Srimad Bhagavatam – 2.6.34 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | Oct 14, 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 6 Verse 34.
ŚB 2.6.34
न भारती मेऽङ्ग मृषोपलक्ष्यते
न वै क्वचिन्मे मनसो मृषा गति: ।
न मे हृषीकाणि पतन्त्यसत्पथे
यन्मे हृदौत्कण्ठ्यवता धृतो हरि: ॥ ३४ ॥
na bhāratī me ’ṅga mṛṣopalakṣyate
na vai kvacin me manaso mṛṣā gatiḥ
na me hṛṣīkāṇi patanty asat-pathe
yan me hṛdautkaṇṭhyavatā dhṛto hariḥ
Synonyms
na — never; bhāratī — statements; me — mine; aṅga — O Nārada; mṛṣā — untruth; upalakṣyate — prove to be; na — never; vai — certainly; kvacit — at any time; me — mine; manasaḥ — of the mind; mṛṣā — untruth; gatiḥ — progress; na — nor; me — mine; hṛṣīkāṇi — senses; patanti — degrades; asat-pathe — in temporary matter; yat — because; me — mine; hṛdā — heart; autkaṇṭhyavatā — by great earnestness; dhṛtaḥ — caught hold of; hariḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation
O Nārada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter.
Purport
Lord Brahmā is the original speaker of Vedic wisdom to Nārada, and Nārada is the distributor of transcendental knowledge all over the world through his various disciples, like Vyāsadeva and others. The followers of Vedic wisdom accept the statements of Brahmājī as gospel truth, and transcendental knowledge is thus being distributed all over the world by the process of disciplic succession from time immemorial, since the beginning of the creation. Lord Brahmā is the perfect liberated living being within the material world, and any sincere student of transcendental knowledge must accept the words and statements of Brahmājī as infallible. The Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down directly from the Supreme Lord unto the heart of Brahmā, and since he is the most perfect living being, Brahmājī is always correct to the letter. And this is because Lord Brahmā is a great devotee of the Lord who has earnestly accepted the lotus feet of the Lord as the supreme truth. In the Brahma-saṁhitā, which is compiled by Brahmājī, he repeats the aphorism govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi: “I am a worshiper of the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, the primeval Lord.” So whatever he says, whatever he thinks, and whatever he does normally in his mood are to be accepted as truth because of his direct and very intimate connection with Govinda, the primeval Lord. Śrī Govinda, who pleasingly accepts the loving transcendental service of His devotees, gives all protection to the words and actions of His devotees. The Lord declares in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi: “O son of Kuntī, please declare it.” The Lord asks Arjuna to declare, and why? Because sometimes the declaration of Govinda Himself may seem contradictory to mundane creatures, but the mundaner will never find any contradiction in the words of the Lord’s devotees. The devotees are especially protected by the Lord so that they may remain infallible. Therefore the process of devotional service always begins in the service of the devotee who appears in disciplic succession. The devotees are always liberated, but that does not mean that they are impersonal. The Lord is a person eternally, and the devotee of the Lord is also a person eternally. Because the devotee has his sense organs even at the liberated stage, he is therefore a person always. And because the devotee’s service is accepted by the Lord in full reciprocation, the Lord is also a person in His complete spiritual embodiment. The devotee’s senses, being engaged in the service of the Lord, never go astray under the attraction of false material enjoyment. The plans of the devotee never go in vain, and all this is due to the faithful attachment of the devotee for the service of the Lord. This is the standard of perfection and liberation. Anyone, beginning from Brahmājī down to the human being, is at once put on the path of liberation simply by his attachment in great earnestness for the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Lord. The Lord affirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.26):
māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
Anyone, therefore, who is earnestly serious in heart and soul about being in intimate touch with the Personality of Godhead in the relationship of transcendental loving service will always be infallible in words and action. The reason is that the Supreme Lord is Absolute Truth, and anything earnestly dovetailed with the Absolute Truth attains the same transcendental quality. On the other hand, any amount of mental speculation on the strength of material science and knowledge without any bona fide touch with the Absolute Truth is sure to be a mundane untruth and failure, simply due to not being in touch with the Absolute Truth. Such godless, unfaithful words and actions, however materially enriched, are never to be trusted. That is the purport of this important verse. A grain of devotion is more valuable than tons of faithlessness.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, in this verse, Narada is speaking about his words and his senses and his mind. So in the first line he talks of ‘bhāratī’ which means his words. So, his words will never be false. Second line he talks about his mind ‘manasaḥ’. And he says there, the goal of the mind will never be false, whatever he thinks of, will never be false. And then the third line he talks about his senses ‘hṛṣīkāṇi’. So his senses will not go on the material path. So in other words, his words, his mind and his senses will always be properly controlled and directed towards the Supreme Lord. And why? Because in his heart, he is always attached to the Supreme Lord. In other words, by connection with the Lord, all of these things, the words and the mind and the senses become perfect.
