Balaram Purnima

Yes, it's totally, completely unprepared, improvised talk. But we were working and we decided that today is such an important day and we should talk at least a little bit about Krishna and Lord Balaram. It's a huge topic and definitely I will not be able to explain everything. But what I would like to start with is the reminder that Balaram is a manifestation of the spiritual master. He is Hakanda Guru Tattva. He is the Samasthi Rupa, or the universal manifestation of the principle of Guru. And that's why this day is so important for us aspiring Vaishnavas, who are trying to become Vaisnavas, those who are trying to become servants of the Lord by serving our spiritual master. So let's try to understand or say a few words in this connection about Baladev Tattva or Balaram Tattva, who is Lord Balaram. It's very beautifully explained by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada who is specifying the mood of Balaram. We know that Krishna is Svayamrupa. He is the original personality of Godhead. He is the original form of God. He is the original manifestation of this, you know, tattva of God. And he manifests in two ways. He expands himself in two ways. One is called Svayam Rupa. Then he manifests Svayam Prakash, or Prabhava Prakash and Vaibhava Prakash. In prabhava prakash, prakash means manifestation. And it's a very difficult science. We were talking with one devotee today how it is difficult to understand how one personality is expanding himself into so many different forms and whether he remains the one personality or what does it mean all these expansions. And sometimes people outside of Aishnava religion, they're bewildered by this conception, how one God sees that God is one, how he manifests himself in so many different forms, and how we worship so many different forms. And all these signs of expansion are very difficult to understand. And therefore, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains it in a lot of details to Sanat Nagaswami. And he says that Svayam Rupa Krishna, who is original Krishna, who is always with Simati Radharani, his original energy, he manifests as Svayam Prakash, first manifestation. And then Svayam Prakash manifests as Prabhava Prakash. This is the identical form of Krishna, like he manifested himself in Prasalila. In each and every gopi he manifested his Prabhava Prakash. And each and every Prakash manifestation of the Lord was dancing differently. It's not like Krishna manifested himself in different forms, and all these forms are mechanically dancing the same dance. Every Prabhava Prakash of Krishna was dancing differently according to the mood, reciprocating with the mood of the gopi. All the gopis, the different expansions of Srimati Radharani, they have different moods, and Krishna was perfectly reciprocating with their moods, whereas Svayam Prakash Krishna was dancing with Śrīmatī Radharāṇī. So many Prabhava Prakashas are dancing with different Gopis, and Svayam Prakash, the original Prakash, the original manifestation of the Lord was dancing only with Śrīmatī Radharāṇī, this dance was the most perfect and the best dance, because her mood was the most complete, and therefore Krishna could manifest himself in a more complete way. And then he manifests himself as Vaibhava Prakash, and Vaibhava basically means Vibhava. Vibhava means his bhava is slightly different from the original form or original bhava, original mood of the Lord. In Prabhava Prakash, it's the same mood. Still, it manifests slightly differently according to time, place, circumstances, the gothis with whom he dances. But when he manifests as Vaibhava Prakash, his first manifestation as Vaibhava Prakash is, of course, Balaram. So let's talk a little bit about what is this different mood of Balaram. And Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Takuru Prabhupada explains it very beautifully. He says that Balaram manifests Vibhu, Vibhu feature of the Lord, whereas Lord Krishna manifests his Prabhu feature of the Lord. There are two terms which are basically identical, but still one is Vibhu. His Bhu, his existence is somewhat different. And another one is Prabhu. Prabhu means his existence is all-powerful. So Krishna is Prabhu and Balaram is Vibhu. And Vibhu basically means also all-powerful, but Vibhu means all-pervading. So, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, he says that the specific function of Balaram is the function of expanding the Lord. He is that feature of the Lord who is unlimitedly expanding and expanding and expanding. So the Lord himself, he maintains his original source of all powers, but the specific manifestation of the Lord, which is in charge of the expansion, is Balaram. And therefore, Gopi Paranadana Prabhu, while explaining this very inconceivable feature or the nature of the Lord, Lord Balaram, he had a very beautiful joke. He used to say that Krishna is everything, but Balaram is everything else. Therefore, he is called an antashe-sha. Sese means reminder, remainder, not reminder, remainder. Something which remains after everything. Krishna is everything, but whatever remains is Balaram. So, Krishna is everything and Balaram is everything else. So his specific feature as Balaram or as Vibhu, Vibhu means soul-pervading, it means that he manifests all these manifestations and all the different things, and he expands and expands and expands unlimitedly. And ultimately, all the living entities are expansion of Balaram. because he is in charge of expanding the Lord's opulence and the Lord's personality. And when it comes to the minute manifestation of the Lord, it's the living entity, individual living entities, and that's exactly what Balaram is doing. He is expanding himself, and we are all expansions of Balaram. And therefore he is the original spiritual master. And therefore he has the plow in his hand. And the idea is that the plow is the specific tool by which you sow the seeds, by which you grow the seeds, by which you put the seeds into soil and the seeds manifest themselves as individual plants. So that's exactly what Balaram is doing. He's holding the plow, and by this plow he is working with the material energy and planting the seeds of the living entities within the material energy. And ultimately they manifest as individual living entities, entities, but they are in reality the expansions of Lord Balaram. So that's what he is doing. And therefore he is the spiritual master. Therefore he is the original spiritual master because he is in charge of expansion. Ultimately he is expanding into living entities and And in the role of Balaram himself, who is the original source of all living entities, he is supposed to give the meaning of the life of individual living entities. What is the function of the spiritual master? The spiritual master is giving us the meaning of life. He is explaining to us or giving us this truth, what we are supposed to do and what is the meaning of our life. And that's why Balaram is expanding himself in different kinds of services. And by serving the Lord himself, he is teaching us, the living entities. He is engaging us, the living entities, to serve the original source of all existence, which he is ultimately manifesting and expanding himself. So, in this connection, again, I am not planning to give the complete description of Balaram Tatva Nisra. It is possible. But in this connection, I wanted to elaborate a little bit about the three names of Balarama which are given to him by Gargamuni. When Garga Muni in this 7th chapter of the 10th canto is giving, secretly giving the names to Krishna and to Balarama, he explains the meanings of these names. And he gives basically to Balarama three names. And he says that this son of yours, looking at Nandamaraj, he will be called Bala, he will be called Rama, and he will be called Sankarsana. And he gives his own explanation of this. He will be called Bala because he is so powerful. And we all know that Balaram was little chubby, and he was born to Rahini on this full moon day. And because it's full moon, he was very white. It is said that whoever is born on the full moon day, his complexion is milk-like, it's very white complexion. And again, Gargamuni says that he is called Bala, he would be called Bala because he is so physically powerful and he is protecting. He will be called Rama because he will be giving joy to his friends by manifesting different qualities. Rama means he is giving joy, the joy-giving entity. And therefore he is called Balaram. He is somebody who is very powerful and giving joy. And he is Sankarsana because he connected the two families together. He connected the Yadavas and the Nandamaraj together by being with Nandamaraj and being the son of Vasudev. So that's the explanation of Gargamuni. But let's try to meditate and try to understand the meaning of these three names of Lord Balaram in connection with his function as a spiritual master. because this is exactly what a spiritual master is supposed to do and these three names of Balaram are an explanation of three functions of a spiritual master. So the first name of Lord Balaram is Bala or Baladev is Bala which means the one who gives strength. And in connection with his function as a spiritual master, an original spiritual master, Samasthi guru, Accordingly, the minute manifestation of Guru is supposed to do the same. He gives the strength to the disciples or to his followers to serve. This is the first function of a spiritual master to give particular ego. Because the strength is coming from ego, from identity. The strength to perform certain functions is very much connected with our identity. Unless we know our identity, we will not be able to function or to act in this capacity. So this is the first function or the first role or the first duty of a spiritual master. to give us identity of a servant, and in this way, give us ego of a servant, and in this way, give us the strength to serve. That's why exactly Śrīla Prabhupāda was always stressing this point, again and again preaching that Jivara Svarupa Hoi Krishna Nitya Das. We are Nitya Das. We are servant, servant, servant, servant. So we are not this body. Again, this preaching of Śrīla Prabhupāda is an extremely important function of a spiritual master. To destroy the false identity which engages our energy in the wrong way. Channels our energy in the wrong way. when we waste our energy in trying to enjoy this body, in trying to enjoy this world, and ultimately destroying ourselves in the course of this so-called enjoyment. So the first duty of a spiritual master is to destroy the false identity and to give the real identity. And by giving the real identity, with the real identity, giving us the strength to do this service. Because when somebody is established in his identity, the identity has the tremendous power in itself. The established identity itself is a source of power and energy. I remember that once, somehow or other, in my very inconceivable career in devotional service, I was brought in the presence of Sonia Gandhi. It was... I don't exactly remember what was the circumstances. I think she was just victorious in some elections. It was long back. And there was a lot of people around her, and I was one of these people. And the amazing experience which I had at this moment is that she is extremely powerful, but not because she is powerful. Not because this particular Jiva is so powerful, but because she has the position of power, because she has this identity. And this identity inconceivably gives her power. There was, you know, really tangible aura of energy around her. Even though, I mean, who is she? She's just an Italian woman who has become, by some karma, has become very influential. But it was very, very extremely tangible, this power. She was emanating this power. And we have to understand that this is not her own power. This is the power which is given to us according to certain positions. And, you know, like, again, not to contaminate anyone's consciousness in this moment of time, but, you know, if we take, you know, the President of the United States of America, is it powerful by the dint of being the President of the United States of America? And he acts accordingly, or if he's a leader of some other powerful country like Russia. You know, the power is given, is attributed. I remember also, I have one disciple or follower, friend. He, at one point of his career or his life, he had a very powerful position. He was very, very influential. Then he gave everything up and became a devotee and became a brahmachari, went to this extent of renunciation. But he explained to me, he said, this enjoyment which you have when you have the position of power, when you literally feel the power which is going through you, the Shakti which is going through you, it's just indescribable enjoyment and therefore people have very hard time to give it up. As soon as they get this position and they have the illusion that this is their Shakti, they possess this Shakti, which is actually not their Shakti, but the Shakti attributed to certain positions in this world, it's very difficult to give it up because you just enjoy this, you know, using this energy which is going through you. So, again, what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the power which is connected with identity. We have identity very strongly established. It gives us tremendous power. Why Prabhupada was so powerful? Also, of course, he was a powerful jiva. Fulgiva, his incarnation, Shakti Avesh, Avatar, he was given this Shakti. But again, he had very strong identity and he always had this strong identity. His sense of mission and his identity was always there. And therefore, he was able and capable of performing these amazing things which he did. And like this, one of my favorite Prabhupada stories, when he was living in Keshavji Gaudiamat, and he was already, he was not sannyasi yet, but he was in his vanaprastha life, and he was preaching, going in the late programs. And he came once after the late program back to Keshavji Gaudiamat, And of course the Prashadam was already cold and he was eating some cold rice and cold chapati and cold sabji with somebody else who accompanied him to a late night program in Agra somewhere. So they came back late at night or maybe not so late, but the point was that Prashadam was cold. So chapatis were cold. And one Indian family looked in the temple room and kind of glanced over two men eating cold prasadam without any significance. And, you know, went away without paying any attention. And at this point of time, Prabhupada started chuckling. He was chuckling and chuckling. And then his companion, he asked, why are you chuckling? What happened? And Prabhupada said, these Indian people, they looked at us and they saw one old man eating cold rice and cold chapatis. But they didn't know which miracle Lord Chaitanya is planning to perform through this old man. so at this moment of time when Srila Prabhupada was kind of totally unknown and was not really manifested his real power the power was there because of this sense of mission and identity and we have this mission and identity established in us it gives a tremendous power sense of power and tremendous energy. And we can do a lot if our identity is established. If we really will become servants of the Lord, if this identity will be strongly established, it will be source of power. And therefore, one of the names, the first name of Balaram is Baladev. He is the source of power. and the first function of a spiritual master is to try to establish ourselves in this identity of a servant of the Lord, and in this way facilitate the spiritual energy going through us and giving us some powers to do. So it's all coming from this identity. So this is the first function of the spiritual master. And the second function is reflected in the Lord Ram. So he is Bala and he is Rama. And as Gargamuni explained in his little purport to these names, He is called Ram because he will be giving joy to his friends by his glorious qualities. So, in connection with his function as Samasthi Guru, Universal Guru, or Akanda Guru Tattva, And in connection with the individual functions of a guru, the second function which a guru has to perform is Ram, is giving joy by explaining the qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and giving us a very clear picture of Sambandi Tattva. So that's the second function. The first function is to destroy the false identity, to establish our real identity as the eternal servant of the Lord, being the expansion of Balaram and ultimately the expansion of the Lord. And Balaram is in charge of the expanding of the Lord up to the minute living entities. So his second function is to give us joy by explaining the qualities of reality, of absolute reality, the qualities of ultimately Krishna, and giving the picture of this sambanda tattva. And if we analyze ourselves or look back into our life as devotees, we all will confirm that this understanding of Sambandha Tattva, under Tattva, and understanding to a certain extent at least the qualities of Krishna, Supreme Personality of Godhead, gives the immense sense of joy. We become joyful just by the fact that the Lord is there, that He is all-pervading, that He is in the heart of all living entities. Even these simple things make us very happy. Just knowing these things, that the Lord is there, that He is the person, that He is personally related with every living entity. So the second function of Guru, who is the manifestation of Balaram, is to give joy by explaining the nature of reality. The qualities of the Supreme Lord which manifest in this material world. You know, sometimes people, and especially devotees, they become very pessimistic. You know, this world is full of sufferings and everything is just suffering. And they just reflect their mind into the reality. But actually, reality is very blissful. Because it's Krishna's reality. Because Krishna is there in this reality. And if we want to relate to Krishna, we have to understand the blissful nature of this reality. And we have to, you know, have this sense that this is Krishna's reality and therefore it's blissful. And ultimately it's the source of joy. And we are blissful by nature. We have this bliss hidden somewhere, and when our mind is disturbed, then we cannot really sense or experience this bliss. But in reality, that's the second quality of Guru, is to give you joy, while explaining the real nature of Krishna, of God, and this world. So, and this is the very real sense of joy which we experience when we hear spiritual master. When we hear spiritual master, we experience joy. Because we feel that's true, you know. He's telling us the truth and the truth is blissful. The truth is blissful by its nature. So that's why he is called Ram. He is Bala because he gives strength, and he is Ram because he is explaining the big picture of reality, the expanded picture of reality, which is ultimately blissful. And then the last, again, I didn't intend to talk so long, I'm really sorry. I will finish very soon. So the last, the third name which Gargamuni gave to Balaram was Sankarshan. And he explained because Sankarshan, he is attracting. He has the power to unite. He united the two families. But basically, that's the third and the most important function of the spiritual master. Again, these three names, they reflect the three features of the Lord. First, you're established in your real identity and you get the strength to perform your functions in the service. Second, you get the picture of reality and you become very blissful by engaging properly with this reality. Not just by trying to enjoy this reality, but by serving the reality which is the manifestation of the Lord. we become very blissful. And Sankarsana is the last function of spiritual master, the most important function of a spiritual master. He gives us the specific relationship with the Lord. He is uniting us with the Lord, and he is supposed to explain our specific function in relationship with the Lord by uniting us in a very specific way. Like, first he just generally established our identity. Then he explains how we should function in connection with the Lord by explaining the nature of reality, and that's reflected in his second name, which is Ram. And the third name, Sankarsson, means that ultimately a spiritual master is supposed to give you specific service on the higher stages of spiritual development, and the specific service which will connect you with the Lord, and in this way fulfill your mission, and in this way fill your life with meaning. Again, as I said, that's the duty of a spiritual master, to give us the meaning of life. And it is being conducted in these three phases to give the general identity and the strength to perform our service, to chant the Holy Name, give us joy by engaging more properly and living a more proper life in this reality and serving so many different manifestations of the Lord around us. And ultimately, as Sankarshan, He gives us very specific service. He's supposed to give us specific service, Like Naratam Das Thakur explains this in Prema Bhakti Chandrika, that my spiritual master will take me by hand and he will bring me to Rupa Manjari. And Rupa Manjari will tell me, this is your new little servant here and this is your specific service. So he says that my spiritual master, who is Lokanath Goswami, will take me by hand, will bring me to Shilurupa Manjari, who is Rupa Goswami in the spiritual world, and will engage me in my eternal service. So that's the meaning of the three names which Gargamuni gave to Balaram in connection with his function as Akanda Guru Tattva. and that's already much more than I wanted to say. Why Balarama's actions are contradictory supporting Duryodhana and not supporting Balarama's? Well, Radha Pramaut Prabhu is asking why Balarama is supporting Duryodhana and not supporting Pandavas, why his actions are a little contradictory in this sense. Well, Duryodhana was a good disciple. He was a very obedient disciple and he would please Balaram because he wanted to learn from him the club fighting. And he was really a good disciple. He should also learn good qualities from what type of disciples? Well, he was very humble in front of Balaram and was trying to please him. And we know that when Duryodhana became proud, then Balaram became very angry with him and he wanted to throw the whole Hastinapur into Yamuna. He wanted to destroy the whole Hastinapur. Balaram was kind of supporting Duryodhana. Because this is the quality of spiritual master. Spiritual master has the vision of the spark in every living entity, even in Duryodhana. So he wanted to support, he saw the spark and he was trying to increase the spark by supporting him. What else can I say, you know, he is just very merciful. He is so upset with Bhima when he hit Duryodhana wrong way. But he is not upset with Duryodhana, he reads so many atrocities and inciting Draupati and all. He is not considering that and he is only seeing Bhima's Nama actively. Pramod Prabhu is criticizing Balaram. That he is supporting Duryodhana wrongly. He was upset with Bhima, but he was not as upset with Duryodhana. What shall I say? We are not supposed to criticize Balarama about his appearance today. He is an inconceivable, independent personality of Godhead. And he had his, you know, sometimes spiritual master may like somebody. And some other devotees may become a little upset with the spiritual master. Why he likes this particular person so much, even though this person may be not perfect and may be doing even some nonsense. But still the spiritual master may have some soft spot in his heart toward this particular person because he sees something in him. So let's try to glorify Balarama on his appearance day, and try to justify his glorious actions. Actually, I have to finish this little improvised class now. now. I see Jaya Jagannath Prabhu, thank you very much for attending this class. But maybe we can meet again, maybe tomorrow, around same time, and then we can have questions and answers for shorter time. Because now it's getting a little late for me. So, Jaya Jagannath Prabhu, if you can kindly ask your question tomorrow at 6.30, then we can continue this. Again, I didn't prepare anything, I just thought a few... I had a few thoughts on this matter and I shared it with you. So let's meet again tomorrow at 6.30. Hare Krishna. Thank you very much.