Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.11
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bombay, November 11, 1974

Nitai: “Devahuti continued: I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet because You are the only person of whom to take shelter. You are the ax which can cut the tree of material existence. I therefore offer my obeisances unto You, who are the greatest of all transcendentalists, and I inquire from You as to the relationship between man and woman and between spirit and matter.”

Prabhupada:

tam tva gataham saranam saranyam sva-bhrtya-samsara-taroh kutharam jijnasayaham prakrteh purusasya namami sad-dharma-vidam varistham

So Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the real shelter, saranam saranyam. We are seeking shelter, everyone, because we are servant constitutionally. Originally, we are servant of God. So that is our nature, to take shelter. Everyone is seeking a nice shelter. Somebody’s seeking some occupation, service of some big man. Somebody’s seeking oc…, servitorship of the government, government servant. But the ultimate shelter is Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Here Krsna’s incarnation, Kapiladeva… Kapiladeva is also Krsna. Krsna’s incarnation and Krsna, they are all the same. Svamsa, vibhinnamsa. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. Krsna has got ananta, unlimited forms, unlimited incarnations. It is said in the Bhagavatam the incarnations are expanding or going on exactly like the waves in the sea or in the river. You cannot count. So many incarnations, and all of them are Krsna. Therefore in the Brahma-samhita it is said, advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33] Just like Krsna as arca-vigraha, Deity worship in the temple… Now, in India there are many thousands of temples. Now outside of India we are increasing not many thousands, but many hundreds. So Krsna is expanding. All these Krsnas, They are not different; They are one. Advaita. Krsna in the Vaikuntha and Krsna in this temple, They are not different. Advaita. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta. Although ananta, They are not different. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah [Bs. 5.37].

Krsna is staying in everyone’s heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah. Krsna says, “I am residing in everyone’s heart.” He is witness. Upadrasta anumanta. Upadrasta. He is seeing all our activities. We cannot hide anything. Therefore we get the resultant action of our karma. Because the witness is Krsna Himself within your heart, how you can avoid? Upadrasta, anumanta. And without Krsna’s permission, you cannot do anything. So why Krsna gives permission to do something wrong? Because we want to do it. We persist. Krsna does not say that you do anything else than to “Surrender to Me.” He says only these things, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam… [Bg. 18.66]. But we want to do something else. But anything else, you cannot do without Krsna’s permission. Exactly like the child. The child persists to do something, but still wants to take permission from the mother: “Mother, I want this. I want to do this. I want to do this.” Mother sometimes says, “No, no, you don’t do this.” But when he persists, “All right, you do it.” It is like that. We are… Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca [Bg. 15.15]. Krsna says, mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca. I wanted to do something, and Krsna sanctions, and we do. But we do it at our own risk. Krsna is not responsible. But without sanction of Krsna you cannot do anything. That is a fact.

So here it is said, sva-bhrtya-samsara-taroh. Actually, we are constitutionally servant of Krsna. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, ayi nanda-tanuja patitam kinkaram mam bhavambudhau. Ayi nanda-tanuja patitam kinkaram mam bhavambudhau. What is the…?

Yasomati-nandana: Visame bhavambudhau.

Prabhupada: Ah! Visame bhavambudhau. That is our position. Actually we are servant of God, servant of Krsna. We are servant in every… Even though we declare independence, we are not independent. We are servant. That is a false declaration, that “We are independent.” No. There cannot be independence. Therefore this is self-realization. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau krpaya tava pada-pankaja-sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

“My dear Lord, Krsna, the son of Nanda Maharaja…” Patitam kinkaram mam: “I am Your eternal servant, kinkara.” Kinkara means servant. “Now, somehow or other, I am fallen in this ocean of nescience, samsara.” Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka **. Unless one has got the knowledge what is this position, where we are staying, we cannot understand. That is called moha. We have discussed this. Illusion. We are under illusion. So Devahuti says, sva-bhrtya-samsara-taroh kutharam. In the Bhagavad-gita the tree is described, asvattha tree. So asvattha, as we have got experience, the banyan tree, the root is very strong, very strong. So it is also compared, this material world is compared with the asvattha tree, banyan tree. Very strong root. So… But any tree can be cut with an ax, kutharam. So that kutharam, if we take shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna, that is the real kutharam, or ax, to cut the strong root of material existence. Sva-bhrtya-samsara-taroh kutharam. Tam tva gataham saranam saranyam. Gato mukundam saranam saranyam.

