Sārvabhauma was a gigantic paṇḍita of the day. His readings knew no bounds. He was the best naiyāyika of the times and was known as the most erudite scholar in the Vedānta philosophy of the school of Śaṅkarācārya. He was born in Nadia (Vidyānagara) and taught innumerable pupils in the nyāya philosophy in his tola there. He had left for Purī some time before the birth of Nimāi Paṇḍita. His brother-in-law Gopīnātha Miśra introduced our new sannyāsī to Sārvabhauma, who was astonished at his personal beauty and feared that it would be difficult for the young man to maintain sannyāsa-dharma during the long run of his life. Gopīnātha, who had known Mahāprabhu from Nadia, had a great reverence for him and declared that the sannyāsī was not a common human being.
With great reverence
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
O Vidura, Devahūti served her husband with intimacy and great respect, with control of the senses, with love and with sweet words.
Here two words are very significant. Devahūti served her husband in two ways, viśrambheṇa and gauraveṇa. These are two important processes in serving the husband or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Viśrambheṇa means "with intimacy," and gauraveṇa means "with great reverence." The husband is a very intimate friend; therefore, the wife must render service just like an intimate friend, and at the same time she must understand that the husband is superior in position, and thus she must offer him all respect.
SB Canto 4
Whoever, with great reverence and adoration, regularly reads, chants and describes the history of Mahārāja Pṛthu's activities will certainly increase unflinching faith and attraction for the lotus feet of the Lord. The Lord's lotus feet are the boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience.
"King Ambarīṣa always fixed his mind on the lotus feet of the Lord and talked of Him only." (SB 9.4.19) We should also take this opportunity in life to become as good as a great saint simply by not talking unnecessarily with unwanted persons. We should either talk of Kṛṣṇa or chant Hare Kṛṣṇa undeviatingly. This is called muni-vrata. The intelligence must be very sharp (samāhita-dhiyaḥ) and should always be acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The words etad abhyasatādṛtāḥ indicate that if one takes these instructions from a spiritual master with great reverence (ādṛta) and practices them accordingly, he will find this bhakti-yoga process to be very, very easy.
One can offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly, but if one repeats the prayers offered by great devotees like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā, or if one follows in the footsteps of great personalities, one can please the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily. For instance, we sometimes chant this mantra of Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29):
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs, or gopīs." Because this prayer was offered by Lord Brahmā, we follow him by reciting this prayer. That is the easiest way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The pure devotee never attempts to reach the Supreme Lord directly. The most important way to worship the Lord is to go through the disciplic succession of devotees. The prayers offered by Lord Śiva to the Supreme Personality of Godhead were thus repeated by the Pracetās, who were thus very successful in pleasing the Supreme Lord.
"My dear Lord, You are now present with the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Now both of You please be merciful upon me. Don't kick me away, because I have no shelter other than You."
In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes dependent on His devotee. The Lord is invincible, yet He is conquered by His pure devotee. He enjoys being dependent on His devotee, just as Kṛṣṇa enjoyed being dependent on the mercy of mother Yaśodā. Thinking Himself dependent on the devotee gives the Supreme Lord great enjoyment. Sometimes a king may engage a joker, and in the process of joking, the king is sometimes insulted. The king, however, enjoys these activities. Everyone worships the Supreme Lord with great reverence; therefore the Lord sometimes wants to enjoy the chastisement of His devotees. In this way the relationship eternally existing between the Lord and His devotees is fixed, just like the sky overhead.
SB Canto 5
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to do with material perception. Even the impersonalist Śaṅkarācārya says. nārāyaṇaḥ paro 'vyaktāt: "Nārāyaṇa. the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material conception." We cannot concoct the form and attributes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We must simply accept the description given in Vedic literatures about the Lord's form and activities. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29):
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune." We can have some conception of the Absolute Truth, His form and His attributes simply by reading the descriptions given in Vedic literatures and authoritative statements given by exalted personalities like Brahmā, Nārada, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and others. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ: (CC Madhya 17.136) "We cannot conceive the name, form and qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa through our material senses."
Jayadeva Gosvāmī's ten prayers worshiping the incarnations of Lord Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) contain His name in every stanza. For example, keśava dhṛta-nara-hari-rūpa jaya jagad-īśa hare, keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagad-īśa hare, and keśava dhṛta-vāmana-rūpa jaya jagad-īśa hare. The word jagad-īśa refers to the proprietor of all the universes. His original form is the two-handed form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, standing with a flute in His hands and engaged in tending the cows. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā:
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.29)
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune." From this verse we learn that Govinda, or Kṛṣṇa, is the ādi-puruṣa (the original person). The Lord has innumerable incarnations, exactly like the innumerable waves of a flowing river, but the original form is Kṛṣṇa, or Keśava.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
As songs and musical instruments resounded along with the loud vibration of Vedic hymns, the King went forth with great reverence to meet Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, just as the senses go forth to meet the consciousness of life.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows yielding all desires in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune."
This is a verse from the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29). This description of the abode of Kṛṣṇa gives us definite information of the transcendental place where not only is life eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, but there are ample vegetables, milk, jewels, and beautiful homes and gardens tended by lovely damsels who are all goddesses of fortune. Kṛṣṇaloka is the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, and below it are innumerable spheres, a description of which can be found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the beginning of Lord Brahmā’s self-realization he was shown a transcendental vision of the Vaikuṇṭha spheres by the grace of Nārāyaṇa. Later, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he was shown a transcendental vision of Kṛṣṇaloka. This transcendental vision is like the reception of television from the moon via a mechanical system for receiving modulated waves, but it is achieved by penance and meditation within oneself.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so sublime that even a little service rendered to Kṛṣṇa, knowingly or unknowingly, gives one the greatest transcendental benefit. The system of worshiping Kṛṣṇa by offering flowers from a tree is also beneficial for the living entity who is confined to the bodily existence of that tree. When flowers and fruits are offered to Kṛṣṇa, the tree that bore them also receives much benefit, indirectly. The arcana process, or worshiping procedure, is therefore beneficial for everyone. Kṛṣṇa is worshipable by great demigods like Brahmā and Lord Śiva, and Pūtanā was so fortunate that the same Kṛṣṇa played in her lap as a little child. The lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, which are worshiped by great sages and devotees, were placed on the body of Pūtanā. People worship Kṛṣṇa and offer food with great reverence and devotion, but automatically He sucked the milk from the body of Pūtanā. Devotees therefore pray that if simply by offering something as an enemy Pūtanā got so much benefit, then who can measure the benefit of worshiping Kṛṣṇa in love and affection? Therefore only Kṛṣṇa should be worshiped, for so much benefit awaits the worshiper.
Sri Isopanisad
The sun and its rays are one and the same qualitatively. Similarly, the Lord and the living entities are one and the same in quality. The sun is one, but the molecules of the sun's rays are innumerable. The sun's rays constitute part of the sun, and the sun and its rays conjointly constitute the complete sun. Within the sun itself resides the sun-god, and similarly within the supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana, from which the brahmajyoti effulgence is emanating, the Lord enjoys His eternal pastimes, as verified in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29):
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows fulfilling all desires in abodes filled with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of wish-fulfilling trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of Lakṣmīs, or goddesses of fortune."
The brahmajyoti is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā as the rays emanating from that supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana, just as the sun's rays emanate from the sun globe. Until one surpasses the glare of the brahmajyoti, one cannot receive information of the land of the Lord. The impersonalist philosophers, blinded as they are by the dazzling brahmajyoti, can realize neither the factual abode of the Lord nor His transcendental form. Limited by their poor fund of knowledge, such impersonalist thinkers cannot understand the all-blissful transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this prayer, therefore, Śrī Īśopaniṣad petitions the Lord to remove the effulgent rays of the brahmajyoti so that the pure devotee can see His all-blissful transcendental form.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Iran is like, that but no green, simply sand.
Mr. Malhotra: These are the mountains of Deccan. They say that these all mountains were under sea.
Prabhupāda: Yes, everything was... Pralaya-payodhi-jale dhṛtavān asi vedam **. (break)
Mr. Malhotra: (Hindi) ...for quite some time at a particular spot. This spot was shown to us. And people have very great reverence for that spot. So now, at one time we accept Lord Rāma the supreme master of a particular yuga, and then He had to worship Lord Śiva. So who is supreme, Lord Śiva or Lord Rāma?
Prabhupāda: Lord Rāma is the Lord. Śiva is devotee. Sometimes you wash the feet of your son. That does not mean you are a servant of the son. Kṛṣṇa, why Rāma? Kṛṣṇa, when Sudāmā Vipra came to His house, He washed his feet.
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
The sacred meeting organized by you at your place yesterday will be remembered by me with great reverence and I must thank you from the very core of my heart for giving me a chance to serve the cause of the potency of the almighty God. I think you have inherited some transcendental talents by the good deeds of your past life and as such you have taken your birth in the family of the srimatam as stated in the Bhagavad-gita. God willing you shall render tremendous transcendental service in the rest of your life and by doing so you shall not only glorify the family in which you have taken your birth but also the community and the country will be benefited.
| Page Title: | With great reverence |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Sureshwardas |
| Created: | 18 of Mar, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=8, CC=1, OB=3, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 14 |