​Bhagavatam canto 6 study 2 – 6.1.28-68 Lust is not gender-specific – it troubles everyone

​Bhakti Vaibhava class to brahmacharis at Govardhan Ecovillage, Wada Mumbai

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

So, I was planning to do this in half-hour sessions with some break in between where we can have question answers or we can have a break if it's a long class. So, we will try to recite all the verses of the Bhagavatam and we will discuss them one by one. So, approximately I was naming that we can take 8 verses in about half an hour that means around 4 minutes per verse, some verses may be more, some verses may be less.

That way the first chapter has 68 verses, so probably we will require 2 sessions for that. But let us see how it goes. My plan was that you could have say if you have 2 and a half hour class, then you could have 4 units of half-hour classes with maybe 5 to 10 minutes of question answers and then maybe if we need after 1 hour, we could have a few minutes break if it's required, we will see how it goes.

So, the 6th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam is at a position in the Bhagavatam, it's a transition position where the focus shifts from the universe to the Lord. If you look at the Bhagavatam itself, I will just give you a quick overview of the Bhagavatam. So, the first canto is setting the scene.

Actually, from the first 9 chapters, first 15 chapters which are going on, till the first 7 chapters, it's Narad Vyasa Samvat and the setting of the Navishabha designs. And after that the first canto, basically how Parishit Maharaj and Shukadeva Goswami come to the position of discussion. That is what is the setting of the scene in the first canto.

The second canto when things start off, there Parishit Maharaj starts asking questions and from that point onwards till the third canto, there is largely a description of creation. There are various subtleties within it which we can discuss some other time, but largely it's a process of creation. Process of creation.

Then the fourth, fifth cantos after that, actually from the third canto, roughly from the 8th, 9th chapters onwards till the end, the Bhagavatam can be read as the narrative of events in one day of Brahma. So, after the creation has taken place, what all happens onwards, that's what the Bhagavatam is describing from the third canto, 9 chapters. So, before that it is not exactly chronological.

It is more of theme based. So, based on who is discussing and what they are discussing, that's how events are going on. But from the third canto, 9 chapters, the prayers of creative energy and from there before that starts off.

So, there it is more like events from the beginning of this day of Brahma. And from the third till the 7th canto, there is the description of the first Manu. Which is that Manu? Swayambhuva Manu.

Then in 7th canto, there is a fast forward. 7th canto and 8th canto, 8th canto first chapter, after the Gajendra's prayers of surrender or even before that itself. At that point, there is a fast forward and 7 Manus are covered in that time.

This Manu, this Manu, this Manu. And then from the 8th canto onwards, the current Manu, that is Vaivasvath Manu. And then from the 8th canto till the 12th canto, the events within the Vaivasvath Manu's reign are described.

So, within that Ram's descent is described. Within that, Krishna's descent is described. Within that, Krishna's departure, Krishna's instructions in the Vrindavan Gita is described in the 11th canto.

And then in the 12th canto, the predictions of Kali Yuga are described. So, the Bhagavatam is like, in the third canto, events within one day of Brahma. Now, this is from the chronological point of view.

From the conceptual point of view, the Bhagavatam starts from the world and describes how we can see God in this world. And then, and this is done in three ways, in the 2nd, 3rd and 5th cantos. The 2nd canto, it is primed with the description of the universal form.

How we can see God in this world. The 3rd canto, it is through Sankhya. So, Sankhya was itself an independent school of thought.

But in the Bhagavatam, Sankhya is revealed to be devotional. How all the elements are analyzed in such a way that we can see God through it all. So, the Mahabharata describes that there are three kinds of Sankhya.

They are roughly called as 24 Sankhya, 25 Sankhya, 26 Sankhya. What that means is, the materialistic Sankhya analyzes the material world into elements and gives that. 25 is impersonalist, where there are material elements and there is a spirit.

But the 26th Sankhya is the Bhagavat Sankhya, which describes how there is a spirit and there is a supreme spirit. That is the 2nd way of analyzing the world. The 3rd way of analyzing the world is described in the 5th canto, where the cosmology is given.

And the purpose of the cosmology description is primarily for meditation on God. Vishwanath Chakravarti in his commentary explained that this is especially for those who are attracted to the universe. How they can direct their thoughts towards God.

Even our own Acharyas don't use the Bhagavatam's cosmology for any practical purposes. That means, when say Krishna horoscope is to be calculated or when a solar eclipse, lunar eclipse or any dates are to be calculated. So, nobody uses the Bhagavatam's cosmology.

So, the Bhagavatam's cosmology is purely conceptual for the purpose of meditation. For practical purposes, there is the Jyotishi Shastras, which have another description of cosmology, which is quite similar to modern cosmology in many ways. And eclipses and the phases of the moon, all these are calculated using that cosmology.

So, the 5th canto cosmology is primarily for a theistic vision of the cosmos. Now, if you see from the 15th chapter to the 25th chapter, whatever verses are there in the 5th canto, actually those which describe the cosmos in terms of dimensions, they are barely a handful. They are not more than 50-60 verses.

All the other verses are describing, okay, who is residing where and how they are praying to the Supreme Lord. But the purpose is to describe how dharma and devotion pervade the universe. That is the purpose of the description.

So, when I was a part of the planetarium team several years ago, we were discussing that constructing the planetarium from the Bhagavatam's description is something like constructing a map of America after reading Prabhupada's travels in Leela Amrit in America. The Leela Amrit is not a geographical book. And it does describe, Prabhupada went here, he went there, he went there.

But the purpose of the Leela Amrit is not to describe American geography. Similarly, the Bhagavatam's purpose is not to describe the cosmos in any analytical or exhaustive detail. Its purpose is simply to direct the thoughts towards the Supreme Lord.

So, now, with this description getting over, especially of the hellish planets, the sixth canto begins and Parikshit Maharaj asks the question. So, let's begin. Those of you who have Bhagavatam, you can just recite the verses.

So, I will say, then you can recite. 6.1 now. 6.1.1. śrīparikṣita-vāca nivṛtti-mārga-kathita ādau bhagavata yatha pramayo gopala-dena brahmaṇāya asamsruti So, here it is, Śrī Parikshit Maharaj said, nivṛtti-mārga-kathita.

So, you have described nivṛtti-mārga. There are two broad paths. There is the pravṛtti-mārga, which is the path of engagement.

It is not the path of sense gratification in terms of simple sense gratification. It is the path of pious sense gratification. But nivṛtti-mārga is the path of renunciation.

ādau bhagavata yatha. Oh, you have described this earlier in the beginning. This is, ācārya has explained where all it has been described earlier.

kramayo gopala-dena By systematic progression on this path, brahmaṇā yatha asamsruti One can actually attain. Asamsruti is the repetition of birth and death. Asamsruti is liberation from birth and death.

brahmaṇā One can attain. The word brahmaṇā has various meanings. Etymologically, the word brahmaṇā comes from the word bṛha, which means very great.

So brahma-loka is used sometimes to refer to the paravyoma, to the spiritual sky. Sometimes it's referred to satya-loka, which is the highest within the world and in the universe and it is the abode of brahma. So now technically from the word brahmaṇ, related with it there is brahmaṇ, there is brahma and there is brahmaṇā.

Brahmaṇā is one of the sections of the Vedas. So all of them are related but they are distinct words. So here, by following asamsruti, one can get elevated to brahma-loka, one can get elevated ultimately beyond it to the spiritual sky and get liberated.

This has been talked at various places. In fact, this is a consistent theme of the Bhagavatam. And there is a substantial difference between the emphasis of the Bhagavatam and the emphasis of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita's emphasis is on action. The Bhagavatam's emphasis is on renunciation. The context is different.

Now Arjuna has to fight an important war in his life. And the establishment of dharma depends on Arjuna's fighting that war. Therefore, all the analysis that Krishna does is for establishing that the best course, best way for him to practice dharma is by doing action.

On the other hand, for Pariksit Maharaj, he has been cursed, he is going to die in seven days, he has also accepted his death. Now suppose, the situation is, somebody is young and healthy and they say, you know, I'll just become a babaji. I'll go and chant 64 vows.

No, you preach. There is so much to do. There are so many people who are ignorant.

There are so many misconceptions. We will galvanize them into preaching. But then say somebody has got terminal cancer and there is no cure for it.

And more or less it's told that in one week, ten days, they are going to die. At that time, you will not tell them, go out and preach. At that time, you will tell them, focus and absorb yourself in Krishna.

So, the same, the message is the same. In both cases, the purpose is to absorb oneself in Krishna. But depending on context, entirely different emphasis will be given.

So, the Bhagavatam's context is, the person is, Pariksit Maharaj is destined to die and he has also accepted his death. So, at that time, once a person has accepted, okay, this is, okay, my disease is terminal, I am going to die. Then there is no attempt and maybe this treatment will work, this treatment will work.

Okay, now, just let me focus on Krishna. So, like that, the Bhagavatam's focus, both are talking about bhakti, but bhakti is directed with the emphasis differently in the two books. The Bhagavatam's emphasis is on renunciation.

And Pariksit Maharaj, Chukdev Goswami tells stories, analyzes stories, various pastimes in such a way that that conclusion of renunciation is what is stressed. And we will see the same difference also in the 11th canto in the Uddhava Gita. The same Krishna is speaking Bhagavad Gita and is speaking Uddhava Gita.

But in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna very strongly disapproves the path of jnana. He says either you follow karma yoga or follow bhakti yoga. Both involve action and he disapproves jnana yoga.

On the other hand, in the Bhagavatam, in the 11th canto, Uddhava Gita says that actually bhakti yoga is the best. But if you can't follow bhakti yoga, follow jnana yoga. Renounce the world.

So, renunciation of the world is better than engagement in the world. That is the stress of the Uddhava Gita. So, that is also in consonance with the theme of the Bhagavatam.

So, he is saying that you have described the path, nirutti marga, by which one can attain elevation and ultimately liberation. So, Prabhupada explains this refers to the second canto where things have been described. At the same time, this topic has been talked repeatedly in various places.

So, next verse. So, pravrutti is the path of engagement in this world. So, when one follows the path of engagement in this world, one's life is characterized, lakshana by that.

Trigunya vishayo mune. That such person gets absorbed in the three moods. Trigunya.

Krishna talks about the same thing. Trigunya vishaya veda. So, Trigunya vishaya.

Same word is here. Same compound word is here. Yo asav alina prakriti.

Alina is a variant of me. Such a person becomes merged in matter, in material existence. That means, not merged literally, but merged in terms of consciousness.

Gunasarga punabhuna. That means, person takes birth again and again in this material world. So, the advantage of the path of pravrutti is that the person at least stays at the level of piety.

The disadvantage is that the person stays in material existence. So, from different perspectives, depending on how evolved people are, the advantage can outweigh the disadvantage. That means that for people who are serious about spiritual life, the emphasis will be, I am going to still be in the material world.

I don't want to follow this path. But for people who are not very serious about spiritual life, for them at least be at the level of piety. So, in different situations, a particular path, from the ultimate perspective, pravrutti marga is not approved by the bhagavata, from the bhakti perspective.

But from the broad Vedic perspective, that is also a progressive path. Although it is gradual progression and it is limited progression. So, Krishna talks about how one goes up and then comes down again.

shivaya punye martilokam vishanti. So, when the Isopanishad says, andham tamah pravishanti ya vidyam upasate to bhuyaiva te tamah ya vidyayam ratah. So, there that andham, for those who are engaged in knowledge, that second part of the verse has different meanings.

But those who are engaged in knowledge, they go into darkness also. What does that mean? That actually means they stay in the dark material existence. So, that's what he is talking about, pravrutti lakshanah chaiva.

