Sometimes it is questioned that Sanātana Gosvāmī paid money in black market. Yes. Actually he paid. When Nawab Hussain Shah imprisoned Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was a minister. The superintendent of jail was earlier working under Sanātana Gosvāmī since he was minister. So the Sanātana Gosvāmī requested him that “I had done so many times your benefit. So you do me one favour. Although the Nawab has imprisoned me, you let me go because I am going to be a pir (renunciate).” The Muslims respect the pir very much. So actually he was going to be a pir. He renounced the family life and became gosvāmī. “So I am sacrificing my life for God, and you just help me in this service. And not only that, you will get some material profit also.” First of all, he offered five thousand gold mudras (coins). But when he was not very happy he raised the offer to ten thousand. In this way, it was settled and the superintendent of jail let him go. And he inquired from Sanātana Gosvāmī, “What should I explain to the Nawab when he asks me for an explanation?” So he gave him a trick that… Formerly, people used to evacuate on the field. So he was imprisoned. So he wanted to evacuate in the field. And the superintendent of jail was accompanying him. In this way, he fabricated a story and he told that “When he was evacuating, immediately he jumped over the river and the river’s waves were so strong, he was carried away. I could not find him.” So in this way, Sanātana Gosvāmī escaped after bribing.

Now the question is whether this kind of black marketing, bribing, is required for spiritual life. And the answer is that everything is required, provided you can satisfy Krishna. This is the principle. The dealing should be in accordance to time and circumstances. Just like in the battlefield Krishna is advising Yudhisthira to speak lie, “You go and tell Dronācārya that his son, Aśvatthāmā, is dead.” And Yudhisthira hesitated: “How can I speak lie? I never spoke a lie in my life.” So the idea is that in our ordinary dealings, when there is fighting, they take all means, all propaganda to win. You know that.  In fighting, the aim is how to own victory. Although there are so many international laws, they don’t care for it. Just like bombing. Sometimes the opposite party keeps soldiers under Red Cross, because Red Cross is not bombed according to international law. But when they get information, they bomb the Red Cross also. These are common practices. Just like in India, in the Hindu-Muslim fight, the Muslims were keeping weapons within mosques. You know that. Everyone knows. So there are so many international laws of fighting, but when there is necessity, they neglect all international laws and take advantage.

I have heard from a very reliable officer, Mr. MacPherson, in Allahabad, at the time when I was running a drug shop there. He was my customer and when he was coming, he was talking with me many past stories of the war when he was also one of the commanders. During the First World War, when Marshall Foch was in charge of the French centers, there were many refugees from Belgium in France, who were mostly women and children. So Mr. MacPherson told me that, “We were officers. We informed that so many refugees have come from Belgium. What to do.” Then Marshall became very angry. You see. He became very… “What can I do? In this battlefield?” So it was ordered that they should be killed. All these women and children were assembled together and were blown up by four guns from four sides. You see. Their own allies!

So these things take place in war, sometimes. There is no international law, no humanitarian consideration. Everything goes on. The point is that as people act, hooks and crooks, everything, for satisfying the senses and gaining some material profit. Similarly, if need be, everything can be accepted for Krishna’s service. Everything can be, can be accepted. Otherwise, how is it that Sanātana Gosvāmī is bribing? How is Krishna advising Yudhisthira to speak lie? There is a verse, man nimittam krtam pāpam punya eva kalpate. Sometimes it appears that this is a sinful act, but if it is done for Krishna, then it is bhakti. Our bhakti is ānukūlyena krisnānu-śīlanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. We have to satisfy Krishna. “Krishna is asking me to tell lie. Yes, I shall tell lie.” That is bhakti. If I consider that, “Oh, I have never spoken a lie in my life. How can I speak lie?”, then that is not bhakti because it is prātikūla, against the desire of Krishna. Common people cannot understand this. They’ll be shuddered. They think, “Oh, oh, Krishna is teaching a nice and religious person such as Yudhisthira to speak a lie.” Avajānanti mām mūdhā mānusīm tanum āśritam [Bg. 9.11]. If sometimes one thinks like that, he becomes mūdha (fool). When Karna was repairing the wheel of his chariot, Krishna told Arjuna, “Kill him immediately. Kill him immediately.” And Karna protested: “Arjuna, what are you doing? I am not in fighting now.” So Krishna said, “No, this is the right time. Otherwise, you will never be able to kill him. This is the time. This is the opportunity. You kill him.” Karna was a greater hero than Arjuna; even Dronācārya and Bhīsma were more heroic than Arjuna. That is explained by Parīksit Mahārāja, “In the battlefield of Kurukshetra, which was just like an ocean, there were big, big crocodiles, like Dronācārya, Bhīsma, Karna. But by the grace of Krishna, my grandfather (Arjuna) was able to kill them.” Arjuna was not so strong that he could kill Bhīsma or Dronācārya or Karna. They were greater heroes.

There are many instances. Just like the gopīs, who at the dead of night, when they heard Krishna’s flute, they left their husbands, their fathers, brothers, children, everything, and went away to meet Krishna. Now, according to our Vedic system, young girls and women, leaving the protection of the father, brother or superiors to go in the forest for meeting a boy is very sinful. Socially, it is sinful. And Krishna instructed them, “What you have done? You go back immediately.” And they began to cry. So now, from the social point of view, this is sin. The gopīs’ going to Krishna is a sin. Similarly, Prahlāda Mahārāja was standing without any protest when his father was being killed. Now can any sane man see that his father is being killed, and he’s standing silently, without any protest? And Bali Mahārāja, he rejected his spiritual master. When Śukrācārya said, “Don’t promise anything. He’s Visnu. He’ll take everything of yours. Don’t promise anything.”, Bali Mahārāja said, “He is Visnu? And you are asking me not to promise to Him? Oh, I don’t want such spiritual master. I reject him.” To reject the spiritual master is a great sin. So from the social point of view and from the religious point of view, these are irreligious, sinful activities – to reject one’s spiritual master; to see one’s father being killed in one’s presence; one woman going to another boy at the dead of night. Superficially they are sinful activities. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends, ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhū-vargena vā kalpitā. There is no upāsanā, method of worship, as it was conceived by the gopīs. It was simply first class.

So the point is that although superficially it may appear sometimes against the social and religious rules and regulations, but if it is done for Krishna, then it doesn’t matter. ānukūlyena… Bhakti means ānukūlyena krsnānu-śīlanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167] – Krishna should be satisfied.

Just like when Krishna pretended that He was sick, and many physicians came. He said, “No physician can cure Me. If some devotee gives Me the dust of his feet on My head, then I can be cured.” So all devotees were asked, and nobody was ready, “Oh! How can I give? My dust on the head of Krishna? How it is possible?” Nobody was prepared to give. Then Krishna suggested that “Go to Vrindāvana. Just ask the gopīs if they can give. They are My best friends. See if they are prepared? Oh, I am very much suffering from headache.” As soon as the gopīs were approached: “Oh, Krishna is sick. They want, oh, dust of…?” Immediately: “Please take. Please take.” They did not care that they would go to hell by offering their dust of feet on the head of Krishna. “Never mind; we shall go to hell but at least Krishna will be happy. That’s all. Krishna will be happy.” This is gopī. It doesn’t matter the whole world is going to hell, but if Krishna is satisfied, a devotee’s prepared to do that. That is called uttamā bhakti. Ānukūlyena krsnānu-śīlanam bhaktir uttamā [Cc. Madhya 19.167].

anyābhilāsitā-śūnyam [Brs. 1.1.11]. To, not to make business with Krishna by putting conditions such as: “I shall be devotee of Krishna provided everything of mine is adjusted perfectly. I shall not be sinful. I shall not do this. I shall not do that. My family will be kept nicely.” Just as people go to Vrindāvana after distributing all their money among their sons and grandsons. “You send me two hundred rupees per month. And all the two crores (one crore equals ten million) of rupees, that is for you. That is for you. That is not for Krishna. And simply for my eating, you send me two hundred.” There are many such persons in Vrindāvana. So Krishna is also very intelligent, “Two crores of rupees you earned with so much hard labor, that is kept for your children. And you have come here with empty hand. And for your food, two hundred rupees.” So, ye yathā mām prapadyante tāms tathaiva bhajāmy aham – As all surrender unto me, I reward them accordingly.[Bg. 4.11].

