Sunnyvale Balarama Jayanthi Aug 30th

Today is the Holy Appearance of Supreme Godhead Sri Balaram. We know Him as Sevaka-Bhagavan (God-servant). He never challenges Krsna`s position, unlike we are, although He is fully qualified. He is God Himself & Krsna`s elder brother. 

"May Lord Balarama, who is the master of Goloka, who is the supreme controller of all controllers, and whose fame is spotless, protect me. May Lord Balaraama, who on His head holds the earth as if it were a single mustard seed, protect me in this world."

Sri Balarama Kavaca Stotra

TAKE SHELTER AT THE LOTUS FEET OF BALARAMA, GURU-TATTVA

Srila Prabhupada: So Balarāma… In the Vedic literature it is said, nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ; na bahunā śrutena. So bala means strength. Sometimes some rascal philosophers, they take it that bala means bodily strength. They propagate this philosophy that "Unless you are bodily stout and strong, you cannot achieve spiritual salvation. You must be very strong and stout and eat meat and fight, and then you'll get next spiritual birth" No. This bala, this strength, is different. This is spiritual strength.

The difficulty of the present situation is that actually we are moving on account of spiritual strength, but they have no information of the spiritual strength. They are thinking of material strength. That is expressed here (by Narottama dasa Thakura in his bhajan about Lord Nityananda), that

ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā,
asatyere satya kori māni

This is due to ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]. Those who are vimūḍha, especially rascal… Mūḍha, rascals, and vi means viśeṣa, viśeṣanam, particularly. Ahankara-vimudhātmā. The same thing which is spoken in the Bhagavad-gītā, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says the same thing in a plain Bengali language. Ahaṅkāre matta haiyā, nitāi-pada… By the spell of māyā-ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]— they are thinking that "We are independent. We can do whatever we like." This is called ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā.

Under false pretext, false prestige, everyone is thinking that "We are independent. We can find out the solution of the problems of life by material adjustment," so on, so on. So that is our material disease. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Bewildered, they do not understand that the real strength is spiritual strength. We see daily, see daily that a very strong man, very powerful man, very good brain, very good scientist…

So where is the strength? The strength is ātmā. As soon as the ātmā, or the soul, goes out of this body, so intelligent, so strong, and so many things, that is nothing. That is the difference between dead man and the living man. A living man is very powerful, very good position, everything. As soon as he lies down, he is lying down on the floor, and if you kick him on his face, he'll not protest. So where is that strength? The strength is gone. That is spiritual strength.

On the spiritual strength, the body moves. Suppose you have got a very good car, Mercedes car or Rolls Royce car. But when there is no petrol, how the car will move? It is not possible. There is spirit, petrol spirit. Similarly, real strength is spiritual strength. That spiritual strength is Balarāma. Bala means strength. Therefore we have to take shelter of the lotus feet of Balarāma, guru-tattva

Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means "Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification." So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu. Balarāma hailā nitāi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarāma.

(Lord Nityānanda Prabhu's Āvirbhāva Appearance Day, Bhubaneswar, India February 2, 1977)