Srimad Bhagavatam – 2.2.31 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 17, 2026
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2 Chapter 2 Verse 31.
तेनात्मनात्मानमुपैति शान्त-
मानन्दमानन्दमयोऽवसाने ।
एतां गतिं भागवतीं गतो य:
स वै पुनर्नेह विषज्जतेऽङ्ग ॥ ३१ ॥
tenātmanātmānam upaiti śāntam
ānandam ānandamayo ’vasāne
etāṁ gatiṁ bhāgavatīṁ gato yaḥ
sa vai punar neha viṣajjate ’ṅga
Synonyms
tena — by that purified; ātmanā — by the self; ātmānam — the Supersoul; upaiti — attains; śāntam — rest; ānandam — satisfaction; ānanda–mayaḥ — naturally so being; avasāne — being freed from all material contamination; etām — such; gatim — destination; bhāgavatīm — devotional; gataḥ — attained by; yaḥ — the person; saḥ — he; vai — certainly; punaḥ — again; na — never; iha — in this material world; viṣajjate — becomes attracted; aṅga — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
Translation
Only the purified soul can attain the perfection of associating with the Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satisfaction in his constitutional state. Whoever is able to renovate such devotional perfection is never again attracted by this material world, and he never returns.
Purport
We should specially note in this verse the description of gatiṁ bhāgavatīm. To become merged in the rays of the Parabrahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as desired by the brahmavādī impersonalist, is not bhāgavatīm perfection. The bhāgavatas never accept merging in the impersonal rays of the Lord, but always aspire after personal association with the Supreme Lord in one of the Vaikuṇṭha spiritual planets in the spiritual sky. The whole of the spiritual sky, of which the total number of the material skies is only an insignificant part, is full of unlimited numbers of Vaikuṇṭha planets. The destination of the devotee (the bhāgavata) is to enter into one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets, in each of which the Personality of Godhead, in His unlimited personal expansions, enjoys Himself in the association of unlimited numbers of pure devotee associates. The conditioned souls in the material world, after gaining emancipation by devotional service, are promoted to these planets. But the number of ever-liberated souls is far, far greater than the number of conditioned souls in the material world, and the ever-liberated souls in the Vaikuṇṭha planets never care to visit this miserable material world.
The impersonalists, who aspire to merge in the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence of the Supreme Lord but have no conception of loving devotional service to Him in His personal form in the spiritual manifestation, may be compared to certain species of fish, who, being born in the rivers and rivulets, migrate to the great ocean. They cannot stay in the ocean indefinitely, for their urge for sense gratification brings them back to the rivers and streams to spawn. Similarly, when the materialist becomes frustrated in his attempts to enjoy himself in the limited material world, he may seek impersonal liberation by merging either with the Causal Ocean or with the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence. However, as neither the Causal Ocean nor the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence affords any superior substitute for association and engagement of the senses, the impersonalist will fall again into the limited material world to become entangled once more in the wheel of births and deaths, drawn on by the inextinguishable desire for sensual engagement. But any devotee who enters the kingdom of God by transcendental engagement of his senses in devotional service, and who associates with the liberated souls and the Personality of Godhead there, will never be attracted to the limited surroundings of the material world.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (8.15) also the same is confirmed, as the Lord says, “The great mahātmās, or the bhakti-yogīs, after attaining My association, never come back to this material world, which is full of miseries and is nonpermanent.” The highest perfection of life, therefore, is to attain His association, and nothing else. The bhakti-yogī, being completely engaged in the Lord’s service, has no attraction for any other process of liberation like jñāna or yoga. A pure devotee is a one-hundred-percent devotee of the Lord and nothing more.
We should further note in this verse the two words śāntam and ānandam, which denote that devotional service of the Lord can really bestow upon the devotee two important benedictions, namely peace and satisfaction. The impersonalist is desirous of becoming one with the Supreme, or in other words, he wants to become the Supreme. This is a myth only. The mystic yogīs become encumbered by various mystic powers and so have neither peace nor satisfaction. So neither the impersonalists nor the yogī can have real peace and satisfaction, but the devotee can become fully peaceful and satisfied because of his association with the complete whole. Therefore, merging in the Absolute or attaining some mystic powers has no attraction for the devotee.
Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all other attractions. The conditioned soul has many aspirations, such as becoming a religious man, a rich man or a first-class enjoyer, or becoming God himself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully by getting anything or doing anything, but all these aspirations should be rejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive his dormant love of God. The impure devotee aspires after all of the above-mentioned material things by perfection of devotion. But a pure devotee has none of the tinges of the above contaminations, which are the influence of material desires, impersonal speculations and attainment of mystic powers. One can attain the stage of love of God by pure devotional service, or by “a learned labor of love,” for the sake of the devotee’s lovable object, the Personality of Godhead.
To be more clear, if one wants to attain the stage of love of Godhead, he must give up all desires for material enjoyment, he should refrain from worshiping any of the demigods, and he should devote himself only to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He must give up the foolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and the desire to have some wonderful powers just to get the ephemeral adoration of the world. The pure devotee is only favorably engaged in the service of the Lord, without any hope of emolument. This will bring about love of Godhead, or the stage of śāntam and ānandam, as stated in this verse.
Sadhguru chants Gaura Gaura Gaurahari Sadhguru chants Gaura Gaura Gaurahari Reading from Srimad Bhagavad Gita 2.1 Sadhguru chants Satisfaction, Anandamaya, naturally being so, Avasthane, being freed from all material contamination, Atom, Satch, Gatim, destination, Bhagavatim, devotional, Gataha, attain, I, ya, the person, but I always aspire after personal association with the Supreme Lord. In one of the Vaikuntha spiritual planets in the spiritual sky, the whole of the spiritual sky, of which the total number of the material skies is only an insignificant part, is full of unlimited numbers of Vaikuntha planets. A destination of the devotee in Bhagavata is to enter into one of the Vaikuntha planets in each of which the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His unlimited personal expansions, enjoys Himself in the association of unlimited numbers of pure devotee associates.
The conditioned souls in the material world, after gaining emancipation by devotional service promoted to these planets, for the number of ever-liberated souls is far, far greater than the number of conditioned souls in the material world, and the ever-liberated souls in the Vaikuntha planets never care to visit this miserable material world. The impersonalists who aspire to merge in the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Supreme Lord but have no conception of loving devotional service to Him in His personal form in the spiritual manifestation may be compared to certain species of fish who, being born in the rivers and rivulets, migrate to the great ocean. They cannot stay in the ocean indefinitely for their urge for sense gratification brings them back to the rivers and streams to spawn.
Similarly, when the materialist becomes frustrated in his attempts to enjoy himself in the limited material world, he may seek impersonal liberation by merging either with the causal ocean or with the impersonal Brahmajyoti effulgence. However, as neither causal ocean nor the impersonal Brahmajyoti effulgence affords any superior substitution for association and engagement of the senses, the impersonals will fall again into the limited material world to become entangled once more in the wheel of births and deaths. Drawn on by the inextinguishable desire for sensual engagement, but any devotee who enters the kingdom of God by transcendental engagement of his senses in devotional service and who associates with the liberated souls and the personality of Godhead there will never be attracted to the limited surroundings of the material world.
In Bhagavad Gita also the same is confirmed as the Lord says, the great Mahatmas or Bhakti-yogis, after attaining my association, never come back to the material world which is full of miseries and is non-permanent. The highest perfection of life, therefore, is to attain his association and nothing else. The Bhakti-yogi being completely engaged in the Lord’s service has no attraction for any other process of liberation like jnana or yoga.
A pure devotee is a 100% devotee of the Lord and nothing more. We should further note in this verse the two words santam and anandam, which denote the devotional service of the Lord can really bestow upon the devotee two important benedictions, namely peace and satisfaction. The impersonalist desires of becoming one with the Supreme or in other words he wants to become the Supreme.
This is a myth only. The mystic-yogis become encumbered by various mystic powers and so have neither peace nor satisfaction. So neither the impersonalist nor the yogi can have real peace and satisfaction.
But the devotee can become fully peaceful and satisfied because of his association with the complete whole. Therefore, merging in the absolute or attaining some mystic powers have no attraction for the devotee. Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all other attractions, the conditioned soul.
As many aspirations such as becoming a religious man, rich man or first-class enjoyer or becoming God himself or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully by getting anything or doing anything. But all these aspirations should be rejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive his dormant love of God. The impure devotee aspires after all of the above-mentioned material things by perfection of devotion.
But a pure devotee has none of the tinges of the above contaminations which are the influence of material desires, impersonal speculations and attainment of mystic powers. One can attain the stage of love of God by pure devotional service or by a learned labor of love for the sake of the devotee’s lovable object, the personality of Godhead. To be more clear, if one wants to attain the stage of love of Godhead, he must give up all desires for material enjoyment.
He should refrain from worshipping any of the demigods and he should devote himself only to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He must give up the foolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and desire to have some wonderful powers just to get the ephemeral adoration of the world. A pure devotee is only favorably engaged in the service of the Lord without any hope of emolument.
