A window to the spiritual world by Sivarama Swami

October 13, 2019 Introduction to Dāmodara-jananī and to Kārttika month

What is Kārttika about? How is the pastime important and relevant for us?

If you want to go back to Godhead read the Bhāgavatam

Bhāg.10.8.43: “Mother Yaśodā, by the grace of the Lord, could understand the real truth. But then again, the supreme master, by the influence of the internal potency, yogamāyā, inspired her to become absorbed in intense maternal affection for her son.”

Devotion with formality does not control Kṛṣṇa

Bhāg.10.8.44-45: “Immediately forgetting yogamāyā's illusion that Kṛṣṇa had shown the universal form within His mouth, mother Yaśodā took her son on her lap as before, feeling increased affection in her heart for her transcendental child. The glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are studied through the three Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the literature of Sāṅkhya-yoga, and other Vaiṣṇava literature, yet mother Yaśodā considered that Supreme Person her ordinary child.”

1.3.28 is the paribhāṣa-sūtra of the Bhāgavatam, establishes the law that governs the rest of the text and everything contrary to that in the Bhāgavatam is to be adjusted to fit

Kṛṣṇa is subordinate to the love of His devotee which is His svarūpa-śakti

Purport to Bhāg.10.8.45: “Here we see that mother Yaśodā is on the highest stage of necessity, for she is completely absorbed in love for Kṛṣṇa. […]But here mother Yaśodā performs no upāsanā, for she has developed transcendental ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Therefore her position is better than that of Devakī. In order to show this, Śrīla Vyāsadeva enunciates this verse, trayyā copaniṣadbhiḥ etc. […] But mother Yaśodā has surpassed all these stages. She has come to the platform of loving Kṛṣṇa as her beloved child, and therefore she is accepted to be on the highest stage of spiritual realization. The Absolute Truth is realized in three features (brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11]), but she is in such ecstasy that she does not care to understand what is Brahman, what is Paramātmā or what is Bhagavān. Bhagavān has personally descended to become her beloved child.” ® This is new to Parīkṣit Mahārāja

Mather Yaśodā developed and didn’t develop love for Kṛṣṇa

Bhāg.10.8.46: “Having heard of the great fortune of mother Yaśodā, Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: O learned brāhmaṇa, mother Yaśodā's breast milk was sucked by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What past auspicious activities did she and Nanda Mahārāja perform to achieve such perfection in ecstatic love?”

Prahlāda is both a nitya-siddha and sādhana-siddha

Purport to Bhāg.10.8.46: “ Of course, Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā are accepted as the father and mother of Kṛṣṇa, yet mother Yaśodā was more fortunate than Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa's father, because Nanda Mahārāja was sometimes separated from Kṛṣṇa whereas Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa's mother, was not separated from Kṛṣṇa at any moment.”

In response story of Droṇa and Dharā is explained – it seems Nanda and Yaśoda were sādhakas who became Kṛṣṇa’s mother and father but it is not like that. Droṇa and Dharā are expansions of the original Nanda and Yaśodā who appeared and performed sādhana

Bhāg.10.8.51: “Thereafter, O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, best of the Bhāratas, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead became the son of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā, they maintained continuous, unswerving devotional love in parental affection. And in their association, all the other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, the gopas and gopīs, developed the culture of kṛṣṇa-bhakti.” If you get this you understand what Bhāgavatam is about

If you see Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes attentively (even through your ears) you can develop the same bhakti – you have to hear the Bhāgavatam

We need to hear regularly and constantly

We associate with Mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja and gopas and gopīs by constantly hearing

The living entity is like a chameleon: crawl on the branches of the Bhāgavatam to develop the love of the vrajavāsīs

Purport to Bhāg.10.8.51: “When Kṛṣṇa exhibited His childhood pastimes, not only did Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā increase their devotional affection, but those in their association also increased in devotional service. In other words, persons who follow the activities of Vṛndāvana will also develop devotional service in the highest perfection.”

Prabhupāda wrote this section close to his passing away and wanted to get the message across

Bhāg. 10.9.1-2: “Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: One day when mother Yaśodā saw that all the maidservants were engaged in other household affairs, she personally began to churn the yogurt. While churning, she remembered the childish activities of Kṛṣṇa, and in her own way she composed songs and enjoyed singing to herself about all those activities.”

Hear Śrīla Prabhupāda says vrajavāsīs composed songs about Kṛṣṇa and we should do that, songs or books

“This should be the practice of persons eager to remain Kṛṣṇa conscious twenty-four hours a day. This incident shows how Kṛṣṇa conscious mother Yaśodā was. To stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should follow such persons.”

