S.

B Canto 1 – 1st 3 Slokas

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas cartheshv abhijnah svarat
tene brahma hrida ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah
tejo-vari-mridam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mrisha
dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi

Dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam

vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam tapa-trayonmulanam
srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krite kim va parair isvarah
sadyo hridy avarudhyate 'tra kritibhih susrushubhis tat-kshanat

Nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam

suka-mukhad amrita-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

Jay Jagannath Swami Nayana patha gami Bhavatu me

Jay Sri Krishna Chaitanya Maha Prabhu. Jay Srila Prabhupad
***********************************************************
Sloka 1
janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas cartheshv abhijnah svarat
tene brahma hrida ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah
tejo-vari-mridam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mrisha
dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi

SYNONYMS
om -- O my Lord; namah -- offering my obeisances; bhagavate -- unto
the Personality of Godhead; vasudevaya -- unto Vasudeva (the son of
Vasudeva), or Lord Sri Krishna, the primeval Lord; janma-adi --
creation, sustenance and destruction; asya -- of the manifested
universes; yatah -- from whom; anvayat -- directly; itaratah --
indirectly; ca -- and; artheshu -- purposes; abhijnah -- fully cognizant;
sva-rat -- fully independent; tene -- imparted; brahma -- the Vedic
knowledge; hrida -- consciousness of the heart; yah -- one who; adi-
kavaye -- unto the original created being; muhyanti -- are illusioned; yat
-- about whom; surayah -- great sages and demigods; tejah -- fire; vari
-- water; mridam -- earth; yatha -- as much as; vinimayah -- action and
reaction; yatra -- whereupon; tri-sargah -- three modes of creation,
creative faculties; amrisha -- almost factual; dhamna -- along with all
transcendental paraphernalia; svena -- self-sufficiently; sada -- always;
nirasta -- negation by absence; kuhakam -- illusion; satyam -- truth;
param -- absolute; dhimahi -- I do meditate upon.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, Sri Krishna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality
of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon
Lord Sri Krishna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval
cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the
manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all
manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause
beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto
the heart of Brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great
sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the
illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water.
Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested
by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although
they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krishna, who
is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free
from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon
Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
PURPORT
Obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, directly
indicate Lord Sri Krishna, who is the divine son of Vasudeva and
Devaki. This fact will be more explicitly explained in the text of this
work. Sri Vyasadeva asserts herein that Sri Krishna is the original
Personality of Godhead, and all others are His direct or indirect plenary
portions or portions of the portion. Srila Jiva Gosvami has even more
explicitly explained the subject matter in his Krishna-sandarbha. And
Brahma, the original living being, has explained the subject of Sri
Krishna substantially in his treatise named Brahma-samhita. In the
Sama-veda Upanishad, it is also stated that Lord Sri Krishna is the
divine son of Devaki. Therefore, in this prayer, the first proposition
holds that Lord Sri Krishna is the primeval Lord, and if any
transcendental nomenclature is to be understood as belonging to the
Absolute Personality of Godhead, it must be the name indicated by the
word Krishna, which means the all-attractive. In Bhagavad-gita, in
many places, the Lord asserts Himself to be the original Personality of
Godhead, and this is confirmed by Arjuna, and also by great sages like
Narada, Vyasa, and many others. In the Padma Purana, it is also stated
that out of the innumerable names of the Lord, the name of Krishna is
the principal one. Vasudeva indicates the plenary portion of the
Personality of Godhead, and all the different forms of the Lord, being
identical with Vasudeva, are indicated in this text. The name Vasudeva
particularly indicates the divine son of Vasudeva and Devaki. Sri
Krishna is always meditated upon by the paramahamsas, who are the
perfected ones among those in the renounced order of life.
Vasudeva, or Lord Sri Krishna, is the cause of all causes. Everything
that exists emanates from the Lord. How this is so is explained in later
chapters of this work. This work is described by Mahaprabhu Sri
Caitanya as the spotless Purana because it contains the transcendental
narration of the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. The history of the
Srimad-Bhagavatam is also very glorious. It was compiled by Sri
Vyasadeva after he had attained maturity in transcendental knowledge.
