Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 7: “The Science of God”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter One
SB7.1.12
TEXT 12
ya eṣa rājann api kāla īśitā
sattvaṁ surānīkam ivaidhayaty ataḥ
tat-pratyanīkān asurān sura-priyo
rajas-tamaskān pramiṇoty uruśravāḥ
SYNONYMS
yaḥ—which; eṣaḥ—this; rājan—O King; api—even; kālaḥ—time; īśitā—the Supreme Lord; sattvam—the mode of goodness; sura-anīkam—numbers of demigods; iva—certainly; edhayati—causes to increase; ataḥ—hence; tat-pratyanīkān—inimical to them; asurān—the demons; sura-priyaḥ—being the friend of the demigods; rajaḥ-tamaskān—covered by passion and ignorance; pramiṇoti—destroys; uru-śravāḥ—whose glories are widespread.
TRANSLATION
O King, this time factor enhances the sattva-guṇa. Thus although the Supreme Lord is the controller, He favors the demigods, who are mostly situated in sattva-guṇa. Then the demons, who are influenced by tamo-guṇa, are annihilated. The Supreme Lord induces the time factor to act in different ways, but He is never partial. Rather, His activities are glorious, therefore He is called Uruśravā.
PURPORT
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29), samo’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be partial; He is always equal to everyone. Therefore when the demigods are favored and the demons killed, this is not His partiality but the influence of the time factor. A good example in this regard is that an electrician connects both a heater and a cooler to the same electrical energy. The cause of the heating and cooling is the electrician’s manipulation of the electrical energy according to his desire, but factually the electrician has nothing to do with causing heat or cold, nor with the enjoyment or suffering that results.
There have been many historical incidents in which the Lord killed a demon, but the demon attained a higher position by the mercy of the Lord. Pūtanā is an example. Pūtanā’s purpose was to kill Kṛṣṇa. Aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭam. She approached the house of Nanda Mahārāja with the purpose of killing Kṛṣṇa by smearing poison on her breast, yet when she was killed she attained the highest position, achieving the status of Kṛṣṇa’s mother. Kṛṣṇa is so kind and impartial that because he sucked Pūtanā’s breast, He immediately accepted her as His mother. This superfluous activity of killing Pūtanā did not diminish the Lord’s impartiality. He is suhṛdaṁ sama-bhūtānām, the friend of everyone. Therefore partiality cannot apply to the character of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who always maintains His position as the supreme controller. The Lord killed Pūtanā as an enemy, but because of His being the supreme controller, she attained an exalted position as His mother. Śrīla Madhva Muni therefore remarks, kāle kāla-viṣaye ’pīśitā. dehādi-kāraṇatvāt surānīkam iva sthitaṁ sattvam. Ordinarily a murderer is hanged, and in the Manu-saṁhitā it is said that a king bestows mercy upon a murderer by killing him, thus saving him from various kinds of suffering. Because of his sinful activities, such a murderer is killed by the mercy of the king. Kṛṣṇa, the supreme judge, deals with matters in a similar way because He is the supreme controller. The conclusion, therefore, is that the Lord is always impartial and always very kind to all living entities.
SB7.1.13 TEXT 13 atraivodāhṛtaḥ pūrvam itihāsaḥ surarṣiṇā prītyā mahā-kratau rājan pṛcchate ’jāta-śatrave SYNONYMS atra—in this connection; eva—certainly; udāhṛtaḥ—was recited; pūrvam—previously; itihāsaḥ—an old story; sura-ṛṣiṇā—by the great sage Nārada; prītyā—with joy; mahā-kratau—at the great Rājasūya sacrifice; rājan—O King; pṛcchate—to the inquiring; ajāta-śatrave—Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, who had no enemy.
