Welcome to the KrishnaSoft's Electronic Newsletter.
This is the October 2001 issue entitled: "Devotional Service Transcends Even Time!"
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Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
This newsletter goes to over 1100 people who either have an interest in Vedic science and/or spiritually entertaining multimedia technology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
(1) Devotional Service Transcends Even Time!
(2) Srimad-Bhagavatam is Completely Transcendental, Part II
(3) Editorial Policy and Product List
1. DEVOTIONAL SERVICE TRANSCENDS EVEN TIME!
Sometimes in reading spiritual literature we come across passages that are prophetic in nature. Is this due to some special material powers of the writer? The answer is no. A person engaged in devotional service may or may not have special material powers but because Lord Krsna reveals Himself unto those who are engaged in devotional service, the writings are good for all time-- past, present, and future.
"The Bhagavad-gita is the spoken message of the Lord Himself recorded by Vyasadeva, and the Srimad-Bhagavatam is the transcendental narration of the activities of the same Lord Krsna, which alone can satisfy the hankering desires of the living being for eternal peace and liberation from miseries. Srimad-Bhagavatam, therefore, is meant for all the living beings all over the universe for total liberation from all kinds of material bondage. Such transcendental narrations of the pastimes of the Lord can be described only by liberated souls like Vyasadeva and his bona fide representatives who are completely merged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. ONLY TO SUCH DEVOTEES DO THE PASTIMES OF THE LORD AND THEIR TRANSCENDENTAL NATURE BECOME AUTOMATICALLY MANIFEST BY DINT OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE. NO ONE ELSE CAN EITHER KNOW OR DESCRIBE THE ACTS OF THE LORD, EVEN IF THEY SPECULATE ON THE SUBJECT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BHAGAVATAM ARE SO PRECISE AND ACCURATE THAT WHATEVER HAS BEEN PREDICTED IN THIS GREAT LITERATURE ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND YEARS AGO IS NOW EXACTLY HAPPENING. Therefore, the vision of the author comprehends past, present and future. Such liberated persons as Vyasadeva are perfect not only by the power of vision and wisdom, but also in aural reception, in thinking, feeling and all other sense activities. A liberated person possesses perfect senses, and with perfect senses only can one serve the sense proprietor, Hrsikesa, Sri Krsna the Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam, therefore, is the perfect description of the all-perfect Personality of Godhead by the all-perfect personality Srila Vyasadeva, the compiler of the Vedas." (Bhag. 1.5.13)
By engaging in Krsna consciousness or devotional service, one transcends the limits of past and present:
"The principles of animal life-- eating, sleeping, mating and defending-- are actually necessities of the body, but those who engage in transcendental Krsna consciousness, giving up all the stereotyped activities of this material world, are freed from social conventions. CONDITIONED SOULS ARE UNDER THE SPELL OF MATERIAL ENERGY, OR ETERNAL TIME-- PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE-- BUT AS SOON AS ONE ENGAGES IN KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS, HE TRANSCENDS THE LIMITS OF PAST AND PRESENT AND BECOMES SITUATED IN THE ETERNAL ACTIVITIES OF THE SOUL." (Bhag. 3.21.17)
"Simply by expansion of His eyebrows, invincible time personified can immediately vanquish the entire universe. However, formidable time does not approach the devotee who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet." (Bhag. 4.24.56)
"In Bhagavad-gita (10.34) it is said that the Lord in the shape and form of death destroys all a person's possessions. Mrtyuh sarva-haras caham: "I am all-devouring death." The Lord in the shape of death takes away everything that is created by the conditioned soul. Everything in this material world is subject to perish in due course of time. However, all the strength of time cannot hamper the activities of a devotee, for a devotee takes complete shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. For this reason only is a devotee free from formidable time. All the activities of the karmis and jnanis, which have no touch of devotional service, are spoiled in due course of time. The material success of the karmis is destined to be destroyed; similarly, the impersonal realization attained by the jnanis is also destroyed in the course of time." (Bhag. 4.24.56)
"When Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, was instructing his assistants, he told them not to approach the devotees. "The devotees should be offered respect," he said, "but do not go near them." Thus the devotees of the Lord are not under the jurisdiction of Yamaraja. Yamaraja is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he controls the death of every living entity. Yet he has nothing to do with the devotees. Simply by blinking his eyes, time personified can destroy the entire cosmic manifestation, but he has nothing to do with the devotee. In other words, devotional service which is rendered by the devotee in this lifetime can never be destroyed by time. Such spiritual assets remain unchanged, being beyond the influence of time." (Bhag. 4.24.56)
Obviously, Lord Krsna, the source of everything, is also transcendental to time:
"Then again, Krsna is the time factor. Therefore, He is all-pervading not only in space but also in time. We have measurements of time, but although we are limited by past, present and future, for Krsna these do not exist. Every individual person can be measured, but Krsna has already shown that although He also is an individual, the entire cosmic manifestation is within His mouth. All these points considered, Krsna cannot be measured. How then did Yasoda want to measure Him and bind Him? We must conclude that this took place simply on the platform of pure transcendental love. This was the only cause." (Bhag. 10.9.13-14)
This is also confirmed in the Caitanya-caritamrta:
"O my Lord, everything within material nature is limited by time, space and thought . Your characteristics, however, being unequaled and unsurpassed, are always transcendental to such limitations . You sometimes cover such characteristics by Your own energy, but nevertheless Your unalloyed devotees are always able to see You under all circumstances ." (CC Adi 3.89)
Since everything ultimately happens by Krsna's direction (directly or indirectly), the devotees can also know of future activities through Krsna's mercy via the revealed scriptures:
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, with the cooperation of Sankarsana, Balarama, performed activities beyond the mental comprehension of even such personalities as Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. [For instance, Krsna arranged the Battle of Kuruksetra to kill many demons for the relief of the entire world.]" (Bhag. 9.24.60)
Lord Krsna showed the universal form to Arjuna in which He already showed the future destruction of the demons in the Battle of Kuruksetra:
"The description in the Bhagavad-gita (11.30) runs as follows: "O Visnu, I see You devouring all people in Your blazing mouths and covering all the universe by Your immeasurable rays. Scorching the worlds, You are manifest." In that way, Srimad-Bhagavatam is the postgraduate study for the student of the Bhagavad-gita. Both of them are the science of Krsna, the Absolute Truth, and so they are interdependent." (Bhag. 2.1.29)
We pointed out in our June 2000 newsletter that books are the basis as far as the Krsna consciousness movement's future is concerned and this is also supported by the following:
"To show causeless mercy to the devotees who would take birth in the future in this age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, acted in such a way that simply by remembering Him one will be freed from all the lamentation and unhappiness of material existence. [In other words, He acted so that all future devotees, by accepting the instructions of Krsna consciousness stated in Bhagavad-gita, could be relieved from the pangs of material existence.]" (Bhag. 9.24.61)
The spreading of transcendental literatures is bound to happen and devotees who help in this cause become instruments for fulfilling Lord Krsna's desire.
"For sense gratification practically everyone is engaged in materialistic activities, which prolong the process of janma-mrtyu jara-vyadhi-- birth, death, old age and disease-- but the devotee, simply by hearing the message of Bhagavad-gita and further relishing the narrations of Srimad-Bhagavatam, becomes so pure that he no longer takes interest in materialistic activities. At the moment, devotees in the Western countries are being attracted by Krsna consciousness and becoming uninterested in materialistic activities, and therefore people are trying to oppose this movement. But they cannot possibly check this movement or stop the activities of the devotees in Europe and America by their artificial impositions." (Bhag. 9.24.62)
"When the human being gives up the process of hearing about the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, he becomes victim to hearing rubbish transmitted by man-made machines. Machinery is not bad because through the machine one can take advantage of hearing about the Lord, but because machinery is used for ulterior purposes, it is creating rapid degradation in the standard of human civilization. It is said here that it is incumbent upon the human beings to hear because the scriptures like Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam are made for that purpose. Living beings other than human beings have no ability to hear such Vedic literatures. If human society gives itself to the process of hearing the Vedic literature, it will not become a victim to the impious sounds vibrated by impious men who degrade the standards of the total society." (Bhag. 2.2.36)
"Because the Lord is all-pervading, it is essential to glorify Him always and everywhere. In the process of glorifying the Lord there should be no restriction of time and space. This is called sanatana-dharma or bhagavata-dharma. Sanatana means eternal, always and everywhere. Bhagavata means pertaining to Bhagavan, the Lord. The Lord is the master of all time and all space, and therefore the Lord's holy name must be heard, glorified and remembered everywhere in the world. That will bring about the desired peace and prosperity so eagerly awaited by the people of the world." (Bhag. 2.2.36)
aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
"To say nothing of the karmis, the jnanis undergo severe austerities to attain the impersonal brahmajyoti, but because they do not find the lotus feet of the Lord, they fall down again into this material existence. Unless one is fully situated in unalloyed devotional service, there is no guarantee of liberation, even if one is elevated to the heavenly planets or to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. A devotee's achievement, however, is never lost by the influence of time. Even if a devotee cannot completely execute devotional service, in his next life he begins from the point where he left off. Such an opportunity is not given to the karmis and jnanis, whose achievements are destroyed. The bhakta's achievement is never destroyed, for it goes on perpetually, be it complete or incomplete. This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures." (Bhag. 4.24.56)
Transcendental literatures like the Srimad-Bhagavatam are also free from any defects because they are the result of the performance of pure devotional service:
"The senses are instruments, and elements are ingredients, all endowed by the Lord; therefore whatever an individual can do, speak, see, etc., is under the direction of the Lord only. The Bhagavad-gita (15.15) confirms this: sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca. No one is free to act freely and independently, and as such, one should always seek the permission of the Lord to act or eat or speak, and by the blessing of the Lord everything done by a devotee is beyond the principles of the four defects typical of the conditioned soul." (Bhag. 2.4.11)
"They will indicate the positive standing of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is without trace of mistake, illusion, cheating and imperfection, which are the four flaws of all conditioned souls. THE LIBERATED SOULS ARE ABOVE THESE FLAWS; therefore they can see and foretell things which are to take place on distant future dates." (Bhag. 1.3.24)
As we explained in our November 1999 newsletter, when we please Lord Krsna the result is perfect whether we conformed to a set of mundane standards or not. Such mundane standards are just arbitrary ideas and/or mental speculations of imperfect people. So although the Bhagavatam may not meet the mundane standards and thus be considered "imperfectly" composed, nonetheless because Lord Krsna is revealing the information according to the devotion of the reader, the reader will not be missing out on anything.
"On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world's misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest." (Bhag. 1.5.11)
As explained many times in previous newsletters, one has to be fixed in his devotional service received via the disciplic succession in order to compose devotional literature. Then the result will be transcendental and able to purify those who read such literatures.
"People in general have a taste for literatures by instinct. They want to hear and read from the authorities something about the unknown, but their taste is exploited by unfortunate literatures which are full of subject matter for satisfaction of the material senses. Such literatures contain different kinds of mundane poems and philosophical speculations, more or less under the influence of maya, ending in sense gratification. These literatures, although worthless in the true sense of the term, are variously decorated to attract the attention of the less intelligent men. Thus the attracted living entities are more and more entangled in material bondage without hope of liberation for thousands and thousands of generations. Sri Narada Rsi, being the best amongst the Vaisnavas, is compassionate toward such unfortunate victims of worthless literatures, and thus he advises Sri Vyasadeva to compose transcendental literature which is not only attractive but can also actually bring liberation from all kinds of bondage. Srila Vyasadeva or his representatives are qualified because they are rightly trained to see things in true perspective. Srila Vyasadeva and his representatives are pure in thought due to their spiritual enlightenment, fixed in their vows due to their devotional service, and determined to deliver the fallen souls rotting in material activities." (Bhag. 1.5.13)
"'One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the spiritual platform.' By engaging one in devotional service, the Krsna consciousness movement keeps one always transcendental to anger, greed, lust, envy and so forth. One must perform devotional service because otherwise one will become victimized by the modes of material nature." (Bhag. 6.4.14)
"The Lord is absolute; there is no difference between His words, His perspiration or His pastimes. The water of the Ganges, the narrations of His pastimes and the words spoken by Him are all on the absolute platform, and thus taking shelter of any one of them is equally good. Srila Rupa Gosvami has enunciated that anything in relationship with Krsna is on the transcendental platform. If we can dovetail all our activities in relationship with Krsna, then we do not stand on the material platform, but always on the spiritual platform." (Bhag. 3.20.5)
"There are thousands and thousands of literary men all over the world, and they have created many, many thousands of literary works for the information of the people in general for thousands and thousands of years. Unfortunately none of them have brought peace and tranquillity on the earth. This is due to a spiritual vacum in those literatures; therefore the Vedic literatures, especially the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam, are specifically recommended to suffering humanity to bring about the desired effect of liberation from the pangs of material civilization, which is eating the vital part of human energy. " (Bhag. 1.5.13)
So it should be understood that with respect to mundane standards, any "imperfectly" composed transcendental literatures are always better than any perfectly composed literature without any touch with the Absolute Truth. Any literature composed by mental concoctions is considered a failure and should not be trusted:
"On the other hand, any amount of mental speculation on the strength of material science and knowledge without any bona fide touch with the Absolute Truth is sure to be a mundane untruth and failure, simply due to not being in touch with the Absolute Truth. Such godless, unfaithful words and actions, however materially enriched, are never to be trusted. That is the purport of this important verse. A grain of devotion is more valuable than tons of faithlessness." (Bhag. 2.6.34)
3. EDITORIAL POLICY AND PRODUCT LIST
"One should engage in practical service to the Lord. In our Krsna consciousness movement, *ALL* our activities are concentrated upon distributing Krsna literature. This is very important. One may approach any person and induce him to read Krsna literature so that in the future he also may become a devotee.... By fully concentrating on distributing books for Krsna, one is fully absorbed in Krsna."
Our newsletters are geared to show you the benefits of the instructions contained in the transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada so you can judge for yourself the value of these books and obtain them in book or CDROM format. We also have video demos of the Gita CDROM and Bhagavatam CDROM available for those without computers or those who want to get a glimpse into what is on the CDROM.
Krishna Software Inc. has produced some multimedia CDROMs and all the details and reviews of these CDROMs can be found at our website http://www.krishnasoft.com. Here is our current list of products:
(a) Multimedia Bhagavad-gita As It Is CD: Lord Krsna's eternal instructions to Arjuna and the rest of the world about Isvara (Supreme Lord), jiva (the soul), karma (activities), kala (time), and prakrti (nature). This is a 30-hour audio-visual CDROM. Also available with Hindi translations.
(b) Multimedia Srimad-Bhagavatam CD: An encyclopedia on the science of Krsna consciousness. This CDROM deals in detail with bhakti-yoga and covers various subjects-- the creation of the universe, Vedic astronomy, transmigration, birth-death, etc. This is about 35 hours of audio-visual presentations.
(c) Multimedia Krsna CD w/Vedic Astronomy: This is a 51-hour audio-visual presentation of the Krsna book and a Vedic Astronomy simulation based on the Srimad-Bhagavatam. All on a single CDROM. Free sample demo downloadable from our website.
(d) Multilingual Word Processor CD [version 4.00]: Type in diacritics, Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, and Assamese without knowing the alphabet. This is for those who want to write articles using multiple languages. Free demo downloadable from our website.
All of the above software was tested on various Intel 486 and Pentium processors running Windows 3.1, Windows '95, Windows '98, Windows Me, and Windows NT (client and server).
Latest information and secure ordering is available at our web site: http://www.krishnasoft.com. Any upgrades can be downloaded from this website as well.
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All glories to Lord Sri Krsna and His transcendental potencies! All glories to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna!
patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah
(Bhag. 10.2.32)
End of Newsletter- written and edited by KSI staff; (c) 1998-2001 Krishna Software Inc.
Our staff consists of: Hari Rama Dasa, Virender Dayal, Rajni Dayal, and volunteers.