He wrote this under the instructions of Sri Naradaji, his spiritual
master. Vyasadeva compiled all Vedic literatures, containing the four
divisions of the Vedas, the Vedanta-sutras (or the Brahma-sutras), the
Puranas, the Mahabharata, and so on. But nevertheless he was not
satisfied. His dissatisfaction was observed by his spiritual master, and
thus Narada advised him to write on the transcendental activities of
Lord Sri Krishna. These transcendental activities are described
specifically in the Tenth Canto of this work. But, in order to reach to the
very substance, one must proceed gradually by developing knowledge of
the categories.
It is natural that a philosophical mind wants to know about the origin of
the creation. At night he sees the stars in the sky, and he naturally
speculates about their inhabitants. Such inquiries are natural for man
because man has a developed consciousness which is higher than that of
the animals. The author of Srimad-Bhagavatam gives a direct answer to
such inquiries. He says that the Lord Sri Krishna is the origin of all
creations. He is not only the creator of the universe, but the destroyer as
well. The manifested cosmic nature is created at a certain period by the
will of the Lord. It is maintained for some time, and then it is
annihilated by His will. Therefore, the supreme will is behind all cosmic
activities. Of course, there are atheists of various categories who do not
believe in a creator, but that is due to a poor fund of knowledge. The
modern scientist, for example, has created space satellites, and by some
arrangement or other, these satellites are thrown into outer space to fly
for some time at the control of the scientist who is far away. Similarly,
all the universes with innumerable stars and planets are controlled by
the intelligence of the Personality of Godhead.
In Vedic literatures, it is said that the Absolute Truth, Personality of
Godhead, is the chief amongst all living personalities. All living beings,
beginning from the first created being, Brahma, down to the smallest
ant, are individual living beings. And above Brahma, there are even
other living beings with individual capacities, and the Personality of
Godhead is also a similar living being. And He is an individual as are
the other living beings. But the Supreme Lord, or the supreme living
being, has the greatest intelligence, and He possesses supermost
inconceivable energies of all different varieties. If a man's brain can
produce a space satellite, one can very easily imagine how brains higher
than man can produce similarly wonderful things which are far
superior. The reasonable person will easily accept this argument, but
there are stubborn atheists who would never agree. Srila Vyasadeva,
however, at once accepts the supreme intelligence as the paramesvara.
He offers his respectful obeisances unto the supreme intelligence
addressed as the para or the paramesvara or the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. And that paramesvara is Sri Krishna, as admitted in
Bhagavad-gita and other scriptures delivered by Sri Vyasadeva and
specifically in this Srimad-Bhagavatam. In Bhagavad-gita, the Lord
says that there is no other para-tattva (summum bonum) than Himself.
Therefore, Sri Vyasadeva at once worships the para-tattva, Sri Krishna,
whose transcendental activities are described in the Tenth Canto.
Unscrupulous persons go immediately to the Tenth Canto and especially
to the five chapters which describe the Lord's rasa dance. This portion
of the Srimad-Bhagavatam is the most confidential part of this great
literature. Unless one is thoroughly accomplished in the transcendental
knowledge of the Lord, one is sure to misunderstand the Lord's
worshipable transcendental pastimes called rasa dance and His love
affairs with the gopis. This subject matter is highly spiritual, and only
the liberated persons who have gradually attained to the stage of
paramahamsa can transcendentally relish this rasa dance. Srila
Vyasadeva therefore gives the reader the chance to gradually develop
spiritual realization before actually relishing the essence of the pastimes
of the Lord. Therefore, he purposely invokes a Gayatri mantra,
dhimahi. This Gayatri mantra is meant for spiritually advanced people.
When one is successful in chanting the Gayatri mantra, he can enter
into the transcendental position of the Lord. One must therefore acquire
brahminical qualities or be perfectly situated in the quality of goodness
in order to chant the Gayatri mantra successfully and then attain to the
stage of transcendentally realizing the Lord, His name, His fame, His
qualities and so on.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the narration of the svarupa of the Lord
manifested by His internal potency, and this potency is distinguished
from the external potency which has manifested the cosmic world,
which is within our experience. Srila Vyasadeva makes a clear
distinction between the two in this sloka. Sri Vyasadeva says herein that
the manifested internal potency is real, whereas the external manifested
energy in the form of material existence is only temporary and illusory
like the mirage in the desert. In the desert mirage there is no actual
water. There is only the appearance of water. Real water is somewhere
else. The manifested cosmic creation appears as reality. But reality, of
which this is but a shadow, is in the spiritual world. Absolute Truth is in
the spiritual sky, not the material sky. In the material sky everything is
relative truth. That is to say, one truth depends on something else. This
cosmic creation results from interaction of the three modes of nature,
and the temporary manifestations are so created as to present an
illusion of reality to the bewildered mind of the conditioned soul, who
appears in so many species of life, including the higher demigods, like
Brahma, Indra, Candra, and so on. In actuality, there is no reality in the
manifested world. There appears to be reality, however, because of the
true reality which exists in the spiritual world, where the Personality of
Godhead eternally exists with His transcendental paraphernalia.
The chief engineer of a complicated construction does not personally
take part in the construction, but he knows every nook and corner
because everything is done under his direction. He knows everything
about the construction, both directly and indirectly. Similarly, the
Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme engineer of this cosmic
creation, knows every nook and corner, although affairs are being
carried out by demigods. Beginning from Brahma down to the
insignificant ant, no one is independent in the material creation. The
hand of the Lord is seen everywhere. All material elements as well as all
spiritual sparks emanate from Him only. And whatever is created in
this material world is but the interaction of two energies, the material
and the spiritual, which emanate from the Absolute Truth, the
Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. A chemist can manufacture water
in the chemical laboratory by mixing hydrogen and oxygen. But, in
reality, the living entity works in the laboratory under the direction of
the Supreme Lord. And the materials with which he works are also
supplied by the Lord. The Lord knows everything directly and
indirectly, and He is cognizant of all minute details, and He is fully
independent. He is compared to a mine of gold, and the cosmic creations
in so many different forms are compared to objects made from the gold,
such as gold rings, necklaces and so on. The gold ring and the gold
necklace are qualitatively one with the gold in the mine, but
quantitatively the gold in the mine is different. Therefore, the Absolute
Truth is simultaneously one and different. Nothing is absolutely equal
with the Absolute Truth, but at the same time, nothing is independent of
the Absolute Truth.
Conditioned souls, beginning from Brahma, who engineers the entire
universe, down to the insignificant ant, are all creating, but none of
them are independent of the Supreme Lord. The materialist wrongly
thinks that there is no creator other than his own self. This is called
maya, or illusion. Because of his poor fund of knowledge, the materialist
cannot see beyond the purview of his imperfect senses, and thus he
thinks that matter automatically takes its own shape without the aid of a
superior intelligence. This is refuted in this sloka by Srila Vyasadeva:
"Since the complete whole or the Absolute Truth is the source of
everything, nothing can be independent of the body of the Absolute
Truth." Whatever happens to the body quickly becomes known to the
embodied. Similarly, the creation is the body of the absolute whole.
Therefore, the Absolute knows everything directly and indirectly that
happens in the creation.
In the sruti-mantra, it is also stated that the absolute whole or Brahman
is the ultimate source of everything. Everything emanates from Him,
and everything is maintained by Him. And at the end, everything enters
into Him. That is the law of nature. In the smriti-mantra, the same is
confirmed. It is said that the source from which everything emanates at
the beginning of Brahma's millennium and the reservoir to which
everything ultimately enters, is the Absolute Truth or Brahman.
Material scientists take it for granted that the ultimate source of the
planetary system is the sun, but they are unable to explain the source of
the sun. Herein, the ultimate source is explained. According to the Vedic
literatures, Brahma, who may be compared to the sun, is not the
ultimate creator. It is stated in this sloka that Brahma was taught Vedic
knowledge by the Personality of Godhead. One may argue that Brahma,
being the original living being, could not be inspired because there was
no other being living at that time. Herein it is stated that the Supreme
Lord inspired the secondary creator, Brahma, in order that Brahma
could carry out his creative functions. So, the supreme intelligence
behind all creations is the Absolute Godhead, Sri Krishna. In
Bhagavad-gita, Lord Sri Krishna states that it is He only who
superintends the creative energy, prakriti, which constitutes the totality
of matter. Therefore, Sri Vyasadeva does not worship Brahma, but the
Supreme Lord, who guides Brahma in his creative activities. In this
sloka, the particular words abhijnah and svarat are significant. These
two words distinguish the Supreme Lord from all the other living
entities. No other living entity is either abhijnah or svarat. That is, no
one is either fully cognizant or fully independent. Even Brahma has to
meditate upon the Supreme Lord in order to create. Then what to speak
of great scientists like Einstein! The brains of such a scientist are
certainly not the products of any human being. Scientists cannot
manufacture such a brain, and what to speak of foolish atheists who
defy the authority of the Lord? Even Mayavadi impersonalists who
flatter themselves that they can become one with the Lord are neither
abhijnah or svarat. Such impersonalists undergo severe austerities to
acquire knowledge to become one with the Lord. But ultimately they
become dependent on some rich disciple who supplies them with money
to build monasteries and temples. Atheists like Ravana or
Hiranyakasipu had to undergo severe penances before they could flout
the authority of the Lord. But ultimately, they were rendered helpless
and could not save themselves when the Lord appeared before them as
cruel death. This is also the case with the modern atheists who also dare
to flout the authority of the Lord. Such atheists will be dealt with
similarly, for history repeats itself. Whenever men neglect the authority
of the Lord, nature and her laws are there to penalize them. This is
confirmed in Bhagavad-gita in the well-known verse yada yada hi
dharmasya glanih. "Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of
adharma, O Arjuna, then I incarnate Myself." (Bg. 4.7)
That the Supreme Lord is all-perfect is confirmed in all sruti-mantras.
It is said in the sruti-mantras that the all-perfect Lord threw a glance
over matter and thus created all living beings. The living beings are
parts and parcels of the Lord, and He impregnates the vast material
creation with seeds of spiritual sparks, and thus the creative energies
are set in motion to enact so many wonderful creations. An atheist may
argue that God is no more expert than a watchmaker, but of course God
is greater because He can create machines in duplicate male and female
forms. The male and female forms of different types of machineries go
on producing innumerable similar machines without God's further
attention. If a man could manufacture such a set of machines that could
produce other machines without his attention, then he could approach
the intelligence of God. But that is not possible, for each machine has to
be handled individually. Therefore, no one can create as well as God.
Another name for God is asamaurdhva, which means that no one is
equal to or greater than Him. Param satyam, or the Supreme Truth, is
He who has no equal or superior. This is confirmed in the sruti-
mantras. It is said that before the creation of the material universe there
existed the Lord only, who is master of everyone. That Lord instructed
Brahma in Vedic knowledge. That Lord has to be obeyed in all respects.
Anyone who wants to get rid of the material entanglement must
surrender unto Him. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita.
Unless one surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, it is
certain that he will be bewildered. When an intelligent man surrenders
unto the lotus feet of Krishna and knows completely that Krishna is the
cause of all causes, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, then only can such
an intelligent man become a mahatma, or great soul. But such a great
soul is rarely seen. Only the mahatmas can understand that the
Supreme Lord is the primeval cause of all creations. He is parama or
ultimate truth because all other truths are relative to Him. He is
omniscient. For Him, there is no illusion.
Some Mayavadi scholars argue that Srimad-Bhagavatam was not
compiled by Sri Vyasadeva. And some of them suggest that this book is
a modern creation written by someone named Vopadeva. In order to
refute such meaningless arguments, Sri Sridhara Svami points out that
there is reference to the Bhagavatam in many of the oldest Puranas.
This first sloka of the Bhagavatam begins with the Gayatri mantra.
There is reference to this in the Matsya Purana, which is the oldest
Purana. In that Purana, it is said with reference to the Gayatri mantra
in the Bhagavatam that there are many narrations of spiritual
instructions beginning with the Gayatri mantra. And there is the history
of Vritrasura. Anyone who makes a gift of this great work on a full
moon day attains to the highest perfection of life by returning to
Godhead. There is reference to the Bhagavatam in other Puranas also,
where it is clearly stated that this work was finished in twelve cantos,
which include eighteen thousand slokas. In the Padma Purana also
there is reference to the Bhagavatam in a conversation between
Gautama and Maharaja Ambarisha. The king was advised therein to
read regularly Srimad-Bhagavatam if he desired liberation from
material bondage. Under the circumstances, there is no doubt about the
authority of the Bhagavatam. Within the past five hundred years, many
erudite scholars and acaryas like Jiva Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami,
Visvanatha Cakravarti, Vallabhacarya, and many other distinguished
scholars even after the time of Lord Caitanya made elaborate
commentaries on the Bhagavatam. And the serious student would do
well to attempt to go through them to better relish the transcendental
messages.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura specifically deals with the
original and pure sex psychology (adi-rasa), devoid of all mundane
inebriety. The whole material creation is moving under the principle of
sex life. In modern civilization, sex life is the focal point for all activities.
Wherever one turns his face, he sees sex life predominant. Therefore,
sex life is not unreal. Its reality is experienced in the spiritual world.
The material sex life is but a perverted reflection of the original fact.
The original fact is in the Absolute Truth, and thus the Absolute Truth
cannot be impersonal. It is not possible to be impersonal and contain
pure sex life. Consequently, the impersonalist philosophers have given
indirect impetus to the abominable mundane sex life because they have
overstressed the impersonality of the ultimate truth. Consequently, man
without information of the actual spiritual form of sex has accepted
perverted material sex life as the all in all. There is a distinction between
sex life in the diseased material condition and spiritual sex life.
This Srimad-Bhagavatam will gradually elevate the unbiased reader to
the highest perfectional stage of transcendence. It will enable him to
transcend the three modes of material activities: fruitive actions,
speculative philosophy, and worship of functional deities as inculcated
in Vedic verses.
Sloka 2
dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam tapa-trayonmulanam
srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krite kim va parair isvarah
sadyo hridy avarudhyate 'tra kritibhih susrushubhis tat-kshanat

SYNONYMS
dharmah -- religiosity; projjhita -- completely rejected; kaitavah --
covered by fruitive intention; atra -- herein; paramah -- the highest;
nirmatsaranam -- of the one-hundred-percent pure in heart; satam --
devotees; vedyam -- understandable; vastavam -- factual; atra -- herein;
vastu -- substance; sivadam -- well-being; tapa-traya -- threefold
miseries; unmulanam -- causing uprooting of; srimat -- beautiful;
bhagavate -- the Bhagavata Purana; maha-muni -- the great sage
(Vyasadeva); krite -- having compiled; kim -- what is; va -- the need;
paraih -- others; isvarah -- the Supreme Lord; sadyah -- at once; hridi --
within the heart; avarudhyate -- become compact; atra -- herein;
kritibhih -- by the pious men; susrushubhih -- by culture; tat-kshanat --
without delay.
TRANSLATION
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially
motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is
understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The
highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all.
Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam,
compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in
itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As
soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of
Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is
established within his heart.
PURPORT
Religion includes four primary subjects, namely pious activities,
economic development, satisfaction of the senses, and finally liberation
from material bondage. Irreligious life is a barbarous condition. Indeed,
human life begins when religion begins. Eating, sleeping, fearing, and
mating are the four principles of animal life. These are common both to
animals and to human beings. But religion is the extra function of the
human being. Without religion, human life is no better than animal life.
Therefore, in human societies there is some form of religion which aims
at self-realization and which makes reference to man's eternal
relationship with God.
In the lower stages of human civilization, there is always competition to
lord it over the material nature or, in other words, there is a continuous
rivalry to satisfy the senses. Driven by such consciousness, man turns to
religion. He thus performs pious activities or religious functions in
order to gain something material. But if such material gains are
obtainable in other ways, then so-called religion is neglected. This is the
situation in modern civilization. Man is thriving economically, so at
present he is not very interested in religion. Churches, mosques or
temples are now practically vacant. Men are more interested in
factories, shops, and cinemas than in religious places which were
erected by their forefathers. This practically proves that religion is
performed for some economic gains. Economic gains are needed for
sense gratification. Often when one is baffled in the pursuit of sense
gratification, he takes to salvation and tries to become one with the
Supreme Lord. Consequently, all these states are simply different types
of sense gratification.
In the Vedas, the above-mentioned four activities are prescribed in the
regulative way so that there will not be any undue competition for sense
gratification. But Srimad-Bhagavatam is transcendental to all these
sense gratificatory activities. It is purely transcendental literature which
can be understood only by the pure devotees of the Lord who are
transcendental to competitive sense gratification. In the material world
there is keen competition between animal and animal, man and man,
community and community, nation and nation. But the devotees of the
Lord rise above such competitions. They do not compete with the
materialist because they are on the path back to Godhead where life is
eternal and blissful. Such transcendentalists are nonenvious and pure in
heart. In the material world, everyone is envious of everyone else, and
therefore there is competition. But the transcendental devotees of the
Lord are not only free from material envy, but are well-wishers to
everyone, and they strive to establish a competitionless society with God
in the center. The contemporary socialist's conception of a
competitionless society is artificial because in the socialist state there is
competition for the post of dictator. From the point of view of the Vedas
or from the point of view of common human activities, sense
gratification is the basis of material life. There are three paths
mentioned in the Vedas. One involves fruitive activities to gain
promotion to better planets. Another involves worshiping different
demigods for promotion to the planets of the demigods, and another
involves realizing the Absolute Truth and His impersonal feature and
becoming one with Him.
The impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is not the highest. Above
the impersonal feature is the Paramatma feature, and above this is the
personal feature of the Absolute Truth, or Bhagavan. Srimad-
Bhagavatam gives information about the Absolute Truth in His
personal feature. It is higher than impersonalist literatures and higher
than the jnana-kanda division of the Vedas. It is even higher than the
karma-kanda division, and even higher than the upasana-kanda
division, because it recommends the worship of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. In the karma-kanda, there is
competition to reach heavenly planets for better sense gratification, and
there is similar competition in the jnana-kanda and the upasana-kanda.
The Srimad-Bhagavatam is superior to all of these because it aims at the
Supreme Truth which is the substance or the root of all categories.
From Srimad-Bhagavatam one can come to know the substance as well
as the categories. The substance is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme
Lord, and all emanations are relative forms of energy.
Nothing is apart from the substance, but at the same time the energies
are different from the substance. This conception is not contradictory.
Srimad-Bhagavatam explicitly promulgates this simultaneously-one-
and-different philosophy of the Vedanta-sutra, which begins with the
"janmady asya" [SB 1.1.1] sutra.
This knowledge that the energy of the Lord is simultaneously one with
and different from the Lord is an answer to the mental speculators'
attempt to establish the energy as the Absolute. When this knowledge is
factually understood, one sees the conceptions of monism and dualism
to be imperfect. Development of this transcendental consciousness
grounded in the conception of simultaneously-one-and-different leads
one immediately to the stage of freedom from the threefold miseries.
The threefold miseries are (1) those miseries which arise from the mind
and body, (2) those miseries inflicted by other living beings, and (3)
those miseries arising from natural catastrophes over which one has no
control. Srimad-Bhagavatam begins with the surrender of the devotee
unto the Absolute Person. The devotee is fully aware that he is one with
the Absolute and at the same time in the eternal position of servant to
the Absolute. In the material conception, one falsely thinks himself the
lord of all he surveys, and therefore he is always troubled by the
threefold miseries of life. But as soon as one comes to know his real
position as transcendental servant, he at once becomes free from all
miseries. As long as the living entity is trying to master material nature,
there is no possibility of his becoming servant of the Supreme. Service to
the Lord is rendered in pure consciousness of one's spiritual identity; by
service one is immediately freed from material encumbrances.
Over and above this, Srimad-Bhagavatam is a personal commentation
on the Vedanta-sutra by Sri Vyasadeva. It was written in the maturity
of his spiritual life through the mercy of Narada. Sri Vyasadeva is the
authorized incarnation of Narayana, the Personality of Godhead.
Therefore, there is no question as to his authority. He is the author of all
other Vedic literatures, yet he recommends the study of Srimad-
Bhagavatam above all others. In other Puranas there are different
methods set forth by which one can worship the demigods. But in the
Bhagavatam only the Supreme Lord is mentioned. The Supreme Lord is
the total body, and the demigods are the different parts of that body.
Consequently, by worshiping the Supreme Lord, one does not need to
worship the demigods. The Supreme Lord becomes fixed in the heart of
the devotee immediately. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has
recommended the Srimad-Bhagavatam as the spotless Purana and
distinguishes it from all other Puranas.
The proper method for receiving this transcendental message is to hear
it submissively. A challenging attitude cannot help one realize this
transcendental message. One particular word is used herein for proper
guidance. This word is susrushu. One must be anxious to hear this
transcendental message. The desire to sincerely hear is the first
qualification.
Less fortunate persons are not at all interested in hearing this Srimad-
Bhagavatam. The process is simple, but the application is difficult.
Unfortunate people find enough time to hear idle social and political
conversations, but when invited to attend a meeting of devotees to hear
Srimad-Bhagavatam they suddenly become reluctant. Sometimes
professional readers of the Bhagavatam immediately plunge into the
confidential topics of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, which they
seemingly interpret as sex literature. Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant to
be heard from the beginning. Those who are fit to assimilate this work
are mentioned in this sloka: "One becomes qualified to hear Srimad-
Bhagavatam after many pious deeds." The intelligent person, with
thoughtful discretion, can be assured by the great sage Vyasadeva that
he can realize the Supreme Personality directly by hearing Srimad-
Bhagavatam. Without undergoing the different stages of realization set
forth in the Vedas, one can be lifted immediately to the position of
paramahamsa simply by agreeing to receive this message.
Sloka 3
nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam
suka-mukhad amrita-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

SYNONYMS
nigama -- the Vedic literatures; kalpa-taroh -- the desire tree; galitam --
fully matured; phalam -- fruit; suka -- Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, the
original speaker of Srimad-Bhagavatam; mukhat -- from the lips of;
amrita -- nectar; drava -- semisolid and soft and therefore easily
swallowable; samyutam -- perfect in all respects; pibata -- do relish it;
bhagavatam -- the book dealing in the science of the eternal relation
with the Lord; rasam -- juice (that which is relishable); alayam -- until
liberation, or even in a liberated condition; muhuh -- always; aho -- O;
rasikah -- those who are full in the knowledge of mellows; bhuvi -- on
the earth; bhavukah -- expert and thoughtful.
TRANSLATION
O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature
fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more
tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all,
including liberated souls.
PURPORT
In the two previous slokas it has been definitely proved that the Srimad-
Bhagavatam is the sublime literature which surpasses all other Vedic
scriptures due to its transcendental qualities. It is transcendental to all
mundane activities and mundane knowledge. In this sloka it is stated
that Srimad-Bhagavatam is not only a superior literature but is the
ripened fruit of all Vedic literatures. In other words, it is the cream of
all Vedic knowledge. Considering all this, patient and submissive
hearing is definitely essential. With great respect and attention, one
should receive the message and lessons imparted by the Srimad-
Bhagavatam.
The Vedas are compared to the desire tree because they contain all
things knowable by man. They deal with mundane necessities as well as
spiritual realization. The Vedas contain regulated principles of
knowledge covering social, political, religious, economic, military,
medicinal, chemical, physical and metaphysical subject matter and all
that may be necessary to keep the body and soul together. Above and
beyond all this are specific directions for spiritual realization. Regulated
knowledge involves a gradual raising of the living entity to the spiritual
platform, and the highest spiritual realization is knowledge that the
Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all spiritual tastes, or rasas.
Every living entity, beginning from Brahma, the first-born living being
within the material world, down to the insignificant ant, desires to relish
some sort of taste derived from sense perceptions. These sensual
pleasures are technically called rasas. Such rasas are of different
varieties. In the revealed scriptures the following twelve varieties of
rasas are enumerated: (1) raudra (anger), (2) adbhuta (wonder), (3)
sringara (conjugal love), (4) hasya (comedy), (5) vira (chivalry), (6) daya
(mercy), (7) dasya (servitorship), (8) sakhya (fraternity), (9) bhayanaka
(horror), (10) bibhatsa (shock), (11) santa (neutrality), (12) vatsalya
(parenthood).
The sum total of all these rasas is called affection or love. Primarily,
such signs of love are manifested in adoration, service, friendship,
paternal affection, and conjugal love. And when these five are absent,
love is present indirectly in anger, wonder, comedy, chivalry, fear,
shock and so on. For example, when a man is in love with a woman, the
rasa is called conjugal love. But when such love affairs are disturbed
there may be wonder, anger, shock, or even horror. Sometimes love
affairs between two persons culminate in ghastly murder scenes. Such
rasas are displayed between man and man and between animal and
animal. There is no possibility of an exchange or rasa between a man
and an animal or between a man and any other species of living beings
within the material world. The rasas are exchanged between members
of the same species. But as far as the spirit souls are concerned, they are
one qualitatively with the Supreme Lord. Therefore, the rasas were
originally exchanged between the spiritual living being and the spiritual
whole, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual exchange or
rasa is fully exhibited in spiritual existence between living beings and
the Supreme Lord.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore described in the sruti-
mantras, Vedic hymns, as "the fountainhead of all rasas." When one
associates with the Supreme Lord and exchanges one's constitutional
rasa with the Lord, then the living being is actually happy.
These sruti-mantras indicate that every living being has its
constitutional position, which is endowed with a particular type of rasa
to be exchanged with the Personality of Godhead. In the liberated
condition only, this primary rasa is experienced in full. In the material
existence, the rasa is experienced in the perverted form, which is
temporary. And thus the rasas of the material world are exhibited in the
material form of raudra (anger) and so on.
Therefore, one who attains full knowledge of these different rasas,
which are the basic principles of activities, can understand the false
representations of the original rasas which are reflected in the material
world. The learned scholar seeks to relish the real rasa in the spiritual
form. In the beginning he desires to become one with the Supreme.
Thus, less intelligent transcendentalists cannot go beyond this
conception of becoming one with the spirit whole, without knowing of
the different rasas.
In this sloka, it is definitely stated that spiritual rasa, which is relished
even in the liberated stage, can be experienced in the literature of the
Srimad-Bhagavatam due to its being the ripened fruit of all Vedic
knowledge. By submissively hearing this transcendental literature, one
can attain the full pleasure of his heart's desire. But one must be very
careful to hear the message from the right source. Srimad-Bhagavatam
is exactly received from the right source. It was brought by Narada
Muni from the spiritual world and given to his disciple Sri Vyasadeva.
The latter in turn delivered the message to his son Srila Sukadeva
Gosvami, and Srila Sukadeva Gosvami delivered the message to
Maharaja Parikshit just seven days before the King's death. Srila
Sukadeva Gosvami was a liberated soul from his very birth. He was
liberated even in the womb of his mother, and he did not undergo any
sort of spiritual training after his birth. At birth no one is qualified,
neither in the mundane nor in the spiritual sense. But Sri Sukadeva
Gosvami, due to his being a perfectly liberated soul, did not have to
undergo an evolutionary process for spiritual realization. Yet despite his
being a completely liberated person situated in the transcendental
position above the three material modes, he was attracted to this
transcendental rasa of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is
adored by liberated souls who sing Vedic hymns. The Supreme Lord's
pastimes are more attractive to liberated souls than to mundane people.
He is of necessity not impersonal because it is only possible to carry on
transcendental rasa with a person.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are
narrated, and the narration is systematically depicted by Srila
Sukadeva Gosvami. Thus the subject matter is appealing to all classes of
persons, including those who seek liberation and those who seek to
become one with the supreme whole.
In Sanskrit the parrot is also known as suka. When a ripened fruit is cut
by the red beaks of such birds, its sweet flavor is enhanced. The Vedic
fruit which is mature and ripe in knowledge is spoken through the lips
of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, who is compared to the parrot not for his
ability to recite the Bhagavatam exactly as he heard it from his learned
father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner that would
appeal to all classes of men.
The subject matter is so presented through the lips of Srila Sukadeva
Gosvami that any sincere listener that hears submissively can at once
relish transcendental tastes which are distinct from the perverted tastes
of the material world. The ripened fruit is not dropped all of a sudden
from the highest planet of Krishnaloka. Rather, it has come down
carefully through the chain of disciplic succession without change or
disturbance. Foolish people who are not in the transcendental disciplic
succession commit great blunders by trying to understand the highest
transcendental rasa known as the rasa dance without following in the
footsteps of Sukadeva Gosvami, who presents this fruit very carefully
by stages of transcendental realization. One should be intelligent enough
to know the position of Srimad-Bhagavatam by considering
personalities like Sukadeva Gosvami, who deals with the subject so
carefully. This process of disciplic succession of the Bhagavata school
suggests that in the future also Srimad-Bhagavatam has to be
understood from a person who is factually a representative of Srila
Sukadeva Gosvami. A professional man who makes a business out of
reciting the Bhagavatam illegally is certainly not a representative of
Sukadeva Gosvami. Such a man's business is only to earn his livelihood.
Therefore one should refrain from hearing the lectures of such
professional men. Such men usually go to the most confidential part of
the literature without undergoing the gradual process of understanding
this grave subject. They usually plunge into the subject matter of the
rasa dance, which is misunderstood by the foolish class of men. Some of
them take this to be immoral, while others try to cover it up by their
own stupid interpretations. They have no desire to follow in the
footsteps of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.
One should conclude, therefore, that the serious student of the rasa
should receive the message of Bhagavatam in the chain of disciplic
succession from Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, who describes the
Bhagavatam from its very beginning and not whimsically to satisfy the
mundaner who has very little knowledge in transcendental science.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is so carefully presented that a sincere and serious
person can at once enjoy the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge simply by
drinking the nectarean juice through the mouth of Sukadeva Gosvami
or his bona fide representative.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada