Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Chapter 01 Purports - Questions by Vidura
Pages in category "Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Chapter 01 Purports - Questions by Vidura"
The following 228 pages are in this category, out of 228 total.
A
- A common man who has no interest in spiritual values has no need to approach a spiritual master just as a matter of following fashion
- A conditioned soul is absorbed in material existence under the influence of different modes of external energy. Absorbed in the false ego, he thinks that he is doing everything by himself
- A devotee, who is called narayana-para, is never afraid of anything because he is always aware of the fact that the Lord protects him in all circumstances. With this conviction, Vidura traveled alone, & he was not seen or recognized by any friend or foe
- A faithful wife cannot live without her lord, the husband, and therefore all widows used to voluntarily embrace the burning fire which consumed the dead husband
- A good son is called apatya, one who does not allow his father to fall down. The son can protect the father's soul when the father is dead by offering sacrifices to please the Supreme Lord, Visnu. This system is still prevalent in India
- A person should not be in the renounced order of life unless he is firmly convinced of being protected by the Lord
- A physician may sometimes advise the extrication of such useless eyes from their sockets so that one can be relieved of the constant trouble
- A pure devotee of the Lord is naturally faultless because he is always associated with the supremely pure Personality of Godhead
- A pure devotee of the Lord is never perturbed by an awkward position created by the external energy of the Lord
- A worldly fire (of war) can be extinguished only by the water of the mercy cloud of saints, just as a forest fire can be extinguished only by rains falling from a cloud
- According to social custom, Vidura was to be respected by Uddhava on the level of his father. Uddhava was a great scholar in logic, and he was known to be a son or disciple of Brhaspati, the greatly learned priest and spiritual master of the demigods
- According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, Smara (Cupid, or Kamadeva) is one of the eternal associates of Lord Krsna. Jiva Gosvami has explained this very elaborately in his treatise Krsna-sandarbha
- According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, one is advised to approach a bona fide spiritual master when one is actually inclined to question from an elevated level of spiritual understanding
- According to the Gaudiya acintya-bhedabheda-tattva philosophy, anything which satisfies the senses of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, is also Sri Krsna
- According to the moral instructions of Canakya Pandita, "What is the use of a son who is neither a learned man nor a devotee of the Lord?" If a son is not a devotee of the Supreme Lord, he is just like blind eyes - a source of trouble
- Adi-caturbhuja, the original expansions from Baladeva, are Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna & Aniruddha. All of Them are visnu-tattvas, or nondifferent Personalities of God. In the incarnation of Rama, these expansions appeared for particular pastimes
- After the Battle of Kuruksetra, Maharaja Yudhisthira was again able to rule his legitimate kingdom, and he reinstated the principles of honor and respect for religion. That is the beauty of a kingdom ruled by a pious king like Maharaja Yudhisthira
- After the death of his father, a son goes to offer sacrifices at the lotus feet of Visnu at Gaya and thus delivers the father's soul if the father is fallen
- All are obedient servants of the Lord. Whenever there is any trouble in the administration of the innumerable planets in different universes, the rulers pray for an appearance, and the Lord appears
- All the demigods of the heavenly kingdom appeared as associates of the Lord in the forms of Pradyumna, Samba, Uddhava, etc
- All the plenary expansions (of Krsna) are one and the same visnu-tattva, and there is no difference in Their potency
- All the young princes of the Yadu dynasty married the daughters of other kings in this way, by chivalrous force, and thus they were conquerors of all the kings of the world
- Although he was the brother of Dhrtarastra, Vidura was completely different. By the grace of Lord Krsna, he was not foolish like his brother, and thus his brother's association could not influence him
- Although they were stepbrothers, because Kunti took charge of them after the departure of Madri with her husband Maharaja Pandu, Nakula and Sahadeva were as good as the other three Pandavas, Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna
- Any time or anywhere pure devotees meet and chant the glories of the Lord (Krsna), the Lord is present without any doubt. It is said by the Lord Himself that He always stays where His pure devotees chant His glories
- As a student, Maharaja Pariksit was serious about learning the science of God, and Sukadeva Gosvami was a bona fide spiritual master in the transcendental science
- As declared in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord appears in the mortal world to execute His much-needed mission of killing the miscreants and giving protection to the suffering faithful
