Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Important lessons a devotee of Krishna learns from churning of the milk ocean or Samudra Manthan

There are many valuable lessons which a practicing devotee of Krishna can learn from the churning of the milk ocean or Samudra manthan. Srimad Bhagavatam describes in detail about the momentous event in which devtas and demons came together to churn the ocean of milk.

The purpose was to retrieve nectar of immortality from the Ocean of Milk.  It was one of the rarest occasions when the fiercest enemies were cooperating with each other.

Vasuki, the king of the serpent was being used as a rope and the Mandara Mountain was the churning rod. Both the parties were anticipating that the moment churning will start the nectar will appear.

But to their surprise as they began to churn the ocean, they found that the ocean has become very turbulent. The big and small animals of the ocean like fish, sharks, tortoises, snakes, whales, crocodiles etc. got disturbed and came to the surface frightening all.

The misery of the devtas and demons got compounded when from the ocean came hālahala, the most dangerous poison. Everyone was aghast because instead of nectar, deadly and obnoxious substances were coming out.

Lord Vishnu who was supervising the entire activity was demonstrating to all that getting nectar isn’t so easy, it requires lots of effort.

Let us see what lessons a practicing devotee of Krishna can learn from the churning or milk ocean pastime or Samudra manthan.

Fighting our inner enemies in our pursuit for spiritual nectar

We can relate the churning of the ocean with our very own life. Chanting the holy names of the Lord like the Hare Krishna mahamantra means churning our heart.

We all have the experience that as soon as we start chanting, we become more agitated. The anarthas (or vices) like lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion start attacking us vigorously.

We would have taken the process of mantra meditation or chanting with a hope that our mind will become peaceful, and we will experience serenity. But the opposite happens.  To our dismay, it appears as if we are at peace when we do not chant than when we chant.

Why so? Is mantra meditation ineffective or counter-productive? Definitely not. Then why anarthas start troubling us more.

Let us try to understand it with an analogy.

Cleaning an abandoned house

If you had an experience of cleaning a house which had been unattended for several months or maybe even years then you can easily understand what I am trying to say. But if you did not have that experience then do not worry, just use your imagination while reading further.

You are standing in front of the house with a big broom. You open the lock and push the door with all your might. The door slowly opens.

You look inside the house, you see mess everywhere. Lots of dirt on the floor, on chairs, on tables, and many cobwebs. Whatever dirt is there on the surface and the wall, you can easily see.

With the broom in your hand, you begin cleaning. And slowly you find yourself in a big mess. The dirty house showed its dirt and cobwebs but had hidden many surprises from you.

You just wants to run away

Soon you find yourself surrounded by horrible creatures who were living there peacefully. They are angry that their privacy has been invaded.  

These creatures angrily start running hither and tither upset at being evicted out. Few cockroaches may cling to your trousers and may try to enter into your pants to teach you a lesson. Rats with their big tummy may jump on your feet and may try to bite you too. Some spiders may be crawling on your shoulders and other parts of your body. They will scare the hell out of you.

You will try to scream but could not do so because you are surrounded by layers of dust and nauseating smell. Pigeons and bats which had made that house their home may be dancing on top of your head.

And you will be cursing yourself or the person who handed a broom in your hand and encouraged you to get inside it. In few moments you might have told yourself multiple times that if I knew I am going to go through this then I would have never come here.  You may feel that it is beyond your capability to clean the house and you may want to run away from there.

If you do not give up

But suppose that if with patience you persist and continue cleaning then what happens? Slowly the dirt gets removed, spiders are driven out, cobwebs demolished, rats and cockroaches will find the place inhabitable and will flee, pigeons and bats will fly away from there and will begin looking for new dwelling.  

After putting lots of efforts, you will have a perfectly clean house in which you can live comfortably and peacefully.

Our unattended heart

Now you can compare the unattended house with your unattended heart. You and I have abandoned our heart for years. And if we go by the Vedic scriptures then for many lifetimes. So, now our heart is full of dirt in the form of so many anarthas (or impurities).

Some of the anarthas we may see and many we may not be able to see because it is lying deep with the heart and is in dormant state. Also, how thick these impurities are that also we may not know.

So, when we begin the process of dusting our heart of the impurities by chanting the names of Krishna then many unseen impurities we begin to see. Impurities lying at the bottom of our heart come to the surface.

Just like when the churning of the milk ocean started ferocious creatures and poisonous substance which were deep in the ocean started coming out. This is one of the important lessons we learin from the churning of milk ocean pastime. But as the devtas continued churning the ocean to get the nectar similarly we will have to continue churning our heart by chanting the names of Krishna.

Just as the devtas were disturbed by unwated subsntace coming out of the ocean, similarly initially, we will also be agitated as the impurties start churning in our heart.

Continuously chant with determination

At that time, we need patience and strong faith in the holy name. During that agitating phase, if with dogged determination, we continue chanting the names of Krishna then our heart will eventually get cleansed of all the impurities which is making our life miserable.

But chanting has to be done daily and with complete focus. Srila Prabhupada says that we should chant at least 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily.

If we do so, then we will be successful in fighting with our anarthas which are our real enemy. They have been in control of our lives for years so they will not give up their dominion so easily. They will fight tooth and nail, will create many obstacles and will throw many challenges.

Starve the inner enemies

But we have to tolerate these onslaughts with great determination and continue chanting sincerely.

While practicing mantra meditation we also have to make sure that we do not indulge in any activities which may give strength to our inner enemies.

This is why scriptures ask us to follow the four – regulative principles of no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication and no illicit sex including watching pornography.  

These wrong indulgences will stunt our spiritual progress and bind us to this miserable material world.  As we start starving the enemies and continue chanting enthusiastically the enemies become weaker day by day.

Krishna loves a sincere devotee

Our effort and sincerity will attract the mercy of the munificent Lord. Krishna is always ready to help us in our devotional endeavour. In fact, he personally takes the responsibility of helping his sincere devotees.

He supplies us with all necessary intelligence and guidance which will help us to come closer to Him.

This he confirms in Bhagavad Gita 9.22, “But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have”.  

And once Lord gets pleased with our efforts then he would drive away these enemies from our life forever. 

Devotees are always victorious

During the churning of the ocean also in spite of facing all the hardships, demigods and demons continued working tirelessly for the nectar.

And finally Dhanvantari appeared with the pot of nectar. Upon seeing the pot, the crooked demons snatched it immediately. They did not want the demigods to have even a drop of the nectar.

But the demigods were under the protection of Lord Vishnu. And those who take shelter of the Lord never ever get deprived of anything auspicious. The Lord of the Universe personally took the responsibility of delivering the nectar to the demigods.

He took a beautiful feminine form of Mohini Murti and tricked the demons. The lusty demons got captivated by Her extraordinary beauty and readily handed the invaluable container to Mohini Murti.

She then cleverly distributed the nectar to the demigods and the demons were left dumbfounded. They could not do anything.  It is verily said that if we are with the Lord then there is no chance of us ever getting defeated or cheated.  

The demigods after drinking the ambrosia and taking complete shelter of the Lord vanquished the demons and emerged victorious.

Never give up Krishna’s shelter, if you want Krishna’s nectar

Churning of the milk ocean or Samudra manthan teaches many invaluable lessons to a devotee and one of that is that we should be determined not to leave shelter of Krishna.

So, if we want to vanquish our inner demon our anarthas then we should always take shelter of God because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the best friend and well-wisher of the three worlds (Srimad Bhagavatam 8.9.27).

In order to take shelter of God, we should always chant the names of God like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu assures us that if we chant the names of Krishna constantly then our heart will be cleansed of all the impurities – ceto darpana marjanam.

Churning of the milk ocean pastime of Lord or Samudra manthan has many important lessons for the devotees of Krishna. If we apply it in our devotional journey then we will surely become successful in our spiritual life.

If you want Krishna’s nectar, then never give up Krishna’s shelter whatever may be the situations and circumstances.

Why Krishna took birth on earth?

If Krishna is the Supreme Lord as per the Vedic scriptures then why he took birth on earth? What was the need for him to come on earth?  If you refer the Vedic scriptures then you will come to the conclusion that Krishna is the undisputed Supreme Lord.

For example, Brahma Samhita says, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ/sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, which means “Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body.”

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 says, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam, but Krishna is the original personality of Godhead.

Understanding Krishna’s birth with the analogy of sun

So, now the question is, if Krishna is God and is eternal then why he has to appear or take birth on earth?  We can understand this by the analogy of the sun. When early in the morning we see sun in the eastern horizon we say that sun has appeared (or is born) and when it sets in the evening, we say the sun has disappeared.

But the sun is always there in the sky. Based on our seeing it or not seeing it, we say, it appeared or disappeared. Similarly, Krishna is eternal. When we see him on earth, we say that he has appeared and when he finishes his pastimes and returns to the spiritual world, we say he has disappeared because we cannot see him.

Janmashtami is the day when Krishna appeared in this world. He appeared on the eighth day of dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) in the month of Bhadrapada (August–September).

Krishna tells us why he takes birth on earth

But why God, Krishna, takes birth in this world? What was the reason? Krishna answers this in Bhagavad Gita 4.7 & 4.8.

“Whenever and wherever, there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.” Bhagavad Gita 4.7

“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.” Bhagavad Gita 4.8

So, Krishna is saying that he comes here to establish religious principles and to teach people like you and me how to live righteously.

Krishna does not just come to earth to kill the demons. He can kill them from his spiritual abode only. But he comes here because he cares for us, he loves us and he does not want to us to suffer here.

He comes to lead us from darkness to light – tamaso ma jyotirgamaya. And to tell us that as our eternal father, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā, Bhagavad Gita 14.4, he is always with us and loves us unconditionally.

Krishna comes to invite us to his spiritual kingdom

The Supreme Lord Krishna, our father, personally comes from the spiritual abode to earth to invite us to return back to the spiritual kingdom which is our original home. Krishna assures that his abode is free of all the sufferings and once we go there then we do not have to come to this world where misery is at every step.

Our eternal father, Krishna explains about his supreme abode in Bhagavad Gita 8.21,

“That which the Vedāntists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns – that is My supreme abode.” Bhagavad Gita 8.21

Krishna for our benefit informs us that this world is temporary, full of miseries, where everyone has to undergo the repeated cycle of birth and death. So, the Supreme Lord is advising us to return back to his kingdom in Bhagavad Gita.

“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” Bhagavad Gita 8.15

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.” Bhagavad Gita 8.16

And Krishna gives complete assurance that once we purify ourselves and return to the spiritual world then we do not have to come to this world again.

“That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.” Bhagavad Gita 15.6

Krishna took birth on earth in a unique way

Krishna took birth in a unique way. He appeared in a pitched dark prison cell in the middle of the night to Devaki and Vasudeva who were bound by iron shackles and were living in constant fear of Kamsa. As soon as Krishna appeared, the dark prison cell got illumined.

Krishna did not take birth just like any ordinary child. But in the prison cell he manifested in the form of the Supreme Lord.

Krishna appears in four-handed form of Lord Vishnu

“Vasudeva then saw the newborn child, who had very wonderful lotuslike eyes and who bore in His four hands the four weapons śaṅkha, cakra, gadā and padma. On His chest was the mark of Śrīvatsa and on His neck the brilliant Kaustubha gem. Dressed in yellow, His body blackish like a dense cloud, His scattered hair fully grown, and His helmet and earrings sparkling uncommonly with the valuable gem Vaidūrya, the child, decorated with a brilliant belt, armlets, bangles and other ornaments, appeared very wonderful. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.9-10

As soon as Devaki and Vasudeva saw Krishna in his four handed form, their heart became free from all fear.

Srimad Bhagavatam explains that when Krishna was to appear in this world then all men and women who were suffering because of demons like Kamsa felt peace within the core of their hearts. The denizens of the higher planets like Kinnaras, Gandharvas and Apsaras began singing auspicious songs and they danced in jubilation.

Prayers by Devaki & Vasudeva and Krishna appears as human child

Devaki and Vasudeva offered their heartfelt prayers to Krishna.

Devaki said, “My Lord, because You dispel all the fear of Your devotees, I request You to save us and give us protection from the terrible fear of Kaṁsa. Your form as Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is appreciated by yogīs in meditation. Please make this form invisible to those who see with material eyes.”  Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.28

Krishna gave the reason to Devaki and Vasudeva as why he appeared in his four handed form of Lord Vishnu.

“I have shown you this form of Viṣṇu just to remind you of My previous births. Otherwise, if I appeared like an ordinary human child, you would not believe that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, has indeed appeared.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.44

After giving the reason,  the Supreme Lord transformed himself into a human baby so that Devaki and Vasudeva can experience vatsalya bhav, parental affection. Moreover Krishna also had to perform many wonderful childhood pastimes in Vrindavan.

Why Krishna took birth on earth as eighth son of Devaki & Vasudeva?

But before Krishna appeared, Kamsa had killed six sons of Devaki immediately after they were born. When Devaki and Vasudeva had just got married, a celestial voice had predicted that the eighth child of Devaki will be the cause of Kamsa’s death. 

Upon hearing this ominous voice, Kamsa wanted to kill Devaki, his own sister. To save his wife’s life, Vasudeva promised Kamsa that he will deliver all the child of Devaki to him. And then Kamsa can do whatever he wants to do with the child. So, one after another Kamsa mercilessly killed the six children.

The seventh child was mysteriously transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva’s another wife who was living in Vraj, from the womb of Devaki. That child was Balarama.

Krishna appeared as the eighth child and as predicted, he killed the atrocious demon, Kamsa.

The six sons of Devaki who were killed by Kamsa represents six rebellious proclivities of the mind – kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (envy), mada (pride), matsara (illusion). As long as we allow these six enemies to reside in our heart, Krishna will not appear in our heart.

If we analyse our life, we will find that we suffer in this world because of these six vices. Vices are called anarthas in sanskrit. In Bhagavad Gita 16.21, Krishna says, lust, greed and anger are gateway to hell. So, the Supreme Lord says, “every sane man should give these up for they lead to the degradation of the soul.” As soon as we succumb to these lower nature trouble begins in our life. Our mind remains out of our control because of these impurities.

Balarama the competent guru

So, it is important that we cleanse our heart of these six enemies which brings inauspiciousness in our life.  But it is not easy to fight these powerful enemies all alone. For that we need help. We need a competent guide, a guru who can show us the right path.

Balarama who appeared as the seventh child of Devaki and Vasudeva is the adi guru, the original guru. He always takes care of the suffering souls and takes them towards Krishna.

Krishna, our best well wisher

Because who can help us better than Krishna?  He is our best friend, best well-wisher and most importantly, he is always there for us. He helped Arjuna when Arjuna was in great trouble at the battlefield of Kurukshetra.  The Supreme Lord, Krishna, never disappoints anyone. In Bhagavad Gita 18.66 he says that “if we take his shelter then he will deliver us from all sinful reactions and will free us from all fear.”

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teaches how to take shelter of Krishna?

But how to seek Krishna’s shelter? This has been beautifully explained by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the founder of Gaudiya Vaisnavism and the pioneer of Bhakti Movement. He says that the best way to take Krishna’s shelter is by chanting his holy names like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

In his Siksastakam prayers, he writes that chanting cleanses the heart of all the impurities and inundates our heart with unlimited transcendental bliss for which we are always anxious.  Once our heart is cleansed our mind will come in our control. And when the mind is under our control then it will become our best friend, and then we can always live in peace and bliss.

Krishna took birth on earth for you and me

We can alleviate our life if we invite Krishna to reside in our heart. Let us constantly offer our heartfelt prayers to Krishna and chant his names fervently. When Krishna’s name will enter our heart then the holy name will destroy the impurities lurking in our heart since ages.

Our heart will become pure and soft like butter. Krishna, the butter thief, will then happily appear in our heart to steal our heart just like he would steal butter from the houses of the gopis, who were his great devotees.

The most important reason why Krishna took birth on earth is to remind you and me that we are his eternal parts and parcels and if we sincere desire and seriously practice devotion to him then we will return back to him in his spiritual kingdom.

Janmashtami Celebration at Omni Tulsi, Kolkata in 2022

This year we had Janmashtami celebration in our Omni Tulsi apartment in Kolkata on 21^st August 2022, Sunday. We choose Sunday, so that everyone can participate. Many residents participated in the festival.

Before Covid, we had celebrated Janmashtami here but unfortunately for last 3 years we could not have any festival. But this time many of the residents were eager to celebrate Janmashtami.

Planning

For Janmashtami celebration, we decided to have abhishek of the Lord, spiritual talk and prasadam. Later we also thought to have cultural program in which kids can participate.  For all this to happen smoothly, we sought help of HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu who is a senior monk at Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata. He was happy to help.  

Prasadam was arranged from the temple. Prasadam menu was khicdi, aludum and halwa.

Sri Sri Radha Madhav deity for abhishek

For abhishek, we needed a deity of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani. I requested in the temple for the deities. HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu and Shivaji Prabhu helped to arrange a beautiful deity of Sri Sri Radha Madhav.  

For last few years I have been doing abhishek seva (service) in the temple, so I know the process of doing abhishek and the items required for abhishek. Moreover, HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu who is a senior pujari in Iskcon Newtown temple, Kolkata is always there to help me. So, first I discussed with prabhuji about the items which will be required during abhishek.

We wanted to do abhishek the way it is done in the temple.  So, we decided to have almost all the items which are used in the temple for abhishek but with lesser quantity. For example, in temple, 8 litres of milk are used but here we decided to have 2 litres of milk. In temple we use 4 kg of honey but here we used only one kg and so on.

Everyone took responsibility for making arrangement for Janmashtami Celebration

One of the best things about the celebration was that everyone wanted to not just participate but many of them were keen to help in making arrangements for the festival. We decided to divide the work amongst ourselves.

Some took the responsibility of purchasing the items, some decided to get flowers for decoration and for abhishek, some took the onus of decorating the hall, my wife along with other ladies made plans for kids fancy dress and cultural program. One person got the service of bringing the deity from the temple and few residents were in charge of bringing prasadam from temple.  I got the service of making preparation for abhishek.

The program was in society’s community hall. On the day of Janmashtami celebration, everyone was busy since afternoon. Some were decorating the hall; some were making sure that all the items are brought from the market. Everyone was engaged.

Community hall was beautifully decorated with colourful flowers, balloons, rangolis and lights. At the entrance of the hall rangolis were made with colors and flower petals to welcome the Lord. By evening everything was ready.

Janmashtami Celebration begins

We went to the temple at around 6 pm to bring Sri Sri Radha Madhav and prasadam.

As soon as the deity arrived, everyone started doing kirtan to welcome the Lord. Sri Sri Radha Madhav was placed on a nicely decorated table.  

Cultural Prgram

The program began with the ladies dancing to the song of Achyutam Keshavam Krishna Damodaram. After this was kids fancy dress program. They were dressed as Krishna, gopis and gopas. Some were too small to stand for a long time, so they just crawled. Two little girls danced on popular Krishna song.

Abhishek of the Lord

After the cultural program, abhishek started.

All the items were ready for the abhishek and were kept in earthen pots in specific sequence. There is a proper procedure of doing abhishek of the Lord as per pancaratrika-vidhi. Different sacred items are used in specific sequence for abhishek. Lord’s abhishek was done as per the temple standard. Before starting abhishek, in each of the items tulasi leaves were put.

Abhishek started with arati of the Lord using nine pista lamps. After arati, sacred oil was applied on the body of Sri Sri Radha Madhav.  It was followed by applying white til paste on the deity. After applying til paste bathing of the Lord started with sacred liquids.

Lord was bathed with Panchagavya, Kusa grass water, Panchamitra, Fruit Juices, Mahaushadhi, Sarvaushadhi, Ashtagandha and then there was  Sahastradhara snana. After bathing ceremony, the deity was dried and towel was wrapped around Sri Sri Radha Madhav. After that there was puspa abhishek.

For puspa abhishek, everyone came forward to offer flowers to Sri Sri Radha Madhav.  Once the abhishek was completed, Sri Sri Radha Madhav was taken for decoration. I had made an arrangement in my flight for HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu to dress and decorate the Lord. When the Lord was getting ready for arati, HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu gave a nice class on Janmashtami.

Dilip Ghosh, BJP National Vice President present during the abhishek

During the festival, Sri Dilip Ghosh, Member of Parliament (MP) and BJP’s national vice president was also present. He was earlier president of West Bengal BJP.  He stays in our Omni tulsi apartment. Although, he is mostly busy, but he made it a priority to attend the Janmashtami Celebration. He also offered flower to Sri Sri Radha Madhav. To welcome him, we offered him Lord’s garland and gave him Krishna Book and Bhagavad Gita. He also spoke for few minutes and congratulated everyone for organizing such a nice festival. He said that Omni Tulsi has become like a small Gokul today.

Once the Lord was dressed, they came to the hall.  HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu too concluded his class by that time.

Arati & Dancing kirtan

At the end, we had beautiful arati of the Lord. During the arati, melodious Hare Krishna kirtan was going on. Everyone participated in arati and kirtan. One of the highlights of the program was that at the end many participated in dancing kirtan. One person later told me that “the atmosphere was so surcharged with spiritual ecstasy that I could not resist myself and I began dancing to the tune of Hare Krishna Mahamantra.”

At the end there was prasadam.

Praying to Sri Sri Radha Madhav to bless Omni Tulsi

In today’s busy life, people rarely get time to come together and associate with each other. But these kinds of spiritual festivals help us to develop strong relationship with each other.   And along with that we also get mercy of the Supreme Lord.  Janmashtami celebration at Omni Tulsi had everything which brings joy in life.

We pray at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Madhav to bless each and every resident of Omni Tulsi. And we also pray him to give us an opportunity to celebrate Janmashtami festival every year here.

126th Vyasa Puja celebration of Srila Prabhupada at Iskcon Newtown temple

Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata, celebrated 126^th Vyasa Puja of Srila Prabhupada in a grand way. Thousands of devotees came for the Vyasa Puja celebration. A day before was Janmashtami. And on that day, there was heavy downpour. The weather was not good on Srila Prabhupada’s appearance day too.

But these ephemeral difficulties did not deter the devotees to throng Iskcon Newtown temple. Devotees were in the temple since morning. Large number of devotees participated in the guru puja at 7:30 am and attended Srimad Bhagavatam class.

Guru Puja and Pushpanjali

Many devotees fasted till 12 noon and also chanted more number of rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra for Srila Prabhupada’s pleasure. At 12 noon there was Pushpanjali i.e. flowers were offered to Srila Prabhupada and arati was performed.  The mood was festive. After fasting for almost one and a half days devotees relished noon prasadam.

One of the things of Iskcon which attracts even a non-devotee is Iskcon’s prasadam. Lord Krishna appeared as Lord Chaitanya and made practicing devotion to Krishna simple. Srila Prabhupada an ardent follower of Lord Chaitanya carried the same mood and have ensured that devotees in Iskcon is not deprived of anything. One of the best ways to satisfy the senses is to eat nice food.

But when the food is prasadam then it not just satisfies the senses but also purifies the senses. So, devotees not just relish the delicious verities of prasadam but also parallelly remove unwanted substances from their heart which keeps them away from Krishna.

Offering of Devotees to Srila Prabhupada

Evening program started at 5 pm.  To set the mood first there was lively kirtan which rejuvenated physically tired devotees. After the kirtan devotees began making their offerings to Srila Prabhupada on his 126^th Vyasa Puja.

It is strange to see that how Prabhupada has touched everyone’s life in a personal way. Devotees one by one narrated their struggles in their Krishna Conscious journey and how Srila Prabhupada’s guidance through his books and lectures helped them and showed them the right path. Today, you and I cannot deny the fact that it is only because of Srila Prabhupada that each one of us are practicing Krishna Consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada was a revolutionary preacher. He led the worldwide Krishna Conscious movement from front and fought with anyone who opposed it with intellectual argument.   

I liked an offering of one of the matajis. While giving her offering, she strongly opposed the idea of feminism which is taking women away from authentic Krishna Conscious practices. In her address she said that she felt proud that Srila Prabhupada gave her the position of mother. If you address any non-devotee young (or even not so young) lady mataji then she will become wild and will yell at you. But this mataji who was not old felt privileged to be addressed and respected as mother. It is a revolutionary idea which Srila Prabhupada promoted.

Some devotees wrote heart touching poems to glorify Srila Prabhupada.

While devotees were making their offerings to Srila Prabhupada, some devotees were making arrangements for the abhishek of Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada’s grand abhishek on his 126^th Vyasa Puja at Iskcon Newtown

Abhishek started at around 6:30 pm. The stage was decorated with colourful flowers. Srila Prabhupada’s deity was brought for abhishek and reverentially placed on an elevated marble platform on a table.  

First his body was smeared with chandan oil. Then his arati was done with 9 pista lamps which were put on a circular plate. Rose petals and other colourful petals were put around the lamps. These pista lamps are made of wheat flour or fine flour called maida. After that white til paste was applied on the body of Srila Prabhupada.

Bathing ceremony begins

The first liquid item which was poured on Srila Prabhupada was milk which was followed by curd, ghee, honey, sugar candy water and kusha grass water.

After that Srila Prabhupada was bathed with different fruit juices like banana juice, green grapes and black grapes juices, pomegranate juice, watermelon juice and mango juice. After the fruit juices, Prabhupada was bathed with kesar water and rose water.

And after this Prabhupada was bathed with Sarvaushadhi, Mahaushadhi, Ratnodak and Ashtagandha. Ashtagandha means eight sacred items, it consists of Panchpushp jal, Camphor, Jatamansi and Chandan paste.  

After Ashtagandha bath there was Sahastradhara snana. For Sahastradhara snana, a vessel having multiple holes (ideally having thousand holes) was put above the head of Srila Prabhupada. Few peeled bananas were put on the vessel.

Few devotees held the Sahastradhara vessel which was on Prabhupada’s head and couple of devotees started pouring water on it.  Water started flowing through multiple holes bathing Srila Prabhupada. Several pots of water were poured. It looked so beautiful. Devotees loudly started clapping and singing.  

After bathing with Sahastradhara, Srila Prabhupaada was bathed with flower petals consisting of yellow and orange marigold and juhi.

While Srila Prabhupada was being bathed with different types of sacred liquid hundreds of devotees in chorus were singing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Devotees also sang the vaishnava song – vaishnaba thakura, doyara sagara, e dase koruna kori.

After the abhishek, Srila Prabhupada was taken for dressing and bhoga offering.

126^th Vyasa Puja book offered to Srila Prabhupada at Iskcon Newtown

Devotees again started giving their offerings. HG Acharya Ratan Prabhu offered the 126^th Vyasa Puja book of Iskcon Newtown devotees to Srila Prabhupada. After offering the book at Prabhupada’s lotus feet, HG Acharya Ratan Prabhu read the offering of Iskcon Kolkata GBC HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj, other senior sannyasis and devotees. He then read his offering. While devotees were giving offering, Srila Prabhupada was getting ready.

Arati & Bhoga Offering

Beautifully dressed Srila Prabhupada came on the stage. Many devotees had worked hard to prepare bhoga for Prabhupada. Since it was the appearance day celebration of everyone’s beloved Srila Prabhupada, so devotees had put in their heart to prepare different delicious bhoga for him. If I am not wrong then more than 100 items were offered to Prabhupada along with a cake. After bhoga offering, it was arati time.

HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu did the arati and HG Amar Kishor Prabhu sang the song – Sri Guru Caran Padma and led the kirtan.

The festival culminated with delicious prasadam. Every devotee loved the prasadam and had a big smile which was bigger than their prasadam plate.

My Prayer to Lord Krishna on Janmashtami

Dear Lord Krishna,

On this auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, I pray at your lotus feet that I develop deep love to serve your lotus feet.  In this world no matter how best we try to please others we always fail not because others are bad but because we do not have the ability to satisfy others.

What to speak about others, we are not able to even please ourselves in this ephemeral world. Here we are taught that we should orchestrate our life in such a way that we attain lots of material success. It is said by mundane scholars that once we attain the coveted goal of our life then all our senses will experience great joy. The problem with material success is that it is very difficult to achieve and even if we achieve it, its pleasure giving potency to our senses is very limited and is temporary.

But in spite of knowing this and experiencing this my attraction to gratify my senses is not going way. To some extent I can say that it has reduced but has not gone completely.  I am pulled by my senses here and there and I find no solace anywhere.

Vedic scriptures call you by the name Hrishikesh which means who controls everyone’s senses, one who is the owner of all the senses and one who directs the senses.  On this day of your appearance day, I beg you to completely take control of my senses. I have tried multiple times to gratify my senses but each time I have failed miserably.

In Bhagavad Gita, you have already described in detail how sense gratification causes bondage and becomes the cause of suffering.

“An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.” Bhagavad Gita 5.22

So, you advise that a sane man should not succumb to sense gratification.  You describe the benefit of sense control.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Pārtha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.” Bhagavad Gita 2.55

But unfortunately, in spite of knowing this truth, I am not able to muster courage to say no to the demands of my senses. I am not sure since when, but I have been indulging in sense gratification since several lifetimes.  This is the reason that I am not able to now control by uncontrolled senses.

I know that you have given us free will and you do not interfere with anyone’s free will. But I beg you to please take away my free will which is keeping me away from you. What is the use of this free will which is becoming the main cause of bondage and suffering?

Just like maya devi binds a conditioned soul and keeps him in this world. Please bind me with ropes and take me to the spiritual world and keep me there forever. Even if I desire to come to this world seeking pleasure, please do not send me here. Keep me always under your shelter.

If a master gives too much freedom to a dog, then it will run away from the house. So, the master puts a rope around dog’s neck and ties him to a chair or table. The dog may think that the master is cruel but that is for the benefit of the dog only.

I am also like a two-legged animal not aware about my welfare. So, please put a rope around my neck and bind me to your lotus feet. By remaining under the shelter of your lotus feet I will be able to save myself from all the sufferings which keeps on popping in this world. Just like stars are countless, similarly sufferings in this world are countless.

But if I attain permanent residence at your lotus feet then I will never have to suffer. And just by remaining there my senses will also get purified and I will lose all hope and all taste for material sense gratification. 

Today in the morning, I was hearing one lecture of Srila Prabhupada. In that lecture Prabhupada was saying that without Krishna Consciousness there can be no peace and no happiness. Also, Prabhupada was saying that Krishna Consciousness will help us to attain immortality. None of us want to die but everyone has to die. None of us want any calamity in life but at any moment disaster strikes us and knocks us down.  So, Prabhupada out of compassion for us was again and again pleading us to take your shelter so that we can protect ourselves from all the sufferings. 

You appeared on this auspicious day of Janmashtami for us to show us the glimpse of the spiritual world and invite us there.  In Bhagavad Gita, you describe your spiritual abode and you assure us that once we go there then we will not have to come back here again. 

