Srimad Bhagavatam 11.12.9 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 7 June 2021
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
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 12 Verse 9.
ŚB 11.12.9
yaṁ na yogena sāṅkhyena
dāna-vrata-tapo-’dhvaraiḥ
vyākhyā-svādhyāya-sannyāsaiḥ
prāpnuyād yatnavān api
Synonyms
yam — whom; na — not; yogena — by the mystic yoga systems; sāṅkhyena — by philosophical speculation; dāna — by charity; vrata — vows; tapaḥ — austerities; adhvaraiḥ — or Vedic ritualistic sacrifices; vyākhyā — by explaining Vedic knowledge to others; svādhyāya — personal study of the Veda; sannyāsaiḥ — or by taking the renounced order of life; prāpnuyāt — can one obtain; yatna-vān — with great endeavor; api — even.
Translation
Even though one engages with great endeavor in the mystic yoga system, philosophical speculation, charity, vows, penances, ritualistic sacrifices, teaching of Vedic mantras to others, personal study of the Vedas, or the renounced order of life, still one cannot achieve Me.
Purport
Lord Kṛṣṇa here explains that it is very difficult to achieve His personal association, even for one who seriously endeavors to reach the Absolute Truth. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, such as the gopīs and cows, were always living with Lord Kṛṣṇa, and thus their association is called sat-saṅga. Anyone who is favorably living with the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes sat, or eternal, and thus the association of such a person can immediately award others pure devotional service to the Lord. There is an austerity called cāndrāyaṇa, a fast in which one’s intake of food is diminished by one mouthful each day as the moon wanes and increased in the same way as the moon waxes. Similarly, there are painstaking ritualistic sacrifices and grueling studies of the Sanskrit Vedic mantras, which one may also teach to others. All these tedious activities cannot award the highest perfection of life unless one gets the causeless mercy of the pure devotees of the Lord. As stated in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.8):
dharmaḥ sv-anuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
śrama eva hi kevalam
“The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.”
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, the topic now has been Bhakti or devotional service. And previously it was stated that all sorts of people have attained the Lord. And that was by the mercy of the Lord and the devotees. And previous to that, other processes were also mentioned. Some of those processes are from Karma Yoga or Jnana Yoga or Astanga Yoga. So, nevertheless it was pointed out that finally the main process is Bhakti. And the other processes though they may be performed are secondary to that.
So, secondary in the sense that the main effort is put in Bhakti. And also that we do not become contaminated by the other desires that may appear by performing these other processes. So, if one performs Karmas, there is a possibility one will become attracted to material gain or Swarga-loka. And if one practices Jnana, then one will be attracted to impersonal liberation. So, in practicing these even as secondary processes, one has to be careful that these desires do not arise.
Why would these other desires arise? And the reason is that Karma Yoga focuses on increasing your enjoyment and going to Swarga-loka. And Jnana Yoga concentrates on realizing impersonal Brahman. So, naturally if we do these processes, we may get influenced to also develop these goals. So, the devotee when he practices these other processes, make sure that the goal is Supreme Lord. Even though that is not the goal for other people who practice.
So, on the other hand, if we omit Bhakti, then all these other processes are useless. So, therefore within Karma Yoga, there is worship of the Lord. There is some Bhakti there. And within Jnana, there is also worship of the Lord. However, usually that worship is for attaining material goals or liberation. So, we cannot equate it with pure Bhakti. So, a person who has graduated to the level of pure Bhakti, he will have less interest in Karma Yoga or Jnana Yoga or Astanga Yoga. The goal of these systems is something else. And even the Bhakti in these systems is contaminated. So, therefore the devotee concentrates on the process of pure Bhakti. So, if one cannot do pure Bhakti, then second best is mixed Bhakti. To do Bhakti is the main process. It is better than making it a secondary process. So, it can be the main process, but it may be mixed. That is, when we perform the Bhakti, we have desires for material enjoyment or desires for liberation. So, that also is not the best. The best is pure Bhakti.
So, Bhagavatam is promoting pure Bhakti. And these other processes, if they are practiced, must be secondary. And if one performs them without any Bhakti, then this verse states, no result [Laughs]. One cannot achieve the Supreme Lord. So, therefore, all these different things, Yoga, Jnana, and charities, Karma Yoga, etc. sacrifices, study of the Vedas, etc, all will give no result of attaining the Lord. So, this means, if they are done independent of Bhakti, with no connection to it, then they are no use for attaining the Lord. So, why are they recommended at all in scriptures? So, they are recommended for people who do not have faith in pure Bhakti. So, in other words, they have some value, because they may lead to Bhakti, but nevertheless, there is no guarantee that you will achieve the Lord by doing these processes. Of course, it is confusing for us to have all these different processes praised in the scripture. And the reason is, of course, because if you are not qualified for Bhakti, then you have to do these other processes. Nevertheless, it is confusing. If people superficially read the scriptures, then they will see all the glorification of all the processes. And they may not know which one to do. Or they may try to mix them all together. So, this is particularly a problem in Kali Yuga. Bhagavatam mentions that in Kali Yuga, people are not very intelligent. They are very agitated for material enjoyment. They have very short lifespans. They like to argue with other people.
So, therefore, they won’t be able to understand the conclusion of scriptures. They find all different processes, because they are less intelligent, they will not know which is. And even if they understand as a gradual process, they will not progress very much from one process, Karma Yoga, to Jnana Yoga, to Astanga Yoga, to Bhakti Yoga, because [Not clear] is very short. And because they are materially attached, they will be more attracted to doing the Karma Yoga process. And because they like to quarrel with each other, they will say, this is the best process, everything else is wrong.
So, in the Srimad Bhagavatam itself, in the first canto, Narada Muni chastises Vyasadeva for causing this confusion in people. And he advised Vyasadeva to write the Bhagavatam to make things clear. So, the Bhagavatam concludes that don’t do anything except Bhakti. And if you have to do it, do it secondarily. This, of course, is assuming that people will develop faith in Bhakti. So, as I mentioned, the other processes are there for people that don’t have faith in Bhakti.
So, how can everybody practice Bhakti in Kali Yuga? So, we can answer, well, the preachers go out and preach, and therefore, this way they can make everybody develop faith and qualify. Nevertheless, we also say, don’t preach to the faithless people.So, therefore, direct preaching also is limited. But then we also see that Bhagavatam is for all the people of Kali Yuga. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu also is for all the people of Kali Yuga.
So, Caitanya Mahaprabhu desired to give the process of bhakti to all the people of Kali Yuga. In spite of the fact that nobody is qualified. So, at the end of the Bhagavatam, it says there that Kali Yuga is the ocean of faults. So, you are not going to find qualified people for Bhakti in Kali Yuga. But the Nama Sankirtana has become the Yuga dharma, the process for people. So, this counteracts all of the faults of Kali Yuga. Through Nama Sankirtana, people can develop qualification and then progress quickly on the process of Bhakti. So, in this way, Bhakti becomes the prevalent process of Kali Yuga, not just for a few people.
So, the, of course, the other processes of Kali Yuga also are more difficult. Because people are unintelligent, disturbed by sense gratification, have short lifespans, etc, they are unqualified for Jnana and for Yoga. So, what about Karma Yoga? Can they practice Karma Yoga in Kali Yuga? It looks possible because this is for the people in the lower gunas.
People who practice Jnana and Yoga should be in sattvaguna. And the people in Kali Yuga are mainly in tamoguna. So, for the tamoguna and rajoguna people there is Karma Yoga. So, definitely this is more applicable for Kali Yuga than Jnana and Yoga. However, the Karma Yoga system also is quite complex. In its complete form, it requires a whole society ruled by a qualified king. In its complete form, it requires a whole society ruled by a qualified king. And in the last chapters of the Bhagavatam, it is described how in Kali Yuga, the line of kings from Svayambhuva Manu disintegrates. So, we are left without a king for the rest of Kali Yuga.
As described that, after Kali Yuga when Satya appears then the descendant of Manu will again manifest himself and establish the system with the king. So, therefore, it’s difficult to practice the Karma Yoga and Varnashram as described in the scriptures. We find 1000 years ago, may be little bit difficult to perform Karma Yoga, 500 years ago more difficult and now in the modern world, even more difficult. Not only no king but then the Muslims invaded and the British came. And both rulers, rulerships they didn’t understand the principles of Varnashram. So, naturally the population in general also lost their understanding in the system.
So therefore it’s a little difficult to reestablish that system. Nevertheless we can utilize some of the items of that system. It is difficult to operate with varnas in Kali Yuga. The whole society is much different now. But individually people can follow the principles, some of the principles of the varnashram system. So there are rules of conduct for people in different varnas. And some of these rules apply to all of the varnas. So at least we follow the common principles. And in this way we avoid the major sinful activities. And as we advance in Bhakti then we are able to follow even the rules of the brahmana.
So following these rules sets a little bit of a guideline for our control of our senses. And in this sense then, the rules of the varnashram are helpful for advancement in Bhakti. If we don’t have any rules it is very difficult to control the senses. If we have a definite rule then we say oh this is right, this is wrong. So therefore we can control the senses. We may not be able to do it perfectly but at least we can try if we have that knowledge. So therefore, if we have knowledge of the rules of varnashram, what is right and what is wrong, this gives us a nice standard for ourself. So that is the value we can take from all of those rules in the varnashram system.
So similarly, here we have a whole list of things that don’t give Bhakti and don’t make you achieve the Lord if they are done independently. But they have some valuable things in them also. So from any of these list of different systems here, if there is something that is favorable for our bhakti we can also use that. So therefore this list is not an absolute condemnation of these processes but just to show that if there is no Bhakti there, then they are useless.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) Dandavat pranams Maharaj. How can occupational activities provoke attraction for the message of love of Godhead if one is not a brahmana?
So, if people are in tamoguna, then they follow the rules of sudra. If they are a vaishya they follow the rules for people in rajas and tamas. If they are kshatriya, then they follow rules for people in rajoguna [Laughs]. So they follow rules of occupation and those occupations give them food and with food they can live. So if we don’t live we cannot even do Bhakti. So therefore, the rules of varna allow for maintenance of the body.
Once we have the body then we can do the activities of Bhakti. So within that system then we have different types of activities besides occupational activities for the people. So they should all worship. So some may worship devatas, some may worship Vishnu etc. And among those worships of course, we will have worship of Krishna or Vishnu. So that’s not restricted to brahmanas, everybody can go to the temple and offer something. Of course, if we are chanting holy name everybody can chant the holy name also. And thus everybody whether they are sudra, vaishya, kshatriya or brahmana can perform Bhakti in some way. Of course, in that system it is not the main item, it is a secondary item. And therefore it is different from Bhakti itself, the main process.
2.) Verse number 10 and 11, which is related to Krishna’s prakat and aprakat lilas. So verses means that previously Gopis could not see any means of happiness but now they see it. Separation no longer exists. Without me the nights dragged on forever but now it is not like that because there is no separation. Oh Uddhava, this is because they possess me eternally since they entered the aprakat manifestation of Vrindavan according to the message you gave them. So when Krishna meets the Gopis in Vraja after killing Dantavakra, it is prakat pastimes. So there is a mix of prakat and aprakat lilas. So if you could kindly elaborate on this Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: There is mixture of?
Devotee: Mixture of Krishna’s prakat and aprakat lilas because.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: When?
Devotee: When Krishna comes back to Vraja after killing Dantavakra.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, well that is prakat lila. Later on He left and went back to Dwaraka and in one form He took all the residents to Aishwarya Goloka and in another form everybody disappeared in their aprakat lila in Vrindavan.
3.) It’s regarding the 2nd verse of 1st canto, 1st chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra [ŚB 1.1.2]. It is said that Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Astanga Yoga are cheating religions and only Bhakti Yoga alone is a real religion as per Srimad Bhagavatam. However, one may argue that only in the purport it is mentioned that Bhakti is the correct process but it is not mentioned so in the original Sanskrit verse. How to counter this argument?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : In that particular verse?
Devotee: Yes Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, well, if we take the 1st verse. The 1st verse itself is dedicated to worshipping the Supreme Lord and nobody else. Of course that 1st verse is interpreted in many ways but it indicates that Krishna is Supreme and Radha Krishna are Supreme and the process of worship of Radha and Krishna is Supreme. And therefore, all the other processes that don’t lead to Krishna then they are called cheating.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. You said in Kali Yuga, Nama Sankirtana is the best method for achieving success. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says in Siksastaka prayer that Lord has invested all His potencies in His holy names. What are the potencies? Kindly explain.
Whatever you can achieve by Karma Yoga you can get by chanting the holy name. Whatever you can get by Jnana Yoga like liberation you can also get by that. Whatever you can get by Astanga Yoga, including siddhis you can also get. And you can also get Prema from the name. So therefore, all results of all processes come.
