"How to Spend Your Last Seven Days on Earth"
Introduction
All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga
The Glories of Srimad Bhagavatam
At first, I beg to pay my most humble prostrated obeisance at the lotus feet of my most adorable Guru, Srila Prabhupada, who is a direct representative of Lord Sri Krsna, who is filled with divine vigor, who imparted transcendental knowledge unto me and rescued me from the ocean of rebirth and death, and who has now forever entered into the divine pastimes of Lord Sri Krsna being performed in the spiritual world. I beg for his blessings to narrate Srimad Bhagavatam to benefit those souls interested in stopping their cycle of rebirth and death. I beg for the blessings of Lord Sri Sri Radha Govindadeva and Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohana to please help in this grand task. Srimad Bhagavatam liberates those who seriously study it and it is the storehouse of nectar for the truly dedicated devotees of the Lord.
Srimad Bhagavatam is a conversation between Sri Sukadeva Goswami and King Pariksit, which was put into writing over five thousand years ago by Srila Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva said that this same Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken at Haridwar by Maitreya Muni to Vidur Maharaja; then at Sukaraksetra by Sri Sukadeva Goswami to King Pariksit; and later at Naimisaranya by Sri Suta Goswami to eighty eight thousand sages headed by Sage Saunaka. Although Srimad Bhagavatam is depicted in three different conversations, it mainly takes place between Srila Sukadeva Goswami and King Pariksit. The speaker, Srila Sukadeva Goswami, is a pure devotee of the Lord and the listener, King Pariksit , is the most civilized royal personality on earth; and Srimad Bhagavatam includes every category of knowledge a person requires to live a peaceful life and reach the kingdom of God (after death).
Srimad Bhagavatam propagates the process of devotion that is free from all deceit and hypocrisy. Just by studying it or listening to it the Lord comes and sits in the heart of the person. For example, if a worldly person reads Srimad Bhagavatam daily, in due course they will develop loving feelings in their heart for the Lord, and by those loving thoughts Krsna will manifest to them. In other words, just by studying or listening to Srimad Bhagavatam a special place for the Lord is created in the person's heart; because the Lord in the form of Srimad Bhagavatam enters the heart and sweeps it clean from all
contamination. Thus, by the contact of Srimad Bhagavatam a sinner becomes purified. It is the desire fulfilling scripture, and by studying it Lord Krsna becomes locked in the heart. Thus in all situations a devotee thinks, "It does not matter how many problems I face in life, I shall not relinquish my service to the Lord." This is the result of studying Srimad Bhagavatam and chanting the Lord's names, which is why all the sages recommend, sravana kirtana jale karaha sechana, "The creeper-like devotion to Krsna should be nurtured by daily watering it with the water-like chanting of the Lord's glories and listening to and/or studying Srimad Bhagavatam."
The scriptures and Guru are on an equal level because they bring the conditioned soul to the spiritual path by authoritatively impelling them. Srimad Bhagavatam convinces the listeners or readers about what is beneficial and unbeneficial for a human being and reveals the correct spiritual path to them in a commanding spirit. There are many beneficial and non-beneficial things in this world for a human being, but only those who follow the commands from Srimad Bhagavatam correctly understand what is truly beneficial for them. Accepting scriptural guidance is the best method for obtaining the ultimate goal of life.
How wonderful and surprising it is that the very same Lord, who is rarely understood even by great sages, who is the Lord of all movable and immovable entities, comes to sit in the heart of the sincere reader or listener of Srimad Bhagavatam! The narration of Srimad Bhagavatam mesmerizes and controls the Supreme Lord, which is why all the sages and saintly people listen to it in rapt attention. Lord Siva speaks Srimad Bhagavatam to his wife Parvati. The Serpent Sesa sings Srimad Bhagavatam with his unlimited hoods. The four Kumaras, namely Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat Kumara, also speak Srimad Bhagavatam to glorify Lord Krsna, because every other spiritual and religious process fades before it.
Srimad Bhagavatam, if read with full faith, transforms the reader very quickly and the reader receives its maximum benefit, whereas those who are hypocritical, insincere, lusty, wicked by nature, malicious in heart, envious, angry or jealous receive benefit based on their degree of material contamination. One does not have to first stop his/her bad habits to qualify to read Srimad Bhagavatam, nor first become pure to read it, one can read it at any stage and in any condition of life because it only rewards the participant. The sole remedy for removing contamination from the heart is reading Srimad Bhagavatam and chanting Krsna's names.
Performing devotion to Krsna removes all misery of life. Present miseries and losses are experienced only due to past karma, which can be mitigated by chanting Krsna's names and engaging in His devotional service. Chanting Krsna's names on Tulasi (holy plant) rosary beads is the perfect way to reform the soul; and hearing about Krsna, reading about Him, chanting His names and performing devotional service to Him are remedies to purify the soul. Therefore, the scriptures state that adopting these activities is very intelligent because they bring a change of heart, but while reading or listening to Srimad Bhagavatam one should examine if the narration is being understood properly. One should contemplate their own shortcomings and mediate about how best to remove them.
While chanting or reading Srimad Bhagavatam one should consider that the Lord came to Prahlada, and the Lord rescued Dropadi, but why is He not coming to my aid? Such contemplation is called, "Seeing one's own shortcomings." Studying or listening to Srimad Bhagavatam, chanting Krsna's names and accepting an authentic Spiritual Master are the remedies to protect oneself from misdeeds, and they are the pathways to liberation from this world.
Every spiritual process remains ineffective as long as the desire to receive liberation remains in the heart, which is why Srimad Bhagavatam disproves all categories of austerities, ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices and establishes the path of devotion to be supreme. But one needs to follow the commentaries of great spiritual teachers who are perfect examples of devotional life in order to receive the correct meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam. Accepting speculative interpretations of Srimad Bhagavatam will not help. Simply memorizing some Bhagavatam verses and giving lectures on them to earn one's livelihood or respect are simply other ways to mislead the innocent. The speaker should be a living example of Srimad Bhagavatam, which reveals that the speaker firmly believes what he preaches and is not materially motivated. That is why Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu warned everyone stating, bhagavata padha giya vaisnavera sthane, "One must study Srimad Bhagavatam under a real devotee because he knows the correct meaning of it, thus he will reveal the truth." Only a true Vaisnava can impart the real meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam. Those who are not sincere devotees may speak on it, but they have not yet understood the inner meaning of it. If they understood the real meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam they would have become real devotees themselves and would have stopped their hypocrisy. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stated that one must study Srimad Bhagavatam under the guidance of a pure devotee, without which one cannot understand the real meaning of it. Srimad Bhagavatam is the book form of God; therefore only a real devotee who knows God can realize and explicate its true meaning. There is no other way. Therefore the scriptures state that the association of a pure devotee rewards all perfection in life. If one does not keep connection with a pure devotee or if someone lost such association it must be understood that Krsna could not be obtained by them.
Srimad Bhagavatam includes the pure occupation of the soul and nowhere else can such a pure process to obtain Krsna be found. Therefore Srila Sridhara Swami states, atraiva avarudhyate, "Lord Krsna is locked within Srimad Bhagavatam and no where else, and those fortunate enough to understand what it instructs, obtain Him." Srimad Bhagavatam is the summit of knowledge and there is no scripture that is equal to or greater than it. It is the culmination of all spiritual processes and nowhere else can absolute knowledge be found.
Srimad Bhagavatam explains solely about Krsna in each verse. It states that Krsna is the creator, maintainer and destroyer of this universe and there is no other God than Him anywhere. It states that Krsna is the Absolute Truth and therefore at every moment one should meditate and serve Him only.
Srimad Bhagavatam propagates what the soul is, with whom it is connected, and what its duty is. It instructs that performing devotional service helps develop relief from material influences, by which can help one obtain Lord Sri Krsna's blessings, and to whom a human being should dedicate their life, and what will be obtained by dedicating it. Srimad Bhagavatam also vividly explains how to perform spiritual life and explains in detail the true goal of life. It states that while performing spiritual life one should not beg only for good health, wealth, respect, position and family relationships etc. from the Lord, because these things may jeopardize their spiritual advancement. Srimad Bhagavatam's goal is to explain the soul's real need, with whom it is really related to, and what its real duty is. It also explains that at the time of death there is no one capable of helping the person (soul) in this world, and that their only real shelter is the Supreme Lord. The Srimad Bhagavatam is the medium that introduces human beings to the Supreme Lord and makes them understand that except for God they have no shelter or real well-wisher. It also explains that in order to obtain Him one has to develop love for Him. It states that to truly love Krsna one has to follow the path of conjugal love as exhibited by all the Gopis (cowherd girls) of Vrindaban. The Gopis exemplify the proper quality of love one should strive for to attain Lord Krsna. Srila Sridhara Swami states:
adyasya sresthasya janmadi yatah tatah
sriman radha govindasya sannidhye
itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat
"This transcendental love named conjugal love is the supreme way to please the Lord because it appeared from the relationship between Lord Sri Sri Radha Govinda and the Gopis of Vraja (Vrindaban area)."
Srimad Bhagavatam is filled with such narrations that the Lord Himself hankers to hear it on a regular basis. The Lord Himself leaves His spiritual abode and comes down to the place where Srimad Bhagavatam is being read (spoken) and sits down to carefully listen. As He Himself stated to Narada Muni:
naham vasami vaikunthe yoginam hrdaye na ca
mad bhaktah yatra gayanti tatra tisthami narada
"O Narada, I do not live in My spiritual abode, nor do I live in the hearts of great meditating yogis, but I live at the place where My devotees speak about My transcendental pastimes."
The proof of this incident is found in the history of Dwaraka, where Rohini (mother of Balaram) became the speaker of Lord Krsna's pastimes and the queens of Dwaraka became the listeners of them. This narration was secretly done without informing Lord Krsna and Balaram. But because Lord Krsna is all knowing and because He had promised that wherever His narration is taking place He will be present, is why even though sixteen thousand one hundred eight queens had closed all the doors and windows of the palace, still the Lord entered and listened to His own glories. When He heard about the love of His Vraja Gopis for Him He became so astonished that His beautiful Govinda appearance shrank and turned into His Jagannatha form, which is worshipped in Jagannatha Puri (a city in India) today.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, is omnipresent; therefore, even though the narration of Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken with all the doors and windows closed, still no one could prevent the Lord from participating. In other words, wherever Lord Krsna's pastimes are being spoken, Krsna is present. As stated in the Padma Purana:
tulasi kananam yatra yatra padma vanani ca
purana pathanam yatra tatra sannihito harih
"Wherever there is an abundance of Tulasi plants growing, wherever there is an abundance of lotuses growing, and wherever Srimad Bhagavatam is being narrated, Lord Krsna Himself is personally present."
The inner meaning of this verse is that wherever Lord Krsna's pastimes are not narrated there cannot be any happiness, peace, prosperity or self improvement. Lord Sri Krsna personally resides in His own narration and that is why world peace, all auspiciousness, good fortune, all categories of happiness, all categories of prosperity and self- improvement reside where the narration of Lord Krsna's pastimes take place. Those who study Srimad Bhagavatam obtain the highest abode of the Lord. The hearts of those who listen to Srimad Bhagavatam become purified from all contamination and become free from the entanglement of the cycle of rebirth and death. Thus they reach the abode of the Supreme Lord. Connecting oneself with Srimad Bhagavatam makes one become a devotee of the Lord, thus gradually becoming eligible to become dear to the Lord. Meaning all auspiciousness is included in Srimad Bhagavatam for those who become connected to it. This is the true benefit of studying Srimad Bhagavatam.
It is found in the Padma Purana that Narada Muni (heavenly sage) once desired to know how many auspicious activities people on earth perform, so he proceeded towards earth to find out. When searching he did not find any place where people were engaged in heartfelt devotional service, but saw that everyone was engaged in sense gratification. Almost everyone was hankering for obtaining objects for sense gratification and practically everyone had given up the path for self realization. As confirmed in the Padma Purana:
napasyat kutracic charma manah santosa karakam
kalina dharma mitrena dhareyam badhita dhuna
"Narada Muni did not see any peace or lasting happiness anywhere. Rather he saw Kaliyuga, with the help of Adharma (Irreligion personified), having everyone under his control. Everyone is under Kaliyuga's grip. Seeing this situation, Naradaji became very morose."
For want of seeing devotees of Lord Krsna, Narada Muni also traveled to places of pilgrimage, but he could not find any real devotees of the Lord. At last he reached Vrindaban where he saw Bhaktidevi, (the personification of devotional service) despondent. Her misery was due to the sins of everyone on earth. Her two sons, Jnana (the personification of knowledge) and Vairajna (the personification of detachment) looked very old and were sitting near her. No one was following the path of transcendental knowledge and detachment, which is why Jnana and Vairajna were languished. Practically no one was interested in following the path of self-realization. Narada saw that everyone was engaged in social life, healthy living, endeavoring for prosperity and that practically no one was focusing on practicing spiritual life to obtain the Lord's blessings. No one seemingly cared about their relationship with the Supreme Lord. Hence Bhaktidevi was despondent.
Following the path of knowledge and detachment from material life make the soul peaceful and happy; and following Bhakti (path of devotion) makes one become very close to the Lord. But due to the influence of the age of Kaliyuga, people have ignored following these three auspicious paths, which is why Narada saw these three auspicious personalities in a miserable condition.
Upon seeing Narada Muni, Bhaktidevi became hopeful thinking a saint has come and will help her in some way. Using welcoming words, Bhaktidevi addressed Narada thus, "O sage, be pleased with me and help me in some way to obtain peace. Please give me a space at your lotus feet. I am at your shelter. Due to the transcendental potency of Vrindaban I am young and healthy, but due to the influence of time my sons have become old." Narada asked her to introduce herself and she said, "I was born in Dravida (province of Andhra, in Southern India) and was raised in Karnataka (a state in Southern India). Later I reached Maharastra (another state in Southern India) where many saintly persons welcomed me and I begot two sons named Jnana and Vairajna. But when I reached Gujarat (a state in Western India) I became miserable because there I saw people worshipping demigods in the name of devotional service. The influence of such heretics caused me and my sons to become old. I tolerated this condition for a long time and while wandering I reached Vrindaban. As soon as I touched Vraja land (Vrindaban) I returned to my original youthful state, but my sons remained old. You must be aware that my duty is to move around everywhere, but due to my sons being old my moving has been hampered. For the parent to be elderly and the children to be young is justified, but for the children to be older and the parent to be younger is unheard of. Therefore, O saint, why has such a situation occurred to me? Please tell me so my doubt is removed."
Narada Muni said, "O dear one, the land of Vrindaban is meant for Bhakti and is not meant for Jnana and Vairajna. That is why you are young and your sons are old. Furthermore, you are an associate of Lord Krsna and Vrindaban is the place of Lord Krsna, therefore Vrindaban is your playground. When Lord Krsna left this world you took your birth in the land of Dravida, but Vrindaban is your permanent place, therefore you please stay here. Your sons can go to holy places situated on the banks of Ganges, by whose influence they will also become rejuvenated. In holy places people search for transcendental knowledge, perform austerities and some follow the rules of detachment, hence your sons will receive respect in holy places like the Ganges etc. Jnana and Vairajna have no place in Vrindaban because Vrindaban is solely the place for Bhakti. The Supreme Lord Krsna Himself, before leaving this world, had ordered you that after His departure you should strengthen His devotees, for which you acquiesced His order by bowing your head. Being pleased with your acceptance, the Lord awarded you liberation personified (Muktidevi) as a maidservant to serve you. How surprising it is that Muktidevi, for which great sages hanker to receive, was given to you as a maidservant!" Which means whosoever has adopted Bhakti seriously has liberation on hand. Jnana and Vairajna are Bhakti's sons, therefore wherever their mother is, they reside subtly. Hence complete scriptural knowledge and material detachment is seen in serious devotees, which means that when devotees perform pure devotional service to Lord Krsna, they do not need separate help from Jnana and Vairajna to achieve liberation from this world. To perform Bhakti a devotee requires love for the Lord, and when Bhakti is performed with love, Jnana and Vairajna automatically come to that devotee. As the poet Tualsidas states, "Bhakti (devotional service) is completely independent of everything and Jnana (knowledge) and Vairajna (detachment) stay under her control." Therefore those who have real devotion for Krsna in their heart, have everything in their hands.
It is not necessary to separately practice Jnana or Vairajna if someone has real devotion for Krsna. Just by practicing Jnana alone, or by practicing the process of Vairajna alone, or by practicing both, no one can bring about any substantial change in their life. For this reason the scriptures state that if someone has developed real devotion to Lord Krsna, they automatically obtain Jnana and Vairajna. In other words, by accepting Bhakti in its real sense, one at once brings about a true change in his/her life.
The reading of Srimad Bhagavatam should be done after bathing, and it is always better to invite others to listen. One should keep their senses under control from the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam till the end, and when the reading is completed, Prasadam (sanctified food) should be distributed. The reader of Srimad Bhagavatam should face towards the east and begin the recitation after Kirtan (singing of the Lord's holy names) and offering incense to the Lord. If these rules are followed, the Lord Himself comes to that place together with the Goddess of Fortune to fulfill the desires of the participants. Those who study Srimad Bhagavatam on a daily basis are glorious, but people with a busy schedule who are unable to study daily can reserve seven days in a year from their busy schedule and study it.
The Srimad Bhagavatam is the essence of all the scriptures, because all other scriptures become secondary before it. As stated in the Padma Purana:
rajante tavad anyani puranani satam gane
yavad bhagavatam naiva sruyate mrta sugaram
"All other religious scriptures remain respected in an assembly of learned people as long as Srimad Bhagavatam, which is filled with nectar, does not enter their assembly. As soon as Srimad Bhagavatam comes to their hands, other spiritual scriptures become faded."
In Kaliyuga the Supreme Lord infused Himself into Srimad Bhagavatam, which is why everyone should relinquish all other religious and spiritual duties and solemnly dedicate themselves to studying it. The knowledge of those who do not study Srimad Bhagavatam but follow other religious duties remains incomplete.
The Srimad Bhagavatam is very beneficial, pleasurable and easy to read, and every method for pleasing the Supreme Lord is included in it. It teaches how to properly perform devotional service to the Lord; and all the good qualities of the demigods manifest in those who perform truthful devotional service. But those who do not perform sincere devotional service remain bereft of good qualities, even though they may be well educated and well mannered. Such quality-less people do not obtain the Lord's blessings.
After seeing the pitiful condition of Bhaktidevi, Narada Muni understood that most people have avoided following Bhakti. Thinking this, Narada Muni, while pacifying Bhaktidevi, spoke the following to her:
anya dharman tiraskrtya puraskrtya mahotsavan
tada naham harer daso loke tvam na pravartaye
"If I cannot establish you (Bhaktidevi) above all religious and spiritual practices I should not be called a servant of God. I hereby promise you that I shall make you known to everyone."
After saying this to Bhaktidevi, Narada Muni began pacifying Jnana and Vairajna and at that point an unseen voice came from the sky stating, "O Narada, search for true saints, they will tell you about Jnana and Vairajna." Hearing these words, Narada proceeded in search of saintly people. He came across many saintly persons, but none of them could tell him about how Bhakti, Jnana and Vairajna could become firmly established in one's heart. At last, in his quest to find real saints, Naradaji reached Badrinath in the Himalayas where he met the four Kumaras (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat Kumaras). When these four Kumaras heard about Narada's search they said, "O Narada, as long as people do not hear Lord Krsna's narrations Bhakti does not get established in their hearts. Without Bhakti no one can obtain real knowledge, nor can they understand the real meaning of true detachment. The only necessary thing to invite Bhakti, Jnana and Vairajna in one's heart is hearing Srimad Bhagavatam. If preaching Krsna's narrations is done the whole world will perform Bhakti; and Jnana and Vairajna will automatically manifest in their hearts. Therefore, O Narada, you must endeavor to preach Krsna's narrations."
Hearing this Narada Muni said, "I cannot perform this endeavor alone, you please speak Krsna Katha (Krsna's narration)." Following this request, the four Kumaras came down to Haridwar to speak Krsna Katha. Including Naradaji, many saints came in hope of listening to the nectar of Srimad Bhagavatam which would emanate from the four Kumaras. The leading sages among all gathered were Bhrgu, Vasistha, Bharadvaja, Saradvan, Angira, Vyasa, Chyavana and Gautama. After first glorifying Lord Krsna, the four Kumaras began speaking Srimad Bhagavatam saying:
sada sevya sada sevya srimad bhagavatati katha
yasyah sravana matrena haris cittam samasrayet
"Srimad Bhagavatam must be read and heard at every step because just by hearing or reading it the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna Himself manifests in the heart."
Until Srimad Bhagavatam is heard, the tie to the cycle of rebirth and death is not severed and the illusion trapped in one's mind cannot be cleared. In other words only through Srimad Bhagavatam can liberation from this world be achieved. No other spiritual processes, such as performing fire sacrifices, giving charity, the search for knowledge, going to holy places, performance of austerities, worship of demigods, bathing in the Ganges, or any other spiritual process can sufficiently help one attain spiritual peace. Only through Krsna Katha can one obtain lasting peace.
Narada questioned the four Kumaras thus, "O worshipable ones, can a ghost also achieve liberation by listening to Srimad Bhagavatam?" The Kumaras replied, "O Narada, every category of living entity in the eight million four hundred thousands types of bodies and even ghosts can achieve liberation just by hearing Srimad Bhagavatam." To help illustrate their statement the Kumaras narrated the following history:
On the bank of the Tungabhadra River lived a Brahmana named Atmadeva. He was well versed in the scriptures and had all good qualities required for achieving liberation from this world. His wife's name was Dhundhuli and she was very cunning, arrogant and barren. Atmadeva was very gentle by nature and did not interfere with anything Dhundhuli did, but he was in anxiety because they were childless. One day, without informing his wife, Atmadeva went to a forest where he met a swami whose face was filled with vigor. Atmadeva revealed to him that he had no children and the swami wanted to help him. The swami extended his mercy saying, "No one can remove what is written in their luck, but everyone should endeavor for their fulfillment." The swami then gave a piece of fruit to Atmadeva and said, "This fruit is generative and is infallible, if your wife eats this fruit she will surely become pregnant." When Atmadeva returned home he gave this piece of fruit to his wife and revealed the quality of this special fruit, but Dhundhuli, being unprincipled by nature, did not eat the fruit but instead fed it to their cow. A few days later Dhundhuli's sister came to visit her and told her she was pregnant. Dhundhuli told her sister the history of the special fruit and that she did not want to take a pregnancy to term, so she fed the fruit to their cow. Dhundhuli then requested her sister to give up her newly born child for monetary compensation and her sister being poor, agreed to the transaction. Atmadeva was unaware of this covert scheme. The Sastra (ancient scripture) states that the luck of a man can be foretold through astrology, but what a cunning woman will do next cannot be foretold even by the creator of the universe, Lord Brahma. But well mannered ladies are glorified in the scriptures because they act properly at every step.
