CC.Madhya 25.143-144
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Лондон · 2023
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Invocation and scripture recitation
Jaya Jaya Śrī Caitanya, जय Nityānanda, Advaita Candra, Jaya Guru Bhakta Vṛnda. Jaya Śrī Caitanya, Jaya Nityānanda, Śrī Caitanya, Advaita Candra, Jaya Guru Bhakta Vṛnda, Jaya Jaya Śrī Caitanya, Jaya Nityānanda, Advaita Candra, Jaya Gaura Bhakta Vṛnda. Śānta-samda.
So reading Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, chapter 25, The Residents of Vārāṇasī Become Vaiṣṇavas, text 143 and 144.
Arthāyam brahma- sūtrāṇāṁ bhāratārtha- vinirṇayaḥ, gāyatrī-bhāṣya- rūpo 'sau vedārtha- paribriṁhitaḥ, purāṇānāṁ sārupaḥ, sākṣāt bhagavato 'ditaḥ, dvādaśa-skandha- yuktaḥ, śata-viccheda- saṁyutaḥ, grantho 'ṣṭādaśa- sāhasraḥ, śrīmad-bhāgavatam abhidhaḥ. Arthoyam brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ, sūtrām, artho ’yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ, sūtra, bhāratārtha-vinirṇaya, bhāratārtha- vinirṇaya, gāyatrī-bhāṣya- rūpo 'sau, pa so, gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo 'sau, vāstavo 'sau, vedārtha-paribriṁhitaḥ, vedārtha-paribriṁhitaḥ, artho ’yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ, brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ bhāratārtha- vinirṇaya, gāyatrī- bhāṣya-rūpo 'sau, vedārtha- paribriṁhitaḥ purāṇānāṁ sārupaḥ sākṣād bhagavato 'ditaḥ dvādaśa-skandha- yukto 'yaṁ śata-viccheda-saṁyuto grantho 'ṣṭādaśa- sāhasraḥ śrīmad-bhāgavatam abhidhaḥ. Arthāyam, arthāyam.
This is the meaning. This is the meaning. Brahma-sūtrāṇām, of the aphorisms of Vedānta-sūtra. Bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ, the ascertainment of the Mahābhārata. Gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpaḥ. Gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpaḥ.
The purport of Brahma-gāyatrī. The mother of the Vedic literature are so that vedārthair-ā-paribriṁhitaḥ, expanded by the meaning of all the Vedas. Purāṇānām, of the Puranas. Sārupaḥ. Samarupaha. The best.
Like Sama among the Vedas. Saksha directly. Bhagavata Uditaha Spoken by Vyasa Devan, an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dvadashaskanda Yuktaha Dva Sandha Yuktaha having twelve cantos.
It is sataviccheda-samyukta, having three hundred and thirty-five chapters. Granthah: this great literature. Ashtadasha Sahastraha having eighteen thousand eighteen thousand verses.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam abditaḥ, named Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam. Translation.
The meaning of the Vedānta-sūtra is present in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The full purport of Mahābhārata is also there. The commentary of the Brahma-gāyatrī is also there and fully expanded with all Vedic knowledge.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supreme Purāṇa, and it was compiled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His incarnation as Vyāsadeva. There are 12 cantos, 335 chapters, and 18,000
verses. Purport: this is a quotation from the Garuḍa Purāṇa, verse number 145. Sarvavadihasam Saram Saram Samudritam. The essence of all Vedic literature and all histories has been collected in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was collected by the incarnation of God, Vyāsadeva, and it was later taught to his son, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.41 and the verse number 146.
Sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ hi śrīmad-bhāgavatam iṣyate, tad-rasāmṛta- tṛptasya nānyatra syād ratiḥ kvacit. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is accepted as the essence of all Vedic literature and Vedānta philosophy.
Whoever tastes the transcendental mellow of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is never attracted to any other literature. This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.13.15. Krishna.
