Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.10 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 30 May 2026
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 2 Chapter 3 Verse 10.
ŚB 2.3.10
अकाम: सर्वकामो वा मोक्षकाम उदारधी: ।
तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन यजेत पुरुषं परम् ॥ १० ॥
akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param
Synonyms
akāmaḥ — one who has transcended all material desires; sarva-kāmaḥ — one who has the sum total of material desires; vā — either; mokṣa-kāmaḥ — one who desires liberation; udāra-dhīḥ — with broader intelligence; tīvreṇa — with great force; bhakti-yogena — by devotional service to the Lord; yajeta — should worship; puruṣam — the Lord; param — the supreme whole.
Translation
A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.
Purport
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is described in the Bhagavad-gītā as puruṣottama, or the Supreme Personality. It is He only who can award liberation to the impersonalists by absorbing such aspirants in the brahmajyoti, the bodily rays of the Lord. The brahmajyoti is not separate from the Lord, as the glowing sun ray is not independent of the sun disc. Therefore one who desires to merge into the supreme impersonal brahmajyoti must also worship the Lord by bhakti-yoga, as recommended here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhakti-yoga is especially stressed here as the means of all perfection. In the previous chapters it has been stated that bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal of both karma-yoga and jñāna-yoga, and in the same way in this chapter it is emphatically declared that bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal of the different varieties of worship of the different demigods. Bhakti-yoga, thus being the supreme means of self-realization, is recommended here. Everyone must therefore seriously take up the methods of bhakti-yoga, even though one aspires for material enjoyment or liberation from material bondage.
Akāmaḥ is one who has no material desire. A living being, naturally being the part and parcel of the supreme whole puruṣaṁ pūrṇam, has as his natural function to serve the Supreme Being, just as the parts and parcels of the body, or the limbs of the body, are naturally meant to serve the complete body. Desireless means, therefore, not to be inert like the stone, but to be conscious of one’s actual position and thus desire satisfaction only from the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this desirelessness as bhajanīya-parama-puruṣa-sukha-mātra-sva-sukhatvam in his Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord. This intuition of the living being is sometimes manifested even during the conditioned stage of a living being in the material world, and such intuition is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism, etc., by the undeveloped minds of less intelligent persons. In the mundane field such an outlook of doing good to others in the form of society, community, family, country or humanity is a partial manifestation of the same original feeling in which a pure living entity feels happiness by the happiness of the Supreme Lord. Such superb feelings were exhibited by the damsels of Vrajabhūmi for the happiness of the Lord. The gopīs loved the Lord without any return, and this is the perfect exhibition of the akāmaḥ spirit. Kāma spirit, or the desire for one’s own satisfaction, is fully exhibited in the material world, whereas the spirit of akāmaḥ is fully exhibited in the spiritual world.
Thoughts of becoming one with the Lord, or being merged in the brahmajyoti, can also be exhibitions of kāma spirit if they are desires for one’s own satisfaction to be free from the material miseries. A pure devotee does not want liberation so that he may be relieved from the miseries of life. Even without so-called liberation, a pure devotee is aspirant for the satisfaction of the Lord. Influenced by the kāma spirit, Arjuna declined to fight in the Kurukṣetra battlefield because he wanted to save his relatives for his own satisfaction. But being a pure devotee, he agreed to fight on the instruction of the Lord because he came to his senses and realized that satisfaction of the Lord at the cost of his own satisfaction was his prime duty. Thus he became akāma. That is the perfect stage of a perfect living being.
Udāra-dhīḥ means one who has a broader outlook. People with desires for material enjoyment worship small demigods, and such intelligence is condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) as hṛta-jñāna, the intelligence of one who has lost his senses. One cannot obtain any result from demigods without getting sanction from the Supreme Lord. Therefore a person with a broader outlook can see that the ultimate authority is the Lord, even for material benefits. Under the circumstances, one with a broader outlook, even with the desire for material enjoyment or for liberation, should take to the worship of the Lord directly. And everyone, whether an akāma or sakāma or mokṣa-kāma, should worship the Lord with great expedience. This implies that bhakti-yoga may be perfectly administered without any mixture of karma and jñāna. As the unmixed sun ray is very forceful and is therefore called tīvra, similarly unmixed bhakti-yoga of hearing, chanting, etc., may be performed by one and all regardless of inner motive.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this is a very famous verse, and it follows the last verse in which the conclusion was that in any case you should worship the Supreme Lord. So here he gives three terms akama, sarvakama and moksha-kama. So sarvakama means people that have all material desires, such as the people who worship these various demigods listed previously. And then we have moksha-kama, those who desire liberation. And this liberation means worship the impersonal Brahman. So we have the third term akama, which means no desire. So it can obviously not be the materialist with all desires. And the one who desires liberation is also without material desires.
