SB 11.10.6 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 24 March 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
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 6.
ŚB 11.10.6
amāny amatsaro dakṣo
nirmamo dṛḍha-sauhṛdaḥ
asatvaro ’rtha-jijñāsur
anasūyur amogha-vāk
Synonyms
amānī — without false ego; amatsaraḥ — not considering oneself to be the doer; dakṣaḥ — without laziness; nirmamaḥ — without any sense of proprietorship over one’s wife, children, home, society, etc.; dṛḍha-sauhṛdaḥ — being fixed in the mood of loving friendship with the spiritual master, who is one’s worshipable deity; asatvaraḥ — without becoming bewildered due to material passion; artha-jijñāsuḥ — desiring knowledge of the Absolute Truth; anasūyuḥ — free from envy; amogha-vāk — completely free from useless conversation.
Translation
The servant or disciple of the spiritual master should be free from false prestige, never considering himself to be the doer. He should be active and never lazy and should give up all sense of proprietorship over the objects of the senses, including his wife, children, home and society. He should be endowed with feelings of loving friendship towards the spiritual master and should never become deviated or bewildered. The servant or disciple should always desire advancement in spiritual understanding, should not envy anyone and should always avoid useless conversation.
Purport
No one can claim to be the permanent proprietor of his so-called wife, family, home, society, and so on. Such material relationships appear and disappear like bubbles on the surface of the ocean. No one can claim to be the creator of the material elements that produced one’s home, society and family. If it were a fact that parents were the ultimate creators of the bodies of their children, children would never die before their parents; the parents would simply create new bodies for the children. Similarly, parents would also not die, because they would create new bodies for themselves to replace the old ones. Actually, God creates everyone’s bodies as well as the material elements with which we build our material societies. Therefore, before death drags these things out of our grasp, we should voluntarily engage them in the loving service of the spiritual master, who is the bona fide representative of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then such material objects, instead of causing lamentation, will be the cause of happiness.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, in the previous verse, there was a discussion of worshipping the Guru and his qualities were described. And the main quality was that, that the Guru should be devoted to the Lord, here it is called mat paraḥ. So, here we see a description of the person who worships the Supreme Lord. So, the, like the spiritual master who has many qualities but he is a devotee of the Lord. The disciple also is a devotee of the Lord. So, that is his main characteristic. He may have many other good qualities but if he doesn’t have the quality of devotion to the Lord, all these other qualities are of no value. So, here we have a list of some of the qualities, but we should keep in mind that, these are all related to the main quality of being devoted to the Lord. And whether the person actually has a Diksha Guru or not, still if he considers himself a devotee, he should develop these qualities.
Other places in the Bhagavatam and also in Caitanya Caritamrta, there’s a list of qualities of a devotee. And in those list also, the main quality is devotion to the Lord. So, with that in mind, we have a whole list of qualities here. So, some of them are quite important in relation to devotion. So, the first one is amānī, which can mean without false ego, without pride etc. And we see that in the Siksastaka there, that, one of the qualifications for chanting the holy name is, he should be not proud. He should respect all, but not expect respect for himself. Yeah. This is because the devotee by nature, understands and accepts and lives the ideal of simply being the servant of the Lord. And when we manifest material pride, then, we are not acting according to this principle of being the servant of the Lord. Rather, we want to be served. So, we can say that, pride and desire for respect and worship is actually directly opposed to bhakti. But we can also say in one sense, if one goes for impersonal realization, one would have to give up pride and respect and things like that. So, lack of pride is not always the symptom of the devotee, it could be the symptom of the Mayavadi as well [Laughs]. It’s also a quality in sattva guna. So, we should not equate pridelessness with bhakti itself. But if we do have pride, then this is a great obstacle to the development of bhakti.
Another word here is amatsaraḥ. So, matsaraḥ usually means envy. Amatsaraḥ means without envy, which means we don’t desire the good qualities or position of another person. We can say this is related to, if one is envious, one also has probably got pride. One desires somebody else’s position, obviously he has some sort of pride there [Laughs]. However, envy usually we relate it to, direct it towards other persons. So, as a result of his own anartha or pride, then he begins to hate others who may be competing with him [Laughs].
So, the third quality here it says, dakṣaḥ, which literally means skillful. Here it says without laziness. So, he knows how to engage himself properly. We also have many people in the material world who are not lazy, they are very active. They may work at a job 12 hours a day or whatever [Laughs]. And of course, they are obviously not all devotees [Laughs]. So, yes, dakṣaḥ can be the quality of a devotee, but it could be the quality of a materialist also [Laughs]. So, this expertness or skill should be related to the activities of bhakti.
