Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.15.27 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | July 1, 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 Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 15 Verse 27.
ŚB 1.15.27
देशकालार्थयुक्तानि हृत्तापोपशमानि च ।
हरन्ति स्मरतश्चित्तं गोविन्दाभिहितानि मे ॥ २७ ॥
deśa-kālārtha-yuktāni
hṛt-tāpopaśamāni ca
haranti smarataś cittaṁ
govindābhihitāni me
Synonyms
deśa — space; kāla — time; artha — importance; yuktāni — impregnated with; hṛt — the heart; tāpa — burning; upaśamāni — extinguishing; ca — and; haranti — are attracting; smarataḥ — by remembering; cittam — mind; govinda — the Supreme Personality of pleasure; abhihitāni — narrated by; me — unto me.
Translation
Now I am attracted to those instructions imparted to me by the Personality of Godhead [Govinda] because they are impregnated with instructions for relieving the burning heart in all circumstances of time and space.
Purport
Herein Arjuna refers to the instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā, which was imparted to him by the Lord on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. The Lord left behind Him the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā not for the benefit of Arjuna alone, but also for all time and in all lands. The Bhagavad-gītā, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the essence of all Vedic wisdom. It is nicely presented by the Lord Himself for all who have very little time to go through the vast Vedic literatures like the Upaniṣads, Purāṇas and Vedānta-sūtras. It is put within the study of the great historical epic Mahābhārata, which was especially prepared for the less intelligent class, namely the women, the laborers and those who are worthless descendants of the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and higher sections of the vaiśyas. The problem which arose in the heart of Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra was solved by the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā. Again, after the departure of the Lord from the vision of earthly people, when Arjuna was face to face with being vanquished in his acquired power and prominence, he wanted again to remember the great teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā just to teach all concerned that the Bhagavad-gītā can be consulted in all critical times, not only for solace from all kinds of mental agonies, but also for the way out of great entanglements which may embarrass one in some critical hour.
The merciful Lord left behind Him the great teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā so that one can take the instructions of the Lord even when He is not visible to material eyesight. Material senses cannot have any estimation of the Supreme Lord, but by His inconceivable power the Lord can incarnate Himself to the sense perception of the conditioned souls in a suitable manner through the agency of matter, which is also another form of the Lord’s manifested energy. Thus the Bhagavad-gītā, or any authentic scriptural sound representation of the Lord, is also the incarnation of the Lord. There is no difference between the sound representation of the Lord and the Lord Himself. One can derive the same benefit from the Bhagavad-gītā as Arjuna did in the personal presence of the Lord.
The faithful human being who is desirous of being liberated from the clutches of material existence can very easily take advantage of the Bhagavad-gītā, and with this in view, the Lord instructed Arjuna as if Arjuna were in need of it. In the Bhagavad-gītā, five important factors of knowledge have been delineated pertaining to (1) the Supreme Lord, (2) the living being, (3) nature, (4) time and space and (5) the process of activity. Out of these, the Supreme Lord and the living being are qualitatively one. The difference between the two has been analyzed as the difference between the whole and the part and parcel. Nature is inert matter displaying the interaction of three different modes, and eternal time and unlimited space are considered to be beyond the existence of the material nature. Activities of the living being are different varieties of aptitudes which can entrap or liberate the living being within and without material nature. All these subject matters are concisely discussed in the Bhagavad-gītā, and later the subject matters are elaborated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for further enlightenment. Out of the five subjects, the Supreme Lord, the living entity, nature, and time and space are eternal, but the living entity, nature and time are under the direction of the Supreme Lord, who is absolute and completely independent of any other control. The Supreme Lord is the supreme controller. The material activity of the living being is beginningless, but it can be rectified by transferral into the spiritual quality. Thus it can cease its material qualitative reactions. Both the Lord and the living entity are cognizant, and both have the sense of identification, of being conscious as a living force. But the living being under the condition of material nature, called mahat-tattva, misidentifies himself as being different from the Lord. The whole scheme of Vedic wisdom is targeted to the aim of eradicating such a misconception and thus liberating the living being from the illusion of material identification. When such an illusion is eradicated by knowledge and renunciation, the living beings are responsible actors and enjoyers also. The sense of enjoyment in the Lord is real, but such a sense in the living being is a sort of wishful desire only. This difference in consciousness is the distinction of the two identities, namely the Lord and the living being. Otherwise there is no difference between the Lord and the living being. The living being is therefore eternally one and different simultaneously. The whole instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā stands on this principle.
In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord and the living beings are both described as sanātana, or eternal, and the Lord’s abode, far beyond the material sky, is also described as sanātana. The living being is invited to live in the sanātana existence of the Lord, and the process which can help a living being to approach the Lord’s abode, where the liberated activity of the soul is exhibited, is called sanātana-dharma. One cannot, however, reach the eternal abode of the Lord without being free from the misconception of material identification, and the Bhagavad-gītā gives us the clue how to achieve this stage of perfection. The process of being liberated from the misconception of material identification is called, in different stages, fruitive activity, empiric philosophy and devotional service, up to transcendental realization. Such transcendental realization is made possible by dovetailing all the above items in relation with the Lord. Prescribed duties of the human being, as directed in the Vedas, can gradually purify the sinful mind of the conditioned soul and raise him to the stage of knowledge. The purified stage of acquiring knowledge becomes the basis of devotional service to the Lord. As long as one is engaged in researching the solution of the problems of life, his knowledge is called jñāna, or purified knowledge, but on realizing the actual solution of life, one becomes situated in the devotional service of the Lord. The Bhagavad-gītā begins with the problems of life by discriminating the soul from the elements of matter and proves by all reason and argument that the soul is indestructible in all circumstances and that the outer covering of matter, the body and the mind, change for another term of material existence, which is full of miseries. The Bhagavad-gītā is therefore meant for terminating all different types of miseries, and Arjuna took shelter of this great knowledge, which had been imparted to him during the Kurukṣetra battle.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, this is actually a summary of the Bhagavad Gita and the summary of Vedic knowledge. So, in the introduction of Bhagavad Gita, Prabhupada calls the Bhagavad Gita, Gito-Upanishad. Of course, we know that Bhagavad Gita is in the Mahabharata. Mahabharata is called Itihasa, it is not Upanishad. So Upanishads are part of the Vedas, they are called Sruti.
Now Sruti itself has different parts. In the Karma kanda, we have descriptions of sacrifices, Karma Yoga, Varanashrama etc. The Jnana Kanda consists of Upanishads. And of the two sections, the Jnana Kanda is considered to be superior to the Karma kanda. The goal of Karma kanda is Svarga Loka, and that is material. The Upanishads encourage the Jiva to go for liberation, which is eternal. So, Bhagavad Gita is called Upanishad, even though technically it’s not part of Sruti, because it contains the essence of the Vedas, that is the section to try to get us out of the material world.
Normally of course when we hear the word Upanishad and Jnana Kanda, we understand impersonal liberation. However, within the Upanishads, there are impersonal Jnana Upanishads, there are Upanishads praising Shiva, and there are Upanishads praising Vishnu. So, among the Upanishads, some are propagating Jnana, others are propagating Bhakti. So, the Upanishads of course ultimately, if we take them all, then the conclusion is ultimately the same as Bhagavad Gita. Just as the Upanishads reject completely Karma kanda, so Bhagavad Gita also rejects Karma kanda. Of course, like the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita presents Karma, Jnana, Ashtanga Yoga, and Bhakti.
However, Bhagavad Gita is more concise than all the Vedas. The Vedas are also only available to those who are Dvija, twice born. Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita are available for everyone. So, the Bhagavad Gita provides a summary of the Vedic knowledge but accessible to everybody. And without any confusion, it also points out the conclusion. And the conclusion is ‘sarva-dharmān parityajya, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja’. So in other words, the essence of Bhagavad Gita and consequently all the Vedas is, surrender to Krishna.
So the scriptures in general, of course the Vedas also, ultimately they are giving us orders, instructions. But of course, some of the instructions are not so absolute. But this instruction to surrender to the Supreme Lord or to surrender to Krishna, that is the basic instruction of all other instructions. However, if we have instructions, we also need some knowledge. So Krishna says that you surrender, give up all dharmas and surrender to Krishna. So then the question is, why should I surrender? So of course, if we are very enthusiastic we say, don’t ask questions, just surrender. Some people will do that, intelligent people will still not be satisfied, they will want an answer, Why? For that reason, though ultimately, the conclusion of Bhagavad Gita is surrender to Krishna, we have 18 chapters full of a lot of verses and words. So, in other words, the 18 chapters of Bhagavad Gita are there to explain why we should surrender to Krishna.
So here, in this purport, Prabhupada mentions five subject matters discussed in the Bhagavad Gita. He also mentions these in the introduction to Bhagavad Gita. We also see that Baladeva Vidyabhusana also mentions these five factors at the beginning of Bhagavad Gita commentary. So, these are the subject matters of Bhagavad Gita and by understanding these subjects, then we get the answer why we should surrender. So why surrender to Krishna? Why not surrender to somebody else? So first we have to define Supreme Lord. Who is Krishna? So, throughout the Bhagavad Gita we will have explanations. Supreme Lord is Krishna. Who is He? So He is the creator of everything. He is full of all knowledge. He is the controller of all living entities etc. So, He is a conscious entity who has form, qualities and activities. And He is full of all wonderful qualities and no faults.
So, apart from the Lord, what else exists? So we have Jivas. They are also conscious entities. Why should they worship the Lord? Because they are dependent, they are not supreme. So therefore, Krishna says surrender unto me, telling the Jivas to surrender, so this is why because the Jivas are by nature dependent on the Lord. So yes, one should surrender to the Lord, what if I don’t surrender? Then what happens? So the Lord provides us a material world, made of Prakriti. This is not conscious. So the Jiva sits in Prakriti and tries to enjoy it. But how can a conscious being enjoy something which is unconscious? So it’s not a satisfying condition. Nevertheless, some Jivas will say I’m fine, i’ll stay in the material world. So the Supreme Lord permits that and therefore within time which is eternal, the Jiva can stay in the material world eternally if he so chooses.
But because the Jiva is not supreme and not controller of everything, the Supreme Lord is, the Supreme Lord makes arrangements for bodies for the living entities. And He does that through the law of karma. And as long as the Jiva wants to stay in the material world, he will be subject to karma. If the Jiva wants to get out of the material world, there’s also a method. And that is his conscious instruction, ‘Surrender unto me’. By surrendering to the Lord then we destroy all the karma. And then we are free from material world.
So, Bhagavad Gita and the Vedic literatures in general, have these five subject matters and if we learn what these are, then we have good reason to surrender to the Supreme Lord. When we have good reason to surrender, then we can carry out this act of surrender with very strong faith. And thus, the Bhagavad Gita has a very important function for us. It tells us how to solve all the problems in life. But it also supplies good reasons for doing so. So therefore, we perform bhakti, not on blind faith but faith based on knowledge.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A
1) Maharaj you are giving the comparison of that Bhagavad Gita how it is considered like Upanishad. Although it is not in Upanishad it is in Mahabharata. So my question is that, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives the conclusion like surrendering unto Him which is bhakti. Is there any conclusion in Upanishad that one has to surrender to Krishna? Like that.
Our Acharyas usually refer to Gopal Tapani Upanishad. So many of our Acharyas have written commentary on that Upanishad. The followers of Ramanuja will often quote Maha-Narayana Upanishad.
2) Another question is that, when Srimad Bhagavatam first Canto second chapter there is a shloka “yaḥ svānubhāvam akhila-śruti-sāram ekam” mentioned, that you know this Bhagavatam is like a essence of all the Shruti. So does it mean also common like a Upanishad?
We can call Bhagavatam as Shruti also because it is the essence of the Shruti and of course is even superior, because it is the final word of Vedavyasa. Of course it is also classed as Purana. Which is distinct from Shruti because it is Smriti. Like Mahabharata, Puranas do not require qualification of birth or anything.
3) In the beginning of the lecture Maharaj, you pointed out that Karma Yoga is included within Karma kanda section. Usually we tend to distinguish Karma kanda and Karma Yoga. But you said both of them are included. Is it because the goal is to reach heavenly planets?
So, precisely speaking, Karma kanda is a section of the Vedas. Karma Yoga is a process. So of course Karma kanda can include Karma Yoga, but then there are other works also that talk about Karma Yoga. So the works called Smritis which are distinct from Puranas and Itihas among the Smritis such as Manu Smriti, Vishnu Smriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti, they deal with Karma Yoga and Varnashram. So of course, both we can say have a material goal. Based on the Karma kanda we have a philosophy also. Karma mimamsa philosophy of Jaimini which is materialistic. So the Smriti Shastras of course are not necessarily the same as Jaimini’s Karma mimamsa philosophy. But again the goal is Artha, Dharma, Kama.
