Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.18
Iskcon Ujjain

16th September 2021

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Welcome to all of you and thank you all of you for being present here. Nityam Bhagavata Sevaya is the process that Srila prabhupada has given us according to the bhagavatam as well. This is why we are speaking from the bhagavatam and also srila prabhupada’s memorial festival is currently being celebrated and along with this we are celebrating his holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaja’s seventy sixth appearance day, vyas puja mahotsava.

So in this way the list is quite long and big and on top of that we can definitely add one more item which is the recitation of srimad bhagavatam because we are celebrating the anniversary of this occasion as well. Have you heard of the campaign of bhadra purnima? In front of the temple I read some promotional material about this.

So I also thereupon remembered that we also had a message sent here that for the first time we are celebrating the anniversary of the bhagavatam that Sukadeva Goswami has spoken all at once. Another order of Srila Prabhupada was ‘read my books’ and so throughout all of Iskcon we are celebrating in this way.

A way to celebrate this occasion is by distributing the jewel of all literatures, srimad bhagavatam. We are distributing the bhagavatam but also we should listen to it’s narration. It’s not that you should only distribute the bhagavatam but also Prabhupada has said again and again ‘distribute my books, distribute my books, distribute my books.’ We have not paid much attention to anything else he may have said because we have become impressed or have understood this one instruction ‘distribute my books.’

So he has said ‘read my books, read my books, read my books’ but he has not said this all at once and again and again because along with this he has also said ‘study my books.’ Hari Hari. So we are celebrating the anniversary of first time the hearing and chanting of Srimad bhagavatam took place through Sukadeva Goswami.

I am not sure if this is the right sloka but I have selected this one and it is the first canto, chapter seven, sloka eight. Please repeat after me.

sa samhitam bhagavatim
krtvanukramya catma jam
sukam adhyapayam asa
nivrtti niratam munih
(SB 1.7.8)

Translation
The great sage Vyasadeva, after compiling the Srimad-Bhagavatam and revising it, taught it to his own son, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who was already engaged in self-realization.

After he completed the writing of srimad bhagavatam, Sri Vysadeva taught it to his own son Sukadeva Goswami who was already engaged in realisation of the self.

Srila Prabhupada ki jai! So I was speaking and some talks were happening in regards to Srila Prabhupada’s one hundred and twenty fifth birth anniversary which we are celebrating. Srila Prabhupada ki jai! So remember this, that for the whole year this occasion will be celebrated and the inauguration has been done by Modi-ji himself. You all must have heard about this or read about it.

So we have also celebrated Sri Krishna Janmasthami as well. Sri Krishna Janmasthami ki jai! This is also a birth anniversary, that of lord Sri Krishna. So Srila Prabhupada’s one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary and Sri Bhakti Charu Swami’s seventy eighth birth anniversary shows how much we are celebrating this year.

We have just celebrated the five thousand two hundred and forty eighth Sri Krishna Janmasthami. Haribol! So if you want a challenge or if you want to challenge this calculation then you can make your own attempt or otherwise you could just accept this. I will just quickly say how we got this calculation of five thousand two hundred and forty eight.

This is a fact that Lord Krishna appeared three thousand one hundred and two years before Christ, you understand BC, yes? So the year which we are in now is two thousand and twenty one. So we will add these two numbers up of two thousand and twenty one to three thousand one hundred and two. Plus one hundred and twenty five years which is how long Krishna stayed on the Earth and then ended his pastimes.

The lord also came here in Ujjain, in Avantipura and he performed his pastimes here also. Nanda ke ghar ananda bhayo jai kanaiya lal ki. So before Christ, lord Krishna departed for his own abode and so adding this to two thousand and twenty one what is the grand total? Five thousand two hundred and forty eight which is how many years ago lord Krishna was born at the house of Nanda Maharaja. Nanda ke ghar ananda bhayo jai kanaiya lal ki.

So Nanda Maharaja celebrated this and this is called Nandotsava and this happened that many years ago. So Srila Prabhupada is speaking in connection to this, about when srimad bhagavatam was spoken after five thousand years after lord left the planet. If we go into the details of this then we can see that the very day when krishna left this planet to go back to his abode

yada mukundo bhagwan shamam tyaktva svapadam gatah tad dinath kali rayantam sarva sadhak badhaka
(Brahma vaivarta purana)

TRANSLATION When Bhagwan Mukunda, Krsna Shyam left this planet and went to his planet from that day kaliyuga has come. And it is an impediment everywhere and particularly in devotional service.

There is one sloka like this in the Veda’s where it is said that when Mukunda Sri Krishna returned back to his abode, from that day forward Kali Yuga began. On on the very same day what started happening? People’s religious principles started becoming irregular and who was doing this? Kali and his influence. Kali is a person because everything is eventually a personality.

When the Pandavas found out that Krishna was no longer on the planet, Arjuna had gone to Dwarka to meet lord Krishna and he had spent so much time there. For a long time he didn’t return and he spent seven months in Dwarka after which he returned and the Pandavas heard the worst news of their life.

When Arjuna came back with this heartbreaking news, just by seeing the look of misery upon Arjuna’s face, the Pandavas understood what Arjuna was going to say. So upon hearing this news the Pandavas retired and also as soon as Queen Kunti heard this news she could not live for one moment longer. The Pandavas and Draupadi tried to keep strong and control themselves but we know this is not possible and so they immediately handed the kingdom over to King Parikshit.

He then became the emperor of the world and during his rule he witnessed Kali in his personified form cutting the cow with a sword which Kali wanted to kill but then ‘oh please excuse me. Please forgive me’ which the King then did. So I am extending this Katha I know. So the King gave Kali four places where he could stay.

Abhyarthitas tada tasmai sthananik alaye dadou
Dyutam panam striyah suna yatra adhamass chaturbidhah.
(SB 1.17.38)

Translation
Suta Goswami said, “Maharaj Parikshit, thus being prayed for by the personality of Kali, gave him permission to reside in four different places where gambling, drinking, prostitution and slaughtering of animals are performed respectively.”

So these are the places where Kali was permitted to reside where gambling and drinking, including drinking tea take place. You must be thinking okay ‘so no tea so we can have coffee’ but no, that will also not do. Then there is slaughtering of animals and also women in the form of time bombs (cut).

So chanting of

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So then chanting like this he (HH Bhakti Charu Swami) became unconscious and then came to the shelter of Srila Prabhupada. So this is the personality bhagavad and therefore the worship of bhagavatam should simultaneously be done alongside the worship of the person bhagavad. So Maharaja took shelter of both the bhagavad’s srimad bhagavatam and Srila Prabhupada and for the first time ever in history and only a few months later Srila Prabhupada got all the senior devotees to come together and held a meeting with them.

He spoke to them and then told them that this boy (Bhakti Charu Maharaja) will spread Krishna consciousness throughout the whole world. Srila Prabhupada was told by his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja where to go. ‘Go to the western world and preach in English language this bhagavad dharma!’

But to do this anybody who wants to join the movement has to abide by these four regulative principles. So Prabhupada said this for the first time when he came to the west and the students asked him what these four principles are. No intoxication, no gambling, no illicit sex and no meat eating. So how many of you sitting here are ready to do this and follow these four principles?

Raise your hands. So all of you who are sitting here at the moment are not raising your hands but when Srila Prabhupada asked them they all raised their hands. ‘We are ready! We will follow these principles!’ This showed that it was now the beginning of the end of the age of Kali. So the beginning of the end means for the next ten thousand years it will be the golden period of Kali Yuga.

This has been mentioned in the Chaitanya Mangal and so this was the golden age with the American boys and girls. It was mostly boys and girls because older people would not come forward. Also this kind of thing is usually for the younger generation and so with their help Srila Prabhupada registered this movement of Iskcon.

