Srimad Bhagavatam 10.86.48 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 26 April 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 10 Chapter 86 Verse 48.
ŚB 10.86.48
namo ’stu te ’dhyātma-vidāṁ parātmane
anātmane svātma-vibhakta-mṛtyave
sa-kāraṇākāraṇa-liṅgam īyuṣe
sva-māyayāsaṁvṛta-ruddha-dṛṣṭaye
Synonyms
namaḥ — obeisances; astu — may there be; te — unto You; adhyātma — the Absolute Truth; vidām — for those who know; para-ātmane — the Supreme Soul; anātmane — to the conditioned jīva soul; sva-ātma — from Yourself (in the form of time); vibhakta — who gives; mṛtyave — death; sa-kāraṇa — having a cause; akāraṇa — having no cause; liṅgam — the forms (respectively, the material form of the universe and also Your original spiritual form); īyuṣe — who assume; sva-māyayā — by Your own mystic potency; asaṁvṛta — uncovered; ruddha — and blocked; dṛṣṭaye — vision.
Translation
Let me offer my obeisances unto You. You are realized as the Supreme Soul by those who know the Absolute Truth, whereas in Your form of time You impose death upon the forgetful souls. You appear both in Your causeless spiritual form and in the created form of this universe, thus simultaneously uncovering the eyes of Your devotees and obstructing the vision of the nondevotees.
Purport
When the Lord appears before His devotees in His eternal, spiritual form, their eyes become “uncovered” in the sense that all vestiges of illusion are dispelled and they drink in the beautiful vision of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. For the nondevotees, on the other hand, the Lord “appears” as material nature, His universal form, and in this way He covers their vision so that His spiritual, personal form remains invisible to them.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives another interpretation of this verse, based on an alternative understanding of anātmane, a form of the word anātmā: Various classes of men know the Absolute Truth in different ways. The devotees of the Lord who are in the reciprocal mood of neutral admiration (śānta-rasa) meditate on the Supreme as possessing a divine, personal form (ātmā or śrī-vigraha) transcending all aspects of material illusion. The impersonal philosophers (jñānīs) conceive of Him as formless (anātmā). And the envious demons see Him in the form of death.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So in the previous verse the brahmana was describing how the devotees see the Lord but the non-devotees do not see Him. And though one cannot see someone, it does not mean they’re not present. The example is given in Bhagavatam that a person has a jewel hanging on his neck. But the person forgets that he hung it around his neck and he’s looking all over the house looking for his jewel [Laughs]. And then someone else points out, hey, it’s on your neck [Laughs].
So Paramatma is in the heart but the materialist can’t see Him even though He’s sitting there [Laughs]. Though the materialist doesn’t know He’s there, it doesn’t mean He’s not there, He’s still there. So those who are qualified realize the Lord, those who are not qualified do not realize the Lord. In the Brahma Samhita it says, those whose eyes are anointed with prema, they see the Lord. So that is their qualification for seeing the Lord. Just like some people have, let’s say, short sight. But they can still see. So their qualification is they can read a book close by. But if they look in the distance, they cannot see things properly, they can’t see clearly what’s on the mountain. So their eyes are not qualified to see at a distance. Other people are farsighted. So very easily they can see what’s on the mountain. So they are qualified to see at a distance.
So some people can see the Lord because they’re qualified to see. Others are not qualified they cannot see the Lord. So yesterday I was discussing about scientists, they’re not qualified to see the Lord, they don’t have spiritual eyes [Laughs]. And no matter how hard they look with their material eyes, they cannot see the Lord. They can’t even see the atma [Laughs]. Of course, Prabhupada also says, that those who are impersonalists, if they try very hard even they have no faith, they’re not qualified to see the Lord, eventually they can realize atma. So Prabhupada talks about ascending knowledge. So with your own knowledge, you make endeavors to see atma.
So what is the endeavor of the jnani? He uses his logic and his intellect. And so through logic and intellect then they conclude finally we’re not the body [Laughs]. And we’re something else [Laughs]. So that’s basically what some scientists also can conclude. So to some degree, yes, with your intelligence and logic you can come to a spiritual solution. This is also explained in terms of the three gunas. So tamoguna and rajoguna are basically covered by ignorance. But sattvaguna even though it’s a material guna coming from prakrti, it’s described as prakasa. So prakasa is sometimes translated as light. So kasa means to light up [Laughs]. Yeah and it’s also translated as, to manifest. So then, from that we say that prakasa means knowledge. We often have the metaphor the light, lamp of knowledge [Laughs].
So knowledge gives enlightenment, it lights up things. If you’re in a dark room, you put a light there, then it reveals an object. Similarly our knowledge will reveal objects. So the quality of sattva is prakasa, enlightenment or knowledge. Of course, all human beings whether they’re in tamoguna or rajoguna or sattva guna have definitely superior knowledge than animals and plants. So the prakasa of people in tamoguna and rajoguna is looking at material objects and understanding material objects.
So what is special about people in sattva guna having prakasa knowledge? So their prakasa is knowledge of atma. So when you come to sattva guna, the natural quality of sattva is that you begin to understand atma. In other words, people in sattva guna naturally begin to inquire, I don’t think I’m the material body after all [Laughs]. So a sattvic scientist starts to inquire and then he may also think okay, yeah, the, the conscious entity is not part of prakriti. And those people in sattva that have some punya they look at the scriptures and then they see the jnana sastras and upanishads and then the upanishads say, yes you are not the body, you are atma. So these are usually people in sattva, brahmanas. So the brahmanas are qualified to study upanishads. Why? because they’re in sattva and sattva gives prakasa, some understanding of atma. So those in tamoguna and rajoguna are not qualified to study the upanishads.
So they conclude, okay, atma is different from body, atma is real, all the rest is maya and then they inquire how do I realize atma? So the scriptures supply jnana yoga and astanga yoga. And if they really endeavor in this process, they realize atma. So sattva guna itself which is part of matter gives the opportunity to the jiva to atleast realize atma. So though we usually condemn material world is all maya, the sattva guna portion has a little bit in which you can realize atma, so it’s not all bad [Laughs].
So it’s like a, material world is like a big prison house with the gunas. And in the tamoguna layer at the bottom, then you have the plants then you have the animals and then you have the people in tamoguna. Then next layer up, you have all the people in rajoguna. On top of the prison, top floor, then you have the people in sattva guna. And somewhere in that top layer of the prison, there’s a little hole and you can escape [Laughs]. So when you get to sattva guna and you practice jnana and yoga then you can get a little hole and get out of the material world [Laughs]. However, to make the hole and get out also requires great endeavor [Laughs]. But the prison itself provides the opportunity to get out, if you get up to the top, then you find the hole and you can escape.
So the prison house is there and of course, it’s not a nice place but it also gives opportunity to get out. However, it’s what the sattva guna supplies in terms of getting out is limited. You get to realize atma. But you do not realize the Supreme Lord. So in one sense, yes, the jnanis and the yogis got a little ointment on their eyes and they see something different from material [Laughs] world [Laughs]. It’s like the blind man suddenly he gets some medicine and atleast he can see there’s light [Laughs]. So yes, he realized all not darkness, light but he cannot really see anything.
So people that get far, okay, they rejoice, okay, I got light, I’m not darkness anymore [Laughs]. But then on the other hand, their eyes are not completely cured. If we really can cure the eye then not only you see light but you can actually see forms. So sattva guna and jnana yoga and astanga yoga do not reveal the form of the Lord. So not complete vision. So if a person performs bhakti yoga, he gets complete vision. So if he gets prema, then he sees very clearly the Supreme Lord.
So the goal ultimately is not just to see light but to see the form of the Lord. And if we want to see the form of the Lord, then the process is bhakti yoga. So the process of bhakti yoga uses our senses. Of course, when we use our senses in sadhana bhakti, we are using material senses. So normally if you use your senses, you end up in maya. Normal use of your senses does not create knowledge, it creates more ignorance [Laughs]. It produces maya, karma etc. And thus the jnanis and yogis want to stop the senses and stop the mind completely. If they can do it, it’s difficult and if they do it, they stop the karma, they stop the ignorance and they get liberation.
But the devotee, if he uses his senses, does not create karma, does not create ignorance. How is that possible? And the reason is, he’s using his senses but he has engaged them in bhakti yoga. And when he does so, there is no gunas attached to his actions. If you do karma yoga, your senses are influenced by rajoguna and tamoguna. If you’re in sattva guna doing jnana and yoga, your senses are influenced by sattva guna. If you use your senses in bhakti yoga, no gunas. The reason is bhakti yoga itself is part of the Supreme Lord, it’s not in the gunas at all.
In fact, rather than belonging to the three gunas in the material world, bhakti belongs to the gunas of Krishna [Laughs]. The gunas belong to the external energy of the Lord, matter. Bhakti belongs to the internal energy of Krishna. So when we use our senses in bhakti yoga, we get completely different results from using them in karma yoga, jnana yoga or astanga yoga. So when we use our senses in bhakti yoga, we don’t create more karma and get stuck in the gunas, we destroy karma. But something superior to that happens. So we destroy karma and material qualities but then the jiva starts developing spiritual qualities. And because the devotee is using his senses to serve the Lord, see the Lord, hear the Lord etc, he develops spiritual senses. So in other words, through the process of bhakti, eventually the jiva develops spiritual body and spiritual senses.
So the devotee goes through the different stages bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivritti, nishtha, ruchi, asakti, when he gets to bhava then his senses can see the Lord. In the processes of jnana and astanga yoga, the yogi and the jnani, they eventually destroy material body, karma, material desires, etc, but they don’t develop any spiritual senses. So what is left? There is the atma without material body without material senses and without material karma. So in that state, the atma doesn’t see anything or do anything [Laughs]. So the process of bhakti is the process by which the jiva develops his spiritual senses and his spiritual body. Then he becomes qualified to see the Lord and serve the Lord.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Thank you for the very wonderful class. You mentioned about premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [Bs 5.38], that sloka. So I am wondering that in Caitanya Caritamrta, Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, he specifically mentioned that only the devotees, they will understand this bhakti literatures and this Caitanya Caritamrta. So when we see the pastime of Krishna, it appears sometime that, it’s not acceptable. Krishna is stealing Gopis dress. So can we conclude that these pastimes are to make more illusion to the demoniac person by this Krishna’s pastimes, so that they cannot understand Krishna nicely? So [Laughs] so that is my first question Maharaj.
So the spiritual pastimes of the Lord in the spiritual world have no connection with the material world or the people in the material world. The Lord’s essential quality is bliss. And the pastimes in the spiritual world are simply an expression of that bliss. And those pastimes involve the Lord and His devotees. So all the pastimes of Krishna described in the 10th canto of Bhagavatam are expression of the Lord’s bliss. So it’s got nothing to do with the material world at all. If the materialist looks at those pastimes and criticizes them and cannot understand them, it’s not that the Lord is purposely producing them to bewilder them, it’s just that the materialist, jiva has no qualification to appreciate them. Of course, the pastimes of Vishnu in Vaikuntha, if the materialist hears about them, then he may not be so puzzled by them. Because if we accept a superior person who is God, then we expect reverence. So we can say that, if the materialist, if he is presented with Vishnu in Vaikuntha, then it’s not too difficult to understand. However, Krishna, with His pastimes, takes a less superior role, in fact, an inferior role in many cases, He gets chased by Mother Yasoda and punished by Mother Yasoda, etc. This is more puzzling for a materialist. So in other words, the pastimes of Krishna are more difficult to understand than the pastimes of Vishnu. So not only they are difficult for materialists to understand, they are even difficult for spiritual people to understand [Laughs]. And therefore, the followers of Vishnu are more, the followers of Krishna are less. But that’s not some, something that Krishna personally does to repel people [Laughs]. It’s just another way in which the Lord expresses His bliss. So why He needs different ways to express His bliss? And the answer is, we have infinite number of jivas with spiritual desires and they have different spiritual desires. So some appreciate Vishnu, some appreciate Ramachandra some appreciate Narasimha Dev, some appreciate Varaha, some appreciate Krishna. In other words, it’s the Lord’s response to the desires of His devotee. It’s not a response to materialists.
2.) So her question, two questions but they are basically related and her question is, when you said that the jnanis and the yogis do not develop spiritual qualities, does that mean they don’t have any bhakti? So that’s the first question. Then second related question is that, on the other hand, even if the devotees perform bhakti but if they are still at the beginning level and if they are still very much covered by rajas and tamas but then, because they are performing bhakti, do they still sort of start to develop spiritual body?
So jnanis and yogis, their goal is Brahman. And that Brahman has no material qualities or form. The only qualities and form they know are material qualities and form. So they reject material qualities and form. And goal is to attain that formless quality, quality-less Brahman [Laughs]. So the Lord fulfills their desire and He gives them Brahman realization with no form or qualities. So devotee begins bhakti with faith. And that means faith in bhakti scriptures. And what do bhakti scriptures say? There is Supreme Lord, He has form, qualities and activities, we are His servant. And the process of realizing the Lord is bhakti yoga. So the devotee starts the practice of bhakti yoga and eventually he develops spiritual qualities and a form and then he realizes Lord with a form and qualities. So in the Nectar of Devotion in describing bhakti, it is said that there are two qualities that manifest in sadhana bhakti. One is destruction of suffering, karmas, material desires, ignorance. In other words, we are gradually destroying our subtle body. So that’s not complete in sadhana bhakti, but it begins. The other quality that develops in sadhana is manifestation of good qualities. Of course, when we say destruction of kleshas, suffering, etc. it means good and bad material qualities, that is, sattva, raja, tamas, all those qualities gone. So when we say devotee develops qualities through bhakti in sadhana, it cannot mean even sattvic qualities, it has to be spiritual qualities. In other words, in sadhana bhakti, the devotee, the jiva in the devotee begins to develop spiritual qualities. So when the devotee develops in the nishtha, ruchi, asakti and into bhava, then gradually the jiva is developing its spiritual form, spiritual qualities, spiritual senses. So in bhava, he can see the Lord with the spiritual senses. And his sthayi-bhava, which means his particular relationship like santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhurya also manifest. So that means he develops spiritual qualities.
3.) Okay. So Madhumangal prabhu’s question is that, today we talked about seeing the Lord, devotees want to see the Lord.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: He means they want to serve the Lord [Laughs].
Devotee: Yes. So does that mean, because until, like for us, our desire to see the Lord is based on our desire and our curiosity, because we haven’t seen the Lord, so we are curious about seeing. But is it different from, for example, the Gopis when they want to see the Lord, is it that they don’t have, it’s not that they have desires but they want to serve?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. So when we talk about seeing the Lord, probably it’s may be a mistranslation of the Sanskrit [Laughs]. So in bhava stage, you get darshan of the Lord or sakshatkar, direct meeting of the Lord. So the suggestion there is that the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee. Not that we desire to see just Him [Laughs]. So in sadhana bhakti, we are also practicing uttama bhakti which means pure bhakti, so therefore, the impetus behind it is not that we want something but rather we are trying to please the Lord by our service. So therefore, a devotee who only wants to see the Lord, may be we can say, he’s not practicing pure bhakti [Laughs]. If it’s so, he can go to the spiritual world to see the Lord and does not serve Him [Laughs]. So this is more like santa [Laughs]. Just like some people desire to go to the spiritual world, so they get salokya but again they’re not serving the Lord [Laughs]. Of course, they are related to Krishna, so they get to the spiritual world, but the relationship is there but it’s very weak in one sense. The devotees who are practicing pure bhakti, emphasis is upon serving the Lord. And seeing the Lord, getting spiritual body, going to spiritual world those are secondary things which aid his service only.
Devotee: Yeah. So he was remembering may be Narada Muni story where…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, he saw Him once.
Devotee: Yeah, initially Krishna revealed Himself to Narada Muni but then when Narada Muni tried to see the Lord, he couldn’t.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So of course, that seeing is there but generally for the devotees seeing is not just seeing. It’s also serving [Laughs]. So seeing the Lord once, then his service to the Lord was very limited [Laughs]. So when we say, seeing the Lord constantly, then we are not just seeing the Lord, we mean serving the Lord constantly also.
Devotee: At that stage when the devotee wants to serve, is he or she motivated mainly by a desire or the joy, the joy of service?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, well, if we say, I will serve in order to become happy, then this also becomes, let’s say, mixed bhakti [Laughs].
Devotee: Yeah, so is it that when the pure devotees are serving the Lord constantly, is their motivation out of joy? I mean, they want to serve.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, so it’s an expression of their inherent bliss also [Laughs]. Bhakti itself is composed of hladini and samvit shaktis. So bliss is inherent in bhakti itself. So when the person reaches bhava stage, his serving the Lord is an expression of his bliss [Laughs]. And by serving, the bliss increases [Laughs]. And then the desire to serve increases [Laughs].
4.) Hare Krishna, Maharaj. Maharaj, your Divine Grace mentioned that the jnani and the yogi, both of them, their destination is Brahman. But as far as I remember, when I studied canto 2 of Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada in his purport, he mentioned that the yogis, the astanga yogis particularly, since they are Paramatma vadi, so they can reach Vaikuntha loka sometime. So would your Divine Grace kindly explain a little bit more about the jnani and yogi and their destination? Hare Krishna.
So the jnani’s goal is Brahman, so that’s what he attains. The Paramatma yogi worships Paramatma for liberation. So he worships Paramatma in order to get liberation. So when he realizes Paramatma, then he has a choice. He can merge into Paramatma or merge into the effulgence of Paramatma. So very similar to what the jnani attains. If the jnani or the yogi gets the mercy of a devotee practicing pure bhakti, they could change. And then their goal can be, to realize the Lord and kind of serve the Lord. So they generally will practice jnana-misra bhakti or yoga-misra bhakti. And then they could attain Vaikuntha. Ultimately, highest they could get is santa rasa. If by the mercy of devotees, they can get beyond jnana-misra bhakti or yoga-misra bhakti, they could practice pure bhakti and they could get to higher rasas.
Hare Krishna.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!