Open Book Essays
Bhakti Vaibhav
Unit – 1
Roll NO. 7
Purandar Vraj Das
Q1 With reference to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.1 How the Bhagavatam establishes Krsna as the
Absolute Truth.
ANS 1
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
janmady asya yato anvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat
tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah
tejo-vari-mridam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo amrsa
dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi
Definition /
Charateristics
of the
Absolute
Truth
Primeval cause
Cognizant
Independent
Enlightener
Bewilderer
Factual Basis
Eternal abode
Conception of Absolute Truth



Indicates Summum
Bonum
Or the Ultimate Source
of all energies.
That substance from
which nothing is
different.
Conception of God

Indicates Controller
Both understanding are not on the same level.
Absolute truth is a person , the divine son of Vasudeva and Devaki known as Krsna , the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(Para 1: Jiva Goswami’s Krsna Sandarbha,
Brahma Samhita,
Sama Veda,
Padma Purana – name of Krsna is the supreme)
Everything else including Brahma Jyoti – emanates from Him.
Ref. BG 10.8, BG 14.27
Definition / Charateristics of the Absolute Truth
1. Primeval cause: The cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universe
Sustenance and Destruction:


Primarily carried out by the Lord Krsna alone in the form of Vishnu-murty as
Ksirodakshayi Vishnu & Maha-Vishnu.
Therefore Krsna is the source of everything creation, sustances and destruction and thus,
janmädy asya yatah
2. Cognizant: The only knower of all objects
Indirectly cognizant

Universe is compared to big organization and all the demigods to the heads of
different departments and Krsna is the owner or this universal organization.

Thus He is indirectly cognizant of the affairs of universe through the different
department heads, who act as His servants to carry out the affairs of universal
management.

As the Paramatma in the heart of everyone BG 13.23
Directly cognizant

In spiritual world, there is no Paramatma feature, but Krsna knows directly everything.
BG 7.26
SP analogies: 1. Civil Engineer 2. Chemist 3. Gold mine & Gold ornaments Para 7,8 & 9
3. Independent: The only independent being
Sva-rāṭ — Lord is fully independent
Independence in material world
 “Independence is our birth right.”
 It is illusion in this material world.
 Everyone is dependent on something or someone for survival, nourishment,
happiness, and so on.
 No other living entity is either abhijñah? 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. what to
speak of scientists / Mayavadis / Atheists?
BG 7.12: Know that all states of being — be they of goodness, passion or ignorance —
are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything, but I am independent. I am
not under the modes of material nature, for they, on the contrary, are within Me.
4. Enlightener: Revealed the Vedas to Brahma within his heart
“It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmaji, the
original living being.”
 Birth of Brahma within universe.
 Brahma’s bewilderment and tapasya.
 Krsna revealing to him the purpose of his birth.
 Brahma engaging in creation work and his confession.
5. Bewilderer: Difficult to understand even for the learned
 By Him even the great sages and demi-gods are placed into illusion, as one is
bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on
water.”
 Illusions of different kinds.
 Bodily concept of life.
 Krsna bewildering even the great demigods.
Brahma bewildered

Krsna enjoying meal with his cowherd boy friends and Brahma coming to see and
examine Krsna’s potencies
Even Balaram bewildered

Seeing Krsna’s pastimes in relationship to cows & calves and cowherd men &
cowherd boys even Lord Balaram bewildered.
Indra bewildered so many times.
Thus Lord’s potencies are unsurmountable and only who take shelter of Him can overcome the
illusory potency.
6. Factual Basis: His body is thought to be made of matter due to illusion, just as one
mistakes fire, water and earth for each other
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.”
Creation of interaction of 3 modes.

3 Modes create everything within this material world.

Everything means –
bodies of different living entities,
different matter,
different emotions,
different interactions between different living entities, and so on…
Appearing Factual

Everything is temporary in this world,
body,
home,
love & hatered,
happiness & distress, & so on…

Yet appears to be factual (ever lasting)
Material world compared to dreaming.

E.g. in dream on sees being chased by tiger,
suffering due to tiger chasing is actually non-existent, yet the effect of it is real.

Mayavada theory not supported,
world is temporary and thus unreal, but it is not imaginary or non-existent.

Waking up from dreaming drives away all sufferings.
7. Eternal abode: He negates all false arguments regarding his existence by possessing
transcendental inconceivable form, and by the strength of devotees experience Lord
through his Svarupa Shakti.
The materialist wrongly thinks that there is no creator other than his own self. This is called
mäyä, 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 çloka by Çréla Vyäsadeva:
"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.
The original fact is in the Absolute Truth, and thus the Absolute Truth cannot be impersonal.
1. Refutes common misconception about God
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.
The original fact is in the Absolute Truth, and thus the Absolute Truth cannot be
impersonal.
There is no need of taking knowledge from others. That is God.
Not that I am now in ignorance. The Māyāvādī theory is that "I am now in darkness under the
clutches of māyā, and when māyā is finished, then I am God.
" The answer is if you are actually God, how you are captured by māyā?
Then māyā is greater than you. But it is understood that God is great, nobody can be greater than
God; so if māyā captures God, then māyā is greater than God.
2. Reflects the mood & mission of Srila Prabhupada.
The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the science of Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Personality of Godhead of
whom we have preliminary information from the text of the Bhagavad-gītā. There is a need for
the science of Kṛṣṇa in human society for the good of all suffering humanity of the world.
“Śri Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all others are His direct or indirect
plenary portions or portions of the portion.”
In this prayer, it is stated that Lord Sri Krishna is the original and primeval Lord. The name
"Krishna" refers to the all-attractive Absolute Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-Gita,
Lord Krishna repeatedly affirms Himself as the original Godhead, and this is supported by
Arjuna as well as great sages like Narada and Vyasa. The Padma Purana also confirms that
among the countless names of God, the name "Krishna" is the primary one.
The importance of discussing Srimad-Bhagavatam in the society of pure devotees is
explained by Saunaka Muni during the meeting at Naimisaranya, in the presence of Suta
Gosvami
Sūta Gosvāmī confirmed that if someone is fortunate enough to associate with a pure
devotee of the Lord even for a moment, that particular moment is so valuable that even
those pious activities which can promote one to the heavenly planets or give liberation
from material miseries cannot compare with it. In other words, those who are attached to
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam do not care for any kind of benefit derived from elevation to the
higher planetary kingdoms, or for the liberation which is conceived of by the
impersonalists. As such, the association of pure devotees is so transcendentally valuable
that no kind of material happiness can compare with it.
3. Helps my faith in Krsna consciousness
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. Sril 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.
4. Helps my practices of devotional Service:
This Srimad Bhagavatam has helped me gradually enhance my interest (develop my Ruchi) to
read, listen / hear & chant glories & holy names of Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna.
Additionally, it has also enabled me to practice various process or activities favorable to Bhakti
and to reject or avoid, what is unfavorable in Bhakti. Many of these found mentions in Bhagwad
Gita, Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and Updeshamrita etc. It is the Srimad Bhagavatam, that might
have helped me walk on the upward move on Ladder. ( and I am quite sure, as given in Shastras,
hearing & reading Srimad Bhagavatam complimented by, suggested other activities part of the
process of Bhakti will led to the highest perfectional stage of transcendence). It enable me to face
three modes of material activities: fruitive actions, speculative philosophy, and worship of
functional deities as inculcated in Vedic verses.
The below given example shows, how Srimad Bhagavatam elevates on to the level of recite &
hear Brahma Gayati
Brahma Gayatri
Bhagavatam 1st Text
Om
janmādy asya yato
Lord Śrī Kr ̣s ̣n ̣a is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all
causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction
Bhur Bhuvah Suvah
yatra tri-sargo 'mr ̣sạ̄
lower/middle/upper planetary systems - or material universes
savitur varenyam bhargah
Svarat
Sun's self sustaining
effulgence
Lord's full independence
Dhiyo yonah prachotayat
tene brahma hrda
Prayerful mood of
enlightenment
Lord enlightens Brahma because of Brahma's prayerful mood
Dhimahi
Satyam Param Dhimahi
I meditate upon the
Absolute Truth
Bhagavatams beginning 1.1.1 and end 12.13.19 - ultimate
objective : Meditation on Krsna