Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.14.39 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 23, 2025 |
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 14 Verse 39.
ŚB 1.14.39
कच्चित्तेऽनामयं तात भ्रष्टतेजा विभासि मे ।
अलब्धमानोऽवज्ञात: किं वा तात चिरोषित: ॥ ३९ ॥
kaccit te ’nāmayaṁ tāta
bhraṣṭa-tejā vibhāsi me
alabdha-māno ’vajñātaḥ
kiṁ vā tāta ciroṣitaḥ
Synonyms
kaccit — whether; te — your; anāmayam — health is all right; tāta — my dear brother; bhraṣṭa — bereft; tejāḥ — luster; vibhāsi — appear; me — to me; alabdha-mānaḥ — without respect; avajñātaḥ — neglected; kim — whether; vā — or; tāta — my dear brother; ciroṣitaḥ — because of long residence.
Translation
My brother Arjuna, please tell me whether your health is all right. You appear to have lost your bodily luster. Is this due to others disrespecting and neglecting you because of your long stay at Dvārakā?
Purport
From all angles of vision, the Mahārāja inquired from Arjuna about the welfare of Dvārakā, but he concluded at last that as long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself was there, nothing inauspicious could happen. But at the same time, Arjuna appeared to be bereft of his bodily luster, and thus the King inquired of his personal welfare and asked so many vital questions.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So we have a description of Arjuna’s very disturbed state. And Yudhishthira is wondering, how is it possible that Arjuna could be so disturbed? And ultimately of course if Krishna is there then there should be no disturbance. And thus the final conclusion must be that Krishna is not there, that’s why, Arjuna is disturbed. So all these questions about, ‘Is your health all right etc.’ are actually meaningless. Because the devotees are not disturbed by bodily discomforts, whatever.
Of course, we see in the spiritual world, there are emotions that appear to be disturbing. So we may have anger or jealousy or fear or worry or regret etc., in the spiritual world. In the material world, these are caused because of our bodily identification. But there is no such bodily identification in the spiritual world, so in one sense how can these things exist? So, these emotions exist in relation to Krishna. In the material world, we get disturbed because our body is disturbed, in the spiritual world it’s because we have some worry about Krishna. So because these emotions are related to Krishna, they are part of Prema itself. So secondary rasas like fear and anger etc. and all the vyabhicari bhavas which are minor emotions, they are actually related to rasa with Krishna.
So if the inhabitants of Vrindavan become frightened of a forest fire, it’s not because they are identifying with the body, it’s because of their attachment to Krishna. So there are things like worry and fear etc., in the spiritual world, but as I said it’s all spiritual, it’s part of Prema itself. So these emotions in the spiritual world arise often because of separation from Krishna. And thus when Krishna leaves Vrindavan and goes to Mathura, all the people of Vrindavan begin to wail as if in pain, they faint as if they are sick etc. But the feeling of separation from Krishna is also part of Prema. In fact, we often glorify separation as being the highest form of Prema. And in relation of Madhurya rasa, this is called Vipralambha.
So if Arjuna is lamenting in the material world even though he is spiritual, it must be because of separation from Krishna. So though Krishna is eternal, he appears in the material world and then he disappears. And that is so for all the avatars. So, when Krishna disappears in the material world, that is going to be big separation. Of course, Krishna arranged for not much separation with the Yadus because they all disappeared almost when Krishna disappeared. But the Pandavas remained afterwards, so there is separation. So though Arjuna and later on the Pandavas may seem to be lamenting, and in pain, this is all part of their rasa. So we should not think that it is in any way some material emotion.
So as I mentioned, separation is part of Prema. And though the Lord is eternal, His body never dies, sometimes He disappears and then He appears again. So this is part of His pastimes. And so it is equal to meeting Krishna, so therefore within Prema itself, we have two divisions: One is meeting Krishna, one is separation from Krishna. And both conditions give rise to rasa. So we should not in any way think of that separation as something negative. From our point of view in the material world, that separation does not look desirable at all. It appears to be suffering. But our Acharyas explained that separation actually produces a bliss, higher than that of meeting. So that may look or seem impossible to us but yet that is what happens. From our point of view of course we cannot understand that. But nevertheless we see that, that state of Vipralambha is worshipped as the highest state. So why would we worship a state which causes great pain? Rather we worship it because it is a very high state of bliss.
So in this way, Arjuna is feeling great separation from Krishna. Therefore, he exhibits surprising symptoms. These are surprising because he should not show such symptoms at all. He was a great warrior. Krishna became his charioteer. He has eternal body. So how is it possible, he could lose his effulgence and appear so morose? So it cannot be from some material cause. So here Yudhishthira is asking, ’well, were you disrespected by somebody? Were you offended by somebody?’ But Arjuna could not be affected by anything that an asura may say.
We see often in the Bhagavatam, the demons will insult the devotee or insult the Lord. The Lord and devotees are not affected. And rather often our Acharyas take the meaning in the opposite way. So all the insulting words of the demon can be interpreted as praise of the Lord also. So in this way, the devotees and the Lord are not affected by criticism of others. Of course, even a person situated in Jnana is not affected by praise or criticism. So then what to speak of great devotees, they will not be in any way disturbed by criticism. We see in the story of Chitraketu, Chitraketu gets cursed by Parvati. He gets cursed to be a demon. So Chitraketu was a great devotee of the Lord. And it is said, he could have counteracted the curse. Rather he very cheerfully accepted the curse to become a demon. So he was in no way disturbed by whatever Parvati said.
So Arjuna was a very special devotee. Of course, all the Pandavas are considered very special devotees. But especially Arjuna, He is very very special. And thus, Arjuna and Krishna also expand as Nara-Narayana. So the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna is eternal. And if there is going to be separation, then obviously Arjuna is going to have very intense feelings of separation. And he should not be criticized for that. We can criticize materialists when they have such feelings, they become depressed or whatever, but Arjuna is not in the same category, so his type of feelings of depression etc. result from separation from Krishna. So his present symptoms are a show of his great Prema for Krishna. And not due to any material cause. Materialistic people, if they see the activities of the devotee and even the activities of Krishna, they will criticize. Because the activities and the qualities they display, look like material qualities and activities, which we usually criticize. And thus, people who are materialistic, can never appreciate the devotees or the Supreme Lord.
Of course, Krishna and His devotees display qualities and activities that appear to be more human like, than the other forms of the Lord. So, it is rather difficult for the demons to criticize Ramachandra. But very easily they can criticize Krishna. So, Sisupala criticized Krishna like anything. Because He appears like a human being. And He appears to have faults and activities of a human being. So, Krishna is more difficult to appreciate than the other forms of the Lord. And similarly His devotees, People can criticize more.
So as devotees, we understand the spiritual nature of qualities and activities of the Lord and of the devotees. And their appearance to be more human like etc. is also a cause of more bliss. So if one is expecting the Lord to be some great personality, but then Krishna is playing with the cowherd boys as an equal, people may criticize like Brahma may criticize. So not only the demons may criticize, even the devotees may criticize. So Brahma looks at Krishna and he says, ‘ Why is He eating like this? Why is He stealing the food from the cowherd boys? Why has He got food in His left hand? Why does He has food all over His body ?’ So from one point of view, yes, Supreme Lord should not act like that. But acting in this way gives great bliss to the cowherd boys. And that bliss cannot be experienced by Brahma. He has four heads etc.; cowherd boys are little boys so he cannot take that form. He cannot experience that same type of bliss. So, people will criticize mother Yasoda, ‘You can’t punish Krishna. You cannot threaten the Lord with a stick.’
However, it is exactly this type of mood, which gives bliss to mother Yasoda, and gives bliss to Krishna. So, the activities of particularly, Krishna and His devotees are a cause of greater bliss but are misunderstood by people who are expecting something different. So, yes, Krishna is difficult to understand even for Devatas, even for Brahma, however, opportunity is given to us through hearing Srimad Bhagavatam. So Sukadeva Gosvami recites Bhagavatam to convince us that this form of Krishna who is acting like a human being is the highest form. And His qualities and actions and the qualities and actions of His devotees should be praised, not criticized.
Hare Krsna!
Q & A
1) Thank you Maharaj, the separation is part of Prema, however it seems to be very very more painful for a devotee to go through that pain as compared to any other material pain or anything.
