Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.37 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 21 September 2025
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevaya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 11 Chapter 5 Verse 37
ŚB 11.5.37
na hy ataḥ paramo lābho
dehināṁ bhrāmyatām iha
yato vindeta paramāṁ
śāntiṁ naśyati saṁsṛtiḥ
Synonyms
na — there is no; hi — indeed; ataḥ — than this (process of saṅkīrtana); paramaḥ — greater; lābhaḥ — thing to be gained; dehinām — for embodied souls; bhrāmyatām — who are being forced to wander; iha — throughout this material universe; yataḥ — from which; vindeta — one obtains; paramām — the supreme; śāntim — peace; naśyati — and is destroyed; saṁsṛtiḥ — the cycle of repeated birth and death.
Translation
Indeed, there is no higher possible gain for embodied souls forced to wander throughout the material world than the Supreme Lord’s saṅkīrtana movement, by which one can attain the supreme peace and free oneself from the cycle of repeated birth and death.
Purport
In the Skanda Purāṇa, as well as in other Purāṇas, there is the following statement: mahā-bhāgavatā nityaṁ kalau kurvanti kīrtanam. “During Kali-yuga the great devotees of the Lord always engage in kīrtana, chanting the Lord’s holy names.” It is the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be merciful, and He is especially merciful to those who, in a helpless condition, take complete shelter of His lotus feet. One can immediately take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord by chanting His holy names. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, even in previous ages such as Satya-yuga it was not possible for the living entities to achieve the perfection that is available in Kali-yuga. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this as follows. In former ages such as Satya-yuga human beings were perfectly qualified and easily performed even the most difficult spiritual processes, meditating for many thousands of years practically without eating or sleeping. Thus, although in any age one who completely takes shelter of the Lord’s holy name gets all perfection, the highly qualified inhabitants of Satya-yuga do not consider that merely moving the tongue and lips, chanting the Lord’s holy name, is a complete process and that the Lord’s holy name is the only shelter within the universe. They are more attracted to the difficult and elaborate yoga system of meditation, complete with sophisticated sitting postures, painstaking control of the breath and deep, extended meditations in trance on the Personality of Godhead within the heart. In Satya-yuga sinful life is practically unheard of, and therefore people are not afflicted with the terrible reactions seen in Kali-yuga, such as world war, famine, plague, drought, insanity, etc. Although in Satya-yuga people always worship the Personality of Godhead as the ultimate goal of life and meticulously follow His laws, called dharma, they do not feel themselves to be in a helpless condition, and thus they do not always experience intense love for the Lord.
However, in Kali-yuga living conditions are so unbearable, modern governments are so obnoxious, our bodies are so ridden by physical and mental disease, and even self-preservation is so troublesome, that the conditioned souls intensely cry out the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, begging for relief from the onslaught of this age. The members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement have vivid and unforgettable experiences of the terrible contradictions inherent in human society in this age, and thus they are firmly convinced that there is nothing to be achieved except the mercy of the Supreme Lord. In ISKCON centers throughout the world we observe wonderfully ecstatic kīrtana performances in which men, women and children from all walks of life chant with startling enthusiasm the holy names of Kṛṣṇa and dance in ecstasy, becoming completely indifferent to so-called public opinion. In America a prominent professor from Oberlin College visited a Hare Kṛṣṇa center in California and was astonished by the enthusiasm with which the devotees chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in their congregational performances.
Thus, due to their helpless and pathetic condition, the living entities in Kali-yuga have great impetus to surrender fully to the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, putting all of their hope and faith in the Lord’s holy name. Kali-yuga is therefore the best age because in this age, more than in Satya-yuga or other ages, the conditioned souls become disgusted with the kingdom of illusion and surrender fully to the Lord’s holy name. This status of full surrender is called paramāṁ śāntim, or supreme peace.
Śrīla Madhvācārya has quoted a passage from the book called Svābhāvya to the effect that a bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession is able to understand the mentality and capability of his disciples and engage them in worshiping the particular form of the Lord suitable for them. In this way the spiritual master destroys all obstacles in the path of his disciples. The general rule is that one must worship the particular form of the Lord that appears in the current yuga. One may also offer his love and worship to other forms of the Lord that appear in other ages, and specifically one is recommended to chant the holy names of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to get all protection. Practically all of these injunctions are being carried out within the ISKCON movement. Within the Kṛṣṇa consciousness society, men, women and children are all being engaged in worshiping the Lord according to their particular natures. In addition, according to Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s order, we are worshiping Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, who appeared in Dvāpara-yuga, because They are the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, by chanting the Daśāvatāra-stotra, jaya jagad-īśa hare, and by reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the members of ISKCON worship all of the plenary expansions of the Personality of Godhead. And after every ārati performance devotional prayers are duly chanted to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva for protection of this movement, which is so essential to human society.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj :
So, as this verse states, there is no greater gain for living entities wandering in this material world. But what is this great gain? So, the previous verses tell us that Nama Sankirtana is the method for this age. So, of course, chanting the name is the greatest gain. And by chanting the name, what do we gain? We gain Krishna. Of course, any form of the Lord is supreme. And if we get to realize any form of the Lord, we have Prema. And we can attain any of these forms by chanting particular names of the Lord. So, if we chant the name of Narsimhadeva, we get Narsimhadeva Prema. If we chant the name of Rama, we get Rama Prema. So, the Bhagavatam points out at the very beginning of the first canto that there are many forms of the Lord. They are all Bhagavan, but Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan. He is the most complete manifestation of all qualities of Bhagavan. And therefore, the recommendation of Sukadeva Gosvami is that, everybody in Kali Yuga should worship Krishna. So, that is the main point of Srimad Bhagavatam.
But then the question arises, how do we worship Krishna? So, this verse, or this whole section, is talking about Yuga Dharma. And in Kali Yuga, the Yuga Dharma is Nama Sankirtana. So, previously, it was stated in this chapter that intelligent people in Kali Yuga worship the Lord through Nama Sankirtana. But, which form of the Lord they should worship? Krishna, through Nama Sankirtana. And then, what happens? They get the greatest gain, that is, they realize Krishna. They attain Krishna Prema. And by that realization, they get the highest bliss. So, therefore, the name of Krishna in Kali Yuga is the greatest gain.
As was mentioned in the purport, in different Yugas, Bhagavatam is recommending different processes. Because the qualification of people is different, they have different processes to follow. Just as we have people in different gunas. So, for people in Tamo-guna, the Tamo-guna Puranas, which glorify Shiva, are recommended. However, in terms of Yugas, there is a particular avatar who propagates a particular form of Bhakti. In other words, all the four Yuga dharmas are processes for worshipping the Supreme Lord. Even though meditation is also part of Yoga system, the goal is different. So, the goal of meditating on Vishnu in Satya Yuga is to attain Vishnu, have Vishnu Prema. So, similarly in Treta Yuga, because the people are less qualified, they cannot meditate so nicely, but they are still quite qualified, they are giving a type of worship of the Lord through fire. So, instead of a mental form of the Lord, they got a physical, symbolic form of the Lord in fire. But the goal again is to realize Vishnu. In Dvapara Yuga, the process of worshipping the Lord is Paricharya, serving the deity form of the Lord. People are less qualified, so it is very difficult to see the Lord in fire. So, they are given an actual form of the Lord to worship. But in worshipping that form, then they have to follow a lot of rules. So, in Kali Yuga, then people are even less qualified, they are not even qualified for worshipping the Murti form of the Lord with as many rules. So, the process in Kali Yuga is Nama sankirtana. But it is also worship of the Lord.
So, we have meditation in Satya Yuga, Yajna in Treta Yuga, and Archana in Dvapara Yuga. Chanting the name of the Lord in Kali Yuga gives the result of meditation or Yajna and Deity worship. The result of all these processes is realization of the Lord and Prema. In Kali Yuga, simply by chanting the name of the Lord, one can realize the Lord and get Prema. Of course, in our particular Kali Yuga, we have a little advantage. The Yuga avatar is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is non-different from Krishna. So, by his mercy, he enables the people of Kali Yuga to realize Krishna. So, of course, Krishna is the highest form. And he appears once in the day of Brahma. That’s normally difficult to attain Krishna. So, the people of our Kali Yuga, this particular Kali Yuga are fortunate because this Kali Yuga follows the appearance of Krishna. And though Krishna disappeared before Kali Yuga started, Srimad Bhagavatam has appeared to present us Krishna in Kali Yuga.
