SB 10.14.57–58 – The Lord Honors the Word of the Devotee

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Yesterday, we read Text Fifty-Six. There is no purport to Text Fifty-Seven, but we’ll read it and then we’ll proceed to Text Fifty-Eight. I’ll just read it myself.

TEXT 57

sarveṣām api vastūnāṁ

bhāvārtho bhavati sthitaḥ

tasyāpi bhagavān kṛṣṇaḥ

kim atad vastu rūpyatām

TRANSLATION

The original, unmanifested form of material nature is the source of all material things, and the source of even that subtle material nature is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. What, then, could one ascertain to be separate from Him?

COMMENT

So, the unmanifested material nature, pradhāna, is the source of everything in the material world, and Krishna Himself is the source of the unmanifested material nature. Therefore, anything attractive in the material world is ultimately coming from Krishna, Krishna is the source of all attractiveness, and He is all-attractive, and therefore, our ultimate attraction and love and devotion should be to Him.

TEXT 58

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

TRANSLATION

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.

PURPORT BY Srila Prabhupada

This translation is taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Two, Text 51.

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, this verse summarizes the knowledge presented in this section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are described as pallava, flower buds, because they are most tender and of a pinkish hue. According to Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, the word pallava also indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are just like desire trees, which can fulfill all the desires of the Lord’s pure devotees. Even exalted devotees like Śrī Nārada, who are themselves the great shelter for the conditioned souls in this universe, personally take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thus it is natural that when Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested Himself as all the young boys and calves of Vṛndāvana, their parents were more attracted to them than previously. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure and, being all-attractive, the ultimate object of everyone’s love.

COMMENT

So, we find in many places bhavāmbudhir, that the material world is compared to an ocean, and within that ocean are many islands, or dvīpas. In terms of the universe, the universe itself is like an ocean, and within that ocean are many islands, or dvīpas, or planets floating in the ocean of space. And there are many verses in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that give us indications of how to cross the ocean of birth and death, and what we just read is one of them, a very beautiful one. There is another one earlier in the Tenth Canto, Chapter Two, in which the demigods pray to Lord Krishna within the womb of Devaki. They pray, “O Lord who are like the rising sun, You are very merciful to Your devotees, and great acharyas who take shelter of the boat of Your lotus feet in order to cross the fierce ocean of birth and death, although they cross the ocean by taking shelter of the boat of Your lotus feet, they also leave the boat on our side of the ocean so others can also take shelter of the same method to cross. And because You are merciful to Your devotees, You accept that method.”

And Srila Prabhupada explains that the acharyas give us the method for crossing the ocean of birth and death, and they write books, which give us direction. And because the Lord is favorable to His devotees, as we discussed, the Lord’s mercy follows the devotee’s mercy because of His affection for His devotees, the Lord accepts the method that they prescribe and helps their followers to cross the ocean, He accepts their service and enables them to cross the ocean. And Srila Prabhupada further explains that in the Krishna consciousness movement, he has prescribed that the devotees chant sixteen rounds daily and follow the four regulated principles, and that these instructions are bona fide. And because Krishna is favorably inclined to His devotees, He helps the followers of His devotees and accepts their service.

When I first joined, I heard something that surprised me. Srila Prabhupada gave the example of a representative of a company who on behalf of the company enters a deal with a party, and when he returns to the head office and informs the proprietor, the proprietor is not actually happy with the deal that he made. But because he was representing the company, he was authorized by the company, so the proprietor will honor the agreement. So, Srila Prabhupada said that even if a spiritual master accepts someone who Krishna wouldn’t want to accept, but because the spiritual master is the authorized representative of Krishna, Krishna will honor the agreement. It surprised me because I understood that the spiritual master would do only what Krishna wanted, and certainly, in general terms, that is true, but Krishna is an individual, the spiritual master is also an individual, and the spiritual master or the devotee has the power of attorney from Krishna to decide, to give mercy, to send his mercy. And even if Krishna personally wasn’t so inclined to give mercy to a particular individual, but because the authorized devotee has done so, then Krishna honors that arrangement. But anyway, ultimately, Krishna wants all the fallen souls to come back home, back to Godhead, the devotees are simply working on behalf of Krishna to fulfill His purpose.

