Vijaya Ekädaçé
The enmiTy Of Kaliya and Garuda (ParT -2)
Srila Vyasadev
Garuda
His Divine Grace
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Business Of a fOOl
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Issue no:204 17th Feb 2023
Politics
POliTics
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
TruTh and falsehOOd are never One
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura
Garuda and hanuman
Srila Sanatana Goswami
As soon as he heard his mother's words, Garuda lifted his wings and flew into the sky. Garuda was chosen by Lord Krishna as His personal carrier. In order to ensure that Garuda would indeed remain above the Lord, the Lord placed the image of Garuda on His chariot flag. Thus, the Lord fulfilled His promise.
Indra, considering Garuda an enemy of the gods for having stolen the celestial nectar, struck him with a devastating thunderbolt. Having been struck by Indra's thunderbolt, Garuda, the best of the airborne beings, shouted out fiercely and then smiled and addressed Indra gently.
"O Indra, as your thunderbolt was produced from the bones of a great sage Dadichi, I will pay homage to that sage, to the thunderbolt, and to you. Thus, I cast off only one feather whose limits you cannot comprehend, nor will I ever experience pain from the blows of your thunderbolt."
Seeing the most handsome feather cast off by Garuda, all creatures declared, "Let this bird be called Suparna, the one with beautiful feathers!"
Seeing such a marvel, even mighty Indra, with thousands of eyes, thought, "This bird is a magnificent being!" and said to Garuda, "I wish to comprehend the limits of your great and unparalleled strength, O best of birds, and I desire your eternal friendship."
Sri Garuda said: My dear Lord Indra, may we develop a friendship in accordance with your wishes. I would like you to know that my power is great and irresistible. However, the saintly disapprove of the desire to glorify one's own strength and to advertise one's own virtues. I am responding to your question only because I have accepted you as a friend; otherwise, I would not praise myself without cause. To begin, I would like to say that this world, with its mountains, forests, and seas, as well as you, Indra, is all of one. I could dangle from only one quill of one of my feathers. If all the worlds were joined together, along with all their movable and immovable beings, I would be able to carry them all without feeling any fatigue.
Suta Goswami said: The lord of the gods, Indra, wearing his royal helmet, dedicated to the welfare of all creatures and himself the most opulent of
the beautiful and illustrious personalities, then addressed Garuda.
It would be best if you gave it to me, since you do not actually require the nectar, as it would cause us harm if you gave it to someone else."
Garuda said: I brought the nectar for a good reason, but I will not allow anyone to drink it. When I place the nectar down, you should immediately come and take it."
Indra said: O Garuda, I am satisfied with the words you have spoken. Let me grant you whatever boon you desire.
Suta Goswami said: Then, Garuda began to recall the sons of Kadru, and he recalled in particular their trickery in making his mother a slave. Despite being the lord of all, he replied, "I ask you for this boon, that the mighty serpents become my food."
As Indra, the destroyer of the Dänavas, said, "So be it!" and followed Garuda, telling him repeatedly, "I will take the nectar when you place it on the ground."
Garuda, celebrated as Suparna, quickly reached the place where his mother awaited him and with great joy announced to the serpents, "I have brought this nectar, and I will place it on a kuçagrass covering for you. After bathing and performing all auspicious rituals, serpents may consume the beverage.
From today on, my mother shall be free from servitude, since I have fulfilled my promise to you."
It is so!" responded the serpents to Garuda; and the serpents left to take their baths, and Lord Indra at once grabbed the nectar and returned with it to his celestial realm.
In the meantime, the serpents took a bath and chanted the necessary sacred hymns. After completing all the auspicious rites, they eagerly returned to that location in order to obtain the nectar. As soon as they realized that the entire stock of nectar had been stolen, they immediately licked the Darbha grass where the nectar had been. The snakes' tongues became forked as a result of that act, and by touching the celestial nectar, Darbha grass became pure and sacred.
The fair-winged Suparna experienced supreme happiness in that sublime forest with his mother. All creatures of the sky worshipped Garuda and permitted him to feed on snakes, bringing joy back into the life of his mother, Vinata.
A person who regularly listens to this story about the lord of the birds, recited in an assembly of spiritually educated individuals, is assured of attaining the heavenly abode, having earned the merit and fruit of true piety.
Garuda
His Divine Grace
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In the Vedic literature it is stated that the two wings of the transcendental bird Garuda, who carries the Lord everywhere, are two divisions of the Säma Veda known as båhat and rathäntara Garuda works as the carrier of the Lord; therefore he is considered the transcendental prince of all carriers. With his two wings Garuda began to vibrate the Säma Veda, which is chanted by great sages to pacify the Lord. The Lord is worshiped by Brahma, by Lord Siva, by Garuda and other demigods with selected poems, and great sages worship Him with the hymns of Vedic literatures, such as the Upaniñads and Säma Veda. These Säma Veda utterances are automatically heard by the devotee when another great devotee of the Lord, Garuda, flaps his wings.
