(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 August 2016, New Vraja Mandala, Spain, Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.23)
The two bhagavats
This is the last verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam (12.13.23) and the final message of the Bhagavatam is that harinama sankirtan, the chanting of the holy name, is ultimately the process to be followed. This is an important point and it was introduced by Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
In the Adi Lila, chapter one, Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda drove out ignorance by the two bhagavats – the book bhagavat and the person bhagavat. Mahaprabhu said that telling everyone about Krsna would liberate the world. However, this was theoretical until Prabhupada actually did it!
Srila Prabhupada always tried to benefit a person with transcendental knowledge. For example, instead of O’Hare airport in Chicago, he wanted it to be called O’Hare Krsna airport and he was not joking. Prabhupada tried at EVERY opportunity to spread the name of Krsna. Through the person bhagavat, Krsna consciousness is spread throughout the whole world!
The Panca Tattva
Amongst all incarnations, Krsna is the Supreme Lord. There are different manifestations, some plenary and others are partial. In the Caitanya Caritamrta, the Panca Tattva are described.
Lord Caitanya is Bhagavan, Krsna. Lord Nityananda is non-different from Lord Caitanya but in a different mood. Lord Caitanya is sevya bhagavan – the Lord in the mood of being served; and Lord Nityananda is sevak bhagavan – the Lord in the mood of a servant. This is the difference!
Advaita Acharya is an avatar (incarnation). He was worshipping another form of Lord, the Salagram Sila, to make the Lord appear. So the Lord was worshipping the Lord to make the Lord appear… How could that be?
In the Caitanya Bhagavat it says that before Mahaprabhu appeared, kirtan was already going on in the house of Srivas Thakur. The neighbours were afraid that the Muslims would be disturbed by kirtan. They planned to chop down Srivas Thakur’s house. Advaita Acharya became very upset and said, “If now the Lord does not appear, I will appear in a form with a sudarshan chakra and cut off the heads of these atheists!”
The Supreme Lord comes to establish the principles of religion and drive out the demons. This is the dharma (inherent duty) of the incarnations of the Lord. Only the Lord himself can give Krsna prema. If we offer water, a flower or a leaf then Krsna has nothing to repay in return and will give himself. In this way, Advaita Acharya wanted to make the Lord appear by offering tulasi and water. Krsna was “forced” to appear
The Lord appeared in every home of Navadvipa in the form of the holy name and from there, it spread all over whole the world by the grace of Srila Prabhupada.
The story of Radha Kund
Krsna killed Aristhasura (the bull demon) and then had to take bath in all the holy places to purify himself of the sin of killing a bull otherwise the gopis would not associate with him anymore. So Krsna made a hole in the ground where all the holy waters of the world appeared.
Then Krsna said to the gopis that actually Aristhasura was a demon and they were protecting a demon therefore they were contaminated and he could not associate with the gopis anymore, so they must bathe in all the holy places. Then the gopis scratched the ground with their bangles and made a hole. Krsna was impatient and offered water from his own pond but the gopis refused. The gopis wanted to make a human chain from Manasi Ganga and fill the hole with its waters but Krsna was thinking that this would take too long. So, he ordered all the holy waters to enter into the new pond and thus in Vrindavan, we have Syama Kund and Radha Kund, the divine lakes of Krsna and Srimati Radharani. Such eternal places that exist in the spiritual world are manifested within the material universe by the divine arrangement of the Supreme Lord in order to make his mercy widely available.
Krsna can do everything very easily. He could make the whole world Krsna conscious without a problem if he would only desire it! The gopis had to dig with their bangles; it was so much work. Similarly to make EVERYONE Krsna conscious is SO much work!
Krsna’s arrangement
ISKCON is now 50 years in existence. Still there are so many problems. When will everyone be chanting? We think it is so much work but Prabhupada never thought like that! He took on big work. Even though he left this world, his books still make people devotees. We cannot change the world but Krsna can. If we attract Krsna then miracles can happen like how in the Soviet Union when the devotees were freed from labour camps and psychiatric clinics. Now we have so many Russian devotees. It is all Krsna’s arrangement!
*Notes taken by Nimai during the lecture
