Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.11 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 4 May 2021
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
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 Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 11 Verse 11.
ŚB 11.11.11
evaṁ viraktaḥ śayana
āsanāṭana-majjane
darśana-sparśana-ghrāṇa-
bhojana-śravaṇādiṣu
na tathā badhyate vidvān
tatra tatrādayan guṇān
Synonyms
evam — thus; viraktaḥ — detached from material enjoyment; śayane — in lying or sleeping; āsana — in sitting; aṭana — walking; majjane — or in bathing; darśana — in seeing; sparśana — touching; ghrāṇa — smelling; bhojana — eating; śravaṇa — hearing; ādiṣu — and so on; na — not; tathā — in that way; badhyate — is bound; vidvān — an intelligent person; tatra tatra — wherever he goes; ādayan — causing to experience; guṇān — the senses, born of the modes of nature.
Translation
An enlightened person fixed in detachment engages his body in lying down, sitting, walking, bathing, seeing, touching, smelling, eating, hearing and so on, but is never entangled by such activities. Indeed, remaining as a witness to all bodily functions, he merely engages his bodily senses with their objects and does not become entangled like an unintelligent person.
Purport
In the previous chapter, Uddhava asked Lord Kṛṣṇa why an enlightened person, just like a conditioned soul, engages in external bodily functions. Here is the Lord’s answer. While engaged in bodily functions, an unintelligent person is attached to both the means and end of material life and therefore experiences intense lamentation and jubilation on the material platform. A self-realized soul, however, studies the inevitable defeat and suffering of ordinary persons and does not make the mistake of trying to enjoy the bodily functions even slightly. He instead remains a detached witness, merely engaging his senses in the normal functions of bodily maintenance. As indicated here by the word ādayan, he engages something other than his actual self in material experience.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this verse deals with how a person who is detached from his body acts in this world. So, of course, generally, if we carry out the functions of our material body, we end up becoming attached to the body and to the senses. So, therefore, if a person is spiritually advanced, what does he do with his body? So, as long as he is alive, he must have a body. And the body must be maintained. So, he has to do some material acts. But when we do these actions, we have a danger of getting entangled and bound up again in the material world.
So, what do we do? If we are perfect, of course, we could just give up the body completely. However, if we’re still doing sadhana, we have to maintain that body in order to advance further. So, here the solution is given. You maintain the body, but remain detached from all the activities. So, necessarily, the senses will have to contact sense objects. So, if we use the nose, then we will smell certain things. If we eat, then we will use the tongue and we will taste different foods. So, here it is explained that the person remains a witness to all of these actions. Which means that he does not experience happiness and suffering because of the material senses.
So, of course, the same description we’ll find in the Bhagavad Gita. And we find the example of the two birds in the tree also illustrates. The bird who is eating the fruit, if he stops eating the fruit, then he becomes blissful. And the bird that is eating the fruit and tasting them and enjoying them, he suffers misery. So, you can stop eating the fruit or you can eat the fruit and not be affected by either happiness or misery. However, if we stop eating the fruit, then we stop using our senses completely, then we will die and we can no longer do our sadhana.
So, instead of stopping all of our activities with the body, we continue the activities to maintain the body. So, this is the basic principle that we use in bhakti yoga. So, we don’t become too austere and stop all the bodily functions. We utilize the body and senses so that we can continue to function in order to perform bhakti. At the same time, we should not become attached to the experiences of happiness.
The same is expressed in the definition of yukta-vairagya. So, in the Nectar of Devotion, it is explained that we can engage material objects for the service of Krishna. But we don’t use those objects and become attached to those objects for our own enjoyment. So, we can utilize material objects in this world, but we utilize them without attack. And similarly, we can use the body and the senses, but again, without attachment. For most people, this is very difficult. The nature of the senses is wanting enjoyment and to avoid suffering.
In chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives us a solution to this problem. If we replace the lower taste of sense objects by a higher taste, then we can give up enjoying material objects with our senses. Of course, in chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna is explaining this, he is referring to getting a taste for atma. However, we can apply the same principle to Krishna. If we develop a taste for Krishna, then we can give up the taste of the material senses. Because the atma has some of the qualities of the Supreme Lord and it’s spiritual, yes, there is some higher taste in realizing atma. However, Krishna is most attractive. He is most tasty. So therefore, it is easy for us to renounce material attachments if we can become attached to Krishna. So the method of renunciation or detachment as described here is best achieved by the process of bhakti.
So this verse talks about being completely detached from all of the bodily functions. But it does not describe the method. So one of the methods, of course, is to practice austerities and sense control. And therefore, in jnana and yoga, there is emphasis upon sense control, mind control etc. So, it is good to trying to control the senses etc, but as I said, it is rather difficult. And of course, in chapter 2 itself Arjuna says it is very difficult to control the senses. And in chapter 12 of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, this path of jnana is kleśo ’dhika-tara [Bg. 12.5]. It is full of suffering. So, to achieve this result of a higher taste, but to make it easier, we have the process of bhakti. Of course, some people will also complain, oh, even bhakti is too difficult. But we can reply that living in this material world also is difficult. Many, many people struggle in this world just to survive. As long as we are in our material body, with our material senses, and with the mind and intelligence, false ego, we will have to struggle. So therefore, we ultimately have to carry out some process to try to solve the problems we have in this world. And just working hard in the material world does not solve our problem.
So, Bhagavatam is suggesting the other way in which we carry out activities in this world. So, of course, it is advising, don’t wildly engage in your sense activities. At the same time, it is impossible to give up all the sense activities. Therefore, one is advised to somehow or other carry out the process of bhakti. And we don’t have to give up all the sense activity. So, in this way, it is easier than the path of jnana and yoga. So, it may take some time to get the result. But, as I said, even in the material world, most people do have to work to get something. Therefore, the devotee is also expected to put some effort into his devotional activity. If a student is admitted to college, very good. But, in order to pass, he will have to put some effort into studying. So, we also very good, we start the process of bhakti. So, yes, very good. But, we also have to do the activities and do them properly. And if we do the activities properly, then we will get the result.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
Below is question asked 2nd time as 1st was not clear.
1.) In the class, Maharaj was mentioning that we can give up the body, if I understood right, when we are in a perfect stage. Is it proper to understand that it becomes a discretion of that living entity in an advanced stage of Krishna Consciousness to give up the body at his discretion?
So, for the devotee, it is ultimately up to Krishna. And therefore, we don’t unnecessarily stop our activities rather, we continue until Krishna gives us a sign that we should leave.
Devotee: Maharaj, during the pandemic, there are also devotees who are of a younger age, materially speaking, bodily speaking of younger age, they also gave up their body. They are also nice. What should be the proper understanding of such departures Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, ultimately, the devotee is not attached to the body. So therefore, whether one has a long life or a short life does not matter so much for the devotee. Of course, the longer we live in this body, the longer we can continue our devotional activities. But if we give up this body, then we get another body and we can continue the activities in another body. So, in this way, the devotee is indifferent to this body or another body. As long as he can serve the Lord, then he will be happy.
2.) In this material world struggle is there anyway. Can we say struggling for Krishna is better than struggling in maya?
So definitely, any work for Krishna, whether it is struggle or not struggle, that is to be done, whereas, any work in the material world ultimately simply binds us to the material world. So, we may be bound up by gold chains or silver chains or iron chains, but we are all bound up no matter what activities we do in this world. So generally, the scriptures will condemn material activities. In the karma section of the vedas and in karma yoga and in karma sastras, there will be encouragement to do your work in the world. But, the more we advance spiritually, the more we are inclined to give up all these activities.
3.) We shouldn’t be attached to the body, senses, sense objects. Suppose a devotee loses a part of his body or he loses some material object, does he lament?
The only lamentation for the devotee will be if by any loss, his devotional service decreases. However, we also understand that whatever lack is there materially or in terms of facilities for service do not really matter. So, in the example of the brahmana in South India, he was unable to do worship of the Lord because he was so poor. But then he heard a lecture, in which the speaker said that if you offer in your mind, that is as good as offering. So, therefore, that brahmana started to meditate on worshipping the Lord and in that meditation, he offered all wonderful items to the Lord that he would never be able to get because he was so poor. And the Lord was pleased with his devotion. And eventually took him to Vaikuntha. So, the Lord was not concerned, oh, he actually didn’t use a gold pot, he didn’t offer mangoes, the best mangoes, he didn’t offer this or that. He is interested in the bhakti.
4.) Maharaj, what is the effect of, for a sadhaka who prematurely gives up karmic responsibilities enjoined in scriptures?
Well, it depends on his qualification. If he simply gives up his duties without any good reason at all except it’s too difficult for him, then, of course, that is condemned, it’s just laziness.
5.) Maharaj, what is the role of life airs in the birth, maintenance and death of a person in this material world?
Well, the life airs, if you don’t have your life airs, your body won’t get maintained. You cannot breathe, you cannot digest, you cannot breathe. They are very important for maintaining the body. If the pranas get disturbed, then your body gets disturbed and you get sick. If they leave the body, then you die. So the pranas, like the subtle body, they accompany the soul from one body to another.
6.) Maharaj, in continuation of the same question, does the soul travel from one body to another under the supervision of such demigods?
So one goes from body to body according to the law of karma. So, to institute the law of karma, of course, we have Yamaraj and others are there.
7.) When a devotee gets a spiritual body in prema in the material world, does the subtle body disappear and he is just left with the gross body and the spiritual body?
So, the subtle body has to be there as long as the gross body is there. Otherwise, that gross body does not survive. However, it does not function in the same way. Just like a gross body does not function in the same way after one reaches prema. Everything, the subtle body and the gross body are acting under the influence of prema.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!