Srimad Bhagavatam – 5.19.8 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | April 5, 2025 | Chennai, India

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 Bhagavatham Canto 5 Chapter 19 Verse 8:

ŚB 5.19.8

सुरोऽसुरो वाप्यथ वानरो नर:
सर्वात्मना य: सुकृतज्ञमुत्तमम् ।
भजेत रामं मनुजाकृतिं हरिं
य उत्तराननयत्कोसलान्दिवमिति ॥ ८ ॥

suro ’suro vāpy atha vānaro naraḥ
sarvātmanā yaḥ sukṛtajñam uttamam
bhajeta rāmaṁ manujākṛtiṁ hariṁ
ya uttarān anayat kosalān divam iti

Translation

Therefore, whether one is a demigod or a demon, a man or a creature other than man, such as a beast or bird, everyone should worship Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears on this earth just like a human being. There is no need of great austerities or penances to worship the Lord, for He accepts even a small service offered by His devotee. Thus He is satisfied, and as soon as He is satisfied, the devotee is successful. Indeed, Lord Śrī Rāmacandra brought all the devotees of Ayodhyā back home, back to Godhead [Vaikuṇṭha].

Purport

Lord Śrī Rāmacandra is so kind and merciful to His devotees that He is very easily satisfied by a little service rendered by anyone, human or not. This is the special advantage of worshiping Lord Rāmacandra, and there is the same advantage in worshiping Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Rāmacandra, in the manner of kṣatriyas, sometimes showed Their mercy by killing asuras, but Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu awarded love of God without difficulty even to the asuras. All the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead — but especially Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa and, later, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu — delivered many of the living entities present before Them, indeed almost all of them. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore represented in the six-armed form of ṣaḍ-bhūja-mūrti, which is a combination of Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The best purpose of human life can be fulfilled by worshiping the ṣaḍ-bhūja-mūrti, the form of the Lord with six arms — two arms of Rāmacandra, two arms of Kṛṣṇa and two arms of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj :

This actually is coming from a description of Jambūdvīpa and the reason for this is that Jambūdvīpa is divided up into different varsas. So of course our varsas, Bharata varsa, that is very famous. But then there is borders created by huge mountain ranges and then we get nine varsas in total, in Jambūdvīpa. So just above Bharata varsa divided by the Himalayan mountains, is a varsa called Kimpuruṣa-varṣa, and in each of these varsas there is a particular deity who is very prominently worshipped. So in this Kimpuruṣa-varṣa we have the form of Rāmacandra and that form is worshipped by Hanuman. So Hanuman and all the inhabitants of that varsa, worship Lord Rāmacandra by uttering prayers, which are mentioned here. So this concludes the whole series of prayers about Rāmacandra.

So this particular verse describes some of the qualities of Rāmacandra. Now of course the first line shows that everybody is entitled to worship him. So it says that devatas and demons and human beings and non-human beings that means animals all can worship the Lord and this is illustrated in the past times of Rāmacandra. So we find that the non-human forms are quite famous, so we have all the monkeys and Hanuman. So this of course indicates the great mercy and kindness of Rāmacandra. Normally we say that human beings do bhakti but not animals. Of course not all human beings those who have faith will do bhakti. So generally all these processes – Karma, Jnana, yoga and Bhakti are limited to the human beings. But these processes are not for all human beings.

So process of karma yoga is available for people who accept the varnashrama system. If you don’t accept the system, you cannot do karma yoga. Jnana and Yoga are available for people in the varnashrama system who are brahmanas. But bhakti is available for everybody in the varnashrama system and everybody outside the varnashrama system. And thus, in Srimad Bhagavatam it is mentioned that all the tribes who are not belonging to the varnashrama system, they can also worship the Lord with faith. So, bhakti is available for all human beings. But, in this verse, it is said that Rāmacandra accepted even people who were not human beings, animals [Laughs]. So, in this way, we find great mercy of Rāmacandra .

So, in this verse, of course, he is described as uttama, highest form.

Of course, all of the forms of the Lord are highest because they are all Bhagavan. But, in Laghu Bhagavatamrta there Rupa Goswami shows that some show lesser qualities so, they are called Vaibhava forms. Or Prabhava forms. And if they show more qualities, more powers, they are called Paravastha forms. So, in this way, we get different grades of Supreme Lord according to the amount of qualities they show. But, Rupa Goswami then selects three as topmost. And that is Narsimhadeva, Rama and Krishna. But, of course, ultimately, we put Krishna at the very top. So, Rama is regarded as uttama or very high up because of manifestation of wonderful qualities. And as well, manifestation of great powers. We see that Rāmacandra defeated Ravana. And Narsimhadev defeated Hiranyakasipu. So, they were special demons. They were not normal demons. Why? Because, actually, they were associates of the Lord. So, they had more power to fight than the demons of this material world. Yeah. The Lord vanquished them very easily. So, this shows the great power of the Lord. But, the Lord should not be just powerful. He should be very merciful. So, here it says, ‘sukṛtajña’, which means very, very grateful. This means that anything that the devotee does, binds up the Lord. So, any little devotional service is accepted and pleasing to the Supreme Lord and he must respond. So, Rāmacandra is especially merciful in that regard. Special feature also is, as is mentioned in this verse, ‘manujākṛtiṁ’, He had a human form. Narasimhadeva had half human form. But Rāmacandra has this human form, which makes him very, very attractive.

Of course, we also describe Krishna as having human form. So, in that sense, similar. But also there’s some difference. So, Rāmacandra has human form and in that human form, he illustrated the ideal conduct of a king. So, Krishna in Vrindavan has a human form, but he makes no attempt to act in an ideal way. In fact, he breaks all the laws. He does everything opposite of Rāmacandra [Laughs]. So, some people are more attracted to Rāmacandra . But others become attracted to Krishna. And the reason is, he is even more human like than Rāmacandra. Rāmacandra acts as a king. And of course, everyone understands that he is highest authority. He is also supreme Lord. So, nevertheless, everyone is attracted because he has this very human form. At the same time, they have great reverence. Krishna on the other hand, in Vrindavan, is very, very attractive. But when the people of Vrindavan see him, they have no reverence. So, the affection can be shown in a more intimate, intense way. And for that reason, Krishna is put at the very top.

But right below, we have Rāmacandra . He displays very, very wonderful pastimes. He shows great mercy to his devotees. And unlike Vishnu in Vaikuntha, who has four arms, their relationship is very, very close. And that is expressed through the devotion of Hanuman. He is famous as a great devotee because of his intense devotion to Rāmacandra. That intense devotion gives rise to all sorts of pastimes. And thus we have for Rāmacandra, detailed pastimes described in Ramayana. And by hearing those pastimes, people become attracted to the worship of Rama. So, Rāmacandra was so merciful that he took all the persons in Ayodhya to the spiritual world. So, that shows the great mercy of Rāmacandra.

In the Purport, Prabhupada mentions about the Sadbhuja form. So, Lord Caitanya manifested a form with six arms. Normally, Lord Caitanya acts also as a human being. He is Channavatar, he doesn’t show his powers of God. But in private, he showed this form to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. So, obviously because Lord Caitanya is non-different from Krishna, very natural, he would show Krishna form. Krishna is the form of Madhurya or sweetness. Lord Caitanya is non-different from Krishna, but at the same time, he is not called sweet. He is called Audarya. His prominent quality is giving out mercy. So, to show these two together is quite natural. But why did he show the form of Rama? Why not Vishnu or Narsimha or Varaha or Vamana? So, as I mentioned, Rāmacandra is placed right at the top next to Krishna. So, he also manifests a lot of mercy as shown in this verse. But he also shows a lot of power. So, in his depiction in the Sadbhuj form, what is he holding in his hands? He has got his bow and arrow [Laughs], shooting [Laughs].

So, it is described in the 9th canto when Rāmacandra ‘s pastimes are summarized there. It describes how very heroically with his bow, he shot down and cut off all the heads of Ravana. So, in the Sadbhuj form, we get, of course, Lord Caitanya manifesting Audarya, Krishna manifesting sweetness and Rāmacandra showing Aishwarya. So, everything is actually included in Supreme Lord. But in particular forms, there is emphasis on certain qualities.

Hare Krishna!

Q & A

1) Maharaj, So, we know that Krishna’s pastimes are very attractive and Rāmacandra ‘s pastimes are very attractive. What about Narasimhadeva? Why this form is given so much.., put in the topmost form?

So, we do not see so much detailed descriptions of pastimes of Narsimhadev other than killing Hiranyakashipu. Of course, we do see that, his worship is also very popular. But one reason, of course, is, he is put at the top is because, as I said, actually the demons that were killed were actually associates of the Lord. So, therefore the special power is shown by all three in relation to Jaya and Vijaya [Laughs]. At the same time, it also shows the special quality of Krishna.

So, I think it is Markandeya Purana. So, it tells the story of all three. And particularly to show the quality of the Lord that when he kills a demon, he does not send the demon to hell. So, when Narsimhadev killed Hiranyakashipu, he did not go to hell. He was born as Ravana. And, of course, same Jiva, same hatred of the Lord. As when he was Ravana, then Rama killed him. And he did not go to hell. He became Sishupala. And then, of course, same Jiva, he hated the Lord again. He had been killed twice already, third time. Then he hated Krishna. So, Krishna killed him. He did not go to hell. But, he did not get born again. He went to Vaikuntha. So, that example is there to show that Krishna is very special.

But, the reason is explained. Not just mercy. It is because Krishna was more attractive. When Hiranyakashipu fought with Narasimhadeva, he was fighting with Supreme Lord, but he did not become absorbed in him. When Ravana fought with Rama, he also did not become absorbed in him. But, Sishupala, throughout his life, became absorbed in Krishna, in spite of his hatred. He hated the Lord in all three births. But, with Krishna, he became absorbed in his hatred. Why? Because he could not forget the beauty of Krishna. And he could not stop chanting Krishna’s name. So, this led him to become completely absorbed in Krishna all the time. And this purified him of all of his karmas. So, when the Sudarshana chakra touched him, he got Prema. Then, he was qualified for spiritual world.

2) If you take these two aspects, like power and devotee, like Narasimhadev. But, we see that even Varahadeva also, he also killed Hiranyaksha. Similarly, he also lifted Bhumandala. By this also, he showed the great power. But, we don’t consider him in the category of Narsimhadev or Rama or Krishna.

So, he is put in the Paravastha category, right next below that [Laughs]. So, why he is put less than the Narasimhadeva is not explained by Rupa Goswami [Laughs].

Devotee: Varahadeva appeared two times in the day of Brahma, but not Hiranyakashipu.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : But, he only killed demon once, but he lifted up the earth twice.

3) Maharaj, when we talk about Lord Ramachandra, there is a famous verse, which says that anyone who says that I am yours, he gives complete protection. On the other hand, we see even Krishna says, sarva dharman parityaja masucha, like you don’t fear, I give you protection. So if at all is there any difference between this protection and that protection in terms of rasa or anything Maharaj?

Yes. So, the same is true for any form of the Lord [Laughs]. But, then we can say it’s all a matter of degrees as well. We come with Lord Caitanya, then even the people who are not devotees and don’t know anything for the Lord, they also get the greatest mercy [Laughs]. So, that’s even more responsive. So, therefore, Lord Caitanya is… his main quality is called Audarya, being most compassionate, because he takes even the demons with no qualification and gives them Prema.

4) The monkeys which participated in Rāmacandra’s pastimes, they are considered to be though in a monkey form, their consciousness is in one sense either more than a human being, great devotee consciousness we can say. Those monkey ?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, all these animals that took part in Rāmacandra ‘s pastimes are not normal animals [Laughs]. So, we see they developed rasa, actually Dasya rasa. So, that’s not normal for animals, usually they don’t develop rasa. And that is because in that particular form, they cannot express themselves fully in relation to Krishna. So, for instance, the inhabitants of Vrindavan, they can talk to Krishna, joke with Krishna and they can develop rasa through their interaction. But the cows can only moo, moo, moo [Laughs]. They can’t do anything else [Laughs]. Birds can chirp, but they can’t really communicate too much. So, very limited communication. So, rasa does not develop to a high degree. But we see with Hanuman and others then, of course, they did develop. So, very special animals.

Devotee: Not audible

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : I don’t know about the others, but certainly Hanuman is.

Others I don’t know about.

5) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, in Krishna’s pastime of Damodar Lila, Mother Yashoda is trying to tie Krishna and it is two fingers short. And it is explained that how one finger represents the endeavor of the living entity. But in Lord Caitanya’s mercy, that one finger is not required ?

So, of course, even with Krishna we get cases, Putana gets killed by Krishna. No endeavour, but bhakti opposite [Laughs], and she gets to the spiritual world. So, in Lord Caitanya’s pastime, that becomes more common. Still, for the normal person who becomes a devotee, in practices, there is always a combination of your endeavor and mercy.

6) Hare Krsishna Maharaj. So, we see the follower of Lord Rāmacandra, they worship Hanuman. What is our position in terms of, they chant like Hanuman Chalisa and all that, to us as Krishna conscious devotees, do we align with that?

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So of course are you talking about worship of Hanuman ?

Well, of course, we always regard Hanuman as a great devotee. At the same time, because we regard Krishna as the highest form and we encourage worship of Krishna, then we don’t emphasize so much. At the same time, we never reject or offend Hanuman or any of the other devotees of other forms of the Lord. And we can take them as great examples of devotion in general.

7) What is the difference between Bharata Varsha and Bharata Kanda?

I would think it means the same thing. Hmm

Devotee : Not audible.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Oh, I see. What are the other parts? What are the other parts? [Laughs]

Devotee : Maharaj, even in Sankalpa, it is said Bharata Varshe, Bharata Khande.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Oh, okay.

Devotee : Not audible.

8) Maharaj, in the translation it is mentioned that thus he is satisfied and as soon as he is satisfied the devotee is successful. So in our movement we see a lot of devotees who are able to reach out to several souls and bring them into Krishna Bhakti and perform wonderful services. Can we attribute that to their having been satisfied the Supreme Lord?

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : That means what the power of preaching? Are you talking about?

Devotee : Yeah, for example, someone has been very successful in his services and preaching. So can we attribute that to the Lord having been satisfied by that devotee?

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yeah, in general, of course, if the Lord is satisfied and is pleased, then he encourages the devotee and gives him more Shakti. The more Bhakti Shakti a person has, the more he is able to inspire others to take up the process of Bhakti. So in that sense, more successful. But even a person who is less advanced, has less Shakti, he can also do something. At the same time, we also have to distinguish what actually is successful preaching? Because we cannot make successful preaching simply by numbers. So one may make many devotees, but we also have to look at the quality. And that quality will ultimately depend upon the quality of devotion of the person who is preaching. So the more Bhakti Shakti he has because of advancement, then the better quality of devotee will be there.

Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami maharaj ki Jai!!!