After some time Dhundhuli's sister gave birth to a boy and he was secretly taken to Dhundhuli, unknown to Atmadeva. When Atmadeva heard a child crying he came to know that a boy had taken birth in his house. After some time their cow also gave birth to a human looking child. Dhundhuli named her boy Dhundhukari; and because the cow's offspring appeared human but had cow-like ears, Atmadeva named him Gokarna (for having ears resembling that of a cow's). During the children's upbringing, Dhundhukari did not learn anything in school, whereas Gokarna learned all the scriptures properly in a short time. When Dhundhukari reached youth, he was rowdy and mischievous, whereas Gokarna was very gentle and well mannered. Dhundhukari would daily engage with prostitutes, eat meat, took intoxication, stole, gambled, engaged in criminal acts, set fire to others' houses, and kept the company of unwanted people. Seeing the undesirable acts of his son, Atmadeva became very morose and by the advice of Gokarna, left for the forest to perform austerity.
Gokarna thought living with such a mischievous person is not good, so he left to visit places of pilgrimage. With his father and Gokarna gone, Dhundhukari squandered all the wealth of the house on prostitutes and then beat his mother for want of more money. But being unable to supply money to Dhundhukari, Dhundhuli committed suicide by jumping into a nearby well. Now Dhundhukari was free to do as he liked. Therefore he daily went to the forest and killed animals to bring home to eat and brought five prostitutes to live in the house. In order to fulfill the prostitutes' demands he would gamble, commit robbery, and engage in many other illegal activities. For a normal man it can be difficult to fulfill the demands of one wife, therefore one can only imagine how much anxiety Dhundhukari was in to have to provide for five prostitutes. One day the prostitutes had a discussion and concluded that some day Dhundhukari will be caught by constables for robbing people, and when he is interrogated they will also be implicated and punished. Therefore they decided to kill Dhundhukari. One day when he was asleep, four of the prostitutes strangled him with a rope while the fifth one poured burning red hot charcoal into his mouth, killing him. The prostitutes then collected all the remaining wealth and left the house. Dhundhukari, being a very sinful person and having received such an untimely death, became a ghost and haunted the house. After some time Gokarna returned from pilgrimage and being tired, fell asleep in the house. In his ghostly existence, Dhundhukari made many disturbing noises, which disturbed Gokarna's sleep. Gokarna then understood that the sinner Dhundhukari had died untimely and had become a ghost. A genuine devotee only thinks of benefiting others; thus Gokarna being a genuine devotee decided to liberate the ghost (Dhundhukari) from that existence.
The result of associating with a great devotee is explained by King Muchukunda thus:
bhavapavargo bhramato yada bhavet
janasya tarhy acyuta sat samagamah
sat-sangamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau
paravarese tvayi jayate matih
"The living entity entangled in the cycle of rebirth and death wanders all over the universe and takes countless births in the eight million four hundred thousand different species. When its time to receive liberation from this world arrives it gets the opportunity to associate with a real devotee of the Lord. Such a devotee has a direct connection with the Supreme Lord and the Lord does not want His devotee's association to go in vain, therefore the Lord helps develop interest in that human being for chanting and worshipping the Lord, by which that human being receives liberation from this world."
To liberate the ghost from that existence, Gokarna decided to recite Srimad Bhagavatam in seven days in that house. He invited the local residents to attend and informed them that Dhundhukari had become a ghost. The local residents accepted the invitation and the recitation of Bhagavatam began on Asadha Sukla Navami day (which takes place in light part of June-July). Gokarna got a seven-knotted bamboo and erected it before the seat he would recite Bhagavatam from so that the ghost (Dhundhukari) could sit upon the tip and listen to the Bhagavatam narration (per the scriptures a ghost can only sit upon a bamboo and no where else). After the first day of narration was complete, the first knot of the bamboo cracked, which indicated that Dhundhukari was getting closer to liberation. Day after day the knots cracked until the seventh knot cracked, indicating that Dhundhukari had become free from that ghostly existence. Then a celestial Vimana aircraft arrived from the spiritual world to take him there. Upon seeing the spiritual Vimana aircraft, Gokarna asked the aircraft attendants, "Why have you brought only one aircraft? Other people have heard the Srimad Bhagavatam narration as well. Why haven't you brought Vimana for them?" To this the aircraft attendants replied, "Even though the others have heard Srimad Bhagavatam, they did not develop sufficient faith as Dhundhukari has and they did not accept the ideals of Bhagavatam. After hearing Bhagavatam they remained fixed in their ways. Except for Dhundhukari, no one genuinely adopted the path of Srimad Bhagavatam, which is why only Dhundhukari is qualified to be liberated at this time. Only Krsna is the Supreme God, Lord of all the Lords, and no one other than Him is God. He is the ultimate well-wisher of all. Anyone who does not accept this absolute truth will never be benefited in life. Those who do not accept scriptural instructions and those who do not accept the Supremacy of Lord Krsna cannot be liberated from this world even though they are religious and/or are practicing spiritual life."
Upon hearing the Vimana attendants words, Gokarna again recited Srimad Bhagavatam, by hearing which all the listeners developed unshakable faith in Lord Krsna and concluded that He is the Supreme God; that glorifying the Lord and chanting His name is the sole goal of every human being; and that every living entity is His servant. With this firm faith and by Gokarna's mercy, another Vimana came from the spiritual world and took everyone there to live eternally.
While the four Kumaras were still speaking, both Jnana and Vairajna became youthful again and together with their mother, Bhaktidevi, began dancing while reciting the names of Lord Sri Krsna. Bhaktidevi then asked Narada Muni where their sitting place is. Witnessing this lady questioning Narada, the listeners of Bhagavatam asked, "Who is this female?" To this Narada Muni replied, "She is the result of listening to Krsna's narration with firm faith. This female is the wife of Lord Krsna and her name is Bhaktidevi. The two boys are her sons, named Jnana and Vairajna. These three personalities reward liberation to Srimad Bhagavatam listeners." After answering the listeners questions, Narada Muni turned to Bhaktidevi and her sons and said, "Your appropriate sitting place is in the heart of Srimad Bhagavatam listeners. Please be seated in the hearts of the listeners." Thus, following Narada Muni's advice, the three of them entered into the hearts of the Bhagavatam listeners. When Lord Krsna found that His wife was sitting in the hearts of the Bhagavatam listeners, He left His spiritual abode and manifested inside the hearts of the Bhagavatam listeners as well, thus illustrating that wherever unalloyed Bhakti is being performed, Lord Krsna is surely found there.
The essence of this history is that if Srimad Bhagavatam is heard with firm faith, one obtains all three divine qualities at once. After a person obtains Bhakti, Jnana and Vairajna, there is nothing else in this world needed to attain peace. The degree of happiness one obtains by listening to Srimad Bhagavatam cannot be obtained by achieving everything of this world, because when Krsna Himself comes and sits inside one's heart, the soul inside the heart becomes overwhelmed with bliss. After listening to Narada Muni, all the Bhagavatam listeners present became jolly and started chanting the names of Lord Krsna.
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The Srimad Bhagavatam has eighteen thousand Sanskrit verses, is divided into twelve cantos and is enveloped in the conversation between Sri Sukadeva Goswami and King Pariksit. Srimad Bhagavatam is the physical form of Lord Sri Krsna in this age of Kaliyuga. Just by touching Srimad Bhagavatam, just by daily studying it or just by daily listening to its narrations one receives the blessings of Lord Sri Krsna. For whosoever keeps Srimad Bhagavatam in their house and worships it daily the messengers of Yamaraja do not enter that house. For as long as a person does not listen to the narration of Srimad Bhagavatam, that person remains sinful.
The Supreme Lord Sri Krsna appears in this world in each age by His own sweet will to reveal the true path of liberation. He tells everyone, "Become My devotee, think of Me, serve Me, chant My glories, worship Me and if you follow what I say you will reach My abode without fail." The Lord is very merciful, which is why he appears in many forms in order to help everyone. Lord Krsna descended in the human form as Lord Rama, He appeared in an animal incarnation as a Bore, He appeared in aquatic incarnations as a Fish and a Turtle, and as books He appeared as Srimad Bhagavatam. His main purpose for descending is to guide everyone to liberation. Of all the many books there are in this world, Srimad Bhagavatam is the literary form of God. Thus at this present time, the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is revealing the true path to liberation through Srimad Bhagavatam to benefit everyone.
Krsna is God and can only be bound by the rope of love. The powerful Hiranyakasipu, Hiranyaksa, Ravana, Jarasandha, Kamsa and Duryodhana did not possess the ability to tie Lord Krsna because they were all bereft of any love for Him in their hearts, which is why they failed every time they attempted to control Him. The sole solution to tie Krsna is sincere love for Him, which can be developed through study of Srimad Bhagavatam. The scriptures state that love for the Lord is very rare; that those who work for result, speculators, performers of meditation, performers of austerity or performers of rituals do not possess it. But this rare love can easily be obtained by a person who daily studies and/or listens to Srimad Bhagavatam, meaning that the Lord easily rewards this love to His devotees. The narration of Lord Krsna is so powerful that it can bring Krsna and lock Him inside the heart of His devotee, by which that devotee crosses the ocean of rebirth and death. There is no example in any scripture where the Lord manifested in the heart of His devotee and left, but there are many examples stating that after manifesting in His devotee's heart, He never left it. This is the result of listening to and/or reading Srimad Bhagavatam.
People who avoid hearing about Lord Krsna, but rather perform or follow other spiritual or religious processes, do not obtain the goal of life. Processes devoid of devotional service do not bare sufficient results, whereas those who chant Krsna's names and perform devotional service to please Him obtain Him. Hence, just by seriously chanting the Lord's names and studying Srimad Bhagavatam, Krsna comes and lives in the heart of the person. But such a relationship is not coequal with taking and distributing Prasadam (sanctified food). One can take and distribute Prasadam to other family members and all parties are benefited, whereas developing a relationship with Krsna is an individual thing. Krsna revealing Himself to a sincere devotee is between Krsna and the devotee only; it cannot be shared with others like Prasadam. To know the Lord one has to develop a relationship with Him. If family members want Krsna's blessings, they have to practice spiritual life and develop a relationship with the Lord themselves. But it is a blessing itself to have a devotee family member in the house, because the other residents can hear Krsna's narrations from that devotee and be spiritually benefited and transformed into devotees themselves.
Srila Vyasadeva removed all inauspiciousness, cheating, guile, hypocrisy and show off religions from Srimad Bhagavatam. Therefore the process of Bhakti taught in Srimad Bhagavatam is completely pure, there isn't even a tinge of hypocrisy in it. It does not give priority to liberation, and this is signified by the fact that liberation personified is the maidservant of Bhakti. Srila Vyasadeva calls ritualistic processes existing in this world cheating religions, which is why he did not include them in Srimad Bhagavatam. Even though Vyasadeva revealed that all other spiritual processes are inferior to Bhakti and fall short of pleasing the Lord, some people are still illusioned and believe liberation to be the ultimate and thus follow inferior processes in an attempt to achieve it. Liberation from material existence is one thing, but then what? Those who do not know or consider what takes place after liberation are referred to as ignorant in Srimad Bhagavatam. Srila Sridhara Swami states that for as long as desire to receive liberation remains in the heart, one cannot obtain Krsna. Real devotees of Lord Krsna do not hanker for liberation; they only desire to be with Krsna, even if they have to take birth as a blade of grass, a plant, tree, animal or bird to be with Him.
People unaware of the value of the land of Vraja desire liberation. They are unaware of the potency Vraja has, which the liberation processes lack. In the land of Vraja one learns the real way of performing devotional service.
Srimad Bhagavatam states that performing meditation, following the path of knowledge, performing austerities, observing fasts, following ritualistic ceremonies, burning butter in fire sacrifices, or by chanting mantras, some flickering happiness may be obtained, but not the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. But if one studies Srimad Bhagavatam and follows its commands, then Lord Krsna quickly comes to sit in the heart of that person.
People claiming to be scholars are tested in Srimad Bhagavatam. vidyavatam bhagavate pariksa, "The test of those claiming to be learned is measured through their comprehension of Srimad Bhagavatam." Srimad Bhagavatam is meant for highly advanced spiritual scholars and Krsna does not reveal the inner meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam to people who still have material desires. He only reveals it to those who have become free from sense gratification. Scholars who do not have the association of real devotees and thus still have material desires cannot understand the inner meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam, even though they may have memorized it by heart. Lord Siva states, "Everyone cannot understand Srimad Bhagavatam." He further says, aham vedmi, "I know Srimad Bhagavatam," and, suko vetti, "Sri Sukadeva Goswami knows Srimad Bhagavatam," but vyaso vetti na vetti va, "I am not sure whether Vyasadeva knows it or not." By considering this statement made by such a high authority about the author of Srimad Bhagavatam, one should contemplate the implied difficulty of understanding its true meaning. Still, people today learn some Srimad Bhagavatam verses, lecture on them and sing some devotional songs, thereby presenting themselves as learned scholars of it to the general public to gain wealth and respect. How surprising and alluring Kaliyuga is, that even a charlatan can divert innocent people away from God. How can anyone giving their own interpretation of Srimad Bhagavatam to earn money to maintain their family, know the essence of it, if Lord Siva even doubts the author's (Vyasadeva's) understanding of it? The Gopis of Vrindaban were not learned, but they understood the essence of Srimad Bhagavatam, which is why they did not care about anything except Krsna. They were not attached to family members, wealth, friends or relatives. They did not care about social shame. They even gave up their chastity for Krsna and abandoned their family dynasty traditions for Him. Such was their dedication. The Gopis could do this because they understood the culmination of Srimad Bhagavatam. According to Vaisnava philosophy, if someone understands the essence of something they relinquish everything else and surrender to that thing. This is the only way Krsna can be understood properly. At the battlefield of Kuruksetra Arjuna showed his religiosity to Lord Krsna and argued against Krsna's will for him to fight. Arjuna said, "My grandfather, teacher, uncle and cousins are on the opposing side. I will not kill them but instead either get killed, live in a forest, or become a mendicant, but I will not kill any of my relatives, because by doing so I would implicate myself with sin by killing them." At this point Arjuna did not understand Krsna, which is why he was presenting himself as a religious scholar. But after Krsna gave him the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam in the form of Bhagavad Gita, he then understood Krsna properly. At that point Arjuna understood the difference between Bhakti (Devotional service) and religion. After understanding Krsna, that same Arjuna who presented himself as a saintly person to Krsna, lifted his bow and arrows and killed everyone before him on the battlefield. Only by posing to be religious one cannot obtain Krsna, because following religious principles rewards material benefits, whereas Lord Krsna is obtained only through devotional service. This is the difference between spirituality and religion.
Any prudent person can memorize Srimad Bhagavatam verses and give lectures, but those who have developed real love for Krsna and perform devotional service to Him from the core of their heart know what Bhagavatam actually means. The love that is stated in Srimad Bhagavatam should be learnt from an authentic Spiritual Master who has come down in an unbroken chain of disciplic succession. Only by following this type of spiritual chain can one understand the loving process to attain Krsna. Anyone can read Srimad Bhagavatam and give discourses, but not everyone can understand Krsna in essence and what Srimad Bhagavatam is aimed at. Even great sages could not understand the essence of Krsna (essence of God or essence of God consciousness), what to speak of people of Kaliyuga posing as devotees. As stated in the Chaitanya Charitamrta, bhagavata padhi-padhi karo buddhi nasa, "Even though some people read Srimad Bhagavatam regularly they may lose their reasoning power and come to a wrong conclusion." In essence, without following an authentic Spiritual Master and having real dedication to the Lord, no one can understand Srimad Bhagavatam or Krsna in truth. But for one truthfully dedicated to the lotus feet of a real devotee, the spiritual path becomes easy to understand. As Lord Krsna states in the Bhagavad Gita:
tad viddhi pranipatena pari prasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva darsinah
"To understand God one must reach a realized devotee Spiritual Master and inquire submissively and render service unto him. Such a self-realized soul will then impart knowledge unto you because he knows the truth perfectly."
The meaning of this verse is that only after fully surrendering at the lotus feet of a scripturally authentic Spiritual Master is one able to understand the essence of Srimad Bhagavatam. By studying it without accepting or without fully surrendering at the feet of an authentic Spiritual Master one can only understand the superficial meaning of it and thus cannot understand it in its proper sense. Without accepting an authentic Guru one cannot obtain Krsna. For example, entertainers acting like preachers and giving spiritual lectures may captivate an audience, but because their mind is not absorbed in God their habits and material desires do not change. Even though someone may give charismatic lectures about God, if they haven't accepted initiation from an authentic Guru they are not freed from material desires, because they have not been placed on the right platform by the direct teachings of an authentic Spiritual Master. No one can reach the spiritual world by associating with such people, because it merely leads to more hankering for sense gratification, be it of a different type. Such performers make a nice show of spiritual life, but because their mind is rooted in sense gratification, the transference of spiritual knowledge is stagnant, whereas a saintly person's mind, being fixed on the Supreme Lord, is filled with spiritual realizations. Therefore such devotees are via media God and thus are able to transfer the listener's mind from material to spiritual. As the poet Tulasidasa states:
eka ghadi adhi ghadi adhi ki puni adhi
tulasi sangati sadhu ki harai koti aparadha
"One moment, or half a moment's, or even one half of a half of a moment's association with a real devotee can remove millions of offenses from a person and bring them to the platform of liberation. Such is the potency of a pure devotee's association."
Srimad Bhagavatam purifies and transforms all categories of sinners and rewards them liberation from this world. This is why the Padma Purana states that anyone who thinks that Srimad Bhagavatam is different from Lord Krsna Himself are equal to offenders of Brahmanas. There is no difference between Lord Krsna and Srimad Bhagavatam, but in order to receive full benefit one must listen to it from a real devotee. As confirmed in the Skanda Purana:
avaisnava mukhac chastram na srotavyam kadacana
suka sastram visesena na srotavyam avaisnavat
"One should not listen to scriptures from those who are not real devotees. Srimad Bhagavatam especially should never be heard from a non devotee."
One may wonder how to detect who is a real devotee? To this the Skanda Purana states:
avaisnavo'tra dvijo jneyo yo visnor mukham ucyate
vipretara-gatam sastram asastratvam prapadyate
"When a person is born in an unbroken Brahmana dynasty he is said to be the mouth of the Lord Himself. When such a person is initiated by a devotee Spiritual Master descending in an unbroken chain of disciplic succession and lives by scriptural rules he is said to be Vaisnava. One should listen to Srimad Bhagavatam from such a Vaisnava. Besides listening from such a Vaisnava, listening to Bhagavatam from others does not bear enough result."
It is further stated in the Skanda Purana:
vaktaram vaisnavam vipram visuddhobhaya vamsajam
sordhva pundram susilam ca kuryat krsna jana priyam
"Therefore, the speaker of Srimad Bhagavatam should be born into an unbroken Brahmana dynasty connected to the Lord Himself and should be initiated by a devotee Spiritual Master coming in an unbroken chain of succession from the Lord Himself. He must have the flame-like holy mark of Tilak on his forehead. If such a devotee is found, one should listen to Srimad Bhagavatam from him because such a devotee is very dear to the Lord and the listener receives blessings from the Lord for hearing from such a devotee."
Thus ends the introduction to the lectures of Srimad Bhagavatam by Mahamandaleshwar Mahant Sri Krsna Balaram Swamiji.
Hari Om Tat Sat
"How to Spend Your Last Seven Days on Earth"
Chapter One
First day's Lecture
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
The personality from whom this entire creation manifests and who maintains every creature and at last destroys everyone is called God. He makes rules that He reveals in the ancient scriptures and acts accordingly, but occasionally acts beyond those rules, as He is not subject to them. No one has any authority to find fault in His actions. He is the Supreme Lord and is not dependent on anyone at anytime in any circumstance. He created this material world and it is functioning under His command, even though He is fully aloof from it.
The scriptures state that it is very difficult to know God, so difficult that even Lord Brahma, the speaker of all the Vedas, was unable to know God until God revealed Himself to him. God is the Supreme Master and does as He wishes and all living entities function under Him like puppets. In whatever way the Lord wants the living entities to live, they have no choice other than to live and act per His desire. No one except Him is free to function independently in any way.
The scriptures state that even great sages must persevere in order to know Lord Krsna, so what chance does a human being functioning under the control of material nature have of knowing Him or truly knowing His nature? Those in true knowledge accept Lord Krsna as the Supreme Truth, while those under the influence of material illusion think of Krsna as an ordinary man. Such illusioned people cannot grasp the fact that if there were no God, this creation would not have come to exist. Due to the Supreme Lord only, goodness, passion and ignorance function in this world.
Misery does not exist in the spiritual world. Hence those who enter the spiritual world become free from all misery. Not only this, those who become sincere devotees and come under the Supreme Lord's glance become free from all miseries of life. In essence, the living entity's suffering remains for as long as he/she does not seriously surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord. Therefore the scriptures state that every human being should surrender unto Him.
Thinking about the Lord and sincerely chanting His names relieves one from the miseries of this world. When one becomes a real devotee, Lord Krsna relieves all their problems. For example, the warrior Asvasthama released a fire weapon towards Uttara (a devotee) to kill Pariksit, who was in her womb, but the weapon did not even touch her because she pitifully cried out for Krsna's help. Another example is when Prahlada was placed upon the tip of a long edged spear to be killed. Even though his body was made of flesh and bones and the spear had a very sharp steel tip, it did not injure him because he was chanting Lord Krsna's names and praying for His help. These examples illustrate that Lord Krsna helps those who sincerely chant His names and become His serious devotee(s). Such devotees do not experience any problems. This is the beauty of chanting Lord Krsna's names and becoming His devotee.
The Supreme Lord is all-cognizant and knows what spiritual mellow (mood) to nurture in a particular devotee. He directs the feelings of every devotee, just as He had done while performing the Rasalila (conjugal love dance). When the Gopis developed a little pride in their hearts the Lord recognized it and disappeared from their sight, thus refocusing their meditation completely upon Him. The scriptures state, when pride invades a devotee's heart, love for the Lord becomes lessened and the Lord removes the devotee's pride using one method or another. One of Lord Krsna's names is Darpachurak (remover of pride), meaning He removes a devotee's pride and establishes love for Him in their heart. Lord Krsna does not leave His real devotees at any stage or time, but helps them in each and every circumstance. A good example is when Lord Krsna disappeared from the site of the Rasa dance only to strengthen the Gopis' love for Him in their hearts. To have Lord Krsna reappear, Srimati Radharani extended Her mercy, which removed the Gopis' pride and thus Lord Krsna reappeared. When a devotee becomes fully purified by continuous devotional practice and is desirous of a relationship with the Lord in the mellow of conjugal love, Lord Krsna manifests that quality of love in his/her heart. But a devotee's heart must be pure before the Lord manifests the conjugal mellow in them. As long as a devotee's heart is bound by desire for result; the search for dry knowledge; meditating on the void (nirvana); or impersonal feeling for the Lord (I am God; I shall merge in the Lord; I will become God) after death; love for the Lord in the conjugal mood does not manifest in the heart.
Sometimes even sages become bewildered of what path will best benefit a human being, which is why people should seriously contemplate what path is best for them. Many people fall short in their search for knowledge and accept a less than perfect path. For example, some people follow physical yoga, which may bring good health and prestige, but liberation cannot be obtained through it. By following the path of meditation one can gradually perfect it and obtain mystical power, but the Lord cannot be obtained. Therefore the scriptures state that without following the devotional path no one can obtain the ultimate benefit of life, the Supreme Lord.
Lord Krsna is God and God is the greatest of all, still He mercifully stays under the control of His pure devotees. Even though the Lord is all pervading, still He chooses to communicate only with His pure devotee, as He states in Srimad Bhagavatam, bhaktya'ham ekaya grahyam sraddhayatma priyah satam, " I can only be obtained through devotional service and I am only available to My pure devotees." Therefore, those sincerely interested in returning back to Godhead must develop a spiritual relationship with a pure devotee and somehow keep him interested in them through devotional practice. The Poet Tulasidas states, "Without the Supreme Lord's blessings one cannot obtain the association of a pure devotee, and without his association one cannot obtain the right understanding to reach the spiritual world to see the Lord." In other words, only whosoever has obtained blessings from the Lord receives a pure devotee to associate with. Only a person who has accumulated sufficient merits from their previous lives is fortunate enough to keep the association of a pure devotee. The scriptures state that the Lord stays under the control of His pure devotee, which is why those who keep hold of a real devotee gradually learn the proper spiritual etiquette and knowledge to obtain Krsna. The Supreme Lord is not in the company of every devotee; He only stays near His pure devotees. The Lord Himself stated, "If someone wants to obtain Me, they must perform devotional service with great faith and dedication and also serve My pure devotee, because I am very dear to My pure devotee. Then I will be freely available." This is the decree of God Himself. People that perform great austerities for long periods of time cannot say they have obtained Krsna, even if they have perfected their austerity. But such success is nothing in comparison to Lord Krsna, because every perfection is included in Him. Hence, without connecting with a pure devotee no one can obtain Krsna. Making and keeping a connection with a pure devotee is the secret of spiritual success.
The first verse of Srimad Bhagavatam teaches that one must establish a relationship with the Lord; the second verse teaches the true pathway to establish that relationship; and the third verse reveals how to obtain the Lord. Meaning by the help of Srimad Bhagavatam a human being comes to know that Krsna is the Supreme God and performing Bhakti (devotional service) is the only way to obtain Him. People that perform Bhakti obtain Krsna, which is the ultimate goal of every human being.
Srila Vyasadeva compares all the scriptures to a desire-fulfilling tree with many fruits hanging from it, but with only one ripened fruit and that fruit is Srimad Bhagavatam. The owner of this ripened fruit is Lord Krsna, who allows only His pure devotees to understand its contents. Such pure devotees realize that Srimad Bhagavatam is their wealth and they desire nothing else. Lord Siva never reads the Siva Purana (where Lord Siva is said to be supreme), and Durga never reads the Durga Saptasati (a book where she (is) said to be supreme), but Lord Krsna reads Srimad Bhagavatam and also listens to it and experiences joy. Not only this, Lord Sri Krsna immediately runs to that place where Srimad Bhagavatam is being read aloud. In other words, the value of Srimad Bhagavatam is so great that Lord Sri Krsna Himself reads, listens and speaks it to others. For example, Lord Sri Krsna spoke Srimad Bhagavatam to His friend Uddhava, heard it from Rohini, and read it to Rukmini. That is why all the demigods, sages, thinkers and every category of spiritualist study Srimad Bhagavatam and relish its contents and feel rejoiced.
Now the question arises, to whom does Lord Krsna give Srimad Bhagavatam? In answer Srila Vyasadeva states, rasikah bhuvi bhavukah, "He only gives it to His unalloyed devotees," thus signifying that He gives other Puranas to other level spiritualists. Vyasadeva compiled many other Puranas for ritualistic performers, knowledge seekers, sense gratifiers, and showboat spiritualists, so they could also get some benefit. But He compiled Srimad Bhagavatam for those liberated from material desires. From this it can be concluded that Srimad Bhagavatam is not for everyone.
The age we live in is called Kaliyuga and people have become so fallen that they are not inclined to follow the instructions of Srimad Bhagavatam, but rather worship what they believe God is. Some people even worship mortal men or women thinking them to be God and some are even swayed by cunning speakers. How surprising this age of Kaliyuga has become, just see!
The scriptures state that only though unalloyed devotional service can Lord Krsna be understood. Those who have renounced the attachment for everything material including the mind's demands and the ego of intelligence and are always engaged in pleasing Lord Krsna, in due course become unalloyed devotees. Just as ripened fruit is the essence of a tree and butter is the essence of milk; similarly Srimad Bhagavatam is the essence of all Vedic literatures. The essence of human life is to practice devotional service to Lord Krsna. When a person ascends to the summit of knowledge he/she is not induced by any other spiritual path, but is only attracted to Bhakti and solemnly practice it. Devotion to Krsna is the ultimate spiritual process and is very rare in this world. This is the meaning of galitam-phalam, the ripened fruit, Srimad Bhagavatam. Everyone cannot follow this path.
One may wonder, ordinarily when fruit ripens on a tree it falls to the ground and becomes dirty, but this observation does not apply to Srimad Bhagavatam because it is Lord Krsna's literary incarnation and Krsna takes charge of it. When Lord Krsna imparted the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam to Lord Brahma before the creation of the universe, it did not fall on the ground but fell into Lord Brahma's heart. Lord Brahma revealed the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam to Narada Muni, who in turn spoke it to Vyasadeva over five thousand years ago. In this way, the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam has come down in the unbroken chain of disciplic succession from God, and is here even today, undiluted. Srimad Bhagavatam teaches the inner science of how to love Krsna and this love is its main goal.
A real devotee's association helps develop the habit of chanting the Lord's names and develops and focuses a person's intelligence on transcendental knowledge, and the person then comes to understand who God truly is and how to recognize Him if He came before him/her. The association of a pure devotee also awakens devotional feelings for the Lord and releases a voice from within that propels one to associate with the Lord by regularly chanting.
A devotee's feelings are by nature very attached to the Supreme Lord. Devotees leave their worldly relations and material desires, as do people after vomiting leave that place thinking it to be abominable. One may wonder, how can one know who has developed a real connection with the Supreme Lord and has no desire for worldly relations or material things? One can know who possesses these qualities by observing whose mind is fixed on the Lord; hence their mind is not attracted to worldly sense gratification of any kind. They do not abandon the loving relationship they have developed with the Lord or their service to Him in any circumstance or at any stage of life.
The Srimad Bhagavatam is filled with nectar and because it is touched by the lips of the pure devotee, Sri Sukadeva Goswami, it has become even more relishable. Therefore, as soon as one begins to read or listen to Srimad Bhagavatam they are attracted, and after a short period of time they feel satiated. It is even sweeter than nectar because the taste of nectar fades, whereas the sweetness of Srimad Bhagavatam grows forever sweeter. Therefore everyone should drink as much as they can get. No one can ever be satisfied by worldly sense pleasures because they grow like a fungus, (;) the more one tries to satisfy the itch, the more it grows. Whereas by savoring the narration of Krsna's pastimes one feels satisfied and only feels that they should engage in chanting and serving the Lord day and night.
Sri Sukadeva Goswami used the singular number when he said, pivata bhagavatam rasam alayam, "Srimad Bhagavatam is the storehouse of nectar and everyone should drink it to their heart's content." Indicating that by reading Srimad Bhagavatam alone one can obtain Krsna, meaning that there is no need to read any other book to know or meet God. Self-realized souls only read and listen to Srimad Bhagavatam because they know it is the only scripture in this world that is able to bring Krsna and place Him in the heart and not allow Him to leave. Srimad Bhagavatam cries out, "Please come to me and take devotional service of Lord Krsna, learn the knowledge about Krsna and learn how to become detached from this suffering world." But faithless unlucky people remain materialistic and do not take this knowledge to heart. They remain convinced that material sense gratification will make them happy. Just see how unfortunate they are.
At the beginning of Kaliyuga (present age), eighty eight thousand sages headed by Saunaka gathered at a spot in Naimisaranya forest and performed spiritual functions for many years, but did not meet God, Lord Sri Krsna. Thus, all the sages became very anxious and at that time Srila Suta Goswami came there. Upon seeing him all the sages welcomed him. They worshiped him with great respect, offered him a seat of honor and appointing Saunaka as their speaker, questioned him with great reverence. Saunaka said, "O great sage, please tell us what the true path is for everyone's welfare? What is the ultimate goal of human life and how can one obtain it? We performed religious functions until we grew tired and still we have not found the real path for obtaining peace. You have studied many scriptures, associated with many saintly people, heard Srimad Bhagavatam from Sri Sukadeva Goswami and received blessings from the incarnation of Lord Krsna, Lord Balaram. Therefore, please tell us how and when the soul becomes happy and content. Saunaka continued:
athakhyahi harer dhiman avatara katha subhah
lila vidadhatah svairam isvarasyatma mayaya
'O intelligent Suta Goswami, the all capable Supreme Lord, through His internal potency performs many transcendental pastimes by His own free will. We desire to hear all of them, please narrate them to us.'
All of us know that the Lord appeared from Vasudev and Devaki and we desire to hear about His pastimes. We will not tire from hearing His pastimes." Srila Suta Goswami became very pleased hearing such questions from the sage, as confirmed by Srila Vyasadeva:
iti samprasna samhrsto vipranam romaharsanih
prati-pujya vacas tesam pravaktum upacakrame
"Hearing such questions from the sages, the son of Romaharsana, Srila Suta Goswami, became very pleased, and after wishing all auspiciousness for all the sages, started speaking Srimad Bhagavatam, the narration of Lord Sri Krsna."
