IT IS LORD KRISHNAS BIRTHDAY. THIS LITTLE ADORABLE CHILD NEEDS BIRTHDAY PRESENTS TOO. KRISHNA HAS GIVEN US SO MUCH AND WHAT HAVE WE GOT TO PRESENT HIM ON HIS BIRTHDAY? SOME OF US CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAYS VERY GRANDLY SO WHAT TO SPEAK OF THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSES BIRTHDAY? WE ATTEND MANY BIRTHDAYS AND WEDDING RECEPTIONS OF KINSFOLK AND FRIENDS AND USUALLY LAVISHLY PRESENT THEM GIFTS AND MONEY AS TOKEN OF LOVE OR FRIENDSHIP. WELL YOU ARE GOING TO ATTEND A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY SOON AND HAVE YOU THOUGHT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO BRING ALONG FOR THIS CHERUBIC CHILD? cl.ly/0j0V36430245 - The Advent of Lord Krishna .mp3 cl.ly/1C3m1K1E193e - Jaya Janardana krishna radhika pathe.mp3 cl.ly/151n0l302e26 - Hare Krishna Child with cow mooing.mp3 THE BRAHMANA SUDAMA BENEDICTED BY LORD KRISHNA. https://youtube/watch? v=1iX0xeiyJxA - Krishna and Sudama - Friendship stories Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of all living entities, knows very well everyones heart. He is especially inclined to the brahmana devotees. Lord Krsna is also called brahmanyadeva, which means that He is worshiped by the brahmanas. Therefore it is understood that a devotee who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead has already acquired the position of a brahmana. Without becoming a brahmana, one cannot approach the Supreme Brahman, Lord Krsna. Krsna is especially concerned with vanquishing the distress of His devotees, and He is the only shelter of pure devotees. Lord Krsna was engaged for a long time in talking with Sudama Vipra about their past association. Then, just to enjoy the company of an old friend, Lord Krsna began to smile, and asked, My dear friend, what have you brought for Me? Has your wife given you some nice eatable for Me? While He was addressing His friend, Lord Krsna was looking upon him and smiling with great love. He continued, My dear friend, you must have brought some presentation for Me from your home. Lord Krsna knew that Sudama was hesitating to present Him the paltry chipped rice which was actually unfit for His eating, and understanding the mind of Sudama Vipra the Lord said, My dear friend, certainly I am not in need of anything, but if My devotee gives Me something as an offering of love, even though it may be very insignificant, I accept it with great pleasure. On the other hand, if a person is not a devotee, even though he may offer Me very valuable things, I do not like to accept them. I actually accept only things which are offered to Me in devotion and love; otherwise, however valuable the thing may be, I do not accept it. If My pure devotee offers Me even the most insignificant things--a little flower, a little piece of leaf, a little water--but saturates the offering in devotional love, then I not only gladly accept such an offering, but I eat it with great pleasure. Lord Krsna assured Sudama Vipra that He would be very glad to accept the chipped rice which he had brought ttttfrom home, yet out of great shyness, Sudama Vipra hesitated to present it to the Lord. He was thinking, How can I offer such insignificant things to Krsna? and he simply bowed his head. Lord Krsna, the Supersoul, knows everything in everyones heart. He knows everyones determination and everyones want. He knew, therefore, the reason for Sudama Vipras coming to Him. He knew that, driven by extreme poverty, he had come there at the request of his wife. Thinking of Sudama as His very dear class friend, He knew that Sudamas love for Him as a friend was never tainted by any desire for material benefit. Krsna thought, Sudama has not come asking anything from Me, but being obliged by the request of his wife, he has come to see Me just to please her. Lord Krsna therefore decided that He would give more material opulence to Sudama Vipra than could be imagined even by the King of heaven. He then snatched the bundle of chipped rice which was hanging on the shoulder of the poor brahmana, packed in one corner of his wrapper, and said, What is this? My dear friend, you have brought Me nice, palatable chipped rice! He encouraged Sudama Vipra, saying, I consider that this quantity of chipped rice will not only satisfy Me, but will satisfy the whole creation. It is understood from this statement that Krsna, being the original source of everything, is the root of the entire creation. As watering the root of a tree immediately distributes water to every part of the tree, so an offering