Daily Class

Although a miserly man wants to guard his money very carefully, his family members take away all his assets forcibly, even though he is very vigilant.

One should practice a little austerity and not spend money on anything other than the regulative life of devotional service. The senses demand that one see beautiful things; therefore money should be spent for decorating the Deity in the temple. Similarly, the tongue has to taste good food, which should be bought and offered to the Deity. The nose can be utilized in smelling the flowers offered to the Deity, and the hearing can be utilized by listening to the vibration of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In this way the senses can be regulated and utilized to advance Kṛṣṇa consciousness

The most important information in this verse is hari-guru-caraṇa-aravinda-madhukara-anupadavīm. In this material world the conditioned souls are baffled by their activities, and sometimes they are relieved after great difficulty. On the whole the conditioned soul is never happy. He simply struggles for existence. Actually his only business is to accept the spiritual master, the guru, and through him he must accept the lotus feet or the Lord.

There are many stories and incidents in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that are described figuratively. Such allegorical descriptions may not be understood by unintelligent men; therefore it is the duty of the student to approach a bonafide spiritual master for the direct explanation.

It is a fact that if one takes shelter of a pure devotee, one attains all perfection, even if the association is a short one. A sādhu is a pure devotee of the Lord. It has been our practical experience that the first instruction of our spiritual master infused us with Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that now we are at least on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and can understand the philosophy. As a result, there are many devotees engaged in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The whole world is revolving under the bodily conception; therefore there must be devotees all over the world to deliver people from the false bodily conception and fully engage them in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

A saintly devotee is certainly very tolerant. He is the friend of all living entities, and he does not create enemies within the world. A pure devotee has all the qualities of a sādhu. Jaḍa Bharata is an example of this. Due to the material body, his senses were certainly agitated when he was insulted by King Rahūgaṇa, but later, due to the King’s humble submission, Jaḍa Bharata excused him.

King Rahūgaṇa was very repentant because he had forced Jaḍa Bharata to carry his palanquin. He therefore began offering prayers to all kinds of brāhmaṇas and self-realized persons, even though they might be playing like children or hiding in some guises

Association with pure devotees certainly frees one from the material clutches. This is certainly true of King Rahūgaṇa’s association with Jaḍa Bharata. King Rahūgaṇa was immediately freed from the misgivings of material association. The arguments offered by pure devotees to their disciples are so convincing that even a dull-headed disciple is immediately enlightened with spiritual knowledge.

Human birth is a great opportunity for self-realization. One may take birth in a high planetary system among the demigods, but due to the profusion of material comforts, one cannot gain release from material bondage. Even on this earth those who are very opulent do not generally care to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

My dear King Rahūgaṇa, you are also a victim of the external energy, being situated on the path of attraction to material pleasure. So that you may become an equal friend to all living entities, I now advise you to give up your kingly position and the rod by which you punish criminals. Give up attraction to the sense objects and take up the sword of knowledge sharpened by devotional service. Then you will be able to cut the hard knot of illusory energy and cross to the other side of the ocean of nescience.