Transcription made by Sai Nidhi Mataji and Shrushthi Nidhi Mataji
Śrīmad Gour Govinda Svāmī: Oṁ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eighth Canto, Chapter Ten, Text Thirty-Nine.
śirobhir uddhūta-kirīṭa-kuṇḍalaiḥ saṁrambha-dṛgbhiḥ paridaṣṭa-dacchadaiḥ mahā-bhujaiḥ sābharaṇaiḥ sahāyudhaiḥ sā prāstṛtā bhūḥ karabhorubhir babhau [SB 8.10.39]
Translation by Śrīla Prabhupāda: In the course of the battle, the warfield became strewn with the severed heads of heroes, their eyes still staring and their teeth still pressed against their lips in anger. Helmets and earrings were scattered from these severed heads. Similarly, many arms, decorated with ornaments and clutching various weapons, were strewn here and there, as were many legs and thighs, which resembled the trunks of elephants.
kabandhās tatra cotpetuḥ patita-sva-śiro-’kṣibhiḥ udyatāyudha-dordaṇḍair ādhāvanto bhaṭān mṛdhe [SB 8.10.40]
Translation by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Many headless trunks were generated on that battlefield. With weapons in their arms, those ghostly trunks, which could see with the eyes in the fallen heads, attacked the enemy soldiers.
Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: It appears that the heroes who died on the battlefield immediately became ghosts, and although their heads had been severed from their bodies, new trunks were generated, and these new trunks, seeing with the eyes in the severed heads, began to attack the enemy. In other words, many ghosts were generated to join the fight, and thus new trunks appeared on the battlefield.
Those ghostly trunks which could see with the eyes in the fallen heads attacked the enemy soldiers. They are attacking. It appears that heroes who died on the battlefield immediately became ghosts, and although their heads had been severed from their bodies, new trunks were generated, and these new trunks, seeing with the eyes in the severed heads, began to attack the enemy camp. Still attacking. So much enmity. Still attacking! In other words, many ghosts were generated to join the fight, and thus new trunks appeared on the battlefield. Such a wonderful fight.
The demons have this mystic power. One Māyā Dānava was there who had very wonderful mystic power. This fighting between the Devas and Dānava is constantly going on. Always going on. Śrīla Prabhupāda Mahārāja says if the leaders and intelligent persons of both groups, Devas and Dānavas, take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then this will be solved. Otherwise, this fighting will not stop. It's also mentioned in many places in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; such descriptions of fighting between Deva and Dānava are there. And this teaching is present throughout the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
kṛṣṇa-tulya bhāgavata — vibhu, sarvāśraya prati-śloke prati-akṣare nānā artha kaya [CC Madhya 24.318]
It is as good as Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa is Vibhu, the Supreme Lord, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also Vibhu. Kṛṣṇa is very merciful. The sadhu has mercy. Similarly, the Grantha has its mercy also. Bhāgavatam is not just a book; it has mercy. This teaching has been given here, and this Bhāgavat teaching should spread throughout the world.
My revered spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, A. C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupādaji Mahārāja, has made these arrangements. He opened centers throughout the world under the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Every day, the daily activities include Bhāgavata-pāṭha-pravacana. One must hear; nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā is a daily activity. Otherwise, you cannot live in this material world. It is such a dreadful situation here.
Śrīmad Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupādaji Mahārāja says that this material world is not at all a fit place for any gentleman to live. Pade pade vipadāṁ [SB 10.14.58]—at every step there is danger and so many problems. You may not want to develop any enmity with anybody, yet you will find so many enemies are there. If you want to become a sādhu and stay, it remains very difficult.
A sādhu is ajāta-śatravaḥ; he has no enemy. He never develops enmity toward anybody because he has developed equal vision; he only sees the soul and Supersoul. He never sees the outer bodies. Still, the sādhu is persecuted here. Such a nasty place, this material world. Take the example of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, such a great sādhu. How severely he was persecuted. In twenty-two marketplaces, the pāṣaṇḍīs dragged him until his flesh and bones came out. He was mercilessly persecuted. It is a very horrible place.
But a sādhu tolerates everything. Taror iva sahiṣṇunā [Cc. Ādi 17.31]—this is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. Haridāsa Ṭhākura tolerated it. He did not curse those pāṣaṇḍīs. Rather, he prayed to the Supreme Lord, "Please excuse them. They do not know what they are doing. They are bereft of consciousness and knowledge." He is such a sādhu.
anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṁ bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya [SB 3.5.3]
Out of causeless mercy, they descend here. They wander and impart this tattva-jñāna. This is their mercy. My Guru Mahārāja, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is such a sādhu. He made arrangements throughout the world so that there should be daily Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam pāṭha-pravacana. All should come, attend, and hear it. This is the mercy. No school, college, or university teaches this. We teach this as a daily activity: nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā. Otherwise, this material world will never be a habitable place.
Sādhus are there performing bhajana-kīrtana and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam pāṭha-pravacana. Because dharma is there, we can stay here and it becomes habitable. Where Bhāgavata-pāṭha-pravacana, nāma-kīrtana, and yajñeśa-makhā mahotsavāḥ [SB 5.19.24] are going on, Harināma-yajña and festivals take place every day. That is the only true habitable place. My Guru Mahārāja created such habitable places throughout the world. Otherwise, the perpetual enmity between the demons and demigods just continues.
Even in mānava-janma—the human birth, which is rarely achieved (sudurlabha)—all these teachings are meant for human beings. They are not given to other animals because when someone gets a human birth, he achieves a higher level of consciousness. An opportunity is given to him to elevate himself to the highest consciousness, which is complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the completely blossoming consciousness (pūrṇa-vikacita-cetanā-sthava).
Lord Rāmacandra is known as maryādā-puruṣottama. He is ideal in all respects—ideal father, ideal son, ideal husband, ideal friend, ideal brother, and ideal king. He came here to teach this idealism. Lord Hari has innumerable incarnations, as the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says:
avatārā hy asaṅkhyeyā hareḥ sattva-nidher dvijāḥ yathāvidāsinaḥ kulyāḥ sarasaḥ syuḥ sahasraśaḥ [SB 1.3.26]
The Tenth Canto also says:
matsyāśva-kacchapa-nṛsiṁha-varāha-haṁsa- rājanya-vipra-vibudheṣu kṛtāvatāraḥ tvaṁ pāsi nas tri-bhuvanaṁ ca yathādhuneśa bhāraṁ bhuvo hara yadūttama vandanaṁ te [ŚB 10.2.40]
"O Lord, O Yadūttama, best of the Yadu dynasty, You descend in innumerable incarnations such as Matsya (the fish), Kūrma (the tortoise), Varāha (the boar), Hayagrīva, Nṛsiṁha, Haṁsa, Vāmana, Balarāma, Rāmacandra, Buddha, and Kalki to relieve the mother earth from the burden of demons." Again and again, I pay my obeisances to You.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes a specific type of avatar in his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta called parāvasthāvatāra: sarvāṇy api paripūrṇatamāni parāvasthāvatārāḥ. In these parāvasthāvatāras, six attributes or opulences are completely present: all opulence (aiśvarya), strength (vīrya), fame (yaśa), knowledge (jñāna), beauty (śrī), and detachment (vairāgya). Out of innumerable avatars, only three are Parāvasthāvatāras: Śrī Nṛsiṁha, Śrī Rāmacandra, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In these three, the six opulences are completely (paripūrṇa) present, whereas in others they are partial.
Even among these three Parāvasthāvatāras, there are differences. Quoting Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura's statement, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says in Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.37):
santv avatārā bahavaḥ puṣkara-nābhasya sarvato-bhadrāḥ kṛṣṇād anyaḥ ko vā latāsv api prema-do bhavati
Though there are innumerable auspicious avatars of Lord Hari, except for Kṛṣṇa, who can give prema even to a creeper? Kṛṣṇa thought: āmā vinā anye nāre vraja-prema dite [CC Adi 3.26]—"Without Me, nobody can give vraja-prema." So He came as Caitanya Mahāprabhu to bestow that love. He gave prema even to the lions, tigers, deer, and inanimate objects like blocks of stone, causing them to melt. As Śrīla Locana dāsa Ṭhākura writes in Parama Koruṇa: paśu pākhī jhure, pāṣāṇa vidare, śuni' jāńra guṇa-gāthā—the beasts, birds, trees, creepers, and stones wept and melted upon hearing His glories. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself, non-different from Kṛṣṇa.
There is a special characteristic of the Kṛṣṇa avatar. Lord Rāma and Lord Nṛsiṁha killed many demons, but those who were killed by them did not immediately receive ultimate liberation; they took birth again. For instance, Rāvaṇa and Hiraṇyakaśipu had to return. But those who died simply by seeing Kṛṣṇa were completely liberated.
In the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, where Kṛṣṇa acted as the charioteer of Arjuna, everyone who died on that field attained liberation simply by looking at Him. In whatever way one thinks of Kṛṣṇa—whether out of fear like Kaṁsa (bhayāt kaṁso [SB 7.1.31]), out of enmity like the demons, or out of pure affection like the gopīs (kāmād gopyaḥ)—all become liberated. Kṛṣṇa is all-beautiful, all-attractive, and completely magnanimous.
The sādhus and mahājanas come here out of intense mercy because their hearts bleed seeing the suffering of the conditioned souls. They impart this tattva-jñāna to stop the perpetual enmity between the factions of this world. This fighting cannot be stopped unless intelligent leaders from both sides take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously.
Therefore, my spiritual master established centers worldwide to ensure daily Bhāgavata-pāṭha-pravacana. Even if one cannot perform any other sadhana, if he simply comes daily and hears with concentrated attention and full faith from the lips of a bhakta-bhāgavata, he will achieve perfection.
“yāha, bhāgavata paḍa vaiṣṇavera sthāne ekānta āśraya kara caitanya-caraṇe [CC Antya 5.131]
Approach a Vaiṣṇava who is the living embodiment of the Bhāgavata, take shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and simply hear.
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām [SB 10.14.3]
In whatever position you are, simply hear. What other difficult sadhana can you perform in this Kali-yuga with a short lifespan and so many dangers? Simply hear the Bhāgavata-kathā. Drink this nectarian mellow of prema-bhakti through your ears (karṇa-puṭe pibanti [SB 10.21.13]). By drinking this daily, you will easily develop pure Kṛṣṇa-bhakti and conquer the unconquerable Lord (ajita).
Even though this wonderful arrangement has been made, very few human beings are coming forward to accept it. Therefore, we can only offer our heartfelt prayers (dainya-mayī prārthanā) to that Supreme Lord who is so wonderfully merciful and magnanimous. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings:
tumi to dayāra sindhu, adhama janāra bandhu, mohe prabho! koro avadhāna poḍinu asat bhole, kāma timińgile gile, ohe nātha! koro paritrāṇa!
"O Lord, You are the ocean of mercy and the friend of the most fallen. I am deeply distressed, caught in bad association, and my material desires are like whales devouring me. O master, please protect me."
yāvat janama mora, aparādhe hoinu bhora, niṣkapaṭe nā bhajinu tomā
"Throughout my life I have been engrossed in offenses; I have never worshiped You with simplicity. I am full of crookedness and duplicity, even though the sādhus advise us to worship You without deceit."
tathāpi tumi se gati, nā chāḍiho prāṇapati āmā sama nāhika adhamā
"Still, You are my master, the Lord of my life. Please do not desert me, for there is no one more fallen than me."
patita pāvana nāma, ghoṣaṇā tomāra śyāma, upekhile nāhi mora gati
"Your name is Patita-pāvana, the deliverer of the fallen. If You disregard me, I have no other refuge, and Your celebrated name will be compromised."
yadi hoi aparādhī, tathāpiho tumi gati, satya satya yeno satī pati
"I am a great offender, that is a fact. Still, You are my ultimate shelter. Just as a faithful husband never abandons his wife, please do not abandon me."
Kṛṣṇa is the only true husband and protector for everyone (savai pati). Every jiva belongs to the spiritual, feminine energy (prakṛti); Kṛṣṇa is the only supreme male (puruṣa).
tumi to parāma devā, nāhi more upekhibā, śuno śuno parāṇera īśvara yadi kori aparādha, tathāpiho tumi nātha, sevā diye koro anucara
"You are the Supreme Lord, the master of my heart. Please do not reject me. Grant me the opportunity to serve You as Your servant."
kāma mora hoto citta, nāhi māne nija hita, manera nā ghuce durvāsanā more nātha ańgīkuru, ohe vāñchā kalpataru karuṇā dekhuka sarva janā
"My mind is ruined by lusty desires, and I do not even know what is good for me. These material desires are not leaving my heart. Still, You are a desire-tree (vāñchā-kalpataru). Please accept me so the whole world can witness Your ultimate mercy and see that You are truly Patita-pāvana."
mo sama patita nāi, tribhuvane dekho cāi, narottama pāvana nāma dhara
"There is no one as degraded as me in the three worlds. Please deliver me, and let the name 'the deliverer of Narottama' be added to Your glories."
ghuṣuka saḿsāre nāma, patita pāvana śyāma, nija dāsa koro giridhara!
"O Giridhara, please make me Your servant and let Your fame as the deliverer of the fallen spread throughout the universe."
narottama boḍo duḥkhī, nātha! more koro sukhī, tomāra bhajana sańkīrtane antarāya nāhi yāy, ei to parāma bhaya, nivedana kori anukṣaṇa
"Narottama is very unhappy. O Lord, make me happy by engaging me in Your bhajan and sankirtan. My greatest fear is that my obstacles to devotion will not go away. This is my constant prayer."
The mahājanas and sādhus come to present this path, yet human beings are often too ungrateful to accept it. Kṛṣṇa is so merciful:
māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa-jñāna jīvere kṛpāya kailā kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa [CC Madhya 20.122]
Out of compassion for the bewildered souls, He provides the Vedas and Purāṇas. He manifests His pastimes (kṛpā-līlā) by descending into this material world, which is also known as prapañca because it is composed of five entities: paramātmā, jīvātmā, prakṛti, kāla (time), and karma. When He winds up His pastimes and returns to His abode, He leaves behind His vigraha (deity form), His holy name, His dhāma (holy place), His kathā (narratives), and His bhaktas (devotees). These are all extensions of His mercy left in this difficult material world.
Similarly, there are five eternal elements present in the spiritual world: the Supreme Lord, His intimate devotees, His svarūpa-śakti (internal potency), the eternal present time (vartamāna-kāla), and bhakti. Intelligent human beings should avail themselves of these spiritual opportunities left by Kṛṣṇa; otherwise, the conflict between opposing elements in this world will never end.
To establish this Vedic etiquette (veda-maryādā), Lord Rāma descended as Maryādā-Puruṣottama. During the war in Laṅkā, Rāvaṇa’s youngest brother, Vibhīṣaṇa, came to seek shelter from Him. Immediately, Lord Rāma prepared to accept him. However, his companions like Sugrīva and Jāmbavān advised against it, warning that Vibhīṣaṇa came from the enemy camp and could be a spy.
Lord Rāma countered their doubts by telling them a story. Once, a man traveling through a dense forest was chased by a ferocious tiger. To save his life, the man climbed a tall tree. A monkey was already sitting up in that tree. The tiger sat at the base of the tree and tried to strike up a friendship with the monkey, saying, "O brother monkey, this human being is your natural enemy. Humans cut down your trees, throw pebbles at you, and hunt you with guns. Do not allow your enemy to stay with you. I am very hungry; just push him down so I can eat him, and I will be eternally grateful to you."
The monkey replied, "O brother tiger, what you say about humans may be true. But this man is in danger and has taken shelter in my home. How can I push him into danger? Even though I am an animal without formal religious principles (dharma), I know this is not right." So, the monkey refused.
The tiger then turned to the human being and said, "O human brother, you possess higher intelligence and dharma. Is it not your duty to feed a hungry person? I am starving. Push this monkey down so I can satisfy my hunger."
The man thought this was a good way to save himself, so he treacherously struck the monkey and pushed him down right in front of the tiger. However, the tiger did not eat the monkey because his true goal was the human.
