20210227 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.7.7

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 27th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. Zoom class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.7.7.

Translation: Simply by giving aural reception to this Vedic literature, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness.

Guru Mahārāja: So after Vyasadeva heard the instruction from Nārada Muni, he sat by the Sarasvati River at the Badrikāśrama. So there he started to meditate on how he would compile the transcendental literature Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And how he would glorify Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vyāsadeva, He was thinking, how to help the conditioned souls. How love of Kṛṣṇa would awaken in their hearts. So every incarnation has a particular mood. Vyāsadeva, His mood was how to present the literature in such a way that it would help people to be Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa, He was very attractive. Sometimes, He would steal butter, like we heard this morning that He was very naughty. So in Kṛṣṇa that quality is very attractive. But in the material world people do things that are distorted. If someone steals or is mischievous then it is considered bad. But the same thing with Kṛṣṇa, it is very nice. But everything in connection with Kṛṣṇa is wonderful but in the material world it is considered bad. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. So like Narasiṁhadeva, He was very fearful for the demons, but He was Bhakta-vatsala, He protected Prahlāda. This was His special quality or attribute. Varāhadeva He was very merciful, He delivered the earth from the fallen situation. There is a nice prayer that Varāhadeva said, I will ask Mahā Varāha dāsa to read that: “Lord Varāhadeva addresses mother earth or Bhūmi devī: thatāṣṭham milyamāṇam tu kaṣṭa pārṣaṇa sannibham, ahaṁ smarāmi mat-bhaktam nayāmi paramāṁ gatim When anyone who is with a sound mind and situated in good health, thinks of Me as the cause of this universe, and one without birth, I remember him when he is in his deathbed, lying like a stone or a log of wood, and take him to My ultimate abode.” (Varāha Purāṇa) Every avatāra has a particular mood. Lord Caitanya’s mood is mercy. Lord Caitanya asked Haridāsa Ṭhākura how these people will be liberated? How will the fishermen, the meat eaters, how will they get delivered? How merciful Lord Caitanya is, He is thinking about the fallen, most fallen souls, how they will be delivered! And He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can do anything! But He was Himself thinking how all the living entities could be delivered. So we have this great opportunity to help Lord Caitanya. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that Lord Caitanya had predicted that in every town and village of the world His name will be sung. But some people distorted the meaning and said that when He says, pṛthvī or the whole world it actually means India. But Śrīla Prabhupāda said, no! pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma - means the whole world! So he had such a vision. He had this mood of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya when He went to South India, it is said He would see people on the road and embrace them He was always chanting and dancing Hare Kṛṣṇa. He used to go to different devas’ temples like Lord Śiva, Durgā, Kārtikeya, etc. And in every temple He was chanting the holy name. All those people who are Māyāvādīs, Buddhists, Jains, pāṣaṇḍīs, all those people He would deliver. Even His assistant was taken by the Bhaṭṭāthāris, gypsies, and He also saved him. So, now we should see that this golden ten thousand years’ age is established. We can simply imagine how important it is to hear the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which is mentioned in the pages of this verse. I was very pleased, yesterday I heard that one lady had read all the Śrīla Prabhupāda books – Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, etc almost three times. And one brahmacārī had read all the books twice and he is reading for the third time. Many devotees they don’t read Śrīla Prabhupāda books much. Even of all my disciples only 12% have taken second initiation. And those who have read the books got their Bhakti-śāstrī, they don’t read any more books,about 80% of them don’t read more books. So we need to read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as we see in this verse. Our love for Lord Kṛṣṇa will arise from our hearts. We hear how important hearing is, how to hear is the secret. So, Lord Caitanya taught that we should chant and hear. Actually, people should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and we chant the name of Śrī Caitanya. Today is the appearance day of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. He appeared in Kheturi-dhāma in Bangladesh. Haribol! He appeared in Kheturi dhāma in Bangladesh. Haribol! There we showed that he bathed in the Padmā river and got the blessing of Lord Caitanya with kṛṣṇa-prema. There is still the Tamāla tree which is there to mark the spot. So the devotees in Bangladesh have gone through great trouble to secure the birthplace of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. Although Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura was a crown prince, a kṣatriya, but he abdicated his throne. And he got instructed by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī but his father, the king requested him to please make his āśrama near to the Kheturi village. He, along with Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Śyāmānanda Paṇḍita, carrying the books from Vṛndāvana to Navadvīpa. But these books on the way, got stolen in Vana Viṣṇupura. Śrīnivāsa Ācārya told Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and Śyāmānanda Paṇḍita to go to their places. And later on, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya got the books. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura asked Śrīnivāsa Ācārya to invite all the Vaiṣṇavas for the Gaura-pūrṇimā festival. So many Vaiṣṇavas came there and Jāhnavā devī, she also came there. And Jāhnavā devī was accepted as a senior devotee, an ācārya. By her instructions, all the Deities were installed in different places. In Kheturi they have five deities installed. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, in the mood of separation was doing kīrtana. At that time Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, all the ācāryas who had disappeared, all of Them appeared there on the scene! What a wonderful kīrtana! All these līlās happened in Kheturi grāma. Today on the occasion of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura’s appearance day, we have a wonderful opportunity to take a saṅkalpa to read Śrīla Prabhupāda books and we will spread the movement of Lord Caitanya. I was thinking how people are trying to be happy, but they don’t know the real secret. They are having suffering, lamentation, grief and fear. If they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa kīrtana, and if they read and hear, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literature, then their lives will be transformed.