SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM 8 CHAPTER 16 TEXT 61
ta eva niyamāḥ sākṣāt
ta eva ca yamottamāḥ
tapo dānaṁ vrataṁ yajno
yena tuṣyaty adhokṣajaḥTRANSLATION-This is the best process for pleasing the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Adhokṣaja. It is the best of all regulative principles, the best austerity, the best process of giving charity, and the best process of sacrifice.
ta eva ca yamottamāḥ
tapo dānaṁ vrataṁ yajno
yena tuṣyaty adhokṣajaḥTRANSLATION-This is the best process for pleasing the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Adhokṣaja. It is the best of all regulative principles, the best austerity, the best process of giving charity, and the best process of sacrifice.
PURPORT-The Supreme Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” Unless one pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to His demand, no good result will come from any of his actions.
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
śrama eva hi kevalam
śrama eva hi kevalam
“The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.” (Bhāg. 1.2.8) If one is not interested in satisfying Lord Viṣṇu, Vāsudeva, all his so-called auspicious activities are fruitless. Moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo mogha-jnānā vicetasaḥ: [Bg. 9.12] because he is bewildered, he is baffled in his hopes, baffled in his activities, and baffled in his knowledge. In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī remarks, napuṁsakam anapuṁsakenety-ādinaikatvam. One cannot equate the potent and the impotent. Among modern Māyāvādīs it has become fashionable to say that whatever one does or whatever path one follows is all right. But these are all foolish statements. Here it is forcefully affirmed that this is the only method for success in life. Īśvara-tarpaṇaṁ vinā sarvam eva viphalam. Unless Lord Viṣṇu is satisfied, all of one’s pious activities, ritualistic ceremonies and yajnas are simply for show and have no value. Unfortunately, foolish people do not know the secret of success. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum [SB 7.5.31]. They do not know that real self-interest ends in pleasing Lord Viṣṇu.
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Antya 5.9–“I see that you have acquired a taste for hearing talks regarding Kṛṣṇa. Therefore you are extremely fortunate. Not only you but anyone who has awakened such a taste is considered most fortunate.
Antya 5.10--“A person who properly performs his regulative duties according to varṇa and āśrama but does not develop his dormant attachment for Kṛṣṇa or awaken his taste to hear and chant about Kṛṣṇa is certainly laboring fruitlessly.’ “
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Lectures : Bhagavad-gita Lectures : Bg 4: Lectures : Bhagavad-gita 4.1-2 — Columbus, May 9, 1969 : 690509BG.COL :
Sarpocchiṣṭa-payo yathā. Avaiṣṇava-mukhodgirṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam. Hari-kathā, this message of Bhagavad-gītā is hari-kathā. Hari means the Supreme Lord. His word. Therefore it is warned that to “Do not try to hear this message of Hari or the Supreme Lord from rascal nondevotee. Do not try to hear.” Why? Sarpocchiṣṭa-payo yathā.Just like milk is very nutritious food, but if a little milk is touched by the tongue of a serpent, whole thing is spoiled. A serpent, a very thin tongue, if he touches the milk, oh, the whole milk is spoiled. So if we take such milk, “Oh, milk is very nice,” no. Because it is touched by the serpent’s lip, it should not be taken. Similarly, any transcendental message, any Vedic literature, unless it is presented by a self-realized devotee, it is poison. You simply misunderstand the whole thing, and you do not get the benefit. Rather, you become a victim of misunderstanding.
SB 4.31.24 purport-Here it is seen that by hearing the glories of the Lord from a realized devotee the Pracetās easily attained strong attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, meditating on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord at the end of their lives, they advanced to the ultimate goal, Viṣṇuloka. It is sure and certain that anyone who always hears the glories of the Lord and thinks of His lotus feet will reach that supreme destination.
SB 4.31.28 purport-This is a sign of associating with great devotees. A devotee takes instructions from a liberated soul and is thus overwhelmed by ecstasy from transcendental pleasure.
SB 4.20.25 purport…A pure devotee always engages in the service of the Lord, taking shelter of His lotus feet, and therefore he has a direct connection with the saffron mercy-particles that are strewn over the lotus feet of the Lord. Although when a pure devotee speaks the articulation of his voice may resemble the sound of this material sky, the voice is spiritually very powerful because it touches the particles of saffron dust on the lotus feet of the Lord. As soon as a sleeping living entity hears the powerful voice emanating from the mouth of a pure devotee, he immediately remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord, although up until that moment he had forgotten everything.
For a conditioned soul, therefore, it is very important to hear from the mouth of a pure devotee, who is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord without any material desire, speculative knowledge or contamination of the modes of material nature.
SB 2.9.8 purport…One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation. The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed
SB 3.26.30–Doubt, misapprehension, correct apprehension, memory and sleep, as determined by their different functions, are said to be the distinct characteristics of intelligence.
PURPORT-Doubt is one of the important functions of intelligence; blind acceptance of something does not give evidence of intelligence. Therefore the word saṁśaya is very important; in order to cultivate intelligence, one should be doubtful in the beginning. But doubting is not very favorable when information is received from the proper source. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that doubting the words of the authority is the cause of destruction.
As described in the Patañjali yoga system, pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidra-smṛtyaḥ. By intelligence only one can understand things as they are. By intelligence only can one understand whether or not he is the body. The study to determine whether one’s identity is spiritual or material begins in doubt. When one is able to analyze his actual position, the false identification with the body is detected. This is viparyāsa. When false identification is detected, then real identification can be understood. Real understanding is described here as niścayaḥ, or proved experimental knowledge. This experimental knowledge can be achieved when one has understood the false knowledge. By experimental or proved knowledge, one can understand that he is not the body but spirit soul.
“The secret of success in the cultivation of Krishna consciousness is hearing from the right person.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.29.39-40, Purport)
“The process of hearing from a pure devotee is recommended in all Vedic scriptures, especially by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One may stay in his position of life — it does not matter what it is — but if one hears from the mouth of a pure devotee, he gradually comes to the understanding of his relationship with the Lord and thus engages in His loving service, and his life becomes completely perfect. Therefore, this process of hearing from the mouth of a pure devotee is very important for making progress in the line of spiritual understanding.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.20.25, Purport)
“In this age it is very difficult to follow thoroughly the regulative principles and studies of the Vedas which were formerly recommended. However, if one gives aural reception to the sound vibrated by great devotees and acaryas, that alone will give him relief from all material contamination. Therefore it is the recommendation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that one should simply hear from authorities who are actually devotees of the Lord. Hearing from professional men will not help. If we hear from those who are actually self-realized, then the nectarean rivers, like those which are flowing on the moon planet, will flow into our ears.”
(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 10)
