TRANSCRIPTION

Hariḥ Oṁ

saha nāvavatu

saha nau bhunaktu

saha vīryaṁ karavāvahai  

tejasvi nāvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai

oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

 

Oṁ jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda 

śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

 

HH Bhaktividyā Pūrṇa Svāmī Mahārāja: Okay... We were on which paragraph?

Prabhu (1): "By the influence of sandhinī..."

Reading from Śrī Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta & Daśa Mūla Tattva Study Guide: By the influence of sandhinī on māyā-śakti, the material universe composed of fourteen material planetary systems, the gross and subtle bodies of the jīvas and material senses, and the goals of the jīvas such as svarga, are manifested.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: So, yeah, because this means, this will be the reflection into ignorance.

Reading from the Study Guide: The material name, form qualities and actions of the conditioned jīva all arise from this.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: In other words, what is their existence? Because sandhinī is the existence potency. So then their existence, so that will be the gross forms, the subtle forms, their senses, goals, there will be what actions they will perform to attain those goals, where they would be situated in the universe to be able to make that endeavor. So all that will be established by the sandhinī.

Reading from the Study Guide: By the influence of the samvit on the māyā-śakti, the worries, hopes, speculations and thoughts of the conditioned jīva arise. By the influence of hlādinī on the māyā-śakti, gross material bliss and the subtle material happiness of svarga arise.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: So, in other words, what it is, may be desired, the interests, everything like that will then come up by the samvit. And then whatever happiness may be obtained from it. In other words, all the experiences that are gained. Because when you perform an activity it is not... The happiness is coming later once you acquire your goal, right? So that would be the hlādinī. But whatever is there while you are performing the activity, that would be your samvit. Does that make sense?

So we notice here is that what is important, because the action is already there, that is established by sambandha. So the performance of the action: that is your abhidheya. But what is prominent, what is being brought it is the experience gained therefore from that endeavor. Does that make sense? That is the important part. Because that is the element of abhidheya that is important, not getting it done, that is sambandha. I do this, I get that. That is sambandha because that is knowledge. But when you do the activity, what you feel during that -  that is the abhidheya. Do you understand? There is a difference. Does that make sense?

So that is why people many times make the mistake that they are in a dynamic relationship because they are getting things done but they are not, because they are only still functioning in sambandha. So relationship is there, but it is not dynamic. Therefore they are not getting the happiness they are looking for in the relationship. Because they are not dealing with what is happening right now, what are the emotions being experienced by the activities. That is the difficulty. Does that make sense? Yeah? So that is why it is important to catch these subtleties and difference. Because otherwise we start off with, you know, you have the relationship, then you have the process, then the result. So that is the main thing that is going on. But what is important in that is the relationship. So what is the experience of the relationship, what is the experience of the process, what is the experience of the result? Because result is happiness. You get done what you wanted to obtain, you call yourself happy. So there is also an experience of abhidheya, there is an experience of sambandha. Does that make sense? Yes?

Prabhu (1): How can aparokṣa apply to all this?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: How...?

Prabhu (1): How aparokṣa apply into this?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: The aparokṣa means you are experiencing it at the time, afterwards you can always contemplate it. But as soon as you are contemplating it, then it moves back into your existence. Does that make sense? Because, means, your abhidheya is always going to move to prayojana, and prayojana is always going to move back to sambandha. Otherwise how does it continue? So based on the field, Saṅkarṣaṇa, then you have an attraction for that, Pradyumna, your perform the activity, abhidheya, you get the result, Aniruddha, Aniruddha moves back to Pradyumna. Does that make sense? Because otherwise then you increase the field, so now the attraction increases, so therefore then you make the endeavor again.  And so it just keeps going in a circle. like that. Otherwise it just goes and it is finished and that’s it, that’s the goal, then that is when people sit back on the couch and start reading the newspaper. That is the difficulty. It is dynamic, it is constantly moving.

That’s why Kṛṣṇa says when the devotional service is constant, that's the, that person then is advanced. But otherwise it is sometimes there and sometimes not, that is not so much. So, because the service is going to be there because of the relationship, so then you can tell that this person is a devotee: because he is engaged in activities, right? Does that make sense? If you are devoted in a relationship you are always engaged in activities of that relationship. And the goal of it is for someone else. So therefore you can experience the happiness. Right?

So aparokṣa is what is coming by the activity, so that is what is being discussed here. So it is not a bad platform. But we can see is that he is not saying the result, he is saying the happiness that comes from getting the result. Does that make sense? And the experience comes from performing the activity. Because technically, the technical aspects of the activity, what results it will get, what each thing in the field is supposed to do in that whole process, that is all sambandha. So now we are getting a fine point because we think, 'Oh, the result itself is the prayojana,' but it will move back into sambandha anyway. How we are able to perform the activity, unless we have learnt it in sambandha? So technically all the knowledge and all the technically aspects of it, that is all sambandha. Applying that and the experience gained thereof, and the result and experience gained thereof, that is abhidheya and prayojana. Right? Is that okay? Not okay? Maybe okay?

Reading from the Study Guide: One should understand that the sandhinī, samvit and hlādinī manifest their pure, full form in the cit-śakti. In the jīva-śakti, these appear in very minute quantity. In the māyā-śakti these appear in a perverted or shadow form.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: In other words, the cit-śakti is very big and broad because it is unlimited, the cit . As Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, the cit-śakti is unlimited. Then t the same time, the jīvas will be minute because they are minute. But it still it is manifest there because of the nature of the jīva. But in the material world then they are manifest, it doesn’t talk about the amount, it just mentions that it is perverted. Perverted or shadow. You know what I am saying? So if you are thinking you are the center, it is perverted. If you are not thinking then it is in shadow. The devotee knows that I am servant of Kṛṣṇa, He follows the śāstras in how he should deal with his interaction with the material nature he is getting some reaction, I mean result from that, he will get some experience, some kind of emotional experience, happiness, these things come. But it is in shadow form, meaning it is very minimal. Like the shadow looks like the actual form, but the qualities of it are very minimal compared to the real form. So, in other words, material happiness, even if done according to śāstra, is still minimal compared to spiritual. It is not that it will become spiritual in the material world, it becomes spiritualized, but it never takes on the quality of these three śaktis manifesting in the spiritual world. Does that make sense?

Notice, that it is making a difference here, it is using here the cit-śakti and then sandhinī, saṁvit and hlādinī. Because what it is pointing out is the svarūpa-śakti, the complete form of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. So on this when one becomes, is giving its influence then it manifests this, that one it gets this, this one this, but all of those are happening at once anyway. You are in a field, you are doing an activity, you are getting an experience, you are getting results and the happiness coming from that. They are all going on at once. It is only because of the activity that you are getting the result. So the activity is going on, the result is happening and you are, it is in the field of action. So we divide this up so intellectually we can see it but it is happening at the same time. So these three energies are all happening at the same time. But it is within the svarūpa-śakti. Because we have to be able to distinguish the svarūpa-śakti as Śrīmati Rādhārānī. But when we are dealing with everything then all these different aspects are there, therefore then you have the yoga-māyā, you have the mahā-māyā, is that you are dealing with the same person. Yes? No?

Reading from the Study Guide: For the jīva, the forms manifested in māyā are detrimental. In the jīva himself, these three influences are not detrimental but dilute. Without joining to the hlādinī manifestation in the cit śakti, the jīva cannot experience full spiritual bliss. Such joining cannot be accomplished, except through the mercy of Kṛṣṇa or His devotee.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: In other words, the jīva has these qualities in very minute form, so it is not really enough to experience full spiritual taste that they can get. Therefore only by connecting themselves with the internal potency then that… And specifically here, the hlādinī-śakti, then they can get the full spiritual taste. Does that make sense? So, getting oneself out of the material world and situating oneself on the Brahman platform where one is acting as the soul doesn’t give a full taste of a soul. Therefore at some point they leave it and come back to the material world. So only when they connect to the internal potency then that full taste is there, they don’t come back. Does that make sense? 

Reading from the Study Guide: On this there is a kārikā,

 "Kṛṣṇa has one energy called his inconceivable, contradiction-breaking energy."

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yes?

Mātājī (1): One question on the last clarification... So impersonalists, because are throwing out all relationship and everything, so they are just trying to connect with Kṛṣṇa’s energy, the svarūpa-śakti?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: No, they are not trying to connect with that. They are trying to just be Brahman. 

Mātājī (1): [Indistinct]

HH BVPS Mahārāja: See, is.... Remember, is Brahman is the effulgence being emitted by Kṛṣṇa’s qualities.

Mātājī (1): They don’t even go beyond... They don't even accept the existence of Kṛṣṇa...

HH BVPS Mahārāja: No, because it is all one, so they don't, they just see it as all one. If there is any acceptance of everything then it is them as God and then everything else is subordinate to them, but that they don’t talk about too much.

Mātājī (1): Is that because they are not accepting, they are sort-of are cutting themselves off...

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah, so then they are just jīvas on their own. They are not in the material energy, they are not in the spiritual energy, they are just in Brahman. So you have minute sac-cid-ānanda sitting in sat and what’s that going to do? So in the spiritual world that is going to create all the forms and everything, and actions and that of the spiritual world, according to the particular rasa. So then from that, engaging in that relationship, then tasting that pleasure that comes from the hlādinī, then there is something of substance there. But otherwise means, it is only through situating yourself in existence, then you can’t get this. So now they are dealing with the Brahman, which is existence, it is sat, but you don’t have the manifestations of any of the forms of relationship. You just sit, you just exist, you know.

In other words, you couldn’t do much if all you had was your intransitive verbs to work with. Because all it is is you are pointing out that something exists. You couldn’t explain relationships. So since the soul is sat, cid and ānanda, the sat can’t deal with, can't satisfy that. Because relationship is meant to be applied and experienced. And so they can't, the Brahman won’t do that. So then what happens is since they don’t know the spiritual cit-potency, so they don’t know the sandhinī, hlādinī and saṁvit in the spiritual platform, they only know its reflection into the material world. Therefore as soon as they want something more then they have to come back to the material world because that is the only thing they know. They have already rejected that there is spiritual form, so therefore when they need form to manifest their activities through which they will become happy, they only know material. Because they accept material has form, but it is māyā, but spiritual has no form, so they close the door on it. So when they need form, the only form they know is material, so they come back. Does that make sense? Anything else on this? No? Okay.

Reading from the Study Guide: [On this there is as kārikā:]

"Kṛṣṇa has one energy called his inconceivable, contradiction-breaking energy."

HH BVPS Mahārāja: So that is one energy because Kṛṣṇa is everything. So putting everything together will be contradictory. So He has, His one energy breaks all these contradictions because it is that all those things combined. It is the counterpart to every aspect of Kṛṣṇa. Right? Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, so this energy is unlimited. So anything that is a contradiction is not a contradiction because it is still the one energy. It is only a contradiction if there is two different things, but it is one thing. It just has unlimited qualities.

Reading from the Study Guide: By this energy all contradictory qualities become non-contradictory and exist together eternally. Having form, yet being formless; having full power, yet taking the limited form of a Deity; unaffected by anything, but responsive to His devotees; unborn, but taking birth as avatāra; all-worshipable but taking the form of a cowherd; omniscient, but appearing as a human being, being without quality, but full of qualities - all such contradictory qualities appear in the form of Kṛṣṇa and assist His service to Śrī Rādhā, the embodiment of the hlādinī-śakti. Logic and argument are fruitless here. As man's power of logic is limited, it is of no use in topics which are beyond his limit. The fortunate person gives up logic and faithfully accepts the words of scripture. From the seed of faith, the creeper of bhakti develops, and finally the devotee attains the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Does that make sense? So it is only by faith actually one can understand this. So when someone can’t understand how something contradictory can function, that means they haven’t gotten the blessings of this inconceivable, contradicton-breaking energy. Coming under that potency - then one can understand. Does that make sense? Like that. That’s why the logicians and all these people in the beginning of these books that deal especially with pastimes and rasa, they are the first ones to go. Your logicians, your academics, your grammarians, your moralists - all out the window. Because they will never understand it, because they don’t have the faith, they are not taking shelter of this internal potency, so they will never be able to understand. Yes?

Prabhu (2): Mahārāja, what about if someone doesn’t understand, but he still have faith?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Then it is just a matter of time and practice. Because by practice, with whatever knowledge you have, then it will give realization. So it will come with time. 

[To the side] There is a bee sitting there. I mean, probably dead, but you never know if they are. You don't want to step on them, you don't get stung.

Does that make sense? So, therefore, faith is there, then it is just a matter of time, of practice, and everything will come. Does that...?

Reading from the Study Guide: The statements of scripture about the contradictory qualities within the Lord are many.

"The Lord has no material hands or feet, yet He accepts things and goes everywhere. He has no material eyes but sees past, present and future. He has no ears but hears. He knows all, but no one knows Him. The learned call him the original Supreme Person. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.19)

tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike

tad antarasya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ

"He is moving and non-moving, far and near. He is within the universe and outside the universe."

"Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial." (Īśopaniṣad 5 and 8)

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Oh, I see..

Reading from the Study Guide: Talavakāra Upaniṣad 3.6 speaks of His inconceivable power:

"When the devas became proud after conquering over the demons in battle, the Lord, in order to curb their pride, placed a blade of grass in front of Agni. Agni approached the blade of grass, but in spite of using all his strength, he could not burn the grass. Coming before the devas he said, 'I cannot comprehend this worshipable Lord.' "

Chāndogya Upaniṣad and Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad speak of His energies and form:

"Through His energy I surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Through Kṛṣṇa I surrender to His energy."

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Right? Because what burns very easily? Dry grass. So now Agni, the deity of fire, a blade of dry grass is put in front of him and he can’t burn it. Then he understands there is something more powerful than him, something he can’t understand. Okay, so, yeah.

Reading from the Study Guide: "Through His energy I surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Through Kṛṣṇa I surrender to His energy." (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.13.1)

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Then, Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad...

Reading from the Study Guide: "We worship the Lord, with dress of a cowherd, lotuslike eyes, complexion of a cloud, yellow cloth, two armed, showing the mauna mudrā and decorated with a forest garland." [Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad: Pūrva 13.1]

To understand about śaktis of the Lord, the Caitanya Caritāmṛta should be studied:

HH BVPS Mahārāja: So then this is Madhya-līlā 3.151-160

Reading from the Study Guide: "Kṛṣṇa has unlimited potencies, which can be divided into three main parts. These are the spiritual potency, the material potency and the marginal potency, which is known as the living entities. In other words, these are all potencies of God - internal, external and marginal. However, the internal potency is the Lord's personal energy and stands over the other two. Originally Lord Kṛṣṇa is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, the transcendental form of eternity, bliss and knowledge; there His personal potency, the internal potency, has three different forms. Hlādinī is His aspect of bliss; sandhinī, of eternal existence; and samvit, of cognizance, which is also accepted as knowledge."

HH BVPS Mahārāja: So, your being aware and knowledge itself.

Reading from the Study Guide: "The potency called hlādinī gives Kṛṣṇa transcendental pleasure. Through this pleasure potency, Kṛṣṇa personally tastes all spiritual pleasure. Lord Kṛṣṇa tastes all kinds of transcendental happiness, although He Himself is happiness personified. The pleasure relished by His pure devotee is also manifested by His pleasure potency. The mosessential..."

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Mosessential? Hmm?

Mātājī (1): Most essential.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Not mosessential? Or it has something to do with the essence of Moses-ness or something? [Laughter]

Reading from the Study Guide: The most essential part of this pleasure potency is love of Godhead. Consequently...

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Okay, consequently, so that means, that’s why we can say it is result, but the most essential point of this result, or the happiness gained is love for Kṛṣṇa. So these are all different aspects of that: one’s attachments, one's... How you say? The result that one is looking for, the happiness gained from having gotten that result, but the most essential point is love of Kṛṣṇa. Yes?

Prabhu (3): Mahārāja, does it mean that, it is said that just the living entities are part of Kṛṣṇa, they also have pleasure-potency?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah, but very small. You have to remember is that... See, is, what was that term used? Inconceivable contradiction-breaking energy. So there is only one energy, so the jīvas are an aspect of that one energy: internal, external and the jīva. Now in that one energy there is also the manifestation of sac, cid and ānanda, or the sandhinī, saṁvit and hlādinī. So those saṁvit, sandhinī and hlādinī acting upon the cit-potency, in other words, the internal aspect, then it manifests the spiritual world, all the spiritual activities, the relationships, the affection tasted there, the love tasted there and all that. Then in the material world it manifests a perversion or a shadow of that. And in the jīva then it is there in very small amount. Something is there, otherwise how are they sac-cid-ānanda? Because sac-cid-ānanda is also saṁvit, sandhinī, hlādinī. Does that make sense? But it is very minor. So the jīva being so small has to be either under the internal potency or the external potency to actually be able to function, because they themselves, there is not enough potency to create anything other than ātmarāma or something.

So ātmarāma compared to here seems very big, but compared to spiritual then… Means, the ātmarāma is compared to an ocean of bliss compared to material happiness. But the taste of ātmarāma is considered a fraction of a portion of a drop in the unlimited ocean of prema. The other one is an ocean, but this is unlimited ocean, or shoreless ocean. There is no other side. And the point is, it is saying a drop of pleasure in the material world compared to the ocean of brahmānanda. So you are taking a drop and an ocean. That is quite extreme. But comparing that supposed ocean to a transcendental ocean, then it doesn’t take a drop. It doesn’t even give that much credit. It is a fraction of a portion of a drop. In other words, a drop, you divide it up into portions and then that, you take a fraction of that. And then the ocean instead of being an ocean, it is an unlimited ocean. So the extreme is even more. So it is not really enough. Does that make sense? That’s why actually the jīvas would be a little worried about giving up the material because if it gives it up on its own, it can’t generate a whole heck of a lot. So but that’s why you have to convince the jīva that it is going to connect to the internal potency and that is much greater. So that happiness is eternal, that happiness is unlimited. While the happiness here is temporary and limited. Is that okay? Does that work? Anything else? No? Okay?

Prabhu (3): Fine.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Fine, okay! Step up, great! [Laughter] Okay.

Reading from the Study Guide: "The most essential part of this pleasure potency is love of God. Consequently, the explanation of love of God is also a transcendental mellow full of pleasure. The essential part of love of Godhead is called mahābhāva, transcendental ecstasy, and that ecstasy is represented by Śrīmatī Rādhārānī." ( CC Madhya 3.151-160)

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Okay, so then you are taking the pleasure potency and that love of Godhead is the essential point of that. Because therwise so many things are there in the category of prayojana. But the most essential is love of God. Of that the most essential is mahābhāva, that is represented by Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. Does that make sense? Yes? No? Yeah. So, it is the most powerful of all the rasa, of all the experiences.

Reading from the Study Guide: Through this inconceivable energy, Kṛṣṇa appears in the material world along with His abode and associates. By His unlimited mercy, the spiritual abode, name, form, qualities and pastimes become visible to the conditioned souls.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: So that means it is visible. It doesn’t mean necessarily it is here. It is visible. Because we always have to remember, material is a consciousness, not a place. We always take that material is a place. There is a place where people with material vision stay, that is there. But the most important, what makes the difference between spiritual and material specifically is consciousness. Because we will agree that the great souls, they are in the material world, but in spiritual consciousness. So actually they are not here. We can see them, they are manifest, so we can see them, but they aren’t actually here. You know what I am saying? So then what does that mean? That doesn’t mean that it is mystical, that they aren’t actually there and you are seeing something, you know, vibration. None of this kind of stuff where we are still trying by our own logic to work things out. But the point is, it is inconceivable. How is it together? That is the taṭastha-śakti. That the conditioned soul on the material platform can see the spiritual world. So the two are in the same place at the same time. Yes?

Prabhu (4): Mahārāja, so would it be something like to be able to perceive the Lord’s pastimes just at any time and any place, just be able to perceive them, that would be the one that this is speaking about?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yes, but he is saying it is visible to the conditioned souls. So that can mean either you are in the Dhāma where the pastimes are going on and you can see them there, or if you are not in the Dhāma that through remembrance one can see them. But seeing means to experience. 

Prabhu (4):Yeah.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Because seeing... Means, how you say? If you are in a state of existence then seeing is simply remembering something that has already been experienced. You know what I am saying? But here if seeing is actually dynamic. Does that make sense? Means, it is like this. This is the interesting thing about present-day English grammar. "He is seeing." That means he is in the state of seeing. But if "he sees" that means it is actually dynamic. Do you understand? "He sees," the "sees" is transitive. "He is seeing," it is actually intransitive. That's the...  Like he pokes you, or something, then you go, "He is poking me," that is what you would say. But that means he is in the state of poking you, so it is all about him actually. Like that. Or your complaint about his existence, that he exists. But if you say "he pokes me," that's actually, because that means the poking is going on in relationship between the two of you. But people don’t talk like that now, though it is technically correct, it is actually more what they want to say, but because people have lost actually the concept of relationships and how they function and their experience, therefore they don’t even talk properly any more. Does that make sense?

Prabhu (4): Only that the pastimes that are being perceived are going on at the same time.... At the present moment?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah. Means, whatever, they are going. Lord Caitanya is moving with His kīrtana party through Māyāpura now. He is always, it is eternal. Sometimes it is manifest, so it can be seen at a particular time, but then only those persons are there. But other times it can be manifest so that individual qualified person can see. But, you know, that is here. But you don’t have to be here for that to happen, you can be anywhere. Because the point is is, means, this cit-potency is everything, it includes the jīvas and the external potency. So internal, external and the marginal is all within the cit. And the saṁvit, sandhinī and hlādinī are always working within that, creating the variety. Right? And so, that creation of variety can be in the form of māyā or transcendence, just depending upon who is looking at it. Does that make sense? Does all this make some sense? Yeah? Do you see the use of this stuff? Like we are not talking it just because we love to split hairs. Does that make sense? 

The point is is that otherwise how do you view what goes on in your life, how do you analyze what happens in your life? You are sitting here now, but as soon as you step out of here and start interacting with what’s around you, how do you put that into perspective? So these are valuable tools for doing this.

Reading from the Study Guide: By His unlimited mercy, the spiritual abode, name, form, qualities and pastimes become visible to the conditioned souls. These things cannot be seen by the material eye, but by the inconceivable energy and Kṛṣṇa's mercy, these become visible to the material eye.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Means it can’t be seen by, but His inconceivable potency makes Him to be able to be seen. So you could either be seeing in the mind by meditation or you could directly see with your senses. Your senses can’t see, but this is the point of the inconceivable, contradiction-breaking potency: it can do that. This is the part that your logicians and scientists and academics can’t work out. Yes?

Prabhu (5): So is it actually the materialistic consciousness?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: The consciousness, yeah, the consciousness and then their mercy. By the inconceivable energy and Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, in other words through the energy one gets Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. By Kṛṣṇa’s mercy one gets the inconceivable energy. Then it happens. But the two go together.

Prabhu (6): This is like there is material tongue...

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yes.

Prabhu (6): ...and when Kṛṣṇa’s name comes then it purifies, like ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmadi. This is this concept?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah, but it's like, how are you tasting prasāda?

Prabhu (6): With the tongue.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah, but prasāda is spiritual, so how can you taste it with a material tongue? So it is by the Lord’s mercy and His inconceivable potency that you can do that. Does that make sense? So, in other words, you are talking something beyond logic.

Prabhu (6): Yeah. Like material sound is material. But when it is about Kṛṣṇa and it comes to material ear then it purifies the senses.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: It purifies, but at the same time it is not that it is just purified. It is a matter of you are experiencing it. It is being purified also, but that is a side-point, that just happens. You know, you put water on something, it becomes wet. It just happens. But the main thing is is that you are actually able to experience it with your sense. Do you understand? Yeah.

Prabhu (5): It is like the brāhmana in Nectar of Devotion, he meditates on the sweet rice and gets actually burnt.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it is through meditation, then that is how he is seeing, but he is actually in that. He is experiencing that, he is seeing it, so therefore when he touches the sweet rice, he actually gets burnt. Does that make sense? So this was through meditation. But it can also be not through the medium of meditation, just directly though your senses. Or it can be through meditation, then the senses are engaged in that pastime. You know what I am saying? That is why it is saying that Raghunatha dāsa, when he opens in his Manaḥ-śikṣā, he offers his obeisances to the residents of Vṛndāvana, whether they are there physically or by meditation, it doesn’t matter, the experience is the same. Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay.

Reading from the Study Guide: Sometimes he also appears in other forms such as Matysa, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsimha, Vāmana and Rāma and performs His pastimes. But, it should be noted that Kṛṣṇa is the source of the avatāras. Yet Kṛṣṇa and His expansions are all spiritual. They are not influenced by the material energy and do not take material bodies. Occasionally, the Lord may invest a qualified jīva with his energy, appearing as a śaktyāveṣa avatāra.

In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta the avatāras are described thus:

"In His original form, Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in two features - prābhava and vaibhava. He expands His one original form into many, as He did during the rasa-līlā dance." (CC Madhya 20.167)

"Again the vilāsa forms are divided into twofold categories - prābhava and vaibhava. Again the pastimes of these forms are of unlimited variety." [CC Madhya 20.185]

"Now please hear about the different personal expansions. The first personal expansion is Saṅkarṣaṇa, and the others are incarnations like the fish incarnation. Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of the puruṣa or Viṣṇu. The incarnations such as Matysa, the fish incarnation, appear in different yugas for specific pastimes. There are six types of incarnations of Kṛṣṇa. One is the puruṣa incarnations, and another is the līlā avatāras. There are incarnations of guṇas, incarnations of the Manus, incarnations in different millenniums and incarnations of empowered living entities." (CC Madhya 20.243-246)

Further descriptions and identity of the avatāras may be obtained by consulting the 20th chapter of Madhya līlā, Caitanya Caritāmṛta and the Laghu Bhāgavatamṛta.

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Okay? Anything else? Yes? No? Very good. Yes?

Prabhu (4): Mahārāja, so to be able to experience the influence of the inconceivable contradiction-breaking energy of the Lord one has to be like humble, meek and be very faithful?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah, means it is the devotional quality that endears one to Kṛṣṇa and His energy, then They... then all this is revealed. But if... You know what I am saying? So being humble is good, but it has to be humility in connection with devotional service. Otherwise if you are humble, that is pious. Now, a pious person has a good chance to come in contact, surrender to Kṛṣṇa, like that. But it is still only by the mercy of the devotees. So by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa one gets the devotees, by the mercy of the devotees one gets Kṛṣṇa. So that is what the Chāndogya Upaniṣad is saying. So still it is up to the Lord and His devotees. So you can’t say it is because I am humble that is why I became a devotee. Jagāi and Mādhāi weren’t exactly what you call humble. You know what I am saying? They were not famous for being humble, right, but still it worked. You know what I am saying? So the devotional element, that is what then endears one to Kṛṣṇa. Okay. "Kṛṣṇa the Reservoir of Pleasure", okay, so that is what will continue with tomorrow. Tomorrow is Friday, right? Okay?

Oṁ Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare 

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Jaya! Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!

[end of lecture]

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Oh, oh, wow, Taittirīya Upaniṣad, raso vai saḥ... You have not, you are not doing Ānanda Vallī? Rasam...

[end]