He fixed his mind upon The Supreme Personality of Godhead Param Brahman, who is beyond cause and affect, who manifested three modes of material nature, he is who is beyond those three modes and who is perceived only through unfailing devotional service.

Purport by his divine grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Whenever there is bhakti there must be three things present, the devotee, the devotion and the Lord. Without these three

1.Bhakta
2.Bhakti
3.Bhagavan

There is no meaning to the word Bhakti.

Kardama Muni fixed his mind on the supreme brahman and realized him through bhakti or devotional service. This indicates that he fixed his mind on the personal feature of the Lord because bhakti cannot be executed unless one has realization of the personal feature of the absolute truth. “Gunebhyas ca” he who is beyond the three modes of material nature but it is due to him that the three modes of material nature are manifested. In other words although the material energy is an emanation of the supreme Lord he is not affected as we are by the modes of material nature. We are conditioned souls but he is not affected. Although the material nature has emanated from him he is the supreme living entity and is never affected by maya but we are subordinate minute living entities prone to be affected by the limitations of maya. If he is in constant contact with the supreme Lord by devotional service, the conditioned living entity also becomes freed from the infection of maya. This is confirmed in Bhagawad Gita “Sagunan samatityaitan” BG.14.26 “A person engaged in Krishna consciousness is at once liberated from the influence of the three modes of material nature. In other words once the conditioned soul engages him in devotional service he also becomes liberated like the Lord”.

Today we are reading from canto 3 of Srimad Bhagvatam chapter 24 entitled the renunciation of the Kardama Muni, text 43.

Kardama Muni with the blessings of his dear son Kapila Dev, with his beloved wife Devahuti has entered into the forest to establish for all the world the example that the ultimate purpose of life is self-realization. Everything else is temporary. In the verse yesterday Srila Prabhupada explained so nicely, what it means to go to the forest. In this day and age its not very practical for people especially in the west, even India to just give up everything and live in the forest wearing tree bark, eating roots, subjecting oneself to the elements, not only that but if you try to do it in any of the forests you will probably be arrested for vagrancy, yes, trespassing unless you own the forest. But that’s not possible because before you go to the forest you have to give up all ownership of everything.

So really what has been spoken about is the spirit, the spirit of entering into sphere of life where we are exclusively depending on GOD because the nature of life in material society is we create so many artificial shelters. We depend on the telephone, we depend on our computers, we depend on the police and the fire department and the grocery stores and the clothes stores. But when you are in the forest you only depend on GOD. That’s very obvious that the Lord is our only shelter we really cannot turn anywhere else. That is knowledge, we know the story when dropadi was in the assembly of kurus Duryodhana he just wanted to do everything he possibly could to shatter the hearts of the pandavas. So he cheated them in that dice arena where Shakuni, Amalbhakta Prabhu he tells this story most munificently and he took away all their wealth, he took away all their service he took away everything. But that was not enough, he wanted to utterly shatter their hearts. So he had their wife Draupadi dragged into the assembly by her hair, its horrible. They are kshatriyas to protect their wife is a very very sacred vow of their lives. But they were in a very helpless condition. And then Duryodhana ordered Dushashana that you strip her naked in front of everyone. Now in today’s world this would be a very fashionable thing but at that time to be disrobed before anyone except your husband was worst than death for a women, worst than death. It’s too painful even to conceive in their hearts. Dushashana a powerful warrior, his arms were stronger than many elephants. Draupadi was just a very simple lady with a frail body. So she looked to Dritarashtra the king, he wouldn’t do anything. She looked to Bhishma the grandfather warrior. He looked down in shame because there was nothing he could do. She looked at her own husbands, Yudhisthir, Arjuna, Bhima, Sahadeo, Nakula they looked at the ground in utter shame. They were not able to do anything to help her. When Dushashana began to pull she realized no one in the world could help her in this desperate situation. So she tried to help herself, it was her last resort. She held on to the sari, if she was wearing blue jeans or something she wouldn’t have a change, but because she was wearing a sari its lot of material so she was holding on to her sari. Dushashana was thousands of times stronger than her. When he was pulling she realized she could not save herself and none of the fallible soldiers of this world could save her. It was in that state that she realized in the core of her heart she only has one shelter, Krishna The Supreme Personality of Godhead. So in the mood of surrender she actually let go of the part she was holding on to, raised her arms in the air and cried out from her heart with great great intense sense of urgency she helplessly cried hey Krishna, hey govinda. Krishna is non different than his name because she cried out taking shelter exclusively of the Lord, the Lord appeared and incarnated within her sari. Dushashana pulled and pulled and pulled but Krishna is unlimited and therefore her sari became unlimited. Soon the whole room was full of sari material and dushashana was still pulling and pulling and pulling until he was utterly exhausted there was no end to her sari. No one could see any trace of her that she did not want in this way she was rescued and in the process she taught the world what it actually means to exclusively take shelter of the Lord. It is a state of consciousness, so this great sage Kardama Muni has entered into the forest to exclusively take shelter of the Lord without distractions, now what we consider distractions are quite opposite from what he considers as distractions. We consider distractions often times, hardships, too much cold, too much heat, too many mosquitoes, poison snakes crawling around, lions and tigers would you consider that a distraction? For Kardama Muni that wasn’t distraction. We are having a nice house, nice people helping you do all things, having nice facilities, nice food, nice clothes for him that is the distraction because it is distracting his attention away from urgently helplessly exclusively crying out hey Krishna hey govinda.

Janmaisvarya sruta-sribhir
Edhamana-madah puman

Naivarhaty abhidhatum vai

Tvam akincana-gocaram (S.B. 1.8.26)

Queen Kunti prayed like this that the four material opulence’s that people strive and give their lives to achieve are disqualifications for spiritual life. High birth, high education, physical beauty and wealth, everyone wants these things. Why are they disqualifications? Because we become proud and that pride distracts our consciousness from really understanding that only Krishna can save me, which is the reality. But a friend in need is a friend indeed, Krishna explains that he is the best well wishing friend. In fact he is the only real friend because the time of greatest need is the time of death and who could help us at a time of death to deliver us from cycle of suffering, only Krishna and those persons who help us to know and love Krishna. So Kardama Muni was going in to the forest to be free from distractions because lions and tigers are not distractions, poisonous cobras are not distractions and freezing cold and burning heat are not distractions. Why? Because in that situation there is no where to go, you cant turn on the thermostat, there is no distraction because in that situation you just have to cry out for Krishna, you have to depend on Krishna and distractions means what takes our mind away from that state of consciousness Krishna Consciousness. Now actual grihastha life means to create an environment in our home where we are cultivating this exclusive dependence on Krishna. Bhaktivinod Thakur had nice house. We have seen in Godrum, if you have seen his house their very nice house. He had ten children and a wife, Bhagawati who was very very devotional, very wonderful lady. Bhaktivinod Thakur has revealed to the world in one of his beautiful prayers that when I come home from my work, he was a magistrate in the British courts. He said when I come home I see my whole home transformed into Goloka Vrindavan, the highest planet of the spiritual world. How is that possible? Because the family is cultivating devotion to Krishna, dependence on Krishna, they are chanting the names of the Lord, they are hearing the glories of the Lord, and they are serving the devotees of the Lord. Kardama Muni’s entrance, the spirit of his entrance into the forest is a very important example for all of us to follow, who ever we may be to actually cultivate and develop as a priority in our life sincere devotion, dependence on The Supreme Personality of Godhead because actually everything else is an illusion, illusion means its just not right, its not true. Maya means that which is not, its translation, now the world exists, the world is not an illusion and this body exists and people of this world exist and we exists. But for the soul to identify that I am this body and all the designations pertaining to this body are me and all the things that I am trying to acquire in relation to this body are mine that is an illusion because actually nothing is ours.

Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
Sarva-loka-mahesvaram

Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam

Jnatva mam santim rcchati (B.G. 5.29)

if we want to achieve piece we must realize every thing is the property of GOD. If we are the proprietors then no one can take anything away from us, we have control, proprietorship means control, ultimately at any moment in life, inevitably at death everything is taken away from us by time. Krishna reveals in GITA that he is time but still everything looks, everything appears in a different way from what it is. Could I tell you a nice little story? Actually you might not even think that it is nice and it might end up not so little also, but it’s a personal experience that we had just recently.

There is a very nice temple in Italy about an hour from Venice. It is called Prabhupadadesh. It’s a very ancient stone building. Have you been suhas Prabhu? it’s about a 400 year old building. It was a convent, a monastery for renounced ladies with catholic faith for many many years and somehow or rather it was given to devotees and it became Prabhupaddesh, it’s a very nice temple. So this year in August for Balaram’s appearance day there was a wonderful festival that was called, I think about 300 to 400 devotees from all over European area came, from Croatia, from Italy, from Germany, from England, Russian, Serbia, Belgium, Amsterdam many devotees came and there was Sacchinandan Maharaj, Bhaktivigyan Goswami Maharaj, Matshya Avataar Prabhu, Mahadviti from London, many devotees were there. Now it happened that it was a three day festival, the days of the festival were the record breaking hottest days in over 100 years in Italy, it was like between a 105 to 110 degrees everyday. It was very hot and on Balaram’s appearance day they asked me to give class and I really tortured the devotees. They had to sit a long time listening to this class and they were praying to Balaram for spiritual strength to get through in. it was a very nice festival, very ecstatic festival. The last day was a harinam sankirtan in Venice. It is one of the most incredible places to perform harinam kirtan in all the world. Have any of you ever done nama sankirtan in Venice. First of all we all arrived and they got a big boat, should I continue this story? They had a big boat that fit all of us and we just had kirtan and a boat sailing through the sea until we came to one very very nice place in Venice where we all came off and then we were dancing and chanting along the little path ways. Nice thing about Venice is there is no traffic because no cars are allowed. The only traffic is boats, taxi boats, bus boats, individual boats, they just drop you off just near your house, your house is just right under canal. Tourists from all over the world going all around so we were dancing and it was ecstatic sankirtan, really incredible, devotees were dancing singing so devotionally and hundreds and hundreds of people were gathering around where ever we stopped, this went on for hours and it was over 105 degrees, haribol!!! So devotees were ecstatically hot and then we came to one of the most famous architectural master pieces in the world, Piazzo San Marco, it’s a huge square, gigantic square and there is beautiful ancient stone carved cathedral and the assembly house all around this square. There were thousands of people from all over the world, we had kirtan there for well over an hour. So this kirtan went on for probably five hours and in blistering heat. Sun started setting and there was a boat waiting for us right near Piazzo De San Marco. And we got in this boat and we had kirtan, it took us to an island, very very beautiful island and it was announced that we were all going to bath in the sea. Now can you imagine after five hours of chanting and dancing and 105 degrees weather how inviting that is to bathe in the sea? What do you think? And after that there would be prasad on the sea shore of this very beautiful island. It took about half hour of boat ride to get to the island. Then we had to do about another half an hour of kirtan through the villages to get to the sea shore by the time we got to the sea shore it was night. The moon was rising, that’s the beach, it was like a California beach, very beautiful, white sand and full moon because it was just a day after full moon of Balaramji’s appearance, the full moon was rising from the sea. It was one of the most beautiful sea that we had ever seen. The sea just looked so peaceful. It wasn’t like in California where the waves just crush you and bash you and if you are not a surfer then it’s not very comparable. It was just a very tranquil sea. Just the waves were going like dancing and the moon beams and in the dark of the night the moon beams literally glistening and dancing on the waves of the sea, all was so beautiful and stars were in the sky, devotees were so much anticipating bathing in the sea and then we felt the water, it was the ultimate perfect temperature. I mean if you have to requisition varuna for a particular temperature this is what you would get. It was slightly cool, the kind of water, kind of warm but slightly cool, you could just be in it for all day long and just be refreshed. Not too cold, not too warm but perfect. Devotees put on their, the ladies were on one side, the men were on another side. Everyone was just saying OH how beautiful, how wonderful how nice. In that moonlit night in that tranquil sea we entered into the placid waters. As we were all going deeper and deeper one could hear AHHHHHH!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I didn’t go in there, I was just what’s going on there? AHHHHH!!! But still the warm water was so nice, the temperature was so beautiful that I swam in deeper and deeper and everybody was screaming. What happened was, every single person got bit by jelly fish. Everyone Haribol!!! Have any you been bit by jelly fish. Its really painful, it just burns AHHHHH!!! And people were screaming. And some people who were not yet in they were just up to to their feet feeling nice warm water, people were saying don’t come in don’t come in there is jelly fish here, they call it something like “madhusatz” the kind of jelly fish it was. You could see him, they were on the surface, they were underneath and the people who were coming and it felt so good they couldn’t not go in, even though people were saying it’s just jelly fish don’t come, still they came in, they were thinking not me, I wont get it is too nice and a few seconds later AHHHHH!!!! Was incredible, the most incredible thing I was observing but I was participating, is all these people were getting just stung by jelly fish whatever they were and still they wouldn’t get out because it was so nice it was so refreshing they were anticipating they were looking forward to this bath for so long they were, we all had fixed in our mind this nice bath and how nice it would be and then when we saw the seen and we felt the water, then it just went deeper and deeper into our hearts and how we were being stung by these fish and bitten and burning it was painful and we didn’t want to get out. We just had this mental conception that I have been looking forward to it for so many hours. I cant just get out now, have any body of you had this experience before? You anticipate something even if it goes you still cant give up the idea! So finally we came out and people had this big scars on their body, there were some gurukulis 29.57 maharaj he came with his band of gurukulis and they actually had, what are those called in the jelly fishes, the tentacles stuck to their bodies, just stuck and they were peeling them off and it was very painful. Many people were peeling tentacles of their bodies and just underneath was just bright red irritations, itching like anything and we sat down to take prasad. That’s the end of the story.

