VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Canto 11
Chapter 19
The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge
This chapter describes how those who practice speculative knowledge eventually give up their method, whereas the pure devotees remain engaged in devotional service eternally. Also described are the different practices of the yogīs, beginning with yama.
The Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, stated to Uddhava, "One who is actually wise, who knows the truth of the self and possesses transcendental insight, rejects this world of dualities and the so-called knowledge meant for facilitating enjoyment of it. He instead engages himself in trying to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all. This is pure bhakti-yoga. Transcendental knowledge is greater than such ordinary pious activities as chanting of mantras, but pure devotional service is greater than even knowledge."
After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa, requested by Śrī Uddhava to describe in full detail pure transcendental knowledge and devotional service, related the same instructions that the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, Bhīṣmadeva, gave on these topics to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira on the occasion of the battle at Kurukṣetra. Following this, after being asked about yama and the other practices of yoga, the Lord enumerated the twelve kinds of yama beginning with nonviolence, and the twelve kinds of niyama, beginning with bodily cleanliness.
11.19.1
ātmavān nānumānikaḥ
(1) The Supreme Lord said: 'Someone who, endowed with knowledge according to the oral tradition, is self-realized and doesn't lose himself in speculations about what true knowledge is, must, known with the fact that this universe as well as the knowledge about it is illusory to a high degree, turn his steps towards Me.
11.19.2
jñāninas tv aham eveṣṭaḥ
svargaś caivāpavargaś ca
(2) For the spiritual philosopher I am the only beloved one, the only self-interest, motive and final conclusion as also the elevation and way to heaven; indeed, next to Me as the favorite one, he has no other purpose.
11.19.3
jñānī priyatamo 'to me
(3) They who have fully perfected their knowledge and wisdom know My lotusfeet as the supreme object and thus is the learned transcendentalist who by means of spiritual knowledge keeps to Me, most dear to Me [see also B.G. 7: 17-18].
Jñāna refers to an authorized philosophical and analytic perception of reality, and when such knowledge is clearly realized through the sanctification of consciousness the resultant comprehensive experience is called vijñāna. Speculative, impersonal knowledge does not actually purify the heart of the living entity but rather merges him ever deeper into forgetfulness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as a father is always proud of his son's education, similarly, Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes very happy to see the living entities acquiring a sound spiritual education and thus making progress on the way back home, back to Godhead.
11.19.4
pavitrāṇītarāṇi ca
(4) That what by means of austerities, visiting holy places, doing japa, performing charity and being of other pious deeds is awarded cannot bear comparison with the perfection awarded by but a fraction of this spiritual knowledge [compare 10.46: 32-33].
Jñāna here refers to a clear understanding of the Lord's supreme dominion over all that be, and this realized knowledge is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That the Lord is supreme is confirmed in the previous verse by the words padam śreṣṭhaḿ vidur mama. One may perform penances or visit holy places with a proud menta!ity or material motivation; similarly, one may chant prayers to God, give charity or perform other externally pious activities with many bizarre, hypocritical or even demoniac motivations. Realized knowledge of the supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, is a solid connection with the spiritual world, and if one pursues this holy understanding one is gradually promoted to the highest level of conscious existence, called Vaikuṇṭha, or the kingdom of God.
11.19.5
(5) Worship for that reason Me in a loving mood with the spiritual knowledge with which you know your soul and are of success with the knowledge and wisdom.
The word vijñāna indicates realized knowledge of one's original, spiritual form. Every living entity has an eternal spiritual form, which lies dormant until one arouses one's original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Without knowledge of one's own spiritual personality it is not possible to cultivate love of the Supreme Personality, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the words jñātvā svātmānam are significant here, indicating that every living entity can realize his full potential as an individual person only in the kingdom of God.
11.19.6
saḿsiddhiḿ munayo 'gaman
(6) With the sacrifice of vedic knowledge and wisdom the sages ensured themselves of the highest perpection by worshipping Me, the Lord of All Sacrifices who is the Supersoul inside of them.
11.19.7
tvayy uddhavāśrayati yas tri-vidho vikāro
māyāntarāpatati nādy-apavargayor yat
(7) O Uddhava, the manifest world which is divided in three divisions and is constantly transforming, consists of the bewildering energy which proves itself in the present. But because it is not there in the beginning nor in the end, you may wonder what their relation [the relation of the modes] would be to [the true of] you. They relate only to the birth of your material body and all of that. That what at first was not there and in the end isn't there either, is only of a temporary presence.'
The example is given that a man walking in the forest may see a rope but consider it to be a snake. Such perception is māyā, or illusion, although the rope actually exists and a snake also exists in another place. Illusion thus refers to the false identification of one object with another. The material body exists briefly and then disappears. In the past the body did not exist, and in the future it will not exist; it enjoys a flickering, momentary existence in so-called present time.
11.19.8
(8) S'rî Uddhava said: 'O Controller of the Universe, o You in the Form of the Universe, please explain the bhakti-yoga unto You that is also sought by the great, and encompasses this extensive, thoroughly settled knowledge that is as traditional as the [original] detachment and wisdom [of Brahmâ].
PURPORT
Those who are able to cross over the darkness of material existence are called mahat, or great personalities. Secondary items like cosmic consciousness or universal control do not deviate the attention of such great souls from loving service to the Lord. Śrī Uddhava desires to hear knowledge of the eternal religious principles that are the traditional aim and objective of all superior personalities.
11.19.9
santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīśa
paśyāmi nānyac charaṇaḿ tavāńghri-
dvandvātapatrād amṛtābhivarṣāt
(9) O Lord, for the one who, tormented on the violent material path, is overwhelmed by the threefold miseries [see 1.17: 19], I see no other shelter but the canopy of Your two lotus feet that shower the nectar.
Lord Kṛṣṇa, recognizing Uddhava's highly intellectual nature, has repeatedly recommended to him that one should achieve perfection by cultivation of transcendental knowledge. But the Lord has also clearly demonstrated that such knowledge must bring one to the point of loving devotional service to Him, for otherwise it is useless. In this verse Śrī Uddhava corroborates Lord Kṛṣṇa's statements that actual happiness is obtained by surrendering to His lotus feet. When the incarnation of Godhead Pṛthu Mahārāja was crowned, the demigod Vāyu presented him with an umbrella that constantly sprayed fine particles of water. The Lord's two lotus feet are similarly compared here to a wonderful umbrella that produces a constant shower of delicious nectar, the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Normally, speculative analytic knowledge terminates in an impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth, but the so-called bliss of merging into impersonal spiritual existence can never be compared to the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as stated here by Śrī Uddhava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness thus automatically constitutes perfect knowledge, since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate shelter of all living entities. The words abhihatasya and abhivarṣāt are significant in this verse. Abhihatasya indicates one who is being defeated on all sides by the onslaught of material nature, whereas abhivarṣāt indicates a downpour of nectar that eliminates all of the problems of material existence. By our intelligence we should look beyond the dull material body and nonsensical material mind to observe the unlimited shower of blissful nectar coming from the two lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then our real good fortune will begin.
11.19.10
samuddharainaḿ kṛpayāpavargyair
vacobhir āsiñca mahānubhāva
(10) Please uplift this person who, bitten by the snake of time, hopelessly fell down in this dark pit. Uplift this person craving so badly for some insignificant happiness. O Might of Understanding, pour out Your words of mercy that awaken one to liberation!'
11.19.11
sarveṣāḿ no 'nuśṛṇvatām
(11) The Supreme Lord said: 'This you ask now was in the past by the king who considered no one his enemy [Yudhishthhira] inquired from Bhîshma, the best of the upholders of dharma, while we were all present attentively listening [see 1.9: 25-42].
11.19.12
(12) When the war between the descendants of Bharata was over, he asked, overwhelmed by the destruction of his beloved well-wishers, what, after all he had heard about the many principles of religion, the nature of liberation finally would be.
11.19.13
śraddhā-bhakty-upabṛḿhitān
(13) I'll describe to you the vedic knowledge consisting of detachment, self-realization, faith and devotional service, as it was heard from the mouth of the one vowed to God [viz. Bhîshma].
11.19.14
īkṣetāthāikam apy eṣu
(14) When one with the nine, eleven, five and three elements one finds in all living entities truly seeing the one element [of the Absolute Spirit, the Supersoul, the Lord, see 1.2: 11] within them, carries that spiritual knowledge My approval.
The nine elements are material nature, the living entity, the mahat-tattva, false ego, and the five objects of sense perception, namely sound, touch, form, taste and aroma. The eleven elements are the five working senses (the voice, hands, legs, anus and genital) plus the five knowledge-acquiring senses (the ears, touch, eyes, tongue and nostrils), along with the coordinative sense, the mind. The five elements are the five physical elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, and the three elements are the three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. All living entities, from mighty Lord Brahmā down to an insignificant weed, manifest material bodies composed of these twenty-eight elements. The one element within all twenty-eight is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, who is all-pervading within the material and spiritual worlds.
One can easily understand that the material universe is composed of innumerable causes and effects. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes, all secondary causes and their effects are ultimately nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead. This understanding constitutes real knowledge, or jñāna, which is essential for perfecting one's life.
11.19.15
sthity-utpatty-apyayān paśyed
(15) Not being of all the elements subject to the three modes but rather seeing the One who maintains, creates and annihilates this universe, is one actually of the knowledge of self-realization [vijñâna].
The difference between jñāna (ordinary Vedic knowledge) and vijñāna (self-realization) can be understood as follows. A conditioned soul, although cultivating Vedic knowledge, continues to identify himself to some extent with the material body and mind and consequently with the material universe. In trying to understand the world he lives in, the conditioned soul learns through Vedic knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the one supreme cause of all material manifestations. He comes to understand the world around him, which he accepts more or less as his world. As he progresses in spiritual realization, breaking through the barrier of bodily identification, and realizes the existence of the eternal soul, he gradually identifies himself as part and parcel of the spiritual world, Vaikuṇṭha. At that time he is no longer interested in the Personality of Godhead merely as the supreme explanation of the material world; rather, he begins to reorient his entire mode of consciousness so that the central object of his attention is the Personality of Godhead. Such a reorientation is required, since the Supreme Lord is the factual center and cause of everything. A self-realized soul in the stage of vijñāna thus experiences the Personality of Godhead not merely as the creator of the material world but as the supreme living entity existing blissfully in His own eternal context. As one progresses in one's realization of the Supreme Lord in His own abode in the spiritual sky, one gradually becomes disinterested in the material universe and ceases to define the Supreme Lord in terms of His temporary manifestations. A self-realized soul in the stage of vijñāna is not at all attracted by objects that are created, maintained and ultimately destroyed. The stage of jñāna is the preliminary stage of knowledge for those still identifying themselves in terms of the material universe, whereas vijñāna is the mature stage of knowledge for those who see themselves as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.
11.19.16
punas tat-pratisańkrāme
(16) Only that must be considered true and eternal which is present in the beginning as well as in the middle with the changes of one form into the other, as also in the end when it remains upon the annihilation of everything.
11.19.17
pramāṇeṣv anavasthānād
(17) With the four types of evidence - the vedic truth [s'ruti], the truth of direct experience [pratyaksha], the truth by tradition [aitihya or smriti], and the truth of logical inference [anumâna] - one develops detachment from the flickering nature of the dual reality [see pramân
In the śruti, or Vedic literature, it is clearly stated that everything emanates from the Absolute Truth, is maintained by the Absolute Truth and at the end is conserved within the Absolute Truth. Similarly, by direct experience we can observe the creation and destruction of great empires, cities, buildings, bodies and so on. Furthermore, we find all around the world traditional wisdom warning people that things in this world cannot last. Finally, by logical induction we can easily conclude that nothing in this world is permanent. Material sense gratification — up to the highest possible living standard found in the heavenly planets or down to the lowest conditions in the most repugnant precincts of hell — is always unsteady and prone to collapse at any moment. One should therefore develop vairāgya, detachment, as stated here. a].
11.19.18
karmaṇāḿ pariṇāmitvād
ā-viriñcyād amańgalam
vipaścin naśvaraḿ paśyed
(18) Because all material activities are transient there is up to the world of Viriñca [Brahmaloka] inauspiciousness. An intelligent person knowing that everything that was experienced is time-bound will also understand that the same is true for everything else in the universe [see also shath-ûrmi, 11.3: 20 and B.G. 8: 16].
11.19.19
prīyamāṇāya te 'nagha
punaś ca kathayiṣyāmi
(19) Because of your love for Me I previously spoke to you about bhakti-yoga, o sinless one. Let Me also expound now on the way in which the elevation of My devotional service is achieved.
11.19.20-24
śraddhāmṛta-kathāyāḿ me
śaśvan mad-anukīrtanam
sarvāńgair abhivandanam
mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā
vacasā mad-guṇeraṇam
mad-arthe 'rtha-parityāgo
evaḿ dharmair manuṣyāṇām
uddhavātma-nivedinām
ko 'nyo 'rtho 'syāvaśiṣyate
(20-24) Faith in the nectar of the narrations about Me, always chanting My glories, fixed in the attachment of ceremonial worship, to relate with hymns and prayers to Me; being of a high regard for My devotional service, with all of one's body to be offering obeisances, to be of the first-class worship of My devotees, to be conscious of Me being present in all living beings, to dedicate all one's normal activities to Me and also the with words defending of My qualities, placing the mind in Me and rejecting all material desires; for My sake giving up on money as also on sensual pleasures, material happiness and passions, being of charity and offering in sacrifice, chanting the names to achieve Me and keeping to vows and austerities; that are the ways, Uddhava, in which, with those human beings who actually commit themselves to the dharma, devotional service for Me develops - what other purpose would remain for My devotee?
11.19.25
śāntaḿ sattvopabṛḿhitam
aiśvaryaḿ cābhipadyate
(25) When in peace one's consciousness is absorbed in the soul, one achieves, strengthened by the mode of goodness, religiosity, spiritual knowledge, detachment and opulence.
A pure devotee becomes peaceful, śānta, by desiring everything for the service of the Lord and nothing for himself. He is strengthened by the transcendental, or purified, mode of goodness and thus achieves the supreme religious principle of directly serving the Lord. He also achieves jñāna, or knowledge of the Lord's form and his own spiritual body, detachment from material piety and sin, and the opulences of the spiritual world. One who is not a pure devotee of the Lord, however, but whose devotion is mixed with a fascination for mystic knowledge, is strengthened by the material mode of goodness. Through his meditation on the Lord he achieves the lesser results of dharma (piety in the mode of goodness), jñāna (knowledge of spirit and matter) and vairāgya (detachment from the lower modes of nature). Ultimately, one should be a pure devotee of the Lord, since even the best the material world has to offer is most insignificant compared to the kingdom of God.
11.19.26
rajas-valaḿ cāsan-niṣṭhaḿ
(26) But when one being fixed upon the material variety, chases one's senses in every direction and one thus is enslaved by passion, you should know that one by that [materialist] consciousness dedicated to the impermanent will attain the opposite.
In the previous verse Lord Kṛṣṇa explained the auspicious results of fixing the mind in Him, and now the opposite is explained. Rajas-valam indicates that one's passion grows so strong that one commits sinful activities and reaps all types of misfortune. Although materialistic people are blind to their impending wretchedness, one can confirm by all types of evidence — namely Vedic injunctions, direct observation, traditional wisdom and inductive logic — that the result of violating the laws of God is disastrous.
11.19.27
guṇesv asańgo vairāgyam
aiśvaryaḿ cāṇimādayaḥ
(27) The dharma is said to lead to My devotional service. The spiritual is honored as the vision of the Supreme Soul being present. Detachment one calls the loss of interest in the sense-objects and the opulence is recognized by the animâ and such [perfections and powers see 11.15 & 11.16 and bhaga].'
11.19.28-32
(28-32) S'rî Uddhava said: 'How many types of don'ts [yama] or does [niyama] does one speak of, o Subduer of the Enemy, what is equilibrium, what is self-control, dear Krishna, what is tolerance and what is constancy, my Lord? What is charity, what is penance, heroism, what does one say about reality and truth, what is renunciation and wealth, what is desirable, a sacrifice and what is religious financial compensation? What do You think is the strength of a person, o Fortunate One, the opulence and gain, o Kes'ava, what is education, modesty, what is superior, what is beauty and what is happiness as also unhappiness? Who is learned, who is a fool, what is the real path and what the false path, what is heaven and what is hell and who do You say is a friend and what is home? Who is wealthy, who is poor, who a miser and who is a controller; please speak to me about these matters as also about the opposite qualities, o Lord of the Truthful.'
All of the items mentioned in these five verses are defined in different ways by different cultures and societies throughout the world. Therefore, Śrī Uddhava is directly approaching the supreme authority, Lord Kṛṣṇa, to obtain the standard definition for these universal aspects of civilized life.
11.19.33-35
asańgo hrīr asañcayaḥ
maunaḿ sthairyaḿ kṣamābhayam
śraddhātithyaḿ mad-arcanam
tīrthāṭanaḿ parārthehā
(33-35) The Supreme Lord said: 'Nonviolence, truthfulness, not coveting or stealing the property of others, detachment, modesty, non-possessiveness, belief in God, celibacy as also silence, steadiness, forgiveness and fearlessness on the one hand, and [inner and outer] cleanliness, doing the rosary, penance, sacrifice, trustfulness, hospitality, worship of Me, visiting holy places, acting and striving for the Supreme, contentment and serving the spiritual master on the other hand are the twelve elements one remembers of yama that together with those of niyama by human beings are cultivated with devotion, my dearest, and depending on what someone wants yield results [in the sense of beatitude or prosperity].
11.19.36-39
śamo man-niṣṭhatā buddher
jihvopastha-jayo dhṛtiḥ
karmasv asańgamaḥ śaucaḿ
yajño 'haḿ bhagavattamaḥ
(36-39) Equilibrium means steady absorption of the intelligence in Me [see also 11.16: 10] and self-control is the perfect discipline of the senses; tolerance means to endure unhappiness and constancy is the conquering of the tongue and genitals. The highest charity is to give up the rod [to punish others], penance is remembered as giving up the lust, heroism is to conquer one's self-love and reality implies to see the Lord everywhere. Truthfulness means to be of the pleasing and true words that are approved by the sages, cleanliness means that one is detached from performing productive labor [see also e.g. 1.1: 2 and B.G. 18: 6] and renunciation is said to be the renounced order of sannyâsa. For human beings religiousness is the wealth to desire for, I am the Most Fortunate, religious remuneration is the donation [in return] for the spiritual knowledge enjoyed and breathcontrol is the supreme strength.
11.19.40-45
bhago ma aiśvaro bhāvo
lābho mad-bhaktir uttamaḥ
vidyātmani bhidā-bādho
śrīr guṇā nairapekṣyādyāḥ
utpathaś citta-vikṣepaḥ
narakas tama-unnāho
daridro yas tv asantuṣṭaḥ
kṛpaṇo yo 'jitendriyaḥ
guṇeṣv asakta-dhīr īśo
guṇa-sańgo viparyayaḥ
guṇas tūbhaya-varjitaḥ
(40-45) Opulence is My divine nature [see 11.16 and bhaga], gain is My bhakti, education is the nullifying of the dividedness of the self [see siddhânta and advaita] and modesty is the disgust with failing in prescribed duties [with sin]. Beauty means to be of good qualities like being detached from material desires and such, happiness means to transcend hap and mishap, unhappiness entails that one meditates on the happiness of lust, and a wise person is someone who knows to tell the difference between liberation and bondage. A fool is someone who identifies himself with the body and so on [the mind etc.], the right path is leading to Me, the wrong path is to be understood as the one leading to the perplexion of consciousness and heaven implies the predominance of the mode of goodness. Hell is the predominance of the mode of ignorance, the real friend is the spiritual master who is Me, My dear friend and the human body is one's home. A rich person for sure is called he who is enriched with good qualities while a poor person is someone who is discontented. The wretched one is the one who has not conquered his senses, a controller is someone whose intelligence is not attached to the material affair and the one attached to sense gratification is of the opposite [qualities].This, Uddhava, are the subjects of your inquiry I have thus all properly elucidated. But what's the use of describing elaborately the characteristics of good and bad qualities when seeing good and bad still means that one fails to see the true goodness [of transcendence] which stands apart from the two [compare with 3.10: 28-29, 6.16: 10-11, 11.7: 8, 11.11: 16 and B.G. 7: 5].'
Thus end of the Eleventh Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge."
(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars and Knowledge Seekers for the collection)
No comments:
Post a Comment