20240224 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.4.16

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.4.16

karmāṇy anīhasya bhavo ’bhavasya te
durgāśrayo ’thāri-bhayāt palāyanam
kālātmano yat pramadā-yutāśramaḥ
svātman-rateḥ khidyati dhīr vidām iha

Translation: My Lord, even the learned sages become disturbed in their intelligence when they see that Your Greatness engages in fruitive work although You are free from all desires, that You take birth although You are unborn, that You flee out of fear of the enemy and take shelter in a fort although You are the controller of invincible time, and that You enjoy householder life surrounded by many women although You enjoy in Your Self.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Pure devotees of the Lord are not very much concerned with philosophical speculation in regard to transcendental knowledge of the Lord. Nor is it possible to acquire complete knowledge of the Lord. Whatever little knowledge they have about the Lord is sufficient for them because devotees are simply satisfied in hearing and chanting about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. This gives them all transcendental bliss. But some of the pastimes of the Lord appear contradictory, even to such pure devotees, and thus Uddhava asked the Lord about some of the contradictory incidents in His pastimes. The Lord is described as having nothing to do personally, and it is actually so because even in the creation and sustenance of the material world, the Lord has nothing to do. It seems contradictory, then, to hear that the Lord personally lifts the Govardhana Hill for the protection of His unalloyed devotees. The Lord is the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead appearing like a man, but Uddhava had doubts whether He could have so many transcendental activities.

There is no difference between the Personality of Godhead and the impersonal Brahman. How then can the Lord have so many things to do, whereas the impersonal Brahman is stated to have nothing to do either materially or spiritually? If the Lord is ever unborn, how then is He born as the son of Vasudeva and Devakī? He is fearful even to kāla, the supreme fear, and yet the Lord is afraid of fighting Jarāsandha and takes shelter in a fort. How can one who is full in Himself take pleasure in the association of many women? How can He take wives and, just like a householder, take pleasure in the association of family members, children, relatives and parents? All these apparently contradictory happenings bewilder even the greatest learned scholars, who, thus bewildered, cannot understand whether inactivity is a fact or whether His activities are only imitations.

The solution is that the Lord has nothing to do with anything mundane. All His activities are transcendental. This cannot be understood by the mundane speculators. For the mundane speculators there is certainly a kind of bewilderment, but for the transcendental devotees there is nothing astonishing in this. The Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth is certainly the negation of all mundane activities, but the Parabrahman conception is full with transcendental activities. One who knows the distinctions between the conception of Brahman and the conception of Supreme Brahman is certainly the real transcendentalist. There is no bewilderment for such transcendentalists. The Lord Himself also declares in Bhagavad-gītā (10.2), “Even the great sages and demigods can know hardly anything about My activities and transcendental potencies.” The right explanation of the Lord’s activities is given by Grandfather Bhīṣmadeva (Bhāg. 1.9.16) as follows:

na hy asya karhicid rājan
pumān veda vidhitsitam
yad-vijijñāsayā yukToatā
muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi

* * *

Jayapatākā Swami:  Today is also the appearance day of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. And they are having a three-day festival in Keturī-grāma. So today they are expecting around 12,000 people. Today, is also the Vasanta-rāsa. It says that in East India they celebrate this Vasanta-rāsa more prominently. And in Vṛndāvana, they observe the rasa during Kārtika.

Actually, this verse Uddhava is asking why Kṛṣṇa seems to do contradictory things. In the 10^th canto it explains that Kṛṣṇa, He doesn’t have any material body. And all His avatāras like Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, They don’t have any material body either. Actually, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the activities of Kṛṣṇa are Param Brahman. He enjoys the internal potency. What we have in the material world, Śrīla Prabhupāda said is a perverted reflection. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, Gṛhamedī sukhaṁ hi tuccham – that material happiness is very insignificant. But Lord Kṛṣṇa actually enjoys His relationship with His pure devotees. He doesn’t need anything. But the devotees, they approach the Lord in different relationships. The Pāṇḍavas are friends of Kṛṣṇa. But after the Kurukṣetra war they had a special meeting in the war room. This is the room where they plan out wars. But they thought that how we will get the association of Kṛṣṇa. Now all our enemies have been destroyed but Kṛṣṇa has left us. Draupadī was there and she was saying, now we don’t have any enemies attacking us, but we need Kṛṣṇa. So this was the amazing relationship the Pāṇḍavas, their wife and Kṛṣṇa. So, this ecstasy is nonstop! Always thinking how can I get association of Kṛṣṇa?

In the 9^th canto, Urvasī the Apsarā said many things against women. Their hearts have no mercy. But in the purport Śrīla Prabhupāda said that when it comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, man woman, śūdra, whatever they are all equal. Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ – in Kali-yuga everyone is a śūdra. But Śrīla Prabhupāda went to the West and preached, and we were actually lower than all these categories. Anyway, here Śrīla Prabhupāda said that devotees, Kṛṣṇa conscious, they are all equal. Actually, the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they are totally absorbed in the transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa.

