SB 12.5.1

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes the Supreme Lord, soul of the universe, from whose satisfaction Brahmā is born and from whose anger Rudra takes birth. In the Fifth Chapter Śukadeva teaches Parīkṣit about Brahman in order to hide the real meaning of Bhāgavatam. Having completed the Bhāgavatam, Śukadeva considered the matter within himself. Ah! It is improper that I have disclosed from my heart the great jewel among secrets and made it visible to all people. The Lord has said that this bhakti is the king of knowledge and the king of secret: rāja-vidyā raja-guhyam. (BG 9.2) In this scripture I have explicitly revealed out of great mercy to Parīkṣit a subject which is the most secret: sarva-guhyatamam. (BG 18.64) I have shown that bhakti awards all results both by negative and positive statements. akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ | tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param || The person desiring destruction of all desires, the person with all desires, even the person with the intense desire for liberation, if he has good intelligence, will worship the Supreme Lord with pure bhakti. SB 2.3.10 mukha-bāhūru-pādebhyaḥ puruṣasyāśramaiḥ saha catvāro jajṣire varṇā guṇair viprādayaḥ pṛthak ya eṣāṁ puruṣaṁ sākṣād ātma-prabhavam īśvaram na bhajanty avajānanti sthānād bhraṣṭāḥ patanty adhaḥ Each of the four social orders, headed by the brāhmaṇas, was born through different combinations of the modes of nature, from the face, arms, thighs and feet of the Supreme Lord in his universal form, along with the āśramas. If any of the members of the four varṇas and four āśramas fail to worship the Lord, who is the source of their own creation, they will fall down from their āśrama. SB 11.5.2-3 Karma, which bestows Svarga, is definitely rejected. And famous jṣāna, which bestows liberation, is rejected. naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ na śobhate jṣānam alaṁ niraṣjanam kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam Even the stage of jṣāna without the bondage of karma is not glorious because it is devoid of bhakti to the Supreme Lord. What is the use of having destroyed ignorance? What to speak of sakāma-karma which is suffering during practice and perfection, and niṣkāma-karma, when not offered to the Lord? SB 1.5.12 Even jṣānī sannyāsīs are rejected in SB 11.5.3 quoted above. Practicing a tradition of jṣāna without bhakti will not produce liberation. ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for your lotus feet. SB 10.2.32 Since one attains liberation by bhakti without performance of jṣāna, jṣāna is not the exclusive process for attaining liberation: yat karmabhir yat tapasā jṣāna-vairāgyataś ca yat yogena dāna-dharmeṇa śreyobhir itarair api sarvaṁ mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate 'ṣjasā svargāpavargaṁ mad-dhāma kathaṣcid yadi vāṣchati Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by my devotee through loving service unto me. If somehow or other my devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in my abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 One may protest that jṣāna is well known for producing liberation. One should however understand that the bhakti within jṣāna, though acting as minor element, produces liberation. Jṣāna is a producer of liberation in name only. Even performing jṣāna along with bhakti for liberation is not recommended. Bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ: I am only achieved by bhakti. nāsāṁ dvijāti-saṁskāro na nivāso gurāv api na tapo nātma-mīmāṁsā na śaucaṁ na kriyāḥ śubhāḥ These women have never undergone the purificatory rites of the twice-born classes, nor have they lived as brahmacārīs in the āśrama of a spiritual master, nor have they executed austerities, speculated on the nature of the self, followed the formalities of cleanliness or engaged in pious rituals. SB 10.23.43 kiṁ vā yogena sāṅkhyena nyāsa-svādhyāyayor api kiṁ vā śreyobhir anyaiś ca na yatrātma-prado hariḥ What is the use of yoga, sāṅkhya, sannyāsa, study of the Vedas, other auspicious acts, in which the Lord does not give realization of himself? SB 4.21.12 The practice of bhakti is recommended through upakrama (proposal), upasaṁhāra (conclusion) and abhyāsa (repetition). Including jṣāna and yoga here and there in the text is only to teach the devotees about these philosophies and to show the superiority of bhakti. By performing even a small amount of bhakti one gains liberation: yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād yat-prahvaṇād yat-smaraṇād api kvacit śvādo 'pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate kutaḥ punas te bhagavan nu darśanāt By hearing or chanting your name, by offering respects to you, by occasional remembrance of you, even the dog-eater immediately becomes qualified for performing the soma sacrifice. O Lord! What then to speak of the person who sees you? SBG 3.33.6 aho bata śva-paco 'to garīyān yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te How astonishing! The outcaste on the tip of whose tongue is your name is the guru! All those who chant your name, most respectable, have completed all austerities, all sacrifices, all bathing and all study of the Vedas. SB 3.33.7 na hi bhagavann aghaṭitam idaṁ tvad-darśanān nṛṇām akhila-pāpa-kṣayaḥ yan-nāma sakṛc chravaṇāt pukkaśo 'pi vimucyate saṁsārāt O Lord! Nothing is impossible for you. Just from seeing you all my sins have been destroyed. By hearing one of your names once, even the outcaste is delivered from the material world. SB 6.16.44 It has been concluded by Uddhava and me that there is no other process of liberation from saṁsāra except bhakti: tāpa-trayeṇābhihitasya ghore santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīha paśyāmi nānyac charaṇaṁ tavāṅghri- dvandvātapatrād amṛtābhivarṣāt My dear Lord, for one who is being cruelly burned in the blazing fire of material miseries, having fallen into the network of material existence, I do not see any other possible shelter besides your two lotus feet, which are a shower of nectar extinguishing the fire of suffering. SB 11.19.9 saṁsāra-sindhum ati-dustaram uttitīrṣor nānyaḥ plavo bhagavataḥ puruṣottamasya līlā-kathā-rasa-niṣevaṇam antareṇa puṁso bhaved vividha-duḥkha-davārditasya For a person who is suffering in the fire of countless miseries and who desires to cross the insurmountable ocean of material existence, there is no suitable boat except cultivating the nectar of the narrations of the Supreme Lord's pastimes. SB 12.4.40 And in the following verses, liberation is derided as the goal of life, and bhakti is established by me as the crown jewel of human goals. yasyām eva kavaya ātmānam avirataṁ vividha-vṛjina-saṁsāra-paritāpopatapyamānam anusavanaṁ snāpayantas tayaiva parayā nirvṛtyā hy apavargam ātyantikaṁ parama-puruṣārtham api svayam āsāditaṁ no evādriyante bhagavadīyatvenaiva parisamāpta-sarvārthāḥ. The wise, suffering from various calamities of material life, continually bathe themselves in the lake of bhakti, and because of its intense bliss, they do not strive for liberation, the highest goal, which comes of its own accord since they have attained everything by being the servants of the Lord. SB 5.6.17 evaṁ dharmair manuṣyāṇām uddhavātma-nivedinām mayi saṣjāyate bhaktiḥ ko 'nyo 'rtho 'syāvaśiṣyate By those processes, those human beings who have actually surrendered themselves to me automatically develop love for me. What other purpose or goal could remain for my devotee? SB 11.19.24 duravagamātma-tattva-nigamāya tavātta-tanoś carita-mahāmṛtābdhi-parivarta-pariśramaṇāḥ na parilaṣanti kecid apavargam apīśvara te caraṇa-saroja-haṁsa-kula-saṅga-visṛṣṭa-gṛhāḥ My Lord, some fortunate souls have gotten relief from the fatigue of material life by diving into the vast nectar ocean of your pastimes, which you enact when you manifest your personal forms to propagate the unfathomable science of the self. These rare souls, indifferent even to liberation, renounce the happiness of home and family because of their association with devotees who are like flocks of swans enjoying at the lotus of your feet. SB 10.87.21 yā nirvṛtis tanu-bhṛtāṁ tava pāda-padma- dhyānād bhavaj-jana-kathā-śravaṇena vā syāt sā brahmaṇi sva-mahimany api nātha mā bhūt kiṁ tv antakāsi-lulitāt patatāṁ vimānāt The bliss for your servant available from meditating on your lotus feet or from hearing about your pastimes from the devotees is not available in your form of greatness, Brahman, what to speak of the happiness for those who fall from the pleasures of Svarga. SB 4.9.10 nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of Nārāyaṇa never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same. SB 6.17.28 The authority of the words of other sages is relative, but the authority of my words is absolute. Let those words be famous everywhere, even in Vaikuṇṭha. However, the Lord prefers some matters to be secret. vedā brahmātma-viṣayās tri-kāṇḍa-viṣayā ime parokṣa-vādā ṛṣayaḥ parokṣaṁ mama ca priyam The Vedas, divided into three divisions, ultimately reveal the living entity as pure spirit soul. The Vedic seers and mantras, however, express their meaning secretly, and I also am pleased by hiding those descriptions. SB 10.87.2 Since I have revealed the greatest secret, I have become not so dear to the Lord. What shall I do now? I have finished writing the Purāṇa. Let that be. Now I will try to hide the great secret of bhakti. Someone may impetuously show off a great, secret jewel to all people, and then, considering the matter, hide it in a box and place it in his treasure vault. He shows off another jewel, praising it as the ultimate jewel. Thus now I will teach jṣāna to King Parīkṣit, so that people will think, “Śukadeva is teaching Parīkṣit jṣāna.” By the influence of the Lord’s māyā they will think that jṣāna is ultimate and bhakti is only a means to attain jṣāna. The Lord sometimes appears before the perfected devotees and tests them by offering them liberation. I will test the development of bhakti in my disciple Parīkṣit by teaching him jṣāna. The wise should know that this test is for the purpose of announcing to the world the steadiness of Parīkṣit’s bhakti. The ignorant people will explain that the result of bhakti and jṣāna is only liberation, but one should understand that this is not my intention, because I have said that compared to liberation bhakti is much greater: rājan patir gurur alaṁ bhavatāṁ yadūnāṁ daivaṁ priyaḥ kula-patiḥ kva ca kiṅkaro vaḥ astv evam aṅga bhagavān bhajatāṁ mukundo muktiṁ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam O King Parīkṣit! Kṛṣṇa was the protector, instructor, object of worship, giver of affection, and the leader of both clans. But he was sometimes your servant. The Lord gives liberation but not bhāva-bhakti to those who worship him. SB 5.6.18 One should not fear that Parīkṣit will attain impersonal liberation by the jṣāna which I will teach. Sūta, my disciple, has understood my intentions, and will later express them: sa vai mahā-bhāgavataḥ parīkṣid yenāpavargākhyam adabhra-buddhiḥ jṣānena vaiyāsaki-śabditena bheje khagendra-dhvaja-pāda-mūlam Parīkṣit, the great devotee, with pure intelligence, attained liberation in the form of the feet of the Lord who possesses a flag marked with Garuḍa, through knowledge spoken by Śukadeva. SB 1.18.16 And I have also indicated in SB 5.6.18 that Parīkṣit will attain prema-bhakti. Realization of Brahman cannot be achieved by these teachings of the ātmā which is separate from body. The Lord has said that bhakti conquers jṣāna: dravyaṁ deśaḥ phalaṁ kālo jṣānaṁ karma ca kārakaḥ śraddhāvasthākṛtir niṣṭhā trai-guṇyaḥ sarva eva hi sarve guṇa-mayā bhāvāḥ puruṣāvyakta-dhiṣṭhitāḥ dṛṣṭaṁ śrutaṁ anudhyātaṁ buddhyā vā puruṣarṣabha etāḥ saṁsṛtayaḥ puṁso guṇa-karma-nibandhanāḥ yeneme nirjitāḥ saumya guṇā jīvena citta-jāḥ bhakti-yogena man-niṣṭho mad-bhāvāya prapadyate Therefore material substance, place, result of activity, time, knowledge, work, the performer of work, faith, state of consciousness, species of life and destination after death are all based on the three modes of material nature. O best of human beings, all states of material being are related to the interaction of the enjoying soul and material nature. Whether seen, heard of or only conceived within the mind, they are without exception constituted of the modes of nature. O gentle Uddhava, all these items related to the guṇas and karma are causes of saṁsāra. The living entity conquers these guṇas, manifested from the mind, by bhakti-yoga. Dedicated only to me, he surrenders and attains a loving relation to me. SB 11.25.30-32 The devotee does not have any desire for liberation, the goal of jṣāna. The Lord himself says this: jṣāne karmaṇi yoge ca vārtāyāṁ daṇḍa-dhāraṇe yāvān artho nṛṇāṁ tāta tāvāṁs te 'haṁ catur-vidhaḥ Through analytic knowledge, ritualistic work, mystic yoga, mundane business and political rule, people seek to advance in religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. But because you are my devotee, whatever men can accomplish in these multifarious ways you will very easily find within me. SB 11.29.33 Finally I will produce a work including the teachings of jṣāna, which will be like Mohinī avatāra, with different faces for different people, so that the demons will be cheated from drinking the nectar. In teaching about jṣāna, I will utter words first with one meaning and then indicate another meaning smeared with bhakti-rasa to please the devotees. And thus, by doing that, I will make all the elements of jṣāna that are unfavorable for bhakti favorable for bhakti by including them in bhakti. In this way Śukadeva thought. Atra means “in concluding this work.” Brahmā was born from the Lord’s pleasure. This would mean that Brahmā was born from the Lord’s sattva-guṇa. However Brahmā is not born from sattva but rajoguṇa. Śiva arose from anger. Since the Lord is beyond the guṇas, it is impossible that he can have anger or tamas as part of his svarūpa. Therefore these statements are exaggeration, with another meaning. The Lord beyond the guṇas is pleased with his devotee who serves him. He is angry at those who harm the devotees. The pleasure and anger of the Lord are śuddha-sattva. Brahmā is an example of attaining good fortune from the Lord’s pleasure. He is the cause of the sādhana and sādhya (bhakti and prema). The devotees should strive for this. The cause of destruction of sādhana and sādhya is the Lord’s anger. One should strive to avoid this. This is the conclusion of the Purāṇa. “If Śukadeva completed the Purāṇa, why do we consider that First Canto and the remainder of the Twelfth Canto part of the Bhāgavatam?” Just as the preliminary and concluding portions of a sacrifice are also called the sacrifice, or the introduction to the drama and blessings at the end of a drama are part of the drama, so the beginning and concluding parts of the Bhāgavatam are considered part of the Bhāgavatam. Consider the following statement: gītā su-gītā kartavyā kim anyaiḥ śāstra-vistaraiḥ yā svayaṁ padmanābhasya mukha-padmād viniḥsṛtā One should recite the Gītā. What is the necessity of any other scripture, when the Gītā emanates from the lotus mouth of the Supreme Lord? Gītā-māhātmya 4 Though all eighteen chapters of the Gītā were not completely spoken by the Lord, they are said to be spoken by him in this statement. Similarly though the last part of the Twelfth Canto was not spoken by Śukadeva, it is also said to be spoken by him. This is the conclusion.