Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.14.1 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | April 23, 2025!
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 Bhagavatham Canto 1 Chapter 14 Verse 1.
ŚB 1.14.1
सूत उवाच
सम्प्रस्थिते द्वारकायां जिष्णौ बन्धुदिदृक्षया ।
ज्ञातुं च पुण्यश्लोकस्य कृष्णस्य च विचेष्टितम् ॥ १ ॥
sūta uvāca
samprasthite dvārakāyāṁ
jiṣṇau bandhu-didṛkṣayā
jñātuṁ ca puṇya-ślokasya
kṛṣṇasya ca viceṣṭitam
Synonyms
sūtaḥ uvāca — Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said; samprasthite — having gone to; dvārakāyām — the city of Dvārakā; jiṣṇau — Arjuna; bandhu — friends and relatives; didṛkṣayā — for meeting them; jñātum — to know; ca — also; puṇya-ślokasya — of one whose glories are sung by Vedic hymns; kṛṣṇasya — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; ca — and; viceṣṭitam — further programs of work.
Translation
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: Arjuna went to Dvārakā to see Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and other friends and also to learn from the Lord of His next activities.
Purport
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord descended to the earth for the protection of the faithful and annihilation of the impious, so after the Battle of Kurukṣetra and establishment of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the mission of the Lord was complete. The Pāṇḍavas, especially Śrī Arjuna, were eternal companions of the Lord, and therefore Arjuna went to Dvārakā to hear from the Lord of His next program of work.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So the first canto actually is a introduction to the Bhagavatam. And Sukadeva Goswami doesn’t start speaking until the second canto. All the topics of the first canto are simply a background to show how Sukadeva began speaking to Pariksit. So, we had a discussion about how Vedavyasa was unsatisfied with writing all the different scriptures and then Narada Muni came and he told him you have to write Srimad Bhagavatam. So of course, he did this and then he had to pass on this message of Bhagavatam to others. And of course we also have the story of how he gave it to his son, Sukadeva Goswami.
But Sukadeva Goswami left the house and he didn’t speak to anybody. So how was Bhagavatam to be communicated by Sukadeva Goswami to someone else? So later on, it discusses about Pariksit. Sukadeva Goswami needed a qualified person to speak the Bhagavatam to. For a long time, he didn’t find that person. And then finally he found it in Pariksit. But where did Pariksit come from? So he came out of, of course this whole battle of Kurukshetra etc.. So we had descriptions of how Yudhishthira was lamenting after the battle of Kurukshetra etc.. And then as explained in this verse, or the purport at least, Krishna after the battle of Kurukshetra felt that his job was finished. So this chapter is called the disappearance of Krishna.So battle of Kurukshetra was finished, Yudhishthira was on the throne and Krishna is about to disappear.
But the sages already asked the question, Krishna has disappeared, he has taken Dharma with him, how will we survive in Kali Yuga? So the answer is that Srimad Bhagavatam has risen like the sun in the darkness of Kali Yuga. So of course, it was partly manifested because Vedavyasa wrote the Bhagavatam and he gave it to Sukadeva Goswami. But then Sukadeva Goswami had to give it to someone else. So when Sukadeva Goswami recited it to Pariksit, this is the form of Bhagavatam that have manifested to us in Kali Yuga. So therefore, Bhagavatam has risen because of course necessity of guidance in Kali Yuga, also disappearance of Krishna. But it also needed a qualified person to hear. So later on we have a whole story of the great qualification of Pariksit Maharaj. So all these stories are related because they lead to the conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Pariksit.
So as we discussed yesterday, it is this combination of a good speaker with a good listener and then we get a transmission of knowledge. Of course in the previous example, Dhrtarashtra was not a very good qualified person. He was a wicked person. But a little qualification was there, because he had to suffer so much loss. So at least he could strive for peace. So Vidura spoke to him and told him to renounce everything. He didn’t have higher qualification to accept anything else.
So Sukadeva Goswami had the Bhagavatam, but he needed a very qualified person. Main qualification is pure devotion. And the person who embodied that pure devotion was Pariksit Maharaj. What happened to all the other devotees? Well, Krishna disappeared, Dvaraka disappeared. And it’s described how Pandavas also renounced the kingdom, they also disappeared. Everybody else killed in the battle of Kurukshetra. Only one left was Pariksit. And he was highly qualified. So therefore, we get this transmission of Srimad Bhagavatam from Sukadeva Goswami, highly qualified, to Pariksit.
So we know from scripture that if a person is not a devotee and he discusses scripture which is pure nectar non different from Krishna, it becomes like poison. Of course, people will object, I have listened to Bhagavatam from so and so, I am not dying, no poison. But the poison is that one does not develop pure bhakti. At best one could develop mixed bhakti. And worst, of course one could not develop bhakti at all which is real poison. So of course even if they get mixed bhakti, all they get is liberation, what is liberation is also poison. So therefore the speaker has to be devotee, Vaishnava. But to get the proper effect, has to be Vaishnava with pure bhakti. And then the message of Bhagavatam will be conveyed properly.
Of course, the ultimate message is to realize Krishna and, Radha and Krishna. And to do that you have to practice pure bhakti. And of course not just pure bhakti but pure bhakti in the mood of Sukadeva Goswami. So Bhagavatam was written by Vedavyasa, but it became sweeter from the mouth of Sukadeva Goswami. Why is that? Because he had realization of the sweetness of Krishna and, Radha and Krishna. And he conveyed that when he spoke. So therefore we need a qualified speaker. We also need a qualified listener. If the listener is unqualified, it is a waste of time. If Sukadeva Goswami speaks to unqualified audience, all the highest knowledge, the treasure of highest knowledge and they are unqualified, they won’t understand anything. So it becomes a waste of time. And Sukadeva Goswami didn’t find a suitable person, therefore he didn’t speak. But when he met Pariksit Maharaj then he spoke. So he had qualified listener.
So as I said, just as the speaker has to be qualified with pure bhakti, the listener also has to be qualified with pure bhakti. Of course, we can say, well if you require pure bhakti to hear Bhagavatam, nobody can hear it. Only for a very high level of bhakti then you can hear Bhagavatam. However, pure bhakti is not only in category of people who are perfect like Uttama adhikaris and Mahajans etc., pure bhakti starts in sadhana itself.
So the beginning of bhakti means qualification is faith. So that means faith in the bhakti scriptures. Ultimately it means faith in Bhagavatam. And what does Bhagavatam preach? Pure bhakti. So if you have that faith in pure bhakti and scripture you can begin sadhana bhakti. If you follow the instructions of Bhagavatam in sadhana, you are practicing pure bhakti in sadhana. And then you can hear Bhagavatam because you are practicing pure bhakti. And through that practice of sadhana, one can elevate to bhava and prema. If we do sadhana, but it’s not sadhana of pure bhakti, we don’t get to bhava, we don’t get to prema. So we may have mixed bhakti or bhakti abhas or nama abhas. That will not lead to bhava and prema.
So we know that Jnanis and yogis they do their sadhanas, they cannot get to bhava, they cannot realize Krishna. So those who practice bhakti with a mixture of Jnana or karma or anything else, they are better than Jnanis and karmis, but still they don’t quite realize Krishna. So for those who practice pure bhakti then bhava and prema are available. But for others it is ‘sudurlabha’ – very very difficult to get or impossible to get. So we begin hearing Bhagavatam in sadhana with acceptance of pure bhakti, then we get the right result.
