Srimad Bhagavatam – 11.12.3-6 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 4 June 2021
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 11 Chapter 12 Verse 3.
ŚB 11.12.3-6
सत्सङ्गेन हि दैतेया यातुधाना मृगा: खगा: ।
गन्धर्वाप्सरसो नागा: सिद्धाश्चारणगुह्यका: ॥ ३ ॥
विद्याधरा मनुष्येषु वैश्या: शूद्रा: स्त्रियोऽन्त्यजा: ।
रजस्तम:प्रकृतयस्तस्मिंस्तस्मिन् युगे युगे ॥ ४ ॥
बहवो मत्पदं प्राप्तास्त्वाष्ट्रकायाधवादय: ।
वृषपर्वा बलिर्बाणो मयश्चाथ विभीषण: ॥ ५ ॥
सुग्रीवो हनुमानृक्षो गजो गृध्रो वणिक्पथ: ।
व्याध: कुब्जा व्रजे गोप्यो यज्ञपत्न्यस्तथापरे ॥ ६ ॥
sat-saṅgena hi daiteyā
yātudhānā mṛgāḥ khagāḥ
gandharvāpsaraso nāgāḥ
siddhāś cāraṇa-guhyakāḥ
vidyādharā manuṣyeṣu
vaiśyāḥ śūdrāḥ striyo ’ntya-jāḥ
rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayas
tasmiṁs tasmin yuge yuge
bahavo mat-padaṁ prāptās
vāṣṭra-kāyādhavādayaḥ
vṛṣaparvā balir bāṇo
mayaś cātha vibhīṣaṇaḥ
sugrīvo hanumān ṛkṣo
gajo gṛdhro vaṇikpathaḥ
vyādhaḥ kubjā vraje gopyo
yajña-patnyas tathāpare
Synonyms
sat–saṅgena — by association with My devotees; hi — certainly; daiteyāḥ — the sons of Diti; yātudhānāḥ — demons; mṛgāḥ — animals; khagāḥ — birds; gandharva — Gandharvas; apsarasaḥ — the society girls of heaven; nāgāḥ — snakes; siddhāḥ — residents of Siddhaloka; cāraṇa — the Cāraṇas; guhyakāḥ — the Guhyakas; vidyādharāḥ — the residents of Vidyādharaloka; manuṣyeṣu — among the human beings; vaiśyāḥ — mercantile men; śūdrāḥ — laborers; striyaḥ — women; antya–jāḥ — uncivilized men; rajaḥ–tamaḥ–prakṛtayaḥ — those bound in the modes of passion and ignorance; tasmin tasmin — in each and every; yuge yuge — age; bahavaḥ — many living entities; mat — My; padam — abode; prāptāḥ — achieved; tvāṣṭra — Vṛtrāsura; kāyādhava — Prahlāda Mahārāja; ādayaḥ — and others like them; vṛṣaparvā — named Vṛṣaparvā; baliḥ — Bali Mahārāja; bāṇaḥ — Bāṇāsura; mayaḥ — the demon Maya; ca — also; atha — thus; vibhīṣaṇaḥ — Vibhīṣaṇa, the brother of Rāvaṇa; sugrīvaḥ — the monkey king Sugrīva; hanumān — the great devotee Hanumān; ṛkṣaḥ — Jāmbavān; gajaḥ — the devotee-elephant Gajendra; gṛdhraḥ — Jaṭāyu the vulture; vaṇikpathaḥ — the merchant Tulādhāra; vyādhaḥ — Dharma-vyādha; kubjā — the former prostitute Kubjā, saved by Lord Kṛṣṇa; vraje — in Vṛndāvana; gopyaḥ — the gopīs; yajña–patnyaḥ — the wives of the brāhmaṇas performing sacrifice; tathā — similarly; apare — others.
Translation
In every yuga many living entities entangled in the modes of passion and ignorance gained the association of My devotees. Thus, such living entities as the Daityas, Rākṣasas, birds, beasts, Gandharvas, Apsarās, Nāgas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Guhyakas and Vidyādharas, as well as such lower-class human beings as the vaiśyas, śūdras, women and others, were able to achieve My supreme abode. Vṛtrāsura, Prahlāda Mahārāja and others like them also achieved My abode by association with My devotees, as did personalities such as Vṛṣaparvā, Bali Mahārāja, Bāṇāsura, Maya, Vibhīṣaṇa, Sugrīva, Hanumān, Jāmbavān, Gajendra, Jaṭāyu, Tulādhāra, Dharma-vyādha, Kubjā, the gopīs in Vṛndāvana and the wives of the brāhmaṇas who were performing sacrifice.
Purport
The Lord has mentioned devotees such as the gopīs in Vṛndāvana and also demons like Bāṇāsura to illustrate how He comes under the control of those who surrender to Him. It is understood that devotees like the gopīs and others mentioned here obtained pure love of Kṛṣṇa, whereas the demons generally obtained only salvation. Many demons were purified by association with devotees and came to accept devotional service to the Lord as the most important among the various activities in their lives, but the exalted devotees like Prahlāda and Bali Mahārāja know nothing except devotional service, which they accept as their very life. Still, the reformed demons are also mentioned so that readers of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will understand the enormous benefits one may achieve by associating with devotees of the Lord.
The demon Vṛtrāsura was the pious King Citraketu in his previous life, during which he associated with Śrī Nārada Muni, Śrī Aṅgirā Muni and Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. Prahlāda Mahārāja, being the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, is considered a Daitya, or demon. Yet while still in the womb of his mother, Kayādhū, he associated with Nārada Muni by sound vibration. The demon Vṛṣaparvā was abandoned by his mother at birth, but he was raised by a muni and became a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. Bali Mahārāja associated with his grandfather Prahlāda and also with Lord Vāmanadeva. Bali Mahārāja’s son, Bāṇāsura, was saved by association with his father and Lord Śiva. He also associated with Lord Kṛṣṇa personally when the Lord cut off all but two of his one thousand arms, which had been awarded as a benediction by Lord Śiva. Understanding the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Bāṇāsura also became a great devotee. The demon Maya Dānava constructed an assembly house for the Pāṇḍavas and also associated with Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, eventually achieving the shelter of the Lord. Vibhīṣaṇa was a pious-natured demon, the brother of Rāvaṇa, and he associated with Hanumān and Rāmacandra.
Sugrīva, Hanumān, Jāmbavān and Gajendra are examples of animals who achieved the mercy of the Lord. Jāmbavān, or Ṛkṣarāja, was a member of a race of bears. He personally associated with Lord Kṛṣṇa, fighting with Him over the Syamantaka jewel. The elephant Gajendra in a previous life had association with devotees, and at the end of his life as Gajendra he was personally saved by the Lord. Jaṭāyu, the bird who at the cost of his own life assisted Lord Rāmacandra, associated with Śrī Garuḍa and Mahārāja Daśaratha as well as other devotees in rāma-līlā. He also personally met with Sītā and Lord Rāma. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the association that the Gandharvas, Apsarās, Nāgas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Guhyakas and Vidyādharas had with the devotees is not very prominent and does not need to be mentioned. Vaṇikpatha is a vaiśya, and his story is mentioned in the Mahābhārata in connection with the pride of Jājali Muni.
The importance of association with devotees is illustrated in the story of Dharma-vyādha, the nonviolent hunter, as described in the Varāha Purāṇa. In a previous life he somehow became a brahma-rākṣasa, or brāhmaṇa ghost, but was eventually saved. In a previous Kali-yuga he had the association of a Vaiṣṇava king named Vāsu. The lady Kubjā associated directly with Lord Kṛṣṇa, and in her previous birth she had associated with Śrī Nārada Muni. The gopīs of Vṛndāvana rendered service to saintly persons in their previous births. Having had ample association with devotees, they became gopīs in Vṛndāvana in their next lives and associated with the eternally liberated gopīs who had descended there. They also had association with Tulasī-devī, or Vṛndādevī. The wives of the brāhmaṇas performing sacrifice had association with women sent by Lord Kṛṣṇa to sell flower garlands and betel nuts and heard about the Lord from them.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, here we have a whole list of different types of persons, and even animals, who got the mercy of devotees. The previous verse had indicated that among all activities, the process of Sadhu Sangha is the best process. So, it is that through that association, that one gets to perform pure Bhakti, and by that one brings the Lord under control. So, one cannot attain Bhakti and attain Prema without the mercy of devotees. So, all of these personalities mentioned like Vidyadharas, Siddhas, etc. If they were to perform Bhakti, they must have done so by association with devotees. So, therefore, the devotees approach and give mercy to everybody.
