Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.15.32 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | July 7, 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 15 Verse 32.
ŚB 1.15.32
निशम्य भगवन्मार्गं संस्थां यदुकुलस्य च ।
स्व:पथाय मतिं चक्रे निभृतात्मा युधिष्ठिर: ॥ ३२ ॥
niśamya bhagavan-mārgaṁ
saṁsthāṁ yadu-kulasya ca
svaḥ-pathāya matiṁ cakre
nibhṛtātmā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ
Synonyms
niśamya — deliberating; bhagavat — regarding the Lord; mārgam — the ways of His appearance and disappearance; saṁsthām — end; yadu-kulasya — of the dynasty of King Yadu; ca — also; svaḥ — the abode of the Lord; pathāya — on the way of; matim — desire; cakre — gave attention; nibhṛta-ātmā — lonely and alone; yudhiṣṭhiraḥ — King Yudhiṣṭhira.
Translation
Upon hearing of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s returning to His abode, and upon understanding the end of the Yadu dynasty’s earthly manifestation, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira decided to go back home, back to Godhead.
Purport
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira also turned his attention to the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā after hearing about the Lord’s departure from the vision of earthly people. He began to deliberate on the Lord’s way of appearance and departure. The mission of the Lord’s appearance and disappearance in the mortal universe is completely dependent on His supreme will. He is not forced to appear or disappear by any superior energy, as the living beings appear and disappear, being forced by the laws of nature. Whenever the Lord likes, He can appear Himself from anywhere and everywhere without disturbing His appearance and disappearance in any other place. He is like the sun. The sun appears and disappears on its own accord at any place without disturbing its presence in other places. The sun appears in the morning in India without disappearing from the Western Hemisphere. The sun is present everywhere and anywhere all over the solar system, but it so appears that in a particular place the sun appears in the morning and also disappears at some fixed time in the evening. The time limitation even of the sun is of no concern, and so what to speak of the Supreme Lord who is the creator and controller of the sun. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that anyone who factually understands the transcendental appearance and disappearance of the Lord by His inconceivable energy becomes liberated from the laws of birth and death and is placed in the eternal spiritual sky where the Vaikuṇṭha planets are. There such liberated persons can eternally live without the pangs of birth, death, old age and disease. In the spiritual sky the Lord and those who are eternally engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are all eternally young because there is no old age and disease and there is no death. Because there is no death there is no birth. It is concluded, therefore, that simply by understanding the Lord’s appearance and disappearance in truth, one can attain the perfectional stage of eternal life. Therefore, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira also began to consider going back to Godhead. The Lord appears on the earth or any other mortal planet along with His associates who live with Him eternally, and the members of the Yadu family who were engaged in supplementing the pastimes of the Lord are no other than His eternal associates, and so also Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers and mother, etc. Since the appearance and disappearance of the Lord and His eternal associates are transcendental, one should not be bewildered by the external features of appearance and disappearance.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this verse describes the disappearance of or the desire to disappear of Yudhisthira. And just like Krishna disappeared, Yudhisthira also would disappear. But Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport that the appearance and disappearance of Yudhisthira like the appearance and disappearance of the Lord, is not material.
So, an example is given, the sun appears in the morning and disappears in the evening. So, from our point of view, that is so, because at a certain time in the morning, the sun appears and disappears, but in other parts of the world, again, it is appearing and disappearing. So, the appearance and disappearance of the sun, does not mean it is created and destroyed. So similarly, the Lord can appear and disappear, but He is not destroyed. So, it is only from our particular point of view that there is an appearance and disappearance. So, like the sun, the Lord continually exists and He is existing within this universe and in other universes. Similarly, the eternal devotees will appear and disappear.
Of course, the example of the sun is not perfect. We know that the sun also is material. At the end of Brahma’s life, the sun also is destroyed. So, only say, partially the example is suitable. So, the difference is, the Supreme Lord never disappears at the end of the life of Brahma. So, we can say that just like the sun appears and disappears from our vision, so the Lord also appears and disappears within the universe. And even if the universe disappears, the Lord continues to exist. Similarly, His eternal devotees continue to exist. So this is the quality, special quality of the Supreme Lord, He eternally exists with a form which is never created or destroyed. By His mercy, then, we have Jivas, who have eternal bodies which are never created and destroyed. So in one sense, what’s the difference between the Supreme Lord and devotees? Both eternal with eternal bodies. So actually, very similar.
However, eternally by nature, the Jivas are Tatastha Shakti, the Lord is not Tatastha Shakti.
So the Jivas in the material world are Tatastha Shakti, Jivas in the spiritual world also are Tatastha Shakti. One of the qualities of the Tatastha Shakti is that Tatastha Shakti is dependent upon the Supreme Lord. So even in the spiritual world, these eternal servants of the Lord are dependent on the Lord. Certainly, they are different from the Jivas in the material world. The Jivas in the material world take material bodies. Those material bodies continually created and destroyed. So, though Tatastha Shakti are in the material world and in the spiritual world, they are somewhat different also. But both are dependent on the Supreme Lord. So, the Jiva, whether he is in the material world or in the spiritual world, never changes that nature of being dependent on the Lord. So the Jiva always remains Jiva. The Lord always remains Supreme Lord.
So, in a few purports previously, Prabhupada explains that we have these different Tattvas – Supreme Lord, Jiva, Prakriti, Time and Matter. So four of these Tattvas are eternal. That means, no beginning, no end. The Lord with His spiritual body is not created or destroyed. The Jiva, as Tatastha Shakti, depend on the Lord, never created or destroyed. So the individual Jiva always remains Tatastha Shakti, whether he is in material world or spiritual world.
We know however that these two Jivas – material world Jiva and spiritual world Jiva are also somewhat different. The external difference is that, the ones in the spiritual world have eternal bodies, the ones in the material world do not have eternal bodies. This arises from difference in consciousness. The nature of Tatastha Shakti is to be conscious, whether he’s in material world or spiritual world. But in the material world, the consciousness is different from that in the spiritual world. So the Jiva in the material world is called ‘Bahir Mukha’. That means faced externally. We can say, he’s faced towards the Bahiranga Shakti, the material energy. That Jiva in the material world is attracted to enjoying matter. And the Jiva in the spiritual world is not attracted to matter at all. The Jiva in spiritual world is attracted to Supreme Lord. So the difference is, the Jiva in the material world is trying to enjoy in the material world and Jiva in the spiritual world is trying to serve Supreme Lord. So that change in consciousness produces this complete difference in existence.
We often think in the material world that we are here and we go to the moon that is quite far away, we go to Mars that is further away, we go to some other planet that is further away, we go to the edge of the universe that is further away, and if we go to Vaikuntha, it is so far away we can’t even imagine. So it looks impossible to go there by some spaceship. So, that extreme distance is covered instantaneously simply by changing consciousness. If we change our consciousness to Krishna consciousness, immediately we are in spiritual world. So, it doesn’t require any effort, any distance. So of course, even in the material world, if we want to go to higher planets which are also very very far away, we do so by changing consciousness. We are a mixture of Rajas and Tamas. If we change our consciousness to Sattva, then we can go to Svarga Loka or Brahma Loka. So again, it does not require machine, it requires change of consciousness.
So that is what Srila Prabhupada explains in ‘easy journey to other planets’. So, if we really want to travel, we become Krishna conscious, we go to the furthest destination of all. So of course, the Lord promises, you go to the spiritual world, you don’t come back. So of course, the promise of the Lord is absolute. So nevertheless, we know that Jiva is the Tatastha Shakti, he has got eternal nature, he’s a Tatastha. So what’s to prevent the Jiva of the spiritual world from suddenly being in the material world ? Again, because he’s a Tatastha in either case. So, the answer is that, the Jiva who is a Tatastha in the spiritual world has an addition of the internal energy of the Lord, the Antaranga Shakti or the Cit Shakti. So, the Jiva in the material world is simply Tatastha Shakti.
However, by practicing Bhakti which is also part of the Cit Shakti, eventually the Jiva gets who is a Tatastha ends up with this Cit Shakti as part of himself. So when that Cit Shakti is fixed permanently, the Jiva is permanently in the spiritual world. So, he is different from the Jiva in the material world. So, some Jivas are eternally in the spiritual world. Others attain that state from the material world. So the Jivas in the material world, by doing Bhakti then they enter the spiritual world and they also get that Cit Shakti. So therefore, they’re very similar to all the eternal associates of the Lord because they’re Tatastha with the Cit Shakti. So, all those Jivas in the spiritual world have eternal spiritual bodies. And they’re in that way similar to the Supreme Lord.
So, I said of course all these Jivas are still the Tatastha Shakti, they don’t change their essential nature. However, by the mercy of the Lord, we also find that sometimes the Jivas also look like they control Krishna. Krishna becomes dependent on those devotees. So therefore reversal. The Jiva is superior, Krishna is inferior. Of course, Krishna always remains Ishwara, Jiva is still the Tatastha Shakti. But by the mercy of the Lord, that type of boundary is covered and they reverse their roles. And of course, that is prevalent everywhere whether it’s Vaikuntha or Goloka. But in Goloka, Krishna becomes even more subservient to His devotees. And so the inhabitants of Goloka simply think of Krishna as their friend or their child etc. So that distinction between the Supreme Lord and the Jiva is completely obliterated there.
So, this of course is all taking place in the spiritual world where everybody is eternal. And if there’s an appearance or disappearance of the Lord, it is not factual. In the spiritual world, the Lord may appear or disappear for pastimes. The Lord may appear within the material world but then He will also disappear. So His appearance or disappearance in the material world is also a pastime. And His eternal spiritual body is never destroyed.
When the Lord appears in the material world, He does not appear alone, He appears with His devotees. And when He comes as Krishna, He comes with many devotees. He has many devotees in Vrindavan and many devotees in Dvaraka. When the Lord appears, they appear, when the Lord disappears, they also disappear. So, all of this is pastime of the Supreme Lord. In different avatars, the manner in which the Lord appears and disappears may be different.
Of all of the disappearances, disappearance of Krishna and the Yadus is very remarkable. Because it appears that Krishna is not Supreme Lord, because He gets shot and dies and the Yadus kill each other, this doesn’t look like Supreme Lord at all. So, this becomes very confusing for a materialistic person but not confusing for the devotee.
So, to make that clear in Bhagavatam, even in the first canto we have a whole description of the disappearance, even though the disappearance comes at the end of the Bhagavatam, in 11th and 12th cantos. So, by explaining that disappearance here, the author, Vyasadeva makes sure that the devotee understands that the disappearance is not a real disappearance at all.
Hare Krsna!
Q & A
1) Maharaj, when you hear about Krishna’s appearance and disappearance, same thing can be applied to the devotees also. That appearance and disappearance, although they have a special body, special eternal association with the Lord. But how to understand their growth of the associates of the Supreme Lord?
Oh, yeah. So, when Krishna appeared. Yeah, so like the Supreme Lord, when Krishna appears, so he is born as a child and grows up. So also these devotees also will appear in the material world and seem to grow up. So we see all the cowherd boys and the Gopis are first Kaumara age, then they are Pauganda, then they are Kaisora period. We don’t have the description in Bhagavatam, but we see also that Pandavas were born and they grew up as their children, they grew up also.
2)Suppose we have six Goswamis and we see that there are old age, but this old age is applied only in the material world, it doesn’t exist in the spiritual world. So how to understand this? Because that means that this old age passed into the six Goswamis or other associates is going on somewhere else simultaneously.
Yes, of course, ultimately the eternal associates don’t have any age, so they don’t get old. Yeah, for past times, we do have older persons. Nanda Maharaj had grey, white hair [Laughs]. So in the past times, we’ll have older people and younger people etc. People do grow old in that sense. Now, of course, Krishna, even he is 120 years old, he doesn’t seem to get old. In the past times of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, one unique feature is that Lord Caitanya himself is acting very much like a human being and so also his devotees. So therefore, the idea of old age may be there, this is an appearance again.
3) Maharaj , Prabhupada mentions in the purport that those who live in spiritual world they are eternal associates of the lord. So if some jiva goes from here to the spiritual world, how can we consider them as eternal associates. Eternity exists only in the spiritual world, but how can we apply that term with the conditioned soul?
So a Jiva from the material world, if he performs bhakti and goes to the spiritual world, becomes an eternal associate. So he is perceived by all the other Jivas there as being eternally with the Lord. They don’t say, oh, this Jiva came from material world on so and so date, no conception like that. But of course, we do distinguish them, so we call those who are eternally the Nitya Siddhas and the other ones we say are Baddha Siddhas or whatever [Laughs], Baddha muktas or whatever. But there’s no perception of that difference in the spiritual world. And even Krishna [Not clear] there eternally. Of course, the nature of the spiritual world is such that there is no perception of time, there is no past, so it’s all eternally present.
4) If some Jiva go from here to the spiritual world, suppose if he becomes a Gopa or a Gopi or whatever, but suppose they have a conception that, you know, that in the spiritual world, oh I know all the Gopas or Gopis and those who are there. If some new Jiva goes there. It will be like a new for them that, oh, there is one new Jiva came to the spiritual world right now, that conception is there or not? See, we have a temple devotee in the temple. If some new devotee come, immediately we start distinguishing, oh, he is a new devotee. But this same kind of perception, conception is there in the spiritual world?
So there are several ways in which we can say the new [Laughs] Jivas get introduced. One way, of course, is they enter into the pastimes of the Lord in the material world. And once they’re there, then of course, they are also in the spiritual world. The other way itself is, well, they’re still in this material body and if they attain Prema, they enter into the pastimes even then. So even when they’re in the material world, they’re also in the spiritual world [Laughs]. So when they give up the material body, then they’re only in the spiritual world and not with a material body at all, that’s all. So in the Brhad-bhagavatamrta, when Gopakumar goes to the spiritual world, then Krishna introduces, oh, he’s a friend of a friend like this. Here he is [Laughs].
5) Maharaj, in the material world, there is an unlimited universe, and unlimited Bhauma Vrindavan, and unlimited Lila is going on. But in the spiritual world, is there only one Goloka? How can we understand Maharaj that?
Well, actually, though there may be many Vrindavans and many universes, actually, they’re actually one Vrindavan, It’s all one. The only reason that it becomes many in this material world is because we have many universes.
6) Can the Jiva Shakti, i.e. tatastha Shakti, will reach Adhyatmika world?
The word Adhyatmika of course refers to Atma. And we call Adhyatma Jnana – knowledge of Atma. So it’s often associated with the sadhana of Jnana Yoga and realization of Brahman. So if one attains Prema, automatically he realizes he is Atma, different from body, but he surpasses that by understanding Atma is servant of Krishna.
7) In Bhakti Marga, what is the meaning of initiation for a student?
Well of course, Prabhupada explains initiation means a beginning. However, in scripture when they talk about Diksha, they usually refer to a particular ceremony. For instance, there is qualification for learning the vedas, so that is upanayanam, so that is a type of Diksha. For performing certain sacrifices, you require a special Diksha. In Pancharatra Diksha refers to getting a Pancharatric mantra which qualifies you to worship the deity. So of course that is what Lord Caitanya got in Gaya, he got 10 syllable Krishna mantra, that was his Diksha.
But you cannot publicly preach that to the people because it is secret mantra. So thus most devotees don’t even know the Diksha Mantra of Lord Caitanya [Laughs]. And he didn’t reveal it to anybody. So that’s not a very good way for preaching, you cannot preach your Diksha Mantra. So in the Gaudiya Sampradaya when they talk about Diksha, they are not referring to the Vedic Diksha or Upanayanam, they are referring to the Pancharatric Diksha. And for followers of Pancharatra, that Diksha is necessary. This Mantra is the main sadhana.
One can chant the Mantra as Japa or one uses the Mantra for deity worship. So for followers of Pancharatra, that Diksha is necessary. So of course generally the Vaishnavas follow Pancharatra, so therefore they also follow Diksha. However Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduced Nama Sankirtana as the main sadhana. And therefore the Diksha Mantra and deity worship becomes secondary to chanting the holy name. And as stated in Caitanya caritamrta, simply by chanting the name you get all perfections.
So people say what about Diksha? So in Caitanya caritamrta it says Harinama is independent of Diksha. It gives all success on its own. So by introducing Nama Sankirtana as the main process, that Diksha process becomes very secondary. And that’s what Caitanya when he preaches, he says harer nāmaiva kevalam. He doesn’t say Diksha eva kevalam or something.
So Nama Sankirtana is the main process, however that process of Diksha was not given up as Lord Caitanya took Diksha. So the Diksha process also continued in the Gaudiya Sampradaya. Of course we can also say as time went on that Diksha became more emphasized and they trace their lineage through Diksha. However we see that Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur did not emphasize a Diksha Parampara. So he emphasized Siksha Parampara. Teaching is more important for chanting Hare Krishna than Diksha. Of course we know Harinam is independent, so it’s independent of Diksha. It’s independent of knowledge. In one sense, yes. If you chant the holy name with no knowledge as Ajamila, you can destroy all your karmas, so it has potency. But if you want Prema, you have to chant the name purely. And if you chant purely, you need knowledge. So therefore if you want Prema, we also need some knowledge, we don’t need the Diksha, but we do need Siksha.
So in ISKCON of course we use the word initiation in a very broad way. And so initiation refers to a ceremony. But actually it becomes two ceremonies. Though actually we’re said you can only have one Diksha, but we have two Dikshas in a sense [Laughs]. But actually we don’t get two different mantras. We only get the mantra once. So without that mantra, you cannot do deity worship. So that’s the actual initiation or Diksha.
8) During initiation, there is a vow taken by the devotee. But it doesn’t happen when one doesn’t take initiation. When one doesn’t take initiation, that vow he doesn’t take, that he’s going to follow 4 regulative principles, he’s going to help the spiritual master in his mission. But it doesn’t happen when one doesn’t take initiation. So by taking initiation, one becomes more committed.
Well, we do have vows, etc. But if we look at the definition of Diksha, that’s not there, no. That’s something in ISKCON, It’s not even there in Gaudiya Math [Laughs]. So technically you could also have a vow without any, don’t call it initiation, and you could have a vow also.
9) A devotee is trying to establish a kind of relationship with the Supreme Lord Krishna. Is it solely dependent on Krishna’s mercy or the devotee’s pure efforts?
Definitely the Lord’s mercy is one of the unique qualities of Bhakti. The Lord may give unconditional mercy to the most undeserving person, but generally, He gives mercy to those who are serious. So when the devotee shows that he is serious about sacrificing material life for serving the Supreme Lord, then the Lord gives His mercy.
10) Maharaj, We have nama sankirtan, by chanting holy name we destroy all the karmas like Ajamila. Similarly by chanting Gayatri mantra we destroy all the karmas. By chanting Hare Krishna mantra to get prema we need knowledge, by chanting Gayatri mantra to get prema we need also knowledge. So those who are only chanting Gayatri mantra who will give that knowledge to get prema?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : : Yeah, which Gayatri?
Devotee : Pancharatra.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : : Pancharatra Gayatri ?
Devotee : Diksha Mantra. Diksha Mantra.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Okay, yeah so if you are chanting Krishna Mantra, your Diksha Mantra, you should get the knowledge from your Diksha Guru. Generally, Mantras are little more difficult to chant than the name. So for the Mantras, there is rules, there is Nyasas, Pranayama and so many preliminaries for your Mantra to be effective. So in one sense, of course, the Mantra itself is knowledge. Or as it is said, Diksha means divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt, Diksha means to give transcendental knowledge.
So when the Guru gives you that Diksha Mantra, He is giving you that knowledge. But then, in order to chant that Mantra properly, you have to get more knowledge. So to chant the holy name, you don’t need nyasas or all those rules and regulations. But we have to distinguish pure Bhakti from mixed Bhakti. We cannot offend the Lord by thinking the Lord has a material body or a Devata. So we need some essential knowledge in order to practice pure Bhakti.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srima Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai !! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !!