Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.16-17 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 9 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 16.
ŚB 11.11.16
na stuvīta na nindeta
kurvataḥ sādhv asādhu vā
vadato guṇa-doṣābhyāṁ
varjitaḥ sama-dṛṅ muniḥ
Synonyms
na stuvīta — does not praise; na nindeta — does not criticize; kurvataḥ — those who are working; sādhu — very nicely; asādhu — very badly; vā — or; vadataḥ — those who are speaking; guṇa-doṣābhyām — from good and bad qualities; varjitaḥ — freed; sama-dṛk — seeing things equally; muniḥ — a saintly sage.
Translation
A saintly sage sees with equal vision and therefore is not affected by that which is materially good or bad. Indeed, although he observes others performing good and bad work and speaking properly and improperly, the sage does not praise or criticize anyone.
Text 17
Translation
For the purpose of maintaining his body, a liberated sage should not act, speak or contemplate in terms of material good or bad. Rather, he should be detached in all material circumstances, and taking pleasure in self-realization, he should wander about engaged in this liberated lifestyle, appearing like a retarded person to outsiders.
Purport
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, this verse describes a type of discipline recommended for the jñāna-yogīs, who by intelligence try to understand that they are not their material bodies. One who is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, however, accepts and rejects material things in terms of their usefulness in the loving service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. One who is trying to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be seen as very intelligent and not jaḍa-vat, or stunted, as described here. Although a devotee of the Lord does not act, speak or contemplate for his personal sense gratification, he remains very busy working, speaking and meditating in the devotional service of the Lord. The devotee makes elaborate plans to engage all the fallen souls in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s service so they can be purified and go back home, back to Godhead. Merely rejecting material things is not perfect consciousness. One must see everything as the property of the Lord and meant for the Lord’s pleasure. One busily engaged in spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has no time to make material distinctions and thus automatically comes to the liberated platform.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this continues description of the soul in the material world who has fixed himself on atma. And as also explained in the purport, simply to do that is not completely sufficient. Or if one concentrates merely on atma and not the body get a symptom described in this verse. And what is that symptom? Wanders about, like a retarded person. Detach from everything. Of course, this characteristic could also be somewhat ascribed to a person in prema. But it more likely applies to, as mentioned here, the jnana yogi. Sometimes we see that a person fixed in prema also acts in this way. We see the example of Jada Bharat. In his previous life as a retired king, he had attained bhava stage. As Jada Bharat, after the birth as a deer, then he became Jada Bharat and he attained prema. But he acted like a retarded person. So this is a kind of a stunted person. So he is called Jada Bharat because he acted as if he had no intelligence at all. Actually, he was on the level of prema. Of course, we will find that those who are fixed in jnana will act in the same way. However, we will see other people fixed in prema do something quite different.
All the people in Vrindavan are fixed in prema. But none of them act like retarded persons. They are all serving Krishna. And in Mathura and Dwaraka, all the Yadus are serving Krishna as well. So therefore, though some of the sadhakas who attain prema may act in this way, Jada Bharat or stunted or retarded or whatever, we have the opposite example also very active. Of course, if we look at Madhurya Kadambini of Vishwanath Cakravarti Thakura, when he describes the person in prema, yes, he appears retarded to some degree. And certainly he is indifferent to everything in the material world. So for a materialist, the person in prema will appear to be very backward or retarded. However, if the person in prema meets another devotee and they begin to talk about Krishna, then he is no longer in a retarded state. So therefore, when it comes to devotional activity, he is not at all inactive, very active.
So, in general, the devotee’s goal is not to give up activities, but simply to engage activities in this way. And if the prema bhakta finds an opportunity to engage things in the service of the Lord, then he will do so. The person who accepts jnana, however, will as much as possible try to avoid all that. Because he believes that all these activities will be a distraction and will lead to rubbish. But the devotee, however, understands that by doing activities, he can please the Lord. And by pleasing the Lord, he can advance very nicely. So, therefore, the devotee of the Lord, when the opportunity is devotional, then he becomes very active.
For the jnani, his goal is no action. In the state of Brahman, there is no activity. And therefore, as a jnani, he likes to practice that, being very inactive. And all action, for him, means engaging in material action and causing bondage. So, the jnani will avoid all actions. He will avoid contacting material objects and senses. But the devotee of the Lord will engage his senses and will engage material objects for Krishna’s pleasure. So, the devotee can use things, but that doesn’t mean he can use everything. In sadhana bhakti, yes, we can engage in the Lord’s service, all sorts of articles. But we have to be very careful which articles we offer to the Lord. So, we have rules. So certain items are pure and certain items are impure. So, we offer the pure items and not the impure. So of course, everything is material. The mango is material, the pineapple is material, the banana is material. However, we can offer them to the Lord with devotion and the Lord is pleased. However, we cannot offer onions or meat to the deities. Krishna is not pleased with that offering. So therefore, yes, we can engage material objects, but there are certain objects we have to avoid. So therefore, yes, we can engage objects, but we have to be aware of the scriptural rule. So, that is very important for a person doing sadhana bhakti.
So a person on prema, however, is much less restricted by these rules. And therefore, his offerings may be quite different. His clothing may be quite different. His actions may be quite different. And we cannot judge those. So, for the person on a very high level, the idea of pure and impure don’t exist so much. So, it is said that Gaura Kisora Das Babaji at one time was chanting his japa in the latrine, which is very impure. And we can object and say, well, why you can’t bring Tulasi into the toilet? So, true, this is our normal conduct. We don’t make things impure in devotional service. But on a higher stage, these considerations of purity and impurity don’t exist. So, of course, we cannot justify our own acts by [Not audible]. Because he does that, I can also do that, we cannot say like that. We are not of the same qualification.
Of course, we have on a very higher level, we have Krishna dancing with the Gopis. So then Parikshit Maharaj asked Sukadeva Goswami a question. How is this possible? He is the Supreme Lord and He is the institutor of dharma. He is completely detached to everything material. Why is He dancing with the Gopis who are married to somebody else? So, Sukadeva answers that, certain great personalities may act in a different way. But we cannot criticize them. Because we do not understand their high level.
So, of course, Krishna is on the highest level and ultimately everything belongs to Krishna. So, the Gopis belong to Krishna not to their husband. The husband also belongs to Krishna. So, that’s one thing. And the other is that we cannot imitate those activities of the great [Not clear]. Rather, we should follow their instructions. We’re not on the same level of qualification. So therefore, we follow Krishna’s instructions and we don’t act like Krishna. Similarly, we follow the instructions of the advanced devotees on bhava and prema but we do not try to imitate them. So because these elevated persons are beyond the rules, Rupa Goswami says, you cannot understand the conduct of a person. So that, of course, is a very high level. And we cannot imitate at all. All we can do is follow the instructions.
So here in this verse, everything is treated with indifference. But the devotees use things for the Lord. But as, in sadhana, we cannot just use everything for the Lord. We have to make some distinctions. And those distinctions, what we can offer, what we cannot offer, that is described in the scripture.
But one who is advanced in prema, then same rules do not apply. And he may do something that goes against the scriptural rules. But we cannot object. So in any case, for the normal devotees, we engage things according to the scripture. And we don’t worry too much about acting like a retarded person.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) Maharaj, if prema bhaktas are acting differently and that is not benefitting the common man like when Rishabha Dev was walking, people were throwing stones and things like that. So they miss the opportunity of bhakti and prema bhaktas are not giving them the opportunity for Krishna consciousness. How do you properly appreciate this?
So the uttama adhikari is described as a person who does not preach. He is so absorbed in the pastimes of Krishna that he doesn’t observe the material world. And we see in the description of the uttama adhikari, he does not make distinctions like the madhyama adhikari between the demon and the devotee. Everybody is a devotee. So often, these uttama adhikaris or prema bhaktas do not preach. In order to preach, we have to make distinctions. Of course, Jiva Goswami says, yes, this is the general rule, but we find exceptions. He gives the example of Narada Muni. Narada Muni is in prema, but he often preaches. He travels and he sees, oh, this person is not acting properly, and so he’ll give mercy to that person. For instance, Narada Muni, he cursed the two sons of Kuvera because they disrespected him. But he gave them mercy by giving them a chance to get associated with Krishna.
2.) Maharaj, mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ [Cc Madhya 17.186] is there. However, we see, like Lord Nityananda Prabhu, being an avadhuta, He acts so differently, which is very difficult for common people to appreciate also, Maharaj.
So, as I said, we do not imitate those activities of such a person. Rather, we follow their instructions. So, we see that sometimes, yes, we can follow the same path doctrine of elevated devotee, other times, we could not do so.
3.) We see in our sampradaya that Acharyas like Gaura Kisora Das Babaji and Jagannatha Das Babaji Maharaj were withdrawn and mostly chanting, whereas Acharyas like Bhakti Siddhanta and Srila Prabhupada were active in preaching. Were all of them in prema? If so, why the apparent contrast in their behavior? Request you to explain.
We should not think that because some devotee is preaching like Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati or Prabhupada, that he is less advanced than a person who is not preaching. So even among advanced devotees, we find the goṣṭhy-ānandīs who preach and the bhajanānandīs who do not. However, as they advance into bhava and prema, the general tendency is less preaching. And therefore, we find even Bhaktivinoda Thakur, he retired at a certain period and he took Babaji. And of course, simply because a person doesn’t preach, it may be because he is less advanced. So we cannot judge a person by that standard of preaching and not preaching whether he is less advanced or more advanced. Ultimately it is the devotee’s decision on what type of activity he is doing, which is favourable for his own spiritual advancement. And we may not be able to understand clearly the reasons for that.
4.) A devotee who attained prema, will he necessarily be born in the bhauma Vrindavan in another universe, where Krishna is continuing his pastimes or the devotee will go straight to Goloka Vrindavan? Krishna will continue His pastimes only in one universe or progressively in more than one universe? I request you to explain.
Either alternative is possible. But it’s all up to Krishna.
5.) Maharaj, can we say the example of Bharat Maharaj life is one example testimony that those who are in higher stages of bhakti, their future material position according to the astrology chart is totally unpredictable and it is completely under the control of Krishna. Because he was a king and reached bhava, but in next life he became a deer and in the next life some miserable condition materially speaking. But spiritually his position is very high.
Anyone who takes birth in the material world, then he will have a birth chart. He will be born at a certain place at a certain time. And therefore he will have a chart. Even Krishna has a chart. Lord Caitanya has a chart. And of course, people can look at the chart and make predictions. But obviously we are not predicting karma. Normal people in the material world, we are predicting karma. So in the case of a very advanced devotee, we are not predicting karma. We are only seeing a pattern that Krishna arranges for him. That’s it. Because they have taken a body in the material world, they will have interactions with the material world. They will grow, they will get old, they will die etc. But these activities are under the control of Krishna, not karma. And then Krishna arranges a suitable chart.
6.) Maharaj, it is proper to understand that depending on the advancement of a devotee’s advancement degree in Krishna consciousness, to that extent the pattern also varies?
Yeah. If you are born, then the chart is fixed. It doesn’t change. So therefore the sequence of events or the pattern of events will not change. However, as one advances, definitely the effects will change. So instead of a serious accident, a less serious accident.
7.) Maharaj, sometimes we see even devotees get upset, angry, stressed when things don’t happen according to what they have planned. How to come to the platform of the qualities which is given in yesterday’s verse? How to be undisturbed in all times of challenges?
So one can practice jnana as explained in the previous chapter. But the easier process is to practice bhakti. So the devotees may show anarthas of all sorts. But if they practice properly, they go through anartha-nivritti and nishtha, so that those anarthas are minimized.
8.) Maharaj, jnanis don’t engage in activities because all these activities will give distraction. Is this the same reason for which even prema bhaktas act mad at times?
The main reason for the prema bhakta acting as he does is because he is absorbed in Krishna.
9.) Maharaj, yesterday you were talking about sthita prajna. Is he generally a jnani yogi or can he be a bhakti yogi also? Request clarification.
I explained today that a devotee may act in this way but not necessarily. But he does not rejoice, he does not lament in material circumstances. But he is joyful to meet devotees. He is joyful to chant Krishna’s name.
10.) Maharaj, in my limited understanding, I see that during the time of six Goswamis, there were not many Babajis. At least not mentioned explicitly in the scriptures. But after the era of Goswamis, there were many Babajis. Can you kindly explain this?
In other sampradayas, instead of Babaji, there had Sannyasis. However, Lord Caitanya says even Sannyasis are part of the varnashram system. So then, some of the devotees gave up the varnashram system completely and they became Babajis. But it is equivalent to the Sannyasa.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!