SB 5.1.2 – Priyavrata’s Dilemma

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Five, Chapter One: “The Activities of Mahārāja Priyavrata,” Text Two.

TEXT 2

na nūnaṁ mukta-saṅgānāṁ

tādṛśānāṁ dvijarṣabha

gṛheṣv abhiniveśo ‘yaṁ

puṁsāṁ bhavitum arhati

TRANSLATION

Devotees are certainly liberated persons. Therefore, O greatest of the brāhmaṇas, they cannot possibly be absorbed in family affairs.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu it is said that by executing devotional service to the Lord, one can understand the transcendental position of the living being and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be understood by any means except bhakti. The Lord confirms this in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.21). Bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ: “only by executing devotional service can one appreciate Me.” Similarly, in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: “simply by discharging devotional service, one can understand Me.” Thus for a bhakta to become attached to family affairs is impossible, since a bhakta and his associates are liberated. Everyone is searching after ānanda, or bliss, but in the material world there can never be any bliss. It is only possible in devotional service. Attachment for family affairs and devotional service are incompatible. Therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit was somewhat surprised to hear that Mahārāja Priyavrata was simultaneously attached to devotional service and to family life.

COMMENT

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna tells,

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna

That one who understands the transcendental appearance and activities of Lord Krishna is liberated, he does not have to take birth again in the material world, but goes to Krishna. Here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the fact that a bhakta, and only a bhakta can understand Krishna. But the significance of understanding Krishna is that one becomes liberated. So, the question is, how could Maharaja Priyavrata, who is a bhakta and who, as a bhakta, has understood Krishna, and who, as a consequence of understanding Krishna, was certainly liberated, how could he be attached to family affairs? Because the two seem contradictory.

Then, Srila Prabhupada said that one can experience ānanda, or bliss, pure devotional service. Generally, people marry and have children in order to experience happiness. But we don’t have [Unintelligible 00:07:58] experience in Krishna consciousness, not in family life. [Unintelligible 00:08:07] family life without Krishna consciousness. So, again, there seems to be a contradiction. He is a bhakta, and as a bhakta, he was enjoying the transcendental happiness of Krishna consciousness. So, why would he become involved in family life to become happy when he was already, as a bhakta, happy in Krishna consciousness, happier than he could be in family life? So, these contradictory facts struck Maharaja Parīkṣit, and therefore, he asked Śukadeva Gosvami, as his spiritual master, to resolve the contradictions.

Of course, as we will read later, Maharaja Priyavrata did not mean one should enter into family life. He had been instructed by his spiritual master, Narada muni, not to enter into family life. And he himself was very attached to devotional service, and personally, he had no interest in family life. But Priyavrata’s father, Manu, he also wanted to pursue his spiritual life, and he wanted his son, Priyavrata, to take over his duty, so he could be free. But Maharaja Priyavrata did not want to. Eventually, Lord Brahma, who was the original person, father of Manu and grandfather of Priyavrata, He came personally and requested Priyavrata to accept the lordship of the kingdom. And along with the service of being the king, the emperor, came the obligation to marry. Because certain varnas, or occupation duties, are associated with certain ashrams or [Unintelligible 00:11:18]. And to rule a kingdom, one must have a wife, it’s not appropriate to rule a kingdom as a brahmachari.

So, Maharaja Priyavrata was himself in a dilemma, because Narada muni had instructed him not to marry. He had devoted himself completely to devotional service. And Lord Brahma instructed him to marry, and both were authorities, and Priyavrata could not properly disobey either of the authorities. So, he was in a dilemma. And Srila Prabhupada explained in the purport that the disciple should be intelligent enough to adjust apparently contradictory instructions from two authorities, spiritual master and a grand spiritual master.

So, of course, that’s sort of another topic, but it really answers the question and solves the mystery, and that is that Priyavrata did already accept the order of Lord Brahma to marry and rule the kingdom, so that he could enter the next stage of vanaprastha varna and concentrate on his Krishna consciousness. But at the same time, Priyavrata did not neglect the order of his spiritual master, Narada, because he accepted the position of a king, and husband, and father, in the mood of service, not in the mood of enjoyment.

So, this is the real position of a devotee. Whatever condition a devotee is in, he accepts the position in the mood of detachment. He doesn’t use his position for personal enjoyment, but he uses the position in service to Krishna. Now, ordinarily, people are involved in bhoga and tyāga. Bhoga means material sense enjoyment, and tyāga means renunciation. And Srila Prabhupada related an interesting story where he asked a question to his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Srila Prabhupada often said that he did not have much personal association with his spiritual master, but that he followed the instructions of his spiritual master to maintain the connection. So, here, Srila Prabhupada gives a little glimpse into his personal relationship with his spiritual master.

So, he approached Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and he said that “Rupa Gosvami gave up everything for the service of Lord Chaitanya. And therefore, he seems to be in the position of tyāga. And Ramananda Raya, he lived as a householder and as a governor amidst much material opulence, and he seems to be in the position of bhoga. Yet, Lord Chaitanya accepted them both equally. They were devotees of Lord Chaitanya, and Lord Chaitanya accepted them both equally. So, what is the position of bhoga and tyāga?

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura described, with the word ratraposhika. Rastraposhika refers to a woman whose husband is away. The Sanskrit term has appeared in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. But it applies, of course in the transcendental realm, but it also applies even in the ordinary world, within Vedic culture. That when a woman’s husband is away, when he’s traveling in some distant land, she will dress herself very plainly, she will lie down and sleep on the floor, she will eat very meagerly. And when people see her, they will know, “Oh, her husband is away.” And the same woman, when the husband returns, she will bathe, she will apply oils to her body, she will dress very nicely, and she will be very cheerful and lively. So, externally, the two conditions appear very different. But internally, the central point is all the same, it’s the husband. So, keeping the husband at the center when the husband is away, she lives in a very renounced way, in a very austere way. And when the husband is home, she decorates herself and appears to be in the mood of enjoying. But, in both cases, the central point is the pleasure of the husband.

So, in the same way, Rupa Gosvami gave up everything for the service of the Lord, but the central point was the service of the Lord. Similarly, Ramananda Raya accepted great material opulence, but also in the mood of service to the Lord. And therefore, devotees are not interested either in bhoga or in tyāga, but they are only interested in Krishna’s service.

So, Maharaja Priyavrata was the same. Although personally, he was ready to rule the kingdom and devote himself exclusively to Krishna consciousness, but when the order of the superior came, as a matter of duty, he accepted the condition of a king. But he never forgot his position of Krishna consciousness, and in the end, he did come to the position of vanaprastha, where he did leave the kingdom and get on to devote himself exclusively in Krishna consciousness. I have seen in my own experience that there are rare souls who are like that.

There was one very nice devotee in Karachi, Pakistan, named Anup Bhattacharya. He said he was the only Bengali brahman who remained in West Pakistan. Originally, it was just one part, but then, East Pakistan sort of declared itself to be independent of West Pakistan and became Bangladesh. So, he was the only one to stay in West Pakistan. And he was a great devotee. When he was little, growing up in East Pakistan—now Bengal, East Bengal—he used to play in a temple of Mahaprabhu as a child. He didn’t know who is Mahaprabhu, but he used to spend time and play in the temple. And only so many years later, when he met the devotees in Karachi and bought Srila Prabhupada’s books, immediately bought all the books, full set of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, full set of Caitanya-caritāmṛta that he really understood who is Mahaprabhu. And he was very pure and very sincere.

He had a good position as a manager of an import-export company, and he helped us a lot. We didn’t have many friends. Anyway, that’s another story. So, he was so enthusiastic for Krishna consciousness and he so much relished the association of devotees, that Amogh Lila Prabhu invited him to move into our ashram. And I was there for some of the time. Maybe we were a little naive about grihastha ashram at that time, and because we were naïve, we advised him that he should move in with us, and he did, and he was so happy. He would get up and he would sing prayers and chant. And he would cook, he loved to cook for us, he made this preparation called ‘labra’ mentioned in Caitanya-caritāmṛta; very simple preparations with five or seven different types of vegetables. And he was enjoying chanting, hearing, discussing, and even cooking prasāda, and we were having a good time together.

But every now and then, there would be a knock on the door, and it would be his wife asking him to come back and saying how she was suffering, how the children were too. Of course, he was supporting them financially, because he had a job. And she would cry, many dramatic scenes, but we sort of said, “Oh, that’s just maya.” [laughter] But eventually, it sort of got through to us, that, “This is not right.” As much as he was enjoying his stay with us, and we were enjoying having him with us, it wasn’t right. It wasn’t right that she was in distress, the children were suffering. So, in the end, we said, “Actually, you should go back. You will still be Krishna conscious and will be able to chant, but you should go back.” And immediately, he went back. There was no attachment or aversion. When the people he accepted as his authorities told him to move into the ashram, he did it, he thought that was the right thing to do for Krishna consciousness. And when the same authorities told him he should go back with his family, he did it, because he was convinced that was the best thing for his Krishna consciousness.

Eventually, the situation passed and he moved to India, to Pune. And in the meantime, I was unable to go back to India because I had visa problems, and as a consequence, I had spent a lot of time in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Mauritius, South Africa. So, when he moved to India, I sort of lost touch with him because I couldn’t visit India. And fortunately, he came in touch with His Holiness Radhanath Swami and his devotees from Chowpatty, and he took initiation from Radhanath Swami. And so, when I returned to India, I met him after some years, and he was living with his family in Pune, very devotional, like he always was. And eventually, his wife, who [Unintelligible 00:28:34] and eventually, she became a devotee. Because of his patience and care and Krishna consciousness, she became a devotee, she would chant  sixteen rounds, follow the regulative principles. And eventually, she got cancer and she died. And by then, his children were grown up, and as soon as she left her body, he moved into the Chowpatty temple, and he was a real vanaprastha.

He never took sannyasa, he never asked for it, but he was living as a real vanaprastha, being in the same mood of service to the devotees, he would love to cook for them, cook for Maharaja. When I was visiting, he would cook for me and Maharaja. He was always the first one up in the morning. And they do get up early, but he’d be the first one up and clean the floor of the temple room and chant his rounds before maṅgala-ārati. He just was very Krishna conscious. And again, he also left in a very glorious way. And I was thinking about him, he was a real example, he was detached in both situations. He was very happy in the ashram when we first asked him to join us, and he was back to his family when they asked him. And he was very beautiful. When one’s passing is very beautiful, he wasn't in the mood that, Oh, he would like to be in the temple. He was very beautiful and very kind and caring to his family, and the same with Krishna consciousness.

And then, later on, when the situation became favorable, he was able to again move into the temple, but then he did it fully, discharged his duties of grihastha ashram, even to the point of making his wife a devotee. And his children also, they weren’t devotees, but certainly, very favorable to Krishna consciousness. And then, when he moved into the temple, he did so with a clear conscience, and everyone understood [Unintelligible 00:31:33] a very wonderful example.

So, yes, we have the philosophy and the examples of great souls from the Bhāgavatam, but it’s not that the application of the philosophy, that we should, people like us, people who know, who aspire to become, it is possible, and that devotee who’s later initiated ,as Abhirama Thakura, is good example. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:32:42]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that’s true.

Devotee: He was very detached, because he didn’t have to accept the curse. [Unintelligible 00:33:18], he could have avoided that.

Giriraj Swami: A very good point of Chaitanya Chandra Prabhu, and that is that Maharaja Parīkṣit was also special like Maharaja Priyavrata, because from within the womb, he was protected by Lord Krishna. And from then on, he was always looking for that person who had protected him [Unintelligible 00:33:49] Krishna. And as a child, he would play with Deities. From the beginning, he was Krishna conscious. But again, for the sake of service, as a matter of duty, he accepted the position of king. But he wasn’t detached, and therefore, when he was cursed by the young Brahmin boy, although he could have counteracted the curse, he chose not to. He took it as Krishna’s mercy so that he could move on to the next position [Unintelligible 00:34:31]. Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, [Unintelligible 00:34:39], he was supposed to be acting in the mood of service, but also seeing that his relationship was [Unintelligible 00:34:53].

Giriraj Swami: This is also a good point, that if one is too detached in a relationship in grihastha ashram except for the mood of service and duty, then the relationship will be sort of superficial, and therefore, it might not work. Well, that is a good point, and it touched on the subtlety that I didn’t today, but I brought up many times.

When Maharaja Priyavrata did accept the position of a king and husband, he pretty much identified with the role, and  it's described he and his wife enjoyed too much of happiness together, and that in a way, he forgot his earlier determination in Krishna consciousness. And later on, it came back to him. [Unintelligible 00:37:13, but in the end, it came back to him and he started to defend himself, “Oh, I am a servant, I am an ordinary person, and [Unintelligible 00:37:28 my original position of Krishna consciousness.” So, there’s truth in what you said. Once, a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada about Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who had so many children, and Srila Prabhupada responded, “When it was me, Krishna sort of infused Bhaktivinoda Thakura with the mode of passion one day with me. And when the need was fulfilled Krishna sort of withdrew the mode of passion. So, you’re right, you’re right. Your life can’t be just a clinical thing, without any emotions.

I just have one more point to this, and that is, the idea is that the devotee is a devotee but at the same time, he’s a human. And here, there was a newspaper publisher in Mauritius. He asked Srila Prabhupada in a sort of hateful mood towards Arjuna, that Arjuna had heard the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā, and he even told Krishna that he understood what Krishna had taught him. But still, when he received the news that his son was killed, he was overwhelmed with grief and he was ready to enter into fire. So, the editor, Mr. Rama Lala, was saying, [Unintelligible 00:39:59] directly from Krishna, he told Krishna, “I have understood what you have said.” But in the end, when he heard that his son had been killed, he became overwhelmed with grief. And Srila Prabhupada replied that yes, the Bhagavad-gītā says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, that when the body dies, the soul does not die.

What Srila Prabhupada tells, yes, we all know that. In theory, we all know that. But when we lose a loved one, we cry. And he said, “That’s natural.” He said, “Everyone does that.” But he said, “Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna to convince him to fight. And even though he lamented for the loss of his children, which Srila Prabhupada said was natural, but in the end, he didn’t give up his duty, he still fought. And therefore, he was a success, he did follow the instructions of Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā. So, there, Srila Prabhupada sort of gives a hint, that, yes, as a devotee, he has surrendered to the order of Krishna, and in the end, he fought. But as a human being, he has the same emotions as human beings have when family members or other loved ones die. But Srila Prabhupada didn’t consider those human emotions to affect Arjuna’s position as a pure devotee, because in the end, Arjuna did follow the order of Krishna, it’s not that he gave up his duty because of his emotional setbacks.

Devotee: Concerning the whole interaction of a devotee with the ordinary material world, sometimes [Unintelligible 00:42:59] questions about social issues and [Unintelligible 00:43:04]. First of both questions, why are you so concerned about who [Unintelligible 00:43:43] hint about society unless you give such a narrow interpretation to sin and morality.

Giriraj Swami: Well, that’s a good question. There are two parts of the question. One is, “Why do we give so much emphasis to the regulated principles when there are people doing much worse to the world and to the environment?” And the second is, as you presented it, “Why do we give such a narrow definition to sin?”

Well, to explain the second point, we actually don’t give such a narrow definition. We do consider it sinful to cut trees for sense gratification. Yes, we use paper to publish books about Krishna consciousness, and that’s the only justification given for cutting trees, and that is used in relation to devotional service. But otherwise, cutting trees is sinful, it’s killing trees. But these are the pillars of sinful life, they are not the only sinful, they are the pillars; they are the base of sinful life.

Now, as far as why we give so much emphasis to them, of course, our main emphasis is on chanting. We give much more emphasis to chanting than the regulative principles. But for the chanting to have full effect, one should also follow the regulative principles. Now, it’s a personal question, “What does this have to do with the world? How can this help the world?” Well, it will help the world, because why would people do all those things? Why do they exploit material nature? Why are they ruining the planet so they can exploit the material nature? For sense gratification. They want to make money for sense gratification. Or to reduce it to an even more sinful principle, they do it because their minds are polluted.

So, the chanting, especially accompanied by following the regulative principles, purifies the mind, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. And when the mind is purified, then they won’t exploit other people, they won’t exploit the animals, they won’t exploit the environment for their uncontrolled desires for material sense gratification. And that’s what Prabhupada always says, that we don’t make a point of preaching non-violence so that we can. . . But if someone becomes a devotee, he or she will automatically become vegetarian.

So, that’s the idea, that you can tell them it’s bad to destroy forests, or it’s bad to pollute the waters, or all the horrible things they are doing for their sense gratification, but just telling them that won’t change them because their consciousness is contaminated, they’re full of lust and greed. But if their consciousness is purified by chanting, and especially chanting in the context of following the regulative principles, then the result will be they won’t do that, they won’t be completely motivated by lust and greed. But when their consciousness is purified, then their actions will be more purified. The horrors in the world are just a manifestation of the horrors in people’s consciousness. If their consciousness becomes rectified by Krishna consciousness, then their behavior will be rectified automatically.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:49:12] desire for sense gratification, that they exploit the material world, and this is what causes the chronic reaction. And when the people desire to exploit, they act in some way to exploit another person. A Vaishnava culture teaches people how to respect every living entity, how to respect [Unintelligible 00:50:00]. The whole process of Krishna consciousness, of the Bhāgavatam is to understand things in a different way, and it gives people an alternate way of thinking. So, when we become purified, we have a whole combination of the philosophy, of respect in the Vaishnava culture in the Bhāgavatam, and then we provide people the alternative to think [Unintelligible 00:50:37].

Giriraj Swami: Actually, I did think of something else [Unintelligible 00:50:47] question, but again, once, His Holiness Radhanath Swami ended up on a flight [Unintelligible 00:50:59] next to Menaka Gandhi—Menaka Gandhi was  the widow of Sanjay Gandhi—and she became sort of an activist herself. And she was really into the environment, and she asked similar questions to Radhanath Swami, “You’re getting people to chant and so on, but what are you doing for the world? What are you doing for the environment?” And Maharaja gave the same type of answer, that when people’s consciousness is purified, then their behavior will be better. As long as their consciousness is polluted, they will continue to pollute the environment. And she liked the answer, she was very satisfied. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Nitai Gaura premānande Haribol!

Devotee: Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Srila Gurudeva ki jaya!