Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.14.40 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | May 24, 2025 !
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
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
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 40
ŚB 1.14.40
kaccin nābhihato ’bhāvaiḥ
śabdādibhir amaṅgalaiḥ
na dattam uktam arthibhya
āśayā yat pratiśrutam
Synonyms
kaccit — whether; na — could not; abhihataḥ — addressed by; abhāvaiḥ — unfriendly; śabda–ādibhiḥ — by sounds; amaṅgalaiḥ — inauspicious; na — did not; dattam — give in charity; uktam — is said; arthibhyaḥ — unto one who asked; āśayā — with hope; yat — what; pratiśrutam — promised to be paid.
Translation
Has someone addressed you with unfriendly words or threatened you? Could you not give charity to one who asked, or could you not keep your promise to someone?
Purport
A kṣatriya or a rich man is sometimes visited by persons who are in need of money. When they are asked for a donation, it is the duty of the possessor of wealth to give in charity in consideration of the person, place and time. If a kṣatriya or a rich man fails to comply with this obligation, he must be very sorry for this discrepancy. Similarly, one should not fail to keep his promise to give in charity. These discrepancies are sometimes causes of despondency, and thus failing, a person becomes subjected to criticism, which might also be the cause of Arjuna’s plight.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj :
So this whole series of verses is a list of all different actions or treatments or whatever that can cause Arjuna to feel depressed.
If we take it from a material point of view, there are unlimited causes of suffering and depression in the material world. Each person has a different type of suffering. What causes suffering to one person may be a cause of joy for another person. So in other words, suffering and happiness are subjective, they depend on each individual. And this can change in different births for the same person. In other words, the material world itself is neither good nor bad. But each Jiva somehow feels the situation as good or bad. It is ultimately because of the subtle body with the mind and the ahankara and the intelligence. Somethings we call conditioning. Everyone tells us, this is very good, this will make you happy. So then we also think, this will make me happy. So in this way, our mind develops a certain expectation of happiness. So we may grow up and think that idlis are good. I don’t get idlis, I suffer. But a person from another country comes and eats idlis and says, what is this? This is not food. So a lot of our happiness is caused simply by the mind.
So in this way, the mind also can change. And it can change in this lifetime or it can change in the next lifetime. So we can always develop a new taste for the mind. And then we forget the old taste. So this is actually a cause of the Jiva getting body after body. So in one lifetime, the Jiva develops a longing for a certain type of enjoyment, so he gets a suitable body for that in his next life. In his next lifetime, then he may develop new tastes and then he gets another body to experience that happiness. So in this way, the Jiva continues in the material world to take body after body. Each particular body is suited for a particular type of enjoyment.
Of course, this becomes more complicated, because we have the law of karma. So not only your desires will determine your next body, but also your activities. So if you have desires in this lifetime and you do a lot of punyas, then you can fulfill that desire in your next lifetime. If you have the same desire and you do a lot of sinful activities, in the next lifetime, you still have that desire, you wouldn’t get the same type of body, you will get a body with lots of problems. So in general, the human beings are going from body to body under ignorance. They don’t know what body they’re going to get in the next lifetime. We can interpret, we can surmise what type of desire he’s going to have in the next lifetime because of his desires of this lifetime. But people don’t understand the law of karma, so they don’t know what type of body they’re actually going to get. So that is why it is described that the Jiva is wandering from body to body in the material world.
Its like a person who is renting a house. Then the landLord kicks him out of the house. So he has no choice where to go after that. But the law of karma makes him to take a certain body. Of course, a most intelligent person would save up his money. And he may even look for a house ahead of time. But he can only choose according to how much money he has. So if he wants a bigger house, he needs more money. So similarly, an intelligent person, wants a good body in the next lifetime, then he will do lot of punyas. So in this way, there is some sort of predictability depending on our activities and desires.
So by use of intelligence and following scriptures, we can predict a good body in our next lifetime. So this system of doing that is called karma yoga. One problem is that though there is some sort of certainty of what you get, it doesn’t always work. So King Nrga did lots of punyas, but he became a lizard [Laughs]. He made some mistake in giving charity, offended a Brahmana and got cursed. So there is no 100% guarantee through the law, through the karma yoga process.
The other fault of course is, you keep getting body after body. And the law of karma does not stop your rebirth. So if you are content to stay in the material world, body after body, fine, then the law of karma is okay, as long as we accept sometimes it is unpredictable. However, the scriptures also tell us, this actually is a foolish process.
We should strive to stop the process of birth and death. In other words, if we are going from house to house, house to house, because we get different landLords, different amounts of stay in the thing and then someone offers permanent residence forever, it’s a much better proposal.
So though Karma Yoga and Karma Kanda are part of the Vedas, the higher portion is called the Jnana kanda. And in the Jnana kanda, we are taught to stop the process of birth and death. There are two choices. Stop the process of birth and death. And the second is, stop the process of birth and death and get a permanent house [Laughs].
So we can get liberation or we can get spiritual world. So of the two, then the higher choice, the better choice is to go to the spiritual world. That is achieved by the process of Bhakti Yoga. So, in this situation, there is no moving from one place to another, one body to another. And one is not affected by the conditions we see in the material world. At the same time, there is an experience of happiness. One process is, let us get rid of happiness and suffering, so we go for liberation. So one of course another alternative is, get rid of happiness and suffering, but experience highest bliss. And of the two experience of highest bliss is preferrable. This is most satisfying to the Jiva. So, thus the conclusion of scripture, ultimately is, the process is bhakti yoga and the final goal is Prema. And then, we are not subject to all of these different afflictions which Yudhishthira is mentioning here.
So, here he mentions about unfriendly words, harsh words of other people. So, in the material world, harsh words are considered to be more painful than getting pierced by arrows. But the pain we feel because of harsh words is because of identity with material body. So, the harsh words help to destroy our false identity. So, therefore we feel pain. So, in this way, a person who is at the level of detachment from his mind and his false ego, etc., will not be affected by such words.
In the material world, if we follow dharma, then there is a process of interacting with others. And especially for the higher varnas, one should always be charitable. If someone asks for something, you should give it. And this becomes particularly important for the Kshatriya. And if one doesn’t give, then this is, I could say, an obstruction to dharma. So, such rules are there in the scriptures, to ensure that people don’t become too attached to their wealth. So, in that sense, yes, the idea of giving charity is a good rule in the scripture. Of course, then according to guna, this may also change. So, particularly for the Kshatriya, yes, he has to give, but he can never accept charity. And for the Brahmana, he is the main recipient of charity [Laughs]. So, this idea of charity is well established in the Vedic literature. And if a particular Kshatriya fails to give in charity when asked, then it becomes very sinful. And therefore, that person will have to suffer in the future. So, the same thing with promises. If you cannot fulfill a promise, then it’s considered very sinful. So, these rules are there to ensure that people don’t become too attached to their material possessions.
If we get to the position of devotion to the Lord, then these rules begin to change. So, if one has completely surrendered to the Lord, one has no attachment to anything material. And therefore, the rule about being charitable, and if you don’t give in charity, it’s a sin, don’t really apply. So, the rules of scripture that tell you, you should do this, you shouldn’t do this, rules and prohibitions are vidhi and nisheda are there for people on a lower level. If one comes to the level of devotional service, then automatically the goal of all these different rules and prohibitions is achieved. And thus, these rules lose their importance for one who has surrendered to the Lord.
So, for one still in the material world, then he has to follow the rules. Bhagavatam says, if one has dedicated oneself to the Lord, then if he doesn’t follow the rules for Karma Yoga, it’s not considered to be a sin. Everything is accomplished by surrender to the Lord. So, that of course is also explained in Caitanya Caritamrita. In explaining faith, Lord Caitanya says, faith means that we understand that by surrendering to Krishna, everything is accomplished. Whatever is accomplished by Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga, is automatically achieved already by Bhakti Yoga, so, we don’t have to do anything else. Thus a devotee does not have to worry about obligations in the material world.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A
1) Haribol Maharaj, In this Varna – Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra, who can give charity? Can we accept charity from a Sudra?
So, the recipients of charity, as I said are mainly the Brahmanas. But if anybody is in need, then the Kshatriya especially will give to that person. And we see in Bhagavatam, when they have these big yajnas then the sponsor or the king will give charity to everybody including the dogs [Laughs]. We also see that the sponsors, the yajna will give profusely to the brahmanas then we have cows decorated with gold and they’ll give so many things [Laughs].
So generally if one is in need, one can accept charity. But the kshatriya does not accept. The brahmanas, because of their the type of work they do that is teaching vedas etc that they are actually in need of charity [Laughs]. The Vaishyas in general don’t need charity, because they earn money by jobs. The Sudras, of course they’re laborers and they have to be protected, so therefore the vaishyas and the kshatriyas and the brahmanas may give to the sudras so they can maintain themselves because they don’t get money.
In terms of ashrama, the householder is always advised to give charity. And thus there’s an emphasis anyone who comes to your house you have to feed him and give him a place to stay and give him water etc etc. The Vanaprastha and Sannyasis are the objects of charity [Laughs]. And similarly the Brahmachari goes out and begs for charity. So this rule of charity is actually a rule for the Grhastha.
2) This is in the context of harsh words we see Vidura has been giving continuous preaching to Dhṛtarāṣṭra which never worked and when he came back, Vidura came back from the pilgrimage and he was using very very harsh words where it was very very helpful and beneficial for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s spiritual life. So in that sense harsh words are helping for spiritual advancement ?
Of course when we talk about harsh words as a negative quality, then we’re referring to untrue words. So Duryodhana speaks harsh words to Vidura, they’re untrue words [Laughs]. True words may sound harsh to the recipient, at the same time, I think it is Manu samhita says, that one cannot avoid telling the truth. Not to tell the truth becomes a big fault. But if one is to tell the truth it should act for the benefit of the person. So the person should say the truth, but say in such a way that the person receiving it gets benefit. So that is exactly what Vidura did. He spoke the truth and ultimately Dhṛtarāṣṭra accepted it.
3) Hare Krishna Maharaj, Maharaj regarding Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Vidura practically Dhṛtarāṣṭra got association for whole life on various matters he used to get suggestions and directions. But we see practically at the flag end of his life he accepted the suggestions or whatever he said the instructions. Although for whole life he had so much of association but he took the message so seriously at the end is because that Vidura spoke so heavily at the end or is it because Dhṛtarāṣṭra now practically has nothing left, so better take the instruction now ?
So his main problem was, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s problem was excessive attachment to his sons. And that attachment led him to try to put Duryodhana on the throne. And thus he could not accept any good advice to the contrary. After all his sons were dead, there was no possibility of putting him on the throne anymore [Laughs]. So the circumstances after the battle of Kurkshetra were such that it was a little more favorable for him to accept advice.
4) Hare Krishna Maharaj, this is in context to charity, so as we know that one who completely surrendered to the Lord and he has no attachment to the material world as well so there is no rules applicable for him in terms of charity and other things but what about the sadhaka who are practitioners and they have some material attachment as well.
If we are to do as a practicing devotee, we do charity to get material results, this becomes a mixture in our bhakti. So those charities which are prescribed in karma yoga, are generally for material benefit. Of course if we give charity to Vaishnavas that’s an anga of bhakti. So if we like to give, then we can give to devotees. One of the secondary rasas in the spiritual world is Virya rasa. So generally, we think of Virya rasa in relation to fighting that’s called Yuddha Virya rasa where one is very courageous in fighting.
But then there is another one called Dhana Virya, one is very courageous and giving and that’s a secondary rasa [Laughs]. So for instance, when Krishna was born in Vraja and Nanda Maharaj had his celebration then he was giving charity, that’s Dhana Virya. Of course, the goal is not to get material prosperity or anything like that because in the spiritual world everybody is always prosperous. But it expresses his joy at the birth of Krishna.
5) Hare Krishna Maharaj, if a devotee practicing bhakti the karma gradually gets destroyed but at what stage, the karma will completely get destroyed ?
At the stage of destroyal of karma, does Krishna involves in this karma pattern or whatever happening it’s completely on the karma theory ?
So karma yoga does not destroy karma, it produces more karma. Jnana yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Bhakti yoga they destroy karma. Quickest way to destroy karma is bhakti yoga. And thus even without bhakti, if you chant the name of Narayana as in the case of Ajamila in one second all of his karmas were destroyed.
Of course if a person has committed some offense in previous lifetimes or this lifetime, then the process becomes a little slower, but still it is much quicker than Jnana or Yoga. For those who follow this gradual process in bhakti for destroying karmas by the end of asakti all the karmas should be gone.
6) At which level of bhakti practicing of varnashrama should be stopped ?
Well, in Bhagavatam it says if one has developed a taste for hearing the topics of the Lord you can give up all your karmas [Laughs]. Of course what this means is that one should no longer be attached to those karmas. One should not think that if I don’t do them I’m sinful. If one thinks like that then that becomes mixed bhakti again. But one can continue to those karmas to inspire others who aren’t devotees to at least do karmas if they’re not going to do anything else.
7) Maharaj, in this section, we see that neglection, unfriendly, inauspicious, disrespect kind of uh qualities or you know symptoms are indicated. These are typically in material realm, whereas the people who are discussing one is Arjuna and the other one is Yudisthira Maharaj being pure devotees. So how do we understand this discussion Maharaj ?
So everything related to Krishna becomes auspicious and everything not related to Krishna is inauspicious [Laughs]. Yeah so of course, adharma is inauspicious. But even dharma or Jnana yoga or astanga yoga, if not related to Krishna also becomes inauspicious [Laughs]. Yeah so if Krishna leaves the world and is filled with adharma that is inauspicious. So that is more or less the sense of all of this the world is inauspicious because Krishna has disappeared.
8) You had mentioned about speaking the truth in a way it would be beneficial for the receiver what shall be the mindset of the speaker, if the receiver is not ready to accept the truth.
Well, that was the example of Vidura, he kept giving good advice [Laughs] Dhṛtarāṣṭra never accepted [Laughs]. He kept trying. When circumstances changed, he tried again and then he was successful.
9) When a devotee leaves his body he attains spiritual world being the case why his relatives need to do a shraddha ceremony every year.
If he is going to the spiritual world, they don’t have to. Even if he hasn’t going to the spiritual world, still they don’t have to. So all these ceremonies are to prevent one from getting a hellish body, but a devotee is protected from that, because of the process of bhakti.
So one can do the ceremonies, but without the idea that by doing them they’re going to get better birth that’s not significant. The only reason they would do that is to encourage other people who are not devotees to continue to do their shraddha ceremonies.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai ! Srila Prabhupad Ki.. Jai !!