made to Krsna, or any action done for Krsna, is to be considered the highest welfare work for everyone, because the benefit of such an offering is distributed throughout the creation. Love for Krsna becomes distributed to all living entities. While Lord Krsna was speaking to Sudama Vipra, He ate one morsel of chipped rice from his bundle, and when He attempted to eat a second morsel, Rukminidevi, who is the goddess of fortune herself, checked the Lord by catching hold of His hand. After touching the hand of Krsna, Rukmini said, My dear Lord, this one morsel of chipped rice is sufficient to cause him who offered it to become very opulent in this life and to continue his opulence in the next life. My Lord, You are so kind to Your devotee that even this one morsel of chipped rice pleases You very greatly, and Your pleasure assures the devotee opulence both in this life and in the next. This indicates that when food is offered to Lord Krsna with love and devotion and He is pleased and accepts it from the devotee, Rukminidevi, the goddess of fortune, becomes so greatly obliged to the devotee that she has to personally go to the devotees home to turn it into the most opulent home in the world. If one feeds Narayana sumptuously, the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, automatically becomes a guest in ones house, which means that ones home becomes opulent. The learned brahmana Sudama passed that night at the house of Lord Krsna, and while he was there he felt as if he were living in a Vaikuntha planet. Actually he was living in Vaikuntha, because wherever Lord Krsna, the original Narayana, and Rukminidevi, the goddess of fortune, live is not different from the spiritual planet, Vaikunthaloka. The learned brahmana Sudama did not appear to have received anything substantial from Lord Krsna while he was at His place, and yet he did not ask anything from the Lord. The next morning he started for his home, thinking always about his reception by Krsna, and thus he became merged in transcendental bliss. All the way home he was simply remembering the dealings of Lord Krsna, and he was feeling very happy to have seen the Lord. The brahmana began to think as follows, It is most pleasurable to see Lord Krsna, who is most devoted to the brahmanas. How great a lover He is of the brahminical culture! He is the Supreme Brahman Himself, yet He reciprocates with the brahmanas. He also respects the brahmanas so much that He embraced to His chest a poor brahmana like me, although He never embraces anyone to His chest except the goddess of fortune. How can there be any comparison between me, a poor, sinful brahmana, and the Supreme Lord Krsna, who is the only shelter of the goddess of fortune? And yet, considering me as a brahmana, He embraced me with heartfelt pleasure in His two transcendental arms. Lord Krsna was so kind to me that He allowed me to sit down on the same bedstead where the goddess of fortune lies down. He considered me to be His real brother. How can I appreciate my obligation to Him? When I was tired, Srimati Rukminidevi, the goddess of fortune, began to fan me, holding the camara whisk in her own hand. She never considered her exalted position as the first queen of Lord Krsna. I was rendered service by the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of His high regard for the brahmanas, and by massaging my legs and feeding me with His own hand, He practically worshiped me! Aspiring for elevation to the heavenly planets, or liberation or all kinds of material opulences, or perfection in the mystic yoga powers, everyone throughout the universe worships the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. Yet the Lord was so kind to me that He did not give me even a farthing, knowing very well that I am a poverty-stricken man who, if I got some money, might become puffed up and mad after material opulence and so forget Him. The statement of the brahmana Sudama is correct. An ordinary man who is very poor and prays to the Lord for benediction in material opulence, and who somehow or other becomes richer in material opulence, immediately forgets his obligation to the Lord. Therefore, the Lord does not offer opulences to His devotee unless the devotee is thoroughly destitute. Rather, if a neophyte devotee serves the Lord very sincerely and at the same time wants material opulence, the Lord keeps him from obtaining it. Thinking in this way, the learned brahmana gradually reached his own home. But on reaching there he saw that everything was wonderfully changed. He saw that