The first principle is that one should be prepared to sacrifice everything for Krishna. It doesn’t matter—my fate, my honor, my money, my prestige. He doesn’t care. Krishna must be satisfied. Just as Arjuna did. Arjuna didn’t like to fight, to kill his brothers, his grandfather on the other side. But when he understood that Krishna wants him to fight, he immediately said, “Yes, karisye vacanam tava [Bg. 18.73]: I’ll do as you say. That’s all right.” This is Krishna consciousness. No consideration for anything else; simply to satisfy Krishna, or Krishna’s representative. That is bhakti. Anyābhilāsitā-śūnyam jñāna-karmādy anāvrtam [Brs. 1.1.11]. Bhakti should not be tinged by jñāna. Jñāna is, “Oh, I am going to speak lie. I’ll go to hell. I am going to kill my grandfather. I’ll go to hell.” This is called jñāna, knowledge. But the definition is, jñāna-karmādy anāvrtam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. It should be untouched by jñāna and karma.

So this is pure bhakti. The gopīs, they’re not jñānīs; they’re ordinary village girls. What jñāna do they have? No jñāna, no karma. They did not know what karma is, what sacrifice is. No. They did not know. So we should, we should be prepared to sacrifice everything, without any consideration of jñāna, karma or yoga. We have to see whether Krishna is satisfied. Svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam [SB 1.2.13]. That is perfection. Samsiddhir hari-tosanam: whether Krishna is satisfied.

So people have no information what is Krishna, and what to speak of satisfying Him. But bhakti means that the bhakta, is always ready to sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Krishna. But if one has no idea what is Krishna, then where is bhakti? For the impersonalist, there cannot be any bhakti because they have no information of Krishna. They do not know who Krishna is. And bhakti means satisfaction of Krishna. If I know the person, if I know what his nature is, then only can I know how to satisfy him. If you have no information of any person, then where is the question of satisfaction?

Mayabazaar is the story of the love  and marriage between Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, and s’as’irEkha the daughter of Balarama and Revati Devi. But it is far more than that. Mixed with the fun and romance.. you have a brilliant philosophy and scholarship  that reflects throughout the movie.. but only to trained eyes and ears. The very young see the fun, the youthful see the romance and adventure and the grey-haired catch the philos … Read More

via Ancient Indians – Satya Samhita

• Saptarishi Position at the Time of Parikshit’s Birth and Yudhisthira’s Coronation : 74/75 years after Makha beginning : 3138 BCE
  • Varahamihira‘s Brihat Samhita, and Vishnu Purana, IV 4.105-106 : ok
• Saptarishi Position at 0 Kaliyuga : 3102 BCE
  • Aslesha (given : computed by author ): direction counting backwards by 25 years
  • Kaliyuga Raja Vruttantam
• Saptarishi Position at MahaPadma Nanda (Chanakya): Poorvashada middle (observed):
  • This is calculated as 10.5 centuries.. direction of counting forwards..
  • Taking the direction of counting backwards, and using 100 year per Nakshatra Rule, I get 1650 years after Kaliyuga to the middle of Purvashada (1552 BCE);
    • Vishnu Purana, IV, 24.112)
  • For resolution see : Which Nanda was indicated by the Saptarishis in Purvashaada Nakshatram : Vishnu Puranam
• Saptarishi Position at the beginning of the Saka Era referred by Varahamihira : (beginning 2526 years after Yudhisthira.. as calculated by Varahamihira, using the 100 year per nakshatra rule given by Vrddha Garga and quoted by Varahamihira).
  • We calculate Aslesha counting forwards.
  • We calculate Poorvaphalguni counting backwards.
    • Brihat Samhita
• Saptarishi Position at the beginning of Saka Era referred by Vateswara :
  • Vateswara Siddhanta
  • 4000-3102 = 898 BCE
  • 4000 years corresponds to a movement of 42.3 nakshatras as per Vateswara; 42.3-27=15.3
  • This brings us to the beginning of Uttarashada (counting backwards).
  • This brings us the to the beginning of Uttarabhadra (counting forwards).

Saptarishi Position presently : Poorva Phalguni as per Vateswara, Hasta as per Varahamihira, counting backwards.

• Arudra according to me.. just looking at the sky map,, I may be wrong
• If Arudra is right then Bharata War is 58 centuries ago, not 51 centuries ago…

“The grammatical word jugglers cannot bewilder a devotee who engages in chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Simply addressing the energy of the Supreme Lord as Hare and the Lord Himself as Krishna very soon situates the Lord within the heart of the devotee. By thus addressing Radha and Krishna, one directly engages in His Lordship’s service.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila 7.73 Purport)

The formulaic cable television shows now regularly feature debates between so-called experts in various fields. With the debates usually dealing with issues of politics and public policy, these guests attempt to make clever arguments in favor of their position, trying to sound very erudite in the process. Most of these experts are in fact lawyers by trade, chosen to be on television more for their speaking ability than their actual knowledge of the field they are discussing.

We have all been to parties and other social gatherings where we have encountered the resident “expert”. This person has an opinion about everything and can’t stop talking. They are thoroughly convinced of their ideas but they are more or less blowing hot air. When we hear someone who isn’t an expert discussing issues that we know a lot about, we get insulted very easily. “Who does this person think he is? He is speaking nonsense. He has no idea what such and such really involves.” Whether it involves sports, news, or issues relating to our occupation, we all have intimate knowledge of the things that we are passionate about.

According to Vedic philosophy, true knowledge involves the theoretical and the practical, referred to as jnana and vijnana in Sanskrit. Theoretical knowledge forms the foundation, but it is through practical experience that we truly begin to understand something. The same way that many people pretend to be experts in various subjects, many people pretend to be experts in matters of religion. They have all these dreamed up ideas, but they don’t practice any sort of service to God. They develop their own ideas of God and what happens to us after we die. This sort of mental speculation will always lead us down the wrong path since our material minds aren’t capable of understanding God on our own. Simply being able to speak well doesn’t make one an expert either. The Mayavadis are very expert at using word jugglery to argue their position that God is impersonal and that we are all God. They quote from the Vedanta-sutras and use high class words in their arguments, but their knowledge is nevertheless useless since they fail to recognize Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

To truly understand God, we have to take instruction from a real expert in the field, a bona fide spiritual master. A spiritual master, or guru, is one whose only passion is Krishna and who devotes his whole life to Him. He has learned theoretical knowledge through studying the Vedas and by following the instructions from his own spiritual master, and he has acquired practical knowledge through practicing the principles of devotional service. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna, God Himself, instructs His dear friend Arjuna to seek out a spiritual master.

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Lord Krishna, BG 4.34)

The key is to enquire submissively. If we are hostile towards our spiritual master, then we will never learn anything. We encounter these situations often when engaging in friendly talks with others. If we state a strongly held belief or opinion, many people question us or take the opposite position simply as a way of starting an argument. This is called playing devil’s advocate, which Wikipedia defines as:

"In common parlance, a devil’s advocate is someone who takes a position he or she disagrees with for the sake of argument. This process can be used to test the quality of the original argument and identify weaknesses in its structure."

Taking this sort of approach with a spiritual master isn’t a good idea. A devotee of Krishna is very kind by nature and readily willing to impart instruction to those who sincerely seek it. However, if a guru notes a tone of hostility in a person, they will not be likely to continue instructing them. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pose questions to our guru, but these questions shouldn’t be in a challenging spirit. Questions should be relevant to the topics being discussed and they should be asked with the intention of furthering one’s knowledge of the Vedas. The Puranas, Mahabharata, and Ramayana all have great examples of how one should conduct themselves in front of a spiritual master. In the Bhagavata Purana, known as the Shrimad Bhagavatam, Maharaja Parikshit, a great king descending from the Pandava family, takes instruction from Shukadeva Goswami. In a very submissive manner, asking questions very nicely, Parikshit shows us that if we respect our spiritual master, then he will reward us with the highest knowledge. The Bhagavatam details the life and pastimes of Lord Krishna when He descended to earth. It was due to Parikshit’s inquisitiveness and service to Shukadeva Goswami that we are able to benefit from such stories today.

In the Ramacharitamanasa, an incident is described where Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Krishna, visits the hermitage of Maharishi Valmiki in the forest. Along with His wife Sita and younger brother Lakshmana, the Lord was wandering through the forest serving an exile period ordered by His father. Now Rama was God Himself, yet when He saw Valmiki, the Lord immediately prostrated Himself before the great sage and asked him very nicely where He and His family could go and set up a cottage. Valmiki was very pleased with Rama, for he knew His divinity. Instead of telling them where to set up camp, Valmiki gave a beautiful description on the qualities of a devotee, stating that Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana should always live in the hearts of such people. If the the Lord Himself submits to a spiritual master, then we should also follow suit.

Knowledge of Krishna and the Vedas has been passed down from time immemorial through the guru-disciple relationship. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna explains that He first imparted spiritual knowledge to the sun god at the beginning of creation, and that same knowledge was then passed down through the chain of disciplic succession, or the parampara system. Periodically this chain gets broken and Krishna Himself comes to reinstitute it.

Lord Krishna is the original guru, but He Himself has told us to take instruction from a spiritual master, so we should heed His advice. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the spiritual master for this age. Though we cannot personally approach him, he left behind a wealth of knowledge in his books and recorded lectures. One can find answers to all of life’s questions by steadily reading and rereading these wonderful books. Following the instructions of the spiritual master, we can become the greatest experts in the most important science, the science of devotional service.

It is not easy to tell story of Parikshit in the “short story” version and yet we used to ask our Echiyamma to tell us this story time and again. It is much later that I realized there is a different angle to the whole story. I particularly like the way it is narrated on this website.

This is my Echiyamma’s version.

Maharaja Parikshit  was the grandson of Arjuna and the son of Abhimanyu. He was a noble king. Once he went hunting with all his soldiers. After some time the Maharaja lost his way and was wandering in the forest. The Maharaja was very thirsty and tired and was looking for a drink of water. Finally, he saw a hut in the distance. With great difficulty the Maharaja reached the hut. It was the ashram of the sage Sameeka. The Maharaja went inside the ashram and seeing the rishi, asked him for water. Sameeka who was deep in meditation did not hear the Maharaja. The Maharaja who was exhausted by thirst asked Sameeka repeatedly for water but the sage would not reply. Seething with anger at Sameeka’s silence, the Maharaja stepped out of the Ashram. As he was coming out, he saw a dead snake lying on the ground. The Maharaja wanted to teach Sameeka a lesson. He lifted the dead snake with a stick and put it around the rishi’s neck and left.

Some children playing nearby saw the Maharaja leaving the Ashram in a fit of anger. They went and looked inside the ashram and saw the rishi meditating with a dead snake around his neck. They informed the rishi’s son of what they saw. Unable to believe what his friends said, the son went inside the ashram and was overcome with anger and grief that a rishi like his father should be treated this way by a Maharaja. He ran in the direction of the Maharaja and cursed him that he would die of  snake bite within seven days.

When Sameeka came out of his meditation, his son told him of what happened and the sage was very sorry to hear of the curse. He realized however (by his yogic vision) that the Maharaja was destined to die by the bite of the poisonous snake Takshaka. He knew that there was no way to save the Maharaja at this juncture. He sent one of his disciples to the Maharaja to tell him of the curse and his destiny.

By this time, the Maharaja was also overcome by grief at his own misbehavior and when the disciple told him of his curse, he thought he had been given the right punishment for his rash behavior. He wanted to spend the last seven days of his life in prayers so that he would attain moksha. His courtiers advised him to spend the time in a tall tower built in the middle of the sea so that no snake could enter the tower. The Maharaja was however resigned to his fate but agreed to the advice of his courtiers. A tower was built and the Maharaja spent his days in the company of great sages there listening to the stories of all great people. All his subjects went to meet him there. On the seventh day, one of his subjects offered him a fruit. As the Maharaja bit into the fruit, a small worm fell from it and immediately grew into a big snake that bit the Maharaja’s toe. The Maharaja attained the feet of the Lord Mahavishnu with the name of the Lord in his lips. Thus even on a tall tower, a worm can take one’s life if that was one’s preordained fate.

I am Parikshit Sharma, new to this field but soon gonna rock this industry…..

           here is my new design…………

                         
Please no critism I am just a newbie….