4) And Maharaj, you also mentioned that Upanishads, some of them highlight Lord Shiva. Upanishads, they talk about Lord Shiva and impersonalism and Krishna. So in that case, one inspires worship of the Lord and one is taking us towards impersonalism. But those who which are talking about Lord Shiva, it is none of the above. It will neither lead to impersonal liberation nor it will take to worship of the Lord.
Of course, even the Upanishads glorifying Shiva, tendency is probably liberation. So the very tendency of the Upanishads is to go beyond the material world, get liberation, whatever, by some means or other.
5) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, we discussed that there are five subject matters of Bhagavad Gita. But so many chapters we are discussing about these yoga processes. So under which category of the five does these yoga processes fit in?
So these five topics here mentioned come under what we call Sambandha, to define what is real in order that we can come to some conclusion about what is our goal and what is our process. Once we determine what is real, what actually exists, so we have these five things here, then we can begin to talk about what should be my goal in life as a Jiva. So for us it is Prema. For the Jnani, it is Moksha.
Okay, so to attain the goal, then we need a method. So these are the yogas to do that. If we want liberation, we do Jnana Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga. If we determine the goal is Prema, then we do Bhakti Yoga. So the goal is called Prayojana and the method is called Abhidheya. So most scriptures will include all three topics. Because simply defining things is not enough. Once we define it, then we say what are we supposed to do? So therefore we need a goal and we need a method. And thus Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said, ultimately scripture has only three subject matters, Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojana.
6) Hare Krishna Maharaj, Krishna says in Bhagavad gita that those who worship Me they come to Me. Those who worship the demigods, they go to the planet of demigods. In the many planets of the Demigod, Brahma loka is considered as the highest though Shiva is considered as param Vaishnava, his worshipers are not promoted to Krishna loka or Vaikuntha so how the Shiva worshippers can worship him, considering him as a Param Vaishnava, as a devotee?
Even by worshipping Krishna, we can get material results or we can get liberation or we can get Prema. So depending on how we worship Shiva, we can also get different results. So many people go to Shiva temple and what are they asking for? Material benediction, marriage or whatever. But we also see that many people worship Shiva for liberation. But then we have Rudra Sampradaya, which is a Vaishnava Sampradaya. So they are worshipping Shiva for Prema.
Devotee: But the common man, they don’t know Shiva in the material world is different and Param Vaishnava who is considered as a Sadashiva is different. How the Shiva worshippers know who is the Param Vaishnava? Who is in the material world and the spiritual world is separate, know? We consider Shiva as a Sadashiva, as a Param Vaishnava. There is one Shiva in the material world. There are two different types of Shivas are there, know? How the Shiva devotees know which Shiva is a Param Vaishnava?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Shiva is generally a form of Vishnu who manifests less powers than Vishnu. But at the same time, he is also acting as a servant of Vishnu. Just as we see sometimes Balaram acting as a servant of Vishnu. So, depending on how you approach Shiva, then you may get different results.
7) How unlimited human beings are existing in unlimited material planets? Can all surrender as per Bhagavad Gita, as it is to solve their unlimited problems?
So there are unlimited universes and in those universes, there are always human beings or Jivas, there is always scriptures. So the Lord appears within all those universes and He propagates at certain times Bhagavad Gita etc.
8) How to distinguish Seva from Karma?
Both are actions, but Seva means we do actions to please the Supreme Lord. So, the seva there is an action doesn’t produce karma rather it destroys all karmas. Other actions not pleasing the Lord, they create Karma more and more. They destroy nothing but create more and more.
9) This is on the form of the Lord. What is the significance of Tribhanga form of the Lord Krishna? Difference? Significance of threefold bending form of Krishna.
Oh of course actually the tribhanga form actually is a famous pose which is in the smrti shastras when you they make the form of not only Krishna, other deities the tribhanga is considered to be one of the graceful forms. So this is the usual standing form of the Lord. There are forms of the Lord sitting or lying down also.
10) In yesterday class you said that disappearance of Krishna and disappearance of Yadus are according to plan of supreme Lord. So in this case, will we be able to participate in that past times or how to understand that description with respect to devotee. What we have to understand disappearance of Krishna and devotees.
So these disappearances past times are only a way for the Lord to disappear from the material world but ultimately, Lord is eternal and devotees are eternal. So the disappearance past times are not really significant for the devotee at all. They are like you have a drama and you have the drama and then they finish the drama and then the actors walk off and there’s normal people. So it’s just like a something there for people to see that’s all. They don’t take it as actual.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham Ki Jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki Jai!!!