Should I tell you the purport? The purport was Krishna was revealing very clearly what is maya? What is the world? Bhavasagar, this is called the material, ocean of material existence, yes, material existence is compared to an ocean. This ocean to all our senses sometimes just appears as so pleasing, oh beautiful moonlight, perfect temperature, nice soothing ocean breeze, perfect temperature of water, tranquil sea, no waves, everything was perfect, we were hot, we were tired, we need relief desperately and this is the most inviting possible situation ever. Material nature is just presenting herself to us in such a seductive, tempting and satisfying way giving us all promises for happiness and that’s all we see, that’s all we feel, that’s all we taste, that’s all we hear but there are something that you don’t see, that is you don’t see that in the sea are jelly fish and they are there waiting to attack you and cause you misery, hare Krishna!!! That is a fact, anytime mayadevi tempts us with some pleasure, we should know that beneath the surface is jelly fish that are going to sting us and my purport is a purport to a verse in bhagwad gita.

Ye hi samsparsa-ja bhoga

Dunkha-yonaya eva te

Ady-antavantah kaunteya

Na tesu ramate budhah (B.G. 5.22)

it’s a very ecstatic verse. It’s also depressing, one who enjoys this world it’s a depressing. If you want to transcend the world its ecstatic. Krishna says in Gita “an intelligent person doest not take part in the sources of miseries which are born of the senses in contact with their objects. Such pleasures have a beginning and an end and therefore an intelligent person does not take part in that. Within the sea there are fish, so many fish, now a good fishermen how does he catch fish. He just doesn’t throw a hook for him and think that the fish are going to enthusiastically eat the hook, he puts a bait and what is bait its what the fish likes the best. Yes, fishermen actually have to have some understand psychology of fish, what will seduce the fish best, what will agitate the senses of fish the most, that’s what I am going to put on the hook. Then they will be impelled to eat it, enjoy it and swallow it. Yes, mayadevi through the three modes of material nature she is conducting 34.57 all the fears of the material existence, she knows everyone’s psychology perfectly, yes, so the fish is just swimming around and then there is very nice worm and that worm is just moving around very nicely. You don’t see the hook you just see the worm and the fish becomes very much passionate to enjoy it. Senses are disrupted it just looks like just an innocent object to enjoy, now there may be another fish who says “Prabhu there is a hook in that worm don’t eat it, but the foolish fish says “what are you fanatic don’t be such a fanatic, we have to have a balanced life”. Some enjoyment is necessary, I know I know renunciation and four regulative principles and all of this but still we have to enjoy something otherwise how will be, don’t be a fanatic. The worm is looking very nice and then the fish eats the worm. Now the good fisherman never immediately takes it because he knows it may go right out of his mouth, yes, if you just enjoy something and you immediately suffer you don’t get attached to it. And if you don’t get attached to something then you don’t get trapped by it, yes, it is really attachment that attracts you. So the fishermen is just very wise he just lets the fish eat it and eat it and enjoy it and chew it and swallow it and swallow it and swallow it and the fish is probably thinking about his god brother or god sister you see there is no problem I am enjoying it, similarly we engage in some kind of activities, see I am still chanting, I still have a shikha, I still wear a saree, I still have a tilak, its not so bad and it goes deeper and deeper and deeper until its deep. Then the fishermen goes and then the fish realizes I am trapped. That is the way bhagwad gita describes. From the very beginning we should understand that the temporary pleasures of the senses for the objects are sources of misery although they look so wonderful, they look so harmless on the surface, but beneath the surface are countless jelly fish.

