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TENTH CANTO
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Chapter:1
Therefore, since envious, impious activities cause a body in which one suffers in the next life, why should one act impiously? Considering one’s welfare, one should not envy anyone, for an envious person must always fear harm from his enemies, either in this life or in the next. [44] As long as he has intelligence and bodily strength, and intelligent person must try to avoid death. This is the duty of every embodies person. But if death cannot be avoided in spite of one’s endeavors, a person facing death commits not offense. [48] What is painful for saintly persons who strictly adhere to the truth? How could there not be independence for pure devotees who know the Supreme Lord as the substance? What deeds are forbidden for persons of the lowest character? And what cannot be given up for the sake of Lord Krishna by those who have fully surrendered at His lotus feet? [58] Kings greedy for sense gratification on this earth almost always kill their enemies indiscriminately. To satisfy their own whims, they may kill anyone, even their mothers, fathers, brothers or friends. [67] |
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Chapter-2 O Lord, who resemble the shining sun, You are always ready to fulfill the desire of Your devotee, and therefore You are known as a desire tree [vancha-kalpataru]. When acaryas completely take shelter under Your lotus feet in order to cross the fierce ocean of nescience, they leave behind on earth the method by which they cross, and because You are very merciful to Your other devotees, You accept this method to help them. [31] Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahma and the other demigods said : O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet. [32] Even while engaged in various activities, devotees whose minds are completely absorbed at Your lotus feet, and who constantly hear, chant, contemplate and cause others to remember Your transcendental names and forms, are always on the transcendental platform, and thus they can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. [37]
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Chapter-4 As a disease, if initially neglected, becomes acute and impossible to cure, or as the senses, if not controlled at first, are impossible to control later, and enemy, if neglected in the beginning, later becomes insurmountable. [38] My dear King, when a man persecutes great souls, all his benedictions of longevity, beauty, fame, religion, blessings and promotion to higher planets will be destroyed. [46]
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Chapter-5
O King, by the passing of time, land and other material possessions are purified; by bathing, the body is purified; and by being cleansed, unclean things are purified. By purificatory ceremonies, birth is purified; by austerity, the senses are purified; and by worship and charity offered to the brahmanas, material possessions are purified. By satisfaction, the mind is purified; and by self-realization, or Krishna consciousness, the soul is purified. [4] It is also by good fortune that I am seeing you. Having obtained this opportunity, I feel as if I have taken birth again. Even though one is present in this world, to meet with intimate friends and dear relatives in this material world is extremely difficult. [24] Many planks and sticks, unable to stay together, are carried away by the force of a river’s waves. Similarly, although we are intimately related with friends and family members, we are unable to stay together because of our varied past deeds and the waves of time. [25] |
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Chapter-7
When brahmanas are free from envy, untruthfulness, unnecessary pride, grudges, disturbance by the opulence of others, and false prestige, their blessings never go in vain. [13]
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Chapter-10
Narada Muni said : Among all the attractions of material enjoyment, the attraction of riches bewilders one’s intelligence more than having beautiful bodily features, taking birth in an aristocratic family, and being learned. When one is uneducated but falsely puffed up by wealth, the result is that one engages his wealth in enjoying wine, women and gambling. [8] Atheistic fools and rascals who are very much proud of wealth fail to see things as they are. Therefore, returning them to poverty is the proper ointment for their eyes so they may see things as they are. At least a poverty-stricken man can realize how painful poverty is, and therefore he will not want others to be in a painful condition like his own. [13] By seeing their faces, one whose body has been pricked by pins can understand the pain of others who are pinpricked. Realizing that this pain is the same for everyone, he does not want others to suffer in this way. But one who has never been pricked by pins cannot understand this pain. [14] When one is face to face with the sun, there is no longer darkness for one’s eyes. Similarly, when one is face to face with a sadhu, a devotee, who is fully determined and surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one will no longer be subject to material bondage. [41]
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Chapter-13
As the darkness of snow on a dark night and the light of a glow-worm in the light of day have no value, the mystic power of an inferior person who tries to use it against a person of great power in unable to accomplish anything : instead, the power of that inferior person is diminished. [45]
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Chapter-14
My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim. [8] A person who mistakes a rope for a snake becomes fearful, but he then gives up his fear upon realizing that the so-called snake does not exist. Similarly, for those who fail to recognize You as the Supreme Soul of all souls, the expansive illusory material existence arises, but knowledge of You at once causes it to subside. [25] Just see the foolishness of those ignorant persons who consider You to be some separated manifestation of illusion and who consider the self, which is actually You, to be something else, the material body. Such fools conclude that the supreme soul is to be searched for somewhere outside Your supreme personality. [27] O unlimited Lord, the saintly devotees seek You out within their own bodies by rejecting everything separate from You. Indeed, how can discriminating persons appreciate the real nature of a rope lying before them until they refute the illusion that it is a snake? [28] My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years. [29] My dear Lord Krishna, until people become Your devotees, their material attachments and desires remain thieves, their homes remain prisons, and their affectionate feelings for their family members remain foot-shackles. [36] Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said : O King, for every created being the dearmost thing is certainlyhis own self. The dearness of everything else– children, wealth and so on–is due only to the dearness of the self. [50] Indeed, for persons who think the body is the self, O best of kings, those things whose importance lies only in their relationship to the body are never as dear as the body itself. [52] Those in this world who understand Lord Krishna as He is see all things, whether stationary or moving, as manifest forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such enlightened persons recognize no reality apart form the Supreme Lord Krishna. [56] The original, unmanifested form of material nature is the source of all material things, and the source of even that subtle material nature is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. What, then, could one ascertain to be separate from Him? [57] For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step. [58]
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Chapter-15 O worshipable one, these peacocks are dancing before You out of joy, these doe are pleasing You with affectionate glances, just as the gopis do, and these cuckoos are honoring You with Vedic prayers. All these residents of the forest are most fortunate, and their behavior toward You certainly befits great souls receiving another great soul at home. [7]
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Chapter-16 The serpent Kaliya said : Our very birth as a snake has made us envious, ignorant and constantly angry. O my Lord, it is so difficult for people to give up their conditioned nature, by which they identify with that which is unreal. [56]
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Chapter-20 With their wealth of grains, the fields gave joy to the farmers. But those fields created remorse in the hearts of those who were too proud to engage in farming and who failed to understand how everything is under the control of the Supreme. [12] Just as devotees whose minds are absorbed in the Personality of Godhead remain peaceful even when attacked by all sorts of dangers, the mountains in the rainy season were not at all disturbed by the repeated striking of the rain-bearing clouds. [15] During the rainy season the moon was prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the clouds, which were themselves illumined by the moon’s rays. Similarly, the living being in material existence is prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the false ego, which is itself illumined by the consciousness of the pure soul. [19] The cranes continued dwelling on the shores of the lakes, although the shores were agitated during the rainy season, just as materialistic persons with contaminated minds always remain at home, despite the many disturbances there. [22] The autumn season, which regenerated the lotus flowers, also restored the various bodies of water to their original purity, just as the process of devotional service purifies the minds of the fallen yogis when they return to it. [33] Autumn cleared the sky of clouds, let the animals get out of their crowded living conditions, cleaned the earth of its covering of mud, and purified the water of contamination, in the same way that loving service rendered to Lord Krishna frees the members of the four spiritual orders from their respective troubles. [34] The clouds, having given up all they possessed, shone forth with purified effulgence, just like peaceful sages who have given up all material desires and are thus free of all sinful propensities. [35] During this season the mountains sometimes released their pure water and sometimes did not, just as experts in transcendental science sometimes give the nectar of transcendental knowledge and sometimes do not. [36] The fish swimming in the increasingly shallow water did not at all understand that the water was diminishing, just as foolish family men cannot see how the time they have left to live is diminishing with every passing day. [37] Just as a miserly, poverty-stricken person overly absorbed in family life suffers because he cannot control his senses, the fish swimming in the shallow water had to suffer the heat of the autumn sun. [38] Gradually the different areas of land gave up their muddy condition and the plants grew past their unripe stage, in the same way that sober sages give up egotism and possessiveness. These are based on things different from the real self– namely, the material body and its by-products. [39] With the arrival of autumn, the ocean and the lakes became silent, their water still, just like a sage who has desisted from all material activities and given up his recitation of Vedic mantras. [40] In the same way that the practitioners of yoga bring their senses under strict control to check their consciousness from flowing out through the agitated senses, the farmers erected strong mud banks to keep the water within their rice fields from draining out. [41]
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Chapter-22 [Lord Krishna said :] O Stoka Krishna and Amsu, O Sridama, Subala and Arjuna, O Vrsabha, Ojasvi, Devaprastha and Varuthapa, just see these greatly fortunate trees, whose lives are completely dedicated to the benefit of others. Even while tolerating the wind, rain, heat and snow, they protect us from these elements. [32] Just see how these trees are maintaining every living entity! Their birth is successful. Their behavior is just like that of great personalities, for anyone who asks anything from a tree never goes away disappointed. [33] These trees fulfill one’s desires with their leaves, flowers and fruits, their shade, roots, bark and wood, and also with their fragrance, sap, ashes, pulp and shoots. [34] It is the duty of every living beings to perfrom welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words. [35]
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Chapter-23 Hearing what had happened, the Supreme Personality of God-head, the Lord of the universe, simply laughed. Then He again addressed the cowherd boys, showing them the way men act in this world. [13]
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Chapter-24 Please tell Me about it, O father. I have a great desire to know and am ready to hear in good faith. Certainly, no secrets are to be kept by saintly personalities, who see all others as equal to themselves, who have no conception of "mine" or "another’s" and who do not consider who is a friend, who is an enemy and who is neutral. One who is neutral may be avoided like an enemy, but a friend should be considered like one’s own self. [4-5] If one thing is actually sustaining our life but we take shelter of something else, how can we achieve any real benefit? We would be like an unfaithful woman, who can never achieve any actual benefit by consorting with her paramour. [19] The brahmana maintains his life by studying and teaching the Vedas, the member of the royal order by protecting the earth, the vaisya by trade, and the sudra by serving the higher, twice-born classes. [20]
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Chapter-25 I must therefore protect the cowherd community by My transcendental potency, for I am their shelter, I am their master, and indeed they are My own family. After all, I have taken a vow to protect My devotees. [18]
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Chapter-27 A man blinded by intoxication with his power and opulence cannot see Me nearby with the rod of punishment in My hand. If I desire his real welfare, I drag him down from his materially fortunate position. [16]
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Chapter-28 [Lord Krishna thought:] Certainly people in this world are wandering among higher and lower destinations, which they achieve through activities performed according to their desires and without full knowledge. Thus people do not know their real destination.[13]
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Chapter-29 Persons who constantly direct their lust, anger, fear, protective affection, feeling of impersonal oneness or friendship toward Lord Hari are sure to become absorbed in thought of Him. [15] Women who desire a good destination in the next life should never abandon a husband who had not fallen from his religious standards, even if he is obnoxious, unfortunate, old, unintelligent, sickly or poor. [25]
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Chapter-30 [The gopis said :] The marks of a flag, lotus, thunderbolt, elephant goad, barleycorn and so forth on these footprints clearly distinguish them as belonging to that great soul, the son of Nanda Maharaja. [25]
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Chapter-31 Your lotus feet, which are worshiped by Lord Brahma, fulfull the desires of all who bow down to them. They are the ornament of the earth, they give the highest satisfaction, and in times of danger they are the appropriate object of meditation. O lover, O destroyer of anxiety, please put those lotus feet upon our breasts. [13]
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Chapter-32 The Supreme Personality of Godhead said : So-called friends who show affection for each other only to benefit themselves are actually selfish. They have no true friendship, nor are they following the true principles of religion. Indeed, if they did not expect benefit for themselves, they would not reciprocate. [17] My dear slender-waisted gopis, some people are genuinely merciful or, like parents, naturally affectionate. Such persons, who devotedly serve even those who fail to reciprocate with them, are following the true, faultless path of religion, and they are true well-wishers. [18] Then there are those individuals who are spiritually self-satisfied, materially fulfilled or by nature ungrateful or simply envious of superiors. Such persons will not love even those who love them, what to speak of those who are inimical. [19] But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopis, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else. [20] I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation. [22]
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Chapter-36 Sri Akrura said : O King, you have expertly devised a process to free yourself of misfortune. Still, one should be equal in success and failure, since it is certainly destiny that produces the results of one’s work. [38] An ordinary person is determined to act on his desires even when fate prevents their fulfillment. Therefore he encounters both happiness and distress. Yet even though such is the case, I will execute your order. [39]
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Chapter-38 The Supreme Lord has no favorite and no dearmost friend, nor does He consider anyone undesirable or fit to be neglected. All the same, He lovingly reciprocates with His devotees in whatever manner they worship Him, just as the trees of heaven fulfill the desires of whoever approaches them. [22] The very goal of life for all embodied beings is this ecstasy, which Akrura experienced when, upon receiving Kamsa’s order, he put aside all pride, fear and lamentation and absorbed himself in seeing, hearing and describing the things that reminded him of Lord Krishna. [27]
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Chapter-39 My dear King, what is unattainable for one who has satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the shelter of the goddess of fortune? Even so, those who are dedicated to His devotional service never want anything from Him. [2] The gopis said : O Providence, you have no mercy! You bring emboided creatures together in friendship and love and then senselessly separate them before they fulfill their desires. This whimsical play of yours is like a child’s game. [19]
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Chapter-41 Sudama chose unshakable devotion for Krishna, the Supreme Soul of all existence; friendship with His devotees; and transcendental compassion for all living beings. [51]
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Chapter-44 Religious principles have certainly been violated in this assembly. One should not remain for even a moment in a place where irreligion is flourishing. [9] A wise person should not enter an assembly if he knows the participants there are committing acts of impropriety. And if, having entered such an assembly, he fails to speak the truth, speaks falsely or pleads ignorance, he will certainly incur sin. [10] O dear one, you have been brought to this state because of the terrible violence you committed against innocent creatures. How can one who harms others attain happiness? [47] Lord Krishna causes the appearance and disappearance of all beings in this world, and He is their maintainer as well. One who disrespects Him can never prosper happily. [48]
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Chapter-45 With one’s body one can acquire all goals of life, and it is one’s parents who give the body birth and sustenance. Therefore no mortal mancan repay his debt to his parents, even if he serves them for a full lifetime of a hundred years. [5] A son who, though able to do so, fails to provide for his parents with his physical resources and wealth is forced after his death to eat his own flesh. [6] A man who, though able to do so, fails to support his elderly parents, chaste wife, young child or spiritual master, or who neglects a brahmana or anyone who comes to him for shelter, is considered dead, though breathing. [7]
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Chapter-46 The minds of those gopis are always absorbed in Me, and their very lives are ever devoted to Me . For My sake they have abandoned everything related to their bodies, renouncing ordinary happiness in this life, as well as religious duties necessary for such happiness in the nest life. I alone am their dearmost beloved and, indeed, their very Self. Therefore I take it upon Myself to sustain them in all circumstance .[4]
