Brhad Bhagavatamrta -2| HH Bhanu swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 5th Dec 2017
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
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, this is the summary of Brhad Bhagavatamrta. It’s in two parts. And this is the second part of the first part. So, the subject is finding who gets the most mercy. So, the story starts with Narada Muni and he finds, he’s at Prayag, or let’s say Triveni, and then he sees a Brahmana worshipping, and he says, you got great mercy. Brahmana says, No. The king of the country or the state’s got more mercy because he’s got a Vishnu deity and he’s very charitable and he feeds everybody, etc. But then he goes to the king and he praises the king and says, You’re a great devotee. And the king says, No, I’m not a great devotee. After all, actually, I’m very temporary, got a very short lifespan, etc.
Actually, Indra, he’s a great devotee of the Lord because actually the Lord was born as Vamanadeva and he’s the younger brother of Indra and they have very long lifespans, etc.
So, Narada Muni flies up to Svargaloka, meets Indra, and he starts praising Indra and says, You’re the greatest devotee.
But Indra says, actually, Indraloka is not so nice after all, because it’s very temporary [Laughs]. And the Lord doesn’t stay, he disappears. And I’m not a very good devotee because I fight with Krishna [Laughs].
So he says, actually, Brahma is a better devotee. So Brahma is actually the son of Vishnu because Brahma comes from the navel of Vishnu. So Brahma has a very, very long lifespan. One Indra lasts one-fourteenth of a day of Brahma. And the Lord resides there on Brahmaloka [Laughs].
So Narada goes to Brahmaloka and praises Brahma.
And then Brahma says, I’m not a great devotee also, I also offend the Lord [Laughs]. And I also, I think I’m the controller, etc., and the creator, and I fear the destruction of my planet.
And then I give benedictions to demons like Hiranyakasipu and Ravana, and then they fight with the Lord.
Yeah, I appoint devatas. The devatas also offend the Lord. So of course Indra offended Krishna, and Yamaraja, he took away the son of Sandipani Muni, the guru of Krishna.
And Kubera’s follower was Shankachuda, Shankachuda tried to steal away all the Gopis [Laughs] and kidnap them [Laughs]. And Varuna, he stole, he kidnapped Nanda Maharaj.
So he says, actually I’m not such a great devotee, Shiva is a great devotee. Shiva’s planet is much higher, it’s outside the universe. And Shiva awards liberation.
So Narada Muni then goes to Shivaloka. And he begins to praise Shiva.
And then Shiva says, I’m not a great devotee after all [Laughs]. I’m trying to get the mercy of Krishna’s devotees. So in this way, he rejects all the praises of Narada Muni.
And he says, actually, all the benedictions I give are useless because it puts everybody in problem. And I give liberation, but then devotees hate liberation.
So, then he says, actually, the devotees in the spiritual world in Vaikuntha, they’re real devotees.They get the most mercy of all. And they travel about, and they come into the material world, and they distribute mercy freely. They see the Lord at all times. So they have Satchitananda bodies. Although they can travel everywhere, they generally stay in Vaikuntha with the Lord.
But then Shiva says, well, there’s many, many great devotees of the Lord, and actually Prahlada is very, very great. He refused liberation, and he only requested bhakti from Narasimhadeva. So because Bali and his son, Banasura, were related to Prahlada, they got benedictions. So Prahlada actually is a very, very great devotee, and he lives on Sutalaloka.
So actually, Narada Muni, he was going up to Brahmaloka and Shivaloka, then [Laughs] he went down this [Laughs] below. So we got the lower planetary system there, Sutala, the third one below. Atala, Vitala, Sutala, hellish planet [Laughs].
So Narada went down to Sutalaloka, and he saw Prahlada there, and he began to praise him. And he says how Prahlada was able to pacify Narasimhadeva, and no one else could do so, so he must be very, very great. And the Lord offered all benedictions, including liberation, and then Prahlada refused everything. He said, I only want bhakti.
But then Prahlada refuses all the praise that Narada Muni gives. So he says, none of this is symptoms of getting the Lord’s mercy. Of course, Prahlada is famous for smaranam, he always remembers the Lord. So when he was tortured by his father, he was always remembering Vishnu. But then he says, actually, I only remember the Lord because I’m in a big problem [Laughs]. So, I remember the Lord [Laughs]. So he says, real mercy of the Lord is, when the Lord gives service to a devotee.
So Hanuman, he’s got service. I don’t have service, he’s a great devotee. So, I get to come down here and rule a kingdom and be in Sutalaloka, that’s not a sign of mercy. And he says, actually, my bhakti is contaminated by jnana. He comes from the family of demons, and the demons generally, if they are religious, they’re jnanis, and they talk about atma and Brahman. So, my bhakti is contaminated by jnana. So the Lord, actually, Vamana, he comes and he stays in Sutalaloka, but then Prahlada says, he’s not there all the time, he just comes sometimes. So therefore, he says, actually, Hanuman is a greater devotee. [Laughs] So at all times, he sees the Lord and he serves the Lord. He’s free of old age and death. And he gets to carry the Lord [Laughs].
So Narada Muni became very joyful, and then he flew down over to Kimpurusha Varsha. He was down in Sutalaloka, then he came up to the Bhu Mandala, and he went to Kimpurusha Varsha. So, there in Kimpurusha Varsha, the people generally, they worship Ramachandra. He is the presiding deity. So here is the Jambudwipa on Bhumandala, the central island with mount Meru in the middle and Bharat Varsha is down in the bottom there, then the Himalayas are there, then we get Kimpurusha Varsha. And this is where Ramachandra is worshipped, and that’s where Hanuman resides. [Laughs]
So then, Narada, he went to there and he praised Hanuman as being the greatest recipient of the Lord’s mercy. So he says, you’re the Lord’s servant. You’re his friend. You’re his carrier. You’re his seat, asana [Laughs]. You’re his flag [Laughs]. You’re his umbrella [Laughs]. You’re his canopy, or his roof. And fan, he uses his tail, he fans him [Laughs]. You’re his bard, which means he sings songs to him. He is a singer, he sings songs. He’s his advisor, he advises Ramachandra. He’s a doctor, he gives medicine [Laughs]. He’s general, an army general. He’s a best helper. And he expands the glories of Ramachandra all the time.
So Hanuman was very pleased to see Narada Muni, here we see him jumping up in the air. He was so joyful, he jumped up in the sky and embraced him in the sky [Laughs]. But then Hanuman said, well, actually I’m not such a great devotee after all [Laughs]. Actually I have a deity of Ramachandra, but Ramachandra is not here. I’m also separated from Ramachandra. So he laments in separation. He says, Ramachandra has neglected me, so how can I be the best recipient of mercy?
So he says, the Pandavas are the great object of the Lord’s mercy. Because the Lord actually serves them, he was their servant, their advisor, their messenger, their charioteer, and court attendant, he follows them. So it is also described in Mahabharata that he used to stand guard at night time for the Pandavas [Laughs]. And when they have procession with Yudhishthira and the Pandavas, he follows behind as one of the attendants. And the Lord praises them and offers his respects to them. And he’s constantly with the Pandavas. They’re the greatest devotees.
Okay, so then chapter 5 means, Priya means very dear devotees. So then Narada Muni goes to meet the Pandavas at Hastinapura. So Narada praises Krishna, and then he sees and he says, you know, the Pandavas are favoured by Krishna so much, they’re the greatest devotees.
So he quotes one verse that says, the friend of the Pandavas is my friend, and their enemy is my enemy, the Pandavas are my very light bearers. This is what Krishna says.
But then Yudhishthira and others deny the praise and say, no, we’re not great devotees also [Laughs]. All our friends and our relatives have died, and Krishna is not with us either. We also suffer. He visits Hastinapura, but actually he stays with the Yadus in Dwaraka. So Yadus are the best devotees.
So then Narada Muni went to Dwaraka to see the Yadus [Laughs]. So he began to praise the Yadus. And he said, your abode is better than Vaikuntha. But the Yadus say, oh Krishna, he sometimes leaves us also. He’s always with Uddhava. He’s never present before us in the assembly [Laughs].
So actually Uddhava is the best devotee [Laughs]. So Uddhava is such a great devotee that the Lord sends him out on missions, and the Lord doesn’t have to go personally. He sends Uddhava. When Samba was kidnapped or held prisoner then, Krishna sent Uddhava to rescue him. So, Uddhava serves the Lord, he takes his Mahaprasad, he massages his feet. And he looks almost exactly like Krishna. So, when Uddhava came to deliver the message of Krishna to the Gopis and to everyone else, they all thought, oh, Krishna’s come back [Laughs].
Okay, so then we come to chapter 6, this is called Priyatama, the dear most of all. So Narada goes to see Uddhava, he has his own house there in Dwaraka. But actually then Uddhava was with Krishna, so Uddhava was in the back rooms of Krishna’s palace, in the inner rooms. The queens were there, Balarama was there, and Padmavati, that was the Kamsa’s mother, was there. And they were waiting for Krishna to wake up in the morning. So Uddhava thinks, I’m also not the greatest devotee, actually the Gopis are the greatest devotees [Laughs].
And various people speak, like Rukmini speaks about how Krishna is supposed to sleep and he’s always dreaming about Vrindavan [Laughs], the devotees of Vrindavan. And that day particularly Krishna didn’t get up. So finally, he got up, and then he was very, very morose. Because he was dreaming about Vrindavan. So, then Krishna asked, what should we do for the people of Vrindavan? But nobody wants to say you have to go back, because if he goes back, then they get separated from Krishna [Laughs], so they don’t say that [Laughs]. So, everyone gives a different suggestion of what to do. Write a letter, do this, do that. But Uddhava says actually nothing is [Not clear] all they want is Krishna.. You can send gifts, you can send messages, letters, what not [Laughs].
So yeah, then Uddhava says, unless your two lotus feet make a blessed journey to Vraja, there is no way to assure that your people of Vraja will survive. Those people want nothing but your lotus feet. So in other words, if you don’t go there, they’re going to die [Laughs]. And Balarama says, the devotees who relish the nectar of your names cannot die of starvation. Instead, their end will come by the fire, in a fire, in a great forest of separation. So they’ll die of separation rather than starvation or anything else.
So Uddhava and Balarama both describe the miserable condition of the people of Vraja, because they’ve both seen it. Uddhava went after a few months, and then he delivered Krishna’s message at that time he saw their condition. And then later, Krishna sent Balarama, and then Balarama went there also and he saw their condition. So then Krishna and Balarama began crying, and all the yadus began crying [Laughs]. So that ends that chapter.
And then we come to the last chapter, called Purna or Perfection. So because of the great lamentation throughout Dwaraka, then Brahma saw it was very inauspicious, so he appeared. So he came along with all the devatas and the Vedas. So Brahma had a plan. So actually, Brahma had Vishwakarma make Nava Vrindavan, new Vrindavan, near Dwaraka [Laughs]. So it had like trees and everything, and it looked exactly like Vrindavan. There were cows there, etc. And they made statues of Yasoda and Nanda [Laughs] etc [Laughs] there, they are standing there like this you know [Laughs] and Radha etc [Laughs]. So then Brahma ordered Garuda to take Krishna and Balarama and Rohini there. So he put them on the back of Garuda, and they flew to this place called Nava Vrindavan.
So Krishna was actually, he fainted, and so Balarama decorated him with a forest garland like in Vrindavan and had a flute on his side like this, and woke him up [Laughs].
So Krishna wakes up finally, and then he looks around, and he thinks he’s in Vrindavan. And there are statues of Nanda and Yasoda, and Yasoda is holding butter in her hands Laughs], and Radha is there [Laughs].
And Krishna, of course, is kind of fainting, half-fainting state, so he doesn’t notice that there are actually statues, and he starts talking to them. And they don’t answer [Laughs]. But he doesn’t notice that, because he’s in such a confused state. So then he goes out with the cows, and he starts going, and he comes to the water, and he thinks it’s the Yamuna, but then there’s big waves [Laughs]. It’s just a little strange, how the big waves are there [Laughs]. Because it’s Dwaraka [Laughs]. So then he saw Dwaraka, the whole city, there in the distance, and he said, this cannot be Vrindavan [Laughs]. So then Balarama began to explain that actually, yes, this is not Vrindavan, we made this place, but it’s because you’re in Dwaraka, and you have your duties to perform in Dwaraka, you have to kill some demons.
So then Krishna recovers, and he remembers that he has certain duties to perform in Dwaraka. Then there’s a whole discussion about this, why Krishna doesn’t return. So Krishna says that actually, even if I do return, they’ll still be disturbed. Because when I come back, then they keep thinking, I’m going to go again. So then they’ will be more disturbed [Laughs]. So they dread, even if he’s there, then they dread again he’s going to go away, so this makes their grief and lamentation even more. So in that separation, of course, they go through all sorts of states, sometimes they appear dead, sometimes they are almost insane. When Krishna, just before the Rasalila, Krishna disappeared, and when he disappeared, there was a very short period of disappearing, but [Laughs] at that time, they went insane and they began enacting his pastimes and talking and doing all sorts of things. So if I go back there, then actually I’ll only increase their lamentation, so therefore I cannot go.
So then Krishna actually recognizes Narada Muni and he begins to praise him for helping him remember Vraja [Laughs]. So because you helped me remember the people of Vrindavan, you’re the best devotee.
So we see that though the Gopis are the highest and they have the highest bliss, they’re often in the greatest lamentation. So the greater the love, the strength of the love is, the greater the lamentation. So that lamentation is like a great fire. So then the greatest love turns into the greatest sorrow. But because this is all spiritual, that great, great sorrow then turns into bliss, the greatest bliss [Laughs]. And that’s not even with meeting Krishna, even in sorrow, when they’re not meeting Krishna, that sorrow turns into the greatest bliss.
Of course, we’ll see in the pastimes, after separation, then Krishna does meet with his devotees. So though Krishna left Vrindavan, then he went to Mathura, then he went to Dwaraka, actually he returned later on after killing Dantavakra. So this is described in the Padma Purana. So he returned there and then he stayed there eternally [Laughs]. But simultaneously, in another body, he went back to Dwaraka [Laughs]. So in this way, he kept his promise and he returned to the people of Vrindavan and the Gopis [Laughs].
So therefore, the love has an apparent great lamentation, but that lamentation is actually part of Prema. So if one is reminded of these great devotees, like the Gopis, then Krishna, as he says, I feel very thankful to that person for helping me remember them. So, Narada Muni then finally became very happy because his search for who gets the most mercy was finally resolved [Laughs]. So Krishna is most attached to the people of Vrindavan. And among them, the Gopis have the most attachment. And Krishna is most attached to them. So Narada Muni became very joyful and he played on his vina and said jai jai [Laughs]. And he began singing the names of Krishna.
So Krishna offered to give benedictions to Narada Muni. So Narada’s first request is a benediction of constant mercy. Not for himself, but for everyone, that everyone should never feel they’re lacking mercy. There should be constant mercy given to everybody. So then Krishna answered, well actually that’s the nature of my mercy, I never withhold it, I’m always giving it to everybody [Laughs].
So then there’s a little explanation about these different devotees that Narada Muni saw, like he went to the Brahmana, then he saw Indra, then he saw Brahma, then he saw Shiva, then he saw Prahlada, etc., Hanuman, all different types of devotees. And they all said, oh we’re not perfect, this devotee’s better, this devotee’s better. So it looks like inequality is there, in the mercy [Laughs]. It looks like there’s inequality there, because they get different types of mercy. But then Krishna says, no, they’re all perfect. Now of course the devotee from his point of view says, no I’m not perfect, this devotee is better, this devotee is better, they say that, but actually he says they’re all perfect. And each of them has got my mercy. But again, each Jiva is different. So they have different grades of perfection. And therefore it looks like different degrees of mercy. But they’re all satisfied in their particular position.
OKay so then, he asks for a benediction of knowledge of mercy. So actually his whole purpose was to find out who gets the most mercy. So the benediction is already understood, more or less [Laughs], because he understood everything [Laughs]. And what I’ve realized is, the Gopis are the greatest recipients of the mercy. So that’s understood.
So his third benediction was preaching. So Narada Muni requested that I just wander everywhere, chanting the names of Krishna. So bless me so that I can wander everywhere, inside the universe and outside the universe, distributing joy of your names.
So Narada Muni, after all of this, then he went back to Prayag, and he met the sages who were there. And he told the whole story of how he went here and there, and finally went out to Dwaraka, and then he met Krishna, and then he realized who got the greatest mercy. So immediately all the sages gave up interest in all material things, and they began to worship Krishna.
So this was actually a conversation between Parikshit and his mother, Uttara. So Uttara had requested to talk more about Krishna, after Mahabharata. And she had actually asked also about who gets the most mercy [Laughs]. So then Parikshit ordered his mother, you also worship Krishna. So you should desire to be a servant of the Gopis. And do kirtan. And in this way, by worshipping the Gopis, then you will attain that realization of the same type of mood. So in this way, the first part ends.
Okay, Hare krishna [Laughs].
Q & A:
1.) When Krishna sent Balarama to pacify the Gopis, to check the people of Vrindavan, When Balarama went there, there was a team of Gopis who had association with Balarama. Does that mean they have two separate groups?
Oh yeah. There is two separate groups [Laughs]. Krishna has Rasalila with his Gopis, and Balarama has Rasalila with his Gopis. Separate groups [Laughs].
Devotee: Krishna’s Gopis [Laughs]. Satisfied with that situation, that Balarama had his own?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: No, but of course not with the Rasalila, because they couldn’t participate in that Rasalila. But he came and he tried to pacify. Of course they weren’t completely pacified. That’s why later, he went back and then he told Krishna, only your going there would satisfy.
Devotee: Maharaj, Balarama’s associating with Gopis, they didn’t feel Balarama’s separation when he was..?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh yeah, definitely.
Devotee : [Laughs] Different Gopis get along?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh yeah.
Devotees: [Laugh].
2.) So there are many stories in Brhad Bhagavatamrta. How he can think of it? Srimad Bhagavatam is a kind of historical narration and stories and stuff. But how can he think about this Brhad Bhagavatamrta in terms of that kind of, way of thinking?
Oh, we take it as a literary work rather than a historical work.
Devotee : [Not clear].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yeah, we take it as a smriti. We take it as a, it’s like a commentaries of the Acharyas on the scriptures.are considered to be scripture also. So it’s like a commentary more or less. It’s an explanation of Bhagavatam. So therefore it’s like a commentary on Bhagavatam.
Devotee: Is it a smriti?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, it’s all smriti, we consider it all smriti because only sruti is Vedas and everything else is smriti [Laughs].
Devotee: Maharaj how [Not clear].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, this is part of the, we can say, something which cannot be realized by people in the material world. In order to understand this, then you have to attain a similar state. That’s what they say [Laughs]. And the reason is that sorrow is part of prema. It’s different from material lamentation.
Devotee: Sometimes we get a glimpse Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: It’s possible. Mercy of Krishna, I suppose [Laughs].
Devotee: Like sometimes we feel the separation, but suddenly the joy comes in.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Possibly. Yeah [Laughs].
3.) Maharaj In the material world, right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yeah. In Kimpurusha Varsha.
Devotee: Yeah, so he’s always there? In his eternal body, spiritual form.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. Of course, in the spiritual world he is also there simultaneously.
Devotee: Maharaj, they said that he’s on Earth also now. On Earth also.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, Kimpurusha Varsha is on Earth. Its part of Jambudvipa which is on Bhumandala.
Devotee: Maharaj you mentioned that Shivaloka is also there.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: It’s also in Kailash. It’s there also, both places.
Devotee: In Himalayas, that we saw in the picture of those, we saw Kailash.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, I suppose Kailash is somewhere in there.
4.) Maharaj, is Hanuman nitya siddha?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, yeah. Eternal associate of Lord Rama.
Devotee : [Laughs].
Devotee: Vaikuntha also is in the material world, it’s there?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Above Brahmaloka.
Devotee: This is not above Brahmaloka. This is [Not clear]
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: No, it’s on Bhumandala here. Next to Bharata varsha. Next Varsha over. There’s a different, and Shiva, there’s a Shiva there also. And near the middle, near Illavarta Varsha, which is in the center. There’s form of Shiva there. So in each of these Varshas, there’s a different form of the Lord, presiding.
Devotee: Maharaj, Bhakti Vikasa Maharaj says that Kailash is that brahmajyoti and spiritual world, that Kailash is not in between.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, that’s after Shiva Loka. That’s above Shiva Loka. So that’s above the shell of the universe. Then into the Brahman region. So that’s, we can say where Shiva Loka is. But then we have, within the world, we get Kailash, which is also Shiva Loka. And then Shiva resides also in Illavarta Varsha. He also resides in one of the lower planets. He’s down in one of the lower planets also.
Devotee: There also?.
Devotee : Asvattama got benediction that he cannot die.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: He’s somewhere. He’ll be the next Vyasadeva in the next Kali Yuga or something [Laughs].
Devotee: Next manvantara?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. Okay Hare Krishna.
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!