Of course, pure bhakti in sadhana is not the same as pure bhakti in prema. That’s the difference between sadhana and prema, they’re both bhakti, both pure bhakti but there’s also a difference, that’s why we give them different names. So sadhana bhakti, even sadhana of pure bhakti means there is anartha. In prema, no anartha. So both are bhakti, both are pure bhakti but sadhana has anartha, prema has no anartha. But we can’t get to pure bhakti in prema unless we do pure bhakti in sadhana. So that is why at the beginning of Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami gives us this definition of pure bhakti which is the basis of attaining ocean of rasa. So we have to be qualified to hear Bhagavatam by acceptance of the principles of Bhagavatam, pure bhakti. Bhagavatam actually says qualification for bhakti is, a faith and a taste for hearing topics of the Lord. But we should do that with the idea of pure bhakti.
So the Bhagavatam is also compared to Mohini avatar. According, just like Krishna can assume many different forms for different people, Bhagavatam also assumes different forms for different people. So Bhagavatam is compared to Mohini because like Mohini, Bhagavatam is bewildering. The demons became attracted to Mohini. Demons, materialists can also be attracted to Bhagavatam. But what did Mohini do? Demons were very attracted, she took the nectar from them and gave it to the devatas. So demons can also, materialists can also hear Bhagavatam and think very very nice or whatever but they don’t get the nectar. Bhagavatam will give the nectar to devotees.
So, at least one has to have that pure bhakti as a sadhaka and then he becomes qualified to get the real message of Bhagavatam. So Pariksit was a qualified listener. And Sukadeva Goswami is the qualified speaker. And thus we get a proper transmission of the knowledge of Bhagavatam.
Hare Krsna!
Q&A
1) Thank you Maharaj. You mentioned that Sukadeva did not speak to Bhagavatam because, he did not find a qualified person until he met Parīkṣit. But from another point of view, he met Parīkṣit only for the first time during that occasion. So how do we understand that he could understand the qualification of Parīkṣit even before meeting him? That’s my first question Maharaj.
Second question is when Sukadeva was, though King Parīkṣit was such an emperor, he was happy to meet him and give him Bhagavatam. On the contrary, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not want to meet King Parthaparudhara who was also a great devotee. So what should be the right understanding on these two things Maharaj?
Sukadeva Goswami was not an ordinary person. He wouldn’t come out of the womb because he didn’t want to see the material world. Krishna was so pleased with him, He blessed him. You come out of the womb, you won’t be touched by the material world. Of course, besides being the son of the avatar of the Lord Vedavyasa, he also got the blessings of Krishna. And thus, he was not an ordinary person. He had special knowledge.
And he must have been hearing all about the wonderful qualification of Parīkṣit. He was so qualified that he was appointed in the place of Yudhishthira. And why was Yudhishthira the king? Because he was a great devotee. Therefore, simply by him being the king appointed by Yudhishthira, it was understood that Parīkṣit was a great devotee. But he was completely detached from the kingdom. So, though he was a king, he was willing to give it all up with no regrets. And thus, though he was still technically the king, when he met Sukadeva Goswami, actually he had no interest in the kingdom at all. Though he was qualified as a great devotee and qualified as being completely detached from the material kingdom. And thus, highly qualified.
2) Maharaj, we see that Sukadeva Goswami was the first time he was speaking about Bhagavatam to Parīkṣit Maharaj because Parīkṣit Maharaj was a great devotee. So, when Sukadeva Goswami was speaking about Bhagavatam, not only Parīkṣit Maharaj, there were many yogis and many were there. Although they were not qualified to hear Bhagavatam, but still Sukadeva Goswami spoke Bhagavatam. But it is not that only Parīkṣit Maharaj heard Bhagavatam. Many others, even Suta Goswami also were there.
So, because there were other people there, no guarantee they would get the complete message. But, they also get some benefit. To those involved in Karma Yoga, Karma Mimamsa, we have so much discussion of dharma, Varnashram. So, these topics will catch the attention of those people.
And for those who are Jnanis and Yogis, we have plenty of topics on Jnana and Yoga in Bhagavatam that will be attractive also. So, at least, they will be attentive to listening. But while listening to that, they will also listen to the topics of Krishna. So, it is like the example I said yesterday, the father gives the candy to the children, so that they will take the medicine. So, topics of Karma, Jñāna and Yoga are like the candy for them, and topics of Krishna are like the medicines [Laughs]
So, by hearing those topics with a little favourability, then they get some attraction.
3) Hare Krishna Maharaj. So, Maharaj, you were explaining that how Sukadeva Goswami is waiting for a qualified listener or hearer, and he found that in Parikshit Maharaj, and qualified with devotion. But Maharaj, for example, in our present times, in ISKCON, we try to push Srimad Bhagavatam, selling Srimad Bhagavatam, and we may not always evaluate the qualification of the hearer, or for example, life members. So, one is that, we are giving the books to them, and they may or may not read. So, is it that by reading Srimad Bhagavatam, they become qualified? How is that?
Of course, contact with Bhagavatam, even if we don’t hear it and understand it, has got some benefit. So, if people are willing to at least purchase Bhagavatam, and put it in their house, they must have at least some favourability. They are not demons at least [Laughs]. Of course, the goal of the devotee who is distributing books, is not that we distribute books, but we hope that people read them also.
So, at least accepting the books is the first step, next is they should read them. So, good fortune, they accept Bhagavatam, second good fortune is they start reading it.
4) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, when we say qualification is the thing, then Romaharshana sutha was welcomed to talk about Srimad Bhagavatam, but at the end of the day, he was killed by Balaram. How do we understand this, Maharaj?
Romaharshan was qualified to recite Puranas, not specifically Bhagavatam, and of course he was appointed by the sages, but then he had a disqualification and that was pride. So therefore, he was not so qualified after all.
5) There is a question here in Sadhana Bhakti, how can we feel experience that I realize Krishna?
In Sadhana Bhakti, we don’t realize Krishna experience, we experience Him directly. If we get to Bhava, we can experience Krishna through realization. So that’s why we distinguish Sadhana from Bhava.
But though we cannot directly experience and realize Krishna, we get some experience of happiness, spiritual happiness, through hearing Bhagavatam. And through chanting Krishna’s name. So all the practices of Sadhana, that is, worshiping the deity, hearing, chanting, etc., give us some spiritual experience.
And the reason of course is, because all the processes of Bhakti are actually part of Krishna’s Swarupa Shakti. But because we have coverings, anarthas, then we don’t get the full experience. When the anarthas are less and the Bhakti is stronger, then we can realize Krishna.
6) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, as we are Gaudiya Vaishnavas, we have the topmost grantha, Srimad Bhagavatam, available for us and our acharyas have given a way to do the pure devotional service. As our Prabhupada gave everyday Bhagavatam class. As we see in other authorized places, they have different granthas. Like Madhvas have Mahabharat to be the prominent. Sri Vaishnavas like Vishnu-purana to be the prominent. So how they do the pure devotional service without the mixture and how they attain the perfection of pure devotion in their own line. Or is it only through Srimad Bhagavatam one can attain the pure devotional service?
So they are considered authorized Sampradayas because the goal is a form of the Lord. And to realize that form, they have to practice pure bhakti. But the form that shows is not Krishna but Vishnu. So using these scriptures, they have a method of pure bhakti and they realize Vishnu. Of course, in Vallabha Sampradaya, they worship Krishna. In Nimbarka Sampradaya, they worship Krishna. And they also follow process of pure bhakti. They also follow Srimad Bhagavatam. Vallabhacharya has written the whole commentary on the whole Bhagavatam.
7) Maharaj, regarding hearer and speaker, Parikshit Maharaj, in the womb itself he took darshan of the Lord and Sukadeva Goswami, he is telling, I will not come out of the womb because of Maya. But Krishna promised then he came. Parikshit, because of Parikshit came out of the womb to search about Krishna. Where he is now.. So, in this connection, Parikshit get Bhagavatam from Sukadeva Goswami. Sukadeva Goswami also representing Krishna as Bhagavatam. So, is this understanding is right?
It is mentioned here that Parikshit, when he was a child, was worshipping deities of Krishna. Therefore, he had devotion from the very beginning. That was fully satisfied when he heard Bhagavatam.
So, though it is hearing for a person like Parikshit that becomes also realization. So, of course we say Bhagavatam is non-different from Krishna. Krishna’s name and Krishna are not different.
8) If Vaishnavas who are in other bona fide Sampradaya do not accept Kali Yuga Dharma Hare Krishna Maha mantra, what will be their destination?
Bhagavatam only mentions Nama Sankirtan but does not mention ‘Hare Krishna’ Maha mantra. And of course, it says ‘Prayena’ generally. So, at least if you accept the process of pure Bhakti and do the angas of pure bhakti you have some good chance but it is much easier if we take to Nama Sankirtan. And those who are qualified for other processes of bhakti without the Nama Sankirtan as the main process will be much fewer.
Of course, we see in Bhagavatam, in Nectar of Devotion itself it gives example of someone who attains perfection by deity worship, some by surrender, some by friendship etc. It gives examples of things not centered on other processes. But for the majority of people then in Kali Yuga main easiest process is Nama Sankirtan.
9) Can you please explain what are the qualities of pure Bhakti in Sadhana level?
Well, if we go to the Nectar of Devotion the basics first is “anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam” that is the definition of pure Bhakti.
So when we do Archana and we chant the holy name, our goal is not to get material benefits or to get liberation. The goal of chanting and the goal of worship is simply to please Krishna. So that is pure Bhakti in Sadhana.
Of course, in Sadhana we have anarthas. And those anarthas may cause disturbance. So our Bhakti cannot be executed perfectly. Nevertheless, when we execute our Bhakti, we don’t have desires for liberation or for material benefits.
10) We see that Mahabharatam has been distributed to Devatas, Gandharvas, Pitrus etc. In the same way, how about Srimad Bhagavatam? Has it been distributed to other planetary systems?
We have no direct statement like that. But we can assume that when Sukadeva Goswami spoke to Pariksit there must have been some Devatas listening also.
11) We see that during Dikhsa officially the bond is established between the disciple and the spiritual master (Diksha Guru). How to understand the establishment of this bond between a disciple with Siksha Guru?
Well, of course even for Diksha Guru what is established? That would be the question. And of course, most people won’t be able to give an answer. Obviously, Diksha Guru hopefully they will give some teachings so there is some Siksha relationship.
But many devotees complain I take initiation but I hardly ever see my Diksha Guru, so I don’t have such relationship. So relationship by Siksha also may not be very strong with the Diksha Guru and the disciple. Of course, if they take second initiation they have a relationship through the mantras. And that of course is why we call him a Diksha Guru because he gives those mantras. If you don’t get the mantras… So that will distinguish the Diksha Guru from other Gurus, he gives those mantras. However, many devotees even if they get the mantras, they don’t regard that relationship as too significant.
So then what is the relationship? Of course we can go back to first initiation. So what do they get at first initiation? As I said, they may not get too much Siksha. They don’t get ‘Hare Krishna’ because they are already chanting Hare Krishna. So they get some beads and they get a name. So that is some sort of relationship also. But nevertheless, even that is not very strong. So the real relationship should be established by teaching. And that is of course the whole idea about what I mentioned yesterday that Bhagavatam is one person speaking and one person listening. And this is how Bhagavatam is conveyed. This is how the relationship is established. When the listener is sincere the relationship is established. And then he is willing to hear everything that the speaker gives. What was the relationship between Sukadeva Goswami and Parikshit? There was no initiation, no beads, just hearing that’s all. But hearer was qualified, speaker was qualified.
Thank you so much Maharaj.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham Ki Jai! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki Jai!!!