So, by the path of following pravrutti, one stays in material existence. So, basically here, before asking his question, Parikshit Maharaj is giving a context. What is it? What is he asking exactly? By his background which he is giving, he is explaining or he is revealing that he has understood what has been spoken till now.

But based on what he has heard, he is having a question which he will come to now. So, there is the path to go up, there is the path to stay here itself. Then there is a path to go down.

So, now he talks about the path to go down. adharmalakshanah nana narakaschanuvarnitah manvantarasya vyakhyatah adhyasvayambhuyatah So, adharmalakshanah nana. The previous one was pravrutti lakshanah, now it is adharmalakshanah.

So, this is the path of sinful sense gratification. Sense gratification itself is not sinful. There can be pious ways in which one can identify the sins, there can be sinful ways.

So, adharmalakshanah nana, there are various ways in which a person may engage in adharma. And narakaschanuvarnitah, then by that one will go to hellish planets. manvantarasya vyakhyatah And then further you have described about Manu also and adhyasvayambhuyatah.

So, from the 4th canto onwards roughly, actually from the 3rd canto itself, the description of Swayambhu Manu's life is starting, not the 3rd canto beginning. It is roughly the 3rd canto 17th-18th chapters onwards, where Swayambhu Manu goes to hand his daughter Devamith in marriage. So, from that time onwards Swayambhu's life is being described.

And some of the details are about Swayambhu's life directly. Some of the details are about what happens in Swayambhu Manu's lifetime. So, all this you have described.

Now, naraka is actually different from the lower planetary systems. So, there are several lower planetary systems and below them is the narakas. So, those who are very sinful, they go down to the hellish planets.

So, everything that is down is lower than the human but it is not hellish in the sense that there are also very powerful creatures who have a lot of control, who exist in the lower levels of the cosmos. But those who are, so they are not the asuras, the rakshasas, they are not in hell. They are powerful, they are rulers and they can sometimes try to take over the devatas too.

Below the planets in the prana system there is the hellish planetary system. The hellish planets are there basically. So, there also one goes and one does sinful activities.

So, Priyavrat, so let's go to the next, fourth text. Okay, text four. bhaagalakshan manatah jyotisham vibharanam ca yathedam asruchad vibhuhu Asruchad vibhuhu, vibhuhu is the supreme being.

Asruchad is create, sushti, asruchad. Sushti is the noun, srujati is the word. So, the supreme has created all this.

So, here he is also revealing that the focus of the bhagavatam was not just to describe the various planets. Connection of everything with the supreme. So, now he is giving a summary of what has been described.

So, he has described the life of Priyavrat and Uttampad and vamshastha charitancha. So, in there their character, their dynasty, all that is described and after that within the universe as was ruled by them and by other kings, there is various divisions. So, there is dweepa, varsha, samudra, these are all different geographical terrains which has been described.

Nadya uddhyana manaspati, the natural features of any geographical landscape that are there. The rivers, the gardens, the mountains, all these are described. Dharamandal samsthanam bhagalakshanam anata.

So, the divisions of the various planetary systems that has also been described. And jyotisham vibharanam ca, jyotisham is the sun. Krishna also talks about the jyotisham in the Bhagavad Gita.

So, vibharanam ca, you have described all this and the lower planetary systems also. So, basically here Parikshit Maharaj as I said earlier, he is summarizing what has been discussed earlier. Next verse, text 6. adhuneha mahabhaga yathaiva narakannaraha mano grayatananeya tanme vyakhyatum arhasi So, this is what you have described till now.

So, in one sense, what is the reason for saying all this? It is that he, there are several points. One is that he is explaining what all he has understood, what all he has heard. And he is giving the background for this question.

I know that this is here, this is here, this is here. So, you know, suppose parents, geography teachers tell students, you know, this is the geography of the world. This country is here, this country is here, this city is here.

If somebody asks how can one go here or how can one not go here or what is the way? So, basically this is the universe you have described. So, adhuneha, now please describe to me, mahabhaga, oh you are greatly fortunate. Yathaiva narakannaraha.

So, in Bhagavatam, if you study Sanskrit, we find many places it's poetry. And there are different words that can be used, but often words are used with a poetic alliteration. So, narakannaraha.

So, nara, nara, this word comes twice in the two words in succession. Yathaiva narakannaraha. Mano grayatananeya.

And in that, the human being there, nano grayatana, there are many different kinds of sufferings that a person gets. Tanne myaakhyanatum arasi. So, please describe how can that be avoided? How can a person avoid the sufferings of hell? So, there is the conception of hell in various religions.

But in the Bhagavatam, in the bhakti tradition, the conception of hell is very different from that in the Abrahamic religions. Many people, especially those who are exposed to western theology, they find the idea of hell very horrible. That they feel they cannot reconcile the idea with the notion of a loving God.

In fact, there is a prominent atheist in England who has made a case in Britain to deem belief in a good God as immoral. Not just God doesn't exist, but that belief in God should be considered immoral. He says, what is his reasoning? He says that there is so much suffering in this world.

And the idea that a good God will allow so much suffering to go on in this world, this is itself an immoral idea. So, he says that this, the idea of a good God is an insult to the reality and the gravity of suffering in this world. And that's why this idea should be deemed immoral.

So, science has already proven God doesn't exist. But even if people who believe in an imaginary God, they should be told that their belief is not only false, it is immoral also. So, this is the extent to which people have just lost track of everything.

So, the problem is that when our vision is only on this world and we don't understand about any reality beyond this world, then the reality of God doesn't make sense. See, sometimes we use the idea that this world is like a prison. And there are different metaphors which serve different purposes.

The metaphor of prison serves the purpose that we have to change ourselves. The prisoners have done something wrong, they have to reform themselves, then they can get out of the prison. But this metaphor of a prison does not cast God in a particularly positive light.

Now, who is God? God is the prison maintainer or is the king? But he is not involved in the prisoners. So, the more apt metaphor to illustrate the nature of this world is that, the nature of the world and especially the compassionate role of God is that this world is like a hospital. We are all sick in this world and God is a doctor.

The suffering in the hospital is not caused by the doctor. Suffering is a fact of the hospital. But it is not caused by the doctor.

The doctor is working to remove the suffering. And the patient should also co-operate, the suffering will get removed. And so that way, if you look at this famous verse 8.14 in the Bhagavad Gita also, So, when Krishna says this verse, we often emphasize that this world is miserable and this world is temporary.

But if you look at Krishna's stress in the verse, Krishna's stress is that by worshipping me, you can get out of this world. And in one's Dukkhalaya Mashashvatam, it's just like a passing statement he is making. The thrust of the verse is, by worshipping me, you will attain my abode and you will not take birth in this world of misery.

So, the emphasis is not on this world as a place of misery. The emphasis is how you can become free from misery. So, God is not the cause of our suffering.

God is our partner, in fact, our guide, our mentor in our battle to overcome suffering. So, God is not causing the suffering of this world. That is very, very important to understand.

Otherwise, this whole, the idea of a compassionate God becomes very difficult to digest. If we consider that God is causing the suffering. Now, we can see in some situations that if some problem comes in our life, this is Krishna's arrangement.

But Krishna's arrangement, that does not mean Krishna is the cause. See, there is a difference. Krishna's arrangement means, yes, our own past karma is the cause.

But Krishna is arranging in such a way that through it, we can move closer to him. Through it, we can grow spiritually. So, God is not the cause of the world's suffering.

God is the cure for the world's suffering. And that difference is very difficult for people to digest when they have to swallow the notion of eternal hell. If hell is eternal, then there is no hope for the end of the suffering.

And the idea that God would cast people in such a hell, that makes not only the idea of hell unpalatable, but the idea of God itself becomes very unpalatable. The Bhagavatam also talks about hell, but it's very clear that hell is not eternal. The Bhagavatam's understanding is that the whole universe is like a university.

And within that, hell is also a classroom. It is a particularly difficult classroom to be in. But it is a classroom.

And there are certain lessons to be learnt. And most of the time, there are two things. This is a temporary classroom and it is a non-mandatory classroom.

Everyone doesn't have to go to hell. So, although the word hell is similar in the different religious conceptions, but the Bhagavatam's understanding in the Bhakti tradition is that hell is also a part of the university that is this world. And people can go there, people will come out.

They don't have to be there permanently. And they don't even have to go there. So, here Panchit Maharaj is asking the question, how can going to hell be avoided? What can be done by which people do not have to suffer like this? So, if we consider the metaphor of a hospital, then if we know there is an epidemic somewhere, then a question will come, how can we avoid this epidemic? How can we avoid getting infected and suffering? So, the question is similar.

How can people avoid the infection and thereby avoid the suffering of hell? So, next text. So, if one does not counter, one does wrong activities, one does not do atonement to counter that. So, with the mind, with the words, with the hands.

Hands here refers to the body in general. Pani is used as a representative. Like sometimes there is one thing which is used to represent something else.

So, for example, the White House made a statement. The White House made a statement means America made a statement. So, White House is one way of representing America.

So, pani, hands are used to refer to the body. So, whatever activities are done with our mind, with our speech, with our body, if one, now in this world to some extent some wrong activities are unavoidable. But whatever activities one does, one has to atone for them.

And if one does not atone for them, dhroam is avoided. Dhroam, certainly, what will happen? Pretya. Pretya means after death.

Preta is the dead body, the corpse. Pretya refers to where the soul has gone after death. So, narakhanupai, this person will definitely attain naraka.

I have described earlier to you the severe sufferings that come in hell because of one's wrong activities. So, here, when Parikshit Swaraj questions Shukla Goswami Haras, he answers by giving the answer indirectly. The indirect answer he says is, if one does not do atonement, then one will have to go to hell.

And one will have to suffer. So, the answer is, can this be avoided? Yes, it can be avoided by doing atonement. And what all are the atonements, that he will talk in the next verses.

So, any questions till now? I have previously described. Ok, when Parikshit, when he said that I have previously described, that refers to the previous cantos, the fifth canto family that he described. Yes, do you have a question? When Prabhupada said that build a very planetary arm, what did he refer to? Actually, Prabhupada himself said that you should consult an expert who understands this and then build it accordingly.

And when Prabhupada translated, devotee asked him a technical question, Prabhupada said ask an expert. So, Prabhupada himself did not claim that he understood the Vedic planetary book exhaustively or that. He would give the complete model of how it is to be done.

And devotees tried to find some experts, but nobody really understood the Bhagavatam's cosmology in a way which could be practically depicted. Now, there are different understandings of what Shila Prabhupada wanted. Shila Prabhupada basically wanted a majestic temple in Mayapur.

He also wanted to challenge modern science, especially the atheism within modern science, not just modern science per se. And he wanted to glorify the Bhagavatam. Now, how that is to be done, that is a matter of practical implementation.

So, as of now, the planetarium that is being built, the devotees have largely taken something from the Bhagavatam and have taken something from the Yotishastras. Now, Prabhupada himself never directly recommended the Yotishastras, but he did not anywhere neglect them also. He did not anywhere reject them.

He referred to astrology and astrology is based on Yotishastras. So, the devotees have tried to integrate it, integrate the two, but their integration itself is a challenge. Because the way the Bhagavatam describes and the Yotishastra describes, they are very different.

So, how to integrate them, that is itself a question. So, we have to see in Acharya's instructions in terms of the broader purpose that is to be served. And the purpose is to glorify the word of Lord Chaitanya.

The purpose is to glorify the Supreme Lord. And how that can be served, that has to be practically analyzed and implemented. There are some devotees who said that basically when the devotees wanted to build a temple in Mayapur at that time the local devotees, they came and said that Prabhupada, there was a CPM government over there, communist government, they said they will not allow us to build a temple.

