Page 21 - History of Tirupathi Balaji and comparison of Sri Vaishnava

Bhrigu Muni enlightened the sages and demigods by revealing who is
actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without the help of a genuine
devotee of the Lord it is impossible to ascertain the truth about God. Academic
scholarship is not the qualifi cation needed to understand Lord Krishna. The
great demigods and sages have tried to understand Lord Krishna by their mental
speculation, but they have not succeeded because this spiritual knowledge
is received by revelation, not by speculation. Only the devotees, who are
fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord, can understand the Lord by their
dedicated devotion and surrender to the will of the Lord. “One who engages
in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the
modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of brahman.” (Bg 14.26)
Coming to the level of brahman means one is no longer acting under the spell
of the material modes of nature. Thus, one is on the same transcendental level
as Lord Vishnu and has the ability to understand the Lord’s purely spiritual
activities. While remaining under the infl uence of the modes of material nature,
it is almost impossible to comprehend Lord Vishnu. This is confi rmed, When one
properly sees that in all activities no other performer is at work than these modes of nature
and he knows the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to all these modes, he attains My
spiritual nature. (Bg 14.19) Attaining the Lord’s spiritual nature means coming on
the same level as the Lord, who is free of the any infl uence of the three modes of
material nature. Coming to the same level as the Lord does not imply becoming
equal to the Lord. One remains the servant of the Lord, but one is able to serve
the Lord without any hint of material contamination. For example, one may
visit the President of the United States in the White House. But, one does not
become the President by virtue of being in the same building as an invited guest
with security clearance.
Lord Krishna’s ultimate instruction to His devotee Arjuna is, “Abandon all
varieties of religion (dharma) and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you
from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Bg 18.66) By complete surrender to the
will of the Lord, one is saved from all sinful reactions incurred in this life and
all previous lives. One also becomes free of bad association of materialistically
inclined persons. This helps one become peaceful and gentle to continue
unabated service to the Lord.
Mother Lakshmi leaves Lord Vishnu
When Bhrigu Muni jumped on the chest of Lord Vishnu in the same place
where His wife Lakshmi devi rests her head, Lakshmi devi became unhappy. She
could not tolerate this insult to her eternal Lord and Master. It was unbearable
that she witnessed such a horrible sin of a mortal man stamping on the chest of
the Lord of Her Life. Lakshmi devi considered that she had become sinful by
witnessing the offense against her husband. She complained to Lord Vishnu,
but the Lord took it lightly. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-
acarya of the Hare Krishna Movement, explains that offenses committed against
us can be forgiven. But an offense to the Lord or another devotee cannot be
ignored and must be rectifi ed by proper action. Lakshmi devi decided to leave
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