Bhakti Sastri - Home

UNIT 1 (BG 1-6)

2.1
Compassion for the dress of a drowning man is senseless, similarly a man fallen in the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his outer dress.
2.2
The Absolute truth is realized in three phases of understanding –Brahman, Paramätmä, and Bhagavän. This can be explained by the example of the sunshine, the sun’s surface, and the sun planet.
2.17
Just like the influence of the active principle of medicine is spread throughout the body, similarly the influence of the soul is spread throughout the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the existence of the soul.
2.20
Sometimes we don’t find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, but the light of the sun is always there, which is indicative of the presence of sun. Similarly, even though one may not be able to see the soul in the region of heart, one can understand the presence of the soul by consciousness, which is present in the body.
2.21
Although the justice of peace awards capital punishment to a person condemned for murder, the justice of the peace cannot be blamed because he awards punishments according to the codes of justice. Similarly, when Kåñëa orders fighting it must be understood that it is for supreme justice and Arjuna is engaging in violence on the order of Kåñëa and thus he will not incur sinful reaction.
2.21
A surgical operation is meant to cure the patient and not meant to kill the patient. Similarly, fighting on the order of Kåñëa is for the benefit of all, and thus there is no possibility of sinful reaction.
2.22
As a person puts on new garments, giving up the old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
2.41
As by watering the root of a tree one can automatically distribute water to the leaves and branches, so by acting in Kåñëa consciousness one can render the highest service to everyone, namely self, family, society, country, humanity, etc.
2.58
The tortoise can at any moment wind up his senses and exhibit them again at any time for a particular purpose. Similarly the senses of a Kåñëa-conscious person are used only for some particular purpose in the service of the Lord and are withdrawn otherwise.
2.58
The senses are compared to venomous serpents and the devotee to a snake charmer. A devotee should be strong like a snake charmer in controlling his serpent-like senses. He should not allow his senses to
act independently.
2.59
The process of restriction from sense enjoyment by rules and regulations is something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables. The patient, however, neither likes such restrictions nor loses his taste for eatables.
2.67
As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.
2.70
As the ocean is always being filled by rivers but remain steady and not agitated, a person fixed in Kåñëa consciousness remains undisturbed even amidst the incessant flow of desires.
3.14
When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food offered to Lord Viñëu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection.
3.30
The cashier may count millions of dollars for his employer, but he does not claim a cent for himself. Similarly, one has to realize that nothing in the world belongs to any individual person, but that everything belongs to the Supreme Lord.
3.34
One has to follow those rules and regulations, unattached to them, because practice of sense gratification under regulations may also lead one to go astray—as much as there is always the chance of an accident, even on the royal roads.
3.37
The sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt.
3.39
It is said in the Manu-småti that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel.
4.6
His appearance and disappearance are like the sun's rising, moving before us, and then disappearing from our eyesight. When the sun is out of sight, we think that the sun is set, and when the sun is before our eyes, we think that the sun is on the horizon. Actually, the sun is always in its fixed position,
4.14
He is aloof from the material actions and reactions. For example, the rains are not responsible for different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without such rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth.
4.21
As a machine part requires oiling and cleaning for maintenance, so a Kåñëa conscious man maintains himself by his work just to remain fit for action in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. He is therefore immune to all the reactions of his endeavors.
4.24
For example, a patient who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels due to overindulgence in milk products is cured by another milk product, namely curds. The materially absorbed conditioned soul can be cured by Kåñëa consciousness as set forth here in the Gétä
5.10
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
5.15
The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramätmä, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it.
6.34
The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses.
6.34
Mind is so strong and obstinate that it often overcomes even one’s own intelligence, as an acute infection may surpass the efficacy of medicine.

UNIT 2 (BG 7-12)

7.7

O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.

7.12

Under the state laws one may be punished, but the king, the lawmaker, is not subject to that law. Similarly, all the modes of material nature—goodness, passion and ignorance—are emanations from the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, but Kåñëa is not subject to material nature.

7.14

A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself—he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kåñëa, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul.

7.15

The swine that eat the night soil do not care to accept sweetmeats made of sugar and ghee. Similarly, the foolish worker will untiringly continue to hear of the sense-enjoyable tidings of the flickering mundane world, but will have very little time to hear about the eternal living force that moves the material world.

7.23

The brähmaëas are the head of the Supreme Lord, the kñatriyas are His arms, the vaiçyas are His waist, the çüdras are His legs, and all serve different functions.

7.26

The clouds may cover all the sun, moon and stars in the sky temporarily, but this covering is only apparent to our limited vision. They are not actually covered. Similarly, mäyä cannot cover the Supreme Lord.

8.8

The caterpillar that thinks of becoming a butterfly and so is transformed into a butterfly in the same life. Similarly, if we constantly think of Kåñëa, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily constitution as Kåñëa.

9.3

By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.