Now, on the point of the Lord honoring the word of the devotee, there are several instances in scripture. One famous one is in the Bhagavad-gītā, where Krishna tells Arjuna, “Kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati—My Dear Arjuna, O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee shall never perish.” So, the question is raised, why did Krishna tell Arjuna to make the declaration? Why did He not make the declaration Himself? And the answer is that because of Krishna’s affection for His devotees, He may sometimes break His own promise in order to fulfill the devotee’s promise. So, if Krishna declares, “My devotee will never perish,” someone could question, “Well, sometimes Krishna Himself breaks His promises, so how do we know that this is not such a case?” But it is also known that Krishna will never allow His devotee’s word to be broken, and therefore, if a devotee, in this case Arjuna, makes a declaration or promise or commitment, then the Lord will uphold it.

One example of the Lord’s breaking His own promise to uphold the word of a devotee took place in the battle of Kurukshetra when Duryodhana challenged Bhīṣma Pitamah, “Because of your soft spot for the Pandavas, you are not fighting to your full capacity,” which was a challenge, in a way, it was a sort of insult to grandfather Bhīṣma. And as a kshatriya, he accepted the challenge, and he said, “In tomorrow’s fighting, I will fight so fiercely that either I will kill Krishna’s friend Arjuna, or Krishna will be forced to break His word not to take up arms and fight in the battle.” And so it happened, the next day, Bhīṣmadeva did fight extremely ferociously and Arjuna was indeed in difficulty. And so, Krishna descended from the chariot and picked up a part of a broken chariot wheel as a weapon and rushed towards grandfather Bhīṣma as if to attack him. So, this is an example of Krishna breaking His own word not to take up arms and fight in the battle for the sake of upholding His devotee’s words, Bhīṣma’s words, that he would either kill Arjuna or force Krishna to break His promise.

Another example took place when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu decided to leave Jagannatha Puri to go to Vrindavan. So, of course, all the devotees were so attached to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they didn’t want Him to leave, but when finally, He showed His determination to leave, they followed Him, they went with Him. One of the devotees was Gadadhara Pandita who had taken a vow of kṣetra-sannyāsa, that means he had taken a vow never to leave Jagannatha Puri, or never to spend the night outside Jagannatha Puri. And Gadadhara Pandita was also serving the Deity of Tota-gopinatha. So, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw that Gadadhara Pandita was following Him, He told him, “You should go back.” Of course, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was as attached to Gadadhara Pandita’s association as Gadadhara Pandita was to His, but He said still, “You should go back because you have taken a vow of kṣetra-sannyāsa, and you should not break your vow. And you are also responsible for the service of Tota-gopinatha, and if you don’t return to do your service, then people will blame you.”

And Gadadhara Pandita replied, “You are the holiest of all holy places, You make the holy places holy. So, being with You is being in the best holy place. And by serving You, I’m serving Gopinatha.” But then, Mahaprabhu said, “If you follow Me, then people will blame Me for your breaking your vow and abandoning your service.” So, Gadadhara Pandita said, “Then I won’t accompany You directly, I’ll follow behind, and that way, no one can blame You for allowing me to come with You.” So, he followed behind. But then, after some time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stopped again and He took Gadadhara Pandita by the hand and implored him, “If you really want to please Me, you must go back.” And it was a very emotional, tear-filled separation, and Gadadhara Pandita agreed to go back accompanied by Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was also there. And on the way back, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya tried to console Gadadhara Pandita by saying that again, “It is the nature of Krishna that He always wants to uphold the word of His devotee, He does not want the word of His devotee to be in vain. And therefore, tolerating your separation, He has asked you to return.” And he cited the same example of Krishna and Bhīṣma.

So, Srila Prabhupada, on behalf of Krishna and the previous acharyas, has given us his word that if we chant sixteen rounds daily, follow the regulated principles, and do our best to spread Krishna consciousness, we will go back home, back to Godhead. And because Krishna accepts the method left by the previous acharyas or because Krishna upholds the word of His devotee, we can have confidence in Srila Prabhupada’s promise. And we should follow the very simple instructions. Well, simple for the simple, difficult for the crooked, as Srila Prabhupada said, but otherwise, no very severe austerity or you don’t require any word jugglery or gymnastic feats or anything, just chant Hare Krishna, follow the regulated principles, and work cooperatively to spread Krishna consciousness.

Now, the lotus feet are called mahat-padaṁ. Padam means shelter, one of the meanings is shelter, and mahat is the material creation, mahat-tattva. So, He is the shelter of the whole material creation. So, certainly, He can give us shelter. And mahat also means great souls, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ, by serving mahats, great souls, mahatmas, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ, the gate to liberation opens. So, if we take shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna by taking shelter of the great souls who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna, we can easily cross the ocean of nescience. In simple language, the principle is enunciated in the Bhagavad-gītā, daivī hyeṣhā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, the material nature consisting of the three modes is very difficult to overcome, but one who surrenders to Krishna can easily overcome it. And that vast ocean shrinks and becomes just like a puddle contained in the hoofprint of a calf. Although there is danger at every step, the devotee just crosses over.