Of course what does this attachment or catching hold of the Lord mean? Of course we can simply hold on to His feet [Laughs]. But ultimately it means that as long as we are doing Sadhana Bhakti, we are always thinking of the Lord, we are always surrendering to the Lord. We are always cultivating Bhakti. In the stage of Sadhana of course it is not perfect. But then as we progress and progress and progress, it loses less of its material contamination and becomes purer and purer. And finally it reaches a perfect state where one is completely attached to the Lord, thinking of the Lord and serving the Lord at all times. So in that perfect state of course then everything is perfect, words are perfect, mind is perfect, senses are perfect. And in fact we develop spiritual mind, spiritual senses, spiritual words, everything is spiritual about us in our service. So therefore it must be perfect.
When we are doing Sadhana Bhakti then we do have anarthas. Bhakti isn’t perfect. But nevertheless, as Prabhupada quotes here from Bhagavad Gita one is ‘sa guṇān samatītyaitān’, you surpass all the gunas by doing bhakti. So that state of perfection is when you have Prema. And we can ask well he is performing Sadhana Bhakti, looks like he is still in the gunas. But here it says he is beyond the gunas [Laughs]. So of course, yes because he is doing sadhana, he has anarthas. But in doing bhakti sincerely that is pure bhakti then that is faultless, that is beyond the gunas. But, of course, because he is doing sadhana, he cannot completely be doing bhakti perfectly. But he will reach that perfect state. But to reach that perfect state then we have to perform this bhakti. In other words, Sadhana Bhakti leads to Prema Bhakti. But, all of this bhakti is called pure bhakti. As I said ultimately he is doing bhakti but he has faults, so in one sense, no it’s not pure. But it is only this bhakti which we call pure bhakti that leads to Prema. So because it leads to pure Prema, it is called pure bhakti even in sadhana.
So, at the beginning of Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami gives us a general definition. And this is a definition of pure bhakti. And if we want to examine it closely we say ‘Oh that’s impossible’. Only the person in Prema has this bhakti. But Rupa Goswami then after he explains this, gives this definition then he says this pure bhakti has three types: Sadhana, Bhava and Prema, but it’s all pure bhakti. And of course our Acharya’s admit, yes it is not really pure in sadhana but this is the only type of bhakti which will lead to Prema.
So, in sadhana what distinguishes sadhana bhakti, uttama bhakti from other people doing bhakti in sadhana is that at least we are aware of this definition and following this definition to the best of our ability, they are not. Other people may go to the temple and pray and maybe do deity worship or whatever but they are not aware of any type of bhakti, bhakti is not pure bhakti, impure bhakti, mixed bhakti, nothing, it’s just bhakti [Laughs]. So this of course is beneficial, it is bhakti abhasa and it purifies very gradually. But in itself it does not give Prema. And why? Because its goal is never Prema. It will give you whatever you wanted, that’s what it gives you [Laughs].
So, with our definition of pure bhakti then of course pure bhakti means with no other desire except the desire to please Krishna and the final stage is Prema bhakti. So implicit in that definition is the goal itself, Prema. Every sadhana leads to a goal, sadhya. And the way you practice the sadhana will determine what the goal is. And if you got very definite definition of your goal then you define your sadhana to get to that goal. And if you don’t have any definite goal, some vague goal there, where does the sadhana go [Laughs]? Some indefinite goal is the result. So therefore, some knowledge is also necessary in our practice of bhakti [Laughs]. And at the same time, we understand at this stage, no we are not perfect, we are not free of all desires. But in executing our hearing and chanting and remembering and deity worship, this is our goal. And, because of that, eventually we attain that goal.
Just as the goal may be becoming a doctor. So there is a sadhana for that. You have to pass your secondary school. You have to get entrance into medical college. And there is a minimum number of courses and a minimum number of years you have to go and a minimum number of marks you have to get in order to pass [Laughs]. And if you fulfil all those requirements then eventually you become a doctor. However, on the way, even in taking your courses, you may not pass a few subjects sometimes [Laughs]. But then you write the exam again and you pass and then you do like this [Laughs].
So therefore bhakti, to get to Prema, there is also a particular process. And it involves a particular goal, Prema. And a goal of achieving that absolutely pure bhakti which is Prema. So in sadhana bhakti we are practicing that pure bhakti. It is not perfect but eventually it becomes perfect.
So, of course, in bhakti, we engage our senses. We engage our mind and our words. And of course because we may have material contamination, then our words may not be perfect, mind may not be perfect etc. But at least we follow the method of engaging the mind, the words, the senses. And where do we get the method from? Scriptures. So we don’t invent new methods of engaging our senses or mind or whatever, we take from scripture.
So this of course is the sub-definition of sadhana bhakti, engage your mind and senses to attain bhava, realization of the Lord. So at this stage we can say it is external. But though it is external, we must have something internal as well. In other words, our intention is this pure bhakti definition. And without that definition of pure bhakti it becomes completely external [Laughs]. So, therefore, when we are doing sadhana bhakti we engage the senses and mind etc. but at the same time, we have this knowledge of pure bhakti to attain Prema. And this distinguishes us from other people that may do some bhakti and engage their senses and look like they are doing the same thing but they have no proper conception of pure bhakti at all. So the engagement of the senses of a person doing sadhana, following pure bhakti gets a completely different effect. And the effect is he is directed towards Prema.
So, as I said, we do not concoct, we follow scripture. And of course, the definition of faith is to accept the scripture. But what scripture? So we accept the bhakti scriptures. And of course, which bhakti scriptures? How do we decide? That is according to Sampradaya. Each Vaishnava Sampradaya will tell you which scriptures you should study. And though we accept all authorized Vedic scriptures, we put an emphasis on certain things, so we put an emphasis on Srimad Bhagavatam. So therefore, we choose our particular Sampradaya and the authorities, directions. And then to explain Bhagavatam then we also accept our Acharyas. So in this way we get the knowledge intact. And there is no danger of getting material contamination in the interpretation of scripture. So, this is the process here that Narada muni is following. Okay, Brahma, sorry. Yeah. Brahma speaks. He imparts to Narada. Narada imparts to Vedavyasa. Vedavyasa imparts to Sukadeva etc.
So, the knowledge is there, the knowledge is imparted in its proper form. How do we know the person who imparts it is proper? He has to be a devotee [Laughs]. If they are not a devotee, they will not get the proper meaning [Laughs]. So, the devotee finds a qualified person and teaches that person. And because he is a devotee, he absorbs and gets the proper meaning and then he gives that to another person who he judges as devotee. So therefore, the method of maintaining the purity of the scripture is through this method of parampara. And what is it a parampara of? It is a parampara of knowledge, teachings. And that is why we trace our parampara as a siksha parampara [Laughs]. And this is the most important element to convey the knowledge. So this is the important function of Guru and devotees to impart the knowledge. And if that is done then of course this is fulfilling the desire of Krishna himself.
Hare Krsna.
Q & A :
1.) Maharaj, this verse explained regarding Brahma’s position that he will never be bewildered by any kind of material energy or material senses, mind and everything, it’s explained. But we see there is some pastimes happening in Srimad Bhagavatam like Brahmaji running after and Brahmaji is bewildered at the picnic in 10th Canto. So sometimes devotees might get bewildered. There is a statement that Brahma because he is fixed in his devotion but there is again bewilderment. Can we take it as in the line, Lord wants to teach something by using Brahma and also some kind of pastimes?
For devotees on the highest level of course because they don’t have any faults then it cannot be attributed to regular Maya. It must be Yoga Maya, that is deliberate arrangement of the Lord. And thus we find even Arjuna becomes bewildered. Bewilderment is Maya. But he is also a nitya-siddha and he is friend of the Lord and the Lord is standing with him. How can he be bewildered [Laughs]? So that bewilderment is caused by the Lord Himself for His own purpose. So when it concerns this great devotees then we have to attribute to the Lord’s arrangement. And we see not only Brahma becomes bewildered, even Shiva becomes bewildered [Laughs]. So all of this of course is arrangement of the Lord. We even find Jaya and Vijaya eternal servants of the Lord become bewildered and start becoming angry at Kumaras who are also Shaktyavesha avatars [Laughs].
2.) Maharaj, you are explaining this Bhakti is pure in Sadhana, Bhava and Prema. When one achieves the Bhava, Bhava is like the first ray of Prema. So that means in Bhava the senses are almost pure and spiritual senses start manifesting. But we see in the Bhava also there is a chance of aparadha, committing aparadha. See this aparadha because it’s almost like in Prema stage, this aparadha is coming from, how there will be aparadha? Because almost like he is in Prema stage. This aparadha comes under pure Bhakti then?
So Bhava is distinguished from Prema by having slight Anartha. And generally the Anarthas are all gone by the end of Asakti. But the effects of previous Aparadhas in this or previous lifetimes remains in Bhava stage. And it may cause difficulty for a person like Bharat. So even though it is as they say a fault or whatever, it is also a very exalted stage. And though Krishna is attached and merciful to all devotees, the more you progress, the more He is attached [Laughs]. So therefore He is attached to that person in Bhava and even if that person makes a mistake, Lord makes an arrangement so he can correct himself.
3.) Hare Krishna. Dandavat pranam. Maharaj, you mentioned about, when Brahmaji or very exalted devotees do some mistakes, it is arrangement of the Lord but many times when we read Prabhupada’s purport on those verses, Prabhupada gives us an example that we should not be like that, we should learn lessons like that. And I see from the Sadhaka point of view sometimes we misunderstand that they also get into such kind of Maya and we should not get into that. So how to understand that gap?
So the Lord may make arrangements like this for the devotee, not the only reason but one of the reasons is to show that Jivas can make mistakes [Laughs] and therefore as a Jiva we always have to be careful. So we have the case of Pariksit becoming angry at the Brahmana and then all this thing that he gets cursed and whatever. How is it possible because he was just a great devotee [Laughs]? So we can attribute that as arrangement of the Lord but nevertheless it also illustrates that you can be a great devotee but you be careful if you are a king or whatever because you may fall into something like this and be overcome by your position or something like that. And the same with Brahma. He can think, well, I am the head of the universe so therefore I can fool Krishna [Laughs]. But ultimately of course, it’s also explained that the Lord Himself promised Brahma, you will not become bewildered in this life. So therefore it must be some arrangement of the Lord [Laughs]. In the case of devatas of course, they are even lesser but they are still devotees and they do make mistakes like Indra fighting Krishna etc. So we can criticize them also. And we can use that as an example to show that material position can lead to pride etc. But then Baladeva Vidyabhushana also says that well, they are devotees of the Lord, so therefore we should also accept this as some arrangement of the Lord.
4.) Thank you Maharaj. Maharaj you were telling about catching the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord in the heart and for Sadhaka we have to think about surrender to the Lord and things like that. Then how we consider for a Sadhaka, pada-sevana can be understood, one of the Anga of Bhakti, how a Sadhaka can understand?
Of course literally we can take it and so the example of Lakshmi is given who is massaging the feet of Vishnu [Laughs]. But as a Sadhana it’s rather difficult for us [Laughs]. So it’s also explained in a wider sense that services to the Lord or the Dham is also included in that. So Dhama seva, cleaning the Dham and doing things like that are also included within that [Laughs]. And of course, one can meditate on the feet of the Lord. And in fact we have a whole description of all the different symbols on the Lord’s feet. You can meditate on His [Laughs] feet with all the symbols on them [Laughs]. And of course, this also is, you can say a representative of surrender itself. We often say bow down to the lotus feet of so and so, Krishna or Rupa Goswami like this [Laughs]. We bow down to their lotus feet. So of course we can literally do that but ultimately we follow them or submissive to them [Laughs].
5.) Hare Krishna. Maharaj, we see that our Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya is mostly Siksha based. And one example we see is Baladeva Vidyabhushana who is actually initiated in Madhva Sampradaya but being attracted to Gaudiya literatures, he got connected to Gaudiya. And Prabhupada also writes his name in the Guru parampara list in Bhagavad Gita also. Baladeva right? So Baladeva Vidyabhushana further initiated Maharaj in our Sampradaya?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Did he get initiated?
Devotee 1: Did he further initiate in our Sampradaya and Jagannatha Das Babaji Maharaj is also his initiated disciple?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: He studied in Mysore I think under the Madhvas and he took Diksha from a Guru in Orissa, Radha Damodara Goswami or something like that. So he took Diksha within our Sampradaya, he learned of course from him also but he also learned from the Madhvas [Laughs]. So we see also Madhva concepts in his philosophy also. He also traces our line to Madhva [Laughs] in his works [Laughs] I think Prameya Ratnavali.
Devotee 1: Did he further initiate Maharaj in our Sampradaya? Did he further initiate?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Did he initiate anybody?
Devotee 1: Did he further initiate in our Sampradaya?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: I think probably he did a few but we don’t have any particular records but there is no thing that he refused or anything he must have had a few disciples.
Devotee 1: So in the parampara list with our Bhagavad Gita, Prabhupada has given, after Baladeva Vidyabhushana it is Jagannatha Das Babaji Maharaj. So it is the prominent ones which are mentioned. So it may not be that Jagannatha Das Babaji may be an initiated disciple of Baladeva Vidyabhushana, it is not always like that?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: As far as what? Siksha?
Devotee 1: He received Siksha.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, when we are tracing Siksha they are not all direct Siksha so from Vishwantha Chakravarti there is a big gap also [Laughs]. But that also doesn’t mean there was nobody in between there to teach [Laughs]. Obviously because there was also people there to give Diksha so Vishwanatha had a Diksha Guru who had a Diksha Guru who had a Diksha Guru and go back that way also, so we are assuming there was Siksha in between also. But he is merely making that to show the main famous people.
Devotee 2: Maharaj I feel that after Vishwanath, Baladeva comes in the Guru Parampara line.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hmm?
Devotee 2: In the Guru Parampara, after Vishwanatha, Baladeva Vidyabhushana comes. It’s due to Siksha only because he was not a direct disciple of…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We are tracing Siksha there.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!