Namaḥ oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta- svāmin iti nāmine. Namaste sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī- pracāriṇe, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe.
vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaḥ ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ. Jaya Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhur Nityānanda Śrī Advaita Gadādhara Śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna
Authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism
Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Hare Nama Samanu Putramatraswarupam Ramam Tasyakrajamurupurim Madhurim Gostavati Radha Kundagirivaramaho, Radika Madavasam Praptoyasya, Pratitakripaya, Sri Gurum Damnatos Yantah pravišhi mamavachimam prasuptam Sandje Vaya te kila Shakti Darah Swadam Nanyam Shahastacharana, Shravana Atva Gadi, Pranan Nam Bhagavathe, Purusha Dubim Swasastu Vishwasya Kalah Prasidatam de Ntu Budani, Sivammi todhya, manascha badramba ja ta doksaj, matira piaitu game Hare Krishna.
So I was asked to speak a little bit about the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam, because if I would attempt to speak about the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam completely it probably would exceed the morning class schedule.
So I'll try my best to speak a little bit about the glories of this amazing Grantha, which is described in these verses from Garuda Puran and many many, other verses.
These verses of Garuda Purana often quoted and initially they were procured by Madhvacharya in his Bhagavad Parya Nirnaya, his very short but essential commentary on Shrimad Bhagavatam, where he solves difficult problems of Srimad Bhagavatam and explaining how Srimad Bhagavatam is actually preaching the Dvaita philosophy, the philosophy of difference between Jiva and the Supreme Personality of God.
And since then, when Madhvacharya uh quoted this uh they repeated even though they are not really found in the existing editions of Garuda Purana.
And of course, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was extremely knowledgeable and the supreme authority in Srimad Bhagavatam, he also quotes this and it adds additional authority to these verses.
And this section of uh Chaitanya-caritāmṛta, the residents of uh Varanasi become Vaishnavas is very is very important because here in this uh chapter of Chaitanya Caritāmṛta, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu uh lays the foundation of the whole Gaudiya Vaishnava school.
In his discussion with Mayavadi and specifically Prakashananda Saraswati, who was the head of Mayavadi Sannyasi he is explaining in gist the philosophy of Gaurya Vaishnava school or unique interpretation of Gaurya Vaishnava school.
Every Vaishnava school is supposed to have something unique. Otherwise, why would you create your own school?
So, and one very essential feature of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is that it's based its philosophical foundation entirely on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Other schools traditionally starting from Śaṅkarācārya, they try to establish their philosophy on the basis of Vedānta-sūtra.
Vedānta-sūtra is the main foundation for, you know, every Vedānta school, and Gaudya Vaishnavism is also a Vedanta school. We are also a school of Vedanta, dualistic Vedanta. But we are school of Vedanta.
So and Śaṅkarācārya, he fascinatingly settled that he established the proper interpretation or, you know, how to establish the school of Vedanta, and he said that you should procure your commentary on Vedānta-sūtra and then give your commentary
on Bhagavad-gītā and then comment on Viṣṇu Sahasranāma and then also what was it, yeah, and give the commentary on Upaniṣads. So he did this; he established Advaita Vedānta on this very strong basis.
And then everyone else was more or less following him. Rāmānujācārya came, Madhvācārya came, Vallabhācārya came, Nimbārkācārya. They all were following the same sort of pattern by trying to establish their philosophy.
And then Caitanya Mahāprabhu comes and he establishes his own school of Vedanta, but he completely neglects this tradition.
He said, forget about Vedānta-sūtra, forget about Upaniṣads, forget about Bhagavad-gītā even in Gaudiya Vaishnava school, the, you know, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura was the first one who wrote a commentary on Bhagavad-gītā.
What to speak about Viṣṇu Sahasranāma? Forget about all of this. This is the best pramāṇa. Why? Because it includes everything else in itself, as it is very clearly said in these verses.
In his talking with a sannyāsī of Varanasi, he says that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supreme authority.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu continued, thus one's relationship with the Lord, activities of devotional service, and the attainment of the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, are the subject matter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Basically, and that's very essential that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the whole essence of all Vedas. We don't need to study anything else.
If we know Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we know everything. If we don't know Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we don't know anything.
We may know Panishas, we may know this and that, but ultimately we will remain ignorant in the essential message of the Vedas if we don't study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And therefore, in uh this is one of the unique features of Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya: the real emphasis on Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam and nothing else.
And even Caitanya-caritāmṛta which is a very respecta uh respected Grantha is nothing but uh commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
It's actually explanation on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam having Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the living Bhagavatam. It's description of the life of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, how he
thought all this subtle truths of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by exemplifying it in his own life. So our whole sampradaya is based on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and we we should be very firm uh in this conviction.
And actually, uh it so happened that in reality in Gaudiya Sampradaya, even though Caitanya Mahāprabhu established it very clearly, the importance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam over the course of time was obscured.
In reality, majority of Gaudiya Vaishnavas they studied Caitanya-caritāmṛta because in Caitanya-caritāmṛta Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami Extracted the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is such a huge book and it's quite overwhelming and begging if you try to study all this 18,000 verses and 335 chapters of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and
it was Śrīla Prabhupāda who actually returned our Gaudiya Sampradaya back to its roots. And even in other Gaudiya Madhs, there is not so much emphasis on Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam as much as it is emphasized in ISKCON.
Comparison of scriptures and Vedic essence
Śrīla Prabhupāda really is uh bringing us back to the roots of all sampradaya and again and again emphasizing this is the most important thing. It can give you everything which you require.
And it is very clearly said that this the you know this is the artho 'yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām. This is the meaning of Brahma-sūtra. You don't need to study Vedānta-sūtra. You don't have to study Vedānta-sūtra.
You anyway will not understand Vedānta-sūtra, so no problem. So you will be just confused and bewildered by
Vedānta-sūtra and Bharatartha Vinirna, you don't need to study very carefully Mahābhārata because in Mahābhārata you will be easily distracted from the path of bhakti.
There are so many interesting stories there, and so many, different purpose, and so many rituals, and so many dharma is explained there, and ultimately you forget that Bhāgavata-dharma is the essence of all dharma. You forget that Parama Dharma is the dharma. And you will just be very truthful and very this and very that, and ultimately you will become very nothing.
So that's that's the result because you will be bewildered by this, you know, hundred thousand verses of Mahābhārata. And you will not know the essence.
Madhvācārya, he wrote this Bhāgavata-tātparya-nirṇaya, specifically for this purpose, because people study Mahābhārata and don't understand the essence of Mahābhārata, because the essence of Mahābhārata is the relationship of Pandavas with Krishna.
But instead of this, there are so many different romance and other
stories, you know, Nala and Damayanti and this story and that story and you know they forget about the essence. So and then Bharatartha Vinirnaya is Gāyatrī bhāṣya rūpa.
So this is the the purport or the explanation of the meaning of Gāyatrī mantra. What is Gāyatrī mantra? Again, there is so much confusion about the meaning of Gāyatrī mantra.
Gāyatrī mantra is about the sun, and therefore you should do Sūrya-namaskāra every day. And that's the essential practice of chanting Gāyatrī mantra.
So no, it's not about the sun, it's about the uh energy of the Supreme Lord, which is ultimately teaches us how to love God, which is the relationship, the loving relationship of God and His energy.
And then Vedārtha-paribṛṃhita, what to speak about Vedas, but here it specifically said, Vedārtha-paribṛṃhitaḥ, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam not only explained the essence of the Vedas, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam adds to the essence of the Vedas.
In the Vedas, the truths which are there, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam completes the Vedas. But paribṛṃhita literally means that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as much as other Purāṇas adds something essential which is not there in the Vedas.
