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TEXT 18
yatha sasarja bhutani
dakso duhitr-vatsalah
retasa manasa caiva
tan mamavahitah srnu

TRANSLATION
Sukadeva Goswami continued: Please hear from me with great attention how Prajapati Dakna, who was very affectionate to his daughters, created different types of living entities through his semen and through his mind.

PURPORT
The word duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ indicates that all the prajās were born from Dakna’s daughters. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that apparently Dakna had no son.

TEXT 19 
manasaivasrjat purvam
prajapatir imah prajah
devasura-manusyadin
nabhah-sthala-jalaukasah

TRANSLATION
With his mind, Prajapati Dakna first created all kinds of demigods, demons, human beings, birds, beasts, aquatics and so on.

TEXT 20 
tam abrmhitam alokya
praja-sargam prajapatih
vindhya-padan upavrajya
so ’carad duskaram tapah

TRANSLATION
But when Prajapati Dakna saw that he was not properly generating all kinds of living entities, he approached a mountain near the Vindhya mountain range, and there he executed very difficult austerities.

TEXT 21 
tatraghamarsanam nama
tirtham papa-haram param
upasprsyanusavanam
tapasatosayad dharim

TRANSLATION
Near that mountain was a very holy place named Aghamarnaṇa. There Prajapati Dakna executed ritualistic ceremonies and satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, by engaging in great austerities to please Him.

TEXT 22
astausid dhamsa-guhyena
bhagavantam adhoksajam
tubhyam tad abhidhasyami
kasyatusyad yatha harih

TRANSLATION
My dear King, I shall fully explain to you the Haṁsa-guhya prayers, which were offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by Dakna, and I shall explain how the Lord was pleased with him for those prayers.

PURPORT
It is to be understood that the Haṁsa-guhya prayers were not composed by Dakna, but were existing in the Vedic literature.

TEXT 23 
sri-prajapatir uvaca
namah parayavitathanubhutaye
guna-trayabhasa-nimitta-bandhave
adrsta-dhamne guna-tattva-buddhibhir
nivrtta-manaya dadhe svayambhuve

TRANSLATION
Prajapati Dakna said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the illusory energy and the physical categories it produces. He possesses the potency for unfailing knowledge and supreme willpower, and He is the controller of the living entities and the illusory energy. The conditioned souls who have accepted this material manifestation as everything cannot see Him, for He is above the evidence of experimental knowledge. Self-evident and self-sufficient, He is not caused by any superior cause. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Him. 

PURPORT
The transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is explained herewith. He is not perceivable by the conditioned souls, who are accustomed to material vision and cannot understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists in His abode, which is beyond that vision. Even if a materialistic person could count all the atoms in the universe, he would still be unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in

Brahma-Samhita (5.34):

The conditioned souls may try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead for many billions of years through their mental speculative processes, traveling at the speed of the mind or the wind, but still the Absolute Truth will remain inconceivable to them because a materialistic person cannot measure the length and breadth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s unlimited existence. If the Absolute Truth is beyond measurement, one may ask, how can one realize Him? The answer is given here by the word svayambhuve: one may understand Him or not, but nevertheless He is existing in His own spiritual potency.

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HG Anuttama Das 
(Pranama mantras) 

We are continuing with the story of Daksa. He is a very colorful character in the Bhagavatam. We all know the story how previously he had offended Lord Siva and lost his head and got the head of a goat. He died and now he's back again. In later purports, it's explained by the acharyas that he maintained his material desires for sex life and to populate the world. We are reading in todays verses because he was not fully capable of performing those duties. He has now undergone many austerities to become purified to please the Lord and to gain some strength to perform his service.

Starting with this verse twenty-three that we're reading today, he will offer very elaborate and deeply philosophical prayers. Later, Lord Visnu will actually appear before him and offer him benedictions. What is kind of interesting is to note that he pleases the Lord, he gets the blessings of the Lord, he gets all of his desires fulfilled, and then he commits more offenses. He is a very interesting person. And he is a very complicated personality.

I was speaking this morning with Krishnadas Kaviraj about Daksa and he said, "Yes. He is a very complicated personality." I was thinking that Krishnadas Kaviraj is an actor, and he was maybe thinking how difficult it would be to portray this person on stage.

We learn from Daksa how complicated this material world can be. He was a devotee doing great austerities. He had important service to do. He pleased the Lord. And he still made big mistakes. We learn from him, and we can see in our own lives, how our situation is very complicated in this material world. Our situation is similarly complicated.

Bhagavad Gita describes that this whole world is like a banyan tree. Sometimes in Mayapur we see relatively small banyan trees. As it is described, sometimes you cannot tell where it starts and where it ends. Is this the trunk? Was that the first trunk? Or did the trunk start over here? Where does it start and where does it end? The Bhagavatam also describes how our situation is involved with so much karma that it's like a spider's web. The spider's web is very complicated, entangling, and sticky. Once it sticks to you, you can't get it off.

