BY: SUN STAFF
Nov 29, CANADA (SUN) —
Sri Bhakti-sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
Volume Six
Anuccheda 203
1 In the Brahma-vaivarta Purana it is said:
"It is said that there are two kinds of speakers: 1. passionate and 2. dispassionate. Passionate speakers are lusty and greedy. Their words do not touch the heart.
2 "Without careful study to determine the truth, a passionate person gives instruction. Teaching without careful study brings the destruction of the people."
3 The dispassionate speaker is described in the following words:
"One who desires to hear the truth should approach a bona fide spiritual master, whose words are like nectar and who is like an ocean of truth. He should not take into consideration the spiritual master's family, disposition, or performance of Vedic rituals."
4 The spiritual master's eloquences and other virtues are described in these words from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana:
"When hearing the spiritual master's teachings even a person filled with lust, greed, and a host of vices, even a miser, and even a person filled with despair, will enter the eternal spiritual world. A person who can eloquently speak so this is done is the best of spiritual masters."
5 When such a highly qualified spiritual master is not to be found, some people, desiring to hear different views, take shelter of many teachers. This is described in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.31);
6 "Although the Absolute Truth is one without a second, the sages have described Him in many different ways. Therefore one may not be able to acquire very firm or complete knowledge from one spiritual master."***
The meaning of this verse is clear. The verse quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda was spoken by Sri Dattatreya to King Yadu.
Anuccheda 204
1 The path of they who consider love for the Lord most important, a path that begins with hearing, is described in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.26):
"O Vyasadeva, in the association and by the mercy of those great Vedantists, I could hear them describe the attractive activities of Lord Krsna. And thus listening attentively, my taste for hearing of the Personality of Godhead increased at every step."*
2 The activity of hearing performed by they who think knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is most important is described in the four famous verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam. These persons' activity of thinking is described in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.34):
"The great personality Brahma, with great attention and concentration of the mind, studied the Vedas three times, and after scrutinizingly examining them, he ascertained that attraction for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, is the highest perfection of religion."*
3 Faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is created by such study and thinking, is described in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.21.27-30):
"My dear respectable ladies and gentlemen, according to the authoritative statements of sastra, there must be a supreme authority who is able to award the respective benefits of our present activities. Otherwise, why should there be persons who are unusually beautiful and powerful both in this life and in the life after death?*
4-5 "This is confirmed not only by the evidence of the Vedas but also by the personal behaviour of great personalities like Mahu, Uttanapada, Dhruva, Priyavrata and my grandfather Anga, as well as by many other great personalities and ordinary living entities, exemplified by Maharaja Prahlada and Bali, all of whom are theists, believing in the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who carries a club.*
6 "Although abominable persons like my father, Vena, the grandson of death personified, are bewildered on the path of religion, all the great personalities like those mentioned agree that in this world the only bestower of the benedictions of religion, economic development, sense gratification, liberation, or elevation to the heavenly planets is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."***
7 This verse says, "My dear respectable ladies and gentlemen (arha-sattamah), according to the authoritative statements of sastra there must be a supreme authority who is able to award the respective benefits of our present activities (yajna-patih). That is the opinion of the scriptures (kesancit)."
Still fearing that some might foolishly try to dispute this truth and present another, inevitably illogical opinion, the Bhagavatam gives the fact that the living entities are placed by destiny in a variety of situations in this world as evidence of the Supreme Lord's existence. The Bhagavatam explains, "otherwise, why should there be persons who have unusually beautiful or powerful (jyotsnavatyah) bodies (bhuvah) both in this life (iha) and in the life after death (amutra)?" In other words, if there were no Supreme Lord then this would not be so.
8 This is the meaning. The inert and unconscious material nature has no power, by itself, to give to the living entities the results of their actions. This is confirmed in the following words of Vedanta-sutra (3.2.39):
"Because it is logical to assume that there must be a person who awards the results of actions."
9 The many demigods are not independent. That is confirmed by the Antaryami-sruti. They are not as powerful as the Supreme Lord and they are not independent in awarding the various results of actions. Therefore it is the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead alone who gives the results of actions. In the next three verses (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.21.28-30) the opinions of great self-realised souls is given as evidence to confirm the truth of this.
10 Here the words "asmat-pituh pituh" mean "of my grandfather Anga". Because they were learned in the Vedic scriptures, Maharaja Prahlada and Maharaja Bali are also counted here. These great persons all affirm (krtyam asti) that the Supreme Personality of Godhead (gadabhrta) is always present in everyone's heart and outside the heart also. That is the meaning here.
11 Or, the words "krtyam asti" may mean "it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead alone, and not anyone else, who is the supreme controller". Then the atheists are criticised in the words "dauhitradin mrtyor dharma-vimohitan" (abominable persons like my father, Vena, the grandson of death, are bewildered on the path of religion). In this way scripture, logic, and the opinions of the great enlightened souls combine to affirm that Lord Visnu, who is here called by the name Gadabhrt, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lord Gadabhrt is described in the passage beginning with the word "varga". Here "varga" means "the three goals of life", "svarga" (residence in the heavenly planets) is the result of pious deeds, "apavarga" means "liberation", "Aikatmya-hetuna" means "because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone's heart", and "prayena" means "almost always."
12 This is also confirmed by the following statement of Skanda Purana:
"Lord Visnu, the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the giver of liberation. He binds the conditioned souls with the ropes of repeated birth and death and He also frees them from those ropes."
Go to Anuccheda Two Hundred five to six
Return to Anuccheda Two Hundred one to two
