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Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita 5000 years ago, but it was not for the first time..... The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku....That was 120,400,000 years agoo 120,400,000 years ago120,400,000 |
The beginning of the disciplic succession
Who are these great Personalities?
Who is bonafied to give spiritual guidance?
Excerpt from
The Bhagavad Gita
The Song of the Lord
5000 years ago
sri-bhagavan uvaca--the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; imam--this; vivasvate--unto the sun-god; yogam--the science of one's relationship to the Supreme; proktavan--instructed; aham--I; avyayam--imperishable; vivasvan--Vivasvan (the sun-god's name); manave--unto the father of mankind (of the name Vaivasvata); praha--told; manuh--the father of mankind; iksvakave--unto King Iksvaku; abravit--said.
TRANSLATIONThe Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.
Purport by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaHerein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a remote time when it was delivered to the royal order, the Kings of all planets. This science is especially meant for the protection of the inhabitants, and therefore the royal order should understand it in order to be able to rule the citizens and protect them from the material bondage to lust. Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education, culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads of all states are intended to spread the science of Krsna consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the human form of life.
In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvan, the king of the sun, which is the origin of all planets within the solar system. In
the Brahma-samhita (5.52) it is stated:
yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"Let me worship," Lord Brahma said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is the original person and under whose order the sun, which is the king of all planets, is assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of the Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order."
The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the name Vivasvan) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other planets by supplying heat and light. He is rotating under the order of Krsna, and Lord Krsna originally made Vivasvan His first disciple to understand the science of Bhagavad-gita. The Gita is not, therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar but is a standard book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial.
In the Mahabharata (Santi-parva 348.51-52) we can trace out the history of the Gita as follows:
treta-yugadau ca tato
vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham
sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito
vyapya lokan avasthitah
"In the beginning of the Treta-yuga [millennium] this science of the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by Vivasvan to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, gave it to his son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty in which Lord Ramacandra appeared." Therefore, Bhagavad-gita existed in the human society from the time of Maharaja Iksvaku.
At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of the Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was the Dvapara-yuga (800,000 years), and before that there was Treta-yuga (1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000 years ago, Manu spoke the Bhagavad-gita to his disciple and son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some 305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before the birth of Manu the Gita was spoken by the Lord to His disciple the sun-god Vivasvan, a rough estimate is that the Gita was spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in human society it has been extant for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord again to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history of the Gita, according to the Gita itself and according to the version of the speaker, Lord Sri Krsna. It was spoken to the sun-god Vivasvan because he is also a ksatriya and is the father of all ksatriyas who are descendants of the sun-god, or the surya-vamsa ksatriyas. Because Bhagavad-gita is as good as the Vedas, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this knowledge is apauruseya, superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions are accepted as they are, without human interpretation, the Gita must therefore be accepted without mundane interpretation. The mundane wranglers may speculate on the Gita in their own ways, but that is not Bhagavad-gita as it is. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita has to be accepted as it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described herein that the Lord spoke to the sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son Manu, and Manu spoke to his son Iksvaku.
The Disciplic Succession
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Who are these great Personalities? A bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not deviate at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord as they were imparted millions of years ago to the sun-god, from whom the instructions of Bhagavad-gita have come down to the earthly kingdom. One should, therefore, follow the path of Bhagavad-gita as it is expressed in the Gita itself and beware of self-interested people after personal aggrandizement who deviate others from the actual path. The Lord is definitely the supreme person, and His activities are transcendental. One who understands this is a liberated person from the very beginning of his study of the Gita.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Who is bonafied to give spiritual guidance?
By Devarsirat das
Most folks are in great ignorance about the qualities of a genuine spiritual master. Most people dont believe, that a person who is in full knowledge about the spiritual worlds and the material worlds even could exist. The nature of the material world has a devastating effect on everyone and one of the effects is, that we loose faith in other persons. Countless people worldwide have been cheated out of everything by others. This is going on, this world is really a place full of disasters and problems, in the midst of indescribable beauty. Because it is so unlikely, that someone knows about our origin or anything about the absolute truth, most people just dont want to think about these things because according to them it does leed no nothing. So they go on with their own lifes, make money eat drink and be marry. But there are also millions of people who are suffering tremendously and who as a result of their suffering, search for answers. Why am I here? Where do I come from? Why am I suffering?Lord Krishna says in The Bhagavad Gita, that one should search for a genuine spiritual master and inquire from him about the Absolute Truth. Unfortunately as long as we are in high positions, got lots of money friends and material security it is very rare that we are making these inquiries. " It is more difficult for a rich man to go to the Kingdom of God, then an Elephant to go through the eye of a needle" Now who said that again..? I think the same peson also said that " The last ones would be the first" What would this referr to i wonder? It actually means the humble person, the meek person not the arrogant ones who are puffed up with their positions and money. It means the person who is free from the tendency to criticise others who have reached these goals and rejuvenate in the glory of God. We have to become real searchers, very sincere searchers. Not everyone can guide us out of here. It is very obvious that only a person who has direct realisation of God, who can see Him at any moment and who is 100% absorbed in love for God can help us and not only us, but they can help the whole World. They are so powerful and there is always at least one such Person on this planet. "That can`t be" I hear you say, but it is true, just because you have not looked or made inquieries or have never met one, does not mean it cant be true.
