SB 3.11.35

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Eleven, “Calculation of Time, From the Atom,” 

TEXT 35

pūrvasyādau parārdhasya
brāhmo nāma mahān abhūt
kalpo yatrābhavad brahmā
śabda-brahmeti yaṁ viduḥ

TRANSLATION

In the beginning of the first half of Brahmā’s life, there was a millennium called Brāhma-kalpa, wherein Lord Brahmā appeared. The birth of the Vedas was simultaneous with Brahmā’s birth.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to Padma Purāṇa (Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa), in thirty days of Brahmā many kalpas take place, such as the Varāha-kalpa and Pitṛ-kalpa. Thirty days make one month of Brahmā, beginning from the full moon to the disappearance of the moon. Twelve such months complete one year, and fifty years complete one parārdha, or one half the duration of the life of Brahmā. The Śveta-varāha appearance of the Lord is the first birthday of Brahmā. The birth date of Brahmā is in the month of March, according to Hindu astronomical calculation. This statement is reproduced from the explanation of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura.

COMMENT

The Lord Brahma is the first created being of the material universe. And he is also the first spiritual master of the discipline of succession. The first verse of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states, tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye, that the Lord imparted the Vedic knowledge within the heart of Brahma. It is also explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā that the sound of the Lord’s flute song entered the ear of Brahma. The same sound came out from the mouth of Brahma as the Gayatri mantra. Thus Brahma was initiated as the first brahman by the Lord Himself.

So here, it is mentioned that simultaneous with the birth of Brahma was the birth of the Vedas. Śabda-Brahma, means Vedic sounds. Because the Vedic sound is on the same level as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And on the absolute platform, there is no difference between the Vedic sounds and the Lord Himself. Therefore, Lord states, nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe, that “I am not present in the Vaikuntha planets not I am present in the heart of the yogi but I am present wherever my devotees are chanting my glories.” Because on the absolute platform there is no difference between topics of the Lord, the instructions of the Lord, transcendental pastime of the Lord, and qualities of the Lord. So when we discuss Krishna, Krishna is actually present. So the Vedas are called Śabda-Brahma. Brahma means Brahman or the Absolute Truth. And Śabda means sound. So Śabda-Brahma means the absolute truth in the form of transcendental sound or in the form of the Vedic sounds. So, from the very beginning of the universe, we find that the Vedic sounds existed. Because the Lord is the original father of every living entity, so He is responsible for and concerned about the welfare of His children. And that is why he gives the Vedic sounds for the benefit of the conditioned souls so that the conditioned souls can realize their eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord.

The Vedānta-sūtra says, Shastravedica, that the absolute truth can be realized through the Vedic sounds. Because the Lord is transcendental, He is beyond the reach of our senses. We cannot approach the Lord through sensual perception or mental speculation. But we can understand the Lord through Vedic sound and thus our eternal relationship with the Lord becomes awakened. Just like a man is sleeping, he forgets everything about his real life, and he dreams so many things in his dreaming condition. But when the sound of the bell enters his ears, he awakens from his previous condition and he immediately remembers his real life.

In the same way, we are all sleeping under the influence of maya. We are dreaming, thinking, this is my body, this is my wife, this is my house, this is my family, this is my car. We have to wake up from this dream. And so we have to wake up from this dream. And the Vedic mantras can awaken us. And then when we awaken to our eternal life, then we all remember our relationship with Krishna. So, because we have eternal relationships with Krishna, Krishna wants that we should awaken from our dreaming condition and come back. So therefore, He imparts the Vedic knowledge in the heart of Brahma and initiates Brahma as the first twice-born so that Lord Brahma can disseminate the Vedic knowledge within the whole universe. And He also simultaneously gives the Vedic sounds. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna, imaṁ vivasvate yoga proktavān aham avyayam, that many millions of years before, He spoke the same knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god, Vivasvan. And Vivasvan accepted the same knowledge from Manu; Manu instructed to Ikṣvāku. And in this way the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā was passed down so that kings of all planets could receive this knowledge and educate the inhabitants about yoga. Yoga means the linking of the individual soul with the supreme soul for the reestablishment of this eternal relationship. So, human being not supposed to live like an animal simply eating and sleeping, producing children and defending themselves. They are meant to perform divine austerity to purify their existence and realize God.

In the beginning when Brahma appeared on the lotus flower, he did not know how to proceed. He did not know even who he was or where he had come from. So he wanted to trace out the origin of himself. And because the universe was vacant, only Lord Brahma existed on the top of the lotus flower. So, he began to look in all directions but not finding anything, he began to climb down from the lotus flower to find his own origin. So when he was trying to search like that, he heard the. . . transcendental vibration of two syllables, ta-pa, which means tapasya or austerity. So from the very beginning of life within the universe. Lord Brahma did perform tapasya, he meditated upon the Lord, and ultimately, he realized Krishna. His vision of Krishna and the spiritual world are described in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Therefore, through the disciplic succession of Lord Brahma, we are also connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We follow the instructions of the Lord coming through disciplic succession and perform tapasya, we can also realize God by following in the footsteps of Lord Brahma and his disciplic session.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:17:45]

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada explains that the realization of God is like rising of the sun. Even before the sun disc becomes visible over the horizon, things gradually become light up more and more. Practically, the whole sky and the earth have already been illuminated before the solar disc appears. But at a certain point the sun is when it really rises above the horizon, one can see the sun directly. Same way, by practicing the Krishna consciousness, gradually things are seen more and more illuminated. And then at the mature stage of chanting the holy name, one actually sees the Lord face to face. Similarly, when one is sleeping, he is dreaming so many things. When one actually wakes up, he remembers that, oh, so-and-so is my wife, so and so is my job, so and so is my boss. He remembers all the things of his daily life, which he forgot while he was sleeping. So in the same way, when we fully awaken in Krishna consciousness, we remember everything about our family relationship with Krishna and our eternal life in the spiritual world. Then there is practically no possibility that this person will fall again.

There are different states in the practice of bhakti. adau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo. First one has to have some preliminary faith in bhakti. First one has to have a preliminary faith in bhakti and one associates with devotees. Then by associating with devotees one’s faith increases. Then to bhajana-kriyā. Then one surrenders to the spiritual master, takes initiation and begins the systematic practice of devotional service. Then anartha-nivṛtti comes. That means all of the anarthas or unwanted dirty things within the heart become vanquished. So, even though we begin the regular practice of devotional service, we still have so many anarthas in the heart. So, as long as the anarthas are there, we have to struggle. And when the anarthas are vanquished, then, one comes to the stage of niṣṭhā, which means that one is very fixed and steady. So when a person is fixed, it is very difficult for him to fall down. But when one is battling with the anarthas, there is a possibility that one is not careful, anarthas becomes more prominent. This same principle is explained by Lord Chaitanya.

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva

guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

That the living being is wandering through all material universes in so many different species of life but when he is actually fortunate, he gets the seed of devotional service by the mercy of guru and Krishna. Then he has to water the seed by the process of chanting and hearing. But apart from the devotional creeper, there may be other seeds of unwanted creepers. And while watering the devotional creeper, one may also simultaneously be watering the unwanted plants, which are compared to weeds. So therefore, the devotee who is watering the creepers should be careful about the weeds, to distinguish the weeds from the original creeper and to pull out the weeds. Now, if we are not careful to distinguish between the devotional creeper and the weeds, then we may be watering the weeds at the same time. And the weeds will weaken the devotional creeper. Sometimes they can actually overcome and choke the devotional creeper. Therefore, we always have to check to see if any weeds are sprouting. Then Lord Chaitanya says that we also have to careful about wild elephant. Because even if we cultivate the devotional creeper very nicely, but if a wild elephant comes, in one moment, he can destroy all of the progress. Wild elephant is compared to the committing the offenses, especially vaiṣṇava-aparādha or guru-aparādha. Committing the offenses against Vaishnava or the spiritual master, can uproot the whole progress of years and years.

Therefore, Lord Chaitanya says that we must keep fencing around the devotional creeper so that the maddened elephant offenses cannot enter. So what is the fencing? The fencing is the circle of pure devotees. We have to keep ourselves surrounded by pure devotees. Because man is a social animal and if he does not associate himself with devotees, or pure devotees, he will associate himself with non-devotees or mixed devotees. And by associating with non-devotees, one becomes offensive to pure devotees. And by such association, one falls down due to committing offenses.

So therefore, we have to engage in devotional service and chant Hare Krishna, but at the same time we have to vanquish our anarthas or uproot the weeds that can strangle the creeper. Then one becomes steady. And one develops a taste for chanting and hearing. And one begins to feel ecstasy. And then when the ecstasy matures to the stage of pure love of God, one can see God face to face. So generally, when one comes to the stage of niṣṭhā, he becomes fixed and as he advances, he cannot fall down. And when one comes to the stage of prema, there is no chance of falling down. Even we may be beginners, but if we follow the process carefully, then also we won’t fall down. Because the process is meant to take us step by step to the goal. So we have to be careful, not to commit offenses. Just like we recite the list of the offenses. So the first offense is sādhu-nindā, blaspheming devotees. So we should be careful not to criticize devotees. We have to be careful not to criticize the devotees. By engaging in devotional service, one gradually develops all good qualities. But if a person has the main qualification, which is to be a devotee, he must not be criticized even if he does not have all the divine qualities. There are five main items in devotional service—To chant the holy name of the Lord, to discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, to worship the deity, to associate with devotees, and to live in the temple or holy place.

So if one has these five qualifications, he is to be considered a devotee. Even if we see other types of faults, should not blaspheme the devotee. accept that vote. And if we criticize or defame then our devotional progress is interrupted. And then another offense is guror avajñā: to disobey the order of the spiritual master, or to envy the spiritual master, or to consider him to be ordinary, and therefore to disobey his orders. So, this is another offense. So we must be aware of the offenses and avoid them. And so we can make progress and avoid falling down.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:35:50]

Giriraj Swami: The cause of offenses is said to be associating with non-devotees or mixed devotees. Therefore, Lord Chaitanya advises us not to associate ourselves with worldly people, asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra. The main characteristic of the Vaishnava is that it avoids the association asat, ordinary people; strī-saṅgī’—eka asādhu, ‘ kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra. One type of ordinary person whose association we should avoid is one who is not a devotee of Krishna. And the other type is one who is a devotee but who is attached to women and sense gratification because pure devotional service does not allow sense gratification. . .