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Chapret-47 We see nothing else He might consider worth remembering in these cow pastures of Vraja. Indeed, the bonds of affection for one's family members are difficult to break, even for a sage.[5] The friendship shown toward others-those who are not interest, and thus it is a pretense that lasts only until one's purpose is fulfilled .Such friendship is just like the interest men take in women, or bees in flowers.[6] Prostitutes abandon a penniless man, subjects an incompetent king, studies their teacher once they have finished their education, and priests a man who has remunerated them for a sacrifice[ 7] Birds abandon a tree when its fruits are gone, guests a house after they have eaten, animals a forest that has burnt down, and a lover the woman he has enjoyed, even though she remains attached to him. [8] Like a hunter, He cruelly shot the king of the monkeys with arrows. Because He was conquered by a woman, He disfigured another woman who came to Him with lusty desires. And even after consuming the gifts of Bali Maharaja. He bound him up with ropes as if he were a crow. So let us give up all friendship with this dark-complexioned boy, even if we can’t give up talking about Him. [17] To hear about the pastimes that Krishna regularly performs is nectar for the ears. For those who relish just a single drop of that nectar, even once, their dedication to material duality is ruined. Many such persons have suddenly given up their wretched homes and families and, themselves becoming wretched, traveled here to Vrindavana to wander about like birds, begging for their living. [18] Indeed, the greatest happiness is to
renounce all desires, as even the prostitute Pingala has declared. Yet even
though we know this, May our mental functions always take shelter of Krishna’s lotus feet, may our words always chant His names, and may our bodies always bow down to Him and serve Him. [66] Wherever we are made to wander about this world by the Supreme Lord’s will, in accordance with the reactions to our fruitive work, may our good works and charity always grant us love for Lord Krishna. [67] |
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Chapter-48 O King, Akrura bathed the feet of Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama and then poured the bath water on his head. He presented Them with gifts of fine clothing, aromatic sandalwood paste, flower garlands and excellent jewelry. After thus worshiping the two Lords, he bowed his head to the floor. He then began to massage Lord Krishna’s feet, placing them on his lap, and with his head bowed in humility he addressed Krishna and Balarama as follows. [15-16] You originally enunciated the ancient religious path of the Vedas for the benefit of the whole universe. Whenever that path becomes obstructed by wicked persons following the path of atheism, You assume one of Your incarnations, which are all in the transcendental mode of goodness. [23] Exalted souls like you are the true
objects No one can deny that there are holy places with sacred rivers, or that the demigods appear in deity forms made of earth and stone. But these purify the soul only after a long time, whereas saintly persons purify just by being seen. [31]
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Chapter-49 In this world no one has any permanent relationship with anyone else, O King. We cannot stay forever even with our own body, what to speak of our wife, children and the rest. [20] Every creature is born alone and dies alone, and alone one experience the just rewards of his good and evil deeds. [21]
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Chapter-50 This is the purpose of My present incarnation– to relieve the earth of its burden, protect the pious and kill the impious. [9] I also assume other bodies to protect religion and to end irreligion whenever it flourishes in the course of time. [10] In the construction of that city could be seen the full scientific knowledge and architectural skill of Visvakarma. There were wide avenues, commercial roads and countryards laid out on ample plots of land. Each residence had a watchtower, and also a temple for its household deity. Filled with citizens of all four social orders, the city was especially beautified by the palaces of Sri Krishna, the Lord of the Yadus.
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Chapter-51 ‘‘Inexhaustible time, stronger than the strong, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Like a herdsman moving his animals along, He moves mortal creatures as His pastime. [19] After many lifetimes someone might count the dust particles on the earth, but no one can ever finish counting My qualities, activities, names and births. That person has an impure mind who, despite having somehow or other automatically obtained the rare and highly evolved human form of life, does not worship Your lotus feet. Like an animal that has fallen into a blind well, such a person has fallen into the darkness of a material home. A man obsessed with thoughts of what he thinks needs to be done, intensely greedy, and delighting in sense enjoyment is suddenly confronted by You, who are ever alert. Like a hungry snake licking its fangs before a mouse, You appear before him as death. The body that at first rides high on fierce elephants or chariots adorned with gold and is known by the name ‘‘king’’ is later, by Your invincible power of time, called ‘‘feces’’, ‘‘worms’’, or ‘‘ashes’’. Having conquered the entire circle of directions and being thus free of conflict, a man sits on a splendid throne, receiving praise from leaders who were once his equals. But when he enters the women’s chambers, where sex pleasure is found, he is led about like a pet animal, O Lord. O all-powerful one, I desire no boon other than service to Your lotus feet, the boon most eagerly sought by those free of material desire. O Hari, what enlightened person who worships You, the giver of liberation, would choose a boon that causes his own bondage? Understand that I enticed you with benedictions just to prove that you would not be deceived. The intelligence of My unalloyed devotees is never diverted by material blessings. The minds of nondevotees who engage in such practices as pranayama are not fully cleansed of material desires. Thus, O King, material desires are again seen to arise in their minds. Wander this earth at will, with your mind fixed on Me. May you always possess such unfailing devotion for Me. Because you followed the principles of a ksatriya, you killed living beings while hunting and performing other duties. You must vanquish the sins thus incurred by carefully executing penances while remaining surrendered to Me.
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Chapter-52 When a brahmana is satisfied with whatever
comes his way and does not fall away from An unsatisfied brahmana wanders restlessly from one planet to another, even if he becomes King of heaven. But a satisfied brahmana, though he may possess nothing, rests peacefully, all his limbs free of distress. [32] I repeatedly bow My head in respect to those brahmanas who are satisfied with their lot. Saintly, prideless and peaceful, they are the best well-wishers of all living beings. [33]
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Chapter-54 A relative should not be killed even if his wrongdoing warrants capital punishment. Rather, he should be thrown out of the family. Since he has already been killed by his own sin, why kill him again? [39] Blinded by conceit with their personal opulences, proud men offend others for the sake of such things as kingdom, land, wealth, women, honor and power. [41]
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Chapter-58 For You, the well-wishing friend and Supreme Soul of the universe, there is never any illusion of ‘‘us’’ and ‘‘them’’. Yet even so, residing within the hearts of all, You eradicate the sufferings of those who remember You constantly. [10]
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Chapter-60 There the Queen served her husband, the Supreme Lord of all the worlds, as He reclined upon an opulent pillow on her bed, which was as soft and white as the foam of milk. [6] Marriage and friendship are proper between two people who are equal in terms of their wealth, birth, influence, physical appearance and capacity for good progeny, but never between a superior and an inferior. [15] The greatest pleasure worldly householders can enjoy at home is to spend time joking with their beloved wives, My dear timid and temperamental one. [31] The mind of a promiscuous woman always hankers for new lovers, even if she is married. An intelligent man should not keep such an unchaste wife, for if he does he will lose his good fortune both in this life and the next. [48] Although I have the power to award spiritual liberation, lusty persons worship Me with penance and vows in order to get My blessings for their mundane family life. Such persons are bewildered by My illusory energy. [52] O supreme reservoir of love, unfortunate are they who even after obtaining Me, the Lord of both liberation and material riches, hanker only for material treasures. These worldly gains can be found even in hell. Since such persons are obsessed with sense gratification, hell is a fitting place for them. [53]
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Chapter-63 One who has attained this human form of life as a gift from God, yet who fails to control his senses and honor Your feet, is surely to be pitied, for he is only cheating himself. [41]
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Chapter-64 How indigestibel is the property of a brahmana, even when enjoyed just slightly and by one more potent than fire! What then to speak of kings who try to enjoy it, presuming themselves lords. [32] I do not consider halahala to be real poison, because it has an antidote. But a Brahmana’s property, when stolen, can truly be called poison, for it has no antidote in this world. [33] Poison kills only the person who ingests it, and an ordinary fire may be extinguished with water. But the fire generated from the kindling wood of a brahmana’s property burns the thief’s entire family down to the root. [34]
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Chapter-68 ‘‘Clearly the many passions of these scoun-drels have made them so proud that they do not want peace. Then let them be pacified by physical punishment, as animals are with a stick. [31]
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Chapter-72 No one in this world, even a demigod–what to speak of an earthly king–can defeat My devotee with his strength, beauty, fame or riches. [11] What can the tolerant not bear? What will the wicked not do? What will the generous not give in charity? And who will those of equal vision see as an outsider? [19] He indeed is to be censured and pitied who, though able to do so, fails to achieve with his temporary body the lasting fame glorified by great saints. [20] These are surely members of the royal order dressed as brahmanas, but still I must grant their request for charity, even if they beg me for my own body. [23] Indeed, the spotless glories of Bali Maharaja are heard through-out the world. Lord Vishnu, wishing to recover Indra’s opulence fro Bali, appeared before him in the guise of a ‘‘Brahmana’’ and made him fall from his powerful position. [24] What is the use of an unqualified ksatriya who goes on living but fails to gain everlasting glory by working with his perishable body for the benefit of brahmanas? [26]
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Chapter-73 Infatuated with his opulence and ruling power, a king loses all self-restraint and cannot obtain his true welfare. Thus bewildered by Your illusory energy, he imagines his temporary assets to be permanent. [10] Just as men of childish intelligence consider a mirage in the desert to be a pond of water, so those who are irrational look upon the illusory transformations of Maya as substantial. [11] Fortunately you have come to the proper conclusion, my dear kings, and what you have spoken is true. I can see that human beings lack of self-restraint, which arises from their intoxication with opulence and power, simply leads to madness. [19] Haihaya, Nahusa, Vena, Ravana, Naraka and many other rulers of demigods, men and demons fell from their elevated positions because of infatuation with material opulence. [20] As you live your lives, begetting generations of progeny and encountering happiness and distress, birth and death, always keep your minds fixed on Me. [22]
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Chapter-74 O unconquerable Madhava, even Your devotees make no distinctions of ‘‘I’’ and ‘‘mine’’, ‘‘you’’ and ‘‘yours’’, for this is the perverted mentality of animals. [5] O assembly members, that unborn Lord, relying solely on Himself, creates, maintains and destroys this cosmos by His personal energies, and thus the existence of this universe depends on Him alone. [21] Anyone who wishes the honor he gives to be
reciprocated infinitely should honor Krishna, the perfectly peaceful and
perfectly complete Soul of all beings, the Supreme Lord, who views nothing as
separate from Himself. [24] After bathing Lord Krishna’s feet, Maharaja Yudhisthira joyfully sprinkled the water upon his own head, and then upon the heads of his wife, brothers, other family members and ministers. [27] Anyone who fails to immediately leave the place where he hears criticism of the Supreme Lord or His faithful devotee will certainly fall down, bereft of his pious credit. [40]
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Chapter-80 Actual speech is that which describes the qualities of the Lord, real bands are those that work for Him, a true mind is that which always remembers Him dwelling within everything moving and nonmoving, and actual ears are those that listen to sanctifying topics about Him. [3] An actual head is one that bows down to the Lord in His manifestations among the moving and nonmoving creatures, real eyes are those that see only the Lord, and actual limbs are those which regularly honor the water that has bathed the Lord’s feet or those of His devotees. [4] My dear friend, he who gives a person his physical birth is his first spiritual master, and he who initiates him as a twice-born brahmana and engages him in religious duties is indeed more directly his spiritual master. But the person who bestows transcendental knowledge upon the members of all the spiritual orders of society is one’s ultimate spiritual master. Indeed, he is as good as My own self. [32] Certainly, O brahmana, of all the followers of the varnasrama system, those who take advantage of the words I speak in My form as the spiritual master and thus easily cross over the ocean of material existence best understand their own true welfare. [33] I, the Soul of all beings, am not as satisfied by ritual worship, brahminical initiation, penances or self-discipline as I am by faithful service rendered to one’s spiritual master. [34]
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Chapter-81 The Supreme Lord said : O brahmana, what gift have you brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me. [3] If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it. [4] The Lord considers even His greatest benedictions to be insignificant, while He magnifies even a small service rendered to Him by His well-wishing devotee. Thus with pleasure the Supreme Soul accepted a single palmful of the flat rice I brought Him. [35]
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Chapter-82 Friends and family members–even children, brothers and parents–forget a dear one whom Providence no longer favors. Just as the wind brings together masses of clouds, blades of grass, wisps of cotton and particles of dust, only to scatter them all again, so the creator deals with His created beings in the same way.
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Chapter-84 Mere bodies of water are not the real sacred places of pilgrimage, nor are mere images of earth and stone the true worshipable deities. These purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify one immediately upon being seen. [11] One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth–such a person is no better than a cow or an ass. [13] In this world familiarity breeds contempt. For example, one who lives on the banks of the Ganges might travel to some other body of water to be purified. [31] It has been definitely concluded that work is counteracted by further work when one executes Vedic sacrifices as a means of worshiping Visnu, the Lord of all sacrifices, with sincere faith. [35] An intelligent person should learn to renounce his desire for wealth by performing sacrifices and acts of charity. He should learn to renounce his desire for wife and children by experiencing family life. And he should learn to renounce his desire for promotion to a higher planet in his next life, O saitly Vasudeva, by studying the effects of time. Self-controlled sages who have thus renounced their attachment to household life go to the forest to perform austerities. [38] Dear Prabhu, a member of the twice-born classes is born with three kinds of debts–those owed to the demigods, to the sages and to his forefathers. If he leaves his body without first liquidating these debts by performing sacrifice, studying the scriptures and begetting children, he will fall down into a hellish condition. [39] Sri Vasudeva said : My dear brother, God Himself has tied the knot called affection, which tightly binds human beings together. It seems to me that even great heroes and mystics find it very difficult to free themselves from it. [61] O most respectful one, may a person who wants the highest benefit in life never gain kingly opulence, for it leaves him blind to the needs of his own family and friends. [64]
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Chapter-85 Bali took pleasure in offering Them elevated seats. After They sat down, he washed the feet of the two Supreme Personalities. Then he took that water, which purifies the whole world even up to Lord Brahma, and poured it upon himself and his followers. [36] Please be merciful to me so I may get out of the blind well of family life–my false home–and find the true shelter of Your lotus feet, which selfless sages always seek. Then, either alone or in the company of great saints, who are the friends of everyone, I may wander freely, finding life’s necessities at the feet of the universally charitable trees. [45]
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Chapter-86 You have said, ‘‘Neither Ananta, Goddess Sri nor unborn Brahma is dearer to Me than My unalloyed devotee.’’ To prove Your own words true, You have now revealed Yourself to our eyes. [32] One can gradually become purified by seeing, touching and worshiping temple deities, places of pilgrimage and holy rivers. But one can attain the same result immediately simply by receiving the glance of exalted sages. [52] By his very birth, a brahmana is the best of all living beings in this world, and he becomes even more exalted when he is endowed with austerity, learning and self-satisfaction, what to speak of devotion to Me. [53] Even My own four-armed form is no dearer to Me than a brahmana. Within himself a learned brahmana comprises all the Vedas, just as within Myself I comprise all the demigods. [54] Ignorant of this truth, foolish people neglect and enviously offend a learned brahmana, who, being nondifferent from Me, is their spiritual master and very self. They consider worshipable only such obvious manisfestations of divinity as My Deity form. [55] Because he has realized Me, a brahmana is firmly fixed in the knowledge that everything moving and nonmoving in the universe, and also the primary elements of its creation, are all manifest forms expanded from Me. [56] O King, thus the Personality of Godhead, who is devoted to His own devotees, stayed for some time with His two great devotees Srutadeva and Bahulasva, teaching them the behavior of perfect saints. Then the Lord returned to Dvaraka. [59]
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Chapter-87 This perceivable world is identified with the Supreme because the Supreme Brahman is the ultimate foundation of all existence, remaining unchanged as all created things are generated from it and at last dissolved into it, just as clay remains unchanged by the products made from it and again merged with it. Thus it is toward You alone that the Vedic sages direct all their thoughts, words and acts. After all, how can the footsteps of men fail to touch the earth on which they live? [15] Therefore, O master of the three worlds, the wise get rid of all misery by diving deep into the nectarean ocean of topics about You, which washes away all the contamination of the universe. Then what to speak of those who, having by spiritual strength rid their minds of bad habits and freed themselves from time, are able to worship Your true nature, O supreme one, finding within it uninterrupted bliss? [16] Only if they become Your faithful followers are those who breathe actually alive; otherwise their breathing is like that of a bellows. It is by Your mercy alone that the elements, beginning with the mahat-tattva and false ego, created the egg of this universe. Among the manifestations known as anna-maya and so forth, You are the ultimate one, entering within the material coverings along with the living entity and assuming the same forms as those he takes. Distinct from the gross and subtle material manifestations, You are the reality underlying them all. [17] Among the followers of the methods set forth by great sages, those with less refined vision worship the Supreme as present in the region of the abdomen, while the Arunis worship Him as present in the heart, in the subtle center from which all the pranic channels emanate. From there, O unlimited Lord, these worshipers raise their consciousness upward to the top of the head, where they can perceive You directly. Then, passing through the top of the head toward the supreme destination, they reach that place from which they will never again fall to this world, into the mouth of death. [18] Apparently entering among the variegated species of living beings You have created, You inspire them to act, manifesting Yourself according to their higher and lower positions, just as fire manifests differently according to the shape of what it burns. Therefore those of spotless intelligence, who are altogether free from material attachments, realize Your undifferentiated, unchanging Self to be the permanent reality among all these impermanent life forms. [19] The individual living entity, while inhabiting the material bodies he has created for himself by his karma, actually, remains uncovered by either gross or subtle matter. This is so because, as the Vedas describe, he is part and parcel of You, the possessor of all potencies. Having determined this to be the status of the living entity, learned sages become imbued with faith and worship Your lotus feet, to which all Vedic sacrifices in this world are offered, and which are the source of liberation. [20] My Lord, some fortunate souls have gotten relief from the fatigue of material life by diving into the vast nectar ocean of Your pastimes, which You enact when You manifest Your personal forms to propagate the unfathomable science of the self. These rare souls, indifferent even to liberation, renounce the happiness of home and family because of their association with devotees who are like flocks of swans enjoying at the lotus of Your feet. [21] When this human body is used for Your devotional service, it acts as one’s self, friend and beloved. But unfortunately, although You always show mercy to the conditioned souls and affectionately help them in every way, and although You are their true Self, people in general fail to delight in You. Instead they commit spiritual suicide by worshiping illusion. Alas, because they persistently hope for success in their devotion to the unreal, they continue to wander about this greatly fearful world, assuming various degraded bodies. [22] Simply by constantly thinking of Him, the enemies of the Lord attained the same SupremeTruth whom sages fixed in yoga worship by controlling their breath, mind and senses. Similarly, we srutis, who generally see You as all-pervading, will achieve the same nectar from Your lotus feet that Your consorts are able to relish because of their loving attraction to Your mighty, serpentine arms, for You look upon us and Your consorts in the same way. [23] Supposed authorities who declare that matter is the origin of existence, that the permanent qualities of the soul can be destroyed, that the self is compounded of separate aspects of spirit and matter, or that material transactions constitute reality–all such authorities base their teachings on mistaken ideas that hide the truth. The dualistic conception that the living entity is produced from the three modes of nature is simply a product of ignorance. Such a conception has no real basis in You, for You are transcendental to all illusion and always enjoy perfect, total awareness. [25] The three modes of material nature comprise everything in this world–from the simplest phenomena to the complex human body. Although these phenomena appear real, they are only a false reflection of the spiritual reality, being a superimposition of the mind upon You. Still, those who know the Supreme Self consider the entire material creation to be real inasmuch as it is nondifferent from the Self. Just as things made of gold are indeed not to be rejected, since their substance is actual gold, so this world is undoubtedly nondifferent from the Lord who created it and then entered within it. [26] The devotees who worship You as the shelter of all beings disregard Death and place their feet on his head. But with the words of the Vedas You bind the nondevotees like animals, though they be vastly learned scholars. It is Your affectionate devotees who can purify themselves and others, not those who are inimical to You. [27] Though You have no material senses, You are the self-effulgent sustainer of everyone’s sensory powers. The demigods and material nature herself offer You tribute, while also enjoying the tribute offered them by their worshipers, just as subordinate rulers of various districts in a kingdom offer tribute to their lord, the ultimate proprietor of the land, while also enjoying the tribute paid them by their own subjects. In this way the universal creators faithfully execute their assigned services out of fear of You. [28] The mind is like an impetuous horse that even person who have regulated their senses and breath cannot control. Those in this world who try to tame the uncontrolled mind, but who abandon the feet of their spiritual master, encounter hundreds of obstacles in their cultivation of various distressful practices. O unborn Lord, they are like merchants on a boat in the ocean who have failed to employ a helmsman. [33] To those persons who take shelter of You, You reveal Yourself as the Supersoul, the embodiment of all transcendental pleasure. What further use have such devotees for their servants, children or bodies, their wives, money or houses, their land, good health or conveyances? And for those who fail to appreciate the truth about You and go on pursuing the pleasures of sex, what could there be in this entire world–a place inherently doomed to destruction and devoid of significance–that could give them real happiness? [34] Sages free from false pride live on this earth by frequenting the sacred pilgrimage sites and those places where the Supreme Lord displayed His pastimes. Because such devotees keep Your lotus feet within their hearts, the water that washes their feet destroys all sins. Anyone who even once turns his mind toward You, the ever-blissful Soul of all existence, no longer dedicates himself to serving family life at home, which simply robs a man of his good qualities. [35] Members of the renounced order who fail to uproot the last traces of material desire in their hearts remain impure, and thus You do not allow them to understand You. Although You are present within their hearts, for them You are like a jewel worn around the neck of a man who has totally forgotten it is there. O Lord, those who pratice yoga only for sense gratification must suffer punishment both in this life and the next : from death, who will not release them, and from You, whose kingdom they cannot reach. [39] When a person realizes You, he no longer cares about his good and bad fortune arising from past pious and sinful acts, since it is You alone who control this good and bad fortune. Such a realized devotee also disregards what ordinary living beings say about him. Every day he fills his ears with Your glories, which are recited in each age by the unbroken succession of Manu’s descendants, and thus You become his ultimate salvation. [40] Thus the ancient saints who travel in the upper heavens distilled this nectarean and confidential essence of all the Vedas and Puranas. [43]
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Chapter-88 King Pariksit said : Those demigods, demons and humans who worship Lord Siva, a strict renunciant, usually enjoy wealth and sense gratification, while the worshipers of the Supreme Lord Hari, the husband of the goddess of fortune, do not. [1] We wish to properly understand this matter, which greatly puzzles us. Indeed, the results attained by the worshipers of these two lords of opposite characters are contrary to what one would expect. [2] The Personality of Godhead said : If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another. [8] When he becomes frustrated in his attempts to make money and instead befriends My devotees, I bestow My special mercy upon him. [9] A person who had thus become sober fully realizes the Absolute as the highest truth, the most subtle and perfect manifestation of spirit, the transcendental existence without end. In this way realizing that the Supreme Truth is the foundation of his own existence, he is freed from the cycle of material life. [10] Because I am difficult to worship, people generally avoid Me and instead worship other deities, who are quickly satisfied. When people receive kingly opulences from these deities, they become arrogant, intoxicated with pride and neglectful of their duties. They dare to offered even the demigods who have bestowed benedictions upon them. [11]
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Chapter-89 Amazed upon bearing Bhrgu’s account, the sages were freed from all doubts and became convinced that Visnu is the greatest Lord. From Him come peace; fearlessness; the essential principles of religion; detachment with knowledge; the eightfold powers of mystic yoga; and His glorification, which cleanses the mind of all impurities. He is known as the supreme destination for those who are peaceful and equipoised–the selfless, wise saints who have given up all violence. His most dear form is that of pure goodness, and the brahmanas are His worshipable deities. Persons of keen intellect who have attained spiritual peace worship Him without selfish motives. Citizens serving such a wicked king, who takes pleasure in violence and cannot control his senses, are doomed to suffer poverty and constant misery. [25]
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Chapter-90 Thus observing the principles of duty enunciated in the Vedas, Lord Krishna, the goal of the saintly devotees, repeatedly demonstrated how one can achieve at home the objectives of religiousity, economic development and regulated sense gratification. [28] To protect the principles of devotional
service to Himself, Lord Krishna, the best of the Yadus, accepts the pastime
forms that have been glorified here in the Srimad Bhagavatam. One who desires to
faithfully serve His lotus feet should hear of the activities He performs in
each of these incarnations–activities that suitably imitate those of the forms
He assumes. Hearing narrations of these pastimes destroyes the reactions to
fruitive work. [49] By regularly hearing, chanting and meditating on the beautiful topics of Lord Mukunda with ever-increasing sincerity, a mortal being will attain the divine kingdom of the Lord, where the invoilable power of death holds no sway. For this purpose, many person, including great kings, abandoned their mundane homes and took to the forest. [50] In due course of time, when all the causative and effective manifestations of the universe, including the planets and their directors and maintainers, are annihilated, there is a situation of dense darkness. Above this darkness, however, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I take shelter of His lotus feet. [5]
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