If I am looking superficially, it appears to be very great pain and even greater than the pain we experience in the material world. It is interesting to know that the more intense one’s Prema is, the more intense one’s pain is in separation [Laughs]. So of all the people in Vrindavan those who experience the greatest pain are the gopis. It is explained that actually cowherd boys even though they were separated from Krishna didn’t even go to Kurukshetra to see Krishna. So why? Because even not going to Kurukshetra, they were quite satisfied simply by meditating on Krishna. So the separation felt by the Gopis was the most intense of all. So the symptoms will appear like pain.
Among the 33 Vyabhachari bhavas which are part of Rasa we will find things death like symptoms, fainting, loss of consciousness, being completely stunned, inability to speak. But these are part of Prema [Laughs]. But they are based upon the Sthayi bhava, which is one’s relationship with Krishna in Sakhya, Dasya, Vatsalya and Madhurya. So we may ask why don’t we just have Prema without these Vyabhachari bhavas which cause so much disturbance [Laughs]. So it is described that, of course the main Sthayi bhava like or Madhurya Is like the ocean with waves. And these Vyabhachari bhavas are minor emotions are like little waves in that ocean.
Of course some people will say well why do we have any waves in the ocean ? Let it be all peaceful [Laughs]. Therefore we get Santa Rasa. Of course even in Santa Rasa there are Sattvika bhavas and Vyabhachari bhavas but they are not very intense at all, little, very little. But as the Prema becomes more intense In Dasya, then Sakhya, Vatsalya and Madhurya then the waves get bigger [Laughs]. Some people may not prefer that so they become Santa bhaktas [Laughs]. But the more active one becomes in the relationship with Krishna and the more intense the relationship becomes then we are going to get more of these disturbances. They are not really disturbances, they are counter opposite emotions to create taste. Just like we can have sugar, sugar is sweet. Generally nobody just eats sugar. But there are many sweets which have sugar in them. So there are different types of sweets because there are different combinations with the sugar. And by the different other ingredients then we get a variety in the taste. So those Vyabhachari bhavas and the separation etc create variety within the Prema.
2) Maharaj made a point that devotees do not get disturbed but at the same time practitioner do get disturbed, due to various situations around. Is it due to lack of his consciousness of Krishna ?
If one is disturbed by material conditions or change in circumstances etc, then obviously it is we can say due to some material attachment. As I said, the devotees may be disturbed on the highest level, but it is because of separation from Krishna, that’s quite different [Laughs].
3) Hare Krishna Maharaj, thanks for that nice presentation. You said that, we should not be criticizing Krishna rather we should be glorifying Krishna. The very purpose somebody is criticizing is because of the ignorance or because of the demonic attitude. So that attitude always sustains like that. How do we go on with that? Because in the Atheist or a demonic, they always are against the Lord or against this devotion. But you said you shouldn’t be criticizing, but rather they should be glorifying. But they are not willing to do so.
We said we glorify the activities of the devotees and Krishna’s activities, which may look material to materialists. They are actually spiritual activities. So in this case, we’re not considering devotees who are still in the material world who have faults, etc. , we’re talking about devotees who are associates of Krishna. So devotees in the material world doing sadhana bhakti may show faults. So we don’t glorify their faults and say you’re a nitya-siddha, so all your faults are not actually faults, we can’t say that. At the same time, we don’t unreasonably criticize their faults. And we don’t criticize, because we realize that with the progress of their bhakti, those faults should disappear. Of course, if the faults are so serious, maybe indication, they’re not practicing bhakti properly. And in that case, they have to be corrected.
4) Hare Krishna Maharaj, thank you for the wonderful class. And you mentioned that there will be jealousy in spiritual world as well. So what’s the difference between jealousy in spiritual world and jealousy in material world, Maharaj?
In the material world, the jealousy is due to bodily identification. So we identify with our body, we see somebody else with a different body. In the spiritual world, they have no material identity. And everybody is permeated with the idea that they’re trying to please Krishna. So there may be competition, usually, envy does not arise.
However, there is a Vyabhachari bhava called envy. So this may arise, particularly in Madhurya rasa. And that means there is competition among the gopis for Krishna. But this is a Vyabhachari bhava, which means it’s temporary. It appears, and then it disappears. And it creates a little variety within that Madhurya rasa. In the material world, envy may not disappear at all. And it can continue for one’s whole life. It is not part of bliss. It is simply arising as part of our material identity.
5) Maharaj, in Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is lamenting before starting war. And here also lamenting, in both the lamenting, is there any difference, Maharaj?
In the beginning of Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is lamenting, because he has to kill his relatives. And he doesn’t want to fight. And of course, Krishna convinces him by saying, you’re not the body, you’re the soul, etc. However, as I explained, that this lamentation, etc., is caused by the Lord’s yoga maya. In this case, that is not really yoga maya. It’s due to separation.
6) When sadhakas face reversals in life, should they take it as mercy of Krishna or should they accept it as karma?
Well, they can do both, they can accept it as karma, but they accept the karma as the mercy of Krishna.
7) We see that in Rupa Goswami and Jiva Goswami’s pastime, Jiva Goswami pada reacted and he went for a debate with that pandit. How to understand Jiva Goswami’s response on this incident? And we also see that Rupa Goswami disapproved. Whether as a sadhaka, we should act like Jiva Goswami or as per Rupa Goswami’s advice?
Well, from the point of view of defending siddhanta, we can say that Jiva Goswami is acting properly. But we also have a rule in 64 angas of Bhakti, about not involving in study for defeating others. So in other words, the goal is not simply to defeat other opinions, even if they are wrong or whatever. In certain cases, of course, yes, we have to defend the Sampradaya. In other cases, it may not even be necessary. So one has to judge according to the circumstance.
8) When the Supreme Lord comes and engages in lilas in this material world, whether only the devotees from the spiritual planet participate with him in the Lila or is there any person from the material world also participates in the Lila?
Well we see cases of that in Krishna’s pastimes. So Krishna actually told the devatas you be born in Yadu dynasty [Laughs] and you participate in my pastimes. And it is explained that some of the gopis were previously sages of Dandakaranya forest. Others were the personified Vedas.
9) In the spiritual world, is there any difference between physical association and mental association?
Of course, in the spiritual world, physical and mental are not quite the same as we have in the material world. For instance, in the spiritual world, we have this, the quality of a person is that whatever he desires manifests. So the border between mind and reality is not the same as the material world.
Of course, in separation, one relief is to get an internal manifestation of Krishna. However, the gopis were not satisfied with that. Therefore, they said, you have to actually come to Vrindavan again.
10) Will Vyabhachari Bhavas manifest only with Sattvika Bhavas?
Well, often if the Vyabhachari bhava is intense, it will give rise to Sattvika bhava. For instance, if the fear becomes very intense, then they will show the Sattvika bhava of quivering, trembling.
11) When a devotee is going to depart from this material world to Spiritual world will there be any symptoms which will be visible, which will be known to that devotee.
If the devotee is going to the spiritual world, then he is not really concerned. He becomes qualified because in the material world, he enters into the pastimes in his spiritual body. And death means he simply gives up the material body completely, which is like an obstacle for him.
12) Is there anything called spiritual envy?
Yes, as I said, we have something called Irsha, one of the Vyabhachari Bhavas [Laughs]. So this is like envy. So it may manifest temporarily in Madhurya Rasa.
13) As Sadhakas, we always hear that whatever service we do, it should be for the pleasure of the Lord. But how to really imbibe this quality, since we are just practicing Sadhakas with lot of Anarthas?
In order to overcome all the Anarthas, we have to practice constantly.
14) How will a devotee come to know, whether he has got the mercy of the Supreme Lord?
Well, if we get the opportunity to practice Bhakti, that itself is mercy of the Lord.
15) Sriman Mahaprabhu came to distribute Madhurya Rasa. Then what about the other Rasas? How to understand this, Maharaj?
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to show that Madhurya Rasa is the highest. However, he does not discourage others who may be attracted to other Rasas. So, he doesn’t say to Sacimata, you have to have Madhurya Rasa for me.
16) If a person is criticizing Krishna by uttering his name, does Krishna take it as he is chanting his name? How do we understand this?
Well, particularly with the name of Krishna, we find that Sisupala and others were uttering Krishna’s name with aparadha. If they do this constantly and repetitively, then eventually it will purify them. Ofcourse it takes longer than if one has no aparadha. Nevertheless, even if it is done in fear or hatred or whatever, it has a purifying effect.
17) In spiritual world, does separation and jealousy exist with Manjaris?
Well, usually we will find in prominent in the major gopis.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai !! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !!