PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from harekrsna.com):

Kunti leads Dhritarashtra and Gandhar to the Forest
Ashramavasika Parva
(1598)

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 23:

Srimad Bhagavatm 1.8.40 
ime jana-padāḥ svṛddhāḥ
supakvauṣadhi-vīrudhaḥ
vanādri-nady-udanvanto
hy edhante tava vīkṣitaiḥ

ime — all these; jana-padāḥ — cities and towns; svṛddhāḥ — flourished; supakva — mature; auṣadhi — herbs; vīrudhaḥ — vegetables; vana — forests; adri — hills; nadī — rivers; udanvantaḥ — seas; hi — certainly; edhante — increasing; tava — by You; vīkṣitaiḥ — seen.

Translation:

All these cities and villages are flourishing in all respects because the herbs and grains are in abundance, the trees are full of fruits, the rivers are flowing, the hills are full of minerals and the oceans full of wealth. And this is all due to Your glancing over them.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada begins this discussion with the topic of meat eating vs. vegetarianism.

Kuntidevi mentions that the grains are abundant, the trees full of fruits, the rivers flowing nicely, the hills full of minerals, and the oceans full of wealth, but she never mentions that industry and slaughterhouses are flourishing, for such things are nonsense that men have developed to create problems.

He points out:

The Brahma-samhita (5.32) says,

angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti:

every part of Krsna's body has all the capabilities of the other parts. With our eyes we can only see, but Krsna, merely by seeing, can make others pregnant.

He states the obvious:

If Krsna likes, He can produce a huge quantity of grains, fruits, and vegetables, but if Krsna desires to restrict the supply, what good will meat do? You may eat me, or I may eat you, but that will not solve the problem.

He ends with the positive:

This is what Bhaktivinoda Thakura teaches us when he says, marabi rakhabi--yo iccha tohara: "My dear Lord, I simply surrender unto You and depend on You. Now if You like You may kill me, or else You may give me protection." And Krsna says in reply, "Yes. Sarva-dharman paritajya mam ekam saranam vraja: simply surrender exclusively unto Me." He does not say, "Yes, depend on Me, and also depend on your slaughterhouses and factories."

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 22:

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.39
neyaṁ śobhiṣyate tatra
yathedānīṁ gadādhara
tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti
sva-lakṣaṇa-vilakṣitaiḥ

na — not; iyam — this land of our kingdom; śobhiṣyate — will appear beautiful; tatra — then; yathā — as it is now; idānīm — now; gadādhara — O Kṛṣṇa; tvat — Your; padaiḥ — by the feet; aṅkitā — marked; bhāti — is dazzling; sva-lakṣaṇa — Your own marks; vilakṣitaiḥ — by the impressions.

Translation

O Gadādhara [Kṛṣṇa], our kingdom is now being marked by the impressions of Your feet, and therefore it appears beautiful. But when You leave, it will no longer be so.

JOURNAL:

There is a lot spoken of in this chapter. I have chosen these four quotes from Srila Prabhupada. He opens the chapter thus;

There are certain particular marks on the feet of the Lord which distinguish the Lord from others. The marks of a flag, thunderbolt, and instrument to drive an elephant, and also an umbrella, lotus, disc, etc., are on the bottom of the Lord's feet. These marks are impressed upon the soft dust of the land where the Lord traverses. The land of Hastinapura was thus marked while Lord Sri Krsna was there with the Pandavas, and the kingdom of the Pandavas thus flourished by such auspicious signs. 

It is not that this applied only when Krsna was present and Kunti was speaking. Rather, the truth is always the same. Despite the advancement of our civilization, if we cannot bring Krsna and Krsna consciousness into the center of everything, our civilization will never become beautiful.

He then closes the chapter with this reminder;

"O son of Kunti [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man." (Bg. 7.8) Why then do people say, "I have not seen God"? Why don't they see God as God directs them to see Him? Why do they manufacture their own way? One cannot see God by one's own way.

If I want to see the President of the United States, can I see him in my own way? If not, then how can I expect to see God in my own way?

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 21: 

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.38
ke vayaṁ nāma-rūpābhyāṁ
yadubhiḥ saha pāṇḍavāḥ
bhavato ’darśanaṁ yarhi
hṛṣīkāṇām iveśituḥ

ke — who are; vayam — we; nāma-rūpābhyām — without fame and ability; yadubhiḥ — with the Yadus; saha — along with; pāṇḍavāḥ — and the Pāṇḍavas; bhavataḥ — Your; adarśanam — absence; yarhi — as if; hṛṣīkāṇām — of the senses; iva — like; īśituḥ — of the living being.

Translation

As the name and fame of a particular body is finished with the disappearance of the living spirit, similarly if You do not look upon us, all our fame and activities, along with the Pāṇḍavas and Yadus, will end at once.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada gives us some beautiful illustrations of how things work and our absoulte need for Krishna in this chapter;

While the energy works, the energetic remains aloof, just as the sunshine spreads everywhere while the sun itself remains apart. Similarly, there is energy working throughout the cosmic manifestation. The cosmic manifestation consists of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego. These eight material elements are separated material energies (me bhinna prakrtir astadha), and we can understand that behind these energies there must be an energetic source. For example, we are using electric power, but behind this power are the powerhouse and the engineer. Rascals do not understand this. They simply see the power of this cosmic manifestation, but they do not understand that behind this power is the powermaker, the source of power. Therefore Krsna comes and says, "I am the powermaker. I am behind this power."

God exists, and God's energy also exists, so if we cannot see God we can at least see His energy. We may not see the electric powerhouse and the engineer within it generating power, but we use electricity in so many ways. Therefore we should inquire where this electricity comes from. This is intelligence, and if one inquires in this way he will eventually find the powerhouse itself. Similarly, if one studies further to find out who is running the powerhouse, one will find a human being. Although the electricity is impersonal and even the powerhouse is impersonal, the man behind everything is a person. Similarly, God is a person. This is a logical conclusion. How can He be impersonal? That which is impersonal has no intelligence. We have invented so many very wonderful machines, but the machines are not intelligent. The intelligence belongs to the operator. Therefore Krsna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: "You are seeing the energy displayed in the wonderful actions and reactions of this material cosmic manifestation, but don't think that they are working independently. No, I am behind them."

He closes with this description of bhakti;

Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate: bhakti means to use hrsika, the senses, in the service of Hrsikesa, Krsna, the master of the senses (tvaya hrsikesena hrdi sthitasya yatha karomi). Because I wanted some sense gratification, forgetting that everything actually belongs to Krsna, I have been given this body, which is a facility for sense gratification. But the senses have no value without Krsna, and therefore the natural conclusion is that the senses belong to Krsna. Therefore, since I have these senses, why not use them for Krsna's satisfaction? This is bhakti.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from Krishna.com):

"Kunti Offers Prayers to Lord Krishna"

by Muralidhara Dasa

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 20:

 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.37
apy adya nas tvaà sva-kåtehita prabho
jihäsasi svit suhådo ’nujévinaù
yeñäà na cänyad bhavataù padämbujät
paräyaëaà räjasu yojitäàhasäm

api—if; adya—today; naù—us; tvam—You; sva-kåta—self-executed; éhita—all duties; prabho—O my Lord; jihäsasi—giving up; svit—possibly; suhådaù—intimate friends; anujévinaù—living at the mercy of; yeñäm—of whom; na—nor; ca—and; anyat—anyone else; bhavataù—Your; pada-ambujät—from the lotus feet; paräyaëam—dependent; räjasu—unto the kings; yojita—engaged in; aàhasäm—enmity.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, You have executed all duties Yourself. Are you leaving us today, though we are completely dependent on Your mercy and have no one else to protect us, now when all kings are at enmity with us?

JOURNAL:

The title of this chapter is "Full Surrender" and Srila Prabhupada, using Queen Kunti and the Pandavas, as examples, shows us the proper attitude as well as some basic instructions.

The Pandavas are most fortunate because with all good luck they were entirely dependent on the mercy of the Lord.

The highest achievement of perfect civilization is to work with valor but at the same time depend completely on the Lord.

After the Battle of Kuruksetra ended and the Pandavas were established in their kingdom, Krsna, before going back home to Dvaraka, was taking leave of His aunt and bidding her farewell. It was at that time that Kunti offered this prayer. Now she directly asks, "Is it a fact that after finishing Your duty You are going away and leaving us alone?" This is the devotee's position. Kuntidevi says, yesam na canyad bha vatah padambujat: "We have no means of protection other than Your lotus feet." This is full surrender.

