Devotees Get Everything Automatically
A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austere sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities. At the end he reaches the supreme abode. (Bhagavad-gita 8.28)
This verse is a summary of the Seventh and Eighth Chapters, particularly as the chapters deal with Krishna consciousness and devotional service.
One has to study the Vedas under the guidance of the spiritual master and undergo many austerities and penances while living under his care. A brahmacari has to live in the home of the spiritual master just like a servant, and he must beg alms from door to door and bring them to the spiritual master. He takes food only under the master’s order, and if the master neglects to call the student for food that day, the student fasts.
These are some of the Vedic principles for observing brahmacarya.
After the student studies the Vedas under the master for a period from five to twenty years, he may become a man of perfect character. Study of the Vedas is not meant for the recreation of armchair speculators, but for the formation of character. After this training, the brahmacari is allowed to enter into household life and marry.
When he is a householder, he also has to perform many sacrifices and strive for further enlightenment. Then after retiring from household life, upon accepting the order of vanaprastha, he undergoes severe penances, such as living in forests, dressing with tree bark, not shaving, etc.
By carrying out the orders of brahmacari, householder, vanaprastha and finally sannyasa, one becomes elevated to the perfectional stage of life. Some are then elevated to the heavenly kingdoms, and when they become even more advanced they are liberated in the spiritual sky, either in the impersonal brahmajyoti or in the Vaikuntha planets or Krsnaloka. This is the path outlined by Vedic literatures.
The beauty of Krishna consciousness, however, is that by one stroke, by engaging in devotional service, one can surpass all rituals of the different orders of life. A devotee automatically achieves the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austere sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities simply by accepting the process of devotional service. At the end he reaches the supreme abode.
One should try to understand the Seventh and Eighth Chapters of the Gita not by scholarship or mental speculation, but by hearing them in association with pure devotees.
Chapters Six through Twelve are the essence of the Gita. If one is fortunate to understand the Gita–especially these middle six chapters–in the association of devotees, then his life at once becomes glorified beyond all penances, sacrifices, charities, speculations, etc.
One should hear the Gita from the devotee because at the beginning of the Fourth Chapter it is stated that the Gita can only be perfectly understood by devotees. Hearing the Gita from devotees, not from mental speculators, is called faith.
Through association of devotees, one is placed in devotional service, and by this service Krishna’s activities, form, pastimes, name, etc.
, become clear, and all misgivings are dispelled. Then once doubts are removed, the study of the Gita becomes extremely pleasurable, and one develops a taste and feeling for Krishna consciousness. In the advanced stage, one falls completely in love with Krishna, and that is the beginning of the highest perfectional stage of life which prepares the devotee’s transferral to Krishna’s abode in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vrndavana, where the devotee enters into eternal happiness.
About the Author
Madhudvisa dasa My first contact with a Hare Krishna was a most merciful Mataji in Oxford Street, London who sold me a "Higher Taste" cook book in 1984 while I was on holidays there. I started seriously reading Srila Prabhupada's books in Australia 1985 and by 1986 Srila Prabhupada had convinced me "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead" and "we should surrender to Krishna." I joined the Hare Krishnas in Perth, Western Australia in 1986. Since then I have been chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, reading and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and preaching as much as I can. That's my life and full-time occupation now really. I like it more than anything I've ever experienced before. Srila Prabhupada's books are so amazing... Even after reading them all many times they're still fresh and new. They are truly transcendental! That's it really. Now I'm just hankering to once again see the world chant Hare Krishna, dance and feast and float away in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement as it did in Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Let the whole world drown in the ecstatic flood of love of Krishna!
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How does one best follow the teaching of Bhagavad Gita in day to day life?
Read it every day. And chant Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds every day. And strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication.
hi maduvisha i have a question and that is
Is it true that if somebody dies in Vrindavan that he or she will go directly to krishna loka or vaikunta loka.
i have read it somewhere you said that or it was srila prabhupada.
greatingsss
Hare Krishna Danny
I only say things that Srila Prabhupada says.
As far as dying in Vrindava if one is Krishna conscious of course he will go directly back home back to Godhead. But not everyone who dies in Vrindavan is completely Krishna conscious at the time of death. So in that case he will take his birth again in Vrindava. Srila Prabhupada gives the example of those who are attached to sex and die in Vrindavan they take their next birth in Vrindavan as a monkey. And after that one life as a monkey in Vrindavan they then get the chance to go back home back to Godhead.
So it is not that one automatically directly goes to Krishna loka if he dies in Vrindavan. But almost. Because if he does not he only has to come back for one birth and then he can go back to Godhead.
Things are amplified in Vrindavan. So whatever devotional service we do in Vrindavan the results of that are greatly amplified. But if we perform sinful activities in Vrindavan that is also amplified. So it is very bad to perform sinful activities in Vrindavan. For this reason it is generally recommended that one visit Vrindavan for only 3 days and be very careful to remain completely Krishna conscious while we are in Vrindava. Because if we perform sinful activities in Vrindavan and die in Vrindavan then we have to take birth in Vrindavan as one of the dogs, monkeys or hogs of Vrindavan… Which is not very pleasant… But after that one life as an animal one can go back to Godhead…
Hare Krishna,
I deeply appreciate your service and devotion through your posts. I read and listen to Srila Prabhupada and the Bhagavad Gita but I am do not perform devotional services perfectly such as reciting at least 16 round japa daily. As I am a fallen servant myself, I wonder about an association with pure devotees outside of Iskcon and GBC. Since in this article it’s mentioned to hear the Gita in association with pure devotees I thought pose this issue on this subject giving that I understand the value to receive teaching, initiation and to give my obeisance to Krishna through Srila Prabhupada as a bona fide spiritual master.
