Utilising abilities to Glorifying Lord

2012-09-13
Srimad Bhagavatam 10.12.34 - Utilising abilities to Glorifying Lord  (download mp3) , (download flv) and (download mp4)
by Krishnanaam Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
iskcondesiretree.net

SB 10.12.34

tato ’tihrstah sva-krto ’krtarhanam

 puspaih suga apsarasas ca nartanaih

gitaih sura vadya-dharas ca vadyakaih

 stavais ca vipra jaya-nihsvanair ganah

Translation:

Thereafter, everyone being pleased, the demigods began to shower flowers from Nandana-kanana, the celestial dancing girls began to dance, and the Gandharvas, who are famous for singing, offered songs of prayer. The drummers began to beat their kettledrums, and the brahmanas offered Vedic hymns. In this way, both in the heavens and on earth, everyone began to perform his own duties, glorifying the Lord.

Purport:

Everyone has some particular duty. The sastra has concluded (nirupitah) that everyone should glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his own qualifications. If you are a singer, always glorify the Supreme Lord by singing very nicely. If you are a musician, glorify the Supreme Lord by playing musical instruments. Svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam (Bhag. 1.2.13). The perfection of life is to satisfy the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, beginning from this earth up to the celestial kingdom, everyone engaged in glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The decision of all great saintly persons is that whatever qualifications one has acquired should be utilized to glorify the Supreme Lord.

idam hi pumsas tapasah srutasya va

 svistasya suktasya ca buddhi-dattayoh

avicyuto ’rthah kavibhir nirupito

 yad uttamasloka-gunanuvarnanam

“Learned sages have definitely concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, austerity, Vedic study, sacrifice, the chanting of hymns, and charity is found in the transcendental descriptions of the qualities of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.” (Bhag. 1.5.22) This is the perfection of life. One should be trained how to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s respective qualities. Education, austerity, penance or, in the modern world, business, industry, education and so on — all should be engaged in glorifying the Lord. Then everyone in the world will be happy.

Krsna comes, therefore, to exhibit His transcendental activities so that people may have the chance to glorify Him in every respect. To understand how to glorify the Lord is actual research work. It is not that everything should be understood without God. That is condemned.

bhagavad-bhakti-hinasya

 jatih sastram japas tapah

apranasyaiva dehasya

 mandanam loka-rañjanam

(Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 3.11)

Without bhagavad-bhakti, without glorification of the Supreme Lord, whatever we have is simply a decoration of the dead body.