9.4

A king heads a government which is but the manifestation of the king's energy; the different governmental departments are nothing but the energies of the king, and each department is resting on the king's power. But still one cannot expect the king to be present in every department personally. Similarly, all the manifestations that we see and everything that exists, both in this material world and in the spiritual world, are resting on the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is present everywhere by His personal representation, the diffusion of His different energies.

9.9

The example can be given of a high-court judge sitting on his bench. By his order so many things are happening—someone is being hanged, someone is being put into jail, someone is awarded a huge amount of wealth—but still he is neutral. He has nothing to do with all that gain and loss. Similarly, the Lord is always neutral, although He has His hand in every sphere of activity.

9.10

When there is a fragrant flower before someone, the fragrance is touched by the smelling power of the person, yet the smelling and the flower are detached from one another. There is a similar connection between the material world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

9.21

…thus subjected to the routine of being promoted to the higher planets and then again coming down, as if situated on a Ferris wheel which sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down.

9.23

The officers and directors are engaged as representatives of the government, and to offer some bribe to the officers and directors is illegal… Kåñëa does not approve the unnecessary worship of the demigods.

9.29

When a diamond is set in a golden ring, it looks very nice. The gold is glorified, and at the same time the diamond is glorified. The Lord and the living entity eternally glitter, and when a living entity becomes inclined to the service of the Supreme Lord he looks like gold

9.30

…the spots that resemble the mark of a rabbit on the moon do not become an impediment to the diffusion of moonlight. Similarly, the accidental falldown of a devotee from the path of saintly character does not make him abominable.

10.9

Thus the realized souls in Kåñëa consciousness take continual pleasure in hearing such transcendental literatures, just as a young boy and girl take pleasure in association.

11.51

The original verses of Bhagavad-gétä are as clear as the sun; they do not require lamplight from foolish commentators.

12.5

We may find some mailboxes on the street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally go to their destination without difficulty. But any old box, or an imitation which we may find somewhere but which is not authorized by the post office, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arcä-vigraha. This arcä-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form.

12.7

Although a man who has fallen in the ocean may struggle very hard and may be very expert in swimming, he cannot save himself. But if someone comes and picks him up from the water, then he is easily rescued. Similarly, the Lord picks up the devotee from this material existence.

UNIT 3 (BG 13-18)

13.3

A citizen may know everything about his patch of land, but the king knows not only his palace but all the properties possessed by the individual citizens. Similarly, one may be the proprietor of the body individually, but the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all bodies.

13.17

The example is given of the sun: The sun, at the meridian, is situated in its place. But if one goes for five thousand miles in all directions and asks, "Where is the sun?" everyone will say that it is shining on his head. In the Vedic literature this example is given to show that although He is undivided, He is situated as if divided.

13.33

The air enters into water, mud, stool and whatever else is there; still it does not mix with anything. Similarly, the living entity, even though situated in varieties of bodies, is aloof from them…

14.3

The scorpion lays its eggs in piles of rice, and sometimes it is said that the scorpion is born out of rice. But the rice is not the cause of the scorpion. Actually, the eggs were laid by the mother. Similarly, material nature is not the cause of the birth of the living entities. The seed is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they only seem to come out as products of material nature

14.26

If one is not situated in the same transcendental position with the Lord, one cannot serve the Supreme Lord. To be a personal assistant to a king, one must acquire the qualifications.

14.26

To be in Kåñëa consciousness or in devotional service means to acquire equality with Kåñëa. The Lord says that His nature is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, and the living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme, as gold particles are part of a gold mine. Thus the living entity, in his spiritual position, is as good as gold, as good as Kåñëa in quality.

14.27

The servant of the king enjoys on an almost equal level with the king. And so eternal happiness, imperishable happiness, and eternal life accompany devotional service. Therefore, realization of Brahman, or eternity, or imperishability, is included in devotional service.

15.8

The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another.

15.9

Consciousness is originally pure, like water. But if we mix water with a certain color, it changes. Similarly, consciousness is pure, for the spirit soul is pure. But consciousness is changed according to the association of the material qualities.

15.13

His energy is sustaining each planet, just like a handful of dust. If someone holds a handful of dust, there is no possibility of the dust's falling, but if one throws it in the air it will fall down. Similarly, these planets, which are floating in the air, are actually held in the fist of the universal form of the Supreme Lord.

18.17

Anyone who is acting in Kåñëa consciousness under the direction of the Supersoul or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even though killing does not kill. Nor is he ever affected by the reaction of such killing. When a soldier kills under the command of a superior officer, he is not subject to be judged. But if a soldier kills on his own personal account, then he is certainly judged by a court of law.

18.48

Every endeavor is covered by some fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work born of his nature, O son of Kunté, even if such work is full of fault.

18.55

Viçate means that one can enter into the abode of the Supreme Lord in one's individuality to engage in His association and render service unto Him. For instance, a green bird enters a green tree not to become one with the tree but to enjoy the fruits of the tree.

18.61

A person seated in a high-speed motorcar goes faster than one seated in a slower car, though the living entities, the drivers, may be the same. Similarly, by the order of the Supreme Soul, material nature fashions a particular type of body to a particular type of living entity so that he may work according to his past desires.