Today, we are observing the appearance day of our great ācārya Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. In 1973 on his Vyāsa-pūjā Śrīla Prabhupāda told the gṛhasthas in London, two things – one, he told them they should all be paramahaṁsas. And today being the appearance day of Ācārya, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Prabhupāda said my spiritual master, he was the son of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. So you gṛhasthas should have ācāryas as children. We need a lot of ācāryas he said. This way everyone preaches to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness like Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura did. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, he was a kṣatriya. He was a crown prince. He could have been a king, but he wanted to be engaged in pure devotional service. So he gave the kingdom to his cousin brother. He went to Vṛndāvana. He took initiation from Lokanātha Gosvāmī. But he took instructions from Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. So a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, it doesn’t matter whether you are a brāhmaṇa, vaiśya, śūdra. Or adhama-śūdra. Lower than śūdra. But a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, actually if you can really understand how wonderful Kṛṣṇa is, He doesn’t need anything. He is self-satisfied. But He reciprocates with His devotees. So we should understand how great Kṛṣṇa is. When Kṛṣṇa was in Dvārakā, Rukmiṇī told Him, “You know everything. You know what Lord Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka, You know what Lord Śiva is doing in Kailāsa. But there is one thing You don’t know. I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, but You don’t know.” Kṛṣṇa said, “What is that?” I am trying to make it short. Rukmiṇī said, “You don’t know how much Your devotees love You! And in what way they love You! Because You are Bhagavān, You don’t have anyone above You.” Then Kṛṣṇa said, in Kali-yuga, He would come as His devotee. He said three times. He came as Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He took the mood and the heart of Rādhārāṇī. This way, the way Rādhārāṇī loved Kṛṣṇa, He came as Lord Caitanya and depicted that.

So today is the Vasanta-rāsa. Many gopīs they are approaching Kṛṣṇa to dance. Today they want to please Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa is self-satisfied. But He is so kind that He reciprocates with all His devotees.

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura on this day, he appeared, on a full-moon day. And he wrote many beautiful songs which we sing in our daily schedule. He has sung how we should take the shelter of the lotus feet of Nitāi. Day before yesterday was Nityānanda Trayodaśī.

nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala,
je chāyāy jagata jurāy

The lotus feet of Lord Caitanya is as cooling as millions of moons which satiate or cools up the entire universe. He also wrote songs of taking shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.

gaurāṅgera duṭi pada, jār dhana sampada,
se jāne bhakati-rasa-sāra

Those who have accepted the two lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, can understand the true essence of devotional service. he knows the essence of devotional service.

In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Nectar of Devotion, it states that how you start with vidhi-mārga and then you reach the rāga-mārga. So like this eventually one realizes Kṛṣṇa. I was so fortunate that although I had read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam many times, I wanted to get the Bhakti-vedānta degree, so I read it very carefully. The Māyāpur Institute told me that I passed! I have yet to get my certificate, but they said I passed with Honors. I hope that you all read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books very carefully.

Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, he was meditating for six Manus. One Manu is for 172 catur-yugas. And he meditated for six Manus. So, he was so much fixed in meditating on Kṛṣṇa. But Lord Caitanya, I was thinking that, (Cc. Ādi 8.15)

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-dayā karaha vicāra
vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra

My brother, please consider the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu because if you consider the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu you will be completely amused, you will be completely wonderstruck by His mercy! We live a very short time. But in one lifetime by the mercy of Lord Caitanya we can get kṛṣṇa-prema.

In the 12^th canto there is the verse:

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājan
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet

Kaler doṣa-nidhe rājan. So this Kali-yuga has an ocean of defects but it has one good quality. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya, chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, that is the one good quality. It gives you liberation and you go back to Godhead.

Of course, we have the great opportunity to receive the visiting devotees during the Gaura-Pūrṇimā festival. We should try to make sure they are all well taken care of and welcome everyone with love and care. So that is a great opportunity we have. I remember I went to one store, I read “Customers are not disturbance, they are the reason why we are doing business.” Like that, we are in the World Headquarters. It is not a disturbance when devotees come, it is the purpose we are staying here!

Lord Caitanya, He showed how much love devotees have for Lord Kṛṣṇa. But He is Kṛṣṇa Himself who came down to show how to serve Kṛṣṇa. This way, Kṛṣṇa is teaching how one should perform devotional service to Him.

Some gṛhasthas ask me what do we have to do to become paramahaṁsas? Be completely absorbed in pleasing Kṛṣṇa. Sannyāsīs and senior brahmacārīs, that is the ideal thing. But some brahmacārī is thinking, their mind is wavering, it is better they become a good gṛhastha than a bad brahmacārī. Our Kṛṣṇa conscious ladies they should encourage their husbands to do devotional service. Our Kṛṣṇa conscious husbands should encourage their wives to do Kṛṣṇa conscious activities.

Just like the Pāṇḍavas they were having their war council, how we can see Kṛṣṇa again. I came from Delhi and last Sunday I was in the Delhi temple. I revealed that I had seen how the Delhi president, he was encouraging all the people, what is the pledge they had for the book distribution marathon? I told him that I revealed this to the devotees in Māyāpur and they got all the devotees to distribute books. He said, Māyāpur is No. 1, Delhi is No. 2 but next year, we will go really behind the ladies and gṛhasthas to distribute more books. So, I am just warning you ahead of time! Our brahmacārīs are very committed. But we need the gṛhasthas to encourage each other and do something to distribute books.

I was thinking how wonderful it is, Lord Caitanya, Lord Kṛṣṇa, that They reciprocate with Their devotees. In the material world they only have occasional little happiness. But in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the mood, the bliss is unlimited! And it is constant if we actually try to please Kṛṣṇa. This is the special mercy of Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda. Śrīla Prabhupāda explained Lord Caitanya, Nitāi Gaura are more merciful than even Kṛṣṇa. If we surrender to Kṛṣṇa, we get kṛṣṇa-prema. But Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, even taking the name of Nitāi even once we get love of Godhead!

Anyway, today is a very auspicious day. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura‘s appearance day. The Vasanta-rāsa. It is a very auspicious day. Hare Kṛṣṇa!