Bhagavatam-daily 270 – 11.13.3 – Goodness helps us to best live in the ocean while bhakti takes us to the shore

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

Thank you. Dharmo Vajasthamohanyat Vajasthamohanyat means the destruction of the lower modes is done by the practice of dharma. Sattva Vruddhir Anuttamaha.
When we practice dharma and increase the mode of goodness within us, then the lower modes are destroyed. Anuttamaha refers to sattva guna which is the best among the various modes. Ashunashyati Tanmulo.
Soon is destroyed Tankmulo, the modes of passion and ignorance. And Tanmulo is the root cause of adharma ubhayahate. Both passion ignorance and the root cause of religion are destroyed.
So again Krishna is here recommending how we can grow in our life. The best way is by the steady practice of bhakti. When we work towards cultivating transcendence, the important point is to recognize that the transcendental soul cannot abruptly break free from material existence.
Sometimes material existence is compared to a dream and liberation is compared to waking up from the dream. Now when we physically sleep and have dreams and when we physically wake up, it is in one moment that we realize, oh it was just a dream, I didn’t have got so worked up about it. But when we talk about waking up from the dream of material existence, even if we get a strong realization, even if there is a very deep and transformational moment of spiritual awakening, still after that we continue at least physically living in the dream world.
We cannot just wish our way out of that dream world. We have to gradually while living in this material world, work our way towards coming to a steady level of spiritual realization and enlightenment. Without such steadiness, no matter what all we achieve, we will not be able to persevere in spiritual enlightenment.
That means during the practice of bhakti you may have some intense spiritual moments when you may feel such attraction to Krishna, such overwhelming feelings of devotion that you may think what is the need of living in material existence. Just let me absorb myself in Krishna. I can go to Vrindavan and lose myself in Krishna’s glories.
That is a wonderful aspiration but its realization cannot be abrupt because even if we act on such a desire, even if we go to Vrindavan or some holy place to live there, we still have a material body and even in the holy place there are still materially minded people and we have to interact with those people at least to some extent. And even when living with devotees, not all devotees are transcendental, most devotees are sadhakas and we have to deal with their ups and downs. So our consciousness will also go up and down.
So goodness provides us a steady platform in which or on which we can practice bhakti. Shri Prabhupada gave the example that coming to goodness is like being situated in a boat. Now in ocean the waves are there and the boat is often compared to devotional service.
So yes, when we are situated in that boat we are situated in devotional service and just as the boat is above the water, similarly when we are situated in the boat of devotional service we are outside the water. But at the same time though we are above the water but still we are in a broader sense in the ocean. And Krishna says that in due course He will liberate us from material existence.
He will become our deliverer from material existence. It will not take a long time but that is at the very least we need to live one lifetime in material existence. We cannot get up this material existence till our body’s due life span runs out.
So while we are living in the body how do we live? We live by practicing bhakti according to our capacity. And for us to practice bhakti steadily in this material world we need to come to… we need to have foundation of goodness by which we can progressively and steadily move towards transcendence. So in ocean there are some parts that are stormy and some parts that are ready to become.
Ultimately everywhere there are waves and so there is restlessness everywhere. So the ultimate solution is to go to the coast. Similarly the ultimate solution is to attain transcendence by practicing bhakti.
But till then we need to harmonize our life with the principles of dharma. And the mode of goodness provides us the best foundation for such harmonization in a sustainable way. So devotee sadhakas if we cultivate goodness the mode of passion and ignorance go away.
And when we cultivate bhakti, the highest dharma, parodharma of bhakti then the lower modes of… then the adharma also goes away.