Destroying sinful tendencies | SB 03.02.28 | 24 Aug 2006 | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami

Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya! Om namo prasad raavalayam! Om namo Bhagawat Vasudevaayahum! Namah Shivayaswamyaha! Om namoh Bhagawat Vassu Devaiahum! Namo Prasad Raavalayam! Vaasu Devalayam! Ong namoh Bhagwathey Vasso Divaiyahm! Naamo Shivaayiyaasa devatah! Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa 3, Chapter 2, Sloka 28. Ka māneṁ darṣayāṁ śeṣṭaṁ, prikṣāṇiyāṁ vrajo-kāśaṁ, rudhāṇīvāhasaṇ-mokḍha, bāla-simā-valo-kanaḥ. When the Lord displayed His activities just suitable for childhood, He was visible only to the residents of Vṛndāvana. Sometimes He would cry and sometimes laugh just like a child, and while doing so, He would appear like a lion cub. Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Śrīla Prabhupāda. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki? Jai! If everyone wants to enjoy the childhood pastimes of the Lord, then he has to follow in the footsteps of the residents of Braja like Nanda, Upananda, and other parental inhabitants. A child may insist on having something and cry like anything to get it, disturbing the whole neighbourhood, and then immediately after achieving the desired thing, he loves. Such crying and laughing is enjoyable to the parents and elderly members of the family. So the Lord will simultaneously cry and laugh. In this way, it merges devotee parents in the honour of transcendental pleasure. These incidents are enjoyable only by the residents of Braja like Nand Maharaj and the impersonalist worshippers of Brahman or Paramātmā. And not by the impious worshipers of Brahman or Paramatma. Sometimes when attacked in the forest by demons, Kṛṣṇa would appear struck with wonder, but He looked on them like the cub of a lion and killed them. His childhood companions would also be struck with wonder, and when they came back home, they would narrate the story to their parents, and everyone would appreciate the qualities of their Krishna. Child Krishna did not belong only to his parents, Nanda and Yashoda. He was the son of all the elderly inhabitants of Vrindavan and the friend of all contemporary boys and girls. Everyone loved Krishna. He was the life and soul of everyone, including the animals, the cows, and the calves. Kaumānim darśayām ścheṣtam. Prekṣā-niyam vraja-kūkhasaṁ. Vrihāṇi-vāḥ haṣaṇ-muktaḥ. Mālā-simāvā-lokānāḥ. This is going to be a little short class today. We have to go early in the morning. So in this, this chapter is called, what is this chapter called? Who knows? Huh? Remembrance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That should be everybody's business, isn't it? The remembrance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And we saw earlier in the chapter that Viṣṇu had asked a great devotee, Uddhava, about the pastimes of the Lord. And Uddhava in this chapter is recalling the different transcendental activities of the Lord. And Uddhava was, from his very childhood, he was absorbed in what? Absorbed in serving the Supreme Lord. As it is explained in the earlier verses of this chapter, even when he was a small child and he would be invited for breakfast, He would not bother about coming and eating. He would just be, even in his childhood, he was absorbed in playing with dolls of the Supreme Lord. It is said that if from the childhood a child is educated in spiritual life, then he grows up with the proper understanding. Therefore, Pralad Maharaj has said, "Kamara aśrat pragyad dharmam bhagavatam yah," that from the age of 5, one should begin to cultivate spiritual life. Prabhupāda used to tell us how when he was a small child, he was also trained by his parents to worship their lordships rather than Kṛṣṇa. And how even when Prabhupāda was a small child, he used to organize a very nice— what's that festival called? Rath Yatra festival. And the Rath Yatra festival that Prabhupāda was organizing had become so popular that even Prabhupāda's father's friends would say, "You organized this nice festival and you didn't call us." And then Prabhupāda's father would say, But this festival was organized by my son. It wasn't organized by me. So Uddhava here in this chapter is recalling all the wonderful pastimes that the Supreme Lord had performed in Gokul and in Vṛndāvana. And we devotees should also get into the habit of remembering these different pastimes of the Lord. In the purport in this section, Prabhupāda explains that when you remember these pastimes of the Lord, the Lord is actually present over there. Why? Because the Lord is absolute. Just like we say that when you chant the Holy Names, a Holy Name is not different from the Lord, isn't it? So similarly, when you remember the pastimes of the Lord, then the Lord is actually personally present over there because the Lord is absolute. So the safest as is, to absorb oneself in remembering the pastimes of the Lord. Just like Wadhawa Oheer is remembering the different pastimes performed by the Lord, we should also similarly absorb ourselves in remembering these different pastimes of the Lord. In the Nectar of Devotion, you read about various rules and regulations given by Rūpa Gosvāmī as to how we should progress on the devotional path. But the conclusion is, as Rūpa Gosvāmī says, the purpose of all these rules and regulations is to bring us to the point that you always remember Kṛṣṇa. And you never forget Kṛṣṇa. This is mentioned again and again. Get to the point. We always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Kṛṣṇa. This is very important for pursuing spiritual life. Prabhupāda said, "You can conquer the whole world, but if you haven't conquered your mind, you haven't achieved anything." And remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa is a medium through which you can conquer the mind. To conquer the mind is necessary if you want to make spiritual advancement. In the 6th chapter of the Bhāgavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa explains that one should make friends with the mind and not let the mind be your enemy. Enemy. When is the mind considered to be your friend? The mind is considered to be your friend when the mind is acting according to the directions of the Lord. And when is the mind considered to be your enemy? When the mind is acting independent of the Lord. And Kṛṣṇa explains in the 6th chapter, Prasad RAVAL, that for one who has controlled the mind, the Super Soul is already reached. And to such a man, happiness and distress, victory, defeat, honor, dishonor, heat and cold are all the same. In other words, if you have controlled the mind, then A devotee will be peaceful in any situation. And if you haven't controlled the mind, then doesn't matter how much you achieve, you will never be peaceful. In the Eight County Bhāgavatam, you read the story of Lord Vāmandaiva in Bali Mahārāja. The Lord had incarnated as Lord Vāmandaiva, and he appeared in the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja was very attracted by the beauty of this brahmana, and he offered him any benediction. He asked him, "What could you offer him as a gift?" So, Vāmandeva, he was the Supreme Lord. He asked him for something very meager. He said, "Just give me enough land where I can keep 3 footsteps." Now, that was something so insignificant, isn't it? So, Manimohana said, "Ask me for something more." This is nothing. You don't go to a big man and ask him for something so insignificant, asking for a few grains of rice. But then Paramahansa Yogananda said, if one who has not controlled his mind and senses, even if you give him everything, he will not be satisfied. And one who has controlled his mind, and through the mind he can control the senses, He will be satisfied in any condition. Take for example the Gosvāmīs of Vrindāvana, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātan Gosvāmī. At one time they were living in a very opulent condition. Rūpa Gosvāmī, when he resigned from his government service, he had so much wealth that a whole boat was full of gold coins. But When they came to Vṛndāvana, how did they live? They lived the life of a mendicant. They were totally satisfied. Then Rāgūnādaḍaskara ṣvāmī, he was also the son of a millionaire. He came to Vṛndāvana. He lived the life of a pauper. He was totally satisfied. Why? They had the holy name. Prabhupāda gave us an example. He said, During India's freedom movement, there was a very big lawyer who used to give Mahatma Gandhi a lot of money. So once Mahatma Gandhi told him, "Now you give me your money, now I want you. You give your life. Come and work with me. Take part in the independent movement." But this man was so attached to His comfort that when he was asked to come and surrender and be with Gandhi, he was very uncomfortable, unhappy. And in one month he died. He was— so Prabhupāda gave us this example to show the one who has controlled his mind and senses. And he gave the example of Raghunāṭhā Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī, and Sanātan. They had all the opulences, but still when they renounced all that, they had absolutely no problem in adjusting to the life of a mendicant. Whereas one who doesn't control his mind and senses, he's not happy when he doesn't get his facilities. So in this chapter we see that Uddhava is recalling the different pastimes of the Lord. The different pastimes