Daivi hy guna-mayi
Mama maya duratyaya

Mam eva ye prapadyante

Mayam etam taranti te (B.G. 13.14)

Krishna tells in gita “this divine energy of maya is mine is very difficult to overcome. There is only one possibility; those who take shelter of me can easily cross beyond it. 38.43 we are pleasure seeking living entities, we must have happiness, we must have pleasure it’s the very nature of the soul. Krishna Consciousness means the art of learning how to find pleasure in such a way that it liberates us from suffering and actually gives eternal joy to our very essence our soul who we are. We can give up lower things if we accept higher things. Just like Srila Prabhupada says if you are eating puffed rice if someone gives you halwa you can easily put aside the puffed rice. Yes, but for a hog if you give him halwa he will say “no give me stool”, that is conditioning. Human life is to develop higher taste by chanting, by dancing, by taking prasad, by associating with good people, by seeing the beauty of the deities, by living with an objective with an ideal that is satisfying to the heart, serving GOD, we actually find the greatest fulfillment and happiness in life instead of bathing in the bhavasagar, the ocean of material existence which is filled with countless jelly fishes and sharks and barracudas and all other living beings we want to bathe in the bhakti rasamrita sindhu in the nectarine ocean of pure love of GOD, we want to dive deeply into that ocean of love of GOD. Hey Krishna karuna sindhu, Krishna is an ocean of kindness, an ocean of mercy, an ocean of love, we want to dive deeply with our entire being in taking shelter of that ocean where there are no jelly fish. We embrace by Krishna at every moment, his loving grace. So that is our choice, there is ocean of material existence; there is ocean of spiritual love and in this human form of life the jiva atma has the independent free will to decide which ocean we want to swim in. we are so conditioned to perpetually bathing in this ocean even though the jelly fish are stinging us still we are just thinking its so warm its so nice and the moonlight is so good and ahhhhhh!!!! And the waves are so delightful and the stars are so nice AHHHH!!!! And then there is a whole philosophy that there can’t really be enjoyment unless there is suffering so a suffering is good helps us enjoy better when there is no suffering. Yes, that is the ocean of material existence and ultimately death the ocean of birth and death. But we have the choice at every moment to die deeply and swim the ocean of loving rasas, loving mellows with Krishna by always remembering Krishna and never forgetting Krishna by learning to exclusively take shelter of that ocean, the processes of bhakti. Here in Srila Prabhupada is explaining for their to be real bhakti there must be three elements and they must all be understood to be eternal

bhakti

bhakta

bhagavan

the devotee, the process of devotion and The Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now those who are transcendentalists of the Impersonalistic School yes they believe in bhakti, bhakta and bhagavan, many of the them actually that is the path that they follow. They believe that there is karma yoga and gyan yoga and there is a athanga yoga and there is bhakti yoga and any of them is good and if you follow any of them sincerely attentively then you can transcend the modes of material nature, you could go beyond material bondage and ultimately you can enter into supreme brahman. Their idea of Krishna, Krishna’s name or for that ram’s name, hanuman’s name all the various names of GOD, the forms of GOD, the pastimes of GOD, the characteristics and qualities of GOD they are all in the mode of goodness. The impersonal formless activity less absolute brahman enters into material existence and takes a form in the mode of goodness, assumes a name in the mode of goodness, performs lilas and pastimes in the mode of goodness. And by concentrating worshipping and even chanting even mahamantra, chanting mahamantra, some of the transcendentalist’s school their mantra is the maha mantra and their ishta devatas are Krishna and sometimes even Radha and Krishna or Sita & Ram or Shiva & Parvati and they worship. I will never forget, can I tell you another story? You don’t mind?