This will bring about love of Godhead at the stage of Shantamananam as stated in this verse.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj :
So, the previous verses were talking about how the yogi progresses and eventually gives up all material coverings. And what happens? Then he attains Atma. Of course, who is Atma? Atma can mean Brahman, Atma can mean Paramatma, Atma can mean Bhagavan. So, of course, generally it’s only persons practicing Bhakti who attain the Lord. And thus, the yogi may attain Atma, Brahman, or he may attain Paramatma. So, in any case, as I explained yesterday, whether it is Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan, it’s all one Lord, it’s all spiritual. So, in that sense, it’s far superior to Svargaloka or Brahmaloka. And thus, that person is worthy of praise. But then, as Prabhupada shows in the purport, we often criticize those people who go to the impersonal Brahman and get liberation [Laughs].
So, I also explained yesterday, yes, everything is one, Brahman, Paramatma, Bhagavan, yet, realization of Bhagavan gives best results. Of course, we can say, we talk about Brahmananda, the bliss of Brahman. So, in one sense, because Brahman cannot be separated from Bhagavan, and Bhagavan is sac-cit-ananda, there must be some ananda also in the Brahman. But in realizing Brahman, that ananda portion is very little. So, in that sense, if we realize Paramatma, there is a little more bliss. If we realize Bhagavan, there is complete bliss. So, do you want less bliss or more bliss? So, most people would choose more bliss than less bliss. So, if a person chooses less bliss, then we’ll say, oh, you’re a fool. So, in that sense, people who go for Brahman, we call fools [Laughs]. But, as I said, actually, Brahman is part of the Supreme Lord. So, in that sense, we should not criticize. And we will find in the Upanishads that attainment of Brahman is very profusely praised. That, of course, is relative. The praise is great because the happiness from Svargaloka is so little [Laughs]. And if we get to even Brahmaloka, still, it’s not complete happiness, there’s also some suffering. So, if you attain liberation, no suffering. So, in that sense, it is much superior to attaining any place in the material world.
Furthermore, very few people strive for liberation. Most people like to enjoy in the material world. If they are more fortunate, they will enjoy in the material world, but follow the principles of Dharma. And by following Dharma, they can get a greater percentage of material happiness, less percentage of material suffering. So, most people are content with that. And if we ask, okay, you should go for liberation, then they say, no, we don’t want liberation. But, of course, as Bhagavad Gita also explains, even if you get to Svargaloka and you get enjoyment, it’s all temporary. So, everything is mixed with suffering in the material world.
So, the Vedic text emphasizes, the intelligent person will not stay in the material world. He strives for liberation. But, what is liberation? So, scriptures describe liberation, and they describe it in very attractive terms. So, the scriptures praise liberation. Why? Because they want to attract people to strive for liberation. People will not strive for something unless there is some attraction. And thus, the scriptures will praise liberation as the highest state. Hearing that, then people try to become detached from material world and strive for liberation. So, of course, the people that do strive for liberation are few. And that also means, the people who strive further and try to realize Bhagavan, they are even rarer. And, of course, that’s what Krishna also says in Bhagavad Gita. So, therefore, to recognize Bhagavan, practice Bhakti Yoga, and be a devotee is very rare.
So, the question arises, if Bhakti is so rare, and the Lord is so merciful, how is that possible? We can also ask, well, Brahman is also rare, but it’s the best thing. Why does the Lord make it so rare? So, of course, one answer is that, for everything, you have to be qualified. And, of course, to qualify for Jnana Yoga and liberation, you have to be firmly situated in Sattva guna. And Sattva guna also is rare. Most human beings are in Tamo guna. That’s so right there. Even qualification for liberation is rare. And then, the process itself is very difficult. So, though we may practice, which is rare, attaining the goal, is even rarer.
So, in comparison, when we practice Bhakti Yoga, which also is rare, because it needs qualification, qualification is also a little different. It is rare in the sense that, it does not automatically result from progression in the gunas to Sattva. So, what is the qualification? Qualification is Shraddha, faith. That means, faith in the Bhakti scriptures. So, a person who is willing to accept Bhagavad Gita or Bhagavatam, then he is qualified to be a devotee, practicing [Not clear]. So, developing that faith is rare in the sense that, it is not associated with the gunas at all. So, being in Sattva guna is rare. Brahmins maybe, a few Brahmins are there, everybody else in Tamoguna. But, beyond the gunas, it is even rarer [Laughs].
So, Bhakti is described as Nirguna. And then, of course, we ask, well, if it is Nirguna, how can it be in the material world? Everything in the material world has gunas [Laughs]. So, the answer is, of course, the Lord Himself, who is Nirguna, appears as avatar in the material world. The process of Bhakti and faith also are Nirguna, they also appear in the material world.
So of course bhakti is intimately related with the lord as his internal energy so it is never contaminated by the material world. But then the problem is how do we approach something which is Nirguna? So, as I said, we have to have faith in it. But, where does the faith come from? It cannot come from the gunas. Sattva guna does not produce bhakti or faith. What to speak of Rajo guna or Tama guna [Laughs]? So, in that sense, yes, very rare. It is not automatically. Though the material world has all gunas, there is always sattva guna there someplace. But what is Nirguna [Laughs]? So, as well as Supreme Lord appearing as avatar, Nirguna, process of bhakti also appears, Nirguna. Third, we have devotees, they also appear and they are Nirguna. And since the Lord does not come as avatar all the time, there still are devotees there all the time, who can produce faith and spread bhakti. So this arrangement of the Lord is Lord’s mercy.
The Lord manifests bhakti in the material world through His devotees. And that is why the devotee has to be respected, because he is the way in which we get bhakti. It is through the devotee that we get faith. Ultimately, of course, everything is coming from Supreme Lord. So, we have Nirguna bhakti belonging to the Lord in the spiritual world. It also manifests in devotees and then devotees spread that Nirguna bhakti and faith to others. So in one sense, though bhakti is rare, at the same time, it is not rare when we have devotees to spread it.
And it doesn’t require qualification of Sattva guna. So, if faith develops in a person in tamo guna, then he can practice bhakti. And how will faith develop in a person who is tamo guna? Mercy of devotees. So, by the mercy of devotees, they spread Nirguna faith and Nirguna bhakti. So, by the mercy of devotees, they spread Nirguna faith and Nirguna bhakti. And this allows, through the process of bhakti, we end up with realization, not of Brahman or Paramatma, but realization of Bhagavan. And Bhagavan is full manifestation of Ananda. So this is the real highest goal of the Jiva. It is most praised and thus less praise or even condonation is given to Brahman and Paramatma.
Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, in this verse, anandam anandamayo vasani, etan gathim bhagavatim gato yaha. So, that means, if we want Ananda or related to Ananda, so no other than Bhagavata, Bhakta. So, we can understand in that way, Maharaj.
Well, here one attains Atma, which is bliss and one becomes full of bliss. So, if we can attain something blissful, we become blissful. We attain the Lord who is blissful, we become blissful. But, the only way we can attain the Lord is through the process of bhakti yoga.
2.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, you said bhakti is nirguna. The modes do not have an effect on it. But, while we are doing sadhana, the modes do have an effect, no, Maharaj? Like, while we are chanting, if we are in sattva guna, our chanting is good. If we are in rajo guna, we will be restless. And if we are in tamo guna, we sleep during chanting. So, how does it affect bhakti and how do we understand it, Maharaj?
So, the name and bhakti are nirguna, beyond the material world, swarup shakti of the Lord. Even if they appear in the material world, they cannot be contaminated. However, people who are in tamo guna, rajo guna, or sattva guna can practice bhakti or chant the name. So, in the third canto, Kapila Dev describes tamo guna bhakti, rajo guna bhakti and sattva guna bhakti. So, then the question arises, well, if bhakti is nirguna, how can you say tamasic bhakti [Laughs]? So, bhakti is always pure, but the person who is practicing may be affected by the different gunas. And he practices bhakti in tamo guna, then he may have desire to kill people, harm people, violence, etc. And if he is in rajo guna, he will do bhakti with the desire to get material enjoyments. And if he is in sattva guna, then he may desire to go to brahma loka. So, he is practicing bhakti which is nirguna, but he has intentions, other intentions when he practices. In any case, the bhakti is always there, it is always pure, and he can change his goal, and that can become pure bhakti [Laughs]. So, it all depends on the intentions of the individual practicing bhakti.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, Maharaj, in purport, Prabhupada writes like, only devotee is entering to Vaikuntha planets. It’s like, for example, the yad gatvā na nivartante is only for devotees or a person who is entering into brahmajyoti also.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : For what? For not falling down? If we do look in the Upanishads, they say, if you attain Brahman, you don’t fall down also. This is never said for attaining Svarga Loka or Brahma Loka. At the same time, we say those who attain Brahman they also, if they don’t worship the lord then they fall from the position again. So there seems to be a little contradiction do we fall from Brahman or not fall from Brahman. So, Jiva Goswami and Vishwanath both explain that, if you attain the state of Brahman in this lifetime and become jivan-mukta, but you don’t worship the Lord at all, and rather you offend the Lord, you fall. If you perform Jnana Yoga and you realize Brahman, etc., and you also worship the Lord a little, then when you leave your body, you get liberation and you don’t fall. So, in other words, you can fall from the jivan-mukta state if you don’t worship the Lord.
4.) Hare Krishna maharaj in continuation with the previous answer you gave. The intentions of the sadhaka devotee is almost pure attaining the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Krishna, attaining the pure love. But still the bad impressions of before joining bhakti or past life or due to past life, that stops them or that hampers the practices. How do we understand?
So, we are all advised to do pure bhakti, no material desires. In the Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami describes pure bhakti and he says there are three types – sadhana, bhava and prema. Sadhana bhakti means that we are practicing bhakti, we still have impurities. If we didn’t have any impurities, we would have prema. So, how can we call sadhana bhakti pure bhakti? But then, Rupa Goswami also says, if you don’t do pure bhakti in sadhana, you can’t get bhava or prema. So, there looks like a contradiction. How can it be pure bhakti if you still have impurities [Laughs]? But you have to practice pure bhakti. So, to attain prema, we need a sadhana, a method. And the method means, when we are doing the method, we don’t have prema. Nevertheless, we say the method is pure bhakti. So, at the stage of sadhana, what that means is, yes, we do have impurities, we have anarthas and we are practicing bhakti, which is defined as pure. So, when we practice bhakti, then we are not asking for material benedictions or liberation. But, we still have impurities. But, it is that pure bhakti and sadhana with the impurities, but with the idea of not asking for material benedictions or liberation, which will lead to prema, where there are no impurities at all. So, in the stage of sadhana bhakti, we are striving for that pure state. And if we don’t strive for that pure state, we will never attain it. If we practice mixed bhakti, then what is our goal? It is not prema, so we cannot attain prema.
5.) In 10th Canto 87th chapter of Bhagavatam, prayers by the personified Vedas. Can we say its main emphasis on the Bhagavan feature as compared to the other aspects.
Is it glorifying Bhagavan? Oh, well, in the 87th chapter, the question comes, if Brahman has no material qualities, etc., and cannot be expressed by words, how is it possible that the Vedas can describe the Lord? So, ultimately then the answer is given by the personified Vedas describing the Lord and praising Him [Laughs] when Vishnu was waking up from His sleep. So, then the answer to the question is that the Lord has no material qualities, but He has spiritual qualities. And though we are using the words of the Vedas, they may look like material words, they are not. They are spiritual words. Therefore, spiritual words can describe the Lord’s form, qualities and activities.
6.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Why is that when someone is new to bhakti, they often feel so much joy, excitement and taste in devotional life, even though they may still be in the lower mode of nature? But later, even after becoming more disciplined, spiritually matured, the same intensity is lacking. Sometimes, why does this happen? Even though we are progressing in spirituality, but that enthusiasm which we find in the initial phase of bhakti is somewhere lacking. Why is that so Maharaj?
Of course, there are many reasons for that. Of course, people, when they get something new, they are very enthusiastic after a while not so enthusiastic. You get a new car, you get a new house, you are very enthusiastic. After three months, then it is just normal again [Laughs]. However, with the practice of bhakti, then our faith should increase, our taste should increase. Our enthusiasm should increase. However, we do see that those who are in the beginning stage, called Anartha nivritti, then sometimes they fluctuate. If they practice bhakti purely and properly, then through the process of Anartha nivritti, they come to Nistha, steadiness. So, Nistha means that their faith, their performance of bhakti, their enthusiasm remains constant. Before that, because of the strength of Anarthas, that bhakti, enthusiasm, etc., will be unsteady.
7.) From the point of view of offense. How do we understand the process of devotees criticizing or commenting about Brahmavadis, while Brahman is extensively glorified in Upanishads.
Well, we find that even Madhvacharya and Ramanujacharya, and of course, Lord Caitanya, criticized Mayavadis. The reason they criticize the Mayavadis is, the Mayavadis say, the form of the Lord is material, useless. So then they become aparadhis. If someone does not offend the Lord in any way then fine, we don’t criticize.
8.) Without little bhakti, a yogi cannot attain the Supreme Lord. So, naturally, he will fall down from that position, and he will try to understand that. Is this understanding correct?
So, karma yoga, jnana yoga, astanga yoga, to get their results, they all require respect for the Lord. So, the karma yogi cannot get svarga, and the jnana yogi cannot get liberation, unless they respect the Lord, and do not offend him.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!