It is clearly stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam that the sage Kardama began to look to the path by which the Lord was being carried to Vaikuntha. It is thus confirmed that the Lord descends from His abode, Vaikuntha, in the spiritual sky, and is carried by Garuda. The path which leads to Vaikuntha is not worshiped by the ordinary class of transcendentalists. Only those who are already liberated from material bondage can become devotees of the Lord. Those who are not liberated from material bondage cannot understand transcendental devotional service. In Bhagavad-gétä it is clearly stated, yatatäm api siddhänäm [Bg. 7.3]. There are many persons who are trying to attain perfection by striving for liberation from material bondage, and those who are actually liberated are called brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20] or siddha. Only the siddhas, or persons liberated from material bondage, can become devotees. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä: anyone who is engaged in Krishna consciousness, or devotional service, is already liberated from the influence of the modes of material nature. Here it is also confirmed that the path of devotional service is worshiped by liberated persons, not the conditioned souls. The conditioned soul cannot understand the devotional service of the Lord. Kardama Muni was a liberated soul who saw the Supreme Lord in person, face to face. There was no doubt that he was liberated, and thus he could see Garuda carrying the Lord on the way to Vaikuntha and hear the flapping of his wings vibrating the sound of Hare Krishna, the essence of the Säma Veda. Garuda appears to belong to the Kinnara planet. The inhabitants of the Kinnara planet have the same features as Garuda. Their bodily features are like those of a human being, but they have wings. The inhabitants of Kinnaraloka are very expert in singing the glories of the Lord. In Brahma-saàhitä it is said: jagad-aëòa-koöi-koöiñv açeña-vasudhädi-vibhüti-bhinnam. In each and every universe there are different types of planets, and each planet has distinctive features. On the strength of this verse, we can understand that in Kinnaraloka the inhabitants can fly with their wings. There is also a planet, known as Siddhaloka, where the inhabitants can fly even without wings. Thus each and every planet has some distinctive facility. That is the beauty of the varied
creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 04 » Chapter Thirty
» Verse: 07 and Canto 03 » Chapter Twenty One » Verse: 35 » Purports by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami
The Business Of a fOOl
Srila Bhaktivinoda ThakuraThere are six types of urges: namely, the urges of speech, mind, anger, belly, tongue, and genitals. With a desire to speak more, a person becomes talkative. If speech is not regulated, then enmity arises from talking about others. To speak uselessly is the business of a fool; but out of a desire to unnecessarily engage in speech the materialists always waste time and face so many distresses. Pious people observe mauna-vrata, or silence, in order to get rid of this disturbance. That is why the åñis have made provisions for observing various vows like mauna-vrata. The practitioners of devotional service should not speak unnecessarily. If you do have to speak unnecessarily, better to keep quiet. Besides topics regarding Krishna, all other topics are unnecessary. But to speak about the subjects favorable to devotional service is not unnecessary. Therefore devotees should speak only on topics about Lord Hari or those favorable to such topics. All other topics will be counted in the category of the urge to speak. On who is
able to control the urge to speak is a sober person.
POliTics
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura1. Is present administration not favorable to the worship of Hari?
“May our present empress Srimati Queen Victoria continue to freely rule over India without any anxiety. May we continue to relish and preach the pure Vaiñëava religion without any anxiety under her administration.”
(Sajjana Toñaëé 4/1)2. How can the friendship between the Englishmen and Indians remain intact?
“Friendship between the Englishmen and the Indians is natural. The English people are Äryans and the Indians are also Äryans, therefore relationship between them is that of brother. Where is that natural brotherly affection? Because the Englishmen have become our ruler, why should the natural propensity be lost? In relationship, the Indians are elder brothers and the Englishmen are younger brothers. When the younger brother becomes matured and competent and takes the responsibility
of the family, the elder brother at that time is old and therefore weak. Therefore, he lovingly accepts the subordination of his younger brother. What is wrong with this? When we were young, we also displayed our authority over other castes. Now, due to old age, we are incapable. Therefore, what could be more pleasing than spending our lives under the care our younger brothers? What could be more fortunate than blessing our younger brothers and relishing the nectar from the ever-blissful lotus feet of Hari constantly? The younger brothers will always protect us from all kinds of disturbances. We no longer have to undergo miseries in the battlefield. We will sit at home and chant the holy names of Hari. If, while working hard for the family, the younger brothers sometimes become dissatisfied and display anger, then we, as elder brothers, will tolerate it and make them happy by our sweet words and affectionate dealings. In this way, we will command their respect. We will not fail to commit monetary help to the best of our ability to our younger brothers if they ever require such help in the course of fulfilling their familial duties. We will follow the same procedure for showing affection a well-to-do pious householder would show to his younger brother. We will never display any opposition. O my national brothers! This is my advice to you. Please act in this way.”
(Sajjana
Toñaëé 2/5)3. Is it possible to attain peace and prosperity in human life if there is enmity between the Indians and the Englishmen?
“I appeal to both the Englishmen, who are endowed with good qualities and power and my fellow Indians. O brothers! Give up enmity; there is no profit form enmity. If you give up aversion then my well-known Shanti devi or the goddess of peace will award you happiness. Everyone is hankering after happiness; obtain happiness in the shelter of goddess of peace. Originally, all human beings are brothers. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does become pleased by your mutual aversion to each other. You all are spirit souls. We all are always afflicted by various miseries, accidents scarcities. If we maintain universal brotherhood we can decrease our miseries up to some extent. But mutual co-operation, fulfillment of the scarcities and by joint effort natural calamities can be taken care of. If we oppose each other in such a situation then there is no hope for mitigating the miseries. The happiness leaves the world forever. Therefore O brothers! Give up envy, hatred and false ego and love each other.”
(Sajjana Toñaëé 2/5)
4. Can the former glory of the Indians be protected, even if they refrain from war?
“Even though, due to old age, the Indians retired from activities like war they nevertheless lived happily by acting like instructors of other castes.”
(Caitanya Çikñämåta 2/3)5. What kind of war is approved by the religious scriptures?
“All wars to expand one’s Kingdom are unlawful and harmful to the world. No war other than extremely legitimate war has been recommended in the religious scriptures.”
(Sajjana Toñaëé 2/5)TruTh and falsehOOd are never One
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati ThakuraHow can the honest and dishonest, devotee and nondevotee, pious and impious, literate and illiterate, demigod and Supreme Lord, chaste and unchaste, religious and irreligious, light and dark, constitutional and conditional, as well as devotional service and nondevotional service be equal? Everything seems easy to those who are unaware of internal objects or who cannot enter more subtle understandings of them. A foolish boy
may claim that his illegible writing has meaning because the writing of an intelligent person has meaning. If illegible writing and meaningful writing are considered equal, foolish people will think that anyone trying to make a distinction between them is guilty of sectarianism or partiality. If we appeal to those who have no understanding of the Supreme Lord Hari to discuss topics about Hari and their conclusion, they will say that to reveal the conclusion would be sectarian. Then they would say that refuting an improper conclusion amounts to blasphemy. They think that because we don’t know everything, better to balance the account by calling everything equal. In this way, everyone will be pleased and we will have created no enmity. But truth and falsehood, devotional and non-devotion, are never one. For those devoid of devotional sentiment, who feel no necessity to serve the Supreme Lord, who do not want actual benefit, and whose life’s goal is material enjoyment and fame, devotional service and pseudo devotional service appear one.
Amåta Väëé: Nectar of Instructions of Immoratality His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda Compiled by Çrépäda Bhakti Mayukha Bhägavat Mahäraja Adapted and Published by Éçvara däsa Translated from Bengali by Bhumipati däsa
Garuda and hanuman
Srila Sanatana Goswami
A curious story further explains this service attitude. Once Lord Krishna in Dväraka wanted to break the pride of Garuda and others by showing the steadfast exclusiveness of Vaiñëava devotion. So he called Garuda to His lotus feet and told him, “Please hear My command. You should bring Hanuman from Kimpurusa-loka.” Garuda went, approached Hanuman, and told him, “The Personality of Godhead, King of the Yadavas, is calling you, my dear Hanuman. Go to Him at once.” But Hanuman, exclusively devoted to SriRaghunatha, ignored Garuda’s request. Angered, Garuda tried to take Hanuman to Krishna by force, but Hanuman, with the tip of his tail, pushed him effortlessly away. Garuda fell through the sky and landed at Dvaraka, where Krishna, amused to see him, said, “Dear Garuda, go back to Hanuman and tell him that
Sri Raghunatha is calling him.” After dispatching Garuda again, Krishna turned Himself into Lord Ramacandra and made Sri Balarama become Laksmana. When Queen Satyabhama seemed unable to turn into Sitadevi, Krishna, laughing, had Sri Rukmini become Sita instead and placed her at His left side. Then the three of them stood waiting for Hanuman at Dvaraka.
When Garuda met Hanuman and told him of the Lord’s request, Hanuman, filled with ecstasy, responded by running to meet his Lord. He took darçana of the disguised Krishna, Balarama, and Rukmini and offered prayers in devotion. Very much satisfied with Hanuman, the Lord bestowed on him whatever benedictions Hanuman chose.
Çré Båhad Bhägavatämåta (1.4.108) of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Volume One. Translated by Gopiparanadhana Dasa.
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! Sri Sri Nitai Gaurchandra Jayati !!
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