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, pranams. If someone chants 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra and has faith in Krishna Consciousness but still maintains material attachments and does some offenses unknowingly, should they still follow religious principles like shraddha ceremony etc.?
One can do all these ceremonies but with no attachment. In other words Bhakti Yoga fulfills everything so we really don’t have to do that. But then we do that just to satisfy our relatives.
6.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, in the spiritual world the humans can become trees, animals, rivers etc. So vice versa can the trees also transform into humans in the spiritual world?
Well, theoretically everything can become everything [Laughs]. So, the person in the spiritual world has this power that whatever he wants comes true. So the devotee can transform and become a tree or a bumblebee or a bird or a butterfly or whatever. But he does that only as a temporary service to the Lord and he returns to his other form, his original form. So, similarly the trees and whatever, have their form and by Krishna’s mercy or will they can also change but generally they don’t.
7.) Can an institution with rules and regulations according to time, place and circumstances replace the Varnashram system in modern times in order to facilitate Bhakti yoga?
Well, the institution can adopt many of the rules of the varnashram system.
8.) Maharaj, as you said, it is difficult to establish a society based on varna and only a certain principle we can adapt. Then inside ISKCON, there are projects which is trying to establish like Gurukula projects, farm community or Daivi varnashram system. We’ll also struggle to establish this properly, since the entire society is not following the varna system. Also, ultimately, there is no king to govern all these systems.
So, for, within the society then the difficulty comes with having the leader of a certain project who can act like a sub king or whatever and most people are not going to accept that. And he will have to establish which rules to follow. And that also becomes a matter of controversy. Some people want to follow this rule, some people want to follow that rule, some people don’t want to follow this rule or that rule. So, it becomes a little difficult for that reason. In other words, what standards do we set for the Gurukula? Do we exclude western education completely [Laughs]? Teach them only Sanskrit. Teach them Vedas [Laughs]. But then most people aren’t going to agree to that [Laughs]. They will not send their children [Laughs]. So, we have problems in instituting a system like that.
9.) This is actually related to the offenses, 9th offense of the holy name. What happens to one who is committing sins on the strength of the holy name?
So, one who committing sin on the strength of the holy name means that intentionally he is deceiving the devotees and acting like a devotee at the same time doing sinful activity. And then he will practice Bhakti to get rid of any sinful reaction. But we don’t find many devotees in that position where they are trying to get rid of the sinful reaction for their sins by doing the Bhakti [Laughs]. Rather they may do a sinful activity while they are doing Bhakti. So that is a little different. And of course if they do a sinful activity, Krishna says even you do sinful activity, you are still my devotee. Even if you do the sinful activity and you don’t repeat, then Krishna says you are still my devotee. But if it becomes continual, then of course, he will not be steady in Bhakti and eventually he will probably leave the devotional journey.
10.) For the next generation of ISKCON devotees, what is best? To follow bhakti principles and adapt modern education, which means a mix of both? What is recommended for the future devotees of ISKCON? Whether they can continue to follow the Bhakti path and also adapt the western system of life?
Well, there is always the choice of the parents, what they want their children to do. And some may choose a combined system. Some may choose a purely western approach. And some may approve a very Vedic approach. But of course, we have to see the results of these different things. And if you do a purely Vedic result, probably the child when he grows up, he will only be qualified to become an Archaka in a temple, that’s all [Laughs]. And he will have very little means of supporting himself if he becomes a grhastha. Of course, that’s what a brahmana was before. But in the modern world, the brahmana cannot survive like that. So, therefore, we see that even people who are raised like that, generally they go out and get a job later on [Laughs]. So, the only way that would work in the exclusively Vedic system is, if the society protected all those people and supported them all. That means we have to have a more independent organization that doesn’t associate with society and lives separately. But some people also don’t want to do that. Other persons of course, meaning grhasthas, they want to live in the world, the present world. So, therefore, then they may combine the two systems.
11.) Maharaj, you mentioned that everybody, whether he or she is a brahmana or not, can go to the temple and worship the Lord. But in Jagannath Puri, still today the western devotees are not allowed. Even during Caitanya’s advent, a non-brahmana was not allowed inside the Puri temple. Why Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not change this practice?
Well, it was not non-brahmanas. Other people went in also. It was just the outcastes who were not even sudras. They could not go in. For instance, the king is Prataparudra. So he can go in the temple [Laughs], he’s not a brahmana. So it was only restricted to people who were not even sudras. They could not go in.
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!!!