhead, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, by analytical study of the material manifestation. What is this material manifestation? It is just like a tree. A tree stands on the ground. Similarly, the tree of the material manifestation is standing on the ground of material nature. This material manifestation is compared to a tree because a tree is ultimately cut off in due course of time. A tree is called v\u1e5bk\u1e63a. V\u1e5bk\u1e63a means that thing which will be ultimately cut off. Therefore, this tree of the material manifestation cannot be accepted as the Ultimate Truth, because it is influenced by time. But K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s body is eternal: He existed before the material manifestation, He is existing while the material manifestation is continuing, and when it will be dissolved, He will continue to exist. Therefore only K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a can be accepted as the Absolute Truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Ka\u1e6dha Upani\u1e63ad also cites this example of the tree of the material manifestation standing on the ground of material nature. This tree has two kinds of fruits, distress and happiness. Those who are living in the tree of the body are just like two birds. One bird is the localized aspect of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a known as the Param\u0101tm\u0101, and the other bird is the living entity. The living entity is eating the fruits of this material manifestation. Sometimes he eats the fruit of happiness, and sometimes he eats the fruit of distress. But the other bird is not interested in eating the fruit of distress or happiness because he is self-satisfied. The Ka\u1e6dha Upani\u1e63ad states that one bird on the tree of the body is eating the fruits, and the other bird is simply witnessing. The roots of this tree extend in three directions. This means that the root of the tree is the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just as the tree\u2019s root expands, so, by association of the modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), one expands his duration of material existence. The tastes of the fruits are of four kinds: religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, ultimately, liberation.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the different associations in the three modes of material nature, the living entities are tasting different kinds of religiosity, different kinds of economic development, different kinds of sense gratification and different kinds of liberation. Practically all material work is performed in ignorance, but because there are three qualities, sometimes the quality of ignorance is covered with goodness or passion. The taste of these material fruits is accepted through five senses. The five sense organs through which knowledge is acquired are subjected to six kinds of whips: lamentation, illusion, infirmity, death, hunger and thirst. This material body, or the material manifestation, is covered by seven layers: skin, muscle, blood, marrow, bone, fat and semen. The branches of the tree are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. There are nine gates in this body: the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one genital, one rectum. And there are ten kinds of internal air passing within the body: pr\u0101\u1e47a, ap\u0101na, ud\u0101na, vy\u0101na, sam\u0101na, etc. The two birds seated in this tree, as explained above, are the living entity and the localized Supreme Personality of Godhead, Param\u0101tm\u0101.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe root cause of the material manifestation described here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself to take charge of the three qualities of the material world. Vi\u1e63\u1e47u takes charge of the mode of goodness, Brahm\u0101 takes charge of the mode of passion, and Lord \u015aiva takes charge of the mode of ignorance. Brahm\u0101, by the mode of passion, creates this manifestation, Lord Vi\u1e63\u1e47u maintains this manifestation by the mode of goodness, and Lord \u015aiva annihilates it by the mode of ignorance. The whole creation ultimately rests in the Supreme Lord. He is the cause of creation, maintenance and dissolution, and when the whole manifestation is dissolved, in its subtle form as His energy it rests within His body.<\/span>
\n\u201cAt present,\u201d the demigods prayed, \u201cthe Supreme Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is appearing just for the maintenance of this manifestation. Actually the Supreme Cause is one, but less intelligent persons, being deluded by the three modes of material nature, see that the material world is manifested through different causes. Those who are intelligent can see that the cause is one, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.\u201d As it is stated in the Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101, \u012b\u015bvara\u1e25 parama\u1e25 k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u1e25 . . . sarva-k\u0101ra\u1e47a-k\u0101ra\u1e47am: \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of all causes.\u201d Brahm\u0101 is the deputed agent for creation, Vi\u1e63\u1e47u is the expansion of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a for maintenance, and Lord \u015aiva is the expansion of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a for dissolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur dear Lord,\u201d the demigods prayed, \u201cit is very difficult to understand Your eternal form or personality. People in general are unable to understand Your actual form; therefore You are personally descending to exhibit Your original eternal form. Somehow people can understand the different incarnations of Your Lordship, but they are puzzled to understand the eternal form of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a with two hands, moving among human beings exactly like one of them. This eternal form of Your Lordship gives ever-increasing transcendental pleasure to the devotees, but for the nondevotees this form is very dangerous.\u201d As stated in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is very pleasing to the s\u0101dhus (paritr\u0101\u1e47\u0101ya s\u0101dh\u016bn\u0101m). But this form is very dangerous for the demons because K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a also descends to kill the demons. He is, therefore, simultaneously pleasing to the devotees and dangerous to the demons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur dear lotus-eyed Lord, You are the source of pure goodness. There are many great sages who simply by sam\u0101dhi, or transcendentally meditating upon Your lotus feet and thus being absorbed in Your thought, have easily transformed the great ocean of nescience created by the material nature into no more than the water in a calf\u2019s hoofprint.