But yeah, and it’s a matter of Krishna consciousness. This verse is the conclusion of the whole discussion because if one is attracted to Krishna, he will take full shelter of Krishna and he will lose his attraction for other things and give up the false shelter of other things. So, one who does that, easily crosses over. But if we maintain material attachments and false hopes for material happiness or shelter in the material world, then that vast ocean, depending on our consciousness, it will shrink a little but maybe not that much. But when we really give up our false attachments and false hopes, then it becomes like a puddle. You just step over it, you don’t think about it, you are just being carried by the lotus feet of Krishna.

This verse is so beautiful and poetic, and the meaning is so encouraging. In the old Boston temple, when I joined, the devotees would sing this verse every morning as part of the morning program. And there is a little book that the devotees brought out in 1970 called Handbook of Krishna Consciousness, and we didn’t know so many songs and prayers back then, but that verse was in there as a favorite of Srila Prabhupada’s. So, I will attempt to sing it in the tune that we used to use in the old Boston temple.

TEXT 58

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

COMMENT

Very nice. So, any questions or comments? Ravi?

Devotee: I was going to ask why if we know that Krishna loves every soul and that the acharyas wanted everybody to go back to Krishna, why didn’t they make it simple? If you say Krishna’s name or smell the prasādam. Even in the shastras, if you say Krishna’s name once or even if you separate them with different syllables between “Krish” and “na,” it still counts as saying the name Krishna. And I’m sure there are other similar things about prasādam. So, given that they are in shastra and part of the devotional literature, so I have the feeling that those are sort of ironclad guarantees?

Giriraj Swami: We’ve discussed this, that yes, by chanting the holy name of Krishna one can destroy the reactions to more sins than one is able to commit. But it depends on the quality of the utterance. If one chants without offense, crying out to the Lord in a mood of helplessness, then it has that effect. But if one is materially satisfied and interested in improving one’s material condition, then one cannot chant with such feeling, and then one will not get the result.

But there is a difference between being liberated, being free from sinful reactions, and developing love for Krishna. Ajamila chanted the holy name of Narayana at the time of death without offense, completely helplessly, without any offense. And so, he was freed from his sinful reactions and he was liberated, in a sense he was liberated from material desires and attachments. But he still didn’t have love of Godhead. So, because he chanted the holy name of Narayana at the time of death and without offense, he was freed from the sinful reactions that the Vishnudutas were taking him for punishment. And because he was liberated from material attachments, he was able to leave not only his wife but his son Narayana to whom he was so attached, and go to Haridwar and perform sadhana, and progress from chanting in nāma-ābhāsa to śuddha-nāma, and develop love of God. And then the same Vishnudutas [who had come earlier], they came to take him back to Godhead. So, being liberated, being free from sinful reactions, it’s not the same as developing love for Krishna.

Another answer is that if someone is already somewhat advanced in Krishna consciousness, even a relatively small activity in Krishna consciousness can awaken ecstatic love. There are so many examples. And so, then the explanation is given that if someone’s already sufficiently advanced and then he sees the Deity, or bows down in front of the Deity, or chants the holy name, or whatever it is, he can experience the results mentioned in the scriptures. And Srila Prabhupada says it’s true, but it’s not necessarily true in all cases, it depends on the person’s readiness or openness. But it all adds up, I mean, it all counts, it all adds up. But the main reason that we don’t experience the full benefit as quickly as we would like is because of offenses.

Srila Rupa Gosvami says that these five most potent forms of devotional service; sadhu-saṅga, associating with advanced devotees, nāma-kīrtana, chanting the holy name, bhāgavata-śravaṇa, hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, śrī-mūrtira śraddhāya sevana, serving the deity with faith and veneration, and mathurā-vāsa, living in Mathura, Vrindavan, Navadvipa, Mayapur, that those processes have so much potency that even by a slight association with any one of them, one can awaken ecstatic love for Krishna, provided one engages without offense. And there is a story that Ramanujacharya was eating by the side of a pond, and as he was eating, he was throwing his remnants into the pond and the fish were eating his remnants. And right in plain sight of all the disciples, they could see that the fish were going back to Godhead. So, they said, “Guru Maharaja, these fish are eating your remnants once and going back to Godhead. We eat your remnants every day, why aren’t we going back to Godhead?” [laughter] And the great master replied, “Because the fish do not commit offenses.”

Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: My question is when vipadam—the danger comes, then how much shelter we take of Krishna? And how much endeavor we make because sometimes, in following the vows, the danger that comes carries us away from the shelter. . . [Unintelligible 00:48:26].

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Prabhupada said that we have to take normal precautions, or normal measures. For example, if I’m sick, I go to a doctor, I follow the doctor’s order. That’s sort of normal measures. But we should know that ultimately, everything depends on Krishna. And there is a verse in the Bhāgavatam that even if one has a very strong boat, but if one is not cared for and protected by Krishna, he will drown. Even if one has the best doctor and takes the best medicine, but if he is not cared for and protected by Krishna, he will die. And even if a child is being protected by the best parents, but if the child is not cared for and protected by Krishna, then the child can die. So, we should always be conscious that our ultimate shelter is Krishna. We take normal measures, but ultimately, it depends on Krishna. And therefore, in the course of taking normal measures or normal precautions, we should not forget Krishna.

So, if we have exams, we have to prepare, we have to study, we have to go to class, we have to do the work. But ultimately, everything depends on Krishna. But if our goal is to please Krishna, then He will help, and naturally, we’ll be conscious of Him because our goal is to please Him. A lot has to do with our motivation. Why do we want to pass our exam? Why do we want to cure our disease? Is it for my own sense gratification, or is it really for Krishna’s pleasure?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:52:05].

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that’s a very good insight. The biggest danger is to forget Krishna. So, we take shelter of Krishna and give up the false shelters of the material world, then we will not forget Krishna.

Devotee: Giriraj Swami, thank you for all of the wisdom that you’ve shared with us this week. I am deeply humbled by so much growth it has given me, and I am sincerely grateful to you.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Thank you.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, thank you very much. In regards to Krishna always fulfilling desires of His devotees and making sure that the devotees’ words are always carried. Could you recall any other examples of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples approaching Prabhupada, and Prabhupada’s ability to accommodate so many disciples sometimes with really different desires, aspirations?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I’m actually thinking of an example to balance what I said. Because although Krishna is affectionate to His devotees and He will fulfill their desire, but He’ll fulfill their deepest desire. He may not fulfill their immediate desire. And one example is the gopīs. When Krishna left the rāsa dance, they were roaming all over Vrindavan madly searching for Him and calling for Him, but He didn’t reciprocate, immediately, at least. And then later, when finally, he came, the gopīs, in a very tactful way, accused Him of not reciprocating their love for Him. But in the end, He said in fact that, “Your desire is to increase your love for Me. That’s your only desire, to increase your love for Me. And by being away from you, although I was never actually away from you, I was with you all the time, but by separating Myself from you, apparently, your love for Me became more intense. Just like if a poor man after great endeavor gets some wealth and then he loses it, he’ll be thinking about it all the time.” Or say devotees, they are not so conscious and then they suddenly realize, “Where are my chanting beads?” So, they weren’t thinking of their chanting beads very intensely, but when the beads are missing, then they think about them all the time. So, Krishna said that just like when with great difficulty a poor man acquires some wealth and then loses it, he’ll think of the wealth all the time. So, in the same way, Krishna removed Himself from the gopīs to intensify their love for Him, which was their underlying desire.

So, when we were in Gorakhpur with Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada was trying to get some land, and it was taking time, and there was no certainty that we would get the land. And Tamal Krishna Goswami was sort of eager to move on, “We’ve spent enough time here and nothing’s really happening, and we should move on.” And Srila Prabhupada told him, “You have your plan, I have my plan, and Krishna has His plan.” So, it doesn’t mean that because Prabhupada was trying to get some land in Gorakhpur from the university that Krishna will fulfill his desire to get the land. But definitely, because Srila Prabhupada was very sincere in bringing people to Krishna consciousness, Krishna fulfilled that desire to some extent, but maybe not every effort. Then it becomes like Krishna is your order supplier, “I’m a devotee, I want this, Krishna fulfills the desires of His devotees so He should fulfill my desires.” That’s not the mood of the devotee. The mood of the devotee is to fulfill Krishna’s desire and depend on Krishna.

Another thing that Srila Prabhupada said that really struck me when I heard it as a new devotee, he said that at night, the householder prays to Krishna, “Please keep my property safe,” and the thief prays to Krishna, “Please let me enter that home and steal some jewels successfully.” And Prabhupada said, “What is Krishna to do? He is bewildered. One is praying for one thing and the other one is praying for the opposite. So, Krishna becomes perplexed, what to do?” And then Srila Prabhupada said, “So, we should not put Krishna into perplexity by having our own desires, but we should just surrender to Krishna’s desire.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol!