Tape 13 Transcriber: Radha Raman Krishna Das
1st Canto Chapter 18 text 29 Parikshit cursed by Brahman boy.
(Maharaj Sings) Om namo Bhagavate Vaasudevaya
abhuta-purvah sahasaa
skut-trobyam arditaatmanah
braahmanam praty abhud brahman
matsaro manyur eva ca
Very good. Please repeat.
O brahmanas, the King’s anger and envy, directed toward the brahmanas, brahmana sages, were unprecedented, being in that circumstances had made him hungry and thirsty.
Purport by Srila Prabhupad: please hear.
For a king like Mahäräja Parikshit to become angry and envious, especially at a sage and brahmana, was undoubtedly unprecedented. The King knew well that brahmanas, sages, children, women and old men are always beyond the jurisdiction of punishment. Similarly, the king, even though he commits a great mistake, is never to be considered a wrongdoer. But in this case, Maharaja Parikshit became angry and envious at the sage due to his thirst and hunger, by the will of the Lord. The King was right to punish his subject for coldly receiving him or neglecting him, but because the culprit was a sage and a brahmana, it was unprecedented. As the Lord is never envious of anyone, so also the Lord’s devotee is never envious of anyone. The only jurisdiction for Maharaja Parikshit’s behavior is that it was ordained by the Lord.
It is beautiful..you know.
Maharaj Sings lovingly "Om ajnaana-timiraandhasya jnaanaanjana-salaakayaa
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
sri-caitanya-mano-bhistam staapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kadaa mahyam dadaati sva-padantikam
mukam karoti vaachaalam pangum langayate girim
yatukrpa tamaham vande sri gurum dina taarinam
mukam karoti vaachaalam pangum langayate girim
yatukrpa tamaham vande paramaananda madhavam
shantakaram bhujaga shayanam padmanabham suresham vishwadhaaram gaganasadrushum meghavarnam shubaangam
lakshmikantam kamala nayanam yogibhir dhyanagamyam vande vishnum bava bayaharamsarva lokaikanatham
vaancha-kalpatarubhyas ca
krupa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitaanaam paavanebhyo
vaishnavebhyo namo namah
sri-krshna-caitanya
prabhu-nityaananda
sri-advaita gadaadhara
srivaasaadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
hare krishna hare krishna
krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
ram ram hare hare
hare krishna hare krishna
krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
ram ram hare hare
This is like a cry, you know it is, since last millions of birth we are separated from Krishna, our mother and if the child is separated from his mother he screams to go back to his mother and however else we try to satisfy him, the child will never be satisfied unless he goes back to mother. This is our condition. Since last millions of birth, we don't know how many millions of birth we have passed and we are completely separated from our own existential source and because of that we cry loudly. (Maharaj sings lovingly) Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
This theistic conduct belief, to believe in Lord Krishna is the perfection of human existence. Those who are fortunate to be born in Bharathiya families or to be connected like you with Bharathiya family, they are extremely lucky, because just by taking birth in that track of land you have a firm belief in the existence of Krishna. We never had any doubt for a single second of our existence that there is no Krishna. This faithlessness is the product of the Kaliyuga the modern age, which is very correctly called as kali means the age of quarrel, misunderstanding and disturbance. If you want to save from Kaliyuga, there is quarrel, misunderstanding and so many other things, we should divert our attention from the material things to the spiritual reality and as soon as our attention is diverted to the spiritual reality whose existence is eternal beyond our conceiving power then we stop ourselves to be victimized by these quarrels and misunderstandings of which the Kaliyuga is the main characteristic.
This is the way to save our soul from more degradation. If you quarrel, and behave ill will then your soul is degraded and because this soul is degraded then you have to have millions of births again. We cannot tolerate even one birth, one death or one old age or one disease, how can we tolerate millions of diseases. This is how we should come to this conclusion that whether we understand or not but just open the book and try to read, try to understand the pages of Srimad Bhagavatham and Bhagavad Gita. Don't leave these books for a single second. Every thing else is very impermanent- is very impermanent -- however hard we try to make our life very comfortable that life will be only for 60, 70, 80 years that's all. The curtain is bound to fall. Once the living entity understands this message of Srimad Bhagavatham, then he or she is not interested in the material things, not really very attached just as a matter of duty we do it to maintain our life that's all and then rest of the time has got to be utilized in understanding the scriptures so that this knowledge will give you the firm faith in the existence of the lord. Without the knowledge you will not have the firm faith.
