Bhagavatam-daily 215 – 11.11.20 – Knowledge even if Vedic is barren without Krishna

Thank you shloka 11 11-20 shloka shloka shloka shloka shloka shloka so here Krishna is continuing to speak about the nature of transcendental wisdom and how it contrasts with materialistic speculations materialistic speculations shloka shloka shloka in that literature in which shloka purifying pastimes purifying activities of the lord are not described who is this lord he is the person who is the creator maintainer and annihilator of all of material existence shloka shloka and that literature is Leela Avataar Epsita Janmavasya. Leela Avataar Epsita means that this particular Lord Leela Avataar. There are many many manifestations of the Lord who come in this world and among them the Leela Avataars are very special.
Epsita very very dear and among all the Leela Avataars the most enduring, the most charming pastimes are the pastimes of Krishna. So here it is said that those books which do not describe the charming activities of the Lord, those which do not describe the transcendental supreme personality of Godhead, what are they like? Vandhyam Giram Tam Vibhrin Vibhrin Nidhira Vandhyam Giram. So Gira is earth and Vandhyam refers to barren.
So Tam Vibhriyam. Vibhriyam means to accept, should not support or accept. So Nidhira, sober people should not accept those literature where the glories of the Lord are not there.
This verse is similar to the famous verse from the first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam which is actually repeated in the end of the Bhagavatam also in the twelfth canto. Nayadvachas Chitrapadam Harer Yashod. Yadat Pavitam Praganit Karichit.
Yadvayasam Teertham Vishwamitimanasa Nayatra Hamsa Nirmantyam So there it is said Nayadvachas Chitrapadam Harer Yashod that those literature in which Nayadvachas, those words in which Chitrapadam Harer Yashod that the beautiful Lord, his glories are not described. What are the characteristics of that Lord? There also it is said Yadat Pavitam Praganit Karichit. Yadat Pavitam.
He purifies the whole world. In fact not the whole world but the whole universe. Yadat Pavitam.
And here also it is Pavanam. Here also it is said that the Lord’s pastimes are purifying. When we hear them we become purified.
Why? Because it is the Lord who is all attractive, who is all pure and just as when we come in touch with the hot object we feel hot, that temperature comes and gets transferred slightly to us. Similarly when we come in contact with the all-pure Lord we also become purified by that. We also feel uplifted by that.
The impure things from our heart go away and all-pure Lord manifests in the heart. So here it is described not only that the Lord is pure, his pastimes are pure but also that he is the supreme in all the three phases of existence, creation, maintenance and destruction. So there it is stated that in that particular verse, Yadat Pavitam Praritkar Kariji.
Then the example is given over there that Tadvayasam Teertham Shantimanasa. That’s like a pilgrimage place for crows. It’s a place where now crows generally eat refuse and when they congregate at one place, that’s the place where tasty, juicy refuse is available.
Now it’s tasty and juicy according to their conceptions. And the point is, Netra Hamsa Nirvanda Usheechaya. But Hamsa, the swans will not go over there.
Swans will not try to delight in that. Why? Because swans have a higher taste. They have different taste.
So there that example was given to contrast between devotional and non-devotional literature by saying that those who savour devotional literature are like swans and those who delight in non-devotional literature are like crows. Here another example drawn from nature is there is Vandham Giram. Vandham Giram.
It means barren land. So especially in a culture where land is considered an important property primarily, especially from its agricultural potential. Now also agriculture is important but now often when we think of land, we think of constructing a house over there and then we may ask FSI.
What will be the price of that? How much can I earn by that? How much rent can I get? How much can I get by selling it? Whatever. So we may think of land primarily in terms of its construction value but in the past when the whole economy was more agrarian, at that time the value of the land largely centered on its agricultural potential, agricultural utility and land that was barren had no agricultural utility. And the land has no agricultural utility then it becomes useless practically speaking.
Such a land is actually a burden. So rather than having such land which is a burden, a wise person tries to have, a wise person recognizes what is this? This is actually a burden. Very regrettable.
Similarly, the problem here is that Krishna is through the example talking about one by one how everything which is there without him, that is of no use. So in the previous verse he said about how various things, knowledge of the Vedas is there but if the knowledge of Krishna is not there, if Krishna has not understood the purpose and essence of the Vedas, then that knowledge is useless. Krishna is talking about literature here but significantly Krishna is not just talking about any literature.
Yes, mundane literature is definitely useless but Krishna is saying even devotional, even religious literature, the Vedas, are they religious books? Yes, at one level they are. The point of the Vedas is that they are books which are meant primarily for recognizing the need for regulation in life, for living in samkakarma kandavi. Just as when a person is primarily interested in enjoying at the material level, and that person is not so much interested in knowing about ultimate reality, not so much interested in knowing about goals, what is the ultimate goal of life, how is that ultimate goal to be achieved.
These are not the interests of that person. So because those are not the interests of that person, so they are not talking about us. Every literature is customized according to a particular target audience, target readership.
The Vedas are customized for people who are interested in dharma, artha, karma. And that’s why Krishna is not talked about much in the Vedas. The absolute truth is generally not talked about.
There is an inbuilt progression by which gradually people move higher and higher. But even in something which is progressive, people have a tendency to stagnate. And Krishna is here cautioning about that tendency to stagnate.
And he’s saying that if one stagnates, then there is no point in being self-congratulatory and thinking that because I am following the Vedas, I am well situated, I am virtuous, my future is auspicious. No. Krishna is saying that this land is barren, can do nothing to the owner of the land.
Similarly, all the knowledge that one has, that knowledge will not give any transcendental fruit. That knowledge will not lead to elevation, it will not lead to purification, it will not lead to liberation. It will not lead to any eternal satisfaction and in that sense, it is barren.
So, the Lord is the pivot of existence and any literature which neglects that or which does not talk about that Lord is ultimately futile. Although it is transitionally useful, but if the transition is seen as the culmination, then there is delusion. And that is what Krishna is cautioning us about.
Don’t get caught in the Vedas, go beyond the Vedas to the Lord who is the ultimate purpose of the Vedas.