23rd. October, 03 (Deepavali eve) Madhurapuri Ashram (7.00 p.m) The glory of Srimad Bhãgavatam Sri Swamiji has been rendering ‘Upanyãs’ (discourses), in Tamizh. This is being brought to you here. There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãs’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamiji.

Sri Swamiji,

"HARE RÃMA HARE RÃMA RÃMA RÃMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE"

It was an informal talk on the eve of Deepavali. Speaking on the glory of the Bhãgavatam, H.H. Sri Sri Swamiji began,
“ ‘Janmãdhyasya yatoanvayãditarataschãrtheshvabhijnah…….
This is the first line in Srimad Bhãgavatam.
Brahma sutra begins with the word 'Janmãdhyasya' and so does Srimad Bhãgavatam.
“Why did Bhagavan create the Universe? Was it because He desired happiness? If so, He cannot be said to be in the experience of the Atman that is the highest Bliss. But, the Lord is ever in His Self. Therefore, this is not the reason for His HHCreation. Was it then because someone ordered Him to do so? If so, it would mean there is someone superior to Bhagavan. But, there cannot be anyone superior to Bhagavan. So, this is also not the reason for His creation. Then what can be the reason for His creation? It was as done as Divine Play! It is His Divine Play!

Nothing can equal Bhãgavatam. Just reading Bhãgavatam would take you to the state of Jivan Mukti. 'Alangudi' Periyava, 'Mayavaram' Periyava were all such great ones who attained the state of Jivan Mukti through Bhãgavatam. Bhãgavatam is verily Bhagavan. If Bhagavan could take Avatar as a pig (‘Varãha Avatãr’) that eats excreta why cannot He take the form of a Book? You must treat the Bhãgavatam Text with all reverence, as it is verily (Lord) Krishna. Bhãgavatam contains everything. ‘IT’ leaves out nothing.

Once Ramakrishna Paramahamsa found a big expanse of Grace moving from him to Kali to Bhãgavatam and then again to him. He said to Kali, "Mother! What are you trying to say? I am unable to comprehend."
Kali explained, "Bhãgavatam, Bhakta and Bhagavan are one and the same."
Touching the Bhãgavtam, His Holiness repeated, "Bhãgavatam , Bhagavan and Bhakta are one and the same."

Once, a Sanyasi came to the gates of Shirdi Mahatma’s place.
Shirdi Mahatma said, “Chase him out. He has not led his life as an ascetic should.”
The Sanyasi wept bitterly.
The compassionate Shirdi Mahatma advised him, “Perform Bhãgavata saptãha and come back.”
The Sanyasi did so. But, Shirdi Mahatma, not happy with the attempt made, asked him to sit near him and perform the Saptãha again. He did so. On the last day Shirdi Mahatma placed the Sanyasi’s head on His lap and the Sanayasi attained the fruit of the Saptãha!

Bhagavata Mahatmyam says, 'Srimad Bhãgavatatee vãrtã Surãnãmapi durlabha’
Srimad Bhãgavatam is inaccessible even to the Devas. Bhãgavatam has not been acquired even by the Devas. Bhãgavatam was not given to the Devas because Devas are self-centred. The Devas are concerned only about their own welfare. If Bhãgavatam had been given to them, ‘IT’ would not have reached the others because they do not share good things with others. When they received the ‘amruta’ (ambrosia) they used it for their own benefit only and did not share it with others. Moreover, the character of Devas is such that they shower flowers on the victorious whether he is Kamsa or Krishna!
'Kamsa is a wicked fellow. Why should we earn his wrath? Let us shower flowers on him and please him. He will not bother us. He may be of some help to us,' they think on such lines and so whoever wins a fight - be it Kamsa or Krishna - they shower flowers on the victor! So, it was decided against giving Srimad Bhãgavatam to them.

Suta Bhourãnika is the one who narrates the Bhãgavatam. Bhourãnika means one who discourses. Suta is not a Brahmin, yet all highly learned Brahmins sat in front of him to listen to him. They offered him a 'Peetah' (seat). Did Suta feel proud? Did he think, 'how great am I! All these great people are here sitting in front of me to listen to me!" No! He did not think so. He felt honored that such great, learned men were ready to listen to him. Why did these highly learned men sit in front of him to listen to him? He was very humble. He knew that these highly learned Brahmins sat only because he was going to talk about Bhagavan. They would listen even to a child speaking ‘Bhagavat guna’ (the attributes of the Lord)!

Bhãgavatam while speaking of the people of Kali yuga, says -
‘Prãyennãlpãyushah sabya kalãvsmin yuge janãha
mandãh sumandamatayo mandabhãgya hypadrutãh’

In this Kali yuga people will have only short span of life. 80 years or a100 years is not a long life when compared to Dasarata’s or Rama’s lives who had lived for 60,000 years!
Also, in this Kali yuga people will not enjoy all the fortunes. They may possess wealth but may not enjoy good health or long life. They may enjoy long life but not good health. If they enjoy both they may not possess wealth. One may be learned but not rich. One may have beauty but no brain! Thus, none will enjoy all fortunes.
People will be dull-witted in this Kali yuga. You may question me, ‘Sir! How do you say that people of Kali yuga are dull-witted? Is it not now that so many scientific inventions have been made?’ Yes, people will be wise and intelligent where worldly matters are concerned but will be dull-witted in spiritual matters. Hence, ‘sumanda matayo’.

People will be unable to differentiate the genuine from quacks. They will not be able to identify a Sadguru. In Ramayana Ravana comes in the form of an ascetic and carries away Sita. What does this signify? Our Puranãs do not speak anything in vain. It has only foreseen the happenings in Kali - the wicked coming in the garb of a sanyasi would deceive women!

However, if you possess deep bhakti, the Idol that you worship will talk to you. When you meet with some Sadhu, your ‘puja murti’ would tell you if he is the right Guru or not (If he is a real Sadhu or not). When Totapuri visits Ramakrishna Paramahamsa offering to teach him Advaita, the latter runs to Kali. Kali assures him, ‘it is I who have brought him here for you. Learn what he has to offer.’

In Ramayana there is no ‘upa katha’(side story) but for the incident of Ahalya.
There is a scene where Sita narrates a story to Rama but that cannot be taken as a ‘upa katha’. Seeing Rama kill the Asuras, Sita points out to Him, “You are wearing ‘maravuri’ (tree barks as the attire). Holding a bow in your hand does not match this attire. Throw it away.”

Sita then goes on to narrate a story of a Muni who comes to the forest to do tapas -
‘Fearing the tapas of this Muni, Indra (the leader of the Devas) visits the Muni in the form of a soldier. He gives his sword to the Muni for safekeeping. The Muni’s attention is now diverted totally to the safekeeping of the sword. Thus, wherever he goes he carries the sword in his hand. Slowly, the Muni who had been a great tapasvi begins to make use of the sword in cutting grass, plants, trees and gradually to killing animals and humans.’
Sita points out to Rama how one who had been a veritable tapasvi exercising non-violence had been reduced to a murderer by the very presence of a sword; and advises Rama to throw away his bow and arrow.

The story of Ahalya (who is turned into a stone by her husband Goutama Muni for having been disloyal to him whence Indra comes in his form and spends time with her. It is said that Ahalya was aware of the identity of Indra. When the dust of the feet of Rama touches the stone, Ahalya regains her form and is accepted back by her husband) is only to demonstrate Rama’s compassion to a ‘jiva’ though she had been disloyal to her husband. Yet, when it comes to his own matter, he is uncompromising in spite of knowing without an iota of doubt about the purity of Sita.

Sita desires to be a match to Rama in upholding Dharma; hence, she welcomes the step he takes to test her purity. However, this does not mean that she should not grieve. She does. This occurs once at Sri Lanka and later while returning from Valmiki ashram. Rama demands her to prove her ‘pativrata tanmai’ (purity and loyalty to him in speech, mind and body) through ‘agni pravesh’ (entering into the fire) and it does not harm her. But, during her return from Valmiki ashram the same test (‘agni pravesh’) is not used because people would call it a gimmick! They would refuse to believe it. It would be mistaken for performance of some gimmick. They would remark, ‘commit some wrong and walk through the fire!’

The Learned will never, even at the risk of execution, accept a fool to be a scholar.
A Jnani will never accept a man of ignorance as a Jnani. So, too, ‘pativratas’ will never accept an ordinary woman as a ‘pativrata’. ‘Pativrata’ is one who thinks of none else but her husband. Through ‘Manas’, ‘vãk’, ‘kayam’ (Mind, speech and body) she thinks only of her husband. Sita calls all the ‘pativratas’ and they do ‘pada puja’ to her (worship her feet)!

Rama is ‘patitapãvana’ where it concerns the Bhaktas but is very strict where it concerns him, his wife. Ahalya’s story is narrated in Ramayana only to signify this.

Rama stands on Dharma. He follows Dharma scrupulously. After seating Vibhishana on the throne (of Sri Lanka) Rama could have instructed, ‘Bring Sita!’ It was verily He who had seated Vibhishana on the throne. Instead, Rama instructs Lakshmana, “Vibhishana is the king now. Go seek his permission and bring Sita (from the Asoka vana).”

Earlier, when Rama kills Vali and seats Sugreeva on the throne Rama tells him, ‘you have suffered a lot. Rest and enjoy a while and then help me find Sita.’ Look at His magnanimity!

And he introduces Sita to Guha! One should introduce one’s wife only to one’s Guru and elders. Introducing one’s wife to friends is foolishness, sheer stupidity. But, what does Rama do? Overwhelmed with affection for Guha He not only introduces His wife Sita to him, but tells him, ‘ivall un thozhi’ - She is your friend!
Dharma - adharma. Awareness of these two alone will not make you tread on the path of dharma. Knowledge alone is not enough. Duryodana knew what was dharma and what was adharma. But, he could not move away from adharma and take to dharma. You need ‘mano bala’ (mental strength) for this. That is, ‘mano bala’ to move away from adharma and ‘mano bala’ to adhere to Dharma.

What is Shastra? For us it is the words of the Guru that is the Shastra. Whatever the Guru says is the Shastra and we can just follow it (blindly). We need not fear anybody. We should fear only the Guru. We should always wonder if our action would displease the Guru, whether any of our action would make Him sad. You should hold on to one - one God, one Guru and one Granta (Holy Text). There was a Bhakta who used to read only Ramayana and no other Granta. Absolutely no other Granta. He worshipped only (Lord) Rama and no other God; he was totally devoted and loyal to his Guru and would think of none other than his own Guru.

Krita Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga - Dharma stood on four legs during the Krita Yuga, on three legs during Treta Yuga, on two legs during Dwãpara Yuga and now in Kali Yuga it stands on one leg!

During the Krita Yuga it was the Devas and Asuras who fought. When these Veda Patasala students chant the Vedas you hear them chant, ‘Deva-Asura..’ quite frequently, mentioning the fight between them. It comes in many places in Yajur Veda. You will find them lowering their voice when the victory is for the Asuras and raising their voice in chanting if the victory has been for the Devas!

In Treta Yuga, man (Rama in human form) and Asura fought. In Dwãpara Yuga brothers fought (Pandavas and Kauravas) and in Kali Yuga mother and son fight, father and son fight, husband and wife fight. This is the state of affairs of this Age.

In days gone by Brahmins used to have only cows at home because it brings auspiciousness to homes. But, today in Kali dogs are being brought up in homes instead of cows! It is said that Lamps would burn upside down. We find the electric lamps hanging down! Lamps burn only upwards (‘oordva mukha’) but now these lamps burn downwards. It is said that at the peak of Kali cows will give birth to pigs; all the wealth of Tirupati would be stolen away, etc.

‘Muttadhipadi’ means one who expounds on the ‘gunãs’ of the Lord. This term has been rightly used for Sage Veda Vyasa. One who had given the Vedas and several Itihãsa-purãnãs to the world, Sage Vyasa sat with grief writ large on his face. Sage Narada finds him in this situation and asks him, ‘what is it that is worrying you? Why do you seem grieved?’
The Sage requests him, ‘you have been able to comprehend that I am distressed. Could you not find the reason for it?’
It is then that Sage Narada advises him, ‘write a Bhakti-Granta (a Text of devotion).’ And Sage Vyasa wrote Srimad Bhãgavatam.

Once a ‘upanyãsakar’ (one who discourses) came for the darshan of Maha Periyava after a ‘upanyãs’ in Bombay. Maha Periyava enquired of him, “how did the ‘upanyãs’ go? Did anyone give valedictory address? What did he speak?”
The ‘upanyãsakar’, in a saddened tone, mentioned the name of a popular personality who gave the valedictory address and repeated his words, ‘Bhãgavatam would have been a great ‘granta’ if only it did not contain the ‘rãsam’!’
At once, with tears in his eyes, Maha Periyava remarked, ‘did he say so? Did he say so? It was only due to reading the ‘rãsa panchãdhyayi’ (the five chapters on ‘rãsam’) in my last birth have I earned ‘sanyãsa’ in this life!’

Yet another time, a person known for his rendering of Jayadev Ashtapadi came for Maha Periyava’s darshan. Maha Periyava asked him to chant certain sloka from the Ashtapadi. The man hesitated, for, it contained deep ‘shringãra bhãva’.
At once Maha Periyava asked him, “Do you hesitate for the reason that being filled with ‘shringãra’ how could you chant it in the presence of a sanyãsi? It is ‘kãmam nasinji pona kãmamda (lust bereft of lust)’ chant it!”

How great should this ‘rãsam’ be if it has been spoken by Sri Suka, the son of Vyãsa and a Jivan Mukta by birth? Suka took birth as a twelve year old! Who is this Suka? When Krishna left for the earth, Radha followed suit. Radha, in Go-loka, had a parrot in her hand. This parrot, not finding Radha and Krishna, went about searching for them. On learning about their birth on the earth, the parrot also took birth on the earth, as Suka.

When someone brags about his intelligence we question him, ‘oh! Are you Brahaspati?’ Brahaspati possesses the greatest knowledge. Uddhava learnt under such a Brahaspati. Until Uddhava became Krishna’s friend and Minister at Dwãraka, he called himself Brahaspati ‘sishya’ (disciple). On reaching Krishna, he began to label himself as Krishna’s sishya. Such a Uddhava was sent by Krishna to Vrindavan to meet with the Gopis. He was spell bound by their love for Krishna. He rolled on the dust of their feet. From then onwards Uddhava began to proudly call himself Gopi sishya! How great should the bhakti of the Gopis be if the highly learned and intelligent Uddhava should speak of their bhakti?

Bheeshma the perfect ‘Brahmachari’ (celibate - celibacy in mind, speech and body. He never touched a woman in mind, speech and body), while expounding on Dharma to Dharmaputra sings,
‘Lalithagativilãsavalguhãsapranayaniriikshanakalpitorumãnãh |
Krutamanakrutavatya unmadãndhãh prakritimagan kila yasya gopavadhvah || '
(Srimad Bhãgavatam 1:9:40)

Bheeshma pines to become a Gopi! ‘Oh! Would I not be born as a Gopi? I care not for this life as a Brahmachari!’ He asks, ‘would not thinking of the Gopis in the last moment of my life earn me the birth as a Gopi in my next birth?’
If the great Bheeshma speaks of Gopis can not one realize the greatness of Gopi Bhakti?

Kabir! Kabir was a great Bhakta. He says, ‘even a crore Kabirs are not equal to a single Gopi!’

Suka, a born Jivan Mukta, speaks of Gopi bhakti. His elucidation on ‘rãsam’ shows that it is not a worldly matter but the highest - incomprehensible by the human mind.
It is said that Suka did not reveal all about ‘rãsam’ to Parikshit because he had questioned it.

A Jivan Mukta, the perfect Brahmachari, a scholar and the greatest of Bhaktas - all speak of ‘rãsam’ and yearn for Gopi Bhakti. This explains the high state of Gopi Bhakti. "

GOPIKA JEEVANASMARANAM!
GOVINDA! GOVINDA!”

NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.

Home • e-MM • Contact

Radhe Krishna