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SB 07.09.42 ko nv atra te 'khila-guro bhagavan prayasa... cited

Expressions researched:
"kim tena te priya-janan anusevatam nah" |"ko nv atra te 'khila-guro bhagavan prayasa" |"mudhesu vai mahad-anugraha arta-bandho" |"uttarane 'sya bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoh"

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 7

SB 7.9.42, Translation and Purport:

O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, original spiritual master of the entire world, what is the difficulty for You, who manage the affairs of the universe, in delivering the fallen souls engaged in Your devotional service? You are the friend of all suffering humanity, and for great personalities it is necessary to show mercy to the foolish. Therefore I think that You will show Your causeless mercy to persons like us, who engage in Your service.

Here the words priya janān anusevatāṁ naḥ indicate that the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is very favorable to devotees who act according to the instructions of His own pure devotee. In other words, one must become the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord. If one wants to become the servant of the Lord directly, this is not as fruitful as engaging in the service of the Lord's servant. This is the direction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who shows us the way to become gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). One should not be proud of becoming directly the servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, one must seek a pure devotee, a servant of the Lord, and engage oneself in the service of such a servant. The more one becomes the servant of the servant, the more one becomes perfect in devotional service. This is also the injunction of Bhagavad-gītā: evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). One can understand the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by the paramparā system. In this regard, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, tāṅdera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vāsa: "Let me serve the lotus feet of the devotees of the Lord, and let me live with devotees." Janame janame haya, ei abhilāṣa. Following Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, one should aspire to be a servant of the Lord's servant, life after life. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also sings, tumi ta' ṭhākura, tomāra kukura, baliyā jānaha more: "O my Lord, O Vaiṣṇava, please consider me your dog." One must become the dog of a Vaiṣṇava, a pure devotee, for a pure devotee can deliver Kṛṣṇa without difficulty. Kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dite pāra. Kṛṣṇa is the property of His pure devotee, and if we take shelter of a pure devotee, he can deliver Kṛṣṇa very easily. Prahlāda wants to engage in the service of a devotee, and therefore he prays to Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Lord, kindly give me the shelter of Your very dear devotee so that I may engage in his service and You may then be pleased." Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā (SB 11.19.21). The Lord says, "Engaging in the service of My devotee is better than trying to engage in My devotional service."

Another significant point in this verse is that by devotional service Prahlāda Mahārāja does not want to benefit alone. Rather, he prays to the Lord that all of us fallen souls in this material world may, by the grace of the Lord, engage in the service of His servant and thus be delivered. The grace of the Lord is not at all difficult for the Lord to bestow, and thus Prahlāda Mahārāja wants to save the whole world by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.9.42 -- Mayapur, March 22, 1976:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: "O my Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the original spiritual master of the whole world. Your special interest in managing the affairs of the universe is to deliver the fallen souls who are engaged in Your devotional service. You are already the friend of all suffering humanity, and I think You will show Your causeless mercy upon persons like us, who are engaged in Your service."

Prabhupāda:

ko nv atra te 'khila-guro bhagavan prayāsa
uttāraṇe 'sya bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoḥ
mūḍheṣu vai mahad-anugraha ārta-bandho
kiṁ tena te priya-janān anusevatāṁ naḥ
(SB 7.9.42)

So Kṛṣṇa is bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoḥ. Everything which is going on—creation, maintenance, and also annihilation—the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. When there is need of creation, the cause is Kṛṣṇa. When there is need of maintenance, the cause is Kṛṣṇa. Everything, the cause is Kṛṣṇa. And there is annihilation—the cause is Kṛṣṇa. So sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya, although it is being done... Sṛṣṭi means creation; sthiti means maintenance; pralaya means destruction. These things are going on in the material world. Everything is created. Just like your body, my body, it is created at a certain date. There is history. And it will maintain, say, utmost, for fifty, sixty or hundred years. It will never be eternal. Because it is created, it cannot be eternal. Anything created cannot be eternal. So this sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana is actually being done by Kṛṣṇa, whatever way. But because we cannot see Kṛṣṇa in the background, we see only the wonderful activities of the nature. Nature is working not independently—by the direction of Kṛṣṇa. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Whatever is going on by the wonderful activities of nature... People are amazed by seeing the wonderful activities of nature. But behind these activities there is the direction of the Supreme Personality. Therefore Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva is addressed here, bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoḥ.

