Çri Brahmä-saàhitä

Day 3

Reference in regard to yesterday, from

Caitanya-caritämåta Adi 5.20:

brahmäëòe prakäça tära kåñëera icchäya

eka-i svarüpa tära, nähi dui käya

That abode is manifested within the material world by the will of Lord
Kåñëa. It is identical to that original Gokula; they are not two different
bodies.

PURPORT
The above-mentioned dhämas are movable, by the omnipotent will of
Lord Kåñëa. When Çré Kåñëa appears on the face of the earth, He can
also make His dhämas appear, without changing their original
structure. One should not discriminate between the dhämas on the
earth and those in the spiritual sky, thinking those on earth to be
material and the original abodes to be spiritual. All of them are
spiritual. Only for us, who cannot experience anything beyond matter
in our present conditioned state, do the dhämas and the Lord Himself,
in His arcä form, appear before us resembling matter to give us the
facility to see spirit with material eyes. In the beginning this may be
difficult for a neophyte to understand, but in due course, when one is
advanced in devotional service, it will be easier, and he will appreciate
the Lord’s presence in these tangible forms.

Read Texts 3, 4 and 5.

Verse 3:
1. Lord Kåñëa’s pastimes of two types — prakata and aprakata.

2. Next point is 2 ways of the manifestation of the aprakata

lila. Note that the conditioned souls referred to are not fallen
souls, but those persons living in this world (obviously they are
great devotees).

1. Mantra-upasana
2. Svarasiki

Çréla Jiva Goswami in Kåñëa-sandarbha:

8 To worship the Lord’s unmanifest (aprakata) pastimes, two
processes may be adopted: 1. Mantropasanamayi, and 2. Svarasiki.
The first process (mantropasanamayi) entails remaining permanently
in a place where the Lord enjoyed pastimes, and worshipping the Lord
by chanting various mantras describing His pastimes. This process of
mantropasana is described in the Brhad-dhyana-ratnabhiseka chapter
of the Krama-dipika, and in other passages in the Vedic literatures.
The Gautamiya Tantra also describes this process of mantra-
meditation in the passage which begins with the following verse:
“I shall now describe the process of meditating upon Lord Krsna,
whose eyes are like lotus flowers, and who is dressed in yellow
garments. Meditating on Lord Krsna in this way, one becomes free
from the reactions to all past sins.”
9 The following verse from the Brahma-samhita (5.30) may also be
used in the process of mantropasana (worship of the Lord by chanting
mantras):
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing
His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus-petals, with head bedecked with
peacock’s feather, with the figures of beauty tinged with the hue of
blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of cupids.”***
10 The next verse (Brahma-samhita 5.31) may also be chanted in
performing the process of mantropasana:
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is
swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose
two hands are adorned with the flute and jewelled ornaments, who
always revel in pastimes of love, and whose graceful three-folding
bending form of Syamasundara is eternally manifest.”***
16 The following mantra from the Gopala-tapani Upanisad (1.38)
describes the process of mantropasana:
“With eloquent prayers I and the Maruts please Lord Govinda,
whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, who stays under
a desire tree in Vrndavana, and who is the five-word mantra (klim
krsnaya govindaya gopijanavallabhaya svaha).”

(Çréla Jiva Goswami): By remaining in a holy place, without travelling

to other places, one may perform this process of mantropasana
worship, and become eligible to directly perceive Lord Krsna’s
pastimes in the svarasiki way.

17 When the process of mantropasana (worship of the Lord

by chanting mantras) becomes complete, the eligible devotee
attains the stage known as svarasiki (direct perception), where
Lord Krsna personally appears in the heart of the devotee and
manifests His transcendental pastimes there. Even today, some
devotees have attained this exalted stage of devotional service. This
svarasiki stage of meditation on Lord Krsna is described in the
following verse of Srimad Bhagavatam (3.9.11):
“O my Lord, Your devotees can see You through the ears by the
process of bona fide hearing, and thus their hearts become cleansed,
and You take Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees
that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of
transcendence in which they always think of You.”*
The svarasiki stage of realisation is also described by Lord Krsna
Himself in His message to the gopis (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.29):
“My dear gopis, you should understand that it is not possible for
you to be separated from Me at any time.”*
Although the gopis seemed to be separated from Krsna as He
appeared in His prakata-lila (manifested pastimes), they were always
thinking of Him, and thus perceiving His presence directly in His
aprakata-lila (unmanifested pastimes). Being situated in the stage of
svarasiki realisation, the gopis thus constantly saw Sri Krsna. In this
way, although they were separated from His prakata form, they
associated with Him in another way (in His aprakata pastimes). In this
way Sri Krsna’s statement that it is not possible to be separated from
Him may be understood.
In the stage of svarasiki realisation, the various pastimes of Lord Krsna
appear before the devotee like a constantly flowing Ganges river.
Some of those svarasiki pastimes become recorded in various
mantras, and thus the mantropasana stage of realisation may
be compared to a series of lakes within the Ganges river of
svarasiki realisation. In the mantropasana stage one hears about
Lord Krsna, Nanda Maharaja and the residents of Vrajabhumi, whereas
in the svarasiki stage one is able to directly see Lord Krsna and His
associates. From this we may understand that the svarasiki stage is
very elevated and difficult to achieve.

Not from Çréla Jiva Goswami: Inhabitants of Våndävana become

caught between prakata and aprakata: Story of Prema Sarovara
(prakata) and when Lord Kåñëa left, but was still present, but they
thought they were seeing things when they saw Him.

Çréla Prabhupäda explains these two approaches in slightly

different terms in Caitanya-caritämåta Lord Caitanya with
Ramananda Raya ML 8.139 ppt: “Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura
considered the brahma-bhüta stage in two divisions—svarüpa-gata and
vastu-gata (1 and 2 above). One who has understood Kåñëa in truth
but is still maintaining some material connection is known to be
situated in his svarüpa, his original consciousness. When that original
consciousness is completely spiritual, it is called Kåñëa consciousness.
One who lives in such consciousness is actually living in Våndävana.
He may live anywhere; material location doesn’t matter. When by the
grace of Kåñëa one thus advances, he becomes completely
uncontaminated by the material body and mind and at that time
factually lives in Våndävana. That stage is called vastu-gata.
One should execute his spiritual activities in the svarüpa-gata stage of
consciousness. He should also chant the cin-mayé Gäyatré, the
spiritual mantras: oà namo bhagavate väsudeväya, kléà kåñëäya
govindäya gopéjana-vallabhäya svähä, and kléà käma-deväya vidmahe
puñpa-bäëäya dhémahi tan no ’naìgaù pracodayät. These are the
Käma-gäyatré or käma-béja mantras. One should be initiated by a
bona fide spiritual master and worship Kåñëa with these
transcendental mantras, known as Käma-gäyatré or käma-béja.

3. Then an example of Mantropasana is given. It is the

18 letter mantra, the 6th Gayatri mantra.

We must remember the statement from Çréla Jiva Goswami

above: “Some of those svarasiki pastimes become recorded in
various mantras, and thus the mantropasana stage of
realisation may be compared to a series of lakes within the
Ganges river of svarasiki realisation.”

Çréla Jiva Goswami: Although the eighteen-syllable Krsna mantra

(klim krsnaya govindaya gopijanavallabhaya svaha) is written in many
places, the most important place it is written is described in the
Brahma-samhita verse quoted in text 52.

The hexagon is a yantra. This is a form of the mantra. Yantra means

machine, magical forms. This is mentioned in Jiva Gosami’s commentary
on this verse. As a process, yantras are not used within ISKCON, except
at Mayapura in the Nrsingha temple.

This is the process followed by Lord Brahmä, but ours is slightly

different:

yäìra dhyäna nija-loke kare padmäsana

añöädaçäkñara-mantre kare upäsana

Lord Brahmä, sitting on his lotus seat in his own abode, always
meditates on Him and worships Him with the mantra consisting of
eighteen syllables. (CC Adi 5.221)
PURPORT
In his own planet, Lord Brahmä, with the inhabitants of that planet,
worships the form of Lord Govinda, Kåñëa, by the mantra of eighteen
syllables, kléà kåñëäya govindäya gopé-jana-vallabhäya svähä. Those
who are initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and who chant the
Gäyatré mantra three times a day know this añöädaçäkñara (eighteen-
syllable) mantra. The inhabitants of Brahmaloka and the planets below
Brahmaloka worship Lord Govinda by meditating with this mantra.
There is no difference between meditating and chanting, but in the
present age meditation is not possible on this planet. Therefore loud
chanting of a mantra like the mahä-mantra, Hare Kåñëa, with soft
chanting of the añöädaçäkñara, the mantra of eighteen syllables, is
recommended.

So here Çréla Prabhupäda is making it very clear that we

should not try to artificially try to do mantropasana, but should
chant Hare Kåñëa, and then we can come to these levels.

In his ppt to CC Madhya 21.145 Çréla Prabhupäda says: “In other

words, a devotee who has heard the sound of Kåñëa’s flute forgets to
talk or hear of any other subject. This vibration of Kåñëa’s flute is
represented by the Hare Kåñëa mahä–mantra. A serious devotee of the
Lord who chants and hears this transcendental vibration becomes so
accustomed to it that he cannot divert his attention to any subject
matter not related to Kåñëa’s blissful characteristics and
paraphernalia.”

Lord Brahmä was initiated by hearing Lord Kåñëa’s flute. In TLC

Çréla Prabhupäda says: “When the sound vibration of Kåñëa’s flute is
expressed through the mouth of Brahmä, it becomes gäyatré. Thus by
being influenced by the sound vibration of Kåñëa’s flute, Brahmä, the
supreme creature and first living entity of this material world, was
initiated as a brähmaëa. That Brahmä was initiated as a brähmaëa by
the flute of Kåñëa is confirmed by Çréla Jéva Gosvämé. When Brahmä
was enlightened by the gäyatré mantra through Kåñëa’s flute, he
attained all Vedic knowledge. Acknowledging the benediction offered
to him by Kåñëa, he became the original spiritual master of all living
entities.”

Verse 4:
The main point discussed is about klim.
It is made clear in the ppt that klim is Çrémati Rädhäräné and
Lord Kåñëa.

Refer to Çréla Viçvanatha Cakravarti Öhäkura’s explanation of gayatri:

K means Kåñëa. I for Rädhä, M stands for Their embracing. Dot over m
stands for Their kiss. This is Käma-bija, seed of lust, but this lust is
transcendental. It means that seed which contains all the elements of
the love between Rädhä, Kåñëa and the gopis. Çréla Prabhupäda
explains it as being the transcendental seed of love of God.

Description of the petals as being the abodes of the gopis.

Çréla Jiva Goswami in Kåñëa-sandarbha says they are also the
residences of the other residents of Våndävana. He says also: “On this
lotus flower of Goloka Vrndavana are many petals known as ‘patrani
sriyam’, the many gardens which are abodes of Srimati Radharani and
the gopis. Where these petals join the whorl of the Goloka lotus flower,
the paths of Goloka are situated, and the extensions of these petals
are the places of the cow-pastures of Goloka. In this way the different
parts of the lotus flower of Gokula Vrndavana are described.”

Verse 5:

This is mysterious, as the verse says.

Svetadvipa is, in the yantra, the quadrangular area around the

hexagon and its appendages. It is made of various parts:
1. Abodes of the catur-vyuha.
2. Dharma, artha, kama and mokña in their pure forms.
3. The original forms of the 4 Vedas, in which they glorify Lord Kåñëa.
4. 10 tridents — 3modes, 3 phases of time (past, present, future).
5. The mystical powers are there in their original forms.
6. The yuga avataras and Their associates.
So we should note that these are all here in their original
forms, including the yuga avataras.

Different people fall under the tridents:

1. Yogis (meditators)
2. Jïänis
3. Astanga yogis
4. People “less forward in their intelligence.” They come under the
influence of material mantras.

Main point Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati focuses on is Lord

Caitanya, who is one of the yuga avataras in Svetadvipa.
1. Read p.13 “It is on the divine selves ……… to p. 14 ……. place of
abode.)
2. Then read about Lord Caitanya (immediately following).
3. Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati explains that part of Svetadvipa
where Lord Caitanya is as being non-different from Gokula, and in
fact it is completing the Gokula pastimes. Read p.15 Gopala Campu
quote to p.16 ……… herein made manifest.