Srimad Bhagavatam Course. Session 3
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Bhaktivedanta Institute · 2025
Главы
Introductory prayers and review of Tattva Sandarbha
Omna Bhavate vasudevaya, Omnamo Bhavate V Sudevaya, Omnamo Bhavate V Suddevaya, Janma Syat, on vayat, daratachheshva vi gisware, ten brahma hridaya, di kawaya muhyan di jaat sura, te Jovarium ridam yatni mayatri sargam risha, Dhamna Svena Sadhani Rastakuhakam Satyam paramhimahi, Satyam paramhimahi, Satyam paramhimahi, dharma projitakaitavotra paramonir matsaranam satam, vedyam bastava matravastu sriwadam tapotrayon mulanam, sriad Bhagavatam Mahamuni Kritekim Bapara Rishwara, Kridya Sadhya Rudya Tetra Kriti Bishus, Survivistat, Ksanat. Yampra Jantamanupetam Peta Krityam Dwaipa, Vira Katara Juhava, Putreitita mayotaravobinedus, tam sarva butridayam munimana tos me, Narayanam namaskritiana Rom Cheva Narotam, Devim Saraswatiasam Tatojayamudirayat, Yamtah Pradisya Mamavachimu Mampra Suptam Sanji Vayata Kila Shakti Darah Swadamna, Hanyam Shahastacharana Sravanatva Gadim, Prananda Mau Bhagavate Purushayatubam, Svasasta Vishwasya Kalah Prasidatam, Dayantu Butani Shivam Mithudya, Manascha Badram Bajatata Doksha Ja, Havesha Tamati Rai Pyahaituki Hare Krishna.
So I'm very happy to be with all of you again, after Gaura Purnima festival. And we continue with our contextual study of Srimad Bhagavatam when we are trying to keep the context in mind to understand the meaning, the deeper meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam, which sometimes may be lost when we lose the context or understood not correctly. And to prepare ourselves for this understanding, I first I'm first doing the very short review of the ideas of Tattva Sandharva. Tattva Sandharba is the treatise of Silajiva Goswami, where he laid the foundation of understanding of Shrimad Bhagavatam. Several times I mentioned that Gaudi Vaishnava Siddhanta is entirely based on Srimad Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam is the main pramana. And to Explain to make the exposition, elaborate exposition of Siddhanta, first Silajiva Gaswamy lays the foundation for this by analyzing, preliminarily analyzing Shimad Bhagavatam, why it is the main pramana and what is there in the book. And that's exactly what we are doing. We are coming to the end. We will need yet another session before we will cover all the material of Tattva Sandarbha. So that will be the penultimate session on this introductory topic. But already in this introduction, we are covering a lot of material which prepares us to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Anyway, without further introduction, we will go go with our uh lesson plan.
So first I uh traditionally answer the question and then uh we will talk a little bit why do we need to study so much philosophy after all the Hare Krishna movement?
Should we just chant Hare Krishna and dance and kirtan and dance our way back to Godhead? As Prabhupada sometimes would say. And then I will derive certain conclusions from Vyasa Samadhi.
We already covered this material in the last session in a little rushed manner. So today we will briefly repeat the ideas in this section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And then we will come to directly to Tattva Sandarbha, how Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains viṣaya or the subject matter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and how he suggests that Shrimad Bhāgavatam not suggests but how he explains Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam delineates this subject matter in two completely different ways.
It's a very interesting point. And if we will have enough time, we will speak about one approach of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to explain the main subject matter of the book.
Second one will be the next session and if we have enough time I will also explain samanvaya how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is summarizing amazing in a very amazing way, synthesizing in a very amazing way all the ideas of Vedic culture.
So that's the plan for today's class, and by tradition we will chant two verses from Krishna Dila Stava by Sanatna Gaswami Asadu Sadhu Tadain Atinit Chochataraka Hanamuncha Kadim Mam Premna Krit Kathayospura.
O Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Giver of Saintliness to the unsaintly, or uplifter of the very fallen. Please do not ever leave me. Please become manifest upon my heart and my throat, accompanied by pure love of Krishna.
In other words, Sri Sanatan Goswami is praying, let me always recite Srimad Bhagavatam and always remember beautiful ideas of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Madeka Vanda Matsangeen Madguraman Mahadhana Manistaraka Mad Bhagya Madananda Namostute this his obeisances
Questions on samadhi, desires, and suffering
to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam who is his only friend. So now, as usually, very interesting questions from Deva Deva Sri Radhika Devidasi.
She's asking that Maharaja stated that Samadhi is becoming one with the object of knowledge. And then he described how Vyāsadeva actually saw Krishna, Īśvara Māyā, shying away the suffering jiva, etc.
If Vyāsadeva was here the observer, how do we understand the becoming one with the object of knowledge? Some explanation of this aspect of Samadhi would be very helpful. Basically, what is Samadhi?
Dhyāna, Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, dhruva-smṛti and ultimately samadhi, there are different stages of concentration when we concentrate our mind on some object.
And according to the level of our concentration when all other thoughts are completely eliminated then this object becomes our mind. There is nothing else within our mind, just the object of our meditation.
We still remain separate, we are not merging into this object. But in one sense, we're becoming one with this object because we are completely absorbed in this object, because our mind is in the object.
So our mind or our consciousness is completely drawn to this object and concentrated on this object. So we don't lose at this point our individual existence. We can never lose it.
We still remain the consciousness, but our consciousness takes the shape or form of this object and therefore we can understand it much in a much more deeper way. So that's basically what it is.
We never we never talk about merging. Śrīla Prabhupāda didn't like this merging business. So uh yeah uh actually
there are two questions which are completely similar so I will answer this question of course at the end when similar question is is asked. And this is the second question from her.
With regards to the different stages of bhakti, you mentioned that sādhana-bhakti conscious endeavor is required.
Why is it that despite all our endeavors and having full desire to turn towards Krishna, we still cannot do this and have attachment to enjoyment and the material things.
What is it that stops the seamlessness of our desire and reconnecting with Krishna?
You can describe it differently, but the problem is that we do have desire to turn our consciousness towards Krishna, but we have other desires as well. And other desires they turn, they pull us in different directions.
So this is the difficulty of uh stage of sadhana, when we have two forces, one force is pulling us towards Krishna, we already feel His attractiveness to a certain extent, but not so pronouncely.
But at the same time we still have on subconscious level a lot of attachment and attraction which is pulling us in opposite direction.
The desire which you are talking about is only conscious desire. But conscious part of our psyche is a very small part of it.
It's like an iceberg. Iceberg has uh very little part outside uh which is outside of water. Most of it is inside the water.
In a similar way, subconscious desires which are uh result of our experience in this material world pulling us in different directions. And therefore we have to really apply force to make this conscious desire stronger.
Otherwise subconscious desire will drag us down. So that's that's what it is basically, karma which is still very strong and which is pulling us down. And another very interesting and tricky question.
Hearing about all the qualities of Krishna, I believe them.
But at the same time my mind flinches because what I am hearing, he removes sorrows, is not matching with what I am perceiving in the material world, i.e., devotees and their sorrows and pain.
How can we convince our mind when our perceived reality is different from the words of the absolute truth. So let's analyze this statement from Tattva Sandharva uh by Joe.
Sorry about that to interrupt you, but yeah, we cannot see the screen right now. Oh, you cannot see the screen? No. Oh uh it stopped i it was working but it stopped working. Uh you can see the screen?
They say they can see the screen. I cannot see your screen but I don't know. Okay. I can see. But I don't know why you could need to record the house recording the right way. I'm sorry for the interruption. Okay, no problem.
So shall I continue Everybody uh looks like everybody seen except me, but I'm recording, so my wonder is if it's recording with the power or not. So I don't know what did I do or what did I change? Um oh I I think know.
Let's see now. Okay. Now I can see it too. So hopefully it's recording. I'm sorry, Maharaj. Okay, so uh, Jiva Goswami, by explaining the point of prayojana, he says why Bhagavan is our prayojana? Why do we have to strive to
come closer to God? And he makes four points, he lists four reasons why.
First, because he's concerned with our well-being, and it manifests very vividly that he's always instructing people, coming himself, giving different instructions, giving scriptures, sending saints and prophets, and so on and so forth.
And the second point which Kushi is asking, he removes all sorrows. But we have to understand what it means that he removes all source, all the pains of living entities, by freeing us from illusion.
It is very clearly described in Yoga-sutra, and Acharyas quote this sutra often, that the klesas or the causes of suffering, avidya, asmita, raga, dvesha and abhinivesha, five causes of suffering, are being removed by practicing of devotional service.
But it's a gradual process.
So in the beginning, especially in the sadhana stage, we are not completely free from avidya, which is ignorance, from asmita, which is false ego, from raga and dvesha, from attachment and hatred, and from abhinivesha, the fear of death, so absorption in this matter.
But when they're practicing, we become progressively free from these causes of sufferings and progressively free from sufferings. So every one of us can relate to this statement because we
can feel and testify on Bible, or on Bhagavad-gītā, or on any other holy scripture, that our sufferings have become less, have become less. Yes, we do suffer just because we still have false ego, just because we
still have attachment and hatred, who doesn't? And it's all. But uh we are relatively much more free from it than before.
And there is no doubt about it. So, yes, devotees suffer, and the sufferings actually are meaningful in the lives of devotees because they help them to strengthen their conviction and their determination to be completely free from all sufferings and ultimately to destroy avidyā.
So that's just a condition of sadhaka. Sadhaka is not completely free from all the impediments, obstacles, and even bhakta up to this level, in this effect, he is not completely free from all the obstacles.
Only on the level of prema everyone is completely free.
Guidance on hearing and the soul's nature
So he removes all sorrows, but gradually, not not like this not by one click. So uh yeah, Madana-mohana-prabhu. This question is a continuation of Gopali's question about śravaṇam.
I heard from you that in the beginning a devotee should not hear many preachers. He should concentrate on one preacher and develop a kind of knowledge skeleton.
As for me, I notice how every year I become more sensitive to hearing and don't feel like hearing from a devotee if I don't feel something really essential for me, something authentic.
Also, what I noticed is that if some educational course contains classes of two or more lecturers, my mind becomes totally distorted.
Could you please deliberate on the culture of hearing depending on the level of hearer and reciter and their personality traits, and probably, and there are other important factors.
Just to answer this important question very briefly, yes, in the beginning it is recommended, strictly recommended to listen only to one person who presents the scriptural truths.
But then after some time you may, not necessarily, but you may feel the need or you may widen the scope and you may listen from other sources but it doesn't mean that you have to listen indiscriminately from anyone and everyone.
It basically means that you listen to some other one or two or maximum three people whom you feel that they're really nourishing your bhakti and they give something which you are lacking at this moment.
So it definitely doesn't refer to this indiscriminate hearing. Our hearing remains selective.
Moreover, when you hear for some time you develop the, how you say this, the taste or not the taste, the ability to discriminate the truths from untruths, and therefore you become very sensitive when somebody is talking from the top of his head or her head, when somebody is speculating.
So, what you are explaining is a very natural and very good development. Yes, you absolutely should become more sensitive. But still, you know, if you feel the need, you can hear some other
people, one, two, or three, besides your direct spiritual master, if you feel that the bhāva which is coming from them and the information, the knowledge which is coming from them, realizations which are coming from them are helpful in your spiritual development.
So it doesn't really depend on the personal individual traits of a person. You are explaining the proper progression.
You hear somebody and then you created the proper framework and this framework allows you to discriminate and then you become sensitive and you only want to hear somebody who is you know who is really nourishing your Krishna consciousness or your bhakti?
And another question from Damadharapriya. The object of love is one who cares about us. How does it relate to the eighth verse of Shikshashtakam?
Well, strictly speaking, we should wait till the 10th Kanto and 3rd chapter of the 10th Kanto where Krishna explains this subject matter in a very beautiful way in the verse Naparayam Niravadya Samyujam, but
in brief, because we may not live that long till we start explaining the 10th canto, the 33rd chapter.
Yes, sometimes Krishna can neglect his devotees but he's only doing this because he knows that the only source of happiness for a devotee is love and by abandoning or apparently abandoning a devotee, he increases the love within the heart of this devotee, and proportionately the happiness of this devotee is also increasing.
The eighth verse of Shikshashtakam, the culmination of Shikshashtakam is the expression of the highest ecstasy of Lord Chaitanya. Ecstasy in separation. So sometimes Krishna gives us this experience of separation but only to make us happy because when the love increases our happiness increases proportionately.
And from Sangita Manim, if the jivas are not created, then why do we discuss Srishti Lila about creation in second Kanto?
Actually Srishti Lila is described in Second Kanto but mostly in the third Kanto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And it's not about creation of jivas.
Jīvas are not created, jīvas are eternal energy of the Lord and Krishna stresses again and again and again, na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin in the second chapter of Bhagavad-gītā.
Sri Shil about the creation of this world and the creation of the bodies of the living entities, not the souls of the living entities. Could you please explain how to hear correctly?
Again, it's a subject matter of the big of big class. But Śrīla Prabhupāda puts it in a very beautiful phrase: the spiritual art of submissive hearing.
Submissive means I'm humble, I don't judge, I just try to accept whatever I hear with open heart, without being judgmental, without doubting we can have, but there are doubts and there are doubts.
There are vicious doubts, doubts which are created by our pride and there are sincere doubts.
So we hear with open heart ready to accept the truth which is coming to us, and that's why he calls it spiritual art of submissive hearing.
Basically, we are submitting ourselves to be reformatted, to influence our consciousness by the words which are coming into us.
Usually we are very protective, we try to protect our identity and mostly it's a false identity. And we remain the final judge, whatever in the hearing process.
But if we want to hear spiritual subject matter and be influenced by it, to experience the transformation of the heart through the process of hearing.
We have to become humble, we should stop being a judge and we should just open heart and accept what is coming to us and willingly and joyfully accept the transformation which are coming together with the words which we hear.
There are two more questions. No, three more questions actually. How does Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam reveal itself according to one's advancement in devotional practice? Does revelation like purity of the heart come gradually?
Absolutely. Yes. It's actually a very simple thing.
Therefore it is said bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite 'male apaśat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam, because Purushampurnam Maya Chatata Pashrayam because the heart of Śrīla Vyāsadeva was completely pure after meeting with Nārada Muni when he sat on the bank of Saraswati River. He concentrated his mind completely and his mind was pure,
Amale, because of bhakti-yoga of very high status.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that this bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite 'male, he saw in his mind which was purified by Bhakti Yoga, the Bhakti Yoga here means prema bhakti.
The level of prema which means complete total purity. And in this completely crystal clear mind he saw Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam was revealed to him in its entirety. But you know our mind is not crystal clear it's not even clear.
But the more clarity we have the deeper our understanding of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and uh sometimes some flashes of realizations or revelations will come to us when we read it and we understand, yes, that's what it is.
This is the truth. And Nagaraja Prabhu is asking very uh important question. We hear that Krishna has three energies, Antaraṅga-śakti, Bahiraṅga-śakti and Taṭasthā-śakti.
Is the Bahiraṅga-śakti coming directly from Krishna or Vishnu or is it a transformation of Brahma-jyoti? And is the Brahma-jyoti part of the Antaraṅga-śakti?
No, but so this is the answer to this question from Paramātmā-sandarbha.
Although the Paramātmā aspect of Bhagavān exists in the spiritual domain of Vaikuṇṭha also, even that Paramātmā is just a function of Bhagavān himself, for this reason Paramātmā is said to be a feature of Bhagavān that pertains specifically to the cosmos.