TRANSLATION Formerly, O King, when Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was performing the Rājasūya sacrifice, the great sage Nārada, responding to his inquiry, recited historical facts showing how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always impartial, even when killing demons. In this regard he gave a vivid example. PURPORT This relates to how the Lord exhibited His impartiality even when killing Śiśupāla in the arena of the Rājasūya yajña performed by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
SB7.1.14-15 TEXTS 14–15 dṛṣṭvā mahādbhutaṁ rājā rājasūye mahā-kratau vāsudeve bhagavati sāyujyaṁ cedibhū-bhujaḥ tatrāsīnaṁ sura-ṛṣiṁ rājā pāṇḍu-sutaḥ kratau papraccha vismita-manā munīnāṁ śṛṇvatām idam SYNONYMS dṛṣṭvā—after seeing; mahā-adbhutam—greatly wonderful; rājā—the King; rājasūye—called Rājasūya; mahā-kratau—at the great sacrifice; vāsudeve—into Vāsudeva; bhagavati—the Personality of Godhead; sāyujyam—merging; cedibhū-bhujaḥ—of Śiśupāla, the King of Cedi; tatra—there; āsīnam—seated; sura-ṛṣim—Nārada Muni; rājā—the King; pāṇḍu-sutaḥ—Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Pāṇḍu; kratau—at the sacrifice; papraccha—asked; vismita-manāḥ—being struck with wonder; munīnām—in the presence of the sages; śṛṇvatām—listening; idam—this.
TRANSLATION O King, at the Rājasūya sacrifice, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Mahārāja Pāṇḍu, personally saw Śiśupāla merge into the body of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, struck with wonder, he inquired about the reason for this from the great sage Nārada, who was seated there. While he inquired, all the sages present also heard him ask his question. SB7.1.16 TEXT 16 śrī-yudhiṣṭhira uvāca aho aty-adbhutaṁ hy etad durlabhaikāntinām api vāsudeve pare tattve prāptiś caidyasya vidviṣaḥ SYNONYMS śrī-yudhiṣṭhiraḥ uvāca—Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira said; aho—oh; ati-adbhutam—very wonderful; hi—certainly; etat—this; durlabha—difficult to attain; ekāntinām—for the transcendentalists; api—even; vāsudeve—in Vāsudeva; pare—the supreme; tattve—Absolute Truth; prāptiḥ—the attainment; caidyasya—of Śiśupāla; vidviṣaḥ—envious.
TRANSLATION Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira inquired: It is very wonderful that the demon Śiśupāla merged into the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead even though extremely envious. This sāyujya-mukti is impossible to attain even for great transcendentalists. How then did the enemy of the Lord attain it? PURPORT There are two classes of transcendentalists—the jñānīs and the bhaktas. The bhaktas do not aspire to merge into the existence of the Lord, but the jñānīs do. Śiśupāla, however, was neither a jñānī nor a bhakta, yet simply by envy of the Lord he attained an exalted position by merging into the Lord’s body. Certainly this was astonishing, and therefore Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira inquired about the cause for the Lord’s mysterious mercy to Śiśupāla.
SB7.1.17 TEXT 17 etad veditum icchāmaḥ sarva eva vayaṁ mune bhagavan-nindayā veno dvijais tamasi pātitaḥ SYNONYMS etat—this; veditum—to know; icchāmaḥ—desire; sarve—all; eva—certainly; vayam—we; mune—O great sage; bhagavat-nindayā—because of blaspheming the Lord; venaḥ—Vena, the father of Pṛthu Mahārāja; dvijaiḥ—by the brāhmaṇas; tamasi—into hell; pātitaḥ—was thrown.
TRANSLATION O great sage, we are all eager to know the cause for this mercy of the Lord. I have heard that formerly a king named Vena blasphemed the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that all the brāhmaṇas consequently obliged him to go to hell. Śiśupāla should also have been sent to hell. How then did he merge into the Lord’s existence? SB7.1.18 TEXT 18 damaghoṣa-sutaḥ pāpa ārabhya kala-bhāṣaṇāt sampraty amarṣī govinde dantavakraś ca durmatiḥ SYNONYMS damaghoṣa-sutaḥ—Śiśupāla, the son of Damaghoṣa; pāpaḥ—sinful; ārabhya—beginning; kala-bhāṣaṇāt—from the unclear speech of a child; samprati—even until now; amarṣī—envious; govinde—toward Śrī Kṛṣṇa; dantavakraḥ—Dantavakra; ca—also; durmatiḥ—evil-minded.
