GITA SHLOKA 4.33: The purpose of all sacrifices is to arrive at the status of complete knowledge, then to gain release from material miseries, and, ultimately, to engage in loving transcendental service to the Supreme Lord (Krsna consciousness),13th Aug

GITA SHLOKA 4.33: The purpose of all sacrifices is to arrive at the status of complete knowledge, then to gain release from material miseries, and, ultimately, to engage in loving transcendental service to the Supreme Lord (Krsna consciousness).

GITA SHLOKA 4.33

TRANSLATION

O chastiser of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than the sacrifice of material possessions. O son of Prtha, after all, the sacrifice of work culminates in transcendental knowledge.

PURPORT

The purpose of all sacrifices is to arrive at the status of complete knowledge, then to gain release from material miseries, and, ultimately, to engage in loving transcendental service to the Supreme Lord (Krsna consciousness).

Nonetheless, there is a mystery about all these different activities of sacrifice, and one should know this mystery.

Sacrifices sometimes take different forms according to the particular faith of the performer.

When one's faith reaches the stage of transcendental knowledge, the performer of sacrifices should be considered more advanced than those who simply sacrifice material possessions without such knowledge, for without attainment of knowledge, sacrifices remain on the material platform and bestow no spiritual benefit.

Real knowledge culminates in Krsna consciousness, the highest stage of transcendental knowledge.

Without the elevation of knowledge, sacrifices are simply material activities.

When, however, they are elevated to the level of transcendental knowledge, all such activities enter onto the spiritual platform.

Depending on differences in consciousness, sacrificial activities are sometimes called karma-kanda, fruitive activities, and sometimes jnana-kanda, knowledge in the pursuit of truth.

It is better when the end is knowledge.

MAY THAT SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD PROTECT ME AT ALL TIMES WITH HIS EIGHT ARMS, 12th Aug

Bhagvatam: MAY THAT SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD PROTECT ME AT ALL TIMES WITH HIS EIGHT ARMS. THROUGH AHANGRAHOPÄSANÄ ONE DOES NOT BECOME GOD, BUT HE THINKS OF HIMSELF AS QUALITATIVELY ONE WITH THE SUPREME. HUMAN DUTY IS TO ALWAYS SEEK THE MERCY OF THE LORD IN ORDER TO BE PROTECTED BY HIM IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Lord, who sits on the back of the bird Garuda, touching him with His lotus feet, holds eight weapons—the conchshell, disc, shield, sword, club, arrows, bow and ropes.

May that Supreme Personality of Godhead protect me at all times with His eight arms.

He is all-powerful because He fully possesses the eight mystic powers [animä, laghimä, etc.]

PURPORT

Thinking oneself one with the Supreme is called ahangrahopäsanä.

Through ahangrahopäsanä one does not become 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 this verse, and seek His protection.

The living entities are always subordinate to the Supreme.

Consequently their duty is to always seek the mercy of the Lord in order to be protected by Him in all circumstances.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme indestructible Lord is ascertained through the performance of ritualistic sacrifices and is therefore known as Yajneshvara. In His incarnation as Lord Boar, He raised the planet earth from the water at the bottom of the universe and kept it on His pointed tusks. May that Lord protect me from rogues on the street. May Parashuräma protect me on the tops of mountains, and may the elder brother of Bharata, Lord Räma Chandra, along with His brother Lakshmana, protect me in foreign countries.

PURPORT

There are three Rämas. One Räma is Parashuräma (Jämadägnya), another Räma is Lord Räma Chandra, and a third Räma is Lord Balaräma. In this verse the words rämo'dri-küteshv atha indicate Lord Parashuräma. The brother of Bharata Mahäräja and Lakshmana is Lord Räma Chandra.

May Lord Näräyana protect me from unnecessarily following false religious systems and falling from my duties due to madness. May the Lord in His appearance as Nara protect me from unnecessary pride. May Lord Dattätreya, the master of all mystic power, protect me from falling while performing bhakti-yoga, and may Lord Kapila, the master of all good qualities, protect me from the material bondage of fruitive activities.

TRANSLATION

May Sanat-kumära protect me from lusty desires. As I begin some auspicious activity, may Lord Hayagriva protect me from being an offender by neglecting to offer respectful obeisances to the Supreme Lord. May Devarshi Närada protect me from committing offenses in worshiping the Deity, and may Lord Kürma, the tortoise, protect me from falling to the unlimited hellish planets.

PURPORT

Lusty desires are very strong in everyone, and they are the greatest impediment to the discharge of devotional service. Therefore those who are very much influenced by lusty desires are advised to take shelter of Sanat-kumära, the great brahmachäri devotee. 

Närada Muni, who is the guide for archana, is the author of the Närada Pancharätra, which prescribes the regulative principles for worshiping the Deity. 

Everyone engaged in Deity worship, whether at home or in the temple, should always seek the mercy of Devarshi Närada in order to avoid the thirty-two offenses while worshiping the Deity. These offenses in Deity worship are mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion.

GITA SHLOKA 4.30,4.31,4.32: The human form of life is the only life by which one may get out of this entanglement. Highest kind of happiness that a man can achieve is to be promoted to the spiritual planets by practice of Krsna consciousness. A life of Krsna consciousness is therefore the solution to all the problems of material existence,12th Aug

The human form of life is the only life by which one may get out of this entanglement. Highest kind of happiness that a man can achieve is to be promoted to the spiritual planets by practice of Krsna consciousness. A life of Krsna consciousness is therefore the solution to all the problems of material existence.

GITA SHLOKA 4.30 

TRANSLATION

All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reaction, and, having tasted the nectar of the remnants of such sacrifice, they go to the supreme eternal atmosphere.

PURPORT

From the foregoing explanation of different types of sacrifice (namely sacrifice of one's possessions, study of the Vedas or philosophical doctrines, and performance of the yoga system), it is found that the common aim of all is to control the senses.

Sense gratification is the root cause of material existence; therefore, unless and until one is situated on a platform apart from sense gratification, there is no chance of being elevated to the eternal platform of full knowledge, full bliss and full life.

This platform is in the eternal atmosphere, or Brahman atmosphere.

All the above-mentioned sacrifices help one to become cleansed of the sinful reactions of material existence.

By this advancement in life, one not only becomes happy and opulent in this life, but also, at the end, he enters into the eternal kingdom of God, either merging into the impersonal Brahman or associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.

Gita shloka 4.31

TRANSLATION

O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this life: what then of the next?

PURPORT

Whatever form of material existence one is in, one is invariably ignorant of his real situation.

In other words, existence in the material world is due to the multiple reactions to our sinful lives.

Ignorance is the cause of sinful life, and sinful life is the cause of one's dragging on in material existence.

The human form of life is the only loophole by which one may get out of this entanglement.

The Vedas, therefore, give us a chance for escape by pointing out the paths of religion, economic comfort, regulated sense gratification and, at last, the means to get out of the miserable condition entirely.

The path of religion, or the different kinds of sacrifice recommended above, automatically solves our economic problems.

By performance of yajna we can have enough food, enough milk, etc.—even if there is a so-called increase of population.

When the body is fully supplied, naturally the next stage is to satisfy the senses.

The Vedas prescribe, therefore, sacred marriage for regulated sense gratification.

Thereby one is gradually elevated to the platform of release from material bondage, and the highest perfection of liberated life is to associate with the Supreme Lord.

Perfection is achieved by performance of yajna (sacrifice), as described above.

Now, if a person is not inclined to perform yajna according to the Vedas, how can he expect a happy life? There are different grades of material comforts in different heavenly planets, and in all cases there is immense happiness for persons engaged in different kinds of yajna.

But the highest kind of happiness that a man can achieve is to be promoted to the spiritual planets by practice of Krsna consciousness.

A life of Krsna consciousness is therefore the solution to all the problems of material existence.

Bhagvatam: HOW INDRA, THE KING OF HEAVEN, WAS VICTORIOUS OVER THE SOLDIERS OF THE DEMONS, USING THE SHIELD OF THE VISHNU MANTRA,11th Aug

Bhagvatam: HOW INDRA, THE KING OF HEAVEN, WAS VICTORIOUS OVER THE SOLDIERS OF THE DEMONS, USING THE SHIELD OF THE VISHNU MANTRA.

This chapter describes how Indra, the King of heaven, was victorious over the soldiers of the demons, and it also describes the shield of the Vishnu mantra.

To take protection from this shield, one must first touch kusha grass and wash one's mouth with ächamana-mantras. One should observe silence and then place the eight-syllable Vishnu mantra on the parts of his body and place the twelve-syllable mantra on his hands. 

The eight-syllable mantra is om namo näräyanäya. This mantra should be distributed all over the front and back of the body. The twelve-syllable mantra, which begins with the pranava, omkära, is om namo bhagavate väsudeväya. One syllable should be placed on each of the fingers and should be preceded by the pranava, omkära. 

Thereafter, one must chant om vishnave namam, which is a six-syllable mantra. One must progressively place the syllables of the mantra on the heart, the head, between the two eyebrows, on the shikhä and between the eyes, and then one should chant mam asträya phat and with this mantra protect himself from all directions. Nädevo devam archayet: one who has not risen to the level of a deva cannot chant this mantra. According to this direction of the shästra, one must think himself qualitatively nondifferent from the Supreme.

After finishing this dedication, one must offer a prayer to the eight-armed Lord Vishnu, who sits on the shoulders of Garudadeva. One also has to think of the fish incarnation, Vämana, Kürma, Nrsimha, Varäha, Parashuräma, Räma Chandra (the elder brother of Lakshmana). Nara-Näräyana, Dattätreya (an empowered incarnation), Kapila, Sanat-kumära, Hayagriva, Näradadeva (the incarnation of a devotee). Dhanvantari, Rshabhadeva, Yajna, Balaräma, Vyäsadeva, Buddhadeva and Keshava. 

One should also think of Govinda, the master of Vrndävana, and one should think of Näräyana, the master of the spiritual sky. One should think of Madhusüdana, Tridhämä, Mädhava, Hrshikesha, Padmanäbha, Janärdana, Dämodara and Vishveshvara, as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krshna Himself. 

After offering prayers to the Lord's personal expansions known as the svämsha and shaktyävesha-avatäras, one should pray to the weapons of Lord Näräyana, such as the Sudarshana, gadä, shankha, khadga and bow.

After explaining this process, Sukadeva Gosvämi told Mahäräja Parikshit how Vishvarüpa, the brother of Vrträsura, described the glories of the Näräyana-kavacha to Indra.

GITA SHLOKA 4.27 soul which is attached to sense enjoyment, it is called parag-atma BUT pratyag atma is the ultimate goal. This pratyag atma is a withdrawal from activities in matter,9th Aug

GITA SHLOKA 4.27 soul which is attached to sense enjoyment, it is called parag-atma BUT pratyag atma is the ultimate goal. This pratyag atma is a withdrawal from activities in matter.

TRANSLATION

Those who are interested in self-realization, in terms of mind and sense control, offer the functions of all the senses, as well as the vital force [breath], as oblations into the fire of the controlled mind.

PURPORT

The yoga system conceived by Patanjali is referred to herein.

In the Yoga-sutra of Patanjali, the soul is called pratyag-atma and parag-atma.

As long as the soul is attached to sense enjoyment, it is called parag-atma.

The soul is subjected to the functions of ten kinds of air at work within the body, and this is perceived through the breathing system.

The Patanjala system of yoga instructs one on how to control the functions of the body's air in a technical manner so that ultimately all the functions of the air within become favorable for purifying the soul of material attachment.

According to this yoga system, pratyag atma is the ultimate goal.

This pratyag atma is a withdrawal from activities in matter.

The senses interact with the sense objects, like the ear for hearing, eyes for seeing, nose for smelling, tongue for tasting, hand for touching, and all of them are thus engaged in activities outside the self.

They are called the functions of the prana-vayu.

The apana-vayu goes downwards, vyana-vayu acts to shrink and expand, samana-vayu adjusts equilibrium, udana-vayu goes upwards—and when one is enlightened, one engages all these in searching for self-realization.