Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 08 Chapter 04 Purports - Gajendra Returns to the Spiritual World
Pages in category "Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 08 Chapter 04 Purports - Gajendra Returns to the Spiritual World"
The following 54 pages are in this category, out of 54 total.
A
- A devotee must simply engage in devotional service, not caring about material situations. Then he automatically becomes a rightful candidate for promotion to Vaikunthaloka
- A devotee should not be disturbed by unfortunate circumstances, but must continue his regular program, depending on the Lord for everything
- A devotee sometimes accepts a sinful person as his disciple, and to counteract the sinful reactions he accepts from the disciple, he has to see a bad dream
- A devotee who tolerates everything in this material world and patiently executes his devotional service can become mukti-pade sa daya-bhak, a bona fide candidate for liberation. The word daya-bhak refers to a hereditary right to the Lord's mercy
- A Vedic injunction supported by Sukadeva Gosvami, one of the mahajanas, or authorities. He says, yathanukirtayanti: one should recite the mantra as it is, without deviation, for then one will be eligible to rise to the platform of all good fortune
- After initiation a disciple should be extremely careful not to commit again any sinful act that might cause difficulties for himself and the spiritual master
- After the expiry of the elephant's life (as Gajendra), he (Indradyumna) was promoted to Vaikunthaloka to become a personal associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, in a body exactly like that of the Lord. This is called sarupya-mukti
- Agastya Muni cursed Maharaja Indradyumna to become an elephant (Gajendra), the curse was indirectly a benediction, for by undergoing one life as an elephant, Indradyumna Maharaja ended the reactions for all the sins of his previous life
- Agastya Muni thought it wise to curse the King (Indradyumna) to become an elephant (Gajendra) because the powerful King did not receive Agastya Muni as one is obliged to receive a brahmana
- Although the King (Indradyumna) was not at fault, Agastya Muni cursed him, and when this happened the King considered it to be due to his past misdeeds. Tat te 'nukampam susamiksamanah (SB 10.14.8). This is a practical example of how a devotee thinks
- An elephant is very strong, it has a very big body, and it can work very hard and eat a large quantity of food, but its intelligence is not at all commensurate with its size and strength
- Anadrta-yusmad-anghrayah. The impersonalists do not think that the service of the Lord is more valuable than serving the poor man or starting a school or hospital
- Arcana-paddhati, daily worship of the Deity, provides an opportunity to touch the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus it enables one to be fortunate enough to get a spiritual body and go back to Godhead
B
- Because he (the Gandharva) was cursed by Devala Rsi, he became a crocodile and in only one life was fortunate enough to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and be promoted to the spiritual world to become one of the Lord's associates
- Because of sinful activities, at night we have bad dreams, which are very troublesome
- Before the Deity, before the fire, before the spiritual master and before the Vaisnavas, the honest disciple promises to refrain from all sinful activity. Therefore he must not again commit sinful acts and thus create a troublesome situation
- Both the crocodile, who had been a Gandharva in his previous life, and Gajendra, who had been a king named Indradyumna, were cursed, but both of them benefited
G
H
- He (a devotee of God) regards any reverses in life as blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- He (the impersonalist) comes down to open hospitals and educational institutions, feed poor men and perform similar materialistic activities, which the impersonalist thinks are more precious than serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead
I
- If a devotee has to suffer the reactions of his past misdeeds, the Supreme Lord arranges for him to be given only a token of these reactions, and very soon he is freed from all the reactions of material contamination
- If one is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead by having his gross body touched by the Lord, his body turns into a spiritual body, and he can go back home, back to Godhead
- In spite of so much bodily strength, the elephant works as a menial servant for a human being
- In this verse (of SB 8.4.13) the word vimoksya is significant. For a devotee, moksa or mukti - salvation - means getting the position of the Lord's associate
- Indradyumna, in his birth as an elephant (Gajendra), attained salvation and became a personal associate of the Lord in Vaikuntha, and the crocodile regained his status as a Gandharva
- Instead of being agitated by such reverses, he (a devotee of God) continues his activities of devotional service, and Krsna takes care of him and enables him to be promoted to the spiritual world, back to Godhead
- It is evident from this chapter (SB 8.4.1) that great sages like Devala Rsi, Narada Muni and Agastya Muni will sometimes curse someone. The curse of such a personality, however, is in fact a benediction
O
- One is purified of material contamination. This is the result of touching the Supreme Lord
- One should not be displeased when a saintly person curses someone, for his curse, indirectly, is a blessing
- One should therefore adhere to devotional service, and the Lord Himself will very soon see to one's promotion to the spiritual world
- One who engages always in Your (God's) devotional service with his mind, words and body, and who always offers obeisances unto You, is certainly a bona fide candidate for liberation
- One who is a pure devotee (anyabhilasita-sunyam - Brs 1.1.11), who acts according to the sastra and the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, certainly becomes purified. Like Gajendra, he assumes a spiritual body and returns home, back to Godhead
- One who seeks Your (God's) compassion and thus tolerates all kinds of adverse conditions due to the karma of his past deeds
T
- The devotee who renders unalloyed service to the Lord gets the right to be promoted to Vaikunthaloka, just as a son inherits the property of his father
- The difference between the mukti of the impersonalist and that of the devotee is that the devotee is immediately appointed an eternal servant of the Lord
- The Gandharva had the mentality of an inhabitant of the celestial planetary system, and for him to become an associate of the Supreme Lord would have taken millions of long years
- The impersonalist rises to the Brahman effulgence and enters into that effulgence, he has no engagement in the service of the Lord, and therefore he is again attracted to materialistic philanthropic activities
- The impersonalist, although merging in the effulgence of the brahmajyoti, is still insecure and therefore generally falls again to this material world. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah (SB 10.2.32)
- The impersonalists are satisfied to get the liberation of merging in the Brahman effulgence
- The spiritual master is so kind that in spite of having bad dreams due to the sinful disciple, he accepts this troublesome business for the deliverance of the victims of Kali-yuga
- The story of how the Gandharva had become a crocodile will be described later. The curse by which the Gandharva took this position was actually a blessing, not a curse
- The word svarupa refers to sarupya-mukti - going back home, back to Godhead, and remaining the Lord's eternal associate, having regained a spiritual body exactly resembling that of the Lord, with four hands, holding the sankha, cakra, gada and padma
- The word upadharayan, "considering," is very significant in this verse (of SB 8.4.11-12). This word indicates that a devotee knows what is what; he understands what is happening in material, conditional life
- They (the impersonalists) say brahma satyam jagan mithya - "Brahman is real, & the material world is false" - they are nonetheless very eager to serve the false material world and neglect the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- This is the unique position of a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although the King (Indradyumna) was cursed, he welcomed the curse because a devotee is always aware that nothing can happen without the desire of the Supreme Lord
W
- We find evidence in many places that the curse of a great saint or devotee is not a curse but a benediction
- When a devotee gets liberation, he becomes free from material contamination and engages as a servant of the Lord. This is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 2.10.6): muktir hitvanyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih