So we're reading today Śrīma-Bhāgavatam, 4th, Canto, Chapter 17, text number 5.

Sanat-kumārat bhagavato brahma-bhāvan-vṛttama- labhāgyānāṁ sa-vijñānam rajo-sikhaṁ gatim-gataḥ From Sanat Kumara, Bhagavata, the most powerful brahmana, my dear brahmana, brahma-vyatuttama, well-versed in the Vedic knowledge.

Labdabam, after achieving jnanam, knowledge, sabhyanam, for practical application, Rajarishi, the great saintly king, come which Gatim, destination, Gata, achieved.

Translation in purport by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada.

The great saintly king, Maharaja Prithu, received knowledge from Sanat Kumara, who was the greatest Vedic scholar.

After receiving knowledge to be applied practically in his life, how did the saintly king attain his desired destination?

There are 4 Vaishnava sampradayas, systems of the siddhic succession.

1 sampradaya comes from Lord Rama, 1 from the goddess of fortune, 1 from the Kumara, headed by Sanat Kumara, and 1 from Lord Shiva.

These 4 systems of the siddhic succession are still going on.

As King Pritu has illustrated, 1 who is serious about receiving transmittal knowledge must accept a guru or spiritual master in 1 of these 4 reciprocal successions.

It is said that unless 1 accepts a mantra from 1 of these sampradayas, the so-called mantra will not act in Kali Yuga.

Many sampradayas have sprung up without authority, and they're misleading people by giving unauthorized mantras.

The rascals of these so-called samsara dhyas are not observed to be adherent to rules and regulations.

Although they are addicted to all kinds of sinful activities, they still offer people mantras and mislead them.

Intelligent persons, however, know that such mantras will never be successful and as such they never patronize such upstart spiritual groups.

People should be very careful of these nonsensical sampradayas to give some facility for sense gratification.

Unfortunately people of this age receive mantras from these so-called sampradayas.

Prithvi Maharaj, however, showed by example that 1 should receive knowledge from a bona fide sampradaya.

Therefore Maharaj tricks you, except with Sadhakamara as his spiritual master.

Vandeham sri-guru sri-jata-padakamalam sri-gurun vaisnavam sva-sri-rupam Bhante ham sri-guru sri-dhyata-padakamam Sri-gurun vaisnavams ca sri-rupam Sa-grija tam sahagana-ragana-tanvitam tam sa jivam Sadaitam subhadutam paridhana-sahitam Krsna Caitanya Devam Sri Radha Krsna padam sahagana-ladita-sivisa-kanvitam Namaste Sarasvate Deve Gorovani Picharine Nibhisheshu Shunyavadi Paschuchadeshu Tharine Mukham Karoti Vachalam Pangum Nityaginim Yat Kripatama Ambande Sri Guru Dinatarinam Well this purport really hits home with me because I was a victim of 1 of these so-called sampradayas.

I had to pay money actually to get my mantra.

The Buddha-vived spiritual method doesn't use it as a money-making business.

You see, this bogus guru, he's selling mantras And what were the regular principles?

Just pay me the money and get the mancha and this way you become self-realized.

So I got the mancha, I paid the money, it was a student discount, $35.

Of course, I had a lot of money in the old days.

I used to pay 30 dollars for my rent here in Austin.

So 35 dollars was a big money, it was like a whole month's rent.

And I got my mantra, Aang, Aang, Aang, Aang, but it didn't work.

There was no lift off, it was like an endless runway, but no lift off.

But then when I got this mantra, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Instant lift off.

Of course sometimes they remind me, they say, well how can I get taste?

Well if we're chanting we're not getting taste, that means we're just chanting mechanically, you know, just like a machine, you know, like a tape recorder going, there it goes, there it goes.

You are actually putting feeling into it.

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of God.

He is actually a Supreme Person, the source of all existence.

And I happened to find out what his name is.

Everything is acting under his direction.

The sun is rising and setting, the moon rises, the seasons, everything is going on according to his order and his direction.

So he's the supreme controller, he's the supreme benefactor, also the supreme well-bishop of all living beings.

Why don't I get on good terms with him, come back to my relationship with him?

Why should I neglect him and say who cares about them, who cares about him.

Somebody wrote me spit in his face, can you imagine how offensive that is?

No, we should have, This is the person, actually by his grace, even I'm breathing right now.

The air I'm breathing, he's giving me the air to breathe.

I depend on him at every minute for my existence.

So since I'm totally dependent, wouldn't it make good sense to have a good relationship with that person as a source of all existence?

And the amazing thing is he is a cyber guy, he knows everything.

Not that I have to get on some spaceship and travel to some distant planet, he actually has fully knows everything that's going on in my brain right now he knows everything I'm saying and everything I'm doing he knows everything about everyone so why not get back in a harmonious relationship with that person as a source of all existence why not get back in a sweet loving harmonious relationship, that's called intelligence because when 1 does that, you enter a state of unlimited bliss, you see, where all anxieties are just a figment of imagination actually.

Bapa very nicely states in the Sri Yukteswar Upanishad that very often quoting that 1 should not be happy or distressed over desirables and undesirables knowing that such feelings are just created by the mind.

So 1 may think, oh I'm so devastated, this has happened and I can't handle this too much.

But actually, see the problem is not the external situation.

The external situation is never the cause of our anxiety, it's our attitude.

There's an interesting slogan, an attitude of gratitude creates altitude.

Do you learn how to have an attitude of gratitude that everything is coming to you by the mercy of Krishna, then you will take off like a rocket into the higher realm of transcendental bliss.

So we have to stop having this judgmental, who are you to treat me this way, what do you mean by talking to me like this, what are you doing, This judgmental sort of attitude, not seeing a loving hand of Krishna going at every minute in every situation.

So this is intelligence, This is common sense.

Since Krishna is giving us unlimited mercy at every minute, why don't I reciprocate with that loving mercy He has given me and showing my appreciation by chanting His name in a loving mood.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

He is here, He is here right here in his Lord's Dhamma Dhamma.

He is right here standing with us in this room.

So I can bow down to him, I can offer my food to him, I can dress him, I can undress him, I can do service for him in his transcendental manifestation here.

And much to speak of his preaching mission.

He's come as Lord Chaitanya to say the most important thing is, dhājjare dekha tadikāna kṛṣṇa-upadeśa mārgaya guru hoya dhāyadeśa.

Whomever you meet, instruct him in the teachings of Krishna, and this way and martyr you become Guru, deliver the people of this country.

So we actually take up his preaching mission, you see.

The Bhagavad has given the order to deliver the world, So we have to be in a good state.

We have to be delivered ourselves, chanting nicely, following the regular principles, nice loving relationships with the Vaishnavas, with the spiritual master, nice attitude towards Krishna, Radharani, and the gopis, and the Acharyas, you see, in the proper state of mind.

If 1 is cultivating that proper state of mind, every minute you tell you, you know, keeping it in the mind, you see the mind gets off the track, bring that rascal back, you see.

You tell your Tamnishchalati, Madhvachanchalamastutthapar.

You see your mind getting off the track, you have to intelligently analyze your mental state every minute.

Is this mental state Krishna conscious or is it egotism?

The Fourth of July fireworks display going on, right?

We have to learn to see the loving hand of Krishna blessing us at every minute, in every situation.

Why am I not appreciating how Krishna is giving me His unlimited loving mercy every minute?

We instead of being on Krishna's case, Why are you doing this to me, Krishna?

You see, on the guru's case, or on the Godbrother's case, or the husband's case, or the wife's case.

You don't see the loving hand of Krishna acting in every minute in all times, places and circumstances.

You rascal man, you've dragged me through millions and millions of life forms trying to enjoy it this way and that way.

I've been cheated again and again and again.

8400000 varieties, different ways of being cheated.

I wanted to be happy and I got this body, I got that body, even the demigod body was cheating, being cheated.

Because there is no happiness in this material world.

Well I got an American body, I got an Aussie body, I got this and that.

Even being an Indra or even a Brahma, the chief demigod in the whole universe, is all being cheated.

Because our actual position is Jivaara Sivarupa Haayi Krishna, Arunachala Dasa, our actual position is the eternal service of Krishna and his transmittal pastimes in the spiritual world.

So we have to get back in that mood of loving reciprocation with Krishna.

Just as the Vrindabhasis are having loving reciprocation with Krishna, they are not thinking of themselves, they are always thinking, how can I please Krishna?

The gopis dress to please Krishna, not thinking of their own sense enjoyment, they think how can I believe Krishna by dressing in this way?

Everybody is acting in the spiritual world for the pleasure of Krishna.

Everything for the pleasure of Krishna, isn't it?

Yes, everything for the pleasure of Krishna.

So we have to get out of this I, me and mine consciousness.

They have a saying, I, me and mine will make you feel real fine.

I, me and my consciousness makes you feel miserable as hell actually.

I, me and my consciousness makes you feel miserable.

We have to get out of this I, me and my consciousness and get into Krishna consciousness.

He was an amazing person who served all existence.

He was tending the cows and the bulls built spiritual gems.

He was surrounded by millions of purpose trees.

He was very adept at playing on the flute, who has blooming eyes like lotus flowers, who is headed for death with a peacock feather.

We have to learn how to reconnect with that person.

Right now, these material bodies are miserable.

The material body means misery, birth, death, old age, disease.

It's like I'm suffering from various diseases right now as I give you this lecture.

As I said here, not me, but this body is suffering with diseases.

I'm speaking in this lecture, I'm being tortured, my body is being tortured by various diseases.

Even now I feel in my body diseases, I'm giving this lecture, but I'm not this body, it's not me.

So my happiness is not this rotting old man body, that is not my happiness.

My happiness is my eternal relationship with Krishna and my beloved spiritual master, his divine grace A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Sri Dandekas Mahamiraj Prabhupada, who so kindly gave me this name Sankarshan Das back in 1971, another name for Vishnu, actually also Balram is sometimes called Sankarshan.

So it is a great blessing to be given a name by my spiritual master.

Now let me live according to that name and not something else.

Let me not be Stephen Bridge any longer than I may be truly Sankarsan Das.

Actually the name Stephen was not a very not a very good name, you know what he was named after 2 people that died on time And the Bible, Stephen was stoned to death.

The Jews didn't like that he was a Christian, so they stoned him to death.

My uncle Stephen, he died on a ship in World War II, sank, went down, the Japanese, or the German, sunk and he went down on a ship.

So I was named after 2 people that died untimely, 2 Stephens that died untimely.

So the spiritual name is a great treasure that reminds me who I actually am.

So we take our spiritual names as a great great blessing to help us get back to get back to get back to being who we actually are.

Guru Maharajji, you want to add some points?

We should connect with Krishna every minute.

Is that like in a prayer or is that like we are talking to him?

You should always psychoanalyze yourself.

What I am doing right now pleasing to Krishna.

Am I doing it in a way that pleases Krishna?

We should always psychoanalyze ourselves.

You analyze, the way that I I'm hearing the class, the way I'm giving the class, the way I'm offering the argi, the way I'm cutting the fruit, the way I'm taking out the garbage or whatever it may be, am I doing it in such a way that Krishna is pleased?

By remembering him, That's the first thing.

You should always see where is my mind situated right now?

Is my mind thinking in such a way that it's pleasing to Krishna and Guru or is it not?

And when you see your mind is off the track, bring it back.

You said about the case, getting on the case You said about getting on the case

find it's easier to get on to someone's case rather than my own.

If you can't get on your own case, you are not qualified to get on anybody else's case.

You have to make yourself Krishna conscious first before you can think about making other people Krishna conscious.

You have to first of all make yourself proper to this situation before you can have any fun to make somebody else part of the situation.

Yeah, if I can't get in my own case first, I'm not bothered to get in any other case.

But I'm saying, nobody can do on their own case.

If somebody can't get on their own case, they're not qualified to point a finger at anybody.

1 is like that, you point finger at other.

You 0.1 finger, I got 3, you point at myself.

You point finger, I got 3, you point at myself.

are making it hard by your own mental concoctions.

We make it difficult by all of our apprehensions, all our mental concoctions.

Actually it is the easiest thing in the world.

But we make it difficult by our damn mental concoctions.

That rascal mind says, I don't know about this, I don't know about that.

Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.

The mind just goes on, maybe, maybe, maybe.

Maybe spiritual, maybe Prabhupada is really a realized self.

Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, doubting, doubting, doubting, doubting.

We make it difficult with our doubts, that's the problem.

We have to learn how to stop, kick out these doubts.

Get out of here and don't you ever come back again.

You're gonna kick those damn doubts with boot.

See any questions that are here on the internet?

Okay little majari, is it that 1 should be satisfied with whatever services 1 may be engaged in and not think like, oh I'm not able to do this or that service?

Well whatever service is given you should take it as a blessing and try to do it in a first class way.

I mean there are services that I'm asked to do and I have a very difficult time doing them.

We have the little tiny decorated flowers that are put in by the domino every night and to take them off and remove all the blue tags.

It is the most difficult thing in the world for me to remove the blue tags without ruining the flowers.

But it's a duty I've been given by Guru Maharaj Ji, the head vajraya.

So even though It's like a torture for me to do it.

So it's difficult, but I embrace it with enthusiasm.

Whatever is the most difficult thing, if you embrace it with enthusiasm, that's how you make tremendous advancement.

So any service you don't feel is suited for you, that's the best thing to learn how to master it and relish it.

In the Purport it is said that when a Lathman accepts a mantra from 1 of these Sampradayas, it is so called mantra-vowel, if 1 of these Sampradayas is so called mantra-vowel, I think I'll use it.

So, what about the followers of Jesus Christ and Prophet Mahana?

Well, so far as I know, they aren't even given mantras.

I grew up as a Christian, we were never given any mantras.

Of course we sang Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

I didn't hear about mantras from Jesus Christ.

Oh, the Catholics, yeah, they chant rosary.

Yeah, we, I was a Protestant, we didn't, The Catholics have the rosary they chant on.

The Catholics have the rosary, that's right.

Well, the real answer is they have polluted their Christian and Muslim religion by authorizing sinful activities like meat eating.

There are even Christians who are in favor of abortion.

They're pro-abortion Christians if you can imagine that.

So yeah, they polluted their Christianity and Mohammedanism, Islam by sinful activities.

We went to a potluck dinner every Wednesday night.

Whatever authenticity was there in the original teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Lord Jesus, they polluted it with sinful activities.

We have to be, everyone do the same thing here?

It's like this idea that recreational sex is fine as long as you are married and wife.

This is devoted to the consciousness of ISKCON also.

So we have to be, we shouldn't let ISKCON be polluted by this idea that recreational sex is fine.

Because actually, according to Vedic science, the seminar, even just looking at the standpoint of health and longevity, the seminar retained in the body of the male, it travels to the brain and nourishes the brain for spiritual understanding.

It gives him longevity also and resistance against disease.

So passing semen should be absolutely minimized only for procreation.

It's the idea you can have recreational sex, it's not healthy, it's not good for the intelligence and it's also against the regulated principles.

Why the Panchatagra is called the only absolute truth?

I don't even see that verse because the absolute, Krishna is the absolute, Every single verse of these scriptures is also the absolute truth.

So I wouldn't say that only the Pachacarita is the absolute

The Hare Krishna mantra is the absolute truth.

All these verses of the Bhagavad Gita are the absolute truth.

What is the greatest impediment for 1 to always keep the attitude of gratitude locked inside?

The greatest impediment, Desire for material sense gratification, subtle and gross, that's the greatest impediment.

Subtle sense gratification and gross sense gratification, that's the greatest impediment keeping the attitude of gratitude, seeing everything happening as the mercy of Krishna.

So we have to understand to gratify my subtle senses or the gross senses is not my real happiness.

You think I need to be glorified, I need to be gratified in so many ways.

Our happiness is simply that every thought, word and deed should be done to the pleasure of Guru and Krishna.

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SB 04.17.05 2023-01-05 Austin.mp3