The Bhagavatam’s Speaker and Subject are Radically Exalted – SB 1.2.1 – 1.2.8 | Bhagavatam Study | B

Transcript

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Hare Krishna Welcome back to the study of the first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. We will now begin with the second chapter of the first canto which is entitled by Srila Prabhupada as Divinity and Divine Service.
Vyasa Vacha Iti Samprishna Sambhrishtho Vipranamra Maharshini Pratipojyavachastesham Pravaktu Upachakrame So, Vyasa Vacha So Vyasadeva is narrating this, is speaking this. Vyasadeva is the overall author overall narrator of the Bhagavatam. He put it down, the narration in written form.
So he is the author. Iti Samprishna Sambhrishtho Being satisfied with these questions Vipranamra Maharshini The questions of Vipras Ramaharshini was satisfied. Pratipojyavachastesham And offering, thanking them for their words.
Pravaktu Upachakrame He attempted to speak. So the setting is that the sages are gathered at Namesharanya and they have asked several important questions to to Suta Goswami and those questions are now being answered by Suta Goswami. So, it is described over there.
Now, generally there are the questions which reveal the level of the questioner. So the questions which have been asked over here are profound. And seeing this profound level of questions the sages have become satisfied.
They have become pacified. They have become The sages themselves are alive and all. These are good questions that have been asked.
But most important, the sages are going to answer the question. Suta Goswami is especially gratified because these are very insightful questions. He is satisfied and now he after offering due respect to the questioner begins to answer the question.
So, he begins first by offering obeisances to his spiritual master, Suta Vacha. Suta Vacha It’s a very amazing glorification that is offered over here. Normally speaking if somebody is going to be a speaker and we are going to introduce the speaker we would talk about how that person who got say, has got a degree from here, a doctorate from there, has got this award.
So we talk about the qualifications of that person, but would we introduce someone, oh this person is a college dropout, or worse still he is a school dropout. This person did not get any education at all. Normally speaking, even if it were true, we would not talk about it, we would leave it for the people to infer whatever they wanted to infer, but here it’s so amazing that Siddha Goswami is glorifying his spiritual master by saying, YAMPRAVRAJANTAM ANUPETAMA PETHAKRITYAM So who is this, I offer my obeisance to that person, ANUPETAMA PETHAKRITYAM, he did not perform any purificatory rituals, and no samskaras were performed for him.
Normally a person, for whom samskaras are not performed, is considered to be uncivilised, and in the Vedic tradition, Vedic culture, if such a person is there, that person is considered to be a low level person. So now why is it being stated over here that, oh he is a person who did not perform any purificatory rituals. The point is, that he is so great, so advanced, so transcendental, that no purificatory rituals are required for him.
YAMPRAVRAJANTAM ANUPETAMA PETHAKRITYAM DVAIPAYANO VIRAHAKATARA AJUHAVA DVAIPAYANO, DVAIPAYA in Vyasadeva is being referred to as VIRAHAKATARA. VIRAH, separation, KATARA. One who is afflicted by separation from you, AJUHAVA, AJUHAVA, he called out.
And what happened when he called out? PUTRAITI TANMAITAYA TARAVO BHINEDAS PUTRAITI, oh my son, please come. PUTRAITI TANMAITAYA TANMAITAYA So, when he called out, TANMAI, his consciousness completely absorbed in him. TARAVO BHINEDAS, TARAVO, so when he called out, normally speaking, so again, another point of glorification is being talked about over here.
It’s normal human culture that if somebody calls out to me, I should turn around and at least acknowledge. Yes, what can I do for you? That’s what normally we would do. Again, would we glorify someone? Oh, this person, when somebody calls him out, he does not respond only.
What kind of glorification is this? So, the point again is to recognise that he was so transcendental. He was so transcendental that he had no attachment, no affection. Now, further it’s being said over here, it’s not just suppose some stranger is calling us and we feel that the stranger may just be a nuisance, then we may not respond to that person’s call.
But, if it’s a familiar person calling, then we would normally respond. Especially if a father is calling out to a son, it’s a matter of basic human culture to respond. But if the father calls and the son doesn’t respond, we wonder what is going on.
What kind of son is this? And further, if the son doesn’t respond, and we would say, at the very least, the son is a very absent-minded person. That would be a charitable way of saying it. Maybe the son is lost in his own thoughts, that’s why he did not respond.
The more cutting response would be that, you know, how insensitive, how disrespectful. If we call someone and that person doesn’t respond itself, it’s very strange. But again, here, Suta Goswami is glorifying Shukadeva Goswami as पुत्रेति तन्मै तयाता रवो भी लेधस। That when his father, Vyasadev, called out to him, the only response was the echoes of the trees.
So, now the echoes of the trees could mean that his sound went to the trees and it echoed back. Or it could also mean the trees were also calling out. The trees were echoing his call in the sense that his call was recussiating back from the trees.
Or they were echoing the calling, they were reiterating his call. And the second meaning that they were reiterating his call is hinted by, तम् व्यास सुनुं भुदयम् तम् व्यासर्व भूतर दयम् मुदिमान तोस्मी तम् सर्व भूतर दयम् And to that being who is in the hearts of all living beings. तम् सर्व भूतर दयम् So, he enters into the heart of all living beings because of his non-enviousness, because of his compassion, because of his loving nature, he endears himself to all living beings.
And therefore, तम् व्यासर्व भूतर दयम् मुदिमान तोस्मी I offer my obeisances. So again, the point of the Bhagavatam which is mentioned in the second verse धर्म कैतव उत्तर परमो निर्मत्सर नामस्ताम So, धर्म प्रोजित कैतव उत्तर So, just as the Bhagavatam rejects conventional notions of dharma calling them as subordinate dharma or even cheating religion कैतव So, similarly, the Bhagavatam’s primary speaker flouts and transcends normal notions of respectivity and that is his glory So, the Bhagavatam’s glory is what? That its speaker transcends that speaker doesn’t care for normal conventions and that is mentioned in two ways that the speaker did not talk for normal education did not bother about normal rituals of purification and did not even respond to a normal call So, how utterly transcendent he was how utterly detached from the world he was that is being depicted So, sometimes the glorification of a person can be done in normal way Oh, he did this and suppose you want to glorify a learned person he has got this degree and he has won this award and he has written this book We can talk about various various accomplishments but sometimes just one vision one image can capture the accomplishment of a person in a poignant way So, for example say there is a famous author and that author wins a Nobel Prize and just that person is receiving a Nobel Prize one image is there now that one image can speak a lot we don’t have to tell other things also that image can convey a lot similarly this verse when it is glorifying Suta Goswami it just draws one image one scene from his life is depicted through this verse to bring out the glory of Suta Goswami how extraordinary is this person that without caring for education without caring for purification without caring for normal family reciprocation just renounce the world in the pursuit of the Absolute so that that Shukdev that Shukdev Munimaan I offer my obeisances so such is the right in the beginning itself Suta Goswami is glorifying his guru in such an extraordinary way thereby conveying to us the extraordinariness of the message that is going to follow so it’s the third text now further his glory is being described over here so Shukdev Goswami’s glory is being described by his disciple Suta Goswami he has Svanubhavam Svanubhavam by his own personal experience by his realisation Akhim Shruti Saram Ekam the question had been asked what is the essence of all the scriptures Saram please tell us the essence of the scriptures so he is saying that this great sage Akhim Shruti Saram Ekam he has understood the one essence of all the scriptures Adhyatma Deepam Akhitirishitam Tamandham Adhyatma Deepam Adhyatma so Adhyatma Deepam refers to the point here that actually effulgent what was effulgent about him effulgence about him was his he was like he was himself like a light or he offered the light Adhyatma Deepam Deepa the torch light of transcendental wisdom transcendental knowledge Akhitirishitam Tamandham Tamandham the darkness of ignorance for transcending Akhitirishitam Samsarinam Karunaya Apuran Guhiyam Samsarinam for those who are trapped in Samsara Karunaya Apuran Guhiyam Karunaya out of compassion for them Apuran Guhiyam he offered this very confidential Apuran very special Apuran he offered to them he taught them what is the nature of this Apuran Tam what is the nature of that person Tam Vyasa Sunu Upayami Guru Muninam and to that Vyasa Sunu the son of Vyasa Dev Upayami I offer my respects I bow down to him Guru Muninam he is the guru of the sages so in this verse the glory his glory is described by that for people who are Samsari trapped in their existence out of his compassion he offered the torch light of transcendental knowledge Karunayaha Apuran Guhiyam and that is the confidential Apuran and Akhila Shruti Sar the confidential Apuran which is the it’s interesting Shruti Sar it is the Sar of the Shrutis Shrutis are the Vedas and it is the Sar of this so in this way he is further glorifying so the previous verse talked about how his personal qualities and this verse talked about his gift the big benediction that he has given in terms of revealing this great Apuran so 1.2.4 then he offers obeisances to others Narayanam Namaskritya Naramchaiva Narottamam Devim Sarasvathim Vyasam Thoujaya Mudhirayet Narayanam Namaskritya and to Narayan I offer my obeisances means I offer my obeisances to Narayan Naramchaiva Narottamam and Nara Narottama so here it’s referring to Naranarayan Rishis now if we there are various traditions there are various lineages in which the Bhagavatam has come down and one of the lineages is that which comes down from Naranarayan Rishi so Devim Sarasvathim Vyasam