Lecture on SB 7.9.42 -- Mayapur, March 22, 1976:

So Kṛṣṇa can do anything. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. He can do anything. We cannot do without His favor. So Prahlāda Mahārāja requests that "If You kindly become merciful upon us, it is not a great task for You, because You can do whatever You like. Because You are the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction, so it is not difficult for You." Besides that, mūḍheṣu vai mahad-anugraha ārta-bandho. Generally, those who are ārta-bandhu, friend of the suffering humanity, they specially show favor to the mūḍha, to the rascals. Kṛṣṇa comes for that purpose because every one of us, we are mūḍhas. Duṣkṛtino. Na māṁ duṣkṭtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante. Normally we, because we are sinful, because we are mūḍhas, we do not surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ prapadyante. Anyone who does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, He is classified as duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhamā, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. It is not at all possible to become independent of Kṛṣṇa's will. That is not possible. Therefore those who are trying to work independently, without Kṛṣṇa's favor, they're mūḍha, all rascals. They will not accept what Kṛṣṇa says, and they are trying to establish some law without Kṛṣṇa. "There is no need of God." This is the... Most scientists, they say like that. "Now we have got science. We can do everything." They are mūḍhas. It is not possible. Independently you cannot do without Kṛṣṇa's favor.

So best thing is that always try to seek favor of Kṛṣṇa. And you cannot seek Kṛṣṇa's favor directly. That is also another point. Kiṁ tena te priya-janān anusevatāṁ naḥ. You cannot jump over to Kṛṣṇa without the favor of His devotee. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. You cannot seek favor of Bhagavān directly. That is another foolishness. You must go through the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Gopī-bhartur pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. This is our process. We don't approach Kṛṣṇa directly. We must begin our service to the Kṛṣṇa's servant. And who is Kṛṣṇa's servant? One who has become the servant of another Kṛṣṇa's servant. This is called dāsa-dāsānudāsa. Nobody can be independently servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is another foolishness. Kṛṣṇa never accepts anyone's service directly. No. That is not possible. You must come through the servant of the servant (CC Madhya 13.80). This is called paramparā system. As you receive knowledge by the paramparā system... Kṛṣṇa spoke to Brahmā, Brahmā spoke to Nārada, Nārada spoke to Vyāsadeva, and we are getting this knowledge. Just like Kṛṣṇa... Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna.

So if we give up the process of understanding as Arjuna did, then you'll never be able to understand Kṛṣṇa, or God. That is not possible. You have to take up the process which Arjuna accepted. Arjuna also said that, that "I am accepting You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because Vyāsadeva has accepted, Asita has accepted, Nārada has accepted." The same thing. We have to understand Kṛṣṇa. We cannot understand directly. Therefore these rascals who are trying to understand Kṛṣṇa directly by interpretation, they are all rascals. They cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. May be very big man, so-called. Nobody is big man. They are also sa vai... No, what is that? No, no. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). Puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. These big, big men who are so much eulogized by some rascals, all these big, big leaders, what they are? Because they are not devotee of Kṛṣṇa, they cannot lead. They simply will mislead. Therefore we take them all rascals. This is the criterion. Take this one criterion. Anything you want to learn from somebody, first of all you see whether that somebody is a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise don't take any lesson. We don't take any lesson from a person, "Perhaps," "Maybe," like this. No. We don't want such scientist or mathematician. No. One who knows Kṛṣṇa, one who is devotee of Kṛṣṇa, one who is overwhelmed in ecstasy simply by hearing Kṛṣṇa, you take lesson from them. Otherwise all rascals.

Page Title:SB 07.09.42 ko nv atra te 'khila-guro bhagavan prayasa... cited
Compiler:Krsnadas
Created:17 of Sep, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:3