So he went around the world – jet aged Parivrajakachrya. What sort of Parivrajakachrya? Jet aged. So the preaching was of srimad bhagavatam, the jewel of all scriptures. Prabhupada used to say that books are the basis. And the books he is speaking of is bhagavad gita and bhagavatam and also for the gaudiya vaishnava’s there is Chaitanya Charitamrita.

So we are speaking and having katha of srimad bhagavatam which Srila Prabhupada has given the whole world. So before Prabhupada did this or rather gave this to the world, we were speaking of how the bhagavatam appeared and who the original speaker was. So King Parikshit is the medium via whom this all happened and the guru is Narada Muni who is actually the guru of so many personalities who have then written so many books.

Dhruva Maharaja’s guru is Narada Muni, Prahlad Maharaja’s guru is Narada Muni. He has his disciples all over the universe and so everything must be done by asking the guru for advice, by taking his input. ‘I am dissatisfied, why? I have written so many books but I am not happy.’ Vyasadeva is thinking like this and so his guru Narada Muni did what? He did a book review.

When books are published nowadays there are book reviews and people give their comments and so Narada Muni said ‘oh now I understand why you are angry and upset. You have spoken much in the matter of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation in the Vedas, Purana’s, Mahabharata and in this book and that book. As many books as you have written till now, in none of these have you described the glories of Sri Vasudeva. Vasudevah sarvam iti, Vasudeva is all in all.

But you have spoken of so many things in so much detail, religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. But where is the katha of Vasudeva or the pancham purusartha, the fifth principle which is love or bhakti. So after taking this advise Srila Vyasadeva wrote one more scripture. And finally his final book- did you get scared as I said ‘finally?’

It was too loud but it was to wake you up a bit and just for emphasis, you know? So he wrote one book and that is the king of all scriptures – srimad bhagavatam ki jai!

srimad bhagavatam puranam amalam yad vaisnavanam priyam
(SB 12.13.18)

Translation
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless Purana. It is most dear to the Vaisnavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahamsas.

According to the opinion of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself and according to the bhagavatam, srimad bhagavatam is amala purana, it is perfectly pure. ‘A’ means negative, not existing and mala means dirt, so it is dirt-less. Actually any bonafide scripture purifies our consciousness and our thoughts.

So Sukadeva Goswami stayed in the womb of his mother for sixteen years thinking that if he were to come out then the falsity and contamination of this material world would influence him. ‘This is why it is better for me to stay here where I am.’ So he stayed in his mother’s womb and for how long did he stay? How many years? It wasn’t for ten months or one year, two years, ten years or twelve years. No he stayed for sixteen years!

You can just imagine how difficult that must’ve been for the child, how much inconvenience he bore. Then Vyasadeva called Krishna so that the child could be born and so his wife could gain some relief. So upon arrival, Sri Krishna promised Sukadeva Goswami, ‘first just come out at least. Then you will be safe and I will protect you.’

So he then took birth but as soon as he did, there was no performance of any ceremony or samskara because he immediately started running towards the forest and his father ran after him.

putreti tan mayataya taravo ’bhinedus
(SB 1.2.2)

Translation
His father, Vy?sadeva, fearing separation from him, cried out, “O my son!” Indeed, only the trees, which were absorbed in the same feelings of separation, echoed in response to the begrieved father.

Srila Vyasadeva ran after his son and only this much has been said. The acharyas have written commentaries upon this and they say that Vyasadeva shouted ‘putra!’ (Son) but Sukadeva Goswami didn’t hear anything. Do you hear the crowing of the cock? There are three different ways in which the cock crows just to wake you up.