TRANSLATION From the very beginning of his childhood, when he could not even speak properly, Śiśupāla, the most sinful son of Damaghoṣa, began blaspheming the Lord, and he continued to be envious of Śrī Kṛṣṇa until death. Similarly, his brother Dantavakra continued the same habits. SB7.1.19 TEXT 19 śapator asakṛd viṣṇuṁ yad brahma param avyayam śvitro na jāto jihvāyāṁ nāndhaṁ viviśatus tamaḥ SYNONYMS śapatoḥ—of both Śiśupāla and Dantavakra, who were blaspheming; asakṛt—repeatedly; viṣṇum—Lord Kṛṣṇa; yat—which; brahma param—the Supreme Brahman; avyayam—without diminution; śvitraḥ—white leprosy; na—not; jātaḥ—appeared; jihvāyām—on the tongue; na—not; andham—dark; viviśatuḥ—they did enter; tamaḥ—hell.
TRANSLATION Although these two men—Śiśupāla and Dantavakra—repeatedly blasphemed the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu [Kṛṣṇa], the Supreme Brahman, they were quite healthy. Indeed, their tongues were not attacked by white leprosy, nor did they enter the darkest region of hellish life. We are certainly most surprised by this. PURPORT Kṛṣṇa is described by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā (10.12) as follows: paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān. “You are the Supreme Brahman, the supreme abode and purifier.” Herein this is confirmed. Viṣṇuṁ yad brahma param avyayam. The Supreme Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the cause of Viṣṇu, not vice versa. Similarly, Brahman is not the cause of Kṛṣṇa; Kṛṣṇa is the cause of Brahman. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the Parabrahman (yad brahma param avyayam).
SB7.1.20 TEXT 20 kathaṁ tasmin bhagavati duravagrāhya-dhāmani paśyatāṁ sarva-lokānāṁ layam īyatur añjasā SYNONYMS katham—how; tasmin—that; bhagavati—in the Supreme Personality of Godhead; duravagrāhya—difficult to attain; dhāmani—whose nature; paśyatām—looked on; sarva-lokānām—while all the people; layam īyatuḥ—became absorbed; añjasā—easily.
TRANSLATION How was it possible for Śiśupāla and Dantavakra in the presence of many exalted persons, to enter very easily into the body of Kṛṣṇa, whose nature is difficult to attain?. PURPORT Śiśupāla and Dantavakra were formerly Jaya and Vijaya, the doorkeepers of Vaikuṇṭha. Merging into the body of Kṛṣṇa was not their final destination. For some time they remained merged, and later they received the liberations of sārūpya and sālokya, living on the same planet as the Lord in the same bodily form. The śāstras give evidence that if one blasphemes the Supreme Lord, his punishment is to remain in hellish life for many millions of years more than one suffers by killing many brāhmaṇas. Śiśupāla, however, instead of entering hellish life, immediately and very easily received sāyujya-mukti. That such a privilege had been offered to Śiśupāla was not merely a story. Everyone saw it happen; there was no scarcity of evidence. How did it happen? Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was very much surprised.
SB7.1.21 TEXT 21 etad bhrāmyati me buddhir dīpārcir iva vāyunā brūhy etad adbhutatamaṁ bhagavān hy atra kāraṇam SYNONYMS etat—concerning this; bhrāmyati—is flickering; me—my; buddhiḥ—intelligence; dīpa-arciḥ—the flame of a candle; iva—like; vāyunā—by the wind; brūhi—please tell; etat—this; adbhutatamam—most wonderful; bhagavān—possessing all knowledge; hi—indeed; atra—here; kāraṇam—the cause.
TRANSLATION This matter is undoubtedly very wonderful. Indeed, my intelligence has become disturbed, just as the flame of a candle is disturbed by a blowing wind. O Nārada Muni, you know everything. Kindly let me know the cause of this wonderful event. PURPORT The śāstras enjoin, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: [MU 1.2.12] when one is perplexed by the difficult problems of life, to solve them one must approach a guru like Nārada or his representative in the disciplic succession. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira therefore requested Nārada to explain the cause for such a wonderful event.
SB7.1.22 TEXT 22 śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca rājñas tad vaca ākarṇya nārado bhagavān ṛṣiḥ tuṣṭaḥ prāha tam ābhāṣya śṛṇvatyās tat-sadaḥ kathāḥ SYNONYMS śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; rājñaḥ—of the King (Yudhiṣṭhira); tat—those; vacaḥ—words; ākarṇya—after hearing; nāradaḥ—Nārada Muni; bhagavān—powerful; ṛṣiḥ—sage; tuṣṭaḥ—being satisfied; prāha—spoke; tam—him; ābhāṣya—after addressing; śṛṇvatyāḥ tat-sadaḥ—in the presence of the assembly members; kathāḥ—the topics.
TRANSLATION Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After hearing the request of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Nārada Muni, the most powerful spiritual master, who knew everything, was very pleased. Thus he replied in the presence of everyone taking part in the yajña. SB7.1.23 TEXT 23 śrī-nārada uvāca nindana-stava-satkāra- nyakkārārthaṁ kalevaram pradhāna-parayo rājann avivekena kalpitam SYNONYMS śrī-nāradaḥ uvāca—Śrī Nārada Muni said; nindana—blasphemy; stava—praise; satkāra—honor; nyakkāra—dishonor; artham—for the purpose of; kalevaram—body; pradhāna-parayoḥ—of nature and the Supreme Personality of Godhead; rājan—O King; avivekena—without discrimination; kalpitam—created.
TRANSLATION The great sage Śrī Nāradajī said: O King, blasphemy and praise, chastisement and respect, are experienced because of ignorance. The body of the conditioned soul is planned by the Lord for suffering in the material world through the agency of the external energy. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (18.61) it is said:
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of material energy.” A material body is manufactured by the external energy according to the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conditioned soul, being seated on this machine, wanders throughout the universe, and because of his bodily conception of life he only suffers. Actually the suffering of being blasphemed and the enjoyment of being praised, the acceptance of a good welcome or of chastisement by harsh words, are felt in the material conception of life; but since the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not material but sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], He is unaffected by insults or greetings, blasphemy or prayers. Being always unaffected and complete, He does not feel extra pleasure when offered nice prayers by the devotee, although the devotee benefits by offering prayers to the Lord. Indeed, the Lord is very kind to His so-called enemy because one who always thinks of the Personality of Godhead as an enemy also benefits, although he thinks of the Lord adversely. If a conditioned soul, thinking of the Lord as an enemy or a friend, somehow or other becomes attached to the Lord, he receives great benefit.
SB7.1.24 TEXT 24 hiṁsā tad-abhimānena daṇḍa-pāruṣyayor yathā vaiṣamyam iha bhūtānāṁ mamāham iti pārthiva SYNONYMS hiṁsā—suffering; tat—of this; abhimānena—by the false conception; daṇḍa-pāruṣyayoḥ—when there is punishment and chastisement; yathā—just as; vaiṣamyam—misconception; iha—here (in this body); bhūtānām—of the living entities; mama-aham—mine and I; iti—thus; pārthiva—O lord of the earth.
TRANSLATION My dear King, the conditioned soul, being in the bodily conception of life, considers his body to be his self and considers everything in relationship with the body to be his. Because he has this wrong conception of life, he is subjected to dualities like praise and chastisement. PURPORT Only when a conditioned soul accepts the body as himself does he feel the effects of chastisement or praise. Then he determines one person to be his enemy and another his friend and wants to chastise the enemy and welcome the friend. This creation of friends and enemies is a result of one’s bodily conception of life.
SB7.1.25 TEXT 25 yan-nibaddho ’bhimāno ’yaṁ tad-vadhāt prāṇināṁ vadhaḥ tathā na yasya kaivalyād abhimāno ’khilātmanaḥ parasya dama-kartur hi hiṁsā kenāsya kalpyate SYNONYMS yat—in which; nibaddhaḥ—bound; abhimānaḥ—false conception; ayam—this; tat—of that (body); vadhāt—from the annihilation; prāṇinām—of the living beings; vadhaḥ—annihilation; tathā—similarly; na—not; yasya—of whom; kaivalyāt—because of being absolute, one without a second; abhimānaḥ—false conception; akhila-ātmanaḥ—of the Supersoul of all living entities; parasya—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dama-kartuḥ—the supreme controller; hi—certainly; hiṁsā—harm; kena—how; asya—His; kalpyate—is performed.
TRANSLATION Because of the bodily conception of life, the conditioned soul thinks that when the body is annihilated the living being is annihilated. Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the supreme controller, the Supersoul of all living entities. Because He has no material body, He has no false conception of “I and mine.” It is therefore incorrect to think that He feels pleasure or pain when blasphemed or offered prayers. This is impossible for Him. Thus He has no enemy and no friend. When He chastises the demons it is for their good, and when He accepts the prayers of the devotees it is for their good. He is affected neither by prayers nor by blasphemy. PURPORT Because of being covered by material bodies, the conditioned souls, including even greatly learned scholars and falsely educated professors, all think that as soon as the body is finished, everything is finished. This is due to their bodily conception of life. Kṛṣṇa has no such bodily conception, nor is His body different from His self. Therefore, since Kṛṣṇa has no material conception of life, how can He be affected by material prayers and accusations? Kṛṣṇa’s body is described herewith as kaivalya, nondifferent from Himself. Since everyone has a material bodily conception of life, if Kṛṣṇa had such a conception what would be the difference between Kṛṣṇa and the conditioned soul? Kṛṣṇa’s instructions in Bhagavad-gītā are accepted as final because He does not possess a material body. As soon as one has a material body he has four deficiencies, but since Kṛṣṇa does not possess a material body, He has no deficiencies. He is always spiritually conscious and blissful. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]: His form is eternal, blissful knowledge. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, ānanda-cinmaya-rasa and kaivalya are the same.
Kṛṣṇa can expand Himself as Paramātmā in the core of everyone’s heart. In Bhagavad-gītā (13.3) this is confirmed. Kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sama-kṣetreṣu bhārata: the Lord is the Paramātmā—the ātmā or Superself of all individual souls. Therefore it must naturally be concluded that He has no defective bodily conceptions. Although situated in everyone’s body, He has no bodily conception of life. He is always free from such conceptions, and thus He cannot be affected by anything in relation to the material body of the jīva.
Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (16.19):
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān “Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” Whenever the Lord punishes persons like demons, however, such punishment is meant for the good of the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul, being envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, may accuse Him, saying, “Kṛṣṇa is bad, Kṛṣṇa is a thief” and so on, but Kṛṣṇa, being kind to all living entities, does not consider such accusations. Instead, He takes account of the conditioned soul’s chanting of “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa” so many times. He sometimes punishes such demons for one life by putting them in a lower species, but then, when they have stopped accusing Him, they are liberated in the next life because of chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name constantly. Blaspheming the Supreme Lord or His devotee is not at all good for the conditioned soul, but Kṛṣṇa, being very kind, punishes the conditioned soul in one life for such sinful activities and then takes him back home, back to Godhead. The vivid example for this is Vṛtrāsura, who was formerly Citraketu Mahārāja, a great devotee. Because he derided Lord Śiva, the foremost of all devotees, he had to accept the body of a demon called Vṛtra, but then he was taken back to Godhead. Thus when Kṛṣṇa punishes a demon or conditioned soul, He stops that soul’s habit of blaspheming Him, and when the soul becomes completely pure, the Lord takes him back to Godhead.