The monkey managed to quickly scramble back up into the safety of the branches. The tiger then said to the monkey, "Look at how your enemy behaved! He pushed you to your death, yet I did not harm you because I am your friend. Now push this ungrateful human down, and we shall be friends forever."
The monkey replied, "A human being may be ungrateful, but I cannot be ungrateful, even though I am just an animal."
Human beings have been granted a rare birth with a higher capacity for consciousness, yet they often carry a long history of ungratefulness toward their ultimate friend, the Supreme Lord, who arranges everything for their spiritual elevation.
Lord Rāma concluded the story by saying, "My mission is to establish perfect idealism in human society. If someone comes to Me seeking shelter, I never look at his past, even if he comes from the enemy camp. Therefore, I give full shelter to Vibhīṣaṇa. From this day, he is our friend and a commander in our army, and everyone should place full faith in him."
Unless intelligent people from all backgrounds take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, this perpetual fighting will never stop.
[Q&A Section]
Śrīmad Gour Govinda Svāmī: Where is that?
Devotee: When you say that we don't have to do any other sadhana, but just hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how do we understand that? You've also said previously that unless one practices in his life what he hears in Bhagavatam class, we get no benefit.
Śrīmad Gour Govinda Svāmī: With simple faith, develop simplicity. If you come and hear with concentrated attention and simple faith, you will get the highest perfection and develop pure prema-bhakti.
yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe bhaktir utpadyate puṁsaḥ śoka-moha-bhayāpahā [SB 1.7.7]
By hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you can conquer the unconquerable Kṛṣṇa. What did Mahārāja Parīkṣit do? He simply heard. The recitation of Bhāgavatam is the direct appearance of the Lord in Kali-yuga.
kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko ’dhunoditaḥ [SB 1.3.43]
When Kṛṣṇa completed His pastimes in Dvāpara-yuga and returned to His abode, He took dharma and knowledge with Him. But He left the Bhāgavatam here as His merciful pastime (kṛpā-līlā) for the people of Kali-yuga to achieve the highest prema-bhakti simply by hearing. This is effective provided you hear it from the right source—a pure devotee, a Vaiṣṇava—with full surrender. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā is our essential daily activity. If you are serious about achieving supreme perfection in this very life, you should never miss the Bhāgavatam-śravaṇa program.
Devotee: Mahārāj, you were explaining that only Parāvasthāvatāras possess these six opulences in full, and that all other incarnations are partial?
Śrīmad Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes, all others are partial. Only Śrī Nṛsiṁha, Śrī Rāmacandra, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa possess these six opulences completely. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has authorized this in Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta. Every single verse and syllable of the Bhāgavatam contains infinite meanings (prati-śloke prati-akṣare nānā artha kaya). Explaining just one verse can take months. We are ignorant, but by the mercy of Guru and Gaurāṅga, understanding reveals itself.
Devotee: When we define Bhagavān, that means He possesses all six opulences in full. So, are all other incarnations also called Bhagavān?
Śrīmad Gour Govinda Svāmī: They are still Bhagavān, but Kṛṣṇa possesses a unique, supreme characteristic (kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam). As explained, while Lord Rāma and Lord Nṛsiṁha killed demons, those demons had to take birth again. But anyone killed or touched by simply seeing Kṛṣṇa achieved immediate, ultimate liberation.
When speaking on the Bhāgavatam, we must faithfully follow the perspectives given by the previous Vaiṣṇava acharyas without concocting anything. In the Bhagavad-gītā (10.22), Kṛṣṇa says, vedānāṁ sāma-vedo ’smi—"Of the Vedas, I am the Sāma-veda." He says this because the Sāma-veda contains direct songs glorifying Radha and Kṛṣṇa.
Speculative scholars often claim there is no mention of Kṛṣṇa in the Vedas because Kṛṣṇa does not reveal Himself to non-devotees. But Kṛṣṇa declares, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ—"By all the Vedas, I am to be known." Following the disciplic succession (ācārya-paramparā) allows the followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to defeat these incomplete philosophies and establish pure siddhānta.
Devotee: Jaya Srila Gour Govinda Mahārāja Ki Jay.
Śrīmad Gour Govinda Svāmī: Prabhupāda Ji Mahārāja. Jay.