So, Prabhupada said tell them we are going to build a planetary, then they will allow. So, that's how the idea started. And then when they said they will build a planetary, they decided to make it a big planetary.

And then for some people the focus shifted entirely from the temple to the planetary of itself. Now, that is something which is as of now, I have contacted the leaders of the planetarium because the planetarium will be built, it is the second generation who will be living with it. We will have to explain it.

We will have to defend it. What is this? So, as of now, the devotees are still struggling to just reconcile the two together, the Bhagavatams and the Jyotisha cosmology. And preparing a defense, see mainstream society, mainstream science is not going to accept it.

That's where it's almost impossible. But there is something which is acceptable, there is something which is intelligible. Acceptable means I accept it.

Intelligible means I understand what you are saying although I don't accept it. So, at least what we should do is our presentation should be intelligible even if it is not acceptable. So, we have not come to that stage till now.

And there are some devotees who are working on it. There is also to some extent, because some devotees feel that they, Prabhupada gave them the instruction to build the planetarium and they want to do it in their lifetime. So, they are also pressurizing to do everything very quickly.

And then the research that is required to understand, to explain, to analyze, that can take quite a few years. So, as of now, we will have to see what comes out and how it is explained. And we have to see the various instructions of Prabhupada in pursuance of his ultimate purpose.

So, ultimate purpose is to share Krishna consciousness. And how any particular instruction in building the planetarium is going to contribute to that, that is something which we have to also take stock. So, as of now, the temple is being built.

It is called the temple of the Vedic planetarium. But the exact planetarium model and how it is going to depict, how it is going to be explained, who is going to do the explaining and how intelligible will it be for everyone, all those are still now matters of discussion. So, they are not really clearly evolved enough.

Any other questions? So, let's move on. It is text 8. So, nidana is a cure. Nidanavit is one who knows a cure.

So, rujam, rujam is a disease. The body is said to be asesha rujam niroha. The body is said to be a breeding place of many many diseases.

So, vichkitsa, so for the disease, for different diseases or different medicines, and there is a vidanavit, there is a doctor or a medical expert who knows what is the medicine for what disease. And like that, there are dushtva gurulaghavam. There are some sins which are great, some which are small.

And depending on the kind of wrongdoings a person has come, one has to do the appropriate atonements. Paapa nishkrutau. So, nishkrutau means to become free from.

So, the word paapa is sometimes used for wrongdoing and sometimes it is used for the reaction to the wrongdoing. So, paapa can refer to sin or sometimes it can refer to sinful reaction also. So, paapa nishkrutau here refers to the freedom from sinful reactions.

So, before the sins become manifest, before the sinful reactions come upon a person, before that one should do the atonement. Now, atonement also involves some voluntary acceptance of suffering. And the sinful reaction also involves suffering.

The difference between the two is in intention. Now, in intention, when a person does atonement, that person accepts that I have done wrong and I deserve punishment and I accept some punishment. So, like a person commits a crime and then they surrender to the police.

In another case, the police chase the person and arrest the person. In both cases, they will get some suffering. But the police will take, the judge will take into organism this person voluntarily surrendered.

So, like that, if we do atonement, then the reactions, the suffering is much lesser. Because we have voluntarily accepted culpability. We have accepted the fact that we did something wrong and we are willing to accept some suffering for that purpose.

So, this is that by doing atonement, one can avoid the sinful reactions. And so, that is the answer which he gives. Here, the question is answered.

How can one avoid suffering? That is by doing atonement. And he basically answers that the atonement, it should be vidhan, it should be understood properly based on scripture or one who is expert in describing what kind of atonement should be done for what suffering. So now, Parishad Maharaj replies by a famous verse.

Prabhupada quotes in the Nectar of Instruction also. In the first verse itself. So, dhrishtashita bhyamya paapam.

Paap, wrong doing. You know, we have seen it, we have heard it. Whatever we have seen and heard.

That yes, if we do wrong, we will get consequences. Jaanan apte aatmano ahitam. That this is not good for me.

Karoti bhuyo vivashyaha. But still, vivashyaha. Force, by force as in people do the wrong thing again and again.

Prayashitam athokatham. What is the use of prayashit in such a situation? There is alcoholism is quite a rampant problem in today's world. Now, there are some drugs, an exedine or something like that, I forget the name.

You know, if you take that, if you take that drug, you know, as soon as you drink alcohol, you fall sick. So, the idea is, people who are very addicted to alcohol, they don't want to take that. They know that if I drink, I do terrible things, I waste money.

So, what they do is, they just take that drug. It's not a narcotic drug. It's a pharmaceutical drug.

So, they take that drug to somehow, because normally when people drink alcohol, it is not that you get the consequences immediately. At that time, people may feel very good. Afterward, the consequences come.

But when they take this drug, at that time, immediately they feel terrible. But in spite of taking that drug, still people can't resist the urge for alcohol. So, it's almost like a force which drags them and forces them to take it.

So, here their desire to avoid alcohol is strong in the sense that they are taking something which will ensure that if they are eating alcohol, it will cause them pain. But still they can't avoid it. So, we may not be caught for our sins, but we will be caught by our sins.

That means, sometimes somebody does something wrong, and if I can do it secretly, I think I'll get away with it. We may not be caught for our sins. Others may not find us and catch us.

But we will be caught by our sins. Caught by our sins means, whenever we do something wrong, that desire itself catches us. And that desire makes us do the same thing again and again and again and again.

And then that becomes a suffering. Asha Pasha Shatair Bandha. Krishna says in 16.11 that the Asha, the desire is a Pasha which binds.

So, that's why the people may not accept the conception of sin. They may say, whatever you want, you can do. If you want to enjoy, you enjoy.

But what people call as enjoyment, that often degenerates into addiction. And addiction is a big problem. So, it's a huge problem and there are various different kinds of addictions which happen.

They are broadly classified as substance addiction and behavior addiction. Substance addiction means, you know, people are addicted to some kind of substance which they want to take in. But there are behavioral addictions.

Behavioral addiction means, people just like to do certain things. Like there is alcoholism. There is another kind of alcoholism is substance addiction.

There is a behavioral addiction called shopaholism. Shopaholism means, people just can't stop shopping. Now, once they go into shopping mall, their pocket becomes empty, their credit card becomes empty, their house goes in mortgage, but they still keep shopping.

They just can't stop. So, shopaholism is a big, big problem. So, they, you know, shop till you drop.

That's their idea. And to a large extent, the problem is when we give in to a desire. Now, see, shopping is not bad.

Everybody has to shop. We need certain things to shop. But it's a normal behavior which, if not regulated, can take control and just dominate people's lives.

So, like that, these desires which we have, the desires can become very, very addictive. And then, janan apyaatmanohitam, even if one knows this is harmful for me, karoti bhuyo vivashya, but still helplessly the person does that again. So, prayashchittam athokatham.

So, what is the use of prayashchittam in such a situation? What will, even if one does atonement. So, Parikshit Maharaj is going deeper now. He's saying, there is a particular behavior, a particular wrongdoing, and for that wrongdoing, the reaction is going to come.

And Shukdev Goswami answered, how do you avoid the reaction? By doing atonement. But then, Parikshit Maharaj goes deeper and says, okay, we may avoid the atonement, but the behavior will recur. And when the behavior recurs, what purpose does the atonement serve? The atonement serves only the purpose of avoiding that particular reaction.

But the behavior that causes, that induces that reaction, that behavior is not avoided. So, therefore, what is the use? Dhrisht Shuddha Dhyanam. So, we have seen it, we have heard it, but still we are impaled towards wrongdoings.

So, why is that? Or rather, this question is a rhetorical question. So, in such a situation, even after knowing people do the wrongdoing, what is the use of prayashittam? Go ahead. The same point he elaborates further, 10th text.

So, he says, sometimes people give it up. One answer again, charati, moves towards it, indulges in it once again. Therefore, the prayashittam is apartha.

Apartha means of no use. It is in vain. It is like the bathing of an elephant.

Many people make New Year resolutions. And unfortunately, every year, they don't have many new New Year resolutions. Whatever resolution they made last year, they maintained for some time and then they gave it up.

And again they make a resolution this year. And in this way, kochi nivartate, sometimes they engage, sometimes they renounce. Again they engage, again they renounce.

In today's world, obesity is a big health problem. But bigger than a health problem, it is a mental problem. In the sense that, everybody is so figure conscious.

I need to look good, so people are very very worried how I look. And it is actually, in one sense, people are caught in a double pincer. Double pincer means that, on one side, all the models and film stars and movie stars are described, who have very attractive looking slim figures.

So people are told, you should look like this, look like this, look like this. But then, there are advertisements of all kinds of fast foods, which are fat inducing. So, eat this and look like this.

So there are two propagandas in two opposite directions. And as Prahlad says, It says, different wives drag a husband in different directions. Like that, different senses drag people in different directions.

So like that, here, these two desires, to eat the glamorized food and to look the way the people are glamorized. It is just not possible. And people get mad because of this.

There are people who, after eating, they take special pills by which, after they eat, they vomit it out. And they think, you know, then maybe it will not accumulate in the stomach, it will not cause fat. So they have a binge in which they eat and they think, I'll vomit.

But it's very harmful for the digestive system to artificially vomit things out like that. But for the whole body. So there are various fads which people do to try to get rid of weight.

So there is one popular fad. Actually, it's very popular and it's not at all good. They say, one day, just eat fruits and vegetables.

Next day, eat whatever you want. Next day, just eat fruits and vegetables. Next day, eat whatever you want.

It's alternately like this. So one day, sense gratification. One day, renunciation.

But the body can't sustain something like this. The digestive system, it also has to, suppose a person has to, say a coolie has to carry weight. Tell him, carry this weight from here to there.

And he's carrying, he's carrying, habitually 10 kg and suddenly it becomes 20 kg. And next day, it becomes 10 kg. He doesn't know how much weight I'm supposed to carry.

So like that, this arbitrary shifting in the kind of way people eat, it creates a lot of problems. So even when people know that, okay, this is going to be harmful, but still they just can't give it up. So prayaschitta atho apartham.

Therefore, this kind of prayaschitta is of no use. So people do bariatric surgery to try to get rid of the flesh in their body. So now, it's an expensive surgery by which, it's a complicated surgery, but what is done basically is a part of the stomach gets closed.

So what happens if a part of the stomach is closed, then only when the remaining part of the stomach is filled, people feel as if their stomach is full. And that's how they eat less. And then they remove the flesh from the body.

But you may remove the flesh, but then over the flesh, the skin has grown. So then you have to do another surgery to remove the skin. So sometimes, just this surgery costs lakhs and lakhs of rupees.

First the bariatric surgery, then the skin surgery. And then after some time, people start eating once again. So all this is, even if they do something to avoid the consequences of what they have done in the past.

Now we are not talking about Papa and Punya from a cosmic perspective, simply from a physiological perspective. I have eaten and I have got the consequence of obesity. I tried to remove fat to counter that.

But then that is going to come again, unless there is a basic change in regulation of the body. So it is of no use, he says. And the example is Kunja-Rasa-Uchha-Bath.

Now metaphors are usually given to illustrate points. Now a metaphor is basically what? Metaphor can be a, it is to make the unfamiliar familiar. So the concept to be unfamiliar and to make the unfamiliar concept familiar, an example is given which is something similar to what we know.

So, for example, to talk about how describing Bhagavatam cosmology from this canto is difficult, I give the example of Leela Amrita in America. So the purpose of a metaphor is to make the unfamiliar familiar. Now what is familiar varies according to place and culture.

So for example, this example of Kunja-Rasa-Uchha-Bath. Now when people lived close to nature, they had seen how elephants bathe and elephants put mud on their body. But now when we talk about it, if we stress on this, what happens is, the point gets lost and then the example, is it really true? Nowadays people have curiosity but often their curiosity goes in different directions.

So I answer questions on the internet, online through my website. So there is one person I met when I was in America. So last time he said, I hear your answer and whenever I am hearing your answers, I am on a computer searching on Google to check whether your answers are right or not.

So whether the facts that you are saying are right or not. So just as we do keep doing wrong activities, just as the elephant keeps bathing. Elephant bathes and then put dirt on it.

Anyways people will search on Google, does the elephant actually bathe and put dirt on itself? And they will find, yes it does, it doesn't do and they will get lost in that. So the point is, examples are there but we have to see whether the examples assist in the understanding or the examples can distract from the understanding. So if certain examples are not familiar to the audience, the example is there in scripture, we accept that.

But we don't have to emphasize that example. Every example is meant to aid understanding. And if the example doesn't aid understanding, then we don't have to stress that example.

So that's why I didn't go into that example right now. So text 11. So here, earlier it was Shri Shukavvachan, now it is Badarayani Vachan.

Bhagavatam often uses different names to refer to the same people in different ways. So you see Badarayani, another name of Shukadeva Swami. And Karmana, Karmanirhar.

That actually one can do some activities and one can do some activities to counter those activities. Karma and Karmanirhar. This is possible.

But this is not the ultimate solution. This does not offer any ultimate relief. So one does not have knowledge.

One has not become deep in knowledge. Prayashittam Vimarshanam. And therefore the essence of Prayashittam is Vimarshanam.

Vimarshanam is absorption in knowledge. So again, Shukadeva Swami is progressing in the answers. Parikshit in his question has already said, Janan api atmanohita.

They know that it is not beneficial for them. So he is already stating that knowledge is not of much use. But his stress there was, what is the use of atonement? But implicit in his point is also that the knowledge itself is not of much use.

While answering, Shukadeva Swami goes step by step. And first he says that because they don't have knowledge, that's why just doing action and doing the counter of that action is not enough. One should cultivate knowledge.

Vimarshanam. Now for knowledge, knowledge is important. But it is not all important.

Knowledge is like a map. Now without a map, it is difficult to go on a journey. But having the map itself does not comprise going on the journey.

After having the map, one has to actually physically go on the journey. So like that, knowledge is helpful to know what one should do. But then along with knowledge, one needs the willpower.

One needs the determination to do it. So first he says, prayashittam vimarshanam. The real prayashitta is to cultivate knowledge.

To absorb oneself in contemplating on. As Prabhupada says, full knowledge of Vedanta, he puts in the word to word translations over here. So vimarshanam, absorb oneself in knowledge.

And that is an important step, but that is not the full process. And he gives an example of how knowledge helps. That's the next text, text 12.

nāṣṇataḥ pathyam evānnam yādhayo abhibhavantiḥ evaṁ yama-kṛta-rājaṁ śaṇaiḥ kṣemāya kalpate So nāṣṇataḥ pathyam evānnam, just as pathya, that which is forbidden, itnāṣṇataḥ, if one does not eat that which is forbidden food, yannam, then what will happen? yādhayo abhibhavantiḥ One can overcome the vyādhi that one is suffering from. Similarly, evaṁ yama-kṛta-rājaṁ, if one follows the regular principles, then gradually, kṣemāya kalpate, śaṇai, gradually one will attain well-being. So here, what is the connection with knowledge? Just one should know what is the pathya.

So the pathya here is in terms of, earlier he talked about, okay, we do wrong, and then we do the atonement to do the wrong. But here, we get the knowledge to understand what is wrong and why it is wrong. And when one understands, okay, this is the pathya, this vyādhi is going to aggravate my disease, then I should avoid this.

So when one understands, that makes the connection between the disease and the forbidden food, how it is aggravating the disease, that knowledge helps a person to give up eating that particular food. Like that, if one cultivates knowledge, of how certain activities will lead to certain consequences, and therefore I should avoid them, then that will help. This is a transitional answer, not the ultimate answer.

Now, we'll move forward, and he says, okay, he is going to talk here about vimarsana, cultivating knowledge, and how does one cultivate knowledge? It is not just intellectual. So there is a process for assimilating knowledge. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna when he talks about jñāna, he says, sattvāt sañjāyate jñānam.

He doesn't say simply abhyāsāt sañjāyate jñānam, or adhyayana sañjāyate jñānam. It's not just a study that one cultivates, one gets knowledge, sattvāt. It is by living in a life, living in goodness that knowledge awakens.

There is theoretical knowledge that can come by study, and that is also important, but the knowledge becomes internalized by living in sattva-guna. See, when we talk about, there is conviction and there is realization. So when we are, at least with our intelligence, yes, I understand, this is right, this is wrong, this should be done, this should not be done.

That is intellectual, and it is important. But realization is when the mind accepts it. When the mind, yes, this is going to make you suffer, I should not do this.

So conviction comes first. At least with the intelligence I should be convinced that this is going to lead to suffering. And by that I will have some level of willpower, I don't want to do this.

But realization means that the mind has accepted it. Once the mind has accepted it, then the temptation itself goes down. When the intelligence has accepted but the mind has not accepted, at that time the temptation is there, but we are willing to fight it.

If the intelligence has also not accepted it, then we are willing to fight only as long as other people are seeing. Because at that time we want to follow just to maintain our reputation, to maintain our image. As soon as people are not watching, I will indulge.

Because I myself am not intellectually convinced that it is wrong. So there is intellectual conviction which enables us to fight. But there is realization which is almost like winning the fight.

Because the mind itself stops prompting. So for example some of us might have been eating meat earlier. But now say if you travel in a train and somebody next to us is eating meat, we may not feel tempted.

At least for that we can say my lips curl in his taste and I spit at the thought. So what has happened is we may have eaten it earlier, we may have been attracted to it also. But now there is no attraction.

What is the difference? Mind has accepted it. This is not worthwhile. This is not really of any good.

So here he is talking about sattva sanjayate janam. When we live in sattva guna that is not just the knowledge in terms of intellectual understanding, but it is also in terms of the mind accepting it. It is in terms of realization.

So once we come in sattva guna then the knowledge becomes internalized. So like that here after talking about knowledge in the previous verse, now in this verse he talks about the practices for acquiring knowledge. tapasā brahmacarena śyamena ca dhamena ca tyāgena satya-saucābhyāma yamena niyamena vā dehavāk buddhiyam dhīrā dharmajñā śraddhāyānvitah śipantyagham mahātapī venugulmam ivānalah So here he gives various practices by which knowledge can be internalized.

tapasā brahmacarena By doing austerity. By practicing brahmacarya. Now there can be many different activities which are involved in austerity.

There can be fasting. There can be maybe going to a holy place which requires walking up and requires physical austerity. There can be different kinds of austerities.

tapasā brahmacarena Now all this is a standard list. I won't go into the specifics of this list. We will focus on the theme of the Bhāgavatam here.

śyamena and dhamena śyama refers to the control of the mind or calmness of the mind basically. dhamma refers to the control of the senses. So in the battle against illusion śyama is much better, much safer than dhamma.

śyama means the mind itself is peaceful. Then there is not much trouble because of agitation. Because of temptation.

But dhamma means even if the mind is disturbed one does not indulge at the physical level. So for example if say I am in a room and in the room I know there is a pressure strip and the door is there and outside the door there is a thief. So now if I know the thief is there what I will do is I will close the door, lock the door, bolt the door and never open the door.

So that is like śyama. We know outside our consciousness there is māyā waiting. So we just absorb our consciousness in Krishna and don't let māyā come in.

Just keep ourselves fixed in Krishna. Don't keep any doors open for māyā to come in. But suppose by chance the door remains open and then what happens? A thief is immediately going to bang and come inside.

So at that time we don't say oh please come in, take whatever you want. No, not like that. What do we do? We push back.

We push back and try to close the door from here. And then try to push the thief out. So that is dhamma.

So keeping the door closed itself is śyama. That means keep the mind peaceful by keeping it absorbed in Krishna. But if that doesn't work out if the mind gets agitated that does not mean that we have to indulge in wrong things.

We can resist. We can fight back. So the mind gets impelled but it can't compel.

The mind gets impelled means it will push us to do this. But we don't have to necessarily accept this push. We can counter-push.

And the best way to counter-push is if we have something else to do. If we have something else to do then the mind doesn't get to grow that thought. So if we don't have anything else to do then the temptation comes and the temptation grows and it grows and grows and it becomes bigger and bigger.

śyamena chidamena cha Best is control of the mind. If not then at least control the senses till the mind again becomes peaceful after sometime. Sometimes, I'll just take a slightly tour over here.

Sometimes when we are battling against temptation we feel that I've been battling against this for so long and ultimately I'm not going to succeed. So I'm going to give in to this temptation. So because I'm going to give in ultimately let me give in immediately.

So we think like this if I'm going to be defeated then why wait? Let me be defeated now only. But it's not necessarily like that. Sometimes some desire may be there and we may say no to it and again the desire comes and again we say no to it and we say it's coming again, going again, coming again.

How long will I keep fighting this? Eventually I have to give in to it. So let me give in now only. But this reasoning is false.

See, every metaphor that we use we may say that if a battle is going on and if the enemy's forces are so big that anyway the defending forces are not going to win so then we say better accept defeat now only and try to negotiate some surrender. Some terms of surrender. Because if we make them fight a lot and then they win, they will plunder us.

You may think like that. But our war against maya is not exactly like that. Even if we have to give in eventually how long we resist also contributes to our spiritual growth.

So our battle against temptation rather than think of it as a war against an enemy that is impossible to defeat we can think of it as weight lifting. Now when a person lifts a weight at that time they know I am not going to lift this weight lifelong. But still the longer they lift their muscles are going to grow stronger.

So just because okay after 60 seconds I am going to put down this weight so let me put it down 6 seconds only. No, 6 seconds and 60 seconds makes a big difference. So by lifting 60 seconds the muscles are going to grow.

So like that even if we feel okay I am not able to resist this but that doesn't mean I have to indulge immediately. So sometimes it may happen that we resist it now and then after the desire actually goes down. And our desires also when they come there are spikes in desires which come.

There are times when the desire just goes very high. So when the spikes come at that time we feel as if fighting is impossible. And at that time fighting may also be impossible.

That time we may even do something wrong. But the point is the spikes are not permanent. So if we understand this point that if I just tolerate this spike it will go away.

At that time it may appear as if it is going to stay forever. And even if at the time when the spike comes and we do something wrong. Now we don't have to bother about that afterwards.

Okay I did something wrong. I may chant more, pray or do something some devotional form of atonement and then leave it. Otherwise what happens? See the mind plays a very dangerous double role.

What is the double role? First the mind makes us do wrong. Do this, do this, do this, do this, do this. How can I resist? And after we do it, you fool, why did you do it? Why did you do it? Why did you do it? And then we just keep beating ourselves from within.

Now what is happening? Although we may feel okay yes I should have some remorse. I should feel some guilt. But the point is whatever guilt we feel that should inspire us to go towards Krishna.

Go closer to Krishna. So in the first case when we succumb to the wrong doing we were conscious of the mind. And then later when we are beating ourselves up for doing the wrong doing at that time also we are conscious of the mind.

In both cases we are not conscious of Krishna. So our bhakti is not defined by how we fall. It is defined by how we rise and move on.

We all may fall. We may fall down but we don't have to keep thinking about that fall. Okay something wrong happened.

Get up and move on. So that way we persevere and we move onwards. So the point I was making is when the spike comes sometimes it may feel it's impossible to resist it.

So even if something wrong happens don't bother about it. Don't bother means it's not that it's a license for doing anything and everything wrong. But the point is we shouldn't think that that is what defines my bhakti.

The spike will come. It's gone. And if before the next spike comes I am practicing bhakti seriously then I am gaining in spiritual strength.

And the next spike comes I will be better equipped to resist it. But if I am not thinking about Krishna, if I am not practicing bhakti in between the spikes then when the next spike comes I will be completely unequipped to resist it. Again I will fall.

So the spikes are going to come. So when the spikes come if we succumb also we don't have to get too worked up about it. And secondly when the spikes come we need to remember the spikes are not permanent.

So although at that time the desire may seem impossible to resist but if we just tolerate it after sometime the desire goes away. And then the dhamma, it's not a life. The desires are always there.

But the intensity of the desires varies. It's not that they are always troubling us in an intolerable way. So when they are troubling us in an intolerable way at that time we require dhamma.

And that dhamma is possible if we can avoid the mind's notion that this is going to be our permanent state. This is how you are going to be tormented unless you indulge. I can't do this lifelong.

But it's not that we have to do it lifelong. The desire will go down. The desire will go down of its own accord.

It's a spike, it will go down. So, shamedhame tyagena satyashaucha bhyam So tyaga is, sanyas is a renounced order. Tyaga is a specific act of renunciation.

Somebody might just give something in charity. Charity is technically dana. But tyaga means giving up something which one could have enjoyed for some other higher cause.

satyashaucha bhyam being truthful, being clean yamena niyamena va Broadly following the do's and don'ts. dehavag buddhijam dhira In this way, a sober person by regulating all of one's faculties the speech, the intelligence, the body dharmajna shraddhayan vita to all do this, to all this dharmajna, one has to know dharma, what is to be done, what is not to be done and with faith. So, the faith relates with the earlier example of vidanavit.

A doctor knows the medicine. So, we have to have faith ultimately in scripture which will tell us what is to be done and what is not to be done. shipanti agam mahadapi In this way, one can be freed from big sins also.

venu gulmam ivanallaha Just as venu gulmam Just as the roots that are there the overgrowth that is there in a forest that overgrowth gets burnt away by a fire. Now, if you see, Srila Prabhupada had a particular way of doing translation or writing his commentaries and that was, Prabhupada did not restrict his commentary to the commentary. That means Prabhupada sometimes uses commentary in the word-to-word translation also.

So, sometimes Prabhupada uses commentary in the translation also. And Prabhupada uses commentary, of course, in his commentary also. So, here what Srila Prabhupada does is in his word-to-word translation itself he adds the whole things which may be burnt by fire although their roots remain to grow again at the first opportunity.

Now, this is not there in the translation. But Prabhupada is stressing that point and it is very consistent with the flow of thought. So, Srila Prabhupada's general translation style was not to get into technical accuracy.

Prabhupada's focus was on giving essential meaning. Not even essential meaning, essential conclusion. Prabhupada's focus was always on giving the essential conclusion and he did not bother too much about technical accuracy.

And the important thing is, Prabhupada was transparent. Sometimes people ask, how did Prabhupada translate Karma Yoga as Bhakti Yoga? How could he do such a thing? Yes, Prabhupada translated Karma Yoga as Bhakti Yoga but Prabhupada has done it openly for everyone to see. You know, if his intention was simply to misrepresent Krishna's words as some people accuse then, you know, he could very well have just given the translation in purport and not given the Sanskrit at all.

Then people would not have known that actually there is Karma Yoga over here. Prabhupada gives us not only the Sanskrit, he gives us Sanskrit with the Roman transliteration and he also gives the word-to-word translation. And then he translates it as Karma Yoga and he translates it as Bhakti Yoga.

So, Prabhupada, whatever he is doing, he has a strategy and he does it openly. The strategy is what? For him, the text is a launching pad for giving the conclusion. He does not see the text in isolation from the whole book.

He sees the text as a launching pad for taking people towards the conclusion. Prabhupada's mood was that, you know, people are impatient in Kali Yuga. They may not read a full book.

So, he says, even if they read one page in the book, they should get the essential message in that one page. So, that's why Krishna may be talking about going to the forest in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita and Prabhupada says, this is not practical, chant Hare Krishna. So, what is he doing? Prabhupada is actually giving what Krishna is giving at the end.

So, in that sense, Prabhupada is enhancing the understanding. So, now, he is giving the example that just as a fire burns away whatever growth is there in the forest, similarly, these activities burn away the sins. Great sins are burned away by these activities.

So, any questions till now? Intelligence has accelerated knowledge and when mind has accelerated it, I just wanted to know in the heart or because the mind comes, like its function is samkalpa, it doesn't do any much work on that. So, how is it that, I mean, what it means basically when mind is convinced and I understood intelligence is convinced like. Is it like antahkar or convinced or something like that? Okay, yeah.

So, the mind basically does samkalpa and vikalpa. So, when we say the mind accepts, so, what does it actually mean? See, the subtle body is non-sensual, it is non-living, it is also made of matter. But it is not like gross matter.

Subtle matter has properties which are different from gross matter. So, standard example we often give is that the gross body is like the hardware of a computer. And subtle body is like the software.

So, now the software often has some default programs set with it. So, those default programs, they function on their own, even if we don't want them to function. So, for example, if we say, if we use a computer with a particular browser, then that browser may get set as the default browser.

Next time when we click any link, automatically, we are not choosing to open that browser, but the click automatically opens to that browser. That is a default setting. So, now this is happening to the programming of the computer.

So, the mind is like a software. So, the mind has its own programming. And there are certain default settings in that program.

So, those default settings make us think in particular ways, make us see in particular ways, make us seek pleasure in particular ways. So, now, if I don't want to use a particular browser, for privacy purposes or whatever, then as soon as I click a link, by default that browser is going to open. So, then I will have to go deep inside, see where are the settings, and change that browser, not the default, so nothing else will be in the default.

So, like that, the mind has certain default settings. And purification, or when I say the mind accepts something, that means those default settings get changed. So, right now the mind thinks happiness means material happiness.

Happiness means sense gratification. That is the default setting of the mind. So, we have to change that default setting.

And we may consciously, so for example, if I am alert, as soon as I say this browser is open, I don't want this browser, it may take too much memory or whatever. So, then I will close that browser and I will open another browser. That is like the intelligence acting.

I start thinking of doing something, I start doing something, and then I say, no, no, I don't want to, I will not do this. So, if I am at least that much aware, I will not do it. So, when the intelligence is convinced, at least when we start doing something which is not to be done, we pull ourselves back.

When the intelligence is not convinced, then we go and do it also. But when the mind is convinced, that is like the default setting has been changed. So, for analytical purposes, I can compare the mind, the mind is often personified.

The mind is saying like this, the mind is saying like that. That is just to understand things in the sense that the mind does propose certain things to us, the mind does suggest certain things to us. So, we need to change the way the mind speaks, change the things that the mind suggests.

So, basically, when you say what the mind suggests, that refers simply to the default setting within our subtle world. So, the default settings are already there and they act automatically. With our intelligence, we can check the default settings when they start acting, but deeper is not just check the default setting, but to correct the default settings.

So, checking the default settings, checking means whether it is right or wrong, and if it is wrong, stopping it. So, check has two meanings. Check is to evaluate and to stop.

So, checking the default settings is the function of the intelligence. But changing the default settings is about the mind. That means the mind does not go in that direction.

Is that clear? Sir, just to confirm, that means using intelligence, we replace that default setting, that means the previous bad impressions, which is like default setting. Yeah, using intelligence, we replace the fault, the previous impressions, new impressions. Yeah, that is true.

But purification also has an aspect of mercy to it. There is something which just comes by experience. I see this person suffered, this person suffered this much, I also suffered this much.

But there is something which transforms the experience of suffering into the conviction of detachment or into the sense of detachment within. When Sanatana Goswami comes to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu after renouncing the world, at that time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu tells Sanatana Goswami that, although you had such opulence, you renounced it all and you came. And he doesn't praise him, oh you are so renounced.

He says, the moments of the super soul are very grave. He was very merciful to you and thus you have been able to renounce all this. So, that inner sense of detachment, yes, our own intellectual contemplation is there, our own analysis is there, our own conscious efforts are there.

But there is also that mercy by which we just get it, yes, this is it. So, there is understanding that comes by conscious thought. And there is understanding that just comes automatically.

When somebody is learning a new language, at that time they struggle, what is this word, what is this word? But over time, it just becomes automatic. As soon as thought comes, the word comes. So, there is a stage where we go from conscious choosing of a word to unconscious verbalization of the word.

So, like that there is a transition where we are consciously choosing the right and rejecting the wrong and then below that they automatically just gravitate towards the right. So, when we are automatically gravitating towards the right, that's when the mind is accepted. The process, what is the process? As I said, first of course using our intelligence, we repeatedly do the right thing and avoid the wrong thing and we experience this right thing is so much better.

I feel so much more peaceful, I feel so much more joyful, I am so much more productive. And then by that repeated experience there is an internalization. But that internalization also has an aspect of mercy in it.

So, the mind sometimes goes wrong, sometimes beats us up for doing wrong, sometimes goes right, just keeps moving around. So, what does repentance do in this case? Okay. So, when the mind is itself saying that beats us up, why did you do this? How is that related with repentance? See, there is first of all atonement or prayashchitta that refers to external activity that is done.

It is not so much an internal feeling. This internal feeling should be there but prayashchitta is primarily some physical activity is done which is to where we voluntarily accept suffering. That is prayashchitta.

In English that is atonement. Whereas remorse or repentance that refers more to paschata. That is more an inner feeling, oh I did something wrong, I should not have done this.

So, now when the mind is beating us up, why did you do this? The mind is saying this is such a foolish thing to do. The focus is quite often not Krishna at that time. That means I did this wrong, why did I do this? I am so foolish.

The focus is, oh I did this to get pleasure, I did not get pleasure. The focus is not that this is something which I should not have done because Krishna doesn't want me to do it. Because Guru doesn't want me to do it.

So, there is not much Krishna consciousness over there. Of course, it is always better for whatever reason we avoid doing wrong things and do right things. But the purification happens primarily by connection of our consciousness with Krishna.

And also there is an aspect of inner strength that is required. See, as long as we are conscious of the mind, that conscious of the mind means whatever the mind is saying we are doing it. Then basically we are in the mind's territory.

And when we are in the mind's territory, the mind can make us move this way, that way, whichever way it wants. The process of bhakti means that we should rise out of the mind's territory. So, when mind says do something wrong, we do wrong and the mind says this is very bad, we beat ourselves up, we beat ourselves up for that.

In both cases we are staying largely in the mind's territory. Now the fact is we cannot get entirely out of the mind's territory. Because the mind is inside us and very close to us.

But there are things which the mind likes and there are activities of bhakti. And there is an intersection among the two. Some things which we like to do also and some things by which we are able to practice bhakti also nicely.

So, largely our main service and our main life needs to be situated in this zone of the intersection between what the mind likes and what we do in bhakti. So, everything that the mind likes is not bad. In the sense that what we call as our pravrtti or proclivity, pravrtti is the word, or in Varanashram there is a brahminical nature, there is a kshatriya nature.

That is also a part of the mind. Now where is our nature situated? It is situated in the subtle body. It's not situated in the soul.

It is situated in the subtle body. So, that is also something which is a part of our conditioning. But that is something which we don't deal with.

So, we have to make sure that we are moving towards Krishna. When the mind is beating me up for saying you did wrong, you did wrong. Okay, I did wrong, but what? If I am supposed to be chanting, attending at that time saying why did I do that? Why did I overeat? Why did I oversleep? Why did I do this? Why did I do that? Well, what is that? I am not going closer towards Krishna.

I should not have overeaten, I should not have overslept, I should not have done this, I should not have done that. Why? Because that is obstructing me in going towards Krishna. So, our focus is not just to avoid doing wrong.

Our focus and our purpose is to move closer towards Krishna. And that's why if we are just conscious of the mind, then that may not really help us move closer towards Krishna. So, the difference between the mind beating us up and repentance is in that sense twofold.

One is that the mind is beating us up primarily from a very self-centered perspective, not from a Krishna-centered perspective. And secondly, when the mind is beating us up, we are not thinking of Krishna, so we are not spiritually strengthening ourselves. And that's why next time when the mind pushes us, we will not be equipped to resist it.

So, when we are Krishna conscious, when we remember Shastra, when we remember from a scriptural point of view why this is wrong and why this should not be done, and our conscience is sheltered in Krishna, then even that feeling of wrong inspires us to do the right. Is that clear? So, shall we move on? Do we need a break or should we move on? The class is till 8.30? Or till 8.30? So, text 16. Prabhupada gives a long purport to text 16.

Sorry, 15 minute intake? Oh, sorry. Sorry, sorry. Very important words I am missing out.

So, text 15. So, kechi kevalaya bhaktya. Earlier he has talked about some people they do this, this, this.

He has talked about these are the methods, but some people they do this. And what happens to them he discusses. Kechi, some people, kevalaya bhaktya, by practicing bhakti, kevala bhakti, pure devotion.

Vasudeva parayana. Those who are bhakti, devoted to Vasudeva. Agham dhanvanti kaatsnena.

So, agham dhunvanti. That is the removal of all sins. Kaatsnena.

That is thoroughly, completely. Niharam eva bhaaskaraha. Nihara is a fog and bhaaskara is sun.

So, the sun rises, the fog just disappears completely. There is no trace of the fog. It's not that, see when a fire comes, the previous example was given, when a fire comes, the vegetation will burn.

But the roots are there, the vegetation will come back again afterwards. But it is not that if the sun is there and the sun removes the fog. But after the sunset, the fog will come again.

The fog may come, but there is another cause for it. It is not that the cause of the previous fog is still hidden. The seeds are still there.

Again if the temperature becomes cold or it's moisture, then fog may come. But that's a different cause. It's not the same cause coming again.

So here, this is where bhakti, the sins can be destroyed completely. Kechi kevalaya bhakti. Now the word kevala has two meanings.

Normally we use the word kevala means only. But only can mean in terms of only this or it can mean exclusively this. So only this means this and nothing else.

Exclusively this means this is the only component of it. So kevalaya bhakta means that bhakti which is not contaminated, which is not mixed with anything else. So it is only the process of bhakti and the process which comprises only of bhakti.

So bhakti yoga can also be practiced with some element of jnana in it. So that means they are talking about two different things here. Some people practice some element of bhakti, some element of jnana, some element of jnana or whatever.

They follow little bit of different processes or they follow one process but within that they have a gyani more emphasis. Emphasis of jnana or emphasis of yoga or emphasis of karma. Kevalaya bhakta means just single pointed devotion.

Now of course different people based on their own psychophysical nature, within their bhakti, their focus may be different. People who are more intellectual, they may study more and they may focus more on shastra, shastric studying and teaching. People who are more physically active, their focus may be more on physical services.

People who are more say gregarious, their focus may be meeting people, talking with them and different. All of us, the intention of the heart to serve Krishna will be expressed according to the nature of our body and mind. But the focus is on the intention to serve Krishna.

And it is not that a devotee who studies shastra more is a gyani bhakta. And it is not a devotee who does a lot of physical work is a karmi bhakta. It's not like that.

What determines karma or jnana within bhakti is what one takes shelter of. If one is taking shelter of the jnana instead of using the jnana to take shelter of Krishna. If one is taking shelter of jnana instead of using the jnana to take shelter of Krishna.

Then that becomes the jnana marka. But if one is using the jnana to take shelter of Krishna. Then that is not jnana mishra bhakta.

That is still bhakti yoga. Because what is important is the objective. What is it that we are striving to do.

So agam dhanu antikas. Fully the heart will get cleansed. And the converse is in Vaishnavan Vaishnav song the example is given that trying to enjoy worldly pleasure is like trying to catch fog.

You know fog is there everywhere. But if I try to catch fog nothing comes in my hands. So like that worldly pleasure seems to be there everywhere.

But when we try to indulge in worldly pleasure actually we don't get anything tangible. It's just so momentary it's there and it's gone. But that whole fog of the desire for worldly pleasure, indulgence in worldly pleasure all of that is dissipated by the process of maths.

And now with this, this verse is like the pivot around which the narration of the Bhagavatam shifts from analysis to pastime. Till now analysis has been going on. Now after sometime from here onwards the pastime will start.

But before that happened this was like the crux from which the so the whole previous analysis was moving towards this crux. Now if you see Bhagavatam has a progression. And progression involves moving from the lower previous to the higher step.

It does not necessarily mean rejecting the other steps. See there are two visions of spiritual growth. Say for example, some people may say, you know I was following a Mayavadi earlier.

I was doing this, I was doing that. Now I rejected it all and I came to Krishna. So that is one way of understanding it.

And that is also in some cases it is fine. But another way to understand it is that okay whatever I might have been practicing previously so that helped me to grow to some extent and from there I have come to Bhakti. So it's like the two visions of spiritual growth are like this is one mountain which is taking me, this is one way up one mountain, this is another mountain.

So I was climbing up the wrong mountain, now I have come to the right mountain. That's one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is that in the staircase.

So earlier at that level of the staircase, now I have climbed up. So when I climb up the previous steps that are there, they are not lost. They are there but I am not staying stuck over there.

I am moving to a higher level. So quite often our Bhakti, when we come to Bhakti, it's not necessarily a rejection of our past. It's a progression from our past.

We can't, you know, somebody says I am not an Indian. I am not this, I am not that. Well fine, from a paramarthic point of view, from ultimate point of view it's true.

But there is a big difference in being born in India and being born abroad. In terms of the samskara that comes, in terms of the culture that comes. So the inclination, you know, after I went to Australia and America, the main difference I realized in preaching in India and preaching abroad.

Preaching in India, preaching in India means simply, at least most of the preaching that we do, is that people already have some piety. But they have some misconceptions because of which they don't act on their natural piety. So all that our preaching is doing is removing those misconceptions.

So that people will act on their natural piety and start practicing Bhakti. So it's like they have faith but they have some misconceptions and we remove those misconceptions. But preaching abroad means we have to start from building the piety.

Start from, so here we just remove obstacles to faith. But there we have to create faith. So it's a much much more difficult challenge.

I am not saying that everybody in the West is impious. No, there are also sattva guna, raja guna, tamoguna is there everywhere. And there are also people who are pious.

But their understanding of piety does not necessarily lead to faith in Bhakti. Their understanding of piety will be based on what particular religion they are practicing. And in that religion they may not have any conception of deity worship or they may be opposed to deity worship.

So their conception of piety does not necessarily make them favourable to developing faith in Bhakti. So that's why our material identity, it is not to be rejected. It is to be built on it.

You know Krishna says, dehinosmin yatha dehe kaumaram yonjara. In 2.13 he says, you are not the body, you are the soul. But just in 2.14 next verse, twice he uses body based names for referring to Arjuna.

Matras parashastu kaunteya. If I am not the body, then how I am the son of Kunti? No, and what is that? Partha. Matras parashastu kaunteya.

Shito shukam kuta, agama apayanti, sthamsati shasva, Bharata. Bharata. If I am not the body, how I have descended to Bharata? Ramapada explains, yes, you have to practice dharma.

So for practicing dharma, we have to, it is not easy to practice. So if you remember that you are from a glorious dynasty, you are from an illustrious mother, then that will give you a sense of inspiration to live according to the principles of dharma. So similarly here, when in the Bhagavatam he talks about the path of bhakti, there is no explicit rejection of the other paths.

He says that they are not adequate. See, one thing is to say something is not adequate and the other thing is to say something is useless. The Bhagavatam doesn't say that atonement is useless.

Bhagavatam doesn't say that the path of jnana is useless. It is inadequate. And it's a previous step, we move upward upward and we come to the step of bhakti.

Let's move. Can you charge this? It's getting discharged. Do you have a socket? Charger I have brought.

So in text 16, na tathāya aghavān rājan pūyeta tapa ādibhī yathā kṛṣṇārpita prāṇas tat puruṣaṁ sevayā So na tathāya aghavān rājan, the sinful activities that are there, they cannot be removed, pūyeta tapa ādibhī, by austerity. Tapa ādibhī means, two verses ago we have talked about, tapasā brahmacharya na śamejagam. So tapa ādibhī, all that list that is given, the sins will not be removed as effectively by all those processes as by yathā kṛṣṇārpita prāṇas, as much as if one offers one's life to Kṛṣṇa, tat puruṣaṁ sevayā and one serves, tat puruṣaṁ sevayā, that refers to his representative.

We serve Kṛṣṇa through his representative. That will purify us much more thoroughly than by doing austerities. See in bhakti also we do austerities.

But our purpose is, we don't think that it is austerity that is going to purify us. The austerity inspires us or austerity can assist us in focusing on bhakti more. And it is bhakti which purifies us.

So if you are fasting, the fasting itself purifies. But our focus is, we fast so that we can fix our mind on Kṛṣṇa. And thus we become more purified.

So take 17. sadṛcino yāyaṁ loke panthākṣemo akuto bhayaḥ suśhilaḥ sādhavo yatra nārāyaṇa parāyanaḥ sadṛcino yāyaṁ, sadṛcino means exactly right, perfect. yāyaṁ loke, in this world, the best process, the most appropriate process is panthākṣemo akuto bhayaḥ panthā, the path which will bring well-being, kṣemo akuto bhayaḥ, in which there is no fear.

What is that path? suśhilaḥ sādhavo yatra that which is adopted by saintly person, that is well-behaved person, that which will make one saintly well-behaved, whichever you want to look at it. nārāyaṇa parāyanaḥ, the path of being devoted to Lord Nārāyaṇa. So, this is the path that is recommended, this is the path that you should follow.

This is the path that people who are sinful, if they follow, they can become free. So, two words are kṣemo and akuto bhayaḥ. So, kṣemo is well-being.

So, if somebody is sick, we want to get healthy. But sometimes when people want to get healthy, sometimes the treatments have side effects. Treatments have complications.

And then the complications can sometimes become causes of far, almost as much suffering as the treatment itself, especially if people have say cancer and they do chemotherapy or things like that. Side effects itself can be quite troubling. So, this is the path, path of bhakti, it will lead to well-being and it does not have any side effects.

Akuto bhayaḥ, that there is no fear in this. Why is there no fear? We know in the first canto it is said that even if one falls down, one does not lose. Tattvasa dharmam charanam bhuja madhiḥ.

That even if one falls down, actually that attraction to Krishna remains and one is reinstated eventually in bhakti. So, the akuto bhayaḥ does not mean that there is no fear of fall down. It means there is no fear of loss because of fall down.

One may fall, but whatever one has acquired, that will stay and one will return back to the path of bhakti soon after that. And this is the path that is recommended. So, text 18.

prāyaścittāni cīrṇāni nārāyaṇa parānmukhaṁ naniṣpunanti rājendra surākumbhaṁ ivāpagaha So, nārāyaṇa parānmukhaṁ, those who are unmukha, those who have turned their face away from Krishna, even if they do prāyaścittāni cīrṇāni, even if they do long time austerities, but still nāniṣpunanti, they will not become purified. Rājendra, not only rāja, he was not just a king, sometimes the word rāja is used, but he was actually the king of kings, he was the emperor. So, rājendra, that is the word that is used here.

surākumbhaṁ ivāpagaha Just as if there is a bottle of alcohol or a pot in which alcohol is being kept, even if the bottle is washed away, the smell of that alcohol remains. And that way, that is one of the common ways in which people detect if somebody has drunk alcohol. Nowadays, a big problem in metropolitan cities especially, in general, wherever cars are there, they call it driving under, I'll call it DUI, driving under intoxication.

So, people just, you know, they drive and they run over others or they cause terrible accidents. And it can be a very serious crime if a person drives under alcoholic influence. So, then what is the process for detecting it? It is, they call it a breathalyzer.

Breath analyzer. So, breathalyzer they call it. So, breathalyzer is what? Basically, in the breath, the smell, not necessarily when it comes to the human nose, but it is detectable by certain device and that comes a lot.

So, the point is that when alcohol is drunk, there is a smell that comes over there. And that smell doesn't go away. Even if the person has not drunk all the alcohol, even if the person has put some perfume on top or whatever, the smell of alcohol is not going to come, but within the breath, that is going to be there.

So, like that, the point which is made over here is that the pot doesn't, even if that alcohol is not there, but still its smell is there. So, like that, प्रायश्चित्तानिचिर्णानि, even if one does a lot of atonement by that, there is no more, one is not doing sinful activities and one is appearing very pious, but that desire, where the smell of alcohol is compared to the enjoying mentality. The desire is still there.

The desire for sensual indulgence is there and it will manifest again. And that does not get removed. ननिष्पुन्तिराजेंद्र, And then he says further, in the previous two words there was contrast.

This will remove Tharoli, that will not remove Tharoli. And now he comes back again and he emphasizes Krishna Bhakti. So, text 19, सक्रंमन्हकृष्णपदारविंदयो, निवेशितं तत्गुणरागियैरिह, नतेयमंपाश्यभुतष्ठत्भतान्, स्वप्नेपिपश्यन्तिहिचिननिष्कृतः, So, now, many times when there is a story, if a novel is written, they say if you are making a drama, and in the drama on the table you show a gun.

You should not show a gun if it is not going to be shot later. Don't put irrelevant details there. So, the idea is here there is a mention of Yamadutas over here.

And a whole story of Yamadutas is going to come afterwards. So, this is called foreshadowing of a story. It's a literary device which is used in storytelling.

And what is going to come later, you show it before. So, here the story involving Yamadutas is being foreshadowed by Yamam. So, what is said that they will not even see Yamadutas in their dreams.

स्वप्नेपिपश्यन्तिहिचिननिष्कृतः, So, actually, people who do atonement, they may still do wrong and they may have to see the Yamadutas because of their wrongdoings. But, सक्रुण्मनःक्रिष्णपदारिंदरो, So, previously it was said that give your life to Krishna. And then one will become fully purified.

And that much purification doesn't happen by doing other activities like Tapva. Now, this verse says, okay, not just give your full life to Krishna, सक्रुण्, even once, even if once one, मनःक्रिष्णपदारिंदरो, one becomes devoted to Krishna, one tries to fix the mind on Krishna, निवेशितंतं गुणरागिये, one just enjoy and sings the glories. That higher taste, the memory of that higher taste will remain.

नतद्यमं पाश भुतर्ष्चतं भदान् That person will not have to see the Yamadutas. So, now see the Yamadutas, it can mean literally one doesn't have to see the Yamadutas. Also, Yamadutas represent suffering, represent hell, represent the consequences of wrongdoings.

So, you won't have to suffer, they don't have to suffer the consequences of those wrongdoings. This can mean both ways. Now, from here onwards, from 1 to 19, there are the questions of Parikshit Maharaj and the answers of Shukadeva Goswami.

Basically, there are two questions Parikshit Maharaj asked and then the answers were given. And the answers were in a progression. And it concluded in Bhakti.

So, here till 19th, the analysis, question-answer analysis was going on. From 20th onwards, the story starts now. So, Atrachodharanam Atrachodharanam Atrachodharantimam Itihasan Puratanam Dutanam Nishniyamayo Sambhadastam Nibodhame So, Atrata, for that purpose, in that connection, Udharana.

I will give an example. I will tell a story. Itihasan Puratanam.

So, examples can be of different types. There can be like a metaphor, an analogy. An example can be a story.

Stories can also be of different types. Stories can be like a fictitious story. In Natak Chandrika Rupa Goswami explained that there can be three different kinds of stories.

There can be like a fictitious story. There can be a historical story. There can be a story which is a combination of fictitious and historical.

So, for example, there is a story that Prabhupada tells us that one time a person thought that I won't die. So, I don't want to die. So, he said, I will cover my whole body with stool.

So that Yamaraja won't come. And he will not catch me. And what happened is, Prabhupada said Yamaraja came as a hog and licked his body and took him away after that.

So, now, Now, did Yamaraja actually come, take a hog's body and eat stool? No, this is not a historical story. Although there is a character which is Yamaraja, who is a literal character, but historical characters can sometimes be put in non-historical settings to depict some stories, depict some lessons and some stories. So, it is fine.

So, here he is saying this is not just a fictitious story. It is a itihasam puratanam. It is a history.

It is an ancient history. Dhootanaam Vishnu Yamayo. Among the Dhootas of Vishnu and the Yama, there was a conversation.

Sambadas tam nibodhame. I will tell you that conversation. And that conversation he will now describe from here onwards.

So, text 21. So, Kanyakubje. So, at a place called Kanyakubje, Dvijhakashche, there was a brahmana, some brahmana Kashyap.

It is interesting that he said that he is a brahmana, but he was a Dasipatir. He had become the husband of a Dasi. Now Dasi generally means, Dasi is a broad word.

It just means a maidservant. But specifically here it refers to a woman who is a prostitute. Dasipatir Ajamila.

His name was Ajamila. Naam na nasht sadacharo. So, his name was Ajamila, but sadachara.

So, he was a brahmana, but his sadachara was nasht. It was all destroyed. Dasya samsargadushi.

By association with that prostitute. So, here it is important that, it is not that the prostitute destroyed his qualities. It is his association with the prostitute that destroyed the qualities.

Now, when we do something wrong, even if it is by bad association, we cannot blame others for our wrongdoing. It is we who are responsible for the wrongdoing. Others may induce us to do wrong, but ultimately it is we who choose.

So, when something is, someone induces us to do wrong, yes, they play a role in it. But it is not that they are responsible. It is we who are responsible for our wrongdoing.

So, if we see Krishna, when he talks about where lust is situated, he says, Indriyani manopudri asya dhishthanam uchyate etai moha yatesha jnanam avartha dehanam. 3.40 he says, lust is situated in senses, mind and intelligence. He does not say lust is situated in sense objects.

He does not say lust is situated in sense objects. He says, lust is situated inside us. So, it's not that it's not that if a man abuses a woman and then he says, you know, you were dressing like this, that's why I did like that.

No, yes, it is from the woman's side, she should not dress inappropriately. That is her side. But the man cannot blame his wrongdoing on a woman's dress.

It is one's own choice. Lust is present within us. And we cannot blame others.

It is not that she destroyed, it is his associative that destroyed. So, it was dasi samsarga dushita, he became contaminated by association with the prostitute. So, bandhya aksha, so text 22, sadachara dushita, all his good qualities were destroyed, nashta sadachara.

So, how that was destroyed, good qualities, that is described now in the next text. bandhya akshai kaitavaish chauryai bandhya akshai kaitavaish chauryai garhitam garhitam garhitam vivrat kutumbam vivrat kutumbam yathayam yathayam yathayam So, bandhya aksha, that means, you know, he arrested, Prabhupada translated, arrested people. So, bandhya aksha literally means blindfold people.

Blindfold them so that they don't see what is being done and who is stealing, how is stealing. So, he basically forced people and took things away from him. Kaitavaish chauryai he stole from them, he cheated in gambling.

Kaitava, so garhitam vrittim astitah and in this way, he did garhitam. Garhitam means reproachable, reprehensible. Bad activities he did.

In this way, he was earning his livelihood. So, now, if a brahmana, normally a brahmana is expected to earn his living by brahminical occupation. But it's not just occupation for a brahmana.

For a brahmana to be able to do brahminical occupation, he has to also live brahminical. Now, you know, who will if a brahmana is living with a prostitute after having rejected his wife, now who will want to cause a brahmana to do purificatory rites in their home, isn't it? So, naturally, after he rejected his parents, he rejected his wife, he started living with a prostitute. So, then he could not live by brahminical means.

So, brahminical, today what has happened is, many times when priests are there, the priests, their priesthood is a profession and their life is something entirely different. But this sort of separation is artificial. So, he, because he was living with a prostitute, so, he could not earn by brahminical means.

And then what did he do? He started using reprehensible means. Somehow, he started doing all illegal activities, terribly sinful activities. He started causing trouble to other living beings.

Vibhrath kutumbam asuchir. And in this way, he was maintaining his his asuchir kutumbam, unclean unclean family. So, that not only did he do that one sinful activity of seeing the prostitute, that whole story will come later.

And he did not see that woman or associate with that woman, live with that woman, but that led to so many other activities that he gave up the brahminical occupation and he was earning and living also by very sinful ways. And as he was living like this, the story goes on now. Text 23.

Text 23. Text 23. Text 23.

Text 23. Text 23. Text 23.

Text 23. Text 23. Text 23.

Text 23. Text 23. Text 23.

Text 23. Text 23. Text 23.

Text 23. Text 23. Text 23.

Text 23. Powerful time, unstoppable time was going on. Ashtashi.

So, he had come to the age of 88. So, he had gone quite old. And he was still living with that woman and then he was going on with his mundane activities, his sensual activities.

Even at that age. So, text 24. Text 24.

Text 24. Text 24. Text 24.

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Text 24. Text 24. Text 24.

Text 24. Text 24. Text 24.

Text 24. He had 10 children from her. And Avamaha, the youngest of them, was Balav Narayan.

His name was Narayan. Pitroshchitai To Brisham. And he became very dear to his parents.

Both his mother and his father. See, the human psychology is such that when a man and a woman unite, they get a child. Then, they naturally develop a great affection for the child.

And Prabhupada writes in Second Chance that this is natural and it is necessary. If you look at the various species in nature, there is practically no other species in which the infant or the newborn, the progeny is as dependent on its parents as is a human progeny on the parents. Human child needs to be taken care of for a substantial amount of time.

All children or various offsprings in different species, there is a different amount of time for which they need to be taken care of. But the human infant is actually very, very dependent and from the perspective of neurology or in terms of human behavior, behavior basically, that there is inherited knowledge or inherited skills and there are learned skills. And if we go down from the lowest species to the highest species, the big difference is that in the lower species, most of the skills are inherited.

There is very little that is learned. Of course, they may learn as they grow up, but that learning also happens to mostly inherited abilities itself. Largely, it's genetic.

As we move upwards in the scale of the various species, in the human body, there is also a lot that is inherited, but there is far more that is learned. And this capacity to learn, learned skills, that is what actually enables us to counter our instincts. See, animals live largely by their instincts, we humans also have instincts, but our spiritual growth depends on how much we are able to regulate our instincts and move onward in our life.

And that, so by instincts, you know, when a child is born and the mother places the child on her breast, mouth on the breast, it just knows how to suckle the breast and take the milk. So these are, we also have inherited skills. So by inheritance, we will learn about eating, sleeping, mating differently.

But about higher purpose of life that we learn through learning from society, it doesn't come inherited. So that is why, that is nature's arrangement that in the human species, because so much of human growth depends on learned skills, not just inherited skills. So there is a much longer bonding that happens between parents and children.

And as the parents have many children, quite often the youngest child or the last child that they have, they develop a great attachment for that child. They feel, yes, you know, I had so many children, I helped them grow, but this is my last child. And the greater the distance between the parents and the child, the greater is the maturity, the greater is the age difference.

And then the affection that is there, just like they say that the parents have affection for the child, but the grandparents have greater affection. That is not necessarily greater in terms of the intensity of the affection, but greater in terms of pandering. The grandparents often pander the children much more than the parents.

So like that, for him, Ajamil was very small and that's why he was very dear to both of them. Now, text 25, sabadharudayastasmin, arbhake kalbhashini, nirikshamanastalilam, bhumudejarathobhrusham. So, sabadharudayastasmin, his heart was bound, baddharudaya, he was attached, very strongly attached to the arbhake kalbhashini, this arbhaka refers to like a, it's a small child that the word used to be referred to, kalbhashini is playful words.

So, not just playful, but it is also stuttering words. Sometimes when a child speaks, first time they speak, mamma, pappa, whatever they speak, they don't speak it properly. So, although those words are broken, they are very dear, they are very endearing to the parents.

So, he was nirikshamanastalilam, nirikshamanastalilam, observing, talilam. So, the word lila refers to the pastime of the lord, lila also means play, so talilam. So, it was a play which he got absorbed in, like the devotees get absorbed in the pastime of the lord.

Talilam, he is just observing that play. Bhumudejarathobhrusham, he was delighting in that, jaratho, as he was growing old, vrisham, very much he was delighting and he was absorbed in that. And then, further what was happening? bhunjanah prapipankhadam balakam sneha yantritah bhojayan payayan mudho na vedagatam antakam So, bhunjanah prapipankhadam.

So, as he was eating, as he was sitting, as he was enjoying things, while he was doing all these things, he would call his child, you also do this. He wanted to be always with the child. And as he was doing this, mudho, this was foolish, what was the following? Not just the following that he was attached to, materially attached, but also was na vedagatam antakam, he was not aware, agatam has come, antakam.

Antakam is the time, death. His demise had come close to him, he did not realize this. And that is actually, when we get absorbed, it can be positively, negatively.

Absorbed means, when we get caught in something, we lose track of time. Sometimes people start watching a cricket match and they say, I will watch for 5 minutes and 5 hours go away. So, what happens is, when you get caught in something, you lose track of time.

Now, if you are caught in something worthwhile, that is good. If you get absorbed in shastra, so much time went away, I didn't realize. That is good.

But quite often, when we get caught in something, then if it is especially involved in worldly pleasures, we become, we lose awareness of what is happening. So, psychologists have found a very interesting phenomena. They say that as you grow older, time seems to move faster.

When you are a child, you are constantly longing, oh, when will I grow up? When will I go to college? When will I have freedom? But as people go into life, the day seems to go faster and faster. Time is moving at the same pace. But because we get more and more caught in the pursuit of enjoyment, caught in enjoying, we don't realize how time is flying.

So, he was caught in the life of enjoyment and that's why he fell. He did not realize that time, that actually death is coming. Now, quite often, we are aware of time in terms of minutes.

Yeah, I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this. And that way, even materialists, especially materialists who are ambitious about their actual life, they are actually very time conscious. But they are time conscious in terms of minutes, but they are not time conscious in terms of the ultimate effect that time is going to have.

So, that is because for them, time is not a reality which is controlling them. They think of time as a reality which I want to control to achieve some things. But time is the controller.

And being the controller, it is going to take away their life. So, they are not aware of that. And let's take one more verse and we will stop.

So, what happened at that time? sa evam vartamanu agyam vrityu kaala upasthite matim chakaratanaye baale narayanahavaye So, while he was living like this, the previous word, sa evam vartamanu, the previous word is the word mudha, now he is using the word agyam. The point is he is ignorant. vrityu kaala upasthite So, even when the time of death came for him, matim chakaratanaye his consciousness was absorbed in baale narayanahavaye, he is thinking of his child.

So, at this point he has not spoken the word Narayan, that will come later. He was thinking about his child. And when he sees the Yamdutas, at that time he utters the word Narayan also.

But till now, the thing is he was absorbed, he was attached to his child, he was absorbed in his child and even when the time of death had come, at that time also he was absorbed in his child. So, we will continue this in tomorrow's class. Any other questions, one or two questions till then? Anything is remaining? Yes, correct.

See, I said that lust is there in the senses, but then there are different objects and then different messages come from different objects and they also induce certain kinds of desires. So, how is that? Yes, when I said that lust is present in the object, in our senses, now there is a cause of lust and there is a trigger of lust. The two are different.

So, for example, if there is a gun, then I shoot the gun, I press the trigger and the bullet goes and hit, wounds someone. Now, the pressing of the trigger is what caused the bullet to go out. But that's what caught the gunshot and the wound.

But if there had been no bullet inside the gun, the pressing of the trigger would not have done anything. The trigger does cause the wound, the gunshot and the wound. But the trigger, as the word says, is a trigger.

The trigger is not the cause. The cause is the bullet present within it. So, like that, lust is present within us.

But the trigger may be some external object. So, when we see certain thing, then at that time, lust may be triggered within us. So, the trigger is not the cause.

In the sense that, or rather than using the word cause, we could say the source or the origin. So, the lust is present within us and the trigger is what causes it to get activated. Suppose there is a young mother.

She is not dressed in a very motherly way. So, some man may see her and that sight of her may trigger lust. Now, that same mother may have a baby in her lap or in her arms.

And that baby is close to her. That baby is touching her body. But that baby does not feel lust.

The sight of that woman causes lust in someone. But somebody who is touching does not feel lust. Why is that? Because there is no lust inside.

So, there is no trigger, there is no bullet in the gun. Then the trigger does not cause anything to come out. So, is this clear, the difference? Lust is there within us.

But certain things will trigger the lust. Okay. How does lust come in the mind? See, lust is always there.

But certain things can activate the lust. So, there is the presence which will take a long time to go out. To eradicate.

In fact, Krishna says, It will be there life long. शक्नोति है योई सुन। प्राक्षेले वे मोक्षणा। But it will not be so forcefully pushing us. So, we all have certain triggers.

There is general sexual agitation that is there in everyone. But in certain situations, by certain stimuli, it becomes very strong. So, if we know that there are certain things which are triggers for us, then we need to keep a distance from them.

So, how it becomes activated? That is actually a combination of our particular impressions that we have. So, we may see a particular color and we may have a particular memory of a particular intelligence associated with that color or whatever. And then that may trigger a particular kind of desires.

So, we don't have to go too much into trying to analyze. If we can easily analyze and find out where this has come from, we can try to analyze it. Now, if I find in the room there is some dirt, I think, okay, where did this dirt come from? Okay, this window is open, maybe it could have come from there.

That is okay if I can find out well and good, but most important is sweep out the dirt. So, similarly, the lust may, in the mind it is dormant and it becomes active at times. So, if we can find out that certain things are the triggers which transfer the lust, which change the lust from dormant to active, then we can try to make some plans to avoid those triggers.

But sometimes we may find that lust seems to get activated without any trigger. So, then the important thing is we just try to drive it out. We try to fill our mind with Krishna so that the lust goes out.

So, it is not always possible to find out the specific cause. Sometimes we may be able to find a trigger and we can plan to avoid the trigger as much as possible. But more important is to have some plan, some strategy by which when lust gets activated, we find out how to battle it.

Or we find out, you know, okay, at that time, maybe I should sing a Vaishnava song which talks about surrendering to Krishna, maybe I should recite some verses, maybe I should chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in a particular tune, or maybe I should have some picture of the deities which I find very attractive or whatever. So, we need to have our strategies. So, lust basically means it triggers our emotions in a material direction.

So, we have to find something which stimulates our consciousness in a spiritual direction. And what that will be for each one of us, that is for us to take inventory. And then if we keep that readily accessible.

So, when the consciousness is going in this direction, we find out something which can take our consciousness in other direction and resort to that. And that way, we can counter that. So, if we can find the origin, and we can find the trigger, we can remove the trigger.

But even if we can't find the trigger, we have to find out how we can counter it. And the specific mechanisms, so there are triggers which we can avoid, and we have to find out our triggers and avoid them. And we have to find out our own countering mechanisms and use those countering mechanisms.

So, praying to Krishna, chanting, all these are important. But it's a war. You cannot go into a war with a stereotype formula.

Warrior goes, I'll use a sword to kill my enemy. But the enemy is fighting with bow and arrow. And I'll not be able to reach the enemy only before he kills me, if I'm fighting with a sword.

So, we have to find out what weapons work for us. And we all find out. Certain things stimulate our consciousness towards Krishna.

And we use those to stimulate our consciousness when it is being stimulated in the wrong direction by lust. Does that address the question? Yes. So, how does lust arise from Rajoguna? Kamesha, Krodhesha, Rajoguna Samudbhava.

Different modes have different characteristics. Now, in Rajoguna, the primary characteristic is action. Action for the sake of enjoyment.

In Sattvaguna, the characteristic is knowledge, observation, and delight in the culture of knowledge. So, what Rajoguna does is, every guna creates a certain conception of happiness within us. And then, when that conception of happiness is created, we naturally move towards that direction.

So, for example, if this is a floor. Now, if the floor is inclined in this direction, then by default, water will go in this direction. If the floor is inclined in this direction, water will go in this direction.

So, like that, each guna creates a certain inclination in our consciousness. And that shapes what we think will be happiness. So, when a particular guna is prominent within us, then our conception of happiness is shaped accordingly.

And that's why when Rajoguna is there, then there is action in this world. So, our consciousness focuses on matter, immediately visible things. And what can I do here to get pleasure? So, Rajoguna Samudbhava means, Rajoguna creates the setting, it creates the inclination of our consciousness, by which our consciousness will naturally flow towards sense objects, for sensual gratification.

That's how Rajoguna Samudbhava, that's how lust arises from the mode of passion. Does it answer your question? Or is your question something else? That's a whole different question. I'll answer it briefly.

So, what exactly are modes? See, modes are understood in two broad categories. One is that they comprise material nature and matrix. Daivi, Esha, Gunamayi and Mayadharatya.

So, they are the components, the building blocks of material existence itself. That is one understanding of the modes. Another understanding of the modes is that, modes are the subtle forces that shape the interaction between matter and consciousness.

So, modes at one level are the building blocks of matter. And second is, modes are the shapers of the interaction of matter and consciousness. So, depending on a mode that a person is in, the way consciousness perceives matter, the way consciousness responds to matter, all that is shaped.

So, in Satvaguna, I'll perceive things in a particular way. In Rajoguna, I'll perceive things in a different way. Why? What is this? So, as I said earlier, modes set up a particular conception of happiness.

We pursue things in particular ways. I give the example that, suppose three people are going in a bus. And they are sitting in successive windows.

And the first person is in goodness, second is in passion, third is in ignorance. And they all look out of the window. And they see there is a greenery over there.

The person in goodness is trying to read a book. Person looks at the greenery and thinks, Oh, this bus, you know, it's bumping so much, I cannot read it. If I just sit under a tree over here, I can lose myself in the wisdom of this book.

The second person is in passion. The person looks at the forest, at the greenery, and remembers the latest romantic movie that he has watched. Oh, if only I had someone beautiful, I would enjoy this forest.

The third person is in ignorance. He is trying to sleep and the bus is bumping. Oh, such lush greenery, I could sleep peacefully over here.

So, the same object, but there is a different perception. Because different modes are influencing those people at the same time. So, modes, so there is matter, there is consciousness.

So, matter is the same, the soul is the same. But modes are the subtle forces that shape the interaction between matter and consciousness. So, when we are in Rajoguna, at that time, the Rajoguna shapes our consciousness in such a way that we are set up for seeking pleasure through sensual gratification.

Through basically material things. And that is how Rajoguna leads to the birth of lust. So, thank you very much.

If you have any other questions, we can discuss in future classes.