I feel alone without association but this might be better than not following a pure devotee teaching in parampapa devotion.
In humble obeisance
Hare Krishna Roger
Yes. Of course it is natural. We want to associate with devotees, we want to hear the Bhagavad-gita in the association of devotees. But unfortunately there is no place where sincere devotees meet together to discuss the Bhagavad-gita, etc.
So it may not be available like that at the moment. However whenever we read Srila Prabhupada’s books we are personally associating with Srila Prabhupada and all the great souls that appear in his books. So we are never alone.
But yes. We need an International Society for Krishna Consciousness and hopefully in due course that can be reestablished. But in the meantime we have Krishna, we have Prabhupada……. We have everything…
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
I Want to Join Krsna consciousness and i want to follow the principle’s of real guru{prapbhupad ji} so i want to clear my doubts prabhu i want to become krishna conscious and i want to read all books and read them my self and i want to do puja to god in my home itself so thing which iam asking is is it enough for me to do puja in my home to get into krishna consciousness because now a days in india(hyderabad) iskcon radhamanohar mandir is corrupted as all fake gurus ouroar themselves as disciples of prabhupad an follow all edited books of prabupad and do what they wish and i dont want to collaborate with them so i wish to do puja myself and sankirtana in my house itself so is it correct for me to do so? also a question prabhu when i first time completed bhagvadgita original version i had doubt that is ” why did krisna spoke bhagvad gita with arjuna and why not with other pandavas(yudhistir, bhim, nakul and sahdev) and why is not arjuna included in disciple succesion given in front of bhagvadgita . Bhagvad gita was directly heard by arjuna and in bhagvadgita lord said that arjuna was his first disciple then why arjuna is not included in disciple succession . Please clear my doubt’s prabhu.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Yes. Certainly. Become Krishna conscious in your own home. Read Prabhupada’s books in your own home, worship Srila Prabhupada and Krishna in your own home, have kirtans in your own home, cook bhoga and offer it to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna in your own home. This is the best system. And you can engage all the members of your family and your friends in your kirtans and feed them with Krishna prasadam…
It is a very good plan.
As far as Bhagavad-gita, of course it was instructed to Arjuna by Krishna but this was done publicly on the battlefield of Kuruksettra just before the great fight. So everyone heard this conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. So all other Pandavas heard it. But Krishna specifically spoke Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna because Arjuna was His friend and devotee. So there was special relationship between Krishna and Arjuna, more so than the other Pandava brothers. But everyone heard it and everyone benefited from it.
Yes. Arjuna was the first student of Bhagavad-gita. But he did not teach it to anyone else really. He was the reason it was spoken and the actual Bhagavad-gita is recorded as a discussion between King Dhrtarasta and his secretary Sanjaya. Sanjaya was able to see everything that was happening on the Battlefield of Kuruksettra in his heart by ‘spiritual television’.
Somehow this has come to Srila Vyasadeva who has included Bhagavad-gita as a chapter in his Mahabharata. That is how we come to have Bhagavad-gita.
The disciplic succession in the Bhagavad-gita is a different thing. It is how this knowledge is coming to us. From Krishna to Brahma [at the creation of this universe]. Then from Brahma to Narada, then from Narada to Vyasa and Vyasa is the author of Bhagavad-gita. So this is how the knowlege has come to be in the Bhagavad-gita. Then the others are the spiritual masters in our disciplic succession.
HareKrishna Madhudvisha Das,
My dear prabhuji, Please accept my dandvabat pranam, it is always very pleased to listen or read your narration in each and every post in your blog. It is also learnt from the Bhagavat Gita that Supreme Lord narrates the transcendental knowledge to his dear devotees only as in the verse bellow
“sa evaayam mayaa te’dya
yogah prokth puraatanah
bhakto ‘si me sakhaa ceti…” Bg-4.3
(That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend….)
We all know that Arjuna was a great devotee of supreme Lord and very dear to him and also we came to know from MahaBharata that Arjuna did an incredible devotional service by killing all those miscreants in that great war as in the similar manner that Shri Hanumanji, the most dearest devotee of Supreme Lord, did during Ramayana, but they are not included in the Brahma Sapradaya (disciplic succession ).
There were another parampara as we find from Bhagavat Gita, starting from the Sun-god to the saintly king and so on.
“imam vivasvate yogam
proktavaan aham avyayam…” Bg-4.1
(I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god,….)
“evam paramparaa-praaptam
imam raajarsayo viduh…” Bg-4.2
(This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way…..)
I shall be very fortunate, if you kindly recite the transcendental narration of devotional service rendered by the Sun-God un to Supreme Lord by which he became the dearest devotee and the supreme science explained to him long long ago.