First Sri Suta Goswami prayed to his Spiritual Master, Srila Sukadeva Goswami, "My Guru remained in his mother's womb for sixteen years, and as soon as he came out, he took to the renounced order and left to live in the forest. Per the law of nature, a human child remains in the womb for nine months, after which the maternity wind (prasutika-vayu) generates, forcing the child out of the womb. But my Spiritual Master broke this law with mystic powers obtained through austerity, and stayed in the womb for sixteen years meditating on Lord Visnu (as Lord Antaryami). It is not possible for anyone to do such a thing, but my Gurudeva did the impossible. After taking birth my Guru at once left for the forest. While he was departing, his father, Srila Vyasadeva, ran behind him trying to catch him to keep him at home, but could not. My Guru entered deep in the forest with his vision solely on spiritual topics; he had nothing to do with material life. I pay my obeisance to my Gurudeva who is so great." By humbly praying to one's authentic Spiritual Master one obtains spiritual power, which is why Srila Suta Goswami prayed to his Guru and then said:
narayanam namaskryam naram caiva narottamam
devim sarasvatim vyasam tato jayam udirayet
"Before beginning to recite Srimad Bhagavatam, which is the very means of conquest, one should offer respectful obeisance unto Lord Sri Narayana; unto the sages; unto the saintly incarnations of Lord Sri Krsna, Nara and Narayana; unto Mother Sarasvati, the Goddess of learning; and unto Srila Vyasadeva, the compiler of Srimad Bhagavatam."
Sri Suta Goswami then said, "O sages, the answer to the question you have asked, bhavadbhir loka-mangalam, will please and benefit everyone of this world. Such questions should be asked to a devotee because the answer pleases the speaker and the questioner. The ultimate occupation of a human being is to please the Lord by performing devotional service, which pleases the performer." Sri Suta Goswami continued:
sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati
"The highest occupation of human beings is to extend uninterrupted unalloyed service to the Supreme Lord un-tinged by personal motivation, which completely and properly satisfies the self."
"To please the Lord is the main duty of human beings. When one executes devotional service to the Lord the soul experiences happiness, whereas as long as one does not serve Krsna the soul does not experience happiness. Because the soul is but a spiritual spark it does not feel satisfied until it practices spiritual life; hence the soul only feels satisfied through execution of devotional service."
The saint Nanak states, "Just as a fish cannot live without water, similarly the soul cannot live happily without practicing devotional service. Just as a fish does not want anything other than water, similarly the soul does not want anything other than spiritual life. When a person feels they are unable to live without practicing devotional life it must be understood that the soul is experiencing happiness. When a fish is immersed in water it swims and dives with pleasure; similarly, when one is immersed in Lord Govinda's (Lord Krsna's favorite name) service the soul is filled with great pleasure and starts dancing. When a soul obtains Govinda, the material environment does not disturb their mind in any way, which is why a serious devotee is peaceful and mentally fit. When such devotees die, Yamaraja's (superintendent of hell) messengers do not visit them. All the demigods respect such devotees and Lord Narayana blesses them. This is a main reason the scriptures advise everyone to regularly chant the names of the Lord and execute devotional service. People should first try to understand that they are the soul and not the body, and then try to understand what their soul wants and try to supply its needs to please their real self. The scriptures state that the soul only wants to please Lord Govinda and only when it obtains service to Him does it become happy. Therefore, as much service as a person executes to the Lord, he/she becomes that peaceful.
Just by chanting the names of Lord Govinda one's mind will gradually become free from all material problems and he/she will obtain transcendental knowledge of the Lord. By reading books alone one cannot receive realized knowledge; this is obtained only by seriously executing devotional service to the Lord. The more one gets involved in devotional life, the more one becomes free from illusion. Dedication to chanting and serving the Lord is the secret of self-improvement.
Sri Suta Goswami then spoke about the Supreme Lord's appearances. The main appearances and incarnations of the Lord are the four Kumaras (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat Kumar), Narada Muni, Varaha, the sages Nara and Narayana, Kapiladeva (the son of Devahuti), Dattatreya, Yajna, Rsabhadeva, Prthu Maharaja, Matsya, Kacchapa, Dhanvantari, Mohini Murti, Nrsimhadeva, Vamanadeva, Parasuram, Rama, Balaram, Krsna, Vyasadeva, Buddha, and Kalki. Above all the incarnations and appearances, Krsna is the complete God, as He is. When Lord Krsna saw that people had relinquished devotional life and have become solely engaged in sense gratification, He appeared as Vyasadeva to show them the real path of spirituality. Vyasadeva's main purpose was to guide materialistic people back to the correct spiritual path so that the spreading of real spiritual life could again flourish.
Sri Suta Goswami continued, "Vyasadeva, despondent due to the spiritual levity of the people, was sitting on the bank of the Sarasvati River and thought, 'I had presented the Veda in four volumes so that everyone could easily understand it; and because the Vedas are not meant for everyone I wrote Vedic knowledge in the Puranas; and I wrote the Mahabharat for name sake Brahmanas born into the Brahmana order, but who are not living by the Brahminical rules and for the less intelligent, yet after this large endeavor I am still not satisfied that these books contain sufficient knowledge that will best help re- flourish spiritual life on earth. Why is this?' After considering this dilemma Vyasadeva started praying to the Lord and chanting His names and said, 'O Lord, please show me the right path so I can be happy.' Just after saying this, Narada Muni, while singing the glories of Lord Krsna, appeared before him, where Vyasadeva paid homage unto him and accepted him as his Guru. After accepting an honorable seat, Narada Muni asked Vyasadeva about his well-being and he explained his despondency and requested Narada for a path to peace. Narada Muni answered stating that he had not glorified Lord Krsna's pastimes, which is why he is bereft of peace."
Anyone that does not pray to the Lord and anyone that has relinquished chanting the Lord's names experience(s) misery in life. Problems occur where service to Lord Krsna is not being performed. Real happiness can only be found near Krsna because He is the personification of all pleasure.
Narada said, "O Vyasa, please glorify Krsna." Hearing this Vyasadeva said, "I have written about religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation in many of my writings, yet still I am not peaceful." Upon hearing this Narada asked, "How many of Lord Krsna's glories did you mention in your writings?" Vyasadeva replied, "I did not write about Lord Krsna's glories, but I have explained what is religion and how to perform it, ways to make money, the right way to enjoy sense gratification and how to receive liberation. I have explained these four things vividly." Upon hearing this Narada Muni stated, "You have made a great mistake, jugupsitam dharma krte'nusasitam, because you have explained an inferior process of purification by which you will never be peaceful." To this Vyasadeva responded, "I wrote for everyone to be merciful, to perform their assigned duties, to perform fasts for purification, to take religious vows, not to commit violence, to perform sacrifices, and to work in a way to receive liberation from this world. What mistake have I made by writing this?" To this Narada said, "O fool, religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation is related to the mind and body, which even after obtaining, the soul still does not experience peace. Krsna is the source of all pleasure and you have not explained about Him sufficiently. Religiosity cannot please the soul because it can only supply happiness to the mind and body. And to think of God as impersonal, or that I am God, or that after death I shall merge in God, or one day I will become God etc. is a useless waste of time." After teaching Vyasadeva all of this, Narada Muni instructed him to write about Lord Krsna's glories. Following this instruction, Srila Vyasadeva then started writing Srimad Bhagavatam.
Sri Sukadeva Goswami is the son of Vyasadeva and was following the impersonal path of the Absolute Truth (Mayavad). Only after hearing Srimad Bhagavatam did Sri Sukadeva renounce the impersonal path and become a devotee. He had condemned himself saying, "Oh, how sad! I have wasted so much of my life without following the devotional path of the Absolute Truth." Some people claim that by following the impersonal path one obtains liberation, but those in knowledge know (that) the happiness of liberation is insignificant compared to devotion to Lord Sri Krsna. As stated in the Padma Purana:
brahmanando bhaved eso cet parardha guni krtah
naiti bhakti rasambodhe paramana tulavati
"Even if the pleasure derived from impersonal liberation is multiplied one thousand times it does not equal a drop of devotional pleasure. The pleasure derived from devotional service is equal to the ocean of pleasure, and not even a drop of this pleasure can be purchased with the pleasure derived from following the impersonal path perfectly."
The pleasure derived from following the impersonal path is insignificant before devotional life. When Sri Sukadeva heard this he immediately relinquished the impersonal path of spiritual life and came to the lotus feet of Lord Sri Govinda. After hearing the complete Bhagavatam from Vyasadeva he became a devotee of Lord Krsna. Some time later, this same Sukadeva spoke this Srimad Bhagavatam to King Pariksit.
Saunaka Rishi, the head of the eighty eight thousand sages gathered at Naimisaranya forest, asked Sri Suta Goswami, "What dynasty did King Pariksit take birth in and why was he cursed by a Brahmana?" Sri Suta Goswami said, "There were two dynasties on earth, namely the Sun dynasty and the Moon Dynasty. From King Dusyanta of the Moon Dynasty and his wife Sakuntala, the very powerful King Bharat took birth. In this same dynasty a king named Hasti took birth who founded Hastinapur (now Delhi). His son Santanu married the personification of Mother Ganga (Ganges personified), who later left him after giving birth to Bhismadeva. King Santanu married again to Satyavati, the fisherman Dasaraj's daughter, who gave birth to two sons, namely Vichitravirya and Chitrangada. Vichitravirya died early, and Chitrangada became king and married the two daughters of King Kasiraja, namely Ambika and Ambalika, but due to destiny he also died without having any children, leaving the throne vacant. Then Satyavati, thinking the throne empty, advised Vyasadeva to beget sons from her daughter-in-laws, Ambika and Ambalika, to take the throne. Considering her advice he begot two sons, namely Dhrtarastra and Pandu from these two queens, and one son named Vidura from their maidservant. Dhrtarastra was blind from birth and begot one hundred sons headed by Duryodhana, called the Kauravas. Pandu begot five sons, called the Pandavas. From Pandu's third son Arjuna, Abhimanyu was born, from whom Pariksit was born. Due to envy, Dhrtarastra's son Duryodhana created many problems for the Pandavas, which resulted in the war of Mahabharat at Kuruksetra. Lord Krsna sided with the Pandavas because they were pious. Hence, King Pariksit was born in the Pandava Dynasty."
The scriptures state there are mainly three reasons to cause a fight—land, wealth and women, and the war of Kuruksetra took place for these three reasons. The war was not officially over because Duryodhana, the instigator of the war, was still alive lying on the battlefield with a broken thigh. Asvasthama, seeing Duryodhana in this pitiful condition, promised him he would fulfill his desire of winning the war by killing the five Pandavas. However, Asvasthama was unaware that Lord Krsna, who understood his ill plans, was protecting the Pandavas. When the day arrived Asvasthama planned to kill the Pandavas, Krsna took them away from the camp for their protection. Being unaware Krsna had taken them, Asvasthama entered the Pandavas camp at night and killed Dropadi's five sons who were sleeping, mistaking them for the Pandavas. Dropadi cried from the loss of her sons and drowned in an ocean of misery. At that time the Pandavas entered the camp and upon hearing of the incident, lamented. Lord Krsna hinted to Arjuna to pacify Dropadi, inciting him to say, "Do not cry, I shall catch Asvasthama, bring him to you and cut his head off while you watch. You can then take a bucket bath while sitting over his head, for your pacification." Then Krsna and Arjuna mounted the chariot and left to catch Asvasthama. When Asvasthama saw Arjuna heading towards him, he released a Brahmastra (a fiery missile) at him. Seeing it coming, Arjuna took shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna saying, "O Krsna, please save me." Lord Krsna loves His devotees and protects those devotees that take complete refuge at His feet. When Arjuna requested Lord Krsna's shelter He said, "Arjuna, destroy this Brahamastra with your Brahmastra weapon." Arjuna did so, then caught Asvasthama and brought him before Dropadi. After seeing him Dropadi said, "Asvasthama is a Brahmana and per the scriptures a traditional Brahmana should not be killed, therefore please leave him alone." Arjuna's brothers, Yudhisthira, Nakula and Sahadeva, agreed with Dropadi's proposal, but their brother Bhimasen did not, he wanted Asvasthama to be punished. When Lord Krsna was asked what should be done with him, He said, "He should neither be killed nor let free. The respected Guru, the king of a nation and a woman are not to be punished by death. Insulting them is equal to killing them. For example, releasing a respected Guru after cutting his hair is equal to killing him or disobeying the king is equal to killing him, and asking a woman to leave the bed is said to be equal to killing her. What the scriptures state should be followed." Following Lord Krsna's advice and following the instructions given in the scriptures, Arjuna cut Asvasthama's hair, took his gem and released him. Asvasthama became very angry by this dishonor and thought, "I shall destroy the complete Pandava Dynasty." At that time Uttara (Abhimanyu's wife) was pregnant with Pariksit, the sole carrier of the Pandava Dynasty, and thus in an attempt to fulfill his desire he released a Brahmastra weapon at her. Seeing this Brahmastra coming at her, Uttara took shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna saying, "O Krsna, please protect me. I am at Your shelter." The Pandavas also took shelter at Lord Krsna's lotus feet and prayed to Him; and their mother, Kunti, also prayed to Him saying, "O Lord Krsna, You are our sole rescuer, please protect our dynasty." When Lord Krsna came to know that Kunti accepted Him as God, He told her to ask for a boon. Kunti requested, "Please give me problems as a boon." Ordinarily people ask for boons for some type of happiness, but Kunti did not, rather she asked for continuous problems. When Lord Krsna asked why she had requested such a boon, she said, "When problems occur I will remember You and pray to You and You will come to our rescue."
