Devotees

Published on March 30th, 2023 | by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

8

Entering Krishna’s Family

You enter into Krishna’s family, Vrndavana family, where Krishna has got His father, mother, His friends, His lover, His beloved, His cows, His garden, His Yamuna. You enter that, that family. Then you will not have to return back again to this temporary family, which will not stay.

Pradyumna: Translation: “O Krsna, O friend of Arjuna, O chief amongst the descendants of Vrsni, You are the destroyer of those political parties which are disturbing elements on this earth. Your prowess never deteriorates. You are the proprietor of the transcendental abode, and You descend to relieve the distresses of the cows, the brahmanas and the devotees. You possess all mystic powers, and You are the preceptor of the entire universe. You are the almighty God, and I offer You my respectful obeisances.”

Prabhupada:

sri-krsna krsna-sakha vrsny-rsabhavani-dhrug-
rajanya-vamsa-dahananapavarga-virya
govinda go-dvija-surarti-haravatara
yogesvarakhila-guro bhagavan namas te

So Kuntidevi, first of all she prayed that “My attraction for my family…” Two different families, Pandu and Vrsni, Pandu family, the husband’s family, and Vrsni family, the father’s family… So woman has got attachment for both the families. She wanted to get relief from this attachment. This is called anyabhilasita-sunyam. So long we have got family attachment, we shall be disturbed by so many material desires. But bhakti begins when all material desires are finished. Therefore a guru’s definition is given in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

tasmad gurum prapadyeta
jijnasuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahmany upasamasrayam

Upasamasrayam. Upasama means fully satiated, no more any desire. Svamin krtartho ‘smi varam na yace.

Now the Durga Puja is going on. This is also recommended in the Vedic sastra, that those who want material opulence… Material opulence means riches and good wife. For this purpose, sastra recommends that you can worship Durga. There are different purposes, and different demigod worships are recommended. But at the conclusion it is said that,

akamah sarva-kamo va
moksa-kama udara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusam param

There are three kinds of men: akama… Akama means one who has no desire. Desire there is–not material desire. Desire you cannot kill. Desire must be there. We have to simply transfer the quality of the desire. Instead of desiring material opulence, we have to desire the favor of Krsna. That is spiritual.

So akama means devotees. They do not want anything from Krsna. That is bhakta. Bhaktas, they are simply satisfied by serving Krsna. They are therefore called akama, no desires, no material desires. A bhakta feels ashamed to ask from Krsna for his material comforts. Just like Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja, when he was offered by Nrsimhadeva, “Now you ask from Me whatever you want,” so Prahlada Maharaja became surprised. He said, “My dear Sir, I am not a mercantile man. We are in the modes of passion, and You are offering me all kinds of benediction. I can ask You. But do You mean to say that I served You in expectation of some return? No, no. Don’t induce me in this way.” This is suddha-bhakta. Suddha-bhakta never gives trouble to Krsna for his personal benefit. They are called akama. And sarva-kama means karmis, ordinary. They are working hard to get some result, good result for sense gratification. They are called sarva-kama. And there is no limit of their desires. Just like this Durga Puja, they’ll want dhanam dehi rupam dehi rupavati-bharyam dehi yaso dehi, this dehi, that dehi, dehi, dehi… There is no limit how much they are asking. Therefore they are called sarva-kama. You go on supplying a karmi; he’ll never be satisfied. “More, more, more.” You go to so many businessmen–they have got crores and lakhs–but if you want to talk something about Krsna, they have no time: “Please take your money, contribution. Let us do business.” Because their kama is never satisfied. Therefore sarva-kama. And another is moksa-kama. Moksa-kama means when they could not fulfill all the desires in this material world, they, at that time, want to become one with God, that “If I become God, then my all desires will be fulfilled.” That is called moksa-kama.

So sastra recommends that either you belong to the group of akama or to the group of sarva-kama or to the group of moksa-kama, tivrena bhakti-yogena yajeta purusam param, you worship very seriously Paramam purusam. Paramam purusam means Krsna. Bhakti-yogena. Krsna cannot be worshiped by any other yoga system except bhakti-yoga. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, bhaktya mam abhijanati. If you want to know Krsna, it is not possible to any other means. There are many other means–karma, yoga, jnana and bhakti–but if you want to know Krsna, then you have to take the bhakti-yoga, no other. Neither… Krsna never said that “By jnana, by cultivation of knowledge, one can understand Me.” They can do so. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita. By cultivation of knowledge, after many, many births, if that person, searching out the Absolute Truth, by cultivation of knowledge, if he comes in contact with a devotee, then he gets the chance of understanding what is Krsna.

