Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.5 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 21 June 2026
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 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 2 Chapter 4 Verse 5.
ŚB 2.4.5
राजोवाच
समीचीनं वचो ब्रह्मन् सर्वज्ञस्य तवानघ ।
तमो विशीर्यते मह्यं हरे: कथयत: कथाम् ॥ ५ ॥
rājovāca
samīcīnaṁ vaco brahman
sarva-jñasya tavānagha
tamo viśīryate mahyaṁ
hareḥ kathayataḥ kathām
Synonyms
rājā uvāca — the King said; samīcīnam — perfectly right; vacaḥ — speeches; brahman — O learned brāhmaṇa; sarva-jñasya — one who knows all; tava — your; anagha — without any contamination; tamaḥ — the darkness of ignorance; viśīryate — gradually disappearing; mahyam — unto me; hareḥ — of the Lord; kathayataḥ — as you are speaking; kathām — topics.
Translation
Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: O learned brāhmaṇa, you know everything because you are without material contamination. Therefore whatever you have spoken to me appears perfectly right. Your speeches are gradually destroying the darkness of my ignorance, for you are narrating the topics of the Lord.
Purport
The practical experience of Mahārāja Parīkṣit is disclosed herein, revealing that transcendental topics of the Lord act like injections when received by the sincere devotee from a person who is perfectly uncontaminated by material tinges. In other words, reception of the messages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from professional men, heard by a karma-kāṇḍīya audience, never acts miraculously as stated here. Devotional hearing of the messages of the Lord is not like hearing ordinary topics; therefore the action will be felt by the sincere hearer by experience of the gradual disappearance of ignorance.
yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)
When a hungry man is given food to eat, he feels satiation of hunger and the pleasure of dining simultaneously. Thus he does not have to ask whether he has actually been fed or not. The crucial test of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is that one should get positive enlightenment by such an act.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
Here, Parikshit Maharaj is praising Sūta Goswāmī because whatever he speaks destroys ignorance. Of course, knowledge should destroy ignorance. And they are opposites. If you have all ignorance, you have no knowledge. If you have all knowledge, you have no ignorance. And scriptures tell us that everybody in the material world is covered by ignorance. That ignorance gives rise to all sorts of suffering. If we want to get rid of the suffering, we get rid of the ignorance. And we get rid of the ignorance by knowledge. So, that is simple logic.
So, in its simplest form, by jnana or jnana yoga, you get rid of ignorance and suffering is finished. That means the material world disappears. So, that is one level of logic and many people accept that. And of course, this is also repeated in Bhagavatam and Upanishads and Vedas. However, if we go further, then we get more details. So, knowledge not only destroys ignorance, it does something else. It produces complete bliss. It gives us eternal life in the spiritual world. It gives us realization of the form and qualities of the Lord.
So, scripture, of course, praises jnana, but if we examine jnana closely, then we find it has different levels. And for the impersonalists, jnana means realizing Brahman. And for the devotees also looking at scripture, they will find that jnana means not only realizing Brahman, but realizing Bhagavan. So, that jnana includes everything. And thus in the first canto, that jnana is defined as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. It is not one thing, Brahman and not Bhagavan and it’s not Bhagavan without being Brahman. It is all these things.
And of course, people will say, oh that’s rather interesting knowledge just only in Bhagavatam where is it in other places? But if we see and study Bhagavad Gita carefully, we will find same principle is there. And if we go back to the Upanishads and we look again, we will find all those things are there as part of knowledge. So, therefore, knowledge, when we say jnana, is not restricted to impersonal jnana. And some of our Acharyas even say in interpreting the meanings of verses of Upanishads, when it says jnana, it means bhakti [Laughs]. So, in this way, we have to study the scripture very carefully to see the complete meaning. And certainly on our own, we can get some understanding, but we will get much clearer understanding if we have a person who has that knowledge. So this is why Parikshit Maharaj is praising Sukadeva Goswami.