The fourth quality mentioned here is nirmamaḥ, lack of possessiveness. So, we should not have possessiveness of material objects or persons. So, this is a great obstacle to the development of bhakti. One of the angas of bhakti is ātma-nivedana, offer everything to the Lord. And this is the opposite. We want everything for ourself. So, it is directly opposed to bhakti again. But we see, such qualities may also manifest in a very sattvic person or in an impersonalist. Many yogis are wandering around with nothing. So, it is very favourable to bhakti but it is not that, because you have lack of possessiveness, therefore, you are a devotee. We have the tenth offense to the holy name. So, that involves being over attached and over possessive. And if we hold onto that, then we cannot advance in devotional service.
So, the qualification for bhakti is not to be too materially attached. So, if they have too much material attachment, that means any attempt to worship the Lord is obstructed by wanting to stay in the material world. So, we cannot go simultaneously in two opposite directions. If you want to catch an object going east, you cannot go west. If you want to attain Krishna, you cannot also simultaneously hold onto the material world. So, though, in the beginning of devotional service, people do have attachments, if it is too strong, then they cannot advance. So, in any case, they are not pure, so they have some attachments but they should also be willing to give up those attachments. So, with the progress of bhakti, the person progressively becomes more detached from his possessions. But simultaneously he becomes more attached to Krishna. So, at the stage of bhava, there is possessiveness of Krishna. And in prema, then it becomes extreme possessiveness of Krishna. So, therefore, this idea of possessiveness is not necessarily bad, it’s a good quality because it’s part of prema itself. But if we are completely attached to material objects, we cannot develop perfect attachment to Krishna [Laughs]. So, this quality is important nirmamaḥ because it acts against bhakti. So, we can prevent this quality of possessiveness by cultivating surrender to Krishna.
The next quality there is firm friendliness. In this case, friendliness towards Guru. So, we develop detachment and lack of possessiveness for everything material. But we develop some firm attachment to devotees. So, in other words, we don’t give up this idea of attachment and whatever, rather it’s directed spiritually. And of course, bhakti itself means we are cultivating a favourable, friendly relationship with Krishna. So, this is the positive aspect.
Another quality mentioned here is asatvaraḥ without becoming bewildered due to material passion. Satvaraḥ literally means to be quick. So, if one is very active for sense gratification, one is satvaraḥ [Laughs]. But as I said, this qualification for bhakti is not to be too materially attached. In the beginning of bhakti, of course, we are not perfect, we do have anarthas. But we cannot be too materially attached or too materially active to engage in our material goals.
The next quality is artha-jijñāsur, inquisitive about artha, about the real values. Among the first ten angas of bhakti, which act as the door to bhakti, one of the angas is sad-dharma-pṛcchā. To be inquisitive about sad–dharma, which ultimately means bhakti. So, as Parikshit approached Sukadeva Goswami with a question about, what should I do when I am going to die? And of course, the answer was, you worship the Lord, you do kirtan etc. So, the disciple also in approaching Guru should ask this question. So, one does not approach the devotee or the Guru to ask about how he can develop his material life. And in Bhagavad Gita, of course, if the person approaches, he should be full of paripraśna, full of questions. The questions are about spiritual life. So, we ask questions to get knowledge. And that’s one of the activities of the disciple to ask questions. But we are asking questions to get spiritual knowledge, not material knowledge.
And the last quality here, the second last quality is anasūya, again free of envy. So, lack of, we can say, hostility towards other living entities. The devotee has to be merciful to all living entities. Of course, in the material world, as part of dharma, mercy or doya is also important. It is one of the four legs of dharma. The devotee, of course, expresses his mercy a little bit differently. Mercy of the devotee means to give out spiritual knowledge to others.
And the last quality is amogha-vāk, his conversations are not full of useless things, but are full of valuable information. So, his words will bring good results, which means that the devotee speaks about Krishna. So, this is some qualities of the devotee, it’s not exhaustive. But they are all related to devotional service and the Supreme Lord. So, therefore, they become spiritual qualities. And these qualities will develop as the devotee develops his relationship with the Supreme Lord.
Q & A :
1.) Maharaj, so wonderful qualities of disciples are given here. The question is that whether the devotee should wait to get all these qualities and then take initiation, or after initiation these qualities will manifest?
So, they develop along with devotion. So, of course, they don’t develop perfectly, but nevertheless to some degree the qualities should manifest. And some are very essential from the very beginning. So, we see, for instance, in Siksastaka, there it says, you should be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, don’t expect respect from anybody etc. That’s when you start chanting Hare Krishna [Laughs]. It should be like that. So, one is full of pride and full of envy and hatred and possessiveness. If he does bhakti, he won’t last very long [Laughs]. So, to some degree, at the very beginning of bhakti, these qualities are necessary. But because one is beginning bhakti, they are not perfect qualities. If we practice bhakti properly, then these qualities will manifest more and more. But if we cultivate the opposite, such as pride and envy and whatever, then it’s very difficult to advance at all.
