Srimad Bhagavatam – 2.3.9 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 29, 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 3 Verse 9.
ŚB 2.3.9
राज्यकामो मनून् देवान् निऋर्तिं त्वभिचरन् यजेत् ।
कामकामो यजेत् सोममकाम: पुरुषं परम् ॥ ९ ॥
rājya-kāmo manūn devān\
nirṛtiṁ tv abhicaran yajet
kāma-kāmo yajet somam
akāmaḥ puruṣaṁ param
Synonyms
rājya-kāmaḥ — anyone desiring an empire or kingdom; manūn — the Manus, semi-incarnations of God; devān — demigods; nirṛtim — demons; tu — but; abhicaran — desiring victory over the enemy; yajet — should worship; kāma-kāmaḥ — one who desires sense gratification; yajet — should worship; somam — the demigod named Candra; akāmaḥ — one who has no material desires to be fulfilled; puruṣam — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; param — the Supreme.
Translation
One who desires domination over a kingdom or an empire should worship the Manus. One who desires victory over an enemy should worship the demons, and one who desires sense gratification should worship the moon. But one who desires nothing of material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Purport
For a liberated person, all the enjoyments listed above are considered to be absolutely useless. Only those who are conditioned by the material modes of external energy are captivated by different types of material enjoyment. In other words, the transcendentalist has no material desires to be fulfilled, whereas the materialist has all types of desires to be fulfilled. The Lord has proclaimed that the materialists, who desire material enjoyment and thus seek the favor of different demigods, as above mentioned, are not in control of their senses and so give themselves to nonsense. One should therefore not desire any sort of material enjoyment, being sensible enough to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The leaders of nonsensical persons are still more nonsensical because they preach openly and foolishly that one can worship any form of demigod and get the same result. This sort of preaching is not only against the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā, or those of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but is also foolish, just as it is foolish to claim that with the purchase of any travel ticket one may reach the same destination. No one can reach Bombay from Delhi by purchasing a ticket for Baroda. It is clearly defined herein that persons impregnated with different desires have different modes of worship, but one who has no desire for material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. And this worshiping process is called devotional service. Pure devotional service means service to the Lord without any tinge of material desires, including desire for fruitive activity and empiric speculation. For fulfillment of material desires one may worship the Supreme Lord, but the result of such worship is different, as will be explained in the next verse. Generally the Lord does not fulfill anyone’s material desires for sense enjoyment, but He awards such benedictions to worshipers of the Lord, for they ultimately come to the point of not desiring material enjoyment. The conclusion is that one must minimize the desires for material enjoyment, and for this one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described here as param, or beyond anything material. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has also stated, nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt: the Supreme Lord is beyond the material encirclement.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, we have a whole series of verses here about worshipping different Devatas for different material purposes. In fact, there is a whole list given I think in this verse 2-7, a whole list of all sorts of Devatas you can worship for certain benefits. So we may ask why we have so many Devatas. We will see if you go to a standard temple and you go to the Gopuram, all over the Gopuram, there is all these figures of Devatas everywhere. And people become confused especially people from the western world because they use the one God and everybody is worshipping all these different forms.
One answer of course actually they are not Supreme Lord so there can be many if they are not Supreme. Another answer is that people have so many desires. And each particular deity fulfills a certain desire. So if you want money you go to Kubera. If you want some other thing, you go to some other Devata. So because of many desires we have many Devatas and many types of worship. And in Bhagavad Gita, Krsna says this is a ‘Bahu Shaka’, many branches and they are actually ‘Ananta’, endless desires and therefore endless number of Devatas. Nevertheless, it is better to do some worship to help you attain your material desire than do no worship. And therefore, the Vedic literatures describe many different types of worship for different deities. And by that worship one automatically accepts the fact that one is not the controller.
As well when one worships one has to give something. So people go to the temple and they pray for something. But they also give something, they may give a flower, they may give some water, they may give some sweets or something. So in other words, they are expressing some sort of devotion to that particular deity even though it is not pure devotion. So, in this way, when people do accept some higher authority and also show some sort of devotion, it becomes beneficial and purifying for them. So all of this worship is a type of purification. And in fact, Vedavyasa himself in writing Tamasic Puranas and Rajasic Puranas, is telling people to worship different deities in Tamo guna or in Rajo guna. And the purpose is to purify the people and help them to get to Sattva guna. When they come to Sattva guna, they are advised to worship Vishnu. And though they may be contaminated with Sattva guna in their worship of Vishnu, eventually they become purified of that and they get to Bhakti.
So in that sense all these different types of worship are catering to many types of people in many gunas. And the goal is to gradually purify everybody. So in that sense we could say that Vedas are quite merciful to all types of people. Because the ultimate goal is to get them to Sattva guna and from Sattva guna to get them out of the material world. Still we’ll see in Bhagavad Gita and also here in Bhagavatam, ultimately Krishna says, ‘it’s all a waste of time’. Why is it a waste of time if it’s in the Vedic literature?
So one reason is, it’s a waste of time in Kali Yuga. To follow these other processes in Kali Yuga does not have the proper effect. One quality of people is not very intelligent. So, therefore, they cannot see the ultimate goal of scripture and they just get attached to their material gratification.
Another characteristic of Kali Yuga is they are very disturbed by material enjoyment. So instead of getting purified by that worship, they remain stuck in worshipping to get more sense gratification.
And another characteristic of people in Kali Yuga is they tend to be lazy. So if they are doing this process of worshipping some Devata, they are too lazy to switch over and learn something else.
Another quality of people in Kali Yuga is short life span. So we see in other Yugas they may live for thousands and thousands of years. So they can progress even in one lifetime but in Kali Yuga life is so short they hardly get any progress at all.
Another reason of course is that all of this can take place if we have a society which is in proper order. That is, we have a king who enforces Varanashrama system. But that also is not present in Kali Yuga.
So therefore, this system of worshipping Devatas and gradually getting purified is not recommended.
So then of course if we can’t do this and gradually progress and we are at the bottom of the society and scale of human life, what do we do? So the answer is we worship the Supreme Lord. So everybody doesn’t have to go through this process, alternative is do Bhakti, worship Supreme Lord. Of course, in this particular verse it says, if we don’t have any desires then we worship Supreme Lord. And as Prabhupada explains in the purport, the Lord himself is not so interested in giving material benedictions. However, the Lord can give material benedictions also and He does so. So even if you have all material desires still worship the Supreme Lord.
So that’s also mentioned here in second canto, ‘akāmaḥ’, no desires, or ‘Sarvakama’, all desires worship the Supreme Lord. So we cannot give the excuse because I have all desires I can’t worship the Lord, I’ll have to worship Devatas, no, the Lord can also supply all desires. So in any case whatever desire or no desire or whatever, worship of the Supreme Lord is better. And why? Because it’s a quicker way to get to the final goal and get out of the material world and get to the spiritual world. Of course, just as if you are in sattva guna and worshipping Vishnu, you can proceed to pure bhakti, so if you start devotional service with desires for material things or liberation, you can also eventually give those up. So, worship of the Lord in any case is good but best worship is worship with pure bhakti, no material desires, no desire for liberation. If you worship the Lord for material things definitely you get material things. So instead of having many material desires and worshipping many Devatas, if you have many material desires you worship only one Lord. And if you desire liberation, you worship the same Lord. And if you desire Prema, you worship the same Lord. So instead of worshipping many Devatas just worship one Lord. So all desires are fulfilled. So in this way the Lord is like a desire tree or a cintamani. So, instead of being many branched, worshipping many things and diverting one’s attention to many things, one concentrates only on one Supreme Lord.
However, even spiritually speaking, we have different types of people. So even if you are practicing pure bhakti, we have many different varieties of people. So the Lord comes in many forms. And thus you can worship Vishnu or Narsimhadeva or Ramachandra or Hayagriva or Krishna. So, in this way, the Lord accounts for the variety in the Jivas. And because they are all one Supreme Lord, ultimately one Bhagavan, we don’t say many Gods, there is only one Supreme Lord. However, generally it is advised, better than worshipping many forms of the Lord, you focus on one form. Otherwise you become divided, ‘Bahu Shaka’, your attention is divided among worshipping many forms of the Lord. And thus in a temple generally you have one deity there and you worship that deity. And if we are worshipping many forms of the Lord then our attention gets more divided.
So, as much as possible, we don’t want our attention divided. The more concentrated it is, then the better effect we get. And thus when you get Diksha, the Guru gives you a mantra for worshipping the deity, he gives you one deity to worship, not many deities. So in this way, we are trying to focus the mind. So first we choose one object of worship, Supreme Lord. And then we take one form of the Lord to worship. And even in worshipping that one form, we do it without material desires, without desire for liberation. So in this way, the worship becomes very concentrated. And of course because it is Supreme Lord, we get completely different results than from worshipping all these Devatas. So this of course is the main theme of Bhagavatam itself.
Vedavyasa, he wrote the Puranas, he wrote Mahabharata, he had written the Vedanta Sutras, he divided the Vedas, but he was unsatisfied. All of these were attempts to bring out the conclusion of the Vedas. But still, Vedavyasa was unsatisfied. And then Narada Muni came and said, yes, you are dissatisfied because this is going to still confuse people in Kali Yuga. Generally, of course, Vedic literature gives you alternatives, if you can’t do this, do this, if you can’t do this, do this, if you can’t do this, do this. So Narada Muni said, well, in Kali Yuga, this is just like escape, you can escape this way or that way and you are not really coming to the conclusion. So let everyone concentrate on one goal, not many people many goals, so everybody worship Krishna. So, here we have part of that process of doing that, we have all the Devatas to worship and finally, okay, don’t do that, worship Supreme Lord instead. And we’ve already seen the discussion of the Ashtanga Yoga and then finally, better than Ashtanga Yoga, just do Bhakti Yoga. And in other parts of the Bhagavatam, then he’ll have whole descriptions of whole Varanashrama system, Karma Yoga, etc. and he said, better than that, you just do Bhakti. In other places, he has whole description of all the different Siddhis you can get, but then he said, better than that is Bhakti. So, Vyasadeva in the Bhagavatam is rejecting all the other processes in favour of Bhakti. But then he’s also selecting Krishna as the ultimate form of worship.
We’ll see through Cantos 3 through 9, all description of all the different Avatars like Varaha and Narsimhadeva and Ramachandra and whatever. But then we come to the 10th Canto and we have Krishna as the object of worship. So the message of Bhagavatam is, concentrate on one deity, that deity is Krishna. So that is how our Acharyas explained that this is the theme of Bhagavatam and every statement in the Bhagavatam that may contradict that, has to be harmonized with that one object of glorifying Krishna. Of course, we can quote Bhagavatam to do anything we want because it has many different statements there, but finally, worship of Krishna is the ultimate conclusion.
Hare Krsna!
Q & A :
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, I have two questions Maharaj. One is, seniors, when we approach seniors, seniors tell us like, situations, we complain about situations to seniors and they will tell that, this is happening sometimes because of Krishna’s will. But, there is something, sometimes it has happened by our ego also. Like, how to distinguish or discriminate this is happening by Krishna’s will or this is happening by my ego?
