Science of Krishna Consciousness

Week 7
Om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
cakshur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca, kripa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo, vaishnavebhyo namo namah
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktivedanta swamin iti namine
namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha shunyavadi pashchatya desha tarine
jaya sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu nityananda,
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
ॐ अ$ान 'त)मरा,ध.य $ाना0जनशलाकया ।
च7ु9,मी)लतं येन त.मै >ी गरु वे नमः ॥
वांछा-कEपतG-भयशच कृपा-)संधभु य एव च।
प'तता-नाम पावनेभयो वैMणवे नमो नमः ॥
नमः ॐ OवMणु पादय, कृMण पMृ ठाय भत ू ले,
>ीमते भिUत वेदांत .वा)मन इ'त ना)मने ।
नम.ते सर.वते दे वे गौर वाणी XचाYरणे,
'नOवZशष
े श,
ू य-वाद\ पा]चा^य दे श ताYरणे ।।
जय >ी कृMण चैत,य, Xभु 'न^यानंद,
>ी अ_वैत, गदाधर, >ीवास आaद गौर भUत व,ृ द।।
namo maha-vadanyaya, krishna-prema-pradaya te नमो महा-वदा,याय, कृMण Xेम Xदायते।
krishnaya krishna-chaitanya, namne gaura-tvishe namah कृMणाय कृMण चैत,य, नामने गोर-तOवशे नमः

hai krishna karuna-sindho, dina-bandho jagat-pate हे कृMण क9णा-)संध,ु द\न-ब,धु जग^पते ।

gopesa gopika-kanta, radha-kanta namo’stu te गोपेश गोOपका-का,त राधाका,त नमो.तत ु े ॥

tapta-kaancanaa-gaurangi, radhe vrinda-vane-svari

तपत-कांचन गौरांगी, राधे व,ृ दावने]वर\ ।
vrisha-bhanu-sute devi, prana-mami hari-priye वष
ृ भानु सत
ु े दे वी, Xणमा)म हर\ OXये ॥

neelachala-nivasaya nityaya paramatmane

balabhadra-subhadrabhyam jagannathaya te namah नीलाचल-'नवासाय 'न^याय परमा^मने
बलभd-सभु dाeयां जग,नाथाय ते नमः
 Sri Namamrita - the Nectar of the Holy Name
The Hare Krsna mantra is especially suited to deliver us from the
dangers of the Kali-yuga:

Only the dvijas (the brahmanas) and the devas (the demigods) can be
delivered from material existence by the instructions of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Whatever is spoken by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is mantra and is suitable for delivering the
conditioned souls from mental speculation. The conditioned souls are
engaged in a struggle for existence (manah sashtanindriyani prakrti
sthani karsati (Bg. 15.7).

Deliverance from this struggle constitutes the highest benefit, but

unless one gets a mantra from the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
deliverance is impossible. The beginning mantra is the Gayatri mantra.
Therefore after purification, when one is qualified to become a
brahmana (dvija), he is offered the Gayathri mantra.

Simply by chanting the Gayathri mantra, one can be delivered. This

mantra, however is suitable only for the brahmanas and the demigods.
 Sri Namamrita - the Nectar of the Holy Name
In Kali-yuga, we are all in a very difficult position, in which we need a suitable
mantra which can deliver us from the dangers of this age.

Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His incarnation as Lord

Caitanya, gives us the Hare Krsna mantra….. In His Siksastaka, Lord Caitanya
says, “param vijayate Sri-Krsna-sankirtanam:” All Glories to the chanting of Sri –
Krsna-sankirtana!”

The maha-mantra – Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama
Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare – is directly chanted by the Lord Himself, who
gives us this mantra for deliverance.

We cannot invent any means to be delivered from the dangers of material

existence… Sparks are beautiful as long as they are in the supreme fire. Similarly, we
have to remain in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and always
engage in devotional service, for then we shall always be brilliant and illuminating.
As soon as we fall from the service of the Lord, our brilliance and illumination will
immediately be extinguished, or at least stopped for some time.

