Bhagavatam study 98 1.18.11-17 Relish the sweetness of Bhagavan through the Bhagavata

Thank you. Restraining Kali and protecting Dharma and Bhoomi.
Now here, the sages held by Shanak Rishi, they’ll speak and let’s see what they speak here. किषिर्वाचः शयकवाचः सूतजीवसमासम्यः शाष्वतिर्विषदम्यशः यस्तं शम्ससीकुष्णस्य मर्त्यानां अम्रुतम्हिनः मर्त्यानां अम्रुतम्हिनः So, this is an antithesis. Antithesis means two opposite words or two opposite ideas are brought together in one place.
मर्त्यानां Those who are meant to die. अम्रुतम् The nectar of immortality. You are providing to them.
हिनः Certainly, you are providing to all of us. सूतजीवसमासम्यः ओसुतको स्वामी जीव May you live. We bless you.
We wish that now the speakers normally are considered to be at a higher level than the hearers. So, it is the normally it is not the hearers who give blessings to the speakers. It is the speaker who gives blessings to the hearers.
But the hearers can offer their good wishes to the speakers. And the speaker gets the good wishes of the audience. And that inspires and that empowers the hearer also the speaker to speak.
So, सूतजीवसमासम्यः समासम्यः So, you में समा means में समा time May you live for a very long long time. May you live for many many years. साउन्य साउन्य can mean gentle.
It can also mean grave. साउन्यत्वां साउन्यरूप This word comes in the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna after showing his fierce ferocious कालरूप then he shows his two handed form which Arjuna calls as साउन्यरूप. So, सुदवस्वामी is gentle.
But gentle doesn’t mean frivolous. Gentle means that he is gentle at the same time he is focused on the absolute truth. And because he is focused on the absolute truth so he is serious because of that.
He is deeply absorbed in a with a divine sense of purpose in the Lord. And that is साउन्यरूप So, सुदवस्वामी you who are gentle and grave you wish that you live for a long time. Now, what is the idea? Live for a long time that because you are glorifying Krishna.
शाश्वतिर्विषदं यशः शाश्वतिर्विषदं यशः that you are may you attain eternal fame. यशः is fame. Especially you will deserve यस्तों शम्ससि कृष्णस्य शम्ससि You are praising्सि, glorifying.
You are speaking sweetly about Krishna. मर्त्यानाम अम्रतंहिनह That such speech, sweet speech about Krishna is nectar for those who are in this world of death. The whole idea of the verse every one of us is meant to move forwards in our life.
Every one of us try to attain immortality. To grow towards eternal life. And the only way we can grow towards eternal life is if we recognise that every one of us has to practise spiritual life and develop our love for the eternal.
So it is by hearing about Krishna in an attractive way that our heart will get attracted to Him. And that is the purpose that Suta Goswami is serving by glorifying Krishna. So therefore they are saying that may you live for a long long time.
If you live for a long time then you will glorify Krishna for a long long time. And by that, by hearing the glories of Krishna, many many people will become attracted. And thus, many many people will be able to fulfil the purpose of life.
Text 12 कर्मञ्यस्मिन अनाश्वासे धुमद्धुम्रात्म नांभवान आपायती गोविन्द पादपदमास वम्मधु पद्मास वम्मधु So, पादपद्मास वम्मधु The Govinda, the lotus feet of Govinda पद्मास वम्म The nectar which is in the lotus मधु, the honey. So, we are now by hearing we are आपायती we are very delighted to relish the nectar of the lotus feet of Lord Hari by hearing from you. Now, before this, what were we doing? कर्मन्य अस्मिन अनाश्वासे आश्वासन means confidence or reassurance अनाश्वासे means without any confidence or reassurance So, कर्मन्य अस्मिन अनाश्वासे कर्मन्य अस्मिन अनाश्वासे We are doing these rituals but there is no guarantee that they will get the result for us.
What are the rituals? The sages at Namisharanya had assembled to counter the influence of Kali and to bring about auspiciousness for the world by performing yajnas. But, they were telling here that we do not perceive we are not sure whether this performance of yajna will give any result or not. धुम् धुम् रात्मनान् भावान् धुम् So, what we are getting is actually we are getting we are getting the nectar we are actually simply getting smoke that actually we are not able to perceive anything appreciate anything because we are unable to taste the nectar of we are not able to get any higher taste by performing these sacrifices.
