Srimad Bhagavatam is the Literary Incarnation of Bhagavan Krishna

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Hare Krishna. Pranam to all Vaishnavas,

Srimad Bhagavatam is the Lierary Incarnation of Bhagavan Krishna

The divine text Srimad Bhagavatam reveals the transcendental science not only for knowing the ultimate source of everything but also for knowing man’s relation with Sri Krishna, the God of Gods. It reveals one’s duty toward perfection of the human society on the basis of perfect knowledge.

Srimad Bhagavatam begins with the definition of the ultimate source Sri Krishna. It is an authorised commentary on the Vedanta-sutra by the same author, Sage Vyasadeva, and gradually it develops into nine cantos up to the highest state of God realization.

Bhagavatam confirms in Canto 1, Chapter 5, Text 11 :

tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo

yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api

nāmāny anantasya yaśo 'ńkitāni yac

chṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ

( "On the other hand, that literature which is full with descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Godhead (Sri Krishna) is a transcendental creation meant to bring about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though irregularly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest." )

Mankind all over the world is facing an uncertain future yet to unfold itself, with materialism weaving its tentacles tightly around him and discoveries and inventions of science bringing but scant cheer to his life of tension, transition, turmoil and terror. When he finds that even the ground he is standing on is virtually slipping away from under his very feet, man desperately needs something to hold on to and ‘Bhagavatam’ is precisely that " something" which all of us are looking for .This divine text with its 12 Skandhas and 18,000 Shlokas is a perennial fountain-head of spiritual knowledge which is as relevant today as it

was when it first came into existence. All one has to do is to remember Sri Krishna and chant His names as and when he can.

The name ‘Bhagavata’ can be applied to every account of the experiences of those who have contacted Sri Krishna and His Devotees (Bhagavân and Bhakta). Krishna assumes many forms and enacts many pastimes. The name Bhagavata is given to the descriptions of the experiences of those who have realised Krishna in those forms and of those who have been blessed by His Grace and chosen as His Instruments.

Srimad Bhagavatam is honoured by all masters of the Vedas. It is a panacea which cures physical, mental and spiritual illnesses. This sacred text is saturated with sweetness of nectar, it shines with the splendour of Sri Krishna .

The principle of Avathara ( incarnations) of Sri Krishna, for the uplift of beings- this is the basic fact that makes Srimad Bhagavatam most precious ; it is the breath of a Bhagavata’s life. To be in the midst of such Bhagavatas is to foster one's own devotion. Unless you have a taste for Sri Krishna-ward thoughts, you will not derive joy therefrom . To create that taste the stories relating to incarnations to the earnest inquirer. Then, one develops the yearning to experience the thrill of Krishna , through all the levels of consciousness. He who has this intense yearning can be a true Bhagavata.

Some people believe that incarnations of Krishna happen only for two reasons: the punishment of the wicked and the protection of the righteous. But, these represent only one aspect of the task. The granting of divine Grace to His devotees who have striven long - this too is the task of Bhagavan Krishna’s avatharas.

The cow secretes milk for the sustenance of the calf. That is the chief beneficiary. But, as we see, others too benefit from that milk. So too, though the Bhakthas are the prime cause and their joy and sustenance the prime purpose, other incidental benefits also accrue, such as the fostering of Dharma, the suppression of evil, the overwhelming of the wicked.

The drama enacted by Sri Krishna’ and the Bhakthas drawn towards Him, is the subject matter of the Bhagavatam. Listening to it promotes the realisation of Krishna . Many sages have testified to its efficacy and extolled the Bhagavatam, which they helped preserve for posterity.

The infant does not know the taste of milk. By taking it daily, it develops an attachment for it which is so deep that when milk is to be given up and rice substituted, it starts to protest. But, the mother does not despair; she persuades the child to take small quantities of cooked rice daily and by this process it starts liking rice and it gives up milk. Milk was once its natural food, so natural that if no rice is available for a single day, it becomes miserable.

So, too, though sense-pleasures are "natural" at first, by means of practice and training and listening to the commendation of the wise, slowly the greater and more lasting pleasure derivable from the glories of Sri Krishna and their recapitulation is grasped ; thereafter, one cannot exist without that atmosphere even for a minute; one feels that there is nothing as sweet as the experience of listening to the splendor of Sri Krishna. The company of the worldly who chatter about the senses and the sense-objects will no longer attract; the company which exults in praising the Bhagavan will draw and hold.

If a devotee mingles with people who revel in sensory talks and activities, then, he puts himself out of court. One must avoid seeing their activities or listening to their accounts. Only those who avoid the Krishna-haters can be called Bhagavatas, Sri Krishna's own men.

Reading and enjoying the Bhagavatam is a source of great inspiration and joy. It makes people forget everything else. Else, one can approach pious men and serving them, listen to their exposition of the glories of Krishna. Taste for such wholesome literature is the result of accumulated merit and endeavour . It is that merit that rewards one with such company. Listening will be enough in the

beginning ; later, the stories will arouse interest in the nature and characteristics of Sri Krishna and the aspirant will seek and find for himself the path to realization .

Listening with a number of earnest aspirants to the expositions of Bhagavatam by the wise , is excellent . If the person who expounds it has had the thrill of genuine experience, then it is the supreme luck, for it yields best results. For, his face will blossom into joy, his eyes will shed tears of joy at the very contemplation of the glory of Bhagavan Krishna . Those who listen to him will catch that inspiration ; they will experience the joy themselves. In the midst of a group that weeps, tears will spring out of the eyes of those who have come in ; when an infant smiles, those around will also smile in unison. So too, the words of those who are saturated with devotion to Krishna will saturate the hearts of those who listen. It is impossible to measure the profit that one can derive while in the company of Sri Krishna’s pure devotees .

Through that process of listening Bhagavatam, a dirt-laden heart will be transformed into a clean illumined heart, shining with genuine light. To the foul odours of sense-pursuits, keenness to listen to the glories of Krishna is a valuable disinfectant, besides being in itself so full of sweet fragrance. The listening will cleanse the heart through the prompting it gives for good work.

Such a cleansed heart is the most appropriate altar, or tabernacle. In that fragrant bower, Sri Krishna will establish Himself; at that very moment, another incident too will happen ; the group of six vices that had infested the place will quit without so much as a farewell.

When these vices quit, the wicked retinue of evil tendencies and vulgar attitudes which live on them will break camp and disappear, without leaving even their addresses! Then, man will shine in his native splendour of Truth and Love ; he will endeavour without hindrance, to realise Sri Krishna . He will liberate himself from the tangle of ignorance, or Maya. His mind will fade away ; the long-hidden secret will be revealed to him; he will discover Vasudeva, the deva of vasu or prosperity .

Srimad Bhagavatam says in canto 1, chapter 3 :

TEXT 27

åñayo manavo devä

manu-puträ mahaujasaù

kaläù sarve harer eva

saprajäpatayaù småtäù

(All the Sages, Manus, Devatas and descendants of Manu, who are especially powerful, are plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord. This also includes the Prajapatis.)

TEXT 28

ete cäàça-kaläù puàsaù

kåñëas tu bhagavän svayam

indräri-vyäkulaà lokaà

måòayanti yuge yuge

(All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect His devotees.)

TEXT 29

janma guhyaà bhagavato

ya etat prayato naraù

säyaà prätar gåëan bhaktyä

duùkha-grämäd vimucyate

( Whoever carefully recites the mysterious appearances of the Lord, with devotion in the morning and in the evening, gets relief from all miseries of life. )

TEXT 30

etad rüpaà bhagavato

hy arüpasya cid-ätmanaù

mäyä-guëair viracitaà

mahadädibhir ätmani

The conception of the virat universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord’s having form. But factually the Lord has no material form.

TEXT 31

yathä nabhasi meghaugho

reëur vä pärthivo ’nile

evaà drañöari dåçyatvam

äropitam abuddhibhiù

Clouds and dust are carried by the air, but less intelligent persons say that the sky is cloudy and the air is dirty. Similarly, they also implant material bodily conceptions on the spirit self.

