bhaktivedanta vedabase : srimad bhagavatam 8.5 · canto 8: withdrawal of the cosmic creations...

Canto 8: Withdrawal of theCosmic Creations

Chapter 5: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord forProtection

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 8.5.23

ayam ca tasya sthiti-palana-ksanahsattvam jusanasya bhavaya dehinam

tasmad vrajamah saranam jagad-gurumsvanam sa no dhasyati sam sura-priyah

SYNONYMS

ayam -- this period; ca -- also; tasya -- of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sthiti-palana-ksanah -- the time for maintenance, or for establishing His rule; sattvam -- themode of goodness; jusanasya -- accepting (now, without waiting); bhavaya -- for theincreased development or establishment; dehinam -- of all living entities who acceptmaterial bodies; tasmat -- therefore; vrajamah -- let us take; saranam -- shelter;jagat-gurum -- at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is theuniversal teacher; svanam -- His own persons; sah -- He (the Supreme Personality ofGodhead); nah -- unto us; dhasyati -- will give; sam -- the good fortune we need;sura-priyah -- because He is naturally very dear to the devotees.

TRANSLATION

Now is the time to invoke the mode of goodness of the living entities who haveaccepted material bodies. The mode of goodness is meant to establish the Supreme Lord'srule, which will maintain the existence of the creation. Therefore, this is the opportunemoment to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because He is naturallyvery kind and dear to the demigods, He will certainly bestow good fortune upon us.

PURPORT

The material world is conducted by the three modes of nature, namely sattva-guna,rajo-guna and tamo-guna. By rajo-guna everything material is created, by sattva-gunaeverything material is maintained properly, and by tamo-guna, when the creation isimproperly situated, everything is destroyed.

From this verse we can understand the situation of Kali-yuga, through which we arenow passing. Just before the beginning of Kali-yuga -- or, in other words, at the end ofDvapara-yuga -- Lord Sri Krsna appeared and left His instructions in the form ofBhagavad-gita, in which He asked all living entities to surrender unto Him. Since thebeginning of Kali-yuga, however, people have practically been unable to surrender to thelotus feet of Krsna, and therefore, after some five thousand years, Krsna came again asSri Caitanya Mahaprabhu just to teach the entire world how to surrender unto Him, untoSri Krsna, and thus be purified.

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 8 Chapter 5 Verse 23 http://vedabase.net/sb/8/5/23/en2

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Surrendering unto the lotus feet of Krsna means achieving complete purification.Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (18.66):

sarva-dharman parityajyamam ekam saranam vrajaaham tvam sarva-papebhyomoksayisyami ma sucah

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you fromall sinful reaction. Do not fear." Thus as soon as one surrenders unto the lotus feet ofKrsna, one certainly becomes free from all contamination.

Kali-yuga is full of contamination. This is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam(12.3.51):

kaler dosa-nidhe rajannasti hy eko mahan gunahkirtanad eva krsnasyamukta-sangah param vrajet

This age of Kali is full of unlimited faults. Indeed, it is just like an ocean of faults(dosa-nidhi). But there is one chance, one opportunity. Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet: simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, one can be freed fromthe contamination of Kali-yuga and, in his original spiritual body, can return home, back toGodhead. This is the opportunity of Kali-yuga.

When Krsna appeared, He gave His orders, and when Krsna Himself appeared as adevotee, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He showed us the path by which to cross the oceanof Kali-yuga. That is the path of the Hare Krsna movement. When Sri CaitanyaMahaprabhu appeared, He ushered in the era for the sankirtana movement. It is also saidthat for ten thousand years this era will continue. This means that simply by accepting thesankirtana movement and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the fallen souls of thisKali-yuga will be delivered. After the Battle of Kuruksetra, at which Bhagavad-gita wasspoken, Kali-yuga continues for 432,000 years, of which only 5,000 years have passed.Thus there is still a balance of 427,000 years to come. Of these 427,000 years, the 10,000years of the sankirtana movement inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years agoprovide the opportunity for the fallen souls of Kali-yuga to take to the Krsna consciousnessmovement, chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and thus be delivered from the clutches ofmaterial existence and return home, back to Godhead.

Chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is potent always, but it is especially potentin this age of Kali. Therefore Sukadeva Gosvami, while instructing Maharaja Pariksit,stressed this chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra.

kaler dosa-nidhe rajannasti hy eko mahan gunahkirtanad eva krsnasya


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mukta-sangah param vrajet

"My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality aboutthis age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can become freefrom material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." (Bhag. 12.3.51)Those who have accepted the task of spreading the Hare Krsna maha-mantra in full Krsnaconsciousness should take this opportunity to deliver people very easily from the clutchesof material existence. Our duty, therefore, is to follow the instructions of Sri CaitanyaMahaprabhu and preach the Krsna consciousness movement all over the world verysincerely. This is the best welfare activity for the peace and prosperity of human society.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement consists of spreading krsna-sankirtana. Paramvijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam: "All glories to the Sri Krsna sankirtana!" Why is it soglorious? This has also been explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Ceto-darpana-marjanam: [Cc. Antya 20.12] by the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one's heartis cleansed. The whole difficulty is that in this age of Kali there is no sattva-guna and noclearance of the heart, and therefore people are making the mistake of identifying withtheir bodies. Even the big philosophers and scientists with whom we deal are practically allunder the impression that they are their bodies. The other day we were discussing aprominent philosopher, Thomas Huxley, who was proud of being an Englishman. Thismeans that he was in the bodily conception of life. Everywhere we find this samemisunderstanding. As soon as one is in the bodily conception of life, one is nothing but ananimal like a cat or a dog (sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]). Thus the most dangerous ofthe dirty things within our hearts is this misidentification of the body as the self. Under theinfluence of this misunderstanding, one thinks, "I am this body. I am an Englishman. I aman Indian. I am an American. I am Hindu. I am Muslim." This misconception is thestrongest impediment, and it must be removed. That is the instruction of Bhagavad-gitaand of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Indeed, Bhagavad-gita begins with this instruction:

dehino 'smin yatha dehekaumaram yauvanam jaratatha dehantara-praptirdhiras tatra na muhyati

"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to oldage, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is notbewildered by such a change." (Bg. 2.13) Although the soul is within the body,nevertheless, because of misunderstanding and animal propensities one accepts the bodyas the self. Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore says, ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya20.12]. To cleanse the core of the heart, which is full of misunderstanding, is possible onlythrough sri-krsna-sankirtana. The leaders of the Krsna consciousness movement shouldvery seriously take this opportunity to be kind to the fallen souls by delivering them fromthe misunderstanding of materialistic life.

One cannot be happy in any way within this material world. As stated inBhagavad-gita (8.16):

abrahma-bhuvanal lokah


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punar avartino 'rjuna

"From the highest planet in this material world down to the lowest, all are places ofmisery wherein repeated birth and death take place." Therefore, not to speak of going tothe moon, even if one is promoted to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, therecannot be any happiness in this material world. If one actually wants happiness, one mustgo to the spiritual world. The material world is characterized by a struggle for existence,and survival of the fittest is a well-known principle, but the poor souls of this materialworld do not know what is survival and who is fit. Survival does not mean that one shoulddie; survival means that one should not die, but should enjoy an everlastingly blissful life ofknowledge. This is survival. The Krsna consciousness movement is meant to make everyperson fit for survival. Indeed, it is meant to stop the struggle for existence. The Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita give definite directions on how to stop the struggle forexistence and how to survive in eternal life. The sankirtana movement, therefore, is agreat opportunity. Simply by hearing Bhagavad-gita and chanting the Hare Krsnamaha-mantra, one becomes completely purified. Thus the struggle for existence ceases,and one goes back home, back to Godhead.

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Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness


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