Parikshit Maharaja was a devotee when he was in the womb of his mother Uttara, Ashvattama threw nuclear weapon which will destroy the womb that so very nice sophisticated nuclear weapon Ashvatatama could use and he wanted to destroy Parikshit maharaja in the womb of his mother and at that time Krishna was ready to leave Hasthinapur and go to Dwaraka. When Uttara saw that a fiery weapon is approaching her, she was completely perplexed and she didn't know how to save herself. Then she screamed to Krishna that verse is beautiful.(S.B.1.8.9)
Uttarovaaca
paahi paahi mahaa-yogin
deva-deva jagat-pate
nanyam tvad abhayam pasye
yatra mrytyuh parasparam
Uttarä said: O Lord of lords, Lord of the universe! You are the greatest of mystics. Please protect me, for there is no one else who can save me from the clutches of death in this world of duality.
She did not go to any body else to relieve her from the miseries. (you sit separate. why are you clustering together?. You Sit separately. let me see the face. You man who was singing in the pooja. sit nicely you be relaxed. You don’t worry.you are worried? Are you worried? no then sit nicely. smile.) So this is how Uttara requested that Krishna, please save my embryo. And that time Krishna took the form like a thumb the thumb form and He entered the embryo and protected Parikshit Maharaja in the womb of his mother. So Parikshit Maharaja was a devotee before his birth he was protected by the Lord. We were also all of us were in the womb of our mother and therein the situation was very horrible and in that horrible situation we were protected by Krishna otherwise we could not have taken birth. I fail to understand that after undergoing so much miseries in the womb of the mother how we can come out alive. It is impossible. Either the child must die or the mother must die or both must die. It is a very superior miserable situation for both the child and the mother. But even then, Krishna's mercy that we have tolerated those things. The same person doesn't want to go again into the womb of the mother. Any body you are decided your body is decided according to your activities “karmana deiva netrena jantuh” your body is decided by Karmana – by your own activities deiva netrena -- under the supervision of Krishna your next body is going to be decided. If your activities are bad you will have the bad body. As it is we have the worst body. This body is roga mandirm aaturam, full of all diseases and if you don't want to improve your situation then you will glide down to the lower species of life. And then we don't know really how many millions of birth we have to take again to come to the human existence. This human existence is very rare. And once we obtain this existence, then the main duty in this existence is to understand to get used to the spiritual reality not the material reality. What happens because of body is material; we identify ourselves with the material body. And because we identify with our material body, we increase our artificial necessities. And I want this, I want that, if I don't get I will steal, I will break the bank and get money. There are so many things coming into our mind. And these ideas then force us to commit the sinful activities. (B.G.16.12)
aashaa-paasha-shatair baddhaah
kaama-krodha-paraayanaah
iihante kaama-bhogaartham
anyaayenaartha-sancayaan
They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable. Bound by a network of hundreds of thousands of desires and absorbed in lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification.
Bhagavad Gita is very clear. “aasaa-paasa-satair baddhaah” if you don't come to Krishna, then you are entangled into so many hopes that I will have Mercedez car I will have this I will have that so many so many just concocted things come into our mind. You have to forget about these concoctions. Whether you have Mercedes car or whether you have a donkey to sit on, it doesn't matter at all. Donkey also takes you from one place to the other place and Mercedes car also takes from one place to the other place. It doesn't matter whether we have a donkey or a car. The work is same. So don't worry about cars or donkeys or houses. If you don't have anything you are very happy. The persons who don't have anything, they are the most happiest persons. We are the most happiest persons. we don't have anything and we are most happy. Nothing to worry about. If you have anything, then we have to preserve it. We have to take care of it you know. If you have a house you have to repair it, you have to paint it, you have to clean it.oh God so many things (laughs). Just to have a good mansion, if you keep a house then you have to carpet it, then the carpets have to be shampooed. Oh God so many things, and who will then servants who who. Its for nothing.(laughs). Then one day just our legs go up then our mouth opens and we go out of our compartment.(laughs). No body is going to stay in this compartment. Krishna will stay. This is the wisdom you have done, wise thing you have done that the owner is sitting here. He is the owner. He will remain here. We all will go away and somebody else will come. These children will be there. And they will remember my father was standing near the deities and doing Aarathi. These children will remember that my father and mother used to take me to Katha you know(laughs).one swami was shouting and crying. They will remember this and they will do the same thing. They are going to take over these things. But Krishna will be always here. The children will also become old. Every body the body has to go away. That is definite.These things those who understand, Parikshit Maharaj understood this and he had committed a great offence against the sage which was not befitting his behavior. He was a nice devotee. Devotee never commits the offence. But when these situations arise, then Srila Prabhupad very nicely writes, the only justification for maharaj Parikshit's behaviour is that it was ordained by the Lord. Krishna wished that Parikshit must be angry. Otherwise Parikshit Maharaj would never be angry. And because he was angry, he put that dead snake into the neck of the rshi and then his son who was again brahmana very powerful and mystic, he also became angry and he cursed Parikshit Maharaj. Parikshit Maharaj took that curse as the desire of the Lord. Otherwise being King he could have punished the brahmana and kidnapped the brahmana boy and finished him off. But he didn't do it. He took it as a curse.
And that is why because he took it, then he left immediately. He was the king of the whole planet. We cannot leave our hut what to talk of the planet. We cannot leave anything. The sense of detachment has got to be there. Those who know that this body is going to end, then they are not interested in the material aggrandizement it is known as in English. Aggrandizement.You understand. I want this I want this I want this, everything I want. There was one man he used to go you know as a guest to somebody and suppose the sauce are very beautiful, cup is very beautiful and he had a daughter like Sarita, so Sarita will accompany him (laughs) . In this way he amassed so many things one room, two rooms, so many cups and saucers and plates like this. Where ever he went he just got it. One day he just died and the whole thing which is kept in the rack. This is aggrandizement. We have aggrandizement. This aggrandizement has got to be stopped. Whether you have or not no body is going to take it. Is there anybody in Zimbabwe who can take bundle of dollar notes with him? No there must be somebody. Yes there must be somebody. No.We have money, but where is it? They are not hanging in our hand. If the money would have belonged to you, they would always accompany. But where are the money, there is no money. Is it in the bank or somewhere else? Because they don't belong to you!. That is why they don't accompany you. The things which belongs to us accompany us. Money or houses, we all have the houses, if everybody comes with his house here what will be the position? There won't be any place to sit. This compound will be very small. Because everybody has big house. No the house doesn't belong to us. That is why it is there. Wherever it is, it is there.
So many living entities came to this Marundale or what is its name? Marundale nice name. whole planet should be known as Marundale (laughs). So many houses are here. So many farms are here around. So much land is here. Everybody and the living entities always came here. They claimed that this house belongs to me. And all those living entities have gone and the houses are here and the farms are here. Nobody takes the houses or farms with him or her. Because it is the property of Krishna. You cannot touch. You can come in the compound and use it sit here and pay obeisances in the temple and you go away. This property doesn't belong to you. That's why you cannot touch it. The property which doesn't belong to us we cannot touch it. At the best you can use it. You can sit here nicely and be comfortable here, but nothing belong to us. That sense is very clear because nothing belongs to us in this compartment. Everything belongs to Harsha prabhu, so we have to please him in order to come inside. And if he is not pleased there are four dogs (laughs) and the big padlock at the door, you want to open the padlock lock. And if you break the bed lock then the police will come. Krishna also gets upset when we claim that this property is mine. Because it is His.So He says alright this house is yours. Then He says house is yours isn't it then pay the taxes. And the man pays the taxes. The house is yours, yes, pay the electricity bills. And we have to pay the electricity bills. The He says this house is yours, yes, pay the water bill. And one day He kicks us out and takes His property back (laughs). At the time of death, He kicks us out, get out and then we are buried or cremated whatever it is and the property is taken back by Him. This is the main thing. Parikshit maharaja understood these things, and because he understood these things he was a sane person he was intelligent person. Yesterday we saw budha intelligent persons they always know that the Krishna is the source of every thing and everything is coming from Krishna. Nothing is coming from us. And that is why nothing belongs to us. That is why we behave all the good qualities there. We don't have any bad quality. Because the foundation of our existence is very sound, very concrete foundation and as soon as you come to this knowledge then whole of your life becomes very sublime very pure and as soon as the life is pure, then you can understand the pages of Srimad Bhagavatham and then you can do every thing. Otherwise everything is chalaachalam