Krishna Consciousness

Purport to Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu

690111PU.LA  -- Purport to Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu   Prabhupada: Sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu doya koro more, toma bina ke doyalu jagata-mayare. This is a song composed by Narottama dasa Thakura. He is praying Lord Caitanya that "My dear Lord, please be merciful upon me because who can be more merciful than Your Lordship within these three worlds?" Actually, this is the fact. Not only Narottama dasa Thakura, but also Rupa Gosvami, he also prayed for Lord Caitanya when both of them met at Prayaga, Allahabad, in the first meeting of Lord Caitanya and Rupa Gosvami at Prayaga. At that time, Srila Rupa Gosvami also said, "My dear Lord, You are the most munificent of all incarnations. Because You are distributing love of Krsna, Krsna consciousness." In other words, when Krsna was personally present, He simply asked us to surrender, but He did not distribute Himself so easily. He made condition that "First of all you surrender." But here, in this incarnation, Lord Caitanya, although He's Krsna Himself, He makes no condition. He simply distributes, "Take love of Krsna." Therefore Lord Caitanya is approved as the most munificent incarnation, and Narottama dasa Thakura says that "Please be merciful upon me. You are so magnanimous because You have seen the fallen souls of this age, and You are very much compassionate upon them. But you should know also that I am the most fallen. Nobody is a greater fallen than me." Patita-pavana-hetu tava avatara. "Your incarnation is just to reclaim the conditioned souls, fallen souls. But I assure You that You will not find a greater fallen than me. Therefore my claim is first."
   Then he prays to Lord Nityananda. He says, ha ha prabhu nityananda, premananda sukhi. "My dear Lord Nityananda, You are always joyful, in spiritual bliss, and You appear always very happy. So I have come to You because I am most unhappy. So if You kindly put Your glance over me, then I may also become happy."
   Then he prays to Advaita Prabhu: ha ha prabhu sita-pati advaita gosai. Advaita Prabhu's wife's name was Sita. Therefore He is sometimes addressed as sita-pati. So "My dear Advaita Prabhu, the husband of Sita, please You also be kind upon me because if You become kind upon me, then naturally Lord Caitanya and Nityananda also will be kind upon me." The reason is that actually, Advaita Prabhu invited Lord Caitanya to come down. When Advaita Prabhu saw the fallen souls, they are all engaged simply in sense gratificatory processes without understanding Krsna consciousness, He felt very much compassionate upon the fallen souls, and He felt Himself as incapable of claiming all these fallen souls. He therefore prayed to Lord Krsna that "You come Yourself. Without Your personal presence, it is not possible to deliver these fallen souls." So by His invitation Lord Caitanya appeared. "Naturally..." Narottama dasa Thakura prays Advaita Prabhu that "If You be kind upon me, naturally Lord Caitanya and Nityananda also will be kind upon me."
   Then he prays to the Gosvamis. Ha ha svarupa, sanatana, rupa, raghunatha. "My dear Gosvami Prabhus," svarupa. Svarupa was Svarupa Damodara was personal secretary of Lord Caitanya. He was always keeping with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and whatever He wanted, he immediately arranged for that. Two personal attendants, Svarupa Damodara and Govinda, they were always, constantly with Lord Caitanya. So Narottama dasa Thakura also praying Svarupa Damodara. And then the Gosvamis. The next disciples of Lord Caitanya were the six Gosvamis: Sri Rupa, Sri Sanatana, Sri Bhatta Raghunatha, Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. These six Gosvamis were directly instructed by Lord Caitanya for spreading this movement of Krsna consciousness. Narottama dasa Thakura is praying also their mercy. And after the six Gosvamis, the next acarya was Srinivasa Acarya. So he's also praying Srinivasa Acarya.
   Actually, Narottama dasa Thakura was in the disciplic succession after Srinivasa Acarya. Or almost he was contemporary. And his personal friend was Ramacandra, Ramacandra Cakravarti. So he is praying that "I always desire the company of Ramacandra." Devotee's company. The whole process is that we should always be praying mercy of the superior acaryas. And we should keep company with pure devotee. Then it will be easier for us to advance in Krsna consciousness to receive the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Krsna. This is the sum and substance of this song sung by Narottama dasa Thakura. (end)
 680717PU.MON -- Sri-Krsna-Caitanya PrabhuPrabhupada: This is a prayer to Lord Caitanya. The devotee is saying, "O Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, kindly show me your causeless mercy." Sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu daya karo more. "Because You have come to deliver fallen souls, so You will not find the most fallen soul like me." This is the humble prayer. We should be conscious of our fallen condition and pray to the Lord in that way, that "My dear Lord, somehow or other I am fallen. Now kindly pick me up." The substance of this song is like this. Of course, the language, Sanskrit, you may understand..., you may not understand, but the vibration will act. (end)

