Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.15.6 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 31, 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 6.
ŚB 1.15.6
यस्य क्षणवियोगेन लोको ह्यप्रियदर्शन: ।
उक्थेन रहितो ह्येष मृतक: प्रोच्यते यथा ॥ ६ ॥
yasya kṣaṇa-viyogena
loko hy apriya-darśanaḥ
ukthena rahito hy eṣa
mṛtakaḥ procyate yathā
Synonyms
yasya — whose; kṣaṇa — a moment; viyogena — by separation; lokaḥ — all the universes; hi — certainly; apriya-darśanaḥ — everything appears unfavorable; ukthena — by life; rahitaḥ — being devoid of; hi — certainly; eṣaḥ — all these bodies; mṛtakaḥ — dead bodies; procyate — are designated; yathā — as it were.
Translation
I have just lost Him whose separation for a moment would render all the universes unfavorable and void, like bodies without life.
Purport
Factually for a living being there is no one dearer than the Lord. The Lord expands Himself by innumerable parts and parcels as svāṁśa and vibhinnāṁśa. Paramātmā is the svāṁśa part of the Lord, whereas the vibhinnāṁśa parts are the living beings. As the living being is the important factor in the material body, for without the living being the material body has no value, similarly without Paramātmā the living being has no status quo. Similarly, Brahman or Paramātmā has no locus standi without the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is thoroughly explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. They are all interlinked with one another, or interdependent factors; thus in the ultimate issue the Lord is the summum bonum and therefore the vital principle of everything.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
In this verse, Arjuna is showing how even a moment’s separation from the Lord, makes a person lifeless. Of course people will say, well I don’t see the Lord at all, I’m separated from, but I’m still alive. Yeah so one is alive and one does not see the Lord, but he’s still there. If the Lord were to completely disappear from all the universes and the spiritual world, no one would exist. So this of course is the conclusion of scripture.
Our normal material knowledge does not say that. So that is the big difference between material knowledge and spiritual knowledge. The Vedas proclaim that everything is dependent upon a Supreme Lord. And though you cannot see him, he exists. So in material knowledge, they will also think of – cause, what is the cause, what is the cause of that cause, and what is the final cause. But ultimately, the cause is material. So for instance the Vaisheshikas will say that, what is the cause of everything – atoms. Of course others will say ultimately everything is prakrti. So it is partially true. And scientists will also say, yes, what is the origin of everything – some energy. However, that is the end. What is cause of everything ? – Energy. So in Vedas, it says, no, beyond the material realm, then there is a Supreme Lord. Everything is dependent on him.
Of course, he does not directly interact with the material world. He delegates handling the material world to his expansions. So in this verse, Prabhupada mentions about ‘sva-amshas’. So of course, ‘amsa’ means a part. At the same time, we know the Lord cannot be divided up. So they’re called the ‘sva-amshas’, so they are parts of himself. So we often refer this as expansions from the Supreme Lord. So this means, they’re actually non different from the Supreme Lord himself. So one of his ‘sva-amsha’ is Paramatma. That Paramatma takes three forms. He is Maha Vishnu, Garbhodakshayi Vishnu and Kshirodakshayi Vishnu. And through these forms, the Lord takes care of the material world. He creates it, maintains it and destroys it. If the Lord does not glance over prakrti, nothing manifests in this world. Thus everything in the material world, dependent upon Mahavishnu. But we know Maha Vishnu is sva-amasha, so ultimately Mahavishnu does not exist unless Krishna exists. That’s why, we say Krishna is ‘sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam’, the cause of all causes. So Krishna is the Supreme form. And everything is dependent on him.
So the the Lord manifests the material world, material world dependent on the Lord. In the Lord, there are Jivas. What are the Jivas ? They’re also ‘amsa’. But we know yes, the Jiva is not the Supreme Lord. So therefore, we see Vibhinamsa, a different type of part. So the Jivas of course are similar to the Lord, they have consciousness etc. In that sense, they are part of the Lord. But quite different from sva-amsa. So this Vibhinamsa also is dependent on the Lord. If the Lord does not exist, Jivas don’t exist. The Jivas did not exist, the Lord does still exist. So the Lord is independent, Jivas are dependent. So matter and Jivas are dependent on the Supreme Lord. So in this way, we have a Supreme Lord and everything depends on him.
Now in the material world, the Jivas don’t recognize the Lord. That does not mean, they’re not dependent on the Lord, they’re still dependent on the Lord. Just like a person in the prison house, may not recognize the king. And of course it doesn’t matter to the king at all. At the same time, the king can also release the prisoner from the Jail. The prisoner cannot do that on his own. So Jivas in the material world don’t recognize the Lord, nevertheless the Lord is still their controller. Of course, as I said, the Lord controls indirectly. So we have the Lord expanding as Kshirodakshayi Vishnu / Antaryami and he is witnessing all the activities of each Jiva. The Lord has the law of karma and the Jivas are subject to that. So in any case, the Jiva is under the control of the Supreme Lord.
What’s the difference, if the Jiva does not recognize the Supreme Lord or recognizes him? So the scriptures say, very definitely, if the Jiva recognizes the Lord, becomes free of the material world. He is still dependent on the Lord. But he’s no longer in the prison. So again in the Spiritual world, Jivas are dependent on the Lord. And even though, all the devotees of Krishna don’t recognize him as Supreme Lord, they all dependent on him. So the people of Vrindavan do not see Krishna as Supreme Lord. But when there is a big forest fire and all the inhabitants started getting burned up and then they all come to Krishna says, ‘Save us Krishna!’. Of course, they don’t say save us because we have material bodies. They say save us, because we don’t want to be separated from you. So though, they don’t see Krishna as Supreme Lord, they do know that they’re completely dependent on Krishna. And separation from Krishna is equivalent to death.
So here also Arjuna is saying the separation is like death. We don’t have a relationship with the Lord. We no longer live. So this is true. Everything depends on Supreme Lord. So there are many statements in the Upanishads, that support this. So the Upanishads say, the Lord is the eye of the eye. He’s the real eye, that makes you see, not your eye [Laughs]. If he doesn’t see you don’t see. Lord is the ear of the ear. If the Lord doesn’t hear, you don’t hear. Of course, on the last line, everything in the material world is expressed as dependent on the Lord. So the Upanishads say, that the wind blows in fear of the Lord. The sun and moon shine in fear of the Lord. So everything in the material world and the spiritual world is dependent on the Lord.
The Jivas in the material world do not recognize they are dependent on the Lord. So the Jiva thinks he is independent. In the Spiritual world, the Jiva recognizes, he is dependent on the Lord. So the Jiva is Nitya Krishna das. He’s eternally the servant of the Lord. But Jivas in the material world don’t recognize that. And the qualification for entering the spiritual world is, we have to recognize that. However, people may feel, well this idea of simply being a servant of the Lord, that sounds like slavery. So if we think like that, then we cannot actually go to the spiritual world.
The service is based on affection. If the affection is not there, it is no longer bhakti. So of course sadhana bhakti is defined as engaging the senses in the service of the Lord. Well, we know that, people can also pretend. So we have pretend devotees, who dress up like devotees. They will also do all the activities of a devotee. So they hear, they chant, they do japa, they worship the Lord, they take prasadam. But they don’t recognize the Lord, they don’t establish an affectionate relationship with the Lord. So it is not real bhakti. And thus, Rupa Goswami in defining bhakti, gives the main principle of bhakti. And that main definition says, it’s ‘ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam’. ‘Ānuśīlanam’ means to constantly cultivate a relationship. And ‘ānukūlyena’ means with affection. So that is the very basis of any bhakti.
Of course there are some, who get some results even without doing that. They don’t even disguise themselves as devotees. So we have demons like Kamsa or Shishupala. They are thinking of Krishna constantly but no bhakti, no affection. And in fact the opposite, hatred. But Bhagavan says even then they get effect, they get results. One because the object is Krishna, even if it’s hatred [Laughs]. Second is, it is constant. So Shishupala is constantly thinking of Krishna in hatred. So what’s the result? He got killed by Krishna and he went to the spiritual world [Laughs]. So of course that was not bhakti. Those are also exceptional cases.
So with bhakti, we get better results. That is, with affection, not with hatred. So when we do with affection, then we get Prema. And of course, Krishna is very merciful. And he says, well you have to do it with no other desire. But even if you do with some other desire, with some material desire, still you get good results. Nevertheless, we get the best result, when we do pure bhakti – ‘anya-abhilāṣitā-śūnya’. Best result means, ocean of bhakti rasa. That is Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu. So if you follow the definition given at the beginning of Rupa Goswami’s work, then you swim in that ocean. If you do mixed bhakti, then you swim in the rivers leading to the ocean [Laughs]. Bhakti means, not just acting for Krishna with the body, but it implies cultivating an affectionate relationship with no other desires. By doing that, we recognize Krishna in his highest aspect. And this gives the best results.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A:
1. Thank you Maharaj. Here in the context where Arjuna says, the entire universe is void. Similarly, the Goswamis feel like that or Mahaprabhu says ‘Yuga itam nimishena’. Maharaj, this kind of a feeling, which level / which stage of bhakti from that to Prema, at which level of bhakti, is there a specific stage it happens? How to understand Maharaj?
Of course, this can be felt to some degree at any stage of bhakti. But it becomes very prominent in Prema. And the more advanced the Prema, then the more that feeling arises. So we have different stages. We have Bhava, Prema, Sneha, Pranaya, Maan, Raga, Anuraga and Mahabhava. So as we go higher and higher stage, then we’ll get more intense feelings like this. The separation becomes more intolerable. So that means that the separation becomes more intolerable in Vatsalya Rasa than in Sakya Rasa. And it becomes more intolerable in Madhurya Rasa. And it becomes most intolerable in the Madhurya Rasa in Vrindavan.
So it is said that, when the Vrajavasis went to Kurukshetra to meet Krishna, of course Nanda and Yasoda, the elders went and the Gopis went. Cowherd boys didn’t go. So of course, it is explained that, somehow even though the cowherd boys were also separated from Krishna, they were rather satisfied with some internal realization of Krishna. But the feelings of separation of Nanda and Yasoda and the Gopis was much stronger. So they went.
2. Maharaj, this is in the context of ‘sva-amsa’. When sadhaka starts his devotional service, he is able to recognize the aspect of Paramatma, because he is very close to him within the heart. And if he takes shelter of Paramatma for devotional service, is there a difference in the benefit he derives from Bhagavan aspect?
[Clarification of Question by Maharaj and devotee]
For the devotee, Paramatma does not function like that, Bhagavan functions for the devotee. Paramatma functions as a neutral witness for all the Jivas in the material world. Bhagavan functions to inspire the devotee in Bhakti.
3. Maharaj, you mentioned about some devotees who for all practical purposes look like regular devotees, but they don’t have that essence of devotion to Krishna in their heart.
So in that case, what is lacking in them and how that can be supplied? What is the remedy?
So I will say, they actually don’t have any bhakti and no recognition of the Lord at all and they are called pretenders or we can say cheaters. So then we ask, well, then why they are pretending to be devotees, if they don’t even like bhakti? And then the answer will have to be, they have some material reason. So if that is the case, then it is very difficult to make them into devotees.
So a person, who seriously begins bhakti, certainly he has material desires etc. But he does have to surrender to the Lord. We say, the qualification for bhakti is shraddha, faith. If you don’t believe in the Lord, if you don’t believe in the process of bhakti and you start bhakti, that means you start without faith. So it’s not real bhakti [Laughs]. It’s like a person who memorizes all the Vedas and all the rituals and does all the rituals and everything. He has no belief in the Vedas, no belief in the Supreme Lord [Laughs]. What’s the use of it [Laughs]? Of course, he may do all that, put all the labor into learning all the Vedas etc. Because he wants to make some money. So he’s like a professional purohit [Laughs]. But he has no faith in the Vedas at all.
4. Maharaj, we say normally a devotee has to follow guru, sadhu and shastra. But in the case of very advanced devotees, can they get direction from Lord Krishna, directly?
[Clarification of Question by Maharaj and devotee]
If a person gets to bhava and prema, then he realizes the Lord directly. And technically he’s beyond all rules and regulations. Why the rules and regulations of scripture are there? To attain prema. If you attained prema, then those rules are no longer useful. Of course, it also doesn’t mean that intentionally he breaks all the rules after that. But everything is inspired by that relationship with the Lord. Everything is favorable to his relationship with the Lord. And all his actions are completely devoid of any sense gratification.
5. Maharaj, You mentioned about Vaisheshika. It is part of the spiritual knowledge, but it has the conclusion that everything originates from atom. Atom is the foundation of everything. So, how can that be considered as part of Spiritual knowledge and if that is accepted, then why we cannot accept modern science also, which is also enquiring into the absolute truth, but comes to the wrong conclusions. Then, can that also be considered as spiritual knowledge ?
So we have Karma Mimamsa, Sankhya, we have Yoga, Vaisheshika, Nyaya philosophy and Vedanta. They all say, we accept the Vedas. So, that is good point. But Karma Mimamsa and Sankhya are atheistic. Vaisheshika and Yoga etc are impersonal [Laughs]. Even Vedanta of Shankaracharya – impersonal. So though they accept the Vedas, they give wrong conclusion of the Vedas. So, in that sense, just as bad as the Nastika philosophies, they don’t accept the Vedas [Laughs]. So in the Vedanta Sutras, there Vyasa, in one chapter he starts refuting all these different philosophies. Nyayaka philosophy, Karma Mimamsa, they are all useless [Laughs], they are all useless [Laughs].
6. Maharaj, is Arjuna Priya Narma sakha ?
So Arjuna is in a relationship of equal friendship. But he is also not in Vrindavan, he is in Dwaraka. So the Priya Narma sakhas are in Vrindavan and they also have contact with Madhurya Rasa. So they are in a very special relationship with Krishna.
7. While doing devotional service, mind is getting attached to material desires. How do we handle this?
So controlling the mind and the senses is a difficult job. But Bhagavan concludes that it is easier to do it through bhakti than through yoga or jnana. So if we still have difficulty controlling the senses and bhakti, then all we can do is persevere. Through bhakti, the taste for serving the Lord increases. As the taste for the Lord increases, the taste for material sense gratification will decrease. So we replace the higher taste for the lower taste.
8. Can you please help to understand the difference between aparadh and sin?
Sin is we can say, offense or violence or disturbance to living entities in general. So when we commit violence against a devotee of the Lord, then that becomes aparadh.
9. Did Shishupala and Dandavakra go back to Vaikuntha and resume their service as gatekeepers after being killed by Krishna?
This was the promise given to the gatekeepers after 3 lifetimes as daemons and they would return to the Spiritual world. Baladeva Vidyabhushan says, that we should not think that every day of Brahma, Jaya and Vijaya fall out of the spiritual world. That falling out of Spiritual world is a one time affair. So what happens in the other days of Brahma? So we have regular demons playing those roles.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham Ki Jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Mahraj Ki Jai!!!