“That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.” Bhagavad Gita 15.6

Dear Lord Krishna, on this auspicious day of Janmashtami I again and again beg you to purify my senses and give me strength and determination so that I do not indulge in any sort of sense gratification.  I should not succumb to lust, greed and anger which you describe as gateway to hell. I know that these anarthas will torment me, torture me and entice me but please dear Krishna give me strength to not become a victim of these life threatening anarthas. I will be able to fight with these anarthas only by your mercy. Other than you no one can help me.

Please give me sufficient intelligence so that I always remain under your shelter, chant your names daily and serve you every moment of my life.

The purpose of human life is to love and serve you and your dear devotees. This I have understood but because of not being pure I am not able to serve you properly. So, please purify my life so that I dedicate every moment of my life to you.  Please do consider my plea, dear Krishna.

Your eternal servitor

Purushottam Nitai Das

Vyasa Puja offering to Srila Prabhupada on his 126th Appearance Day

This year we are celebrating 126th Vyasa Puja, birth anniversary, of Srila Prabhupada. On this auspcious occassion let us reflect on Srila Prabhupada’s great contribution in spreading Krishna Consciosuness all over the world.

Honestly speaking, I am not at all qualified to write vyasa puja offering to Srila Prabhupada on his 126th appearance day but I am trying to do so for my own purificaiton. It is said that just by glorifying a vaisnava a person who is extremely sinful also gets purified.

In my humble attempt of discussing the glories of Srila Prabhupada, if I committ any mistake then please do forgive me.

An incident from the life of Srila Prabhupada

Once there was disappearance day celebration of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Since it was Friday so HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj asked devotees to prepare feast in the evening because he thought that in the evening more guests will come.

At around 11 am Srila Prabhupada inquired how the feast preparation is going. HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj informed to Prabhupada that since it was Friday so he decided that the feast will be prepared in the evening when more guests will come. Srila Prabhupada became angry like Lord Narasimhadeva. He immediately went to the kitchen.

Only one mataji was in the kitchen and she was cooking prasadam. Srila Prabhupada asked her why she is not preparing feast for his spiritual master. She said because HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj asked us to prepare it in the evening.  This made Prabhupada more angry.

Without wasting a moment, he himself started cooking the feast. Few devotees began assisting him. In an hour Srila Prabhupada was able to prepare ten course feast for sixty devotees. After the feast preparation, there was disappearance day celebration of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. There was arati, kirtan and lecture by Prabhupada.

An important lesson Prabhupada teaches

Once the program was over, devotees sat to relish the feast. Srila Prabhupada went to his room. One devotee carried feast prasadam in a silver plate to Prabhupada’s room. But to the surprise of all, the devotee quickly came out of the room with the silver plate.

Prabhupada did not even touch the feast. He did not eat anything. In fact, he felt very disturbed that his spiritual master’s disappearance day was not celebrated nicely. He felt deep pain in his heart. All the devotees who were relishing the feast, became numb. They all realized that how their carelessness and lack of spiritual understanding had upset Srila Prabhupada.

Narrating this incident, HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj writes in his book “Servant of the Servant”, “Our carefree, festive mood became broken as we realized the sober lesson that without pleasing guru and Krishna, there is no possibility of our own satisfaction.”

Spiritual Initiation not a formality

For Prabhupada initiation was not just a formality. He took each and every instruction of his spiritual master very seriously and did his best to fulfil it.  From his life we learn that we should not take spiritual life lightly or casually. No matter how much difficulty he was facing but he never compromised with the principles. 

Whatever means he had with that he tried his best to serve the instructions of his spiritual master. He hardly complained and whatever opportunity he got to serve Krishna he made best use of it. From the core of his heart, he always glorified his spiritual master and always wanted to please him.

His spiritual master had asked him to preach the message of Lord Chaitanya all over the world. Also, he had asked him to print books in English and distribute it to the English-speaking people.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would say, “Indians influenced by western culture had started blindly following the western world and are neglecting Vedic culture. So, if people of the west become devotees, then Indians too will become devotees by following their footsteps and will start taking Krishna consciousness seriously.”

Prabhupada took this instruction to his heart and soul and dedicated his life in writing books in English and preaching the message of Lord Chaitanya all over the world.

Never gave any excuse

After taking sannyasa he faced many difficulties. Many times, he could not find a place to stay. He did not have sufficient money or means to have meals. But in spite of these challenges, he continued translating Srimad Bhagavatam in English and continued his preaching activities. He did not give any excuse for not writing or not preaching.

Before embarking to west on a preaching mission he had translated three volumes of Srimad Bhagavatam. In the west too especially in the first year of his stay he faced lots of difficulties, but he persevered.  His desire was to translate almost all Vedic literatures in English language so that the entire world is inundated with Krishna Consciousness.

All credit to spiritual master

Whatever he achieved, for that he gave all credit to his spiritual master. Prabhupada took no credit for himself.

He writes in Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.29 purport, “Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the great preacher of the principles of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has stressed the importance of association with sādhus, pure devotees of the Lord. He said that even by a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can achieve all perfection. We are not ashamed to admit that this fact was experienced in our practical life. Were we not favored by His Divine Grace Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, by our first meeting for a few minutes only, it would have been impossible for us to accept this mighty task of describing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in English. Without seeing him at that opportune moment, we could have become a very great business magnate, but never would we have been able to walk the path of liberation and be engaged in the factual service of the Lord under instructions of His Divine Grace.”

A one-man army against Maya

Prabhupada was a one-man army. Material situations and circumstances did not demotivate him. He single- handedly waged war against maya, the illusory energy of Krishna. Maya’s writ ran in the west. But Prabhupada was not enamoured by the glitch and glamour of the west.

When he first time landed in the west, he saw skyrise buildings, people driving in fancy cars and everyone flaunting their wealth. Prabhupada was not impressed. He would often ask, “What is the use of all these if you do not know Krishna and have not heard about Lord Chaitanya?”

He saw these material amenities as a ploy of maya to bind the conditioned souls in this material world and make him suffer more and more.

When Prabhupada saw an affluent American proudly riding in a Cadillac, he saw him as an unfortunate soul imprisoned by maya in a dazzling iron box.  And when he saw young American boys and girls holding each other and dancing in clubs to the tune of rock music, he saw them as misguided souls who because of utter ignorance are swiftly gliding towards hell. When he saw someone flaunting wealth, he would ask him, “Will you carry it to your next life?”

Never compromised with Krishna Conscious philosophy

Many Indian spiritual leaders who had gone to west to spread Vedic Indian philosophy had got attracted by western culture and had assimilated it in their life. Many hesitated in introducing Vedic culture there for fear of losing followers and influence.

But Srila Prabhupada is the only Indian spiritual leader who had the courage and conviction to completely convince thousands of western people to give up materialistic way of life and adopt Vedic lifestyle. 

Many scholars who went to west during Prabhupada’s time preached how to use the principles of Bhagavad Gita to become a materially successful person. It is true that Bhagavad Gita is an encyclopedia of life and if one just follows few of its lessons then one can get material success too. But Prabhupada was not much interested in material success. Why? Because material success is temporary and the sensual gratification which any worldly success provides binds us to this material world and perpetuates suffering.

Also, achieving material success is not the ultimate conclusion of Bhagavad Gita. While concluding his teaching to Arjuna, Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 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.”  The Supreme Lord further says, “Give up everything and just take my shelter.”  Bhagavad Gita 18.66

Chosen by Krishna to give Krishna

Prabhupada came to this world to give Krishna. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that seeing the plight of people, Krishna personally sent him to deliver unfortunate souls of this world.

Prabhupada’s unflinching faith in the instruction of his guru and the mercy of Krishna helped him to penetrate the heart of each and every one who met him. And each one was happy to embrace Krishna with open heart.

So, we see that in just few years the western world was flooded with Krishna Consciousness – thousands of people began chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra, gave up all activities which is prohibited in Vedic scriptures and adopted Krishna Conscious lifestyle. Everyone started decorating their body with tilak, men started wearing dhoti-kurta and women saris. And everyone ate only Krishna prasadam.

Prabhupada did not just talk but he walked the talk. By his personal example, he taught us what it means to be a devotee of Krishna. And how if we just take shelter of Krishna, then we will be able to experience the highest pleasure which we are wrongly seeking in this world.  

If we look at any picture of Srila Prabhupada, we will find that he is always at peace and is always in control. This is because he is always under the shelter of Krishna, the Supreme Controller.

Srila Prabhupada infiltrated everyone’s heart and convinced all that other than Krishna, nothing can make us happy in this world.

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that it is because of Srila Prabhupada that millions of people in this world got the mercy of Krishna and millions of people are still getting attracted to Krishna Consciousness.

Begging mercy of Srila Prabhupada on his 126th Vyasa Puja

And it is because of Srila Prabhupada’s causeless mercy that I have got an opportunity to practice Krishna Consciousness.

This year, we are celebrating 126^th Vyasa Puja, birth anniversary, of Srila Prabhupada.

On this most auspicious day of the year, I beg Srila Prabhupada to give me shelter of his lotus feet and shower his mercy upon me.

Dear Srila Prabhupada, it is because of you that an unfortunate soul like me of this unfortunate world have got an opportunity to end all suffering of my life.  

In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Twenty Two, Text Thirty One, it is mentioned that wherever there is Krishna there is no darkness.

kṛṣṇa — sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

“Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion (the influence of the external energy) will immediately vanish.”

Dear Srila Prabhupada, you came to enlighten people like me so that I can go from darkness to light by taking shelter of Krishna. But because of my past conditionings, I am not able to fully surrender to Krishna.

Without pleasing Prabhupada, I cannot please Krishna

On the auspicious day of your 126th vyasa puja, dear Srila Prabhupada, I beg at your lotus feet to purify my heart of all anarthas, impurities, which keeps me in darkness and is keeping me away from your lotus feet.  Without pleasing you, I cannot please Krishna.

And I cannot please you without following your instructions completely. In spite of reading your books and hearing your lectures, I still get attracted to this illusory material world and carry a hope that somehow by my endeavour I will be able to become happy here without Krishna.

Many tried in the past and all have failed. I am too failing again and again. The mighty time is dragging me towards the graveyard. But because of my utter foolishness I still see a glimpse of hope in this material world. My condition is akin to a goat standing in queue in a slaughterhouse enjoying green grass oblivious to the fact that it is slowly inching towards the butcher’s knife.

