0:01Gurshti, you can raise your hand if you have a question. Jiva, Priya, Das, Brahmacharya. Thank you, Srila Gurudeva. In the Srimad Bhagavatam is described the Kali Yuga, how it appears. So, it is described that there are four ages, sorry, four reasons, but this explains like the legs of the Dharma.
0:53dharma, but what was speaking, was spoken from the cow, these are like the effect of Kali Yuga, sometimes also they say that the brahmana, like the falling condition of the brahmana are the real causes. So, I cannot understand if there are these four causes, but also what was spoken by the cow, like the women, they are walking alone, and they are not protected by...
1:49When you say four causes, what do you mean by four causes? Like, yes, the destroyer of compassion, destroyer of austerity. So, these are not causes, these are symptoms. Yeah, these are symptoms.
2:16The sages asked, in Kali Yuga, where will dharma and jnana go for shelter? Krishna, because Krishna is the shelter, protector of dharma and jnana, rather Vishnu, but Vishnu is in Krishna when Krishna appears, so he said that Krishna is for dhama-pagata, when Krishna left this world and returned to his own abode, then at that time, and along with him, dharma and jnana, also knowledge and dharma, also departed with him, and so then there was a degradation takes place, a gradual degradation of society and so where will dharma and jnana go for shelter now?
3:13So purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ, this purana, the Bhagavad Purana has arisen in Kali Yuga and that is the shelter of all dharma and jnana in Kali Yuga and it gives vision to those who have become blinded by the dense darkness of Kali Yuga. So, the meat-eating, intoxication, gambling, illicit sex, these things that destroy the cleanliness and mercy and austerity and truthfulness, these are symptoms of Kali Yuga, they're not the cause.
3:55Is there another point?
4:05So, like the symptoms of Kali Yuga, like the Yabrahman?
4:12Yes, yes.
4:20Yeah, they are symptoms of Kali Yuga. And in the 12th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, there is more elaborate description also of the dreadful, dreadful symptoms of Kali Yuga.
4:46Even though Kali Yuga is an ocean of faults, it has one good quality, and that is just by Parinams and Kirtan, One can become free from all attachments to the world, liberated from the grip of the external energy and go to the spiritual world
5:09Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Jaiva Dharma says a wonderful thing
5:11He said, by hearing the holy name, it removes the vimukata The soul has turned away from the Supreme Lord
5:36There are two birds sitting in a tree. One is tasting the fruits and the other is just witnessing.
5:47So the tree is this human body and the branch is the heart. And the two birds, they are ourself, Atma, and Paramatma, the Supreme Soul. And we are tasting the fruit of good and bad in this world and ignoring our friend, the other bird who is waiting with us. So the power of the holy name is such that if someone will just chant without offence and hear that the holy name itself turns the Jiva who is Bahirmukh, the Jiva who is Bahirmukh, outward looking,
6:33and just by hearing the name it turns his attention around and he becomes Antarmukh and looks inside and then when he sees inside he sees in his heart Paramatma and then he realizes that this name that he was chanting is not a name it is that form of the Lord in the heart so if he's received the Gopal mantra from Guru and Krishna says
7:19ishtadev, then when he turns inside, then he will not see the forearm Vishnu, but he will see, that is Krishna in the heart. So this is what it means, abhinatwam nama namino. The name of Krishna and Krishna himself are not two things. By bikalpa, by this corruption of buddhi, intelligence, we think that Krishna is one thing and his name is another. But if one would just hear deeply the holy name without committing offense, then the naam itself, will turn us from being vahirmukh to being antarmukh and we'll see that what we were thinking was the name is actually the form and the qualities eventually and the associates and pastimes. No difference at all. So though Kali Yuga is so bad, but anyway.
9:13So sometimes devotees say, I'm not chanting so much because I'm focusing on the quality. So that's like saying, I'm not antamukh so much because I am focusing on being bahrimukh.
9:39Because if a person chants only a little bit, that means they must be bhaimukh, they must be outgoing, their senses and their attention is outgoing.