So what does akama mean? So therefore we find in this purport an explanation where akama means one who has devotion. So Prabhupada quotes from Jiva Goswami where he says bhajanīya-parama-puruṣa-sukha-mātra-sva-sukhatvam, that means that one’s happiness is to give happiness to the Supreme Lord. So we find that the materialist desires his own happiness. What about the impersonalist? He also wants the happiness of escaping from material world. But the devotee desires neither material happiness or the happiness of liberation, getting out of the material world. In other words, he does not desire a place in the material world or outside the material world. But then how do we say that he can’t be without desire? Because he desires to go to spiritual world.
So certainly some devotees may desire that. But Bhagavatam says the devotee doesn’t desire salokya, sarupya, sarishti, samipya or sayuja. He doesn’t desire any of these. So he doesn’t desire in the sense that that’s his goal. So his desire is to serve the Lord. And to serve the Lord is not for his benefit, but to please the Lord. So in other words, his happiness is to give happiness to the Lord. So that is a desire that the devotee can have. So of course, then we can say, well, then he’s not akama in one sense [Laughs]. But at least he does not have the kama of the material person or the person desiring liberation.
So of course, that is also expressed in the definition of bhakti given in Nectar of Devotion. So the basic definition is that one establishes a loving relationship with the Lord. Without the desire for material benefits or liberation. But it says anya abhilasa, without other desires. So obviously, it’s implied he has a desire to serve the Lord. So therefore, this shows that jiva ultimately is not without desire, but it’s desire is directed towards pleasure of the Lord.
So this we can say is the natural quality of the jiva. However, it is distorted in many ways due to our ignorance. So in the material world, this is replaced with kama. So desire is there, but it is a desire for our own happiness. And spiritual desire is to desire happiness, not for the self, but for the Lord. So the whole process of bhakti is to produce this conversion, so to speak. So in the process of bhakti, gradually a person withdraws from his own happiness and gets the desire to serve the Lord’s happiness more and more.
So in this way, the devotee transforms kama into prema. And how he does that is, he transfers the object of his desire from himself to the Lord. So of course, in this process, the jiva gets something for himself. So we desire to serve the Lord for his happiness, but then result is, that is our happiness. So in the material world, we only desire our happiness. But in prema, we desire happiness of the Lord, and that produces our happiness. So this, of course, indicates also that the desire for happiness is also intrinsic in the jiva. But in the material world, that desire for happiness turns into desire of happiness for oneself. And in the spiritual world, it is desire for Krishna’s happiness which produces our happiness.
So we may ask why we have this strange arrangement? Simply desiring one’s own happiness is more direct. And to get happiness by giving happiness to someone else is indirect. So the answer to that is, this has to be the condition because the jiva is always a jiva, and he is dependent on the Supreme Lord. And that is why we clearly define nature of jiva and nature of the Supreme Lord within our philosophy. We always think of the jiva as amsa. And that never changes. Supreme Lord is not an amsa. He is amsi, the source and the shelter of the amsa.
So Prabhupada in the purport gives an example. The parts of the body, like the amsas, the hands and the feet, they are not independent of the whole body. They serve the body. So in the same way, the jivas serve the Supreme Lord. So if we desire our own happiness, this is a little bit contradictory to that position. It’s like a group of people and they have a leader.
And by nature, the people are in the group, so they have to serve the leader. But then the follower can say, I don’t want to serve him [Laughs]. So the only way he can do that is to leave the group and start his own [Laughs]. He becomes a leader himself [Laughs]. In that way, he doesn’t have to serve. So that is the position of the jiva in the material world. He doesn’t want to serve the Lord. However, the problem is he’s always a jiva and the jiva is naturally a servant of the Lord. He is always amsa. He cannot change that.
So the only way he can act independently is through illusion. And thus we have jivas getting material bodies and identifying with material bodies and trying to enjoy. But it is unnatural. So all attempts to get happiness through that ultimately are failures. So the first step in restoring order is that the jiva accepts his position as dependent on the Lord. So if a person develops faith, that person has a willingness to serve the Lord. And if to do that service, then when it becomes perfect, then he becomes satisfied. So that happiness or satisfaction is also natural to the jiva. But it must be based upon the jiva admitting himself as dependent on the Lord.
So therefore, to practice bhakti, we do need some philosophical basis. And a lot of the effort of the Acharyas is to defeat the opposition to this idea that the jiva is dependent on the Lord. And of course, the main opposition is the Mayavada philosophy. And in that philosophy, the jiva is not an eternal, separate, dependent particle. He is actually the supreme himself under illusion. If we remove the illusion, that jiva becomes Brahman. So that is very, very different from removing the illusion and becoming the eternal servant of the Lord in the spiritual world. And thus, we have repeated emphasis upon this difference in many places in the Bhagavatam.
Okay. Hare Krishna.
Q & A :
1.) Hare Krishna. Maharaj, thank you for the wonderful class. I have two questions. One, can a disciple be more progressed than Guru?
