Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.12 Pradyumna: pariksito ’tha rajarser janma-karma-vilapanam samstham ca pandu-putranam vaksye krsna-kathodayam “Suta Gosvami thus addressed the rsis headed by Saunaka: Now I shall begin the transcendental narration of the Lord Sri Krsna and topics of the birth, activities and deliverance of King Pariksit, the sage amongst kings, as well as topics of the renunciation of the worldly order by the sons of Pandu.” Prabhupada: (aside:) The flies are disturbing, how we are… pariksito ’tha rajarser janma-karma-vilapanam samstham ca pandu-putranam vaksye krsna-kathodayam This Srimad-Bhagavatam is another Purana, history. We have already explained. So sometimes a class of devotees known as sahajiya, they say that “What we have got to do with the narration of Kuruksetra battle?” They immediately jump to the krsna-lila, directly with the gopis. And Krsna’s activities in other field, they think it is useless. But that is not the fact. Anywhere Krsna is acting, that is transcendental—the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, historical references, description, so superficially it appears that what a devotee has got to do with this battlefield? But battlefield or no battlefield, wherever there is Krsna, that is transcendental. This has to be understood. Otherwise, Sukadeva Gosvami, why he should indulge in describing how Uttara’s pregnancy was saved by Krsna, how the brahmastra was thrown by Asvatthama? So Sukadeva Gosvami is liberated person. Why he should indulge in these material things? No. Those who are advanced, they know that Krsna’s dancing with the gopis, that lila and Krsna’s playing as the leader of the battlefield of Kuruksetra is the same. It is all transcendental. One should not make any distinction between the two. Samstham ca pandu-putranam vaksye krsna-kathodayam. Pandu-putranam, the pandu-putras, or the Pandavas, son of Pandu, they’re all devotees. Even their political affairs, because there is connection with Krsna, it is krsna-katha. Those who are with poor fund of knowledge [break] …directly taking shelter of Krsna or to take shelter of a pure devotee who is under the shelter of Krsna. Mad-asrayah. So if one takes shelter of a pure devotee… Just like electricity: the powerhouse is far away, but the power is coming. Suppose your body is electrified, and if I touch, then my body immediately becomes electrified. And if somebody touches me, then other’s body. This is electric. Similarly, one who is pure devotee, he’s authorized by Krsna, he’s electrified. So if one takes shelter of a pure devotee, then he becomes purified. Yad-apasrayasrayah sudhyanti. That is the statement given by Sukadeva Gosvami. How the candalas can become purified? The example I have already stated. Then at the end, Sukadeva Gosvami says, prabhavisnave namah. This is the supreme transcendental power of Visnu. He can do. Sometimes they say that unless the body is changed, how a candala can become purified? Yes, body is changing. Because we do not know how the body is changing… Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, tatha dehantara-praptih. Dehantara-praptih. Dehino ’smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara tatha [Bg. 2.13], like that. Tatha means “like that.” Dehantara-praptih. So these are dehantara. Dehino ’smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara. This is dehantara. Every moment we are changing our body. This is dehantara. Krsna says, the greatest authority. How you can say that there is no dehantara? He has dehantara. Suppose in my childhood I am born in a candala family, but if by initiation, by taking shelter of a pure devotee, I become initiated, so dehantara is there, going on. So if I take initiation seriously, so in the next dehantara… Suppose yesterday I was a candala. Now by this time there is dehantara, and if I am purified by initiation… So this argument… Dehantara, is already there. Scientifically, in modern understanding, and on the authority of Krsna’s statement, dehantara is going on. Not that somebody was European or… We take Europeans as mlecchas or yavanas. Yes, he was yesterday mleccha and yavanas, but he has changed his body, and after changing if he’s initiated, then dehantara. Sudhyanti, he’s purified. Sudhyanti. So how this is possible, if we cannot understand… Because Lord Visnu’s energy is inconceivable. Inconceivable, acintya. Srila Jiva Gosvami has discussed. Unless you accept acintya-sakti of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you cannot understand. You have to accept. It is acintya, inconceivable, by us. But it is not inconceivable by the advanced devotees. Or anything being executed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is not inconceivable by Him. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. He’s so perfect in knowledge that what we are thinking inconceivable, that is very, very easily done with full knowledge by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So what is inconceivable by us, it is not inconceivable by Him. Therefore we have to learn it from, tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah [Bg. 4.34] We cannot understand directly. It is not possible. So we have to approach tattva-darsi. Just like Sukadeva Gosvami, tattva-darsi. He says sudhyanti. Yes, he’s purified. Although he is born of kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasah, candala. Candalo ’pi dvija-srestho hari-bhakti-parayanah. So it is inconceivable by us how a candala can be dvija-srestha, more than a brahmana. It is inconceivable by me. But when we get a statement of the authorities like Sukadeva Gosvami, and above that, Krsna… Because the conclusion of Krsna and the conclusion of pure devotee like Sukadeva Gosvami, they are the same. Just see here. Krsna says mam hi partha vyapasritya ye ’pi syuh papa-yonayah te ’pi yanti param gatim [Bg. 9.32] So unless one is purified, how he can go to param gatim? And Sukadeva Gosvami also says the same thing. Kirata-hunandhra. Papa-yoni. They are papa-yoni. Sudhyanti prabhavisnave namah. Simply we have to go through the process; otherwise everything is possible. That is the omnipotency of Krsna. We use this word “omnipotency,” but we do not know actually what is that omnipotency. Omnipotency means He has got diverse energies. That is omnipotency. And we do not know by which energy He’s acting in a particular case. But this is a fact, that His energy is working. And He says also in the Bhagavad-gita directly, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10]. Mayadhyaksena, “Under My supervision prakrti is acting.” So how prakrti is directed, how Krsna is directing prakrti to make a nice flower… Just like here, they’re painting flower on the wall. It takes so much time, so much arrangement. Still, it is not as good as a natural flower. Here you have painted one rose flower, and here are roses. There is art also, and here is art also. Without art, without artistic sense, how this nice thing, beautiful thing, can come in? You’ll find a beautiful flower bloom in a plant, you appreciate it. And don’t think, as the rascal says, “By nature it has come automatically.” No. The same energy as you are taking, you are applying your energy to paint a flower on the wall with your paints and brushes… But Krsna is also doing that, but His energy is so inconceivable that we cannot see how He’s working. But He’s working. Otherwise why Krsna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih: [Bg. 9.10] “Prakrti is working under My direction”? Is it a bluff? No. Actually prakrti is acting under His direction. It is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita, srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga icchanurupam api yasya ca cestate sa govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.44] So prakrti. Icchanurupam api yasya. That prakrti, Durga, is acting under the direction of Govinda. Icchanurupam api yasya ca cestate sa govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. The direction is there. Direction is there actually. But because we cannot conceive how in this plan the direction of the Supreme Lord is there so that a nice flower is coming with so beautiful feature. But direction is there we should know. In ordinarily we say sometimes that “Not a blade of grass moves without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So everything is going on under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Don’t think that it is taking automatically. There is no such thing as automatical. But the direction is so quick, so sufficient and so perfect. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. Automatically, immediately. There are so many machines we have. Just like the computer. There is machine working, but it is so minute that simply by pushing one button, so many things immediately done. This is a material machine, manufactured by a human being. And how much perfect the machine of Krsna will be, just imagine. So this material nature is nothing but machine. It is not God. Those who are with poor fund of knowledge, they are taking directly this material nature as working. No. Material nature has no power to act. It is dull. The same example, the computer. It is a very nice machine, but it cannot work automatically unless an expert pushes the button. So material nature cannot do anything. It is Krsna’s direction. So in everywhere there is Krsna’s direction. One who has got the eyes to see, for him, krsna-kathodayam. Whatever he sees, he remembers Krsna. sthavara-jangama dekhe na dekhe tara murti sarvatra haya nija ista-deva-sphurti One has to become advanced devotee to understand how Krsna’s direction is going on. They can understand. Don’t think that things are taking place automatically. Therefore even in reverse condition a devotee does not see that “This thing is happening without direction of Krsna.” Even if he is in an adverse condition, he does not feel any pain, because he knows that “This adverse condition is also under the direction of Krsna. So I am fully surrendered to Krsna. Why I shall take this adverse position as not mercy of Krsna? It is also mercy of Krsna.” Tat te ’nukampam su-samiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam. A devotee is not disturbed by adverse condition. He takes that this is a gift of Krsna. Tat te anukampam. “It is Krsna’s mercy. Although I am put into difficulty, it is Krsna’s mercy.” So anyone who takes in that way, mukti-pade sa daya-bhak: his going back to home, back to Godhead, is guaranteed. Because he takes everything as Krsna’s mercy. Just like Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja was so much chastised by his father. You know how he was put into difficulty so many ways. But he was taking, “This is Krsna’s mercy.” He did not take otherwise. So in this way wherever… Everywhere there is Krsna’s hand, so what to speak of this battlefield or any other thing. So we should not take otherwise, that “This the best part and this is the lowest part.” No. Wherever there is Krsna directly. Krsna is everywhere, but we cannot see. But at least in Mahabharata, in Srimad-Bhagavatam, in Krsna’s dealing with the Pandavas, the Krsna’s hand is there. That is Krsna’s desire. [break] …it is not like that. One who is advanced, one who is actually in knowledge, they will take krsna-kathodayam. Wherever Krsna’s katha is there, it is as good as any other. That is the way of… Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, September 11, 1976