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Hari Bhakti Kalpa Latika 11

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TEXT 11

gṛhāsakto yuktaḥ svajana bharaṇe ‘mukta viṣayaḥprasaktaḥ ṣaḍvarge na
kṛtasukṛtaḥ sevita-khalaḥtathāpi tvad dāsyaṁ satata sad upāsyākhilaguroyad īhe
nirlajjastava tad anukampaiva śaraṇam

O worshipable Lord of the devotees, O spiritual master of the entire universe, O Śrī Hari, I am attached to family life. I am always engaged in maintaining my family members. I am attached to material enjoyments. I am decorated with six principles such as lust, anger etc. I am devoid of piety. And I am engaged in the service of sinful people. Still, O my Lord, knowing that Your causeless mercy is my only hope, I shamelessly pray for devotional service.

How can we become determined

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How can we become determined?

Hari-katha should be heard from Hari’s devotees.

By constantly hearing the powerful topics about Hari from the lotus mouths of those who always serve the Lord, we will be able to understand the Lord’s energies and glories. By faithfully and attentively hearing hari-katha from a living source or a powerful saintly person, we will become determined. Gradually, as we attain faith, attachment, and love of God, we will achieve perfection.

Then Maya’s prowess cannot defeat us.

Amrita Vani
Q&A by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakura Prabhupada

Uddhava-Gita – 23.22

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TEXT 23.22|| SB 11.29.22 ||

esa buddhimatam buddhir manisa ca manisinam yat satyam anrteneha martyenapnoti mamrtam

This process is the supreme intelligence of the intelligent and the cleverness of the cleverest, because by following it, one can make use of that which is temporary and illusory to achieve Me, the eternal reality.

COMMENTARY
Why do people often execute devotional service in the hopes of gaining fame, and other personal advantages? The reason is that they are not actually intelligent. This is the purport of this verse. One who poses as a great devotee to enjoy immense prestige is not actually intelligent. Simply to imagine oneself to be a great preacher of devotional service, or a great relisher of transcendental rasas, simply for enjoying fame and reputation, is also not the sign of good intelligence.

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About Sri Govardhan

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Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhar deva Goswami

deve varsati yajna-viplavarusa vajrasma-varsanilaih sidat-pala-pasu-striyatma-saranam drstvanukampy-utsmayam utpatyaika-karena sailamavalo lilocchilindhram yatha bibrad gosthamapan mahendram adabhit priyan na indro gavam

“May that lord of the cows be satisfied by us. Who is Indra when compared to Krishna? Krishna is the master of Indra. And yet he has appeared as the master of cows; the Supreme Absolute Truth has accepted a simple position as the keeper of cows. Superficially, he is a mere cowherd boy. But let that cowherd boy, who holds within him the power of controlling the whole universe, be satisfied with us. We want to worship that Lord who has taken the humble position of the king of the cows.”

The very gist of the Govardhana lila, the very substance of the pastime, is represented in this verse. The milkmen in Vrindavana used to observe a sacrifice to satisfy the king of heaven, Indra, at whose command the rain, clouds, and other subtle elementary powers move. The main wealth of the cowherd men is the cow, and the cow’s main food is grass. Only rain can produce grass, and so the cowherd men used to perform sacrifice to satisfy the subtle power who is supposed to be in command of natural substances like rain.
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from Garga Samhita

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A few verses from Garga Samhita, describing Giriraja’s glories.

Chapter 10
Text 14
The liberated soul said: Glorious Govardhana Hill, the king of mountains, is the personal form of Lord Krishna. Simply by seeing it, one attains the supreme goal of life.

Texts 18-19
Even though he has committed hundreds of sins, a person who on Mount Mangala gives gold in charity attains a spiritual form like Lord Visnu’s. That same result is attained simply by seeing Govardhana Hill. No other holy place is as sacred as Govardhana Hill.

Texts 20-21
O brahmana, simply by visiting Govardhana Hill one attains piety a hundred thousand times greater than the piety he would attain if on the sacred mountains
Rishabha, Kutaka, and Kolaka he had worshiped many brahmanas and given in charity ten million cows with golden horns.
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Uddhava-Gita – quotes 2

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Uddhava-Gita

TEXT 17.56|| SB 11.23.56 ||
na kenacit kvapi kathancanasya dvandvoparagah paratah parasyayathahamah samsrti-rupinah syad evam prabuddho na bibheti bhutaih

The false ego, which manifests the visible material creation, is subjected to happiness and distress. The soul, however, who is transcendental to matter, can never actually be affected by material happiness and distress in any place, under any circumstance, or by the agency of any person. When one realizes this fact, he will no longer have any fear from any material condition.
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Caitanya Caritamrits Antya 1.2

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durgame pathi me ’ndhasya
skhalat-pāda-gater muhuḥ
sva-kṛpā-yaṣṭi-dānena
santaḥ santv avalambanam

Synonyms
durgame — very difficult; pathi — on the path; me — of me; andhasya — one who is blind; skhalat — slipping; pāda — on feet; gateḥ — whose manner of moving; muhuḥ — again and again; sva-kṛpā — of their own mercy; yaṣṭi — the stick; dānena — by giving; santaḥ — those saintly persons; santu — let that become; avalambanam — my support.

Translation
My path is very difficult. I am blind, and my feet are slipping again and again. Therefore, may the saints help me by granting me the stick of their mercy as my support.

Uddhava-Gita quotes

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Udhava GitaUddhava-Gita

TEXT 16.28|| SB 11.22.28 ||

tvatto jnanam hi jivanam pramosas te ‘tra saktitah tvam eva hy atma-mayaya gatim vettha na caparah

It is by Your mercy that the living entities obtain knowledge, and it is by Your illusory energy that they fall from knowledge. I believe that no one but You can actually understand how Your illusory energy works.

COMMENTARY
Uddhava said: You are the source of all knowledge and so it is by Your mercy that a living entity can obtain knowledge. Your energy, vidya, awards one knowledge and Your energy, avidya, takes away that knowledge.

PURPORT
Uddhava further inquired: By accepting subordination to the Supreme Lord, the living entities obtain knowledge. The bewildering potency of the Lord creates illusion in the minds of the rebellious living entities. Maya-devI exists under the shelter of the Supreme Lord and she manifests her potency in two ways—the covering potency and the throwing potency. Those who are under the influence of the Lord’s illusory energy cannot understand how they are being conditioned.

Uddhava-Gita

TEXT 16.58-59|| SB 11.22.58-59 ||

ksipto ‘vamanito ‘sadbhih pralabdho ‘suyito ‘tha vataditah sanniruddho va vrttya va parihapitah nisthyuto mutrito vajnair bahudhaivam prakampitah sreyas-kamah krcchra-gata atmanatmanam uddharet

A devotee who actually desires to attain perfection in this very life should tolerate all kinds of difficulties. Even when insulted, ridiculed, or even beaten or confined by miscreants, or when spat upon or urinated upon by ignorant fools, with intelligence fixed in devotional service, he should remain undisturbed.

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Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.37

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न ह्यत: परमो लाभो देहिनां भ्राम्यतामिह ।
यतो विन्देत परमां शान्तिं नश्यति संसृति: ॥ ३७ ॥

na hy ataḥ paramo lābho
dehināṁ bhrāmyatām iha
yato vindeta paramāṁ
śāntiṁ naśyati saṁsṛtiḥ

Translation
Indeed, there is no higher possible gain for embodied souls forced to wander throughout the material world than the Supreme Lord’s saṅkīrtana movement, by which one can attain the supreme peace and free oneself from the cycle of repeated birth and death.

The Jiva Soul

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Composition by by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Srila Sachchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakur, the nineteenth century pioneer of Krishna consciousness, was born in 1838 in Bengal. He worked tirelessly to preserve the spiritual tradition and literature of India; he composed, edited, and published more than 100 books in Sanskrit, Bengali, and English.

The following poem, Sharagrahi Vaishnava, was composed in 1874.

The Jiva Soul:

Alas for those who spend their days
In festive mirth and joy.
The dazzling, deadly liquid forms
Their hearts fore’er employ.

The shining bottles charm their eyes
And draw their heart’s embrace;
The slaves of wine can never rise
From what we call disgrace.

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