There is another similar verse that… Because we have given up the servitorship of Krsna, we are servant of so many other things. We are obliged to serve, rni. Rni means debtor. Devarsi-bhutapta-nrnam pitrnam [SB 11.5.41]. We are debtor to so many persons. We are debtor to the demigods. Just like the sun is demigod. He’s giving you heat and light. You are not paying any bill, but you are ad…, taking the advantage of the sunlight and sun heat. Now, if you take the advantage of electric light and heat, you have to pay bill. But here we don’t pay bill. That means we are becoming debtor. If we don’t pay bill anywhere, then we become debtor. So we are debtor to so many demigods. The sun is supplying heat and light. The king of heaven, Indra, he is supplying water. These rascals, they say it is coming by nature. It may come from nature, but nature is controlled. Just like we are getting water. If somebody says, “Oh, what is that? It is coming from the water tank. So where is the question of paying taxes or rent?” No. The water tank is being filled up by the Municipality. If you don’t pay tax, it will be cut off. Similarly, don’t think that the water is coming as your father’s property. No. You are becoming debtor. You are becoming debtor. Therefore, if you don’t pay debts, if you don’t perform sacrifices, then there will be scarcity of water. And one day it will come there will be no water. That you expect. Because you are not paying any tax. You are thinking, “Water is coming, my father’s property.” No. Your father’s property… That’s all right. But you are not father’s son at the present moment. You are maya’s son. You don’t care for your father.

Therefore father said, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10] Krsna says, the supreme father, aham bija-pradah pita. He’s the supreme father. You don’t care for father. Therefore… The nature is working under the direction of the supreme father. That’s a fact. So if you do not care for your father, then the result will be nature will reduce supply. Reduce supply. Nature will not allow to the demons to flourish. No. That is not allowed. Tan aham dvisatah kruran ksipamy ajasram andha-yonisu. The demons are always liable to be punished. Some big, big demons like Ravana, Hiranyakasipu, the Lord personally comes to punish them. Otherwise, the ordinary demons, they are punished by the laws of nature. Krsna does not require to come to punish these petty demons. But when there is big, big demons like Ravana, like Hiranyakasipu, like Kamsa, then Krsna, or Lord Ramacandra, They come to punish them.

Therefore we have to follow the rules and regulation. That is called sad-dharma. Dharma means the laws given by God. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]. Bhagavat-pranitam. It is given by Bhagavan, the laws. That laws, laws means they are written in books. Because… Just like Manu-samhita. There are many other books, Vedic literature, what is dharma. But real dharma is… Just like law means to obey Krsna, or God. Krsna means God. Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam. So dharma means if one does not care for Krsna, or God, that is not religion. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat… [SB 6.3.19]. You cannot make your law at home. Law means the law given by the government. Similarly, dharma means the orders given by God. That is dharma. You cannot manufacture, that “We have manufactured this dharma.” That is not dharma. That is, in the Bhagavata, is called cheating. Dharmah projjhita-kaitavah atra: “The so-called dharmas, which are cheating the public in the name of dharma, such kind of dharma is kicked out from the Srimad-Bhagavatam.” Dharmah projjhita. Projjhita means prakrsta-rupena ujjhita. Just like you sweep over the floor and the dust throw away. Similarly, in the Srimad-Bhagavatam the real dharma is there. Real dharma. Dharma artha kama moksa, this is ordinary dharma. Real dharma is, as Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. That is real dharma. And all other dharmas, so-called dharmas, they are simply cheating. Because that will not benefit anybody, the followers or the dictators. So real dharma is… And Srimad-Bhagavatam begins from there. if you accept the principles of Bhagavad-gita, that is the preliminary study, A-B-C-D of dharma, and if you accept this principle, that to surrender to Krsna, saranam saranyam…

But this sense comes after many, many births. Not very easily. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. After many, many births struggling, when one comes to real perfection of knowledge, he surrenders to Krsna. Why? Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah [Bg. 7.19]. Because at that time he understands perfectly that Vasudeva, Krsna, is everything. This is Bhagavad-gita lesson. Bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca prakrtir bhinna me astadha. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim param, jiva-bhutam maha… Everything is Krsna’s energy. Everything is Krsna’s energy. Sarvedam akhilam jagat. Parasya brahmanah saktih. Parasya brahmanah saktih. Whatever we are seeing, that is exhibition or manifestation of two energies. Just like the sun has got two energies, heat and light. Everyone knows. Similarly, Krsna has got many energies.

So out of many energies, three energies have been taken into account. One is the external energy, another the internal energy, and the other is the marginal energy. The external energy is this material world, bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca. This is material world. And internal energy is the spiritual world. And marginal energy—we, the living entities. Marginal means we may remain in this material world or we may remain in the spiritual world, living entities. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita there are two kinds of living entities who are living in this material… Ksara, they have fallen down. Fallen down in this… And attracted in this tree of samsara, banyan tree. This is described in the Fifteenth Chapter of… So asanga-kutharena. We have to disassociate with this tree. Asanga-kutharena. By detachment. To cut this tree, it is very difficult. But we have to become detached. Detached means… There is a Bengali proverb: dhari mach nacoi pane.(?) Means that “I’ll catch the fish but will not touch the water.” That is, that intelligence required. You see in the beach… Here we do not see many, many. But in America we see on the beach, old men. They have got no business. They simply waste their time catching fish. Yes. But they are not very interested in this way, nacoi pane.(?) They also touch water also.

So we have go live in this material world in such a way that we shall do everything for Krsna, but we’ll have no attachment for this material world. We may have big, big buildings, big, big temples, but we should not be attached to this. But for Krsna’s sake we must have. Because it is Krsna’s property. That is our mission. Isavasyam idam sarvam. We have to teach people that “Everything belongs to Krsna. Why you are occupying it unnecessarily?” Stena eva sa ucyate. “You are thief. Why you are claiming Krsna’s property, ‘This is my land, America,’ ‘This is my land, India,’ ‘This is my land, Pakistan’?” It is not your land; it is Krsna’s land. You are imagining, “This is my land.” You come here for, say, twenty years, twenty-five years, fifty years, and fight between yourselves, “This is my Pakistan,” “This is my Bharatavarsa,” and fight. And when you die you do not claim either Pakistani or Indian or American or European. You flat, fall flat. That’s all. And then taken away this body and thrown. That’s all.

This is called maya, moha, illusion. Aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. We have discussed this verse. This is illusion. Nothing belongs to us, but unnecessarily we are claiming, “This is my land,” “This is my country,” “This is my home,” “This is my family,” “This is my, my, my…” Mama. This is illusion. And in this way we are attached to this tree, samsara-taroh, from one branch to another. Now I am Indian. I may be American next life, or I may be something else. I may be a cat, I may be a dog, or I may be something else. I may be a cat, I may be a dog, or I may be a demigod. That will depend on my work. But after death, you are completely under the grip of this material nature. Your dictation will not be that “Make me like this, make me again Indian,” or “Again, again make me the nationalist of this country or that country.” No. After death, everything is finished. You are no more nationalist or this proprietor or head or this nothing. But this is going on. So long we are in a position, falsely we are thinking and we are attached and we are suffering. This is the disease.

Therefore she prays that sva-bhrtya-samsara-taroh kutharam. If we transfer our attachment to Krsna, then we can understand that vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]. It is not my land, not your land. It is all Vasudeva’s property. That knowledge comes. When comes? Bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. But we are giving that knowledge immediately. The knowledge which you are expecting after many thousands of births, this Krsna consciousness movement is giving you immediately. If you are intelligent man, you should take it, take advantage of it. We are preaching that “Everything belongs to Krsna. Everything should be utilized for Krsna’s purpose, Krsna’s benefit. He is the beneficiary. Then everything is all right.” If one comes to this knowledge—vasudevah sarvam iti… [Bg. 7.19], isavasyam idam sarvam—sa mahatma sudurlabhah, then immediately you become the greatest mahatma. Mahatma does not mean simply having a big beard and some dress, saffron dress. No. This knowledge, that nothing belongs to…

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati [Bg. 5.29]

This is the formula. “I am the bhokta.” The all best foodstuff should be offered to Krsna. That is arcana-vidhi. First-class foodstuff, all sandesa, rasagulla, kacuri and… Best, best foodstuff. Krsna is satisfied, of course… If you haven’t got very nice foodstuff, Krsna can be also offered also whatever you have got. “Whatever” means not anything beyond the jurisdiction: patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati. You can give Him little fruit, little flower, little leaf, little water. That you can collect without any price; anywhere it is available. Anyone’s garden you can go, and if you say, “My dear sir, I’ll take a little flower and leaf for Krsna,” nobody will ask you, “No, don’t take.” “Take it.” Still, at least in India. In also, USA also. So that you can collect. If you haven’t got to offer… But offer something to Krsna. That is required. Bhaktya.

That is bhakti. That offering is not required… But Krsna is not hungry, that He’s asking from you little fruit, little flower, little… He is feeding… Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman. He is supplying all the necessities of everyone. So why He’s begging from you? Because He wants that you love Him. That is Krsna’s want. You are suffering in this material world, you are entangled in this tree from one branch to another, rotating and suffering. So Krsna wants that you do not suffer. You give up this business of jumping like monkey from this branch to that branch, but come to Him and surrender to Him. Saranam saranyam. When this knowledge comes, that is perfect knowledge. Gato mukundam saranam saranyam parihrtya kartam.

devarsi-bhutapta-nrnam pitrnam na kinkaro nayam rni ca rajan sarvatmana yah saranam saranyam gato mukundam parihrtya kartam [SB 11.5.41]

If… This is required. Krsna also says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66] But if you take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna, then you are no more debtor to anyone. You are no more debtor. Nayam rni na kinkarah.

So this is the solution. Otherwise, you are debtor to so many persons: devata, rsi, devarsi, bhuta, all living entities, apta, friends, relative, and general people, pitrnam, the family in which you are born. Now nation also. That is nrnam, apta, national. So you are debtor to so many persons, but if you surrender to Krsna, Krsna says,… You may think that “If I surrender to Krsna and give up all our duties, then I may remain debtor and I will have to suffer.” No. Krsna gives you assurance, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah. “I’ll give you relief.” That is wanted. Therefore Devahuti takes shelter of Kapiladeva. And she says that “You are the kutharam, You are the ax to make me detached.” Just like the tree, when it is cut into two pieces, they become detached. Similarly, if our attachment is cut into pieces, two pieces, then the other portion becomes free from this material attachment.

Therefore this, to develop this detachment… Bhakti, bhakti-yoga, or the path of bhakti, means detachment. Bhakti, they are… That is vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yogam. Bhakti-yogam means vairagya-vidya, the learning in the science of detachment. That is bhakti-yoga. Vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yogam. This verse was composed by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. When he understood Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he composed one hundred verses. He was a very learned logician of India, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. So some of the verses are available. Because when the verses were offered to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He torn it and… Because He was a sannyasi. That was His another vairagya. Anyway… So this verse is that “You are, Sir, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, You are the same Krsna. You formerly came to teach people this vairagya.” Sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. This parityajya means vairagya. “Don’t care for all this material world. Surrender unto Me.” This is vairagya. Jnana and vairagya. Vasudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogah prayojitah [SB 1.2.7]. Bhakti-yogah prayojitah. If you apply bhakti-yoga to Vasudeva—vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]on this platform, then janayaty asu vairagyam. Asu, “very soon.” This is the sign of bhakti-yoga. Janayaty asu. If a person is advancing in bhakti-yoga, the result will be that he is detached from material attraction. That is the sign.

Just like these European, American boys. They are born to enjoy material happiness. They are, in their country, the affluence of material happiness, money and women, they are thrown in the street. You pick up as much as you like. But they are now vairagya, because they are devotees of Vasudeva. They have no more attachment. This is bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga means vairagya, detachment for material enjoyment. That is the sign. Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42]. Not that “I am a big, big devotee, but I have got very great attachment for material enjoyment.” That is not bhakti. This is the sign. If you have got bhakti, then you will have no attachment for material enjoyment. That is the test. Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktih. Param drstva nivartate. In the Bhagavad-gita it is… Param drstva. Param means better, superior things; drstva, by seeing, these lower inferior things is rejected. That is… Two things cannot go on.

So because we cannot do it ourself, by our own endeavor, therefore we have to take shelter of Krsna. He will help. Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami. He’ll help. Our only business is to take shelter. Therefore Devahuti says, gataham saranam saranyam. “You are the only shelter. Therefore I am taking shelter. And You can cut my attachment for this material life. And why You shall do it? Because I am Your eternal servant.” Bhrtya. Somehow or other… Anadi karama phale padi’ bhavarnava-jale, taribare na dekhi upaya. Bhaktivinoda Thakura, that “Somehow or other, I am fallen…” The same prayer as Caitanya Mahaprabhu said:

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau krpaya tava pada-pankaja-sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

Dhuli-sadrsam. Dhuli means dust, and bhavambudhi is water. So if you are thrown into the water, you may be a very big swimmer, but it is a struggle. It is. There is no peace. Therefore in this material world, however expert you may be to deal with this material world, it is simply struggle. You cannot live here peacefully. That is not possible. Even you become nonviolent, if you don’t harm anybody… In our country the ideal man was Mahatma Gandhi. Still, he was killed. Just see. This is material world. This is material world. He was doing harm to nobody, but he was killed. So bhavambudhi, in this material world, or ocean, you may be very expert in swimming, but that does not mean you’ll be peaceful. That is not possible. But if you are taken away from the water even one inch, you’ll find peace. Therefore the prayer is tava pada-pankaja-sthita-dhuli-sadrsam. Just as from the water, if you are taken one inch up, then you become, you feel relieved, similarly, some way or other, if you become one of the particles of the dust of lotus feet of Krsna, then you are liberated.

That is stated here: sva-bhrtya-samsara-taroh kutharam, jijnasayaham prakrteh purusasya namami sad-dharma-vidam varistham. Sad-dharma. Not sad-dharma. Asato ma sad gama. So sad-dharma required. The, in this material world the so-called dharmas, this Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma and Christian dharma and Buddhist dharma and so many… They are not sad-dharma. They are asad-dharma. “Because I am born in the family of a Christian, I am Christian.” “Because I am born in the family of Hindu, I am Hindu.” And next time I may (be) born in the family of a dog. There is no dharma. So these are not sad-dharma. These are all asad-dharma, for the time being. Asad means “that will not stay.” You are Hindu. How long you are Hindu? Say, fifty years. Or you are Indian. How long you are Indian? Say, fifty, sixty, hundred years. But again you have to become something else. That we do not know. We are working very hard, “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am Indian,” “I am American.” These upadhi. But the upadhi may be changed next moment. At any moment. So what is your real dharma? This is temporary dharma for the body. What is your real dharma? Real dharma is sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. That is sad-dharma. That is sad-dharma. That will continue eternally.

So sad-dharma… Here it is said, namami sad-dharma-vidam varistham: “There are many propounder of sad-dharma. But actually, You are the best of the propounders of the sad-dharma because You know the reality.” And that is the actual reality. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam… [Bg. 18.66]. That is sad-dharma. So the Gosvamis worked… Sad-dharma-samsthapakau. Nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau sad-dharma-samsthapakau. So these Gosvamis, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s direct disciples, they tried to establish sad-dharma, and we are trying to follow their footprints, footsteps, to establish real dharma all over the world. This is Krsna consciousness movement.

Thank you very much. (end)