Source of eternal pleasure read chapter 42. The Source of Eternal Delight (book)

Chapter first

Coming of Lord Krishna

Once upon a time, the earth was under the burden of a large army gathered by powerful kings. These rulers were actually demons, but they called themselves descendants of royal families. The whole world was in confusion, and then the goddess of the Earth - Bhumi went to Lord Brahma to tell him about the disasters that she was suffering from the dominance of the demon kings. Taking the form of a cow, Bhumi appeared before Lord Brahma with tears in her eyes. She cried and lamented, trying to awaken compassion in him. Hearing Bhumi's story about her troubles, Lord Brahma was very sad. He immediately went to the ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu resides. Lord Brahma was accompanied by all the demigods headed by Lord Shiva. And Bhumi followed them. Arriving on the shore of the ocean of milk, Lord Brahma began to cry out for help to Lord Vishnu, who had already saved planet Earth once by taking the form of a divine boar.

Among the Vedic mantras there is one special one - purusha-sukta. The demigods offer this prayer when they want to offer special respects to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Whenever the normal order of life on any planet is disrupted, the deity ruling it can turn to the supreme ruler of the universe, Brahma. Brahma then approaches the Supreme Lord, Vishnu. At the same time, he does not meet Him personally, but calls out to Him from the shore of the ocean of milk. In our universe there is a planet Svetadvipa, where there is an ocean of milk. Various Vedic sources say that just as there are oceans filled with salt water on Earth, there are other oceans on other planets. So, on one planet there may be an ocean of milk, on another - an ocean of oil, and somewhere else - oceans of wine or other oceans.

The demigods usually offer the purusa-sukta prayer to propitiate the Supreme Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu. He is called Ksirodakasayi Vishnu because He lies on the surface of the ocean of milk. He is God, the Supreme Personality, and from Him come all the incarnations that appear in the universe.

This is how Vedic knowledge is transmitted. First the Supreme Lord puts this knowledge in the heart of Brahma. At the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said: tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye“The transcendental knowledge of the Vedas was implanted in the heart of Lord Brahma.”

And this time only Brahma was able to hear the message of Lord Vishnu. He then handed it over to the demigods. The message was: The Supreme Lord and His powerful energies will soon appear on earth. The Lord will come to destroy the demons and protect the devotees. At this time, the demigods should also be on earth and help Him. To do this, all of them must immediately take birth in the families of the Yadu dynasty, where the Lord Himself will eventually appear. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna will take birth as the son of Vasudeva. Before His advent, all the demigods and their wives must appear on earth in pious families to help the Lord in fulfilling His plan.

The exact word used by Brahma is tat-priyartham. It means that the demigods should immediately appear on earth to fulfill the will of the Lord and please Him. In other words, anyone who lives only to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called a demigod. Lord Brahma also informed that the omnipotent incarnation of Krishna - Ananta, who holds the planets of the universe on His countless heads, will also appear on earth before the advent of Lord Krishna Himself. The demigods also learned that in order to fulfill the Lord’s plan, His external energy, Maya, under the spell of which all conditioned souls are under His order, must soon descend on earth by His order.

Instructing Bhumi and the demigods and calming them down kind words, Lord Brahma, the father of Prajapati (the progenitors of all beings in the universe), went to his abode, Brahmaloka, which is above all other planets in the material world.

The head of the Yadu dynasty, King Surasena, ruled the country of Mathura, where the city of Mathura and the region of Surasena, named after him, were located. Thanks to Maharaja Surasena, Mathura became the capital of all the kings of the Yadu dynasty. It became the capital also because the kings of this dynasty were very pious and knew that Mathura, like Dwarka, is the place where Lord Krishna resides forever.

One day, King Surasena's son Vasudeva, who had just married Devaki, was riding home in a chariot along with his young wife. Devaki's father, Devaka, who loved his daughter very much, gave her a rich dowry and presented the young couple with hundreds of chariots decorated with gold. Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena, in order to please his sister, took the reins in his hands and himself began to drive the chariot of Vasudeva. According to Vedic custom, when a girl gets married, the newlywed's brother takes the newlyweds to their home. Since it is difficult for a young girl to be separated from her father's family, the brother usually accompanies his sister to her father-in-law's house to ease the pain of separation. The entire dowry that Devaka gave for his daughter was four hundred elephants decorated with golden garlands, fifteen thousand richly decorated horses and one thousand eight hundred chariots. He also sent two hundred beautiful girls with his daughter. According to the marriage customs of the Kshatriyas, which are still preserved in India, when a Kshatriya gets married, several dozen of her young friends are sent to his house along with the bride. The girls accompanying the queen are called servants, but in reality they are friends of the newlywed. This custom has existed since time immemorial, at least it was known even before Krishna came to earth five thousand years ago. So, together with his wife Devaki, Vasudeva brought two hundred more beautiful girls to his house.

In honor of such a solemn event, the musicians accompanying the wedding procession played various instruments. Conch shells, horns, drums and timpani sounded cheerfully. The procession moved peacefully and joyfully, Kamsa skillfully drove the chariot, when suddenly a mysterious voice came from heaven: “Kamsa, what a fool you are! You are driving the chariot of your sister and brother-in-law and do not know that your sister’s eighth child will kill you!”

“Dear brother-in-law,” he said, “you are the most illustrious king of the Bhoja dynasty, known to everyone as the greatest warrior and valiant ruler. Has rage really blinded you so much that you are ready to kill a woman, and even your own sister, on her happy wedding day? Why? Are you so afraid of death? Death comes into this world with birth. You began to die from the very day you were born. If you are now twenty-five years old, then you have been dying every minute, every moment. Why are you so afraid of death? Death is inevitable. You can die today or in a hundred years, but you cannot escape from death. After all, death only means the destruction of the present body. As soon as this body ceases to exist and merges with. five elements of material nature, the soul contained in it will receive another body, according to its deeds and their consequences. Imagine a person walking along the road: first he takes a step with one foot and, making sure that it stands firmly on the ground, lifts the other. In the same way, the soul transmigrates from one body to another. Look how carefully the caterpillars crawl from branch to branch. So the soul changes its bodily shell after it has been determined from above what its next body will be. As long as the conditioned soul remains in the material world, he will have to change material bodies one after another. Each new body is given to us by the laws of nature, according to our deeds and their consequences.

The book has been translated and published in 20 languages with a total circulation of more than 5 million copies. The book was first published in Russian in 1986 under the title “The Source of Eternal Delight.” In 2003, a special edition was published in English and in 2008 in Russian (under the new title “Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead”), which included seventy-seven new illustrations made by the Lithuanian artist Devaki Dasi.

Plot

“The Source of Eternal Pleasure” is a brief literary summary of the tenth canto of the Bhagavata Purana. According to Hindu beliefs, this Sanskrit text was written by the sage Vyasa in the early 3rd millennium BC. e. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes the life and activities of Krishna as actual historical events that occurred more than 5,000 years ago in Northern India. Krishna is described as the "Supreme Personality of Godhead", like the supreme God Vishnu, who incarnated on earth for the purpose of manifesting his spiritual pastimes and restoring the principles of dharma.

The book begins with a description of the astrological signs that foretell the birth and indicate the divine origin of Krishna. This is followed by descriptions of Krishna's childhood in the pastoral village of Vrindavan on the banks of the Yamuna River. From the first months of his stay on Earth, Krishna was attacked by various demonic creatures sent by the king of Mathura Kamsa with the goal of killing little Krishna before he grew up and became a threat to the power and life of the demonic ruler. Krishna, however, demonstrating his divine power, kills all the asuras sent by Kamsa one by one. As Krishna grew older, his extraordinary beauty awakened love in the hearts of the gopi cowherd girls. On full moon nights, Krishna plays the flute in the forests on the banks of the Yamuna. The gopis lose their minds with love for him and run to meet the beautiful cowherd boy, starting with him in a dance called rasa-lila. The book then tells how Krishna leaves Vrindavan, kills Kamsa, founds the city of Davarka and marries 16,108 princesses.

History of creation

In the spring and summer of 1969, Prabhupada traveled and preached throughout the United States and Canada, and in August of that year he visited Europe for the first time. In Hamburg he initiated the first German students, and in London he stayed for seven weeks at John Lennon's Tittenhurst estate, where he continued work on The Fountain of Eternal Delight.

By the time he arrived in England, Prabhupada had already prepared enough material to publish the first volume (the first edition of The Source of Eternal Pleasure was published in two volumes). Illustrations created by Hare Krishnas specifically for this book were also ready. However, there was no money yet to publish an expensive, richly illustrated publication.

Prabhupada completed work on the second and final volume in Los Angeles in February 1970. Having finished the last chapter of The Source of Eternal Pleasure, Prabhupada began dictating a literary transcription of the next, eleventh canto of the Bhagavata Purana. However, problems in the Los Angeles Temple distracted him and he stopped working on the eleventh canto.

Publication history

Background

In August 1968, three married couples of American disciples of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Mukunda and Janaki, Shyamasundara and Malati, Gurudasa and Yamuna) arrived in London with the goal of opening a Hare Krishna temple there. Having set themselves the goal of getting in touch with The Beatles and getting the members of the legendary group interested in “Krishna consciousness,” Hare Krishnas came to the Apple Corps headquarters in central London several times. They left various gifts for the Beatles: cakes and apple pies with the inscription “Hare Krishna”, cassettes recording the mantra “Hare Krishna”, etc. However, for a long time all attempts to attract the attention of the “Fab Four” ended in failure.

The breakthrough came on Christmas Eve 1968, when Yoko Ono noticed Shyamasundara, shaven-headed and dressed in Hare Krishna robes, waiting at the entrance to the Apple Corps building for the opportunity to talk with one of the Beatles. Yoko invited Shyamasundara into the foyer, where George Harrison noticed him. Harrison met Shyamasundara like an old friend. As it turned out, Harrison learned about the Hare Krishnas back in December 1966, having bought an album recorded by Prabhupada in America Krishna Consciousness(“Krishna Consciousness”), at which the Hare Krishna guru sang the “Hare Krishna” mantra and explained its meaning. Since then, Harrison has often chanted the mantra, sometimes along with John Lennon.

Harrison began to regularly communicate with Hare Krishnas and in September 1969 he first met Prabhupada, who had arrived in England. In the summer of 1969, Harrison, together with the Hare Krishnas of the London temple, formed the ensemble Radha Krishna Temple and released the single “Hare Krishna Mantra” on the Apple Records label, which was the Hare Krishna mantra recorded as a pop song. The single peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, and charted in the top ten in most of Europe and Japan. As a result of the commercial success of the single, the Hare Krishnas performed the song four times on the popular music television show Top of the Pops. In the fall of 1969, Harrison also provided financial assistance to ISKCON to open the London Radha Krishna Temple.

George Harrison's donation for the book's publication

By the end of 1969, the first of two volumes of The Source of Eternal Delight was ready for publication. Prabhupada wanted to publish the book in an edition of 5,000 copies with 54 color illustrations, which the printer estimated would cost US$19,000. Prabhupada suggested that Shyamasundara ask George Harrison for this amount. Shyamasundara expressed his doubts about the advisability of this step, because the Hare Krishnas had never asked anything from the musician before, only accepting the help that he himself offered. Prabhupada, however, wanted to give Harrison the opportunity to participate in the publication of this important Hare Krishna text that could help people understand God as a person. Prabhupada noted that thanks to Harrison, the name of Krishna has already become widely known in the West, but practically no one western people did not know about the life and activities of Krishna, about what he looked like. Having convinced Syamasundara of the need for this step, Prabhupada blessed his disciple, saying that Krishna would help him find the right words.

The next evening, Shyamasundara and Harrison went to dinner at the home of British sculptor David Wynne. After a vegetarian dinner, a thunderstorm began and thunder rumbled outside the window. When Harrison and Syamasundara were about to leave, Syamasundara plucked up courage and conveyed Prabhupada's request to Harrison. Just as Harrison was about to give his answer, lightning struck the roof and the lights went out in the house. When the lighting returned, Harrison leaned back in his chair, smiled broadly and said, “Yes, with this You can’t argue, can you?”

Harrison agreed to pay for the publication of the book, but soon regretted it. Syamasundara also felt uneasy. After all, he didn't want to ask Harrison for money, just as Harrison didn't want to be asked for it. Upon learning of this, Prabhupada met with Harrison, who did not complain that every day someone asked him for something. Prabhupada told Harrison about the significance of publishing The Source of Eternal Pleasure and explained that by donating money for the publication of this book, he had done an important service for Krishna. Prabhupada's arguments seemed convincing to Harrison, and he soon forgot about his regrets.

Foreword by George Harrison

As a token of gratitude for Harrison's generous donation, Prabhupada invited him to write a foreword for the book. After some hesitation, Harrison agreed. Ten years later he recalled:

I didn't think at all that I was worthy of writing the foreword to Prabhupada's book. On the one hand, being famous should have helped. But on the other hand, this could be a serious hindrance, because not everyone wants to listen to me or believe what I say. A lot of people would simply be put off by the fact that I'm the one saying these things. If I got my hands on a book about Krishna with a foreword written by Frank Zappa or someone like that, I would think, “Oh my God! I probably don’t want to know anything about it.” I also felt that even though Prabhupada asked me to do this, maybe he didn't actually want me to write this preface. But this was one of those cases where I couldn't get away with it. Everyone has already decided: “You write a preface and that’s it.” Well, I wrote it.

In the preface, Harrison was careful not to express sectarian views. Harrison biographer Joshua Green writes that Harrison's main difficulty in writing the preface was that he had to express his faith, which was still in its infancy. Harrison had not yet "acclimatized to this ancient universe of fantastic beasts and divine beings." At this time, Harrison was also going through a difficult period in his professional career. Disagreements over financial and legal issues greatly divided the members of The Beatles. Harrison and Starr found themselves in opposition to Lennon and McCartney in creative, commercial and personal matters. Due to disagreements, Lennon even refused to take part in the recording of Harrison's new song "I Me Mine". Greene will come in his biography of Harrison:

First edition

The first edition of “The Source of Eternal Delight” was published by the Hare Krishna publishing house ISKCON Press in two volumes with a total volume of 800 pages, with 70 color illustrations. The entire edition was printed at the Japanese printing house Dai Nippon in Tokyo. The first volume was published in June 1970. Its volume was almost 400 pages, and its weight was almost 1 kg. The cover featured a luminescent oil painting of Radha and Krishna in a loving embrace. On the next page after the title page was the Apple Corps logo, followed by a foreword written by Harrison.

Pilot copies of the first volume were presented to Prabhupada on July 5, 1970, during the Ratha Yatra festival in San Francisco, which attracted approximately 10,000 people to celebrate. Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami describes this event as follows:

Surrounded by devotees [Hare Krishnas] and curious festival guests, Srila Prabhupada held one of the books in his hands, looking at its cover with a colorful picture of Radha-Krishna. The book was large, almost seven and a half by ten and a half inches. The shiny dust jacket read "Krishna" in big, bright red letters. In his reverent hands Prabhupada held a transcendental miracle. Those present could hardly restrain themselves from pushing forward towards Prabhupada and looking over his shoulder. When Prabhupada smiled and opened the book, they could not contain their cheers. After examining the illustrations, the quality of printing, paper and binding, he said: “Very beautiful.” Focusing his attention on one of the pages, he began to read. Then he raised his head and announced that it was a very valuable book, Krishna, which had just been brought and which everyone should read. Holding one of the books in his hand, with other copies laid out in a pile, he invited everyone to come and buy books. People started making noise, holding out their hands with ten-dollar bills and shouting, asking for a copy of the book. Prabhupada sold out all the books in the blink of an eye, not even keeping one for himself.

Negotiations with Dai Nippon printing house

In August 1970, Prabhupada, accompanied by Tamala Krishna, Kirtananada and other disciples, went to Japan, intending to enter into an agreement there with the Dai Nippon printing house to publish the second volume of The Source of Eternal Enjoyment and other Krishna literature. Considering Prabhupada important religious writer and a respected monk, Dai Nippon provided him with an apartment in Tokyo (located 45 minutes from the Tokyo ISKCON Temple) and a limousine service to get around the city. Negotiations with representatives of Dai Nippon continued for two days. As a result, an agreement was reached on the publication of the second volume of “The Source of Eternal Delight”, the re-publication of the first volume, as well as the publication of “Sri Isopanishad” and the magazine Back to Godhead in English and Hindi.

Prabhupada was able to negotiate a favorable price and payment terms. He initially offered $1.35 for each copy of The Fountain of Eternal Delight. Representatives of the printing house stated that such a price was completely unacceptable to them and that if they agreed to it, they would suffer losses. Prabhupada then spoke about ISKCON's mission to distribute spiritual literature, calling it "charitable work for the benefit of all mankind." Prabhupada also explained that ISKCON distributed these books in exchange for people's voluntary donations, and he himself did not receive any royalties for this.

After this, Prabhupada instructed his disciple Tamala Krishna to continue the negotiations, who suddenly announced that the price Prabhupada offered was unaffordable for ISKCON and that they were willing to pay only 95 cents for each copy of the book. Representatives of the printing house began asking Tamala Krishna to reconsider his decision. At this point Prabhupada intervened in the conversation. Speaking as a neutral reviewer, he said: “I've listened to both sides and I think the price should be $1.25 per copy of the book. Let's leave it at that." Dai Nippon representatives agreed with Prabhupada's proposed price.

After the negotiations were over, representatives of Dai Nippon presented Prabhupada with a wristwatch, and he treated them to a vegetarian lunch. The Japanese especially liked Indian dishes such as samosa and pakora.

Subsequent editions

Since its first edition in 1970, The Source of Eternal Delight has been reprinted several times. In 1971, the second edition of the book was published, this time in three volumes and in paperback. After the founding of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) in 1972, the book continued to be published by this publishing house. In 1986, the first edition was published in one-volume format, for which the BBT slightly corrected and edited the text. In the same year, the Indian branch of the BBT published the first edition of The Source of Eternal Delight in Russian. In 1990, the book was republished in Russian by the Russian branch of the BBT with a circulation of 100,000 copies.

In 2003, a new, completely redesigned deluxe edition was released, the fruit of the labor-intensive work of artists and editors of BBT. The editors compared Prabhupada's original audio recordings word for word with the text of the book and corrected errors made by previous editors. Mainly because Prabhupada spoke heavily accented English, quite a few errors were found in the text. Thus, this deluxe edition is the closest to the original version dictated on tape by Prabhupada in 1968-1970.

Especially for the 2003 deluxe edition, BBT commissioned Lithuanian artist Devaki Dasi to paint 77 new illustrations, which took her several years to create. To create the illustrations, Devaki used watercolors combined with Indian inks. According to the magazine Ashé, each of the artist’s illustrations “gives the impression of a sacred tapestry that could easily decorate the walls of one of the temples.”

As of the early 2000s, the book “The Source of Eternal Delight” was translated and published in 20 languages with a total circulation of more than 5 million copies.

Sales history

Prabhupada wanted his disciples to actively distribute Hare Krishna literature. However, at first none of them knew how to do this. Selling The Fountain of Everlasting Delight and other big books seemed much more difficult than distributing magazines. Back to Godhead in exchange for small monetary donations. Hare Krishnas placed advertisements in newspapers and magazines, left books in bookstores, but nothing worked - the books did not sell. A breakthrough on this front came in early 1971 thanks to two monks from the San Francisco ISKCON temple who stopped at a gas station on their way back to the temple after sankirtana. When it came time to pay for gas, the Hare Krishnas showed the gas station worker “The Source of Eternal Delight” and told him about Krishna. The worker was interested in the topic and the Hare Krishnas offered him a book instead of paying for gasoline, to which he readily agreed.

Inspired, the next day these two monks went out to distribute The Source of Eternal Delight at the entrance to a San Francisco supermarket, where they managed to sell two books in a few hours. When the president of the San Francisco temple, Keshava, reported this to the then head of ISKCON California, Karandhara, Karandhara advised the Hare Krishnas to continue experimenting in this direction. More than a dozen Hare Krishna monks from the San Francisco temple began going door to door every day and inviting people to buy the “Source of Eternal Delight.” Soon the most successful of them, Buddhimanta, began selling an average of five books a day. Following the example of their brethren in San Francisco, monks from ISKCON temples in Los Angeles, San Diego and Denver also began selling the "Fountain of Eternal Delight." Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami writes in his biography of Prabhupada that the Hare Krishnas who distributed spiritual literature experienced special spiritual bliss from this activity.

By mid-1971, Hare Krishna temples in America were selling hundreds of copies of The Source of Eternal Delight per week. Karandhara began to encourage competition between temples and send monthly sankirtana results to all ISKCON temples in North America and Prabhupada personally. The Hare Krishnas from the San Francisco temple sold the most books - an average of twenty per day. In the best days, the number of books sold reached seventy. When news of this reached Prabhupada, he congratulated the San Francisco Hare Krishnas in a letter, saying that they would all “receive the blessings of Krishna millions of times” for their work. Copies of this letter were sent by Karandhara to all ISKCON temples.

The second breakthrough on the distribution front of Hare Krishna literature occurred in December 1972, when the tradition of holding a “Christmas marathon” to distribute books was started. New records were set for the sale of Hare Krishna literature. So, in three days from December 22 to 24, 1972, the Hare Krishnas of the Los Angeles temple sold 17,000 copies of books and magazines.

In popular culture

In 1997, a modified illustration for “The Source of Eternal Delight” depicting Krishna dancing on the heads of the demonic serpent Kaliya appeared on the cover of the album of the American rock band Aerosmith Nine Lives. Krishna was depicted with a cat's head, which caused protests from Hare Krishnas and other Hindus who considered this an insult to their religion. The Krishna publishing house Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which owns the copyright, filed a lawsuit. As a result, Columbia Records was forced to apologize and replace the album cover with a different one.

The book “The Source of Eternal Delight” can be seen in the Martin Scorsese documentary “George Harrison: Life in the Material World” (2011). In this film, Scorsese showed a close-up of the foreword written by George Harrison.

Notes

Literature

Ashé (2003), "Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead (Deluxe Edition)", Ashé! Journal of Experimental Spirituality T. 2 (4) ,
Chryssides, George D. (1999), "Exploring New Religions", London; New York: Cassell, ISBN 0826459595 ,
Cole, Richard J. (2007), "Forty Years of Chanting: A Study of the Hare Krishna Movement from Its Foundation to the Present Day", in Graham Dwyer, Richard J. Cole, "The Hare Krishna Movement: Forty Years of Chant and Change", London: I.B. Tauris, ss. 26-53, ISBN 1845114078 ,
Daner, Francine J. (1976), "The American Children of Kṛṣṇa: A Study of the Hare Kṛṣṇa Movement", New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, ISBN 003013546X ,
Egan, Barry (December 2, 2001), ""George Harrison: The quiet Beatle was a spiritual man of many talents"", The Independent,
Greene, Joshua M. (2006), « » , London: Bantam, ISBN 0553817965
Kent, Stephen A. (2001), "From Slogans to Mantras: Social Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam War Era", Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, ISBN 0815629230
Knott, Kim (1986) "My Sweet Lord: The Hare Krishna Movement", Wellingborough, UK: Aquarian Press, ISBN 0850304326 ,
Lavezzoli, Peter (2007), "The Dawn of Indian Music in the West", London: Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 0826428193 ,
Leng, Simon (2006), "The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps", London: SAF Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0946719500 ,
Michaels, Ross (1977) "George Harrison: Yesterday and Today", New York: Flash Books, ISBN 0825639131 ,
Satsvarūpa Dāsa Gosvāmī (1982),

About five thousand years ago, Krishna descended from His transcendental kingdom to earth to display His infinitely attractive spiritual pastimes, which are described in this book. The stories given here will take the reader from the world of everyday life to the world of Absolute Truth and Beauty, where, surrounded by His friends and girlfriends, Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, eternally enjoys their transcendental love.

The appearance of Krsna is the answer to all speculative attempts to imagine the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People imagine the form of the Supreme Lord according to the modes of nature under whose influence they are. In the Brahma-samhita the Lord is called the most ancient. Therefore, some believers believe that God must be very old and represent Him in the form of a very old man. But this is refuted in the same “Brahma-samhita”: although God is the oldest of all living, in His original form He is a youth.

