Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.
This is in continuation of the transcription of the nectarean and inspiring class given by our beloved spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj in London on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1, Chapter 9. In previous offering we heard from Maharaj
1. Fate cannot be changed.
2. Use lone time in Krishna's service.
3. Fate is inevitable.
4. Sacrifice of Bhishmadev
Maharaj explained how Devavrat sacrificed his marriage for the sake of his father. Now let us hear further.
5. Sense-gratification drags us down: If there had been a father like Shantanu here, then the son would have said, "Mind your business. You go to hell. I will marry." (laughter) If father tells the son, "Please don't marry. You sacrifice your marriage for my marriage", the son will kill the father. This is the truth. But these Vedic values in our life (son sacrificing for the sake of father), they do carry weight. They do carry weight. Because these are not very normal things. Normal thing is that son will be married and become king and father will remain without marriage. This was normal thing. But sense gratification is very powerful that we are not ashamed to tell our son also or to neglect our son's life also. We are carried away by the sense-gratification. Senses are so very powerful. In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says nicely in verse 2.67:
indriyāṇāṁ hi caratāṁ yan mano ’nuvidhīyate
tad asya harati prajñāṁ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi
As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man's intelligence.
'indriyāṇāṁ' - out of all the senses, 'yan' means 'only one', and caratāṁ - as soon as you ponder over that sense, then that sense alone carries you away as the wind carries away the boat. This is how unknowingly we are carried away like the boat. And this was the case of Shantanu. Just he wanted to marry and his whole mind was engrossed with marriage. There was no room for Krishna. The sense-gratificatory activities take a grip on our mind and once they take a grip, then what happens is mentioned in third chapter of Bhagavad Gita, verse 3.40. 'indriyāṇi mano buddhir
asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate'. indriyāṇi - 'all our senses'. adhiṣṭhānam - 'the foundation'. Foundation is mana and buddhi, mind and intelligence. When these indriyās are powerful, they take a grip on your intelligence and mind and as soon as your intelligence and mind are captured by the senses, you will be driven unknowingly to that direction and you will not even know that you are being driven away. It is so very horrible thing and then we don't see with whom we are marrying, why we are marrying and what will be the consequences. We will be completely blind to that. Etair vimohayaty eṣa jñānam āvṛtya dehinam. vimohayaty - 'it will delude you'. jñānam āvṛtya - 'it will cover your knowledge.' Then you lose everything. You lose your common sense. You lose your life, you lose everything.
Krishna willing we shall continue to hear more about Bhishmadev from Maharaj in the subsequent offering.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Sudarshana devi dasi.
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