Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.33 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 22 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 33.
ŚB 11.11.33
jñātvājñātvātha ye vai māṁ
yāvān yaś cāsmi yādṛśaḥ
bhajanty ananya-bhāvena
te me bhaktatamā matāḥ
Synonyms
jñātvā — knowing; ajñātvā — not knowing; atha — thus; ye — those who; vai — certainly; mām — Me; yāvān — as; yaḥ — who; ca — also; asmi — I am; yādṛśaḥ — how I am; bhajanti — worship; ananya-bhāvena — with exclusive devotion; te — they; me — by Me; bhakta-tamāḥ — the best devotees; matāḥ — are considered.
Translation
My devotees may or may not know exactly what I am, who I am and how I exist, but if they worship Me with unalloyed love, then I consider them to be the best of devotees.
Purport
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, although yāvān indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa cannot be limited by time or space, He becomes limited by the love of His pure devotees. For example, Lord Kṛṣṇa never steps one foot out of Vṛndāvana, because of the intense love of its inhabitants for Him. In this way, the Lord comes under the control of His devotees’ love. The word yaḥ indicates that Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth who appears as the son of Vasudeva, or as Śyāmasundara. Yādṛśa indicates that the Lord is ātmārāma, or completely self-satisfied, and also āpta-kāma, or “one who automatically fulfills all of His desires.” Still, being affected by the love of His devotees, the Lord sometimes appears to be anātmārāma, or dependent on the love of His devotees, and anāptakāma, unable to achieve His desire without the cooperation of His devotees. Actually, the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, is always independent, but He reciprocates the intense love of His devotees and thus appears to be dependent on them, just as He apparently became dependent on Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā during His childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana. The word ajñātvā (“inexperienced, lacking knowledge”) indicates that sometimes a devotee may not have a proper philosophical understanding of the Personality of Godhead or due to love may temporarily forget the Lord’s position. In Bhagavad-gītā (11.41) Arjuna says:
sakheti matvā prasabhaṁ yad uktaṁ
he kṛṣṇa he yādava he sakheti
ajānatā mahimānaṁ tavedaṁ
mayā pramādāt praṇayena vāpi
“I have in the past addressed You as ‘O Kṛṣṇa,’ ‘O Yādava,’ ‘O my friend,’ without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love.” Arjuna’s words ajānatā mahimānam have the same meaning as Kṛṣṇa’s words ajñātvā mām in this verse of the Bhāgavatam. Both indicate incomplete understanding of Kṛṣṇa’s glories. In Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna says, praṇayena: his forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa’s supreme position was caused by his love for Him. In this verse, Kṛṣṇa excuses such lapses on the part of His devotees with the words ajñātvā mām, which indicate that even though devotees may not fully appreciate His exalted position, Kṛṣṇa accepts their loving service. Thus this verse clearly reveals the supreme position of bhakti. Lord Kṛṣṇa also states in Bhagavad-gītā (11.54):
bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya
aham evaṁ-vidho ’rjuna
jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena
praveṣṭuṁ ca parantapa
“My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.”
Although one may develop innumerable saintly qualities, without love of Kṛṣṇa one will not achieve complete success. One must understand the Personality of Godhead as He is and love Him. Even if one is not capable of analytically understanding the position of God, if one simply loves Kṛṣṇa, then one is certainly perfect. Many of the residents of Vṛndāvana had no idea that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor did they know of Kṛṣṇa’s potencies or incarnations. They simply loved Kṛṣṇa with their hearts and souls, and therefore they are considered most perfect.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this verse, it talks about knowing the Supreme Lord. And we see that there’s an explanation of some of these terms in the purport. Of course, we will wonder why the devotee cannot know the Lord. Obviously, he has devotion, he should know the Lord. But then we see here that it says the devotee may not know the Lord. However, this not knowing the Lord in one sense of the term is actually highest stage. And in the highest stage of prema in Vrindavan the devotees, we can say, know the Lord, but in another sense, they don’t know him completely.
So examples are given. The devotees in Vrindavan know Krishna with all of His sweetness. But they don’t understand that He is supreme Lord. And in the verse quoted by Arjuna, even Arjuna apologizes for not being aware of the Lord’s powers. But certainly, all of these devotees in prema know something of the Lord, but certain aspects, they don’t know. But this is not some fault in the devotee. And it in no way interrupts or decreases their bliss. Rather, with this limitation of their knowledge, their bliss increases.
Of course, nobody can know the Lord completely. And some who know all aspects of the Lord, we may consider them to be the highest. But that is not so, because we see that the inhabitants of Vrindavan are the highest devotees. But definitely, they don’t know everything about Krishna. They don’t want to know. So Vasudeva and Devaki say, well, yes, Krishna is our son, He’s the Supreme Lord. Yasoda, Nanda won’t hear that. When people hear about Krishna lifting Govardhana Hill, they say, oh, Krishna, He must be Supreme Lord because He lifted up the hill with His little finger of His left hand. How is it possible unless He’s Supreme Lord? But then mother Yasoda will say, no, that’s not true. He didn’t do it alone. Balarama helped Him, Nanda helped Him. And of course, ultimately Narayana, Vishnu is the one who protects everybody here. So in other words, even if some knowledge is given to those people of Vrindavan, they will not accept it. Krishna showed mother Yasoda the whole universe within His body. Then after seeing it, she forgot about it completely. So the strength of the love of the people of Vrindavan only allows certain type of knowledge. And of course, that love will allow what is favourable, what knowledge is favourable for the increase of their prema for Krishna. But their prema itself will cover other types of knowledge. So not only greatness, but other relationships get covered also.
So in the different rasas, the other rasas get excluded. So the elders of Vrindavan who were in vatsalya rasa never know anything about Krishna’s madhurya rasa with the Gopis. So that, the madhurya rasa will interfere with their vatsalya rasa. So therefore, they are never aware of that madhurya rasa. And in some cases, the Lord’s shaktis also operate like the lila shakti to cover certain aspects of knowledge. So in the Brahma vimohana lila, Brahma gets some knowledge and then some knowledge is hidden again from him. So at one moment, he sees all of the Cowherd boys and calves as Vishnu forms. And by the shakti of the Lord, suddenly that disappears and all he sees is Krishna standing there. So the Lord’s Yogamaya shakti will sometimes give knowledge and make knowledge disappear. And the Yogamaya shakti operates in this way under the will of Krishna to increase the prema. So in this way, the devotees don’t know everything about the Supreme Lord. But it’s not a fault. However, in the process of sadhana bhakti, we cannot always say that, well, even if I don’t know anything, I can advance [Laughs]. So in sadhana bhakti, the process of sravana is to get knowledge. And though kirtana is the main process, it is accompanied by sravana. And we also say, the whole cause of bhakti is sadhu sanga. But the mercy of sadhu sanga is that the sadhu gives knowledge. So therefore, some knowledge is very necessary for starting and progressing in bhakti. However, that doesn’t mean we know everything. We don’t.
So the knowledge that we get in sadhana bhakti is general knowledge. And that is very necessary for our advancement. But as a devotee advances, then he may also limit his knowledge. For instance, many devotees, followers of Lord Caitanya will limit their knowledge to Bhagavatam. They won’t go to Vedas, Upanishads, Brahma Sutras. Some devotees may hear the pastimes of Vrindavan and ignore all of the Mathura and Dwaraka pastimes. And some devotees may concentrate on knowledge of madhurya rasa or sakhya rasa or vatsalya rasa. So in other words, we choose to develop knowledge which is favourable for our own advancement. And even if we don’t have all knowledge or even enough knowledge, as Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, I give you the intelligence by which you come to me. We may get some internal revelation. Or we may get external realization through devotees or Guru. In any case, the Lord will supply whatever knowledge is necessary for our advancement in bhakti.
In the Brahma Sutras, it is described that there are different types of devotees. Some worship all forms. So they’ll worship Narasimha Dev and Varaha and Vamana and Vishnu and Krishna and Rama etc. Others will worship only one form. So we may think, well, the one who worships all the forms is better, he has more knowledge. But it turns out the opposite. The person who worships one form develops greater prema. And the one who worships all the forms never establishes a strong relationship with any of them. So, therefore, there is always some limitation on knowledge and it’s not a fault. But we see that in bhakti, the kanishtha is described as having very little knowledge or being ignorant. And therefore, his faith also is very weak. And in uttama bhakta in sadhana, vaidhi sadhana bhakti, he has very deep knowledge of the scripture. His faith is very strong. So there, in sadhana bhakti, the amount of knowledge has a very positive function on the development of our bhakti. And therefore, we should be enthusiastic to learn all about bhakti.
