Taking Shelter of Krishna in Difficult Situations

From HH Radhanath SWami's SB class at Radha Gopinath Mandir 2/21/2015


As long as we depend upon mateial condns we do not take shelter of Krishna.

Airplane, about to crash, 30k feet above sea level.Cannot do anything.

Totally helpless- such a state what do you do- first thing- why are you doing this to me- natural. but then you realize that if Krishna is doing this to me then krishna must be there for me and then with all your body, mind and words you give yourself to Krishna and then in that state you actually take shelter - Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare .......

if the plane crashes you go back to Krishna;s abode- journey home in the fast lane - if plane lands safely u will never forget it. You will definetly think- for the rest of your life- the most spiritual I have ever been on an airplane never felt so close to God. Yudhishthira took shelter - He is askign the question to be like us but he is also responding to show us what to do ?

Even Jesus cried " Why have you forsaken me" but this was in ecstascy of separation and not out of bewilderment. YM also asked why these troubles but what we see is how he took this and took shelter. Arjuna was bewilderd- I am not going to fight- becmae overcome by the circumstance then creid dropped gandiva and said please instruct me- Arjuna is playing our role and in certain cases Duryodhana is playing our role- dark parts of envy etc in our hearts we can picture those in Duryodhana - we read about Duryidhana we are disgusted with him and we see the end result.
When we see the Yudhishthira in our hearts, we take shelter of him and not of Duryidhana like qualities?

Phase of complain is very long?
What is important is we know what we want to do- we want to take shelter- if it is taking more time then it means we need that much more purificxation and we are aware of that- it humbles us. Children do not like medicine- take the medicine- satsang, sadhana, seva it doesnt matter how long but take the medicine. IF we have faith that comes by hearing in the association of people who have faith we will continue to take shelter however long it takes. That is our sincereity Krishna knows just what we need.

Hare Krishna.

Symptoms of an acarya

1. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to invent a way to capture the Mayavadis and others who did not take interest in the Krsna consciousness movement. This is the symptom of an acarya. An acarya who comes for the service of the Lord cannot be expected to conform to a stereotype, for he must find the ways and means by which Krsna consciousness may be spread.
2. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was an ideal acarya. An acarya is an ideal teacher who knows the purport of the revealed scriptures, behaves exactly according to their injunctions and teaches his students to adopt these principles also.
3.  As an ideal acarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu devised ways to capture all kinds of atheists and materialists. Every acarya has a specific means of propagating his spiritual movement with the aim of bringing men to Krsna consciousness. Therefore, the method of one acarya may be different from that of another, but the ultimate goal is never neglected.  
4. Srila Rupa Gosvami recommends:
1. tasmat kenapy upayena manah krsne nivesayet
   sarve vidhi-nisedhah syur etayor eva kinkarah
2. An acarya should devise a means by which people may somehow or other come to Krsna consciousness.
3.  First they should become Krsna conscious, and all the prescribed rules and regulations may later gradually be introduced. In our Krsna consciousness movement we follow this policy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
4.  For example, since boys and girls in the Western countries freely intermingle, special concessions regarding their customs and habits are necessary to bring them to Krsna consciousness.
5.  The acarya must devise a means to bring them to devotional service. 
6. Therefore, although I am a sannyasi I sometimes take part in getting boys and girls married, although in the history of sannyasa no sannyasi has personally taken part in marrying his disciples.

CC Adi 7.37 and

CC Adi 7.31-32

Pañca-tattva mantra

CC Ad 7.4

• One should know that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are complete when we say śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. 
• As preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting this Pañca-tattva mantra; then we say Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
• There are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the Pañca-tattva mantra, namely, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is known as mahā-vadānyāvatāra, the most magnanimous incarnation, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls.
• Thus to derive the full benefit of the chanting of the mahā-mantra (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare), we must first take shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, learn the Pañca-tattva mahā-mantra, and then chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. That will be very effective.

Second Quadruple Description

CC Ādi 5.41

 In his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 5.165-193), Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has refuted the charges directed against the devotees by Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya regarding their explanation of the quadruple forms Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Rūpa Gosvāmī says that these four expansions of Nārāyaṇa are present in the spiritual sky, where They are famous as Mahāvastha.

•  Among Them, Vāsudeva is worshiped within the heart by meditation because He is the predominating Deity of the heart, as explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.3.23).

• Saṅkarṣaṇa, the second expansion, is Vāsudeva’s personal expansion for pastimes, and since He is the reservoir of all living entities, He is sometimes called jīva. The beauty of Saṅkarṣaṇa is greater than that of innumerable full moons radiating light beams. He is worshipable as the principle of ego. He has invested Anantadeva with all the potencies of sustenance. For the dissolution of the creation, He also exhibits Himself as the Supersoul in Rudra, in Adharma (the personality of irreligion), in sarpa (snakes), in Antaka (Yamarāja, the lord of death) and in the demons.

• Pradyumna, the third manifestation, appears from Saṅkarṣaṇa. Those who are especially intelligent worship this Pradyumna expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa as the principle of the intelligence. The goddess of fortune always chants the glories of Pradyumna in the place known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa, and she always serves Him with great devotion. His complexion appears sometimes golden and sometimes bluish like new monsoon clouds in the sky. He is the origin of the creation of the material world, and He has invested His creative principle in Cupid. It is by His direction only that all men and demigods and other living entities function with energy for regeneration.

• Aniruddha, the fourth of the quadruple expansions, is worshiped by great sages and psychologists as the principle of the mind. His complexion is similar to the bluish hue of a blue cloud. He engages in the maintenance of the cosmic manifestation and is the Supersoul of Dharma (the deity of religiosity), the Manus (the progenitors of mankind) and the devatās (demigods). The Mokṣa-dharma Vedic scripture indicates that Pradyumna is the Deity of the total mind, whereas Aniruddha is the Deity of the total ego, but previous statements regarding the quadruple forms are confirmed in the Pañcarātra tantras in all respects.

The original quadruple forms — Kṛṣṇa, Baladeva, Pradyumna and Aniruddha — expand into another quadruple, which is present in the Vaikuṇṭha planets of the spiritual sky. Therefore the quadruple forms in the spiritual sky are the second manifestation of the original quadruple in Dvārakā. As explained above, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are all changeless, transcendental plenary expansions of the Supreme Lord who have no relation to the material modes. The Saṅkarṣaṇa form in the second quadruple is not only a representation of Balarāma but also the original cause of the Causal Ocean, where Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu lies asleep, breathing out the seeds of innumerable universes.

Perfection of Residents of Brahma loka

From CC Adi 5.40
In Brahmaloka there is an unlimited number of airplanes that are controlled not by yantra (machine) but by mantra (psychic action). Because of the existence of the mind and intelligence on Brahmaloka, its residents have feelings of happiness and distress, but there is no cause of lamentation from old age, death, fear or distress. They feel sympathy, however, for the suffering living beings who are consumed in the fire of annihilation. The residents of Brahmaloka do not have gross material bodies to change at death, but they transform their subtle bodies into spiritual bodies and thus enter the spiritual sky. The residents of Brahmaloka can attain perfection in three different ways.

1. Virtuous persons who reach Brahmaloka by dint of their pious work become masters of various planets after the resurrection of Brahmā, 
2. those who have worshiped Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu are liberated with Brahmā,
3.  and those who are pure devotees of the Personality of Godhead at once push through the covering of the universe and enter the spiritual sky.

Velocity of the Soul and Space Travel by Yogis

From CC Adi 5.22

Velocity of the Soul

The aṣṭāṅga-yogasystem is a materialistic art of controlling air by transferring it from the stomach to the navel, from the navel to the heart, from the heart to the collarbone, from there to the eyeballs, from there to the cerebellum and from there to any desired planet. The velocities of air and light are taken into consideration by the material scientist, but he has no information of the velocity of the mind and intelligence. We have some limited experience of the velocity of the mind because in a moment we can transfer our minds to places hundreds of thousands of miles away. Intelligence is even finer. Finer than intelligence is the soul, which is not matter like mind and intelligence but is spirit, or antimatter. The soul is hundreds of thousands of times finer and more powerful than intelligence. We can thus only imagine the velocity of the soul in its traveling from one planet to another. Needless to say, the soul travels by its own strength and not with the help of any kind of material vehicle.

Space Travel by the Yogis

As already described, a yogī can go anywhere he desires without mechanical help, for a yogī can place his mind and intelligence within the air circulating inside his body, and by practicing the art of breath control he can mix that air with the air that blows all over the universe outside his body. With the help of this universal air, a yogī can travel to any planet and get a body suitable for its atmosphere. We can understand this process by comparing it to the electronic transmission of radio messages. With radio transmitters, sound waves produced at a certain station can travel all over the earth in seconds. But sound is produced from the ethereal sky, and as already explained, subtler than the ethereal sky is the mind, and finer than the mind is the intelligence. Spirit is still finer than the intelligence, and by nature it is completely different from matter. Thus we can just imagine how quickly the spirit soul can travel through the universal atmosphere.

When the pleasure of love interferes with the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the devotee becomes angry toward such ecstasy

CC Ādi 4.197 — There is another natural symptom of the gopīs’ love that shows it to be without a trace of lust.

CC Ādi 4.198 — The love of the gopīs nourishes the sweetness of Lord Kṛṣṇa. That sweetness in turn increases their love, for they are greatly satisfied.

CC Ādi 4.199 — The happiness of the abode of love is in the happiness of the object of that love. This is not a relationship of desire for personal gratification.

CC Ādi 4.200-201 — Whenever there is unselfish love, that is its style. The reservoir of love derives pleasure when the lovable object is pleased. When the pleasure of love interferes with the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the devotee becomes angry toward such ecstasy.

CC Ādi 4.202 — “Śrī Dāruka did not relish his ecstatic feelings of love, for they caused his limbs to become stunned and thus obstructed his service of fanning Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

CC Ādi 4.203 — “The lotus-eyed Rādhārāṇī powerfully condemned the ecstatic love that caused a flow of tears that hindered Her sight of Govinda.”

 

When due to devotional service we get some material comforts  do I relish in them or do I put them aside seeing them to be a distraction in my service?

Gopis dedicated their bodies and everything else they possesed to Krsna

CC Ādi 4.181 — Now, whatever affection we see the gopīs show for their own bodies, know it for certain to be only for the sake of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

CC Ādi 4.182 — [The gopīs think:] “I have offered this body to Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is its owner, and it brings Him enjoyment.

CC Ādi 4.183 — “Kṛṣṇa finds joy in seeing and touching this body.” It is for this reason that they cleanse and decorate their bodies.

CC Ādi 4.184 — “O Arjuna, there are no greater receptacles of deep love for Me than the gopīs, who cleanse and decorate their bodies because they consider them Mine.”

 

At our level, we can consider using our bodies totally in Krishna's service and in sharing Lord Caitanya's movement with others. Taking care of our health, cleanliness, exercise  etc because it is Krishna's body so it can be used in His service for His pleasure.

 

Sicne this body is meant for Krishna's pleasure sleeping too much, relaxing too much, wasting time on electronic gadgets and using the body for sense gratification is inappropriate. 

Renunciation does not mean renunciation of duties in relation to the body and mind

From the purport to CC Ādi 4.170

The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises everyone to give up all engagements of sense gratification and, like the gopīs, dovetail oneself entirely with the will of the Supreme Lord. That is the ultimate instruction of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. We should be prepared to do anything and everything to please the Lord, even at the risk of violating the Vedic principles or ethical laws. That is the standard of love of Godhead. Such activities in pure love of Godhead are as spotless as white linen that has been completely washed. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura warns us in this connection that we should not mistakenly think that the idea of giving up everything implies the renunciation of duties necessary in relation to the body and mind. Even such duties are not sense gratification if they are undertaken in a spirit of service to Kṛṣṇa.

Difference between lust and love

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CC Ādi 4.162 — The love of the gopīs is called rūḍha-bhāva. It is pure and spotless. It is not at any time lust.

CC Ādi 4.163 — “The pure love of the gopīs has become celebrated by the name ‘lust.’ The dear devotees of the Lord, headed by Śrī Uddhava, desire to taste that love.”

CC Ādi 4.164 — Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures.

CC Ādi 4.165 — The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kāma [lust], but the desire to please the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa is prema [love].

CC Ādi 4.166 — The object of lust is only the enjoyment of one’s own senses. But love caters to the enjoyment of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and thus it is very powerful.

CC Ādi 4.167-169 — Social customs, scriptural injunctions, bodily demands, fruitive action, shyness, patience, bodily pleasures, self-gratification and the path of varṇāśrama-dharma, which is difficult to give up — the gopīs have forsaken all these, as well as their own relatives and their punishment and scolding, for the sake of serving Lord Kṛṣṇa. They render loving service to Him for the sake of His enjoyment.

CC Ādi 4.170 — That is called firm attachment to Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is spotlessly pure, like a clean cloth that has no stain.

CC Ādi 4.171 — Therefore lust and love are quite different. Lust is like dense darkness, but love is like the bright sun.

CC Ādi 4.172 — Thus there is not the slightest taint of lust in the gopīs’ love. Their relationship with Kṛṣṇa is only for the sake of His enjoyment.

Definition of Pure Love

The revealed scriptures describe pure love as follows:

sarvathā dhvaṁsa-rahitaṁ saty api dhvaṁsa-kāraṇe
yad bhāva-bandhanaṁ yūnoḥ sa premā parikīrtitaḥ

“If there is ample reason for the dissolution of a conjugal relationship and yet such a dissolution does not take place, such a relationship of intimate love is called pure.”

The predominated gopīs were bound to Kṛṣṇa in such pure love. For them there was no question of sexual love based on sense gratification. Their only engagement in life was to see Kṛṣṇa happy in all respects, regardless of their own personal interests. They dedicated their souls only for the satisfaction of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There was not the slightest tinge of sexual love between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa.

Sexual Love is for one's own enjoyment :

• The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta asserts with authority that sexual love is a matter of personal sense enjoyment. All the regulative principles in the Vedas pertaining to desires for popularity, fatherhood, wealth and so on are different phases of sense gratification.
• Acts of sense gratification may be performed under the cover of public welfare, nationalism, religion, altruism, ethical codes, Biblical codes, health directives, fruitive action, bashfulness, tolerance, personal comfort, liberation from material bondage, progress, family affection or fear of social ostracism or legal punishment, but all these categories are different subdivisions of one substance — sense gratification.
• All such good acts are performed basically for one’s own sense gratification, for no one can sacrifice his personal interest while discharging these much-advertised moral and religious principles.
• But above all this is a transcendental stage in which one feels himself to be only an eternal servitor of Kṛṣṇa, the absolute Personality of Godhead. All acts performed in this sense of servitude are called pure love of God because they are performed for the absolute sense gratification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.