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Vijaya Ekädaçé Issue no: 6 15th February 2015

A DI SHANKARACHARYA A ND SRIMAD BHÄGAVATAMAdikesava Dasa

HOW A RE THE CONFIDENTIAL M YSTERIES OF

ÇRÉMAD BHÄGAVATAM R EVEALED

?Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

ÇRÉMAD-BHÄGAVATAM IS THE SOLUTION FOR A LL THE P ROBLEMS OF H UMAN SOCIETY His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada

Features

BHÄGAVATA P URÄNA U PROOTS THEDEMONIAC INFLUENCE IN SOCIETY Srila Jiva Goswami

According to all the revealed scriptures, theÇrémad Bhägavatam is inconceivable, beyond mundaneunderstanding. Its meaning cannot be understood either by scholarship or penance. One who isnot a devotee of Krishna, no matter how a great scholar he may be, will never understand ÇrémadBhägavatam .

-- Caitanya-bhägavata, Madhya-khaëòa 22.13-14

U NCOMMONMERCY

The story of Rasikananda

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ÇRÉMAD-BHÄGAVATAM IS THE SOLUTION FOR A LL THE P ROBLEMS OF H UMAN SOCIETY

His Divine GraceA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The sage Maitreya proposed to speak on ÇrémadBhägavatam because it was especially compiled,and traditionally comes down in the disciplicsuccession, for the solution of all the problems ofhuman society. Only one who is fortunate can havethe opportunity to hear Çrémad Bhägavatam in theassociation of pure devotees of the Lord. Underthe spell of material energy, the living entities areentrapped in the bondage of many difficultiessimply for the sake of a little bit of material happiness.They engage in fruitive activities, not knowing the

implications. Under the false impression that thebody is the self, the living entities foolishly relateto so many false attachments. They think thatthey can engage with materialistic paraphernaliaforever. This gross misconception of life is sostrong that a person suffers continually, life afterlife, under the external energy of the Lord. If onecomes in contact with the book Bhägavatam as well as with the devotee bhägavata , who knows what the Bhägavatam is, then such a fortunateman gets out of the material entanglement.

Therefore Sri Maitreya Muni, out of compassion

for the suffering men in the world, proposes tospeak on the Çrémad Bhägavatam first and last.

—Çrémad Bhägavatam 3.8.3 Purport ·

A DISHANKARACHARYA A NDSRIMAD

BHÄGAVATAM

Adikesava DasaSrila Jiva Goswami proves the importance andauthority of Çrémad Bhägavatam by pointing to itsgreat popularity and referring to some of the excellentcommentaries on it by the ancient and modernscholars, such asHanumad-bhäñya, Vasnä-bhäñya,Sambandhokti, Våhat-kämadhenu, Tattva-dépikä,Bhävärtha-dépikä, Paramahaàsa-priya andÇuka-hådaya . He also refers to Tantra-Bhägavata, which is mentioned as a commentary on ÇrémadBhägavata inHayaçérñä-pancarätra and mentionsseveral other works on the Çrémad Bhägavatam. The question is sometimes asked whySripad Shankaracharya did not accept Bhägavatam as Vyasadeva's own commentary onBrahma-sütra .In reply to this Çré Caitanya-caritämåta quotes ashloka from the Padma Puräëa , according to which Sripad Shankaracharya was an incarnationof Lord Shiva, the prince of devotees, who himselfdevotionally inclined at heart, but whose specialmission in coming down to this world in the role ofanäcärya was to misguide the people at the behestof God by wrongly interpretingçästras with the helpof lakñaëä-våtti of words (Caitanya-caritämåta,Madhya-lélä 6.13 ) He did not explicitly acceptÇrémad Bhägavatam, because he knew it containedteachings which were decidedly above his own,and he did not want to misinterpret it as he did inthe case of the other çästras because he consideredit to be the most sacred to God. But his real love forBhägavatamis evinced by his occasional referencesto the pastimes of Krishna in his Govindäñöakaandother similar works, as also by some of his hymns

which echo the ideas contained in the Bhägavata . The fact that the Bhägavata wasrecognized as Sri Vyasadeva’s own commentaryon Brahma-sütra is the reason why Sri Chaitanyaor any of the six Goswamis did not, like theother Acaryas, try to base their philosophy onan original commentary on Brahma-sütra . Çrémad Bhägavatam is thus the foundationstone of the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya. Heclearly states this while reprimanding Devananda,a scholar of Nadiya, for his careless study of the

