20241228 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.12.36–38

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 3.12.36

vidura uvāca
sa vai viśva-sṛjām īśo
vedādīn mukhato ’sṛjat
yad yad yenāsṛjad devas
tan me brūhi tapo-dhana

Translation: Vidura said: O great sage whose only wealth is penance, kindly explain to me how and with whose help Brahmā established the Vedic knowledge which emanated from his mouth.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.12.37

maitreya uvāca
ṛg-yajuḥ-sāmātharvākhyān
vedān pūrvādibhir mukhaiḥ
śāstram ijyāṁ stuti-stomaṁ
prāyaścittaṁ vyadhāt kramāt

Translation: Maitreya said: Beginning from the front face of Brahmā, gradually the four Vedas — Ṛk, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva — became manifest. Thereafter, Vedic hymns which had not been pronounced before, priestly rituals, the subject matters of the recitation, and transcendental activities were all established, one after another.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.12.38

āyur-vedaṁ dhanur-vedaṁ
gāndharvaṁ vedam ātmanaḥ
sthāpatyaṁ cāsṛjad vedaṁ
kramāt pūrvādibhir mukhaiḥ

Translation: He also created the medical science, military art, musical art and architectural science, all from the Vedas. They all emanated one after another, beginning from the front face.

Purport: The Vedas contain perfect knowledge, which includes all kinds of knowledge necessary for the human society, not only on this particular planet but on other planets as well. It is understood that military art is also necessary knowledge for the upkeep of social order, as is the art of music. All these groups of knowledge are called the Upapurāṇa, or supplements of the Vedas. Spiritual knowledge is the main topic of the Vedas, but to help the human being’s spiritual pursuit of knowledge, the other information, as above mentioned, forms necessary branches of the Vedic knowledge.

* * *

Jayapatākā Swami: So we are in the Brahma-sampradāya. Brahmā manifested the Vedic knowledge from his four mouths. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that the Brahma-sampradāya is famous for knowledge. Because Lord Brahmā manifested all the Vedic knowledge. So since we are in the Brahma-sampradāya, we should read at least the books that Śrīla Prabhupāda translated. So, living here in Māyāpur we have the advantage of our Māyāpur Institute to get our spiritual degrees. Śrīla Prabhupāda had personally instituted a test for Bhakti-śāstrī. And I was fortunate enough to get my Bhakti-śāstrī from Śrīla Prabhupāda! I heard from Rāmeśvara Prabhu that he is going for the third time to get three Bhakti-śāstrī degrees! He said, he likes Bhakti-śāstrī! So I wanted to encourage devotees to go further. So I got my Bhakti-vaibhava and my Bhakti-vedānta degree! Now I am studying for the Bhakti-Sārvabhauma degree. But I am not getting much time to finish it.

So here we see how Lord Brahmā with his catur-mukha, he manifested the four Vedas. And he did not stop there, he also manifested other Upapurāṇas. In the Mahābhārata, we see how different Vedic references were manifested and utilized. How by Vedic mantra they could direct an arrow to a particular place. But we know that the Vedas’ main subject matter is spiritual. Every Purāṇa has something about the universe. And in the Scientific Museum of the Vedic Planetarium, we intend to show some of these universal details. So, some of our devotees are researching the details. So, through the book marathon, how Lord Brahmā manifested Vedic knowledge is very wonderful! So we are having this verse now in the middle of the marathon. Actually, three verses. So, previously the people’s memory was such that if they heard the Vedas one time, they would remember it.  There was one paṇḍita, he took bath in the river and two people in English were arguing. And he did not know English. Then he told the judge that I remember what they were speaking, but I do not understand what they said. And he exactly repeated what they were saying! So, that was the kind of memory that these brāhmaṇas would have! Exactly what they said, he repeated.

When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu discussed with Keśava Kāśmīrī. Keśava Kāśmīrī inquired what he should speak on and Lord Caitanya said, you may compose one hundred verses glorifying Mother Gaṅgā. So he did that. Caitanya Mahāprabhu referred to a verse, I don’t remember which one, and he was analyzing and said the good qualities and faults in that verse.  Keśava Kāśmīrī was amazed, how He had memorized the verses, because he could not memorize them himself! So Lord Caitanya said that just as Bhagavān has given you the gift of great poetry, I have been blessed with a great memory, śruti! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda! Advaita Gosāñī!

So, Lord Brahmā, he spoke all the Vedas. He started with the catur-mukha, staring in the front and going around and recited all the four Vedas - the Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva, each head manifested one of the Vedas. In Kali-yuga we don’t have the system, the brāhmaṇas are not so qualified to chant the Vedic hymns exactly.  The Vedic mantras which are there, if they are pronounced properly then different things can happen. In Kali-yuga we have the pāñcarātrika mantras which are not so technically chanted. So, we have the Pañca-tattva mantra, we use those, we don’t chant the Vedic hymns.

Since we are in the Brahma-sampradāya, we should study Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. So the transcendental subject matters are also well established. And Rādhārāṇī created the Navadvīpa dhāma, She had each island connected with one of the bhakti-yoga processes. So the devotees, they follow this bhakti-yoga process. So this Navadvīpa dhāma is very special it is called audārya-dhāma, the Mercy dhāma! So every devotee should know these nine processes of bhakti-yoga. Just like each island, we went through the pañca-krośa a few days and we went by Sīmantadvīpa and Antardvīpa. During the Gaura-pūrṇimā we do the nine island parikramā. So there are nine processes of devotional service. Sīmantadvīpa, Godrumadvīpa, hearing, chanting, and remembering, pāda-sevanam, vandanam and arcanam. Dāsyam, sakhyam, and ātma-nivedanam. So we should practice these nine processes of devotional service. And in this Kali-yuga the most valuable or important processes of devotional service is hearing and chanting in the holy dhāma. So in our process of devotional service, we would like to take initiation. We heard a few days ago on the disappearance day of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. He had gone seventeen times to Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī for initiation and every time he had refused. The eighteenth time, he accepted him! Mahā Varāha dāsa was telling me that if you refuse a disciple one time, then they want to commit suicide or something! I made a list of thirty things. At least if they do that then I can accept them as disciples.

So here we see that Brahmā, he also gave the supplementary Vedas so that the human society could benefit. Just like music, music is a very nice thing. Vāstu-śāstra or architectural science and engineering, these were all manifested by Lord Brahmā. In the Mahābhārata, they had some very powerful weapons from the heavenly planets, some very powerful weapons. One weapon, they fired in the air, and you get unlimited arrows! As long as one was standing, it would fire on you. So all the soldiers laid down, except Bhīma. Bhīma, these unlimited arrows were shooting at him. And he did not know what to do! And the other Pāṇḍavas told him lay down, lay down! And then the weapons would not shoot arrows. Like this, there are many different weapons.

We heard that how 66 thousand or 55 thousand people are coming to Māyāpur but about ten thousand of them do not enter the temple because the lines are too long! Almost, way too long! So, I was going around I saw how a kīrtana party was chanting on the Cakra building side. We could have many kīrtana parties like that. Then I heard one four-year-old child was distributing books! He was out but he had not distributed any books, everyone was refusing him! His parents told him keep trying. And then two books, he distributed! So, if a four-year old child is distributing books, then all of you can make a quota every day of distributing some books, then how much will be distributed!  Of course, we should have a sign Samādhi Mandir darśana, That Way. Half the people who come here go there. But this book distribution is something that we can easily do. Who is that Śrīla Prabhupāda who has a book table, His Grace Kṛpānidhi Prabhu.

Lord Brahmā, he spoke all the Vedas, now we are printing the Vedas. I hope everyone will please Lord Gaurāṅga and Śrīla Prabhupāda and will distribute the books. Now in December we have so many visitors. But in the off season we don’t have as many visitors – we have ten thousand or twenty thousand. You can have a lower quota and spend time reading the books! Evening we were reading how knowledge by itself does not lead one to anything significant. But if you apply it in bhakti-yoga, it is very good! We want every Māyāpur devotee to advance in bhakti-yoga! We can have many bhāva-bhakti bhaktas. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Any questions?

Question: You beautifully discussed the glories of residing in the holy dhāma. You spoke about Lord Caitanya how He is always in the holy dhāma. How can I realize, what should be my attitude towards the dhāma so that I am constantly engaged in devotional service and the holy dhāma will manifest itself to me?

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said that through vaidhi-bhakti you should advance step by step. Then you come to the level of bhāva-bhakti and from bhāva-bhakti go up to prema-bhakti, and in this way as you come to prema-bhakti you will be able to realize the identify or svarūpa of the dhāma and your identity will also be revealed to you. Our svarūpa is devotion for Kṛṣṇa. And the more that we do devotion, it develops further. It turns into love! LOVE! Hare Kṛṣṇa!