Krsna, understanding Krsna, is not so easy job. Krsna says,

manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah

It is not so easy. But any person, either in karma-yoga or jnana-yoga or dhyana-yoga or hatha-yoga, if he comes in contact with a devotee, bhakti-yogi, then he can understand Krsna. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,

ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija

Bhakti-lata-bija, that is not very easily available. But it is available–guru-krsna-krpaya. Because Krsna is situated in everyone’s heart, if you are actually eager to understand Krsna, then Krsna can understand that “This living entity is trying to understand.” So He gives a guru. He gives… Caitya… He’s caitya-guru. He is guru Himself within one’s heart, and He gives intelligence. Buddhi-yogam dadami tam yena mam upayanti te. To a sincere person, He gives the intelligence that “You accept this guru.”

Guru is therefore external manifestation of Krsna because he acts as representative of Krsna. So what is the qualification of that guru? Tasmad gurum prapadyeta. You must go and surrender to guru. In the Vedas also it is said, tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. For whom guru is required? Not for all. But tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet. One should go to guru to understand tad-vijnana. Tad-vijnana means transcendental science. They require guru. Similarly, in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said, tasmad gurum prapadyeta: “You should go and search out a guru and surrender unto him.” Why? Jijnasuh sreya uttamam. If you are jijnasuh…, athato brahma-jijnasa–Vedanta-sutra–if you are actually searching after the Absolute Truth.

So the next question will be, “Then whom shall I select, guru?” Now, sabde pare ca nisnatam. A guru means one who is fully conversant in Vedic knowledge.

Sabde pare. Sabda-brahman. Veda is known as sabda-brahman. In the material world all these books are material sound vibration, but Vedic knowledge is transcendental sound vibration. Hare Krsna is transcendental sound vibration. Narottama dasa Thakura says, golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana. This hari-nama-sankirtana is not a cinema song. No. It is golokera prema-dhana. This sound is coming… Just like we catch sound in the radios and television, similarly, you can catch sound also which is transmitted from Goloka Vrndavana. But you must have the particular machine to catch it. Then you can get message from Goloka Vrndavana.

goloka-namni nija-dhamni tale ca tasya
devi-mahesa-hari-dhamasu tesu tesu
te te prabhava-nicaya vihitas ca yena
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

There are different planetary systems, spiritual world and material world. The… In the spiritual world, the topmost planet is called Goloka Vrndavana. So goloka-namni nija-dhamni. That is Krsna’s own abode. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita–there is information–“If you go to My dhama, My planet, then you don’t come back again.” Mam hi partha vyapasritya. So these things are all mentioned.

So here Kuntidevi says that “Please help me in cutting my affection with my family.” Sneha-pasam imam chindhi: “Please cut off. Please help me cutting this family connection.” Then Kunti says that tvayi me ananya-visaya matir madhu-pate asakrt. So this Krsna consciousness movement means to cut off family connection and enter into Krsna’s family, not void. We are not impersonalists or voidists. The Mayavadi philosophers, they are impersonalists. They think, “Krsna is person. Krsna’s activities are all personal. So this is also maya.” Because they are Nirvisesavadi, their ultimate goal is nirvisesa-brahman. So anything personal, they cannot accept it. And the Buddhist philosophy is to zero, sunyavadi. Nirvisesa-sunyavadi. The whole world is now corrupted with these two kinds of philosophies: nirvisesa-sunyavada, impersonalism and voidism. But Vaisnava philosophy is not voidism, not impersonalism. Vaisnava philosophy means to know the Absolute Truth as person. Impersonal realization of the Absolute Truth is partial knowledge. It is not complete, because the Absolute Truth is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Vigraha means form. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Absolute Truth is described, tattva:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

So Brahman realization is only the sat part realization, because the Absolute Truth is sac-cid-ananda. And Paramatma realization is the cit part realization. And Bhagavan… Here it is said, bhagavan, yogesvara akhila-guro bhagavan namas te. Bhagavan is the personal. So that is the ultimate, ultimate realization. So the ultimate realization is made possible by the jnanis. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate: “If one is actually searching after knowledge, and if he is actually a wise man, the symptom is that he’ll surrender unto Me,” Krsna says. Bahunam janmanam ante: “That is possible after many, many births,” searching out, searching out, searching out, not for the karmis. Karmis have been described as mudha because they do not know anything more than working hard like an ass and get some return. That’s all. They have no other ambition. Therefore Krsna says,

na mam duskrtino mudhah
prapadyante naradhamah
mayayapahrta-jnana
asuram bhavam asritah

So we should not remain mudha. At least, we must come to the stage of jnani. Karmi, jnani, yogi, then bhakta. Step by step. So this mudha person… Kuntidevi said, “Kindly help me in cutting this mudha relationship. And then give me attachment for You.” Tvayi ananya-manasah. Tvayi me ananya-visaya matir madhu-pate. So this is bhakti, that we have to give up the illusory attachment. Here the attachment is illusory. It will not stay. We want to live in family–husband, wife, children, father, mother–but it is not possible to live here permanently. That is not possible. Mrtyuh sarva-haras caham. Krsna says that “You may think that you are very happy in family relationship, but I’ll not allow you to stay here. I will take everything from you as death.” Mrtyuh sarva-haras ca aham. So we should understand that.

Therefore intelligent men, they should inquire, “Where we shall enter in family life and we can eternally enjoy?” That is Krsna’s family. You enter into Krsna’s family, Vrndavana family, where Krsna has got His father, mother, His friends, His lover, His beloved, His cows, His garden, His Yamuna. You enter that, that family. Then yad gatva na nivartante. Then you will not have to return back again to this temporary family, which will not stay. But if you enter Krsna’s family… Therefore Krsna comes. Krsna is so kind that–you are so much family, fond of family life–“Just here see. I have got My family. I am not impersonal. I have got My family. I have got My father. I have got My mother. I have got My friend. I have got My beloved, Radharani, and the gopis. Everything I have got. You can enter also. Come. Why you are rotting here?” That is Krsna’s mission.

So the Krsna consciousness movement means to practice in this life how to enter Krsna’s family. You enter Krsna’s family as you like. There are five rasas: santa-rasa, dasya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vatsalya-rasa, and madhurya-rasa. That is reflected in this world also, the same. Tejo-vari-mrdam vinimayah. This…, this material world is reflection of the spiritual world. Chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga. Here there are rasas, santa-rasa, dasya-rasa. Here also there is master and servant; there is friend and friend; there is father and mother and the son; there is beloved. Everything is there, but they are imitation, chaya. They are not reality. So if you want real friendship, then make friendship with Krsna.

Therefore Krsna’s name is Krsna-sakha here. Here it is said that sri-krsna krsna-sakha: “My dear Krsna, You are…” Kuntidevi did not say that “You are my nephew.” No. That is not spiritual relationship. But Krsna-sakha, Arjuna, is related with Krsna eternally. Eternally as friend. How eternally? What is the proof? There is in the Bhagavad-gita. When Arjuna inquired… When Krsna said that “This system of yoga I explained to the sun-god millions of years ago,” imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam, at that time, to clear the idea, Arjuna, for our sake, he inquired, “My dear Krsna, we are contemporaries. You are born the other day along with me. How can I believe that millions of years ago You spoke this philosophy to the sun-god? So what is the answer?” The answer is, “My dear Arjuna, both you and Me, we take so many incarnations, but you forget. But I do not forget. I do not forget.” Therefore Arjuna is always with Krsna. It is not that in this age, this millennium, Arjuna is friend of Krsna. No. He is eternal friend. He has made friendship with Krsna. It is never to be broken. It is never to be broken. So if you want to relish the rasa, the mellow, the taste of friendship, make friendship with Krsna. Krsna is prepared to make you friend. Therefore He comes: “Please come. Become My friend.” But we are denying. Make Krsna your friend. Make Krsna your son. Then you’ll never lament, “Oh, my son is lost” or “My son has gone bad.” No.

So this is Krsna consciousness, the same thing. We are making temporary relationship in this material world, and that is being broken, so many families. Who knows what family I belonged to in my last birth? Might have been something else, not this family. We are changing our family because family means this body. I consider, “I belong to this family,” because my body is produced from that family. The next life, the body is produced from another family. Then where is our family relationship? This is called maya. In the material world, there cannot be anything fact. They are all illusion. The so-called family, the so-called friendship, the so-called lover, beloved, so-called paternal affection, sons, they are all simply… Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan. This was detected by Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja said to Nrsimhadeva, “My Lord, I am not anxious at all for my welfare because I know that anywhere, if I simply remember Your transcendental pastimes, oh, I…” Soce… Naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah.