You appeared in this world to save people like me from unending misery. Please shower your mercy upon me so that I give up all hope of enjoying in this material life and instead develop all attraction for Krishna and become his sincere devotee.

Your eternal insignificant servant

Purushottam Nitai Das

Why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta and the lessons we can learn?

Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was given the position of a spiritual master, he was going to speak on Vedas but why Lord Balarama killed him?

To know this first let us first understand who Balarama is and then we will discuss why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta.

We find that Lord Balarama who is a plenary expansion of Krishna manifests his anger quite a number of times during his pastime with Krishna on earth. 

It is explained that the only physical difference between Krishna and Balarama is that Krishna is blackish in complexion and Balarama is white. Krishna is the Supreme Lord and since he wants to perform many different pastimes, so he decides to expand. And his first expansion is Balarama.

Balarama plays the most significant role in Krishna’s lila. He is always there to serve Krishna, every moment. This is why Balrama is also called servitor Godhead.

Balarama serves Krishna in five rasas

There are five primary rasas, in which devotees serve Krishna. A devotee serves Krishna in only one rasa. For example, Srimati Radharani serves Krishna in Madhurya rasa and Mother Yashoda serves Krishna in Vatsalya rasa.

Now if we see Balarama, then he serves Krishna in all the five rasas.

Balarama is always with Krishna and Krishna can never be alone without Balarama. In the spiritual world everything is spiritual. The garments, the crown, the earrings, the jewelleries which Krishna wears are expansion of Balarama. Goloka Vrindavan is an expansion of Balarama.

In Krishna lila he is the elder brother of Krishna and in Rama lila, he is the elder brother of Krishna. He expands as Ananga Manjari, younger sister of Radharani, and assists her in her Madhurya lila.  Now these are the ways in which Balarama is serving Krishna directly.

Balarama is adi guru

But one of the most important services of Balarama is to guide the misguided souls and help them to reunite with Krishna. The best guide is the guru who is not just a teacher but a friend, philosopher and guide. So, Balarama is the adi guru, the first guru, the original guru. Without the mercy of Balarama, it is not possible to get Krishna.

Now guru can help disciples in many ways. He can be friendly and teach his pupil how to practice devotional life. But sometimes a guru has to show his anger not because he is under the influence of anger but because anger is required to control an unruly conditioned soul.

So, we see in Krishna lila, Balaram has showed his angry quite often. Sometimes the anger is to enhance the rasa.  But many times, to correct those conditioned souls who are committing grave sins.

If we analyse the activities of Balarama, then we will find that he is such a compassionate personality that he is not shying away from helping even the most demoniac person.

But sometimes he goes on to punish someone who may be on an exalted position. One such pastime is Balarama killing of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta.

Why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta?

Balarama did not want to participate in the Mahabharat war. He tried his best to stop the gruesome war, but he did not succeed. Why? Although he is the Adi guru, the Supreme servitor God, but still, he does not force the conditioned souls to do what he wants them to do.

We are free to exercise our free will

Balarama does not interfere in anyone’s free will. A guru guides, inspires, motivates, encourages and shows the right path. But later it is up to the disciples to decide if he (or she) wants to sincerely follow the guidelines of the guru or not. 

In Bhagavad Gita we see that after imparting all the knowledge to Arjuna, Krishna says to Arjuna that he is free to do whatever he wants to do now. But as an ideal disciple, Arjuna says to Krishna, “I will do whatever you want me to do.”

however if you and I want to do things as per our own independent mindset and act against the injunctions of the sastras then guru with a heavy heart leaves us and does not interfere in our life. But for our actions, we have to face the consequences.

So, Balarama does not force anyone to stop Mahabharat war. The war was against his wishes, so he leaves and decides to visit holy places and take bath in holy rivers.

Balarama goes to Naimiṣāraṇya

On his pilgrimage he comes to Naimiṣāraṇya, a holy place. This place is quite famous because transcendentalists assemble at this place to perform sacrifices and to discuss on topics related to God and self-realization.

When Balarama arrived, he found that many great sages, ascetics, brahmanas and learned scholars had assembled for a great sacrifice. These great personalities immediately rose up as soon as they saw Lord Balarama.

Many offered obeisances to him and those who were elderly showered their blessings upon him. These transcendentalists knew that Lord Balarama is the Supreme Lord, first plenary expansion of Krishna and they knew that the two brothers, Krishna and Balarama, had appeared for a specific purpose. After honouring Balarama, they provided him a suitable place to sit.

Romaharṣaṇa Sūta disrespects Balarama

Balarama took his seat but to his surprise, he saw that Romaharṣaṇa Sūta who was sitting on vyāsāsana, did not get up to offer respects to him. In fact, he was ignoring him. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was a disciple of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, so he must be knowing who is Balarama.

What is the use of being a Vedic scholar if one does not recognize the Supreme Lord and even disrespects him even after knowing him? Demons and atheists abhor the Lord, but they do not pretend to be transcendentalist.

But if someone in the guise of being a Vedic scholar and brahmana is trying to show impudence towards the Lord then it’s a sin, an offence. 

Krishna and Balarama had appeared to establish religious principles. Balarama, the Adi guru, could not allow such hypocrisy to continue. He was extremely angry at Romaharṣaṇa Sūta.

Balarama’s anger

Lord Balarama said, “Although he is a disciple of the divine sage Vyāsa and has thoroughly learned many scriptures from him, including the lawbooks of religious duties and the epic histories and Purāṇas, all this study has not produced good qualities in him. Rather, his study of the scriptures is like an actor’s studying his part, for he is not self-controlled or humble and vainly presumes himself a scholarly authority, though he has failed to conquer his own mind.”  Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.25-26

Scriptures are not just for verbal recitation. It is the purity of the speaker which transforms the heart of the listener. Someone may be a great orator but if he does not have love and respect for the Lord then he might speak eloquently but it will not transform the heart of people.  

The purpose of knowing Vedic scriptures is to know the Supreme Lord and to know how to approach the Lord. But if one does not respect a guru then how will he get the mercy of Krishna? Because without the help of a guru one cannot attain Krishna.

In such a scenario, a guru cannot be a mute spectator.

Seething with anger, Balarama further said, “The very purpose of My descent into this world is to kill such hypocrites who pretend to be religious. Indeed, they are the most sinful rascals.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.27

Balarama had stopped punishing the demons, but he would not allow such hypocrisy to continue. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta had to be punished.

Balarama kills Romaharṣaṇa Sūta

The Lord picked up a blade of kusa grass and with its tip touched Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, he died immediately on the spot.

No ordinary person can kill someone by a blade of grass. But here we see Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta just by touching him with a blade of grass.

Balarama killing Romaharṣaṇa Sūta is actually saving him from committing more such sins. Because of the impurities in his heart, he would have committed more sins and would have suffered more.

But the assembled transcendentalists were shocked. They knew that what Balarama did was appropriate.  But the sages were sad and perturbed.

They said, “We had chosen him as the spiritual master and had made him sit on vyāsāsana. Not just that, we had blessed him with a long duration of life and freedom from any pain till the sacrifice continues.So now how our sacrifice will continue. Moreover, you have killed a brahmana which is improper, irreligious.”

Balarama said, “Although, I killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta but if you want I can bring back his life. Let me know what you want me to do? ”

Romaharṣaṇa Sūta’s son given the position of his father

The sages replied, “Dear Lord, you are the upholder of religious principles, so you know what is appropriate to do. We cannot direct you. But we request you to do something so that you killing him with kusa grass and we giving him the benediction both remain intact.”

Balarama said, “Son is the representative of the father. So, whatever benediction like long life, freedom from pain, stamina etc which was given to Romaharṣaṇa Sūta can be transferred to his son, Ugraśravā Sūta. He can sit on vyāsāsana for the spiritual discourse.” 

“The Supreme Lord said: The Vedas instruct us that one’s own self takes birth again as one’s son. Thus let Romaharṣaṇa’s son become the speaker of the Purāṇas, and let him be endowed with long life, strong senses and stamina.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.36

Everyone was happy to hear this and Ugraśravā Sūta occupied the divine position and became the speaker.  

It was not the caste why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta

When in the beginning Balarama was chastising, Romaharṣaṇa Sūta then he said, son of a suta caste, which means low born. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was born in a pratiloma family because his father was a kṣatriya and mother a brāhmaṇa.

But still Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was given the position of a brāhmaṇa. But since he was not acting as a brāhmaṇa so Balarama was furious.

Brāhmaṇa is not a position which one acquires by birth but is given based on one’s character and qualification. But Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was misusing the position. 

Balarama wanted to end this hypocrisy, so he killed him. But immediately, we see that Lord Balarama awarded the same benediction to his son. So, Balarama was not in fact criticizing the birth of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta but was angry because of his irreligious act.

Since Romaharṣaṇa Sūta’s son had the qualification to be a brahmana so he was installed on that position by Lord Balarama himself.

Just like anyone is eligible to become a doctor. But only one who qualifies the entrance exam, studies for five years and gets the degree and license to practice from the government can become a doctor.

But later, if it is found that the doctor’s conduct is not good then his license to practice is revoked by the government.

Similarly, one who is following the Vedic scriptures and living it as per its directions can become a brahmana but if he is misusing his position then he can be removed from the position of a brahmana from a superior authority.  

Initially I thought that since Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was not a brāhmaṇa so Lord Balarama killed him. But when I read the pastime completely then I understood that Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was not killed because of his caste but because of his irreligious act, Balarama punished him.

Sinless Balarama atones for his sin

Balarama further asked the sages to tell him how he can atone for his sins.

The Supreme Lord Balarama had not committed any sins and so there was no need for him to atone. But to set a higher standard that the words of the sages should be honoured, he asked them how he can atone for his sins?

The sages knew the strength of Balarama, so they requested him to kill a ferocious demon named Balvala who was disturbing them in their sacrifices. The sages further said that after killing the demon, he should continue with its pilgrimage for twelve months.

“Thereafter, for twelve months, You should circumambulate the land of Bhārata in a mood of serious meditation, executing austerities and bathing at various holy pilgrimage sites. In this way You will become purified.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.40 

Balarama happily agreed. After killing the demon, he went to many holy places situated in the holy land of Bharatvarsha.

Why Jarāsandha attacked the city of Mathura?

Jarāsandha attacked Mathura because he wanted to kill Krishna, Balarama and wanted to destroy the beautiful Mathura city.