so under Sarasvathim Devi she is the goddess of learning and her blessings are required if any learned endeavour is to meet with success and then further it is stated over here Vyasam Vyasa is of course the foremost of the Vedic preceptors and it is to him so now that here the obeisances are being offered and then it says and speak that which will conquer so the message that is going to be spoken that is going to conquer our illusion and in order to speak this is a great message I seek blessings of my elders and those elders whose blessings he is going to seek he talks he mentions over here first after in two verses talking about his foremost spiritual mentor from who at the Bhagavatam then he talks about Narayana Rishi Saraswati Devi and the and Vyasadevi and then he moves on in 1.5 1.2.5 Munaya Sadhu Krishnoham Bhavadbir Loka Mangalam Yatkruta Krishna Samprashno Yena Atma Suprasidati Munaya Sadhu Krishnoham Munaya O Sage is Sadhu Krishnoham Sadhu Krishnoham is good any good questions have been asked over here Munaya Sadhu Krishnoham Bhavadbir Loka Mangalam the question which you have asked Loka Mangalam actually great good of all living beings will happen by that Yatkruta Krishna Samprashno by such questions about Krishna what happens Yena Atma Suprasidati by such questions about Krishna Atma Suprasidati one gets innermost happiness one’s very soul becomes filled becomes satisfied becomes enriched becomes enlivened and that is the perfection of life so the highest satisfaction will come through such questions so sometimes when questions are asked if the question is very good the speaker feels pleased because he feels satisfied because now the speaker can talk about an important subject in a way that is relevant to the audience normally the speaker may talk about an important subject but the audience may not feel the relevance but if somebody from the audience asks a question then that asking the question itself indicates the relevance because at least that person that questioner feels that it’s relevant and if it’s not just some abstract question about some technicality but it’s a question of urgent practical relevance then what happens by that one becomes very pleased speaker becomes pleased speaker answers the question so that’s what is happening here speaker Suta Goswami has become very pleased with this question and then he answers so actually the answers begin from the next text so this is one two six celebrated verse from the Shri Bhagavatam this is one of this verse actually underscores the universality of the message of the Bhagavatam paro dharmo paro dharmo the supreme dharma now the supreme dharma here refers what is that paro supreme dharma by which bhakti is performed what kind of bhakti adhoksha jaya adhoksha jaya means unto the lord who is adhaakshaya who is beyond sense perception ahai tukhi apratihata ahai tukhi apratihata that lord who is ahai tukhi and apratihata that bhakti which is uninterrupted and unmotivated ahai tukhi priyatma suprasidati this actually satisfies the heart of a person what the verse is underscoring is if you want satisfaction in life we cannot get it very easily to get satisfaction we need to offer pure love there are several important points in this verse parodharma the bhagavatam raises itself above all sectarianism by giving a non sectarian criteria for the topmost religion it doesn’t say that say hindus hinduism christianity or whatever is the supreme topmost religion it says that which is the topmost religion that which actually leads to purification that which leads to the purification by which one comes to the level of pure love so so again that means even if comes from whatever specific path and follows if one comes to the level of pure love that is the purpose and perfection of religion and so parodharma is once it talks about universality of the transcendental religion and further adhoksha generally it talks about that invisibility and to some extent inconceivability normally when you want to love someone we want to see that person now people see each other and often it is love at first sight so the idea is that there is sight and then there is love but the point which is made here is that actually that this lord is beyond sight adhoksha adhoksha means he who is beyond the sense perception aksha is eyes ja is born of aksha ja is the knowledge that is born of the eyes that means knowledge that comes from visual perception adha aksha ja adha means to push down so that lord who pushes down the knowledge that is born from sense perception that means that lord is beyond knowledge of sense perception such a lord what happens about what is talking about him such a lord it is he who is being worshipped over here it is he who is being glorified over here it is he who is being celebrated and cherished over here as the supreme being adha aksha ja so the inconceivability of this love is that although he is beyond sight we can actually develop love that is that is beyond normal conceptions of love normally whatever relationship we have they are motivated and they are interrupted there is a particular purpose for which we develop the relationship and when that purpose is no longer being served or that purpose is fulfilled we feel what is the need for that relationship now but ahaitukiya pratihata that actually speaking there is no interruption there is no motivation and then nayatma suprasidati such a practise will actually satisfy the heart so that now the previous verse also said that it will satisfy the heart this also says satisfy the heart but the previous verse is saying that such questions will satisfy the heart but now the questions will satisfy the heart in what sense the answers to those questions will satisfy the heart and what answer will satisfy the answer that we have to develop pure love in order to attain perfection in our life and that’s what is talked about over here so next verse goes on vasudeve bhagavati bhakti yoga prayojitaha janayatyasya vairagyam jnanam jayadahai tukamu vasudeve bhagavati beautiful verse this is somebody asked this question suta goswami speaking to all these sages and they are all of different orientations it’s not that all of them are devotees so vasudeve bhagavati vasudeve bhagavati so unto that all-pervading lord so the question may come up that yeah you are saying bhakti is the highest but actually jnan and vairagya is only going to come for someone who has got bhakti bhakti yoga prayojitaha bhakti yoga if one practises bhakti one applies bhakti to one’s supreme lord janayatyasya vairagyam janayaty actually is born very quickly ashvairagyam soon vairagyam vairagyam enunciation is born and jnanam chayada haithukam and knowledge is also born haithukam means it is not motivated material it is transcendental knowledge so sir radhu is stating that so normal conception of people is that oh to advance spiritually to transcend the world you have to develop knowledge and renunciation the bhagavatam says yes these are important but they are not the they are not the most important transcendence actually they are byproduct of bhakti so vasudeva bhagavati this verse actually also conveys a conjugal metaphor that unto that supreme lord vasudeva bhakti yoga prayojita so when bhakti is offered to the lord so bhakti is our heart’s love when we offer our heart’s love to the lord what happens at that time that offering of bhakti to the lord leads to the birth of two children in a famous narrative in the puranas it is stated about how bhakti devi had two children and kaliyuga these two children had become old and bhakti is young but her children have become old and initiated so those two children are gyana and vairagya so the idea is that gyana and vairagya cannot be independently cultivated in this world but bhakti can be cultivated and gyana and vairagya will follow so the point is that there is no need to pursue gyana and vairagya separately gyana and vairagya will both come when there is bhakti so here the possible concern or possible objection is anticipated and responded to that bhakti is supreme gyana and vairagya are important but they will come automatically there is no need to separately endeavour for them in the eighth text dharma svanishtita pumsam vishwakse na katha suyaha noth padhe yadhiratim shramaye vahi kevalam dharma svanishtita pumsam dharma that dharma which is our individual practise svanishtita pumsam svanishtita that dharma which each of us is practising according to our nature pumsam vishwakse na katha suyaha vishwakse na katha suyaha so actually speaking different people have different dharma svanishtita means that when a person dharma brahmachari dharma brahmana dharma shudra dharma or whatever dharma is there vishwakse na katha suyaha if one does not direct himself to the supreme lord vishwakse na if one does not become attracted to the katha of vishwakse na na otpada ye yadiratim if one does not develop rati for him then shrama eva he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he for the maintenance of social harmony, for the maintenance of family but from the ultimate point of view they in themselves do not lead to any lasting gain for that we need to connect with the Lord for that we need to devote ourselves to the Lord and that, becoming devoted to the Lord is what is stressed in this text but unless we devote ourselves to Him we cannot actually become satisfied we cannot actually become purified we cannot actually become liberated and that’s why it’s शिरमाने वही केवलं it’s actually a waste of time this theme will be explored further repeatedly in the Bhagavatam where normal hierarchies will be reversed and normal conventions of superiority and inferiority will be challenged time and time again where for example, Uttarasura demon is revealed to be greater than Indra devata or the other Brahmin patnis are considered to be higher than their husbands and more spiritually evolved than their husbands so like that, Bali Maharaja, Durvasa Muni a Brahmana is shown as less self-controlled than Ambarish Maharaj who is a Kshatriya and who is a Grahastha as contrasted to Durvasa Muni who is a Sanyasi so this theme will be illustrated again and again in the stories of the Bhagavatam but this theme is again, in this particular context it is continuing how Bhakti is the highest so in the sixth verse it is stated Bhakti is the highest Dharma and what about Jnana and Vairagya that was the answer in the seventh text and they will automatically come by Bhakti and what about one’s duty one’s prescribed duty if it does not lead to Bhakti it is just a useless labour in this way the paramount significance of Bhakti is being unambiguously unequivocally uncompromisingly emphasised by Shukadeva Swami we will continue our discussion in our future talks Thank you