SB 03.25.03 yad yad vidhatte bhagavan... cited

Expressions researched:
"kirtanyany anukirtaya" |"svacchandatmatma-mayaya" |"tani me sraddadhanasya" |"yad yad vidhatte bhagavan"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.25.3, Translation and Purport:

Therefore please precisely describe all the activities and pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is full of self-desire and who assumes all these activities by His internal potency.

Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti, Verse 3

The word anukīrtaya is very significant. Anukīrtaya means to follow the description-not to create a concocted mental description, but to follow. Śaunaka Ṛṣi requested Sūta Gosvāmī to describe what he had actually heard from his spiritual master, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, about the transcendental pastimes the Lord manifested by His internal energy. Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has no material body, but He can assume any kind of body by His supreme will. That is made possible by His internal energy.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:

Nitāi: "Therefore please precisely describe all the activities and pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is full of self-desire and who assumes all these activities by His internal potency."

Prabhupāda:

yad yad vidhatte bhagavān

svacchandātmātma-māyayā

tāni me śraddadhānasya

kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya

(SB 3.25.3)

So the speaker and the audience.

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam

arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ

sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

(SB 7.5.23)

These are the nine different processes of devotional service, devotional life. The beginning is śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. This is the beginning of... śraddadhānasya, and one must be very eager or sincere to hear, śraddadhānasya. Śraddhā. Then it will be successful. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated,

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ

yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ

namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā

nitya-yuktā upāsate

(BG 9.14)

So we have to speak, or chant, about the holy activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is simply by, if we hear... Just like abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane. Śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣit. This Bhāgavata was... (buzzing sound) ...was recited by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and it was heard by Parīkṣit Mahārāja. So although there are nine processes... śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23). You hear about Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu, the same. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of viṣṇu-tattva, and Viṣṇu is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. So when we speak of Viṣṇu, the origin of Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, aham ādir hi devānām: (Bg 10.2) "I am the origin even of the devas. The most important devas are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. Creation, in the beginning of creation, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. From Viṣṇu, Brahmā is born; from Brahmā, Lord Śiva is born. And they take charge of the three modes of material nature. Brahmā... Viṣṇu takes the charge of sattva-guṇa, and the Lord Brahmā takes the charge of rajo-guṇa, and Lord Śiva takes the charge of tamo-guṇa. But in the creation, before the creation, when there was no Brahmā, no Śiva, there was Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). All the devas, demigods, or living entities, they are created after this cosmic manifestation is created. Therefore in the Vedas it is said, "In the beginning there was no Brahmā, no Śiva. Only Nārāyaṇa āsīt." Eko nārāyaṇa āsīt. That Nārāyaṇa is also another plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7).

Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa can expand Himself in many, many forms. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). He's the ādi-puruṣa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Brahmā says. Brahmā is not ādi-puruṣa. Brahmā says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. So Kṛṣṇa is the ādi-puruṣam. And He has got many expansions. Advaitam acyutam anādim. Anādir ādiḥ. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything. That is called anādir ādiḥ. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything. That advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). And He has expanded Himself in so many forms. We are also Kṛṣṇa's form, but we are vibhinnāṁśa. And svāṁśa and vibhinnāṁśa. The viṣṇu-tattva is bhagavat-tattva, ādi-puruṣam, personal expansion, and we are energy expansion. We are also energy. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). So jīva, prakṛti expansion. Parā-prakṛti expansion. So Kṛṣṇa is always svacchandātmā. He has no anxiety. Svacchandātmā ātma-māyayā. Yad yad vidhatte bhagavān svacchandātmā. Whatever... Even if He's killing a demon, there is no anxiety. That is Kṛṣṇa. Even if He's killing, He has no anxiety. Svacchandātmā. That is also, I mean to say, confirmed in the Vedic language. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate, na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). So He has nothing to do personally. His energies act. Then try to understand why Bhagavān is attributed with the word svacchandātmā. Because...

Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:

Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān, viṣṇur ārādhyate... (CC Madhya 8.58). The ultimate goal is to satisfy the Lord, Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). But the foolish people, they do not know. Their ultimate interest is how to satisfy Viṣṇu. Viṣṇur ārādhyate. So when there is dharmasya glāniḥ, then Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, by His incarnation or personally, He comes. Therefore it is said, yad yad vidhatte bhagavān. But because He comes to paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8), He has no anxiety. Svacchandātmā. And He does by His own internal potency. He does not take anyone's help. That is Kṛṣṇa. That is Bhagavān. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. He has got so varieties of energies that everything is done very correctly and perfectly.

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate

svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca

(Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport)

Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā. Everything is being done perfectly. So there are activities. Those who are impersonalists, they cannot understand. They cannot understand what is the Personality of Godhead. Nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ, mohitam. Because they are covered by the influence of three kinds of material modes of nature, one cannot understand what is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). But He reveals Himself to the devotees. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55).

Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:

So our business is to understand Kṛṣṇa tattvataḥ, in truth, not superficially. Then our life is successful. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Not superficially. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth. Therefore here it is said that tāni me śraddadhānasya kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya. Anukīrtaya. Anukīrtana means don't manufacture. Anu means following. Therefore the bhagavat-tattva, or Bhagavān, can be understood by the paramparā system. Anu. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Rājarṣayaḥ. Formerly, the kings, they were rāja, at the same time great saintly persons, ṛṣi. They were not ordinary this king, Nawab Shah, engaged in drinking and dancing. No. They were all ṛṣis, all ṛṣis. Up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit they were trained up in such a way. Although it was monarchy, one man's control, but that man is not ordinary man. They were called nara-deva. Nara-deva means Bhagavān in the form of a human being. A king was worshiped therefore, because they were rājarṣi. Imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ. Bhagavān says, Kṛṣṇa says. Unless the kings, the government head, does not know what is the purpose of this life, what is the purpose of this material world, then how he can rule nicely? It is not possible. He has no purpose. He does not know what is the aim of life. Just like they think that eating, sitting..., eating and sleeping and sex life and then die. They're like animal life. This is not human life. Human life must know what is the aim of life. That they do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). These foolish people, they are trying to be happy-durāśayā. Durāśayā means the hope will never be fulfilled. That is called durāśayā. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. These external... Here is called ātma-māyayā. But there is another māyā. This māyā is external māyā, external energy. That is this material world. They are trying to be happy in this material world by adjusting material things. That is called durāśā. It will be, never be fulfilled.

Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:

Therefore in the history we see, there have been so many material leaders, but they died simply working hard. They could not make things very properly adjusted. There was Napoleon, there was Hitler, there was Gandhi, there was Nehru, there were so many leaders. But nobody could adjust. This is not possible. That is durāśā. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Because they do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. The ultimate goal of life is to understand Viṣṇu. And people are going on.

na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ

durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ

andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās

te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ

(SB 7.5.31)

Andha. Andha means blind man. If one blind man is trying to lead other blind men, then what is the benefit? The leader is blind and the follower is blind. Then there will be no result. They do not know... Īśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. They are tied. They are tied hands and legs by īśa-tantra, by the regulative principles of the nature.

So one has to learn from the śāstra.

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī

mama māyā duratyayā

mām eva ye prapadyante

māyām etāṁ taranti te

(BG 7.14)

The prapadyante means bhakti-yoga. So the śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam is the beginning of bhakti-yoga. Therefore he says, tāni me śraddadhānasya kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya. Anukīrtaya: "Just speak to us by following the paramparā system." Anu. Anu means following. Anu means always, and anu means following. Anu-gamana, anu-karaṇa. Anu-karaṇa means imitation. Anu-gamana means follower and go. So here, anukīrtaya. First of all you must know from the authorities what is the truth. Then you speak. Don't speak nonsense. It will not help you or your followers. That is called anukīrtaya.