Daily Class

All the living entities within this material world have revolted against the service of the Lord, and therefore they remain within this material world as ever conditioned, nitya-baddha, taking birth again and again. There is a chance, of course, of their being liberated, but nevertheless the conditioned souls, not taking advantage of this opportunity, continue in a life of sense enjoyment, and thus they are punished by birth and death again and again. This is the law of nature.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class on Mon 14th Mar 2022 by Surya Gopal Dāsa 6.4.42-43 by Hare Krishna Melbourne

When one actually realizes or sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is filled with complete happiness. For example, when Dhruva Mahārāja saw the Lord in his presence, he said, svāmin kṛtārtho ’smi varaṁ na yāce: “My dear Lord, I have nothing to ask from You. Now I am completely satisfied.” Similarly, when Prajāpati Dakṣa saw the Supreme Lord in his presence, he simply fell flat, unable to speak or ask Him for anything.

The conditioned soul cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by speculative knowledge or by imagination. One must therefore know the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He reveals Himself, but He cannot be understood by speculation.

As a small boy He lifted Govardhana Hill, and in His childhood He killed many demons. Such activities are very attractive, and therefore He is sometimes called Giridhārī, Madhusūdana, Agha-niṣūdana and so on. Because He acted as the son of Nanda Mahārāja, He is called Nanda-tanuja. These names already exist, but since nondevotees cannot understand the names of the Lord, He is sometimes called anāma, or nameless. This means that He has no material names. All His activities are spiritual, and therefore He has spiritual names.

The bhaktas know that the Supreme Person has no material form, whereas the jñānīs simply deny the material form. One should therefore take shelter of the bhakti-mārga, the path of devotion; then everything will be clear. Jñānīs concentrate on the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic universal form of the Lord. This is a good system in the beginning for those who are extremely materialistic, but there is no need to think continuously of the virāṭ-rūpa.

Philosophy means finding the ultimate cause. As Vedānta-sūtra very reasonably says, athāto brahma jijñāsā: human life is meant for understanding the ultimate cause. Devotees accept that the ultimate cause is Kṛṣṇa because this conclusion is supported by all Vedic literature and also by Kṛṣṇa Himself, who says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: “I am the source of everything.”

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the original cause, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ). Even this material world, which is conducted under the modes of material nature, is caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who therefore also has an intimate relationship with the material world. If the material world were not a part of His body, the Supreme Lord, the supreme cause, would be incomplete.

One who manufactures names, forms, qualities or paraphernalia pertaining to the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot understand Him, since He is beyond creation. The Supreme Lord is the creator of everything, and this means that He existed when there was no creation. In other words, His name, form and qualities are not materially created entities; they are transcendental always. Therefore by our material concoctions, vibrations and thoughts we cannot ascertain the Supreme Lord

To understand Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one must undergo severe penances and austerities, but since the path of devotional service is perfect, by following this process one can very easily come to the spiritual platform and understand the Lord.