Causelessmercy - Ebook - Srimad-Bhagavatam - Canto 1 - 3.2

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 1: “Creation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Three

SB1.3.29

TEXT 29

janma guhyam bhagavato

ya etat prayato narah

sayam pratar grnan bhaktya

duhkha-gramad vimucyate

SYNONYMS

janma—birth; guhyam—mysterious; bhagavatah—of the Lord; yah—one; etat—all these; prayatah—carefully; narah—man; sayam—evening; pratah—morning; grnan—recites; bhaktya—with devotion; duhkha-gramat—from all miseries; vimucyate—gets relief from.

TRANSLATION

Whoever carefully recites the mysterious appearances of the Lord, with devotion in the morning and in the evening, gets relief from all miseries of life.

PURPORT

In the Bhagavad-gita the Personality of Godhead has declared that anyone who knows the principles of the transcendental birth and activities of the Lord will go back to Godhead after being relieved from this material tabernacle. So simply knowing factually the mysterious way of the Lord’s incarnation in this material world can liberate one from material bondage. Therefore the birth and activities of the Lord, as manifested by Him for the welfare of the people in general, are not ordinary. They are mysterious, and only by those who carefully try to go deep into the matter by spiritual devotion is the mystery discovered. Thus one gets liberation from material bondage. It is advised therefore that one who simply recites this chapter of Bhagavatam, describing the appearance of the Lord in different incarnations, in sincerity and devotion, can have insight into the birth and activities of the Lord. The very word vimukti, or liberation, indicates that the Lord’s birth and activities are all transcendental; otherwise simply by reciting them one could not attain liberation. They are therefore mysterious, and those who do not follow the prescribed regulations of devotional service are not entitled to enter into the mysteries of His births and activities.

etad rupam bhagavato

hy arupasya cid-atmanah

maya-gunair viracitam

mahadadibhir atmani

etat—all these; rupam—forms; bhagavatah—of the Lord; hi—certainly; arupasya—of one who has no material form; cit-atmanah—of the Transcendence; maya—material energy; gunaih—by the qualities; viracitam—manufactured; mahat-adibhih—with the ingredients of matter; atmani—in the self.

The conception of the virat universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord’s having form. But factually the Lord has no material form.

The conception of the Lord known as the visva-rupa or the virat-rupa is particularly not mentioned along with the various incarnations of the Lord because all the incarnations of the Lord mentioned above are transcendental and there is not a tinge of materialism in their bodies. There is no difference between the body and self as there is in the conditioned soul. The virat-rupa is conceived for those who are just neophyte worshipers. For them the material virat-rupa is presented, and it will be explained in the Second Canto. In the virat-rupa the material manifestations of different planets have been conceived as His legs, hands, etc. Actually all such descriptions are for the neophytes. The neophytes cannot conceive of anything beyond matter. The material conception of the Lord is not counted in the list of His factual forms. As Paramatma, or Supersoul, the Lord is within each and every material form, even within the atoms, but the outward material form is but an imagination, both for the Lord and for the living being. The present forms of the conditioned souls are also not factual. The conclusion is that the material conception of the body of the Lord as virat is imaginary. Both the Lord and the living beings are living spirits and have original spiritual bodies.

yatha nabhasi meghaugho

renur va parthivo ’nile

evam drastari drsyatvam

aropitam abuddhibhih

yatha—as it is; nabhasi—in the sky; megha-oghah—a mass of clouds; renuh—dust; va—as well as; parthivah—muddiness; anile—in the air; evam—thus; drastari—to the seer; drsyatvam—for the purpose of seeing; aropitam—is implied; abuddhibhih—by the less intelligent persons.

Clouds and dust are carried by the air, but less intelligent persons say that the sky is cloudy and the air is dirty. Similarly, they also implant material bodily conceptions on the spirit self.

