Srila Prabhupada on Srimad Bhagavatam, Part 26

BY: SUN STAFF


Apr 07, 2011 — CANADA (SUN) — A serial exploration of Srila Prabhupada's preaching on Srimad Bhagavatam.

As a last step in considering Srila Prabhupada's preaching on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.3, we will summarize the references he made to other sastric verses during the three lectures we've covered on this sloka.

Throughout his three lectures on SB 1.1.3, Srila Prabhupada quotes many different sastric sources, including the following:

    Bhagavad-gita

      Bg 3.26
      Bg 4.10
      Bg 4.12
      Bg 5.22
      Bg 5.29
      Bg 6.17
      Bg 7.20
      Bg 7.23
      Bg 14.26
      Bg 15.15
      Bg 18.42
      Bg 18.66

    Bilvamangala Thakur

      Unidentified verse

    Brahma-samhita

      5.29

    Caitanya-caritamrta

      Cc. Madhya 19.167
      Cc. Madhya 20.108-9
      Cc. Madhya 23.14-15
      Cc. Antya 20.29

    Hari-bhakti-vilasa

      Unidentified verse

    Mahabharata

      Unidentified verse

    Siksastakam

      Verse 4

    Srimad Bhagavatam

      SB 1.1.1
      SB 1.1.2
      SB 1.1.3
      SB 1.2.11
      SB 2.10.6
      SB 4.3.23
      SB 5.5.1
      SB 5.5.8
      SB 5.18.12
      SB 7.5.23
      SB 9.4.27
      SB 11.5.11

    Sri Panca-tattva Pranama


Among the many verses cited by Srila Prabhupada in these lectures, the following slokas were mentioned more than once:

    yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata (Bg 4.7)

    mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate (BG 14.26)
    sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate (BG 14.26)

    isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati (Bg 18.61)

    sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja (Bg 18.66)

    anartha-nivrttih syat (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15)
    tato nistha rucis tatah, athasaktih (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15)

    harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna manorathenasati dhavato bahih (SB 5.18.12)
    yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah (SB 5.18.12)


It's also interesting to note that among the verses above, cited more than once during the SB 1.1.3 lectures, one of these verses – Bhagavad-gita 18.66 – was also the most frequently mentioned citation given during Srila Prabhupada's five lectures on SB 1.1.2, according to the main points we excerpted from those lectures.

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me."

In his lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.2, London, August 18, 1971, Srila Prabhupada stated:

    "Srimad-Bhagavatam is the graduate study. Those who are interested in God, for them, this is graduate study. The entrance study is Bhagavad-gita. Just like you pass your entrance examination, matriculation examination, then you are entered into college, then you become graduate; similarly, after reading Bhagavad-gita, you are allowed to enter into the understanding of God. Because in the Bhagavad-gita the ultimate instruction is sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. There are discussion of the yoga, karma, jnana, bhakti... Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gita. But ultimately the last instruction is that "This is the secret of success, My dear Arjuna," guhyatamam. "You simply surrender unto Me, and I shall give you all protection." Ma sucah, "Don't bother." This is required. This is the beginning of God consciousness. So unless we have finished nicely the study of Bhagavad-gita or unless we have accepted this proposition of God that "You surrender," there is no entrance in the Srimad-Bhagavatam."

So in the case of these two slokas, from the very beginning of the Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 – we see that Srila Prabhupada is emphasizing verse 18.66 from Bhagavad-gita. Where the Gita ends, Srimad Bhagavatam picks-up.

Along with Bhagavad-gita 18.66, we also find that in his lectures on SB 1.1.3, Srila Prabhupada puts some emphasis on Bhagavad-gita 18.61:

isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati

Given the important correlation of these two Gita verses to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.2 and 1.1.3, we present them here in their entirety, and this will conclude our discussion of SB 1.1.3.


    Bhagavad-gita As It Is 18.61

    isvarah sarva-bhutanam
    hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati
    bhramayan sarva-bhutani
    yantrarudhani mayaya

    SYNONYMS

    isvarah -- the Supreme Lord; sarva-bhutanam -- of all living entities; hrt-dese -- in the location of the heart; arjuna -- O Arjuna; tisthati -- resides; bhramayan -- causing to travel; sarva-bhutani -- all living entities; yantra -- on a machine; arudhani -- being placed; mayaya -- under the spell of material energy.

    TRANSLATION

    "The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.

    PURPORT

    Arjuna was not the supreme knower, and his decision to fight or not to fight was confined to his limited discretion. Lord Krsna instructed that the individual is not all in all. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, or He Himself, Krsna, as the localized Supersoul, sits in the heart directing the living being. After changing bodies, the living entity forgets his past deeds, but the Supersoul, as the knower of the past, present and future, remains the witness of all his activities. Therefore all the activities of living entities are directed by this Supersoul. The living entity gets what he deserves and is carried by the material body, which is created in the material energy under the direction of the Supersoul. As soon as a living entity is placed in a particular type of body, he has to work under the spell of that bodily situation. A person seated in a high-speed motorcar goes faster than one seated in a slower car, though the living entities, the drivers, may be the same. Similarly, by the order of the Supreme Soul, material nature fashions a particular type of body to a particular type of living entity so that he may work according to his past desires. The living entity is not independent. One should not think himself independent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The individual is always under the Lord's control. Therefore one's duty is to surrender, and that is the injunction of the next verse."


    Bhagavad-gita As It Is 18.66

    sarva-dharman parityajya
    mam ekam saranam vraja
    aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
    moksayisyami ma sucah

    SYNONYMS

    sarva-dharman -- all varieties of religion; parityajya -- abandoning; mam -- unto Me; ekam -- only; saranam -- for surrender; vraja -- go; aham -- I; tvam -- you; sarva -- all; papebhyah -- from sinful reactions; moksayisyami -- will deliver; ma -- do not; sucah -- worry.

    TRANSLATION

    "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

    PURPORT

    The Lord has described various kinds of knowledge and processes of religion -- knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, knowledge of the Supersoul, knowledge of the different types of orders and statuses of social life, knowledge of the renounced order of life, knowledge of nonattachment, sense and mind control, meditation, etc. He has described in so many ways different types of religion. Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Krsna. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him.

    In the Seventh Chapter it was said that only one who has become free from all sinful reactions can take to the worship of Lord Krsna. Thus one may think that unless he is free from all sinful reactions he cannot take to the surrendering process. To such doubts it is here said that even if one is not free from all sinful reactions, simply by the process of surrendering to Sri Krsna he is automatically freed. There is no need of strenuous effort to free oneself from sinful reactions. One should unhesitatingly accept Krsna as the supreme savior of all living entities. With faith and love, one should surrender unto Him.

    The process of surrender to Krsna is described in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (11.676):

    anukulyasya sankalpah
    pratikulyasya varjanam
    raksisyatiti visvaso
    goptrtve varanam tatha
    atma-niksepa-karpanye
    sad-vidha saranagatih

    According to the devotional process, one should simply accept such religious principles that will lead ultimately to the devotional service of the Lord. One may perform a particular occupational duty according to his position in the social order, but if by executing his duty one does not come to the point of Krsna consciousness, all his activities are in vain. Anything that does not lead to the perfectional stage of Krsna consciousness should be avoided. One should be confident that in all circumstances Krsna will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking how one should keep the body and soul together. Krsna will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Krsna the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Krsna consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature. There are different processes of religion and purificatory processes by cultivation of knowledge, meditation in the mystic yoga system, etc., but one who surrenders unto Krsna does not have to execute so many methods. That simple surrender unto Krsna will save him from unnecessarily wasting time. One can thus make all progress at once and be freed from all sinful reactions.

    One should be attracted by the beautiful vision of Krsna. His name is Krsna because He is all-attractive. One who becomes attracted by the beautiful, all-powerful, omnipotent vision of Krsna is fortunate. There are different kinds of transcendentalists -- some of them are attached to the impersonal Brahman vision, some of them are attracted by the Supersoul feature, etc., but one who is attracted to the personal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and, above all, one who is attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Krsna Himself, is the most perfect transcendentalist. In other words, devotional service to Krsna, in full consciousness, is the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is the essence of the whole Bhagavad-gita. Karma-yogis, empiric philosophers, mystics and devotees are all called transcendentalists, but one who is a pure devotee is the best of all. The particular words used here, ma sucah, "Don't fear, don't hesitate, don't worry," are very significant. One may be perplexed as to how one can give up all kinds of religious forms and simply surrender unto Krsna, but such worry is useless."

    Bhaktivedanta Book Trust



Homepage


The Sun News Editorials Features Sun Blogs Classifieds Events Recipes PodCasts

About Submit an Article Contact Us Advertise HareKrsna.com

Copyright 2005, 2011, HareKrsna.com. All rights reserved.