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‘Fall-down’ of devotees

General,

Even though the process of Krishna consciousness is so blissful then why do senior devotees sometimes fall down or leave the movement?

Yes, it is true that the process of Krishna consciousness is blissful. However one should practice in right attitude.
The falldown of senior devotees should not be considered ordinary.
There are two reasons for this :
1. If one commits offense toward Krishna’s devotees and
2. It is the plan of the Supreme Lord.

Although sometimes they may go away from the movement for some time, Krishna never forsakes them.
The progress or advancement they have done on this path is never lost.
Sooner or later they shall come more closer to Krishna.

According to Lord Krishna, even if someone commits most abominable activity, however he continues to take shelter of Krishna through His devotional service, he should be considered saintly.

Sometimes it is better to be a fallen devotee and remember Lord Krishna with great intensity than to be a so called devotee and to become proud.
As Srila Prabhupada rightly gives one important example: A sincere sweeper in the street is far better than the charlatan meditator who meditates only for the sake of making a living. (BG 3.7, Purport)

Cause of all causes

Creation, Krishna, ,

I read in the Srimad Bhagvatam that Lord Krishna is the creator of everything that exists including demigods. However how did Krishna come into existence. I know that He always existed before but yet there should be a time when He also got into creation. Kindly explain.

It is explained in Katha Upanishad, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam which means that there are 2 eternals, one is the eternal living entity and the other is eternal Supreme Lord. In the material world we do not have experience of any object which does not have origin. Every object in the material world has beginning, middle and an end.

However spiritual objects are opposite to material objects in the sense that they do not have beginning and an end. They exist eternally. Therefore when we explain God has no beginning that means we can not put a particular date at which He came into existence.

By definition He is the beginning of everything,
ishvarah paramah krishnah
sac-cid-ananda vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva karanam karanam
He is the cause of all causes. If He had some cause, then that cause would have been the superior to Him. This is little difficult to understand in the beginning, however it is possible to understand it by performing devotional service to Lord Krishna.

Brahmana and Vaishnava

General, , , ,

What is the line of distinction between a Brahmana and a Vaishnava?

1. Vaishnavas are pure devotees of Lord Krishna/Vishnu. Brahmanas may not be.
2. Vaishnavas are beyond the modes of nature (i.e. Ignorance, Passion and even Goodness) or in other words they are liberated souls enjoying spiritual happiness in shuddha bhakti in purified Goodness. Brahmanas are in Goodness and thus bound in material world or samsara, knowledge or jnana and happiness or sattva guna.
3. Vaishnavas know Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. Brahmana knows only Brahman (spirit).
4. The 10th Canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam contains a chapter where caste yagnic brahmanas were approached by Balaram and the cowherd boys for food, but the brahmanas didn’t recognize their Lord. However their wives exactly knew who Krishna and Balarama are and surrendered their very lives to Them. This is a very good episode in Srimad Bhagavatam, to understand the difference between Brahmana and Vaishnava.

Bhakti – pure love for Krishna

Devotional Service,

Would you please explain in detail the relation between Bhakti and Love?

Bhakti means love of God or as Srila Prabhupada would often translate the word, pure devotional service to God. (The Sanskrit root of the word bhakti is bhaj, which means loving service). Because Krishna is the origin of everything, He is the origin of love also.

There is much more to loving Krishna than just saying, to love God. We attain pure love for Krishna through a gradual process that takes us through progressively higher realms of Bhakti. The three progressive stages are: (1) regulated practice, (2) attachment, and finally (3) pure love. Fortunately, we can begin the process at any point in life or wherever we are in our spiritual journey.

The Bhakti process is systematic and is laid out in detail by the followers of Sri Chaitanya in books such as Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (presented by Srila Prabhupada as The Nectar of Devotion). These books provide not only instructions but also guideposts by which the student of Bhakti can evaluate his or her progress.

Heart and Soul

Soul

If a person undergoes heart transplant then what happens to the soul?

Just as you get up from one chair and sit on another chair the soul leaves the previous heart and occupies the new heart.  As by changing the chair the person is not changed, similarly by changing the heart the soul is not changed.  A soul is not glued to the heart but a soul sits in region of heart or rather occupies it.

Meaning of Mahamantra

Chanting, , ,

Would you please explain in detail the meaning of Mahamantra?

In our modern age, the most recommended process to awaken our spiritual life is to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

The word Krishna is a name of God meaning “the all-attractive one,” Rama means “the all-pleasing one,” and Hare is an invocation to Hara, Krishna’s internal spiritual energy.
Thus the Hare Krishna mantra is a prayer to the Lord and His energy for the privilege of engaging in His service. If we regularly hear and chant this sound vibration, we will become pure, enlightened, and awake to our eternal life of bliss and knowledge in the service of the Lord.

Soul is always active

Bhagavad Gita, Soul

Please give some reference from the scriptures mentioning that the soul is always active.

Here is the shloka no. 3.5 from Bhagavad-Gita As it is with complete translation and purport by His Divine A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

na hi kascit ksanam api jatu tisthaty akarma-krt
karyate hy avasah karma sarvah prakrti-jair gunaih

TRANSLATION
Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.

PURPORT
It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Krishna consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the sastras. But if the soul is engaged in his natural function of Krishna consciousness, whatever he is able to do is good for him.

Jivatma and Paramatma

Soul, , ,

What is the difference between jivatma and paramatma? What is the size, colour and shape of both?

The Jivatma is atomic. (One ten thousandth the tip of the hair) (Anu).
Paramatma is Infinite (Vibhu).
Example: A drop of sea water(Jiva). The Ocean(Paramatma). They are one in quality but different in quantity.

Transcendental form of Krishna

Krishna,

It is stated in scriptures that the Supreme Lord has form and has got a spiritual body (sat-cid-ananda vigraha). We too have body but it is called material. With some of our body organs we give out body waste like stool, urine etc. Because we both have similar form does the Lord has body organs like us? If so, then why?

The Vedic literature is full of references to God’s form. For example, it is said that God has no hands or legs but that He can accept anything you offer. Also, it is said that God has no eyes or ears but that He can see everything and hear everything. So, these are apparent contradictions, because whenever we think of someone seeing, we think he must have eyes like ours. This is our material conception. Factually, however, God does have eyes, but His eyes are different from ours. He can see even in the darkness, but we cannot. God can hear, also. God is in His kingdom, which is millions and millions of miles away, but if we are whispering something “conspiracy” He can hear it, because He is sitting within us.
So, we cannot avoid God’s seeing or God’s hearing or God’s touching.

In the Bhagavad-gita  [9.26] Lord Krishna says,

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahaytam ashnami prayatatmanaa

“If somebody offers Me flowers, fruits, vegetables, or milk with devotional love, I accept and eat it.” Now, how is He eating? We cannot see Him eat, but He is eating. We experience this daily: When we offer Krishna food according to the ritualistic process, we see that the taste of the food changes immediately. This is practical. So God eats, but because He is full in Himself, He does not eat like us. If someone offers me a plate of food, I may finish it, but God is not hungry, so when He eats He leaves the things as they are. God is so full that He can eat all the food that we offer and still it remains as it is. He can eat with His eyes.

As stated in Brahma-samhita(5.32):

angani yasya sakalendriya-vrittimanti pashyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti
ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth and substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses, in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.”

Even if the organ parts are there they are there just to increase His pleasure in any way possible and not for excretion, digestion, eating etc as there is no need for it.

Pranayam

Yoga

A devotee doing yoga such as pranayam, is it important?

We can do it for better health so that we have more energy to follow the principles of Bhakti (devotional service).