Because Purāṇas and specifically Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they stress the personal aspect of God. They stress that God is ultimately a person, and we have to establish our personal relationship with personal God and they speak about God as Bhagavān and nobody else.
And therefore, especially in Upaniṣads, uh, the impersonal aspect of God is emphasized. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So uh that's the uh essential uh understanding which we uh uh uh which
Vyāsadeva's samādhi and Bhāgavatam structure
we should understand every time, uh, every time when we reach Bhāgavatam, uh, we should try to, uh, have the complete picture, because again, 18,000 verses, 335 chapters, it's, uh, it's quite overwhelming, especially with the ISKCON's style of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and we read one verse, you know, and uh usually forget what was the previous verse and
don't care to remember what is the next verse, we can easily
lose the context of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So it's very essential at least to keep in mind that this is the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, to understand the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And therefore, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, who is the siddhānta-ācārya of our school, he explained this in his Sandarbhas, and specifically in Tattva-sandarbha, where he is explaining the methodology of sandarbhas. He says, Sandarbhas are unique and very amazing commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī is not commenting on the verse by verse, but he is providing topical commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He extracts the essential topics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and builds up a very beautiful structure, basically rebuilding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam into logical philosophical creation. And he says this is what Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is all about, following Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is establishing sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana.
It's the foundation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and therefore in Tattva-sandarbha Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī first explains the samādhi of Śrīla Vyāsadeva. Because he says if we want to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we have to go again to the roots of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The roots of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are there in samādhi, in the trance of Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva first saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead complete with all his energy.
Puruṣam Pūrṇam.
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead with all his energies. And apasyat, he also saw māyā, which is tad-apāśrayam, which is hiding behind the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from behind is torturing living entities, taking advantage of being behind the back of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So he saw this picture.
He saw basically he saw in his trance the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It's amazing we should try to imagine as much as possible because samadhi may not be possible for all of us at this moment of our spiritual development.
So but we should try to imagine you know this amazing vision which Vyāsadeva saw. Because he saw the complete personality of Godhead, how he manifests himself in this world. And then he described this in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
He saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all his pastimes which are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the essential pastimes.
He selected certain pastimes because again, you know, Puranas describe so many different pastimes and describe this from different angles of vision. So Śila Vyāsadeva selected, not selected. He was presented.
He was shown Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was the like a movie which was there. And God knows for how long he was in his samadhi to see all the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So he saw this beautiful movie, uh probably the best uh Bollywood movie ever.
All this long movie in his samadhi he saw this uh how uh how who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? How beautiful he is, how how you know how amazingly uh beautiful and kind he is, how sweet he is.
He saw this amazing movie in front of his eyes and then very enthusiastically he started writing what he saw in his samadhi.
So he saw these essential points of sambandha: first, the Supreme Personality of Godhead with his energies, special place of māyā, who is apāśrayam, who is taking shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but keeping herself at a distance.
She is not really she is shy and she doesn't want to come in front of the Supreme Personality of God.
Then he saw yata samāhītātmānam tri-guṇātmakam. He saw jivas who are completely bewildered by this Maya because this Maya, even though they are completely spiritual, they still consider themselves trigunatmakam, that they belong to all these gunas of material nature.
So in his trance, Śila Vyāsadeva, he saw all of us, he saw all the sufferings of the living entities who are completely bewildered by this māyā.
And then he saw anartha-upaśamaṁ sākṣāt bhakti-yogam adhokṣajāt, lokasyājānato vidvāṁṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām. Samhitah. Ultimately he saw the means, the direct means, which is the most important.
anartha-upaśamaṁ sākṣāt bhakti-yogam adhokṣajāt, he saw that there is a direct means of mitigating all the sufferings of living entities and as a result, cakre sātvata-saṁhitām. He created this, this sātvata-saṁhitā.
He composed this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is specifically given to him for those people who want to become sātvatas.
Sātvata, this is a very important word in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is repeated again and again and again, especially in the first canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sātvata literally means those who have sat, those who have, those who know satya, the truth. Those who want to know the truth, if they want to know the truth, they become sattvatas.
Of course, you know, scholars, they interpret this word that there was a sect of, you know, some sattvatas and this is a sect. Yes, this is a sect of those people who want to know the truth.
Methodology of absorbing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
So he wrote this sātvata-saṁhitā, which reveals the truth, which is revealing the truth, which is the mystical revelation of the complete truth, complete representation of the truth.
And the most amazing feature of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as explained in these verses from the first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is that anartha-upaśamaṁ sākṣāt bhakti-yogam adhokṣajāt, so it has the ability to directly remove all the sufferings of living entities.
If we just read and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This is specifically emphasized here. Sākṣāt. Sākṣāt means that it is a direct means. Direct means means that you don't need anything else.
If some means of mitigating your, uh, sufferings are indirect, it means that you know it's just bringing you to something direct.
Direct means that this is something which is enough to finish all the sufferings of living entities. And of course, for that we need to know the methodology of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
The methodology of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is actually explained by this, by the trance of Vyāsadeva. He revealed the truth of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in his samādhi.
And therefore, if we are to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we should try to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also being in samādhi as much as it is possible for us. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not a subject matter of logical explanation.
Of course, the logical explanation has its place. It's important. But only as much as it helps us to become absorbed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, to become visionary of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
to try to understand, because again Samadhi, and this is what uh is explained by Madhvācārya and Samadhar and Vallabhācārya in his commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
They say samādhi as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is written in samādhi-bhāṣā. And only those who are in samādhi can understand samādhi-bhāṣā. As much as only those who know English language they can understand English.
To understand samādhi-bhāṣā you have to be in samādhi. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the creation of samādhi.
And therefore, the method of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is to become absorbed in the subject matter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam without anything else.
And therefore, you know, these verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam help us to concentrate on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. If we are distracted, we are not in Samadhi. If we are just, you know, interested in other things.
It is said in the verse from the twelfth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which we read, that uh the one who understands this rasāmṛta, this rasa of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one who understands the nectarean taste of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
One who is privy to this, who has the access to this rasa which is explained in the second verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, pibata bhāgavatam, rasālayam. You just drink this Bhāgavatam, you drink Bhāgavatam.
Śrīdhara Svāmī explaining this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, second verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he says that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a very special fruit. Usually, when you have fruit, there is something which is supposed to be discarded from the fruit. Either you have some seed, stone in the fruit, or you have some covering
of the fruit, the skin of the fruit like mango, you know, but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a liquid fruit. How you can because you can drink it. Pibata bhāgavatam Śrīla Vyāsadeva he directly say you just drink it.
You know if there is something which is you know which is discardable in Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam. You will be suffocated by drinking this special drink.
But uh this is the drink which you can safely drink without being suffocated
or without any dangers because there is nothing discardable in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is nothing which is here which is supposed to be discarded from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You can safely say that every verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is speaking about love of God.
How you can only understand when you are in Samadhi, when you are completely dedicated to serving Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nityam Bhāgavatam Sevayā.
If you do it every day and if you try to absorb your thoughts and your essence of your living in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then Pibata Bhāgavatam Rasam Ālayam, then you will be drinking Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Alayam till your deaths or till you faint in ecstasy.
Rasamalayam literally it means that you just, you know, you drink this and you faint in ecstasy because it's so nectarian and you're completely intoxicated by it, you faint. This is alayam.
You came to the end of your life and then you know after that uh uh you continue doing the same.
So it's basically the amazing glorification of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is contained not only in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself, uh which is contained in other Purāṇas, all other Purāṇas they say that Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is something very special.
And because the human beings are so, you know, they are uh they have certain nature. Uh if something is easily available, we tend to forget its glories. We become familiar with this.
And this familiarity with Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sometimes uh uh forces us or you know uh yeah makes us forget uh its real glories.
It is said that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is one of the most amazing literature, is the most amazing literature, the last creation of Śrīla Vyāsadeva. Śrīla Vyāsadeva was writing so much, he was the most prolific author in the history of humanity.
But when he wrote Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he said there is nothing else to be said. There is nothing else for me to write. Everything which needed to be written, uh I have written uh by completing this bhagavatam.
He he he dropped his computer into Ganges and said that's it. I don't need anything else now. I can be in Samadhi to the rest of eternity or to the rest of this creation. Or whatever.
So So uh i i i i you know when when people have writing talent they just they just want to use it, but yes, I've said there is no need. There is no need to confuse people m even more.
Commentaries and poetic structure of Bhāgavatam
I've written what I need to write, and this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So and after that, and it is specifically said here that it's uh bhāgavatoditaḥ that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is written liter literally by the Supreme Personality Godhead himself.
This is the most, the highest glorification of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is composed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. And therefore, again and again people they try to write commentaries on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is probably the most popular. If we put aside Bhagavad-gītā which is relatively simple and small
book uh Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the only Purāṇa uh which uh on which commentaries are written, of course, there is Vishnu Purana, two commentaries on Vishnu Purana. There are no commentaries on any other Purāṇa.
There is one hundred and thirty-six existing commentaries on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And zero on other Puranas. And two on Vishnu Purana. 136 commentaries. And that's classical commentaries. And that's only existing commentaries.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī mentions the names of other commentaries which are not even existing now. So the way the people were commenting on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And it is said that in Subhāṣitas it is said that as much as the fire is the test for gold. If you want to check the gold, you have to put gold in the fire.
As much as the good fighting is the test parīkṣā for your courage and for your kshatriya nature.
As much as the uh difficult situation uh is the parīkṣā for your family relationship, for your wife. You know how your wife will uh take the problems and difficulties
which you will inevitably undergo that much Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam is parīkṣā for your knowledge.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a very difficult creation. It's the last creation of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, and Śrīla Vyāsadeva, he uh invested all his writing skills in this amazing uh creation.
So it's simple in one sense because uh you can understand it from the first reading, uh you can think that you understood it from the first reading,
and uh you will read it again and again and again, again and again and again without end, and uh you will understand more and more and more because uh Śrīla Vyāsadeva invested uh uh so much in it.
So it is it is the saying in Vedic culture that uh uh Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the test of your knowledge. Because to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you should know everything else.
It may sound paradoxical because from one sense it is said that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is the explanation of everything else, you don't need uh to know anything else. And then it is said to understand Srimad Bhagavatam you should know everything else. So yes uh all states are true.
Uh, you don't need to know anything else, you should just treat Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But if you want to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you should know six systems
of Vedic philosophy, you should know kāvya, you should know alaṁkāra-śāstra, you should know, of course, nyāya, you should know everything else. To understand properly.
But, you know, luckily for us, Śrīla Prabhupāda did it for us, so we don't need to know all these things. Or if we have some you know space in our hard drive, then
we can study everything else, but ultimately only for the purpose of proper understanding of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because, yes, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is very special among other Purāṇas.
You know, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is actually not a Purāṇa if we carefully study the genre of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it's not a Purāṇa itself. It's a kāvya. It's a poem.
Even the outside scholars who study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they say that, you know, especially this Rasa-pañcādhyāya, the five chapters from the tenth canto. It's the most beautiful love poem ever written by a human being.
Of course, it's not written by human beings, but if we take the human history or the history of human literature, this is the most beautiful uh romantic poem.
If you really appreciate what is written there, if you really go deep into this rasa which is explained there, it's amazing because Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam Purāṇas are usually written in a very simple language.
It's usually written in anuṣṭup-chandas, the simple ślokas,
and uh you know there is a test uh when uh somebody is uh studying Sanskrit and he understands the simple classical Sanskrit in which Purāṇas and Mahābhārata are written mostly.
You know, then he should be able, if he knows this Sanskrit, he should be able to speak in this sloka in versa just by looking at the sky. This test of knowing Sanskrit is called Ākāśa Purāṇa.
You have to look in the sky and then do some Purana, you know. Akash Purana, just the Purana from the sky. So, but you cannot do this with Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is written in a complicated language.
So much so that some of the words, Sanskrit words, are only there in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, nowhere else.
It has a very special vocabulary, and only because Śrīdhara Svāmī and other commentators of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explain the meaning of this verse. Only because of this we know what is the meaning of this verse.
Nowhere else, in no any other Vedic literature, including the original Vedas, this verse uh the this words are are not there they're not uh really uh included in other Vedic literature
and usually uh there is only 15 meters. The main meters. There's a lot of poetic meters in Sanskrit. But that's usually a later creation. There are more than 600 different meters.
But in normal Vedic literature there is 15 common meters. Out of them, seven are most common. So there is not so much poetic uh variety in uh in Vedic literature.
But in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is twenty-seven different meters. Twice as much as in many other Vedic original creations. 27 different meters which are adopted by Śrīla Vyāsadeva for what? Yasadev for what?
For the purpose of conveying rasa. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is primarily it's a philosophical creation, but it's a philosophical creation which is supposed to convey poetical message.
The combination of poetry which is about emotions and philosophy, hardcore philosophy, is the most amazing feature of Srimad Bhagavatam.
There is no other either you have very boring philosophy, which is good to read before you're going to sleep, to have a sound sleep. Or you have some poetry. But how to combine these seemingly completely opposite things?
Śrīla Vyāsadeva, he managed to do this in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And to understand truly Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam again, we can understand the essential message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam very easily.
From the very beginning, from the first verse of Śrīmad, of course, first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there are commentary which constitute the whole complete book just on first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
There is a special commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which explains that all the pastimes, all the past times of the tenth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, are included in this first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So to understand the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you have to have some little knowledge, you know. Just to understand the meaning. It's basically uh unexhaustible. You cannot exhaust even the first uh actually if you want to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it will be very hard for you to move from the first verse onwards because you will be stuck there.
If you want to know all the layers of meaning which are invested by Śrīla Vyāsadeva in this amazing verse itself.
But then the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the essential message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the message of Bhakti, you can understand very clearly.
Simplicity and depth of spiritual love
You know, uh it's it's a simple book in this sense because there is a very uh simple message which is there. But then if you want to know what love is, and love is the most difficult thing in the world. You know, love. Why?
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is so simple? Because love is so simple. And everyone thinks he knows what is love. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is so difficult because the love is the most difficult thing.
And the whole uh Kṛṣṇa-caritras, which is the main portion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the whole tenth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and 11th Kanto in some way, because 11th Kanto is to the most part is Uddhava Gita, which Krishna Himself speaks.
So the this whole central part of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is all about love. It's actually about love. Especially tenth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. To understand all the nuances of love.
You know, it is said by one uh Acharya that to kill somebody is very simple because Krishna, when he comes to kill the demons, he uses just one finger, you know, to take his Sudarsana Chakra.
And when Krishna comes to explain what is love, uh he employs all the ten fingers to play his flute. You know, to kill you need one finger. To explain what is love you need ten fingers. You need ten times as much.
So that's why Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is in one sense simple because on the surface it's a very simple book. But at the same time, it's the most difficult book.
The most difficult because it teaches us the most subtle things, how to love. How subtle you have to become if you want to love God. You cannot remain gross Kali Yuga British citizen, you know if
you want to develop this nature of loving God, you have to change your nature. And what is the means of changing your nature?
This is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Just reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam again and again and again, immersing your heart in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and meditating on the verses of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, all the secrets will be revealed to you by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself.
Because again, the method of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is samādhi, and samadhi means revelation.
And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam being the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is this revelation, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam himself is capable of revealing the truth to you.
And therefore, Śrīla Prabhupāda very carefully translated each and every verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, giving the word-for-word meaning of every verse, because we shouldn't just read the translation.
He is essentially messaging to us that we should read and carefully study Sanskrit. We may not know Sanskrit, but if we just read the verses of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam,
Śrīla Prabhupāda said you will know enough Sanskrit if you read every verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Sanskrit and if you study word by word and the purports. So he said also very lovingly, he provided
the original Sanskrit because the original Sanskrit has the capacity to reveal the truth to us.
Even though we may not understand logically, intellectually the meaning, but the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam being samādhi-bhāṣā themselves, they have this capacity to reveal this very subtle
meanings, especially if we learn how to read the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or sing the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, chanted in the proper tune, like one of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. He was famous.
You know, all other Gosvāmīs, they were writing literature. And Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, he didn't read, he didn't write even one line about his specialty, why he is promoted or elevated to the status of one of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana who are the founders of our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava school, the founders of our whole philosophical school of Vedānta, just because he was chanting the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in different tunes.
And whoever would hear his chanting of verses of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam would be completely immersed in the samādhi of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, of the beauty of this creation.
So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a very special literature and again as I said if I would try to uh uh if I
attempt to uh speak uh too much uh the time uh would be exceeded and I already exceeded my time because I was told that I should finish 10 minutes to 9, and very dutifully I am finishing my class 10 minutes tonight.
Significance of Bhadra Pūrṇimā book distribution
Thank you very much, Hare Krishna. Marsh, thank you so much uh for the cloth. There will be video now, don't leave the room.
Maharaj, we are while we just uh first of all thank you so much Maharaj for the wonderful class. Let's hear one more time for Maharaj.
Maharaj while we are just setting up uh for a few slides and a video for everybody. I wonder if you could also say some words because you gave us the essence that how this Vedic literature
uh or the essence of all the literature Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for those who are at a very early elevated platform but yet it is very simple and so I was request
I would request if you could say some words because now Bhadra Pūrṇimā is coming on Friday and we are distributing this Bhagavad who are meeting either on the streets or Yeah.
Bhadra Pūrṇimā is coming, and Bhadra Pūrṇimā actually is the day when Śila Śukadeva Gosvāmī finished his recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That's why it is specifically said in the twelfth skandha of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That if you give the gift of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on this day on the golden throne, and by putting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on the Golden Throne, we symbolically say that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the king of all the books.
You may not have enough golden thrones while you're distributing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on the street to give it. But mentally you can provide Golden Throne to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by uh uh handing out uh this uh
king of all literature to people uh because why on this day, why Bhadra Pūrṇimā is so essential for those people who distribute books?
Because on this day, the first successful reading of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was completed.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, because he heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he obtained his svarūpa as a gopī in the spiritual world.
Our ācāryas explaining this, they specifically said that Mahārāja Parīkṣit became a gopī cowherd girl in the spiritual world just by listening Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam without adopting any other means of spiritual development.
So that's the complete success of human life,
and we are celebrating Bhadra Pūrṇimā by giving Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to others and hoping that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will be merciful enough to us to also provide us this complete success in our spiritual endeavors, giving us uh overwhelming
love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So, yeah.
That's the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a success story. This is success story of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is explaining Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, who first heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Vyāsadeva and achieved the complete success and perfection.
And uh then uh Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the second success story uh in the history of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And after that there were so many other success stories.
When people, because of reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, achieved the complete perfection of their life. So this Bhadra-pūrṇimā is very essential for us because we are not uh giving just a book.
We are giving the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself to these people, and we are giving them not only the Supreme Personality of Godhead himself,
but also their essential relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is capable of revealing not only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but our own svarūpa.
That's the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the meaning uh the essence of reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It will reveal us uh all the spiritual truths in entirety uh including our eternal relationship with uh Kṛṣṇa.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much.