Unit 4 (NOD)

PREFACE

Nectar of Devotion will teach us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere.

INTRODUCTION

The sharks that dwell in the ocean do not care for the rivers which are gliding down into it. The devotees eternally live in the ocean of devotional service, and they do not care for the rivers. In other words, those who are pure devotees always remain in the ocean of transcendental loving service to the Lord and have no business with the other processes, which are compared to the rivers that only gradually come to the ocean.

In the midst of the ocean, volcanic eruptions can do very little harm, and similarly, those who are against devotional service to the Lord and who put forward many philosophical theses about the ultimate transcendental realization cannot disturb this great ocean of devotional service.

CHAPTER 1

There are many, many snakes on the ground of the forest, and when a fire takes place, it burns the dried foliage, and the snakes are immediately attacked. Animals that have four legs can flee from the fire, or can at least try to flee, but the snakes are immediately killed. Similarly, the blazing fire of Kåñëa consciousness is so strong that the snakes of ignorance are immediately killed.

The personal attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect and obeisances, similarly the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the Lord

CHAPTER 2

There are certain prescribed methods for employing our senses and mind in such a way that our dormant consciousness for loving Kåñëa will be invoked, as much as the child, with a little practice, can begin to walk.

CHAPTER 5

Any person who is properly initiated into the Vaiñëava cult certainly becomes a brähmaëa, as much as the metal known as kaàsa (bell metal) is turned into gold by the mixture of mercury

CHAPTER 7

Even if one is forced to live within a cage of iron or in the midst of a blazing fire, he should accept this position rather than live with nondevotees who are through and through against the supremacy of the Lord. (Kätyäyana-saàhitä)

One should prefer to embrace a snake, a tiger or an alligator rather than associate with persons who are worshipers of various demigods and who are impelled by material desire. (Viñëu-rahasya)

CHAPTER 12

When the mango fruit becomes ripened it is the greatest gift of that tree, and Çrémad-Bhägavatam is similarly held to be the ripened fruit of the Vedic tree.

Association is very important. It acts just like a crystal stone, which will reflect anything which is put before it. Similarly, if we associate with the flowerlike devotees of the Lord, and if our hearts are crystal clear, then certainly the same action will be there.

Sometimes, it is found that a person who never attended school or college may be recognized as a great scholar, or an honorary degree from great universities may be offered to him. But this does not mean that one should avoid school and expect to automatically receive an honorary degree from some university. Similarly, one should devoutly execute the regulative principles of devotional service and at the same time hope for Kåñëa's favor or for His devotee's favor.

Nectar of Instruction

INTRODUCTION

Çruti is considered to be like a mother. We take so much knowledge from our mother. For example, if you want to know who your father is, who can answer you? Your mother. … Similarly, if you want to know something beyond your experience, beyond your experimental knowledge, beyond the activities of the senses, then you have to accept the Vedas.

INVOCATION

The hand of a body is a complete unit only as long as it is attached to the complete body. When the hand is severed from the body, it may appear like a hand, but it actually has none of the potencies of a hand. Similarly, living beings are part and parcel of the Complete Whole, and if they are severed from the Complete Whole, the illusory representation of completeness cannot fully satisfy them.

MANTRA 1

The capitalists cannot curb the communists simply by political maneuvering, nor can the communists defeat the capitalists simply by fighting for stolen bread. If they do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property they claim to be their own is stolen.

MANTRA 3

The material world is sometimes compared to an ocean, and the human body is compared to a solid boat designed especially to cross this ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the äcäryas, or saintly teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination. If, with all these facilities, a human being does not fully utilize his life for self-realization, he must be considered ätma-hä, a killer of the soul.

MANTRA 4

In the Viñëu Puräëa, His potencies are compared to the heat and light that emanate from a fire. Although situated in one place, a fire can distribute its light and heat for some distance; similarly, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, although fixed in His transcendental abode, can diffuse His different energies everywhere.

MANTRA 7

The living entities are qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire are qualitatively one with the fire. Yet sparks are not fire as far as quantity is concerned, for the quantity of heat and light present in the sparks is not equal to that in fire.

These qualities are present in minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcel of the Supreme Whole. To use another example, the quantity of salt present in a drop is never comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical composition to all the salt present in the ocean.

MANTRA 9

The advancement of learning by a godless people is as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated with a valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not decorated.

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11.12), the advancement of education by a godless people is compared to decorations on a dead body.

MANTRA 12:

Çré Éçopaniñad points out that one who worships the demigods and attains to their material planets still remains in the darkest region of the universe. The whole universe is covered by the gigantic material elements; it is just like a coconut covered by a shell and half-filled with water. Since its covering is airtight, the darkness within is dense, and therefore the sun and the moon are required for illumination.

MANTRA 13

A person who has purchased a ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not Bombay. But the so-called spiritual masters say that any and all paths will take one to the supreme goal.