Well, for any individual, there are many factors. One, of course, is the individual, the jiva. And along with that jiva, then we have his subtle body, then his mind, his desires, etc. And then we have his karma. And finally, we have Supreme Lord. So, in the material world, generally the Supreme Lord is rather neutral, and even as paramatma, He simply observes. So, we have the jiva, his desires and his karma working [Laughs]. And it is by the jiva’s choice, and of course, mercy of devotees, that one begins to practice devotional service. And when we begin the process of devotional service, then we have another factor. That is Bhagavan. So, the Lord gives guidance in regards to spiritual progress. So, Krishna says, I give you the intelligence by which you can come to me. However, in the beginning of devotional service, we may not be sensitive to those instructions because we do have more coverings of maya. And the more we advance, then the more we can take the guidance of the internal Guru [Laughs]. So, as for, what are the factors, as long as we are in the material world, of course, we do have a body, we do have a mind, we may have influence of karma. But the more we advance, then the more we can say the influence of the Supreme Lord becomes evident. But in our beginning stages of devotional service, we shouldn’t give the excuse, it’s all Krishna’s mercy, I have done all these mistakes [Laughs].
2.) Maharaj, my second question Maharaj. Even when practicing pure devotional service, the desire we have is very subtle. It seems like a spiritual desire, but we have material things in it. So, my question is like, dovetailing our desire in Krishna consciousness comes under material desire?
In the definition of yukta-vairagya, in which we engage things in Krishna’s service, in that definition, it says nirbandha, which means, there should be constant connection with Krishna. So, we may have material goals and material desires, and we can funnel that with Krishna. But, we have to see the extent that it is for Krishna or for ourself [Laughs].
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. So, Maharaj, you were talking about pure devotion. So if a devotee, he’s taking shelter of the Lord in all kinds of situation means, like, like even for the smallest situations, be it good or bad, we say it to the Lord. For example, something good happens in his life, he is extremely grateful to the Lord. The first thing he thinks of is the Lord. And even if something small, bad thing happens in his life, he is again thinking of the Lord, taking shelter, he is praying so that he comes up to the better situation. So is this the right way of approach in the neophyte stage towards pure bhakti Maharaj? Or should he be very careful to be neutral while praying to the Lord?
So one can always express gratitude or think of gratitude to the Lord for any beneficial arrangement for one’s devotional service. And if we have misfortunes or whatever, then we don’t blame it on the Lord. As Bhagavatam says, one accepts that as self-produced misfortune. Some previous karma is affecting us and the karma was caused because of our previous actions. So he tolerates that situation and continues his devotional service.
4.) Hare Krishna. Maharaj, you were mentioning that different Puranas, Vyasadeva has mentioned different kinds of worship to different demigods. But why is there a mention of the demigod being supreme one in this? Like Lord Shiva is the Supreme or Devi is the supreme? Why is that kind of a mention in Vedas?
So the Vedic literatures often use exaggerated praise. In order to induce people to do something. So to get a person to worship some devata, then you have to say this devata is the best [Laughs]. If you say worship this devata to get all your desires fulfilled, but actually he is just a material being and he is not very advanced, then you won’t worship [Laughs]. And thus, even karma kanda and karma yoga is praised as the best, even in Bhagavad Gita. So in reading the Vedic literatures, we have to use our intelligence. And with our intelligence we will see there are contradictory statements. And then we have to resolve the contradiction. So we have to see which is the strongest statement.
5.) Maharaj, you mentioned that different forms we have to be concentrating on just one form of the Lord. Because the more concentrated we are, the more it is beneficial. So even if there is one form of the Lord Maharaj, there are different moods in which we would worship. Like there is Jagannath, there is Dwarakadhish, there is Vrindavan Krishna. Then Mahaprabhu specifically mentions Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanaya [Caitanya-mañjusā]. So that kind of a mood, even that kind of concentrated bhakti, it should be there Maharaj?
Even with Krishna, of course, because we do have different rasas, then you could choose any rasa. So then if we choose one rasa, we should not switch over to something else [Laughs].
6.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, dandavat pranam.This is about like attaining prema. While practicing sadhana bhakti, we are trying to do all the activities of bhakti towards the prema. But during this process, suddenly we are getting angry with other devotees. Is this right? How to get out of this situation Maharaj?
So we see the list of qualities of devotees listed and anger is not one of the qualities listed for devotees [Laughs]. So therefore it is some sort of anartha. And therefore, we have to uproot the anartha. So of course how do we uproot it? Of course, we have to recognize it as anartha, something that is not wanted and then we have to perform bhakti to purify ourselves. Anger itself arises because we have some material attachment.
7.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, as a sadhaka while doing my bhajana, how should be my mood Maharaj?
Well, in the beginning of devotional service, the main mood is we try to worship the Lord, surrender to the Lord with no material expectations. We merely try to endeavor for an affectionate service attitude.
8.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. [Not clear] philosophy currently we took up, such as short life span and being lazy and non intelligent. So we should not waste time worshiping devatas. But even as devotees [Not clear] we have these problems. Without chanting all my 16 rounds or reading the literature of the Goswamis which are difficult to understand. So can we adopt a method where someone can tell me which associate of the Lord I should follow, so that I can concentrate on that, without wasting time and achieving eternal service in this lifetime itself?
So it all depends on qualification. First when we begin devotional service, what are we qualified? For worshipping Krishna. So then the worship is very general. And as we advance, then we can become more specific in how we worship Krishna. However, if we are still at a stage, where we are trying to become steady, then it is distraction to try to strive for something higher. So in other words, first we come to the stage of nistha. And from then, that point onwards, then we can start exploring different ways we can worship Krishna.
9.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, if my family members are not devotees and I find it difficult to practice devotional service and I pray that let my family become favorable so that I can practice devotional nicely, would that be considered a material desire? Maharaj, would that be considered a material desire?
So if it is connected with devotional service and something favorable to bhakti, then there is no problem. In any case, we are preaching to deliver all the fallen souls, which also include your relatives [Laughs].
10.) Maharaj, I have one more question. So I know some devotees who do pranayama before chanting. They do pranayama for almost one hour. That is when the mind becomes calm and then I am able to chant better. So is that practice okay, like what is your opinion Maharaj?
So the answer is that we accept everything if it is favorable for our devotional service. And of course, favorable means it supports pure bhakti, does not distract from it. So if it aids their chanting, fine. If on the other hand it becomes distracting and it becomes a whole process in itself, then it becomes unfavorable.
11.) Maharaj, one follow up question please. Maharaj, you said, we have to come to nishtha. So is it enough that I am chanting 16 rounds and following the regulative principles for few years? Can I consider that as nishtha?
So nistha means that one can carry out one’s regular practices with minimum of disturbance. But it does not define how much service or how many rounds you can do.
12.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, while answering one of the questions in another class, you said Paramatma has nothing to do with our devotional service. While answering today’s question, you said, internally the Caitya Guru will instruct us. Who is that Chaitya Guru if Paramatma has nothing to do with our devotional service?
That’s Krishna.
13.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, what is the difference between Vaivartavada and Mayavada Maharaj?
Mayavada is Vaivartavada, same thing. Same thing.
14.) How can we know that we are gradually progressing in sadhana bhakti? Are there any symptoms?
So, there is two signs. One is that the material obstacles and anarthas decrease. The other is, our attraction to Krishna increases. So, in other words, the more if we are advanced, we can do devotional service with less disturbance and interruption. And we feel satisfied with devotional service and less attached to anything in the material world.
15.) When jiva comes to the state of highest spiritual consciousness, they can participate in the Krishna lila. In which stage it happens and how the jiva can gradually connect to that particular rasa?
So, the first realization will come in bhava stage. And then rasa becomes fully manifested in prema.
16.) Material desires are not needed for the conditioned soul. So, my question is, in order to purify the consciousness, how do we approach the material world?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: How do we approach the?
Devotee: How do we approach the material world? What should be our approach in living in the material world, dealing with the material situations?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh. So, in approaching the material world as a devotee, because of our practice of bhakti, we show less and less attraction as we develop bhakti. So, as this particular purport is explaining, as a devotee, then, we show very little interest in these material things like kingdom. If the material attractions are so strong, then it is very difficult to practice bhakti. So, to begin bhakti, there is not too much material attraction, and when we do bhakti, it becomes less and less.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!