exhibited by the Lord, and we devotees should also develop the habit of remembering the different pastimes of the Lord. As Kṛṣṇa says in the 18th chapter of the Bhāgavad-gītā, "If you do 4 things, you come back to Me." What are the 4 things? Manmana bhāva, man bhakto. "Madhya ji, mam namaskara. Mama ivāśre satyam te pratījane priyaśyami." You think of Me, become My devotee, offer your homage unto Me, bow down to Me. And if you do these four things, then what will happen? You'll come to Me without any doubt. Without fail. So this principle of remembering the different pastimes of the Lord, this business of remembering the instructions of the Lord is mentioned again and again. And just like Udhava is recalling the different pastimes of the Lord, we should also develop the habit of recalling the different pastimes of the Lord. In the 4th canto of the Bhāgavatam, you read that after the Lord had departed from the planet and Arjuna realized that the Lord had departed, Arjuna became very, very sad. And Arjuna began recalling those pastimes which from a material angle were inconceivable, but by the mercy of the Lord became conceivable. And then Arjuna started recalling Kṛṣṇa's instructions from the Bhāgavad-gītā. And when he started recalling Kṛṣṇa's instructions from the Bhāgavad-gītā, Arjuna felt as if Kṛṣṇa was right there present with him just by meditating on Kṛṣṇa's instructions in the Gītā. Because as Prabhupāda says, the many verses in this chapter, Prabhupāda makes a point that remembering of the pastimes of the Lord is absolute. Because when you remember the pastimes of the Lord, then the Kṛṣṇa is actually present. That's the feeling a devotee has. So Arjuna, when he started recalling the different instructions of the Lord, then he felt as if Kṛṣṇa was right there. And the moroseness and the sadness that he had, disappeared, and he was once again enlivened. So Prabhupāda explains that this is what every devotee in the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement should do. Meditate on Kṛṣṇa's pastimes of the Bhāgavad-gītā. How many of you meditate on Kṛṣṇa's pastimes of the Bhāgavad-gītā every day? 2, 3, 4, 5. So we should all try to do that. So by meditating and remembering these pastimes, the mind will naturally get purified. Just like Prabhupāda gives example, if a glass is full with water, then there's no opportunity to add anything more. So similarly, if the mind is absorbed in these different pastimes, then there won't be any room for any other mundane activity. Now if you read Kṛṣṇa's childhood pastimes, like this verse is talking about Kṛṣṇa's childhood pastimes, you see that Kṛṣṇa killed many powerful demons, isn't it? Very powerful demons. Garga Muni, the astrologer, he knew that Kṛṣṇa, who Kṛṣṇa's real identity was. But His foster parents, Nānamaraṇa-nīṣoda-mādhava, they were so enamored by the love towards their son that they could never really comprehend Kṛṣṇa's childhood pastimes. And they could never really understand that here was Kṛṣṇa, none else but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now we see that Kṛṣṇa killed many demons, isn't it? Which was the first demon that Kṛṣṇa killed? Huh? Now Thakura Bhakti Vinod has given us very nice explanation of Kṛṣṇa killing the different demons. So some of you may say, "What's the advantage?" of our reading these pastimes of Kṛṣṇa killing the demons? What is the advantage? One advantage is you know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord can perform inconceivable activities from day one. You know, if you want to become healthy, you have to go to a gymnasium to practice. You know, if you want to be a weightlifter, you have to go to a health club to practice weightlifting. But Kṛṣṇa didn't have to do anything. Okay, so that's one advantage. You know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, and when He performs His inconceivable— and He's capable of performing any inconceivable activity. What's the other advantage of hearing these pācchana of Kṛṣṇa killing the demons? You eliminate your anarthas. Ṛkṛda-bhakti-vinoda has very nicely analyzed and explained that by remembering the different pastimes of the Lord, devotees destroy their sinful tendencies. We have sinful tendencies. Just because we have come to spiritual life, or just because I've got initiated, doesn't mean that your sinful tendencies have disappeared instantly. So when you hear the different pastimes and meditate on these different pastimes, then the sinful tendencies that are there in us, they get destroyed. That is why hearing and remembering is important. Remembering is only possible if hearing is also there. If hearing is not there, then how will you remember? Therefore, when Prasād RAVAL explains the ninefold process of devotional service, he explains śrāvanaṁ, kīrtanam, viṣṇusvanam. He did not say 'Vishnu-smāranam, śrāvanaṁ, kīrtanam.' He didn't say, 'First you remember, then you hear and chant.' He said, 'Hear, chant, and then you can remember.' So Tākura Mākhināla explains that when you hear— now hearing is the same as reading. Somebody may say, 'Okay, I'll just hear, I will not read.' No, hearing is the same as reading. You read, so you're hearing through the eyes. When you hear, you hear from the ears. So both are important, hearing through the eyes and hearing through the ears. So when you hear these different pastimes, then you eliminate the different anarthas. For example, the pastime of Kṛṣṇa killing the powerful demon Putana. Putana, as you know, had disguised herself as a very beautiful, attractive lady. She was sent by Kamsa for the purpose of poisoning the child. Kamsa had already heard that the Lord has already appeared. Kamsa was— the Lord, the person who's going to kill you has already appeared. So what did Kamsa do? Cruel as he was, He ordered that all the children born in the last 10-12 days should be killed. Not only that, he even instructed that all the Brahminas' houses should be burnt, all the sacrifices should be stopped, cows should be killed. Why? The cow gives milk. Isn't it? The milk then you make butter. The butter then goes for sacrifice. And he said, "By sacrifice, wish to become stronger." So he, he, he, they operated everything demonic. Then when he hears this pastime, how Kṛṣṇa killed the powerful demon Putana. So by hearing this, this takes away the anartha of those who think that you can have bhakti and sense enjoyment at the same time. There's some so-called gurus who teach that you can have sense enjoyment and bhakti at the same time. But Kṛṣṇa doesn't say that. Does Kṛṣṇa say that? But there's some so-called preachers who say, "You can have your quota of sense enjoyment and still you can go back to Godhead. You can do both bhakti and sense enjoyment." So by hearing the story of Putana, then this tendency that is there that I can have sense enjoyment and go back to Godhead and perform bhakti. That anārtha gets destroyed. This is Thākura Bhakti Noda's explanation. Not only do we have that understanding, there are many so-called gurus who also preach this philosophy of how you can have sense gratification and at the same time you can, you can go back to Godhead. Kṛṣṇa has made it very clear that performing devotional service means rejecting what is unfavorable for spiritual advancement. Kṛṣṇa, when He was a small child, few months old, there was a very powerful cart. What is it called? Phakār called? Shakta-sura. So Kṛṣṇa just touched it, just like a small child, he sometimes lifts his leg. And what happened? That cart came tumbling down, isn't it? The cart came tumbling down. So everybody in the house was surprised. "How did this happen? How did this cart come tumbling down?" And the other cowherd boy said, "This happened because your son kicked the cart." Then mother, "You so don't believe it?" She said, "No. How can my young child have so much strength in his legs?" But, so if you hear this pastime, how Kṛṣṇa killed the demon, there was a ghost actually in the cart. How Kṛṣṇa killed the demon. Now by hearing this, what happens? You take away the bad habits of laziness and pride. Many times we are very proud of our position, we are lazy on the path of devotional service. Actually, on the path of devotional service, one should never be lazy. Why? Because time represents Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, "Time I am." And the devotee's desire is The time should be used always in what? In serving the Supreme Lord. So, by hearing this pastime, you take away the tendency of pride, laziness, etc. Then there was another demon Kṛṣṇa killed right after that. What was that? Trināvarta. Manirṣodha was boiling the milk.. And the baby was sitting right there. And Trināvarta appeared as a whirlwind. You know, there was so much storm released. So Mother Yāsodā, for fraction of a second, she was like blinded. And in the meantime, Trināvarta lifted the baby. Of course, Kṛṣṇa is very smart. He let Trināvarta lift the baby. But when they went high, Then Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself and He became so heavy that the demon just could not hold the baby. And then ultimately what happened? Trināmaṁrta died. So if you hear this story of Trināmaṁrta, the Kṛṣṇa killing the Trināmaṁrta demon, what does, what do you destroy by that? By hearing this pastime, you destroy The tendency of fault-finding, just arguing, you know, we have the tendency to fault-find, false learning, being proud of your academic knowledge, thinking, "I'm such a great Pandit," etc. And so these tendencies that we have, different types of vānatas, these false pride, This can be destroyed by regularly hearing these pastimes, especially this pastime of Kṛṣṇa killing the Cinnāmārata. Then there was another pastime of Kṛṣṇa pulling down the two Yamārnārjana trees. Hmm? Actually, the great sages, even if they curse you, it's a blessing. So the sons of Kavera were intoxicated and when the great sage Nārada Muni was passing by, they were so intoxicated that they didn't even have the courtesy to cover their body even though the ladies who were with them had the decency. So, so Nārada Muni cursed them. What did he curse them to be? Trees, but not in Delhi or Bombay. They became trees in the courtyard of Nanak Dev Ji. I'm sure none of you would mind that curse. Would anybody mind it? No. So they became the trees, and they were given the curse to become trees, to stand as trees for 100 years. 100 celestial years. But then along with that they were also given the benediction, the benediction that they would be delivered by the Supreme Lord, they would be able to see the Supreme Lord. So the Supreme Lord fulfills the promise of His devotee, just like when the Lord appeared as Nrsimhadeva. He appeared as Nrsimhadev keeping all the promises given by Brahmā intact. In fact, Prabhupāda said in one of his lectures on Lord Nrsimhadev's appearance there, he said that after Kṛṣṇa killed, after Nrsimhadev killed Hiranyakaśipū, Nrsimhadev told Brahmā, "In future, Don't give these type of benedictions. It makes my job very hard. Because Brahmā gave so many assurances to Hiranyakashipu that Lord had to conceive of a plan how to appear in the second day, half man, half lion, at dusk and use His nail to kill Hiranyakashipu. So, now then when He cursed, These two sons of Kuvaira and gave them along with that a benediction. So Kṛṣṇa remembered the benediction that was given by His devotee Nārada Muni. So He pulled down the two huge trees. Isn't it? It was a small child crawling. The mortar was stuck between the two trees. Now can a small child who is crawling, not even walking, I mean, can a small child pull down two huge trees? Kuchh ho rā bhātā, bachā, do bharay bhrīkṣaṅgā kirā saktaḥ. But Kṛṣṇa pulled down the huge trees. And out of those two trees came Nālakarāṇa and Mano-grihavā. And they were very happy. The two thanked the Lord. They thanked the Lord, they thanked their guru Nārada Muni for giving them this opportunity where they could see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And they realized that the curse given by Nārada Muni was actually a blessing, because now they had the privilege to see the Supreme Lord. And then they offered a very wonderful prayer. They said, "Henceforth." Henceforth means from now onwards. We may have made many mistakes, but from now onwards our desire is that our eyes may constantly see the form of the Lord, our ears may constantly hear the glories of the Lord, our tongue may constantly glorify the Supreme Lord. Our head may constantly bow down before the Supreme Lord. Our legs may constantly walk to the places of worship of the Lord. So this is the standard that every devotee should have. What they said is, "Henceforth." That means we may have made some mistakes in the past. We were puffed up, arrogant. They were the sons of a big man, Kavera. So, you know, children of big people get intoxicated, get and become falsely proud. Just like even in today's society, if you see children of a big man, rich man, they're very proud, isn't it? They don't even surrender so easily to the Supreme Lord. So just like these two sons of Kuerot, they offered this prayer saying, "Henceforth, how we may use our mind and senses always in service to the Lord." So that's a mentality. That we devotees should have that henceforth, may we now in ignorance, we may have performed so many sinful activities, but now that we have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we may use our mind and senses constantly in service to the Lord. So Mother Yasoṇa was in the kitchen. When this pastime took place. When this pastime took place and the two trees fell down. So she came out running to see what happened. And when she saw the two trees on the ground, she said, 'How did this happen?' And the other coward boys who were there said, 'Your son caused these two trees fall. And she said, "How is it possible? How is it possible that my young son could have caused these two trees to fall? Huh? These two trees must have fallen due to the wind, due to the storm. How can a small child cause these two trees to fall?" Now By hearing this pastime of how Kṛṣṇa delivered the two trees, you can destroy your anartha, pride, arrogance, especially I am— if you're born in a rich family, you have this pride. But if you still have this pride, proud mentality, This can be destroyed by hearing this pastime of Kṛṣṇa delivering the, ah, Yama, Laṁaraṇjana trees. So the point is, by hearing the different pastimes of the Lord, we cleanse ourselves of the material misgivings. Brahmā wanted to test this wonderful boy. What did Brahmā do? He stole the different cows. Coward boys, etc. How Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself as inima calves and cows and His coward boys, and then Kṛṣṇa went back and they went back to their respective homes. When the calves came back, the mothers had greater attachment than before. When the coward boys came back, The mothers had even more attachment than before. Now, for a whole year, nobody really knew what had transpired. And in the end, when Brahma saw these coward boys and cows, Brahma thought, maybe those that he put to sleep have woken up. But then what did Brahma see? That they were still sleeping over there. And Brahmā felt totally defeated by this. So we hear this different pastime. Then what happened? Those who are attracted to the path of jnāna and karma-kanda, these tendencies to just speculate on the Supreme, the— and the tendency that through karma-kanda you can make a spiritual advancement, this anārtha, will get destroyed. So by hearing these different childhood pastimes of the Lord, the different anarthas get destroyed. When you read about Krishna's childhood pastimes in the 10th Canto, you also read how there was a lady selling apples. The lady was selling apples. She came to Krishna's house. At that time, He had the system of barter. No cash. So tiny baby Kṛṣṇa had grains in His hand. He went with the grains in His hand to offer them in exchange for the apples. The grains fell out, but still the lady was so attracted to Kṛṣṇa's beauty, she gave the apples. And when she looked back, what did she find? She found that the basket was full of Golden apples. In the Caitanya Mangal, you read another story. The Lord Caitanya, after he took sannyāsa, he was racing ahead and he felt thirsty on the way. And a lady offered him buttermilk. He bought buttermilk from a lady who was selling buttermilk. And he said, "Money will be given by those who are coming behind me." And there was Nityananda and others. So when Lord Nityananda and the others came, and she said, "Paisa, one sannyasi was going ahead, he took, he drank all my buttermilk, and he said you are going to pay for it." Lord Nityananda said, "Even we don't have any money." So the lady said, "Okay, take this as a gift from Me to that sannyāsi." So her pot of buttermilk was all empty because Lord Caitanya drank the entire pot. So normally the pot should be very easy to lift, isn't it? But when she went to lift it, it was so heavy that she could not even lift it. So out of curiosity then, she looked inside what was inside. And she saw the pot was full of gold, emeralds, and diamonds. And plus the lady was blessed by Lord Caitanya. She was dancing in ecstasy and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. So she gave a little bit of milk. And what did she get in exchange? Gold. So some of you may say, "Boy, that's a good deal. We should all do that. I'll give, I'll give 10, 100 pots of buttermilk. Am I going to get?" Of course, Lord Caitanya blessed that lady and she didn't get contaminated by this opulence and she became a great devotee. But we get so much opulence, We may get bewildered by the illusory energy. So Krishna doesn't give that to us so easily. Just like Sadhama Brahman, he was a poor friend of the Lord. His wife would always tell him, "Go and meet your rich friend." You know, if you have a rich friend, then you want to take advantage of that. She was poor. Of course, Sadhama was content. A Brahman is content in any situation, even in distress, even in illness. Even in poverty, a Brahmin doesn't complain. So Sudama was totally satisfied, but his wife wasn't so satisfied. So she would induce him, "Go and meet your rich friend." So he went to Dwarka. He was received so nicely by the Lord. They recalled their childhood pastimes, how to serve their spiritual master. They went on an impossible mission.. And then without really asking anything, Sudama departed to return to his home. And on the way back, he was just thinking, "What am I going to tell my wife now? I didn't even ask the Lord for anything, isn't it? I just went and came back. I didn't ask Him for anything." But when the Lord is in everyone's heart, sārvāstra-cāham hiddhi sādhyavistho. Mataḥ śrīḍhijānām apahanaṁ ca. So when he came back, what did he see? The same place which was a hut had become a palace. His wife was skinny, wearing torn sarees, was dressed up in complete opulence. So he knew that this could only be possible by the mercy of— So someone may say, "Oh!" "I'll become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa provided I'm assured that my 2-room apartment is going to become a palace like Sudāma's." So why doesn't it happen to us? Because Kṛṣṇa knows that if He gave us too much opulence, we would forget Him and get contaminated by the illusory energy. So Kṛṣṇa keeps us on our toes. He doesn't give us too much of anything so that we are fully dependent on Him. And we don't forget Him. Otherwise, we could also fall in the same trap that the sons of Kuvaira fell into. They were rich, they got allured into sense enjoyment, etc. So Krishna gives— so by listening to these different pastimes, there's so many wonderful pastimes you read, how from Gokula they moved to Vrindavan. By remembering these pastimes, The mind gets purified. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa explains for the mind, what are the— what is the austerity of the mind? One austerity of the mind is to be satisfied in any condition. The nature of the material mind is to be never satisfied. But the spiritual mind, when one is spiritualist, Then the mind is satisfied in any condition. Then another austerity of the mind is simplicity. Our philosophy is simple living and high thinking. And the material philosophy is high living and simple thinking. Live as high as you can and think like the cats and dogs. And our philosophy is simple living and high thinking. Deva Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhāgavad-gītā, One of the austerities of the mind is simplicity. Then gravity. Gravity means to be always serious about the goal of life, not to waste a minute in idle talk, idle activity. Perfect yogi, Kṛṣṇa says, is one who doesn't sleep too much, doesn't sleep too little, doesn't eat too much, doesn't eat too little. So we should always be serious about the goal of life. Then another austerity of the mind is self-control. Self-control means to control the mind and the senses. Then another austerity is purification of one's existence. And how do we get purified of our existence? By listening to these different pastimes of the Lord, by remembering these different pastimes of the Lord, By remembering the different instructions of the Lord and of course by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-mantra. The Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-mantra, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, is ceto-darpaṇ-mārjanam. It results in cleansing of the heart. Then in the Bhāgavad-gītā, 8th chapter called Attaining the Supreme, Kṛṣṇa also gives us further information how You can positively engage the mind. Kṛṣṇa says, "Think of Me as one who is the oldest." We think of Kṛṣṇa, but we think of Kṛṣṇa as one who is the oldest. Adyam purāṇa puruṣaṁ nāo yau nām ca. He is the oldest. There is no one older than Him. But even though He is the oldest, He looks ever youthful. Then Kṛṣṇa says, "Think of Me as one who is the controller." Kṛṣṇa is not only controller, He is the Supreme Controller. Therefore Brahmājī said, Īśvā-parma-kṛṣṇa. He is not just Īśvā, He is the Supreme Īśvā. There is no one higher than Him. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, "ham sarvasya pravahau." I am the source of everything, material and spiritual. So Kṛṣṇa says, think of Me as one who is the controller. Then He says, think of Me as one who is smaller than the smallest. I mean smaller than the smallest. He can even enter into the atom. As the Paramātmā, He even enters into the ant. Kṛṣṇa is also in the heart of the ant. So Kṛṣṇa is smaller than the smallest. Then Kṛṣṇa says, think of Me as one who is the maintainer of everything. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, aham sarvasya pravaham atahā sarvam pravartate. "I am the source of everything material and spiritual." Kṛṣṇa also says, mayā-dakṣinā-prakṛti. "This prakṛti is working under My direction." It's not independent of the Lord. So Kṛṣṇa says, "Think of Me as one of the maintainer of everything." You ask the atheist, "Who is the cause of everything?" He'll say material nature. Ask him, "Who created nature?" Nature. He has no answer. But the devotee's answer is that Kṛṣṇa is the maintainer of everything. So when he sees something nice, when he sees something beautiful, the devotee automatically wants to offer it in service to the Lord. Then Kṛṣṇa says, "Think of Me as one who is beyond all material conception." Kṛṣṇa is beyond material conception. That means we cannot understand the Lord by our material senses. You have to understand the Lord through the medium of service. Seva mukhehit jiva do. Through the medium of service. And when you look at these different pastimes, how a small child pulled down two huge trees, you tell this to a materialist, he's not going to believe it, isn't it? He's going to say, "How is it possible?" But think of Me as One who is beyond all material conception. Kṛṣṇa is saying that Himself. So Kṛṣṇa cannot be measured by a tiny mundane brain. Then He is inconceivable. He is inconceivable. He can plant, He can pass an elephant through the eye of a needle also. Then Kṛṣṇa says, "Think of Me as one who is always a person." So Kṛṣṇa is a person. But as Kṛṣṇa says, janma-karma-cāme, devya. His appearance and disappearance are both completely transcendental. It's not that the Supreme Lord is something impersonal or void. The impersonal aspect of God is subordinate to understanding the personal aspect of the God. Then Kṛṣṇa says, think of Me always as a person more luminous than the sun and transcendental. He, He is there, but He's completely transcendental. So Kṛṣṇa gives us further instructions as to how we can think of Kṛṣṇa. So by remembering Kṛṣṇa's pastimes as udhāva, is, by remembering Kṛṣṇa's qualities as He describes in the Bhāgavad-gītā, as endeavoring to control the mind to the path given by Kṛṣṇa, we can make the mind our friend. And when you can make the mind your friend, then spiritual life will become very easy. Spiritual life appears difficult as long as the mind is uncontrolled. In the Bhagavad Gita, the example is given of sitting on an unbridled horse. If you're sitting on a horse and you don't have control on the reins, then at any time you can be thrown off the saddle, isn't it? So similarly, if you come on the spiritual path And you don't try to control your mind and senses, at any time you can be thrown off the spiritual path. You'll go back to material life. Therefore, we should constantly try to remember the different pastimes of the Lord. And by remembering the different pastimes of the Lord, by remembering the different qualities of the Lord, by remembering the different forms of the Lord, you'll get purified and you'll be able to make spiritual advancement. So to summarize the verse here, and this chapter is called Remembrance of Lord Sri Krishna, we see how Uddhava, when he was asked by Vidura to describe the different pastimes of the Lord, how he was in total ecstasy, how he began to remember the different pastimes. And in this chapter, it is being described how Krishna performed these wonderful pastimes. Here we read about how he performed these wonderful pastimes with a in Vṛndāvana. And when Kṛṣṇa was there, He was the talk of town. Even the vraja-bāsīs, everybody was amazed how this small boy could perform such extraordinary feats. And they were thinking maybe He has the blessings of the demigods, but no one knew that He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we should absorb ourselves in thinking of Kṛṣṇa. And one way to think of Kṛṣṇa is if you also absorb yourself in Kṛṣṇa-katha. This is nicely explained in the 10th Canto of the Bhāgavatam where it is explained by absorbed— that devotee should endeavor to absorb himself in Kṛṣṇa-katha. Sometimes people say, "Why does Kṛṣṇa appear? He appears to kill demons." But Kṛṣṇa can kill demons with material energy. So many demons are dying every minute. Kṛṣṇa doesn't appear personally to kill them. You know, people are getting heart attacks, cancer, AIDS, so many crashes. Kṛṣṇa appears to have performed transcendental pastimes which can be discussed and relished by His devotees through the medium of Kṛṣṇa-kathā. So if we engage in Kṛṣṇa-kathā, then remembrance of these different pastimes will become easy. And what is the opposite of Kṛṣṇa-kathā? If you engage in prajñālpa, then remembrance of Kṛṣṇa will not be possible. You can't do prejalpa and remember Kṛṣṇa at the same time. You understand that? That point should be made very clear. If you want to remember Kṛṣṇa, then you have to practice the art of Kṛṣṇa-katha. Of course, chanting the Holy Name falls in this category. Then you can remember Kṛṣṇa. You can't expect, "I will not do śrāvanaṁ kṛṭṇaṁ and at the moment of death I'll do viṣṇusvarṇaṁ." It's not possible. If you don't study, you can't expect to pass the exam. So our process of study is practice the process of Kṛṣṇa-katha. And by practicing Kṛṣṇa-katha, then we'll be able to remember Kṛṣṇa also. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Krishna Krishna! Hare Hare! Hare Rama Hare Ramana Maharshi! Lama Lama! Hare Hare! Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!