But what enmity, did Jarāsandha had with Krishna? 

Jarāsandha’s two daughters Asti and Prāpti were married to Kamsa. Jarāsandha was a powerful warrior, when he saw the valour of Kamsa, he decided to establish family relationship with Kamsa, so he got his two daughters married to him.

When Kamsa was killed, his two daughters came to him and with tears in their eyes narrated the whole story. Jarāsandha felt deep pain seeing the plight of his daughters.

Demons’ emotions – real or false?

No matter how cruel Jarāsandha was but he had emotions for his daughters. Demons may inflict cruelty upon others, but they are protective towards their family members as long as their family members are not an obstacle in their pursuit for sense gratification.

Demons want complete surrender from everyone including their family members. If someone comes in their way then they immediately try to eliminate them. Hiranyakasipu tried his best to kill his own son who was just five years old just because Prahlada did not accept that his father was greater than Lord Vishnu. Similarly, we see Ravana rebuked Vibhishana and threw him out of his kingdom because Vibhishana asked him to return back Mother Sita.  

But here Kamsa was cruel and so was Jarāsandha. So, they both got along with each other.

Now after Jarāsandha’s daughters became widow then Jarāsandha thought that my daughters have become widow because of Krishna and Balarama. So, I will attack the city of Mathura and kill the two boys and destroy the entire city. 

Not even for a moment Jarāsandha contemplated on the fact that Kamsa was extremely cruel and deserved to be punished.  Kamsa was so cruel that he was killing innocent children.  Jarāsandha might be knowing that a celestial voice had already said that Kamsa is going to be killed. He might be knowing that Kamsa was cursed to be killed by the Supreme Lord.  He may also be knowing that Krishna is not an ordinary personality but the Supreme Lord.

But still Jarāsandha instead of contemplating on surrendering to Krishna, taking shelter of Krishna, he decided that he will kill Krishna and Balarama.

Demons want to become God

That is the nature of the demons. They always have a mission to defeat God. They nurture a great craving in their heart to dethrone Krishna and usurp the position of Krishna. Somehow or other they have this thinking that if they can kill God then they can become God.  

And most of the times, these demons are not illiterate and unaware about the teachings of the scriptures.  

We read about Hiranyakasipu that how when his brother, Hiranyaksha, was killed then in order to console his mother, Diti, his sister-in-law, Ruṣābhānu, and his nephews spoke a great philosophy about the immortality of soul and how everything in this world is temporary. to buttress his point, he gave the example of restaurant or a place where people come to drink water. The demon said, “Just like in a restaurant or a place of drinking water people come, sit together, have meal or water and then leave never to meet again similarly, in this world we come together, stay for certain period of time, develop temporary relationship with family members and then we leave never to meet again.

But after speaking such a great philosophy, he took a vow that he will kill Lord Vishnu and take revenge of his brother’s death.

Similarly, like other demons, Jarāsandha wanted to avenge the death of his son in law, Kamsa so he attacked Mathura.

Jarāsandha attacked Mathura with five million soldiers

Srimad Bhagavatam describes in detail how Jarāsandha surrounded Mathura with 23 akṣauhiṇī divisions. An akṣauhiṇī consists of 21,870 soldiers on elephants, 21,870 charioteers, 65,610 cavalrymen and 109,350 infantry soldiers. In total, one akṣauhiṇī division has 2,18,700 warriors. So, 23 akṣauhiṇī divisions consisted of 50,30,100 warriors.

With the massive army by his side, Jarāsandha, a formidable warrior challenged Krishna and Balarama. He was so puffed up that he thought that it is below his dignity to fight with Krishna who was a mere a boy. So, instead of fighting directly with Krishna he challenged Balarama to fight.

“Jarāsandha looked at the two of Them and said: O Kṛṣṇa, lowest of men! I do not wish to fight alone with You, since it would be a shame to fight with a mere boy. You fool who keep Yourself hidden, O murderer of Your relatives, go away! I will not fight with You.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.17

“You, Rāma, should gather Your courage and fight with me, if You think You can do it. You may either give up Your body when it is cut to pieces by my arrows, and thus attain to heaven, or else kill me.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.18

Why Krishna decides not to kill Jarāsandha?

However, Lord Krishna had other plans. When he saw the humongous army of Jarāsandha surrounding the city of Mathura, he started contemplating as how to deal with Jarāsandha, “Should I kill him along with his soldiers or should I kill only his soldiers?”

The Lord then thought that the purpose of my appearance in this world is to annihilate the demons and protect the devotees. “If I kill all the soldiers and leave Jarāsandha alive then Jarāsandha will again assemble demoniac people and will attack again. I will again be able to kill those impious associates of Jarāsandha. So, in this way just outside the Mathura city, I will be able to lessen the burden of the earth by killing millions of demons.”

As Lord Krishna was thinking, two chariots descended from the spiritual world consisting of the charioteers and the weapons. It should be noted here that Krishna did not chant any mantras or did any yagna to invite the chariots from the higher sky.

Krishna just desired and the chariots appeared. That is the beauty of Krishna, he just desires, and everything happens automatically.  Krishna along with his brother Balarama came out of the city with a small contingent of armies.

The residents of Mathura were tensed. They had faith in Krishna’s ability but out of love were concerned for Krishna.

Krishna and Balarama defeats Jarāsandha

Jarāsandha’s army had surrounded Mathura and attacked Krishna and Balarama. But the two Lords were easily able to annihilate the soldiers of Jarāsandha with a small contingent of soldiers.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa took arrows from His quiver, fixed them on the bowstring, pulled back, and released endless torrents of sharp shafts, which struck the enemy’s chariots, elephants, horses and infantrymen. The Lord shooting His arrows resembled a blazing circle of fire.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.23

The mighty warriors of Jarāsandha fell dead on the ground. Gigantic elephants and the horses too dropped dead having their heads severed.

Jarāsandha could not believe what he saw. He had come with a mission to not just kill Krishna and Balarama but also to destroy the entire Mathura. But his 5 million soldiers got killed and he was left alone. 

“For Him who orchestrates the creation, maintenance and destruction of the three worlds and who possesses unlimited spiritual qualities, it is hardly amazing that He subdues an opposing party. Still, when the Lord does so, imitating human behavior, sages glorify His acts.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.29

Balarama captures Jarāsandha

Jarāsandha was all alone now on the battlefield. Everyone accompanying him was killed even the horses and elephants. Balarama caught Jarāsandha just like a lion catches a deer and tied him with ropes just like an animal. But Krishna asked Balarama to release Jarāsandha and not take his life.

Balarama released the defeated king. Jarāsandha felt terribly humiliated. For a warrior insult is worse than death. Completely dejected, he thought of retiring to the forest and do penance.

Persuaded by friends, Jarāsandha attacked Mathura seventeen times

But he met other kings on the way who were his friends and had same evil mentality. They persuaded him not to relinquish the throne. His friends told him that he lost because of some past karma or may be because he took his opponents lightly. He should not lose hope and again attack the city. Jarāsandha felt encouraged.

He returned to his kingdom and again started making plans to attack Mathura. Soon, Jarāsandha attacked Mathura for 2^nd time. Again, all his soldiers were killed by Krishna and Balarama, and he was left alive. Jarāsandha again returned to his kingdom and began preparing for the warrior.

The foolish king of Magadh attacked Mathura 3^rd time and again got defeated. In this way Jarāsandha attacked Mathura 17 times with a desire to kill Krishna and Balarama but each time he was defeated and his entire was annihilated but he was left alive.

Krishna builds Dvārakā

Just when Jarāsandha was going to attack Mathura for the eighteenth time, another king called Kālayavana attacked Mathura with 30 million soldiers.

At that time, Krishna decided to shift the residents of Mathura to a safer place and so he created a magnificent city of Dvārakā. In the night when all the residents of Mathura were fast asleep, he mysteriously transferred them from Mathura to Dvārakā.

When they slept in the night, they were in Mathura and when they woke up they found themselves in a beautiful palace in Dvārakā. The city of Dvārakā was full of opulence, had all the facilities. And in that great city built by Krishna no one suffered from thirst and hunger.

After shifting all the residents to Dvārakā, Krishna made plans to get Kālayavana killed. By his divine plan, he got Kālayavana killed from his devotee, Mucukunda.

Without killing Jarāsandha, Krishna goes to Dvārakā

After the death of Kālayavana, Krishna returned to Mathura and annihilated the army of Kālayavana. As Krishna had thought of not killing Jarāsandha, so he decided to flee from there with his brother Balarama.

Although defeated 17 times, Jarāsandha mistakenly thought that the two brothers are fleeing away in fear and laughed loudly.

Lord Krishna had a different plan to kill Jarāsandha and it is not always easy to comprehend Krishna’s plan. Krishna and Balarama later returned to Dvārakā and in Dvārakā everyone was so happy to see the two brothers, Krishna and Balarama.

Since Krishna fleed from the battlefieled and went to Dvārakā, so he is also known as Ranchod. Ranchod means one who ran away from the battle.

Jarāsandha is again defeated and is finally killed

Later we see that when Krishna kidnapped Rukmini because Rukmini wanted to marry Krishna and not Śiśupāla then Rukmini’s brother along with Śālva, Jarāsandha, Dantavakra and Vidūratha attacked Krishna. In fact, the army which attacked Krishna was led by Jarāsandha, but Jarāsandha was easily defeated by Krishna’s army.

When Rukmini became fearful seeing Jarāsandha and his army, Krishna laughed and asked Rukmini not to worry, “Do not be afraid, beautiful-eyed one. This enemy force is about to be destroyed by your soldiers.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.54.5

The supreme Lord Krishna is the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the entire universe. For him to fight Jarāsandha is just like we fighting an ant.

Krishna would have easily killed Jarāsandha when the demon first attacked the city of Mathura. But Krishna kept him alive so that he could assemble demons from all directions and bring it to Mathura and then Krishna could easily kill thousands of demons and free the earth from sinful beings.  Later Bhima, guided by Krishna, killed Jarāsandha.

What Bhagavad Gita say about material desires?

Scriptures such as Bhagavad Gita say that the biggest cause of our suffering in this world is our material desires.  Material desire means desire to enjoy in this material world without Krishna. And as long as we have such independent desires we will suffer.  

Why is it so? Let us discuss.

But first, it is important to understand difference between desires and needs.  To fulfil desires, one has to work extremely hard but for needs one may not have to work too hard.

Our needs are not desires and are fulfilled by Krishna

For our needs Krishna has already provided everything. We just have to use it judiciously. If we look around, we will find that food, clothing and shelter are easily available. Water is available almost everywhere. These basic needs are provided by nature to us who works as per the wishes of Krishna.

However, these days, we have to struggle very hard to satisfy even our basic needs. Earlier food was not sold in the market. But today not just food but even water is sold in the market. To drink pure water, one has to pay money.

I heard that once few western devotees came to Vrindavan.  They wanted to buy milk. They went to the vrajvasis and asked them, “We want milk. Please tell how much it costs per litre?” Vrajvasis started looking each other’s face.

One of them said to the devotees, “We do not sell milk in Vrindavan. You can take as much as you want and for that you do not have to pay anything.” This may have happened around 50-60 years ago. Selling milk, selling water was almost unheard-of. Because whatever is needed for our living has been provided by Krishna.

Today because of wanton greed people have exploited nature and have commercialised everything, so there are scarcity of resources and people are deprived of even basic needs.

This is why it is said that there are enough in this world for a man’s need but not for man’s greed.

Now let us see how material desires causes lots of suffering and heartburn.

Material Desires are difficult to fulfil

It is easy to desire big. In fact, anyone can desire big but to fulfil those desires it takes lots of efforts. One has to slog hard like an animal.

In Srimad Bhagavatam 4.30.30, it is mentioned, apavarga-gurur gatiḥ. Apavarga means liberation. Opposite of apavarga is pavarga which means material existence. In Sanskrit there are five vargas – ka-varga, ca – varga, ṭa-varga, ta-varga, pa-varga. Pa-varga has five letters – pa, pha, ba, bha, ma.

pa stands for parisrama (hard work),  pha for fena ( foam), ba for vyartha (useless), bha for bhaya(fear) and ma for mrityu (death).

Pavarga as explained by Srila Prabhupada, founder acharya of Iskcon

Srila Prabhupada has very nicely explained the word pavarga. Let us discuss.

To fulfil any desire, one has to work extremely hard which is represented by the letter, pha, which stands for parisrama (hard work).

Now if one works very hard then one starts frothing from the mouth i.e. foam comes from the mouth which is represented by the letter, pha, which stands for fena (foam). Sometimes we might have seen horses, donkeys or oxen frothing because of hard labour.

But in spite of hard work, most of the time we may not be able to achieve what we want and even if we are successful in achieving what we want, we find that it does not satiate our heart which leads to frustration. So, all the hard work for material desires is useless which is represented by the letter, ba, which stands for vyartha (useless).

Also, in this world most of the time we live in bhaya(fear) which is represented by the letter, bha. We fear losing our money, our job, our loved ones and we also fear for our life.

And at the end there is always mrityu (death) which is represented by the letter, ma. Death will come for sure whether we want it or not. And whatever we may have accumulated, we are forced to leave here only when we die. We come empty handed in this world and leave empty handed from this world.

So, scriptures like Bhagavad Gita says that we should not waste our life in pursuing material desires.

Even if desires are fulfilled, it only gives temporary happiness

One devotee from the United States was saying that his father wanted to buy a big and beautiful sea facing bungalow.  But he did not have sufficient money to buy it, so he decided to take loan from the bank. Now to pay the huge loan, he had to work extremely hard. For that he had to travel a lot.

So, most of the time he was out of the city for job, many times including Saturdays & Sundays. He had put a beautiful swing in the balcony of his big bungalow. He had a desire that in the morning and evening, he will sit on the swing and enjoy the sea view while sipping coffee and tea.

But since he was always out, he would hardly sit there. But he had a dog in his house. So, every day, the dog would sit on the swing and enjoy the sea view. And the man rarely was able to enjoy the sea view.

Although some of our material desires are fulfilled but the happiness, we get from it is very meagre.

Even if a person is able to earn lots of money, becomes very rich, very famous, so will he be happy forever?  

We call Napoleon, the great, Alexander, the great, Akbar, the great, but where are these people now? They were great conquerors and had huge empires, but the waves of time swept them away. And in next life what they became no one knows.

In this lifetime whatever material positions and possessions one has will remain here only. It is not going to go with them in the next life.

The Cobbler and his previous life

Srila Prabhupada tells the story of a cobbler.  Once there was a very rich man. He had lots of money and a huge house. In that beautiful house, he was living with his family members. One day the rich man died. As per his karma he was born in the house of a cobbler.

It so happened that the house of the cobbler was near the house in which he lived in his previous life. Not just that the cobbler could remember his past life.

So, he knew that in the previous life, he lived an aristocratic life, and he was the owner of this big house. Every day when he would pass from there, he would look at the house and would remember the days when he was living happily in that house with his wife, children and other family members.

Many times, he thought of going inside the house and tell the inmates that he is their father. But he was not able to muster courage. He would think, “Who is going to believe me?”

Cobbler’s insult

But his desire to get into the house kept growing every day. And one day, he could not resist himself. He decided to get inside the house. As soon as he reached near the gate, the security personnel stopped him. The cobbler told to the security about his past life and said that he had build this house and he is the actual owner. Security men started laughing.

Soon, the present owner of the house came out hearing the commotion and inquired the matter. The present owner was the son of the cobbler from previous birth. But when he heard that this cobbler is claiming to be his father in previous birth then he felt insulted. “How can a cobbler say that he is his father?” He picked up his shoes and beat the cobbler and threw him out of the house.

The story may be funny or may make us feel bad. But this is the reality. Even if we accumulate huge amount of wealth, power and other material stuffs but everything is going to remain here only. We won’t be allowed to carry them after we die.  

The material aggrandizement will give us only temporary happiness.

Material desires gives rise to more material desires

Many times, we think that if our material desires are fulfilled then we will become happy.  But the truth is that as soon as one of our desires are fulfilled it gives rise to another desire. If we turn the pages of history, we will see that desires never satiate a person’s heart.

Let us reflect on the life of Ravana, a lusty king.  He had enjoyed with many beautiful young girls. It is said that in Ravana’s palace there were daughters of Gandharvas, great rsis and power demons. They were very beautiful. Mandodari’s beauty was beyond compare. She looked like a celestial woman.  But still Ravana was not able to overpower his lusty desire. He wanted to marry Sita, chaste wife of Lord Rama.

We see that Pandavas were ready to hand over the entire kingdom to Duryodhana and in return they just wanted five villages. But Duryodhana wanted everything for himself and was not ready to give anything to Pandavas.

Desires like addiction

Material desires are like addiction – the more you try to enjoy it the more you get addicted to it. Just like if someone starts smoking then he smokes more and more because he gets addicted to smoking. During my school days, one of my hostel mates once revealed to me that he is addicted to smoking and he said that sometimes in a day he smokes around 44 cigarettes. We were in school at that time. Once we get addicted to wrong things, it is too difficult to give it up and it destroys our life.

Initially the desire may be small but if we keep on nurturing it then slowly it becomes too big. Just like initially someone may smoke only one cigarette but slowly because of addiction, he starts smoking dozens of cigarettes in a single day.

Material desires keeps on increasing and it keeps on troubling us and never allows us to be peaceful.

The beggar’s mysterious bowl

Once a king came out of his palace in the morning for a walk. He saw a beggar. The king was in good mood. He asked the beggar, “Tell me what you want, and I will provide you.” The beggar in a sarcastic tone said, “You are saying as if you can give me whatever I want.” King felt insulted. He said, “Do you know who I am? I am the king, and you think I cannot satisfy you. You ask and I will fulfil your wishes today.” The beggar extended his begging bowl and said, “I have one desire. Please fill my bowl.”

The king asked his minister to bring some gold coins and fill the beggar’s bowl. The minister hurried inside the palace, brought some gold coins and poured in the bowl. But to everyone’s surprise, as soon as the coins were poured inside the bowl it disappeared.

King said to the minster, “Bring more coins.” Again, the coins were poured into the bowl but all disappeared. It was a prestige issue for the king.

He ordered, “I do not mind losing all my wealth today, but the beggar’s bowl should be filled.”  As per king’s instruction, many valuable items like gems, jewellery, diamonds, pearls etc were brought and put into the bowl but everything would disappear.

People gathered to see the miracle of the beggar and the helplessness of the king. King’s family members also came out.  It started in the morning, and it was evening time and still the bowl was empty and the king’s treasury was also getting empty.

What is the begging bowl made of?

Now the king shunned his pride. He understood that the beggar is not an ordinary person. He fell at the feet of the beggar and sought forgiveness for his inability to fulfil his demand. The beggar smiled and started to leave. The king said, “Before you leave, can you please tell me what this begging bowl is made of that it is never filled.” The beggar stopped, looked at the king, smiled and said, “It is made of human mind. A human mind has the ability to absorb unlimited desires and still it remains unfulfilled. Similarly, no mater how much wealth you pour in this bowl, it will want more.”

A great lesson for all of us. Scriptures like Bhagavad Gita again and again say that material desires are insatiable and causes great suffering.

What to do with our material desires then?

So, now the question is, what to do with our material desires? Should we become desireless? But it is not possible to become desireless. Only a stone which is dead can be desireless. As sentient being we will have desires. So, the scriptures says that instead of trying to satisfy our material desires, we should cultivate spiritual desires.  Because material desires are not just difficult to satisfy but such desires never satiate our heart.

So, a devotee of Krishna never wastes his time in satisfying his material desire.  Material desires may come but a devotee tolerates those desires.

Bhagavad Gita on material desires

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that one should not get disturbed by material desires.

“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” Bhagavad Gita 2.70

Now our problem is that we are troubled by material desires. So, in that case what should we do? I heard one of the lectures of HH Candramauli Swami Maharaj in Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai. Maharaj said that even if you have material desires, you continue practicing Krishna Consciousness. Krishna will do two things with your material desires.

Two Results

1. If Krishna thinks that the material desire is going to be helpful in your practice of Krishna Consciousness, then Krishna will fulfil that desire. For example, some one has a desire to have nice job and if Krishna thinks that having good job will help the devotee in his practice of devotional life then he will fulfil it.

• But if Krishna feels that the material desire is not going to help in bhakti then Krishna will not fulfil that material desire. But Krishna will give higher taste. And once we have higher taste, we will lose taste for lower material desire. As Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 2.59 – paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

So, Krishna Consciousness is always a win-win situation.

Krishna will help us to get freedom from material desires

So, we should try our best to get rid of material desires. Even if now, we are having material desires, we should worship Krishna and beg Krishna to free us from unholy material desires which is causing great suffering. And simultaneously, we should cultivate spiritual desires i.e. the desire to serve Krishan selflessly like the devotees of Vrindavan.  

One of the best ways to give up material desires is by chanting the names of Krishna and reading scriptures like Bhagavad Gita. We see that after hearing Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna had only spiritual desires and had no material desires, he just wanted to serve Krishna by following his instructions.

Slowly as we advance in our devotional life, we will be able to give up our material desires and will only have spiritual desires.

And when we attain that stage, we will become completely peaceful, and our life will be full of bliss.

Bhagavad Gita 2.71, explains the benefit of giving up material desires.

“A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego – he alone can attain real peace.” Bhagavad Gita 2.71

Spiritual Desires Will Take Us to the Spiritual World

Scriptures say that we suffer because of materail desires but if we develop spiritual desires then all our miseries will end and we will returb back to the spiritual world, Sometimes people become so frustrated with desires which brings suffering that they want to become desireles. But that is not possible.

Just like sun without sunshine, sweet without sweetness and fire without light is unimaginable; similarly a soul without desire is unthinkable. As a soul we are pleasure seekers – ananda mayo bhyasat – and can never ever be desireless. We can either have material desires or spiritual desires.

We were originally the residents of the spiritual world but when we developed yearning to become God and enjoy like God then we were sent to this material world to satisfy our non-spiritual desires.

Here in this world we fervently search for ways to satisfy our countless cravings. We hopelessly hope that once all our yearnings will get materialized then we would feel deep satisfaction. Unfortunately, it never happens.

Insatiable material desires torture us

Our desires are endless, the moment one gets fulfilled, immediately the other pops up. Many a times our yearnings are not for our basic needs, but it is because of social pressure or a longing to prove our worth to others.

My car should be bigger than that of my neighbours, my smartphone should be the best, my television set should make people go crazy and so on. Advertisements of today are also tailor made to titillate our egos.

Ads like “Neighbors envy owners pride” or “Designed for envy” try to entice people to go after material things.

Many think that with age material greed subside. But in reality it doesn’t happen. With age the form of the desires changes but not the yearnings.  Many people are so much obsessed with worldly things that they are ready to go extra mile to achieve it.

In fact they become the follower of Carvaka Muni, the atheist philosopher, who famously (infamously) said.

rnam krtva ghrtam pibet yavaj jivet sukham jivet

bhasmi–bhutasya dehasya kutah punar agamano bhavet

His philosophy was, “Beg, borrow and steal but enjoy all the pleasures of this world to your heart’s content because once you die everything will be finished and you will not be held accountable for anything.”

But scriptures clearly explain that as souls we are eternal and whatever actions we perform in our life we are answerable for those. So we have to be always extra cautious whenever we pursue any cravings. 

Be not disturbed by incessant flow of desires

In fact even though some of our wishes may get fulfilled but still it never satisfies us. And the wishes which remain unfulfilled torture us every moment and make us go crazy. In order to lead a peaceful life it is imperative for us to get rid of our insatiable desires right now. Even Krishna asks us do the same in Bhagavad Gita 2.70. And he does not specify any age limit for this.

Bhagavad Gita 2.70: “A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.”

We will be able to overcome the cravings for worldly possessions only by the mercy of the Lord. Just like a touchstone which converts an iron into gold, the Supreme God will spiritualize all our ignoble desires. And once in our heart we havw only spiritual desire then we will attain peace and bliss. How this happens have been beautifully explained in Srimad Bhagavatam through the story of Dhruva.

Lord purifies Dhruva’s desires

When Dhruva was humiliated by his stepmother and neglected by his father then he was devastated. To his dismay he discovered that none in this world were capable enough to help him to get out of this deplorable situation. His mother too was saddened by Dhruva’s plight but she was also helpless. 

She then advised Dhruva to seek shelter of Lord Vishnu, the creator of this world. Lord Vishnu being the Supreme Lord could have only fulfilled his desires. Dhruva’s heart was burning with insult, he wanted to get his honour back, he wanted the kingdom and he wanted to become glorious.

Although he was just 5 years old but still he courageously took up the challenge to please the Lord. He left the comforts of the palace and went to the forest where he started performing severe austerities to attract the attention of the Lord. In spite of many difficulties and obstacles he remained completely focussed and continued mediating on the Lord for six months.

When Lord appeared before Dhruva

His single-minded determination attracted the mercy of the Lord and He personally appeared before him. Lord Vishnu’s effulgent transcendental form immediately attracted Dhruva’s heart. As the sun rises the darkness dissipates.

Similarly, as the Lord appeared directly before Dhruva all his ignorance immediately disappeared. The material motives which had initially inspired him to worship the Lord no longer looked attractive to him. In fact he felt ashamed of it standing in front of the Lord. The impurities of his heart had completely got cleansed. He now had only spiritual desires.

In a prayerful mood Dhruva expressed his feelings to the Lord, “Persons who worship You simply for the sense gratification of this bag of skin are certainly influenced by Your illusory energy. In spite of having You, who are like a desire tree and are the cause of liberation from birth and death, foolish persons, such as me, desire benedictions from You for sense gratification, which is available even for those who live in hellish conditions.” Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.9

How to satisfy hunger of heart

We are also having tons of material desires and we are obsessed about it. We even believe that once these get fulfilled then we will experience unlimited happiness.  But it is never going to happen.

A fish is happy only when it is in the water. If we put the fish in a golden jar thinking that the glitz of gold will satisfy it then it wouldn’t happen. In fact the fish will die there for want of water. Our hunger of heart can be satisfied only when Krishna’s love blossoms in it and not by things of this world.

By nature we are spiritual beings and our heart will get satisfied only when our desires are spiritualized.

Dhruva’s heart which was burning because of insult got soothed when he saw the Lord standing in front of him. Similarly our starving heart will experience contentment and fulfilment only when it is filled with Krishna’s mercy.

Spiritual pill to cure material desires

Although Dhruva’s initial motives were non- spiritual but he took the spiritual path to achieve it and so he subsequently achieved the Lord. Likewise we may be having many impurities in our heart but still we should take up the process of Krishna consciousness as Krishna can only transform our consciousness.

Initially the devotional path may not excite us because we have been away from Krishna’s abode for millions of years and so we have forgotten all about the spiritual bliss. But still we have to resolutely practice devotional life as per the rules and regulations given in the sacred Vedic books for our own salvation.

A patient may not like the treatment meted out to him in the hospital but still he continues with the medication because he knows that to get healthy he need to undergo through the process.

Futility of material desires

Being spiritually sick we also have to continue taking the spiritual pill as this is only going to solve all our problems of life.  In this age of Kaliyuga, the age of downfall, chanting the holy names of the Lord like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the authorized medicine which simultaneously helps us to develop love of God and also cleanses our hearts of all impurities of lust, great, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego.

This process has been recommended by none other than Lord Chaitanya – ceto darpana  marjanam. Along with chanting we also should hear about the wonderful pastimes of Lord Krishna, about His unlimited glorious and His merciful disposition.

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.17 expounds the benefit of hearing, “Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”

The spiritual process isn’t troublesome but is indeed very delightful. As we start developing spiritual taste our heart starts experiencing deep fulfilment.  Things of this world no longer bother us and neither attracts us. We start understanding the futility of material desires and material pleasures and we develop intense longing for Krishna. 

Desire to serve the Lord brings divine joy

When Lord fulfilled Dhruva’s material wish by granting him the benediction to rule the earthly planet for 36000 years then instead of becoming happy Dhruva became morose. He was afraid that worldly possessions would deprive him of love of God. However Lord assured him that he would never forget Him.

Dhruva had understood the worth of spiritual life and he expressed his gratitude in these solemn words, “I came into this forest just looking for pieces of broken glass, but instead I have found a great jewel in You, my dear Lord, and now I am completely satisfied and don’t want anything.”

Soul seeks pleasure

As souls we are pleasure seeking and pleasure is there where Krishna is. Searching for pleasure in this world is like running after a mirage in the desert to quench thirst. The illusion of happiness which this world creates baffles us and binds us in this world.

Our innate longing to lord over the world always gets thwarted. But once we come under the shelter of Lord then we develop a thorough understanding of our inner self and our relationship with the Supreme. 

A sincere and serious devotee of the Lord wants nothing from the Lord but just fervently try to always serve the Lord because he experiences unlimited happiness in doing so. “O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.” Sri Siksastakam, Verse 4.

Lord will send flying chariot from the spiritual world for us

Lord had also promised Dhruva that after ruling for 36,000 years he will become the ruler of the Pole Star, the planet which exists for eternity. And Lord indeed sent the chariot from the spiritual world to take Dhruva to the glowing planet.

While embarking on his spiritual journey the death personified appeared in front of him and Dhruva put his feet on death thus conquering the unconquerable death. He then sat on the magnificent chariot to go to the supreme destination.

All the renowned sages and the celestial beings had come to witness this spectacular event.  They were showering flowers on him and singing songs extolling the glories of the Supreme Lord and His dear devotee Dhruva.

Lord’s shelter purifies material desires

Dhruva’s life demonstrates that how Lord mercifully transforms the lives of those who seek His shelter. We should also try to follow the footsteps of Dhruva and try our best to please the Lord with our devotional endeavour. In all situations and circumstances we should worship Lord with great faith and determination giving up all our hankering for non-spiritual desires and our each and every desire should be spiritual.

Our efforts and right intentions will attract the mercy of the all – attractive Lord. He has assured us that He personally takes interest in delivering His unalloyed devotees from this miserable world.

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Bhagavad Gita 18.66. Devotees of the Lord live happily in this world and become eligible to achieve supreme destination after leaving this world.

Spiritual world means spiritual desires

Scriptures explain that the spiritual world is surrounded with millions of desire fulfilling purpose trees which fulfils all the wishes of the soul. Of course, in God’s kingdom a soul just wants to serve the Lord and nothing else. In the spiritual world, everyone has just spiritual desires. There is supreme satisfaction and inexplicable joy in doing so.

If we are willing to forgo our non-spiritual longings and are ready to serve the Lord lovingly then we too will become eligible to go back to the spiritual world. Krishna will in fact send a flying chariot to take us back to His kingdom. Are we ready for it?