\u201d The purpose of meditation is to focus the mind upon the Personality of Godhead, beginning from His lotus feet. Simply by meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages cross over this vast ocean of material existence without difficulty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cO self-illuminated one, the great saintly persons who have crossed over the ocean of nescience by the help of the transcendental boat of Your lotus feet have not taken away that boat. It is still lying on this side.\u201d If one takes a boat to cross over a river, the boat also goes with one to the other side of the river. And so when one reaches the destination, how can the same boat be available to those who are still on this side? To answer this difficulty, the demigods say in their prayer that the boat of the Lord\u2019s lotus feet is not taken away. The devotees still remaining on this side are able to pass over the ocean of material nature because the pure devotees do not take the boat with them when they cross over. When one simply approaches the boat, the whole ocean of material nescience is reduced to the size of the water in a calf\u2019s hoofprint. Therefore, the devotees do not need to take the boat to the other side: they simply cross the ocean immediately. Because the great saintly persons are compassionate toward all conditioned souls, the boat is still lying on this side. In other words, one can meditate upon the lotus feet of the Lord at any time, and by so doing one can cross over the great ocean of material existence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nMeditation means concentration upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Lotus feet indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are impersonalists do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord, and therefore their object of meditation is something impersonal. The demigods express their mature verdict that persons who are interested in meditating on something void or impersonal cannot cross over the ocean of nescience. Such persons are simply imagining that they have become liberated. \u201cO lotus-eyed Lord! Their intelligence is contaminated because they fail to meditate upon the lotus feet of Your Lordship. As a result of this neglectful activity, the impersonalists fall down again into the material way of conditioned life, although they may temporarily rise to the point of impersonal realization.\u201d Impersonalists undergo severe austerities and penances to merge themselves into the Brahman effulgence, or impersonal Brahman existence. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they have simply tried to negate the material ways of thinking. That does not mean that they have become liberated. Thus they fall down.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nIn the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101 it is stated that the impersonalist has to undergo great tribulation in realizing his ultimate goal. At the beginning of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam it is also stated that without devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive activities. The statement of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is there in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101, and in \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam the statement of the great sage N\u0101rada is there, and here also the demigods confirm it. \u201cPersons who have not taken to devotional service are understood to have come short of the ultimate purpose of knowledge and are not favored by Your grace.\u201d The impersonalists simply think that they are liberated, but actually they have no feeling for the Personality of Godhead. They think that when K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a comes into the material world He accepts a material body. They therefore overlook the transcendental body of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101: avaj\u0101nanti m\u0101\u1e41 m\u016b\u1e0dh\u0101\u1e25. In spite of conquering material lust and rising to the point of liberation, the impersonalists fall down. If they are engaged just in knowing things for the sake of knowledge and do not take to the devotional service of the Lord, they cannot achieve the desired result. Their achievement is the trouble they take, and that is all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nIt is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101 that to realize Brahman identification is not all. Brahman identification may help one become joyful without material attachment or detachment and to achieve the platform of equanimity, but after this stage one has to take to devotional service. When one takes to devotional service after being elevated to the platform of Brahman realization, he is then admitted into the spiritual kingdom for permanent residence in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the result of devotional service. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead never fall down like the impersonalists. Even if the devotees fall down, they remain affectionately attached to their Lord. They can meet all kinds of obstacles on the path of devotional service, and freely, without any fear, they can surmount such obstacles. Because of their surrender, they are certain that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a will always protect them. As it is promised by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101, \u201cMy devotees are never vanquished.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur dear Lord,\u201d the demigods continued, \u201cYou have appeared in Your original unalloyed form, the eternal form of goodness, for the welfare of all living entities within this material world. Taking advantage of Your appearance, all of them can now very easily understand the nature and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Persons who belong to the four divisions of the social order (the brahmac\u0101r\u012bs, g\u1e5bhasthas, v\u0101naprasthas and sanny\u0101s\u012bs) can all take advantage of Your appearance.<\/span>
\n\u201cDear Lord, husband of the goddess of fortune, devotees who are dovetailed in Your service do not fall down from their high position like the impersonalists. Being protected by You, the devotees are able to traverse over the heads of many of M\u0101y\u0101\u2019s commanders in chief, who can always put stumbling blocks on the path of liberation. Dear Lord, You appear in Your eternal transcendental form for the benefit of the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service as recommended in the scriptures. Dear Lord, if You did not appear in Your eternal transcendental form, full of bliss and knowledge \u2013 a form which can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance about Your position \u2013 then all people would simply speculate about You according to their respective modes of material nature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe appearance of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the answer to all imaginative iconography of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone imagines the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to his mode of material nature. In the Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101 it is said that the Lord is the oldest person. Therefore a section of religionists imagine that God must be very old, and therefore they depict a form of the Lord like a very old man. But in the same Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101, that is contradicted: although He is the oldest of all living entities, He has His eternal form as a fresh youth. The exact words used in this connection in \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam are vij\u00f1\u0101nam aj\u00f1\u0101na-bhid\u0101pam\u0101rjanam. Vij\u00f1\u0101nam means transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vij\u00f1\u0101nam is also experienced knowledge. Transcendental knowledge has to be accepted by the descending process of disciplic succession, as Brahm\u0101 presents the knowledge of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101. The Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101 is vij\u00f1\u0101nam as realized by Brahm\u0101\u2019s transcendental experience, and in that way he presented the form and the pastimes of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the transcendental abode. This knowledge is aj\u00f1\u0101na-bhid\u0101pam\u0101rjanam, that which can smash all kinds of speculation in ignorance. People are imagining the form of the Lord: sometimes He has no form and sometimes He has form, according to their different imaginations. But the presentation of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101 is vij\u00f1\u0101nam \u2013 scientific, experienced knowledge given by Lord Brahm\u0101 and accepted by Lord Caitanya. There is no doubt about it. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s form, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s flute, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s color \u2013 everything is reality. Here it is said that this vij\u00f1\u0101nam is always defeating all kinds of speculative knowledge. \u201cTherefore, without Your appearing as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, as You are, neither aj\u00f1\u0101na-bhid\u0101pam\u0101rjanam (destruction of the nescience of speculative knowledge) nor vij\u00f1\u0101nam would be realized. In other words, Your appearance will vanquish the ignorance of speculative knowledge and establish the real experienced knowledge of authorities like Lord Brahm\u0101. Men influenced by the three modes of material nature imagine their own God according to the modes of material nature. In this way God is presented in various ways, but Your appearance will establish what the real form of God is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The highest blunder committed by the impersonalists is to think that when the incarnation of God comes He accepts the form of matter in the mode of goodness. Actually, the form of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a is transcendental to any material idea. Even the greatest impersonalist, \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101c\u0101rya, has admitted, n\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a\u1e25 paro \u2019vyakt\u0101t: the material creation is caused by the avyakta (impersonal) manifestation of matter, or the nonphenomenal total reservoir of matter, but K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is transcendental to that material conception. That is expressed in \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam as \u015buddha-sattva, or transcendental goodness. He does not belong to the material mode of goodness, and He is above the position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental, eternal status of bliss and knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cDear Lord, when You appear in Your different incarnations, You take different names and forms according to different situations. Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is Your name because You are all-attractive; You are called \u015ay\u0101masundara because of Your transcendental beauty. \u015ay\u0101ma means \u2018blackish,\u2019 yet it is said that You are more beautiful than thousands of Cupids (kandarpa-ko\u1e6di-kaman\u012bya). Although You appear in a color which is compared to the blackish cloud, because You are the Transcendental Absolute, Your beauty is many, many times more attractive than the delicate body of Cupid. Sometimes You are called Giridh\u0101r\u012b because You lifted the hill known as Govardhana. You are sometimes called Nandanandana or V\u0101sudeva or Devak\u012bnandana because You appear as the son of Mah\u0101r\u0101ja Nanda or Vasudeva or Devak\u012b. Impersonalists think that Your many names or forms are given according to a particular type of work and quality because they accept You from the position of a material observer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur dear Lord, the way of understanding is not to study Your absolute nature, form and activities by mental speculation. One must engage himself in devotional service; then one can understand Your absolute nature and Your transcendental form, name and qualities. Actually, only a person who has a little taste for the service of Your lotus feet can understand Your transcendental nature or form and qualities. Others may go on speculating for millions of years, but it is not possible for them to understand even a single part of Your actual position.\u201d In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, cannot be understood by the nondevotees because there is a curtain of Yogam\u0101y\u0101 which covers K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s actual features. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101, n\u0101ha\u1e41 prak\u0101\u015ba\u1e25 sarvasya. The Lord says, \u201cI am not exposed to anyone and everyone.\u201d When K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a came, He was actually present on the Battlefield of Kuruk\u1e63etra, and everyone saw Him. But not everyone could understand that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, everyone who died in His presence attained complete liberation from material bondage and was transferred to the spiritual world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cO Lord, the impersonalists or nondevotees cannot understand that Your name is identical with Your form.\u201d Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form and name. The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting \u201cmango, mango, mango.\u201d But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between the name and the form of the Lord chants Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Hare Hare\/ Hare R\u0101ma, Hare R\u0101ma, R\u0101ma R\u0101ma, Hare Hare and realizes that he is always in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s company.<\/span>
\nFor persons who are not very advanced in absolute knowledge of the Supreme, Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a exhibits His transcendental pastimes. Such persons can simply think of the pastimes of the Lord and get full benefit. Since there is no difference between the transcendental name and form of the Lord, there is no difference between the transcendental pastimes and the form of the Lord. For those who are less intelligent (like women, laborers or the mercantile class), the great sage Vy\u0101sadeva wrote the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata. In the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is present in His different activities. The Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata is history, and simply by studying, hearing and memorizing the transcendental activities of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the less intelligent can also gradually rise to the standard of pure devotees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe pure devotees, who are always absorbed in the thought of the transcendental lotus feet of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and who are always engaged in devotional service in full K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, are never to be considered to be in the material world. \u015ar\u012bla R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b has explained that those who are always engaged in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness with body, mind and activities are to be considered liberated even within this body. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101: those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord have already transcended the material position.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a appears in order to give a chance to both the devotees and the nondevotees for realization of the ultimate goal of life. The devotees get the direct chance to see Him and worship Him. Those who are not on that platform get the chance to become acquainted with His activities and thus become elevated to the same position.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur dear Lord, O supreme controller, when You appear on earth, all the demons like Ka\u1e41sa and Jar\u0101sandha will be vanquished, and all good fortune will be ushered into the world. When You walk on the globe, Your lotus feet will impress on the ground the marks of Your soles, such as the flag, the trident and the thunderbolt. Thus You will grace both the earth and us on the heavenly planets who shall see those marks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cO dear Lord,\u201d the demigods continued, \u201cYou are unborn; therefore we do not find any reason for Your appearance other than for Your pleasurable pastimes.\u201d Although the reason for the appearance of the Lord is stated in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101 (He descends just to give protection to the devotees and vanquish the nondevotees), actually He descends for His pleasure-meeting with the devotees, not really to vanquish the nondevotees. The nondevotees can be vanquished simply by one kick of material nature. \u201cThe actions and reactions of material nature (creation, maintenance and annihilation) are being carried out automatically. But simply by taking shelter of Your holy name, the devotees are fully protected, because Your holy name and Your personality are nondifferent.\u201d The protection of the devotees and the annihilation of the nondevotees are actually not the business of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When He descends, it is just for His transcendental pleasure. There cannot be any other reason for His appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur dear Lord, You are appearing as the best of the Yadu dynasty, and we are offering our respectful humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet. Before this appearance, You also appeared as the fish incarnation, as the horse incarnation, as the tortoise incarnation, as the half-man, half-lion incarnation, as the boar incarnation, as the swan incarnation, as King R\u0101macandra, as Para\u015bur\u0101ma and as many other incarnations. You appeared just to protect the devotees, and we request You in Your present appearance as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself to give us similar protection all over the three worlds and remove all obstacles for the peaceful execution of our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cDear Mother Devak\u012b, within your womb is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing along with all His plenary extensions. He is the original Personality of Godhead, appearing for our welfare. Therefore you should not be afraid of your brother, the king of Bhoja. Your son Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who is the original Personality of Godhead, will appear for the protection of the pious Yadu dynasty. The Lord is appearing not alone but accompanied by His immediate plenary portion, Baladeva.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\nDevak\u012b was very much afraid of her brother Ka\u1e41sa because he had already killed so many of her children. So she was very anxious about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. In the Vi\u1e63\u1e47u Pur\u0101\u1e47a it is stated that in order to pacify Devak\u012b, all the demigods, along with their wives, used to visit her to encourage her not to be afraid that her son would be killed by Ka\u1e41sa. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who was within her womb, was to appear not only to diminish the burden of the world but specifically to protect the interests of the Yadu dynasty, and certainly to protect Devak\u012b and Vasudeva. It is understood that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a had been transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devak\u012b, and from there to her womb. Thus all the demigods worshiped Devak\u012b, the mother of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nAfter thus worshiping the transcendental form of the Lord, all the demigods, with Lord Brahm\u0101 and Lord \u015aiva placed in front, departed for their heavenly abodes.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the second chapter of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, \u201cPrayers by the Demigods for Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Womb.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

#krishna book<\/span>
\n#janmastami<\/span>
\n#krishna<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER 2 Prayers by the Demigods for Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Womb King Ka\u1e41sa not only occupied the kingdoms of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties and the kingdom of \u015a\u016brasena, but he also made alliances … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-01 11:12:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}