The exact words given in this connection in Srimad-Bhagavatam are vijnanam ajnana-bhidapamarajanam. Vijnanam is transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vijnanam also means knowledge supported by experience. Transcendental knowledge must be acquired in a descending way, through the chain of spiritual masters, just as Brahma presents the knowledge of Krsna in the Brahma-samhita. Brahma-samhita is vijnanam, knowledge based on the transcendental experience of Brahma. With this knowledge, Brahma describes the form and pastimes of Krsna in His spiritual abode. This knowledge is capable of smashing into dust all ignorant speculations (ajnana-bhidapamarajanam). People create an image of God in their imagination. Some think that God has no body at all, while others give Him a fictitious appearance. But the description of Krishna in the Brahma-samhita is scientific and based on knowledge verified by experience (vijnanam). There can be no doubt about this. This knowledge is given by Brahma and accepted by Lord Caitanya. Krsna's form, His flute, the color of His body - all this is real. The demigods say that vijnanam always refutes all types of knowledge acquired by logical deduction. “Therefore, if You had not appeared in Your original form, as Krishna,” they conclude, “it would not be possible to distinguish vijnanam from ajnana-bhida (ignorant philosophical speculations).

Ajnana-bhidapamarajanam: with Your appearance the speculations of the ignorant will be crushed and triumph will prevail true knowledge based on the experiences of great devotees like Lord Brahma. Ordinary people each imagine their own God, depending on what gunas they are under the influence of. Therefore God is represented in different ways, but Your appearance, O Lord, will show what Your true appearance is."

A.Ch. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada - Krishna. The Supreme Personality of Godhead (Source of Eternal Pleasure – title in the first Russian editions)

Content:

CHAPTER 03: Birth of Lord Krishna
CHAPTER 04: Kamsa Begins the Persecution
CHAPTER 05: Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva
CHAPTER 06: Death of Putana
CHAPTER 07: Saving Trinavarta
CHAPTER 08: Seeing Universal Form
CHAPTER 09: Mother Yashoda Binds Krishna
CHAPTER 10: Deliverance of Nalakuvara and Manigriva
CHAPTER 11: Death of the demons Vatsasura and Bakasura
CHAPTER 12: Dealing with the demon Aghasura
CHAPTER 13: How Brahma stole the boys and calves
CHAPTER 14: Brahma's Prayers to Lord Krishna
CHAPTER 15: Massacre of Dhenukasura
CHAPTER 16: Conquest of Kalia
CHAPTER 17: How Krishna put out the forest fire
CHAPTER 18: The Death of Pralambasura
CHAPTER 19: How Krishna Swallowed a Forest Fire
CHAPTER 20: Description of Autumn
CHAPTER 21: The Gopis Are Enchanted by the Sound of the Flute
CHAPTER 22: Stealing clothes from unmarried gopis
CHAPTER 23: Krishna blesses the wives of brahmins
CHAPTER 24: Worship of Govardhan Hill
CHAPTER 25: Devastating downpour in Vrindavan
CHAPTER 26: Amazing Krishna
CHAPTER 27: Prayers of the King of Heaven Indra
CHAPTER 28: Rescue of Nanda Maharaja from the Captivity of Varuna
CHAPTER 29: Rasa dance. Prologue
CHAPTER 30: Krishna Hides from the Gopis
CHAPTER 31: Songs of the Gopis
CHAPTER 32: Krishna Returns to the Gopis
CHAPTER 33: Description of the Rasa Dance
CHAPTER 34: Liberation of Vidyadhara and dealing with the demon Shankhachuda
CHAPTER 35: The Gopis in Separation from Krishna
CHAPTER 36: Kamsa sends Akrura for Krishna
CHAPTER 37: Death of the Demons Kesha and Vyomasura
CHAPTER 38: Akrura's Arrival in Vrindavan
CHAPTER 39: Akrura returns to Mathura and sees Vishnuloka in the Yamuna river
CHAPTER 40: Akrura's Prayers
CHAPTER 41: Krishna Enters Mathura
CHAPTER 42: Krishna breaks the bow in the sacrificial arena
CHAPTER 43: Death of Kuvalayapida's Elephant
CHAPTER 44: The Death of Kamsa
CHAPTER 45: Krishna returns His son to His teacher
CHAPTER 46: Uddhava Visits Vrindavan
CHAPTER 47: The Gopis Receive Krishna's Message
CHAPTER 48: Krishna Pleases His Devotees
CHAPTER 49: Malicious Dhritarashtra
CHAPTER 50: Krishna builds the fortress of Dwarka
CHAPTER 51: Liberation of Muchukunda
CHAPTER 52: Krishna - Ranachora
CHAPTER 53: Krishna Abducts Rukmini
CHAPTER 54: Krishna defeats the princes and takes Rukmini to Dwarka
CHAPTER 55: Pradyumna is born to Krishna and Rukmini
CHAPTER 56: History gemstone Syamantaka
CHAPTER 57: Death of Satrajit and Shatadhanva
CHAPTER 58: Krishna Marries Five Princesses
CHAPTER 59: Liberation of the Demon Bhaumasura
CHAPTER 60: Conversations between Krishna and Rukmini
CHAPTER 61: Genealogy of Krishna's Family
CHAPTER 62: Meeting of Usha and Aniruddha
CHAPTER 63: Lord Krishna's battle with Banasura
CHAPTER 64: The Story of King Nriga
CHAPTER 65: Lord Balarama Visits Vrindavan
CHAPTER 66: Deliverance of Paundraka and the King of Kashi Province
CHAPTER 67: Freeing Gorilla Dwivida
CHAPTER 68: Samba's Marriage
CHAPTER 69: The Great Sage Narada Visits the Palaces of Lord Krishna
CHAPTER 70: Daily Practices of Lord Krishna
CHAPTER 71: Lord Krishna in the city of Indraprastha
CHAPTER 72: Liberation of King Jarasandha
CHAPTER 73: Lord Krishna returns to Hastinapur
CHAPTER 74: Liberation of Shishupala
CHAPTER 75: Duryodhana's Resentment
CHAPTER 76: Battle of Salva with the warriors of the Yadu dynasty
CHAPTER 77: Shalva's Deliverance
CHAPTER 78: The Death of Dantavakra, Viduratha and Romaharshana
CHAPTER 79: Deliverance of Balwala and Lord Balarama's Pilgrimage to Holy Places
CHAPTER 80: Lord Krishna's Meeting with the Brahmin Sudama
CHAPTER 81: Lord Krishna blesses the brahmana Sudama
CHAPTER 82: Lord Krishna and Balarama meet the inhabitants of Vrindavan.
CHAPTER 83: Draupadi Meets Krishna's Queens
CHAPTER 84: Sacrifices performed by Vasudeva
CHAPTER 85: Lord Krishna gives spiritual instructions to Vasudeva and returns her dead sons to Devaki.
CHAPTER 86: Abduction of Subhadra and Lord Krishna's Visit to Srutadeva and Bahulashva
CHAPTER 87: Prayers of the Personified Vedas
CHAPTER 88: Saving Lord Shiva
CHAPTER 89: The Unsurpassed Power of Krishna
CHAPTER 90: Brief Description of the Activities of Lord Krishna

CHAPTER 01: The Coming of Lord Krishna

And so the demigods offered the purusha-sukta prayer, but it seemed they did not hear the answer. Then Lord Brahma entered into meditation and received a message from Lord Vishnu, which he then announced to the demigods. This is how Vedic knowledge is transmitted. First the Supreme Lord puts this knowledge in the heart of Brahma. In the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said: tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: “The transcendental knowledge of the Vedas was implanted in the heart of Lord Brahma.” And this time only Brahma was able to hear the message of Lord Vishnu. He then handed it over to the demigods. The message was: The Supreme Lord and His powerful energies will soon appear on earth. The Lord will come to destroy the demons and protect the devotees. At this time, the demigods should also be on earth and help Him. To do this, all of them must immediately take birth in the families of the Yadu dynasty, where the Lord Himself will eventually appear. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna will take birth as the son of Vasudeva. Before His advent, all the demigods and their wives must appear on earth in pious families to help the Lord in fulfilling His plan. The exact word used by Brahma is tat-priyartham. It means that the demigods should immediately appear on earth to fulfill the will of the Lord and please Him. In other words, anyone who lives only to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called a demigod. Lord Brahma also informed that the omnipotent incarnation of Krishna - Ananta, who holds the planets of the universe on His countless heads, will also appear on earth before the advent of Lord Krishna Himself. The demigods also learned that in order to fulfill the Lord’s plan, His external energy, Maya, under the spell of which all conditioned souls are under His order, must soon descend on earth by His order.

Having instructed Bhumi and the demigods and pacified them with kind words, Lord Brahma, the father of Prajapati (the progenitors of all beings in the universe), went to his abode of Brahmaloka, which is located above all other planets in the material world.

Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena of the Bhoja dynasty, was an evil demon among the kings of that dynasty. Hearing the prophecy from heaven, he grabbed Devaki by the hair and raised his sword above her head. Vasudeva was amazed by Kamsa's behavior and, in order to pacify his cruel, unscrupulous brother-in-law, spoke to him intelligently and convincingly. “Dear brother-in-law,” he said, “you are the most illustrious king of the Bhoja dynasty, known to everyone as the greatest warrior and valiant ruler. Has rage really blinded you so much that you are ready to kill a woman, and even your own sister, on her happy wedding day? Why? Are you so afraid of death? Death comes into this world with birth. You began to die from the very day you were born. If you are now twenty-five years old, then you have been dying every minute, every moment. Why are you so afraid of death? Death is inevitable. You can die today or in a hundred years, but you cannot escape from death. After all, death only means the destruction of the present body. As soon as this body ceases to exist and merges with. five elements of material nature, the soul contained in it will receive another body, according to its deeds and their consequences. Imagine a person walking along the road: first he takes a step with one foot and, making sure that it stands firmly on the ground, lifts the other. In the same way, the soul transmigrates from one body to another. Look how carefully the caterpillars crawl from branch to branch. So the soul changes its bodily shell after it has been determined from above what its next body will be. As long as the conditioned soul remains in the material world, he will have to change material bodies one after another. Each new body is given to us by the laws of nature, according to our deeds and their consequences.

This body is exactly like the bodies we see in dreams. When we sleep and dream, we create many different images in our minds. Let's say that in reality we saw gold and saw a mountain, so in a dream we can see a golden mountain by combining these two images. Sometimes we dream that we are flying in the sky, and at this time we completely forget about our real body. Our physical bodies change in the same way. Having received a new body, we forget about the previous one. In a dream, we can come into contact with many new bodies, but when we wake up, we no longer remember about them. In essence, all our material bodies are the creation of our mind. However, now we do not remember the bodies that we had in the past.
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Our mind is fickle by nature. Sometimes he accepts something and immediately rejects it. Accepting and rejecting are the functions performed by the mind in interaction with the five sense objects: form, taste, smell, sound and touch. During the process of mental activity, our mind interacts with sense objects, and when we want to get a certain body, we get it. Thus the body is a gift from material nature. After receiving a body, we are again born in the material world to enjoy or suffer, depending on the type of body. Unless we have a certain type of body, we cannot enjoy or suffer according to the tendencies of the mind that we have left with past life. This or that body is given to us depending on the state of our mind at the time of death.

The luminous planets: the sun, moon and stars are reflected in various liquids: water, oil or ghee, and their reflections move along with the movement of the liquid. When the moon is reflected in the water, we look at the movement of the water and think that the moon is also moving, although in fact it is motionless. Similarly, due to the activities of the mind, the conditioned soul obtains different bodies, although he is not actually associated with them. But, bewitched by Maya and in the grip of illusion, the soul identifies itself with a body of a certain type. This is conditional life. Suppose we are now in a human body. We think that we belong to human society, that we live in this or that country, in this or that place. And because we associate ourselves with all this, we are preparing for ourselves a new body that we don’t really need. Such thoughts and desires result in us getting different types of bodies. We are so influenced by the material energy that we are satisfied with whatever body we get and readily identify ourselves with it. Therefore, I ask you not to submit to the dictates of the mind and body."

Vasudeva asked Kamsa not to hold a grudge against his sister, who had just gotten married. A person should not be at enmity with others, for enmity and envy are the cause of fear that haunts us both in this and in the next world, when we appear before Yamaraja (the deity who punishes sinners after death). Vasudeva addressed Kamsa on behalf of Devaki, reminding him that she was his younger sister. He also recalled that all this happened on the blessed day of her wedding. A younger sister or brother should be protected as one's own child. “You must be very careful,” said Vasudeva, “after all, by killing Devaki, you will tarnish your good name.”

Thus Vasudeva tried to pacify Kamsa with good advice and philosophical instructions, but Kamsa could not be pacified because he associated with demons. Having made friends with demons, he himself became a demon, although he was born into a noble, royal family. The demon never listens to good advice. He is like an inveterate thief who cannot be helped by any moral teaching. In the same way, demons, or born atheists, are unlikely to benefit from good advice, even if it is given by a knowledgeable person. This is the difference between a demigod and a demon. Those who are able to accept wise instructions and live according to them are called demigods, and those who do not heed good advice, are called demons.

Unable to pacify Kamsa, Vasudeva began to think about how he could protect Devaki. When faced with danger, a reasonable person should do everything possible to avoid it. If, despite all his efforts, he fails, it is not his fault. A person should try his best to fulfill his duty, but if his attempts end in failure, he cannot be blamed for it.

Vasudeva thought this way: “Right now the main thing for me is to save Devaki. Later, when we have children, I will figure out how to save them.” “If in the future,” he thought, “I have a child who, as Kamsa fears, will be able to kill him, then both Devaki and the child will be saved, for the ways of providence are inscrutable. But now I must do everything to protect Devaki.” .

It is impossible to reliably determine why the soul ends up in a particular body. Thus, it is impossible to say why fire engulfs certain trees when a fire breaks out in the forest. During a forest fire, the flame sometimes leaves one tree untouched and, under a gust of wind, spreads to another. Likewise, a living being may perform his duty very conscientiously, but it is difficult for him to determine what kind of body he will receive in next life. For example, although Bharata Maharaja was striving for self-realization and performed his duties with great care, it happened that for some time he became attached to a deer and was therefore destined to receive the body of a deer in his next life.

After considering how to save his wife, Vasudeva again spoke to Kamsa. He addressed him with great respect, although Kamsa was the greatest sinner. Sometimes it happens that even a virtuous person like Vasudeva is forced to flatter a sinner like Kamsa (usually all diplomatic negotiations are conducted in this way). Although Vasudeva was deeply saddened, he smiled. He turned to the shameless Kamsa with a smile precisely because he was so disgusting and cruel. Vasudeva said: “Dear brother-in-law, understand that no threat comes to you from your sister. You are expecting trouble because you heard a prophetic voice from heaven. But the danger must come from your sister’s sons, who are not yet alive. And who knows - She may not have sons in the future. So now you have no reason to fear your sister. If she ever has sons, I promise to give them to you, and you can do with them as you see fit. necessary."

Kamsa knew the value of Vasudeva’s honest word, and the last argument convinced him. For a time he abandoned his vile plan. Vasudeva was happy and thanked Kamsa for his decision. Thus Vasudeva managed to return home.

Every year after that, Devaki gave birth to a child at the appointed time. In total, she gave birth to eight boys and one girl.

When the firstborn was born, Vasudeva, keeping his word, immediately took the child to Kamsa. Vasudeva was in highest degree a noble man, everyone knew the value of his honest word, and he did not want to lose his good name. It was very painful for Vasudeva to give away his newborn son, but Kamsa with great joy accepted the baby from his hands. But then he felt sorry for Vasudeva. All this is very instructive. For a great soul like Vasudeva, personal pain cannot be an obstacle to the performance of duty. Knowledgeable person, as Vasudeva was, performs his duty without doubt or hesitation. On the other hand, a demon like Kamsa is capable of committing any heinous act. Therefore it is said that a saintly person is ready to endure any hardship of life, a wise person is ready to perform his duty without waiting for favorable circumstances, a lowly person like Kamsa is ready to commit any sin, and a devotee is ready to sacrifice everything for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Kamsa liked Vasudeva's action. He was surprised that Vasudeva kept his word. Pleased with Vasudeva, Kamsa said sympathetically: “Dear Vasudeva, you don’t have to give me this child. He is not dangerous for me. I heard that the eighth child born to you and Devaki will kill me. Why should I needlessly take this child from you? Take it and go home."

Vasudeva was happy to return home with his first child. He was pleased with Kamsa's action, but, knowing the unbridled temper of his brother-in-law, he still had mistrust of him.

The word of an atheist cannot be firm. One who does not know how to control his feelings is unable to fulfill decision. The great politician Chanakya Pandit said: “Never trust a diplomat or a woman.” Those who indulge in pleasure without measure cannot be truthful and are unworthy of trust.

At this time, the great sage Narada came to Kamsa. He learned that Kamsa had shown compassion for Vasudeva and returned his newborn son. Narada sought to hasten the appearance of Lord Krishna. He informed Kamsa that Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men and their wives living in Vrndavana, as well as Vasudeva, his father Surasena and all their relatives born in the Vrishni family in the Yadu dynasty, as well as all their friends and well-wishers, were actually actually demigods. Narada warned Kamsa to be wary of them, since he, Kamsa, and his friends and advisors were demons. Demons are always afraid of demigods. Having learned from Narada about the birth of demigods on earth, Kamsa became very alarmed. He understood: since the demigods had already appeared, Lord Vishnu Himself would soon come. He immediately ordered Vasudeva and Devaki to be seized and thrown into prison.

In prison, Vasudeva and Devaki, chained, had sons year after year, and Kamsa killed them one by one, fearing that each of them might be an incarnation of Vishnu. He was especially afraid of the eighth child of Vasudeva and Devaki, but after visiting Narada he came to the idea that any of the babies could be Krishna. Therefore, he thought it better to kill all the children born to Devaki and Vasudeva.

It is not at all difficult to understand Kamsa's actions. History knows many examples when people of royal blood killed their fathers, brothers, and sometimes their entire family and friends in order to fulfill their ambitious plans. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in what happened, because the greedy demon kings are capable of killing anyone in order to achieve their low goals.

By the grace of Narada, Kamsa learned the story of his previous life. He learned that he was formerly a demon named Kalanemi and died at the hands of Vishnu. Now that he was born in the Bhoja dynasty, he decided to become the sworn enemy of the Yadavas. Krishna was to be born into this dynasty, and Kamsa was very afraid that Krishna would kill him, as happened in his previous life.

Then he imprisoned his father Ugrasena, since he was the head of the royal dynasties of Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka, and also seized the kingdom of Surasena, the father of Vasudeva. Kamsa declared himself the king of all these realms.

This ends the first chapter of Bhaktivedanta's book Krishna, which is called "The Advent of Lord Krishna."

CHAPTER 02: Prayers of the Demigods to Lord Krishna in His Mother's Womb

King Kamsa not only captured the domains of the Yadavas, Bhojas, Andhakas and the kingdom of Surasena, he also made an alliance with other demons: Pralamba, Baka, Chanura, Trinavarta, Aghasura, Mushtika, Arishta, Dvivida, Putana, Keshi and Dhenuka. The king of the province of Magadha (now the state of Bihar) was then Jarasandha. Kamsa resorted to his patronage and, through diplomatic maneuvers, created the most powerful state at that time. He formed an alliance with kings Banasura and Bhaumasura and became the most powerful ruler on earth. From then on, he behaved very hostilely towards the Yadu dynasty, into which Krishna was to be born.

Fleeing from the persecution of Kamsa, the kings of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties began to seek refuge in various states: in the kingdoms of the Kuru and Panchalas, in Kekaya, Salva, Vidarbha, Nishadha, Videha and Kosala. Having destroyed the alliance of the Yadavas, Bhojas and Andhakas, Kamsa took the strongest position in the vast expanses of the earth, which at that time was called Bharata-varsha.

When Kamsa began to kill the babies born to Devaki and Vasudeva one after another, many friends and relatives asked him to stop these atrocities. But soon they all turned into worshipers of Kamsa.

When Devaki became pregnant for the seventh time, Ananta, the all-powerful incarnation of Krishna, appeared in her womb. Devaki was both happy and sad at the same time. She rejoiced because she understood that Lord Vishnu was in her womb. But at the same time she grieved, knowing that as soon as the child was born, Kamsa would kill Him.

At that time, the Supreme Lord Krishna, sympathizing with the Yadavas who lived in fear of Kamsa's cruelty, ordered the appearance of His internal energy - Yogamaya. Krishna is the master of the universe, but He is primarily the master of the Yadu dynasty.

Yogamaya is the chief of all energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedas say that God has many energies: parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. These energies operate within and outside of everything that exists, and the main one is Yogamaya. The Lord ordered Yogamaya to appear on the beautiful land of Vrajabhumi, in Vrindavan, famous for its numerous herds of fat cows. In Vrindavan, in the house of King Nanda and Queen Yashoda, lived one of Vasudeva’s wives, Rohini. At that time, many Yadavas were hiding throughout the country from Kamsa's persecution. Some of them even lived in mountain caves.

The Lord said this to Yogamaya: “In the prison of Kamsa, Devaki and Vasudeva are languishing, and now in the womb of Devaki there is My omnipotent incarnation - Shesha. You must transfer Shesha from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini. After this, I Myself will overshadow the womb of Devaki. And together with Me all My energies will come. I will appear on earth as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, and you will be born as the daughter of Nanda and Yasoda in Vrindavan.

Since you will appear at the same time as Me as My sister and will quickly fulfill the desires of people thirsting for pleasure, they will worship you and bring all kinds of gifts: incense, flowers, candles, as well as various sacrifices. People striving for material well-being, will worship you in your many incarnations under the names of Durga, Bhadrakali, Vijaya, Vaishnavi, Kumuda, Chandika, Krishna, Madhavi, Kanyaka, Maya, Narayani, Ishani, Sharada and Ambika."

Krishna and Yogamaya appeared as brother and sister: the supreme source of energy and the supreme energy. Although there is no difference between energy itself and its source, energy is always subordinate to the source. Materialists worship energy, and transcendentalists worship its source. Krishna is the supreme source of energy and Durga is the supreme energy in the material world. People who follow traditions Vedic culture, revere both energy and its source. There are hundreds of thousands of temples of Vishnu and Devi, and often these Deities are worshiped simultaneously. Devotees of Durga, the external energy of Krsna, can easily achieve all kinds of material benefits, but one who wants to advance himself spiritually must develop Krsna consciousness and worship the supreme source of energy.

The Lord also told Yogamaya: “My almighty incarnation, Ananta Shesha, is now in the womb of Devaki. Since He will be transferred to the womb of Rohini, He will be called Sankarshana. He will become the source of all spiritual energy, bala, through which one can realize the highest bliss called ramana. Therefore, My almighty incarnation Ananta, after His appearance, will be known either as Sankarshana or as Balarama."

The Upanishads say: nayam atma bala-hinena labhyah. This means that the highest stage of self-realization cannot be achieved without the grace of Balarama. The word bala does not mean physical strength. Spiritual perfection cannot be achieved through physical strength. To do this, you need to have the spiritual power that Balarama, Sankarshana gives. Ananta or Shesha is the force that holds the planets in their orbits. In the material world it is called gravity, but in reality it is a manifestation of the energy of Sankarshana. Balarama, Sankarsana, is the spiritual force or the original spiritual master. Therefore Lord Nityananda Prabhu, who is an incarnation of Balarama, is called the original spiritual master or master. Spiritual mentor is the representative of the Supreme Lord Balarama, who gives us spiritual power. It is confirmed in Caitanya-caritamrta that the spiritual master is the embodiment of Krsna's mercy.

Having received the order of the Supreme Lord, Yogamaya walked around Him respectfully and then, fulfilling His will, appeared in the material world. When Yogamaya, the supreme energy of the almighty God, transferred Lord Shesha from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini, both the women were under the power of her spell called yoga nidra. When this happened, people thought that Devaki's seventh pregnancy had ended unexpectedly. Although Balarama appeared as the son of Devaki, He was carried into the womb of Rohini and was born as her son. Thereafter, the Supreme Lord Krishna, always ready to protect His pure devotees, entered the mind of Vasudeva as the master of everything. And His wonderful energies entered with Him. This means that Lord Krishna first appeared in pure heart Vasudeva, and then moved into the heart of Devaki. He was not brought into Devaki's womb in the usual way, along with the seed. The Supreme Lord, who has inconceivable potency, can appear in any way. He does not need to be born, as ordinary people are born, as a result of fertilization in the womb of a woman.

When Vasudeva carried the Supreme Personality of Godhead in his heart, he was like the bright sun, whose scorching rays are unbearable for him. ordinary person. The Lord who was in Vasudeva's pure heart was no different from the original Lord, Krishna. The appearance of Krishna anywhere, and especially in the human heart, is called dhama. This word refers not only to the form of Krishna, but also to His name, qualities and everything that surrounds Him. All this appears at the same time.

And so the Supreme Lord in His eternal form with all His energies moved from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki. Then Devaki became unusually beautiful, just as the sky becomes beautiful when the moon rises in the east, absorbing the last rays of the setting sun. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devaki from the body of Vasudeva, without obeying the laws that govern ordinary living entities. Since Krishna was in the womb of Devaki, His omnipotent incarnations, such as Narayana, and all His avatars: Lord Nrsimha, Varaha and others were with Him, and They also did not obey the laws of the material world. Thus the womb of Devaki became the abode of the Supreme Lord, who has no equal and is the source of everything. Although Devaki became the abode of the Absolute Truth, she was imprisoned by Kamsa and therefore was like hidden fire or knowledge misused. When the fire is hidden by the walls of an earthen vessel, no one sees its bright flame. And when knowledge is misused and does not benefit people, no one values it. Since Devaki was imprisoned in Kamsa's palace, no one saw the unearthly beauty that she acquired because she carried the Supreme Personality of Godhead in her womb.

Kamsa, however, noticed his sister's extraordinary beauty and immediately understood that the Supreme Lord had appeared in her womb. Devaki had never been so beautiful before. It was obvious to Kamsa that there was something wonderful in his sister's womb. All this alarmed Kamsa: he was sure that the Supreme Lord, who was supposed to kill him, had already appeared. Kamsa began to think: “What to do with Devaki? She undoubtedly carries Vishnu or Krishna in her womb. Krishna, of course, appeared to protect the demigods. And even if I kill Devaki now, this will not prevent Him from fulfilling His plan ". Kamsa knew very well that no one could stop Vishnu from carrying out his plans. Any reasonable person can understand that God's laws are inviolable. The Lord will achieve His goal despite all the obstacles posed by the demons.

Kamsa thought: “If I kill Devaki now, Vishnu will carry out His will with even greater determination. Killing Devaki now would be the greatest crime. No one wants to sacrifice honor, even if he is in a very difficult situation. But by killing Devaki, I will certainly lose Devaki is a woman, and she is now under my roof, she is pregnant, and if I kill her, my good fame, the fruits of my pious deeds and my very life will come to an end.”

Kamsa further reflected: “A very cruel person, even while alive, is as good as a dead person. No one loves cruel people while they live, and everyone curses them after death. Because cruel people identify themselves with the body, they fall lower and lower and in the end They end up in the pitch darkness of hell." Thus Kamsa pondered whether he should kill Devaki.

Finally, he decided not to kill his sister for now and wait for the inevitable future. However, his thoughts were filled with enmity towards the Supreme Lord. He patiently waited for the birth of the baby, intending to kill him, as he had killed Devaki's other children before. Immersed in an ocean of hatred towards God, Kamsa, no matter what he did: whether he slept, sat, walked, ate or worked, he thought of Krishna (Vishnu) all the time. He was so absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that he saw only Krsna (Vishnu) everywhere. Unfortunately, although Kamsa thought so much about Vishnu, he could not be called a devotee because he thought of Vishnu as an enemy. The thoughts of a true devotee are also always absorbed in Krsna, but the devotee thinks of Him with love and not with malice. To think of Krsna with love means to have Krsna consciousness, and to think of Him with hatred means to be devoid of such consciousness.

At that time, Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and many other demigods, as well as great sages such as Narada, appeared invisibly in Kamsa's house. They turned to the Supreme Lord with prayers, which always delight the ears of devotees and bring them fulfillment of all desires. The first words they spoke were an acknowledgment that the Lord was unfailingly faithful to His promise. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, Krishna descends into the material world to protect the righteous and destroy the evildoers. This is His vow. The demigods understood that the Lord had appeared in the womb of Devaki to fulfill His vow, and they rejoiced.

The demigods then addressed the Lord, calling Him satyam param, the Supreme Absolute Truth. From a philosophical point of view, everyone strives to find the truth. The demigods explained that the Supreme Absolute Truth- this is Krishna. Therefore one who fully develops Krsna consciousness can understand the Absolute Truth. Krishna is the Absolute Truth because, unlike the relative truth, He is the Truth always, in all three manifestations of eternal time: past, present and future. In the material world, irresistible time rules over everything in its manifestations of past, present and future. But Krishna existed before the creation of the material world, He is its support, and He will remain after this world is destroyed. Therefore Krishna is always the Absolute Truth. If there is any truth in the material world, it comes from the Supreme Truth - Krishna. Similarly, wealth, fame, power, wisdom and knowledge existing in the material world originate from Krsna. Krishna is the source of all relative truths.

The material world consists of five elements, or primary elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether, all of which come from Krishna. Material scientists consider them to be the reason for the existence of the material world, but these elements, both gross and subtle forms, were created by Krishna. The living entities operating in the material world are products of Krsna's marginal energy. It is clearly stated in the seventh chapter of Bhagavad-gita that the entire material world is a combination of two energies of Krsna, the superior and the inferior. Living entities are the superior energy of Krsna, and non-living material objects are His inferior energy. Before the creation of the material world, everything exists in Krsna.

In their prayers addressed to the highest form of the Supreme Lord, Krishna, the demigods also spoke about the nature of the material world. What is this material world? He is like a tree. Just as an ordinary tree stands on the earth, the tree of the material world stands on the soil of material nature. The material world is compared to a tree because the tree is eventually cut down. The tree is called vriksha. Vriksha means that which will eventually be cut down. Thus, the tree of the material world cannot be considered the Supreme Truth, since it is subject to time. But Krishna's body is eternal: He existed before the creation of the material world, exists with it, and will remain when the material world is destroyed. Therefore only Krishna can be accepted as the Absolute Truth.

In the Upanishads, the material body is also compared to a tree. This tree, standing on the soil of material nature, has two types of fruits: happiness and misery. The two inhabitants of the tree-body are like two birds. One is Paramatma, the Supreme Lord in the heart, and the other is the living entity who eats the fruits of the body-tree. Sometimes these are the fruits of happiness, and sometimes of suffering. However, the other bird does not want to eat either sweet or bitter fruits, because it takes satisfaction from itself. The Upanishads say that one of the birds sitting on the tree of the material body eats fruits, and the other only watches it. The roots of this tree stretch in three directions. This means that they represent the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just as the roots of a tree lengthen, the living entity, by coming into contact with the material modes (goodness, passion and ignorance), extends his stay in the material world. The fruits of the tree have four different flavors. It is piety, enrichment, sense gratification and ultimately liberation. By contact with the various modes of material nature, living entities experience the taste of different types of religious activities and material prosperity, different types of material pleasures and different forms liberation. Actually, all material activities take place in the mode of ignorance, but since there are three material modes, sometimes the mode of ignorance is mixed with the mode of goodness or passion. The taste of material fruits is perceived by the five senses. The five cognitive organs are subject to the blows of six lashes: sorrow, illusion, infirmity, death, hunger and thirst. The material body is covered with seven sheaths. These are skin, flesh, blood, marrow, bones, fat and seed. The tree-body has eight branches: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. The body has nine gates: two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, mouth, reproductive organ and anus. There are ten air currents circulating within the body: prana, apana, udana, vyana, samana, etc. The two birds sitting on the tree, as already stated, are the living entity and Paramatma, the Supreme Lord in the heart.

The source of both the material body and the material world is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To control the modes of material nature, the Supreme Lord appears as a divine triad: Vishnu controls the mode of goodness, Brahma controls the mode of passion, and Shiva controls the mode of ignorance. Brahma creates the material world through the mode of passion, Lord Vishnu preserves it through the mode of goodness, and Lord Shiva destroys it through the mode of ignorance. Ultimately, the entire created world finds support in the Almighty. The Supreme Lord is the cause of its creation, preservation and destruction. And when the material world is completely destroyed, in its subtle form it remains in the body of the Supreme Lord as His energy.

