Great Throughts Treasury

"Pleased with him said he, o servant of rule, keeping true to his given word and to show the sage his love: 'This disciple of your line will every other month be a female and with this settlement may Sudyumna as desired rule the world."

"Pleased with his unalloyed devotional service gave the Lord him for the protection of the devotees His cakra so intimidating to the ones opposed."

"Previously time worked in our favor and brought us the victory over the godly, but today does the time, which indeed is the Supreme Lord in existence, work against us. Not by any power, counsel, cleverness, fortifications, spells or drugs, diplomacy or other means or likewise schemes is but a single person able to surpass the time factor."

"Râma said to him: 'You servant of scum, since you criminal like a dog have kidnapped My helpless wife will I, in my heroism unfailing, for that shameless act, as a result today punish you, abominable evildoer, as the Time itself in person [see also B.G. 16: 6-18]!'"

"See here and now the universe completely, all at the same time, with all that moves and not moves, in this body of Mine, o conqueror of sleep, and also whatever else you wish to see."

"Simply by hearing the glories of the Supreme Lord or by chanting them, one immediately comes to the spiritual platform, beyond material existence."

"Some imagine this great army of luminaries to be a s'is'umâra [a dolphin] and describe it, concentrated in yoga, as [that what can be seen of] the Supreme Lord Vâsudeva [see also a picture of the celestial sky as factually seen in a telescope]."

"Some o king, explain that karma [the work load of fruitive activities] as arising from one's particular nature or as brought about by others o protector of men. Some say it's due to time, others refer to fate, while still others ascribe it to the desire of the living entity."

"Someone might be of dharma but is he friendly towards other living beings? Someone can be of renunciation but he might miss the cause of liberation. A person may have power over people, but he is still not released from the great force of material nature [from the power of time]. Someone may be free from the influence of the modes of nature but never be a second one [another Lord of Control and Yoga, see also 1.2: 8]. Someone may live a long time but still not know how to behave and be happy, someone may master the art of living but still not know how to get old. And when someone knows the both of them, such a person still might be unlucky in another respect. Nor is of someone excelling in all walks of life said that he wishes Me [in my position of devotion for Vishnu]!'"

"Someone who takes away the money, the wife or children of someone else is sure to be bound with the fetters of time by the most terrible men of Yamarâja and by force to be thrown into the hell of Tâmisra ['the darkness']. Having landed in that darkest of all conditions being deprived of food and water, beaten with sticks and scolded, he sometimes, in his desperation, loses his consciousness because of the severe punishments received."

"Sometimes also, in the dark of night driven by a momentary whirlwind of passion, he copulates with an alluring woman. In total neglect of the rules [a higher vision] he then, blinded by the strength of that passion, notwithstanding the divinities [of the sun and moon], loses all notion in being overcome by a mind full of lust."

"Spirit and matter cannot be made one, for actually they are superior and inferior energies, yet the Mayavadis, or Advaita-vadis, try to make them one. This is wrong. Although spirit and matter ultimately come from the same one source, they cannot be made one."

"Spiritual knowledge [entails] the discimination [of spirit and matter], the scripture and penance, personal experience, historical accounts and logical inference. [It is based upon] that which is there equally in the beginning and in the end of this [creation] and which is the same in between, knowing the Time and Ultimate Cause [of brahman, the Absolute Truth, see also B.G. 10: 30, 33 and 11: 32 and kâla]."

"S'rî Hiranyakas'ipu said: 'At the end of a day of creation when he [Lord Brahmâ] under the influence of time is covered by the dense darkness of ignorance, this cosmic creation manifests [again] by the light of the rays emanating from his body. This world endowed with the three modes of rajas, sattva and tamas [passion, goodness and ignorance], is by him created, maintained and annihilated. That transcendental and supreme Lord I offer my respectful obeisances."

"S'rî Indra said: 'Our share of the sacrifices is recovered by Your Lordship protecting us, o Supreme One. We have no words to describe how afflicted our lotus-like hearts were by the Daitya, our hearts that really are Your residence. Alas o Lord, how insignificant is our world in the grip of Time, but for the sake of the devoted ones in Your service You have shed Your light so that they may find liberation from their bondage. What else but considering the visible world as unimportant would be their way oh Nrisimhadeva?'"

"S'rî S'uka said: '1.3 million yojanas above them [the stars of the sages] one finds that supreme abode of Lord Vishnu which is praised in the mantras of the Rig Veda. It is the source of life of all entities that live from this moment till the end of creation. There the great devotee Dhruva, the son of Uttânapâda resides even today. His glory of obedient devotion I've described already. Agni, the fire-god, Indra the king of heaven, the founding father who is the Prajâpati, Kas'yapa as also Dharmarâja, in unison full of respect move around that place keeping it to heir right [see 4-9]. For all the restless luminaries such as the planets and the stars that place constitutes the incandescent radiating pivot that is established by the Lord. The inconceivable, all-powerful force of Time is considered the cause of their revolving. The luminaries keep their positions, just like three bulls that for threshing rice are yoked to a central pole [at fixed distances]. Moving in their orbits they have a fixed position relative to the inner and outer rims of the wheel of time, the same way as the planets around the sun keep their positions. Holding on to Dhruvaloka till the end of the creation, they revolve in the sky as if they're driven by the wind, just like heavy clouds and big birds do who controlled by the air move their bodies around in respect of their previous positions. Thus the luminaries behave consequentially, by the combined effort of material nature and the Original Person, the way they always have and never collide with the earth."

"S'rî S'uka said: 'And then, o King, day after day under the strong influence of the time [of Kali-yuga] the religiousness, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance and mercy as well as the duration of life, the strength and the memory will diminish."

"S'rî S'uka said: 'Hearing these words by the Supreme Lord, by the Time in person, spoken with the intent to break the pride of Indra, accepted Nanda and the elder men them as excellent."

"S'rî Yâjn'avalkya said: 'My obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead who, appearing as the sun, as the Supersoul in the form of Time is present [as the Controller] in the hearts of the four kinds of living entities beginning from Brahmâ down to the blades of grass [as born from wombs, eggs, moist and seed see, also 2.10 37-40]. You who, the same way as the sky [by its clouds], are not covered by material designations ['clouds'] do You alone by the flow of years made up of the tiny fragments of kshanas, lavas and nimeshas [see 3.11: 7] carry out the maintenance of this universe by taking away and giving back the water [as rain]."

"Srila Sridhara Svami explains in his commentary that just as a legitimate son has to simply remain alive to gain an inheritance from his father, one who simply remains alive in Krsna consciousness, following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, automatically becomes eligible to receive the mercy of the Personality of Godhead. In other words, he will be promoted to the kingdom of God."

"Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that Lord Krsna’s lotus feet became red like copper because of their contact with the numerous hard jewels upon the heads of Kaliya. Lord Krsna, with those glowing reddish feet, then began to demonstrate His artistic skill by dancing on the unsteady, moving surface of the serpent’s hoods. This extraordinary demonstration of dancing skill was meant for the pleasure of the young women of Vrndavana, who at this phase of their relationship with Krsna were seriously falling in love with Him."

"Surely there exists nothing of knowledge in this world that can compare to this purification and he who is mature in his own yoga will enjoy that in due course of time within himself."

"Sûta said: "This regulator of all the planets [the sun] revolving in their midst was [by the Lord in the form of Time] created from the beginningless material energy of Vishnu, the Supreme Soul of all embodied being.."

"That charity which is given at the wrong place, the wrong time and to unworthy persons and as well is given without respect and proper attention - that is said to be in the mode of ignorance."

"That dvîpa has one mountain range named Mânasottara that separates the varshas on the inner and the outer side. Measuring a 10.000 yojanas high and wide, it harbors in its four directions the cities of the four demigods ruling there [Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma]. The chariot of the sun god Sûrya, circumambulating mount Meru on its highest point, moves around in an orbit that calculated in terms of the days and nights of the demigods consists of one complete year."

"That time is correct and suitable which either by its own nature [viz. not manipulated against nature] or understood according to the person [de Lord, but also according the season, the money - the lakshmî -, the availability of something] is suitable for executing one's prescribed duty. Wrong and not suitable is the time which impedes someone in the performance of his duty, the time that is not fit for doing work [a lust motivated, arbitrary notion of time, kâla and kâlakûtha ]. The pure or impure of a thing [or of a substance] is determined with the help of another thing, in respect of what one says about it, by means of a ritual performance, by the reference of time or according the relative magnitude."

"That Unborn One, the Father of Creation, has, o King, at present descended in this world in a form of [the all-devouring] Time in order to eliminate all the enemies of the enlightened."

"The [sum total of manifestation] which thus constitutes a plenary expansion of guna, kâla and [jîv]-âtmâ, forms the range of sight of the Personality of Godhead. It is the reservoir, the reason for existence, the self, of the many differentiated life forms of this universe that urges on creative effort."

"The above [in verse 6] described directions of the guru for the householder apply equally to the renunciate soul, be it that the householder can have sexual intercourse for a certain period of time."

"The aggregate of such a 'day' and 'night' is called an ancestral [traditional and solar] month with two of them forming a season. There are six of them [resp. 'cold' or hemanta, 'dew' or s'is'ira, 'spring' or vasanta, 'warm' or grîshma, 'rainy' or varshâs and 'autumn' or s'arad, counting from December 22] corresponding to the movement of the sun going through the southern and northern sky."

"The air, also transformed by the extremely powerful ether, gave rise to the form of light and [the bio-electricity] of sense perception by which the world is seen."

"The characteristic traits of one's [reason in this state of Krishna or natural time] consciousness thus are similar to those of the natural state of pure water: clarity, invariability and serenity."

"The club He carries is the principle element [prâna or vital air] relating to the sensory power, physical power and the power of mind; His excellent conchshell is the element water and His Sudars'ana disc is the principle of tejas [the vital power, the dignity, the fire in opposition]. His sword is, [pure] as the atmosphere, the ether element, His shield consists of the mode of ignorance, His bow S'arnga is the specific order [or spirit, the rûpa] of time, and His quiver of arrows consists of the karma [the action or the karmendriyas]."

"The conditioned soul struggles for happiness through sense gratification and for knowledge through mental speculation. Both processes ultimately bring him to a morose and hopeless condition. If the conditioned soul surrenders to the lotus feet of Lord Krsna and thus acquires even a trace of His causeless mercy, the whole situation is changed, and the living entity can begin his real life of bliss and knowledge in Krsna consciousness."

"The cyclic [of time, viz. the sun and the moon] constitutes the exercise of respect for the Godhead, spiritual initiation [dîkshâ] is for the spiritual soul the way to purify, and the devotional service of the Fortunate One is there for someone to put an end to a bad course"

"The demigods said: 'You, o mighty one, must be knowing about this darkness we are so very afraid of. Your supreme divinity is not affected by time and thus nothing is hidden for you."

"The different stages created by beginningless and endless Time that represents I'svara, are, as you know, not directly seen, just as the movements of the planets in outer space [or one's different conditionings] are not immediately seen [see also 3.10; 10-14]. (38) This way the progress of Time [kâla] is described as being of a continuous [nitya], occasional [naimittika], natural [elemental or prâkrita] and final [âtyantika] annihilation."

"The doctrine followed, the way one deals with water, the people one associates with, one's surroundings and the way one behaves with time, one's occupation, one's social background, as also the type of meditation, mantras and purificatory rites one respects are the ten factors determining the prominence of a particular mode."

"The earth[ly affair, the body,] was the field of action, the eternal cause engrossing the individual soul that constitutes the basis of his bondage. What would the use of time-bound labor be when one doesn't see the finality of it all?"

"The electrified water thus created due to the transformation of the Supreme Spirit [of the ether] glancing over the earth, led to the creation of the quality of smell with the partly uniting of the external energy with eternal time."

"The father, the guru, You are of the entire universe, the Original Controller and the Insurmountable Time of use as the rod, who, by Your own will taking up transcendental forms, endeavors to eradicate the self-conceit of the ones who imagine themselves to be the lord of the universe."

"The fine substances [of the sacrifice] result in the smoke [that is associated with] the divinity of the night, the dark half of the month, the sun going through the south and the new moon. By this divinity [one finds] the food grains that are the seeds of the vegetation on the earth's surface oh ruler of the earth. Thus called into existence by the father [of Time] they [by feeding us through the sacrifices] lead to one after the other birth, to the again and again, regular assuming of a physical form to be present in this world."

"The fire in wood can be observed separately, just as the air within the body and the [time-effect of the] all-pervading ether that does not mix with anything. The same way the living entity can be separately considered as transcendental to its material encasement of involvement with the modes."

"The first avatâra of the Lord is the Original Person: [Mahâvishnu or Kâranodakas'âyi Vishnu. He forms the basis of] spacetime [kâla svabhavah, the original nature of time], cause, effect, the elements, the modes, as also the ego, the senses and the mind. These together constitute the diversity of the complete whole of all that moves and doesn't move of the universal being [also called Garbhodakas'âyî Vishnu]."

"The flowers work just like a woman who with her sweet scent of flowers suggests the safety of a household existence as being the result of an innocent desire for sensual pleasures such as the plucking of flowers. Thus one fulfills one's desires [alike the deer] in always being absorbed in thoughts of sex with the wife and pleasures to the tongue. The sound of the different bumblebees that is so very attractive to the ears compares to the most attractive talks of the wife in the first place and also the children that occupy one's mind completely. The tigers together in front of him are alike all the moments of the days and nights that unnoticed in enjoying one's household take away one's life span. And from behind there is the hunter taking care not to be seen who crouches upon him like the superintendent of death by whose arrow one's heart is pierced in this world. You should see yourself in this as the one whose heart is pierced o King."

"The generation of the material world and its enjoyer [the male principle, the person, the purusha] is not something that happens; it is from the combination of these two unborn elements that living bodies within You find their existence like bubbles that appear in water [in combination with air]. Just like rivers merge into the ocean and all flavors of nectar merge into the honey, merge these living beings with all their different names and qualities [in de end again] into the Supreme."

"The goddess of fortune, who lives in Vaikuntha on the chest of Lord Narayana, once desired to be embraced on the chest of Sri Krsna, and thus she performed severe austerities to achieve this blessing. Sri Krsna informed her that her actual place was in Vaikuntha and that it was not possible for her to dwell upon His chest in Vrndavana. Therefore she begged Krsna to allow her to remain on His chest in the form of a golden line, and He granted her this benediction."

"The godhead was by him, such a little boy fallen at His lotus feet, greatly moved and filled with mercy He raised His lotus hand, placed it on his head and dispelled the fear for the snake of time from all minds [present there]."

"The godly ones said: 'You, oh Lord awarding the results of sacrifice, we offer our obeisances. You using the cakra [the disc, the cyclic order of time] as a weapon are the one to set the limits. All our respect for You who are known by so many transcendental names."

"The great secret of it all is that material existence dissolves in what we do not see as yet and have been seeing in the past, just like during one's sleep; in other words, everything that happened in the past, happens in the present and is going to happen in the future is but a dream.'"