Srimad Bhagavatam – 4.17.36 | 16 Mar 2025 | HH Bhanu Maharaj | ISKCON Sydney
ŚB 4.17.36
nūnaṁ janair īhitam īśvarāṇām
asmad-vidhais tad-guṇa-sarga-māyayā
na jñāyate mohita-citta-vartmabhis
tebhyo namo vīra-yaśas-karebhyaḥ
Translation
My dear Lord, I am also the creation of one of Your energies, composed of the three modes of material nature. Consequently I am bewildered by Your activities. Even the activities of Your devotees cannot be understood, and what to speak of Your pastimes. Thus everything appears to us to be contradictory and wonderful.
Purport
The activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His various forms and incarnations are always uncommon and wonderful. It is not possible for a tiny human being to estimate the purpose and plans of such activities; therefore Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has said that unless the Lord’s activities are accepted as inconceivable, they cannot be explained. The Lord is eternally existing as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Goloka Vṛndāvana. He has also simultaneously expanded Himself in innumerable forms, beginning with Lord Rāma, Lord Nṛsiṁha, Lord Varāha and all the incarnations coming directly from Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa is the expansion of Baladeva, and Baladeva is the first manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore all these incarnations are known as kalā.
The word īśvarāṇām refers to all the Personalities of Godhead. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.39), rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is confirmed that all the incarnations are partial expansions, or kalā, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should not take the plural number of the word īśvarāṇām to mean that there are many Godheads. The fact is that God is one, but He exists eternally and expands Himself in innumerable forms and acts in various ways. Sometimes the common man is bewildered by all this and considers such activities contradictory, but they are not contradictory. There is a great plan behind all the Lord’s activities.
For our understanding it is sometimes said that the Lord is situated in the heart of the thief as well as in the heart of the householder, and that the Supersoul in the heart of the thief dictates, “Go and steal things from that particular house,” and at the same time the Lord tells the householder, “Now be careful of thieves and burglars.” These instructions to different persons appear contradictory, yet we should know that the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has some plan, and we should not consider such activities contradictory. The best course is to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead wholeheartedly and, being protected by Him, remain peaceful.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Seventeenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Mahārāja Pṛthu Becomes Angry at the Earth.”
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this is a statement by the earth personified, praising the Supreme Lord, who takes the form of Pṛthu Mahārāja, who is actually a jīva, but he is a Śaktyāveśāvatāra, so therefore he is equivalent of the Supreme Lord by his different activities. Pṛthu Mahārāja is famous as a Śaktyāveśāvatāra because of his power to level the earth and make it suitable for agriculture when it was completely disrupted and unproductive. So this is part of the story of Mahārāja Pṛthu making the earth productive. And he became angry at the earth because she wasn’t giving produce so that population could expand, so therefore he wanted to chastise her.
So Mother Earth is here, praising the Supreme Lord. We should note here that, of course, the earth is saying, well, I am also made of the material gunas, etc. At the same time, she is speaking. So material gunas do not speak [Laughs], but she is speaking [Laughs]. So what this means is that she is actually a personality behind the material energy. She is bhoomi or earth, but she is also a person, not just earth / earth element.
We have a clear distinction in our philosophy, and that is that matter, or the bahiranga shakti of the Lord, is unconscious, dead, has no life. And it is made out of earth, water, fire, air, ether, senses, etc. Sense objects, this prakriti, pradhana, etc., maha tattva, has no consciousness of its own, dead. However, we do have Jivas, and we have Supreme Lord, who are conscious entities. And they are completely distinct. And that is why we discuss about the different shaktis. We have the Lord who is conscious, we have his internal energy, we have his tatastha shakti, the Jivas who are conscious, and then we have bahiranga shakti, which is unconscious. So we distinguish between those things which are conscious Jivas and the Supreme Lord, and matter, which is dead.
So, therefore, Prabhupada always attacks this idea of materialists who say that consciousness arises from matter, which is a product of evolution or what. Combine amino acids together, and eventually we get living beings who are conscious. So, in other words, consciousness is simply a byproduct of matter. That’s material science conclusion. But, according to our philosophy, no, matter is separate, and no matter how it combines together, actually, it can’t even combine together, unless it gets the impetus of the Lord’s consciousness in the form of his glance over prakriti [Laughs]. So, matter is dependent, and in the material world, what we call life, is caused by the Jivas, who are also conscious particles. Not that they’re created at any time, they enter into bodies, and they create consciousness. Very distinct from modern science at the moment.