Upadeśāmṛta 8 says follow the footsteps of the vrajavāsīs

We need to prioritize our life to make time for hearing

Bhāg. 10.9.3: “Dressed in a saffron-yellow sari, with a belt tied about her full hips, mother Yaśodā pulled on the churning rope, laboring considerably, her bangles and earrings moving and vibrating and her whole body shaking. Because of her intense love for her child, her breasts were wet with milk. Her face, with its very beautiful eyebrows, was wet with perspiration, and mālatī flowers were falling from her hair.”

Purport to Bhāg. 10.9.3: “Anyone who desires to be Kṛṣṇa conscious in motherly affection or parental affection should contemplate the bodily features of mother Yaśodā.”

Do you want to be like Mother Yaśodā? This is the sādhana to attain it: hear about her

Purport to Bhāg. 10.9.3 cont.: “It is not that one should desire to become like Yaśodā, for this is Māyāvāda. Either in parental affection or conjugal love, friendship or servitorship—in any way—we must follow in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, not try to become like them.”

If you hear one of these services will attract you, if you don’t they won’t

There is an unqualified form of prema undefined by a particular relationship by Kṛṣṇa but it is not what our ācāryas are advising

Purport to Bhāg. 10.9.3 cont.: “Advanced devotees must cherish this description, always thinking of mother Yaśodā's features—how she was dressed, how she was working and perspiring, how beautifully the flowers were arranged in her hair, and so on. One should take advantage of the full description provided here by thinking of mother Yaśodā in maternal affection for Kṛṣṇa.”

If you are trying to control your mind while chanting you are not advanced – advanced means it is effortless

Bhāg. 10.9.4-18: “While mother Yaśodā was churning butter, Lord Kṛṣṇa, desiring to drink the milk of her breast, appeared before her, and in order to increase her transcendental pleasure, He caught hold of the churning rod and began to prevent her from churning. Mother Yaśodā then embraced Kṛṣṇa, allowed Him to sit down on her lap, and began to look upon the face of the Lord with great love and affection. Because of her intense affection, milk was flowing from her breast. But when she saw that the milk pan on the oven was boiling over, she immediately left her son to take care of the overflowing milk, although the child was not yet fully satisfied with drinking the milk of His mother's breast. Being very angry and biting His reddish lips with His teeth, Kṛṣṇa, with false tears in His eyes, broke the container of yogurt with a piece of stone. Then He entered a room and began to eat the freshly churned butter in a solitary place. Mother Yaśodā, after taking down the hot milk from the oven, returned to the churning spot, and when she saw that the container of yogurt was broken and that Kṛṣṇa was not present, she concluded that the breaking of the pot was the work of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, at that time, was sitting on an upside-down wooden mortar for grinding spices and was distributing milk preparations such as yogurt and butter to the monkeys as He liked. Because of having stolen, He was looking all around with great anxiety, suspecting that He might be chastised by His mother. Mother Yaśodā, upon seeing Him, very cautiously approached Him from behind. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw His mother, stick in hand, He very quickly got down from the top of the mortar and began to flee as if very much afraid. Although yogīs try to capture Him as Paramātmā by meditation, desiring to enter into the effulgence of the Lord with great austerities and penances, they fail to reach Him. But mother Yaśodā, thinking that same Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, to be her son, began following Kṛṣṇa to catch Him. While following Kṛṣṇa, mother Yaśodā, her thin waist overburdened by her heavy breasts, naturally had to reduce her speed. Because of following Kṛṣṇa very swiftly, her hair became loose, and the flowers in her hair were falling after her. Yet she did not fail to capture her son Kṛṣṇa. When caught by mother Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa became more and more afraid and admitted to being an offender. As she looked upon Him, she saw that He was crying, His tears mixing with the black ointment around His eyes, and as He rubbed His eyes with His hands, He smeared the ointment all over His face. Mother Yaśodā, catching her beautiful son by the hand, mildly began to chastise Him. Mother Yaśodā was always overwhelmed by intense love for Kṛṣṇa, not knowing who Kṛṣṇa was or how powerful He was. Because of maternal affection for Kṛṣṇa, she never even cared to know who He was. Therefore, when she saw that her son had become excessively afraid, she threw the stick away and desired to bind Him so that He would not commit any further naughty activities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning and no end, no exterior and no interior, no front and no rear. In other words, He is all-pervading. Because He is not under the influence of the element of time, for Him there is no difference between past, present and future; He exists in His own transcendental form at all times. Being absolute, beyond relativity, He is free from distinctions between cause and effect, although He is the cause and effect of everything. That unmanifested person, who is beyond the perception of the senses, had now appeared as a human child, and mother Yaśodā, considering Him her own ordinary child, bound Him to the wooden mortar with a rope. When mother Yaśodā was trying to bind the offending child, she saw that the binding rope was short by a distance the width of two fingers. Thus she brought another rope to join to it. This new rope also was short by a measurement of two fingers, and when another rope was joined to it, it was still two fingers too short. As many ropes as she joined, all of them failed; their shortness could not be overcome. Thus mother Yaśodā joined whatever ropes were available in the household, but still she failed in her attempt to bind Kṛṣṇa. Mother Yaśodā's friends, the elderly gopīs in the neighborhood, were smiling and enjoying the fun. Similarly, mother Yaśodā, although laboring in that way, was also smiling. All of them were struck with wonder. Because of mother Yaśodā's hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Kṛṣṇa saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.”

So many wonderful nuances and information bring us to this point

Droṇa and Dharā performed austerities with meditation on the pastime

Same culture of kṛṣṇa-bhakti awakens through hearing

Śukadeva Gosvāmī says this pastimes was famous, known before it happened

Bhāg.10.9.19: “O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, this entire universe, with its great, exalted demigods like Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā and Lord Indra, is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet the Supreme Lord has one transcendental attribute: He comes under the control of His devotees. This was now exhibited by Kṛṣṇa in this pastime.”

Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to give this kind of prema that controls Kṛṣṇa

Purport to Bhāg.10.9.19: “These contradictions cannot be understood by one who is not a devotee, but a devotee can understand how powerful is unalloyed devotional service to Kṛṣṇa; it is so powerful that Kṛṣṇa can be controlled by an unalloyed devotee. This bhṛtya-vaśyatā does not mean that He is under the control of the servant; rather, He is under the control of the servant's pure love.”

Unalloyed devotional service is spontaneous prema-bhakti: not because Kṛṣṇa is God but because He is very sweet

This is a very significant pastime as we spend a month glorifying it

Bhāg. 10.9.20 “Neither Lord Brahmā, nor Lord Śiva, nor even the goddess of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord, can obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the deliverer from this material world, such mercy as received by mother Yaśodā.”

To get the mercy and reciprocation Mother Yaśodā gets you have to practice that kind of devotional service

Purport to Bhāg. 10.9.20: “Kṛṣṇa has the transcendental quality of bhṛtya-vaśyatā, becoming subordinate to His bhṛtya, or servant.” Something to take away with us

“She [Mother Yaśodī] is therefore a nitya-siddha devotee, an expansion of Kṛṣṇa's hlādinī potency, His potency to enjoy transcendental bliss through expansions who are special devotees (ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ [Bs. 5.37]). Such devotees are not sādhana-siddha.” ® Mother Yaśodā is not a sādhana-siddha! The repetitive na shows that noone compares to Mother Yaśodā

Bhāg.10.9.21: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā, is accessible to devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.”

Purport: “Therefore, the karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and saintly persons are all seeking Kṛṣṇa. But by following in the footsteps of devotees who are in a direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa, especially the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, one can reach the supreme position of associating with Kṛṣṇa. As it is said, vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya padam ekaṁ na gacchati. […] if one follows in the footsteps of these devotees, Kṛṣṇa is available. Although the nitya-siddha expansions of Kṛṣṇa always remain with Kṛṣṇa, if those engaged in sādhana-siddhi follow in the footsteps of Kṛṣṇa's nitya-siddha associates, such sādhana-siddhas also can easily attain Kṛṣṇa without difficulty.“

Upadeśāmṛta 8: The essence of all advice is to follow in the footsteps of the vrajavāsīs

This pastimes spans 4 chapters

Conclusion to the pastimes in Bhāg.10.11.9: “To pure devotees throughout the world who could understand His activities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, exhibited how much He can be subdued by His devotees, His servants. In this way He increased the pleasure of the vrajavāsīs by His childhood activities.”

How can Kṛṣṇa be subdued? By hearing a certain type of bhakti will rub off on us, it will manifest, awaken in the devotee

Purport to Bhāg.10.11.9: “That Kṛṣṇa performed childhood activities to increase the pleasure of His devotees was another transcendental humor. He exhibited these activities not only to the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, but also to others, who were captivated by His external potency and opulence. Both the internal devotees, who were simply absorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa, and the external devotees, who were captivated by His unlimited potency, were informed of Kṛṣṇa's desire to be submissive to His servants.”

Adi-līlā 4th chapter says that He is not fully satisfied by the worship mentioned in the first 9 Cantos [Cc.Ādi 4.17]

Kṛṣṇa wants to be the object of love not because he has a positition but because of who He is

Kṛṣṇa-prema comes in 2 ways: You can get the meal (kṛpā-siddha) or you can get the ingredients to cook it (sādhana-bhakti)

Lord Caitanya says that people maintain themselves by eating grains, similarly devotees nourish themselves by hearing about Kṛṣṇa

Hearing about Kṛṣṇa should be our life

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Egy ablak a lelki világra

Wisdom of the Sages