Tailored to the Circumstances

[suchandra]

 

 

 

 

 

Lord Sri Krishna spoke eighteen chapters of the science of Bhakti-yoga to Arjuna, including Hatha-yoga and Jnana-yoga, but finally Krishna said, “Don’t worry - you do this, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

So the books are there and at first one should read the books, but when he becomes interested and wants a deeper understanding, then naturally he will feel the necessity to come forward and get individual guidance from the current link of the bona fide disciplic succession.

One might try to establish the superiority of Sastra over everything else and conclude, “Srila Prabhupada might have said this and that, so many things - but actually his books have the final say.”

But doesn't the direct prescription which is tailored to the circumstances takes precedence?

Just like when you go to see a lawyer, he doesn’t hand you the full set of lawbooks and say, “Here’s your solution - plunge into studying the judicial code.”

Rather, he applies the knowlege of the lawbooks specifically applicable to your particular case.

Only with this expert knowledge you can have customized details which lead to advancement. This kind of customized details were revealed to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada: "Yamarāja is one of the GBC of Krishna. Yes. As we have got twelve GBC’s, similarly Krishna has got GBC’s. Now,

 

 

svayambhūr nāradah śambhuh

kumārah kapilo manuh

prahlādo janako bhīshmo

balir vaiyāsakir vayam

[sB 6.3.20]

 

That twelve men are authorized to preach Krishna consciousness. So we have to follow. Mahājano yena gatah sa panthāh. Therefore we have created these GBC. So they should be very responsible men.

Otherwise, they will be punished. They will be punished to become a śūdra. Although Yamarāja is a GBC, but he made a little mistake. He was punished to become a śūdra. So those who are GBC’s, they should be very, very careful to administer the business of ISKCON.

Otherwise they will be punished. As the post is very great, similarly, the punishment is also very great. That is the difficulty. You can see from this example, Vidura. He was immediately punished. He did little mistake at Mandhūka… Because the Rishis, the Munis, they will curse. Dealing is very… Even Yamarāja is not taking.

 

(reads:) “He was to play the part of so-called śūdra for years, being cursed by Mandhūka Muni. He was the incarnation of Yamarāja, one of the twelve mahājanas, on the level with such exalted personalities as Bhīshma, Nārada, Brahmā, Nārada, Śiva, Kapila, Bhīshma, Prahlāda, etc. Being a mahājana, it is the duty of Yamarāja to preach the cult of devotion to the people of the world as Nārada, Brahmā and other mahājanas do. But Yamarāja is always busy in his plutonic kingdom, punishing the doers of sinful acts. Yamarāja is deputed by the Lord to a particular planet some hundreds of thousands of miles away from this planet.” That is mentioned. He has got a different planet, where the criminals are taken away after death, and he gives the judgment, what kind of body he will have.

And not like the theosophists’ thinking, “Now I have got human body - it is permanent settlement.” No, that is not permanent settlement. According to one’s work… Work means all sinful acts.

Without Krishna consciousness, anyone who acts, he acts sinfully.

There is no doubt of it. Because he is acting for sense gratification, and sense gratification means almost 99.9% all sinful activities.

Duskrtinah. It is very risky job. Unless you act in Krishna consciousness… Yajñārthe karmano ’nyatra loko ’yam karma-bandhanah [bg. 3.9] This is the stringent law of the nature, that you have to act only for Yajña, for satisfaction of Krishna or Vishnu.

Otherwise, you will be entangled. And who is serving Krishna?

Nobody is serving Krishna. So everyone is being entangled. This is the material world."

 

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.15

by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Geneva, June 4, 1974

 

full lecture:

http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/740604SB.GEN.htm?i=1974

[theist]

 

Lord Sri Krishna spoke eighteen chapters of the science of Bhakti-yoga to Arjuna, including Hatha-yoga and Jnana-yoga, but finally Krishna said, “Don’t worry - you do this, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

So the books are there and at first one should read the books, but when he becomes interested and wants a deeper understanding, then naturally he will feel the necessity to come forward and get individual guidance from the current link of the bona fide disciplic succession.

One might try to establish the superiority of Sastra over everything else and conclude, “Srila Prabhupada might have said this and that, so many things - but actually his books have the final say.”

But doesn't the direct prescription which is tailored to the circumstances takes precedence?

Just like when you go to see a lawyer, he doesn’t hand you the full set of lawbooks and say, “Here’s your solution - plunge into studying the judicial code.”

Rather, he applies the knowlege of the lawbooks specifically applicable to your particular case.

Only with this expert knowledge you can have customized details which lead to advancement. This kind of customized details were revealed to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra.