Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.47 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 30, 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 47.
ŚB 11.11.47
इष्टापूर्तेन मामेवं यो यजेत समाहित: ।
लभते मयि सद्भक्तिं मत्स्मृति: साधुसेवया ॥ ४७ ॥
iṣṭā-pūrtena mām evaṁ
yo yajeta samāhitaḥ
labhate mayi sad-bhaktiṁ
mat-smṛtiḥ sādhu-sevayā
Synonyms
iṣṭā — by sacrificial performances for one’s own benefit; pūrtena — and pious works for the benefit of others, such as digging wells; mām — Me; evam — thus; yaḥ — one who; yajeta — worships; samāhitaḥ — with mind fixed in Me; labhate — such a person obtains; mayi — in Me; sat-bhaktim — unflinching devotional service; mat-smṛtiḥ — realized knowledge of Me; sādhu — with all superior qualities; sevayā — by service.
Translation
One who has executed sacrificial performances and pious works for My satisfaction, and who thus worships Me with fixed attention, obtains unflinching devotional service unto Me. By the excellent quality of his service such a worshiper obtains realized knowledge of Me.
Purport
The word iṣṭā-pūrtena, which means “sacrificial performances and pious works,” does not indicate deviation from the pure devotional service of the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu, is called Yajña, or the Lord of sacrifice, and in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām: “I am the actual enjoyer of all sacrifice.” The highest sacrifice is to chant the holy names of the Lord, and by taking shelter of the Lord’s names, one will acquire unflinching devotion and realized knowledge of the Absolute Truth. A realized devotee is very attentive in his devotional service, taking it as his life and soul. He keeps himself fit for devotional service by constantly worshiping and glorifying the lotus feet of the spiritual master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such hari-nāma-kīrtana and guru-pūjā are the only practical methods by which one can achieve pure devotional service. When hari-kīrtana is expanded, it is called kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. One should not dry up by performing unauthorized austerities or sacrifices; rather, one should engage with all enthusiasm in the great sacrifice of śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, which enables one to easily achieve the highest perfection of human life.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So various activities are mentioned in devotional service. This verse recommends that one should go for bhakti, but you should also dig wells and such things. Literally it says, you can worship me by digging wells and sacrificing me. Well, this looks a little strange, because normally we see that the Prabhupad was not much interested in charitable works. Nor was he interested much in sacrifices. So, nevertheless, we find that in this verse, Krishna is talking about doing these things. And by doing these things, one attains bhakti. So how is that possible?
Of course, as was mentioned in the previous verses, one should connect everything to the Supreme Lord. And we understand the Lord is present in all jivas, so we do pious activities and help them. This is also pleasing to the Lord. Or if we do sacrifice, we do not do so for material gain, but as worshiping Lord. So these are procedures that can be followed by a householder devotee, who has certain duties in the material world. So by doing these activities, he fulfills his grihastha duties in the Varnashram system. But he should make these activities such that they do not interfere with or contradict to the principles of bhakti. And thus, the person has to concentrate on the idea that it is some sort of service to the Lord.
However, it may also be a little bit difficult. One can do all sorts of charitable activities, and in doing those, one can forget about the Supreme Lord and just get involved in helping people. So there is a possibility that by doing these activities, we also get a little contaminated with sattva guna. So we can do these activities, but we have to be careful. So along with this, we should also do direct bhakti. That is, hearing, chanting, remembering the Lord, associating with devotees, worshipping the deity. In fact, that should be our main activity. And in that way, when we do these other activities, they do not create some sort of obstacle or distraction.
So the question may come, why do them at all? And the ultimate conclusion of Bhagavatam is, you don’t have to do them. So as Bhagavatam says, if you are lax in those Varnasharmic duties, but you have surrendered to the Lord, then that surrender to the Lord takes care of all the other activities. At the same time, the Bhagavatam does not encourage sudden dropping of all those activities. So as I explained previously, Lord Caitanya encourages devotees to practice the bhakti, especially Kirtan. But at the same time, follow the rules of Varnashara as much as possible. And this, of course, is exemplified by Lord Caitanya. And Lord Caitanya himself demonstrates this to us in a wonderful way. So we can do all the other activities, but as I said, we do have to make the principal activities of bhakti our main focus.
So why do we do the other activities at all? So a common answer to that is Loka Sangraha, to educate the people in general. Krishna in Bhagavad Gita says, don’t disturb the minds of the ignorant people. Therefore in order to encourage people to follow the Varnahshrama system if they are not devotees, then one can act according to this. And we see not only Lord Caitanya did this, even Krishna did this. So there’s a whole chapter in the 10th canto of Bhagavatam describing how Krishna did his daily activities. So he followed the rules of a grihastha and a kshatriya. And one reason, of course, is to teach other people. And as Bhagavad Gita says, whatever the great man does, other people follow. For the Lord, of course, there’s another reason. And that is the Lord does this for his pastimes. Krishna comes and acts like a human being, and he performs activities like a human being. So he’s not really bound by all the rules of Varna Ashram, because he’s the one that makes all. But he follows all the rules. One, to teach others. Two, to create pastimes for himself. So in Dwaraka, he acts as a kshatriya grihastha. In Vrindavan, he acts as a Vaishya boy. And acting in these ways is part of his pastimes.
So, of course, the devotee in the material world cannot say, he does this for pastimes with the Lord. But his main reason he does this, one, is that, of course, he is setting an example for others. And second, that they may be helpful for his own spiritual advancement. Of course, the main means of spiritual advancement is the main angas of bhakti, such as hearing and chanting. However, we do have the rules of the Varnashram system, which can act favorably for our development. So if we follow the rules of conduct of the Varnashram system, and rules of sense control, favorable for our development. If we follow those rules for eating and for cleaning the body, then this is also favorable for our advancement. If we follow the rules in relation to family life, etc., this also creates a steady family, so this is also favorable for bhakti. So, for one doing sadhana then, following these rules of Varnashram can also have the benefit of assisting the devotional service.
Still, we should distinguish the two types of rules. And therefore, often we have different names. Bhakti Yoga has one set of rules, Varnashram has another set of rules. When we talk about bhakti, we’re talking about the main activities. So, Jiva Goswami’s terms, we call this Svarupa-Siddha Bhakti. The activity is absolute, and it takes place in the spiritual world, it takes place in the material world. And it’s always bhakti. Whereas, the activities of Varnashram are activities arising out of the material world. The sutra does not follow the rules of the Vaishya, the Vaishya does not follow the rules of the Kshatriya, the Kshatriya does not follow the rules of the Brahmana. So, within the material world, the rules change. So, they change, because your gunas change. But in the spiritual world, there are no gunas. So, such change does not take place there. So, though these rules, we can say, are material rules of the Varnashram system, as I said, we can practice them with the bhakti. But, we say, we distinguish that the activities of bhakti are eternal – svarupa siddha bhakti, the activities of Varnahsrama are not eternal.
So, we can ask, I’m doing my pure activities of bhakti for spiritual advancement, if I do the rules of Varnashram, which are material, then I become contaminated. So, therefore, we have to do those activities in a different way from which the person in the Varnashram does those activities. And that is, our mentality is different. We do them without material attachments. We do them to set an example for others. So, such activities, when they are done along with bhakti, and they don’t interfere with the bhakti, then they’re acceptable. And when they assist in this way, we can call them part of bhakti also. So, technically, the name is Sangha Siddha Bhakti. They become bhakti by association with bhakti. So, that means, if they are done along with hearing and chanting, the main activities of bhakti, we can assist them. So, in that sense, they’re also classed as bhakti. But if we separate them, and one simply does these activities with no bhakti, then they’re completely different. So, in this way, these activities can be acceptable as long as they’re done in the proper way, along with the bhakti.
As long as we have a material body, we have to eat, we have to drink water, we have to breathe, we have to associate with other living entities. So, the rules of varnashrama give us some ways in which we can do this. If one is very advanced in bhakti, then all of the dealings with body and food and water and other living entities is taken care of simply by the bhakti itself. So, that’s a very advanced stage. So, that advanced devotee is not obliged to follow the rules of Varnasharam. So the less advanced, to a certain degree, those devotees are obliged to follow because they do have material body. So, important is the mentality in which the devotee does his other activities. Rupa Goswami says, if the person is doing these other varnashrama activities, then he feels, well, if I don’t do this, I’m sinful, then that also is a fault. Bhakti does not depend upon these other activities. So, ultimately, if there’s a choice, then we choose to do bhakti rather than anything else. So, in this way, the devotee carries on his activities in the material world.
And in this particular verse, we find that by doing these activities, Krishna is saying, can you develop this pure bhakti eventually. However, the condition is this. One, when you’re doing those other activities, he says, ‘mat-smriti’ – You have to keep remembering the Lord. So, those activities of the varnashrama have to be connected with the Lord at all times. And to get to the position of bhakti, then finally, it says, ‘sadhu-sevaya’, you have to serve the devotees. So, in this way, we can advance to bhakti by these activities, but they have to be related to bhakti in this way. When we are doing other activities, it is necessary that they are connected with bhakti. So, the main activities are the Svarupa-siddha bhakti activities. These are the eternal activities. We don’t have to alter them in any way. Their very purpose is remembrance of the Lord. And the goal is remembrance of the Lord. So, bhakti is independent and equal. And all other rules of the shastra – varnashrama or jnana, etc., they are dependent. But we can follow those rules also, as long as they don’t interfere with bhakti.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A:
1.) Maharaj, you said that there is no need to do other welfare or philanthropic work for the society, if one really surrenders to Krsna. How to understand that if one is really surrendered in the real sense of the term – are there any parameters to judge one’s bhakti? Kindly explain.
Of course, external symptoms are a little superficial. But nevertheless, we can judge to some degree by that. So, if one is a householder married to his family, obviously not completely detached. Therefore, he has an obligation to follow the rules of varnashrama. One who is very renounced, doesn’t have a family, then automatically he is less obligated to follow them. So, that is a little bit superficial, but that’s one way in which we can judge how much rules we should follow.
2.) Maharaj, which are the foundational literatures of ISKCON? And is it sufficient for one to apply himself to these foundational literature only for the rest of his life until he gets a complete understanding? Or is it necessary to read so many other literatures which are also available in ISKCON? Can we still achieve the goal of life only by applying to these foundational scriptures?
In one sense, No, we don’t need anything more, even our great Acharya has said, just read Bhagavatam. And we see Lord Caitanya in Caitanya Caritamrta basically quotes Bhagavatam. However, it’s a little bit of a big work, so people get a little scared. Therefore, we have a condensed form in Bhagavad Gita. To condense the points of scripture about Bhakti, Rupa Goswami wrote Bhakti rasamrta sindhu. This, in very simple terms, defines the various types of Bhakti and the various advanced stages. So, if we take the Bhagavatam and Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and Bhagavad Gita, yes, in one sense, very complete.
However, human beings and devotees are a little curious. We always ask questions. And sometimes we can’t find answers to those questions. Therefore, we have to start searching for answers somewhere else. So, we should not go to material literature. We should go to scripture, approved scripture. We can go to Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharat, Ramayana etc. But the information, the knowledge we get from that should support whatever is mentioned in Bhagavatam. And then, within our own Sampradaya, then we have commentaries on Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita and nectar of devotion. If we have questions about those things, technical questions, then we can get some answers by studying the commentaries.
Devotee: Thank you, Maharaj. In true sense, when we speak about the Srimad Bhagavatam, in Gaudiya Sampradaya or particularly in ISKCON, without Caitanya Charitamrta, the life seems to be lifeless in that sense. So, that’s the real nectar and sweet. How to appreciate that?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: If you examine Caitanya Charitamrta apart from the biographical material of Lord Caitanya’s life, then most of it is leading to worship and relishing the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. And that is the ultimate essence of Bhagavatam also. So, it’s just expressed a little differently.
3.) Maharaj, you spoke about the austerities in Varnashram dharma and then specifically in ISKCON, when we follow the Chaturmas, this kind of an austerity, is it sufficient to follow only Damodar month or is it necessary to follow the full Chaturmas for a Grihastha Ashram?
Chaturmas is mentioned in Haribhakti Vilas, but Prabhupada didn’t emphasize it much at all. He certainly didn’t follow it.
4.) Goswamis and Acharyas also did some sort of social welfare activities that did not interfere with their main devotional service. The question is, are such pure devotees directed by the Lord while performing such activities?
We know that, as was previously mentioned here in this chapter, that the devotee sees the Lord in all the entities. Of course, among the living entities, the human being is the best. Among human beings, we have Brahmanas and we have Vaishnavas. Of course, among the living entities, the human being is the best. Among human beings, we have Brahmanas and we have Vaishnavas. Therefore, we worship the Vaishnava or the Brahmana by feeding him or respecting him. Therefore, one can do humanitarian activities, but the devotee prefers to do that for the Vaishnavas. That is direct devotional service.
Of course, we can also give Prasadam to everybody, but it is also direct devotional service. But if we open hospitals and give material education, that is a little bit indirect. So as mentioned in this verse, you can do these activities, but you should also keep remembering the Lord.
5.) Maharaj mentioned about remembrance of the Lord is supreme. In that sense, Kunti Maharani says that, ‘vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat..’ (SB_1.18.25). Give me more problems, thats when i am able to remember you, but in reality, when problem surfaces in the life of devotee, then they get disturbed and which probably affect their devotional service. So is this prayer by Kunti Maharani is specifically for pure devotees, they don’t get distrubed by these material influences Maharaj ?
For one who is less advanced, yes, when he falls into difficulty, he forgets the Lord. And the more one is advanced, the more one remembers the Lord. And then when one is in completely in prema, he always remembers the Lord. So when the people of Vrindavan are fallen to danger from the rain of Indra etc, then immediately call out Krishna Krishna what should we do? And similarly with Kunti Devi or Draupadi. So that constant remembrance of the Lord is a symptom of their great attachment.
Devotee: Thank you so much for your time Maharaj. Dandavat Pranams Maharaj.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!