Bhagavatam study 26 – 1.6.23-31 – Devotion offers the supreme liberation

Srimad Bhagavatam, 1623 My service to the Supreme Absolute, Supreme Reality, that is the Absolute Truth, is for a long, long time, not for a very long time. That means, even by serving the Absolute Truth steadily for a short time, is born, and to me, a strong attraction of consciousness, a firm determination of the intelligence, and giving up which is inauspicious, in proper translation, that is deplorable. This world, Ganta will go to Janata is people, Majjanatam is my people, Asi, which is a person, will become my associate, will come to me.
So, the Lord is assuring Narada, that his separation from Him is not going to be forever. If he just keeps practising Bhakti, he will attain Him, the Lord, in the future. Text 24 Praja, Sarge, Niro, Udhepi, Smtishchamad, Anugrahath So here, the Lord concludes His instruction with this verse.
The Lord had appeared before Narada and then He had disappeared. And when Narada, frantic in anxiety and longing, was unable to see the Lord, so the Lord took Him, taking compassion on Him, spoke in a voice that was unreachable materially, Ago Charaghiram, and in that voice He informed Narada that He needs to purify Himself. And then He will see Him again.
So, the concluding instruction is 24th text. So, He says, The consciousness in the spiritual path is driven primarily by intelligence. So, Prabhupada translates matir here as intelligence.
Eventually, when we are purified, our consciousness is driven by pure spiritual desire. When we are completely in the grip of impurity, our consciousness is driven by material desires. In the sadhaka stage, when we are moving from the impure stage to the pure stage, our consciousness needs to be directed and driven by the intelligence.
So, there is When the intelligence is directed towards me, when the intelligence is focused on me, is engaged in me. It is not obstructed by anything. It is not thwarted.
When we want to serve Krishna, there is always an opportunity to serve Krishna. We may not be able to serve Krishna in the specific way that we may want to. But we can always find some way or the other to keep serving Krishna.
And in that way, we can keep moving onwards, closer towards Krishna. So, Navipadyet Karhichet The intelligence devoted to the service of the Lord is never frustrated. Praja Sarga Nirodhepi Praja Sarga Nirodhepi Praja Sarga means at the time of creation.
Nirodhepi. Nirodha is destruction. At that time, Smriti Madanugraha Smriti Your Smriti remembrance will continue Madanugraha, by my mercy.
So, here Narad Muni is answering the question which Yasodev had asked at the start of the chapter. How is your memory continuing? If you had met the great saints in the previous lifetime and who you were, what you were in the previous lifetime normally the memory is lost. How is your memory continuing? So, he is telling The Lord gave me that special benediction when He appeared before me in an unmanifest form.
Madanugraha, by my mercy, the Lord. The Lord has told Narada here that Smriti, your Smriti will stay not just at the time of your physical death and rebirth but even at the time of cosmic annihilation and cosmic creation which comes after the annihilation even at that time your memory will stay firm and thus you will eventually attain me. That’s implied over there.
Now the Lord has finished speaking. Text 25 एतावद उक्तव परराम तन्महत भूतं नभोलिंग मलिंग वीश्वरम आहम् जतस्मयि महताम् महियसे शिर्ष्णा वनामं विदधे अनुकंपितः So, एतावद उक्तव, having spoken this उपरराम, उपरराम means to stop तन्महत, that great भूतं नभोलिंग मलिंग वीश्वरम that Lord, that supreme being, भूतं, who is the supreme, महत भूतं, the great existence, the great being, नभोलिंग मलिंग वीश्वरम, he is वीश्वर, he is the controller, अलिंगम, he has no material manifestation, but नभोलिंगम, yet he had manifested through sound which was accessible to him at the material level. So such was the wonderful Lord that although he was inaccessible, he had become accessible through sound and given him guidance and encouragement.
अहम् जितस्मैं महतां महियशे महियसे So unto that great Lord who is greatly glorified, शिर्ष्णावनामं, शिर्ष्णा, by the head, अवनामं, he offered obeisances, he bowed down and offered obeisances, विदधे अनुकम्पितः, Narada, when he heard this mystical voice explaining and guiding and encouraging him, he felt grateful, he felt blessed. अनुकम्पितः, he knew that he had got special mercy and thus this wonderful Lord who had blessed him with guidance, he offered obeisances to him with his head. Narada had been sitting and trying to meditate, now there was no deity in the forest, it was a secluded forest, and he was, so it was not that he was offering obeisances in a particular direction, he was basically meditating, but in the direction from which the voice had come, he offered obeisances in that direction to express his submission, his gratitude to the Lord who had blessed him with such guidance.
Text 26, नामान्यनंतस्यःत्रपहःपथन्, गुह्यानि भद्रानि कृतानि जस्मरन्, गाम्पर्यतंस्तुष्टमनागतस्पुरुः, कालंपतिक्षन् विमदो विमच्चरः, Narada had been asked by Vyasa, how did you spend your life in your previous life? So that is being answered over here. So he is saying, नामान्यनंतस्यः, unto the names, name, fame, unto the glories of the unlimited Lord, हतत्रपहःपथन्, हतत्रपहःपथन् means that which, हतत्रपहः, त्रपहः means the formalities of this world. In English they call it trappings of this world.
So हतत्रपहः, he has freed from all worldly designations, from all worldly entanglements, पथन्, he kept reciting, गुहियानि भद्राणि कृतानि जिस्मर्ण, गुहियानि भद्राणि, so the mysterious, the confidential, भद्राणि, they are not so easily understandable, but they are beneficial, supremely beneficial, कृतानि जिस्मर्ण, so his activities, he was constantly remembering. So Narad Muni is describing the way he spent his life, absorbed in the glories of the Lord, indifferent to worldly ups and downs, गांपर्यतं तुष्टमना गतस्पुरुः, गांपर्यतं, he travelled around the world, तुष्टमना, with a satisfied mind, गतस्पुरुः, free from desire. Actually this, तुष्टमना गतस्पुरुः, this is not an easy state to achieve, in fact it is quite a difficult state to achieve, if we achieve the state of तुष्टमना गतस्पुरुः, then we can be firmly, joyfully situated anywhere in this world, be it in poverty or prosperity, be it in fame or anonymity, be it in health or disease, तुष्टमना गतस्पुरुः, if we can be situated, if we are free from self-centred desire, and we are satisfied in our devotion, then the material situation that we are in, that will not affect us at all.
गाम्पर्यतन्, So, Prabhupada travelled going here and there, but he travelled the earth, गाम् is earth, but it didn’t make any difference to him. कालं प्रतीक्षं विमदो विमच्चरः, कालं प्रतीक्षं, he was awaiting the time. विमदो विमच्चरः, He was not proud, nor was he envious.
Normally, no one waits for death, unless, of course, that person is with a painful terminal disease for which there is no cure. But, we normally look forward, we wait for something which is enjoyable, something which is pleasant, and death is considered to be the end of everything enjoyable and pleasant. So, no one waits for death.
So, whatever Narak Muni was doing in this world, that life, he was going around in this world, पिष्टमनाविगतस्पुर्ह, which satisfied my endowed desire, but essentially, what was he doing? He was waiting. When will I behold my Lord? So, he was पतीक्षं, and he knew that the Lord had said that I’ll be able to not behold in this life, that not in this life, that means he would be able to behold in the next life. So, he was waiting for that next life.
And, his consciousness further described, निर्मरो निद्मरो निर्मत्सरः. So, he was not proud of what he had, nor was he envious of what others had. He was just not having that material consciousness of the comparing competitive mentality.
He was just absorbed in his devotion to the Lord. Usually, these मदः and मत्सरः, these are the two modes in which we function in our interaction with others. Now, we are either, whenever we see some people, quite often our thoughts go that how am I better than this person? Maybe I have more wealth, I have more intelligence, I have better looks, I have greater contacts, whatever it may be.
So, that way, we try to compare ourselves with others and we become proud and निर्मत्सरः. We become envious if we find that, oh, these people have something more than what I have. This person has more intelligence, this person looks better, this person is smarter, this person speaks better, whatever it may be.
So, मदः and मत्सरः are the two primary modes in which we function in our interaction with others. But, here, नारदमणि was free from that material consciousness. And this is how he lived waiting for the opportunity in the next life to behold the Lord.
Text 27, एवं क्रिष्णमते ब्रह्मण नासक्त स्यामलात्मण कालः प्रादुर प्रादुरभूद काले तदीच सौधामनियथा So, एवं क्रिष्णमते ब्रह्मण, in this way, this consciousness fixed in Krishna, क्रिष्णमते ब्रह्मण, ब्रह्मण, Nargona is speaking to Vyasadev here, नासक्तस्यामलात्मण नासक्तस्यामलात्मण He was not attached to anything. अमलात्मण He was free from अत्मण There was no contamination. So, no attachment, no contamination.
कालः प्रादुरभूद काले, कालः प्रादुरभूद So, in due course of time, कालः So, कालः काले is a poetic alliteration over here. प्रादुरभूद It became manifest. The second काले refers to in due passage of time.
The first कालः refers to कालः as referring to death. So, कालः प्रादुरभूद काले तदीद सौधामनी यथा तदीद, तदीद is lightning, सौधामनी is illuminating. So, he said that he met with death the way lightning and illumination occur simultaneously.
So, here, तदीद सौधामनी था Suppose, there is a dark night and lightning occurs. And, now the lightning occurs far high up in the sky, but along with that the illumination occurs. It’s immediate.
For us, we hear the sound, we see the light. In fact, the two are so simultaneous that for us, we may not even perceive that, this is sound vibration, this is visual, this is the sound waves, this is the visual waves, visible spectrum travelling, but we just see it almost simultaneously. Actually, it’s simultaneous, not just almost.
So, like that, for him, now for us, remember, even for us as sadhakas, the remembrance of Krishna is auspicious, it is joyful, but as a death, it is a matter of some apprehension for materialistic people, death is a matter of actually great fear and terror, but for us as sadhakas, there also there is apprehension. Oh, where will I go? What will be my destination after death? This is a matter of fear for us and we need to deal with that fear and the best way to deal with that fear is by purification, by absorption Krishna. So, here it is said that the absorption Krishna and the manifestation of death, it happens simultaneously.
It was not that for a materialist, death is a dreadful thing, but for a devotee, death is just something which goes on in the course of, just in the routine course of things. Yes, I am in this material body and this body is going to perish in due course. So, the time to leave this body has come and a devotee doesn’t get unduly worked up by the arrival of death, knowing that death is simply a part of life in material existence.
Then Narad Muni goes on and describes what happens in his next life. So, he was being bestowed, he was awarded with maithaam. At that time I was awarded Shuddham, Shuddham is pure.
Bhagavatintanum, a body just like that of the Supreme Lord. Bhagavatintanum, so that here it refers to that Bhagawan has a body of Satchitananda and Narada also was bestowed a similar body. So, essentially Narada became liberated.
As long as we have a material body, we are embodied in material existence. When we are free from the material body, we are liberated from material existence. So here, Narada having Shuddham Bhagavatintanum, having got a pure body, he was liberated.
Aarabdha karma nirvana. Aarabdha acquired this body, karma nirvana. He was free to nirvana.
Nirvana means extinction. He was finished. He was finished with the karma and karmic entanglement was finished.
Panchabhauti panchabhautikah means to quit, fell away. Panchabhautikah Panchabhuta is earth, water, fire, air, ether. Panchabhautikah refers to that which is made of earth, water, fire, air, ether.
That is the material body. So he quit his material body. He was awarded a spiritual body.
Bhagavatintanum, a body like that of the Lord, his karmic entanglement had ended and then he was situated at the spiritual level of reality. So essentially Narada is describing that he by the grace of the Lord attained liberation at the moment of death. Text 29.
So, now, this was the time of his individual death. His physical destruction was there. But how did, the Lord had said, Lord had told him that your memory will continue even at the time of cosmic annihilation.
Praja Sarga Nirodhati. That, so now how exactly, how was Narada able to maintain his memory and how is his existence continue when there was cosmic destruction that he is telling here. Kalpanta.
And the Kalpa ended. The word Kalpa refers to a day of Brahma. At the end of which practically the most of the universe is annihilated except for the top three planet resistance.
So Kalpanta idam Adaya. So at the end of the Kalpa, Adaya Shayane Ambasya Udanvataha Shayane means to lie down. Ambasya Udanvataha.
Ambasya is the water of Udanvataha. So, the water of devastation that spreads over the universe. So he lay down in the Shishyeeshwar Anuprana.
Shishyeeshwar. So, the it is in the water of devastation the Supreme Lord also lies. The Lord he he is as the Garbhodakshaya Vishnu he lies in the Garbhodak Sagar.
As Shivdakshaya Vishnu he lies in the Kshirasagar. As the Mahavishnu he lies Karanavakshaya Vishnu he lies in the Karanasagar. So the Lord who lies in the water and these waters they exist and they also at different times in the universe they are also the waters through which devastation occurs.
These waters of devastation Shishyeeshwar Anuprana Vivishe Antara Aham Vibho enter into Aham Vibho as did the Lord Brahma. So, when the universe is devastated at that time what happens? The living entities enter into the body of the Supreme. So, that’s how they continue to live.
They continue to exist rather. They live but not the way we consider at the material level of reality. They are unmanifest to the material level but they continue to exist.
So that is being talked about over here and entering into the body they live at that time. So Kalpa there are different kinds of destruction that happen at different phases and normally when the destruction happens at the end of a day of Brahma, then the living beings go to the upper three planetary systems and they live. When the destruction of all of existence happens the whole universe gets destroyed.
At that time the living beings go into the body of Mahavishnu and they live over there taking shelter over there. The word Kalpa is multivalent. Just like the word Sahasrara Yuga Parviyantama Hariyat Brahmano Viduh We call this Kal Yuga, Sat Yuga, Trita Yuga, Dapar Yuga.
There Krishna uses the word Yuga in 8.17 to refer to not one of these Yugas but to the combination of all of them to the Divya Yuga and like that thousand Yugas is the day of Brahma. So like that here the word Kalpa can have multiple meanings and considering the specific context of the description which is given here that the living beings are entering into the body of Vishnu this seems to indicate that this is the cosmic annihilation of the whole universe at the end of Brahma’s day and so the specific ways in which the creation and destruction may occur can vary during the Bhagavatam the specific ways in which the various species manifest, it is not always fixed, it can vary. So here it is described that when the cosmic annihilation happened at the end of Brahma’s day so that time the living beings went into the body of the Supreme and then here text 13 Sahasrara Yuga Pariyante Uthayedam Sisrukshataha Marichi Mishra Rishaya Sahasrara Yuga Pariyante for a thousand ages Uthayedam Sisrukshataha at the end of it when that had expired Sisrukshataha desiring to that the creation manifest again Marichi, Mishra, Rishaya so Marichi and other Rishis Rishis like Marichi, Rishayaha all these Rishis Pranibhyo Pranibhyo so they out of the senses of the Lord appeared so there is the cosmic manifestation, the cosmic annihilation and the cosmic re-manifestation so the when the cosmic re-manifestation occurs and when at the end of the day of Brahma when cosmic re-manifestation occurs so the creation will begin once again so Narada was also there along with the great Rishis like Maricha Prabhupada also mentioned Angirathri that they also manifested with the Supreme with Brahma rather who was earlier referred to as Vibho, so Vibho can refer to the supreme being that is Vishnu Krishna or it can also refer to Brahma because his power is greater than that of the other living beings and he plays a pivotal role in the process of creation and destruction and re-creation so he is also referred to here as Vibho text 31 antar bahish chalo kam strin parye parye me askandita vrata anugrahan maha vishnor avighatagat ekvachet this is antar bahish chalo kam strin from that time onwards the three worlds antar bahir so the inner world, the spiritual world, bahir the outer world, the material world, chalo kam strin and the outer world also three worlds the lower, the middle and the higher planets parye me askandita vrata parye me I travel askandita vrata with an unbroken vow anugrahan maha vishnor by the blessing of maha vishnor avighatagat ekvachet that without any restriction without any wherever I want I can go by the mercy of the lord Narada Muni is a transcendent cosmonaut he is practically present everywhere in the Puranas almost every now apart from Krishna he is practically the only character who is present in every canto of the Bhagavatam and he is there almost in every pastime of the Bhagavatam also and he is there in the Mahabharata, he is there in the Ramayana he is there in the Puranas that is that his pervasive presence in the scriptural canon is representative of his pervasive presence wherever any incidents of significance are happening so he acts by the will of the lord in wonderful inconceivable ways for the well being of all living beings so he is not interrupted normally we human beings we cannot just travel wherever we want if we have to travel from one place to another even from one city to another city we have to put in quite a good amount of effort and planning if we have to travel from one country to another country we need to get a visa clear through immigration if we have to travel from one planet to another so much more expenditure, caution and effort is required and we also require extremely complicated complicated complex and delicate instruments and even with that it’s not very easy to travel but for Narada he just has been benedicted by the lord that wherever he wants he can go he can go even to Vaikuntha what to speak of just the heavenly planets the heavenly planets he is he routinely visits there in fact he is known as Devarshi, Devarshi means the sage among the rishi among the gods that means he actually is in one sense belonging, he doesn’t belong to anyone except the lord but he is in the category of those great sages who are the counsellors of the gods so he can come to the earth, he can go to the heavens he can travel wherever he wants whenever he wants just by desiring to be somewhere he gets there and that way he actually does amazing things and he has the theme which will come later is that he has the supreme liberation even in this material world now what are we bound by in this world, actually we are bound by our body and we are bound by our desires our body often doesn’t allow us to do what we would like to do now for the materialists of course they would like to do lots and lots of sense gratification and the body allows only limited capacity for sense gratification for the devotees they would like to engage in lots and lots of devotional service because devotional service is so auspicious, so relishable but even for that the body limits but if so the body is one limitation that is the cause of limitation and bondage and the other limitation is the desires we cannot go very far because we have our desires which drag us back to certain things an alcoholic can go here and there but then alcoholic is pulled by the desire back to a bar some people may have some people say I can at the most not smoke a cigarette for 6 hours I can go without drinking tea or coffee at the most for 24 hours after that wherever I may be I am pulled to the coffee pot or the tea pot so like that this is these examples may seem petty but like that we are pulled by our desires towards various kinds of objects, material objects that promise pleasure and they bind us but Narad Muni he does not have any bodily limitation and he does not have any desires that limit him and thus he is in a supremely liberated condition and how he goes about relishing and sharing the joy of this devotional liberation that will be the concluding part of this chapter that we will discuss in our