Bhägavatam . The writings of Sri Rupa, Sanatana,

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Sripad Adi Shankaracharya

Jiva, Vrindavana Dasa and Kaviraj Goswami arealso characterized by a faithful dependence on thisgreat Puräëa and are replete with references fromit. Some of these such as the bhägavatämåta ofSanatana and Saàkñepa-bhägavatämåta of Rupaare apparently works on Çrémad Bhägavatam itself.The sandarbhas of Jiva Goswami were designed to

be a commentary on selected portions of ÇrémadBhägavatam , as the name Bhägavata sandarbha ,originally given to them by the author, indicates.Sri Jiva also wrote a running commentary on theBhägavatam which was called Krama-sandarbha . The contents of Çrémad Bhägavatam are classified by Sri Chaitanya under threeheads: sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana .Sambandha, which means relation, treats of therelationship between Jéva , world and Éçvara . Butsince Jiva and the world are the manifestations of

the cit and acit potencies of Éçvara , sambandha-- jïäna primarily means knowledge of the completepersonality of Éçvara , and sambandha-präpti the realization of our true relationship with Him.Abhidheya means the way that leads to attainment ofthis relationship and prayojana the purpose for whichthe relationship is sought. Éçvara , conceived in all Hisperfection, is sambandha ; Bhakti is abhidheya ; andPrema is prayojana . This classification is extendedby Sri Chaitanya to the other scriptures as well.

— From the book "The Philosophy & religion of Lord Sri Chaitanya" by

Adikesava Dasa ·

HOW A RE THE CONFIDENTIALM YSTERIES OF ÇRÉMAD BHÄGAVATAM R EVEALED

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati ThakurPrabhupada

According to the statements of the sages headed by

Saunaka, Sri Suta Goswami has been establishedas sinless. It is understood that he was not bornin a sinful or outcaste family. But the fruitive workers who follow an incomplete portion ofa branch of Vedic literature consider him a non-brahmana outcaste and devoid of any saàskäras .Thus they neglect the spiritual master and commitoffence. That is why Sri Vyasadeva has recordedthe word anagha , or sinless, spoken by the sages while describing Sri Suta Goswami in order to setan example for his successor äcäryas . Sri SutaGoswami gave up his identification with a lowerfamily and took shelter of Sri Sukadeva Goswami.Because of accepting subordination to the spiritualmaster he became qualified to hear ÇrémadBhägavatam(10.14.3):

jïäne prayäsam udapäsya namanta eva jévanti san-mukharitäà bhavadéya-värtäm

sthäne sthitäù çruti-gatäà tanu-väì-manobhir ye präyaço 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyäm

“Those who, even while remaining situated intheir established social positions, throw awaythe process of speculative knowledge and withtheir body, words and mind offer all respects todescriptions of Your personality and activities,dedicating their lives to these narrations, whichare vibrated by You personally and by Yourpure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship,although You are otherwise unconquerable byanyone within the three worlds.”

After hearing this shloka from Sri Sukadeva,Sri Suta Goswami Maharaja, though born in a lowclass family, heard Çrémad Bhägavatam with hisbody, mind, and speech from paramahaàsa Sri Sukadeva, the king of the Vaishnavas. Thushe underwent all types of saàskäras andultimately accepted the external dress meantfor paramahaàsas and approved by ÇrémadBhägavatam . Unable to find any symptoms inhis external dress that he had undergone anysaàskäras , the sages, who were mental speculatorsand controlled by the illusory energy, through their worldly godless vision simply understood him as

a non-brahmana, professional outcaste saint. But

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Srila Jiva Goswami

Narada and Vyasa were often called upon to address various audiences on the subjects of karma, yoga, andjïäna. They rarely had an opportunity to hear suchan extraordinarily pure Bhägvata discourse. So they were moved to great ecstasy when the nectar likejuice of topics concerning the Supreme Personalityof Godhead issued from the lips of Sri Suka theirqualified disciple. Çrémad Bhägavatam‘s special greatnessis thus due to its unparalleled author, its eminentspeaker, and its elevated audience. No other scripture

in recorded history has ever had such an audience,except perhaps when Grandfather Bhisma, after theKuruksetra War, instructed King Yudhisthira from hisbed of arrows. Bhisma's main purpose, however, was to convince Yudhisthira to begin managinghis kingdom. By contrast, Çrémad Bhägvatam wasspoken in just the opposite context: King Parikshit,having renounced his kingdom, simply wanted tohear Krishna katha and in this way discharge the onlyduty of a dying man. Sri Sukadeva thus had no needto dilute his narration with talk of lower religious

principles. Therefore Çrémad Bhägvatam is the most

Sarasvati Devi inspired them to address him assinless and professor of the Dharma-çästras . Sincefoolishness is an impediment on the path of goodfortune to the world, it is not encouraged by Krishna, who is beyond the jurisdiction of sense perception,because a gentle favored disciple receives allconfidential mysteries from his spiritual master.

