Bhagavatam-daily 162 – 11.10.04 – For the best, give up not just the bad but also the good

Thank you Now Nivrittam one should renounce Karma so actually what is being described is that Pravrittam Mat Parastha Jeet so those activities which are prescribed on the path of Nivritti one should use them to serve the Lord one should dovetail one’s prescribed duties in the service of the Lord and Pravrittam Mat Parastha Jeet that in those activities which are the tool for sense gratification they can be given up for the sake of the Lord Mat Parastha Jeet Jigyan Sayam Sam Pravrittam Jigyan Sayam Jigyan Sayam means that for the sake of the Supreme Lord Jigyan Sayam some that in inquiring about the absolute truth Sam Pravrittam one should be engaged in inquiring about the absolute truth similarly Jigyan Sayam Nadriyet Karma Chodanam Nadriyet one should not accept any material activity which is for Karma Chodanam which is for fruitive activity now it’s a very interesting statement here the Bhagavatams trans Vedic import is revealed trans Vedic means the Bhagavatam doesn’t just talk about Bhakti in terms of the glorification of the Supreme Lord it also reveals how Bhakti is the progression and indeed the culmination in the journey towards supreme realization of the import of the Vedas Krishna has said in the Bhagavad Gita by all the Vedas I am to be known however if one just reads the Vedas unguided then one cannot understand this hidden import of the Vedas one is tempted to think that actually there is some pleasure to be had in the attainment of fruitive activities by the practice of Dharma that means when one gets thus Dharma to get Artha and Karma then one will find pleasure there and certainly such pleasure which has got through Dharma is much better than the pleasure that is sought through that is the Artha and Karma that is sought through Adharma at the same time the good is often the enemy of the best and it can often be a greater enemy of the best than the bad because we at least understand that the bad has to be given up if I want to go on the right path but sometimes the good can be the temptation that keeps us away from the best because we think I am already good so by bad we are referring to Adharma over here good refers to Dharma and that is the Dharma at the level of Dharma Artha is the Kama Moksha which can be called as Aparadharma not non transcendental religion or material religion and then there is Paradharma there is a supreme Dharma transcendental Dharma which is focused on Bhakti Savai Pumsam Parodharma Keto Bhaktev Dhokshi Jaya Hai Tuki Apati Hata Yaya Atma Suprasidati so Savai Pumsam Parodharma that is the Paradharma which is pure Bhakti Hai Tuki Apati Hata it is said over there uninterrupted unmotivated devotion so essentially that which is the Paradharma that is the best because Yaya Atma Suprasidati that alone will satisfy the human heart and how other things cannot satisfy the heart is demonstrated by the Bhagavatam just a few chapters later this particular verse Savai Pumsam Parodharma Keto Bhaktev Dhokshi Jaya Hai Tuki Apati Hata Yaya Atma Suprasidati this is 1.2.6 this comes in the second chapter at the start of the series of verses which are celebrated as the verses from 6 to 22nd we describe Bhagavad Dharma and soon after that in the fourth chapter when the Nag Vyasa Sambhav is about to begin at that time Vyasa Dev’s dejection depression disappointment is narrated in the Bhagavatam there by illustrating that that nothing else Vyasa Dev has written the whole gamut of Vedic literature and yet even after achieving such extraordinary literary feet he is still feeling dissatisfied and that through that example demonstrated that nothing else can lead to Yaya Atma Suprasidati but then as per Agama’s instruction and as per his own intuition when he understands that he should glorify the Lord wholeheartedly in one book then he compiles the final edited version of the Srimad Bhagavatam wherein are the pure glories of the Supreme Lord so then that makes him completely satisfied so the point is that for the sake of Paradharma which alone can satisfy human hearts longing for lasting love for the sake of the Paradharma or anything and everything can be given up and should be given up so that includes giving up even Aparadharma certainly Adharma has to be given up but Aparadharma also has to be given up Aparadharma means specifically within the Vedic context it refers to giving up the religious rituals that are performed for the sake of getting worldly gratification but in the broader context they also refer to the whole concept that the practice of religion should make my material life better now certainly when we practice Bhakti that does help to bring our mind under control that does help to calm us because we move from the lower modes of passion ignorance towards goodness and then beyond goodness towards transcendence so life in the mode of goodness is definitely better even materially in terms of the peacefulness that one experiences the sense of calm control that is there in a person’s life and doesn’t feel that this is happening that is happening and this may go wrong and this will go wrong and one doesn’t feel shackled by desire and ridden with anxieties so goodness is definitely a better way to live in material existence than in passion and bhakti does bring us to goodness soon by steady practice but the point is if we expect that by our devotional practice we will get material prosperity we will get material gratification and we will live a materially very comfortable and happy life then we may be in for a disappointment because that is not what often happens and Krishna can give material prosperity to a devotee who becomes seriously devoted to him and Krishna can take it away also what Krishna does is for our ultimate best and what will be for our best at a particular time he knows best so rather than making our bhakti conditional to the attainment of such things we need to focus primarily on serving the Lord and then whatever we get we know that this is actually anukul for my bhakti and we accept that and we persevere on the path of devotion so niruttam karmase ved so what is described is those rules and regulations which are meant to be on the path of nirutti which are meant to foster renunciation within us they can be doted as means for serving the Lord and those which are meant for pravrutti those which are meant for getting dharmic sense gratification they can be given up for the sake of the Lord and and by focusing on we are focusing on inquiring about the Lord learning about him and one should not get caught up in the promise of material prosperity through dharma but focus on spiritual purity and eternal satisfaction that comes thereof thank you