Lord Krsna saved Pariksit within the womb of Uttara from the Brahmastra weapon, and then after Pariksit's birth, decided to leave for His kingdom, Dwaraka. At that time Krsna remembered that Bhismadeva was lying on a bed of piercing arrows on the battlefield. Bhismadeva was praying to Him saying, "O Krsna, Please come before me so I can see You. After seeing You I will leave my body." While lying on the bed of arrows he was calling, "O Krsna, please come near me. O Krsna please show me Your face at least once." He was determined he would leave his body only after seeing Krsna. While Bhismadeva was calling for Krsna with pleading words, the rescuer of His devotees and fulfiller of their desires, bringing the Pandavas with Him, proceeded to where Bhismadeva was. Parvata Muni, Bharadvaja Muni, Vasistha Muni, Visvamitra Muni, Yajnavalkya Muni, Angira Muni, Sukadeva Goswami, Vyasadeva and other great sages also accompanied Krsna to see Bhismadeva. Upon their arrival Bhismadeva welcomed everyone and then looked at Krsna with unblinking eyes and said, "O Supreme Lord, until my life air leaves my body, please do not leave my sight." Lord Krsna accepted his plea and stayed before Bhismadeva until he died.
Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu acted in a similar way with His humble devotee, Haridas Thakur. Haridas daily chanted three hundred thousand names of the Lord. Until one is truly humble the Lord does not manifest to a person. Once, Lord Sri Chaitanya, accompanied by some of His devotees went to visit Haridas, where he was found chanting japa (silent chanting of the Lord's names on Tulasi beads). Similar to Bhismadeva's departure, Haridas died while looking at the Lord. Haridas's departure from this world in the Lord's presence was His boon to him. After he departed, the Lord lifted his dead body with His own hands and after bathing it, placed him in a Samadhi (tomb). In a similar way Bhismadeva gave up his body, offering his soul at the feet of the Lord, witnessed by many saints and sages. Those present were very surprised by this act and prayed to the Lord that they also be given such a rare blessing.
After Bhismadeva's departure, Lord Krsna proceeded to Dwaraka with Arjuna. The scriptures state that whenever Lord Krsna descends He always comes with His devotees. With the present age of Kaliyuga having already begun, Lord Krsna decided to depart from this world and therefore devised a plan to send all of the citizens of Dwaraka from this world first. Thus He spread a veil of illusory mysticism upon His Dwaraka devotees making them seemingly kill each other, although in fact killing did not occur. Real devotees are not influenced by the illusory energy of the Lord, which is why they are able to understand His pastimes as they had actually happened. At the time Lord Krsna departed from this world, Yudhisthira had received bad omens indicating something terrible had happened; and when Arjuna returned from Dwaraka displaying a pale face, Yudhisthira understood that Lord Krsna had left this world. When Kunti heard this news she fell unconscious and died. Then the Pandavas concluded their affairs in the kingdom and placed their grandson, Pariksit, on the thrown of Hastinapur; and Krsna's grandson, Bajranabha, on the thrown of Mathura. They then departed with Dropadi towards the Himalayas in search of Krsna.
King Pariksit married Iravati, the daughter of his maternal uncle, Uttar, and from her Pariksit begot four great sons who performed horse sacrifices (where the horse is not killed, but allowed to roam free) later in life. In Pariksit's kingdom there was no inauspiciousness of any kind. One day when he was traversing his kingdom to personally see the welfare of his subjects, he came upon Dharma (religion personified) in the form of a bull. Three of his legs were already broken and his fourth leg was being attacked. Pariksit was astonished after witnessing this heinous act in his kingdom and thought, "Anything is possible when separated from Lord Krsna." Upon closer examination he saw a man wearing a devotee's style dress standing with axe in hand near the bull. This man had broken three of the bull's legs and was hitting the fourth. This wouldn't be such a surprise if he was wearing the garb of a butcher, but he was wearing a devotee's style dress and hitting the bull. When King Pariksit lifted his sword to kill this hypocrite, he fell at Pariksit's feet and said, "I am at your shelter, please protect me." To control an intelligent learned person, one should always be humble and meek before him and serve him with great attention. If they become pleased one can obtain whatever is desired. Even though this person had shown artificial humility, still because Pariksit was a saintly king, he accepted this gesture. A wise person should always be suspicious of people wearing devotee dress, because they may be secretly performing heinous acts; just as Pariksit was alarmed seeing the hypocrite hitting religion personified.
King Pariksit recognized this fellow as Kaliyuga (the personification of the age of hypocrisy) and understood that he cannot be killed until the decided time arrives. He thought, "I cannot kill him, but I can punish him. He has many faults and is an ocean of misgivings, but he has one good quality, kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sanga param vrajet, 'Anyone who chants Lord Krsna's names in this age of Kaliyuga will surely be liberated from the ocean of birth and death.'" Therefore King Pariksit commanded Kaliyuga, "Leave my kingdom and don't live here." Hearing this Kaliyuga replied, "Where should I go, I do not have any other place to go." Hearing this Pariksit said, "If you have to live in my kingdom then you must live in a restricted area. You cannot move about freely." Kaliyuga then asked, "Where should I live?" King Pariksit answered, dyutam panam striyah suna, "In places where gambling takes place (games that destroy one's reasoning powers), where intoxicants are used (substances that rattle the mind and intellect, which make one restless), places where illicit sex takes place (sex outside of marriage) and where meat eating takes place (violence, quarreling, fighting, dishonesty, murder, killing and eating things not meant for human consumption). You can reside in these four places." The scriptures state, adharmah prabhavah kali, "Kaliyuga personified was born from Adharma, the personification of irreligion," which is why those who partake in these four things become implicated with sin. Then Kaliyuga cunningly asked Pariksit for gold and received it and thus flourished with these five things. Even though the age of Kaliyuga had already begun at the time of Yudhisthira's rule, at this time Kaliyuga personally entered the world. Those protected by Lord Sri Govinda are not influenced by Kaliyuga's exploits and are able to protect their nation with their merit.
One may wonder why religion personified took the form of a bull? In answer, the scriptures state that religion personified can only be rejuvenated on earth and the bull is the personification of religion. The four legs of religion (Dharma) are austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. In the first age, Satyayuga (the golden age of truth), Dharma had four legs; but when Tretayuga (the silver age of sacrifice) began, the leg of austerity was broken, leaving Dharma with three legs. After Tretayuga, Dvaparayuga (copper age of worship) began and the leg of cleanliness was broken, causing people to lean toward immorality, leaving Dharma with two legs. In the present age, Kaliyuga (iron age of hypocrisy), the third leg called mercy was broken, causing people to lean towards cruelty and to () live at the cost of others' lives. Thus, religion was only standing on truthfulness, which was being struck when Pariksit saw him. This event signifies that in Kaliyuga people following the real spiritual path, the path of truthfulness, get little recognition and are criticized and even tortured. Whereas hypocrites and others presenting their own speculative philosophy, alluring people with enchanting feats, flourish and are well respected and most of the population follows them. There is still some truthfulness left in Kaliyuga, which is why some people are still seen following the real spiritual path. When Kaliyuga breaks Dharma's fourth leg (truthfulness), Lord Krsna incarnates as Kalki to reestablish the four legs of Dharma and the dawn of a new Satyayuga again begins. This cycle of ages has been functioning since the time of creation.
Sri Suta Goswami continued, "One day when King Pariksit was on a hunting expedition he became thirsty and while searching for water he came to the Ashram of the sage Samik. Upon his arrival, King Pariksit found the sage in trance, but asked him for water three times anyway, with no response. On that day Kaliyuga was subtly sitting upon Pariksit's crown, thus influencing him to believe the sage was faking the trance. Therefore Pariksit became angry and placed a dead snake he found lying nearby around the sage's neck and returned to his palace. When at the palace, Pariksit removed his crown, thus clearing Kaliyuga's influence and thought, 'By my placing a snake around a Brahmana's neck I did an incorrect thing.' He then prayed to the Lord saying, 'O Lord, if you consider me Yours, please forgive the offense I have committed or correct it by punishing me. In every way I am and will always remain Yours.'" Offenses of those that regret their mistakes are weakened. After committing an offense, a person should not remain proud or show pride in any way.
A symptom of real Vaisnavas (devotees) is that they always think they are offensive, which is why they always remain humble. Those without humility in their hearts cannot be called real Vaisnavas and those that do not accept fault after committing a mistake cannot make any improvement in life. King Pariksit was a devotee by nature, which is why the Lord Himself is always ready to protect him. Those who chant the names and glories of the Lord from the core of their heart and live per the scriptural rules do not have any pride in them. A real devotee thinks, "O Lord, I am filled with unlimited faults and if You search for good qualities in me You will not find any." Such feeling is said to be a decoration of a devotee and such feelings make Krsna happy. A name of Lord Krsna is Dinabandhu, because He rewards special blessings to the class of devotees who are humble from the heart and are free from all categories of pride and arrogance. King Pariksit was a real devotee of the Lord, which is why he accepted his insulting the Brähmana to be offensive.
The Sage Samik had one son named Srngi. When Srngi learnt of King Pariksit putting a snake around his father's neck he cursed the king saying, "On the seventh day from today you will die from the bite of a celestial snake named Taksaka." After arising from trance, Samik heard that his son had cursed the king and did not approve of his son's action. Samik immediately sent message of the curse to King Pariksit, by hearing which the king became relieved thinking the Lord had blessed him through the Brähmana's son. In other words, King Pariksit accepted the curse as a benediction and not as a punishment. The scriptures state that the soul is eternal and no one can kill it. Changing one's body is not called death of the soul, but everyone must leave their body someday. While calculating a person's horoscope a learned astrologer will predict everything starting from one's birth till his/her death, and will even predict the cause and how they will die. It was written in King Pariksit's horoscope that he would die by snakebite. The cause of everyone's death is predestined. Death comes to one in the form of a disease or some other guise and removes one from their body, which is why the scriptures state that no one can kill the soul. But this is not a license to commit murder and there is no place in this philosophy for murderers. The scriptures recommend death for murderers as their punishment. King Pariksit was a devotee, which is why he praised the Brahmana's son for cursing him. He then gave his kingdom to his son and proceeded to live on the bank of the Ganga River to chant the names of the Lord.