So, in the purport Prabhupada quotes this famous verse from Svetasvatara Upanishad. And they are talking about revelation of knowledge. So, how? The knowledge is there in the Vedic literature. But the meaning is revealed by a certain process. So, it is revealed by bhakti. Not just bhakti, but pure bhakti, parabhakti. And so we have pure bhakti for the Lord. But, then it says we should have same bhakti for Guru. And then, the meaning is revealed. So, of course, first we have to accept the scriptures. And we have to accept the authorized scriptures. And when we accept, we have to have, we are qualified with faith and devotion. But then, the next qualification is you have to hear it through Guru. And not only you have to hear it through Guru, but you have equal devotion for Guru as you have for Bhagavan. And then the meaning of the scripture manifests. So, though we can study on our own, by getting the guidance of the Guru, then we can get the complete meaning.
So, of course, here it talks about Guru and whatever. But, what is the Guru doing? He is teaching. And, of course, then that means the Siksha Guru. And of course, it’s natural that you are trying to get the meaning of the Vedic literatures, then you have to have some teacher and he is the Guru. And, of course, this Upanishad and other Upanishads when they are glorifying their Guru, they are glorifying him because he is revealing that particular Upanishad.
So, all of these verses are glorifying Guru, but it is a Siksha Guru. So, not only they glorify, but here it says you have to treat him like Supreme Lord Himself. This, of course, also looks like a contradiction. When Prabhupada gave initiation in New York first time, the devotees said, so what do we do? And then Prabhupada says, you treat Guru like God [Laughs]. So, the devotees got very confused because all of the time Prabhupada saying, Jiva is Jiva, God is God and you can’t change one into the other. So, when such statements occur, it doesn’t mean that the Jivas change their identity and they become Ishwara. Rather, it is talking about equal devotion. However, even there, that devotion we have to examine.
If you have no devotion for Guru, for the Lord and only devotion to Guru, what happens? Nothing. If you have only devotion to the Lord and no devotion to Guru, also nothing happens. So, there is a combination. At the same time, we know that God is not dependent on any Jiva. So, in terms of philosophy, yes, that is so. But, we also know Lord is controlled by His devotees. So, He is not independent. So, in terms of tattva, He is independent. In terms of bhakti, He is dependent on devotees [Laughs]. And thus, the Lord does not object if you also worship the devotee with the same devotion. And the Lord Himself says, the one who claims He is my devotee is not my devotee. He who says He is a devotee of my devotee, he is my devotee [Laughs].
So, therefore, we have this idea of great devotion. At the same time, we also see that there are grades of devotion. So, generally, of course, people will think that, okay, I have to have devotion, but I can only have devotion to one Guru. That’s it. But, of course, in Caitanya Caritamrta, there it says, the Siksha Guru, Diksha Guru, equal respect. And you could have many Siksha Gurus. That means you got worshipping so many people like God. Many Gods. So, you have all of these Siksha Gurus, Diksha Guru, plus Supreme Lord you have to worship. So, though it says, like the Lord, you worship the devotee with same devotion, we say that ultimately, there are grades of devotion also.
Why? Because there are grades of devotees. So, for the Kanishtha devotee, who is not really a devotee, still, we mentally give respect. For all living entities, plants, and animals, and human beings who are not devotees, we also give respect. And in fact, why do we respect them? Because Paramatma is in all of them also, and He is Supreme Lord. So, we have to respect them [Laughs]. But then, Upadesamrita says that, one who is actually a true devotee, worshipping the Lord, accepting Guru, etc., that, you actually give physical respect. And then, that devotee, who has higher level of realization, then you serve that devotee. So, therefore, our devotion to devotees is in various levels.
So, in Krishna Bhajanamrita there Narahari explains that, we have devotees and Gurus on different levels. And you give more respect to the person on the higher level, that’s natural. But, of course, we respect all. So, he says, it’s like in a family. Of course, the common saying is mother and father are Guru [Laughs]. Treat them like God [Laughs]. But, it’s not only referring to father, also the uncles. It’s the same level as father. So, they are, treat them like God also. But then he says, your grandfather, the father of the father, you give double respect. So, he’s got more respect even. And, I guess, the great grandfather, you give triple respect [Laughs]. So, similarly, yes, we treat everyone as God, but still we have levels of respect among advancement of devotees. Yeah, so, therefore, we cannot just focus on one individual and worship only one person.
