Bhagavatam study 28 – 1.7.1-7 – Vyasa offers bhakti as the remedy for the worlds malady

Shri Bhagavatam 171 the son of Drona punished Shravanakuvachyam Nirgatenaaradayasutam Bhagavan Bhadrayanah Kshitavams tad vipretam tah kim akarodvibhuvum so here in this chapter the Bhagavatam the Bhagavatam’s central conversation which is between Shri Devaswami and Parikshit Maharaj that central conversation begins here and it begins with the understanding actually the conversation itself doesn’t begin that will begin in the second canto but here the build up towards that conversation in terms of describing how Shri Devaswami became ready to speak the Bhagavatam how Parikshit Maharaj became ready to hear the Bhagavatam that narrative will be told in this chapter so in that sense we can say that the Bhagavatam has multiple setting the scenes Shri Devaswami being questioned by the sages of Naimisharan which is described in the first chapter itself second setting the scene is Narad Muni instructing Vasudev which was described in the previous three chapters, chapters 4, 5 and 6 and now the third setting the scene will be the description of how Parikshit Maharaj announced the world and how Shri Devaswami became enlightened and how both of them met on the banks of the Ganga so here we have Nirgate Narade Suta after so here Bhagavatam continues to describe Nirgate Narade Suta when Narada departed Bhagwan Badarayana the great sage Vasudev was known as Badarayana Shrutavamsad Abhipretam who had heard this his Narada’s aspiration of the heart Narada’s desire that the Lord be exclusively glorified then what did he do so the Bhagavatam now is taking one step back the conversation between Narada and Vyasa is over and Shanaprashi is prompting Suta Devaswami to continue the post script to describe what happened and after that conversation ended so here Bhagavan Badarayani so the Bhagavan is words have both technical and general meanings in a technical sense the word Bhagavan refers to the supreme where one who is having six opulences but in a general sense Bhagavan can also refer to someone who is extremely powerful so here that general sense of the word is used Bhagavan is also one who has the opulence and what is that opulence it can refer to the six opulences that the supreme person has or it can refer also to the opulence of of devotion of great qualities that these great saintly people have so Bhagavan Badarayani Naraguni has also in the previous chapter referred to Vyasadeva quite respectfully and although Vyasadeva was dissatisfied after having mentioned of his phenomenal military contribution but his dissatisfaction is not taken as justification for minimising him it’s not that he has made a mistake rather the point is that he is still a great person, what he has achieved is still a great thing he has written so much literature and has offered such a vast corpus of wisdom for people to become gradually spiritually elevated now he is being encouraged to do that which will be his kinetic contribution so rather than a rejection the Bhagavatam is pointing towards the culmination of what he has spoken before and in that way the Bhagavatam is guiding the Bhagavatam is leading us towards the culmination of the Vedic wisdom the Kalpataru the whole Vedas are recognised as valuable, as powerful as a desire tree but then the ripened fruit of the Bhagavatam so Chanak Rishi is respectfully addressing Shukde Vyasadeva as Bhagavan and then what did another appreciative adjective is being used over here to describe Shukde and that appreciative adjective is okay, what did he do? how did he deal with the situation? kimakorodvibhum then after that sutavac brahmanadyam sarasvatyam ashrama paschimetate shamya prasayti propta rishinam satravardhanaham shamya pras shamya pras is the place where the ashrama of Vyasadeva was there and that is where the subsequent action or his contemplation his supreme, sublime vision that he had that will be described so here we see sarasvatyam brahmanadyam sarasvatyam brahmanadyam it means that this river which Prabhupada translates as is intimately connected with the Vedas in many ways this river is connected with higher spiritual wisdom and so it says brahmanadyam sarasvatyam ashrama paschimetate so on the paschim of this he had his ashram shamya prasayti propta which is known as shamya pras vishinam satravardhanaham satravardhanaham for the sages which enlivens them here although Vyasadeva is such a great sage in fact he is in the previous text referred to as Bhagavan still he has also chosen a conducive setting for his meditation and for his literary composition satravardhanaham that stimulates enlivens the activity of the sages we have to know that our consciousness is is significantly shaped by our circumstances so if we want to do particular kinds of activities then we do need it’s important for us to have the appropriate kind of environment for doing those activities if we are in a conducive environment then we will not be able to do the activities constructively even if we try to do them yes a very determined person can can be spiritual in any and every circumstance but it is not necessary that one has to put oneself in hostile circumstances for no constructive reason so Shilprabhupada also for his literary composition for his dictating his books he chose the early morning hours when the whole world slept and that was because that was the time when he could be undistracted no one would approach him with any marital concerns and he could focus on writing and in this way he could actually make himself fully absorbed in the work of writing it’s a tremendously intellectually demanding work and Prabhupada gave the necessary attention to that work by choosing an appropriate time Satravardhana so all of us when we want to do any kind of serious work we need to know that there is an appropriate time, place, circumstance required and as much as possible we need to orient our time, place, circumstance in a way that helps us there are for example there is the Brahmamurtha time so if somebody is swimming in a river and person has to swim upstream it can be done but it requires a lot of effort but if one if the river itself is moving in a particular direction and one has to move in that direction then one doesn’t have to expend any unnecessary energy on overcoming the river rather that river’s flow helps one’s own movement so like that if the atmosphere is spiritually conducive then we don’t have to spend any extra energy in trying to get over the environment instead we can just move onwards using the environment however it is using the positive influence of the environment to stimulate ourselves and move onwards towards Krishna so we don’t need to increase the battles that we are fighting we can we need all the help that we can get in fighting our battles Satravardhana the place where the Rishis had assembled the place which stimulates the deeper tendencies of the human heart for contemplating higher truths so Vyasadeva had his ashram at such a place Tasminsva ashrame Vyaso Badarishandamandite Asino Upaspushya Pranidadyo Manasvayam Tasminsva ashrame Vyaso thus sitting in one’s ashram Badarishandamandite Badari is a berry tree as Prabhupada translates it in Shandamandite surrounded by other trees surrounded by the Badari tree basically so multiple trees Asino Upaspushya he sat and he performed ashram Upaspushya to purify himself Pranidadyo Manasvayam and he focused his mind for meditation Manasvayam so taking advantage of that conducive setting Vyasadeva will begin the meditation that will prove turn out to be the foundation for the Srimad Bhagavatam how he had heard so he is basically implementing here the instruction which he has been given by Narada Anudha Samadhinanusmaram Vyasadeva had been told by Narada Muni and that is what Vyasadeva is doing here so he is sitting down doing the appropriate things for beginning his meditation fourth text Bhakti-yogena Manasi that by the process of Bhakti-yoga in his mind Samyat Pranihite Amle without any contamination Samyat Pranihite completely fixed his mind in trance, in meditation and Apashyat Purushampurnam he saw Apashyat Purushampurnam supreme person Mayam Chitat Apashyayam and he saw that Maya was under his shelter Maya was under his control in his Satsang Darbas Jiva Goswami analyses this set of verses as being as the defining verses for explaining how the Bhagavatam narrative unfolds so while analysing the Bhagavatam Darbas how how the what the essential theme of the Bhagavatam is how the how one can understand what the conclusive message of the Bhagavatam is he analyses several defining sections and this is one of the sections so here the point being made is what did he see in his vision he said first thing is Apashyat Purushampurnam the Purusha the complete person he is the absolute truth he saw him and Mayam Chitat Apashyayam Maya was under his control so this is always a challenge in the for the world’s great thinkers how is the evil of this world to be reconciled with the goodness of God and while reconciling this how is what is the nature of the relationship is evil something which is independent of God as is taught in the Judaeo-Christian tradition where Satan is considered to be a evil influence who comes separate from God and attacks people or is it something which is something which proves that there is no God ultimately at all that there is only evil and that evil itself is the ultimate defining reality these are all difficult questions answering them can be perplexing so here Yasadev is saying that Mayam Chitapashyayam that Maya is under the control of the supreme Maya is not an independent force it is under the control if God is good and God controls Maya then how is the evil in this world coming from where is the illusion, where is the suffering coming from in this world that question will be addressed in the subsequent verses but at the very least Bhagavatam’s theme is that the supreme lord is always in control and he is in control of the illusory energy that is not independent of him so fifth text so by which Sammohita is completely put in delusion Mohita is deluded Sammohita is completely deluded Sammohita Jeeva the living entity Atmanam Trigunatmakam although the soul is spiritual the soul thinks that I am a product of the three modes of material nature and the other products of the three modes of material nature will make me happy Atmanam Trigunatmakam Paro Apimanute Anartham by thinking oneself to be this way Paro, although the soul is transcendental Manute, what does the soul think Atmanam Trigunatmakam actually I am a product of three modes of material nature that Anartham Paro Apimanute Anartham the word Artha has multiple Artha of course one Artha of Artha is meaning but Artha also means value Anartha means that which has no value, no meaning that is the literal etymological meaning of Anartha and the word Anartha is also used in a technical sense which is a derivative of the etymological sense and that sense is that Anartha means that which is which actually takes us away from Artha so Krishna is our Paramartham and that which takes us away from Krishna is undesirable for us is destructive for us is debilitating for us so Paro Apimanute Anartham Tat Kutam Cha Viparvite so superfluous misconceptions that the soul embraces because of misidentifying with the body and Tat Kutam Cha Viparvite one acts accordingly and thus one becomes entangled just as a person who is peacefully sitting at one’s home but starts watching a horror movie and while watching the horror movie gets so enamoured and entangled in that horror movie that the person starts trembling maybe even horripilating and may get severe symptoms of emotional and nervous breakdown and all those are caused because of just turning on that turning on watching that horror movie if that person had not watched the horror movie none of this would have happened so similarly here the point being made in the Bhagavatam is that Paro Apimanute Anartham although the soul is transcendental still the soul gets caught and trapped in existence because of the misidentification because of investing one’s own emotions and consciousness into the body Tat Kutam Cha Viparvite and acting accordingly now here within the flow Naya Sammohito Jeeva so Sammohito completely deluded the people who lose all sense of their spiritual identity utterly not understanding at all for that matter how one is a spiritual being how one needs to recognise one’s eternal spiritual nature and act according to that spiritual nature because forgetfulness is actually such delusion it’s complete delusion there is often especially when a person is immersed in Tamoguna there is practically no hint of awareness of one’s spiritual side at all it’s complete consuming illusion Sammohito and the connection with the previous verse is Yaya so Vyasadev saw that Maya is under the control of Krishna but that same Maya is deluding the Jeeva and why is Maya deluding the Jeeva? because the Jeeva has the desire to has the misconception because the Jeeva is identifying with the body because the Jeeva is desiring to enjoy through the body so the Jeeva gets attached and entangled Krishna is not the cause of our entanglement and delusion it is we who are the cause of that entanglement and we cause that entanglement by letting ourselves get deluded by coming under the influence of Maya Maya doesn’t force us to nobody forces us to watch the horror movie the horror movie is going on but we don’t have to watch it when we watch it we get trapped so like that neither Krishna nor Maya are responsible for our delusion we ourselves are responsible and we are responsible by having the by getting infatuated and desiring to enjoy the whatever is being displayed by Maya anarthopashyamam saakshat bhakti yoga madhokshaje lokasya jananto vidvams chakre sattvata samhitam now Vyasdev is like a doctor over here a doctor first understands after observing the patient based on one’s past knowledge of medicine ok these are the symptoms this is the disease and this is the treatment so now he has understood the symptoms he has understood the disease rather disease is that atmanam trigunatmakam paro apimanute anartham the jiva is identifying with the three modes and thus coming under bondage so purushya prakatisthohi dhunte prakatijan gunam karan gunasangosya in 13.22 the bhagavad gita it is said that dhunte the desire to enjoy is what causes the soul to get caught in material existence now how can the soul be released from material existence that Vyasdev will talk here anarthopashyamam saakshat anarthakupashyamam that being freed from the pacification the conquest of the anarthas anarthopashyamam saakshat bhaktiyogam adhoksha je so by the practise of bhaktiyogam to the adhoksha je lokasya ajananto so the way to overcome the anartha is performance of bhaktiyoga but people do not know about this ajananto chakri vidhvams the person who was vidhvam here chakri he compiled sattvata samhita he compiled samhita for the learner that is the sattvata in relationship with the absolute truth sattvata can have many meanings sattva refers to reality or eternity that which exists sattvata is that which it is meant for those who are pursuing the absolute truth those who are transcendent leaders ultimately those who are devotees and that book which is about that absolute truth and meant for those who are pursuing the absolute truth that is sattvata samhita so here again anarthopashyamam saakshat how exactly does anarthopashyama happen by bhaktiyoga that naradmuni has earlier told myasadeva and here that same thing the whole process is not being repeated over here actually the idea of how bhaktiyoga can remove anartha that is repeated in the bhagavatam in the second chapter itself in the section from 1.2.6 to 22 where tadar yastamo bhava kamalobha deshe chetetirnam idam sitam sattve prasidati was talked about tadar yastamo bhava that in this way the lower moods will be removed and as the lower effects after the lower moods are removed one becomes situated in goodness and one becomes cheerful one cheerfully practises bhakti and one becomes elevated and one moves on towards liberation so all this has been talked about earlier and that is not going to be repeated here but just a summary is made over here that actually by performing bhaktiyoga to adhokshaja the word adhokshaja is repeatedly used in the bhagavatam and most definingly in 1.2.6 vesa vai pum sam paro dharmo ito bhakti adhokshaje so it’s used there also in connection with the object of bhakti adhokshaja so this juxtaposition this positioning together of devotion and the object of devotion but using the referent adhokshaja for the object of devotion the significance is that the heart has reasons that reason doesn’t know the heart has reasons that reason doesn’t know it is that yes we can use a reason to appreciate how there is ultimate reality and how the philosophy of bhaktiyoga helps us to coherently understand the nature of reality and the purpose of life but beyond that we need to move onwards towards a realisation of that and that realisation if we insist on sensory vindication of that that is not going to work we need to rise above sensory perception and that point is stressed that bhakti is a transcensory experience and that point is stressed through talking about the object of bhakti by this referent adhokshaja one who is beyond the senses one who pushes the senses down lokasya jananto people in general don’t know that bhakti is the remedy for the malady of material existence so that knowledge will be offered by Yasadeva yasyam aishvaya manayam krishna param purushe bhaktir utpadite pumsam shokamoha bhayapaha yasyam wait so now the question may come up in the previous verse it was stated that because bhakti because people don’t know that bhakti is the solution for the misery of material existence so to offer them that solution Yasadeva compiled bhagavatam now how is bhagavatam the solution what is the connection between bhakti being the solution and the compilation of bhagavatam yasyam aishvaya manayam by hearing krishna param purushe bhaktir utpadite krishna param purushe that unto that supreme person so in the first two texts who was that supreme person the earlier text who was the param purushe was not mentioned but now the param purushe is mentioned very clearly krishna param purushe krishna param purushe that it is the apashyak purushampurnam mayam that was said three verses ago he saw the supreme person but krishna param purushe there is no misunderstanding about the identity of the param purushe it is said it is krishna and what happens to him unto him bhakti awakens krishna param purushe bhaktir utpadite shokamoha and bhaya apaha means to be removed all these are removed now we often have as prabhupada explained in the purport shokamoha and bhaya these are the emotions in connection with the three phases of time we lament about what has already happened their illusion about in the current situation and we have fear about what may happen in the future so essentially the illusion of mortal existence is pervasive encompassing our perception of all the three phases of time and thus subjecting us to prompting us impelling us to actions which are actually not solutions but aggravations of the situation but by hearing the bhagavatam bhaktir utpadite pumsam when bhakti awakens then these illusions about the three phases of time they go away now how does that happen when we practise bhakti it enables us to go beyond it takes our consciousness to the spiritual level to sattva guna and beyond sattva guna to shuddha sattva shokamoha bhaya all these are characteristics of ya swapnam bhayam shokam vishadam madamevacanam muncid durmedha dhrtisa partha tamasi in 18.35 krishna makes it clear that the that this shoka bhaya and ofcourse these are the characteristics of determination and the mode of ignorance and aprakashvapranutishyamoham evacapandava so moha is a characteristic so basically these are these are frames of perception that are highly characterised by the mode of ignorance and in general the ignorance in material existence so when we are able to rise beyond the lower modes when we rise towards the higher modes then we can overcome these lower perceptions and we can move upwards towards krishna and realise krishna so we can although realising krishna may take time but still there is some experience, some higher experience some higher taste, some higher wisdom, some higher vision that awakens and that brings us inner satisfaction that higher perspective by which we are no longer consumed by these debilitating modes of thinking of lamenting of lamenting being illusioned and being fearful so the miseries of material existence are removed by hearing the bhagavatam because the bhagavatam awakens bhakti within us so we will continue our discussion in our next class