Before God comes to a sincere soul, He sends His representative first, which is why recognized learned sages came to see Pariksit. Upon seeing the sages King Pariksit said, lokam punanam munayo'bhinanti, "You are able to purify the whole world, please purify me." Yamaräja's messengers do not go near those that repeat the name of Ganga and those who wear Tulasi neck beads. Tulasi is a wife of Lord Krsna, which is why she is as pure as Lord Krsna Himself. King Pariksit said, "O sages, I have Tulasi on my neck and a Tulasi plant near me, and I am seated near the Ganges, so if I die at this moment my liberation is sure. Therefore I am not scared of death, but my ears hanker to listen to the Lord's glories. Therefore, O great sages, please narrate the Lord's glories to me." There are many types of scholars with many different opinions. Some of them are Jnanis who speculate about God; some are Yogis that meditate; and others follow some ritual. Such people are concerned only with a specific category of knowledge and cannot know the real path to please the Lord because their knowledge is limited.
At that time, the recognized learned sages that came to see Pariksit were of such class. Pariksit asked the sages, "I am at the verge of death, can you please tell me what is the most beneficial thing for me to do?" The sages could not come to any conclusion. They started quarrelling among themselves, each presenting their opinion as best, which upon seeing, Pariksit thought, "This quarreling is wasting my valuable time." Therefore Pariksit took shelter of the Supreme Lord, by whose mercy Sri Sukadeva Goswami arrived. Although Sukadeva was but sixteen years old, because the Lord had showered His mercy upon him, all the great sages welcomed him by standing upon his arrival. After King Pariksit offered him his obeisance and a seat, he said, "You travel around just to help others. Just by receiving a guest like you has made my life worthwhile. I have become glorious today because I am seeing a messenger of the Supreme Lord Sri Govinda before me. O Prabhu, please tell me what is best for me. What should a person do when they are on the verge of death? What mantra should they chant? Which narration should they listen to? Which scripture should they study? Which God should they worship? And what should they avoid? Please explain all this to me." Those who are fortunate reach a pure devotee and inquire about what to do for their ultimate benefit. When a disciple offers his/her life to a scripturally authentic Guru they are sure to be liberated, because such a Guru will reveal to them the transcendental science that pleases the Lord. Pariksit followed this process exactly and offered himself fully at the feet of Sri Sukadeva Goswami and by doing so received liberation in a short period of time.
First one should search out a scripturally authentic Guru and take shelter at his lotus feet. After accepting such a Spiritual Master, all other rules are followed by following his teachings. Just as people know sugarcane juice is sweet even without tasting it and just as everyone knows milk comes from a cow's udders, similarly an authentic Spiritual Master only talks about Lord Krsna and His blessings, to liberate his disciples. A real Guru does not harm his disciples in any way and whatever he speaks is to help liberate them.
After hearing King Pariksit's statement, Sri Sukadeva Goswami said, "Your question is very wonderful because its answer will benefit everyone in the world. O king, those who have not realized that they are servants of the Lord think that there are many paths to liberation and thus follow many categories of religious processes. But those who have realized their position know that all paths to liberation are contained in one, devotional service. People that follow the various categories of religious processes remain entangled in the cycle of rebirth and death; hence they cannot be liberated from this material world. Such classes of people hope for material happiness even at the time of their death, but no material thing can ever save one from death. Death catches everyone, even the demigods in heaven. Therefore it is always best to chant the names of Krsna, because lasting happiness only comes from Him. If someone is afraid of rebirth, death, old age and disease they should chant the names of Lord Krsna and serve Him as He prescribes in the scriptures. It is said that death is not far away from anyone because no one can predict how long they will live. Death can come to anyone at any moment, which is why it is intelligent for everyone to take shelter of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna as soon as they realize He is the resting place for their soul."
Sri Sukadeva Goswami continued, "O Pariksit, you still have seven days to live, and you can do a lot within that time to save yourself from death. This is a sufficient amount of time for a person who chants the names of Lord Sri Krsna. King Khatvanga received liberation by chanting for just forty-five minutes; and Ajamil repeated the Lord's name only once and was protected from Yamaräja's messengers. There is scriptural evidence that those who seriously chant Lord Krsna's names do not experience hell, whereas those who leave Krsna's names aside and perform other religious duties cannot be freed from the cycle of rebirth and death." Sri Sukadeva is indicating here that if Khatvanga received liberation in only forty-five minutes and Ajamil received it by saying the Lord's name only once, then King Pariksit can surely receive liberation in seven days. Sri Sukadeva showed him a concrete path for pleasing the Lord; therefore Pariksit decided to follow his advice and inquired further from him.
"O Gurudeva, how did the Lord create the universe? Please tell me." Sri Sukadeva Goswami said, "This same question was previously asked by Vidura Maharaja to the Sage Maitreya. Once Vidura reached Maitreya and asked, 'O Gurudeva, you traverse this world just to deliver the required information for liberation to the fallen souls. O respectable sage, I would like to know how the Lord created this universe. Please be merciful and reveal this to me.' Sage Maitreya replied, 'O Vidura, Lord Krsna first manifested into Mahavisnu, who created this universe by thinking, using time and illusory energy. Then He created Lord Brahma on the top of a sprouted lotus from His navel. When Brahma saw that no one other than himself was present he became anxious about what to do. Many questions arose in Brahma's mind such as, 'Where did I come from? Why have I been sent here? Who is truly related to me? Who has sent me into this world? Why was I born here? Besides me does anyone else exist?'" Brahma spent thousands of years searching for answers to these questions, from which he became four headed. Even though he utilized the intellect of four heads and eight eyes, still he could not find answers to his questions. He was querying about whether there was someone trustworthy for him in this world or not. We have but one head and two eyes, yet we think we have many relatives who will save us from death. This is the function of the illusory energy, to keep the living entity forgetful of the Lord. The scriptures state that no one can know the Lord through physical strength, merit acquired by performing sacrifices, the power of dry knowledge, or power from performing religious rituals; thus Brahma tired from searching for answers to his questions. When the Lord found that Brahma had tired, He projected the sound, "TA PA" (perform austerity), and gave him the Gayatri Mantra (mantra that is silently chanted). When Brahma chanted the Gayatri Mantra everything became clear to him. He saw the Lord's personal form, from which he realized the Lord is not impersonal, but has an eternal transcendental personal form. His name is Achintya, meaning He is inconceivable through thought. When nothing else existed in this creation, Brahma saw Krsna's form and His transcendental abode (Vaikuntha). He saw the Lord's associates in the spiritual world in whose midst he saw His personal form being praised by all the Vedas. Seeing all this, including Laksmidevi (Goddess of Fortune), Garuda, and His gatekeepers existing beyond material existence, Brahma understood that the spiritual world is the place beyond birth and death.
After Brahmä saw Vaikuntha, he prayed to the Lord and the Lord ordered him to start creating and fill the universe. From his mind, Brahma first created the four Kumaras, namely Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat Kumara, and told them to help populate the creation, but they did not obey, which angered Brahma. From between the eyebrows of the angry Brahma, Lord Siva was born. Then he created seven sages from his mind, but they also did not help populate the creation. Then Lord Brahma again prayed to the Lord on what to do and the Lord revealed to him to create male and female. Brahma then created Manu and Satarupa at one time, thus freeing him from anxiety. Brahma then instructed Manu to populate the creation. Upon hearing this instruction Manu asked, "After populating the creation, where would I keep them? There is no place for them to live." Brahma recalled that Mother Earth had been taken by the demon Hiranyaksa to a subterranean planet, and that she then prayed to the Lord to retrieve her. While Brahma was praying, by the Lord's will, he sneezed, from which Lord Varaha appeared, and within no time He grew into a gigantic form resembling a boar that illuminated all directions. When Brahma saw this form he understood that the Lord had appeared to rescue Mother Earth. The Lord jumped into the ocean, submerging in its depths, and in a short time resurfaced with Mother Earth upon His tusks. The Demon Hiranyaksa was angered by this Boar taking the earth and chased Him to reclaim it. A fight ensued between them lasting for ten thousand years, ending with the Lord killing him. With Hiranyaksa dead, the living entities could live peacefully upon Mother Earth.
Earth is said to be conducive for performing devotional service because pleasure and distress are limited. Heaven is not conducive because of excessive pleasure and hell is not conducive because it is impossible to execute devotional service while suffering there. In other words the pleasure and pain experienced by the living entity on earth is balanced and does not last long, which is why the Lord selected earth as the best place to perform devotional activities.
The Lord is so wonderful that, whether or not His worshippers give Him something, He is always pleased with them. The Lord is so merciful that if someone says, "O Lord You are so wonderful," He becomes very pleased. For just saying this much the Lord is ready to supply everything required to perform devotional service. One of the Lord's multi names is Stavyaprema, meaning He becomes very pleased just by prayers. In this way, Lord Varaha (Boar Incarnation) was pleased by all the prayers being offered to Him by everyone present and blessed them, then disappeared.
Manu Maharaja helped fill the creation with people, established his kingdom, and became the first king. He begot two sons named Priyavrata and Uttanapada and three daughters named Akuti, Prasuti and Devahuti from his queen, Satarupa. Manu Maharaja married his daughters to Ruchi Prajapati, Daksa Prajapati and Kardama Prajapati, respectively. Daksa Prajapati begot sixty daughters and Kardama Prajapati begot nine daughters, and they married them to sages, thereby filling the creation with progeny. In this way Brahma was satisfied by the procreation work of the Prajapatis (progenitors).
Once the Lord felt an itch on His thighs and hands which represents His fighting desire, but there were no suitable opponents; therefore, He chose two of His own gatekeepers named Jaya and Vijaya to fight with. He knew He would derive more pleasure if the fighting were done on Earth; therefore He devised a plan by which Jaya and Vijaya would take birth on earth as great warriors. To enact this plan the Lord influenced Jaya and Vijaya to prevent the four Kumaras from entering the spiritual world. Hence, when the four Kumaras reached the gate for entrance they were denied, even though Jaya and Vijaya had allowed them passage many times in the past. This act by the gatekeepers angered the Kumaras who then cursed them to take birth on earth as demons on three different occasions. Upon hearing this curse by the Kumaras, Jaya and Vijaya pleaded with them, by which they became pleased and said, "In each birth the Lord will appear to kill you." Jaya and Vijaya took birth in Satyayuga as Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu, in Tretayuga as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, and in Dvaparayuga as Sisupala and Dantavakra, respectively. On each occasion the Lord fought and killed these demons.
Sri Suta Goswami continued, "In Satyayuga Lord Brahma asked Kardama Muni to help fill the creation with people. Upon hearing this request Kardama performed austerities for ten thousand years, by which the Supreme Lord appeared before him. Then, following the advice of Lord Brahma, Kardama married Devahuti, one of the daughters of Manu Maharaja, which pleased Lord Brahma."
Thus ends the first day's lecture of Srimad Bhagavatam by Mahamandaleshwar Mahant Sri Krsna Balaram Swamiji.
Hari Om Tat Sat