—From the book "Brähmaëa & Vaishnava" by Srila Bhakti

Siddhänta Saraswati Thakur ·

BHÄGAVATA P URÄËA U PROOTS THEDEMONIAC INFLUENCE IN SOCIETY

Srila Jiva Goswami

Vedic tradition recognizes three ways of teaching-like a ruler, like a friend, and like a lover. The

Vedas speak in an imperative voice, like anoverlord: satyaà vada dharmaà cara . "Speakthe truth and be religious" (Taittiréya Upaniñad1.l.1). The Vedas do not need to offer logicalreasons for following their instructions. One isexpected to obey without question. The Puräëas instruct like a friend, narrating stories with moralconclusions and providing reasoned explanations when required. Kävya , or poetic literature,gives counsel like a beloved lady, speakingsweetly but indirectly. Instructions are expressedin an aesthetically pleasing way to attract thereader or hearer. Çrémad Bhägavatam uses allthree of these methods to convey its teachings. Just as a phrase or song becomes moresignificant when an eminent personality quotesor sings it, so the Bhägavatam has increasedin significance because the eminent SukadevaGoswami recited it. He narrated the Bhägavatam in such a marvelous way that both his guru, Srila Vyasadeva, and his param guru, Sri Narada Muni, were amazed. They felt as if they had never heardit before.

The customary etiquette is that adisciple should neither take a higher seat thanhis teachers nor speak as an authority in theirpresence. Sukadeva Goswami’s speaking ÇrémadBhägavatam in the presence of his gurus isone of the rare exceptions. Because his gurusconsented to it, however, Sri Suka is faultless, asSrila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura points out inhis commentary on Bhägvatam 1.17.29 , whichdescribes Sukas accepting the speaker's seat. Fromthe narrations of the Mahäbhärata we learn that

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perfect and complete transcendental scripture. Itdoes not even depend on the support of the Vedas.

Indeed, the sunlike Çrémad Bhägavatam isthe very representation of Lord Krishna. The Lordpossesses all good qualities, as Srila Rupa Goswamiexplains in Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu (2.1 .l7 ):

näyakänäà çiro-ratnaà Krishnas tu bhagavän svayam

yatra nityatayä sarve viräjante mahä-guëäù

Lord Sri Krishna, the original Personality ofGodhead, is the crest jewel of all heroes. All wonderful qualities are eternally present in Him.

Since Çrémad Bhägvatam is nondifferentfrom Krishna, it is also a reservoir of all good qualities.

When Lord Krishna appeared, He destroyed manydemons and protected His saintly devotees. Inthe same way, the Bhägavata Puräëa uprootsthe demoniac influence in society and protectssaintly persons with its ambrosial narrations. Otherscriptures speak about fruitive activities, impersonalBrahman, or yoga, and they may or may notsay something about the transcendental path oflove of Godhead. But the Bhägavatam kicks outall types of inferior, cheating religion like refuse.Only explanations of the absolute reality find a

place in its pages the crest jewel of all heroes. All wonderful qualities are eternally present in Him.

—Anuccheda 26.3, Çri-Tattva Sandarbha of Srila Jiva Goswami

translation by Satya Narayan Das, Printed at ISKCON Vrindavan,

1995 ·

U NCOMMONMERCY

The story of Rasikananda

Syamananda ordered Rasika to deliver all people,including kings and their subjects, throughoutUtkala to preach the essence of loving devotionof the Lord. Following this order, Rasika went toRajagada. The king there was known as VaidyanathaBhanja. He had two brothers, namely Chota RayaSena and Rautra. These three brothers belongedto the Surya dynasty and were greatly powerful.They kept many scholars in their court, who theyengaged in regularly reciting the Vedas and theÇrémad Bhägavatam . The three royal brotherslistened to Rasika as he continued explaining the

transcendental knowledge to the King’s family and

the illustrious Bhattacaryas. Listening attentivelythey began to shed tears. They then gave upall their speculative habits and took refuge inKrishna. One day Rasika was speaking in King Vaidyanath’s court. As the king and his twobrothers sat listening to theÇrémad Bhägavatam ,the manager of the king’s estates came down thereand stood before the king. The manager, whosename was Rama-Krishna, was a disciple of Rasikaand a staunch devotee. When he saw the attentionof the king wander from Çrémad Bhägvatam ,he said, ‘’O King, you an ignorant fellow. You will give up hearing the nectarean topics ofLord Krishna just to hear from your manager.’’ Saying this, Rama-Krishna slapped theface of the king and the king immediately fainted.Everyone in the assembly was really sorry to see

this, and the king’s ministers were about to killRama-Krishna for his impudence. Anticipatingthe situation, the king quickly recovered and fellat the feet of Rama-Krishna. With folded handshe announced to everyone, ‘’I have committeda sin and for that I was punished. Rasika Prabhu was discussing topics of Lord Krishna, but Iallowed my attention to wander elsewhere. It isthe verdict of all scriptures that any topics otherthan those concerning Lord Krishna are likepoison. That person who allows his attention

to wander away from the topics of Krishna is agreat sinner and is like a dog or a pig that likesto eat rotten things. I have been rightly servedby my brother Rama-Krishna. He has savedme and shown proof of his affection for me.The king then embraced Rama-Krishnaaround his neck and to the astonishment ofeveryone he began to weep. Then the kingtook Rama-Krishna’s hand and said,‘’Yourhand must hurt after slapping my hard body.’’The king had Rama-Krishna sit by his side, and

they continued to hear about Lord Krishna. —From the book “The Story of Rasikänanda” by Srila Bhakti

Vikäsa Swami. ·

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