SB 01.09.43 – Devotional remembrance is the way out of the dark room to the light of Krishna’s love

Transcript

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Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.43 Suta Vacha krishnam evam bhagavati manovam drishti vritti bhi atmanyatmanam avesha so antah shvasu paramat So here Suta Goswami in this short small verse is describing the momentous event of Bhishma departing from the world by focusing on Bhishma’s absorption in Krishna. So krishnam evam bhagavati, Krishna who is the Supreme Lord Bhagavati who was present right in front of Bhishma now became also the internal meditation for Bhishma, complete absorption. He was offering prayers at that time Bhishma was aware that this Lord is present before me but as he was departing from the world his eyes closed and that Lord who had been present outside now became for him inside the object of complete absorption.
krishnam evam bhagavati manovam drishti vritti bhi So with his mind he had been thinking of Krishna, with his eyes he had been beholding and with his mouth he had been glorifying. vritti bhi, their inclinations, what did he do with them? atmanyatmanam avesha So avesha, he absorbed himself. Now Prabhupada used the word merged, that merging is more in terms of consciousness it’s not in terms of merging of existence.
It’s like a devotee is merged in ecstasy, that means so absorbed that one is not aware of anything else. So atmanyatmanam, that Supersoul, Supreme Lord who was also present inside him as a Supersoul. So he became absorbed.
So antahsvas uparamat and he took his breathing, antahsvas uparamat, it stopped. So actually this was the perfect departure from the world. And since time immemorial Bhishma has been considered to be ideal for how one can depart from this world.
And Haridas Thakur’s departure was similarly glorious. And we can also pray that we may also be able to similarly depart. Now we may not have Krishna right present in front of us but what makes Bhishma Pitamah’s departure most glorious is not just that Krishna was present in front of us, in front of him but also that he was absorbed in Krishna completely.
Without being absorbed in Krishna even if Krishna is present in front of us there will be benefit but that benefit will be limited. That benefit will at the most take us to the Brahman as happens to those who are killed by Krishna or killed in the presence of Krishna. But if you want to go back to the spiritual world, the eternal abode then we need more than just absorption in Krishna just the presence of Krishna externally we need our absorption in him internally.
And only when that is there then we can actually move forward and go deeper and deeper within him. So Krishna evam bhagavate that this is actually Krishna who is the Supreme Lord and that Supreme Lord just as he was present for Bhishma is also present for us as his holy name and as his many other manifestations, his deities and his various other special manifestations. So what is being told over here is that we can all aspire for that inner absorption in Krishna.
Krishna evam bhagavate and how can we aspire for that absorption? By trying to be absorbed as much as possible when we have the opportunity to cultivate his remembrance. So Krishna is always there and is always eager waiting for us in our own heart for us to turn towards him and whenever we have the opportunity to practice devotional service we are sending a message to Krishna. Krishna either if we are attentive and eager then we are saying Krishna, Krishna I want you I am longing for you and when we are not attentive and eager we are sending the other message that is Krishna I just want to go through the motions enough so that I am not considered deviated or fallen but giving my heart to you can wait.
We cannot get the reward of love without the offering of love. Love is an emotion that can be experienced only when it is offered especially when it is Krishna’s love to the extent we turn our focus towards him to the extent we can relish his love although he loves us always just as the sun always gives light but one who lives in a closed room cannot perceive the sun similarly as long as we live within the closed room of our material attachments we cannot perceive the love of Krishna and that opportunity to come out of the closed dark room presents itself to us every time we have the opportunity to practice devotional service and every time we grab that opportunity by absorbing ourselves in the remembrance of Krishna.