But still, how do we realize Krishna who is described in Bhagavatam? So, the process is the Yuga Dharma, Nama Sankirtana. But not Nama Sankirtana, but Nama Sankirtana of Krishna’s name. So, by chanting Krishna’s name, we can attain realization of Krishna and Krishna Prema. So, that’s the ‘paramalabha’, the greatest gain.
Of course, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is non-different from Krishna, but he’s also got the mood of Radha. So, he is empowered to present not only Krishna, but also Radha. And thus, in the name also, we have Radha. So, ‘Hare’ means Radha. So, the great blessing of Kali Yuga, the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is that the Jivas in Kali Yuga can realize Radha and Krishna. Though Krishna is the highest of the forms of the Lord, Radha Krishna is the highest form among all the forms of Krishna. So, that is the highest, highest gain. And it becomes available to the unqualified people of Kali Yuga through Nama Sankirtana of the names of Radha and Krishna. And by doing so, the people of Kali Yuga can easily surpass all the problems of Kali Yuga. But of course, simply surpassing the problems of the material world is not the ultimate goal of Bhakti and Nama Sankirtana. Of course, Bhakti liberates you from the material world. But actually, devotees don’t even want liberation. So, the name and Bhakti, take a person beyond liberation to Prema.
So, the goal of the devotee goes much beyond liberation. It goes much beyond peace. Of course, it gives peace, but it goes much beyond that. Even the most peaceful rasa, Santa rasa, is beyond peace of liberation. What is the difference? If we just get liberated from the material world and we enter Brahman, we don’t have realization of any form of the Lord. And if we don’t realize any form of the Lord, we cannot get Prema. So, without realization of a form of the Lord, we cannot get Prema. Without Prema, we cannot get bliss. So therefore, the devotees do not want to be stuck in liberation. And therefore, they strive for Prema. So, of course, in Prema, we have Santa rasa, peaceful rasa. Usually, people who were attached to Jnana or Yoga, if they take to Bhakti purely, then they may attain Santa rasa. So, that rasa has elements of peace. It is peaceful because there is not much disturbance. Jnanis and Yogis strive for liberation because they don’t want the disturbances of the material world. So, those in Santa rasa are somewhat like the people striving for liberation, but there is a difference. They worship the Supreme Lord with pure Bhakti and they attain realization of the form of the Lord. And when they realize that form of the Lord, they develop ecstatic symptoms.
So, what is the difference of Santa rasa from other rasas? It is much more peaceful. The Jnanis and Yogis want peace, so their rasa is also very peaceful. We see in Madhurya rasa, the Gopis are fainting. And when they are in separation from Krishna, they weep. So, this is big disturbance. And the Yogis and Jnanis don’t want disturbance. So, their ecstatic symptoms are minimal. But because they are related to the Lord in loving service, they have slight tendencies like that. So, it is different from the peace of Brahman, but relative to the other rasas, it is very peaceful. And because it is peaceful, then the amount of bliss is also less. The amount of bliss in Madhurya rasa is the greatest. But also, the Gopis experience the most extreme disturbances. So, in this way, the name delivers us beyond liberation and peace and gets us into Prema in the spiritual world. And Lord Caitanya, by telling us to chant the names of Radha and Krishna, is encouraging us to attain the highest rasa with the greatest bliss and the greatest disturbance.
So, of course, the people in the material world who are inclined to Jnana will say, what is the use of going to the spiritual world, because all you do is cry and faint. And we do that in the material world [Laughs]. So, it takes a devotee to understand that Prema is completely different from material emotions. We cannot approach the process of bhakti through material logic. And therefore, we depend on the Acharyas to explain the nature of bhakti and the experience of bhakti as presented in Srimad Bhagavatam.
Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, the Supreme Lord appears in different yugas in different colors. How to understand this Maharaj ?
So, when the Lord appears, and not just in yugas, but other times as well, he appears in different forms, with different names, with different activities, in different colors. So, the yuga avatar in Satya Yuga is white, and the yuga avatar in Treta Yuga is red. The yuga avatar in Dvapara Yuga is Shyama. And the usual color of the Kali Yuga avatar is Krishna, black. But, in our particular Kali Yuga, we don’t have the regular yuga avatar, we have another form of Krishna himself. So, this is the golden form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
But, we have other colors as well, it is said sometimes in some scriptures that the Dvapara Yuga avatar is green. And, of course, we have another green avatar, but not a yuga avatar, that is Lila avatar, that is Ramachandra. So, we have avatars coming with different forms, and different colors etc, and different names, and different activities. But, the pastime of the yuga avatar is to reveal the yuga dharma.
2.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, you said that whatever mantra we utter depends upon that whether Rama or Narasimha we attain that. So, it is predetermined, or how do I know which form of the Lord I like? Because I met devotees, they gave mantra, I am chanting. So, how to understand, Maharaj, which form of the Lord I like?
Of course, the different forms of the Lord have names which are in common. For instance, Vishnu Sahasra nama has thousand names of Vishnu, and some are the names of Krishna as well, or Rama as well. So what form do we attain? It depends on what we are thinking of when we chant that particular name.
So we chant Hare Rama. So, of course, if we are trying to attain Krishna, it becomes the name of Rama, one who gives pleasure to Radharani. That is why along with chanting the holy name, we do need some knowledge to understand who we are going to attain.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, I heard Prabhupada once saying that most of his devotees will attain the heavenly planet. So what did Prabhupada actually think that the devotees were lacking, that they will not attain Prema, rather they will go to the heavenly planets?
So, a devotee who does bhakti, but he mixes material desires with that, cannot directly go to the spiritual world. In order to get to the spiritual world and have Prema, we have to practice pure bhakti. This is the definition given by Rupa Gosvami at the beginning of Nectar of Devotion. So, those who do not practice pure bhakti, they may have a little contamination of desire for some material enjoyment, then they get advancement, so they can go to Svarga Loka and they can continue their bhakti. And gradually they can elevate themselves to Brahma Loka and from Brahma Loka they can go to spiritual world. So this is called Krama Mukti, gradual liberation from the material world. Of course, the devotees in general don’t desire that. They’d rather go directly to spiritual world. In order to do that, then they have to practice pure bhakti.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, thank you so much for such detailed explanation. Continuing on what Prabhu asked. So, there were two mentions about qualifications that you mentioned Maharaj in your lecture. So, is it that in Kali Yuga, like in previous Yugas, people were more qualified and we are less qualified, that’s why we are here. And you also mentioned about you know being depressed. So, how should we approach the holy name? Meaning, with a sense of eagerness or with a sense of depression? So, what is the correct understanding?
So, the general characteristic of people in Kali Yuga is, they have one quarter dharma left out of hundred percent dharma. Most people are attached to material enjoyment. Most people are ignorant. Most people have no respect for scriptures. So, in this condition, it is very difficult for people to practice spiritual life. And even to practice bhakti is very difficult. So, nevertheless, Lord is very merciful and he wants to provide opportunity for the people in Kali Yuga. Therefore, he presents Nama Sankirtana as the Yuga Dharma. So, this Yuga Dharma allows people who are otherwise unqualified to begin and perfect spiritual life.
So, people have one quarter dharma or less than that. So, very unqualified, people are in Tamo guna. How are they being qualified for bhakti? Of course, the nature of bhakti itself is that anyone, in any guna can practice. But still, it does require faith. And most people in Kali Yuga do not have faith in the bhakti scriptures. So, how to help the people? So, the process is Nama Sankirtana. And thus we have an example in Bhagavatam of Ajamila, no qualification, no faith. But by uttering even accidentally the name of Narayana, he was able to destroy all of his karmas. So, in other words, chanting the name is available for everyone even if they don’t have qualification of faith. Of course, if they desire prema, then they have to have pure bhakti. But any exposure to the name, not even chanting, just hearing the name helps to purify any person.
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Dhruva Maharaj attained Santa rasa because he had material desire and he approached the Lord. So, can we understand that if a sadhana bhakta has material desire and he is doing sadhana, he will attain, the prema will be weak. Can we understand like this?
Visvanatha Cakravarti and Jiva Gosvami explain that if one has mixed bhakti in the form of material desires, gradually he can become purified. Then he can go beyond liberation and he can attain spiritual world. So, he gets salokya and sarupya. And, of course, he has some realization of the Lord. But because of this mixture of a desire for enjoyment, the bhakti is somewhat weaker. But nevertheless, he gets more than the jnani or the yogi or the karmi. So, he gets the spiritual world and because he had a desire to enjoy, he gets a nice spiritual body, he gets a nice spiritual place. But the attraction to the Lord is relatively weak compared to others in the spiritual world.
Devotees : Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam ki Jai !!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki Jai !!! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai !!!