Balaram Purnima | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | Prabhupad Desh, ISKCON Vicenza, Italy | August 9, 2025 |
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
Today is the Appearance day of Balaram. The theology, of course many religions cannot accept a form of God. Of course, they accept the existence of God, which is good, but they can’t accept that God has a form. Of course, they can accept that God does some activities like creating the world. And He has certain qualities like power and mercy. However, logically speaking, in terms of Vedic logic atleast, if a person has to do activities and display qualities, he should also have a form. Of course, in the material world, form is a material quality [Laughs]. But by logic we can say, God is God, He is the Supreme, He can have a spiritual form, spiritual qualities and spiritual activities.
Even among philosophers or sages, following the Vedas and Upanishads, many will not accept the form of God. So, if you read Bhagavad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam, Prabhupad often talks about impersonalists [Laughs]. So they are not atheists. They believe in a Supreme spiritual entity. But the entity has no form, or qualities, or activities. So this idea is also popular among many followers of the Vedas. And these people are called Jnanis and Yogis. However, there are other followers of the Vedas who are called the Devotees or the Vaishnavas. And there’s always been a fight [Laughs], a quarrel [Laughs], between the Vaishnavas and the impersonalists in India. And that’s been going on for about a thousand years [Laughs]. And therefore you’ll see Prabhupad sometimes criticizing the impersonalists.
In any case, if we go to works like Bhagavad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam, then we find that naturally the form of God is accepted. So among actually all religions of the world, to accept the form of God is quite rare [Laughs]. It’s not accepted in other religions, and even people following the Vedas, many will not accept [Laughs]. Of course, Srimad Bhagavatam solves this problem by saying that, yes, God can have no form and be impersonal, but He also can have form, so He can be both. However, the Vaishnavas say that, God with a form is superior to God without a form or we can say it’s a superior realization, because with the realization of God with a form, you can experience bliss. So we can experience bliss, because we have a relationship with God. And a relationship is only possible, if we have a form and God has a form. If there’s no form of God, no form of me, how we can have a relationship? How we can get bliss? So, therefore, this accepting God with a form is a fundamental principle of all the Vaishnavas.
So, not only do the Vaishnavas accept the form of God, but they say God could have many forms. So, that is also logical, because God has all powers, so why is He limited to one form? He can have unlimited forms. And the Lord does not have to sit in some other realm invisible, he can appear within this material world and not be contaminated. And in fact, He appears in the material world, not once, but many times. In fact, in every yuga, every few million years, the Lord will make His appearance [Laughs]. So, though the Lord has many forms, many of which are very different, some of them are animal form, bird form, fish form, snake form, human form, etc, the form of Krishna is considered to be the highest form.
And therefore, in our temples, we have to have.. we usually have the form of Krishna. So, Krishna is the highest form. Of course, we celebrate His appearance, that will be in a few weeks. We will celebrate Krishna’s appearance. So, though the Lord appears within the material world, that doesn’t mean He is born like us. So, He has eternal form. Nevertheless, He appears within the material world as if He were born [Laughs]. So, as Krishna, He appears to be born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki.
So, another form of the Lord is Balaram. And Balaram appears as the brother of Krishna. And his appearance day is today, few weeks ahead of Krishna. So, who is Balaram? So, in Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrta, we have a little bit of a description of his placement [Laughs] in the spiritual world. So, we put Krishna at the very top, because He’s a full manifestation of all qualities, all powers and all rasas. And Balaram is said to be His first manifestation. This doesn’t mean that he suddenly appears in the spiritual world, but rather he appears with qualities very similar to Krishna, similar qualities, similar rasas, similar powers.
So, because he is God, he is more or less the same as Krishna. But he manifests slightly less qualities. Balaram is very similar to Krishna, in form he is very beautiful. In fact, one of the distinguishing things is his color. Krishna is blackish and Balaram is white. So, Balaram appears within the pastimes of Krishna and he assists Krishna. But in the spiritual world, this form of Balaram or Baladev also begins to expand. So, we know in the spiritual world, there is this Chaturvyuha of Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna. Of course, it is a little more complicated than that [Laughs].
So, the sequence is described also. It goes like this – Krishna, Balaram, Sankarshana, which is another form of Balaram, Narayana, Sankarshana, Maha Vishnu, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, Ksirodakasayi Vishnu and Sesha. So, the first two, four, five [Laughs] listed are the forms in the spiritual world. Krishna, Balaram and then this Chaturvyuha, Sankarshana are in Goloka and Dwaraka in the spiritual world. Then we get Narayana and the second Chaturvyuha with Sankarshana in many forms in Vaikuntha. So that Sankarshana, the second Sankarshana expands into MahaVishnu. So he is actually the creator of material world. And Garbhodakasayi Vishnu is his expansion who expands within each universe. And Garbhodakasayi Vishnu expands into Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, who expands into every jiva in every universe. And Kshirodakasayi Vishnu expands into Sesha who holds up all of the planetary systems. So these last forms of the Lord who ultimately expand from Balaram and Sankarshana are the forms that support the whole material world. So we have forms in the material world, these are Maha Vishnu, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, Sesha. Then we have all the other forms in the spiritual world. So, at the top is Krishna, then we have Balaram and Balaram expands into these other forms in the spiritual world. So he is a very important form in the spiritual world and the material world.
So though, Balaram originally was conceived as the son of Vasudev and Devaki, he was transferred into Rohini’s womb. Therefore he is called Sankarshana. Sankarshana means pulled out of Devaki’s womb and put into Rohini’s womb [Laughs]. He is also called Rama. The literal meaning of Rama is one who gives enjoyment. So particularly in Vrindavan, Balaram gives enjoyment to all of the cowherd people. His other name is Balabhadra. Bhadra means auspicious and Bala means strength. So Balaram in the pastimes in Vrindavan and in Dwaraka, he shows great strength. And of course, his expansion, Sesha, holds up the whole universe [Laughs]. So these names were explained by Gargamuni when he named Balaram and Krishna.
So Balaram, of course, is a form of God. So he has rasa with his devotees. So just as Krishna has various rasas, Balaram has various rasas with devotees. But Balaram also has a rasa with Krishna [Laughs]. So even though they are both forms of the Supreme Lord, they still have a relationship of rasa. Of course, they are brothers and they have Sakhya rasa, or friendship. However, this is a little bit mixed with other relationships. So Balaram was a little older, so he is often called upon by Mother Yasoda to protect Krishna. So this is Vatsalya or parental rasa. But he also acts as a servant of Krishna. Though Balaram is powerful, Krishna is more powerful. So he also has some Dasya rasa. Yeah, so in this way, he has got a mixture of rasas [Laughs].
So, in the spiritual world, Balaram is the deity, who presides over Sandhini sakti. This is sometimes called the suddha sattva, which means transcendental existence. So, because he is in charge of this existential sakti, it is he that manifests everything in the spiritual world. And he manifests the abode, or the Dhama of Vrindavan, Gokula, Vaikuntha, etc. He manifests all the forms, including Krishna’s form, in the spiritual world. He manifests all the pastimes [Laughs]. So therefore, he has a very significant role to play in the spiritual world. And thus he has to be worshipped nicely.
Okay, so, yeah, he is Vatsalya, being elder than Krishna, he has equal age, more or less. That is the Sakhya relationship. And he also acts as Krishna’s servant and Dasya. So he should manifest three rasas. And he manifests all sorts of devotees there who are in these rasas. He is the root of one’s identity as a devotee or servant. And thus he plays a very significant role in the whole spiritual world.
So, like Krishna, he has pastimes, the lila. So, when Krishna.. are babies and they grow up until they are five years old, this is called the kaumara period. So, in the tenth canto of Bhagavatam, let’s say the first ten chapters or so, we find Krishna and Balaram described in this kaumara period. And they act like small children. This is a little bit surprising for people who will think God should be some powerful person sitting on a throne in heaven. Here, Krishna and Balaram are the opposite, they have no power, mother and father, that is, Yasoda and Nanda, they are powerful. And Krishna and Balaram are under their power [Laughs]. And my children, they don’t respect rules. And now we expect God to be the maintainer of all rules. But Krishna, as a child, He doesn’t do that. And Balaram does not do that [Laughs]. So, we see the pastime where they are stealing butter, etc., and harassing everybody [Laughs].
So, it’s during this period that the Vatsalya, that is the parental rasa, with the parents, Nanda and Yasoda, and the elder cowherd boys, is very nicely expressed with Krishna and Balaram. So, this is a very unique relationship which the devotee can have with the Supreme Lord, acting as a parent of God. So, of course, it is unheard of in other religions, and even for other forms of God, it is not there, it is absent. But it is very prominent in pastimes of Krishna and Balaram. In fact, there is one Vaishnava Sampradaya, the Vallabha Sampradaya, their main mood is Vatsalya, acting as parent of Krishna, Krishna is a little baby [Laughs].
So though Supreme Lord is unchanging and beyond birth and death and growth and decay, etc., when He comes in the material world, He seems to be born and He seems to grow [Laughs]. So He starts out as a small child and He grows bigger and bigger and bigger, He starts crawling, He starts standing up, He starts speaking, etc [Laughs]. And as in the material world, we see when this happens, the parents are very very affectionate to their children. So, similarly in the spiritual world or in Vrindavan, when Krishna appears, when Krishna and Balaram appear in the material world, this is the time when the parents can express their love for Krishna and Balaram.
So Krishna gradually grows and when He and Balaram are about five years old, then their mood changes a little bit. They are not completely dependent on their parents, so they are a little bit more independent. But they establish friendship with other cowherd boys. Just like in the material world, the little babies are there, they grow up and then they start having friends and whatever, they go to school and they’re playing with their friends all day, then they’re ignoring their parents [Laughs]. So this next period, from five years to eight years, is called pauganda. And this age is very suitable for Sakhya rasa or friendship.
So who are the friends? The cowherd boys of the same age. So we have these pastimes described in the Bhagavatam in the tenth canto after the kaumara period, then there’s a series of chapters describing Krishna and Balaram playing in the fields with the cowherd boys. When Krishna is five years old, then Nanda Maharaja decides that Krishna and Balaram are big enough to take care of the calves. Not the cows, but the calves at least [Laughs]. So Nanda allows Krishna and Balaram to go to the forest with the other cowherd boys and they herd the calves. Of course, Krishna’s main interest here is not herding, but playing [Laughs]. So He goes to the forest and they play games with the cowherd boys [Laughs]. So sometimes Krishna is the servant of Balaram and He is serving, because Balaram is older [Laughs]. But sometimes Balaram is serving Krishna [Laughs], because he realizes Krishna is superior. So they herd the calves, they’re playing in the fields. In the evening time, they all come home, to their houses. And there, they help the cowherd men feed and milk the cows.
So, at the junction of this kaumara, the first period, going into the pauganda period, we have this Brahma vimohana lila, the bewilderment of Lord Brahma. So, Brahma thought that Krishna is supposed to be Supreme Lord, but He isn’t acting like the Supreme Lord, He’s acting like a little child. And Brahma came from Satyaloka and he looked at Krishna with all the cowherd boys and they were eating [Laughs]. And they were playing with each other. So then Brahma thought, how can this person be God? So he wanted to test Krishna’s powers. So then he went and stole all of the calves. Krishna went and looked for the calves, they all disappeared. He came back to the cowherd boys, the cowherd boys had disappeared also [Laughs]. But Krishna understood that Brahma was doing this, making them all disappear. So, Krishna expanded Himself into all of these millions of calves and all the millions of cowherd boys. And then in the evening, Krishna and the cowherd boys, who were actually Krishna, all went back with the calves to the village. And the cows didn’t know that this was all Krishna, and the mothers and fathers, mother Yasoda and Nanda didn’t know that all these cowherd boys were Krishna [Laughs].
So for one year, Krishna continued pastimes every day, going out in the fields with the calves and cowherd boys, coming back in the evening, and no one knew it was all Krishna. So Krishna, by his powers, could exactly replicate all the calves and cowherd boys with their forms and qualities, etc. There was only one difference. Now, all of the mothers and fathers and Nanda and Yasoda, they became more attracted to those cowherd boys. And all of the cows became more attracted to their calves. So this was natural, because everything was Krishna [Laughs]. But no one noticed this. But after one year, Krishna and Balaram, the cowherd boys, were herding the calves, and the elder cowherd men were herding the cows on top of Govardhan hill. And then the cows on the hill saw those calves, who were actually Krishna, at the bottom of the hill, and they began running down the hill. So the cowherd men, they ran after the cows, and they tried to stop them, and they cursed them, but the cows would not stop. And when the cows approached the calves, they began licking the calves and feeding them milk. Furthermore, the cowherd men were very angry, because they could not control the cows. But then, when they saw their sons with the calves, they suddenly lost their anger, and they embraced their sons and began crying.
So then Balaram thought, this is very strange. Why are the cows so attracted to those calves? They have given birth to new calves, but they don’t care for the new calves, they are so attached to these old calves. And why are these cowherd men so much more in love with their own children? So, then he began to think. So, what is happening here? Is some demon doing this? So, actually, nothing can affect us, me or Krishna, this demon or whatever, its illusory power. So, finally, Balaram thought that the only one who could bewilder me is Krishna [Laughs]. And then he looked very closely, and he saw that the calves and the cowherd boys were all Krishna [Laughs]. So, in this way, he recognized the superiority of Krishna, Krishna could even bewilder Balaram [Laughs]. So, this illustrates how Krishna is number one [Laughs].
So, during the pastimes in Vrindavan and later in Dwaraka, Balaram also killed some demons. So, there was one demon who was in the form of a donkey, called Dhenukasura. So, of course, Dhenuka was in charge of this, talavan, tala is a type of fruit on the tree. So, it was a tala forest. And this demon was trying to possess that forest. But the cowherd boys said, we are hungry, we want to eat the forest, the tree, the tala tree, the tala fruit from the forest but this big demon is there [Laughs]. So, then Balaram, he actually killed Dhenukasura by grabbing onto his legs, twirling them up, throwing them up in the tree. And the trees began shaking and all of the fruit came off [Laughs]. So, we say Balaram is.. Bala means strength. So, he was very strong.
Balaram also killed a demon called Pralamba. There was, at one time, Krishna and Balaram and the cowherd boys were playing. And as we say, a punishment, if you lost the game, you had to carry another cowherd boy on your shoulder. So Pralamba disguised himself and he carried Balaram [Laughs]. So this Pralamba thought okay, Krishna is too powerful, so I will trick Balaram and he carried Balaram off to a place to put him in a cave, trap him. But then Balaram understood and he became heavy. He became so heavy that Pralamba could no longer carry him. And then Pralamba, suddenly, because he was struggling like this, he assumed his actual form as a demon [Laughs]. So, Balaram, of course, had no difficulty in killing that demon. So, Balaram, with his fist, was able to defeat Pralamba. He hit him on the head and his head cracked open [Laughs]. And he just collapsed on the ground [Laughs].
So, it’s explained that Pralamba represents lust, greed, and desire for worship and position. And, of course, these are anarthas, or obstacles to bhakti. So, the devotees have to put a little bit of effort into trying to overcome these obstacles. So Dhenukasura represents ignorance of our real identity, our spiritual nature. And it also represents ignorance of identity of the name, name is non different from Krishna. And it also represents ignorance of identity of Krishna. So, again, with effort, the devotees have to remove these obstacles. So, therefore, the devotees put forth the effort, and when they do that, they get the mercy of Balaram. And by that, then they become successful. So, we put effort, they get Balaram’s mercy, and he kills the demons [Laughs].
So, later on, when, of course, Krishna and Balaram went to Mathura, from Vrindavan. Nanda Maharaj took them and they were supposed to have a, played fight [Laughs] with these big demons by Kamsa’s arrangement. So, in the Srimad Bhagavatam it is described, how, Krishna and Balaram fought with the wrestlers, very easily, they were able to defeat them all. Of course, Krishna and Balaram were children, about eleven years old. And these wrestlers were adults, huge persons [Laughs]. So, the people looking felt that this is not a very equal competition, we have little children fighting with these huge wrestlers [Laughs]. So, Vasudev and Devaki were there, and all the sympathizers were there, and said, this is not a fair fight [Laughs]. But, Krishna and Balaram were not afraid. And the cowherd boys, they had seen Krishna and Balaram kill so many demons, so they were also not afraid. And, in fact, they were joking with Krishna and Balaram, and playing around in the arena, in front of [Laughs] all these wrestlers [Laughs]. And so, very easily, they killed all the wrestlers, and then, finally Krishna killed Kamsa [Laughs].
So, after some time, Krishna transferred everyone, all the people in Mathura, that is the Yadus to Dwaraka, Balaram also went there. So, when Krishna and Balaram were in Dwaraka, there we see a few pastimes of Balaram being described. So, on one occasion, Aniruddha, who was the grandson of Krishna, married Rocana, who was Rukmavati’s daughter. So, of course, Rukmi was the brother of Rukmini, who was Krishna’s wife [Laughs]. But, actually, Rukmi was a big demon [Laughs]. So, during this time, Rukmi had a dice game with Balaram [Laughs]. And, of course, Rukmi’s friends were saying, you could defeat Balaram, he’s not very good at playing dice [Laughs]. So, very eagerly, Rukmi began playing. And then, at a certain point, he actually began to cheat [Laughs] . And, he insulted Balaram. So, Balaram took his club and killed him [Laughs].
Also, when Krishna and Balaram were in Dwaraka , Krishna could not immediately return, because there were many demons attacking Dwaraka, but He allowed Balaram to return. When Krishna left Vrindavan, at the age of about 12 years old, he promised the Gopis and Nanda and Yasoda, very soon I will return. But, once He got to Mathura, He got very involved in the affairs there. Then, Jarasandha began attacking. Then, He moved to Dwaraka, so, He never fulfilled that promise. So, at a certain point after that, when the people were so eager that they actually went to see Krishna and Balaram at Kurukshetra when there was an eclipse. And, though Krishna and Balaram were now adults, living as kings in Dwaraka , when they saw, when Nanda and Yasoda saw them, they put Krishna and Balaram on their laps like small children and began crying [Laughs]. And, Devaki, who was also the mother of Krishna, when she saw that, she was astonished [Laughs]. Krishna is my child. How is Yasoda and Nanda having so much love for Him [Laughs]?
So, anyway, the people of Vrindavan couldn’t stay in Kurukshetra. They couldn’t go to Dwaraka, because it was a long place. So, they returned to Vrindavan. But, to give the people of Vrindavan some relief, Krishna sent Balaram there. So, Balaram came back, and he consoled all of the people, including the Gopis. And, Balaram stayed there for two months. So, like Krishna, Balaram also has many rasas, He also has Madhurya rasa. But, he has Madhurya rasa, not with Krishna’s Gopis, but another set of Gopis [Laughs]. So, just as Krishna has Rasalila with His Gopis, Balaram had Rasalila with his [Laughs] own Gopis [Laughs]. Then, after that, he also returned to Dwaraka. But, during that time, also when he was playing with the Gopis, then he saw the Yamuna river. And, he called the Yamuna, but Yamuna did not come. So, Balaram became very angry. So, he took his plough, and he began pulling the Yamuna [Laughs]. So, therefore, it is said that Yamuna breaks into many little branches, because Balaram was [Laughs] pulling it with his plough.
So, when Krishna and Balaram were in Dwaraka, then Krishna killed a demon called Narakasura. Narakasura had a friend called Dvivida, who was like a gorilla [Laughs]. So, this big demon began attacking Dwaraka, ripping up the fields and mountains and whatever. So, there was a mountain called Raivathaka near Dwaraka, and Krishna was enjoying there with some of His women. So, Dvivida came, and he interrupted the pastimes. So, Balaram got very angry. So, Balaram struck him on the throat, and then Dvivida died [Laughs].
So, Balaram also had a pastime of pulling the Ganga, or actually pulling Hastinapura towards the Ganga. Krishna had a son called Samba. He fell in love with Lakshmana, the daughter of Duryodhana. And, of course, Duryodhana, they were staying in Hastinapura. So, the Kauravas and Duryodhana, they didn’t like this, so they captured Samba. So, when Krishna and Balaram heard about this, they said, this is not properly captured him in the wrong way, so we have to get Samba back. So, Balaram was sent to negotiate a peaceful settlement [Laughs] and get Samba back. So, of course, the Kauravas gave respect to Balaram. Balaram gave respect to them. But, when Balaram asked that they should return Samba, then they began to insult Balaram and Krishna. So, Balaram lost his patience and composure [Laughs] and became very angry [Laughs]. So, these people are too proud. So, the only thing we can do is punish them. So, he took his plough, which, of course, is used for agriculture, but he also uses that as a weapon. So, he decided, I will destroy all of these Kurus. So, he took the plough, hooked it on to the city of Hastinapura by dragging it into the Ganga. So, when the Kauravas saw this, that they were going to fall into the river, then they became frightened. And they decided to give Samba back, along with Lakshmana, the daughter of Duryodhana. So, in this way, by his power, Balaram was able to defeat the Kauravas [Laughs].
Balaram, when he was in Dwaraka, married Revati. There was a king named Raivata, and he had a daughter named Revati. That was in Satya yuga. He could not find a suitable groom for her. So, that king went up to Brahmaloka, with his daughter Revati, to consult with Brahma. What should I do [Laughs]? Brahma was a little busy, so he had to wait for a few hours [Laughs]. But, then he learned, when he was waiting those few hours, actually, whole yuga had passed [Laughs]. Two yugas had passed [Laughs]. So, the time on Satyaloka is very different from the time on earth. So, by the time he got to see Brahma, Satya yuga had passed, Treta yuga passed, and now it was Dwapara yuga, at the end of Dwapara yuga. So, Brahma informed king Raivata, don’t worry, there is a suitable person here in Dwapara yuga, that is Balaram, so you can marry your daughter, Revati to Balaram. So, King Raivata was very happy, he came back to earth with Revati and proposed the marriage with Balaram. Balaram agreed. There was one problem. In Satya yuga, everybody was very big. So, Revati was very big [Laughs]. So, Balaram took his club and made her short [Laughs]. So, in this way they got married finally.
Later, when the Kurukshetra war was taking place, Balaram did not want to participate, so he went on this pilgrimage. And there, he met some sages headed by Romaharsan. And they were discussing scriptures. So, the sages were very respectful to Balaram. Romaharsan, who was the speaker, he did not get off his asana and respect Balaram. So, he had knowledge of scripture, but he lacked [Laughs] practical realization of who was Balaram. So, then Balaram said, this person is unqualified to sit on the Vyasasan and speak the Puranas [Laughs]. So, he touched him with a piece of kusa grass and then Romaharsan died [Laughs]. Of course, the sages were a little bit upset by that [Laughs]. But then they made an arrangement that the son, Suta, would be installed in place of Romaharsan. So, in this way, the discussion of the Puranas could continue.
So, in this way, we have some of the activities of Balaram in Vrindavan and Dwaraka. So, he is similar to Krishna, but with a little bit less power. He is similar in appearance, but he is white in color. He also has a few peculiar characteristics [Laughs]. He is a little bit more prone than Krishna to get angry [Laughs]. So, we see that in some of his pastimes [Laughs]. He is also inclined to get drunk [Laughs]. So, sometimes he gets intoxicated with Varuni or whatever [Laughs]. And sometimes he even gets mad at Krishna [Laughs]. But these are all spiritual emotions for pastimes.
Hare Krsna. Any question there?
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna. Since we come from Christian background. Is there any comparison between Krishna and Balaram and some other figures in the Christian tradition?
Ohh [Laughs] well, I don’t know so much about the Christian tradition, but Krishna and Balaram are forms of God. So, in Christianity, at least in theology, they don’t accept that God has a form. So, of course, that’s carried over into Judaism also, they won’t accept a form of God. In Islam also, no form of God. Of course, in the Sistine Chapel, there is the creation of Adam, Eve, whatever [Laughs], there is a depiction of God. But that’s not considered to be a real form. It’s simply a metaphor more or less. So, therefore, they don’t really accept form for God.
And moreover, there’s only one God, there cannot be many forms of God [Laughs]. So, here we have Krishna and Balaram, then of course, we have other forms, expanding from that, the Vishnu forms and avataras, etc. So, in that way, we don’t get really… for God, we don’t get such a comparison [Laughs]. Of course, in terms of avataras, we get Rama and we get Lakshmana, brothers. Actually, four brothers there. So, we get another type of friendly relationship between God and another form of God [Laughs]. Of course, because in Christianity, Christ is considered the son of God. So, they give a form to him [Laughs]. And then Christ has his apostles, which are somewhat of a friendly relationship [Laughs].
2.) Why didn’t Balaram go to Kurukshetra?
Oh, okay [Laughs]. There’s a whole story in the Mahabharata. So, Balaram acted as the military Guru for Duryodhana. And Duryodhana was the enemy of the Pandavas. So then, of course, he was also brother of Krishna. So, he [Laughs] was [Laughs] caught between two sides. So, if he gave advice to Duryodhana as Guru, then Krishna would get upset [Laughs]. So, because of the conflict of interest, he said [Laughs], I will not participate in the war at all, i will just go away [Laughs].
3.) He heard that in the three spiritual qualities, Sat-cit-ananda. Balaram represents sat, which is stability. And he wants to know why or maybe have a confirmation?
So, yes Sat-cit-ananda represents Sandhini sakti, Samvit sakti and Hladini sakti. So, the Sandhini sakti is the sat, or existence aspect of Lord. So, the whole spiritual existence is supported by Balaram [Laughs]. So, he is responsible for manifesting all the forms, qualities, and activities of Supreme Lord. He is responsible for the Dhama, the abode, Goloka, and Vaikuntha. So, that’s all sat, or existence aspect of the Lord. And this morning, we read in Bhagavatam how, before Krishna, Balaram appeared in Devaki. So, the reason is that Balaram represents the Dhama. So, before Krishna appears, His Dhama must be there, his place, location must be there [Laughs]. So, when Balaram appears within Devaki, he prepares the Dhama, and then later on, he goes to Rohini’s womb, and then Krishna can appear [Laughs]. So, that sat aspect is very important in the spiritual world [Laughs]. And everything in the spiritual world is supported by Balaram [Laughs]. So we see, his expansion is also Sankarshana, he expands into Maha Vishnu, expands into Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, Kshirodakasayi Vishnu and Sesha [Laughs]. So, the whole material world is created, maintained, and destroyed by Balaram also [Laughs].
The other aspect of Balaram that’s important is he’s also Guru [Laughs]. So, in the spiritual world, he is a spiritual teacher. And in the material world, he is the protector of all the jivas. Because he expands as Maha Vishnu, and Maha Vishnu has all the jivas within him, and then expands and puts them in the material world. So, in the Caitanya Bhagavat there, Balaram is worshipped as the Adi Guru, the original guru [Laughs]. He is the guru of all the jivas in the material world and the spiritual world [Laughs].
4.) Why does Balaram use a plough as a weapon?
Oh, plough [Laughs]. So, of course, we see that in Vrindavan, Krishna is usually depicted with a flute [Laughs]. So, He doesn’t use any weapons to kill the demons. Usually, He may use a fist or whatever [Laughs]. But the significance of the flute is that, when He plays His flute, everyone becomes defeated by sweetness [Laughs]. Of course, when Krishna goes to Mathura and Dwaraka, then He can manifest his Sankha and his club and whatever [Laughs], Chakra.
So, Balaram uses the plough as a weapon. So, he drags the Yamuna or drags the Hastinapura with his plough [Laughs]. But then in Vrindavan, he is also not acting in a, you know, punishing manner with weapon. But the plough acts as, obviously, an agricultural instrument [Laughs]. So, that is natural because all the cowherd people are herding cows and they are farming [Laughs]. So, then Balaram is also worshipped as the God of agriculture [Laughs].
Okay. Hare Krsna !
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupad ki jai!!!