So, in spite of that, we find here that we have earth speaking. So, there are personalities in control of earth and material elements, etc. So, they are not material. Also, they can be Jivas – expansions from the Lord’s shakti. They are conscious entities. So, the earth is one of these shaktis, who’s got a personality, can speak, etc. And, she’s in control of the earth. So, therefore, she is offering her prayers here to the Supreme Lord. In the purport, Srila Prabhupad, discusses about the Supreme Lord and how it is very difficult for the Jivas to understand him. And this is stated exactly by earth herself, who is a great shakti, and actually, Sathyabhama, who’s one of the queens, has an expansion called Bhoomi [Laughs]. So, she’s actually a consort of the Lord also.
We see that the Varaha avatar, what is his activity? He lifts up the earth out of the Garbhodaka ocean, and is often depicted as Lakshmi sitting on his tusk [Laughs]. So, the expansion of Lakshmi is the Bhoo. And, of course, in the spiritual world, we also have Lakshmi and Bhoo. They are in the spiritual world, consorts of the Supreme Lord. So, therefore, she’s also a shakti of the Supreme Lord, a very special entity.
But, even she is saying, the Lord is very, very difficult to understand. We don’t understand his activities. She’s particularly saying this because Prthu Maharaj is getting angry at the earth [Laughs]. And, she’s actually the consort of the Supreme Lord also. So, why is he getting so angry? Why is he doing all this activity? So, this is the very nature of the Supreme Lord. Now, we can say, well, if no one can understand the Supreme Lord, what’s the use of worshipping him? So, though the Lord is inconceivable and difficult to understand, he can be realized and understood and perceived by a certain method. So, it’s not that he’s completely undetectable, unperceivable.
Of course, there are others not following Bhagavatam or Vedic literature. Even some who follow Vedic literature say the Lord cannot be perceived because he hasn’t got any form [Laughs]. So, the impersonalists will say this. Mayavadis will say you cannot see the Lord because he hasn’t got any form. And, of course, other religions will also say God has no form. Because form is limiting. Form is material. So, God has no form. So, in one sense, you can never see God if he has no form. That’s methods which are spiritual. But, even these methods do not reveal the form of God.
So, we have Karma Yoga. That makes no attempt to show you God. Only in a secondary way it shows you the enjoyment of Svarga Loka [Laughs], which is an offshoot of Sattva Guna of the Lord. That’s all it shows you. If you do Jnana or Yoga, you can get liberation from the material world, understand that you are Atma, understand Brahman, or realize Brahman. But, still, you don’t see the form of the Lord. So, only by the process of Bhakti can you perceive the form of the Lord. So, this is quite rare. And, therefore, it says nobody can understand the Lord. No one can see the Lord. So that’s most people cannot see the Lord. But, if you are a devotee of the Lord, you can see the Lord. But, devotees are rare. So, therefore, a little bit difficult.
In Caitanya Caritamrta, Lord Caitanya explains that there are millions of living entities in the material world. We have plants, we have animals, whatever like that. Then, we have human beings, which are rare compared to the number of plants, animals, etc. So, human beings are a little rare. 400,000 species or whatever there are, out of all the 8 million species, those are a little bit rare. But then, those who actually are willing to follow Varnashrama and Karma Yoga are rare even, out of all the human beings.
And, out of those who practice it, those who elevate themselves and get to Sattva guna and become Brahminical are even rare. Maybe, of those people who practice Varnashrama, we get maybe 3 or 4% of those who can practice Varnashrama and become Brahminical. And, of those Brahmanas, those who seriously practice and get some realization of Brahman, that’s very rare. So, less than 1% or whatever like that. So, just to get to the level of even impersonal realization is very, very rare. So, to get to the position of realizing Bhagavan is rarest of all.
So, in that sense, nobody can see the Lord. That’s why they say nobody can see the Lord because it’s only available to a minority of people, those who practice bhakti. And Pure bhakti [Laughs]. So, Lord is available by His mercy if you follow the correct procedure. So, that is what is explained in Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita. If you follow the process of bhakti yoga, you will get that correct result seeing the form of the Lord. If you follow the process, then you can see the Lord. If you don’t follow the process, you cannot.
So, in Nectar of devotion, one of the, in the very beginning, one of the six unique qualities of bhakti is – “sudurlabha”. Very, very rare [Laughs]. Bhakti is very, very rare. And, of course, in Bhagavad Gita, of course, Krishna also says out of thousands and thousands of people, hardly one knows me. So, in one sense, it is rare. But even rarer is to realize the form of the Lord. We can practice sadhana bhakti, that’s not so rare, but to practice sadhana and get a realization of the Lord, form, etc., that is rare, much rare. So, that’s why this quality of sudurlabha among the six qualities is mentioned in relation to bhava, not sadhana, but in bhava. So, if you get to bhava, we get this realization of the Lord, which is sudurlabha. Very, very rare.
However, our acharyas say that what this means is it’s very rare if you do not follow the process of pure bhakti. Then it is rare. So, it is impossible for practicers of karma yoga, jnana yoga, or astanga yoga to see the form of the Lord – Impossible. It’s not sudurlabha, it’s impossible [Laughs]. It’s not even rare, it’s impossible, actually.
“su su sudurlabha”. Not possible at all.
Of course, in Brahma Samhita, it says that the yogi, what can he see of the Lord? One ray from the light, from the toenail of the Lord. That much you can see this toenail light. So, you never get to see the form of the Lord at all [Laughs]. And that’s after striving for thousands of years of meditation, etc. So, the only process by which you can actually see the full form of the Lord, and the lotus feet, etc., is the process of bhakti. Then you can actually see the Lord. So, it is rare, but it is also possible. And though it is called rare, bhakti also is propagated by the scriptures and propagated by the great devotees.
And, of course, bhakti is such that it is not restricted to certain types of human beings. It is open to all human beings, the process of bhakti. Varnashrama dharma, Karma Yoga, Dharma, it is not open to everybody. So, we have mlecchas and people like that. They are not part of that system. They are outside. They are not qualified. So, everything has restriction on it. So, Karma Yoga has its restriction. Jnana Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga are even more restricted because you have to be in the Varnashrama system, but you have to be in Sattva guna. You have to be a brahmana then you can practice Jnana or Ashtanga Yoga. So, that is very restricted [Laughs]. Bhakti? No. No restriction.
You don’t have to be in Satvaguna. You don’t have to be part of the Varnashrama system, which means you could be in real Tamoguna as a human being, and still you can practice bhakti. So, we have so many stories in Bhagavatam like that where the Mrgari the hunter gets bhava in three months by the mercy of Narada Muni. Other examples also. Bhakti is, in that sense, not rare. It is open for everybody without restriction.
Of course, there is a qualification for bhakti, and that is it’s not varna, it’s not guna, etc. It is Shraddha or faith. So, that’s maybe the crux. Why? So, it’s open for everybody. Why doesn’t everybody take the bhakti? Because they don’t have faith [Laughs]. But, it’s not restricted in the sense of gunas or varnas or ashramas or anything, but faith. So, if you have faith and you’re a mleccha, fine. You can practice bhakti. Or, if you’re a brahmana and you have faith, you practice bhakti. So, it’s open for everyone.
But, the question will arise, well, then, how do you get the faith? It just appears out of nowhere [Laughs], haphazardly? Then, we would accuse the Lord of just being whimsical [Laughs]. Some people get the faith or the qualification, some people don’t. Well, it’s whimsical. There must be some reasoning behind it. So, the answer is, yes. Faith is produced by mercy of devotees [Laughs]. If devotees are merciful to a person in this life or previous lifetimes and they don’t even know about it, they can develop shraddha or faith. Then, they become qualified.
So, what is the mercy of devotees? Well, a devotee is merciful. Is he whimsical? Somehow, he gives something. He’s not really prejudiced in the sense that he’s not going to give mercy to this person or give to this person. Devotees are very generous, so they like to give everywhere. So but still, it is up to the devotee. He may decide to go to Sydney, he may decide to go to Melbourne, whatever. So, in some sense, there’s a little restriction because of his own decision. So, it’s ultimately up to the devotee where he wants to give his mercy, in a sense. He would like to give everywhere, but he is also limited in this material world. So, it is always up to the devotee to give out mercy.
What is the mercy of the devotee? What’s he giving out? So, he’s giving out the process of bhakti. He’s giving the teachings of bhakti, he’s giving the method by which he performs bhakti, like chanting the holy name. But, he can give that out if he is qualified as a devotee [Laughs]. If he’s a materialist, it has no effect. Bhagavatam coming from the mouth of materialists is like poison. So, if you have a materialist trying to give out bhakti, it doesn’t work at all. So, ultimately, that devotee is a person who does have devotion, and then he can give it out. And where did he get that? Of course, he got it from another devotee [Laughs]. So, it’s mercy given by mercy, given by mercy. But ultimately, what is the connection with that mercy of the devotee? Ultimately, it’s coming from the Supreme Lord. So, bhakti is coming from the Supreme Lord.
So, it’s explained that actually bhakti is a shakti of the Lord, like we have internal shakti of the Lord, antaranga shakti, swarupa shakti of the Lord, cit shakti of the Lord. This is internal energy. So, one portion of that is bhakti. That is the cit shakti of the Lord. Very intimately related with the Lord. So, it’s that shakti which the Jiva has, and he becomes a devotee. And then he gives off that energy to others. So, in one sense, the Lord is being merciful by assigning devotees to give out his mercy. And then, with their own free will, they give out in certain places. So, that is how faith is created.
And it does not depend upon varnas, ashramas, gunas, etc. It’s free. So, the devotees give out in this way. So, in that sense, it is not so rare. It is simply up to the devotees and how much they want to be active and distribute the mercy of the Lord. And then, faith is there. Once they get faith, then you can practice. So, it is rare only in the sense that it depends on mercy of devotees [Laughs]. If the devotee’s mercy is rare, of course, then it becomes very rare. But, if we have lots of devotees doing it, very good.
So, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is special because he is considered to be most merciful. Krishna is very merciful, that is why he is Bhagavan, Svayam Bhagavan. Because he shows all the qualities of the Lord fully. It is explained here in the Purport that all the other forms are Kala, portions of the qualities of the Lord manifest in these forms. They are all Bhagavan. It is one entity, not many gods. One God is there. He takes different forms. In those different forms, he will display different amounts of qualities. So, these are called Kala. Krishna manifests all the qualities in full, including mercy. So that is why he is called Svayam Bhagavan, he is called the original form for that reason. So, Krishna is very, very merciful.
But then, Lord Caitanya is more merciful [Laughs]. So, inconceivable in one sense [Laughs]. But, Caitanya, of course, is non-different from Krishna. He is also avatari, source of all the avatars, original godhead, etc. He is avatari also. So, non-different. But why more merciful? How can he be more merciful than Krishna, who is most merciful [Laughs]? The answer is, he also got the superimposition of the mood of Radharani. So, he is double mercy, because Radharani, of course, is very merciful, more merciful than Krishna also [Laughs]. So, he has got more mercy in the sense he has also got the mood of Radharani. So, Lord Caitanya is even more merciful, and therefore, he wants to save all the people in Kali Yuga, so he devises another method to deliver everybody and give out mercy and make it common, and that is Nama Sankirtan.
So, through this process, he wants everybody in the material world to get the highest realization of the Lord, to be able to see the Lord and participate with the Lord in past times in the spiritual world. So, Lord Caitanya is most merciful of all the different forms, even more merciful than Krishna for this reason. He has got the mood, and then he gives us a certain process called Nama Sankirtan.
So, in this way, the bhakti and realization of the Lord is not impossible, and it’s not even rare. It is available for everybody, and everyone can do it. The Nama Sankirtan is chanting the Lord’s qualities, but particularly chanting the names and chanting the names of Krishna, who is the most merciful. So, this process of chanting the names is also the most merciful of all the different types of bhakti that we have. In Nectar Devotion, we have 64 types of bhakti you can do, including deity worship, bowing down, offering prayers, etc. But the chanting of the name of the Lord is considered to be the most powerful to take the most unqualified people and bring them up to the highest level of prema. So, in that sense, the Nama Sankirtan is the most merciful of all the devotional processes [Laughs].
And this is what Lord Caitanya is giving out. And he’s also the most merciful form of the Lord. So, we have a very special combination. The most merciful form of bhakti that is Nama Sankirtan, infused with the mercy of the most merciful form of the Lord, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We have a very wonderful process by which realization of the form, qualities and activities of the Lord is no longer impossible and not even rare. It can become common for everyone. So that is actually the desire of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And that’s why he ordered his devotees to go out and preach everywhere and deliver everyone.
Okay. Any questions?
Q & A
1) Maharaj, [not clearly audible] to realize Lord we need the process of bhakti and bhakti can be only with the form of the Lord. It does not mean that in satya and treta yuga, where there is meditation, yajna etc ?
Yeah. It’s also bhakti. It’s all bhakti. So, the Yuga Dharmas for the other ages are also forms of bhakti. So, when we talk about meditation, it doesn’t mean impersonal meditation. It means meditation on the form of Vishnu. And when we do Homa, it is not Karma kanda Homa. It is Homa into this fire who represents Vishnu. So, that is another type of worship. But it’s not deity worship, which is the next age. It is worship of the Lord through fire [Laughs]. So, it’s all bhakti dedicated to Supreme Lord. Therefore, by all the processes, you can realize Supreme Lord and you can get Prema.
2) Maharaj, one who practices dhyana yoga, but instead of practicing meditation on brahaman, if he practices meditating on the form of Lord .. ?
That’s bhakti. Yeah. So, among these 64 angas of bhakti, we have two which involve mind. One is Smaranam. And the example is Prahlad. And then we’ll see in Nectar of Devotion, Dhyana is mentioned also.
So, this is not impersonal Dhyana. Meditation on the form of the Lord. It’s also described in the process of bhakti. You can go through different stages which look like yoga in one sense. And you get to the level of Smaranam. You’re thinking of the form of the Lord or the pastimes of the Lord. And then it becomes a little more concentrated, Dharana. And it becomes more concentrated. It’s called Dhyana, where you can absorb your mind in form, qualities and activities of Krishna. And then you get Samadhi [Laughs]. You realize Krishna. That’s the stage of Bhava, where you actually realize Krishna. So, it’s through that process of Dhyana, you can come to the Bhava stage. But it is bhakti. It’s a part of bhakti. It’s not part of Astanga Yoga then.
3) Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada said astanga yoga / meditation on Supresoul, that is also bhakti, why?
Yeah so, meditation on Supersoul or Paramatma is one Anga of Yoga for some of the yogis [Laughs]. It’s described in the second Canto of Bhagavatam. That’s two things. One is universal form and one is Paramatma. It describes.
So, there are two types of yogis. The inferior ones will meditate on Vishwaroopa, universal form. Those who are more intelligent and refined will meditate on Paramatma. So, in one sense, we’ll say, well, then that’s like bhakti because it is form of the Lord. Of course, Vishwaroopa is a material form, so it’s considered inferior. But, if we get to meditation on Paramatma, very good. It’s actually a form of the Lord. So, it is superior to impersonalists who meditate on Brahman with no form. So, it’s superior to that because it’s got a form. But, we still don’t call that bhakti.
Bhakti is meditation on the form of the Lord who is Bhagavan. What’s the difference? They may look the same. Paramatma has a form of Vishnu. Bhagavan in Vaikuntha is also Vishnu [Laughs]. Same with Sankha, Chakra, all this.. got a garland and whatever, blue in color. Vishnu form looks the same. But, we distinguish one is Paramatma, one is Bhagavan. Why?
Paramatma form is a realization of the Lord with limited functions creating and destroying the material world, pervading everything, witnessing the material world. But, not involved in intimate pastimes like stealing butter [Laughs] or lifting Govardhana Hill. None of that at all [Laughs]. So, none of those pastimes that we see in Tenth Canto of Bhagavatam are there for Paramatma. So, it’s a limited realization of the Lord with form. In fact, functions of the Lord there are functions related to the material world. So, that’s like Mahavishnu manifests all the elements, etc. Or, Garbhodakshayi Vishnu enters into it. And, Ksirodakashayi Vishnu permeates all the Jivas. So, it’s all in relation to material world. These are Paramatma forms.
So, same form in spiritual world is called Bhagavan. Why? Because we have devotees in the spiritual world serving Vishnu in different ways, interacting with him, developing rasa, manifesting ananda. That does not take place with Paramatma [Laughs]. So, the yogis unfortunately, if they get stuck and are influenced by more the impersonalist aspect, they will use that Paramatma form to either merge into Paramatma or merge into his effulgence. And then it becomes like impersonal Brahman almost. So, therefore, it’s considered inferior to the process of Bhakti, quite different [Laughs].
So, the whole process of Bhakti, why we do Bhakti, is not just we want to realize the form of the Lord and take advantage to merge into Him. We don’t want to do that. Rather, we want to serve the Lord. So, that’s not there. That attitude of serving the Lord with devotion to please the Lord, that is not there in Paramatma worship. Meditation on the Lord, when we realize what we want, we want to merge into Him [Laughs]. So, it’s quite a different motivation.
4) Maharaj, how do we recognize our anarthas [not audible] ?
Yeah, yeah. Well, the process of Anartha Nivrtti is automatic. It’s a stage of Bhakti. We start Bhakti and we go through Anartha Nivrtti. By practicing Bhakti, our material attraction decreases, karmas decrease, the vasanas, impressions from material activities decreases, decreases. It’s a continuous process and it doesn’t stop when we get to Nishtha. It continues past Nishtha into Ruchi and Asati and into Bhava stage. So, the process of Anartha Nivrtti takes place automatically with the process of Bhakti.
The only thing that can interrupt that is false Bhakti [Laughs]. We do Bhakti, we’re not doing it in the proper way. Then the Anarthas will not go away and they may even increase [Laughs]. So, in other words, if we commit offense somehow or other, and the aim of our Bhakti is not simply to serve Krishna, but to get something for ourselves, etc. Then, the process of Anartha Nivrtti is much slower or if we commit Aparadha, it can even stop. So, therefore, we have to be careful of Aparadha and execute Bhakti properly.
Another problem is that in the execution of Bhakti, if we’re not careful, then we will mistake material results for our progress in Bhakti. So, Bhakti is such that if you do Bhakti, you get all sorts of nice things [Laughs]. Even what we call material things [Laughs]. So, of course, you can get all material benedictions. You can get liberation as well as Prema. So, if we’re not fixed on Prema and unmotivated Bhakti for the Lord, we may get attracted to these other things. So, our Bhakti becomes mixed. And we may get material things if we become attracted to. That is, we may get followers, we may get power, we may get money, etc. And because we’re getting it, we say, I have great Bhakti. I’m successful at Bhakti [Laughs]. And we get attracted to those things. This becomes an Anartha also. So, we have to be careful of that. This is called the weeds of devotional service. So, we have to be careful of the weeds.
5) Maharaj, how do we develop purest love. In the initial stages even though we come to sat sanga etc, we pretend to have bhakti, but we have personal motives.
Yeah, yeah . So, when we begin Bhakti, we have a little faith.
It may not be strong faith, but at least we’re qualified for Bhakti if we have a little faith, which means we have a trust that what the Bhakti scripture says is true. We’ll accept the conclusion. We won’t question every statement in Bhagavad Gita [Laughs]. We’ll just say, Krishna says, surrender unto me. Okay, we’re not going to question. Why are you saying that? Whatever like that. And we accept it. Don’t argue with it. So, we accept it. We may not understand everything about Krishna, or we may not the whole Vedic literature, whatever, but at least we have this faith which qualifies us to begin the process. So, in the beginning, we have that little faith, but we do have lots of Anarthas. We have lots of material desires and attractions, etc.
But, Anartha nivritti will take place by the process of Bhakti to clear it. If we follow Uttama Bhakti, as described in Nectar of Devotion, that is, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ, at that stage, then the process becomes quicker. We get rid of the Anarthas quicker. If we have mixed Bhakti, that is, Jnana, Karma, and there’s a little bit of an obstacle in that, it becomes a little bit slower. Still, it happens, but it’s slower. So, we call it pure Bhakti, even though we do have the Anarthas still there, whatever.
But when we’re performing Bhakti, at least, when we’re worshipping the Deity, or we’re chanting the Holy Name, we’re not chanting the Holy Name to get my material desires fulfilled [Laughs]. We may have Anarthas, we may have desires, but we’re not deliberately, consciously, using the process of Bhakti, and we understand that it’s wrong, and we’re trying to do pure Bhakti. So when we’re doing pure Bhakti, at least, we’re trying to say, execute our devotional service, only for the pleasure of Krishna. It’s not pure, of course, because we do have the Anarthas, but this is our attempt. And we have the understanding that this is our goal. So that’s pure Bhakti in Sadhana. And as we go on, of course, it becomes a little pure, and a little pure, and a little pure. It’ll only reach perfection in Prema. That’s actually pure Bhakti, but we call the whole process pure Bhakti, because you have to start, at least, with that proper conception, and that should be your goal.
6) Maharaj, we hear soul is eternal and it is not destroyed at all, but when we say in the perfection of impersonal realization it merges, so what merges ?
What merges? Yeah. So the soul is eternal, it’s never created or destroyed, so even we say merged in Brahman, the soul is still there. We call merging, we say it’s merging because at that point, the Jiva does not realize any difference. It’s no particular object, so we don’t realize the form of Brahman or anything. We are just in Brahman. So we’re in the state of consciousness without an object of consciousness [Laughs].
We’re just conscious, that’s all [Laughs]. So we don’t have any conscious objects. So that’s what we call merging. A sense of oneness. I am beyond the material world, finished. So we could say it’s a diffused type of realization of the self [Laughs]. Because we’re not realizing I am here and there’s something else. I exist, and I’m free from everything in the material world.
7) Question : Not audible.
So in that verse, actually, there’s interesting commentary about what’s the order [Laughs]. The actual order is that you’ve got to get the mercy of the devotee first, then you practice bhakti, then you can get detached from the material world, etc. So fatigue with the material world is okay, we’re frustrated, but that is not a direct cause of taking to bhakti. It may just lead to faith in Jnana instead, like that.
So sooner or later, we have to get the mercy of the devotee before we can begin the process of bhakti. So frustration with the material world may be favorable, but it could also be unfavorable because it could lead not to interest in bhakti but interest in Jnana or yoga instead. So ultimately what’s going to determine what happens to a person is mercy of devotees.
So if we get mercy of devotees, then we can develop faith and simultaneously, when we develop that faith, we do have a certain amount of disinterest in the material world. So it is one of the offenses, the tenth offense, to the Holy Name is to remain materially attached even after understanding all the glories of the Holy Name, etc. That’s a disqualification.
We have a little faith, we have great material attachment, we cannot begin bhakti [Laughs]. So in that sense, yes, a little bit of attachment is there. So it is said also, explained in Nectar of Devotion, that qualification for bhakti is not too much attachment to material things, and also not too detached.
Because if you’re too attached, then we can’t practice because we want to enjoy. And if we’re too detached, we may end up doing Jnana instead. So it’s somewhere in between [Laughs].
8) Just trying to understand in terms of the Jnanis they want to merge in impersonal Brahman, we also hear about some stories of how devotees, for example Veerabhadra prabhu of how he merged in the deity, how do we understand the difference between these two merging?
Of course we see merging of the associates of Lord Caitanya or Lord Caitanya himself merging, whatever. No problem for that, because the Lord merging into himself [Laughs], Lord Caitanya merging into his deity is not a problem, or merging into Jagannatha, whatever, is not a problem. And even Veerabhadra is considered to be an expansion of Nityananda, so therefore merging into the deity is not a problem there [Laughs].
On the other hand, if we do have others merging, it’s not a real merging, just as when Krishna killed Sishupala, he merged, but he actually didn’t merge because later he came out and went to the Vaikuntha. That could be also just one stage in their spiritual progress.
9) Maharaj, what do they experience after merging?
Where is that? Merging in the Lord instead of merging in the Brahman?
Well, in Bhakti Sandarbha, I think it is, Jiva Goswami says it’s worse [Laughs]. Merging in the effulgence is okay, not so good. Merging into the Lord is even worse because it looks like you’re a little more envious [Laughs].
You want to become the Lord. It’s the same experience in one sense, but he considers it in a lower platform because you merge into the Lord himself rather than as a effulgence. But the experience is more or less, It’s oneness [Laughs].
10) How do we understand the cit shakti of Lord [not audible] ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: How do we understand?
Devotee: The Cit aspect [not audible]
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yes, of course, Ananda, Sat Cit Ananda, you’re talking about? Or what? Oh, the Cit Shakti. So the Cit Shakti is the Antaranga Shakti or the Svarupa Shakti. This is the internal energy of the Lord and it has three divisions, Sandhini, Samvid and Hladini.
The Sandhini manifests Dhama, spiritual Dhama, manifests the form, qualities and activities of the Lord, etc. Samvid manifests all the relationships and consciousness in the spiritual world and Ananda, of course, is the bliss of the spiritual world. So all this is part of the Cit Shakti or the Svarupa Shakti or the Antaranga Shakti.
So the Bhakti is a combination of the Samvid and Hladini Shaktis. Special combination. And so that manifests nicely in Bhava stage, in Prema stage, in the devotee. And so he can see the Lord because he has Samvid Shakti, spiritual perception and Ananda, he has the capacity for experiencing bliss. So it’s because of the two Shaktis there. So those are parts of Bhakti which the Jiva possesses [Laughs].
11) Question : Not audible
Well, of course, anybody who gets the mercy of a devotee he gets, of course, in Caitanya Caritamrta, it says, Guru and Krishna plant the seed of Bhakti in the heart. So in that sense there’s an infusion there. And we can further get mercy from devotees also.
Now there is, the Lord himself of course can infuse special Bhakti in special persons also. So they develop, they’re almost like a Śaktyāveśāvatāra in one sense. They get special Shaktis to do special things which no other persons, even devotees do.
So there’s a special infusion of Shakti. In a general sense, of course, we have what we call Śaktyāveśāvatāras. They get an infusion of Shakti permanently, like Narada Muni and others, Prthu Maharaj.
Then we get others who have a temporary infusion of Shakti, the Devatas and the sages, etc. So they get a little bit, but they still have material bodies, etc. And they get a little infusion of the Lord’s Shakti to do certain things like manage the universe or spread wisdom by being sages. Or even the Manus, they also have infusion of Shakti. So that’s why they’re very special [Laughs].
12) Question : Not audible
Well, Bhakti in any form is a Shakti, actually. We may think of it as, okay, hearing, chanting, it’s just things we do [Laughs], but actually it’s the Shakti of the Lord. It’s the Samvid Hladini Shakti of the Lord. We don’t feel that at the moment, but it will manifest in Bhava’s stage through hearing, chanting, deity worship, etc.
So, Bhakti itself is that Shakti. But we don’t experience its real nature until we get to Bhava stage, when our anarthas are uncovered and it becomes fixed in the Jiva. So, it’s conveyed through different means. One, of course, is teachings. So, Siksha. So devotees or gurus give Siksha. So this is one way of getting the Shakti.
Another is through mantra. So that’s Diksha. You get the Diksha mantra, there’s a Shakti of the Lord there, also non-different from the Lord. And, of course, the other Shakti is Harinam [Laughs]. Non-different from the Supreme Lord.
So anybody gives you Harinam, you get infused with the Shakti by that what it means by the practise of chanting Hare Krishna.
13)How to get rid of false ego which is causing all problems [not audible] ?
How to get rid of that [Laughs] ? Well, the false ego in the material world of course is the big problem. It’s one of the roots of our existence, coming from ignorance. From ignorance we get a ahankara [Laughs]. And from a ahankara, of course, we identify with the body, we develop material desires and all sorts of anarthas. So that type of ahankara or false ego is definitely has to be destroyed.
But it’s a gradual process. We start bhakti, get rid of anarthas, get rid of karmas, get rid of desires. And the last vestige of a ahankara is destroyed in bhava stage. So we have to wait [Laughs], in a sense, to get it completely destroyed. But there’s another ahankara, which is not a false ego. It’s a real ego [Laughs].
So by doing devotional service, we identify ourselves as servant of Krishna. So this becomes our spiritual ahankara, which we never give up. People who practice Jnana or yoga don’t have that. They just I am, but I’m not a servant of the Lord [Laughs]. So they don’t have this I am the servant of the Lord, I serve the Lord eternally. That’s not there.
But that is intrinsic to the process of devotional service. So that manifests in the Jiva and it replaces the other ahankara as the bhakti becomes stronger. So that is never given up. But there, that ahankara is not based on own self. It’s an identity, not that I am the center of everything, but Krishna is the center of everything [Laughs]. That’s the ahankara. So that is actually what bhakti is. Serve the Lord without any other desire.
Okay. Fine, Hare Krishna.