- As ksatriyas, the proper livelihood of the Pandavas was only to rule, and not to accept any other occupation. A brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya will not accept employment for his livelihood under any circumstances
- At last the Pandavas demanded only five villages, one for each of the five brothers, but that was also refused by the usurpers. This incident led to the War of Kuruksetra. The Battle of Kuruksetra, therefore, was induced by the Kurus, and not the Pandavas
- At present there are hundreds and thousands of flags flapping in the United Nations, but during the time of Vidura there was, by the grace of Ajita, Lord Krsna, only one flag
- At that time (SB 3.1.17), Lord Krsna was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin
- Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam (BG 9.11): He is always bewildering to the nondevotees, but He is always seen by the devotees by dint of their pure devotional service to Him
B
- Bhima did not take steps against the sons of Dhrtarastra for a long time. Vidura's inquiry was whether he had yet released his anger, which was like a suffering cobra. When a cobra releases its venom after long-cherished anger, its victim cannot survive
- Both of them (Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami) knew that the topics discussed by Vidura and Rsi Maitreya were elevated, and thus Maharaja Pariksit was very interested in learning from the bona fide spiritual master
- Both the dvija-devas and the devas always establish temples of Lord Visnu in His various forms, such as Govinda, Madhusudana, Nrsimha, Madhava, Kesava, Narayana, Padmanabha, Partha-sarathi and many others
- Both the Kauravas and the Yadavas were relatives of Vidura, and Vidura heard of their extinction due to fratricidal war
- Both Vidura and Uddhava were such elevated devotees (who can see Krsna in their hearts), and therefore they both came to the bank of the Yamuna and met each other
- Brahman bliss is enjoyed by living entities after liberation from material bondage. But Parabrahman, the Personality of Godhead, enjoys eternally a bliss of His own potency, which is called the hladini potency
- But He (Krsna) did not chastise the insulting party (the Kurus) immediately. This silence of the Lord did not mean, however, that He excused the offenses of the Kurus
- By intimate association with the king, the dasis would get sons. Such sons were called dasi-putras. They had no claim to a royal position, but they would get maintenance and other facilities just like princes
- By past pious deeds, one may become the king of a country, but because the results of the pious acts of Duryodhana and company were dwindling, it became evident from their actions that they were sure to lose the kingdom to the Pandavas
D
- Dhrtarastra and his materialistic sons wanted to falsely lord it over the world by dint of their own strength. The Lord encouraged them in this, and thus they became more and more bewildered
- Dhrtarastra was blind from birth, but his blindness in committing impious activities to support his dishonest sons was a greater blindness than his physical lack of eyesight
- Due to illusion only, he thinks himself independent in his activities. Duryodhana was acting under such influence of the external nature, by which he would be vanquished at the ultimate end
- Due to the exhaustion of the pious results of their past deeds, Duryodhana, or his father, Dhrtarastra, did not take the message (of Krsna) very seriously. That is the way of persons who have no credit of pious deeds
- Duryodhana knew very well that Vidura was a great soul and well-wisher, but unfortunately he used strong words to hurt his innocent uncle
- Duryodhana not only attacked Vidura's birth, but also called him an infidel because he seemed to support Yudhisthira, whom Duryodhana considered his enemy. He desired that Vidura be immediately put out of the palace and deprived of all his possessions
- Duryodhana was as strong as the King of heaven, still the sons of Prtha, the Pandavas, were able to snatch away their kingdom from him. Both Garuda & the Parthas are pet devotees of the Lord, and thus it was possible for them to face such strong enemies
- Duryodhana was exactly like blind, troubling eyes; he would be a source of great trouble to the family of Dhrtarastra, as foreseen by Vidura
- Duryodhana was so foolish that he dared to insult Vidura. This was due to his bad association with Sakuni, his maternal uncle, as well as with his friend Karna, who always encouraged Duryodhana in his nefarious acts
E
- Even a faultless person like Vidura could be charged with something abominable and punished
- Even though we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arca-murtis in the temple. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He is able to accept our service by presentation of His arca form
- Exactly as Saunaka Rsi inquired of Suta Gosvami and Suta Gosvami replied, so Srila Sukadeva Gosvami replied to King Pariksit's inquiries. The King was very anxious to understand the meaningful discussion that took place between the two great souls
G
- God expands Himself in innumerable forms, but all of them are nondifferent from one another. Visnu has four hands, each hand holds a particular item - either a conchshell, wheel, club or lotus flower. Of these 4 emblems, the cakra, or wheel, is the chief
- Godless kings or heads of state, when puffed up by advancement of material wealth, education and increase of population, always make a show of military strength and give trouble to the innocent
H
- He (Duryodhana) could not accept the sound advice of Vidura, but on the contrary he insulted that great soul, who was the well-wisher of his whole family. Vidura could understand this because he was a pure devotee of the Lord
- He (Duryodhana) desired that Vidura be immediately put out of the palace and deprived of all his possessions. If possible, he would have liked him caned until he was left with nothing but his breath
- He (Duryodhana) would therefore be unable to protect his father, Dhrtarastra, after his death. He himself was to fall down because of his faithlessness towards Visnu. How, then, could he protect his father
- He (Krsna) wanted to see His devotee and friend Arjuna as the hero of the Battle of Kuruksetra, and thus He waited for all the miscreants of the world to assemble. That, and nothing else, is the explanation of His waiting
- He (Lord Siva) offered Arjuna the Pasupati weapon and blessed him. Here Vidura inquired about the great warrior's well-being
- He (Vasudeva) had special attention for Kunti because she became a widow at an early age. While inquiring about Vasudeva's welfare, Vidura remembered all about him and the family relationship
- He (Vidura) considered the acts of the external energy to be supreme, yet he also saw how God's internal energy helped him in that particular situation. A devotee is always in a renounced temperament because the worldly attractions can never satisfy him
- He (vidura) enjoyed freedom of life without obligation to the many duties of the world
- He (Vidura) got the opportunity by the grace of Duryodhana, & instead of being sorry at the strong words of insult, he thanked him from within because it gave him the chance to live alone in a holy place and fully engage in the devotional service of God
- He (Vidura) lamented that Dhrtarastra could rebel against the sons of his dead brother Pandu and that he could drive him (Vidura) out of his own house on the dictation of his crooked sons. In spite of these actions
- He (Vidura) thought that there was no need to defend his brother with his bow because his brother was meant for ruination. Thus he left the palace before Duryodhana could act. Maya, the supreme energy of the Lord, acted here both internally & externally
- His (God's) birth does not, like that of the living entities, take place under the influence of material nature and the bondage of the reactions of past deeds. His works & activities are independent pastimes and are not subject to the reactions of nature
- His (Krsna's) name, fame, quality, form, pastimes and entourage are all identical to the Lord, and therefore chanting the glories of the Lord invokes the personal presence of the Lord
- His (Yudhisthira) actual arms were Krsna and Arjuna, and thus he surpassed everyone's opulence. Duryodhana, being envious of this opulence, planned so many schemes to put Yudhisthira into difficulty, and at last the Battle of Kuruksetra was brought about
- His (Yuyudhana's) life was successful to the fullest extent from both the material and spiritual angles of vision. That is the way of devotional service to the Lord
- His activities are enacted to attract all kinds of men - karmis, jnanis and bhaktas. Because He is transcendental to all laws of karma
- How this (eagerly searching for Krsna being just as good as seeing Krsna face to face) is so cannot be explained, but it is factually realized by those who are pure devotees of the Lord
- Human society is divided into four social orders of life and four spiritual divisions, applying to each and every individual person. This system is called varnasrama-dharma and has already been discussed in many places in this great literature
I
- I (Krsna) shall finish all those who have assembled here (Kuruksetra) except you, the Pandavas. This killing does not wait for you to take part in it. It is already arranged: all will be killed by Me
- I have already killed the great warriors - Bhisma, Drona, Jayadratha, Karna & many other great generals. Do not worry. Fight & be famous as a great hero." (BG 11.32-34) Krsna always wants to see His devotee as the hero of some episode which He performs
- If one puts letters in postboxes authorized by the general post office, the function of carrying letters is performed without a doubt. Similarly, the arca-murti can also deliver the same unlimited potency of the Lord as when He is personally present
- If the son is already an enemy of Visnu, how, in such an inimical mood, can he offer sacrifice (to deliver his father) unto Lord Visnu's lotus feet? Lord Krsna is directly the Personality of Godhead, Visnu, and Duryodhana was inimical to Him
- If you (Arjuna) want to become famous as the hero of the battlefield and thus enjoy the booty of war, then, O Savyasaci, just become the immediate cause of this killing and thus take the credit
- In each and every place of pilgrimage, the Lord is present in His various transcendental forms
- In every millennium, whenever there is any trouble for the obedient rulers, the Lord appears. He also appears for the sake of His pure unalloyed devotees
- In His childhood, Krsna conquered demons like Kamsa and Jarasandha and demigods like Brahma and Indra. Therefore all universal power was behind the Pandavas
- In His manifestation of visva-rupa, the Lord expressed His mission of killing as follows: "I have willingly descended on the earth in My capacity of inexorable Time in order to decrease the unwanted population
- In Mathura and Vrndavana, where we had a chance to stay, people are awake from early in the morning at 4 A.M. up until nighttime and are constantly engaged, some way or other, in chanting the holy glories of the Lord
- In spite of being very strongly insulted by Duryodhana's words, Vidura could see that Duryodhana, under the influence of maya, the external energy, was making progress on the path toward his own ruination
- In spite of her great bereavement, Kunti decided to live, not to enjoy life in the absence of her husband, but only to give protection to the children. This incident is referred to by Vidura because he knew all the facts about his sister-in-law Kuntidevi
- In spite of their (empiric philosophers and yogis) strict adherence to the principles of yama, niyama, asana, dhyana, dharana and pranayama, the great yogis and jnanis are unable to enter into the internal potency of the Lord
- In the absence of such a husband (as Maharaja Pandu), it was almost impossible for Kunti to live on even as a widow, but she had to do it for the sake of the five children
- In the Anandaranya, He (Krsna) is known as Vasudeva, Padmanabha and Janardana; at Visnukanci, He is known as Visnu; and at Mayapura, He is known as Hari. There are millions and billions of su forms of the Lord distributed all over the universe
- In the greater forest of worldly transaction, the fire of war takes place because of the violent passion of the conditioned souls illusioned by the external energy
- In the incarnation of Lord Krsna, Aniruddha appeared as the son of the Lord. Lord Krsna in Dvaraka is the Vasudeva expansion of the original group. The original Lord Krsna never leaves Goloka Vrndavana
- In the land of Bharatavarsa there are many hundreds and thousands of places of pilgrimage distributed all over the country, and by traditional practice the common man visits such holy places during all seasons of the year
- Indra, the King of heaven, carries a thunderbolt in his hand and is very strong, yet Garuda, the carrier of Lord Visnu, was able to snatch nectar from his mouth
- Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah (BS 5.1): the form of the Lord is eternal, blissful, and all-satisfying. His so-called birth is therefore an appearance only, like the birth of the sun on the horizon
- It is learned here (SB 3.1.30) that Kamadeva appeared as Pradyumna, Karttikeya as Samba, and one of the Vasus as Uddhava. All of them served in their different capacities in order to enrich the pastimes of Krsna
- It is mentioned here (SB 3.1.2) that the Lord identified the house with His own Self. Thus the house of the Pandavas was as good as Vrndavana, and Vidura should not have given up that place of transcendental bliss
- It is not that such devotees (searching after Krsna) meet Krsna face to face in that tract of land (from Delhi to Mathura), but a devotee's eagerly searching after Krsna is as good as his seeing Him personally
- It is said that giving good counsel to a foolish person causes the fool to become angry, just as feeding milk to a snake only increases its venomous poison. Saint Vidura was so honorable that his character was looked up to by all respectable persons
- It is said, karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam: the Lord minimizes or nullifies the reactionary influence of the devotee's past deeds - BS 5.54
- It is understood that Maharaja Pandu was a great warrior and that he alone, with the help of bow and arrow, could conquer the world's four directions
K
- Karma-yoga is based on bhakti, or pleasing the Lord, whereas karma is based on pleasing the senses of the performer himself
- Krsna and Baladeva are not subjected to the regulations of the universe; on the contrary, the whole universe is under Their subjugation
- Krsna is everyone's Lord, yet because He was the transcendental friend of Arjuna, He gladly accepted the role of messenger, exactly like an ordinary friend. That is the beauty of the Lord's behavior with His pure devotees
- Krsna reached the assembly (of King Dhrtarastra) and spoke about peace, and the message was relished by Bhisma and other great leaders because it was spoken by the Lord Himself
- Ksatriyas used to fight the kings of various dominions and kidnap their beautiful princess-daughters, after conquering their relatives. This system was laudable because they would be married only on the basis of the chivalry of the conquering ksatriya
L
- Later on, with the advent of the age of Kali, the wives gradually began to be less adherent to their husbands, and the voluntary embrace of the fire by the widows became a thing of the past
- Lord Caitanya displayed the typical example of transcendental ecstasy, as we can understand from the life of this incarnation of God
- Lord Krsna and Balarama are not two different Personalities of Godhead. God is one without a second, but He expands Himself in many forms without their being separate from one another. They are all plenary expansions
- Lord Krsna is the SP of Godhead, He is worshipable by all brahmanas & demigods, who are the controllers of the universal affairs. Besides that, Krsna & His family members, the royal order of the Yadu dynasty, were the conquerors of all kings of the world
- Lord Krsna tolerated the insult to Draupadi by the Kurus and the injustices perpetrated against the Pandavas, as well as insults to Himself. The question may be raised, "Why did He tolerate such injustices and insults in His presence?"
- Lord Krsna's father, Vasudeva, had sixteen wives, and one of them, named Pauravi or Rohini, the mother of Baladeva, was the sister of Vidura. Vasudeva, therefore, was the husband of Vidura's sister, and thus they were brothers-in-law
- Lord Krsna, being the original Visnu form, has only one emblem, namely the wheel, and therefore He is sometimes called the Cakri. The Lord's cakra is the symbol of the power by which the Lord controls the whole manifestation
- Lord Krsna, who is the spiritual master of the entire universe, accepted the duty of a messenger, and, deputed by Arjuna, went to the assembly of King Dhrtarastra on a peace mission
- Lord Rama is the original Vasudeva, and His brothers were Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Aniruddha is also the cause of Maha-Visnu, from whose breathing the Rg Veda appeared. All this is nicely explained in the Markandeya Purana
- Lord Siva tested Arjuna's strength by picking a quarrel with him over a hunted boar. He confronted Arjuna in the false dress of a hunter, and Arjuna covered him with arrows until Lord Siva was satisfied with Arjuna's fighting
- Lord Siva, one of the three qualitative incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, is the plenary expansion of the Lord. Karttikeya, born of him, is on the level of Pradyumna, another son of Lord Krsna
M
- Maharaja Yudhisthira was the emblem of religion. When he was ruling his kingdom with the help of Lord Krsna and Arjuna, the opulence of his kingdom surpassed all imaginations of the opulence of the kingdom of heaven
- Maharaja Yudhisthira was the rightful heir to his father's kingdom. But just to favor his own sons, headed by Duryodhana, Dhrtarastra, Maharaja Yudhisthira's uncle, adopted various unfair means to cheat his nephews of their rightful share of the kingdom
- More than five thousand years ago, while Saint Vidura was traveling the earth as a pilgrim, India was known as Bharatavarsa, as it is known even today
N
- No one can excel Him (God) in any opulence, and therefore the desire for improvement is absolutely useless for Him. One should always discriminate between the activities of the Lord and those of ordinary living beings
- No one goes to the forest to set it on fire, but due only to friction between bamboos, fire takes place and burns an entire forest
- No one, should think the arca in the temple to be an idol. Such an arca-murti is God Himself, and to the proportion to which one is free from sins, he is able to know the significance of the arca-murti. The guidance of pure devotees is therefore required
O
- One cannot be 100 percent devoted to God unless & until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of Dhrtarastra & Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with God
- One may come to the right conclusion regarding the Lord's transcendental position. One who can come to the conclusion of the Lord's transcendence can become a devotee of the Lord and can at once be free from all reactions of past deeds
- One should not be satisfied, however, merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one's prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord
- Only those who are pure devotees, those who follow regulative principles of religious life as prescribed in the scriptures, are able to engage themselves in karma-yoga & then jnana-yoga & thereafter, by pure meditation, can understand pure consciousness
- Ordinary living beings work for the improvement of their conditional lives. But the Lord is already full of all opulence, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. Why should He desire improvement?
- Out of many potencies of the Omnipotent, there are three features of His internal potency - namely samvit, sandhini and hladini
P
- Persons who are sinful asuras like Kamsa and Jarasandha cannot think of Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth
- Philosophically, one can understand that Lord Krsna and His remembrance are on the absolute plane and that the very idea of searching for Him at Vrndavana in pure God consciousness gives more pleasure to the devotee than seeing Him face to face
- Pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service
- Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization
- Political suggestions by Vidura are known as expert, just as, in modern times, Pandita Canakya is considered the authority in good counsel in both political and moral instructions
Q
- Questions and answers among different classes of men have different value. Inquiries by mercantile men in a business exchange cannot be expected to be highly purposeful in spiritual values
- Questions and answers by different classes of men can be guessed by the caliber of the persons concerned. In Bhagavad-gita, the discussion was between Lord Sri Krsna and Arjuna, the Supreme Person and the supreme devotee respectively
S
- Sages, or persons who completely devoted themselves to the spiritual upliftment of the entire human society, were known as dvija-deva, the best amongst the twice-born. The denizens of superior planets, from the moon planet & upwards, were known as devas
- Sanctified by thought and action, one is able to realize the Supreme Lord by the process of a pilgrim's journey
- Some of the arca representations of the Lord situated in different places of pilgrimage are mentioned herewith. The Lord is present at Mathura (the birthplace of Lord Krsna) as Adi-kesava
- Sri Vrndavana-dhama is nondifferent from Sri Krsna (tad-dhama vrndavanam) because at Vrndavana the Lord enjoys the transcendental bliss of His internal potency. Similarly, the house of the Pandavas was also the source of transcendental bliss for the Lord
- Srila Jiva Gosvami states that the news (of Uddhava's relatives passing) was shocking to Vidura, who therefore inquired again due to great curiosity. Thus his inquiry was psychological and not practical
- Such devotees (who seek eagerly after Krsna in Vrndavana) of the Lord see Him face to face at every moment
- Such disturbances (due to worldly affairs), however, are sometimes favorable for higher realization, and therefore Vidura took advantage of a family misunderstanding in order to meet Maitreya Rsi
T
- The activities of the Lord are to be accepted and relished by all living entities. His activities are to attract the ordinary man towards the Lord
- The beauty of such a pilgrimage site (Vrndavana and Mathura) is that automatically one remembers the holy glories of the Lord
- The comparison of the friction of forest bamboos to that of passionate human societies is appropriate. The whole world is compared to a forest. At any moment there may be a flare-up of fire in the forest due to friction
- The destination of transcendence is to become the personal associate of the Personality of Godhead, who is known as adhoksaja, He who is beyond the reach of the senses
- The devotees do not want the fruitive results of their work, nor do they want any kind of salvation. They relish the glorious superhuman activities of the Lord, such as His lifting Govardhana Hill and His killing the demon Putana in infancy
- The empiric philosopher who studies Brahman by negation of the external features has not yet learned the quality of the hladini potency of Brahman
- The empiric philosophers enjoy a transcendental quality of bliss by philosophical speculation on the Supreme Truth, but beyond that pleasure is the pleasure enjoyed by Brahman in His eternal form of the Personality of Godhead
- The example of the postbox and post office may be applied here. The little postboxes distributed all over the city have the same potency as the postal system in general. The duty of the post office is to carry letters from one place to another
- The external energy of the Lord, the material nature, is fully under the control of the Supreme Lord, & the conditioned soul is fully under the grip of the external energy. Therefore, the conditioned soul is fully under the control of the law of the Lord
- The first and foremost duty of a pilgrim is to satisfy the Supreme Lord Hari
- The five brothers are known in the world as regular brothers. The three elder Pandavas took care of the younger brothers, just as the eyelid takes care of the eye
- The fruitive actors can attain their goals by devotional service, and the salvationists can also attain their goal in life by devotional service to the Lord
- The great sages and demigods never established statues of men or demigods, but they established temples of Visnu for the benefit of common men, to raise them to the platform of God consciousness
- The happiness of the family of the Lord's devotees depends on the happiness of the Lord, Vidura first of all inquired about the well-being of the Lord
- The history of the world cannot give any systematic account for more than three thousand years into the past, but before that the whole world was under the flag and military strength of Maharaja Yudhisthira, who was the emperor of the world
- The immediate expansion of Lord Krsna is Baladeva, and Brahma, born from the lotus flower from Garbhodakasayi Visnu, is an expansion of Baladeva
- The internal potency is easily realized by the devotees of the Lord by dint of devotional service. Yuyudhana achieved this stage of life, just as he achieved expert knowledge in military science from Arjuna
- The law of karma enacted by the Supreme Lord for the living entities cannot be applicable to Him, nor has the Lord any desire to improve Himself by activities like those of ordinary living beings
- The Lord (Krsna) admitted Arjuna to be His devotee and friend (BG 4.3), and therefore any sane man can guess that the discussion was on the topic of the bhakti-yoga system. Actually the whole Bhagavad-gita is based on the principle of bhakti-yoga
- The Lord (Krsna) was just waiting to get them together on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra and kill them all at one time, just to make a short-cut in His killing mission
- The Lord always acts in favor of the devotees, and therefore ordinary men who are fruitive actors or seekers of salvation may be attracted to the Lord when He acts as protector of the devotees
- The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world
- The Lord is present at Puri (Orissa) as Lord Jagannatha (also known as Purusottama); He is present at Allahabad (Prayaga) as Bindu-madhava; at Mandara Hill He is present as Madhusudana
- The meaningful appearance of the Lord is always distinct from ordinary birth. Even the pure devotees have no connection with the material body, & certainly God, who appears as He is, in His sac-cid-ananda (Bs. 5.1) form, is not limited by a material form
- The message of Godhead is always like nectar to the devotees, but it is just the opposite to the nondevotees. Sugar candy is always sweet to a healthy man, but it tastes very bitter to persons suffering from jaundice
- The nations of the world are very eager to again have one state under one flag, but for this they must seek the favor of Lord Krsna, who alone can help us become one worldwide nation
- The physical lack of sight does not bar one from spiritual progress. But when one is blind spiritually, even though physically fit, that blindness is dangerously detrimental to the progressive path of human life
- The pure devotee of the Lord is always in company with the Lord by thinking of Him. Yet, in the particular context of time and place, the transcendental emotions take a different turn, and this breaks the mental equilibrium of the devotee
- The purpose of building very high temples is to give people a chance to see them from a distant place. This system is carried on in India whenever a new temple is constructed, and it appears that it is coming down from a time before recorded history
- The purpose of going to a place of pilgrimage is to get the chance to glorify the Lord. Even today, although times have changed, there are still pilgrimage sites in India
- The purpose of pilgrimages is to remember the Lord constantly, and therefore the Lord is known as tirtha-kirti
- The reason for his quitting the house was not a family misunderstanding; rather, Vidura took the opportunity to meet Rsi Maitreya and discuss transcendental knowledge. For a saintly person like Vidura, disturbances due to worldly affairs is insignificant
- The renouncers of the world, the sannyasis, give up all worldly connections, namely, family, wife, children, friends, home, wealth - everything - to attain the transcendental bliss of Brahman happiness. But adhoksaja happiness is beyond Brahman happiness
- The secondary purpose of His appearance is to annihilate the upstart asuras & to stop the nonsense of atheistic propaganda by less intelligent persons. By God's causeless mercy, the asuras who are killed personally by the Personality of God get salvation
- The surrendered rulers and the pure devotees are always strictly under the control of the Lord, and they are never disobedient to the desires of the Lord. The Lord is therefore always attentive to them
- The tops of Visnu temples are marked with the symbol of the wheel so that people may have the chance to see the symbol from a very long distance and at once remember Lord Krsna
- The tract of land comprising about one hundred square miles from modern Delhi to the Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh, including a portion of Gurgaon district in Punjab (East India), is considered to be the topmost place of pilgrimage in all of India
- The Vedas aim at the understanding of the Lord, and the Lord is the Vedas personified. Devaki is compared to the meaningful Vedas and the Lord to their purpose personified
- The Vedas are full of transcendental knowledge and spiritual values, and thus Devaki, the mother of Lord Krsna, conceived the Lord in her womb as the personified meaning of the Vedas. There is no difference between the Vedas and the Lord
- The word gata-vyathah (without being sorry) is significant here (SB 3.1.16) because Vidura was relieved from the tribulations which trouble every man entangled in material activities
- There are innumerable rulers all over the universe in different varieties of planets: the sun-god in the sun planet, the moon-god in the moon planet, Indra in the heavenly planet, Vayu, Varuna, and those in the Brahmaloka planet, where Brahma is living
- There are still many devotees of the Lord lingering there (in Vrndavana) in ecstasy in search of Krsna and His childhood associates, the gopis
- There is a difference between karma and karma-yoga. Karma is regulated action for the enjoyment of the fruit by the performer, but karma-yoga is action performed by the devotee for the satisfaction of the Lord
- There is no possibility of His (God's) accepting a form of maya as is forced on the ordinary living entities who are bound by the actions and reactions of their own deeds
- There were many other kings on earth who had become very proud of three kinds of possessions - wealth, education and followers - and they were constantly agitating the earth by movements of military strength
- These arca forms of the Lord may be considered idols by the atheists, but that does not matter for persons like Vidura or His many other servants. The forms of the Lord are mentioned here (SB 3.1.18) as ananta-linga
- These forms are (of God) called arca-murtis, or forms of the Lord which can be easily appreciated by the common man. The Lord is transcendental to our mundane senses. He cannot be seen with our present eyes, nor can He be heard with our present ears
- They (Krsna and Balarama) appeared at the request of Brahma to liberate the burden of the world, and They relieved the world by many superhuman activities so that everyone became happy and prosperous. Without the grace of God, no one can become happy
- This land is sacred because Lord Krsna traveled through it many times. From the very beginning of His appearance, He was at Mathura in the house of His maternal uncle Kamsa, and He was reared by His foster father Maharaja Nanda at Vrndavana
- This stage of dependence is called sattva-samsuddhih, or purification of one's existence. The result of such purification is exhibited in fearlessness
- This stage of life is explained in Bhagavad-gita as abhayam sattva-samsuddhih: every living entity is factually completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord, but unless one is in the pure state of existence, he cannot be established in this position
- Those who are in ecstasy of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Syamasundara (Krsna), see Him always in their hearts due to love and devotional service rendered to the Lord
- To the degree that we have entered into the service of the Lord or to the proportion to which our lives are freed from sins, we can perceive the Lord
V
- Vasudeva is a plenary expansion of Narayana. When the Lord appeared as Vasudeva before Devaki and Vasudeva, He appeared in His capacity as Narayana
- Vasudeva's sister Kunti was the wife of Pandu, Vidura's elder brother, and in that sense also, Vasudeva was brother-in-law to Vidura. Kunti was younger than Vasudeva, and it was the duty of the elder brother to treat younger sisters as daughters
- Very recently the system (of wives entering the fire after their husband's death) was abolished, since the voluntary system had become a forcible social custom
- Vidura advised Dhrtarastra to get rid of such an unworthy son as Duryodhana as soon as possible if he was at all anxious to see to the good of his family
- Vidura asked Uddhava about the welfare of his relatives, although he already knew that they were no longer in the world. This inquiry appears to be very queer
- Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord
- Vidura did not ask about the welfare of his elder brother because there was no chance of his well-being, only news of his gliding down to hell. Vidura was a sincere well-wisher for Dhrtarastra, and he had a thought about him in the corner of his heart
- Vidura gave Dhrtarastra very good counsel regarding political alliance with the sons of Prtha, the Pandavas. The first thing he said was that Lord Krsna was intimately related with them as their cousin
- Vidura knew the strength of Bhima. Whenever Bhima was on the battlefield, his steps on the path and the wonderful playing of his club were unbearable for the enemy
- Vidura never became an enemy of Dhrtarastra but continued to be his well-wisher, & at the last stage of his life, it was Vidura only who proved to be his real friend. Such is the behavior of Vaisnavas like Vidura: he desires all good even for his enemies
- Vidura rightly advised his eldest brother to get rid of this source of trouble. Dhrtarastra was wrongly maintaining such personified offense under the mistaken impression that Duryodhana was a good son, able to liberate his father
- Vidura wanted to achieve sincere devotional service of the Lord and therefore became a soul absolutely surrendered to the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He could realize this in the progress of his pilgrim's journey, & thus he was freed from all doubts
- Vidura wanted to impress upon his elder brother that fighting with the Pandavas was fraught with many dangers because they were supported by Krsna, who had conquered, even in His childhood
- Vidura was anxious to know whether, after winning back their own kingdom from the hands of Duryodhana, the younger brothers were still living happily under the care of the elder brothers
- Vidura was never attracted by the royal palace of his brother. He was always ready to leave the place and devote himself completely to the transcendental loving service of the Lord
- Vidura was not at all sorry to be bereft of his hearth and home because he now had experience that dependence on the mercy of the Lord is a greater freedom than so-called freedom at home
- Vidura was older than Uddhava, like a father, and therefore when the two met, Uddhava bowed down before Vidura, & Vidura embraced him because Uddhava was younger, like a son. Vidura's brother Pandu was Krsna's uncle, & Uddhava was a cousin to Lord Krsna
- Vidura was struck with wonder at such unexpected behavior from his nephew Duryodhana, and before anything actually happened, he decided to leave the palace for good
- Vidura was the son of a dasi, and he was thus not counted amongst the ksatriyas. King Dhrtarastra was very affectionate toward his younger dasi-putra brother, Vidura, and Vidura was a great friend and philosophical advisor to Dhrtarastra
- Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul, otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts
- Vidura's inquiry was about the youngest brothers of the Pandavas, namely Nakula and Sahadeva. These twin brothers were sons of Madri, the stepmother of the other Pandavas
- Vidura, therefore, could see nothing but Krsna in the different arca forms (because they are nondifferent from Krsna), and ultimately he was able to realize Krsna alone and nothing else
W
- When Akrura came to Vrndavana in search of Krsna, he saw the footprints of the Lord on the dust of Nanda-grama and at once fell on them in ecstasy of transcendental love. This is possible for a devotee who is fully absorbed in incessant thoughts of Krsna
- When getting married, the ksatriya kings would take on several other youthful girls along with the married princess. These girl attendants of the king were known as dasis, or attendant mistresses
- When God consciousness is developed, one can take advantage of the association of pure devotees. Syan mahat-sevaya viprah punya-tirtha-nisevanat: one is able to associate with the Lord even during the existence of this life
- When Lord Krsna was personally present, there were many such (puffed up) kings all over the world, and He thus arranged for the Battle of Kuruksetra
- When Lord Sri Krsna descends into the material world, all His plenary portions also appear with Him to exhibit different functions of the Lord. But for the pastimes at Vrndavana, all functions are performed by the Lord's different plenary expansions
- When Lord Sri Krsna was personally present in the mortal world in His eternal, blissful form of Syamasundara, those who were not pure devotees of the Lord could not recognize Him or know His glories
- When Maharaja Pandu died, both his wives, namely Kunti and Madri, were prepared to embrace the fire, but Madri requested Kunti to live for the sake of the younger children, the five Pandavas. This was agreed upon by Kunti at the added request of Vyasadeva
- Whenever anything was needed by Kunti, it was munificently delivered by Vasudeva, due to his great love for his younger sister. Vasudeva never dissatisfied his wives, and at the same time he supplied the objects desired by his sister
- While traveling as a pilgrim, one should not be worried about pleasing society. One should remain always absorbed in the function of pleasing the Lord
- Why did He (Krsna) not chastise the Kurus immediately?" When Draupadi was insulted in the assembly by the Kurus by their attempt to see her naked in the presence of all, the Lord protected Draupadi by supplying an unlimited length of clothing