TEXT 32

ataù paraà yad avyaktam

avyüòha-guëa-båàhitam

adåñöäçruta-vastutvät

sa jévo yat punar-bhavaù

(Beyond this gross conception of form is another, subtle conception of form which is without formal shape and is unseen, unheard and unmanifest. The living being has his form beyond this subtlety, otherwise he could not have repeated births.)

TEXT 33

yatreme sad-asad-rüpe

pratiñiddhe sva-saàvidä

avidyayätmani kåte

iti tad brahma-darçanam

(Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Lord.)

TEXT 34

yady eñoparatä devé

mäyä vaiçäradé matiù

sampanna eveti vidur

mahimni sve mahéyate

(If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory.)

TEXT 35

evaà janmäni karmäëi

hy akartur ajanasya ca

varëayanti sma kavayo

veda-guhyäni håt-pateù

(Thus learned men describe the births and activities of the unborn and inactive, which is undiscoverable even in the Vedic literatures. He is the Lord of the heart.)

TEXT 36

sa vä idaà viçvam amogha-lélaù

såjaty avaty atti na sajjate ’smin

bhüteñu cäntarhita ätma-tantraù

ñäò-vargikaà jighrati ñaò-guëeçaù

(The Lord, whose activities are always spotless, is the master of the six senses and is fully omnipotent with six opulences. He creates the manifested universes, maintains them and annihilates them without being in the least affected. He is within every living being and is always independent.)

TEXT 37

na cäsya kaçcin nipuëena dhätur

avaiti jantuù kumanéña ütéù

nämäni rüpäëi mano-vacobhiù

santanvato naöa-caryäm iväjïaù

(The foolish with a poor fund of knowledge cannot know the transcendental nature of the forms, names and activities of the Lord, who is playing like an actor in a drama. Nor can they express such things, neither in their speculations nor in their words.)

TEXT 38

sa veda dhätuù padavéà parasya

duranta-véryasya rathäìga-päëeù

yo ’mäyayä santatayänuvåttyä

bhajeta tat-päda-saroja-gandham

(Only those who render unreserved, uninterrupted, favorable service unto the lotus feet of Lord Krishna , who carries the wheel of the chariot in His hand, can know the creator of the universe in His full glory, power and transcendence.)

TEXT 39

atheha dhanyä bhagavanta itthaà

yad väsudeve ’khila-loka-näthe

kurvanti sarvätmakam ätma-bhävaà

na yatra bhüyaù parivarta ugraù

(Only by making such inquiries in this world can one be successful and perfectly cognizant, for such inquiries invoke transcendental ecstatic love unto the Personality of Godhead, who is the proprietor of all the universes, and guarantee cent-percent immunity from the dreadful repetition of birth and death.)

TEXT 40

idaà bhägavataà näma

puräëaà brahma-sammitam

uttama-çloka-caritaà

cakära bhagavän åñiù

niùçreyasäya lokasya

dhanyaà svasty-ayanaà mahat

(This Srimad Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of the Bhagavan, and it is compiled by Sri Vyasadeva, an incarnation of Him. It is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect.)

TEXT 41

tad idaà grähayäm äsa

sutam ätmavatäà varam

sarva-vedetihäsänäà

säraà säraà samuddhåtam

(Sri Vyasadeva delivered it to his son, who is the most respected among the self-realized, after extracting the cream of all Vedic literatures and histories of the universe.)

TEXT 42

ahar saàçrävayäm äsa

aharaja parékñitam

präyopaviñöaà gaìgäyäà

parétaà paramarñibhiù

(Sage Suka (son of Sri Vyasadeva) , in his turn delivered the Bhagavatam to the great Emperor Parikshit , who sat surrounded by sages on the bank of the Ganges, awaiting death without taking food or drink.)

TEXT 43

kåñëe sva-dhämopagate

dharma-jïänädibhiù saha

kalau nañöa-dåçäm eña

puräëärko ’dhunoditaù

(This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Bhagavan Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana .)

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA!!!

 

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