Mayapur Voice

Continued from previous page… Thus far we have not come across any mantra in Sri Isopanishad in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is denied. It is said that He can run faster than anyone. Those who are running after other planets are certainly persons, and if the Lord can run faster than all of […]

Continued from previous page… Lord Krishna, who is known as Mukunda, only can grant liberation from the material world. Sri Isopanishad therefore instructs that we should not seek temporary relief of our difficulties by worshiping the dependent demigods, who can bestow only temporary benefit. Rather, we must worship the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who […]

Continued from previous page… Purports to Mantra 12 begins on this page. MANTRA 12 TRANSLATION. Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the impersonal Absolute. PURPORT. The Sanskrit word asambhuti refers to those who have no independent existence. […]

Continued from previous page… The culture of vidya summarized. Purport to Mantra 11 ends on this page. That is the result of the advancement of material knowledge and the neglect of the most important part of life, the culture of spiritual knowledge. Sri Isopanishad herein warns that we must not follow this dangerous path leading […]

Continued from previous page… Sri Isopanishad instructs us not to make one-sided attempts to win the struggle for existence. Everyone is struggling hard for existence, but the laws of material nature are so hard and fast that they do not allow anyone to surpass them. In order to attain a permanent life, one must be […]

Continued from previous page… Thus the perfect disciple must be like Arjuna, and the spiritual master must be as good as the Lord Himself. This is the process of learning vidya (knowledge) from the dhira (the undisturbed). An adhira (one who has not undergone the training of a dhira) cannot be an instructive leader. Modern […]

Continued from previous page… Explained how the culture of nescience is the cause for today’s chaotic condition across all sectors of society. In the modern society, even a boy thinks himself self-sufficient and pays no respect to elderly men. Due to the wrong type of education being imparted in our universities, boys all over the […]

Continued from previous page… Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur explains that instead of culturing real knowledge, modern man is chasing advancement of material knowledge which makes him no better than an ass. (6) One should search out a bona fide spiritual master who can lead him gradually to the stage of spiritual realization, and one must submit […]

Continued from previous page… Purports to Mantra 9 ends here with Srila Prabhupada explaining why those who are simply veda-vada-rata cannot understand the Absolute Truth. Mantra 10 discusses knowledge and nescience. Such people misguide others by misinterpreting the Vedic literature. Sometimes they even condemn the Puranas, which are authentic Vedic explanations for laymen. The veda-vada-ratas […]

Continued from previous page… As far as vidya is concerned, the first mantra has explained very clearly that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of everything and that forgetfulness of this fact is ignorance. The more a man forgets this fact of life, the more he is in darkness. In view of this, a godless […]

Continued from previous page… Srila Prabhupada explains why the Supreme Lord is described as antiseptic and prophylactic. Purports to Mantra 8 ends here. In Manra 9 discusses vidya and avidya. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.30-31) it is stated that those who are captivated by the temporary beauties of the external energy forget the real aim of life, […]

Continued from previous page…  Srila Prabhupada explains how the archa-vigraha, or a deity form of the Lord, is also an expansion of the Lord just like His other innumerable expansions. In the Brahma-samhita (5.1) there is a similar description of the Supreme Lord. He is described there as sac-chid-ananda-vigraha, which means that He is the […]

Continued from previous page… Purports to Mantra 7 ends here with a note that godless civilization ends in lamentation. Mantra 8 starts with description of Lord’s transcendental body. We are all meant to join Him and enjoy life with one transcendental interest and without any clash. That is the highest platform of spiritual interest, and […]

Continued from previous page… Srila Prabhupada clarifies what the Vedic scriptures mean when they talk about the spiritual souls’ oneness with the Supreme Lord.   MANTRA 7 TRANSLATION. One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or […]

Continued from previous page…  Above the madhyama-adhikari is the uttama-adhikari, who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee does not discriminate between an atheist and a theist but sees everyone as part and parcel of God. He knows that there is no essential difference between a vastly learned brahmana and a […]

Continued from previous page… Purports to Mantra 5 ends on this page. Mantra 6 starts with describing maha-bhagvata devotees of the Supreme Lord. When the child saint Prahlada Maharaja was in the presence of his atheist father, his father asked him, “Where is your God?” When Prahlada replied that God resides everywhere, the father angrily […]

Continued from previous page…  Being the source of both spiritual and material energies, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can appear in a form made of matter and spiritualize it. The abode of the Lord is beyond the material sky, and we have no means to measure even this material sky. If the material sky extends […]

Continued from previous page… Purports to Mantra 4 end on this page. Commenting on Mantra 5, Srila Prabhupada points out Supreme Lord’s contradictory qualities is a proof of His inconceivable potencies.  This fourth mantra of Sri Isopanishad very clearly suggests that the Absolute Truth is ultimately the Absolute Person; otherwise there would have been no […]

Continued from previous page… Srlia Prabhupada’s purport to Mantra 3 ends on this page. Mantra 4 mentions about the Personality of Godhead and His energies. Such materialistic asuras sometimes make a show of religion, but their ultimate aim is material prosperity. The Bhagavad-gita (16.17-18) rebukes such men by calling them atma-sambhavita, meaning that they are considered great only […]

Continued from previous page… This page talks about human responsibilities and what makes them different from animals. MANTRA 3. TRANSLATION. The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance. PURPORT. Human life is distinguished from animal life due to […]

Continued from previous page… When he realizes the authority of the Personality of Godhead—Vasudeva, or Krishna—it is to be understood that he has attained the stage of positive knowledge. In this purified stage the modes of nature—namely goodness, passion and ignorance—cannot act, and he is able to work on the basis of naishkarmya. Such work (karma) […]

Continued from previous page… He must offer everything for the Lord’s service and partake only of the remnants of food offered to the Lord. This will enable him to discharge his duty properly. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.26) the Lord directly states that He accepts vegetarian food from the hands of a pure devotee. Therefore a human […]

Continued from previous page… The cow, for instance, gives milk, but she does not drink that milk: she eats grass and straw, and her milk is designated as food for human beings. Such is the arrangement of the Lord. Thus we should be satisfied with those things He has kindly set aside for us, and […]

MANTRA 1: TRANSLATION. Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong. PURPORT. Vedic knowledge is infallible because […]

SRI ISOPANISHAD  –  INVOCATION TRANSLATION. The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so […]

Continued from previous page… He is original, the oldest, but whenever you look at a picture of Krishna you’ll find a young boy fifteen or twenty years old. You will never find an old man. You have seen pictures of Krishna as a charioteer from the Bhagavad-gita. At that time He was not less than […]

Continued from previous page… There is a spiritual sky. There is another nature, which is beyond manifestation and nonmanifestation. But how will you know that there is a sky where the planets and inhabitants are eternal? All this knowledge is there, but how will you make experiments? It is not possible. Therefore you have to […]

This is the Vedic principle, and we accept it. Vedic principles are accepted as axiomatic truth, for there cannot be any mistake. That is acceptance. For instance, in India cow dung is accepted as pure, and yet cow dung is the stool of an animal. In one place you’ll find the Vedic injunction that if […]

Ladies and gentlemen, today’s subject matter is the teachings of the Vedas. What are the Vedas? The Sanskrit verbal root of veda can be interpreted variously, but the purport is finally one. Veda means knowledge. Any knowledge you accept is veda, for the teachings of the Vedas are the original knowledge. In the conditioned state, […]

Recently we were requested to add a special series where readers can read everyday one page of Vedic scriptures translated and commented upon by His Divine Grace Srlia A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Acknowledging and appreciating the stated purpose, we are glad to announce that we have made arrangements for posting every day one page of […]