Tvad-virya-gayana-maha. This chanting of Hare Krsna mantra, or chanting Krsna’s pastime, it is just like ocean. So Prahlada Maharaja said that “I have learned this art. Therefore, for me, there is no problem. But my one problem is soce tato vimukha-cetasah. I am thinking, ‘These persons, who have no attraction for You, and they are simply engaged maya-sukhaya bharam udvahatah, making gigantic arrangement for happiness which will not stay… After death everything will be finished.’ I am simply thinking of them.” Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan: “And they are vimudhan. They do not consider it that they are eternal,” nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. This is the Vedic mantra. The Krsna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is nityo nityanam, and we living entities, we are also nitya. We are plural number; Krsna is one, singular number. Cetanas cetananam. Eternal and living, not dead. We are not dead. Krsna is also not dead. We do not die. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire. So why you have accepted this death? This is inquiry. Athato brahma-jijnasa. Unless this inquiry comes into the mind of a human being, he’s an ass. Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke.

So this inquiry should be there. So our Krsna consciousness movement is to enthuse people to make this inquiry. Just like political leaders: they were sleeping, and Gandhi and other political leaders, they made agitation that “Why you shall remain dependent on this British ruling?” Just like, similar… It is not like that. It is an example. Our movement is that, that “You are eternal. Why you should rot in this material world where there is no question of eternity? Everything is temporary.” Everything is temporary. So how we can attain that eternity? Krsna says,

mam upetya punar janma
duhkhalayam asasvatam
napnuvanti mahatmanah
samsiddhim paramam gatah

“If you come to Me…” Krsna is saying to us, indicating Arjuna, that “If you come to, come back to home, back to Godhead… Why you are rotting in this material world, temporary world?” “No, I have got so many responsibilities, Sir. How can I join You?” So Krsna says, sarva-dharman pari…: “Give it up.” “Then, I’ll be in trouble?” “No, you’ll not be troubled.” Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah. Krsna is giving assurance.

Therefore Krsna is not an ordinary living being. Krsna is the Supreme Personality. That is described here. What is Krsna? Krsna is Yogesvara. Yogesvara means… Yoga, mystic power… There are so many yogis, they can exhibit yogic power–anima, laghima, prapti-siddhi. So, so many–asta-siddhi-yoga–not these ordinary yogis, simply practicing some asana, but real yoga means to get this perfection, anima, anu, to become very, very… We are very small. So the yogic power… They can give up this material body, and in their spiritual body they can enter anywhere, through a hole. That is called anima-siddhi. Similarly, laghima-siddhi: they can become very light, walking on the water. That is called laghima-siddhi. Mahima-siddhi: to becoming, become very big also. There are so many siddhis. So we are not very much interested with these siddhis. Krsna-bhakta… Because… Just like a rich man’s son, He does not bother about earning money because he knows that “My father is very rich. So if I need money, my father will supply.” Similarly, we take shelter of the Yogesvara, the master of all mystic power. So if you want to see some asta-siddhi-yoga, we take shelter of Krsna and He’ll show. Why shall I take so much trouble? Why? So people say that in the Western world, I have played wonderful things. But I did not know any siddhi. It is Krsna’s desire. He has shown. Krsna is pleased that “For Me, this person has come to serve Me. Now see how wonderful it is.” Therefore Yogesvara. Instead of becoming a yogi, you take shelter of Yogesvara. Then all yogic power will be within your control. Just like a rich man’s son, if he is in trouble, the whole father estate is behind him. So why should he hanker after earning money?

So this is Krsna consciousness. Yam labdhva caparam labham manyate nadhikam tatah. If you simply… Therefore Krsna, er, Kuntidevi says, tvayi ananya-visaya, tvayi ananya-visaya matir madhu-pate: “Without any other desires…” She is praying. Why? She is not praying to a loafer. So qualifications are given, mentioned here, that rajanya-vamsa-dahana anapavarga-virya. Apavarga. So Krsna’s power is unlimited, anapavarga-virya. If we take Krsna’s shelter, if we become actually surrendered to Krsna, then all power of Krsna is behind you. And in this age Krsna is so kind. Even though we cannot worship Krsna properly, still, anywhere we can chant the holy name Hare Krsna, and the Krsna is there with His all power.

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah. The name of Krsna is identical with Krsna, and all mystic power of Krsna is there. Namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva, nija-sarva, nija-sarva-saktis tatrarpita. In the name, all the potencies… Krsna is Yogesvara, so all the potencies of Krsna is there because the name is not different from Krsna. So therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, regrets, etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi: “My dear Lord, You are so kind, so merciful, that simply by chanting Your holy name, I get the full benefit of Your personal association. Still, I am so unfortunate. I have no taste for chanting Hare Krsna.” Etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah. So you are so unfortunate that this, in Krsna consciousness movement, this Hare Krsna movement, you are not taking part.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

[741023SB.MAY] Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.43 Mayapura, October 23, 1974

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

About the Author

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.

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