“Now,” continued the demigods, “the Supreme Lord Krsna has appeared to preserve the material world. In fact, the Supreme Cause is one. Yet foolish people, deluded by the three modes of nature, think that the material world has arisen as a result of the action various reasons. In contrast, those who have intelligence see that the material world has only one source - Krsna." In the Brahma-samhita it is said: isvarah paramah krsnah... sarva-karana-karanam - "Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead , is the cause of all causes." He instructs Brahma to create the universe, Vishnu to preserve, and Lord Shiva to destroy the created world.

“O beloved Lord,” the demigods prayed, “it is very difficult to understand Your eternal form and Your personality. Ordinary people are unable to understand You as You are. Therefore, You Yourself come to the material world to appear before them in Your original eternal form. People may understand Your various incarnations, but it is difficult for them to understand Your eternal two-armed form, O Krishna, for, coming to the material world, You live among them as one like them, O Lord, Your eternal form brings ever-increasing spiritual bliss, but for. He poses a great threat to those who are not devoted to You." As stated in Bhagavad-gita, Krsna brings joy to the sadhus, or saints (paritranaya sadhunam). But He is very dangerous for demons, since He also descends to destroy them. So Krishna pleases the devotees and terrifies the demons.

"My dear lotus-eyed Lord, You are the source of pure goodness. There are many great sages who are absorbed in samadhi, transcendental meditation on Your lotus feet, and are absorbed in thoughts of You. For them, the vast ocean of ignorance created by material nature has become like a pool of water in a depression, made with the hoof of a calf." The purpose of meditation is to fix the mind on the Supreme Lord, and it should begin from the lotus feet of the Lord. By meditating on the feet of the Lord, great sages easily cross the vast ocean of material existence.

"O radiant one, the great saintly persons who were able to cross the ocean of nescience in the transcendental boat of Your lotus feet did not take her with them. She is still standing on this shore." If a person crosses a river in a boat, the boat and him end up on the other side. How can someone who remains on the opposite bank take advantage of it? This is a difficult question, and in answer to this question the demigods in their prayer say that the boat of the Lord's lotus feet continues to stand in the same place. Pure devotees do not take this boat with them when crossing the ocean of material nature, so those who remain on the opposite shore can also use it. As soon as a devotee approaches the boat, the material ocean of ignorance becomes no larger than a puddle of water in the hollow of a calf’s hoof. Therefore, devotees do not need to sail to the other side in a boat - they immediately find themselves on the opposite shore. Out of compassion for all conditioned souls, the great saintly persons leave the boat in its original place. In other words, by meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord, one can swim across the vast ocean of material existence at any time.

Meditation is focusing the mind on the lotus feet of the Lord. The words "lotus feet" indicate that God is the supreme personality. But impersonalists do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord and therefore choose something impersonal as the object of their meditation. The demigods make a mature judgment that people who want to meditate on emptiness or impersonality cannot cross the ocean of nescience. They only imagine that they have achieved liberation. "O lotus-eyed Lord! Their intelligence is contaminated because they do not meditate on Your lotus feet. By neglecting this, the impersonalists again fall into the abyss of material life, even if they have been temporarily elevated by realizing the impersonal form of Godhead." To immerse themselves in the effulgence of Brahman, impersonal existence, impersonalists subject themselves to severe austerities and hardships. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they only try to reject material forms of thinking. This does not mean at all that they have become free. Therefore, they cannot avoid falling.

It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that the impersonalist must undergo severe trials before achieving the ultimate goal of his search. It is also stated in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam that without devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead one cannot be freed from the burden of fruitive activities. Lord Krishna speaks about this in the Bhagavad-gita, and the great sage Narada speaks about this in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The demigods declare the same thing in their prayers: “Those who have not taken up devotional service cannot attain the ultimate goal of knowledge and gain Your favor.” The impersonalists only think that they are free, but actually they have no feelings for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They think that when Krsna descends into the material world He gets a material body, and therefore they do not agree that Krsna's body is spiritual. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita: avajananti mam mudhah. Although the impersonalists are able to temporarily overcome their material desires and achieve liberation, they again fall into the abyss of material life. If they seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge and do not come to the devotional service of the Lord, they cannot achieve the desired result. Their achievement is only the effort they expended, and nothing more.

The Bhagavad-gita clearly states that realizing one's oneness with Brahman is not everything. Awareness of Brahman will help a person to free himself from attachment and aversion to material things, achieve mental balance and find joy. But then he has to go to devotional service. If a Brahman knower takes up devotional service, he will be eternally accepted into the spiritual kingdom, where he can associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the result of devotional service. Devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, unlike impersonalists, never return to material life and, even if they fail, remain lovingly attached to their Lord. Those on the path of devotional service may encounter many obstacles, but they overcome them easily and fearlessly. Because they have surrendered to the Lord, they are confident that Krsna will always protect them. In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna assures, “My devotee will never perish.”

“O beloved Lord,” the demigods spoke again, “You have appeared in Your original form, undefiled, eternal and auspicious, for the welfare of all living beings in the material world. With Your advent, all of them can easily understand Your nature and form, O Supreme Personality God. People belonging to the four ashramas (brahmacaris, grhasthas, vanaprasthas and sannyasis) will also benefit from Your advent.
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O beloved Lord, husband of the goddess of fortune, unlike the impersonalists, devotees dedicate their lives to Your service and do not lose the exalted position they have achieved. Under Your protection they manage to defeat numerous Mayan commanders who are ready at any time to erect obstacles on the path to liberation. O Lord, You appear in Your eternal transcendental body for the benefit of all people. Then they can see You personally and worship You by performing Vedic sacrifices, engaging in mystic meditation and rendering devotional service to You, as taught in the scriptures. O Lord, if You had not appeared in Your eternal transcendental body, full of bliss and knowledge, it would not have been possible to eradicate ignorant speculation about Your nature, and people under the influence of the material modes would have speculated about Your form." .

The appearance of Krsna is the answer to all speculative attempts to imagine the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People imagine the form of the Supreme Lord according to the modes of nature under whose influence they are. In the Brahma-samhita the Lord is called the most ancient. Therefore, some believers believe that God must be very old and represent Him in the form of a very old man. But this is refuted in the same “Brahma-samhita”: although God is the oldest of all living, in His original form He is a youth. The exact words given in this connection in Srimad-Bhagavatam are vijnanam ajnana-bhidapamarajanam. Vijnanam is transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vijnanam also means knowledge supported by experience. Transcendental knowledge must be acquired in a descending way, through the chain of spiritual masters, just as Brahma presents the knowledge of Krsna in the Brahma-samhita. Brahma-samhita is vijnanam, knowledge based on the transcendental experience of Brahma. With this knowledge, Brahma describes the form and pastimes of Krsna in His spiritual abode. This knowledge is capable of smashing into dust all ignorant speculations (ajnana-bhidapamarajanam). People create an image of God in their imagination. Some think that God has no body at all, while others give Him a fictitious appearance. But the description of Krishna in the Brahma-samhita is scientific and based on knowledge verified by experience (vijnanam). There can be no doubt about this. This knowledge is given by Brahma and accepted by Lord Caitanya. Krsna's form, His flute, the color of His body - all this is real. The demigods say that vijnanam always refutes all types of knowledge acquired by logical deduction. “Therefore, if You had not appeared in Your original form, as Krishna,” they conclude, “it would not be possible to distinguish vijnanam from ajnana-bhida (ignorant philosophical speculations). Ajnana-bhidapamarjanam: with Your appearance, the speculations of the ignorant will be defeated and triumph true knowledge based on the experience of great devotees like Lord Brahma. Ordinary people each imagine their own God, depending on the influence of which gunas they are. Therefore, God is represented in different ways, but Your appearance, O Lord, will show what Your kind is. true form."

The biggest mistake of the impersonalists is that they think that by incarnating in the material world, God receives a material body in the mode of goodness. In reality, the form of Krishna or Narayana is beyond any material concept. Even the greatest impersonalist Shankaracharya admitted: narayanah paro vyaktat - the source of the material cosmos is the impersonal (avyakta) aggregate of material elements, but Krsna is beyond everything material. In Srimad-Bhagavatam His position is called suddha-sattva, pure goodness. Krishna does not belong to

Chapter first

Coming of Lord Krishna