Hare Krishna.
Q & A :
1.) In the purport it is mentioned that Krishna never steps one foot out of Vrindavan. But Krishna went to Mathura and lived permanently in Dwaraka. Does it mean that Vrindavan Krishna or Yasoda Nandan never leaves Vrindavan and only Vasudev Krishna, Devaki Nandan only goes out of Vrindavan? Kindly explain.
So though Krishna goes to Mathura and therefore He leaves and the people lament, in their intense love, Krishna makes an internal appearance to them. So therefore, in that sense, He doesn’t leave. And though He’s left here, in another universe He is with them or in the spiritual world, He is with them.
2.) Does this verse refer to prema bhaktas and beyond or can it also refer to practicing devotees, sadhaka bhaktas who may or may not know about Krishna?
It can refer to either but Vishwanath, he gives a reference to the devotees in prema or atleast very exalted.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. A devotee as he advances, he can start limiting his knowledge. So how can a devotee understand in sadhana stage that he can start limiting his knowledge from Srimad Bhagavatam to Vrindavan to Mathura pastimes of Krishna?
It’s not really a limitation. Just like a doctor gets a degree or whatever and becomes a doctor. Then he may specialize. Then he has to study for another five years. Then he may further specialize. Then he has to study some more. So in that sense we can say his field is narrower. That doesn’t mean his knowledge is less. It’s actually more but in a particular field. So within a specific field then the devotee’s realization of Krishna becomes more and more intense. So that he will exclude other types of [Not audible].
4.) Sometimes devotees have Jagannatha, Baladeva, Radha Krishna, Lakshmi Narasimha, Gaura Nitai all the deities for their worship. Does it mean that they are yet to fix or focus on one particular form? Is this more of varied worship and there is need to become fixed to one particular form of worship?
So generally we equate Caitanya Mahaprabhu with Radha and Krishna. So in that sense if we worship Radha and Krishna and Gauranga it’s not different. And of course Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw Jagannatha as Krishna in separation from Radha.
5.) Maharaj, as you have been mentioning concentrating on specific type of knowledge is required for advancement. So for each stage in bhakti ladder what type of knowledge one should concentrate and what type of knowledge is required for devotees in anartha-nivritti stage?
Well, as I said, we need all that general knowledge. We at least have to know who we should worship. We have to know the difference between devatas and the Supreme Lord and among the forms of the Supreme Lord we should know that Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan. And then we have to know the difference between pure bhakti and mixed bhakti. And we have to know the mood of, the different moods of Krishna, Krishna in Vrindavan or Krishna in Mathura or Dwaraka. If we don’t know something about Krishna’s pastimes then how we can become attracted to Him? So therefore, and of course, then we have to know what types of bhakti are there, the different angas of bhakti like chanting Hare Krishna, devotee association etc. And we have to try to avoid the anarthas and the aparadhas.
6.) The five samskaras of branding tilaka, accepting a name, mantra and worship are the causes of being the best devotee. If they don’t have any of these, is it ok Maharaj?
We can define devotees in different ways, so this is a pancharatric way of defining the devotees. But in terms of Caitanya’s movement the emphasis is upon chanting the holy name. So a devotee is inferior or superior according to how advanced, not according to his tilaka or whatever. The advancement and the category of the devotee whether he is advanced or not advanced depends on his quality of his chanting, not upon his tilaka or whatever.
7.) In Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, Rupa Goswami says siddhanta svabhedapi, though Vishnu and Krishna are same only, in rasa tattva there is difference between them. It means Krishna shows madhurya rasa whereas Vishnu only shows dasya rasa, kindly explain.
Vishnu shows madhurya rasa with Lakshmi. And he has a few other queens like Sri and Bhu etc. But other than that, madhurya rasa we can say limited and vatsalya rasa generally in Vaikuntha, the Lord doesn’t have any parents. So the main rasa is dasya.
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!!!