Therefore, we believe that if you continue glorifying Krishna that is how we will get the higher taste. So, 1.18.12 and here we discussed 1.18.12 now we go to 1.18.13 तुलयाम् लवे नापि अस्वर्गम् नापु नर्भवं भगवत् संगी संगस्य मर्त्या नाम् कि मुताशि सह मर्त्या नाम् कि मुताशि सह for those who are about to die what can be a greater gain than speaking about Krishna what can be a greater gain for those who are about to die मर्त्या नाम् again the same point what they are saying here is that Pripyat also they said that मर्त्या नाम् अम्रित so it’s very consciously they are aware of the fact that this is the world of death. Everyone of us has to die over here.
But what can we do? मर्त्या नाम् कि मुताशि सह for those who are about to die what can be a greater gain than the gain of relishing Krishna Katha because by that relishing Krishna Katha what will happen is one will be able to move forward towards Krishna and ultimately attain Krishna तुलयाम् लवे नापे even if one gets association for even a moment for even a short time तुलयाम् लवे नापे न स्वर्गं न पुनर्भवं every culture has its way of its standard of what is valuable and if something is of a greater value then that is that its value is conveyed by comparing it with what is otherwise considered valuable. So स्वर्ग attainment of heavens is considered to be a very great gain in a pious culture because if we live piously over here then we go to the heavens and there one can enjoy अश्णन्ति दिव्यान दिविदेव भोगान in 9.20 Bhagavad Gita Krishna says one can enjoy huge amounts of pleasures for a long time so one standard of pleasure is the pleasure of spiritual of heaven another standard of pleasure may be that oh actually this world is ultimately a place of misery so best get out of here so if we get out of here then we go to the spiritual world but we may not enter the spiritual worlds per say, we may go to the spiritual sky and attain liberation लअपुनर्भवम् when one does not come back to the material world one gets liberation but greater than that मर्त्यानाम् किमिताशिसः मर्त्यानाम् किमिताशिसः so actually for them there is nothing more important, nothing more beneficial than the point of hearing even for one moment now here, actually what can happen in one moment in one moment we can get a taste for hearing about Krishna in one moment we can associate with devotees and even in one moment we can, in one moment we can actually get that association in which the association can induce the desire for Krishna within us and that desire can take us all the way to the spiritual world so this desire is very valuable if we can get it and how do we get the desire? By association संगात् संजायते कामः that संगात् संजायते in association our desire is developed कामः the word कामः sometimes is used in negative sense of lust can be used generically also to refer to just desire and संगात् can refer to association as well as attachment so here he is saying that actually for those who are bound to die if they get the association of a devotee for even one moment that one moment can energise them with a desire that can propel them to eternity and that kind of propulsion towards eternity cannot come by anything else, so that’s why even going to heavens or going to the getting liberated, that is not of as much value and this verse itself is very powerful, inspiring us to take the association of devotee seriously but along with that if we connect this verse with the previous verse where he is saying that two verses before that may you live for a long time सूतजीव समहसम्या may you live for a long time this means that even a moment of your association can be so precious for people and if you live for a long long time then you can give your association to so many people for so long and thus you can benefit people so मर्त्यानां किमताशि सह there is no greater blessing for those who are meant to die than to have the association of great devotees and they continue text 14 कोनां त्रुप्पेद्रसवित कथायां महत्तमैकान्त परायनस्य नान्तं गुणानाम गुणस्य जग्बुर योगेश्वराये भवपाद्ममुख्या कोनां त्रुप्पेद्रसवित कथायां So, who can be satiated by in relishing the Katha of the Lord So, त्रुप्पेद्र Now, here he is saying that actually speaking Krishna’s taste is so the taste of Krishna Bhakti is so sweet that one can relish, one can keep relishing it on and on and on So, at one level we say that the purpose of spiritual life is to develop satisfaction We want to be satisfied materially and we want to be dissatisfied spiritually. In fact the purpose of our spiritual life is to be eternally dissatisfied eternally longing for Krishna more and more In the Shat Goswami Ashtakam, it is said that हे राधे वृजदेवि के चिलनिते They are longing for Krishna They are longing for Aadharan That is the state of the Goswamis and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is also like that So, in spiritual life the perfection is not simply satisfaction but also eternal ecstatic dissatisfaction Normally in material life when there is dissatisfaction, it creates agitation because when will I get it when will I get it and there is no contentment without getting whatever we are craving for But in spiritual life the dissatisfaction increases the intensity of one’s absorption in Krishna because we long for Krishna and then we get more and more absorbed in Krishna and because the remembrance of Krishna is non-different from Krishna therefore we get supreme satisfaction thereby we get supreme ecstasy in the absorption in Krishna which is propelled by dissatisfaction not