Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.15 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 8 May 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 11 Verse 15.
ŚB 11.11.15
यस्यात्मा हिंस्यते हिंस्रैर्येन किञ्चिद् यदृच्छया ।
अर्च्यते वा क्वचित्तत्र न व्यतिक्रियते बुध: ॥ १५ ॥
yasyātmā hiṁsyate hiṁsrair
yena kiñcid yadṛcchayā
arcyate vā kvacit tatra
na vyatikriyate budhaḥ
Synonyms
yasya — of whom; ātmā — the body; hiṁsyate — is attacked; hiṁsraiḥ — by sinful people or violent animals; yena — by someone; kiñcit — somewhat; yadṛcchayā — somehow or other; arcyate — is worshiped; vā — or; kvacit — somewhere; tatra — therein; na — not; vyatikriyate — is transformed or affected; budhaḥ — one who is intelligent.
Translation
Sometimes for no apparent reason one’s body is attacked by cruel people or violent animals. At other times and in other places, one will suddenly be offered great respect or worship. One who becomes neither angry when attacked nor satisfied when worshiped is actually intelligent.
Purport
If one does not become angry when attacked for no apparent reason, and if one does not become enlivened when glorified or worshiped, then one has passed the test of self-realization and is considered fixed in spiritual intelligence. Uddhava asked Lord Kṛṣṇa, kair vā jñāyeta lakṣaṇaiḥ: by what symptoms can a self-realized person be recognized? Just as Lord Kṛṣṇa enlightened Arjuna, He now explains the same subject matter to Uddhava. In this verse the Lord describes symptoms by which it is very easy to recognize a saintly person, for a normal person becomes furious when criticized or attacked and overwhelmed with joy when glorified by others. There is a similar statement by Yājñavalkya to the effect that one who is actually intelligent does not become angry though pricked with thorns and does not become satisfied at heart merely by being worshiped with auspicious paraphernalia such as sandalwood.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this verse also explains the same mood of being very detached from everything in the body. So in previous verse, it talked about being detached from the actions, senses, and mind. So this verse concerns not just yourself, but interaction with other persons or even animals.
So the body and the senses of a person interact with material world and living entities in the world. Some of the living entities may be cooperative when one tries to get certain objects, others may oppose. So therefore, sometimes one may get attacked. At other times, one gets praised. So these reactions of other living entities to oneself are because one is not alone in the world. There is competition in the world. So one gets attacked because one is interfering with another living entity. And one gets respected or praised because one is cooperating with others. So, of course, a person in the material world would become very upset if he gets attacked. And the same person will be very pleased if he gets praised. So this is of course the normal response in the material world. But this also causes great disturbance. Happiness and distress are the two aspects of life in the material world. And we like the happiness, we don’t like the distress. Nevertheless, we are forced to get the distress. All we can do is try to minimize it. So, in any case, we do have to suffer in the material world.
And of course, we can try to solve the problem through Karma Yoga. If we do Karma Yoga, then we try to increase the happiness and decrease the suffering. So we do that by increasing good karma. We avoid sinful activities. So if we avoid violence, then others do not attack. If we do good deeds then people will praise us. So this is the method by which Karma Yoga works. Of course, it does not solve the problem because we still have a material body. And we still have to suffer to some degree. At least it minimizes the suffering. And if we go to the upper planets, the suffering becomes less and less and less. So the suffering of Brahma Loka is the least. But even Brahma has to die. So, simply the method of Karma Yoga is not the final solution. So in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives us a suggestion. So if you’re doing Karma Yoga, then he suggests that you do the activities, but you don’t strive for results. In other words, we’re doing those activities without a desire to get more happiness and a decrease of suffering. This is an approach to becoming indifferent to the happiness and distress of the material world.
And then the next step is to go to Jnana Yoga. So in Jnana Yoga, not being affected by anything in the material world like happiness and distress is a main part of the sadhana. Even in the process of Ashtanga Yoga, one of the niyamas is satisfaction. So one is not subject to the happiness and distress of the material world. So that is described in this verse.
