Hare Krsna,

It is exciting to be back to the regular study of Srimad Bhagavatam in the association of sincere, dedicated, and like-minded devotees and teachers.

This is it! After hearing about the Supreme Lord’s greatness through the previous nine subject matters of Srimad Bhagavatam (sarga, visarga, sthana, posana, uti, manvantara, isanukatha, nirodha and mukti), Sukadeva Goswami and Pariksit Maharaja finally takes us into the 10^th topic – Asraya (the Transcendence, the summum bonum, the supreme shelter – Lord Sri Krsna). Its like climbing nine peaks on the path to finally conquer the highest peak of Srimad Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam accepts Sri Krsna as the shelter of all manifestations because Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate source of everything, the supreme goal of all.

SB 1.1.3: “O expert and thoughtful men, relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore, this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarian juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.”

We are finally blessed to taste the sweet fruit of Lord Krsna’s pastimes. Sukadeva Goswami and Pariksit Maharaja have made the fruit more tasteful for all of us by churning the ocean of Lord Krsna’s opulence and greatness in the previous nine cantos. We cannot appreciate Krsna’s sweetness without fully understanding His greatness and supreme position. The most merciful Sukadeva Goswami churned Pariksit Maharaja’s heart to such a degree that he (Pariksit Maharaja) can no longer wait to take us into the sweetest (and most confidential) pastimes of Lord Krsna, beginning from His birth.

“The First and Second Cantos of the Bhagavatam are Sri Krsna’s lotus feet. The Third and Fourth Cantos are His thighs. The Fifth Canto is His navel. The Sixth Canto is His chest. The Seventh and Eighth Cantos are His arms. The Ninth Canto is His throat. The Tenth Canto is His beautiful lotus-face. The Eleventh Canto is His forehead. The Twelfth Canto is His head. I bow down to that Lord, the ocean of mercy whose colour is like that of a tamala tree and who appears in this world for the welfare of all. I worship Him as the bridge for crossing the unfathomable ocean of material existence. The Bhagavatam has appeared as His very Self.” (Padma Purana)

We are finally blessed to see the beautiful lotus-face of Krsna through the eyes (narration) of Sukadeva Goswami and intelligent questions by Pariksit Maharaja.

How are we supposed to taste the nectarian beauty and sweetness of Lord Krsna’s pastimes? This is provided in the famous verse of SB 10.1.4:

“Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparā system, that is, it is conveyed from the spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self”?

Even the gopis of Vraja recommend this. One of the songs of Gopi-geet is:

“The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly, those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.” (SB 10.31.9)

The Lord mercifully incarnated in this material world and performed innumerable pastimes for the benefit of suffering conditioned souls. Hearing of such pastimes produced the medicine that cures the material disease of forgetfulness of God.

Let us all open our hearts to invite Lord Krsna into our hearts. Our dear teachers are kindly guiding us how to do that through a reminder post this morning.

“Recollection, absorption, meditation, constant remembrance and trance are the five items of progressive At first, remembrance of Kṛṣṇa may be interrupted at intervals, but later remembrance proceeds uninterrupted. When remembrance is uninterrupted, it becomes concentrated and is called meditation. kṛṣṇa-smaraṇa. “When meditation expands and becomes constant, it is called By uninterrupted and unceasing one enters the stage of or spiritual trance. After sor has fully developed, the soul comes to understand his original constitutional position. At that time he can perfectly and clearly understand his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That is called , the perfection of life.” (NOI 8, purport)

anusmṛti. anusmṛti samādhi, maraṇa-daśā samādhisampatti-daśā

SB 1.2.17: Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Chapter 8 explains the manifestation of Lord Brahma from Garbhodakasayi Visnu. The highlight of the chapter is Brahma’s beautiful darshan of Lord Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Visnu was looking splendorous with His shining bodily luster, ornaments, moonlike toenails, yellow cloth, Srivatsa mark on the chest and so on. He acknowledged the service of His devotees with His enchanting smile that vanquished their distress.

In the next chapter, Brahma began to offer heartfelt prayers to the Lord seeking empowerment to carry out his service of creation from the ingredients created by the Lord already. In brief, Brahma prayed, “O Lord, You are the supreme knowable object having the most auspicious form. You dwell in the hearts of those devotees who smell the aroma of Your lotus feet and see You in their favorite forms, through their ears (i.e., by hearing the scriptures). Please protect me from the false pride of being the creator. May I not get deviated from the Vedic injunctions. You are unlimitedly merciful. Please bestow Your benedictions upon me by opening Your lotus eyes.” (SB 3.9.1-5)

Lesson: We must pray for empowerment to serve the Lord and be fearful of maya in the form of false pride and deviation from transcendental teachings.