So material energy or Bahiraṅga-śakti is the energy of Paramātmā or Vishnu, as you say. It's his Shakti, Shakti of Paramātmā, three forms of Vishnu, control, material energy.
So it's coming not directly from Krishna but from Krishna's expansion.
And we know that even Vishnu doesn't touch material energy directly he only glances over it but it's his energy and his glance becomes Shambhu or Shiva and Shambhu or Shiva it's Vishnu himself who is in contact with material energy.
But it's not Brahma-jyoti because Brahma-jyoti doesn't have energy by definition. Brahma-jyoti is energy in one sense is this so it's not Brahma-jyoti.
Comparing Vyasa's trance with the Catuh-sloki
And um as I said Paramātmā-sandarbha uh asked the same question as uh Kuntī, how the four verses of Vyāsadeva are related to Catuḥ-ślokī in the second canto. So here are the Catuḥ-ślokī of 2nd Canto,
and we can see the same pattern with some changes.
In the first verse, aham evāsam evāgre nānyad yat sad-asat param / paścād ahaṁ yad etac ca yo 'vaśiṣyeta so 'smy aham Paschataham Yat etta Cha Yovais Sosmyaham the sambandha-jñāna of Bhagavān is explained.
Aham evāsam evāgre. He says, aham, aham, aham. Three times he says, aham, aham, aham. I am Bhagawan. I am Sambanda. I am the source of everything.
And this is what Śrīla Vyāsadeva saw in his trance. Apashat Purusham Purnam. He saw this Purna Purusha or Bhagavan who is speaking this verse. So in the second verse, Maya and Jiva and material energy
is described in this catur-ślokī of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Rita Tham Yat pratieta na pratieta chatmani tadviyatmanoyam.
Please know that this is Maya which is not which is not really when you see something and uh you see it's disconnected from the truth please know this is Maya and this Maya has two features. Yadha Abhaso Yadha Tamaha.
Tamaha means material energy and abhas means tiny jiva soul connection So practically the same is explained in the second verse of Vyāsadeva's trance, Anartha Paśama. No. What is this verse? Uh the second verse?
So So the function of Maya and the condition jīva was explained in the second verse. So we have we can see very clear correlation. The essential message is the same.
Now the fourth verse of Catuḥślokī and third verse and fourth verse are reversed in order. In the third verse of Catuḥślokī, prayojana is being described.
Actually very amazing state of love when we become unified with the object of our love and at the same time remain separate.
This philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva is being described in this verse. Like the Mahabhuta, big elements, they enter into all the uh different things or creations of this world, but at the same time they remain separate, in the same uh time uh the jiva and uh uh the Supreme Lord, they become unified but at the same time uh they remain separate and this condition of unity and at the same time uh separational constitutes the experience of love.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī wrote an amazing commentary on this verse, but But when we will come to this, we will describe this.
And the last verse of catuḥ-ślokī, yāvān artha udāṁś ca, tattva-jijñāsur ātmanaḥ, anvayād vyatirekābhyāṁ yatsyāt sarvatra sarvada describes sadhana. And the sadhana is described in the third
verse of Vyāsadeva's trans, and also in the fourth verse of Vyāsadeva's trans, Yasya Vaisru Yamanayan, when you constantly hear Srimad Bhagavatam Krishna Parama Purusheb Bhakti Rut Padyatepum Sam Shoka Mohu Bayapah.
So prayojana and uh the practice uh is also described in the fourth verse. So uh there is a correlation, very clear clear correlation and the same message.
If we know very clearly that samanitva it's a description of God and His energies and it's a description of material energy and jiva, which is controlled by material energy, that's Sambanda.
And then prayojana is a very elevated state of consciousness, the most desired and the most blissful state of consciousness.
And here in this Chatusloki of Srimad Bhagavatam the determination to perform sadhana is very much stressed. Yat sata sarvatra sarvada all the time, everywhere, anvaya vya terekabyam, directly and indirectly.
You have to ask what is this tattva? You have to search for this tattva. So it's a different take or different description.
Vyāsadeva's Samadhi is more or less the description of what he saw according to these three categories of Samhanda, Abhidha, and Prayojana. And Chatukhsloki of Shimat Bhagavatam is the explanation of this Tatvas.
It's much deeper, and therefore the commentaries to this versus are extremely philosophical and long.
The importance of philosophical study in bhakti
But preliminary understanding of reality in sin through the point of view of pure consciousness are being described in trance of Vyāsa Deva. So that's it. And we come to our first topic for today, class.
Why do we need to study so much philosophy?
I think this question may come into our mind when we hear so much description of Samanda Bide Prayojana again, Sambanda Bide prayojana, trance of Yasadev, Chatush Loki Shimad Bhagavatam.
Shouldn't we just serve Krishna loudly chant his holy name? Isn't it this the Yuga Dharma?
And I remember I was being criticized severely that I stressed so much studying, and many devotees told me it's just jñāna, uh it's not our past, it's not bhakti-yoga.
Bhakti-yoga basically means Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, or whatever it is, whatever conception you may have or some perhaps practical service.
So to defend this position and to defend this course, I don't know if it's required, I wanted to give a gift to you.
It's a beautiful quote from Bhaktisiddhanta Vani Vaibhava, which is actually very relevant to our present-day situation in ISKCON.
The Kirtana culture, widespread in Bengal, had sprung from Lord Chaitanya's propagating harir nāmaiva kevalam.
Misunderstanding of which had led to underemphasis of the importance of śravaṇa, hearing hari-kathā, studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāgavatam.
But Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī revealed that hari-kathā is the svarūpa-śakti of harināma. Just as Kṛṣṇa is properly worshipped not alone but with his svarūpa-śakti, Śrī Rādhā.
Recitation of harināma is incomplete and improper unless accompanied by hearing hari-kathā. This is an amazing statement. So Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī is very heavy. He says it's incomplete.
You may chant harināma, you may chant so many kīrtanas, but if it's not accompanied properly by hearing hari-kathā and understanding the philosophy, it's incomplete and improper.
He stated that whenever hari-kathā is spoken as a tīrtha, wherever hari-kathā is spoken as a tīrtha, and that hari-kathā is the guardian
of genuine sādhus in the world where everything is surrounded, one is ready to become an enemy and to attack the unprotected.
He says hari-kathā is the protection from māyā, from the attacks of māyā. Because it makes our mind stronger. We will see it next while quoting Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Moreover, he stressed that taste for and faith in hari-kathā is the very root of hari-sevā.
So if we don't have taste and if we don't have faith in hari-kathā, we will not really be able to serve, including service of the Holy Name. The chanting of the holy name will become some sort of sense enjoyment.
You know, just nice discotheque on the nice musical.
And here what I wanted to really discuss a little bit, uh, in the beginning, uh, of this class is the verse from, uh, the second chapter of, uh, Ādi-līlā [of] Caitanya-caritāmṛta: siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara ālaśa. You should never become lazy, ālaśa, by studying Siddhanta. The mind should never revolt or should never be lazy to study Siddhanta.
Iha Haita Krishna Lagi Sudridhamas because when you do it your mind will naturally be attached to Krishna or will be very fiercely attached to Krishna. Sudri Dhamanas.
You will be very much attached to Krishna because the mind will be strengthened by this deliberation on Siddhanta.
And this translation of Śrīla Prabhupāda: Sincere students should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions, strengthen the mind. Subrida, very much strengthen.
Thus one's mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. So you can only think about Krishna if you if you strengthened your mind by this. And I'll read there are three slides with the excerpts from Purport.
Wonderful purport Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote. He said that ultimately we need to change the heart.
And he says, to create such a change of heart, conclusive discussion about Sri Krishna and his potencies are absolutely necessary.
And he says false devotees, he basically means prākṛta-sahajiyās and prākṛta-sahajiyā tendencies within our heart. Lacking the conclusion of transcendental knowledge, thinking that artificially shedding tears will deliver them.
Similarly, other false devotees saying that studying books of previous Acharyas is unadvisable, like studying dry empiric philosophies.
But Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, following the previous ācāryas, has inculcated the conclusions of the scriptures in the six thesis called Ṣaṭ-sandarbhas.
False devotees who have very little knowledge of such conclusions fail to achieve pure devotion for want of zeal in accepting the favorable directions for devotional service given by self-realized devotees.
Let me explain, this is a very important point. Why do we study? Why should we apply our mind again and again and again? Because when we study again and again and again, we will develop eagerness to practice bhakti.
The practice of our bhakti will become much more powerful because of this process of studying Shastra.
And when our practice will become powerful, the realizations which we will get also will become more impressive for us and perhaps for others, but that's not so important.
So basically they fail fail to achieve pure devotion for want of zeal in accepting favorable directions for devotional service. We will be just, you know, lukewarm.
Like in the Bible, Jesus Christ, He condemns lukewarm people. You're not cold and you're not really warm. You are lukewarm. So lukewarm practice of Krishna consciousness does not give us real results.
So, but the zeal is coming when we apply our mind and when we really understand in a very tangible way how important it is for us to achieve this lofty goal of Krishna consciousness. Yeah. So yeah,
so that's I guess that's it, yes. So that's wonderful of uh Śrīla Prabhupāda. And then from Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, very interesting also point.
So one point which was made by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, he says Harikathā is varūp śakti of Harināma. And you cannot worship Harinam without worshiping his Shakti as
much as you cannot worship Kṛṣṇa without worshipping Rādhārāṇī.
Śrīla Prabhupāda makes beautiful point according to this verse that only the the real eagerness will develop in the heart only if you strengthen your mind uh by applying it to studying siddhānta philosophy.
Heart transformation through scriptural study
And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī makes another point, also very interesting. He is in the same Tattva-sandarbha in Anucheda 48, which we are somewhat studying very superficially
while explaining the fourth verse of Śrīla Vyāsadeva's trān samādhi.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī writes: There are countless persons whose hearts have been imprinted with and transformed by thousands of spiritual statements such as Kṛṣṇa's to Bhagavān svayam, but Kṛṣṇa is the original personality of Godhead, or who subscribe to the same opinion having gleaned it through the authority of disciple succession, paramparā.
For all these persons, Krishna becomes the most immediate object of perception as soon as they merely hear his name. This is the third very important point which Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī makes.
He says that when we hear again and again and again scriptural statements, the statements become imprinted within our heart.
And the statements themselves, the words of scriptures gradually transform our heart to such an extent it can be done either through hearing the scriptural statements or through us being in a particular parampara and serving to this particular mission.
But again, we will hear these statements again and again and again.
And he says that when this transformation of the heart, which Śrīla Prabhupāda also talks about in purport to the previous verse, when this transformation of the heart takes place, as soon as we hear Krishna, we see Krishna on a certain level.
And moreover, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says, as soon as we hear, it's enough to hear not Krishna, just Krishna. We become completely enthralled and intrigued and Krishna manifest in his holy name. So that's the result.
If we hear again and again and again, Krishna sambandha, he is the supreme lord, he is the possessor of all the energies.
And we are little tiny jīvas who are bewildered by māyā, ultimately our chanting will become much more powerful and it will bring desired results.
So as I said, I I want in the beginning to repeat the main conclusions of Vyāsadeva's trance because we were a little rushed at the end of our previous class.
And I was saying again and again and again, very important point, which I want to repeat here. It's actually depicted, depicted in the second slide that if we know sambandha, we can derive abhidheya.
Abhidheya or the process, the practice, which is most important. Sambandha is important, but its importance lays in how much our practice becomes powerful and pure.
So if we know very clearly sambandha and we have very strong faith in sambandha, then our abhidheya will become pure and it is derived from sambandha.
They're totally interconnected and when our abhidheya or process or practice becomes very strong, then prayojana will also become very tangibly visible to us.
So if we know that the ultimate reality is Bhagavān and we already belong to him and how beautiful he is, how he is performing his līlā in the spiritual world, his para puruṣa, and how we are consumed by this material energy, we will want to practice it.
And the practice is just hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, hearing these topics again and again and again, from the first Kanto till the 12th Kanto and coming back. And then the prayajana will become a natural result.
So this is what is depicted here.
Sambandha plus abhidheya. Not just abhidheya, not just repeating the or chanting of the holy name, but very clear understanding of who is this Krishna whose name we are chanting will help us to achieve prayojana.
Hopefully, I am preaching to myself here and uh so this is uh uh the conclusions of uh uh Vyasadev Samadhi vai Silajivaka Swami analyzes it with so much scrutiny, these four verses or five verses or actually six verses, there are a couple more verses after that.
Just to lay the foundation as I said for understanding of Srimad Bhagavatam. This is what the author has seen, this is the vision of the author. This is his essential message.
Tatparya means the essential message or general context. We're talking about contextual study of Srimad Bhagavatam.
So we have to keep this understanding very important, significant, and simple understanding which is derived from Vyasadeva's transcendence in our mind while we are studying any leela of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So that's the essential message or general context of Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam.
And basically it means that there is God, He is absolute, He is absolute truth, and uh Jivas are independent and uh uh they're dependent on Him, but they're trying to manifest their independence uh and that is the source of their sufferings and problems and to overcome this we just should hear Shrimad Bhagavatam and naturally our mind will gradually gradually turn towards the Lord.
So that's why Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains it with such scrutiny.
And you know we hopefully you all know these verses by heart, bhakti-yogena manasi, how Śrīla Vyāsadeva, so Puruṣam Pūrṇam and māyā, another energy of the Lord, he's so Puruṣam Pūrṇam, Puruṣa with all his energies basically means spiritual energies and material energy which is hiding uh away behind his back and uh how this maya is uh bewildering jiva.
It means that jiva is conscious but by mistake ātmānaṁ triguṇātmakaṁ, jīva thinks that he is belong to this material world.
Paro 'pi, he is para, he is transcendental, but still he manyate, because he is conscious, he thinks that I'm triguṇātmakaṁ, and therefore anartha or suffering comes into his life.
That's the cause of suffering and Śrīla Vyāsadeva saw the direct means sākṣāt, anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣāt, how to mitigate all this anarthas of sufferings, bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje. This is Bhakti Yoga to Adhokṣaja, Bhakti Yoga as a sadhana.
And then for he cakre sātvata-saṁhitām, he created this beautiful Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for them and for himself. I explained cakre means also for himself.
He created yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyām and if we constantly, constantly, uh for a long time here Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Krishna Parama Purusha Bhakti Rutpadyate Pum Sam that Bhakti naturally appears
within our heart or manifest within our heart and as a side effect shoka moha baya apaha that our grief, bewilderment or illusion and fear will go away by this process.
And uh another verse which is included into this the famous Atmaramashloka, Atmaramas Chamunayoni Granta Purukrama, Kurvanta Hai Tukim Bhaktim Ithambu So
for those who are learning slokas, this is the next sloka to be memorized, very important shloka, which basically means that all kinds of different people who achieve very high level of spiritual realization, on whatever level they are, they become attracted by the beautiful qualities of Hari, of Krishna, of personality of Godhead.
And it means that whoever you are, whether you are very highly developed transcendentalist or just bhakta who has come to our temple from the street.
You should just hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and ultimately your heart will be attracted towards this. So this is the conclusions. Just to repeat.
So Bhagavan Purusham Purnam, it means that he has all the energies. Purnam means all the energies are there, internal, external and marginal. This is all what it is there. There is nothing else in the existence.
Realm of spiritual existence, realm of material existence, and the intermediate existence of Jiva, who is conscious but at the same time prone to be attracted by material energy.
So, and uh but uh Swayambhagavan Sri Krishna That's Krishna. He is Purusam Purnam. But he has many many different expansions. And every expansion of Sri Krishna dependent on him. But he is independent.
He is the only independent reality, therefore he is called Purusam Purnam or Krishna Parama Purusa, he is Parama Purusa. And Jivasol is different, that's very important conclusion.
Jivasol is different and it will never become Bhagavan. Hopefully, by now you're all convinced that you will never become Bhagavan. If you still doubt about it, please go back to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and read it again.
They will never become one with him. Maya is the external energy which is diluting, has the diluting potency. It has this ability because we want to be deluded.
There's a beautiful verse written by Pushkin, great Russian poet. He says it's not very difficult to cheat me because I'm happy to be cheated.
So it's not very difficult for māyā to illusion us or to delude us because we're happy to be deluded. But māyā is the servant ultimately the servant of Bhagavān and māyā cannot influence Bhagavān.
That's very important because all this Mayavadi nonsense that Bhagavān becomes bewildered by māyā and becomes jīva is just completely doesn't make any sense. So māyā cannot influence Bhagavān.
She's uh uh uh māyām caitad apāśrayāt, she's behind him, she's uh she cannot even come in front of him. And there is a process of surrender, and how this process of
surrender is being accomplished just by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this is an amazing thing. You don't have to force yourself.
Just hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and ultimately you will surrender because you will have this beautiful vision of beautiful Bhagavān and willingly and very happily you surrender to him because this
is the ultimate purpose of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to describe the beauty of Sri Krishna. Not Krishna, but Sri Krishna, beautiful Krishna. Krishna with his beautiful spiritual energies, and the most beautiful
of which is Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī. So, why do we surrender? Because we feel bliss. It's amazing, we do feel bliss, little bliss, but still we do feel bliss.
But the real bliss of bhakti is much higher than the bliss of Brahman realization, brahmānanda.
Therefore, even ātmārāmas, according to this tenth verse, ātmārāmāś ca munayo, Are being attracted when they hear about the qualities and pastimes of the Lord. And prayojana is to attain love of God,
and this is the mature fruit of all our endeavors, and of course, the sādhana-bhakti. This fruit can only be bestowed upon us. We cannot really achieve this fruit. As we are used to achieve something in this world, we
have to understand that it is given to us by mercy of Bhagavān, but still, we can do something, and that's the beauty of bhakti-yoga. Still, there is a responsibility upon our shoulders, but ultimately the fruit will be given to us if we are humble and tolerant and ready to respect everyone and are not very eager to gain respect ourselves.
And only bhakti can completely eliminate all the sufferings of saṁsāra or bondage of us. Śoka-moha-bhayāpahā.
The very fact that devotional service which is executed by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam deprives us or not deprives us, frees us from all kinds of fear, means that all the bondage is eradicated. No bondage left.
We are completely free, soul, no fear, as Śrīla Prabhupāda would say. I feel no fear. I am Abhay Charanaravinda, the one who becomes fearless by taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.
And very important point of this is that devotion is supremely independent like Bhagavan and hence it does not require the support of any other method. You can just hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it's enough.
Well, you have to take care of your body and so many other things which we have to do, but ultimately to achieve the ultimate result hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is enough because this is the essence of bhakti.
Understanding real reality in Srimad-Bhagavatam
Bhakti starts från śravaṇa. Så that's the brief konklusion or brief repetition of the previous klass to make it clear. And here is a very important and interesting point.
Now, the next point which Jīva Gosvāmī makes in Tattva-sandarbha is that how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam himself or itself describes or Śrī Vyāsadeva himself describes the subject matter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And obviously it is described in the sloka,
which we already to a certain extent study when we described Anubandha Catuṣṭaya, the second śloka of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dharma projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām. So, what can we understand from this?
Dharma projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām. Here, Śrīla Vyāsadeva is explaining the qualification of the hearer.
The real miracle of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will take place when we purify our heart from matsarya. Matsarya basically means competitiveness, the desire to feel superiority over other people.
And therefore, subconsciously we are trying to put them down. So that's matsarya. Before we become nirmatsara and satām become established in truths, we will never be able to understand
this parama-dharma which is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And then he says: Vedyam. What is Vedyam?
What is to be known from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Vedyam basically, it means the subject matter which is to be known. And he says, Vastava matravastu shri Vadam. This is Vastavam Vastu.
What is what should be known from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Vastavam Vastu. Vastu means reality. But here it's very interesting. It's not just reality, it's real reality.
What we should understand from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is vāstavam vastu. It basically means real reality. We will explain what it means.
And this real reality is śiva-dam, it's very beneficial, it's very auspicious, it brings auspiciousness within our heart. In other words, it brings very positive experience, blissful experience
and on the other side tapotrayon tapatrayon mulanam it eradicates all the suffering from our heart all the three kinds of suffering. So these two effects of knowing vāstavam vastu.
That's the subject matter described by Śrīla Vyāsadeva. That's the sutra. What is viṣaya of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? And the rest of the verse is describing the process which we will not talk about.
So this is Vedyam, what is to be known, and what is vāstava vastu? Why he says real reality? Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī quotes Śrīdhara Svāmī's very simple Sanskrit.
Vāstavaṁ paramārtha-bhūtaṁ vastu veditavyaṁ, na tu vaiśeṣika- nām-iva dravya-guṇādi-rūpam. Please listen very carefully.
It's a little philosophical and therefore a little difficult, especially for those who are in India, because it's already late in India and everyone wants to sleep.
Those who just got up in California, they may be still fresh. Here in this beautiful Bhagavatam, the reality is to be known in its supreme transcendental capacity. Paramartha Bhutham.
He gives this adjective to the word vastu. Vastu means reality, but real reality means the supreme transcendental reality, the full capacity of this world Vastu.
Not reality reduced merely to categories of material substance, dravya, Guna, etc., as taught by the Vaisheshikas and others. So it's very interesting.
There are many schools of Indian philosophy, and every school of Indian philosophy first of all describes the subject matter. What is the subject matter?
And every school of Indian philosophy, or for this matter, every school of philosophy, Western, Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, or Indian, they study reality.
Of course, Mayavadis says they also study they say we study reality of Brahman and we want to discriminate it from illusion. Nobody says we are studying illusion. What is the point of studying illusion?
So everyone is studying Vastu, but the standing of Vastu is different in different schools. Like Vaisheshikas, who are the greatest among the philosophers in describing this material world,
it's unanimously accepted among the philosophers that Vaisheshika
Sutra, especially the combination of Nyaya and Vaisheshika, this combined school, describe very beautifully the seven padartas of reality: Dravya, Guna, etc.
I think I yeah, Dravya Guna Karma Samanya Vishesha Samavaya and Abhava. This is the seven Padartas. This seven categories of reality which describe everything in this material world.
But unfortunately they describe vastu the reality, but this description of reality is not real reality. Why? What is the difference between vastu and vastava vastu or avastava vastu and vastava vastu?
The real reality and not exactly real reality. Vastava Vastu is unchanging reality. The reality which will never change. And avasta vastu is jagat.
And everyone else, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, they are mostly describing and studying avasta vastu, the changeable reality, or material science for this matter, or so many different philosophers, they see something which is available to our senses and they study this and because it's real and they study this and they say this is the reality.
So from the very beginning Srila Vyasadeva claims, here is the book, which will describe vastava vastu. The completely independent, transcendental reality, totally transcendent towards temporary reality which we have.
In other words, there is reality, this world is real, but it's not 100% real because it's temporary, but there is eternal reality, and this eternal reality is Vastava Vastu. So that's I've already explained.
And now here is very interesting point. Please listen very carefully. It's easier to say it easier said than done. We can claim, you know, now let us study Vastavastu, transcendental reality. How do we study?
We know how to study Avastava Vastu. By our senses. We can manipulate it, we can develop so many different methods
and methodologies, you know, all this genetic engineering and telescope, microscope, so many different things we can develop because we know it's available to our senses.
How do we understand Vastaovasta, which is by definition transcendental and which is by definition independent. Which we cannot Swayamu Vaspuratyada. How to understand this?
And uh, but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam claims this, it's a very loud claim, very very big claim. Here is Vasto, Vasto, and we will explain to you.
Two methods of explaining transcendental reality
It's very beautiful, uh, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, it's, it's his genius, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, by taking this statement, he says, uh, hear how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains to us Vāstava Vastu by two ways.
There are two general ways of explaining transcendental reality.
One way is called Vyasti Mirdesha or description of transcendental reality by comparing the nature of this transcendental reality with the nature of our consciousness.
Because our consciousness and the consciousness, the superconsciousness, the supreme Consciousness, which is this Vastava Vastu, have the same nature. They have differences, but they have the same nature.
So, one way how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains this is by showing the similarities between the nature of our consciousness which is available to us, which we know, and the nature of supreme consciousness.
The qualities which we have, the tendencies which we have, the all tendencies of the Supreme, not all of them, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains: this is one approach, one very beautiful approach.
We will talk a little bit about this in more details. So, this is one approach. Again, it's a beautiful way of describing something which is by definition undescribable.
Transcendental reality cannot be described by words, cannot be understood by mind.
But still, to a certain extent, by looking inside, we can understand the nature of this vastu vastu. This is one approach which is taken by Śrīla Vyāsadeva or Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and there is another approach.
The first approach is called vyasti-nirdesha or the description nirdesha through vyastis through analysis of how you call this macro and micro? This is of our atomic consciousness.
And another one is samasti-nirdesha, the description Through the deliberation on this universe, which is again available to our senses.
Understanding that this universe is the reflection of the supreme transcendental consciousness or vastu-vastu which created this world. So, this is two approaches employed in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.
One by analyzing the nature of atomic consciousness which we have, looking inside and analyzing the tendencies, looking in other people and seeing it and understanding ultimately the eternal and unchangeable nature of our consciousness and in this way understanding
the unchangeable reality of vastu-vastu.
And another way how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is trying to impress upon us or explain to us the nature of this vastu-vastu is by explaining the nature of this creation and how God who is who created, it's not a correct word, but who yeah, who created this world, you can say, manifest in this world.
So the first approach we will briefly describe today and the second approach is actually the
description of the ten topics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because this 10 topics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the description how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains the reality and how he connects this reality with the transcendental reality and explains how this the nature of transcendental reality by explaining the nature of the universe and our situation in this universe.
So that's sorry. The PowerPoint now is tagging one slide, they've been uh others told me that. Sorry about that.
So is uh the you have you changed your slides because it has been the same for several no I don't know, nothing changed in my condition. What about this? Is it one to eleven? Yeah. This is one to eleven. Yes. Okay. Yes.
We were not seeing that before. Now we can see it.
The concept of non-dual consciousness
Okay. So So when we come to the first approach, this is Jīva Gosvāmī's explanation.
He states that the second verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, uh, Śrī Vyāsadeva claims that this is uh uh uh uh, vastu vāstavam vastu, w- what is it, uh, how is it goes?
Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ... What is to be known from this book is atra. In this book, vedyam, what is to be known, vāstavam vastu.
And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says, hear how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam starts explaining it.
He quotes this very famous verse from the first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vadanti tatva vidas, tattvam yaj-jñānam advayam, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.
He says, what is this vāstavam vastu? Vāstavam vastu is non-dual consciousness. Jñānam advayam. Here the word jñānam does not mean knowledge as we usually translate this word.
Here the word jñānam means consciousness or ability to know. Consciousness as the capacity or ability to know outside world and consciousness as the nature of the soul. So, and this consciousness is advayam, it's non-dual.
And this is tattva. From the very beginning, Sutta Goswami says the purpose of human life is to know tattva. And what is tattva? Tattva is, uh, jñānam advayam, non-dual consciousness.
And this non-dual consciousness presents itself to us in three forms. Immediately he contradicts himself, apparently contradicts himself. He says, jñānam advayam, non-dual consciousness, and then he says three forms.
This is non-dual, means one, and then immediately says Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavan, iti śabdyate. But he says it is śabdyate, it is called.
The tattva is one, consciousness is one, the fundamental consciousness which is underlying this nature and which we know ourselves because we're all hopefully conscious living entities, if we're not completely drunk and dull, then but this non-dual consciousness is called or is revealed to different persons in a different way.
Different people see diff iterently, therefore it is sabdhyate, it is called uh somebody calls it Brahman, somebody calls it Paramātmā, somebody calls it Bhagavān, uh, somebody calls it I don't know. Um So
yes, so uh consciousness uh is the most fundamental reality, background of existence. And Vastavam Vastu has this nature, pure consciousness.
But it is also conscious like the sun, which is made of light, but also illuminates everything. So therefore it's called here jnam. Jnanam is the capacity to know. So vastam vastu is not only pure consciousness.
Mayavadis say Brahman is just consciousness, pure consciousness. We don't say it's pure consciousness. We say it's pure consciousness, but we say that it's pure consciousness which has the ability to be conscious.
This is to it's pure spirit, it's only consciousness, nothing else, but it has the ability to be conscious of something. Well you can ask what you have to be able to be conscious of something if you are alone.
No, you're not alone. You have your energy. You're conscious of your energy and the play between uh the uh Supreme uh Vastavastu, Supreme Consciousness and uh his energy is the reality. So it's very important that
from the very beginning Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains that this is Vedanta. This is Vedantic philosophy.
Every other philosophy, there are six philosophies, Nyāya Vaiśeṣika, and you know there are billions of different philosophies. Eyver philosopher in the West is trying to create his ism.
But in Vedas it's simple, it's Nyāya Vaiśeṣika, Sāṅkhya Yoga, Pūrva-mīmāṁsā and Uttara-mīmāṁsā of Vedānta.
But every other philosophy except for Vedanta says uh does not stress, does not emphasize, does not even state that the reality is one, that it is advaya.
Every other philosophy from the beginning of Nyāya Sūtra there as far as I remember sixteen different padārthas,
sixteen different categories of reality, Vaiśeṣika, seven different categories of reality, Sankhya, two different categories of reality, dual philosophy, yoga accepts basically Sankhya as its philosophy.
There is Puruṣa and Prakṛti. Pūrva-mīmāṁsā definitely not Advaita. Only Vedanta says the cause of everything is one. There cannot be two causes of everything. To understand the deepest reality and therefore it's vastu-vastu.
Yes, uh we see variegatedness and that's real, and other philosophers study this, but if you go deeper, you will have to even Philosophically, philosophically it would be necessary for you to understand.
Yes, ultimately, the reality is one. And what is this reality? Material scientists they agree, reality is one. What is this reality? This reality is gross matter. There's no nothing else according to them.
If you are a consistent materialist, they say that everything else is just dependent on matter. Everything else is just the by-product of matter. Consciousness is not really real. Only matter is real.
Consciousness is the byproduct or manifestation or epiphenomenon of matter.
Now, some very advanced and very progressive modern scientists, they say they start for studying the nature of consciousness, the nature of brain and neurophysiological activities.
They understand that no no consciousness is fundamental. But at best they can come to understanding that either again there are two fundamental realities, consciousness and matter.
Or again at the very best, there is this some impersonal consciousness which is fundamental and matter is the byproduct. That's the different varieties.
But we say no, no, this Advaya Jñāna Tattva only in the beginning stages manifests itself as Brahman, as pure consciousness, impersonal consciousness,
and this is not complete understanding of this Advaya Jñāna Tattva. Paramātmā is much more complete, and Bhagavān is the most complete.
Three levels of realizing absolute truth
So the very first very important point of this verse is that vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate the cult it means that different people by using or
applying different methods of studying this vastu-vastu come to different conclusions or different understandings. So our understanding of vastu-vastu, non-dual consciousness, depends on the method of cognition.
Very important point. If we apply jñāna, we will understand vastu-vastu as Brahman.
And inevitably, because of this method, it's like quantum mechanics, depending on, you know the observer uh you get the results. Results depends on on on the observer, on the consciousness of observers.
So in the same way it's of course a very gross misrepresentation of quantum physics, but because everyone thinks it's like this, I repeat it.
So it's basically depending on how you approach the absolute reality, the reality will reveal itself to you in three different ways. So jñāna-yoga reveals Brahman only sub-aspect of absolute truth, incomplete.
And therefore, it is compared with us being very far away from the object of our investigation, and we only see very vague image of what we see. The mountain which is very far away. We only see something.
It exists, sat, but we don't really know what it is. We cannot say anything about it because it's just the only quality which we can see from that far away by the method of dhyana is that exists, it exists. Nothing else we can say.
Even this we can say not with a lot of assurance. Because as soon as we say it exists means there is it and existence, so there is duality there. But anyway, so when we use the Ashtanga Yoga which
reveals Paramātmā, and Paramātmā is the combination of chit aspect and sat aspects, these two aspects. Paramātmā exists, but Paramātmā has consciousness in a real sense. It is conscious.
It has the desires, it has will, it has ability to create and this is much more complete understanding of this advaya-jñāna-tattva.
And only the method of bhakti-yoga reveals this advaya-jñāna- tattva, non-dual consciousness in full, full manifestation of absolute truth, while revealing
the third aspect of reality, sat-cid-ānanda. Only bhakti is an adequate method to investigate the absolute truth and to understand it in its fullest feature. Because it's there all along in the initial philosophy.
And therefore all the methods are helping us to experience not only sat, not only cit, but also ānanda aspects of it. And Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī confirms this. He says also a very beautiful quote.
As an object is perceived differently by different senses, so the absolute truth of the one appears in three forms. The three, however, should not be considered actually different.
It has already been described that possessor of the material and spiritual energy cannot be perceived simply through impersonal knowledge.
Yeah, impersonal knowledge does not give you the eyes to see the possessor of spirit.
Although through the combined features of Sat-cit-ānanda aspect, the Supreme Lord's mastery over illusory energy or Paramātmā aspect and variegatedness of Vaikuṇṭha is found.
So this is the next level when we strive for liberation in Vaikuṇṭha or understanding the Paramātmā feature of the Lord. The Supreme Lord fully manifests only through the combination of sat, cit and ānanda aspects.
The fullness of the expanded pastimes of the energy and energetic. Basically that's what it is, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the description of this pastimes of energy and energetic.
Three aspects defining non-dual reality
And Śrīla Prabhupāda explains basically the same thing in the teachings of Lord Kapila. So now the question is: how is it Advaita? What does it mean advayatva? First of all, okay, we understood this is not...
Sometimes even Prabhupāda calls this different features. But they're not really features, it's just different understandings of the same reality. Tattva is one. But how can we understand this that this tattva?
And if we say that this tattva has energy, how is it one?
Immediately, this is the conundrum of, uh, māyāvādīs. When they say māyā, māyā means it's not one. If there is Brahman and there is Maya, then how is it one? It's already two.
And therefore they have to say, but Maya is not real, how is not real, it doesn't exist, no it exists, and no, you cannot say it doesn't exist, and you cannot say it does exist. So therefore they're called māyāvādīs.
They have to juggle words to explain how one Brahman why Maya is there, how Maya appears there. So we are, uh, we are followers of Vedānta, which is Advaita-vāda, advaita in the proper sense of this word.
So, how it is Advaita? How what meaning do we uh include and how what is the meaning which is, uh, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, uh, Vyāsadeva and Śukadeva Gosvāmī? What is the meaning of this advaya-jñāna-tattva?
So Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains this. Why it is advaya? First of all, because it is Swayam Siddh Tadrisha atadrisha tattva Antara Abhad. There is no other reality tattva either similar or dissimilar that is self-existent.
In other words, it is Advaya Gyan consciousness Because Bhagavan and His energies is Swayam Siddha, he is self-existent.
Everything else may exist, but they are not self-existent, they are derivation or some creation of this self-existent reality. So we don't deny that there is something else.
Something else exists, but this something else does not have an independent reality. It is derived from the only one Swayam Siddha reality, self-existent, independent reality. That's one understanding.
In other words, you know, sometimes people, atheists, they ask this foolish question, you know, okay, uh God created this world. Who created God? Nobody created God. He is Swayam Siddha, he is self-existent.
And this self-existent reality only one. And therefore Advaya Gyan Tattva. Another aspect why we say that it's Advaita is Swashakti Eka Sahyattvat. Sahatvat because it is being held only by his own Shakti.
Why it is independent reality, why it is only one reality, why it is non-dual reality, because he doesn't need anyone else who will help him to do what he wants to do.
His own Shakti, he is totally independent, he only depends on his own Shakti and therefore he is one. It's his energies he is the only shelter or of—that's another answer to this.
And basically, it means that, yeah, anyway, I already explained this two aspects of consciousness.
It basically means that consciousness, this Advaya Tattva, fundamental consciousness is only one reality and everything else it's done by his own energy, by his own ability to do something, and it basically means that he is the sum total of existence of reality and whatever he wants will manifest itself as it's just the field.
And yeah. Paramasrayam Tattvina. These potencies have no existence without it and as their absolute foundation. It basically means that everything else may be his potencies, but they cannot exist independently on him.
If he would withdraw himself, everything would disappear immediately. Energies exist, they are his energy, and they do not have independent existence. Basically, this is the three aspects of non-dual consciousness.
Why it is non-dual? Because it is the only one self-existent reality, because all energies are his energies, and because his energies do not exist independently without his shelter.
And also ultimate reality, the nature of this Advaita is it must be blissful. So yeah, this is the explanation of this non-dual consciousness is the field of all possibilities. This is how it works.
You know, what is this reality? Why did I put this sentence here. Because when people like Joe Dispenza or modern days impersonalists who understand the fundamental nature of consciousness.
Like this famous book, Secret and all these kind of people who are teaching you how to meditate and manifest, they all say, What is consciousness?
You can listen, there are some interesting people, like Bernard de Castrope, who says that one philosopher and scientist who explained that this field of consciousness.
And uh this is the field, the consciousness is field. This is the maximum which they can understand. That this non-dual consciousness is like a field.
And uh uh when we intend, the power of our intention, the power of our manifest meditation can manifest from this field of all possibilities, whatever we want. This is proven. This is reality.
Some people they meditate, of course, not everyone is very successful, but there is a lot of people who are of this opinion, positive thinking. Just think positively, everything will become positive, everything will.
So here this is what Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī is explaining. We have this experience that by our meditation, by our intention, we can realize something.
So basically, the non-dual consciousness, which has the same nature as our atomic consciousness, is this has this field of his energy and of course he unlike us can manifest whatever he likes from this field of consciousness because it's his energy.
We are trying hard to manifest Mercedes-Benz car before it will become very expensive in America due to the tariffs of Trump, but it may not come in time in our meditation. But in case of Krishna, it works.
But to a certain extent, we know how it works in our reality.
And this is one of the descriptions which is there in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the consciousness is like a field of all possibilities and this non-dual Advaya Jñāna Tattva, Bhagavān, he has Acintya Śakti, and by his Acintya Śakti, inconceivable energy, he can manifest because it's his energy and he can manifest anything from this energy.
And we can understand that consciousness is eternal. This is the first and immediate understanding which every one of us has. Is that I don't change. My body changes, but I don't change.
It's very, I mean, sometimes it's very difficult for me to understand that I'm already an old man. I don't feel like, and, but because
I don't change, my consciousness does not change and therefore this advaya-jñāna-tattva has the same eternal nature, has the nature of absorber who absorbs the changes without undergoing the changes.
In the same way as we are absorbing the changes which take place in our body. The dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, as Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the same way, the non-dual consciousness, Krishna, is just absorbing the changes which are taking place in his energy.
He is not being changed and therefore he is vastava-vastu, he is unchangeable reality. Energy may change, reality doesn't change, vastava-vastu doesn't change, consciousness doesn't change, and therefore, this consciousness is non-dual.
That's the implication of this, and this is how Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains the first approach of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to impress upon us the nature of God of consciousness.
Harmonizing Vedic knowledge in Bhagavatam
Okay, so this was a very brief explanation of the first approach. I didn't get into details. Now because it's already late, I do not well I can actually go very briefly through this next session section.
Just to finish this, no need to go into because it's a separate topic for today's class. It's just to glorify Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how beautiful Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is samanta synthesis of all Vedic scriptures. Actually, if we impartially study Vedic culture, Vedic philosophy, all beautiful different scriptures, different ways of describing reality,
and then come or find by chance by good luck Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we will be amazed how beautifully and harmoniously Śrīla Vyāsadeva synthesized everything in one book. Everything is there. And I will show it.
So basically, how he made this synthesis He made this synthesis according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī by just by stating two important statements in two verses.
And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī takes these two verses as foundational verses for our all our Siddhanta. One we just heard, Vadanti tattvavidaṁ tattvaṁ yajñānaṁ advayam. Reality is one and it is consciousness.
We have monistic philosophy, we have spiritual monists. There's only one reality, but it has different manifestations through different energies, but it's his energy.
And what is this the highest manifestation of this reality? Krishna's to bhagavān svayam. Everything else, chant amshakala of this Purusha Advaya consciousness, but Krishna is bhagavān svayam.
These two verses are enough for us to understand whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But these two verses we have to understand very very clearly.
So samanvaya, the word anvaya, just to finish this, I may take five more minutes, not more than this. So Anvaya in Sanskrit means understanding of true meaning.
Anuaya, to put it in proper perspective literally to to place it systematically or to understand to grasp the meaning so samandvaya means
perfect understanding to which one may come after careful deliberation when we place everything in its place. So this is the definition from Govinda Bhāṣya from Srila Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa commentary on Vedānta-sūtra.
So just for fun, let's uh let's remember. Śrīla Vyāsadeva did amazing, absolutely amazing, absolutely unparalleled thing. 5000 years ago.
He took all different Upaniṣads which are completely seemingly disjointed with has very different ideas and he placed it in a very harmonious whole in the form of Vedanta Sutra.
If we really objectively look, look Upaniṣads, read Upaniṣads separately, become totally bewildered and confused by all these different statements, and then open Vedānta-sūtra, we will be amazed.
No author is being read and studied and commented upon who has created something 5,000 years back. Usually after you know 10-20 years, uh nobody reads.
If somebody is really genius, you know we may read his writings after 100 years or 120 years or 200 years maximum. Nobody is interested in reading something. Vyasadev did this amazing synthesis, really amazing.
He reconciled different disciplines of very spiritual science. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is even more beautiful than Vedānta-sūtra. Vedānta-sūtra is amazing. It's actually impossible what he did, he did it.
But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is much more amazing because he he did something much more impossible. So different Vedic ideas which are there in Vedic culture. Vedas worship different demigods.
So this surah, this different hymns in different Vedas. Vedas speak about different avataras, expansions, amsas, guṇas, manvantaras, etc. Whether speak about Lilā, how this creation of this world is Lilā of the Lord.
They the speak about Vedānta speak about Upaniṣads, how everything is unified. There are Pāñcarātra Āgamas which explain the processes tantra, how to approach the supreme
reality, which manifests through Vyūha, chatur of Yuchas. They do describe cosmology and cosmogony, cosmogony, or whatever.
They describe the nature of time, they describe the concept of karma and reincarnation of the soul, they describe different paths, bhakti-yoga, jñāna-yoga, karma-yoga, they describe Sankhyan Yoga, they describe Farnashrama Dharma and Smrithi Shastra, they describe Natya Shastra and explain the theory of rasa and they describe the Vedic theory of sound and the theory of rasa and they describe the Vedic theory of sound and mantra meditation and all kinds of techniques, and all these totally different descriptions of reality find their place when they view it as a part of
Lord Svarupa, Lord Vishnu Swarupa, presented to us in a form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So Silov Yasadev when he saw this in Samadhi, the revelation of reality, when he saw this amazing beautiful picture of reality, he realized how everything comes in
place, how everything could be described in a very harmonious way. And this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is svarūpa of the Lord. And this is explained. This is perhaps the last verse which I will explain.
There are a few others which I will not touch. We will start next class from this.
Depicting the cosmos as the Lord's form
So we are already coming to the next, uh, next uh, topic which is samaṣṭi-nirdeśa or description of vastu-vastu through the describing this universe and through synthesizing all different aspects of reality revealed in different scriptures of Vedic canon.
So it is all reflection or manifestation of Bhagavān's personal form. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, why it is the synthesis of all these ideas, of all these theories, of all these different rules and everything,
because it describes the personal form of Bhagavān. And in the personal form of Bhagavan, everything finds its proper place.
And therefore, Bhagavān is samanvaya, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains this samanvaya, synthesis of all the ideas. So let's read this beautiful verse and finish today's class.
Upon his chest, the Almighty, Almighty, unborn personality of Godhead bears the Kaustubha gem, which represents the pure spirit soul. Actually, it's the sum total of all the souls.
Krishna keeps all the spirit souls, all the sparks next to his heart in the form of Kaustubha gem, and therefore Kaustubha gem is multicolored. So many different varieties of tiny atomic
spirit souls are there, and it's in his form, it's a part of his svarūpa. The spirit souls are there, part of svarūpa of Bhagavān.
Along with Śrīvatsa mark, and of course we know Śrīvatsa mark is the goddess of fortune or Sri, his opulent energy, the energy of beauty, opulence, and the energy of wealth, basically which is direct manifestation of his gems expensive effulgence. Basically all the vibis, all the beautiful, opulent, and attractive manifestations of this world is the expanse
of his effulgence of these jewels which he has, Śrīvatsa and Kaustubha.
His flower garland is his material energy comprising various combinations of the modes of nature like different colors of the flowers in the garland, in the same way this material nature is just his flower garland.
His yellow garment is the Vedic meters. All the different poetic meters which is employed by Vedic hymns and Vedic hymns.
And his second thread, which he has, the Brahman thread, Yajñopavīta, the syllable om composed of three sounds. So that's why the syllable om has this very peculiar shape and form.
In the form of his two shark-shaped earrings, which is again eternal part of his svarūpa, it's not something which he puts on every morning. They are always with him in his ears.
The Lord carries the processes of sāṅkhya and yoga. Sāṅkhya yoga are there in his earrings and his crown, bestowing fearlessness on the inhabitants of all the worlds is the supreme position of Brahmaloka.
So this is one description of Bhagavan's form and basically Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is Bhagavān's svarūpa, which we will explain in detail in the beginning of the next class.
So again to recapitulate what the new material which we learned today is that Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī at the end of Tattva-sandarbha explains that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains vastu-vastu. That's the subject matter.
And this vastu-vastu could be understood in two different ways. One way to understand vastu-vastu which is eternal reality or real reality is by looking at our consciousness which has the same nature.
And by looking at us we understand that I am eternal, I don't die, I am not changeable, but my energy changes, something which belongs to me may change.
So this is one very important understanding of the relationship between
the vastu-vastu and his energy, and another way of understanding the vastu-vastu is by looking around and attributing the different aspects of reality to the original svarūpa of Bhagavān and this is definitely described several times in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself, how we should relate or interact with different aspects of reality, understanding that ultimately we are dealing with God Himself, who is vastu- vastu, the source of everything, and the most beautiful personality with whom we ultimately have to fall in love.
Thank you very much.