Expressions researched:
"This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun"
|"dharma-jnanadibhih saha"
|"get light from this Purana"
|"it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krsna"
|"kalau nasta-drsam esa"
|"krsne sva-dhamopagate"
|"puranarko 'dhunoditah"
This Bhāgavata Purāṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purāṇa.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has His eternal dhāma, or abode, where He eternally enjoys Himself with His eternal associates and paraphernalia. And His eternal abode is a manifestation of His internal energy, whereas the material world is a manifestation of His external energy. When He descends on the material world, He displays Himself with all paraphernalia in His internal potency, which is called ātma-māyā. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He descends by His own potency (ātma-māyā). His form, name, fame, paraphernalia, abode, etc., are not, therefore, creations of matter. He descends to reclaim the fallen souls and to reestablish codes of religion which are directly enacted by Him. Except for God, no one can establish the principles of religion. Either He or a suitable person empowered by Him can dictate the codes of religion. Real religion means to know God, our relation with Him and our duties in relation with Him and to know ultimately our destination after leaving this material body. The conditioned souls, who are entrapped by the material energy, hardly know all these principles of life. Most of them are like animals engaged in eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. They are mostly engaged in sense enjoyment under the pretension of religiosity, knowledge or salvation. They are still more blind in the present age of quarrel, or Kali-yuga. In the Kali-yuga the population is just a royal edition of the animals. They have nothing to do with spiritual knowledge or godly religious life. They are so blind that they cannot see anything beyond the needs of the body. They have no information of the spirit soul beyond the jurisdiction of the subtle mind, intelligence or ego, but they are very much proud of their advancement in knowledge, science and material prosperity. They can risk their lives to become a dog or hog just after leaving the present body, for they have completely lost sight of the ultimate aim of life. The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared before us just a little prior to the beginning of Kali-yuga, and He returned to His eternal home practically at the commencement of Kali-yuga. While He was present, He exhibited everything by His different activities. He spoke the Bhagavad-gītā specifically and eradicated all pretentious principles of religiosity. And prior to His departure from this material world, He empowered Śrī Vyāsadeva through Nārada to compile the messages of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and thus both the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are like torchbearers for the blind people of this age. In other words, if men in this age of Kali want to see the real light of life, they must take to these two books only, and their aim of life will be fulfilled. Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of the Bhāgavatam. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the summum bonum of life, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa personified. We must therefore accept Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the direct representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. One who can see Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can see also Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in person. They are identical.
The original source of all energies, or the summum bonum, is the Absolute Truth, which is called Parambrahma, etc., and Bhagavān is the last word of the Absolute Truth. But even with the synonyms for Bhagavān, such as Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu and Puruṣa, the last word is Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ samaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8), etc. Besides that, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa as a sound incarnation of the Lord.
Thus by general conclusion Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate source of all energies, and the word Kṛṣṇa means that. And to explain Kṛṣṇa or the science of Kṛṣṇa, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been prepared. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam this truth is indicated in the questions and answers by Sūta Gosvāmī and great sages like Śaunaka, and in the First and Second Chapters of the canto this is explained.
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.23) was a question raised by all the sages, who were headed by Śaunaka. This question put before the great devotee Sūta Gosvāmī is the foremost of the six questions raised. The answer to this important question is given in the next verse, also from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 1.3.43).
"My dear sir, now that the Lord has departed for His own abode, kindly tell us whether the principles of religion have gone with Him. How can we find such principles after His departure?"
The reply was given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.43):
"After Kṛṣṇa departed to His abode with all religious principles, His representation, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Mahā-Purāṇa, remains as the blazing, illuminating sun."
So this verse I am just now quoting is the verse given by Sūta Gosvāmī, the president of the meeting. In that meeting many learned scholars, brāhmaṇas, they assembled to discuss about Kṛṣṇa. The question was that "After departure of Kṛṣṇa from this planet, dharma and jñāna"—dharma means religious principles, and jñāna means knowledge—"these two things, who has taken care of them?" Dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha. Actually, human society should be concerned with two things: dharma and jñāna. Dharma means the characteristic. The meaning of dharma translated in English is not adequate. Dharma means which cannot be given up. The so-called dharma, or religion... Suppose I am Hindu and somebody is Christian. This is called faith. The dictionary meaning is: "Religion is faith." So faith can be changed. "I believe in Christian religion."
The question was that "After the departure of Kṛṣṇa..." Dharmaḥ kam... What is that? Śaraṇaṁ gataḥ? Hmm? Kāṣṭhām... What is this verse? Kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate...
This is the inquiry. The answer is given there, that "Your inquiry..." Kṛṣṇa comes for reestablishing the principles of religion. Religion means the order set by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is religion: "You do like this." Just like king's..., king orders, or the government orders, "Do like this." Do's and does not. Do not's. Do's and do not's. So that is dharma. If you follow the do's and do not's given by Kṛṣṇa, that is religion. You cannot manufacture religion. That is bogus.
Just see the influence of Kali-yuga. The children, they take shelter of the father and mother, thinking very safe. Now, in this Kali-yuga, even there is no safety under the care of father and mother. Just see how this material civilization is progressing. Very, very dangerous. Kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām. Therefore that Bhāgavata verse is there,
Very, very abominable condition in this age of Kali. Very, very. It is the beginning of Kali. Now we have to pass through 427,000's of years. Kali-yuga will make progress in that way. And people are now practicing eating their children, and at the end of Kali there will be no food available. They'll have to eat the children just like the snakes do. The snake eat their own children. There are many animals—they eat their own children.
So therefore there are different kinds of literature because there are different kinds of people. But the ultimate literature is, the substance of all Vedic literature is the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Kṛṣṇe sva-dhāma upagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha. It is..., there is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When Kṛṣṇa was present He personally gave this Bhagavad-gītā and all knowledge. So many people took knowledge. There is another gītā, Uddhava-gītā. That was spoken to Uddhava. That is in Bhāgavata; this is in Mahābhārata, Bhagavad-gītā. So there is a question by the Śaunaka Ṛṣi that, after departure of Kṛṣṇa, wherefrom knowledge should be searched? So they recommended this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Australian devotee 2: ...Śrīla Prabhupāda, they can teach these people how to educate the youngsters. Is this right?
Prabhupāda: Therefore so many books. (break)
Hari-śauri: ...the verse that you have put in the front of the first volume of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate, that the Bhāgavatam can give light even to people in ignorance.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām. Naṣṭa-dṛśām: "They have lost their sight, what is the progress of life. They have lost their sight."
Prabhupāda: Śrīmad bhāgavate kiṁ vā paraiḥ. There is no other literature required. Everything is perfect, word to word. What is that verse? Kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām?
Śāstrījī: Eṣa purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ.
Prabhupāda: Simply that is the only light in this age.
Śāstrījī: Śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ purāṇam amalaṁ yad vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyam.
Prabhupāda: Vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyam. (Bengali) So some professor has... (break) ...with this authorized literature. Somebody has not said?
Harikeśa: Yes.
Bhagavān: Up to chapter nine.
Prabhupāda: Oh, First Canto.
Bhagavān: Half of First Canto.
Prabhupāda: Yes, twenty. Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī...
How many copies you have printed?
Bhagavān: Twenty-five thousand.
Prabhupāda: Already on sales? No.
Bhagavān: No, these are the first few.
Prabhupāda: Oh, accha.
| Page Title: | SB 01.03.43 krsne sva-dhamopagate... cited |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas, JayaNitaiGaura |
| Created: | 13 of Apr, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=2, CC=1, OB=1, Lec=4, Con=3, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 11 |