Brahma then explained the predicament of the conditioned souls (how misidentification with ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ causes anxiety). He offers obeisances to the merciful holy name.

“Let me take shelter of the lotus feet of Him whose incarnations, qualities and activities are mysterious imitations of worldly affairs. One who invokes His transcendental names, even unconsciously, at the time he quits this life, is certainly washed immediately of the sins of many, many births and attains Him without fail.” (SB 3.9.15)

Lord Visnu speaks to Brahma, “Do not be anxious and depressed about the execution of creation. By performing austerity, you will receive My favor and thus understand within your heart, everything you need to know about creating all the universal manifestations. Since your mind is fixed on Me, passion with not bind you. I quickly fulfill all the desires of one who prays regularly like you. Following My instructions, you may now generate the living beings as they had existed before in various bodily forms.

Lesson: All we need is willingness and sincerity to serve the Lord. We must pray for empowerment. The Lord gives us the necessary empowerment to serve.

Chapters 10 and 11 are quite technical in nature and talk about the sequence of creation beginning from the fourteen worlds, characteristics and division of time, ten types of creation and so on.

Chapter 12 explains Brahma’s creation of five features of ignorance, creation of the four Kumaras, creation of Rudra, and so on. One special episode in this chapter is the Vak episode when during his creative affairs, Brahma once got attracted to his daughter Vak, though she wasn’t welcoming of his advances. Seeing Brahma deluded in this way, his sons headed by Marici, prayed to the Supreme Lord. Eventually Brahma came to his senses and felt ashamed of delusional state. He gave up this shameful mentality and felt remorseful.

This has an important lesson for us. The above incident demonstrates the strength of sexual impulse and emphasizes the need to be prayerful to the Lord for protection from lust. Despite this episode, one shouldn’t minimize the position of Lord Brahma or disrespect him. Brahma’s power of creation in the service of the Supreme Lord did not diminish due to his momentary distraction. He was a soul surrendered to Krsna and engaged in His service.

Lesson: The status of exalted personalities is not diminished by apparent transgression of morality. The Lord sometimes imparts important lessons to us through them. It teaches us that one could be victimized by the attraction to opposite gender at any time in this world, so one needs to be extremely cautious and take shelter of the Lord at all times.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Realizations from Chapters 5 through 7:

1. Without the Lord’s empowerment and intervention, no action or transformation in the universe is possible.

In the 5^th chapter, Maitreya first elaborately described the creation of the material universe. In the course of creation, the gross and subtle material elements once formed were meant to combine together to form the universe and different bodies within it. But the elements couldn’t do so without the Lord’s help.

SB 3.5.23 & 26: The Personality of Godhead, the master of all living entities, existed prior to the creation as one without a second. It is by His will only that creation is made possible and again everything merges in Him. This Supreme Self is symptomized by different names. The Supreme Living Being in His feature as the transcendental puruṣa incarnation, who is the Lord’s plenary expansion, impregnates the material nature of three modes, and thus by the influence of eternal time the living entities appear.

• Eagerness to serve Krsna and willingness to cooperate with Krsna’s devotees attract the mercy of Krsna.

During the process of creation, the presiding deities of various material elements began to offer prayers to Lord Maha Visnu:

“O Lord, Your lotus feet are like an umbrella for the surrendered souls, protecting them from all the miseries of material existence. All the sages under that shelter throw off all material miseries. We therefore offer our respectful obeisances unto Your lotus feet.  (SB 3.5.39)

O Father, O Lord, O Personality of Godhead, the living entities in the material world can never have any happiness because they are overwhelmed by the three kinds of miseries. Therefore, they take shelter of the shade of Your lotus feet, which are full of knowledge, and we also thus take shelter of them. (SB 3.5.40)

The lotus feet of the Lord are by themselves the shelter of all places of pilgrimage. The great clear-minded sages, carried by the wings of the Vedas, always search after the nest of Your lotus-like face. Some of them surrender to Your lotus feet at every step by taking shelter of the best of rivers [the Ganges], which can deliver one from all sinful reactions. (SB 3.5.41)

Simply by hearing about Your lotus feet with eagerness and devotion and by meditating upon them within the heart, one at once becomes enlightened with knowledge, and on the strength of detachment one becomes pacified. We must therefore take shelter of the sanctuary of Your lotus feet. (SB 3.5.42)

O Lord, persons who, because of their serious attitude, attain the stage of enlightened devotional service achieve the complete meaning of renunciation and knowledge and attain the Vaikuṇṭhaloka in the spiritual sky simply by drinking the nectar of Your topics. (SB 3.5.46)

• Krsna bhakti mitigates all miseries:

In SB 3.5.10-16, Vidura expresses the power of Krsna-katha. He says that being devoid of the nectar of Krsna’s pastimes, the lesser topics like the higher and lower status of human society have not satisfied him. Who in human society can be fully satiated with hearing the talks of the Lord who is worshipped by great devotees? Such topics can cut off one’s bondage simply by entering the holes of one’s ears. Krsna-katha increases indifference to all other things and such remembrance of the lotus feet vanquishes all miseries without delay.

SB 3.5.13: For one who is anxious to engage constantly in hearing such topics, kṛṣṇa-kathā gradually increases his indifference towards all other things. Such constant remembrance of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa by the devotee who has achieved transcendental bliss vanquishes all his miseries without delay.

SB 3.5.15: O Maitreya, O friend of the distressed, the glories of the Supreme Lord can alone do good for people all over the world. Therefore, just as bees collect honey from flowers, kindly describe the essence of all topics — the topics of the Lord.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Chapters 1 through 4 have a number of important lessons for us.

1. Conversation with great souls is always beneficial for our spiritual progress and for the welfare of humanity. Pariksit Maharaja earnestly asked Sukadeva Goswami about the discussion between Maitreya and Vidura. This shows that conversations between great men (Vidura and Maitreya) are a subject of deep interest for other men.

SB 3.1.3-4: Text 3: The King asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī: Where and when did the meeting and discussion take place between Saint Vidura and His Grace Maitreya Muni? Kindly oblige, my lord, and describe this to us. Saint Vidura was a great and pure devotee of the Lord, and therefore his questions to His Grace Ṛṣi Maitreya must have been very purposeful, on the highest level, and approved by learned circles.

• Turning disappointment into inspiration to become absorbed in bhakti. Vidura was insulted by Duryodhana and driven away from the palace. Shockingly even Dhrtarastra did not stop Duryodhana. Pierced by the sharp words of Duryodhana, Vidura left his brother’s palace. He understood the influence of maya on arrogant Duryodhana who was heading towards his own ruination. At the same time, Vidura saw how the Lord was availing him the opportunity to absorb himself exclusively in bhakti. Great people convert causes of distress into opportunities to seek God’s shelter and purify themselves.

SB 3.1.19: While so traversing the earth, he (Vidura) simply performed duties to please the Supreme Lord Hari. His occupation was pure and independent. He was constantly sanctified by taking his bath in holy places, although he was in the dress of a mendicant and had no hair dressing nor a bed on which to lie. Thus he was always unseen by his various relatives.

• Remembrance in separation: Even in separation from Krsna, a devotee is in union with Krsna through remembrance and service. During his pilgrimage, Vidura met Uddhava and inquired about the wellbeing of the Yadus. Uddhava, lost in loving remembrance of Krsna in separation, remained silent. After coming back to external consciousness, he recollected the apparent contradictory behavior of Krsna. He briefly narrated all the enchanting pastimes of Krsna in Vrndavana, Mathura, Dvaraka, Hastinapure and so on.

SB 3.2.1: When the great devotee Uddhava was asked by Vidura to speak on the messages of the dearest [Lord Kṛṣṇa], Uddhava was unable to answer immediately due to excessive anxiety at the remembrance of the Lord.

SB 3.2.5: It was so observed by Vidura that Uddhava had all the transcendental bodily changes due to total ecstasy, and he was trying to wipe away tears of separation from his eyes. Thus Vidura could understand that Uddhava had completely assimilated extensive love for the Lord.

• Power of ajnata-sukrti: Sometimes we accumulate pious credits even unknowingly and thus become fortunate to see and hear from great souls, as was the case with Maitreya Rsi.

SB 3.4.9: At that time, after traveling in many parts of the world, Maitreya, a great devotee of the Lord and a friend and well-wisher of the great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, reached that spot out of his own perfect accord.

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport that “To meet the Lord is not an ordinary incident. Maitreya was a great sage and a learned scholar-philosopher but not a pure devotee of the Lord, and therefore his meeting with the Lord at that time may have been due to ajñāta-sukṛti, or some unknown devotional service. Pure devotees always engage in pure devotional activities, and therefore their meeting with the Lord is natural. But when those who are not up to that standard meet the Lord, it is due to the unforeseen fortune of accidental devotional service.”

Therefore, performance of bhakti never goes to waste, even if performed unknowingly or meagerly.

• Etiquette of seeking and giving knowledge: Vidura expressed this desire to hear from Uddhava the self-knowledge that he had received from Krsna. But Uddhava, although competent, couldn’t accept elderly Vidura as a disciple, especially when Maitreya was nearby. He was careful about maryada-vyatikrama or the offense of surpassing a greater personality. Uddhava guided Vidura to elderly Maitreya who was also directly instructed by Krsna. A sincere seeker is eager to receive spiritual knowledge even from younger persons if they are well qualified. A humble person does not consider one’s ability to be one’s eligibility. He or she does not become greedy to instruct an elder, especially in the presence of another qualified senior.
  
  

SB 3.4.25-26: Vidura said: O Uddhava, because the servants of Viṣṇu, the Lord, wander in the interest of serving others, it is quite fit that you kindly describe the self-knowledge with which you have been enlightened by the Lord Himself. Śrī Uddhava said: You may take lessons from the great learned sage Maitreya, who is nearby and who is worshipable for reception of transcendental knowledge. He was directly instructed by the Personality of Godhead while He was about to quit this mortal world.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The ultimate goal of life is to always remember Krsna and never forget Him for even a moment.

“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.” (SB 2.1.6)

“At the ultimate issue, when one is fully absorbed in thought of the Supreme Lord and meditates on Him constantly, that is the highest perfection.” (SB 3.33.24-26 P)

This state of consciousness is only possible by serious execution of devotional service. Therefore, we have the nine types of devotional service (hearing, chanting, remembering, etc.) that help us to progressively remember the Supreme Lord to the point that one is able to remember Him at every moment – just like Mother Devahuti did. Srila Prabhupada once said to his disciples, “There was never a moment when I forgot Krishna.” (Srila Prabhupada Nectar by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami)

To reach such a platform of constant remembrance of the Lord, we have to follow the instructions of Lord Kapila as He taught Mother Devahuti. Firstly, one must be free from material entanglement through proper understanding of the distinction between matter and spirit (Sankhya philosophy). Secondly, one must follow the prescribed rules and regulations; our eating, sleeping, mating, and defending must be regulated.  I liked what Srila Prabhupada said, “Nothing is prohibited, but everything is made yukta, regulated, with the higher purpose always in mind.”

Life should be molded in such a manner that one is able to progressively remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every step of life.

This is a weird realization. Not to sound offensive or outlandish, I must say it was easier for Mother Devahuti to achieve the ultimate goal and final perfection because the conditions were in her favor. She was born in a glorious dynasty of Svayambhuva Manu; she had a great yogic husband in Kardama Muni, and had a Supreme Personality of Godhead as her son. Moreover she lived in Satya Yuga – the age of truth and pure goodness and complete Godliness. It was easy for her to meditate on her son, Kapiladeva who is also the Supreme Lord. She was not a sadhaka like me who is still trying to establish my sambandha with Krsna. Since time immemorial, I have forgotten Krsna due to my bad choices and enjoying mentality. She didn’t have to go through the struggles like I do.  Not to mention the fact I am dealing with the insurmountable influences of Kali-yuga. Long story short, conditions are stacked against me. Therefore, expecting us to attain the same perfection as Devahuti under totally different conditions and age is unfair.

We have to do what is recommended for this age of Kali-yuga. The teachings of Lord Kapiladeva are perfect and applicable for all ages. If I can follow His instructions along with the yuga-dharma of this age, I can aspire to attaining the ultimate perfection. There is no way I can do this with my own endeavor. I need the mercy of the Lord and His devotees. I must take shelter of the Holy Name. This is my only hope.

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (SB 12.3.51)

“It is impossible to overestimate the importance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, especially in this fallen age.” (SB 12.3.51 P) All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

To understand Devahuti’s later life, it is important to revisit Lord Kapila’s key instructions. I would like to highlight a few verses that summarize His teachings.

SB 3.25.20: “Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.”

SB 3.25.40: “Therefore persons whose minds are fixed on the Lord engage in the intensive practice of devotional service. That is the only means for attainment of the final perfection of life.”

SB 3.27.21-20: One can get liberation by seriously discharging devotional service unto Me and thereby hearing for a long time about Me or from Me. By thus executing one’s prescribed duties, there will be no reaction, and one will be freed from the contamination of matter. This devotional service has to be performed strongly in perfect knowledge and with transcendental vision. One must be strongly renounced and must engage in austerity and perform mystic yoga in order to be firmly fixed in self-absorption.”

SB 3.31.48: Endowed with right vision and strengthened by devotional service and a pessimistic attitude towards material identity, one should relegate his body to this illusory world through his reason. Thus one can be unconcerned with this material world.

In essence, Lord Kapiladeva recommends detachment and attachment. Detachment from material things and activities and intense attachment to the Supreme Lord through the process of devotional service (namely hearing, chanting and remembering).

In this chapter, we see that Devahuti accomplished all. She performed austerity, detachment, and attachment. Among the eight limbs of astanga-yoga taught by her son Lord Kapila, the stage of samadhi is the highest. This is the state where the mind is completely attached to the Lord. She practices samadhi in the opulent house of Kardama Muni. Due to intense austerity performed by her, her body gradually became thin, and she wore old garments.

She was also totally unattached to material comforts. The opulence of the house of Kardama Muni is unparalleled in this material world. It is mentioned that Kardama Muni’s household affairs were envied even by persons who travel in outer space refers to the denizens of heaven. Devahuti, being the daughter of Svayambhuva Manu, grew up in material opulence. Later her husband Kardama Muni built her an opulent palatial house by dint of his mystic yogic perfection and austerity. But she was completely detached from such material comforts. Material opulence meant nothing to her because of the intense separation she felt – first for her husband, and now for her illustrious son Lord Kapila. We also see in our lives that when we are in distress, material surroundings are not able to cheer us up. Devahuti was not at all sorry at giving up her material comforts, but she was very much aggrieved at the separation of her son. This shows that Devahuti got detached from material comforts and became attached to her son who was none other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“One can give up material attachment, therefore, only when one has attachment for the Supreme Person. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. Only when one actually has some taste for spiritual existence can he be reluctant to follow the materialistic way of life.” (SB 3.33.20 P)

This is a great lesson for us. Attachment for a material relation obliges one to remain in material existence, but the same attachment, when transferred to the Supreme Lord, brings one elevation to the spiritual world in the association of the Lord (SB 3.33.21 P). Because Devahūti was always absorbed in thought of Him, she was always Kṛṣṇa conscious. Her constant situation in Kṛṣṇa consciousness enabled her to be detached from hearth and home.

Similarly, unless we are able to transfer our attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no possibility of becoming freed from material attachment. All the empiric philosophical speculation, mystic yoga or astanga-yoga are useless if they do not lead to attachment to the Supreme Lord. Mere knowledge of matter and spirit is not enough. One must have right knowledge about the Supreme Lord, our relationship with Him (sambandha), our duties towards Him (abhideya), and the ultimate goal of life (prayojana). Therefore, both jnana and vairagya are equally important. Simply by performing bhakti-yoga, we can attain knowledge and detachment.

“The devotees adopt the devotional process: hearing about the Supreme Lord’s pastimes and glorifying His activities and thereby always remembering His beautiful eternal form. By rendering service, becoming His friend or His servant and offering Him everything that one possesses, one is able to enter into the kingdom of God. As it is said in Bhagavad-gītā, tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā: after discharging pure devotional service, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in fact, and thus one becomes eligible to enter into His association in one of the spiritual planets.” (SB 3.33.22 P)

Therefore, we need to perform intense bhakti for a long time, without desire for fruitive results, and nourished by hearing, chanting, and remembering about the Lord.

SB 3.27.28-29: My devotee actually becomes self-realized by My unlimited causeless mercy, and thus, when freed from all doubts, he steadily progresses towards his destined abode, which is directly under the protection of My spiritual energy of unadulterated bliss. That is the ultimate perfectional goal of the living entity. After giving up the present material body, the mystic devotee goes to that transcendental abode and never comes back.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

What I liked about Devahuti’s prayers is that she nailed down the essence of Lord Kapiladeva’s teachings. After hearing her son’s instructions, she got down to the most basic and most important lesson for all of us. And that is the glories of chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord. In her prayers to Lord Kapila, she glorified the Holy Name. This shows that the Supreme Lord and His Holy Name are non-different. When we glorify the Holy Name, it is same as glorifying the Supreme Lord in person, and vice versa. Lord Kapila preached pure devotional service. The essence of pure devotional service is the chanting of the Holy Name.

The chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord is applicable for all ages. Usually we know that the best form of sacrifice for the dark age of Kali Yuga is the chanting of the Holy Name. I was reflecting that the discussion between Lord Kapila and Devahuti happened sometime in Satya-yuga. She glorifies the Holy Name and this shows that the chanting of the Holy Name was prevalent even during Satya-yuga. In SB 12.3.52, it is mentioned, “Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.” If meditation on Visnu was the main form of sacrifice in Satya-yuga, why would people not take to the chanting of the Holy Name in that age since it is easier than intense meditation for prolonged time? I guess the devotees in those ages were mentally and physically very capable that it was possible for them to perform meditation. It is inconceivable to understand it while living in Kali-yuga.

 The chanting of the Holy Name surpasses all other qualifications to attain purity, perfection and self-realization. Srila Prabhupada explains that persons who are purified by the process of chanting and hearing become immediately eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices. What is even more amazing that even a dog-eater (low class person) becomes elegibile to perform Vedic sacrifices if he chants the Holy Name even once.

“To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person face to face, even a person born in a family of dog-eaters immediately becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him.” (SB 3.33.6)

This is the mercy of the Supreme Lord. This prayer of Devahuti is especially applicable for Kali-yuga because most people are meat-eaters and very sinful.

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (SB 12.3.51)

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, especially in this fallen age.

Next, Devahuti says that persons who chant the Holy Name of the Lord are worshipable.

“Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Āryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required.” (SB 3.33.8)

This is a bit hard for me to accept. How could one who chants the Holy Name must have executed all kinds of austerities, achieved all good manners of Aryams, bathed at all the holy places, and studied all the Vedas. I find it difficult to accept because I still struggle with inattentiveness while chanting. Going by the above verse, it means that since we are chanting the Holy Name in this life, we must have achieved all perfections in previous life. However considering that I am still very must conditioned by material modes, I find this statement difficult to accept. It could be true if we are talking about offenseless and pure chanting of the Holy Name.

Anyway leaving aside all doubts, it is important to accept the essence of Devahuti’s prayers – we must chant the Holy Name of the Lord always. The chanting becomes more effective if the Holy Name is received from a bonafide spiritual master through initiation.

“By the process of initiation by the spiritual master, a person is accepted as a brāhmaṇa in his purified state of chanting the holy name of the Lord. He then makes further progress to become a qualified Vaiṣṇava, which means that the brahminical qualification is already acquired.” (SB 3.33.6 Purport)

CC Madhya 6.242

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.’”

All glories to the chanting of the Holy Name! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

It is amazing to see the similarities between Lord Narayana’s instructions to Lord Brahma and Lord Kapila’s instructions to Mother Devahuti. In the last Catuh-sloki verse, Lord Narayana said, “A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly.” (SB 2.9.36). And here Lord Kapila says, “either by devotional service directly or by philosophical research, one has to find the same destination, which is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 3.32.32) This proves the eternality of the Supreme Lord and His message to the living entities. The Lord is eternal, the living entities are eternal, and the instructions of the Lord are also eternal. From time immemorial, living entities are bound up in this material energy, and the Lord appears again and again to send the same instruction. In BG 4.1 and 4.3, Lord Krsna tells Arjuna, “I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku. That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.”

Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Supreme Lord imparts His instructions through various processes. And of all the processes enunciated by Him, the best process is the devotional service unto Him. In the purport to SB 2.9.36 (the last Catuh sloki verse), Srila Prabhupada beautifully summarizes that the principles of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to the Lord, are apt in all circumstances, i.e., bhakti-yoga is recommended in all the revealed scriptures, it is performed by all authorities, it is important in all places, it is useful in all causes and effects, etc.

Devotional service is ahaituki apratihata (unmotivated and uninterrupted). Devotional service is recommended not only for human beings but also for non-human beings.

“Even the worms, birds and beasts are assured of elevation to the highest perfectional life if they are completely surrendered to the transcendental loving service of the Lord, so what to speak of the philosophers amongst the human beings?” (Garuda Purana)

In this chapter also Lord Kapila stresses that ultimately the Supreme Person is the destination of all different processes. Whether one follows karma-yoga, sankhya-yoga, jnana-yoga, dhyana-yoga, astanga-yoga, or bhakti-yogi, the end goal is the Supreme Person. Otherwise, it is all useless endeavor (srama eva hi kevalam). If one wants to understand the Absolute Truth in perfection, he must take to devotional service (Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti). An apt analogy is that most of us have a day job. Some of us work in a company, some run businesses or some are self-employed to earn our livelihood. If at the end of the day we do not get paid, all our efforts are useless. We have labored for nothing. Similarly, if the human life is not used for Krsna consciousness, our lives are wasted. Bhakti is the basic principle of all processes. Without bhakti, neither jnāna-yoga nor aṣṭāṅga-yoga can be successful, and unless one approaches Kṛṣṇa, the principles of self-realization have no ultimate destination.

The essence of Lord Kapiladeva instructions is that bhakti-yoga has two important limbs – attachment for the Supreme Lord and detachment from all material affinities. With the execution of devotional service, real knowledge develops, and one becomes detached from all material activities. In no other activity but devotional service is there such detachment from matter and attachment for the Supreme.

One can increase attachment to the Supreme Lord by nine different processes – hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the Lord, making friendship, praying, offering everything and serving the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, one can increase one’s detachments from material objects through the various instructions imparted by Lord Kapila in the previous chapters.

By following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master in conjunction with the principles of revealed scriptures, we will rise to the plane of complete knowledge and full detachment from the world of sense gratification.

SB 1.2.7: By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.

I also admired verses 34-36. It answers what are the various spiritual practices by which the Lord can be perceived?

SB 3.32.34-36: By performing fruitive activities and sacrifices, by distributing charity, by performing austerities, by studying various literatures, by conducting philosophical research, by controlling the mind, by subduing the senses, by accepting the renounced order of life, by performing the prescribed duties of one’s social order, by performing the different divisions of yoga practice, by performing devotional service, by exhibiting the process of devotional service containing the symptoms of both attachment and detachment, by understanding the science of self-realization, and by developing a strong sense of detachment, one who is expert in understanding the different processes of self-realization realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is represented in the material world as well as in transcendence.

This, in essence, summarizes Lord Kapiladeva’s instructions.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

SB 1.2.11

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.

SB 3.32.26

Lord Kapiladeva continued: The Supreme Personality of Godhead alone is complete transcendental knowledge, but according to the different processes of understanding He appears differently, either as impersonal Brahman, as Paramātmā, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead or as the puruṣa-avatāra.

Lord Krsna tells Arjuna in BG 4.11 that as all surrender unto Him, He rewards them accordingly. Everyone follows His path in all respects. Everyone is seeking Krsna in the different aspects of His manifestations. Krsna is all-pervading and He dwells within everything and everyone. Some seek Him directly and some, unaware of His personal form, seek Him indirectly. Krsna reciprocates with everyone equally in proportion to how they seek Him. Mainly Krsna, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is realized in three different aspects.

SB 1.2.11: Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.

Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan are qualitatively one and the same but just realized differently. The jnanis realize Him as impersonal Brahman, the yogis realize Him as Paramatma (Supersoul) situated within the heart, and the pure devotees realize Him as Bhagavan. Paramatma is the partial representation of the Personality of Godhead, and impersonal Brahman is the glowing effulgence of the Personality of Godhead, as the sun rays are to the sun-god. Those who are impersonalists and who want to commit spiritual suicide by merging into Him, Kṛṣṇa helps also by absorbing them into His effulgence. For those who are fruitive workers (that Lord Kapiladeva strongly discourages), the Lord awards the desired results of their prescribed duties, as the yajñeśvara; and those who are yogīs seeking mystic powers are awarded such powers.

“The infallible Personality of Godhead can manifest His body in different ways according to different modes of worship, just as the vaidūrya gem can manifest itself in various colors, such as blue and yellow.” (Narada Pancharatra)

In the context of the discussion between Lord Kapiladeva and Mother Devahuti in this chapter, Lord Kapiladeva is basically advising His mother that by bhakti, goals of other paths are also achieved. Because Bhagavan contains both Brahman and Paramatma, the realization of Bhagavan by bhakti includes the realizations of Paramatma and Brahma. On the other hand, by practicing jnana for Brahman, or yoga for Paramatma, one does not attain the position of an associate of the Lord, for this is nowhere stated in scriptures. In other words, He is requesting Mother Devahuti not to get distracted with other processes. Since she is already situated on the platform of bhakti-yoga, she need not try anything else. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is both invisible and visible, there are different features of the Lord. The Paramatma feature and Brahman feature are invisible, but the Bhagavan feature is visible. Only by practicing bhakti-yoga, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead fully. Unless, therefore, one comes to the highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all attempts remain imperfect, as is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10):

“Whether one is without desire [the condition of the devotees] or is desirous of all fruitive results or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection, culminating in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Lord Kapiladeva, however, acknowledges that there is one common requirement for all yoga practitioners to achieve their respective goals – complete detachment from matter. (SB 3.32.27) But those who are averse to Transcendence realize the Absolute Truth differently through mistaken speculation and thus to them everything appears false. (SB 3.32.28).

The Supreme Lord is the ultimate destination of all the processes but depending on the particular process one follows, one reaches a particular aspect of the Lord. Bhagavan realization by bhakti, also includes the realizations of the Lord’s Paramatma and Brahman features. Thus bhakti is the best path and Bhagavan realization is the ultimate. How does one attain this knowledge? Lord Kapiladeva answers it as well.

“This perfect knowledge can be achieved by a person who is already engaged in devotional service with faith, steadiness, and full detachment, and who is always absorbed in thought of the Supreme. He is aloof from material association.” (SB 3.32.30)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Conditioned living entities are called marginal energy of the Lord. The Supreme Lord is the energetic and we are the energies of the Lord. The Lord has two other energies  – internal (antaranga-sakti) and external (bahiranga-sakti). We are called marginal or tatashta sakti of the Lord because we are situated at the junction between spiritual energy and material energy. In other words, between spiritual realm and material real. Because the individual soul is apt to fall down sometimes under the clutches of māyā, it is called taṭastha-śakti. It is like the seashore or sea beach. There is a boundary between water and land. We have a choice whether we want to be with Krsna’s spiritual energy or His material energy. When we are covered by māyā, that is our jīva-bhūta stage, and when there is no more covering, that is brahma-bhūta stage. When we are Kṛṣṇa conscious, then we are brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), and when we are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, we are materially conscious, that is māyā”. ((Lecture on BG 7.4-5 — Bombay, March 30, 1971). Similarly, we have the free-will and the ability to choose between binding actions and transcendental actions. In order to make this choice correctly, we must be equipped with the right knowledge about the distinction between the two.

Lord Kapila, in this chapter, very elaborately instructs us about the difference between binding actions and transcendental actions.

SB 3.32.16: “Persons who are too addicted to this material world execute their prescribed duties very nicely and with great faith. They daily perform all such prescribed duties with attachment to the fruitive result.” This is binding action.

SB 3.32.22: “My dear mother, I therefore advise that you take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for His lotus feet are worth worshiping. Accept this with all devotion and love, for thus you can be situated in transcendental devotional service.” This is transcendental action.

Any action performed for the pleasure of Krsna is purely transcendental. Any action performed not for the pleasure of Krsna but for our own satisfaction – in the form of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and impersonal liberation – is binding. If we think that we will be able to become liberated from material entanglement by worshipping the demigods, we are wrong. Demigods cannot liberate us because they themselves are not liberated unlike the Supreme Lord Krsna. Brahma and Siva may be incarnations of the Supreme Lord in charge of the three different material modes of nature, but none of them is independent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, Lord Kapiladeva warns us not to fall into this trap. Neither the demigods can liberate us from the cycle of birth and death nor are their abodes (heavenly planets) free from birth, death, old age and disease. What is even more shocking is that Brahma himself comes back to the material world when re-creation of the material world happens.

Therefore Lord Kapiladeva, through his mother, instructs us that we should exclusively engage in devotional service to the Supreme Lord because only He can deliver us from the repeated cycle of birth and death. “All living entities other than the impersonalists and monists can directly take to devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become liberated by developing transcendental loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such devotional service develops in the degrees of thinking of the Supreme Lord as master, as friend, as son and, at last, as lover. These distinctions in transcendental variegatedness must always be present.” (SB 3.32.15 P)

As I mentioned in the previous forum post, we worshipped the demigods in our family because we didn’t know any better. Because of forgetfulness of Krsna for a very long time, we didn’t know that He is the Supreme Lord and the only worshipable object. It means that we worshipped the demigods and engaged in material actions due to ignorance. But once the light of Krsna consciousness dawned on us, by the mercy of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, we gradually gave up the worship of demigods and performance of fruitive actions and engaged instead in serving Krsna. From that perspective, it is obvious that unlimited living entities on this planet are engaged in binding actions and worship various demigods (or their own concocted gods) due to ignorance. They need to be informed that “in the material world there is nothing good; everything is bad due to its being contaminated by material nature. The materialists conclusions of good and bad, moral and immoral, etc., are simply mental concoction or sentiment. Actually there is nothing good in the material world. In the spiritual field everything is absolutely good. There is no inebriety in the spiritual varieties.” (SB 3.32.24 P)

Therefore, spreading the message of Krsna consciousness is so urgent in this world that the conditioned living entities must be saved from the dark well of ignorance. If each one of us took responsibility to save at least one person from material bondage and situate him in Krsna consciousness, we would have done a great service to Srila Prabhupada who appeared to deliver the fallen souls.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!