And similarly, in the second chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna also describes this person who is called the sthita-prajña. So there, Krishna explains that the sthita-prajña is not affected by praise of people or criticism. So that of course is words. Here we have actions, getting attacked by somebody or getting praised by somebody. Getting worshipped by somebody. So in all these cases, one becomes indifferent. One does not feel anger. One does not rejoice. So this is a symptom of a person who is advanced. In the second chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives some other characteristics also. But they are all more or less concerned with this same type of person. The person is fixed in the self and therefore, he is not attached to the material world, to the senses or to the material body. So this is a simple state. But it is very difficult for most people to attain this. They don’t even accept that they are different from the material body. So they have no way of controlling the senses and the mind and the body.
So the first step for the human being is to at least understand that one is not the body, one is the Atma. After accepting that, then one can try to practice this. When one perfects this, then one is completely situated in Atma and one is qualified for liberation. And if one is fixed in liberation, then one can permanently become free from the material body, the subtle body and all the miseries that go with it.
So, of course, people don’t like to get attacked in this material world and they will try to avoid that. But they don’t mind getting praised, that’s okay. And if they get too many attacks, then they suffer a little bit. And they try to get some solution. But mostly these solutions fail. Ultimately, of course, they can take shelter of Karma Yoga and increase their good karmas. And they can solve the problem to some extent.
But an easier way to approach this problem is through the process of Bhakti. To reach this state as described here, one has to go through Karma Yoga and then Jnana Yoga. The other way is just to do Bhakti Yoga. So, if we perform Bhakti Yoga properly, then we will get this symptom automatically. This is not the goal of the devotee. But this symptom will manifest along with the goal. So, if one has Prema, automatically one is completely attached to the Lord. So, automatically one will not be disturbed by anything in the material world. If one is not at the level of Prema, one is in Sadhana Bhakti, still that devotee can manifest to some degree this symptom.
So in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami describes that the first characteristic of Bhakti is Kleshagni, that is destruction of all sufferings. So, not only the future sufferings, but the sufferings of this lifetime can also be destroyed in the process of Bhakti. So, Bhakti destroys Karma. Karma is destroyed, suffering is destroyed. The cause of Karma, however, is desire. So, Bhakti also destroys the desires. And it also destroys the ignorance, creating the desires. So, the physical effect of suffering to the body in terms of accident, getting attacked, etc., of course, that is the Karma getting destroyed. So, that destruction takes place on the physical level of the material body. But it also takes place in the subtle body, the desires are in the mind, mind is in the subtle body. So, these get destroyed by process of Bhakthi. And Bhakti also destroys ignorance, which is represented by the Ahankara. And this Ahankara is also destroyed by the process of Bhakti. So, Bhakti destroys the gross body with all of its Karma. It also destroys the subtle body. So, through the process of Bhakti, one can get liberation from the material world. But this is a secondary quality of Bhakti.
The real result of Bhakti is that one develops Prema. So, this gives bliss to the Jiva. So, automatically one gets this liberation, complete detachment from everything in the world. So, the devotee will naturally develop this type of Symptoms.
Hare Krishna !
Q & A:
1.) In the purport it is mentioned that he is not satisfied he is not happy things like that. However we can also see that the devotees or sadhakas are supposed to satisfy the spiritual leaders, so that they can advance and make progress in spiritual life. I mean there is no need of satisfaction, but still the devotees are supposed to satisfy the seniors / spiritual master. So how can we appreciate this?
So, here we are talking about material satisfaction. So, one is pleased if one gets praised. So, on the other hand, we have satisfaction definitely in the spiritual world as well. But the satisfaction is not by being praised, its by pleasing Krishna. If one pleases Krishna, one becomes pleased.
So, all the devotees in the spiritual world are always striving to simply please Krishna. And that gives them satisfaction. But there is nothing wrong with that. That’s the natural symptom of the spiritual world. And that is called bliss.
2.) Maharaj also mentioned if you are not violating, we will not be attacked. But there are cases where devotees are unnecessarily attacked also?
Of course, the second quality of Bhakti is Subhadha. And Rupa Goswami explains that one of the meanings of Subhadha is that one is respected by every creature in this world. But we also see that the devotee gets attacked by wild animals. But we also see the opposite. So, we see Haridas Thakur had a snake in his cave, but the snake had left on its own. Similarly, in a place in Vrindavan there were a lot of mosquitoes, but still the mosquitoes left on their own. And when Lord Chaitanya walked through the Jarakhanda forest, all the animals were very friendly.