So, of course, we have the devotees giving mercy on earth. But then they also give mercy above the earth, in the Bhuvar loka. And then in Svargaloka, and all of these different personalities mentioned here, like the Siddhas, the Caranas, the Nagas, the Apsaras, the Gandharvas, the Vidyadharas, etc. So, they are from the Bhuvarloka and Svargaloka. And, of course, I’ve not mentioned, but even above that, we get Mahaloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka, Brahmaloka. So, those personalities also by association devotees got Bhakti. And then the demon also attained Bhakti. So, we have persons like Vritrasura or Banasura. And then we have other ones who are like Prahlad and Bali, who are demon family, but they were actually very great devotees. At the present moment, they are living in hellish planets. And besides that, then we have other ones who took animal birth, they got the mercy of [Not clear] also. So, we have Gajendra, the elephant, Jatayu, the bird. And Hanuman, a monkey. So, they all got associated with devotees and got the mercy of Bhagavan.
So, why is this Sadhu Sangam so much emphasized? The Lord can give mercy directly. Sometimes He does that. He kills demons, [Not clear]. Or to devotees, He may also give mercy. He gave mercy to the woman who was selling fruit in Vrindavan. He gave mercy to the wives of the brahmanas. However, the Lord does not always give His presence. So, how does the Lord give mercy when He’s not present all the time? Of course, He can act within the heart. That is true. But most people are very covered over. So, even if the Lord acts within their heart, the Jivas are so much ignorant that they can’t appreciate the activities. So, therefore, the Lord acts through the devotees. And it’s the devotees who give out mercy.
Actually, the devotees are only the medium for Lord’s mercy. Just as copper wire is the medium for electricity. So, therefore, the devotees are good conductors of the Lord’s mercy.
So, this is the usual way in which the Lord gives mercy. If we don’t have the devotee, don’t have the conductor, then we cannot get the mercy. So, this is, the devotee is there for emphasizing praise because this is the way in which we get mercy and begin [Not audible].
So, there are many ways in which the devotee gives mercy. For instance, in Caitanya Caritamrta, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, the foot dust, the foot water or the prasadam of the devotee that’s the, you get mercy. So, anything related to the devotee can give mercy. But there is also some more important way. And that is that the devotee gives knowledge. So, this knowledge is different from the Jnana that we condemn. So, we condemn the Jnana of impersonalism. But that knowledge which relates to the Supreme Lord and bhakti, that is very wonderful part of bhakti. So, one of the main ways in which the devotee gives mercy is by giving knowledge. So, that is we can say the main function of the devotee. But that knowledge also has to be qualified. It is not merely book knowledge. So, therefore, the devotee has to learn the scripture but he also has to have devotion. And in that combination then the knowledge becomes proper.
So, it is said that the scripture is like milk. And if we drink milk it is very nourishing. So, if we hear the scriptures it nourishes our spiritual life. But if the person not a devotee preaches the scripture it is not the same milk anymore. It is like milk mixed with snake poison. So, if you hear that then one will not get good effect, one gets poison. So, therefore, the scripture [Not clear] pure and nourishing but it comes out of the wrong mouth it has opposite effect. Instead of nourishing bhakti it destroys bhakti. So, in this way the deliverance of knowledge is very very important. It must be delivered but it has to be delivered by the proper person. And then it will have its proper effect.
So, that is why Srila Prabhupada often condemned the professional reciter. Bhagavatam is sweet and nourishing like milk. But when we hear from a non devotee who speaks only because it gets paid, then it is like poison. So, we may wonder how is it possible he speaks so nicely it is so interesting all about Krishna lila. But the result is by continually hearing all those pastimes from him one will not really develop anything. Therefore, we have to hear from the proper soul. And for that reason we also emphasize we have to come in proper parampara. So, in this way our knowledge comes from another authorized devotee, got from an another from another authorized devotee, got from an another authorized devotee. And just to make sure that the knowledge was fixed properly they often wrote explanations or commentaries. And so by this means we are guaranteed to get the correct knowledge.
And for this reason Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati [Not clear] how the teaching. And for him it was more important than a Diksha Parampara. The Diksha Parampara merely traces where you are a Diksha [Not clear]. So Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur put more emphasis on the Siksha. And of course we find that that is natural. We spend a considerable amount of time hearing Srimad Bhagavatam. We spend a lot of time studying Bhagavatam. So this is Siksha. This is teachings. And it’s with those teachings that we can advance in devotion. So all of this means that the devotee is very important in delivering the proper knowledge. Some devotees have a little knowledge. Some have more knowledge. And some have deep knowledge. So if that knowledge is supported with devotion then that becomes very powerful. So even if it is a little, it is beneficial. So in that sense we honor all the devotees. Nevertheless we also distinguish the devotees. This is mentioned in the Nectar of Instruction.
So we give respect to all the devotees. But we give more respect to the serious devotees. And we give more respect to the very advanced devotees. So how do we give more respect to the advanced devotees? We listen and we follow his instruction. So that advanced devotee is the source of our knowledge by which we practice Bhakti. So that is the process by which we can advance.
In all cases all these different personalities sighted here from our other they got the mercy of devotees and through that they were able to advance in Bhakti. Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Usually the sinners become ghosts but here it was the brahmana who was offended but became a Brahma Rakshasa. Why did he become a ghost Maharaj? This is about in the Adi-Varaha Purana in previous Kali-yuga the brahmana was killed by a king named Vasu.
So not only anybody who commits offense against a brahmana may get this [Laughs] Brahma Rakshasa body. Sinful affect is one thing but apparadha is worse. Worse than offending a brahmana as offending a Vaishnava. But in any case one can get a low body by sin or offense. But in any case that can be counteracted by mercy of devotees.
2.) Maharaj this Dharma-vyādha who is mentioned in this verse is he the same person who is referred in the Vedas as a butcher?
Yeah, Probably not [Not clear]. Probably another person.
3.) You mentioned about the Diksha Mantras. Are these Mantras required for a devotee who is worshipping deities at home even if those deities are not installed?
If we are to follow Pancharatra then yes you have to take Diksha to worship your deities. If you don’t want to follow Pancharatra then of course you can do anything [Laughs].
4.) Maharaj, out of the four Sampradayas which are specifically focusing on Siksha and which are based on Diksha.
Other Sampradayas and even other Gaudiyas give prominence to the Diksha line. So of course our Sampradaya is a little unique because more than emphasizing Diksha and Deity worship we emphasize Harinama. And Harinam does not depend on Diksha. So therefore there is somewhat less emphasis in that sense on Diksha. Nevertheless, even in our Sampradaya there is some emphasis, Caitanya Mahaprabhu took Diksha and all his associates took Diksha and then they established different Diksha lines. One reason of course may be to set an example so that for others that we don’t give up that process. Many of these lines were also hereditary, family lines. But this also is not unusual. You find similar lines in the Sri Sampradaya. Many of them are family lines. And in Vallabha Sampradaya similarly, if not all are family lines. However, that also is a little dangerous. It doesn’t really guarantee that the person who is giving you Diksha has spiritual advancement. He may be the 8th generation after some great devotee but that doesn’t mean he is a great devotee. So therefore, Bhakti Siddhanath Saraswati was not so satisfied with such. And so he traced our lineage by Siksha.
5.) Can we progress by following the instructions of the Guru or there has to be a personal relation also? Is it important?
Well, if we are going to follow his instructions we must have some relationship and obedience. Otherwise we wouldn’t follow his instructions.
6.) We see that Kamsa and Ravana killed many Brahmanas. While the Lord is known to protect Brahmanas how to understand this? Because here it appears that the Lord has not protected the Brahmanas during those killings.
Well, the Lord comes when there is such problems. So he came because Kamsa was creating problems. He came when Ravana was creating problems. In all cases he comes though some of those disturbances may take place before he actually kills the demon.
7.) Maharaj, in Kali Yuga people are Manda, less intelligent. So how they will be interested to receive this knowledge about the Lord in such a condition?
So the answer is Harer Nama Harer Nama eva kevalam. So the Lord Caitanya’s first strategy is everybody hear the name and chant the name. When they get faith then we can give some teachings.
8.) When Shishupala was killed by Krishna it is said that the soul merged in Krishna’s body. Does it mean Shishupala attained Svayuja Mukti?
No He actually got Sarupya He got a form because he was previously Jaya and Vijaya so he went to Vaikuntha with that.
9.) Maharaj if a sadhaka devotee doesn’t have the opportunity to directly do personal service to devotees, temple or preaching. Just hearing and preaching to vaishnavas alone will help one advance to the level of prema?
Yes we see in the case of Prahlada, he got Narada Muni’s association in the womb [Laughs], he only heard from him, that’s it.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!