9:57Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also in Jaiva Dharma. Jaiva Dharma is very important. Everyone should read Jaiva Dharma very carefully.
10:05So many beautiful, practical, important points are made by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. So he said that unless one will increase the quantity of chanting, then there's no question of increasing the quality You will not increase the quality It's possible to increase the quantity without increasing the quality Because you can just inattentively pull the rope and mumble something while doing other things It's possible to increase the quantity without increasing the quality But it's not possible to increase the quality without increasing the quantity.
10:48We have to spend more time attentively chanting and depend on the name, to the power of the name, because the name of Krishna means Krishna, to attract. So now our consciousness is attracted outwardly, and when we chant the name, the name itself attracts our consciousness to become the antaramukha, facing towards Sri Krishna. Then when the consciousness is facing towards Sri Krishna, then you can realize the amrita of nati. We were discussing in Manas-shiksha, the pancha-amrita, tad-ijya-vyana, sravana, nati-pancha-amrita. So the last one is nati, paying obeisances. So if in your heart you did not have the darshan of Krishna, then paying obeisances seems like not so very interesting because you're just giving
12:01bowing down to someone somewhere in space. But once by the power of the holy name, then the vision of Sri Krishna appears in the heart. Then he wants to give pranam. Because it's not impersonal. It's not empty and vacuous. And he feels who is impelled to give pranam to his supreme lord. Yes, raise your hand. Vrindavan?
12:37Thank you, Srila. My question. There are many circumstances how a soul with the consciousness can leave the body. And, for example, so-called natural death, types of sickness, type of fatal accident, types of murder, types of suicide or fast until death. So my question is, how long does it take, depending on the circumstances, to take another body, preferably a human body or even a transcendental body, hopefully, but it may be also another body as well.
13:13So it depends on the piety and surrender to Sri Guru and to Sri Krishna or unfortunately right the opposite of a person as well. So could you please also say a few words about the time between death and reincarnation and possible duration and where does a soul wait to get a new body and where does a like a transition phrase, where does a soul wait to get a new body?
13:42So, death can take place in different circumstances, and for the ordinary person, there is a question of auspicious and inauspicious death. If someone gives up his life peacefully at home, then it's considered to be more pious, passing, than if someone is murdered. Obviously, being murdered is itself due to a sinful reaction, or if someone is killed in an accident, but if someone is a devotee and they've taken shelter of Guru and Krishna, then whatever is the death, then that is arranged by Krishna himself.
14:48And so there is no question of auspicious or inauspicious. Just like Chitraketu Maharaj, he was cursed by Parvati and he became Vritrasura and so he was murdered by Indra. Of course we can say it was a battle but he was fighting on behalf of the demons against Indra and Indra cut off his arms and then he was cutting off his head with a thunderbolt weapon and he was so big it took him a year.
15:28But while he was, while he was being killed by Indra, he was praying to the Supreme Lord, So, even though he was being killed, but it was very auspicious, because he's a devotee. We see, Lala Babu, he was kicked by a horse and he died, so he was killed by a horse.
15:55So, for an ordinary person, these types of things, they're not auspicious, but for a devotee, it just means that, let's say in the case of Chaitanya Maharaja, he was cursed and became a demon, why? Because previously he had a life that was very long and Krishna was feeling separation and didn't want to wait and so he arranged this situation to bring him very quickly to his lotus feet.
16:22So the question of the bhadra-abhadra, the bhadra-bhadra, dvaita-bhadra-abhadra, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said this discrimination which is auspicious and inauspicious is a duality and it is from the mind and so that is related to material life and in spiritual life everything is Krishna's mercy. So this is the first part of the question. Then the second part of the question, it depends on the nature of the passing but let's say for an ordinary person when they pass,
17:17then the subtle body is still there and so the relatives or those who are responsible, they should quickly make, very quickly make the cremation and then they have to do the Shraddha ceremony. After 13 days they have to make the Shraddha ceremony and then they have to do it every month for so many months and so this is why In Vedic culture, every person who is following Karmakanda, they want to have a son, because son is called putra, the one who delivers you from hell. So the son will do shraddha on behalf of the father. And according to the tradition, each time, every month when he is offering the shraddha, then they give some, it is like a ball made of rice. And when this is offered, then it transforms and becomes part of the body.
18:31that that soul will have in a pitri-loka. Because in Karmakanda, when you die, you want to go and be with your father and your grandfather, with your ancestors. You want to enjoy a glorious life. It's like Valhalla, go to the place of the courageous ancestors. So this concept is there. And so it takes some time for the son to perform the rituals so that the deceased father, will attain a body in the pitriloka and then that son he's hoping that he will have a son so that he when he passes away his son will do the ritual so that he will have the chance then to go and join his father and ancestors like this and but we see that most persons knowingly or unknowingly they commit some sins so when they die then the Yamadutas take them to Yamaraj and then
19:44Then, Yamaraj gives a judgment, he hears from Chitragupta, the list of all your crimes, and then Yamaraj will make a, give a sentence, and then one will go and experience the reactions of the hellish punishments. And then, when that is complete, then according to one's karma, then one can go to the next, to the next body.
20:17So, these are the situations for the karmis. The path of karma is extremely difficult. And just because you do pious activities doesn't mean that you'll escape the reactions of any impious activities, even which were done unknowingly as well.
20:39So, but for the bhaktas, it is not like that. For the bhaktas, when the soul leaves, then Yogamaya arranges their next birth, either with their gurujan, or if they will go to take birth in, they will go to the spiritual world, if they're in the Aishwarya bhaktas, the messengers of Vishnu will come, and they'll, on a spiritual body, get onto the airplane and fly to Vaikuntha.
21:11If they are Vishnu-bhaktas or Narayan-bhaktas, but if they have a Madhurya, a sweet relationship with Sri Krishna, then they cannot go directly to the spiritual world, they have to take birth in a Bhauma-Vrindavan, because there's no birth in the spiritual world, there's no birth there, so you cannot just go there, just show up, you know, just appear out of nowhere, twelve and a half years old, with no parents, no family members, no history, just appear in it. It will not work. So in order to be incorporated into the lila, when the associates, they appear in this world and they're born, then you have to be born along with them, so then you have your parents and you grow up with the associates. So by Yogamaya, you become incorporated into the lila, and at the end of the lila, when the lila becomes aprakata, then you enter into the aprakata lila.
22:13And that's why for our Guru Varga, we say nitya-lila-pravishṭa. They entered the nitya-lila. It means that they came from there. Because if you didn't come from there, then you have to go to Bhauma-Vrindavan. But if you have come from there, then you can just go back there. So when we say nitya-lila-pravishṭa, it's a very high praise of the acaryas.
22:41So really, this is why Vaishnavas, they don't have to do Shraddha ceremony and these things. It's not necessary. It's not necessary for Vaishnavas because Krishna will manage their relocation either to the spiritual world, into the leela of Krishna or into another sadhaka form to continue to complete their sadhana.
23:14But still, Vaishnavas, to not uproot the faith of the general people in Vedic Dharma, those who are householder Vaishnavas and so on, that means the parinishtita-sadhaka, the nirapaksha and the parinishtita-sadhaka, they are pure devotees. So the nirapaksha, he does not require to do any shraddha or karmakanda. But the parinishtita-sadhaka, he will do these things not to uproot the faith of general people in Vedic dharma, to set a good example for them, but mainly he will make the performance of the ritual anukul for bhakti.
24:11and so it will just become an opportunity for kirtan, mahaprasadam and harikatha and sadhu-sanga like this. Yes?
24:26Say, a kanishtha devotee, and how, what does the soul wait for the next body? Do you hold him somewhere? Why will he wait for the next body? If someone is under karma, yes, yes, the subtle body, if someone, I don't want to say kanishtha adhikari, That means he has some paramartic sraddha. If he is not any kind of adhikari, then he doesn't have any paramartic sraddha. But a khanishta adhikari even, he has some transcendental paramartic sraddha. Otherwise, he would not have this name adhikari. You understand? Just like once, Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj, he was giving a lecture and he was speaking about the different stages of devotee.
25:22when he was speaking about the Karnishta Adhikari, then he said they have faith in Archan, and they very strictly follow the rules and regulations of Archan, and he said, oh, like Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharaj, so he didn't mean that Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharaj is a Karnishta Adhikari, he meant that he is following all these rituals of Archan, so then one devotee, then he became angry, what did he say, and he went and reported it to Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharaj,
25:56and he said, oh, Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj has said, you are a kanishta adhikari, and hearing this, Srila Bhakti Purimaj said, Haribo, Haribo, it has been confirmed by a pure Vaishnava, I have adhikar, so just the fact that he's called kanishta adhikari means he has some adhikar, so in Jaiva Dharma also, Srila Bhakti Nautakur describes that he has the kanishta adhikari, the reason why
26:37why he is a karnishta adhikari is because he has a small touch, a minute particle of paramatrik sraddha, and the symptom, the symptom that that paramatrik sraddha is there in his heart is that the karnishta adhikari, he does not worship any devatas, just like here, they are worshiping devatas. So, the karnistha adhikari, he does not worship any devatas, whereas if someone is on the path of bhakti and still worshiping devatas, it means they are not karnistha adhikari, they don't have adhikar for bhakti.
27:38So, even the karnistha adhikari, you should not think he will have to go through all the stages of first becoming a pret, that means leaving the body and the subtle bodies, it is there. it is staying close to the actual body as well. So it has to be cut by the very soon, quickly the cremation of the body has to be done to separate the soul along with the subtle body from its attachment to the gross body and those circumstances. And then the rituals and offerings have to be done and they will give some boost to that soul on his journey to the next destination.
28:30And you can read in the Mahabharata, there's a description of the souls, they get taken by the Yamadutas, and if they have not been generous and kind to others, they have not done good karma, then they have to go on a very hot path in the hot sun, if they did not dig wells to give water to the people, then they will be thirsty and no one will give them water.
29:02If they did not plant trees, then there will be no shade and there will be burning.
29:09Then they come to the river and this river has blood and stool and everything and they can go by boat. So if they've done some pious activities they can go by boat, otherwise they have to go into the... So in Mahabharata and other places in other Puranas which are discussing about Dharma and Karmakanda, what kind of suffering and reactions a person has to undergo for their sins. That's not even the punishment, that's just on the way to the court case. And so it depends on the individual. But there is this gross physical plane, and there's a subtle physical plane. So just as your mind now is existing in the subtle physical plane, so it will live in the subtle physical plane also afterwards as well.
30:14So each case is somewhat different. It depends on the piety and impiety of the person. And for those who are in Karmakande, it depends on the rituals which are performed by the descendants also. Very important. But for the devotee, these things are not important.
30:38What is, I will experience, it is Krishna's mercy, and whatever, it should be tolerated, and we should know that it's very good, it's good for us and helpful for us.
30:51A person can go to, be taken by the Yamadutas, and go to the Yamalok, and be judged by Yamaraj, and then go to the various different types of narak, hells and suffer for thousands of years but because this is going on in the subtle body it does not mean that thousands of years pass before they get their next birth. It can be you experience like a thousands of years but it can be just a few moments and then you go suffer the reactions for your sinful life and then you can go and get the reactions for your pious activities as well in the next life like this.
31:33so we also cannot make with a stopwatch. Oh, he died so many hours ago, how long will it be before he gets like this? Because what is experienced in the subtle body and in the other regions, the time is not experienced in the same way.
31:56But in Karmakanda, the time period for making the cremation and then also performing the Shraddha ceremony, they are given. So it's understood that the soul is in a subtle body until these rituals are performed and then he attains the next body on the strength of the rituals.
32:24And for persons who are not in dharma, then if a person doesn't do dharma, then they will go down, the yamadutas will take them, they will suffer like anything and then they can take birth among the animal species.
32:42If a human being doesn't have dharma in their life, then they're an animal. The difference between a human being and an animal is that the human being follows dharma. So if you're a human being, you have human body, but you don't follow dharma, then you're living like an animal, and then you attain that birth also.
33:16I have a follow-up question to the yesterday Easter ghosti, and you were describing the stages of realization, so first Brahma, and then, if I remember correctly, there are shwarya forms of the Lord, Narayan, and then Sri Krishna, so I was wondering, this Brahman realization, because I read in Jiva Dharma, No, liberation can never be fully attained, right?
33:50Sorry, liberation can? Can never, you are liberated for some time, but you are not liberated all the time. Is it correct? I don't understand. For whom? On the path of liberation, people who try to attain mukti, they cannot be fully liberated from the material party. That's what I understood. No, the meaning is that if someone tries for liberation by karma or by jnan, nishkarm karma, that is a path of jnan. Nishkarm karma is a way to attain jnan. So if someone is trying to attain Brahman realization without bhakti, then they cannot get it. It's not possible. It's possible that by a very high level of sattva gun, they may have a glimpse, but they cannot stay there.
34:46But if a person practices bhakti, to get mukti, and they insist on that, then Krishna can reciprocate and they can attain mukti. And then when they leave this body, the soul will enter into Brahman or enter into Paramatma. It can be Brahmasuyuja or Ishwara-suyuja, merging into Brahman or merging into the Paramatma. And then that is permanent.
35:15That is permanent. So I was wondering, if I decide if I reverse this association of Krishna, so then the sequence seems like overchanged. Does it mean, but in his own realization, he still needs to go through all these stages, or it's just not the sequence changed, or what does it mean? In, I believe, Bhagavad Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami part, he says that the Brahman realization is prathama-pratyakṣa.
36:18So prathama-pratyakṣa means the first perception. It's the first perception.
37:04And then the brahman effulgence is the light coming from Krishna.
37:12So it is not that a person in ignorance and identification with the body who will have the darshan of Krishna.
37:25So you should understand in that way that Brahman is a prathama-pratyakṣa. It is the first perception of the truth.
37:40So it doesn't even, it's important to the darshan of Krishna, but just some realization of the dharma.
37:52A person, if a person will have some very slight reflection of the svarūpa of Krishna in the heart, it is in niṣṭhā. And from niṣṭhā, it's possible to go back. It's possible. So that person, he's not, he's not a, we cannot say he's a completely liberated person. to have just a glimpse of the rūpa of Krishna, just a little, in the stage of niṣṭhā, if he, in that stage of niṣṭhā steadiness, he is engaging all of his senses, always serving and not committing offence, we can say he is jīvan-mukta, he is like a liberated soul, but there is still a danger, if he will commit offence, if he will do anything against bhakti, like the six things that destroy bhakti, which are described in Upadeśāmṛta,
38:56He can lose that position. So it is not, let us say, secure. It is not a secure position. And so that's why you can see many humble prayers, many humble prayers of the Vaiṣṇavas, praying to not become involved in anything which is negative, anything which may be detrimental for bhakti. So only those who have attained something really feel fear losing it.
39:32Those who have not attained something, they can very casually make so many mistakes and offenses. They don't have anything to lose. But those who attain something, then they pray very so fervently that they don't want to lose that.
39:51So the darshan of Krishna, even in the stage of niṣṭhā, just the reflection of the svarūpa of Krishna in the heart is very powerful and transformative. If someone has this, actually, not some vikalpa, then they will be extremely careful in their spiritual life and extremely fixed in hearing, chanting, remembering, all these things.
40:24So, one should not think, because somehow or other, by the impression of the deity or by the association of good devotees, you have some thoughts about Krishna, Krishna, but you are still lazy and hungry and angry and lusty like this. I had darshan of Krishna. No, don't think like this. When someone has the darshan of Krishna in the heart and they become madhyama-adhikārī, then this is a very, there will be some very strong symptoms in their life and their behaviour, their detachment from this world also. They will not be attached to anything in this world.