Yeah, of course, we have the example of Dhruva and his mother. His mother acted as a Siksha Guru, but Dhruva surpassed her. And he saw the Supreme Lord, and when he got, he went to the pole star, then he took his mother with him. So, it all depends on the spiritual position of that Guru, and of course the spiritual position of the disciple.
2.) Thank you Maharaj. Maharaj in this sloka, there are three words, akama, then sarvakama and moksha–kama. So, we see that this akama means who doesn’t have desires. We have many examples in scriptures, pure devotees who have no desires. Like Prabhupada gave example of gopis. Then sarvakama is also demigods who worship the Lord and still they get their own desires fulfilled, but they remain the devotee. But is there any example, Maharaj, where a devotee came and he achieved moksha or he entered into the Lord, doing bhakti, but he wanted moksha from the Lord. Any example Maharaj, like that?
As it is stated in the purport, if a person desires liberation, to get liberation, he must worship the Lord. So, this is also stated in other places of the Bhagavatam, that if a person desires liberation and doesn’t worship the Lord, he will not get liberation. So if he really desires liberation, he will also worship the Lord, and then by the mercy of the Lord, he gets liberation. So, such a person does some bhakti but we don’t call him a devotee. That is because the bhakti is a anga, or a minor portion of his full sadhana. Amd his main sadhana is jnana yoga, vedanta, etc. So, only if the jnani also does some bhakti, can he get liberation. And the opposite is a person who does bhakti as the main process, and maybe he does a little bit of jnana. So, this we call jnana-misra-bhakti. But it is different, because it is mostly bhakti, and a little bit of jnana. So, his main desire is to serve the Lord, worship the Lord, attain the Lord. But because of that little mixture of jnana, it is slightly weakened, and he has also a little bit of impersonal conception of the Lord. So, that person goes beyond sayuja, merging, and he gets salokya, etc. But because of that mixture with the jnana and consequently, the bhakti being weak, then his position in the spiritual world also is weak, even though he is in the spiritual world. So, he gets like santa-rati or something.
Devotee: In that case, Maharaj, can we say four Kumaras are in that?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, they are actually devotees in santa-rasa.
Devotee: Can we say they are jnana-mishra bhaktas?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: They can in one sense, because they are preaching jnana in that sense, but actually they are eternal shaktyavesa avatars of the Lord. So, it’s a little bit different [Laughs]. So, we say they are devotees, but in santa-rasa.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, when I go for dressing, making turban like that, how to know if Krishna is satisfied are not?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What?
Devotee: His question is, he is doing pujari seva, so when he dresses the Lord, he is making a nice turban for the Lord. So, how to understand that the Lord is pleased with his dressing?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, when we are serving the Lord, then we should get some satisfaction. In the spiritual world, when we fully realize the Lord, that becomes ananda. When we are doing sadhana bhakti, we don’t have prema, so we don’t get ananda. But we still get some satisfaction from bhakti. And that satisfaction is superior to the satisfaction from material enjoyment. So, we can say it’s a shadow of the ananda. So, if Krishna is pleased, then we get that satisfaction.
Devotee: Maharaj, in that case, how do we see that actually it is not satisfaction of ego, and it is a satisfaction of heart?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yes, it can go either way, because we are still contaminated with anarthas. And thus, as devotees, we have to be on guard. So, of course, if the ego or whatever manifests in other realms, then it may be a little more obvious. And if it arises by directly serving the deity of the Lord, it may not be so obvious. So, to safeguard, then the devotee has to be very careful in his performance of sadhana. So, in other words, we are cultivating the relationship with Krishna with favorability. And we cannot forget that when we are doing service to the deity. If that service attitude is replaced by doing the service for our own ego or whatever, then we lose the bhakti. So, thus, we always have to be introspective and see that we are doing things with the proper motivation.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, while we are chanting, what are the important things we should have in mind to do the chanting properly? For example, we should follow that 10 rules, we should not do the 10 offenses while we are chanting. Likewise, are there any other things which we should follow while chanting?
Well, yeah, we avoid certain things like the offenses. But our process is not simply negative, avoiding things. There’s also positive things we do. So, our principle is always remember Krishna. That’s the positive. And don’t forget that. That’s the negative one [Laughs]. So, in chanting, then the process of course involves our senses. But in involving our senses, the main idea is to use the senses in order to please the Lord. So, we use the senses to glorify the Lord. And to fix our mind on remembrance of the Lord. With the intention of pleasing Him. Well, that’s the most important element in the chanting.
5.) What prayers can we offer to the Paramatma who is residing in our heart? And how will that Paramatma respond to our prayers?
Well, rather than pray to Paramatma, we pray to Krishna. And we have plenty of prayers to Krishna. So, Krishna is directly interested in our bhakti. So, He responds.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!