in place of his cottage there were big palaces made of valuable stones and jewels, glittering like the sun, moon and rays of fire. Not only were there big palaces, but at intervals there were beautifully decorated parks, in which many beautiful men and women were strolling. In those parks there were nice lakes full of lotus flowers and beautiful lilies, and there were flocks of multicolored birds. Seeing the wonderful conversion of his native place, the brahmana began to think to himself, How am I seeing all these changes? Does this place belong to me, or to someone else? If it is the same place where I used to live, then how has it so wonderfully changed? While the learned brahmana was considering this, a group of beautiful men and women with features resembling those of the demigods, accompanied by musical chanters, approached to welcome him. All were singing auspicious songs. The wife of the brahmana became very glad on hearing the tidings of her husbands arrival, and with great haste she also came out of the palace. The brahmanas wife appeared so beautiful that it seemed as if the goddess of fortune herself had come to receive him. As soon as she saw her husband present before her, tears of joy began to fall from her eyes, and her voice became so choked up that she could not even address her husband. She simply closed her eyes in ecstasy. But with great love and affection she bowed down before her husband, and within herself she thought of embracing him. She was fully decorated with a gold necklace and ornaments, and while standing among the maidservants she appeared like the wife of a demigod just alighting from an airplane. The brahmana was surprised to see his wife so beautiful, and in great affection and without saying a word he entered the palace with his wife. When the brahmana entered his personal apartment in the palace, he saw that it was not an apartment, but the residence of the King of heaven. The palace was surrounded by many columns of jewels. The couches and the bedsteads were made of ivory, bedecked with gold and jewels, and the bedding was as white as the foam of milk and as soft as a lotus flower. There were many whisks hanging from golden rods, and many golden thrones with sitting cushions as soft as the lotus flower. In various places there were velvet and silken canopies with laces of pearls hanging all around. The structure of the building was standing on first-class transparent marble, with engravings made of emerald stones. All the women in the palace were carrying lamps made of valuable jewels. The flames and the jewels combined to produce a wonderfully brilliant light. When the brahmana saw his position suddenly changed to one of opulence, and when he could not determine the cause for such a sudden change, he began to consider very gravely how it had happened. He thus began to think, From the beginning of my life I have been extremely poverty-stricken, so what could be the cause of such great and sudden opulence? I do not find any cause other than the all- merciful glance of my friend Lord Krsna, the chief of the Yadu dynasty. Certainly these are gifts of Lord Krsnas causeless mercy. The Lord is self-sufficient, the husband of the goddess of fortune, and thus He is always full with six opulences. He can understand the mind of His devotee, and He sumptuously fulfills the devotees desires. All these are acts of my friend, Lord Krsna. My beautiful dark friend Krsna is far more liberal than the cloud which can fill up the great ocean with water. Without disturbing the cultivator with rain during the day, the cloud brings liberal rain at night just to satisfy him. And yet when the cultivator wakes up in the morning, he considers that it has not rained enough. Similarly, the Lord fulfills the desire of everyone according to his position, and yet one who is not in Krsna consciousness considers all the gifts of the Lord to be less than his desire. On the other hand, when the Lord receives a little thing in love and affection from His devotee, He considers it a great and valuable gift. The vivid example is myself. I simply offered Him a morsel of chipped rice, and in exchange He has given me opulences greater than the opulence of the King of heaven. What the devotee actually offers the Lord is not needed by the Lord, for He is self- sufficient. If the devotee offers something to the Lord, it acts for his own interest because whatever a devotee offers the Lord comes back in a quantity a million times greater than what was offered. One does not become a loser by giving to the Lord, but he becomes a gainer by millions of times. The brahmana, feeling great obligation to Krsna, thought, I pray to have the friendship of Lord Krsna and to engage in His service, and to surrender fully unto Him in love and affection, life after life. I do not want any opulence. I only desire not to forget His service. I simply wish to be associated with His pure devotees. May my mind and activities be always engaged in His service. The unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna knows that many great personalities have fallen from their positions because of extravagant opulence. Therefore, even when His devotee asks for some opulence from Him, the Lord sometimes does not give it. He is very cautious about His devotees. Because a devotee in an immature position of devotional service may, if offered great opulence, fall from his position due to being in the material world, the Lord does not offer opulence to him. This is another manifestation of the causeless mercy of the Lord upon His devotee. His first interest is that the devotee may not fall. He is exactly like a well-wishing father who does not give much wealth into the hand of his immature son, but who, when the son is grown up and knows how to spend money, gives him the whole treasury house. The learned brahmana thus concluded that whatever opulences he had received from the Lord should not be used for his extravagant sense gratification, but for the service of the Lord. The brahmana accepted his newly-acquired opulence, but he did so in a spirit of renunciation, unattached to sense gratification, and thus he lived very peacefully with his wife, enjoying all the facilities of opulence as prasadam of the Lord. He enjoyed varieties of foodstuff by offering it to the Lord and then taking it as prasadam. Similarly, if by the grace of the Lord we get such opulences as material wealth, fame, power, education and beauty, it is our duty to consider that they are all gifts of the Lord and must be used for His service, not for our sense enjoyment. The learned brahmana remained in that position, and instead of deterioating due to great opulence, his love and affection for Lord Krsna increased day after day. Material opulence can be the cause of degradation and also the cause of elevation, according to the purposes for which it is used. If opulence is used for sense gratification, it is the cause of degradation, and if it is used for the service of the Lord, it is the cause of elevation. It is evident from Lord Krsnas dealings with Sudama Vipra that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very, very pleased with a person is possessed of brahminical qualities. A qualified brahmana like Sudama Vipra is naturally a devotee of Lord Krsna. Therefore it is said, brahmano vaisnavah: a brahmana is a Vaisnava. Or sometimes it is said, brahmanah panditah. Pandita means a highly learned person. A brahmana cannot be foolish or uneducated. Therefore there are two divisions of brahmanas, namely Vaisnavas and panditas. Those who are simply learned are panditas, but not yet devotees of the Lord, or Vaisnavas. Lord Krsna is not especially pleased with them. Simply the qualification of being a learned brahmana is not sufficient to attract the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A brahmana must not only be well qualified according to the requirements stated in scriptures such as Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad- Bhagavatam, but at the same time he must be a devotee of Lord Krsna. The vivid example is Sudama Vipra. He was a qualified brahmana, unattached to all sorts of material sense enjoyment, and at the same time a great devotee of Lord Krsna. Lord Krsna, the enjoyer of all sacrifices and penances, is very fond of a brahmana like Sudama Vipra, and we have seen by the actual behavior of Lord Krsna how much He adores such a brahmana. Therefore, the ideal stage of human perfection is to become a brahmana-vaisnava like Sudama Vipra. Sudama Vipra realized that although Lord Krsna is unconquerable, He nevertheless agrees to be conquered by His devotees. He realized how kind Lord Krsna was to him, and he was always in trance, constantly thinking of Krsna. By such constant association with Lord Krsna, whatever darkness of material contamination was remaining within his heart was completely cleared away, and very shortly he was transferred to the spiritual kingdom, which is the goal of all saintly persons in the perfectional stage of life. Sukadeva Gosvami has stated that all persons who hear this history of Sudama Vipra and Lord Krsna will know how affectionate Lord Krsna is to the brahmana devotees like Sudama. Therefore anyone who hears this history gradually becomes as qualified as Sudama Vipra, and he is thus transferred to the spiritual kingdom of Lord Krsna. Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty-first chapter of Krsna, The Brahmana Sudama Benedicted by Lord Krsna. --------------------------------------------- ---------- vedabase.net/sb/10/81/en1 Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10: The Summum Bonum Chapter 81: The Lord Blesses Sudama Brahmana SB 10.81.1-2: [Sukadeva Gosvami said:] Lord Hari, Krishna, perfectly knows the hearts of all living beings, and He is especially devoted to the brahmanas. While the Supreme Lord, the goal of all saintly persons, conversed in this way with the best of the twice-born, He laughed and spoke the following words to that dear friend of His, the brahmana Sudama, all the while smiling and looking upon him with affection. SB 10.81.3: The Supreme Lord said: O brahmana, what gift have you brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me. SB 10.81.4: If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it. SB 10.81.5: [Sukadeva Gosvami continued:] Even after being addressed in this way, O King, the brahmana felt too embarrassed to offer his palmfuls of flat rice to the husband of the goddess of fortune. He simply kept his head bowed in shame. SB 10.81.6-7: Being the direct witness in the hearts of all living beings, Lord Krishna fully understood why Sudama had come to see Him. Thus He thought, In the past My friend has never worshiped Me out of a desire for material opulence, but now he comes to Me to satisfy his chaste and devoted wife. I will give him riches that even the immortal demigods cannot obtain. SB 10.81.8: Thinking like this, the Lord snatched from the brahmanas garment the grains of flat rice tied up in an old piece of cloth and exclaimed, What is this? SB 10.81.9: My friend, have You brought this for Me? It gives Me extreme pleasure. Indeed, these few grains of flat rice will satisfy not only Me but also the entire universe. SB 10.81.10: After saying this, the Supreme Lord ate one palmful and was about to eat a second when the devoted goddess Rukmini took hold of His hand. SB 10.81.11: [Queen Rukmini said:] This is more than enough, O Soul of the universe, to secure him an abundance of all kinds of wealth in this world and the next. After all, ones prosperity depends simply on Your satisfaction. SB 10.81.12: [Sukadeva Gosvami continued:] The brahmana spent that night in Lord Acyutas palace after eating and drinking to his full satisfaction. He felt as if he had gone to the spiritual world. SB 10.81.13: The next day, Sudama set off for home while being honored by Lord Krishna, the self-satisfied maintainer of the universe. The brahmana felt greatly delighted, my dear King, as he walked along the road. SB 10.81.14: Although he had apparently received no wealth from Lord Krishna, Sudama was too shy to beg for it on his own. He simply returned home, feeling perfectly satisfied to have had the Supreme Lords audience. SB 10.81.15: [Sudama thought:] Lord Krishna is known to be devoted to the brahmanas, and now I have personally seen this devotion. Indeed, He who carries the goddess of fortune on His chest has embraced the poorest beggar. SB 10.81.16: Who am I? A sinful, poor friend of a brahmana. And who is Krishna? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in six opulences. Nonetheless, He has embraced me with His two arms. SB 10.81.17: He treated me just like one of His brothers, making me sit on the bed of His beloved consort. And because I was fatigued, His queen personally fanned me with a yak-tail camara. SB 10.81.18: Although He is the Lord of all demigods and the object of worship for all brahmanas, He worshiped me as if I were a demigod myself, massaging my feet and rendering other humble services. SB 10.81.19: Devotional service to His lotus feet is the root cause of all the perfections a person can find in heaven, in liberation, in the subterranean regions and on earth. SB 10.81.20: Thinking If this poor wretch suddenly becomes rich, he will forget Me in his intoxicating happiness, the compassionate Lord did not grant me even a little wealth. SB 10.81.21-23: [Sukadeva Gosvami continued:] Thinking thus to himself, Sudama finally came to the place where his home stood. But that place was now crowded on all sides with towering, celestial palaces rivaling the combined brilliance of the sun, fire and the moon. There were splendorous courtyards and gardens, each filled with flocks of cooing birds and beautified by ponds in which kumuda, ambhoja, kahlara and utpala lotuses grew. Finely attired men and doe- eyed women stood in attendance. Sudama wondered, What is all this? Whose property is it? How has this all come about? SB 10.81.24: As he continued to ponder in this way, the beautiful men-and maidservants, as effulgent as demigods, came forward to greet their greatly fortunate master with loud song and instrumental music. SB 10.81.25: When she heard that her husband had arrived, the brahmana s wife quickly came out of the house in a jubilant flurry. She resembled the goddess of fortune herself emerging from her divine abode. SB 10.81.26: When the chaste lady saw her husband, her eyes filled with tears of love and eagerness. As she held her eyes closed, she solemnly bowed down to him, and in her heart she embraced him. SB 10.81.27: Sudama was amazed to see his wife. Shining forth in the midst of maidservants adorned with jeweled lockets, she looked as effulgent as a demigoddess in her celestial airplane. SB 10.81.28: With pleasure he took his wife with him and entered his house, where there were hundreds of gem-studded pillars, just as in the palace of Lord Mahendra. SB 10.81.29-32: In Sudamas home were beds as soft and white as the foam of milk, with bedsteads made of ivory and ornamented with gold. There were also couches with golden legs, as well as royal camara fans, golden thrones, soft cushions and gleaming canopies hung with strings of pearls. Upon the walls of sparkling crystal glass, inlaid with precious emeralds, shone jeweled lamps, and the women in the palace were all adorned with precious gems. As he viewed this luxurious opulence of all varieties, the brahmana calmly reasoned to himself about his unexpected prosperity. SB 10.81.33: [Sudama thought:] I have always been poor. Certainly the only possible way that such an unfortunate person as myself could become suddenly rich is that Lord Krishna, the supremely opulent chief of the Yadu dynasty, has glanced upon Me. SB 10.81.34: After all, my friend Krishna, the most exalted of the Dasarhas and the enjoyer of unlimited wealth, noticed that I secretly intended to beg from Him. Thus even though He said nothing about it when I stood before Him, He actually bestowed upon me the most abundant riches. In this way He acted just like a merciful rain cloud. SB 10.81.35: The Lord considers even His greatest benedictions to be insignificant, while He magnifies even a small service rendered to Him by His well-wishing devotee. Thus with pleasure the Supreme Soul accepted a single palmful of the flat rice I brought Him. SB 10.81.36: The Lord is the supremely compassionate reservoir of all transcendental qualities. Life after life may I serve Him with love, friendship and sympathy, and may I cultivate such firm attachment for Him by the precious association of His devotees. SB 10.81.37: To a devotee who lacks spiritual insight, the Supreme Lord will not grant the wonderful opulences of this world -- kingly power and material assets. Indeed, in His infinite wisdom the unborn Lord well knows how the intoxication of pride can cause the downfall of the wealthy. SB 10.81.38: [Sukadeva Gosvami continued:] Thus firmly fixing his determination by means of his spiritual intelligence, Sudama remained absolutely devoted to Lord Krishna, the shelter of all living beings. Free from avarice, he enjoyed, together with his wife, the sense pleasures that had been bestowed upon him, always with the idea of eventually renouncing all sense gratification. SB 10.81.39: Lord Hari is the God of all gods, the master of all sacrifices, and the supreme ruler. But He accepts the saintly brahmanas as His masters, and so there exists no deity higher than them. SB 10.81.40: Thus seeing how the unconquerable Supreme Lord is nonetheless conquered by His own servants, the Lords dear brahmana friend felt the remaining knots of material attachment within his heart being cut by the force of his constant meditation on the Lord. In a short time he attained Lord Krishnas supreme abode, the destination of great saints. SB 10.81.41: The Lord always shows brahmanas special favor. Anyone who hears this account of the Supreme Lords kindness to brahmanas will come to develop love for the Lord and thus become freed from the bondage of material work.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 05:21:47 +0000
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