And, of course, within a society like ISKCON, which is quite unique because we have many Gurus, that is, Diksha Gurus, then, this understanding must be there. Otherwise, we have independent movements within ISKCON. At the same time, the devotees also realize that, yes, we treat Guru as God, etc. but there are different levels. So, just as the grandfather gets double respect than the father, so, our Founder Acharya Prabhupada gets much more respect than any other Guru. So, this understanding will help to create a more flexible system in ISKCON.
Of course, the other understanding is, as said in this verse, the real Guru is the one who gives knowledge. So, that person, devotee, who can give a more thorough understanding of the real meaning of scripture is more important than the one who simply gives you a name. And thus, we cannot simply take the words of scripture literally and apply it very specifically.
So, this is just an example of taking scripture and trying to understand the meaning. A particular statement of scripture may have one level of meaning, may have another level of meaning. We can apply it to our particular case, we can apply it to other cases. So, we have to examine very carefully to get the real practical application of scriptural statements. Some things we can gather by intelligence, other things we can get through intelligence of another person.
So, it is interesting that Vedavyasa delivered the Bhagavatam to Sukadeva Goswami but Sukadeva Goswami, when he spoke it, the meaning became even greater. And thus, the speaker is very important. So, Parikshit Maharaj was hearing Sukadeva Goswami, but there was a whole gathering of people. But Narada Muni and Vedavyasa were also there listening [Laughs]. So, father Guru and great Guru, grandfather Guru were all listening as well [Laughs]. So, it had very, very great meaning in it.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) Maharaj, you were explaining regarding this giving respect to the Guru. You are saying that grandfather get more respect and great grandfather get more respect than their own father. But here it’s saying that Guru should be equal respect like a Supreme Lord. But here, the gradation of the respect is increasing. The more he goes up and up. Then how will you explain it?
So, of course, it doesn’t say exactly same, exactly same respect. Because, obviously, it’s different. One is jiva, one is Supreme Lord. And, of course, because they are different objects of devotion, then that devotion will be somewhat different. Nevertheless, statements like this are made to show the importance of taking a Guru. And, without going through Guru, you cannot get to Krishna as Vishwanath Cakravarti says. So, in that sense, equal [Laughs]. In terms of devotees, of course, then we have Siksha Guru, Diksha Guru, should be equal. So, that is a statement to show that, simply by the title, it doesn’t mean that the Diksha Guru, because he’s a Diksha Guru, he gets more worship than a Siksha Guru. But, at the same time, we also realize that according to level of advancement, then we have to give more respect to the more elevated person. So, if we have Sukadeva Goswami speaking, and we have an ISKCON devotee speaking, we don’t just treat them exactly equally [Laughs]. Or we have Srila Prabhupada speaking and an ISKCON devotee speaking, again, we don’t treat them exactly equally, that’s natural. But we never disrespect anyone.
2.) Maharaj, Prabhupada made many times this statement that, due to accepting some unqualified disciple, I’m going through so much suffering. So, but, that we don’t see with the Siksha Guru, that we see with the Diksha Guru. Because, Siksha Guru doesn’t take any commitment that I have to deliver this soul. But whereas Diksha Guru take that kind of role, you know. Because, that’s why Prabhupada was making this statement, you know, due to accepting some unqualified disciples, I’m going through so much suffering.
In Hari Bhakti Vilasa, it is stated that, not just the Diksha Guru, even a purohit, if he accepts disciples, or what the students, he also is responsible. And, of course, we know that the husband is responsible for the wife, king for the citizens and ministers. So, when one person takes responsibility and another person accepts that he’s under that person, then automatically there’s some sharing of their karma or whatever.
Devotee: So mutual Maharaj, that the person has to accept someone as Siksha, Diksha Guru and that Diksha Guru or Siksha Guru also has to accept someone as a, as a you know, follower. Is it mutual, correct? Mutual understanding? Or sometimes it happens that, you know, that devotee is giving lecture and someone is accepting as Siksha Guru. Even the Siksha Guru doesn’t know that he accepted him as a Siksha Guru. Siksha Guru doesn’t know that, you know, he accepted him as a Siksha Guru, there is no commitment. Is it like a general lecture devotee is giving and someone accepting as a Siksha Guru, there is a problem, correct?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, there are different levels of Siksha. Some people can give lectures, people can hear, that’s the type of Siksha. But then if we get, let’s say, devotees like Narottama and whatever, Srinivasa Acharya studying under Jiva Goswami, that’s quite different. So, he is accepting to teach them and they are learning from him, so that’s a little bit different.
Devotee: See, Maharaj, there are three things, one thing is that see, the devotee who is giving knowledge. So, there is a body, there is a soul, there is a knowledge, three things are there. Body of that Guru and soul and there is a knowledge. So now, one should give respect to what? Means, you know, body, soul or the knowledge?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: For the?
Devotee: Knowledge, knowledge, what he is getting. Sometime it happens, you know, giving respect to the body but not respecting the instructions or sometime giving respect to the soul.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh.
Devotee: Yeah, yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, real respect for the Guru would ultimately mean to follow his instructions. So, disciple who only respects the body and doesn’t listen to anything, what use is that [Laughs]? There is no knowledge [Laughs]. So, Prabhupada wrote in one of his vyasa pujas for Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati after he had disappeared for some time and he wrote, what is the use of all of these fruits and flowers, your glorifying Guru, etc., because he didn’t follow his instruction [Laughs]. Which emphasizes the fact that the teachings and instructions are more important than any other aspect of title or whatever. Which also has a danger in terms of formality, if you want to have formal oaths and formal vows, etc., that also becomes, can become materialistic. So, we go through a ceremony and then we are a certified disciple. But if we don’t follow instructions, what does certification mean [Laughs]? So, actually we worship the devotee as a God. Why? Because he is the medium by which Krishna’s message comes to us and that message is non-different from Krishna.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Often you are mentioning that parampara is Siksha parampara. And now we can see in our altar also, there us Diksha and Siksha, both are there. So how I understand that Maharaj?
So, we can trace purely a Diksha line. We can trace purely a Siksha line. Or we can have a combination of both [Laughs]. But, if we only trace a Diksha line, then it may not be too useful because it doesn’t show the actual prominence of the people who gave instructions. So, therefore, we emphasize the Siksha more. So, we do not deny Diksha and therefore Prabhupada gave Diksha. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati gave Diksha but they also gave prominence to the Siksha. So, there is always a problem, as I said, when you do get that Diksha and then there is a title etc., it is easy to trace your line, it is very easy in one sense to identify who is who. But it can also become a materialistic or mechanical process. And ultimately, it is only tracing who gave you mantra. But Harinama and teachings are more important to us.
Devotee: And as well as our parampara is both, we can take in that way. And the Siksha Guru in our parampara, they also took Diksha also.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Both. So, even though they took Diksha, but we are not going in that line.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: We are coming in Siksha.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: So, we can understand in that way Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, if prema is our goal, then it can be attained through Siksha Guru and chanting of Hare Krishna mahamantra, Harinama. Then, we clearly see there is a requirement of first initiation or the second initiation. In this case, if you want to preach Maharaj within ISKCON then how do we do that actually?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: How do we?
Devotee: How do we do that without any name, if it doesn’t need any first initiation or second initiation?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What’s that?
Devotee: [Not clear].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, yeah.
Devotee: Because for prema, only Siksha and Harinama is enough Maharaj. So, in that case, first initiation and second initiation mandatory or required.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: If you didn’t require, then how do we preach?
Devotee: How do we preach and how do we recognize activities within ISKCON?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay, okay.
Devotee: [Not clear].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well [Laughs]. So, getting a name is part of the Pancharatrika Diksha, the Pancha samskara. But Lord Caitanya didn’t get a name, Nityananda didn’t get a name, Advaita didn’t get a name. So many people didn’t get names. Vishwanath Cakravarti didn’t get a name. So many people didn’t get names, probably more than they got names. They got Diksha, they got the mantra but they didn’t bother with names. So, in other words, they took the minimum of the Pancha samskara [Laughs], that is the mantra [Laughs], that’s it [Laughs]. Without the other four samskaras or whatever, that was the most important thing. And they survived without names or whatever like that. It was not so important for them.
Devotee: That name itself [Not clear] Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda prabhu, Vishwanath and whatever you are saying [Not clear]. The name itself is differed, it is spiritual, it is not a material name. Whereas, in the material world, we have a material name, which is not connected to Krishna at all.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: [Laughs].
Devotee: Then what to do in that situation?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, yeah. So, of course, we can say that your father gives you a name, yeah? It’s not spiritual. So, then somebody else could give you a name also. It’s a spiritual name. It’s not just confined to Diksha, that you can only get a spiritual name at Diksha. You could give yourself a name, go to the registery office and change your name legally even?
Devotees: [Laugh].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: You could do that also. So, so many ways you could change your name, if that’s a big problem or whatever like that. But otherwise, sometimes it doesn’t really matter. So, George Harrison never became a devotee, never got a name changed, but everybody respects him as a devotee. George.
Devotee: But that name is not even [Not clear].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: In that way you can take all names, as all names in the Vedas, ultimately, are names of Vishnu. so you can take every name in the material world and somehow make it into a Krishna name. So John can be Jana or Bhaktajana or Vrajajana [Laughs].
Devotee: So Maharaj, the process of moving closer to Krishna, that is more important than everything, right Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, obviously.
Devotee: Yes, that’s obvious.
Devotee 2: Hare Krishna Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Ceremonies are useful, but when we come to holy name, even ceremonies are all finished. We get holy name with no ceremony at all, doesn’t matter who is chanting name or no name.
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. As you said, we respect all the devotees in ISKCON and we respect Prabhupada also. So we see that in Bhagavad Gita, pure devotee can impact knowledge in our heart. There is a sloka, pure devotee can impact knowledge in our heart. My question is, only Prabhupada can do this one or ISKCON devotees can also do this one?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Imparting knowledge?
Devotee: [Not clear].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, of course in Bhagavad Gita it says that, one who has knowledge can impart the knowledge. And of course, this knowledge is not just book knowledge, he has to have devotion also. But we have different levels of knowledge also in devotees. Nevertheless, if they are madhyama adhikaris, let’s say devotees, then at least they have some knowledge of pure bhakti, they can impart that. So all devotees practicing pure bhakti, which means the madhyama devotees, they are conduits of mercy of the Lord and knowledge of the Lord. But the purer they are, the purer the message. So normal devotees are like copper wire and maybe the greatest devotees are like gold wires.
6.) So, Maharaj, so you mentioned that depending on the purity of the devotee to whom you respect, you get that kind of knowledge. Like if he is more knowledgeable, then you get, more things gets revealed to you and so on. That’s what I understand from your answer. So, the question is like, if the devotee is not really a true devotee, what happens to a person who surrenders to someone who is not a real devotee? And he respects him very honestly and surrenders, but he is not a devotee.
So, as I mentioned, we have various levels of devotees and those who are kanishthas, we can mentally respect. Doesn’t mean we have to take knowledge from them. So, those who are in a higher level, they are practicing pure bhakti, not mixed bhakti, they can preach that to some degree. So, those are the devotees we respect and we hear from. So, as it is said, we don’t hear from the non-Vaishnava. So, the opposite would be the Vaishnava, which means one who is practicing pure bhakti.
7.) Hare Krishna Maharaj ji. Maharaj ji, I want to ask, what should be a Gaudiya Vaishnava mood when he is chanting Hare Krishna mahamantra? Which personality we should meditate while chanting Rama? As I heard from Srila Prabhupada, he is quoting continuously in his books and lectures that Rama means the Ramachandra or Parasurama or Balarama. But I also heard from devotees like previous Acharyas are saying that Rama means Radharaman. So, which personality we should meditate?
Of course, the word Rama can mean so many things. Even the word Krishna can also mean Vishnu [Laughs]. It’s in Vishnu Sahasranama. So, Rama can mean Ramachandra, it can mean Balarama, it can mean Parasurama, it can also mean Krishna. So, one who gives pleasure to the devotees, especially Radharani is called Rama. So, that’s Krishna. So, since Lord Caitanya is teaching us to surrender to Radha and Krishna, all the words mean Radha and Krishna ultimately.
8.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, Vyasa is listening to Sukadeva speak the Bhagavatam. So, did Vyasa replace the words he composed with what Sukadeva spoke?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Replace what?
Devotee: Vyasadeva was hearing from Sukadeva words, by hearing Sukadeva’s words, did Vyasa replace the words? Replaced the words.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Did he replace?
Devotee: Yeah. Did he replace the words or not?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, it is not said anywhere he replaced the words, but we also know that when he recited it, it became sweeter.
9.) How is knowledge transmitted from a spiritual master to a disciple when one is superior to another? Is the knowledge transferred completely or partially and therefore lost in the course of time?
So, spiritual knowledge, knowledge of bhakti is from the spiritual world, so it is eternal. And according to the purity of the speaker, then it gets delivered purely or less purely or whatever. And according to the purity of the listener, it gets received more or less. So, if there is pranipat and pariprasna and seva, then, in good proportion, then we get good reception of knowledge.
10.) As our sadhana and perfection is completely based on the holy name that Lord Caitanya came to give us, need not He be given a prominent position in a devotee’s life-long with Guru and Prabhupada?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Who?
Devotee 1: Need not he be given a prominent position?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Who, who, who? Lord Caitanya?
Devotee 2: Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Devotee 1: Let me read the answer fully, then we’ll get it. Devotee’s life-long with Guru and Prabhupada, but a devotee is advised to read even Caitanya Caritamrta after a few years of study of Gita and Bhagavatam.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, what’s the question?
Devotee 1: His question is that, is Caitanya Mahaprabhu, you know.
Devotee 2: Maharaj the question is, we should give equal respect to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Guru and Prabhupada. And also Caitanya Mahaprabhu is given a prominent position in a devotee’s life along with Guru and Prabhupada. So, in studying Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita and Caitanya Caritamrita, it is generally advised that first we should study Bhagavad Gita, then we should study Srimad Bhagavatam, then we should study Caitanya Caritamrita. But since we are giving equal respect to all these three personalities, we should also give equal importance to the Caitanya Caritamrita along with Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam. Why this predominance? That is, first we should study Gita, then Bhagavatam, then Caitanya Caritamrita, that order comes. What is the reason?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, that’s the question? What’s, why the order?
Devotee 1: Yeah, because…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay, fine. Yeah. So, we have general knowledge and more particular knowledge. And when you go to school, you learn A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, 4, all that first of all. And similarly, we learn basics of Tattva, etc., from Bhagavad Gita. We get more details in Bhagavatam. And we get the details of Rasa from Caitanya Caritamrita.
11.) Maharaj, the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in Vrindavan or even at Dwaraka are relishable for persons who have already qualified themselves in advanced spiritual techniques. In that case, how children benefit from the story of Krishna?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: How?
Devotee: Children get benefit by hearing the stories of Krishna because they are not qualified.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: They are not qualified?
Devotee: Yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, we don’t know if they are qualified or not. If they are not qualified, probably they won’t listen. If they are qualified, they will be eager to hear.
12.) How to train a devotee to follow Lord Caitanya from the beginning of his devotional life? There is stress on Guru and Prabhupada, but not so much on Lord Caitanya.
Well… So usually on our altars we have Lord Caitanya. And before we worship Radha Krishna, you have to worship Lord Caitanya. That’s another rule. And shortly after Prabhupada finished Bhagavad Gita, then he wrote teachings of Lord Caitanya. So we can’t really say that he doesn’t present Lord Caitanya to devotees in general, he does.
13.) The term Swayam Bhagavan does not come in Bhagavad Gita. It comes only in Bhagavatam. Is it correct? Swayam Bhagavan term appears only in Bhagavatam and it doesn’t appear in Bhagavad Gita. Is it correct?
True.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!