I don't live in Florida, but I visit there sometimes. On the side of the house is a big spider web. They also have big spiders. When something flies into the web, it's finished.

This world is so complicated. Our existence is very complicated. So what are we to do? If we hear this story of Daksa, it's actually a little scary. He was also serving and praying. We are serving and praying. He underwent austerities. The Lord even appeared and talked to him. I think it's safe to say that for most of us, the Lord has not appeared and talked to us yet. But he still got in trouble. What lessons can we draw and how can we avoid Daksa marga? We do not want to follow the path of Daksa. We want to learn from him.

I was thinking that there are three things in particular that came to mind in studying these verses. First is that we all have to be very careful in the execution of our devotional service. Daksa was also performing devotional service. He was asked by his superiors to help populate the world. He was performing his yajna to try and please the Lord. But he was not careful.

Srila Prabhupada has told us that spiritual life is like a razor's edge. It is very easy to become cut. It is very easy to have bloodshed. We see that even in our movement. We have practical examples. Srila Prabhupada even said sometime, at least once, "Don't be surprised who leaves. Be surprised who stays. So difficult."

Daksa was very highly positioned, but what happened? He became a little proud. He became proud in his relationship with Lord Siva. Later, he became proud in his relationship with Narada Muni. He lost everything. Yesterday, Chandramauli Maharaj very nicely spoke about the importance of avoiding offenses. He quoted from Bhaktivinoda Thakura about some of those offenses to be avoided. One thing that we should keep in mind as a general principle, is that often offenses come from a lack of knowledge, but generally, a big factor is pride. Daksa became proud, and therefore he became offensive.

It is described in the Bhagavad Gita that the first quality of knowledge is humility. If we cultivate humility, then the chance of becoming proud automatically goes down. Lord Caitanya instructed us that we should always ourselves as the servant of the servant of the servant, seven times removed.

This is the first lesson that we can draw here. We should be very careful in the execution of our service. We should not think that now, "I am the assistant to the assistant to the assistant to the kitchen in charge. Now I am a very special devotee. Everyone should treat me with respect." Or we should not think, "Now I am a grihastha. I don't have to sleep in a room with ten men. Now I only have to worry about how to pay for that room." We should not become proud in that way. Or we should not think that, "Now I am temple president. Now I am GBC. Now I am sannyasi. Now I am guru." In any of those positions, if we become full of pride, then our position is very dangerous. So we should be careful in the execution of devotional service. We should learn this from Daksa.

The second point is kind of unique with Daksa's situation. It is similar to the first, but it is also different. We should try very, very hard to not be self absorbed. The nature of the material world is to be self absorbed. Instead of Krishna Conscious, we become me conscious. We bring this into our mentality in devotional service because we are just coming out of material existence.

We have this tendency to think that my way is the best. My service is the best service. My ashram is the best ashram. My temple is the best temple. My culture is the best culture. My style is the best style. My guru is the best guru. On the global stage we see that my nation is the best nation. Or that my religion is the best religion. But if mine is best, then yours is less. My service is best, your service is less. My ashram is best, yours is less. My gender is best, yours is less. My language is best, yours is less. This is self absorption.

It is not actually self absorption. Self absorption means that I am the lowest of the lowest of the lowest servant of Krishna. That is the real self. Therefore, because you are a devotee of Krishna, whatever your situation is, you are higher than me. I am your servant. I should appreciate you. I should appreciate your service. Not only appreciate it - that is like neutral rasa. I should become higher than that. I want to actively serve you in whatever way that I can.

We should remember that Daksa was not a demon. He was a highly evolved person. His son in law was Siva. Not to offend any of the grihasthas here, I am sure you have very exalted sons in law. But you do not have Lord Siva as your son in law. He was the leader of the brahman community. In so many ways Daksa was such an exalted person. Even the Lord appeared in front of him. But he committed offenses. He was thinking that his position was the most important.

Later, with Narada Muni, he was thinking that his service was the most important. He was one of the prajapatis. He was supposed to fill the universe. That was his duty. Narada Muni's duty was to empty the universe. But he did not appreciate Narada Muni's service. He thought that, "My service is very important. Your service is nonsense." So he cursed him because he was so proud. "My service is important and your service is not."

So we do not want to follow Daksa marga. If we are book distributors, we should value the service of the pujaris who are so nicely decorating the Lord and inspiring us in our service. If we are pujaris, we should value the service of the book distributors because they are bringing people to see the Lord. Similarly, grihasthas should value the brahmacaris. We need their enthusiasm. We need to have their association and their one pointed attention on service. For the brahmacaris, we need the balance of the grihasthas, their wisdom and their support.

So many different services and so many different ashrams are all meant to support each other. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada said that we need the principle of unity in diversity. He told the GBC that they should come to Mayapur every to discuss this topic, unity in diversity.

This is the second very important lesson here from Daksa. We are the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the American Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Bengali Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Sannyasi's Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Ladies Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Men's Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Young People's Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Prabhupada's Diksa Disciple's Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Liberal's Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are not the Conservative's Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. To keep that international society together, we need to appreciate each other.

We need to be very careful in the execution of our service, and that in our enthusiasm for our style, our method, our focus, we don't minimize others. There are many ways to serve the Lord. There is no one right way to serve the Lord. There are some wrong ways. But there is no one right way.

Rupa Goswami explains in the Nectar of Devotion that the principles of Krishna Consciousness are there, but there are differences in the details. That is ok. That is a good thing. That strengthens us. It is to be expected. When we look on the alter, the astasakhi are there and they are not all wearing the same saris. They are not all offering the same flowers. They are not all singing the same songs. There is variety. Krishna wants variety. He is not threatened by variety. He created the variety. The question is do we offer it to Him?

For example, let's say family life. The principle of family life is to cooperate together to serve the Lord. That is the principle. The details may vary. You can have a big house or a little house. You can have ten children or you can have no children. It does not matter. The principle is the same - cooperate to serve the Lord. In one family, the wife may be at home very nicely serving the deities and taking care of the home. In the other family, the wife may be an astro physicist. We have astro physicists helping to build the TOVP. Is that wrong? In some situations the husband may work and have a very nice job to provide for the family. In other families, the husband may be a simple pujari who just gets a little place to stay from the temple.

Is one right and one wrong? Only if the principle is violated. If they are focused on Krishna, and she's happy and he's happy, the children are happy, they are serving their guru to the best of their ability, they are saving everything that they can to support the Lord's service, if the principle is there and their life is God centered, then it is positive. Success is guaranteed.

Daksa's problem is he was thinking that, "My service is the right service and yours is wrong." We should be careful to avoid that path. Not demand that you serve the way that I do. Not demand that your mood is the same as my mood. I like to wear colored kurtas. Prabhuji is wearing a white kurta. Not so good, prabhu. Who cares? He is serving Krishna nicely. I am trying to serve Krishna nicely. So let me encourage you to fulfill your capacity to serve the Lord, and please help me to serve in my humble capacity.

The third point that I will make briefly from this story is about how merciful the Supreme Personality of Godhead is. Daksa was such an offender. He offended Siva. He practically caused a civil war between the planets. He had his head cut off. He's so bad that he comes back with the head of a goat. He gets another chance. He worships the Lord. More prayers. More benedictions. He had so many children. Narada Muni comes and convinces him to go back to Godhead. Mirroring many modern materialistic parents, he gets angry. Something is missing. He worshiped the Lord. You'll see in these prayers how he talks about how material life is useless and it's all about going back to Godhead. But then when his sons go back to Godhead, they take off to perform austerities, he gets upset. He is such a fool. But Krishna still accepts him. Krishna gives him another chance. In this way, we do follow Daksa marga. Not to offend anyone, but generally, we tend to make a lot of mistakes. We tend to still maintain some material desires in our hearts. Sometimes we even offend Sri Sri Radha Govinda, Radha Madhava. But Srila Prabhupada explains in the Krishna book that the most important quality of Krishna is His forgiveness, His mercifulness. He is so kind that He picks us up from the lowest stages of existence and has brought us to the shelter of His lotus feet. We have made so many mistakes in this life and in countless previous lives. Still, He allows us to serve Him.

We have this wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord and to serve His devotees. Srila Prabhupada said that if we understood this opportunity, we would never waste a moment. We would actually run from service to service to service. As he said, when we become Krishna Conscious, he used this beautiful English expression, you will enjoy life with a thrill at every moment. What a wonderful idea - to enjoy life with a thrill at every moment. To be excited, "Oh it's time for mangala arotika. Now we can have Lord Nrsimhadeva's darshan. Now Tulasi puja. Now we get to chant japa. Now we can hear Bhagavatam." The next part is easy. "Now I can take prasadam! Now I can do service. Now I can go out and sell books and be offended by so many materialistic people. Now I can go in the office and worry about how I can pay the bills for Radha Govinda, Radha Madhava. Now I can go home and try to teach my rascal teenager how to give something to Krishna."

We are so fortunate. This year, we are especially fortunate. 2015 and 2016 may be the most important years of our lives. At least in one way. This is the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's leaving India to go to the West. And next year is the anniversary of his founding the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, without which, we would not be here. Radha Madhava would not be here. The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium would not be here. Who knows where we would be. Most of us shudder at the thought of where we would be if Srila Prabhupada had not gone to the West. Then, of course, he went back again to India, and from there, all over the world.

We need to understand this great and wonderful quality of the Lord. He is unlimitedly merciful, forgiving, and has unlimited love for each one of us despite all of our warts, spots, sins, envy, lust, and greed, He sees right through that. Srila Prabhupada says that Krishna wants us to go back to Him more than we can even desire. So understanding that Krishna's desire and Srila Prabhupada's desire are so great for us to come back to Him.

We should be very careful in the execution of our devotional service. Avoid this razor's edge. Do not become proud over illusory things. Be very careful to not become so absorbed in our own concepts. Did I unnecessarily criticize others? To caution others in our service, that is a good thing. To share with others our own enthusiasm of our own realization of Krishna, that is a very good thing. But to demand that others see and serve the Lord the same way I do, this can ultimately be not a good thing. To remember how merciful Krishna is.

To see that in these two years, 2015 and 2016, each and every one of us has a special opportunity to tell people about the Lord. New audiences are going to want to hear about the Hare Krishna movement. They are going to say, "You've been around for fifty years? I didn't know you have been here that long. What do you do, anyway? What's your message? What are you doing to contribute to the world?"

We are naturally going to have the attention of governments and the media. We will have the attention of our neighbors, religious leaders, and scholars. They are going to take a look at our society more closely. It is going to give us a chance to tell the glories of Srila Prabhupada and the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How he loves each and every one of them so much that He sent His pure devotee just to engage them in the Lord's service.

We have Bhaktimarga Swami here. He is planning to walk from Boston, where Srila Prabhupada landed, to Butler, PA where he went, and then to New York to awaken people to Srila Prabhupada's glories. Next year, if he does not run out of shoes first, he is going to walk from New York all the way to the West Coast, just as Srila Prabhupada traveled to the West Coast, San Francisco. In every town and village, people will ask, "Who are you? What is this Krishna? Who is this swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada?"

It's a great opportunity for us to preach more vigorously. To do that effectively, we have to make sure that our own hearts are pure. We are very careful about the execution of devotional service that we do not become proud, that we value the service of every vaisnava. We encourage every vaisnava that we meet. If we always remember how loving and lovable Sri Krishna is, then our preaching potency will be very strong. So many people will be moved by our words, and even more than our words. When they visit our communities, they will see how loving and supportive our people are. They will see that we generally feel ourselves to be servants of each other and help each other. We do not unnecessarily criticize each other. Just like in the book, they'll read how the gopis are pushing everyone to Krishna. "They are just like their book. They have integrity. I can trust these people. I can learn from these people. I can follow these people. I want to be like these people."

In this way, Srila Prabhupada's family will grow more and more and more. Lord Caitanya's desire that the world is flooded with love of Krishna, and His name will be chanted in every town and village, will manifest more and more, unlimitedly.

By our humble efforts to assist, we will get a little, tiny bit of credit. We will attract the loving glance of Srila Prabhupada, our gurus, and the Lord. We will be filled with happiness and enjoy life with a thrill at every moment. We will always be blessed with the association of the vaisnavas. At the end, we will go back home, back to Godhead.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Sri Sri Radha Madhava ki jaya! Gaura Premanande Haribol!

Devotee: I'd just like to say thank you for such a common sense class which I can empathize with from beginning to end. I love when I hear that the Srimad Bhagavatam is brought to life like this in a way that I can relate with. In a way that I believe that it's really something that I can be a part of, even if I have something small to offer, it's significant. So I've taken a lot away from this mornings class, mainly knowing that Krishna Consciousness has got to be based on pure, common sense. Thank you very much.

Anuttama Das: Let me just share two quick stories. I remember when I was first a devotee. I was a brahmacari for about ten years. One of the first times I was asked to give class, I gave a pakka brahmacari class. There was not a single woman or grihastha in the room who was not thoroughly discouraged. The temple president spent some time afterwards trying to broaden my vision.

A few years later I went to an Indian program. I had the opportunity to hear a sannyasi speak who was outside of our lineage. He was a vaisnava. He spoke very nicely. I noticed that all of the women, grihasthas, and brahmacaris were all encouraged by his class. I remember thinking, why are my classes not like this? Why are other devotees classes sometimes not like that? It does not mean that we do not speak the truth. Sometimes we have to cut.

We know from Srila Prabhupada's perfect example that everyone was enlivened.

Devotees talk about how even when Srila Prabhupada would chastise them, they were enlivened. If in some little way this class inspired you, then I will try and take that as encouragement for myself to try to do that.

Thank you all very, very much for your service to Srila Prabhupada. Everyone is extremely valuable. I pray that Krishna will inspire you more and more every single day. ISKCON founder acharya, BBT founder acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!