SB7.1.26 TEXT 26 tasmād vairānubandhena nirvaireṇa bhayena vā snehāt kāmena vā yuñjyāt kathañcin nekṣate pṛthak SYNONYMS tasmāt—therefore; vaira-anubandhena—by constant enmity; nirvaireṇa—by devotion; bhayena—by fear; vā—or; snehāt—from affection; kāmena—by lusty desires; vā—or; yuñjyāt—one should concentrate; kathañcit—somehow or other; na—not; īkṣate—sees; pṛthak—something else.
TRANSLATION Therefore by enmity or by devotional service, by fear, by affection or by lusty desire—by all of these or any one of them—if a conditioned soul somehow or other concentrates his mind upon the Lord, the result is the same, for the Lord, because of His blissful position, is never affected by enmity or friendship. PURPORT From this verse one should not conclude that because Kṛṣṇa is unaffected by favorable prayers or unfavorable blasphemy one should therefore blaspheme the Supreme Lord. This is not the regulative principle. Bhakti-yoga means ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam: one should serve Kṛṣṇa very favorably. This is the real injunction. Here it is said that although an enemy thinks of Kṛṣṇa unfavorably, the Lord is unaffected by such antidevotional service. Thus He offers His benedictions even to Śiśupāla and similarly inimical conditioned souls. This does not mean, however, that one should be inimical toward the Lord. The stress is given to the favorable execution of devotional service, not purposeful blasphemy of the Lord. It is said:
nindāṁ bhagavataḥ śṛṇvaṁs One who hears blasphemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotees should immediately take action or should leave. Otherwise he will be put into hellish life perpetually. There are many such injunctions. Therefore as a regulative principle one should not be unfavorable toward the Lord but always favorably inclined toward Him.
Śiśupāla’s achievement of oneness with the Supreme Lord was different because Jaya and Vijaya, from the very beginning of their material existence, were ordained to treat the Supreme Lord as an enemy for three lives and then return home, back to Godhead. Jaya and Vijaya inwardly knew that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they purposely became His enemies to be delivered from material life. From the very beginning of their lives they thought of Lord Kṛṣṇa as an enemy, and even though blaspheming Lord Kṛṣṇa, they chanted the holy name of Kṛṣṇa constantly along with their inimical thoughts. Thus they were purified because of chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. It is to be understood that even a blasphemer can be freed from sinful activities by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Certainly, therefore, freedom is assured for a devotee who is always favorable to the service of the Lord. This will be clear from the following verse. By rapt attention fixed upon Kṛṣṇa, one is purified, and thus one is delivered from material life.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has very nicely explained the word bhayena, which means “by fear.” When the gopīs went to Kṛṣṇa in the dead of night, they certainly feared chastisement by their relatives—their husbands, brothers and fathers—but nonetheless, not caring for their relatives, they went to Kṛṣṇa. There was certainly fear, but this fear could not check their devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.
One should not mistakenly think that Lord Kṛṣṇa must be worshiped by an inimical attitude like that of Śiśupāla. The injunction is ānukūlyasya grahaṇaṁ prātikūlyasya varjanam: one should give up unfavorable activities and accept only favorable conditions in devotional service. Generally, if one blasphemes the Supreme Personality of Godhead he is punished. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (16.19):
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān There are many such injunctions. One should not try to worship Kṛṣṇa unfavorably; otherwise he must be punished, at least for one life, to be purified. As one should not try to be killed by embracing an enemy, a tiger or a snake, one should not blaspheme the Supreme Personality of Godhead and become His enemy in order to be put into hellish life.
The purpose of this verse is to emphasize that even the enemy of the Lord can be delivered, not to speak of His friend. Śrīla Madhvācārya also says in many ways that one should not blaspheme Lord Viṣṇu through one’s mind, words or actions, for a blasphemer will go to hellish life along with his forefathers.
karmaṇā manasā vācā In Bhagavad-gītā (16.19–20) the Lord says:
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān āsurīṁ yonim āpannā “Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life. Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.” One who blasphemes the Lord is put into a family of asuras, in which there is every chance of forgetting the service of the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa further states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.11–12):
avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā Mūḍhas, rascals, blaspheme the Supreme Lord because He appears exactly like a human being. They do not know the unlimited opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo Anything done by those who have taken the attitude of enemies will be baffled (moghāśāḥ). If these enemies try to be liberated or to merge into the existence of Brahman, if they desire to be elevated to the higher planetary systems as karmīs, or even if they desire to return home, back to Godhead, they will certainly be baffled.
As for Hiraṇyakaśipu, although he was extremely inimical toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he always thought of his son, who was a great devotee. Therefore by the grace of his son, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Hiraṇyakaśipu was also delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
hiraṇyakaśipuś cāpi The conclusion is that one should not give up pure devotional service. For one’s own benefit, one should not imitate Hiraṇyakaśipu or Śiśupāla. This is not the way to achieve success.
SB7.1.27 TEXT 27 yathā vairānubandhena martyas tan-mayatām iyāt na tathā bhakti-yogena iti me niścitā matiḥ SYNONYMS yathā—as; vaira-anubandhena—by constant enmity; martyaḥ—a person; tat-mayatām—absorption in Him; iyāt—may attain; na—not; tathā—in a like manner; bhakti-yogena—by devotional service; iti—thus; me—my; niścitā—definite; matiḥ—opinion.
TRANSLATION Nārada Muni continued: By devotional service one cannot achieve such intense absorption in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one can through enmity toward Him. That is my opinion. PURPORT Śrīmān Nārada Muni, the topmost pure devotee, praises Kṛṣṇa’s enemies like Śiśupāla because their minds are always completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, he thinks himself deficient in the inspiration of being feelingly absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This does not mean, however, that the enemies of Kṛṣṇa are more elevated than Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotees. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 5.205) Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī also thinks of himself in such a humble way:
jagāi mādhāi haite muñi se pāpiṣṭha “I am a worse sinner than Jagāi and Mādhāi and am even lower than the worms in the stool.” A pure devotee always thinks himself more deficient than everyone else. If a devotee approaches Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to offer some service to Kṛṣṇa, even Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī thinks that the devotee is greater than She. Thus Nārada Muni says that according to his opinion the enemies of Kṛṣṇa are better situated because they are fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa in terms of killing Him, just as a very lusty man always thinks of women and their association.
The essential point in this connection is that one should be fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, twenty-four hours a day. There are many devotees in rāga-mārga, which is exhibited in Vṛndāvana. Whether in dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or mādhurya-rasa, all the devotees of Kṛṣṇa are always overwhelmed by thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa is away from Vṛndāvana tending the cows in the forest, the gopīs, in the mādhurya-rasa, are always absorbed in thoughts of how Kṛṣṇa walks in the forest. The soles of His feet are so soft that the gopīs would not dare keep His lotus feet on their soft breasts. Indeed, they consider their breasts a very hard place for the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, yet those lotus feet wander in the forest, which is full of thorny plants. The gopīs are absorbed in such thoughts at home, although Kṛṣṇa is away from them. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa plays with His young friends, mother Yaśodā is very much disturbed by thoughts that Kṛṣṇa, because of always playing and not taking His food properly, must be getting weak. These are examples of the exalted ecstasy felt in Kṛṣṇa’s service as manifested in Vṛndāvana. This service is indirectly praised by Nārada Muni in this verse. Especially for the conditioned soul, Nārada Muni recommends that one somehow or other be absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, for that will save one from all the dangers of material existence. Full absorption in thought of Kṛṣṇa is the highest platform of bhakti-yoga.
THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB7.1.1.htm
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
tat-parasya janasya vā
tato nāpaiti yaḥ so ’pi
yāty adhaḥ sukṛtāc cyutaḥ
saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
yo dviṣyād viṣṇum avyayam
majjanti pitaras tasya
narake śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
mūḍhā janmani janmani
mām aprāpyaiva kaunteya
tato yānty adhamāṁ gatim
mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
mama bhūta-maheśvaram
mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ
rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva
prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ
bhagavan-nindayā tamaḥ
vivakṣur atyagāt sūnoḥ
prahlādasyānubhāvataḥ
purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha