Deity worship | 9th December 2023 | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami

Sadhguru, namaste, namo namaha. Toda sri krishna devasi namo namaha. Jai Guru Chandra Nairati, Eise utama vadi, Jai Prasad Devu, Eise aasha, Jai Prasad Devu, Eise aasha. You can read now. The lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I go to his lotus feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace, one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Krishna. My own My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires. He opens my darkened eyes and fills my heart with transcendental knowledge. He is my Lord birth after birth. From him ecstatic rain emanates. By him Ignorance is destroyed. The Vedic scriptures sing of his character. Our spiritual master is the ocean of mercy, the friend of the poor, and the lord and master of the devotees. O master, be merciful unto me. Give me the shade of your lotus feet. Your fame is spread all over the three worlds. Sixth Canto. Sixth Canto, Chapter 7. Kanto 6th, Chapter 7th: Indra Offends His Spiritual Master, Praṣapati. As related in this chapter, Indra, the king of heaven, committed an offense at the feet of his spiritual master, Praṣapati. Praṣapati therefore left the demigods, who then had no priest. However, at the request request of the demigods, Viśvarū, the son of the brahman Tavastu, became their priest. Once upon a time, Indra, the king of the demigods, was sitting with his wife Śrīdevī and being praised by various demigods like siddhas and gandharvas, when Vraṣṇapati, the spiritual master of the demigods, entered the assembly. Indra, being too absorbed in the material opulence, forgot himself, and did not respect Vraṣṇapati, who thus became aware of Indra's pride in his spiritual— in his material opulence and immediately disappeared from the assembly to teach him a lesson. Indra became most repentant, understanding that because of his opulence he had forgotten to respect his spiritual master. He left the palace to beg pardon from his spiritual master, but could not find Brahaspati anywhere. Because of his disrespectful behavior toward his spiritual master, Indra lost all his opulence and was conquered by the demons, who defeated the demigods in a great fight and occupied Indra's throne. Indra, along with the other demigods, later took shelter of Lord Brahma. Understanding the situation, Lord Brahma chastised the demigods demigods for their offense to their spiritual master. Following Lord Brahmā's orders, the demigods accepted Viśvarū, who was a brahman and son of Tavastu, as their priest. Then they performed yajña under the priesthood of Viśvarū and were able to conquer the demons. Text 1. Maharaj Prikshit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, 'O great sage, why did the spiritual master of the demigods, Draupadi, reject the demigods who were his own disciples? What offense did the demigods commit against Dear spiritual master, please describe to me this incident. This 7th chapter describes how Brahmāspati was offended by the demigods, how he left them and the demigods were defeated, and how the demigods, following the instructions of Lord Brahmā, accepted Viśvuruṣ as the priest to perform their sacrifice. Śrīla Gosvāmī said, 'O King, once upon a time the King of Heaven, Indra, being extremely proud because of his great opulence of the three worlds, transgressed the law of paving etiquette. Seated on his throne, he was surrounded by the Maruts, Gajus, Rudras, Adityas, Vishwadevas, Sadyas, Ashwini Kumaras, Siddhas, and Gandharvas, and by great saintly persons. Also surrounding him were the Vidyadhara, Apsaras, Kingnas, birds, and snakes. All of them were offering in their respects and services, and the apsaras and gandharvas were dancing and singing with very sweet musical instruments. Over Indra's head was a white umbrella, and, fulgent as the full moon, fanned by yak tail whisks, and served with all the paraphernalia of a great king, Indra was sitting with his wife, Shachi Devi, who occupied half the throne, when the great sage Vyaspati appeared in that assembly. Vyaspati, the best of the sages, Prasad RAVAL was the spiritual master of Indra and the demigods and was respected by the demigods and demons alike. Nevertheless, although Indra saw his spiritual master before him, he did not rise before his own seat and offer a seat to his spiritual master, nor did Indra offer him a respectful welcome. Indra did nothing to show him respect. Brahmārāja knew everything that would happen in the future. Seeing Indra's transgression of etiquette, he completely understood that Indra was puffed up by his material opulence. Although able to curse Indra, he did not do so. Instead, he left the assembly. In his silence, returned to his home. Indra, the king of heaven, could immediately understand his mistake. Realizing he had disrespected his spiritual master, he condemned himself in the presence of all members of the assembly. Alas! What a regrettable deed I have committed because of my lack of intelligence and my pride in my material opulence. I failed to show respect to my spiritual master when he entered this assembly, and thus I have insulted him. Although I am king of the demigods who are situated in the mode of goodness, I was proud of a little opulence and polluted by false ego. Under the circumstances, who in this world would accept such niches at the risk of failing down. Alas, I condemned my wealth and opulence. Perfect. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead: O my Lord, I do not aspire for material opulence or wealth, nor do I want a great number of followers to accept me as their leader, nor do I want a very beautiful wife to please me. I do not even want liberation. All I want life after life is to be a faithful servant of your Lordship. According to the laws of nature, when one is extremely opulent, one becomes degraded, and this is true both individually and collectively. The demigods are situated in the mode of goodness, but sometimes even one who is situated in such an exalted position as King Indra, the king of all the demigods, falls down because of material opulence We are now actually seeing this in America. The entire American nation has tried to advance in material opulence without striving to produce ideal human beings. The result is that Americans are now regretting the wholesale criminality of American society and are wondering how America has become so lawless and unmanageable. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Persons who are unenlightened do not know the aim of life, which is to return home, back to Godhead. Therefore, both individually and collectively, they try to enjoy so-called material comforts, and they become addicted to wine and women. The men produced in such a society are less than fourth class. They are the unwanted population known as van shankar, and as stated in Bhagavad-gītā and increase of Vaiṣṇava population creates a hellish society. This is the society in which Americans now find themselves. Fortunately, however, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement has come to America and many fortunate young men are giving serious attention to this movement, which is creating ideal men of first-class character, men who completely refrain from meat-eating, illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling. If the American people are serious about curbing the degraded criminal life of their nation, they must take to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and try to create the kind of human society advised in Bhagavad-gītā. They must divide their society into first-class men, second-class men, third-class men, and fourth-class men. Since they are now creating only men who are less than fourth class, how can they avoid the dangers of a criminal society? Society. Long, long ago, Lord Indra regretted his disrespect to his spiritual master, Praṣad RAVAL. Similarly, it is advised that the American people regret their mistaken advancement in civilization. They should take advice from the spiritual master, the representative of Kṛṣṇa. If they do so, they will be happy, and theirs will be an ideal nation to lead the entire world. If a person says one who is situated on the exalted throne of a king should not stand up to show respect to another king or a Brahman, it is to be understood that he does not know the superior religious principles. Parbat. Śrī Viśvanātha Çakravartī ṭhākura says in this regard that when a president or king is sitting Sitting on his throne, he does not need to show respect to everyone who comes within his assembly, but he must show respect to superiors like his spiritual master, Brahman, and Vaishnavas. There are many examples of how he should act. When Lord Krishna was sitting on his throne and Narada fortunately entered his assembly, even Lord Krishna immediately stood up with his officers and ministers to offer respect respectful of his senses to Narada. Narada knew that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Krishna knew that Narada was his devotee. But although Krishna is the Supreme Lord and Narada is the Lord's devotee, the Lord observed the religious etiquette. Since Narada was a brahmachari, a brahman, and an exalted devotee, even Krishna, while acting as a king, offered his respectful obeisances unto Narada. Such is the conduct is visible in the Vedic civilization, a civilization in which people do not know how the representative of Narada and Karna should be respected, how society should be formed, and how one should advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A society concerned only with manufacturing new cars and new skyscrapers every year and then breaking them to pieces and making new ones may be technologically advanced, but it is not a human civilization. A human civilization is advanced when its people follow the chaturvarna system, the system of four orders of life. There must be ideal first-class men to act as advisors, second-class men to act as administrators, third-class men to produce food and protect cows, and fourth-class men to obey the three higher classes of society. One who does not follow this can get histomosis. Should be considered a fifth-class man. A society without Vedic laws and regulations will not be very helpful to humanity. As stated in this verse, dharmam tena param vidhu, such a society does not know the aim of life and the highest principle of religion. Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people by directing them to the path of of destruction, as described in the previous verse, are in fact, in effect, boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in the water with its passengers. Similarly, those who mislead people go to hell, and their followers go with them. We, the conditioned souls, have fallen in the ocean of miseries, but the human body fortunately provides us a good opportunity to cross the ocean, because the human body is like a very good boat. When directed by a spiritual master acting as the captain, the boat can very easily cross the ocean. Furthermore, the boat is helped across by favorable winds, which are the instructions of Vedic knowledge. If one does not take advantage of all these facilities to cross the ocean of misfortune, he is certainly committing suicide. One who boards a boat made of stone is doomed to be elevated to the stage of perfection. Humanity must first give up false leaders who present boats of stones. All of human society is in such a dangerous position that to rescue it must abide by the standard instructions of the Vedas. The cream of these instructions appears in the form of Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad-gītā. One should not take shelter of any instructions, for Bhagavad-gītā gives direct instructions on how to fulfill the aim of human life. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaśrīlaṁ vrajaṁ, give up all other processes of religion and simply surrender to Me. Even if one does not accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His instructions are so exalted and beneficial for humanity that if one follows his instructions, one will be saved. Otherwise, one will be cheated by unauthorized meditation and gymnastic methods of yoga. Thus one will board a boat of stone which will sink and drown all its passengers. Unfortunately, although the American people are extremely eager to get out of materialistic chaos, they are sometimes found to patronize recognize the makers of stone boats, that will not help them. They must take the proper boat offered by Krishna in the form of Krishna Consciousness movement. Then they will be easily saved. In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Ṛekaḍvātī ṭhākura comments, if society is guided by political diplomacy, with one nation maneuvering against another, it will certainly sink like a stone boat. Political maneuvering and diplomacy it will not save human society. People must take to Krishna consciousness to understand the aim of life, to understand God, and to fulfill the human mission. King Indra said, therefore, with great frankness and without duplicity, I shall now bow my head at the lotus feet of Praṣādhvātī, the spiritual master of the demigods, because he is the mode of goodness. He is In the mode of goodness, he is fully aware of all knowledge and is the best of the brahmanas. Now I shall touch his lotus feet and offer my obeisances unto him to try to satisfy him. Coming to his senses, King Indra realized that he was not a very sincere disciple of his spiritual master, Praśad RAVALAVAL. Therefore, he decided that henceforward he would be Nishta, non-duplicious. He decided to touch his head to the feet of his spiritual master. From this example, we should learn this principle initiated by Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur. By the mercy of the spiritual master, one is benedicted by the mercy of Krishna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. A disciple should one should never be a hypocrite or be unfaithful to his spiritual master. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the spiritual master is also called Ācārya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead says that one should respect the spiritual master, accepting him as the Lord Himself. One should not disrespect the Ācārya at any time. One should never think the Ācārya an ordinary person. Familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, but one should be very careful in one's dealings with the Ācārya. The Ācārya is a perfect Brahman and has unlimited intelligence in guiding the activities of his disciple. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa advises in Bhagavad-gītā, just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he he has seen the truth, one should fully surrender unto the spiritual master, and with service one should approach him for further spiritual enlightenment. While Indra, the king of the demigods, thought in this way and repented in his own assembly, Vāsudeva, the most powerful spiritual master, understood his mind. Thus he became invisible to Indra and left home. Home, but Vrāspatī was spiritually more powerful than King Indra. Although Indra searched vigorously with the assistance of the other demigods, he could not find Vrāspatī. Then Indra thought, 'Alas! My spiritual master has become dissatisfied with me, and now I have no means of achieving good fortune.' Although Indra was surrounded by demigods, he could not find peace of of mind. Hearing of the pitiable condition of King Indra, the demons, following the instructions of their guru Shukracharya, equipped themselves with weapons and declared war against the demigods. The demigods' heads, thighs, and arms, and other parts of the bodies, were injured by the sharp arrows of the demons. The demigods headed by Indra saw no other course than to immediately approach Lord Brahma with bowed heads for shelter and proper instructions. When the most powerful Lord Brahma saw the demigods coming toward him, their bodies gravely injured by the arrows of the demons, he pacified them by his great causeless mercy and spoke as follows: Lord Brahma said, 'O best of the demigods, unfortunately, because of madness resulting from your material opulence, you failed to receive Draṣpati properly when he came to your assembly. Because he is aware of the Supreme Brahman and fully in control of his senses, he is the best of the brahmanas. Therefore, it is very astonishing that you have acted impertinently toward him.' Hindi. Lord Brahmā recognized the brahmānical qualifications of Vraṣṇapati, who was the spiritual master of the demigods, because of his awareness of the Supreme Brahman. Vraṣṇapati was very much in control of his senses and mind, and therefore he was the most qualified brahmānical Lord Brahma chastised the demigods for not properly respecting this Brahman who was their guru. Lord Brahma wanted to impress upon the demigods that one's guru should not be disrespected under any circumstances. When Vāsudeva entered the assembly of the demigods, they and their king Indra took him for granted. Since he came every day, they thought they did not need to show him special respect. As it is said, familiarity breeds contempt. Being very much displeased, Praṣapati immediately left Indra's palace. Thus all the demigods headed by Indra became offenders at the lotus feet of Praṣapati, and Lord Brahmā, being aware of this, condemned their neglect. In a song we sing every day, Narottama ṭhākura says, 'Jākṣudāṁ dēloje, janme janme pravuṣe.' The guru gives special insight a disciple, and therefore the guru should be considered his master. Under no circumstances should the guru be disrespected. But the demigods, being puffed up by their material possessions, were disrespectful to their guru. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam advises, the ācārya should always be offered respectful obeisances. One should never envy the ācārya, considering him an ordinary human being. Because of your misbehavior towards Prasadi, you have been defeated by the demons. My dear demigods, since the demons were weak, having been defeated by you several times, how else could you, who were so advanced in opulence, be defeated by them? The devas are celebrated for fighting with the asuras perpetually. In such fights, the asuras were always defeated but this time the demigods were defeated. Why? The reason as stated here was that they had offended their spiritual master. Their impudent disrespect of their spiritual master was the cause of their defeat by the demons. As stated in the Shastras, when one disrespects a respectable superior, one loses his longevity and results of his pious activities., and in this way one is degraded. O Indra, your enemies, the demons, were extremely weak because of their disrespect towards Shukracharya. But since they had now worshipped Shukracharya with great devotion, they have again become powerful. By their devotion to Shukracharya, they have increased their strength so much that now they are even able to easily seize the abode from Lord Brahmā wanted to point out to the demigods that by the strength of the guru one can become most powerful within this world, and by the displeasure of the guru one can lose everything. This is confirmed by the song of Viśvanācārya Prabhupāda. Yasyā prasādād bhāgavatsa-sādhu, yasyā prasādāna