It is further confirmed herein that with our material eyes and senses we cannot see the Lord, who is all spirit. We cannot even detect the spiritual spark which exists within the material body of the living being. We look to the outward covering of the body or subtle mind of the living being, but we cannot see the spiritual spark within the body. So we have to accept the living being’s presence by the presence of his gross body. Similarly, those who want to see the Lord with their present material eyes or with the material senses are advised to meditate on the gigantic external feature called the virat-rupa. For instance, when a particular gentleman goes in his car, which can be seen very easily, we identify the car with the man within the car. When the President goes out in his particular car, we say, “There is the President.” For the time being we identify the car with the President. Similarly, less intelligent men who want to see God immediately without necessary qualification are shown first the gigantic material cosmos as the form of the Lord, although the Lord is within and without. The clouds in the sky and the blue of the sky are better appreciated in this connection. Although the bluish tint of the sky and the sky itself are different, we conceive of the color of the sky as blue. But that is a general conception for the laymen only.

atah param yad avyaktam

avyudha-guna-brmhitam

adrstasruta-vastutvat

sa jivo yat punar-bhavah

atah—this; param—beyond; yat—which; avyaktam—unmanifested; avyudha—without formal shape; guna-brmhitam—affected by the qualities; adrsta—unseen; asruta—unheard; vastutvat—being like that; sah—that; jivah—living being; yat—that which; punah-bhavah—takes birth repeatedly.

Beyond this gross conception of form is another, subtle conception of form which is without formal shape and is unseen, unheard and unmanifest. The living being has his form beyond this subtlety, otherwise he could not have repeated births.

As the gross cosmic manifestation is conceived as the gigantic body of the Lord, so also there is the conception of His subtle form, which is simply realized without being seen, heard or manifested. But in fact all these gross or subtle conceptions of the body are in relation with the living beings. The living being has his spiritual form beyond this gross material or subtle psychic existence. The gross body and psychic functions cease to act as soon as the living being leaves the visible gross body. In fact, we say that the living being has gone away because he is unseen and unheard. Even when the gross body is not acting when the living being is in sound sleep, we know that he is within the body by his breathing. So the living being’s passing away from the body does not mean that there is no existence of the living soul. It is there, otherwise how can he repeat his births again and again?

The conclusion is that the Lord is eternally existent in His transcendental form, which is neither gross nor subtle like that of the living being; His body is never to be compared to the gross and subtle bodies of the living being. All such conceptions of God’s body are imaginary. The living being has his eternal spiritual form, which is conditioned only by his material contamination.

yatreme sad-asad-rupe

pratisiddhe sva-samvida

avidyayatmani krte

iti tad brahma-darsanam

yatra—whenever; ime—in all these; sat-asat—gross and subtle; rupe—in the forms of; pratisiddhe—on being nullified; sva-samvida—by self-realization; avidyaya—by ignorance; atmani—in the self; krte—having been imposed; iti—thus; tat—that is; brahma-darsanam—the process of seeing the Absolute.

Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Lord.

The difference between self-realization and material illusion is to know that the temporary or illusory impositions of material energy in the shape of gross and subtle bodies are superficial coverings of the self. The coverings take place due to ignorance. Such coverings are never effective in the person of the Personality of Godhead. Knowing this convincingly is called liberation, or seeing the Absolute. This means that perfect self-realization is made possible by adoption of godly or spiritual life. Self-realization means becoming indifferent to the needs of the gross and subtle bodies and becoming serious about the activities of the self. The impetus for activities is generated from the self, but such activities become illusory due to ignorance of the real position of the self. By ignorance, self-interest is calculated in terms of the gross and subtle bodies, and therefore a whole set of activities is spoiled, life after life. When, however, one meets the self by proper culture, the activities of the self begin. Therefore a man who is engaged in the activities of the self is called jivan-mukta, or a liberated person even in the conditional existence.

This perfect stage of self-realization is attained not by artificial means, but under the lotus feet of the Lord, who is always transcendental. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He is present in everyone’s heart, and from Him only all knowledge, remembrance or forgetfulness take place. When the living being desires to be an enjoyer of material energy (illusory phenomena), the Lord covers the living being in the mystery of forgetfulness, and thus the living being misinterprets the gross body and subtle mind to be his own self. And by culture of transcendental knowledge, when the living being prays to the Lord for deliverance from the clutches of forgetfulness, the Lord, by His causeless mercy, removes the living being’s illusory curtain, and thus he realizes his own self. He then engages himself in the service of the Lord in his eternal constitutional position, becoming liberated from the conditioned life. All this is executed by the Lord either through His external potency or directly by the internal potency.

yady esoparata devi

maya vaisaradi matih

sampanna eveti vidur

mahimni sve mahiyate

yadi—if, however; esa—they; uparata—subsided; devi maya—illusory energy; vaisaradi—full of knowledge; matih—enlightenment; sampannah—enriched with; eva—certainly; iti—thus; viduh—being cognizant of; mahimni—in the glories; sve—of the self; mahiyate—being situated in.

If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory.

Because the Lord is the absolute Transcendence, all of His forms, names, pastimes, attributes, associates and energies are identical with Him. His transcendental energy acts according to His omnipotency. The same energy acts as His external, internal and marginal energies, and by His omnipotency He can perform anything and everything through the agency of any of the above energies. He can turn the external energy into internal by His will. Therefore by His grace the external energy, which is employed in illusioning those living beings who want to have it, subsides by the will of the Lord in terms of repentance and penance for the conditioned soul. And the very same energy then acts to help the purified living being make progress on the path of self-realization. The example of electrical energy is very appropriate in this connection. The expert electrician can utilize the electrical energy for both heating and cooling by adjustment only. Similarly, the external energy, which now bewilders the living being into continuation of birth and death, is turned into internal potency by the will of the Lord to lead the living being to eternal life. When a living being is thus graced by the Lord, he is placed in his proper constitutional position to enjoy eternal spiritual life.

evam janmani karmani

hy akartur ajanasya ca

varnayanti sma kavayo

veda-guhyani hrt-pateh

evam—thus; janmani—birth; karmani—activities; hi—certainly; akartuh—of the inactive; ajanasya—of the unborn; ca—and; varnayanti—describe; sma—in the past; kavayah—the learned; veda-guhyani—undiscoverable by the Vedas; hrt-pateh—of the Lord of the heart.

Thus learned men describe the births and activities of the unborn and inactive, which is undiscoverable even in the Vedic literatures. He is the Lord of the heart.

Both the Lord and the living entities are essentially all spiritual. Therefore both of them are eternal, and neither of them has birth and death. The difference is that the so-called births and disappearances of the Lord are unlike those of the living beings. The living beings who take birth and then again accept death are bound by the laws of material nature. But the so-called appearance and disappearance of the Lord are not actions of material nature, but are demonstrations of the internal potency of the Lord. They are described by the great sages for the purpose of self-realization. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita by the Lord that His so-called birth in the material world and His activities are all transcendental. And simply by meditation on such activities one can attain realization of Brahman and thus become liberated from material bondage. In the srutis it is said that the birthless appears to take birth. The Supreme has nothing to do, but because He is omnipotent, everything is performed by Him naturally, as if done automatically. As a matter of fact, the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His different activities are all confidential, even to the Vedic literatures. Yet they are displayed by the Lord to bestow mercy upon the conditioned souls. We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are meditations on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form.

sa va idam visvam amogha-lilah

srjaty avaty atti na sajjate ’smin

bhutesu cantarhita atma-tantrah

sad-vargikam jighrati sad-gunesah

sah—the Supreme Lord; va—alternately; idam—this; visvam—manifested universes; amogha-lilah—one whose activities are spotless; srjati—creates; avati atti—maintains and annihilates; na—not; sajjate—is affected by; asmin—in them; bhutesu—in all living beings; ca—also; antarhitah—living within; atma-tantrah—self-independent; sat-vargikam—endowed with all the potencies of His opulences; jighrati—superficially attached, like smelling the fragrance; sat-guna-isah—master of the six senses.

The Lord, whose activities are always spotless, is the master of the six senses and is fully omnipotent with six opulences. He creates the manifested universes, maintains them and annihilates them without being in the least affected. He is within every living being and is always independent.

The prime difference between the Lord and the living entities is that the Lord is the creator and the living entities are the created. Here He is called the amogha-lilah, which indicates that there is nothing lamentable in His creation. Those who create disturbance in His creation are themselves disturbed. He is transcendental to all material afflictions because He is full with all six opulences, namely wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, and thus He is the master of the senses. He creates these manifested universes in order to reclaim the living beings who are within them suffering threefold miseries, maintains them, and in due course annihilates them without being the least affected by such actions. He is connected with this material creation very superficially, as one smells odor without being connected with the odorous article. Nongodly elements, therefore, can never approach Him, despite all endeavors.

na casya kascin nipunena dhatur

avaiti jantuh kumanisa utih

namani rupani mano-vacobhih

santanvato nata-caryam ivajnah

na—not; ca—and; asya—of Him; kascit—anyone; nipunena—by dexterity; dhatuh—of the creator; avaiti—can know; jantuh—the living being; kumanisah—with a poor fund of knowledge; utih—activities of the Lord; namani—His names; rupani—His forms; manah-vacobhih—by dint of mental speculation or deliverance of speeches; santanvatah—displaying; nata-caryam—a dramatic action; iva—like; ajnah—the foolish.

The foolish with a poor fund of knowledge cannot know the transcendental nature of the forms, names and activities of the Lord, who is playing like an actor in a drama. Nor can they express such things, neither in their speculations nor in their words.

No one can properly describe the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore it is said that He is beyond the expression of mind and speech. And yet there are some men, with a poor fund of knowledge, who desire to understand the Absolute Truth by imperfect mental speculation and faulty description of His activities. To the layman His activities, appearance and disappearance, His names, His forms, His paraphernalia, His personalities and all things in relation with Him are mysterious. There are two classes of materialists, namely the fruitive workers and the empiric philosophers. The fruitive workers have practically no information of the Absolute Truth, and the mental speculators, after being frustrated in fruitive activities, turn their faces towards the Absolute Truth and try to know Him by mental speculation. And for all these men, the Absolute Truth is a mystery, as the jugglery of the magician is a mystery to children. Being deceived by the jugglery of the Supreme Being, the nondevotees, who may be very dexterous in fruitive work and mental speculation, are always in ignorance. With such limited knowledge, they are unable to penetrate into the mysterious region of transcendence. The mental speculators are a little more progressive than the gross materialists or the fruitive workers, but because they are also within the grip of illusion, they take it for granted that anything which has form, a name and activities is but a product of material energy. For them the Supreme Spirit is formless, nameless and inactive. And because such mental speculators equalize the transcendental name and form of the Lord with mundane names and form, they are in fact in ignorance. With such a poor fund of knowledge, there is no access to the real nature of the Supreme Being. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord is always in a transcendental position, even when He is within the material world. But ignorant men consider the Lord one of the great personalities of the world, and thus they are misled by the illusory energy.

sa veda dhatuh padavim parasya

duranta-viryasya rathanga-paneh

yo ’mayaya santatayanuvrttya

bhajeta tat-pada-saroja-gandham

sah—He alone; veda—can know; dhatuh—of the creator; padavim—glories; parasya—of the transcendence; duranta-viryasya—of the greatly powerful; ratha-anga-paneh—of Lord Krsna, who bears in His hand the wheel of a chariot; yah—one who; amayaya—without reservation; santataya—without any gap; anuvrttya—favorably; bhajeta—renders service; tat-pada—of His feet; saroja-gandham—fragrance of the lotus.

Only those who render unreserved, uninterrupted, favorable service unto the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, who carries the wheel of the chariot in His hand, can know the creator of the universe in His full glory, power and transcendence.

Only the pure devotees can know the transcendental name, form and activities of Lord Krsna due to their being completely freed from the reactions of fruitive work and mental speculation. The pure devotees have nothing to derive as personal profit from their unalloyed service to the Lord. They render incessant service to the Lord spontaneously, without any reservation. Everyone within the creation of the Lord is rendering service to the Lord indirectly or directly. No one is an exception to this law of the Lord. Those who are rendering service indirectly, being forced by the illusory agent of the Lord, are rendering service unto Him unfavorably. But those who are rendering service unto Him directly under the direction of His beloved agent are rendering service unto Him favorably. Such favorable servitors are devotees of the Lord, and by the grace of the Lord they can enter into the mysterious region of transcendence by the mercy of the Lord. But the mental speculators remain in darkness all the time. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord Himself guides the pure devotees toward the path of realization due to their constant engagement in the loving service of the Lord in spontaneous affection. That is the secret of entering into the kingdom of God. Fruitive activities and speculation are no qualifications for entering.

atheha dhanya bhagavanta ittham

yad vasudeve ’khila-loka-nathe

kurvanti sarvatmakam atma-bhavam

na yatra bhuyah parivarta ugrah

atha—thus; iha—in this world; dhanyah—successful; bhagavantah—perfectly cognizant; ittham—such; yat—what; vasudeve—unto the Personality of Godhead; akhila—all-embracing; loka-nathe—unto the proprietor of all the universes; kurvanti—inspires; sarva-atmakam—one hundred percent; atma—spirit; bhavam—ecstasy; na—never; yatra—wherein; bhuyah—again; parivartah—repetition; ugrah—dreadful.

Only by making such inquiries in this world can one be successful and perfectly cognizant, for such inquiries invoke transcendental ecstatic love unto the Personality of Godhead, who is the proprietor of all the universes, and guarantee cent-percent immunity from the dreadful repetition of birth and death.