I was living in a place called Mithila, Mithila is the birthplace of Sita, consort of Shri Ramchandra. And I was there at the time of Ram Naumi, this is back in 1972 and I already come from Vrindavan so I was a devotee of Radha Rani and Krishna. So I met this one sadhu, he was the only sadhu who was closed to my age. Almost everyone I lived with and traveled with, I was 19 or 20 and they were usually in their 60 or 70 or sometimes 80’s. so this person was like about 28 so he was the closets thing to my age of Sadhus I met in years and he had such devotion. We would go before the deities of Ram, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman and he would be just praying and he would be crying and he would be just be doing kirtan and he would be absorbed chanting, just crying out names of Ram and during kathas he would be absorbed, sometimes even absorbed emotionally absorbed in hearing the katha. So I was thinking I am going to stay close to this person, I want some thing that this person has, this person has very deep spiritual emotions. I should continue? So there was a feast at the Ram mandir. We were sitting in the courtyard of Ram Mandir. Mithila has two very famous temples, Janaki mandir and Ram Mandir. So were sitting in courtyard with sadhus. These kind of feasts only sadhus are allowed. If you are not sadhu you have to go somewhere else. This is for naga babas and very stanch sadhus. So somehow they though I was like that, so I was sitting there and my friend was with me and were taking prasad. It was nice prasad actually I still remember the preparations but I wont get into details. And we after taking the prasad we were about to get up and my companion looked at me and said do you know why I am constantly hearing and chanting the glories of Ram with such intensity? I said please tell me, will you please tell me? I really thought I was going to become enlightened, he was going to reveal the inner secret of his heart to me and he did. He revealed the inner secret of his heart to me. He said that I am doing this because by doing this I will become purified and then I will become Ram. I said you will become RAM? What do you mean? He said ultimately RAM is an illusion, ultimately I will enter into impersonal all pervading brahman which is RAM and then I become GOD. I started feeling indigestion when he said that. It was, we want to love Krishna, we don’t want be Krishna. So yes, he understood the elements bhakta, bhakti and bhagavan. But the difference is a devotee understands that these three principles are eternal. This was the first teaching of Lord Chaitanya to Sanatana Goswami. He explains such deep profound philosophical scientific teachings to Sanatana Goswami but the very beginning is “Jivere swarupa krishnair nitya das, that we are all eternally servants of Krishna. The devotee is eternal, the process of devotion is eternal and the supreme Lord is eternal. Achintya bheda abheda tatva. In order to understand the eternality of relationship between the Lord and his devotee and the medium of our relationship which is pure love unless we understand the eternality we cant enter into the lila of the Lord, the transcendental mellows of divine love or rasa of the Lord. So it is very very important, if we truly want to be delivered from this ocean of material existences we must understand that Krishna The Supreme Personality of Godhead in all of his divine incarnations they are above and beyond the three modes of material nature. Ishwara param Krishna sachitananda vigraha, anadir adir govinda sarva karana karanam. Krishna is the supreme Lord of all Lords. Ishwara param, we all are ishwaras we have some control over something or someone but Krishna is ishwara param, supreme and his body, his form, his pastimes, his names they are eternal full of knowledge and full of bliss. We are eternally persons and Krishna is eternally person. Bhakti, Bhakta and Bhagavan and if we have this consciousness, if we have this understanding then we can quickly attain supreme destination when we chant his holy names in the mood of Draupadi, depending on the shelter of the Lord in his name.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare

So when you get bite by jellyfish don’t just go AHHHH!!! AHHHHH!!!! HARE KRISHNA then you will be delivered. Thank you very much. Srila Prabhupada ki JAY!!!!.