Srimad Bhagavatam – 2.2.30 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 16, 2026
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 2 Chapter 2 Verse 30.
ŚB 2.2.30
स भूतसूक्ष्मेन्द्रियसंनिकर्षं
मनोमयं देवमयं विकार्यम् ।
संसाद्य गत्या सह तेन याति
विज्ञानतत्त्वं गुणसंनिरोधम् ॥ ३० ॥
sa bhūta-sūkṣmendriya-sannikarṣaṁ
manomayaṁ devamayaṁ vikāryam
saṁsādya gatyā saha tena yāti
vijñāna-tattvaṁ guṇa-sannirodham
Synonyms
saḥ — he (the devotee); bhūta — the gross; sūkṣma — and the subtle; indriya — senses; sannikarṣam — the point of neutralization; manaḥ-mayam — the mental plane; deva-mayam — in the mode of goodness; vikāryam — egoism; saṁsādya — surpassing; gatyā — by the progress; saha — along with; tena — them; yāti — goes; vijñāna — perfect knowledge; tattvam — truth; guṇa — the material modes; sannirodham — completely suspended.
Translation
The devotee, thus surpassing the gross and the subtle forms of coverings, enters the plane of egoism. And in that status he merges the material modes of nature [ignorance and passion] in this point of neutralization and thus reaches egoism in goodness. After this, all egoism is merged in the mahat-tattva, and he comes to the point of pure self-realization.
Purport
Pure self-realization, as we have several times discussed, is the pure consciousness of admitting oneself to be the eternal servitor of the Lord. Thus one is reinstated in his original position of transcendental loving service to the Lord, as will be clearly explained in the following verse. This stage of rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord without any hopes of emolument from the Lord, or any other way, can be attained when the material senses are purified and the original pure state of the senses is revived. It is suggested herein that the process of purifying the senses is by the yogic way — namely, the gross senses are merged in the mode of ignorance, and the subtle senses are merged in the mode of passion. The mind belongs to the mode of goodness and therefore is called devamaya, or godly. Perfect purification of the mind is made possible when one is fixed in the conviction of being the eternal servitor of the Lord. Therefore simple attainment of goodness is also a material mode; one has to surpass this stage of material goodness and reach the point of purified goodness, or vasudeva-sattva. This vasudeva-sattva helps one to enter into the kingdom of God.
We may also remember in this connection that the process of gradual emancipation by the devotees in the manner mentioned above, although authoritative, is not viable in the present age because of people’s being primarily unaware of yoga practice. The so-called yoga practice by the professional protagonists may be physiologically beneficial, but such small successes cannot help one in the attainment of spiritual emancipation as mentioned herein. Five thousand years ago, when the social status of human society was in perfect Vedic order, the yoga process mentioned herein was a common affair for everyone because everyone, and especially the brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya, was trained in the transcendental art under the care of the spiritual master far away from home, in the status of brahmacarya. Modern man, however, is incompetent to understand it perfectly.
Lord Śrī Caitanya, therefore, made it easier for the prospective devotee of the present age in the following specific manner. Ultimately there is no difference in the result. The first and foremost point is that one must understand the prime importance of bhakti-yoga. The living beings in different species of life are undergoing different terms of encagement according to their fruitive actions and reactions. But in the execution of different activities, one who secures some resources in bhakti-yoga can understand the importance of service to the Lord through the causeless mercy of the Lord, as well as that of the spiritual master. A sincere soul is helped by the Lord through meeting a bona fide spiritual master, the representative of the Lord. By the instruction of such a spiritual master, one gets the seed of bhakti-yoga. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that the devotee sow the seed of bhakti-yoga in his heart and nurture it by the watering of hearing and chanting the holy name, fame, etc., of the Lord. The simple process of offenselessly chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord will gradually promote one very soon to the stage of emancipation. There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the Lord. The first stage is the offensive chanting of the holy name, and the second is the reflective stage of chanting the holy name. The third stage is the offenseless chanting of the holy name of the Lord. In the second stage only, the stage of reflection, between the offensive and offenseless stages, one automatically attains the stage of emancipation. And in the offenseless stage, one actually enters into the kingdom of God, although physically he may apparently be within the material world. To attain the offenseless stage, one must be on guard in the following manner.
When we speak of hearing and chanting, it means that not only should one chant and hear of the holy name of the Lord as Rāma, Kṛṣṇa (or systematically the sixteen names Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare), but one should also read and hear the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the association of devotees. The primary practice of bhakti-yoga will cause the seed already sown in the heart to sprout, and by a regular watering process, as mentioned above, the bhakti-yoga creeper will begin to grow. By systematic nurturing, the creeper will grow to such an extent that it will penetrate the coverings of the universe, as we have heard in the previous verses, reach the effulgent sky, the brahmajyoti, and go farther and farther and reach the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable spiritual planets called Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Above all of them is Kṛṣṇaloka, or Goloka Vṛndāvana, wherein the growing creeper enters and takes repose at the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. When one reaches the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa at Goloka Vṛndāvana, the watering process of hearing and reading, as also chanting of the holy name in the pure devotional stage, fructifies, and the fruits grown there in the form of love of God are tangibly tasted by the devotee, even though he is here in this material world. The ripe fruits of love of God are relished only by the devotees constantly engaged in the watering process as described above. But the working devotee must always be mindful so that the creeper which has so grown will not be cut off. Therefore he should be mindful of the following considerations:
1) Offense by one at the feet of a pure devotee may be likened to the mad elephant who devastates a very good garden if it enters.
2) One must be very careful to guard himself against such offenses at the feet of pure devotees, just as one protects a creeper by all-around fencing.
3) It so happens that by the watering process some weeds are also grown, and unless such weeds are uprooted, the nurturing of the main creeper, or the creeper of bhakti-yoga, may be hampered.
4) Actually these weeds are material enjoyment, merging of the self in the Absolute without separate individuality, and many other desires in the field of religion, economic development, sense enjoyment and emancipation.
5) There are many other weeds, like disobedience to the tenets of the revered scriptures, unnecessary engagements, killing animals, and hankering after material gain, prestige and adoration.
6) If sufficient care is not taken, then the watering process may only help to breed the weeds, stunting the healthy growth of the main creeper and resulting in no fructification of the ultimate requirement: love of God.
7) The devotee must therefore be very careful to uproot the different weeds in the very beginning. Only then will the healthy growth of the main creeper not be stunted.
8) And by so doing, the devotee is able to relish the fruit of love of God and thus live practically with Lord Kṛṣṇa, even in this life, and be able to see the Lord in every step.
The highest perfection of life is to enjoy life constantly in the association of the Lord, and one who can relish this does not aspire after any temporary enjoyment of the material world via other media.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this verse is explaining the further progress one makes in the yoga system. And the previous verses were describing how the yogi merges various things into higher things. So here the previous verse was about merging the senses etc. into the sense objects. And in this verse, it’s talking about then we go to the subtle stage of merging everything into the mind and merging the mind into false ego. And then one merges false ego into Mahat-tattva, Mahat-tattva into Prakriti. What this means is the whole material body – subtle and gross, no longer function in a material way. When that happens, one attains liberation or emancipation.
So as Srila Prabhupad explains in the Purport, this is a rather difficult process. It is not only mentioned here, it is mentioned in several other places in the Srimad Bhagavatam. However, it is rather difficult for people at the present time to perform. And therefore, Prabhupad recommends in the Purport, we follow the instructions of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and get better effect from chanting the holy name. So whatever is attained by the yoga process, one can attain by chanting the holy name. However, it is easier to perform. More people can participate. And those who can practice yoga are very few. So being easy, many people can practice. Results are quicker. And not only that, one gets better result. By yoga, one gets liberation. One completely stops all the mental functions in the body, etc. By performing bhakti, one not only leaves the material world and destroys all the mental functions, one develops prema in the spiritual world.
So this further step, that is prema in the spiritual world, is difficult for many people to understand. However, if we look in scriptures like the Upanishads, we will find that even there this spiritual world is described. So therefore, both spiritual goals, liberation and prema are authoritative. And even Bhagavatam says that both Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan are parts of the same Lord. And thus, we cannot really criticize a person who attains Brahman realization, because he gets liberated and Brahman is part of the Supreme Lord. However, we also have to recognize that though Brahman and Paramatma are also part of the Supreme Lord, they are not complete in their realization. And thus, superior realization means more complete realization. So, in this way, realizing Bhagavan and experiencing prema is the ultimate goal, not emerging in Brahman and getting liberation.
So, of course, people may be offended if we say liberation is inferior to prema. Or if we say Brahman is inferior to Bhagavan realization. Why? Because they are actually one. So how can you say one is inferior to the other? In the same way, we can also argue, why do we say Krishna is supreme when, Vishnu is the same? Vishnu is also Bhagavan. If there is only one Bhagavan, how we can say Krishna is superior to Vishnu? So, the answer is the same for both questions. There is only one Bhagavan, so in that sense, yes, Vishnu and Krishna are the same. And Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan are Advaya-Jnan. They are one entity. Yet, we make differentiation, we give three different names. So, that indicates some difference. If we give three different names and there is no difference, why give different names at all?
So, these realizations are realizations of one Lord. There is a different experience in these different realizations. How is that possible? And we can say, it is the capacity of the individual to realize something and not something else. So, the capacity of the jnani or the yogi is to realize Brahman. Capacity of the devotee is to realize Bhagavan. So, by following different methods, we develop different ability or capacity. So, by following the path of jnana, we are able to appreciate Brahman. And by realizing or practicing bhakti, we realize Bhagavan.
So, of course, the idea of still if they are all one, how can we get different realizations? The answer is, the Lord has many aspects. So, we say Bhagavan is one, but he has many forms. So, in a more broader sense, yes, Bhagavan also not only manifests many forms of Bhagavan, he also manifests himself as Paramatma and Brahman. So, in this way, the realizations are all realizations of the Supreme Lord, but there is lesser realization and greater realization.
We can also give a material example. So, we from the earth can see the sun. If we are in a room, we may not see the sun, but we can see the sun rays coming through the window. And if we go outside, we see the sun. If we do some karma-kanda process, we can go to the sun planet and we will see Surya Dev. So, Surya Dev, the sun and the rays of the sun are actually one thing, but nevertheless, by different processes, we realize different aspects of it. So, in this way, the Lord has an aspect which has no form and qualities, etc., just like light. And then he has a general form of Paramatma just as we get the sun, with form. And then we have a personality with form, qualities and activities in the sun, that is Surya Dev. And if we realize Surya Dev, we understand and experience much more than if we just see the sun globe or see the rays of the sun. Similarly, if we realize Bhagavan, it is superior to realization of Brahman or Paramatma.
When we come to Bhagavan himself, we have one Bhagavan manifesting many forms. So, one entity with different forms. Not only the Lord has different forms, those different forms do different activities. So, Varaha lifts the Bhu-mandala out of the Garbhodaka ocean. Rama and Narashimadev don’t do that. So, there are different activities for these different forms. And these different forms manifest different qualities. So, Narashimadev is very famous for his quality of anger and ferocity. Rama is very famous for his dharmic ruling of the world. So, although there is one Bhagavan, there are different forms. There are also different activities, different qualities manifested. But that doesn’t mean, therefore, that they are different entities. Just one Bhagavan showing different amounts of qualities, doesn’t mean the qualities are not there, as he is not manifesting them in that particular form. So, we can analyze these different forms and then we see that some manifest less qualities, some manifest more qualities. And when we do that, we see that the fullest manifestation of qualities is Krishna. So, we distinguish Krishna from Rama, from Narashima, from Varaha, from Hayagriva, etc., by saying more manifestation of qualities. So, in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami says at the beginning, Yes, Krishna and Vishnu are actually one. But they are different, because of manifestation of different qualities. So, Krishna manifests most qualities. He becomes differentiated from all the other forms.
So, of course, if one prefers one form of Bhagavan and realizes that form, there is no criticism. Why because, with all these forms one can develop Prema. If one realizes Paramatma or Brahman, then we criticize. So, why should we criticize ? – All are part of one Bhagavan again. So, in one sense, we don’t criticize, but as we distinguish Krishna from everyone else, so we distinguish Bhagavan from Brahman and Paramatma. So, Paramatma has a form, he does activities, he has qualities, but significantly less qualities than the Bhagavan forms. And Brahman – no form, no qualities, no activities, quite different [Laughs]. And therefore, realization, experience of Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan are quite different from each other. And because the Brahman realization has the minimum of realization, bliss, etc., therefore we tend to criticize it. We criticize in the sense that when there is something much greater, why go for something with less qualities?
So, one who is practicing Bhakti, should understand these differences. And without understanding the differences between Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan and the differences between Vishnu and Krishna, we cannot perform our Bhakti in the proper way. And similarly, from that we understand the difference between Bhakti, Ashtanga Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga. So, though we can also accept all of these processes, because they are in the scripture, still we differentiate and say Bhakti is the best.
So, in this chapter we have a description of the Ashtanga Yoga process. So, its plus point is at least we realize we are not the body, we are atma. Negative point, it’s not the highest realization. And it’s not a practical process for the people of this age.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A:
1.) Maharaj, Shrila Prabhupad translates ‘Sah’ as the devotee. But the description is of a Yogi. So, it cannot be a Bhakti Yogi. So, would this refer to a Yoga-Mishra Bhakta?
So, technically of course, if we look at this discussion, it’s hard to figure out if he’s got the devotion there or not. If he at least realizes or respects Paramatma, then he’s got a little bit of you can say devotion there.
And also, though this is contextually about the Yoga process, the goal to be achieved is also achieved by a devotee. In other words, you do devotion, you can surpass the material world, you get liberated, you can destroy your karma, etc. So, the result can also be applied to the devotee [Laughs].
Some devotees may also practice Yoga. At the beginning of Chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita, there’s a whole description of the person who’s chanting ‘Om’ etc. Simultaneously, he’s also realizing the form of the Lord. So, he’s a devotee in one sense, but also he’s doing Yoga. So, a devotee can also do Yoga. The difference ultimately is, what is their goal? If it’s prominently Yoga, then his goal would be liberation only. If he’s doing prominently Bhakti with some Yoga, then his goal is to realize the Lord.
2.) Maharaj, you were talking about how Brahman and Paramatma realizations are criticized. So, this can only be because of the compassion of the devotees. Otherwise, why would they bother to criticize? Just that by this criticism, everybody can appreciate and reset the goal to a higher goal than the lower goal.
Of course, we will see, not only devotees in ISKCON criticize, even Lord Caitanya criticizes [Laughs]. And Madhvacharya criticizes, Ramanujacharya criticizes [Laughs]. So, the reason for the criticism is that by not doing so, they encourage people to accept that process, rather than the process of Bhakti. So, if we have the highest goal, why should we choose something less? So, we’re encouraging people to choose the highest.
Of course, there’s also maybe a negative effect of that criticism. The negative aspect is that, we’re actually excluding others who are also worshipping some form of the Lord, whether it’s Brahman or Paramatma.
At the same time, we don’t want to make it all one, everything is equal [Laughs].
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, in Purport, Srila Prabhupad says that we should remove the weeds from the heart. When Bhakti grows, there also grow the weeds. So, how do we remove the weeds, Maharaj? Is it by detachment from materials sense objects?
As in a garden, the gardener.. how does the gardener recognize the weed? If he’s a very ignorant gardener, he may think the weed is the plant, he’s supposed to grow, and he may neglect the real plant and water the weed [Laughs]. And similarly in devotional service, some people will think the weed is the bhakti and they encourage this weed [Laughs]. So, first of all, we need some knowledge.
Once we have the knowledge of what is the weed and what is the bhakti, etc., then we have to start analyzing and see if we do have a weed or not. Unfortunately, a person is not always analytical and objective. So, we can say that, due to the weed’s influence, the person does not recognize the weed as a weed [Laughs]. So, therefore, he’ll also need assistance of another person, to analyze objectively and see if the weed is there. And then thirdly, if somebody does tell him if the weed is there, then he has to be willing to pull out the weed. So, in other words, we need knowledge, we also need association and advice of others. And a willingness and enthusiasm to cultivate the bhakti creeper properly.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupad ki jai!!!