At the same time, we also see Haridas Thakur was attacked by the Muslims, etc. So, some of this is attributed to some special arrangement of the Lord. And some of this is a pattern of karma that is already destroyed. Though the karma is technically destroyed, if the karma were all destroyed, one would not have a material body. The body itself is produced by karma. So, if all the people chanted Hare Krishna once, all the karma would be destroyed and all will disappear, then no more body. Ajamila should have disappeared when he named his son Narayana. However, we don’t see that happen. He had kept his body. Other people keep their bodies in spite of having their karmas destroyed.
If one has a material body, then one has to maintain that material body. You have to breathe, you have to drink water, you have to eat food. You have to do activities in this world. So, you have to interact with other living entities. And some of them may even attack.
So, if the karmas are all destroyed and the body is maintained not by karma but by the Supreme Lord, then the activities of the body and what happens to the body is also an arrangement of the Lord. So, a lot of the events that happen in the devotees lives are not karma but they are a pattern that looks like karma arranged by the Lord.
3.) In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna instructed Arjuna to fight against aggressors and even Lord Caitanya wanted to kill Madhai for attacking Lord Nithyananda. However the Lord is instructing Uddhava here that an advanced devotee does not retaliate even if attacked?
This description is for the Jnanis. And Arjuna was playing the role of Kshatriya. Of course, Arjuna said I will give up my fighting, I will set down my bow and I will live by begging. And Krishna opposed that. You are not qualified for that. So, you have to continue your duties as a Kshatriya. So, the Kshatriya ofcourse tolerates pain for himself but when he sees that the citizens are afflicted, then he will take action. We see that is also the case of Parikshit Maharaj. So, he was ready to punish the personification of Kali.
The Jnani would simply remain silent and be detached from everything. The devotee, of course, is flexible. Ultimately, Arjuna was a devotee. So, he plays the role of Kshatriya by Krishna’s desire. But actually, he is beyond even the Jnani. Though he acts like Kshatriya, we can also understand that he does all of his activities for the pleasure of Krishna and he is not disturbed by the material world in any way.
4.) In Srimad Bhagavatam 1st Canto ‘dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra‘ [SB_1.1.2] can it be interpreted to mean that Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga are rejected in Bhagavatam as they are materially motivated and only Bhakti Yoga is.. ?
Yeah, they are all cheating. Yeah, they are all cheating.
5.) Maharaj you said yesterday that those merged in Brahman don’t experience anything they just exist. But Rupa Goswami in Nectar of Devotion mentions that bliss in Prema is million times more than the bliss in Brahman. How do we understand then there is no experience of bliss in Brahman. Request you to explain Maharaj.
So Brahman has no qualities. You cannot say I am blissful. You cannot say Brahman is blissful. That means, blissful is a quality. So to escape that type of problem the Jnanis will say that bliss means simply the absence of suffering and ignorance. So in a sense, it’s a type of happiness because we don’t like suffering. If there’s no suffering, it is happiness.
Of course, Brahman is an aspect of the Lord and the Lord is sat-chit-ananda. The Lord is Brahman, Paramatma, Bhagavan and he’s full of eternity, knowledge, bliss. So his Brahman aspect is mainly sought but there is a little bit of cit and ananda, but very minimal. So the bliss is not having any suffering. The bliss in Prema is having a relationship with the Lord.
5.) Maharaj it seems that Jiva’s actions, habits, behavior is all dependent on the conviction of his identity. On what identity the devotee’s Prema is fixed? Do they do all their actions of this world by fixed on their Siddha Deha internally and externally as the role this world perceives?
If they are fixed in prema, then definitely they will be absorbed in their spiritual body serving Krishna. They may or may not act with their material body in the material world. So we see persons like Arjuna, they are acting internally of course serving and externally they are acting according to Karma Yoga or whatever. And similarly, we see someone like Ambarish he was externally acting as a king but internally he was acting as Bhakti.
Others of course give up their responsibilities of this world and mainly act internally. And they do not pay much attention to the material body or to society. So that is often the case of the persons in Bhava and Prema through Sadhana.
6.) Can we say that a Jnani and a Bhakta are same in terms of qualities and symptoms except Prema and bliss?
Some qualities are similar. One of the qualities of the Jnana is phalgu vairagya, he won’t touch material objects at all. But a devotee will use this for Krishna’s service.
Devotee: Thank you Maharaj. Thank you so much Maharaj.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!