nāgaditvudhobhi. By the mercy of the spiritual master, one is benefited. By the mercy of Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. All the Brahmanas are insignificant in comparison to Lord Brahmā. Because of the strength of their guru, they were so powerful that they could even seize Brahmālok from the Lord Brahmā. We therefore pray to the spiritual master. By the mercy of the guru, even a dumb man can become a great orator, and even a lame man can cross mountains. As advised by the Lord Brahmā, one should deliver a sharp whip injection if one desires success in his life. Because of their firm determination to follow the instructions of Śukrācārya, his disciples, the demons, are now unconcerned about the demigods. In fact, kings or others who have determined faith in the mercy of brahmanas, cows, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and who always worship these three are always strong in their position. From the instructions of Lord Brahmā, it is understood that everyone should very faithfully worship the brahmanas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the cows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is ro-brahman-hitaḥ. He is always very kind to cows cows and brahmanas. Therefore, one who worships Govinda must satisfy him by worshipping the brahmanas and cows. If a government worships the brahmanas, the cows, and Krishna, Govinda, it is never defeated anywhere. Otherwise, it must always be defeated and condemned everywhere. At the present moment, all over the world, governments have no respect for brahmanas, cows, and Govinda, and consequently they are chaotic conditions all over the world. In summary, although the demigods were very powerful in material opulence, the demons defeated them in battle because the demigods had behaved disrespectfully toward Brahma's son Vasudeva, who was their spiritual master. O demigods, I instruct you to approach Vishwaroop, the son of Tavastu, and accept him as your guru. He is a pure and very powerful Brahman undergoing austerity and penances. Pleased by your worship, he will fulfill your desire, provided that you tolerate his being inclined to side with the demons. Lord Brahma advised the demigods to accept the son of Tvast as their spiritual master, although he was very always inclined toward the benefit of the asuras. Śrī Śrīdhara Gosvāmī continued, thus advised by Lord Brahmā and relieved of their anxiety, all the demigods went to the sage Viśvarūpa, the son of Tvāstha. My dear king, they embraced him and spoke as follows. The demigods said, beloved Viśvarūpa, may there be all good fortune for you. We, the demigods, have come to your ashram as your guests. Please try to fulfill our desires according to the same, since we are on the level of your parents. O Brahman, the highest duty of a son, even though he has sons of his own, is to serve his parents, and what to speak of a son who is a brahmachari. The Acharya, the spiritual master who teaches all the Vedic knowledge and gives initiation by offering the sacred thread, is the personification of all the Vedas. Similarly, a father personifies Lord Brahma, a brother King Indra, a mother the planet Earth, and a sister Mercy. A guest personifies religious principles, an invited guest personifies the demigod Agni, and all living entities personify Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to the moral instructions of Chanakya Pandit, one should observe all living entities to be on the same level as oneself. This means that no one should be neglected as inferior. Because Paramātmā is seated in everyone, everyone's body, everyone should be respected as a temple of the Supreme Supreme Personality of Godhead. This verse describes the different ways in which one should respect a guru, a father, a brother, a sister, a guest, and so on. Dear son, we have been defeated by our enemies and therefore we are very much aggrieved. Please mercifully fulfill our desires by relieving our distress through the strength of your austerities. Please fulfill our prayers. Since you are completely aware of the Supreme Brahman, you are a perfect Brahman, and therefore you are the spiritual master of all orders of life. We accept you as our spiritual master and director, so that by the power of your, power of your austerity, we may easily defeat the enemies who have conquered us. One must approach a particular type of guru to exit to execute a particular type of duty. Therefore, although Viśvarūpa was inferior to the demigods, the demigods accepted him as a guru to conquer the demons. The demigods continued, 'Do not fear criticism for being younger than us. Such etiquette does not apply in regard to material mantras. Except in relationship to maverick mantras, seniority is determined by age, but But may open his sakurava senses even to a younger person who is advanced in chanting Vedic mantras. Therefore, although you are junior in relationship to us, you may become our priest without hesitation. It is said one may be senior without being advanced in age. Even if one is not old, one gains seniority if he is senior in knowledge. Vishwarupa is junior in relationship to the demigods because he he was their nephew, but the demigods wanted to accept him as their priest, and therefore he would have to accept obeisances from them. The demigods explained that this should not be a cause for hesitation. He should become their priest because he was advanced in Vedic knowledge. Similarly, Chanakya Pandit advises one may accept education from a member of a lower social order. The Brahmana is the man A number of the most elevated ones are teachers, but a person in a lower family, such a family of kshatriyas, vaisyas, or even shudras, may be accepted as a teacher if he has knowledge. Chaitanya Mahāprabhu approved of this when He expressed His opinion before Rāmānanda Rāya: It does not matter whether one is a brāhmin, śūdra, prastha, or sannyāsī. These are all material designations. Being a spiritually advanced person has nothing to do with self-realization. Therefore, if one is advanced in the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, regardless of his position in human society, he may become a spiritual master. Requested that great Vishwaroop be their priest. Vishwaroop, who was advanced in austerities, was very pleased. He replied to them as follows: 'Shri Vishwaroop said, 'O demigods, although the acceptance of priesthood is decried as causing the loss of previously acquired dharmical powers, how can someone like me refuse to accept your personal request? You are all exalted commanders of the entire I am your disciple and must take many lessons from you. Therefore, I cannot refuse you. I must agree for your own benefit, for my own benefit. The professions of a qualified Brahman are pathan, yajna, daan, and pratigraha. The word yajna means that a Brahman becomes the priest of the populace. For the sake of their elevation. One who accepts the post of spiritual master then becomes the cause of the actions of yajñānti, yajñāna, the one on whose behalf he performs yajña. Thus the result of the pious acts previously performed by the priest or spiritual master are diminished. Therefore priesthood is not accepted by learned brahman. Nevertheless, the great learned brahman Viśrū with become the priest of the demigods because of his profound respect for them. O exalted governors of various planets, the true Brahman who has no material possessions maintains himself by the profession of accepting silanchana. In other words, he picks up grains left in the field and on the ground in the wholesale marketplace. By this means, householder Brahmanas who always abide by the principles of austerity and penance to maintain themselves and their families and perform all necessary pious activities. A Brahman who desires to achieve happiness by gaining wealth through professional priesthood must certainly have a very low mind. How shall I accept such priesthood? A first-class Brahman does not accept any devots from his disciples or yajnas. Practicing charities and penances, he instead goes to the agricultural field and collects food grains left by the agriculturist to be collected by Brahmanas. Similarly, such Brahmanas go to marketplaces where grains are purchased and sold wholesale, and where they collect grains left by the merchants. In this way, such exalted Brahmanas maintain their body and families. Such priests never demand any anything from their disciples to live in opulence imitating Kshatriyas or Vaishyas. In other words, a pure Brahman voluntarily accepts a life of poverty and lives in complete dependence on the mercy of the Lord. Not very many years ago, a Brahman in Krishnanagar near Navadi was offered some help from the local zamindar, Praasad Raaval, and his younger brother. The Brahman refused to accept the help. He said that Since he was very happy in his householder life, taking rice given by his disciples and cooking vegetables on turmeric leaves, there was no question of taking help from the jamindar. The conclusion is that, although a brahman may receive much opulence from his disciples, he should not utilize the rewards of his priesthood for his personal benefit. He must use them for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of Godhead. All of you are my superiors. Therefore, although accepting priesthood is sometimes reproachable, I cannot refuse even a small request from you. I agree to be your priest. I shall fulfill your request by dedicating my life and possessions. Śrī Śrīla Dvīkā Gosvāmī continued, O King, after making This promise to the demigods, the exalted Vishwaroop surrounded by the demigods performed the necessary priestly activities with great enthusiasm and attention. The word samadhin is very important. Samadhin means complete absorption with an undiverted mind. Vishwaroop, who was a most learned Brahman, not only accepted the request of demigods but took their request seriously and performed the activities of priesthood with an undiverted mind. In other words, he accepted the priesthood not for material gain but to profit the demigods. Such is the duty of a priest. The word pura means family and hitta means benevolence. Thus the word prohit indicates that priest is the well-wisher of the family. Although meaning of the word pura is first a priest, first it A guru's duty is to see that his disciples benefit spiritually and materially by all means. Thus he is satisfied. A priest should never be interested in performing Vedic rituals for his personal benefit. The opulence of the demons, who are generally known as the enemies of the demigods, was protected by the talents and tactics of Kukracharya. But Vishurukh, who was most powerful, composed a protective prayer known as the Narayana Kavach. By this intelligent mantra, he took away the opulence of the demons and gave it to Mahendra, the king of heaven. The distinction between the demigods and demons is that demigods are all devotees of Lord Vishnu, whereas demons are devotees of demigods like Lord Shiva. Goddess Kali and Goddess Durga. Sometimes the demons are also devotees of Lord Brahma. For example, Hiranyakashipu was a devotee of Lord Brahma, Ravana was a devotee of Lord Shiv, and Mahishasura was a devotee of Goddess Durga. The demigods are devotees of Lord Vishnu, whereas the demons are always against the Vishnu bhaktas or Vaishnavas. To oppose the Vaishnavas, the demons become devotee of Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Kali, Durga, and so on. In the days of yore, many long years ago, there was animosity between the Devas and Asuras, and the same spirit still continues, for the devotees of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga are always envious of Vaishnavas who are devotees of Lord Vishnu. This strain between the devotees of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu has always existed. In the higher planetary system, the fights between the demons and the demigods continue for a long, long time. Herein we see that Vishwaroop made for the demigods a protective covering saturated with the Vishnu mantra. Sometimes the Vishnu mantra is called Vishnu Jwal, and Shiva mantra is called Shiv Jwal. We find in the shastras that sometimes the Shiv Jwal and Vishnu-jwar are employed in the fights between the demons and the demigods. The word surdhavisyam, which in this verse means of the enemies of the demigods, also refers to the atheist. Srimad Bhagavatam elsewhere says that Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared for the purpose of bewildering the demons or atheists. The Supreme Personality of Godhead God had always awards his benediction to devotees. The Lord himself confirmed this in Bhagavad Gita. Vishwaroop, who was most liberal, spoke to King Indra the secret hymn that protected Indra and conquered his military power of the demons. This end of Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada's 2nd Canto, 7th Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad entitled Indra Founded His Future Master, Prasadi. Chapter 8: The Narayan Kavach Shield. This chapter describes how Indra, the king of heaven, was victorious over the soldiers of the demons, and it also describes the shield of Vishwamitra. To take protection from this shield, one must first touch kusha grass and wash one's mouth with Achaman mantras. One should observe silence and then place the 8th slave Vishnu mantra on the part of his body and place the 12th slave mantra on his hands. The 8th slave mantra is Om Namah Narayan. This mantra should be distributed all over the front and back to the body. The 12th slave mantra, which begins with the Pranav Omkar, is Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. One slave bell should be placed on each of the fingers and should be preceded by the pranam Om Ka. Therefore, thereafter, one must chant Om Vishnomenamaha, which is a sister slave bell mantra. One must progressively place the slave bells of the mantras on the heart, the head, between the two eyebrows, on the Shikha, and between the eyes. Then one should chant Maha-Astra-Pat and with this mantra protect himself from all directions. One who has not risen to the level of the Devas cannot chant this mantra. According to this direction of the shastras, one must bring himself qualitatively non-different from the Supreme. After finishing this dedication, one One must offer a prayer to the Eight-Armed Lord Vishnu who sits on the shoulder of Garuda Dev. One should also has to think of the fish incarnation Vaman, Koon, Nrsimhara, Pushottama Ramchandra, the elder brother of Lakshman, Nairnayan, the Tathray, an empowered incarnation, Kapil, Sanandmohan Haigreev, Naradev, the incarnation of a devotee, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, Bhagavan Mahavatar Babaji, Balarama Vyasadeva, Buddha Deva, Keshava Deva— one should also think of Govinda Dasa, the master of Vrindavan, and one should think of Narayana, the Master of the spiritual sky. One should think of Madhusudhana Krishna Prithama Adav Vishwakesh Padmanabha Janardhan Damodara and Visveshwara, as well as Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna Himself. After offering prayers to these Appears great devotees, we can start our day by chanting to Hare Krishna mantra 3 times. the Lord's personal expansions known as the Swams and Shakatyavishavatas. One should pray to the weapons of Lord Vishnu, such as the Sudarshan, Gada, Shankh, and Bow. After explaining this process, Śrī Vidyākoṣaṁī told Maharaja Prakṣita how Viśvarūpa, the brother of Vṛtasūra, described the glories of the Narayana Kavas to Indra. King Prakṣita, in inquired from Śrīla Deva Gosvāmī, "My Lord, kindly explain the Viśnu-mantra armour that protected King Indra and enabled him to conquer his enemies along with their carriers and enjoy the opulence of the three worlds. Please explain to me that Narayana armour by which King Indra achieved success in battle conquering the enemies who were endeavoring to kill him. Śrī Śrīkṛṣṇa Gosvāmī said, King Indra, the leader of the demigods, inquired by the armourer known as Narayana Gavacca from Viśvarūpa, who was engaged by the demigods as their first priest. Please hear Viśvarūpa's reply with great attention. Vishwaroop said, if some form of fear arrives, one should first wash his hands and legs clean and then perform aśvāṇa by chanting this mantra: Om Apurṣraya Purṣprabhasaṇvāvaskam Gadopiva Yaśpreta Kundarīkākṣasa Bahya Vyaṇtraśuci Śrī Viṣṇu Śrī Viṣṇu Śrī Viṣṇu. Then one should touch kūśa grass and sit gravely and silently facing north. When completely purified, one should touch the mantra composed of 8 syllables to the 8th part of his body and touch the mantras composed of 12 syllables to his hands. Thus, in the following manner, he should bind himself with the Narayana coat of armour. First, while chanting the mantra composed of 8 syllables beginning with the pranav, the syllable One should touch his feet to 8 parts of his body, starting with the 2 feet and progressively systematically to the knees, thighs, abdomen, heart, chest, mouth, and head. Then one should chant the mantra in reverse, beginning from the last syllable, while touching the parts of his body in the reverse order. These 2 processes are known as upapinayas and respectively. The monk will chant the mantra composed of 12 syllables, preceding each syllable by the Omkar. One should place the syllables of the mantras on the tips of the fingers, beginning with the index finger of the right hand and concluded with the index finger of the left. The 4 remaining syllables should be placed on on the joints of the thumbs. One must then chant the mantra of 6 syllables, Om Vishnuve Namaha. One should place the syllable Om on his heart and syllable Vi on the top of his head, the syllable Stuh between his eyebrows, the syllable Na on his tuft of hair, and the syllable 've' between his eyes. The chanter of the mantra should then place the syllable 'na' on all the joints of his body and meditate on the syllable as being a weapon. He should thus become the perfect personification of the mantra. Therefore, thereafter, adding the 'visarga' to the final syllable, one should chant the mantra Mā-āstra-paṭ, in all directions beginning from the east. In this way, all directions will be bound by the protective armour of the mantra. After finishing this chanting, one should think himself qualitatively one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of good opulences and is worthy to be meditated upon. Then one should chant the holy— one should chant the following protective prayer to Lord Narayana, Narayana Kavacca. The Supreme Lord, who sits on the back of the bird Garuda, touching him with His lotus feet, holds 8 weapons: the conch shell disc, shield, sword, club, arrows, bow, and ropes. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead protect me at all times with His 8 arms. He is all-powerful because he fully possesses the 8 mystic powers. Thinking oneself one with the Supreme is called ahan-grahopasana. Although ahan-grahopasana, one does not become God, God, but he thinks of himself as qualitatively one with the Supreme, understanding that as a spirit soul he is equal in quality to the Supreme Soul, the way the water of a river is of the same nature as the water of the sea. One should meditate upon the Supreme Lord as described in the verse and seek His protection. Jumra bhoo.