When we living entities, who are like sparks of the original fire, the Supreme
Lord, fall into a material condition, we must take the mantra from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, as it is offered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. By chanting
this Hare Krsna mantra, we shall be delivered from all the difficulties of this
material world.
Srimad Bhagavatam- 8.6.15
 Spiritual Edification
from “The Science of Self-Realisation
From “The Laws of Nature”
BY HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C.BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
Pg. 38 - 44
The way of knowing God

In the Vedic disciplic succession, the spiritual masters always base their statements on what they have heard from authoritative sources, never on
personal experience. Trying to understand things by one’s own direct experience is the material process of gaining knowledge, technically called
pratyaksa. The Vedic method is different. It is called sruti, which means “to hear from authoritative sources.” That is the secret of Vedic
understanding.

With your imperfect senses you should not try to understand things which are beyond your experimental powers. That is not possible. Suppose
you want to know who your father is. Can you find out by experimenting? Is it possible? No. Then how can you know who your father is? By
hearing from proper authority, your mother. This is common sense. And if you cannot know you material father by the experimental process, how
can you know the Supreme Father by the experimental process? Krsna is the original father. He is the father of the father of the father, all the way
down to you. So if you cannot understand your immediate father, the previous generation, by the experimental process, how can you know God
or Krsna in this way?

People search for God by the experimental process, but after much searching they fail. Then they say, “Oh, there is no God, Iam God.” But the
Isopanishad says that one should try to learn about God not by the experimental process but by hearing. From whom should one hear? From a
shopkeeper? From fanatics?No. One should hear from those who are dhira. Dhira means “one whose senses are not agitated by material
influence.”

So if you want real knowledge, you should take knowledge from the litrature known as Vedas. (The word Veda means knowledge.”) Part of the
Vedas are the 108 Upanishads, out of which eleven are very important. Of those eleven, the Upanishad stands first. In the word Upanishad, upa
means “near.” So the knowledge in the Upanishad will take you nearer to Krsna.
In learned society the Vedas are accepted as sruti, or primary
evidence. The Vedas are not knowledge established by the
research work of contaminated, conditioned souls. Such people
have imperfect senses and so they cannot see things as they are.

They simply theorize, “It may be like this. It may be like that.”
That is not knowledge.

Knowledge is definite, without any doubt or mistake.

Conditioned souls commit mistakes, become illusioned, and

cheat. How do they cheat? When one who does not understand
the Bhagavad Gita writes a commentary on it, he is cheating the
innocent public. Someone has a title as a scholar, so he takes
advantage of the popularity of the Bhagavd Gita and writes a
commentary. Such so- called scholars claim that anyone can give
his own opinion. But in the Bhagavad –gita Krsna says that only
His devotee can understand the Gita. So these so-called scholars
are cheating.

The conclusion is that if you want genuine spiritual knowledge,

you have to approach a bonafide spiritual master who has
realized the Absolute Truth.
Discovery:
1) Mention 2 ways in which we can obtain knowledge.
2) How have the Vedas come down to us?
3) Who should we hear the Vedas from?

Understanding:
4) With an example, explain why we cannot
understand God, on our own.
5) Which literatures give us real knowledge about
God? Why are these literatures perfect?
6) Who can really understand the Bhagavad Gita?
Why?
7) Why should we be selective in whom we hear the
Bhagavad Gita from?

Application:
Have you found a path which will take you to God? Share
your realizations.
 Preaching is the essence
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada
Page 14

After being saved, the devotee should preach Krsna consciousness:

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also advised Vasudeva to preach about Krsna and thus
liberate living entities. As a result, Krsna would very soon accept him as His
devotee.

Although Vasudeva Vipra was a leper and had suffered greatly, still Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu cured him. The only return the Lord wanted was that Vasudeva
preach the instructions of Krsna and liberate all human beings. That is the process
of the International Society for Krsna consciousness. Each and every member of
this society was rescued from a very abominable condition, but now they are
engaged in preaching the cult of Krsna consciousness…. If one wants to be
recognized as a devotee of Krsna, he should take to preaching work, following the
advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then one will undoubtedly attain the lotus feet
of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Krishna Himself, without delay.

Cc. Madhya 7.148 (Madhya: 3, pp. 74-75)