dissatisfaction in negative sense but dissatisfaction in the sense of longing for more and more So, Konam, Trupved, who can be satisfied And now, that means nobody can be satisfied but who will have that longing? Rasavedh, one who understands rasa, one who understands that actually life is meant to be eternally relished one who understands this that actually we are souls and we are meant to relish eternal happiness in relationship with the supreme soul in relationship with Rasa Raj Then, Konam, Trupved, Rasavedh, Kathayam Who will be satisfied? Mahatamaikanta Parayanasya Mahatama Ekanta Parayanasya that he is the supreme shelter of even those who are great personalities those who are the greatest among the living beings that even for them he is the supreme shelter Ekanta Parayanasya Parayanamsya, those who are devoted to those who are sheltered in him he is the soul shelter of even the great souls Nantam gunanam agunasya Jagmur so here we see again a special form of antithesis antithesis means two opposite ideas brought together but when two opposite ideas are very closely brought together it is called as an oxymoron so if somebody says that he is an intelligent fool how can somebody be intelligent and foolish that means somebody is having intelligence but what they are doing is foolish suicide is said to be an act of courageous cowardice it requires courage to end one’s life but to want to end one’s life because of frustration is cowardly so here similarly there is an oxymoron that Nantam gunanam agunasya Jagmur so gunanam that their qualities are endless but that lord is agunasya he has no qualities he is beyond qualities so how is this possible Nantam gunanam agunasya Jagmur so agunasya does not literally mean he has no qualities he has no material qualities all his qualities are transcendental so that lord Yogeshwara ye bhavapadmamukhya Yogeshwara so he that even those who are the lords of mystic powers that even they cannot fathom his qualities, lord of mystic power means like bhavapadmamukhya bhava is lord Shiva, padma padma is lotus padma is one who resides on lotus or one who sits on a lotus that refers to Brahmaji mukhya that his glory is go above the head even of such great personalities so the point over here is that there are three distinct points in this verse first they say who can be satisfied in tasting his glories and actually why can we not be satisfied because his glories are endless and Nantam gunanam agunasya and these glories are so great that even the greatest of personalities such as bhavapadma such as Shiva and Brahma even they relish his glories and therefore he is the supreme shelter of the great souls, mahatama so people can be, people’s level can be understood by the level of their taste somebody spends their whole life playing video games or watching movies what practically do they do with their life, nothing practically they are just wasting their life somebody reads some books of wisdom and likes to learn a lot more, so they are in goodness they are learning, maybe they are sharing so that’s their tastes are little more evolved but even their taste cannot take them to eternity it is only those who are devoted to Krishna they can go to eternity so one who has that taste for Krishna, they are mahatama they are the greatest among the great souls mahat, mahatara and mahatama, it’s the superlative good, better and best mahat is great, mahatara is greater mahatama is the greatest in this way mahatamai kantapara yanasya even the greatest of souls they are devoted to that supreme lord such is the lord whose glories you are sharing with us such is the lord whose glories we all have an opportunity to relish, continue text 15 tanno bhavanvai bhagvat pradhano mahatamai kantapara yanasya harerudaram charitam vishuddham shushrushatam novitanotu vidvan tanno bhavanvai bhagvat pradhano tanno bhavanvai bhagvat that you are bhagvat pradhano you are actually very purely devoted to the supreme lord, pradhano you have made the lord the supreme object of your service he is the primary object of your thought he is the central purpose of your life mahatamai kantapara yanasya so they talked about mahatamai kantapara and the same phrase was used in the second line of the last verse also so there they said that such great souls they are completely devoted to the lord and now they are saying that you also are like like those souls mahatamai kantapara yanasya harerudaram charitam vishuddham so the glorious character of lord Hari harer charitam udaram udaram can mean huge large hearted impartial when we are partial then our heart becomes small we are concerned only about one group of people and not about other group of people but when we are connected with the lord then our large heart becomes impartial and becomes large we can absorb his glories from everywhere and the lord himself is like that his glories are oceanic they are supremely pure and they are supremely purifying they are transcendental so we are eager to hear those glories so therefore please please describe to us so the theme of this verse is that you are devoted to the lord so naturally you would like to speak about the lord and we too are eager to hear about him and he is these pastimes are supremely purifying they are glorious so please speak about these pastimes so in a sense if we consider text 10 text 9 basically dua they are telling now if you want to hear about those glories is dua dua येनापवर्गाक्याम अदब्रभुद्धी, अपवर्गाक्याम, by which he was fixed on the path to liberation.
अदब्रभुद्धी, his बुद्धी was not deluded, it was completely fixed. ज्यानेन वय्यासकिषब्दितेन, his intelligence was sustained by the knowledge which he received from the words of वय्यासकि. भेजे खगेंद धजपाद मूलं, Bheje Khagendra Dhajapad Moolam, Bheje, so he just attained abode of the Lord, he attained the lotus feet of खगेंद धजपाद, खग is eagle, खग इन्द्र is the, खग can refer to bird or eagle, खगेंद्र means the king of the birds, that is घरुड, खगेंद धज, the lord, he has a flag of घरुड, and पाद मूलं, so his lotus feet were attained.
So, they are specifically asking Parikshit Maharaj, Suta Goswami to speak about the pastimes of Parikshit Maharaj and specifically that pastime by which his intelligence became fixed on the path to liberation by hearing the knowledge from Suta Goswami and thus he eventually attained the lotus feet of the Lord. So, here there is an interesting progression, there is knowledge, intelligence, the path to liberation and attainment of the Lord. So, knowledge is usually what we take in.
In 18.20-22, Krishna talks about knowledge in three modes and when he uses the word knowledge, ज्यान, he usually refers to how we are taking in information from the outer world, how we are perceiving the world, that is ज्यान, and after we get some knowledge, we are supposed to act on that knowledge. Now, whether we are able to wisely act on that knowledge, that is बुद्धी. So, suppose we get the knowledge that if I get the knowledge that I have got diabetes, then the intelligence will be that whenever I get some desserts, some sweet food, I refuse to take it.
So, knowledge is meant to be translated into intelligence in terms of action. So, Pariksit Maharaj got the knowledge from the words spoken by Suta Goswami. The source of knowledge is a knowledgeable person and their words.
So, from those words he got knowledge and by that his intelligence became fixed. On what? On the path to liberation. At every moment in life, we can choose many things to do.
We can watch a movie, read a newspaper, we can gossip, we can hear the Bhagavatam, we can serve Krishna. So, we have many choices. Now, all these paths, all these choices, we can envision them as paths and they will all take us to different destinations.
But if we hear regularly and our intelligence becomes fixed on the path to liberation, then we will move forward steadily. And that’s what will happen. Thus, just as Kagendra, just as he attained the lotus feet of Lord Hari, similarly, we can also attain the lotus feet of Lord Hari.
So, knowledge translated into intelligence leads us to an auspicious destination. And then the sages will conclude their request in the next verse. Tanna parampunyam asamrutartham parampunyam.
This narration is supremely beautiful. Asamrutartham. Asamrut means covered.
Asamrut means not covered. Artham means as it is. This means for whatever purpose it was spoken originally, we also want to hear it for that same purpose.
The Prabhupada says in the introduction of the Bhagavad Gita that he is writing his Gita commentary for the same purpose for which Krishna descended to the world and spoke the Gita. That is, to raise people’s consciousness towards spirituality, ultimately towards Krishna. So, just as Parikshit’s consciousness was raised towards Krishna by hearing Krishna Katha, similarly, we want to hear Krishna Katha, we want to hear the glories of Krishna as they are.
That means, so as it is, as it is does not necessarily mean repeating the same words. As it is means serving the same purpose. Asamrutartham, that artha, the purpose should be fulfilled, the same purpose.
Aakhyanam, that same pastime. Atyadbhuta yoga nishtham. That, it is a very wonderful pastime.
It is yoga nishtham, it is dedicated, permeated with the knowledge of yoga. The ultimate yoga is bhakti yoga. Aakhyaya ananta charitopappannam.
Aakhyaya. Please speak it. Ananta is the one who is unlimited.
Charitopappannam. Charita. We want to hear about his character, his activities.
Aakhyaya ananta charitopappannam. That, it is permeated, that pastime, those stories, those narratives which are permeated with the character and the activities of the unlimited. So, normally how do we come to know about a person’s character? It is by seeing their activities.
People’s actions reveal what is there in their heart. So, we understand the Lord’s charita by hearing his leela. So, you want to, please speak about this leela.
Parikshitam bhagavata abhiramam. Parikshitam. So, this narration was spoken to Parikshit and it is very dear to the bhagavatas.
So, we also want to hear it. Please speak this to us and thus help us also to attain Krishna the way Parikshit Maharaj attained Krishna. This is a very beautiful section in the Bhagavatam in which the sages so fervently and so learnedly express the glory of the speaker, express the glory of the subject, express the glory of the original audience of the subject, express their own desire to hear the subject and therefore they express that let this narrative be spoken again.