He then gives us these practical instructions: In the process of surrender (saranagati) there are six items. The first is that one should completely depend on Krsna, and the next is that one should accept everything favorable for Krsna's service (anukulyasya sankalpah). ... Another item of surrender is pratikulya-vivarjanam, rejecting everything unfavorable to the procedures of Krsna consciousness. ... Furthermore, one should believe with full faith, "Krsna will give me protection," and one should count oneself as one of the servants of Krsna. These are some of the items of saranagati, full surrender.

Then, with emphasis, he writes; A devotee always has a taste for chanting Hare Krsna: "Oh, very nice. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. " This is taste. Of course, this taste takes time to awaken, but when Rupa Gosvami was chanting he was thinking, "I have only one tongue and two ears. What can I appreciate of chanting? If I could have millions of tongues and trillions of ears, then I could relish something by chanting and hearing."

He closes with this statement; This verse illustrates the position of a surrendered soul seeking the protection of Krsna. If we remain in this position, knowing that our only protector is Krsna and that our only duty is to serve Krsna, then our life is successful.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from Krishna.com):

Religion consists of the laws of God. People who do not know this think that religion means faith. But although you may have faith in something and I may have faith in something, and although I may believe you and you may or may not believe me, that is not religion.

"Two plus two equals four" is science. If I believe that two plus two equals five or three, does it become true?

(from The Teachings of Queen Kunti; Chapter 19)

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 19:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.36
śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanty abhīkṣṇaśaḥ
smaranti nandanti tavehitaṁ janāḥ
ta eva paśyanty acireṇa tāvakaṁ
bhava-pravāhoparamaṁ padāmbujam

śṛṇvanti — hear; gāyanti — chant; gṛṇanti — take; abhīkṣṇaśaḥ — continuously; smaranti — remember; nandanti — take pleasure; tava — Your; īhitam — activities; janāḥ — people in general; te — they; eva — certainly; paśyanti — can see; acireṇa — very soon; tāvakam — Your; bhava-pravāha — the current of rebirth; uparamam — cessation; pada-ambujam — lotus feet.

Translation

O Kṛṣṇa, those who continuously hear, chant and repeat Your transcendental activities, or take pleasure in others’ doing so, certainly see Your lotus feet, which alone can stop the repetition of birth and death.

JOURNAL:

The emphasis of this chapter is on hearing and chanting although Srila Prabhupada writes of a few of the other processes of Bhakti. He opens with; The Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, cannot be seen by our present conditional vision. In order to see Him, one has to change his present vision by developing a different condition of life, full of spontaneous love of Godhead.

Therefore, even though the Lord may be present before our eyes, it is not possible to see Him unless we have the necessary vision. This necessary qualification is developed by the process of devotional service only, beginning with hearing about the Lord from the right sources.

One must hear about the Lord from the very beginning, as in the Srimad- Bhagavatam or any other scriptures, and that will help the hearer attain perfection by progressive development.

He then lists the processes of Bhakti;
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
iti pumsarpita visnau
bhaktis cen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha
tan manye 'dhitam uttamam
Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and pastimes of Lord Visnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind, and words)--these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.

He emphasizes that the order is not arbitrary; For those who are cultivating Krsna consciousness, the first business is hearing. 

And if one has actually heard about Krsna, one's next engagement in bhakti-yoga will be to chant (gayanti). 

Therefore those who are cultivating Krsna consciousness have to hear about Krsna, speak about Krsna, and deal only in relationship with Krsna. "By this process," Kuntidevi tells the Lord, "one will one day come to see You."

He ends the chapter with a beautiful promise; We are spirit souls, but because we have been put into the material ocean, the currents are carrying us away. However, if we engage twenty-four hours a day in hearing, chanting, and seriously serving Krsna, the current will stop.

There may be currents in the ocean, but if one gets a good boat, one can cross over these currents very nicely. As mentioned in another verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.58), samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam. A lotus petal is something like a small boat, and therefore this verse says that if one takes shelter of the petal boat of the lotus feet of Krsna, the great ocean of birth and death becomes as insignificant as the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from iskconnews.org):

Simple living and high thinking is the solution to economic problems. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is engaging devotees in producing their own food, and living self-sufficiently so that rascals may see how one can live very peacefully, eat the food grains one has grown oneself, drink milk, and chant Hare Krsna.

(from  The Teachings of Queen Kunti; chapter 18)

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 18:

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.35
bhave 'smin klisyamananam
avidya-kama-karmabhih
sravana-smaranarhani
karisyann iti kecana

bhave — in the material creation; asmin — this; klisyamananam — of those who are suffering from; avidya — nescience; kama — desire; karmabhih — by execution of fruitive work; sravana — hearing; smarana — remembering; arhani — worshiping; karisyan — may perform; iti — thus; kecana — others.

TRANSLATION

And yet others say that You appeared to rejuvenate the devotional service of hearing, remembering, worshiping and so on in order that the conditioned souls suffering from material pangs might take advantage and gain liberation.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada opens this chapter with a definition of the term religion; In the Srimad Bhagavad-gita the Lord asserts that He appears in every millennium just to reestablish the way of religion. The way of religion is made by the Supreme Lord. No one can manufacture a new path of religion, as is the fashion for certain ambitious persons. The factual way of religion is to accept the Lord as the supreme authority and thus render service unto Him in spontaneous love.

Religion is necessary to relieve our suffering. Some of us may not even know they are suffering. Swamiji states; The Lord, however, out of His causeless mercy, because He is more merciful to the suffering living beings than they can expect, appears before them and renovates the principles of devotional service, comprised of hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshiping, praying, cooperating, and surrendering unto Him. Adoption of all the above mentioned items, or any one of them, can help a conditioned soul get out of the tangle of nescience . . .

Because we are in ignorance, maya, at any time we may forget Krsna. Therefore we must always engage in Krsna consciousness so that we shall not forget Him. That is indicated by Kuntidevi by the words sravana- smaranarhani. The word sravana means "hearing," smarana means "remembering," and arhana means "worshiping the Deity of Krsna." One should always engage oneself in hearing about, remembering, and worshiping Krsna.

We are reminded The real purpose of life is to remember Krsna when one's life comes to an end (ante narayana-smrtih). If at the time of death one can remember Krsna, one's life is successful.

The chapter ends with this statement; These methods of devotional service--hearing, chanting, remembering Krsna, and so on--are so perfect that as soon as one takes to them (either all of them, some of them, or even one of them) one becomes purified. Therefore Sukadeva Gosvami prays, "I offer my worship to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for simply by remembering Him, simply by glorifying Him, or simply by seeing Him, so many benefits follow."

In his lecture on this sloka, Srila Prabhupada made this statement that jumped out at me. It is there in the chapter also but I love the more direct quote. It seems to carry more weight somehow:

 . . . therefor, I say; the Christian, they are also Viasnava; the Mouslim, they are also Viasnava. "Don't go to church, Don't go to Temple, Don't go to Mosk". This propaganda is very, very dangerous to the human society. Thank you very much.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 18 Text 69
na ca tasman manusyesu
kascin me priya-krttamah
bhavita na ca me tasmad
anyah priyataro bhuvi

na--never; ca--and; tasmat--than him; manusyesu--among men; kascit--anyone; me--to Me; priya-krt-tamah--more dear; bhavita--will become; na--nor; ca--and; me--to Me; tasmat--than him; anyah--another; priya-tarah--dearer; bhuvi--in this world.

TRANSLATION

There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.

JOURNAL:

One more sloka and the Bhagavad-Gita is complete. I have decided, next, to finish up "The Teachings of Queen Kunti" since they take place right after the Gita. I started this book awhile back so please see the "Featured Book" link on the sidebar to view previous posts.

Please post any suggestions as to which book you would like to see covered next.
Hare Krishna!

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter 17:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.34
bhārāvatāraṇāyānye
bhuvo nāva ivodadhau
sīdantyā bhūri-bhāreṇa
jāto hy ātma-bhuvārthitaḥ

bhāra-avatāraṇāya — just to reduce the burden to the world; anye — others; bhuvaḥ — of the world; nāvaḥ — boat; iva — like; udadhau — on the sea; sīdantyāḥ — aggrieved; bhūri — extremely; bhāreṇa — by the burden; jātaḥ — You were born; hi — certainly; ātma-bhuvā — by Brahmā; arthitaḥ — being prayed for.

TRANSLATION

Others say that the world, being overburdened like a boat at sea, is much aggrieved, and that Brahmā, who is Your son, prayed for You, and so You have appeared to diminish the trouble.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada opens this chapter thus:

Kuntīdevī is describing the different statements of different persons about why Kṛṣṇa appears.

When there is a need, the chief personalities in the universe approach Brahmā, who approaches Viṣṇu to ask that He reduce whatever the burden is. Then Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa appears as an incarnation, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.7): 

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaḿ sṛjāmy aham

"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself."

Next we receive a nice description of Lord Bramha:
Lord Brahmā is one of the twelve authorities known as dvādaśa-mahājana (svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kaumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ/ prahlādo janako bhīṣmo balir vaiyāsakir vayam, Bhāg. 6.3.20). 

Brahmā receives knowledge from Kṛṣṇa and distributes that Vedic knowledge, and therefore he is an authority. There are four sampradāyas, or chains of disciplic succession, through which Vedic knowledge is distributed — one from Brahmā, one from Lakṣmī, one from Lord Śiva, and one from the four Kumāras. We have to approach an authoritative representative of Kṛṣṇa appearing in one of these sampradāyas, and then we can receive real knowledge. Thus the earth personified approached Brahmā, who prayed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, "The world is now overburdened with demons, and therefore I request You to appear." Some say, therefore, that the Lord appeared at the request of Brahmā that He lighten the burden of the world.

We also have a nice description of Lord Narayana and the four symbols He holds in His four hands:
When Kṛṣṇa appears, He protects the devotees and kills the demons. Therefore Kṛṣṇa in His Nārāyaṇa form has four hands. In two hands He holds a disc and club with which to kill the demons, and in the other two hands He holds the conchshell and lotus with which to bless and protect the devotees.

Srila Prabhupada then give us Krishna's real reason for incarnating:
Now some may say that Kṛṣṇa appeared for this purpose or that purpose, but the real conclusion is that Kṛṣṇa appears for His own pleasure, not because He is bound by any other cause.

All glories to Sri Krishna and His servant, Srila Prabhupada!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from Krishna.com):

Queen Kunti Offers Her Prayers to Krishna as He Leaves for Dvaraka

by Pariksit Dasa

Qu

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Sixteen:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.33
apare vasudevasya
devakyāḿ yācito 'bhyagāt
ajas tvam asya kṣemāya
vadhāya ca sura-dviṣām

apare — others; vasudevasya — of Vasudeva; devakyām — of Devakī; yācitaḥ — being prayed for; abhyagāt — took birth; ajaḥ — unborn; tvam — You are; asya — of him; kṣemāya — for the good; vadhāya — for the purpose of killing; ca — and; sura-dviṣām — of those who are envious of the demigods.

TRANSLATION

Others say that since both Vasudeva and Devakī prayed for You, You have taken Your birth as their son. Undoubtedly You are unborn, yet You take Your birth for their welfare and to kill those who are envious of the demigods.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada speaks on the term "Dharma" in this chapter. He uses this definition: The word dharma means "duty." Although the word dharma is often translated as "religion" and religion is generally defined as a kind of faith, dharma is not in fact a kind of faith. Dharma means one's actual constitutional duty. It is one's duty to know the needs of the soul, but unfortunately we have no information of the soul and are simply busy supplying the necessities for bodily comfort.

He speaks of our need for balance in life; In human society there must be a proper balance between spirit and matter. We are actually spirit soul, but somehow or other we have been encaged within material bodies, and as long as we have these bodies we have to accept the bodily necessities of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, although the soul itself does not need these things. The soul does not need to eat anything; whatever we eat is for the upkeep of the body. But a civilization that simply looks after these bodily necessities and does not care for the necessities of the soul is a foolish, unbalanced civilization. Suppose one merely washes one's coat but does not take care of one's body.

He gives us the solution; When one is diseased, he must be given the proper diet and the proper medicine. Both are required. If he is simply given medicine but not a proper diet, the treatment will not be very successful. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to give both the proper medicine and the proper diet for the soul. The diet is kṛṣṇa-prasāda, food that has first been offered to Kṛṣṇa, and the medicine is the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

And some hope; The material world is the world where swans have become crows. In the material world the living entity is encaged in a material body, and he tries to gratify his senses in one body after another. But the reestablishment of dharma will gradually turn crows into swans.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from Krishna.com):

"Because we are part and parcel of Krsna,
who is aja, beyond birth and death,
we are also aja. How could we be otherwise?"

Teachings of Queen Kunti - Chapter Fifteen

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Fifteen:

Srimad Bhagavatam 1:8:32
kecid ähur ajaà jätaà
puëya-çlokasya kértaye
yadoù priyasyänvaväye
malayasyeva candanam

kecit—someone; ähuù—says; ajam—the unborn; jätam—being born; puëya-çlokasya—of the great pious king; kértaye—for glorifying; yadoù—of King Yadu; priyasya—of the dear; anvaväye—in the family of; malayasya—Malaya hills; iva—as; candanam—sandalwood.

TRANSLATION

Some say that the Unborn is born for the glorification of pious kings, and others say that He is born to please King Yadu, one of Your dearest devotees. You appear in his family as sandalwood appears in the Malaya hills.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada discusses Krishna's birth and reincarnation in this chapter;

Because the Lord's appearance in this material world is bewildering there are different opinions about the birth of the Unborn. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He takes His birth in the material world, although He is the Lord of all creations and He is unborn. So there cannot be any denial of the birth of the Unborn, because He Himself establishes the truth. But still there are different opinions as to why He takes His birth. That is also declared in the Bhagavad-gita. He appears by His own internal potency to reestablish the principles of religion and to protect the pious and annihilate the impious. That is the mission of the appearance of the Unborn.

Even in this life, we are obliged to accept one body after another. A child gives up his childhood body and accepts the body of a boy, and the boy gives up his boyhood body to accept a youthful body, which he then gives up for an old body. Therefore it is natural to conclude that when one gives up one's old body, one will have to accept another body; again one will accept the body of a child. This is a natural cycle of this material world. It is similar to changes of season. After spring comes summer, and after summer comes fall and then winter, and then spring again.

But although the soul does not die, it accepts another body, and this is called bhava-roga, the material disease.

Kuntidevi says, kecid ahuh: "Someone may say that the unborn has taken birth." It may appear that He has taken birth just like us, but in fact He has not. Kuntidevi distinctly says, kecid ahuh: "some foolish persons may say that He has taken birth." Krsna Himself also says in Bhagavad Gita (9.11), avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam: "Because I have appeared just like a human being, those who are rascals think that I am also just like an ordinary human." Param bhavam ajanantah: "They do not know the mystery behind God's taking birth like a human being."

Near the end of the chapter Srila Prabhupada discusses Sandalwood (Candana) trees and Malaysia. He then closes with this point;

In India it was the system that after bathing and sanctifying the body by applying marks of tilaka, one would offer obeisances to the Deity, take some candana-prasada (sandalwood pulp) from the room of the Deity, and apply it as a cosmetic to the body. This was called prasadhanam. But it is said that in Kali-yuga, the present age, snanam eva prasadhanam (SB. 12.2.5): if one can even bathe nicely, that is prasadhana. In India even the poorest man will take an early morning bath every day, but when I came to America I saw that even taking one's daily bath may be a difficult thing and is often not the practice.

It is not our business to criticize, but the symptoms of Kali-yuga are very severe, and they will grow more severe. The best course, therefore, is to complete our Krsna consciousness and return home, back to Godhead. That will save us. Otherwise, if we come back again for another life in Kali yuga, we shall find difficult days ahead, and we shall have to suffer more and more.

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Fourteen:

Srimad Bhagavatam 1:8:31
gopy adade tvayi krtagasi dama tavad
ya te dasasru-kalilanjana-sambhramaksam
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti

gopī — the cowherd lady (Yaśodā); ādade — took up; tvayi — on Your; kṛtāgasi — creating disturbances (by breaking the butter pot); dāma — rope; tāvat — at that time; yā — that which; te — Your; daśā — situation; aśru-kalila — overflooded with tears; añjana — ointment; sambhrama — perturbed; akṣam — eyes; vaktram — face; ninīya — downwards; bhaya-bhāvanayā — by thoughts of fear; sthitasya — of the situation; sā — that; mām — me; vimohayati — bewilders; bhīḥ api — even fear personified; yat — whom; bibheti — is afraid.

TRANSLATION:

My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your perturbed eyes overflooded with tears, which washed the mascara from Your eyes. And You were afraid, though fear personified is afraid of You. This sight is bewildering to me.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada writes;

This pastime presents another opulence of Krsna--His opulence of beauty. Krsna has six opulences: all wealth, all strength, all influence, all knowledge, all renunciation, and all beauty.

To give another example of such opulence, Krsna is known as Madanamohana. Madana means Cupid. Cupid enchants everyone, but Krsna is known as Madana-mohana because He is so beautiful that He enchants even Cupid. Nonetheless, Krsna Himself is enchanted by Srimati Radharani, and therefore Srimati Radharani is known as Madana-mohana-mohini, "the enchanter of the enchanter of Cupid." Krsna is the enchanter of Cupid, and Radharani is the enchanter of that enchanter.

Krishna is the best at bewilderment and this is part of His overall beauty. This is a strange idea for to me. I know that anything I can do He can do better, and I have certainly been accused of being bewildering by those who love me. If I can be minutely bewildering then of course God can be the same. Still, I like to think of God as being "straight forward". Yet, how many times have I found myself on my knees asking, "Why Lord? Why me?".

Srila Prabhupada reminds us in the next paragraph that we too can take part in Krishna's bewildering pastimes; These are very exalted spiritual understandings in Krsna consciousness. They are not fictional, imaginary, or concocted. They are facts, and every devotee can have the privilege to understand and indeed take part in Krsna's pastimes if he is actually advanced.

He then closes the chapter with this instruction; The more we love Krsna, the more we shall become perfect. It is not necessary to understand Krsna and how He creates. Krsna explains Himself in Bhagavad-gita, and we should not try to understand much more.

There is a wonderful lecture available on this sloka by His Divine Grace A. C. Baktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, given on April 23, 1973 in Los Angeles, California.

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Twelve:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.29
na veda kaścid bhagavaḿś cikīrṣitaḿ
tavehamānasya nṛṇāḿ viḍambanam
na yasya kaścid dayito 'sti karhicid
dveṣyaś ca yasmin viṣamā matir nṛṇām

na — does not; veda — know; kaścit — anyone; bhagavan — O Lord; cikīrṣitam — pastimes; tava — Your; īhamānasya — like the worldly men; nṛṇām — of the people in general; viḍambanam — misleading; na — never; yasya — His; kaścit — anyone; dayitaḥ — object of specific favor; asti — there is; karhicit — anywhere; dveṣyaḥ — object of envy; ca — and; yasmin — unto Him; viṣamā — partiality; matiḥ — conception; nṛṇām — of the people.

TRANSLATION

O Lord, no one can understand Your transcendental pastimes, which appear to be human and are so misleading. You have no specific object of favor, nor do You have any object of envy. People only imagine that You are partial.

JOURNAL:

Who can understand God? Any thoughtful man will agree that He is beyound our understanding. Srila Prabhupada opens his discussion on this subject thus;

The Lord's mercy upon the fallen souls is equally distributed. He has no one as the specific object of hostility. The very conception of the Personality of Godhead as a human being is misleading. His pastimes appear to be exactly like a human being's, but actually they are transcendental and without any tinge of material contamination. He is undoubtedly known as partial to His pure devotees, but in fact He is never partial, as much as the sun is never partial to anyone. By utilizing the sunrays, sometimes even the stones become valuable, whereas a blind man cannot see the sun, although there are enough sunrays before him. Darkness and light are two opposite conceptions, but this does not mean that the sun is partial in distributing its rays. The sunrays are open to everyone, but the capacities of the receptacles differ.

What is the purpose of these pastimes? The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (4.8):paritranaya sadhunam, vinasaya ca duskrtam, dharma-samsthapanarthaya, sambha vami yuge yuge: "In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."

These statements lead us to even more questions for it certinly sounds like there is some kind of faviortism going on. Srila Prabhupada explains; A devotee is in a transcendental position because he is no longer under the control of the three material modes of nature--goodness, passion, and ignorance. But if a sadhu is already delivered, being on the transcendental platform, then where is the necessity of delivering him? The answer to this contradiction is that a sadhu, a devotee, does not require deliverance, but because he is very much anxious to see the Supreme Lord face to face, Krsna comes not to deliver him from the clutches of matter, from which he has already been delivered, but to satisfy his inner desire.

The Lord is not envious. The killing of the demons is also a display of His affection. Sometimes we may punish our children by giving them a very strong slap because of love. Similarly, when Krsna kills a demon this killing is not on the platform of material jealousy or envy, but on the platform of affection.

Another example that Srila Prabhupada gives for the Lord's pastimes is; Sometimes a governor goes to inspect a prison. He gets reports from the prison superintendent, so he has no business going there, but still he sometimes goes, thinking, "Let me see how they are doing." This may be called a pastime because he is going by his free will. It is not that he has become subject to the laws of the prison.

So God's pastimes are certinly hard to understand. They seem contradictory to us but; Krsna is completely independent, and He has no friends or enemies, but He plays for the benefit of both His friends and enemies, and when He acts for the benefit of either, the result is the same. That is Krsna's absolute nature.

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Eleven:

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.28
manye tvāḿ kālam īśānam
anādi-nidhanaḿ vibhum
samaḿ carantaḿ sarvatra
bhūtānāḿ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ

SYNONYMS

manye — I consider; tvām — Your Lordship; kālam — the eternal time; īśānam — the Supreme Lord; anādi-nidhanam — without beginning and end; vibhum — all-pervading; samam — equally merciful; carantam — distributing; sarvatra — everywhere; bhūtānām — of the living beings; yat mithaḥ — by intercourse; kaliḥ — dissension.

TRANSLATION

My Lord, I consider Your Lordship to be eternal time, the supreme controller, without beginning and end, the all-pervasive one. In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone. The dissensions between living beings are due to social intercourse.

JOURNAL:

We are given two ideas of God in this sloka; as "time" and as "impartial".

Srila Prabhupada first speaks of Krishna as time; Another name of the Paramatma feature of the Lord is kala, or eternal time. Eternal time is the witness of all our actions, good and bad, and thus resultant reactions are destined by Him. It is no use saying that we do not know why we are suffering. We may forget the misdeed for which we may suffer at this present moment, but we must remember that Paramatma is our constant companion and therefore He knows everything--past, present, and future.

He then explains the Lord's impartiality; The Absolute Truth is equal to everyone, but one will realize the Absolute according to the way one approaches Him (ye yatha mam prapadyante). According to one's capacity for understanding, the Absolute Truth is revealed either as the impersonal Brahman, as the localized Paramatma, or ultimately as Bhagavan. Krsna's impartiality is compared to that of the sun. The sun does not consider, "Here is a poor man, here is a low-class man, and here is a hog. I shall not distribute my sunshine to them." No, the sun is equal toward all, and one simply has to take advantage of it. The sunshine is available, but if we close our doors and want to keep ourselves in darkness, that is our decision.

He also gives us this simple example to help us understand these concepts; We are anu, the smallest, and Krsna is vibhu, the greatest. We are part and parcel of Krsna, and therefore Krsna is both the smallest and the greatest, whereas we are only the smallest. Vibhu, the greatest, must be all-inclusive. If one has a large bag one can hold many things, whereas in a small bag one cannot. Because Krsna is vibhu, the greatest, He includes everything, even past, present, and future time, and He is all-pervading, present everywhere.

Spiritual Morality

TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Ten, Pages 43-44:

Although the quantity of salt in a drop of seawater is not comparable to the quantity of salt in the ocean, the chemical composition of both the drop and the ocean is the same. Similarly, whatever we have in a minute quantity is present in its fullness in Krsna (janmady asya yatah). For example, we have a propensity to steal, to take things that belong to others. Why? Because Krsna has the same propensity. Unless the propensity to steal is present in the Absolute Truth, how can it be present in us? Krsna is known as "the butter thief." But Krsna's stealing and our stealing are different. Because we are materially contaminated, our stealing is abominable, whereas on the spiritual, absolute platform the same stealing is so nice that it is enjoyable. Mother Yasoda therefore enjoys Krsna's activities of stealing. This is the difference between material and spiritual.

Some Christians I know have a hard time with statements like this. Even though they are reminded by Saint Paul (Heb.12), and many examples in the Old Testament, that the Lord disciplines His children, they still can't except the idea that "evil" is part of the plan that He created for us. They seem to want to limit God to being "good" only, and yet they agree that God, by definition, is unlimited and beyond our conception. This kind of thinking manifests itself in other ways. For example, they will agree that God is bigger than any one religion, but bulk at the idea of Krishna being God.

The so-called morality and goodness of this material world is all bad, but in the spiritual world even so-called immorality is good. This we must understand.

The Jewish prophet Isaiah seems to agree with Srila Prabhupada when he states (Is.64:6), "All of us have been sinful; even our best actions are filthy through and through." (TEV)

For example, to dance with the wives of others at the dead of night is immoral, at least according to the Vedic civilization. Nonetheless, Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ramya kacid upasana vrajavadhu-vargena ya kalpita: "There is no conception of worship better than that which was conceived by the damsels of Vrndavana." What was their conception? They wanted to love Krsna, at any risk. And this is never immoral.

"The Butter Thief" by Muralidhara Dasa
"The Lord of the Gopis" by Pariksit Dasa