Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.14.34 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 18, 2025 |
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya Kṛṣṇa-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasa vate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-Kṛṣṇa-caitanya
prabhu Nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 14 Verse 34.
ŚB 1.14.34
भगवानपि गोविन्दो ब्रह्मण्यो भक्तवत्सल: ।
कच्चित्पुरे सुधर्मायां सुखमास्ते सुहृद्वृत: ॥ ३४ ॥
bhagavān api govindo
brahmaṇyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ
kaccit pure sudharmāyāṁ
sukham āste suhṛd-vṛtaḥ
Translation
Is Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gives pleasure to the cows, the senses and the brāhmaṇas, who is very affectionate towards His devotees, enjoying the pious assembly at Dvārakā Purī surrounded by friends?
Purport
Here in this particular verse the Lord is described as bhagavān, govinda, brahmaṇya and bhakta-vatsala. He is bhagavān svayam, or the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, full with all opulences, all power, all knowledge, all beauty, all fame and all renunciation. No one is equal to or greater than Him. He is Govinda because He is the pleasure of the cows and the senses. Those who have purified their senses by the devotional service of the Lord can render unto Him real service and thereby derive transcendental pleasure out of such purified senses. Only the impure conditioned living being cannot derive any pleasure from the senses, but being illusioned by false pleasures of the senses, he becomes servant of the senses. Therefore, we need His protection for our own interest. The Lord is the protector of cows and the brahminical culture. A society devoid of cow protection and brahminical culture is not under the direct protection of the Lord, just as the prisoners in the jails are not under the protection of the king but under the protection of a severe agent of the king. Without cow protection and cultivation of the brahminical qualities in human society, at least for a section of the members of society, no human civilization can prosper at any length. By brahminical culture, the development of the dormant qualities of goodness, namely truthfulness, equanimity, sense control, forbearance, simplicity, general knowledge, transcendental knowledge and firm faith in the Vedic wisdom, one can become a brāhmaṇa and thus see the Lord as He is. And after surpassing the brahminical perfection, one has to become a devotee of the Lord so that His loving affection in the form of proprietor, master, friend, son and lover can be transcendentally achieved. The stage of a devotee, which attracts the transcendental affection of the Lord, does not develop unless one has developed the qualities of a brāhmaṇa as above mentioned. The Lord is inclined to a brāhmaṇa of quality and not of false prestige. Those who are less than a brāhmaṇa by qualification cannot establish any relation with the Lord, just as fire cannot be kindled from the raw earth unless there is wood, although there is a relation between wood and the earth. Since the Lord is all-perfect in Himself, there could not be any question of His welfare, and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira refrained from asking this question. He simply inquired about His residential place, Dvārakā Purī, where pious men assemble. The Lord stays only where pious men assemble and takes pleasure in their glorifying the Supreme Truth. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was anxious to know about the pious men and their pious acts in the city of Dvārakā.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So here Yudhiṣṭhira is asking directly about Kṛṣṇa. And of course, because He is Supreme Lord, we cannot ask whether is He sick or die, because He will not be affected by anything in the material world. So to ask how is the Supreme Lord, is a rather foolish question. Of course, it is also rather foolish to ask how are the eternal associates of the Lord, because they are also always full of bliss. So instead of asking directly, he says, how is the Supreme Lord being happy in the ‘sudharmāyāṁ’ or in Dvārakā Puri.
Of course in asking this question, already He has the answer, because here He says, He is Bhagavān, He is Govinda, He is Brahmanya, He is Bhakta Vatsala. Usually, when we use the word ‘Bhagavān’, it’s referring to the Supreme Lord. And that Supreme Lord, is defined in a certain way. We use words with specific meaning. For instance, if we say the word cow, then we know it’s got horns, it’s quite big, it’s got four legs and it gives milk. But then we can say buffalo is also the same [Laughs]. So then we have to define it more accurately in detail, the difference between a buffalo and a cow. So when we use these words, then, we avoid confusion, if we know the exact definition. If we simply say a cow has four legs, that’s not a sufficient definition. A negative person will say a dog has four legs, ‘Oh that’s a cow’ [Laughs]. So therefore to keep the meaning straight with particular characteristics, we have dictionaries. And of course, in Sanskrit, in ancient times, then they had Vedic dictionaries. So memorizing the Vedas was not really a complete type of learning. You had to know the meaning of all the words and their grammatical structure.
So thus when we use the word ‘Bhagavān’, we have a specific definition. So the most common definition is given in the Vishnu Purana. So there it describes that, Bhagavān means that person who has six qualities. And this will distinguish him from everyone else. It will distinguish him from all Jivas, including Devatas. It will also distinguish him from Shiva. However, when we use the word Bhagavān, it could refer to Rama, Narasimhadev, Varaha etc. Because Bhagavān means one Supreme Lord, but many forms. So there is no separate Bhagavāns – Narasima Bhagavān, Rama Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, they are not separate Bhaghavans. There is only one Bhagavān.
So Kṛṣṇa is also Bhagavān, but we also distinguish Kṛṣṇa from the other forms of Bhagavān, by calling him Svayam Bhagavān. So this is the terminology adopted in the Bhagavatam, after listing all the different forms of the Lord, but Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān Svayam. So all the different forms of the Lord are full in these six qualities. So how we can distinguish Kṛṣṇa from everybody else? They are all perfect, they are all complete. So therefore, we cannot say Kṛṣṇa is better, Kṛṣṇa was first etc. They are all eternal, they are all one.
Nevertheless, Bhagavatam does distinguish Kṛṣṇa from all the other forms of Bhagavān. So that of course is explained in the Nectar of Devotion. So there it says, according to Siddhanta or we say Philosophy or Tattva, Vishnu or Kṛṣṇa are abeda, the same. So why do we make distinctions? Of course we make distinctions by form! Narshima deva has a lion head, Kṛṣṇa does not have a lion head. So obviously they look different [Laughs]. So we have one Bhagavān, but he has many different forms.
Then we can say, well, but the different forms have different qualities etc, so one must be better than the other. Thats a little bit difficult to argue, because we say the lion form of Narshimadev is better than a horse form of Hayagriva or the boar form of Varaha or the fish form of Matsya, which one is better form ? we can’t really say. However the Supreme Lord, Bhagavān in these different forms, performs slightly different activities. He manifests slightly different qualities in relation to his devotees. So that form, which manifests more varieties of qualities, more attractive qualities, more attractive pastimes, we can say, that form is superior!
So Rupa Goswami says in Nectar of devotion, Yes Vishnu, Kṛṣṇa all the other forms are one, there is no difference. But Kṛṣṇa is superior in Rasa. So his display of Rasas is superior to the display of Rasas in other forms of the Lord. Of course, we could argue that well, all the forms are perfect, so how can they show less Rasas? The answer is, they are one form. So therefore, all forms have all Rasas, all qualities, all pastimes! But in the particular form like Rama or Narsimha or Matsya etc, they will manifest in their pastimes, certain Rasas, certain qualities, certain activities, not everything. So Kṛṣṇa manifests everything fully! And in that sense, that we put him as the topmost and we call him Svayam Bhagavān.
So Yudhiṣṭhira recognizes Kṛṣṇa as Bhagavān. But which form of Bhagavān? So therefore he says Govinda. So when we hear the word ‘Govinda’, generally we will associate that with the form of Kṛṣṇa. And particularly, the form of Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan. Of course, one can analyze the word differently. So ‘go’ can refer to cows. It can also refer to the senses. So therefore, ‘go’ can be one who gives pleasure to the cows or one who gives pleasure to the senses. Of course, we say one who gives pleasure to the senses, that can refer to any form of the Lord, because they all give pleasure to the senses. However of all the forms of Bhagavān, that form who takes care of the cows is Kṛṣṇa! So though Bhagavān has many forms, Yudhiṣṭhira is asking about that form of Kṛṣṇa.
He uses the word here ‘Brahmanya’, which means, he is friendly with the Brāhmaṇas. This term can be applied to all the forms of the Lord. All the forms of the Lord, they support Dharma and they support the Brāhmaṇa, who is the head of Dharma.
The word ‘Bhakta-vatsala’ means affection to the devotees. So all the forms of the Lord are affectionate towards the devotees. All the forms of the Lord are controlled by the devotees. So of course one of the characteristics of Bhakti is, the final quality is, ‘Kṛṣṇa-akarshani’. That Bhakti in the form of Prema, controls Supreme Lord. Of all the qualities of the Lord, this is one of the outstanding qualities. So Narshimadeva is famous, because he showed great affection for Prahlād. Vishnu is famous, because He gave his Sudarshan Chakra to Ambarish. So all the forms of the Lord are famous for devotion to their devotees.
However, when Kṛṣṇa displays these qualities, they are also a little special. For example, Yes, Kṛṣṇa is also affectionate to the devotees, but his affection controlled by the devotees, goes much further than with any other form of the Lord. And thus, he is controlled by Mother Yasoda. So he gets tied up by Mother Yasoda! But we don’t see that affection for his devotee expressed in other forms of the Lord! Of course one could say, well that’s because Mother Yasoda is a mother and she is bigger than Kṛṣṇa. But we see also in Sakya Rasa, the cowherd boys are equal with Kṛṣṇa. But we see Kṛṣṇa sometimes loses in the games and then he has to carry cowherd boys on his shoulder! And we see in Madhurya Rasa that Kṛṣṇa is controlled by Radha! So in all sorts of Rasas, Kṛṣṇa shows greater control by the devotee!
So Kṛṣṇa also shows His affection for Brāhmaṇas. Usually, the forms of the Lord show affection for Brāhmaṇas by protecting. But we see in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, Sudama Brāhmaṇa was a great friend of Kṛṣṇa and when Sudama offered him a little bit of chipped rice, Kṛṣṇa was so eager to accept that. And not simply because he was a Brāhmaṇa, but because he was a great friend of Kṛṣṇa. And he rewarded him with a huge palace etc.
So of course, Kṛṣṇa is also Govinda. He gives enjoyment to the senses. But because of Kṛṣṇa’s wonderful pastimes and wonderful form, He gives a greater bliss. So in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami points out, Kṛṣṇa has manifest extra qualities, four extra qualities. The one is his Madhurya Rupa, His sweet form. All the forms of Bhagavān are sweet in one sense, they are all spiritual, eternal etc and they give bliss. But Kṛṣṇa’s form is especially sweet. So the devotee on seeing that form, He develops a very sweet type of rasa. So his eyes, his senses become especially joyful with seeing Kṛṣṇa. And another special quality is Madhurya Lila, his pastimes are very very sweet. So in participating in those pastimes and using his senses in those pastimes, the devotee develops greater bliss. So in this way Kṛṣṇa is in a very special position, even though there are so many forms of Bhagavān.
So this form of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa is eternal. But when Kṛṣṇa comes to this material world, He acts in such a way that many people will mistake him for a material person. And thus, when he disappears, some people say, ‘oh he was just a normal person, with a normal material body’. So Kṛṣṇa is supreme Lord, He is also Svayam Bhagavān, but when he comes to this material world, most people make a mistake, and they don’t understand his position. However, those who are devotees, will understand that this form of Kṛṣṇa, who appears to be material, actually is eternal. And he is eternally enjoying pastimes in Dvārakā. Of course in this Bhagavatam it shows, how the Dvārakā was flooded with water, but actually it’s eternal. So that is the understanding of the devotee.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A
1. Maharaj, when you cited the example of Sudama, it is more towards his friendly relationship, more than a Brāhmaṇa. So how do we appreciate that as we properly know He is namo brahmanya-devaya’. So how do we understand that he is more towards Brāhmaṇas with the exception of Sudama, Maharaj?
As I said, of course the word ‘Brahmanya’ is a general quality of all the forms of the Lord. Of course, in the purport and in the word for word, Prabhupada says ‘Brahmanya’ – Devoted to the devotees [Laughs] or the brāhmaṇas. So, though the Lord respects Brāhmaṇas, sometimes we will see in the Bhagavatam also, Brāhmaṇas who are simply involved in rituals are considered to be foolish. And that is shown in the pastime that the wives of the Brāhmaṇas get the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and the husbands don’t [Laughs].
So if a person is a Brāhmaṇa, plus he is a great devotee, of course that is very good. We see when any Brāhmaṇa comes to the palace, then Kṛṣṇa gives great respect. But when Kṛṣṇa gave respect to Sudama, everybody was rather astonished. He gave excessive respect to Sudama. And even Rukmini was surprised [Laughs]. So he was eating and then she tried to stop him, don’t eat anymore [Laughs]. So the way he showed respect to this Brāhmaṇa was of course because he was a great devotee. So though Kṛṣṇa does respect the Brāhmaṇas, He respects the devotee even more. And if the devotee is not a Brāhmaṇa, doesn’t matter, he may give the greatest respect.
2. Maharaj, in Bhakti Rasamita Sindhu, it is said, ‘siddhanta tu abeda visesa Krsna svarupaya’. In siddhanatha all the avatars, all the incarnations and Krsna are same because, all are Supreme Lord. But sometimes we see, when Kṛṣṇa comes, Balarama comes, both are one, but still, there is a difference of opinion among Kṛṣṇa and Balarama. Sometimes even one go against the other, so how to understand this?
Whatever appears to be differences in the different forms of the Supreme Lord in their interactions is actually ultimately no difference. No difference, because ultimately it is all Bhagavān. But when they manifest different forms, they will manifest slightly different qualities, activities etc. So there will appear to be difference. In other words, Balarama does not think exactly in the same way that Kṛṣṇa thinks all the time. If that were so, then Balaram seems to be like a shadow of Kṛṣṇa. Everything Kṛṣṇa does, Balaram also does, everything he says, Balaram also says. So that does not make any sense [Laughs].
So for past times, there is an appearance of difference. And this creates a certain type of rasa. There is no rasa, unless there is difference! So we have Balarama as one personality, Kṛṣṇa as another personality, they show Sakhya rasa. At the same time, they are also non-different.
3. Hare Kṛṣṇa Maharaj, we see Lord Narasingadev appears in many yugas, so each time he appears, is there any variation in his appearance ? Just like, we have deities of Narasingadeva, there are some slight differences, in that sense, can we expect that when the Lord appears several times, He is having some variation in the appearance ?
So there is always a room for differences in the forms of the Lord. For instance, we get the form of Varaha Narsimha also. So in different kalpas of Brahma, sometimes the forms will be slightly different. And it is not any problem for the Supreme Lord, because he can manifest any form he wants!
4. How do we understand that, Kṛṣṇa is Svayam Bhagavān to reveal more rasas ? Because in the case of Mahaprabhu, He is the combined form of Radha Kṛṣṇa and He reveals Madhurya rasa.
Well, as Bhagavatam says, Kṛṣṇa is Svayam Bhagavān. However, we accept Caitanya Mahaprabhu as non different from Kṛṣṇa. So we often say that, Kṛṣṇa is avatari, the source of all avatars. And we use the same term avatari to refer to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So therefore, we can say they are both Svayam Bhagavān.
5. A Jiva when he is departing to the spiritual world, during the time of death, will he be knowing that he is departing to the spiritual world ?
Usually the Jiva in the material world, does sadhana, then he gets Bhava, then he gets Prema. So in Prema, he is usually in the spiritual world. Going to the Spiritual world, doesn’t really matter, because he is already there [Laughs]. Only at a certain time, He gives up that material body completely, that’s all. And he is in the spiritual world. So there is no perception of any difference ultimately for that Jiva.
Devotees: Grantharaj Sri Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai !! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !!