Bhagavatam study 69 1.13.46-50 When we can’t protect ourselves from kala, karma and guna, how can we protect others?

How wonderful it is. We will continue in our next session.
So, we are under the jurisdiction of these three factors of time, of karma, the law of karma and guna, of material nature. That is the nature of our existential condition in this world. And because of this existential predicament, how can we protect anyone else? That we ourselves are about to be afflicted by the snake of death, just as others are.
How are we under control and how are we vulnerable? If we consider that we are on a journey towards death, we are under the control of time, which is constantly pushing us forcefully, giving us no choice. It is just pushing us forcefully towards old age, disease and death. And the inexorable force of time is simply beyond our capacity to control.
Thus, we are, if we consider that we are gliding down a slope of a mountain, which is ending not in a safe landing, but into a rocky territory where whoever enters over there is going to be smashed to smithereens, is going to be destroyed. So, we are on a glider, but the glider is not going towards safety, leave alone adventure, it is going towards disaster and that’s sure. So, if we consider the body, it is with every passing moment gliding towards disaster.
On top of that, it’s not that the disaster can come only at the end of our life. Suppose there are winds, which may also, stormy winds may suddenly sweep across the mountain slope down which we are gliding. And those winds may suddenly sweep us and they may cause us to tumble over.
So, those are like the karmic, that is the karma. So, we are under and we are under the spell of karmic reactions. Long before death befalls us, we find that during in our life, sometimes suddenly for no reason problems come up.
And we are going smoothly in one direction, we have a good job and suddenly we get the pink slip and feel disoriented, thrown out of our office thinking, you know, going from office to office, trying to find some way to earn a livelihood. So, that is the karmic reaction which may come upon us. And on top of that, gunadhi, you know.
So, if say some, while we are gliding along, surfing along, gliding along, then suppose somebody throws a lasso, it’s a long rope with a circular front on it. And they throw that lasso and they catch us through that. Then, and they pull us.
So, we are going smoothly and suddenly we find ourselves toppled over. So, like that, we are vulnerable to be toppled over by our lower desires. We may be toppled over by our, by the moods which, which bring in certain desires within us.
So, people are living a, say, a good, comfortable, responsible family life. And suddenly, they feel, they feel attracted to some, some person other than their spouse. And then they get caught in an affair.
And then, it’s their own desire, of course, it’s their own making. But at that time, the desire comes upon them. And they can try to resist it, and it is their responsibility to try to resist it.
But the very fact that the desire comes and pulls them, that itself indicates that there are times when the moods act on us. So, the moods may act because of circumstances. An alcoholic, a recovering alcoholic, may be going smoothly along a, say, office to home.
And suddenly, they pass by a bar, and it’s like the lasso is thrown around them. They are pulled into the bar to binge and relapse. So, we could say, even the moods falling on us is because of our past karma.
But there is a difference in that. What happens because of karma is more or less involuntary, the storm coming. We are just overpowered by the karmic reactions.
Whereas, when the moods come, we can, if we are alert, we can resist the pull of the moods. When the lasso falls on us, at that time, if we have a sword with us or a knife with us, we can immediately cut off the lasso and free ourselves. So, that sword is the remembrance of Krishna.
Yad anudhyasena yuktaha. Asina, anudhya. So, remembrance of Krishna is the way we protect ourselves.
So, we are kaala karma guna dhino. This is our vulnerable situation in this world. We are gliding to disaster because of the power of time.
Along the way, we can be toppled over because of karmic reactions. And we can also be distracted and led to disaster by our own moods, the moods which come upon us. So, in this way, we are so controlled.
What can we do? So, while we are gliding towards disaster and in the form of kaala and can make disaster because of karma and guna, which are like storms or lassos falling upon us. So, katham anyam sthugopayet. How can we protect others? This is our existential predicament as the controllers as being present in these bodies made of material elements.
We can’t really protect anyone. This does not mean that we become irresponsible. But it just means that we recognize the limitedness of our controllership.
Sarpa grasto yatha param. And kaala, time or death is often compared to snake. And if we are in the vicinity of a snake, then we can be knocked down and killed at any moment.
And that is our predicament over here. All of us are under the snake of death. Sometimes, say, people get heart attacks, sometimes people get brain aneurysms.
And one moment they are there, next moment they are just gone. That is the terrible nature of this world. So, in the next verse, we will continue this theme of the illusion of we protecting each other by talking about the other extreme of the nature of interactions between living beings.
Text 47. That those who are without hands, they often become prey for those who are with hands. Sahasranam apadani sab chatush padam.
Those who have no feet, they often become the prey for those who have feet, those who are mobile, those who are, yeah, sthavar and jangam, those who are moving and non-moving. Falguni tatram hatam. That those who are weak, often become the victims of those who are strong.
Jivo jivasya jivanam. In this way, that one living being is often the subsistence of the other living being. So, what to speak of? Katham anyam sthu gopaye.
That was the previous verse. What to speak of we protecting others? This verse is saying that we often live on others. It is by by destroying others that we live.
So, even if we are pure vegetarians, still, say, when we take medicines, what are we doing? We are basically killing living beings. And without killing the other living beings, killing the germs which have infected us, if we do not kill them, we will be killed. So, there is just no alternative in the situation.
So, jivo jivasya jivanam. This is the sobering nature of material existence. In the forest, we see the law of the jungle, where a deer runs for its life and a tiger runs after it for its life.
So, the nature of this world is that both predator and prey are running for their lives. And whoever fails to run fast enough, they will die. So, in that particular relationship of predator and prey, the predator may be in a superior position, but both will ultimately fail.
The predator will not be able to keep catching prey throughout one’s life. And eventually, the predator is also running away from the clutches of time. And time is going to catch the predator also.
And the predator is going to die. So, everybody is going to be killed. It is the nature of material world.
So, jivo jivasya jivanam. Why are we talking about such a sober reality? In human society, the law of the jungle may not be that brutal, but still it is very much there. We see that there is competition in the corporate world and a slightest weakness is exploited by the opponents.
The closest we come to this kind of competition in today’s world is in sports or not necessarily closest we come, but the most prominently we see in sports, if say two boxers are playing, then literally one boxer’s victory depends on the other boxer’s defeat. So, each boxer will try to find the other boxer’s weakness and capitalize on them. So, jivo jivasya jivanam.
We are all under the control of time and sometimes time may require us to fight against each other and kill each other. What to speak of protecting each other? This is the brutal way in which material nature is constituted. So, we need to have no illusion that we can be protectors in this world.
tad idam bhagavān rājan tad idam bhagavān rājan text 48 it is eka ātmā manāṁ svadraka antaro anantaro bhāti paśyatam māyayor udhā tam idam bhagavān rājan Therefore, look only to the Supreme Lord. Eka ātmā manāṁ svadraka Eka, the one without ātmā manāṁ svadraka. He is one, but he manifests as many energies, antaro anantaro.
So, he manifests without and within. paśyatam māyayor udhā And we look upon him because he is manifested in various energies. So, he appears to be many, but it is one.
The one super soul is present inside your heart and he is present externally in the hearts of Vidura, in the hearts of Sitarashtra and he is the ultimate sanctioner of things. He is the ultimate control, controller and we are meant to act in his, in a mood of control, in a mood of service to him, in a mood of assisting him and controlling him, assisting him in whatever way we can while we have that power. But we need to not look at people alone, but we need to look beyond people to the Supreme Person.
So, tam idam bhagavān rājan, tad idam bhagavān rājan. Therefore, look unto eka ātmā manāṁ svadraka, that that Supreme Lord who is the ultimate seer. You look at him, you try to understand him.
Antaro anantaro bhāti, he is within and without. So, when people act in unreasonable ways, in unexpected ways, at that time rather than getting carried away by the mental duality caused by seeing people’s actions or when life itself seems to act in unpredictable ways, which we cannot attend, for us is to see that we are servants, we are not the controllers. So, we look at the Supersoul and understand that he is the person who is directing all living beings.
Īśvara sarva-bhÅ«tānāṁ há¹›d-deÅ›e arjuna tiṣṭhati brāhmaṃ sarva-bhÅ«tāni yantrā rūḍhāni māyayā Because he’s guiding the wanderings of all living beings. So, it is for us to subordinate ourselves to him, to stay rooted in him, and by staying rooted in him, to move forwards in our life in a mood of service to him. If we see people as independent sources of affection or if we see ourselves as independent sources of protection, we will put ourselves in illusion.
Seeing people as independent sources of affection means that we see them as, this person is offering me so much love, but we have to understand that it is Krishna who is offering love to that person. And seeing ourselves as independent sources of protection means that we think that I am protecting them. But no, it is Krishna who is ultimately protecting everyone.
So, when we see that Supersoul, we see, focus our vision on that and identify ourselves as his servants and act in a mood of service to him, then we can move forwards steadily in our life journey in taking responsibility for what is in our control and entrusting the responsibility for that which is not in our control to the Supreme Lord through interacting with people and through entrusting them to the Lord, we are all strengthening our relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is our primary responsibility. Text 49, So ayam adya maharaja bhagwan bhuta bhavanah kaala rupo avatiranosyam abhavaya suradvisham So, I am Adya Maharaja.
So, O King, Sir, that same Supreme Lord, he has now come, bhagwan bhuta bhavanah, that Lord who is the maintainer of all living beings has now come, kaala rupo avatiranosyam, he has descended in his formless time. For what purpose? Abhavaya suradvisham, abhavaya, for the purpose of destruction, for eliminating the ungodly elements, suradvisham, those who are envious of the godly. So, if you understand this purpose that the Lord is ultimately the protector, but sometimes he protects by destroying the material.
Now, his purpose is not to destroy primarily, his purpose is to destroy our attachment to the temporary. And thus, even when the Lord is descending as the destroyer, he is acting as our protector by protecting us from illusion, by destroying our attachment to the products of illusion. So, kaala rupo avatiranosyam, he has descended in the form of time.
And when he descends in this form, just as the Lord is always in control, even when he descends in the form of kaala, also he is in control. And nobody can escape or go beyond the controllership that he has. So, because of his supreme controllership, because he is always the person who is the all-powerful being, we can’t ourselves ever resist or reject his control.
When he chooses to act in a particular way, all we can do is surrender to his supreme will and do whatever is in our power to serve him. Adya Maharaja. So, oh Yudhishthira, you are a king, but you should know that Bhagawan, he is a supreme king, he is the king of all kings.
And you are protector of people, but he is bhuta bhavana, he is the creator of people, he knows what is best for everyone, he cares best for everyone. So, leave it to him, he will take care. And thus, here Yudhishthira is being told to let go, to release control, so that he can move forwards in his spiritual journey.
As long as we are caught in the past, because of our affection towards someone, because of that affection becomes an attachment which blocks us from spiritual progress. When we break free from that control, then we move forwards and we move closer to the supreme. So, here he is going to tell the Lord that, he is going to tell Yudhishthira that the Lord has a plan for you and you cooperate with that plan.
Don’t let lamentation become a distraction from your cooperation with the divine plan. So, 50th text. nishpāditaṁ devaká¹›tyam avasheá¹£aṁ pratÄ«ká¹£ate tāvadhyayam aveká¹£adhyam bhavedyāvad iheá¹£varaham So, nishpāditaṁ devaká¹›tyam, devaká¹›tyam, the devatas had requested him to descend and free the world from the demons.
nishpāditaṁ, so the Lord has done that. He has executed those duties. devakṛtyam avasheṣaṁ pratīkṣate and the remaining he should be able to complete.
And once he has done that, he will depart from the world. And while he is here, tāvadhyayam avekṣadhyam, all of you, during that period, you wait and observe, you say, wait and watch. As long as he is there in this world, that īśvara, he is here, then you can also be ruling the kingdom.
So, your time is also going to come. You have a role to play and play that role as long as you are ordained by the Lord to do that. Once that ends, then you will also have to end your role.
So, it’s not just that if you are thinking that you will protect Dhritarashtra, how long are you going to protect him? You are yourself not going to be the king forever. Just as he has renounced the world, he will give that information a little later. But just as he has gone from the kingdom, entrusting himself to the Lord, you too will have to do that eventually.
So, rather than thinking that you are the protector and you have failed in your duty of protection, see that you have entrusted, you had been entrusted a responsibility and a part of that responsibility has been released from you now. So, but the other responsibility is a king to take care of his citizens that is there. You will have to release that eventually also.
But while you are there, you do it, wait and watch. And in this way, we actually grow spiritually by accepting our limitations. Now, accepting our limitations and our limitedness is vital for learning to love the unlimited Lord.
Because otherwise, we just cannot accept his control or accept that we have failed in controlling some things. So, when we refuse to accept our limits, then lamentation becomes the distraction that prevents us from cooperation with the Lord’s plan. So, we need to work systematically for protecting ourselves.
And to the extent we protect ourselves, to that extent, we move onwards in our life, steadily marching towards the supreme. There is higher plan happening in the, you are not alone, you are not functioning alone. And you just do what the Lord is ordering you to do.
That is the mood over here, with which Narada is instructing Dishti. Now, Bri, after giving these philosophical instructions, then Narada will briefly talk, give the information. So, he doesn’t see this simply as an opportunity to give, inform and go.
He offers not just information, but also illumination. And he offers illumination about the nature of this world. And then he offers specific information also.
So, from 39, where Mudishti asks questions, till his questions go on till 41, 42. From 41 onwards, Narada starts speaking. So, 41 to 50, 10 verses are of instruction.
And we will see just in a few verses, he gives the information and finishes the issue. So, we do have to provide practical information. But that need not be the only mode of interaction between us and others.
So, he focuses on just, given on, he focuses on his duty, not on acting as a information provider, but on acting as a illumination provider. And he will describe that in quite a few verses, actually. He will talk about that in nine verses.
But that information is also a continuation of the same thread of illumination. He is going to tell that how Yudhishtira is also, that the Thrashtra is also going to be illuminated. He is also going to attain elevation and liberation.
And you need to focus on your own illumination and elevation and liberation. Do not let yourselves get caught in things which are not in your control. So, that we will, what exactly Yudhishtira is going to do, and how Narada informs Yudhishtira about it, we will discuss in our next class.