Some verses about the soul

BG 2.12: Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.

BG 2.13: As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.

BG 2.14: O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.

BG 2.15: O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.

BG 2.16: Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.

BG 2.17: That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.

BG 2.20: For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

BG 2.23: The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

BG 2.24: This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.

BG 2.25: It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.

BG 2.27: One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.

BG 2.29: Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.

BG 9.2: This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.

BG 7.7: O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.

BG 10.41: Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.

BG 16.1-3: Fearlessness; purification of one's existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity; nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor; forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor — these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.

And these four verses are considered by some to be the most important.

BG 10.8: I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
BG 10.9: The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.
BG 10.10: To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
BG 10.11: To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

BG 18.65: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

BG 18.66: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

BG 18.68: For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.

BG 18.69: There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.

Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 1:"Creation" : SB 1.3: Krsna Is the Source of All Incarnations : SB 1.3.5 : PURPORT :

The next incarnations are the Manus. Within one day's duration of the life of Brahmā (which is calculated by our solar year as 4,300,000 x 1,000 years) there are fourteen Manus. Therefore there are 420 Manus in one month of Brahmā and 5,040 Manus in one year of Brahmā. Brahmā lives for one hundred years of his age, and therefore there are 5,040 x 100 or 504,000 Manus in the duration of Brahmā's life. There are innumerable universes, with one Brahmā in each of them, and all of them are created and annihilated during the breathing time of the puruṣa. Therefore one can simply imagine how many millions of Manus there are during one breath of the puruṣa.

 

Books : Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition : Bg 8: Attaining the Supreme : Bg 8.17 : PURPORT :

The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas or ages: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Tretā-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvāpara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, the creator god, and the same number comprise one night. Brahmā lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 million earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahmā seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the causal ocean there are innumerable Brahmās rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahmā and his creation are all part of the material universe, and therefore they are in constant flux.

  

Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 2: "The Cosmic Manifestation" : SB 2.9: Answers by Citing the Lord's Version : SB 2.9.2 : PURPORT :

The different forms of the living entities are different dresses offered by the illusory, external energy of the Lord according to the modes of nature the living being desires to enjoy. The external, material energy is represented by her three modes, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. So even in the material nature there is a chance of an independent choice by the living entity, and according to his choice the material energy offers him different varieties of material bodies. There are bodies, 1,100,000 worms and reptiles, 1,000,000 forms of birds, together there are 8,400,000 varieties of bodies in different planets of the universe, and the living entity is traveling by so many transmigrations according to different modes of enjoying spirit within himself. Even in one particular body the living entity changes from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youth, from youth to old age and from old age to another body created by his own action. The living entity creates his own body by his personal desires, and the external energy of the Lord supplies him the exact form by which he can enjoy his desires to the fullest extent. The tiger wanted to enjoy the blood of another animal, and therefore, by the grace of the Lord, the material energy supplied him the body of the tiger with facilities for enjoying blood from another animal. Similarly, a living entity desiring to get the body of a demigod in a higher planet can also get it by the grace of the Lord. And if he is intelligent enough, he can desire to get a spiritual body to enjoy the company of the Lord, and he will get it.