Srimad Bhagavatam 11.10.18 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 5 April 2021
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 10 Verse 18.
ŚB 11.10.18
na dehināṁ sukhaṁ kiñcid
vidyate viduṣām api
tathā ca duḥkhaṁ mūḍhānāṁ
vṛthāhaṅkaraṇaṁ param
Synonyms
na — not; dehinām — of embodied beings; sukham — happiness; kiñcit — some; vidyate — there is; viduṣām — of those who are intelligent; api — even; tathā — similarly; ca — also; duḥkham — unhappiness; mūḍhānām — of the big fools; vṛthā — useless; ahaṅkaraṇam — false ego; param — only, or completely.
Translation
It is observed within the material world that sometimes even an intelligent person is not happy. Similarly, sometimes even a great fool is happy. The concept of becoming happy through expertly performing material activities is simply a useless exhibition of false egotism.
Purport
It may be argued that an intelligent person can expertly perform pious activities within the material world and thus never experience suffering, since unhappiness is caused by sinful or impious activities. However, we often observe great suffering even among pious, intelligent persons, because they sometimes fail in the execution of their duty and sometimes consciously or unconsciously perform a forbidden activity. With this argument the Lord refutes the theory that simply on the strength of material piety one may remain perpetually happy without Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
On the other hand, we observe that even the most foolish or sinful persons sometimes experience happiness, because even those completely dedicated to sin sometimes accidentally perform pious activities by inadvertently traveling through a holy place or helping a saintly person. The material creation of God is so complex and bewildering that even those dedicated to piety sometimes commit sins, and even those dedicated to sinful life sometimes perform pious actions. Therefore, within the material world we do not find absolute happiness or unhappiness. Rather, every conditioned soul is hovering in confusion, without perfect knowledge. Piety and sin are relative material ideas that bestow relative happiness and unhappiness. Absolute happiness is experienced on the spiritual platform in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or love of God. Thus material life is always ambiguous and relative, whereas Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the actual platform of perfect happiness.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So here’s some more arguments they’re giving to show the uselessness of the material attempt at happiness. So here it mentions even the learned person or intelligent person has to suffer. And even the foolish person becomes happy sometimes. So we would expect that the intelligent person would always be happy and the foolish person would always be suffering. So the intelligent person can avoid all sinful activities because he understands the law of karma and therefore, he should not suffer. The unintelligent person does not understand the law of karma and therefore he commits more sins and he should suffer more. So that is generally true. But then we see that some people who we don’t expect to suffer, they suffer and those who are foolish and ignorant they enjoy.
So we cannot always predict the law of karma. We can never completely eradicate sin. So therefore everyone because of their sin has to suffer to some degree. At the same time, a sinful person does not do complete sins, sometimes he will do some good activity. We cannot predict when the suffering is going to take place or when the happiness is going to take place. So of course, by the general rule, yes, more pious activity, more happiness. And more sinful activity, more suffering. So this is the basis of karma yoga which promises that you can be happier in material life. And this is the whole basis of the varnashrama system. So it is generally true. But as we know, even if you go to swarga loka or you go to brahma loka whatever, there is still some fault. In other words, we can never get a perfect life. The punyas create majority of happiness but nevertheless we still get the suffering. So the only aspiration we can have, the only hope we have is we can lessen the suffering and increase the happiness. Some people may be satisfied with this. Other people will understand that, even this type of solution is not a proper solution because everybody desires eternal happiness. So persons with this understanding will start spiritual life. So they can discern the ultimate futility of striving in the material world. And therefore in this last line it says, vṛthā, they realize it is useless.
So this is one way in which we can analyze the material world using our normal intelligence. And one who is of sattva guna, he will appreciate this analysis. Those who are in rajo guna or tamo guna cannot understand it. So therefore, the people in tamo guna and rajo guna, they are less likely to pursue spiritual life. However, still even the people in tamo guna and rajo guna should restrict their sinful activities to some degree. And this way they get more enjoyment and less suffering. So if we have a nice balance of more happiness and less suffering, most people will accept that. So this is the arrangement for the people in tamo guna and rajo guna.
The people in sattva guna however, because of higher intelligence and the nature of sattva, they are not satisfied with this solution. And thus, they strive for liberation. So of course, liberation also is not the final solution. It reduces the suffering to zero. But even the jiva in the material world is not just interested in getting less suffering, he wants more happiness. In liberation there is no suffering but there is also no happiness [Laughs]. Because the happiness in the material world comes from avoiding sinful activities and being sattvic and in liberation there is no sattva [Laughs]. So the person in liberation has destroyed the suffering and he has also destroyed the happiness [Laughs]. So the only happiness there is, the happiness of no suffering [Laughs]. So this is also incomplete for the jiva. The nature of the jiva is happiness. And that is why, even in the material world the jiva is striving for happiness.
So the whole question is, what is the happiness and how to get it? So the jnanis will claim that simply the destruction of ignorance and suffering is happiness. However, if we know that the jiva’s nature is to have happiness, then we will enquire how does that jiva in liberation get his happiness? Using our intelligence and using our senses and logic etc, we cannot find an answer to that question. And thus we have many philosophers with many different answers to this question.
So the scriptures however, present us with a real definition of happiness and how to attain it. So the Upanishads which generally just speak a little abstractly about Brahman say that, ultimately the nature of Brahman is ananda or bliss. And in fact they also say that, the Lord is rasa. This is stated in the Taittiriya Upanishad. And this is often quoted by our Acharyas. So the Lord is rasa and the jiva by attaining the Lord, attains bliss. So there we have, a very nice definition of happiness of the jiva and also how to get it. The jiva will experience ananda or bliss by a relationship with the Lord. So in other words, if the jiva performs bhakti then he gets his bliss. So in this way, there is a nice explanation in the Upanishads of the nature of the happiness of the jiva. So this is the basis of the Bhagavatam.
However, the Bhagavatam goes a little bit further. Even within the realization of the Lord, there are degrees of eternal bliss. The Lord has various forms. There are various rasas. So we can ask then, what is the form of the Lord that gives the highest bliss? And the answer to that is, it is Krishna. So therefore at the beginning of the Bhagavatam, it says Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. He is the primary form of the Supreme Lord. So He is often called the Avatari. Other forms are called Avatars. And these avatars appear in the material world with various forms like the fish and turtle and horse etc. Krishna also appears in the material world. But to distinguish Him as svayam bhagavān, we call Him Avatari. All of the other forms are His expansions. So by realizing Krishna, then we get not just bliss but highest bliss. Since He is the Avatari and all others are called Avatars, whatever is in the different Avatars is in Krishna. Plus there is extra in Krishna. So therefore, the bliss in realizing Krishna is much more. So Vyasadeva and then Sukadeva have advised the jivas of kali yuga to worship and realize Krishna. And then, they will get the highest bliss. So it’s not enough simply to destroy the ignorance and the suffering of the material world. We have to establish this relationship with Bhagavan. So the process of doing that is to serve the Lord. So that service means, we are trying to express our affection for the Lord. And we do that through various activities. And by doing those activities with that devotion, then we will develop spiritual body, spiritual senses, so that we can serve the Lord eternally. If we don’t serve the Lord but we want liberation then we can destroy the coverings of material body and subtle body etc, but then we don’t manifest any form, we don’t manifest any senses. So from the very beginning of bhakti, we differentiate ourself from the Lord and we serve the Lord. And instead of continuing to develop newer and newer material bodies with material senses, we develop spiritual body with spiritual senses. And through that body and those senses, we establish rasa with the Supreme Lord. And through the rasa then we get the bliss. Okay. Hare Krishna.
Q & A :
1.) How can sadhaka appreciate or understand the mood of devotees like Prahlada or Vasudeva Datta who want to take the sufferings of all the conditioned souls upon themselves?
The nature of the devotee and the nature of the Supreme Lord is compassion. And we see of course, Lord Caitanya is even, most compassionate. He wants to save even the aparadhis. Generally, Lord comes and He kills demons and Krishna comes and He may give them liberation. Caitanya Mahaprabhu wants to make the aparadhis into devotees. So the followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu have the same attitude of wanting to deliver all of the fallen souls. That is very difficult for a single jiva to do. However, even the impossible can be done by the mercy of the Supreme Lord. In any case, each devotee, because he has that compassion, he strives to deliver the people of this world.
2.) In mixed bhakti, is the fruitive activities help one to advance for pure bhakti?
If there is a mixture of material desire in those activities like different karmas we do, then, they don’t help us they rather [Laughs] slow us down [Laughs]. That will weaken the bhakti. If one mixes simply the activities of karma yoga without any material attachment, no problem. But in themselves, they do not produce bhakti. [Not audible]. But they willingly avoid things in those karmas which are not favourable for devotion. So in those karmas and sraddha rites, we have worship of pitras and worship of devatas. So if we worship them with the idea that, they are independent and they give independent results, if we don’t worship them they will get displeased, then this is wrong [Laughs]. But if we respect them as devotees and go through the ceremonies thinking that, anyway by pleasing Krishna, they get pleased also, then, there is no harm in doing that.
3.) The atmaramas experience unlimited bliss with Brahman realization. The atma is conscious and aware of Brahman. Although Brahman has no qualities, it is referred to as bliss and all pervading.
In the state of Brahman, one is not aware of any object. So technically, we cannot know Brahman, one is Brahman. One is conscious without being conscious of any object.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, could you please explain the relativity of time when Brahma and demigods are approaching the Lord in Vaikuntha?
Approaching the Lord in Vaikuntha? Where? Where they approach Him in Vaikuntha?
Devotee: Something [Not audible].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, they don’t go there though. They are on the shore of the ocean, milk ocean and then they, which is in the material world and they pray to Him.
5.) Can we understand that, in the material world there is no happiness and only temporary cessation of miseries is perceived as happiness?
No, we have absence of pain but then, we also get the stimulation of the senses like taste and sight and hearing etc which we call happiness. So due to ahankara, due to ignorance or due to our brain we call certain things happiness. But of course, from the point of view of atma or spiritual life, of course, it is not real happiness [Laughs].
6.) It is mentioned that, most go to the higher planets due to good karma or punya on this earth planet. Can a person do bad karma in higher planets or he is only enjoying the effects of his good karma?
Well, anywhere in the material world, we do activities and we’ll get results for it. But in the higher planets, we get less sin and more piety and in the lower planets we get more sin and less piety.
7.) There are instances that one cannot fix his mind on Krishna but only on Ramachandra. Similarly, if someone fixes on Lord Caitanya without Krishna, does it work?
Well, if we worship Caitanya properly with the proper understanding, then, we understand that He is non-different from Krishna and He has the mood of Radha. So we cannot escape worshiping Krishna also.
8.) Maharaj, if the devotee is showing mercy upon a fallen soul like me, while showing the kindness, does it mean they accept my karma? Please enlighten me Maharaj.
No. Just like Krishna, He gives mercy, doesn’t mean He gets karma and has to take a body in the material world. He doesn’t.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!