2.) Usually when we are with someone, we don’t think about them so much. But when we are separated, then we know how much we are attached. Isn’t it better, therefore, to stay with family than separate?
Well, we would not develop attachment and separation if we didn’t develop the attachment when we were together [Laughs]. We wouldn’t be having attachment and separation unless we are already together and developed the attachment. And of course, the more one stays together, the more one gets attached [Laughs].
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, this is from Vishnu Gadhasia. My mind becomes victim to useless conversation. Please share some tips to avoid it.
Well, the simple solution given in Bhagavatam from the first canto onwards is that instead of useless conversations, we should engage in discussing the topics of Krishna. And because of their attractive nature, it is not difficult.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, dandavat pranams. How can we identify that we are becoming proud and how we can overcome pride?
If we get disturbed by other people, when we think we are not getting respected or that we were disrespected or whatever, that’s a sign of pride. If we are constantly desiring some position, again, it’s another sign of pride.
5.) Maharaj was just mentioning that, if there are some negative qualities like over-greed, lust and all that, bhakti would not last long. Maharaj made the statement. On the other hand, we generally understand that the bhakti is so powerful even such negative qualities will be overtaken by bhakti. How to properly understand Maharaj?
If these qualities are very strong, material qualities of attachment and enjoyment, and we have no desire to give them up, then it is very difficult to advance. If we have a desire to give them up, even though they are strong, then by practice of bhakti, then they can gradually be controlled. And even if one is full of all bad qualities, etc, still, bhakti works, especially chanting of the name, as in the case of Ajamila. But, it is a much slower process.
6.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, dandavat pranam. Will these qualities develop or should we try to develop?
Well, they develop with bhakti, but if we do the opposite all the time, they won’t develop [Laughs].
7.) Twenty four hours if we want to think of Krishna, we have not seen Him. We have not had any sort of relationship with Him. Then how is it possible to have 24 hours relationship with Krishna?
We are not demanding in the beginning 24 hours relationship with Krishna [Laughs]. If you can think of Him for a few minutes or a few hours, fine. So, we do have a system of having deities or pictures of deities and verses describing the Supreme Lord. And if we have faith in the goal, then we can continue the practice.
8.) Maharaj, this possessiveness that you are talking of in this particular context of this particular verse, we find that even Goswamis had some reserve for the future. But on the other hand, the devotees does not have, completely depend on Krishna. How to properly appreciate that?
So, it depends on one’s position. If one is in grhastha life, one has to make provisions for the family. And if one is leaving the family, one has to make provisions for them. If one has no dependence at all, then one has no obligations.
Devotee: Maharaj, if I did understand properly, then, Goswamis had some reserve for themselves in the future. Isn’t it Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: I think they kept that. It was actually for their, just to get to Vrindavan or whatever. That’s all. They didn’t, they didn’t keep money there [Laughs].
9.) Maharaj, considering the anyābhilāṣitā, I mean Maharaj was making the point in today’s session, too much of material attachment is not good. From the perspective of anyābhilāṣitā śūnyam, how to balance it because not too much materially attached, but when we talk about anyābhilāṣitā śūnyam, it should be zero. How to balance that?
So, that verse is giving a definition of pure bhakti. And we start with sadhana, we go to bhava and we end up with prema. So, obviously in sadhana, because we have anarthas, it cannot be literally perfect. Yet, in the performance of our bhakti, we try our best to aim for that goal. That’s all.
10.) In what degree, initiation will help me to advance in bhakti, apart from my own endeavour?
It all depends on what you expect from it and then what you do afterwards. Simply by going through a ceremony, that does not guarantee anything. Of course, with diksha you get another mantra, but if you don’t even chant your mantra, what’s the use? So, it’s not some magic formula for advancing.
11.) Maharaj, here it is mentioned that, the disciple must have a loving friendship towards the spiritual master. Usually disciple means servant, it’s dasya bhava, servitude mentality. How we can understand to be, because to become friend.
No, dasya also [Laughs]. Dasya is a rasa and it depends on friendship [Laughs].
Devotee: But if we have become friend to spiritual master, it becomes very familiar.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: But this friendship does not means sakhya.
Devotee: No, no. I’m not telling about that dasya. Krishna says tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: This is also same thing [Laughs]. What is the opposite of friendship? Hatred. So, we should not cultivate hatred towards our [Laughs] Guru or the devotees [Laughs]. So, we have to have a favourable attitude towards Guru and devotees.
11.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, if we develop attachment towards a particular devotee and develop possessiveness towards that devotee, how we can understand that Maharaj?
If it is for spiritual reasons, that’s fine. And if it is for material reasons, then it is like material attachment.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!