So the cock will crow slowly but you wont wake up so he will crow a little higher this time but still you don’t wake up. This is what sukadeva goswami was like and so in the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam this bhakti process has been taught by him. Sukadeva Goswami was also very learned and also renounced and so he went to the forest immediately after birth. Sukadeva Goswami wanted to speak the bhagavatam so that upon listening or reading it what would we then do?

We would distribute knowledge of the bhagavatam. The search continued and Vyasadeva would send his students to go and search for Sukadeva Goswami. Upon finding him, because Sukadeva Goswami was further inquisitive about self realisation, his father Vyasadeva taught him more through srimad bhagavatam.

sa samhitam bhagavatim
krtvanukramya catma jam
sukam adhyapayam asa
nivrtti niratam munih
(SB 1.7.8)

The great sage Vyasadeva, after compiling the Srimad-Bhagavatam and revising it, taught it to his own son, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who was already engaged in self-realization.

This is is written in the sloka of today about how firstly Srila Vyasadeva compiled the bhagavatam and then sukam adhyapayam asa- he taught it to his son Sukadeva Goswami. So after Srila Vyasadeva had read the bhagavatam which meant there was sravana and kirtan (hearing and chanting) of the lord, he had become realised in the process of devotional service and realised the lord.

What then happened? Kali Yuga became thirty years old and that is when King Parikshit is cursed with only seven days to live whereupon a snakebird will come. So King Parikshit became ready and wearing only one loincloth he went to the banks of the river Ganges and sat down. The whole world received the news of this and only the lord knows how it spread so quickly and so far. So the brahmanas assembled and asked him what he wanted and he said ‘whatever may happen

Ante narayana smriti
(SB 2.1.6)

Translation
Somehow or other one should remember Krishna at the time of death.

This is when Sukadeva Goswami arrived on the scene and he hadn’t even worn any clothes, had he or not? No because Sukadeva Goswami was thinking-have you not read the gita? What has the lord called the body?

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
(Bg 2.22)

Translation
A person puts on new garments, giving up old ones

‘Why are you thinking that I have not worn any clothes? I have previously also worn so many clothes!’ I’m already wearing one set’ (the body). Upon seeing him all the great sages and King Parikshit stood up to receive him with respect. So Sukadeva Goswami’s katha starts in the first canto, nineteenth chapter. We will now have to end this katha but the time we are going back to is the age of Kali being thirty years old.

This information is in the padma purana where it is clearly written that when Kali Yuga was thirty years old Sukadeva Goswami started his narration of bhagavad katha on which date? Navami, the ninth day was when the Katha began and from there how many days did the Katha continue? When must it have ended? Anyway I am not going by the calendar as such. So in the day of purnima which is the seventh day was when the katha ended.

And which purnima was this? Bhadrapada purnima (the seventh day) and what is the date today? You have all forgotten, yes today is the tenth. So when must the katha have started? Yes, today is the third day of the katha. So in the twelfth canto chapter thirteen, sloka thirteen of bhagavatam there is mention of Bhadra Purnima where it is said that if on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places srimad bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.

sa yati paramam gatim
(SB 12.13.13)

Translation
he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.

So param gati means going back to godhead. So in either gita mahatmya or bhagavad mahatmya it is said and we also have gita marathon in the month in which the lord spoke bhagavad gita. In the same way we are having bhagavatam distribution in the same month when Sukadeva Goswami spoke bhagavatam, Haribol!

Are you all pleased about this? You did not cry out Haribol or show any signs of happiness. (Shouts of Haribol)! So this was by force, not natural. So now in the matter of distribution of bhagavatam sets, last year Iskcon, I think in mostly India they distributed twenty thousand sets of Srimad Bhagavatam.

And this year we have also started in some places and so just like Srila Prabhupada used to say ‘it’s never too late.’ I was in Pune last year and I heard that Iskcon Pune has made a target and that they are alone going to distribute five thousand sets of bhagavatam. So see to this Iskcon Ujjain, and see who is going to win this marathon as they are the real winners.

All glories to Srimad Bhagavatam.