The inquiries of the sages headed by Saunaka are herewith praised by Suta Gosvami on the merit of their transcendental nature. As already concluded, only the devotees of the Lord can know Him to a considerable extent, and no one else can know Him at all, so the devotees are perfectly cognizant of all spiritual knowledge. The Personality of Godhead is the last word in Absolute Truth. Impersonal Brahman and localized Paramatma (Supersoul) are included in the knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. So one who knows the Personality of Godhead can automatically know all about Him, His multipotencies and His expansions. So the devotees are congratulated as being all-successful. A cent-percent devotee of the Lord is immune to the dreadful material miseries of repeated birth and death.

idam bhagavatam nama

puranam brahma-sammitam

uttama-sloka-caritam

cakara bhagavan rsih

nihsreyasaya lokasya

dhanyam svasty-ayanam mahat

idam—this; bhagavatam—book containing the narration of the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees; nama—of the name; puranam—supplementary to the Vedas; brahma-sammitam—incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna; uttama-sloka—of the Personality of Godhead; caritam—activities; cakara—compiled; bhagavan—incarnation of the Personality of Godhead; rsih—Sri Vyasadeva; nihsreyasaya—for the ultimate good; lokasya—of all people; dhanyam—fully successful; svasti-ayanam—all-blissful; mahat—all-perfect.

This Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect.

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu declared that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless sound representation of all Vedic knowledge and history. There are selected histories of great devotees who are in direct contact with the Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna and is therefore nondifferent from Him. Srimad-Bhagavatam should be worshiped as respectfully as we worship the Lord. Thereby we can derive the ultimate blessings of the Lord through its careful and patient study. As God is all light, all bliss and all perfection, so also is Srimad-Bhagavatam. We can have all the transcendental light of the Supreme Brahman, Sri Krsna, from the recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, provided it is received through the medium of the transparent spiritual master. Lord Caitanya’s private secretary Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami advised all intending visitors who came to see the Lord at Puri to make a study of the Bhagavatam from the person Bhagavatam Person Bhagavatam is the self-realized bona fide spiritual master, and through him only can one understand the lessons of Bhagavatam in order to receive the desired result. One can derive from the study of the Bhagavatam all benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the Lord. It carries with it all the transcendental blessings of Lord Sri Krsna that we can expect from His personal contact.

tad idam grahayam asa

sutam atmavatam varam

sarva-vedetihasanam

saram saram samuddhrtam

tat—that; idam—this; grahayam asa—made to accept; sutam—unto his son; atmavatam—of the self-realized; varam—most respectful; sarva—all; veda—Vedic literatures (books of knowledge); itihasanam—of all the histories; saram—cream; saram—cream; samuddhrtam—taken out.

Sri Vyasadeva delivered it to his son, who is the most respected among the self-realized, after extracting the cream of all Vedic literatures and histories of the universe.

Men with a poor fund of knowledge only accept the history of the world from the time of Buddha, or since 600 B.C., and prior to this period all histories mentioned in the scriptures are calculated by them to be only imaginary stories. That is not a fact. All the stories mentioned in the Puranas and Mahabharata, etc., are actual histories, not only of this planet but also of millions of other planets within the universe. Sometimes the history of planets beyond this world appear to such men to be unbelievable. But they do not know that different planets are not equal in all respects and that therefore some of the historical facts derived from other planets do not correspond with the experience of this planet. Considering the different situation of different planets and also time and circumstances, there is nothing wonderful in the stories of the Puranas, nor are they imaginary. We should always remember the maxim that one man’s food is another man’s poison. We should not, therefore, reject the stories and histories of the Puranas as imaginary. The great rsis like Vyasa had no business putting some imaginary stories in their literatures.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam historical facts selected from the histories of different planets have been depicted. It is therefore accepted by all the spiritual authorities as the Maha-Purana. The special significance of these histories is that they are all connected with activities of the Lord in a different time and atmosphere. Srila Sukadeva Gosvami is the topmost personality of all the self-realized souls, and he accepted this as the subject of studies from his father, Vyasadeva. Srila Vyasadeva is the great authority, and the subject matter of Srimad-Bhagavatam being so important, he delivered the message first to his great son Srila Sukadeva Gosvami. It is compared to the cream of the milk. Vedic literature is like the milk ocean of knowledge. Cream or butter is the most palatable essence of milk, and so also is Srimad-Bhagavatam, for it contains all palatable, instructive and authentic versions of different activities of the Lord and His devotees. There is no gain, however, in accepting the message of Bhagavatam from the unbelievers, atheists and professional reciters who make a trade of Bhagavatam for the laymen. It was delivered to Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, and he had nothing to do with the Bhagavata business. He did not have to maintain family expenses by such trade. Srimad-Bhagavatam should therefore be received from the representative of Sukadeva, who must be in the renounced order of life without family encumbrance. Milk is undoubtedly very good and nourishing, but when it is touched by the mouth of a snake it is no longer nourishing; rather, it becomes a source of death. Similarly, those who are not strictly in the Vaisnava discipline should not make a business of this Bhagavatam and become a cause of spiritual death for so many hearers. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that the purpose of all the Vedas is to know Him (Lord Krsna), and Srimad-Bhagavatam is Lord Sri Krsna Himself in the form of recorded knowledge. Therefore, it is the cream of all the Vedas, and it contains all historical facts of all times in relation with Sri Krsna. It is factually the essence of all histories.

sa tu samsravayam asa

maharajam pariksitam

prayopavistam gangayam

paritam paramarsibhih

sah—the son of Vyasadeva; tu—again; samsravayam asa—make them audible; maha-rajam—unto the emperor; pariksitam—of the name Pariksit; praya-upavistam—who sat until death without food or drink; gangayam—on the bank of the Ganges; paritam—being surrounded; parama-rsibhih—by great sages.

Sukadeva Gosvami, the son of Vyasadeva, in his turn delivered the Bhagavatam to the great Emperor Pariksit, who sat surrounded by sages on the bank of the Ganges, awaiting death without taking food or drink.

All transcendental messages are received properly in the chain of disciplic succession. This disciplic succession is called parampara. Unless therefore Bhagavatam or any other Vedic literatures are received through the parampara system, the reception of knowledge is not bona fide. Vyasadeva delivered the message to Sukadeva Gosvami, and from Sukadeva Gosvami, Suta Gosvami received the message. One should therefore receive the message of Bhagavatam from Suta Gosvami or from his representative and not from any irrelevant interpreter.

Emperor Pariksit received the information of his death in time, and he at once left his kingdom and family and sat down on the bank of the Ganges to fast till death. All great sages, rsis, philosophers, mystics, etc., went there due to his imperial position. They offered many suggestions about his immediate duty, and at last it was settled that he would hear from Sukadeva Gosvami about Lord Krsna. Thus the Bhagavatam was spoken to him.

Sripada Sankaracarya, who preached Mayavada philosophy and stressed the impersonal feature of the Absolute, also recommended that one must take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, for there is no hope of gain from debating. Indirectly Sripada Sankaracarya admitted that what he had preached in the flowery grammatical interpretations of the Vedanta-sutra cannot help one at the time of death. At the critical hour of death one must recite the name of Govinda. This is the recommendation of all great transcendentalists. Sukadeva Gosvami had long ago stated the same truth, that at the end one must remember Narayana. That is the essence of all spiritual activities. In pursuance of this eternal truth, Srimad-Bhagavatam was heard by Emperor Pariksit, and it was recited by the able Sukadeva Gosvami. And both the speaker and the receiver of the messages of Bhagavatam were duly delivered by the same medium.

krsne sva-dhamopagate

dharma-jnanadibhih saha

kalau nasta-drsam esa

puranarko ’dhunoditah

krsne—in Krsna’s; sva-dhama—own abode; upagate—having returned; dharma—religion; jnana—knowledge; adibhih—combined together; saha—along with; kalau—in the Kali-yuga; nasta-drsam—of persons who have lost their sight; esah—all these; purana-arkah—the Purana which is brilliant like the sun; adhuna—just now; uditah—has arisen.

This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krsna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.

Lord Sri Krsna has His eternal dhama, or abode, where He eternally enjoys Himself with His eternal associates and paraphernalia. And His eternal abode is a manifestation of His internal energy, whereas the material world is a manifestation of His external energy. When He descends on the material world, He displays Himself with all paraphernalia in His internal potency, which is called atma-maya. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He descends by His own potency (atma-maya). His form, name, fame, paraphernalia, abode, etc., are not, therefore, creations of matter. He descends to reclaim the fallen souls and to reestablish codes of religion which are directly enacted by Him. Except for God, no one can establish the principles of religion. Either He or a suitable person empowered by Him can dictate the codes of religion. Real religion means to know God, our relation with Him and our duties in relation with Him and to know ultimately our destination after leaving this material body. The conditioned souls, who are entrapped by the material energy, hardly know all these principles of life. Most of them are like animals engaged in eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. They are mostly engaged in sense enjoyment under the pretension of religiosity, knowledge or salvation. They are still more blind in the present age of quarrel, or Kali-yuga. In the Kali-yuga the population is just a royal edition of the animals. They have nothing to do with spiritual knowledge or godly religious life. They are so blind that they cannot see anything beyond the jurisdiction of the subtle mind, intelligence or ego, but they are very much proud of their advancement in knowledge, science and material prosperity. They can risk their lives to become a dog or hog just after leaving the present body, for they have completely lost sight of the ultimate aim of life. The Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna appeared before us just a little prior to the beginning of Kali-yuga, and He returned to His eternal home practically at the commencement of Kali-yuga. While He was present, He exhibited everything by His different activities. He spoke the Bhagavad-gita specifically and eradicated all pretentious principles of religiosity. And prior to His departure from this material world, He empowered Sri Vyasadeva through Narada to compile the messages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and thus both the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam are like torchbearers for the blind people of this age. In other words, if men in this age of Kali want to see the real light of life, they must take to these two books only, and their aim of life will be fulfilled. Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of the Bhagavatam. And Srimad-Bhagavatam is the summum bonum of life, Lord Sri Krsna personified. We must therefore accept Srimad-Bhagavatam as the direct representation of Lord Krsna. One who can see Srimad-Bhagavatam can see also Lord Sri Krsna in person. They are identical.

tatra kirtayato vipra

viprarser bhuri-tejasah

aham cadhyagamam tatra

nivistas tad-anugrahat

so ’ham vah sravayisyami

yathadhitam yatha-mati

tatra—there; kirtayatah—while reciting; viprah—O brahmanas; vipra-rseh—from the great brahmana-rsi; bhuri—greatly; tejasah—powerful; aham—I; ca—also; adhyagamam—could understand; tatra—in that meeting; nivistah—being perfectly attentive; tat-anugrahat—by his mercy; sah—that very thing; aham—I; vah—unto you; sravayisyami—shall let you hear; yatha-adhitam yatha-mati—as far as my realization.

O learned brahmanas, when Sukadeva Gosvami recited Bhagavatam there [in the presence of Emperor Pariksit], I heard him with rapt attention, and thus, by his mercy, I learned the Bhagavatam from that great and powerful sage. Now I shall try to make you hear the very same thing as I learned it from him and as I have realized it.

One can certainly see directly the presence of Lord Sri Krsna in the pages of Bhagavatam if one has heard it from a self-realized great soul like Sukadeva Gosvami. One cannot, however, learn Bhagavatam from a bogus hired reciter whose aim of life is to earn some money out of such recitation and employ the earning in sex indulgence. No one can learn Srimad-Bhagavatam who is associated with persons engaged in sex life. That is the secret of learning Bhagavatam Nor can one learn Bhagavatam from one who interprets the text by his mundane scholarship. One has to learn Bhagavatam from the representative of Sukadeva Gosvami, and no one else, if one at all wants to see Lord Sri Krsna in the pages. That is the process, and there is no alternative. Suta Gosvami is a bona fide representative of Sukadeva Gosvami because he wants to present the message which he received from the great learned brahmana. Sukadeva Gosvami presented Bhagavatam as he heard it from his great father, and so also Suta Gosvami is presenting Bhagavatam as he had heard it from Sukadeva Gosvami. Simple hearing is not all; one must realize the text with proper attention. The word nivista means that Suta Gosvami drank the juice of Bhagavatam through his ears. That is the real process of receiving Bhagavatam. One should hear with rapt attention from the real person, and then he can at once realize the presence of Lord Krsna in every page. The secret of knowing Bhagavatam is mentioned here. No one can give rapt attention who is not pure in mind. No one can be pure in mind who is not pure in action. No one can be pure in action who is not pure in eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. But somehow or other if someone hears with rapt attention from the right person, at the very beginning one can assuredly see Lord Sri Krsna in person in the pages of Bhagavatam.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the First Canto, Third Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Krsna Is the Source of All Incarnations.”

Next chapter (SB 1.4)