upasana.amrothamaiah.

Mahārāja Nimi Meets the Nine Yogendras

VERSE 11.2.1

śrī-śuka uvāca

govinda-bhuja-guptāyāṁ
dvāravatyāṁ kurūdvaha
avātsīn nārado ’bhīkṣṇaṁ
kṛṣṇopāsana-lālasaḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śuka said; govinda — of Lord Govinda; bhuja — by the arms; guptāyām — protected; dvāravatyām — in the capital Dvāravatī; kuru-udvaha — O best of the Kurus; avātsīt — dwelled; nāradaḥ — Nārada Muni; abhīkṣṇam — constantly; kṛṣṇa-upāsana — to engage in the worship of Kṛṣṇa; lālasaḥ — who had great eagerness.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Eager to engage in the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa, O best of the Kurus, Nārada Muni stayed for some time in Dvārakā, which was always protected by the arms of Govinda.

VERSE 11.2.2

ko nu rājann indriyavān
mukunda-caraṇāmbujam
na bhajet sarvato-mṛtyur
upāsyam amarottamaiḥ

SYNONYMS

kaḥ — who; nu — indeed; rājan — O King; indriya-vān — possessed of senses; mukunda-caraṇa-ambujam — the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda; na bhajet — would not worship; sarvataḥ-mṛtyuḥ — being faced by death on all sides; upāśyam — worshipable; amara-uttamaiḥ — by the best of liberated personalities.

TRANSLATION

My dear King, in the material world the conditioned souls are confronted by death at every step of life. Therefore, who among the conditioned souls would not render service to the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda, who is worshipable even for the greatest of liberated souls?

VERSE 11.2.3

tam ekadā tu devarṣiṁ
vasudevo gṛhāgatam
arcitaṁ sukham āsīnam
abhivādyedam abravīt

SYNONYMS

tam — him; ekadā — once; tu — and; deva-ṛṣim — the sage among the demigods, Nārada; vasudevaḥ — Vasudeva, the father of Lord Kṛṣṇa; gṛha-āgatam — who had come to his house; arcitam — worshiped with paraphernalia; sukham āsīnam — comfortably seated; abhivādya — respectfully greeting him; idam — this; abravīt — said.

TRANSLATION

One day the sage among the demigods, Nārada, came to the house of Vasudeva. After worshiping Nārada with suitable paraphernalia, seating him comfortably and respectfully bowing down to him, Vasudeva spoke as follows.

VERSE 11.2.4

śrī-vasudeva uvāca

bhagavan bhavato yātrā
svastaye sarva-dehinām
kṛpaṇānāṁ yathā pitror
uttama-śloka-vartmanām

SYNONYMS

śrī-vasudevaḥ uvāca — Śrī Vasudeva said; bhagavan — O lord; bhavataḥ — of your good self; yātrā — the coming; svastaye — for the benefit; sarva-dehinām — of all embodied beings; kṛpaṇānām — of the most wretched; yathā — as; pitroḥ — that of a father; uttama-śloka — the Supreme Lord, who is praised by excellent verses; vartmanām — of those who are fixed on the path toward.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Vasudeva said: My lord, your visit, like that of a father to his children, is for the benefit of all living beings. You especially help the most wretched among them, as well as those who are advanced on the path toward the Supreme Lord, Uttamaśloka.

VERSE 11.2.5

bhūtānāṁ deva-caritaṁ
duḥkhāya ca sukhāya ca
sukhāyaiva hi sādhūnāṁ
tvādṛśām acyutātmanām

SYNONYMS

bhūtānām — of the living beings; deva-caritam — the activities of demigods; duḥkhāya— result in the misery; ca — also; sukhāya — in happiness; ca — as well; sukhāya — in happiness; eva — only; hi — indeed; sādhūnām — that of saints; tvādṛśām — like you; acyuta — the infallible Supreme Lord; ātmanām — who have accepted as their very soul.

TRANSLATION

The activities of demigods lead to both misery and happiness for living beings, but the activities of great saints like you, who have accepted the infallible Lord as their very soul, result only in the happiness of all beings.

VERSE 11.2.6

bhajanti ye yathā devān
devā api tathaiva tān
chāyeva karma-sacivāḥ
sādhavo dīna-vatsalāḥ

SYNONYMS

bhajanti — worship; ye — they who; yathā — in which way; devān — the demigods; devāḥ — the demigods; api — also; tathā eva — just in that way; tān — them; chāyā — in a shadow; iva — as if; karma — of material work and its reactions; sacivāḥ — the attendants; sādhavaḥ — saintly persons; dīna-vatsalāḥ — merciful to the fallen.

TRANSLATION

Those who worship the demigods receive reciprocation from the demigods in a way just corresponding to the offering. The demigods are attendants of karma, like a person’s shadow, but sādhus are actually merciful to the fallen.

VERSE 11.2.7

brahmaṁs tathāpi pṛcchāmo
dharmān bhāgavatāṁs tava
yān śrutvā śraddhayā martyo
mucyate sarvato bhayāt

SYNONYMS

brahman — O brāhmaṇa; tathā api — nevertheless (although I am completely satisfied just by seeing you); pṛcchāmaḥ — I am inquiring about; dharmān — religious duties; bhāgavatān — which are specifically meant for pleasing the Supreme Lord; tava — from you; yān — which; śrutvā — hearing; śraddhayā — with faith; martyaḥ — one destined to die; mucyate — he is freed; sarvataḥ — from all; bhayāt — fear.

TRANSLATION

O brāhmaṇa, although I am satisfied simply by seeing you, I still wish to inquire about those duties which give pleasure to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Any mortal who faithfully hears about them is freed from all kinds of fear.

VERSE 11.2.8

ahaṁ kila purānantaṁ
prajārtho bhuvi mukti-dam
apūjayaṁ na mokṣāya
mohito deva-māyayā

SYNONYMS

aham — I; kila — indeed; purā — long ago; anantam — the Supreme Lord, who is unlimited; prajā-arthaḥ — wanting a child; bhuvi — on the earth; mukti-dam — the Lord, who awards liberation; apūjayam — I worshiped; na mokṣāya — not for liberation; mohitaḥ — bewildered; deva-māyayā — by the illusory energy of the Lord.

TRANSLATION

In a previous birth on this earth, I worshiped the Supreme Lord, Ananta, who alone can award liberation, but because I desired to have a child, I did not worship Him for liberation. Thus I was bewildered by the Lord’s illusory energy.

VERSE 11.2.9

yathā vicitra-vyasanād
bhavadbhir viśvato-bhayāt
mucyema hy añjasaivāddhā
tathā naḥ śādhi su-vrata

SYNONYMS

yathā — so that; vicitra-vyasanāt — which is full of various dangers; bhavadbhiḥ — because of you; viśvataḥ-bhayāt — (from this material world) which is fearful everywhere; mucyema — I may be liberated; hi — indeed; añjasā — easily; eva — even; addhā — directly; tathā — thus; naḥ — us; śādhi — please instruct; su-vrata — O you who are always true to your vow.

TRANSLATION

My dear lord, you are always true to your vow. Please instruct me clearly, so that by your mercy I may easily free myself from material existence, which is full of many dangers and keeps us constantly bound in fear.

VERSE 11.2.10

śrī-śuka uvāca

rājann evaṁ kṛta-praśno
vasudevena dhīmatā
prītas tam āha devarṣir
hareḥ saṁsmārito guṇaiḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; rājan — O King; evam — thus; kṛta-praśnaḥ — questioned; vasudevena — by Vasudeva; dhīmatā — the intelligent; prītaḥ — pleased; tam — to him; āha — spoke; deva-ṛṣiḥ — the sage among the demigods; hareḥ— of Lord Hari; saṁsmāritaḥ — made to remember; guṇaiḥ — by the qualities.

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, Devarṣi Nārada was pleased by the questions of the highly intelligent Vasudeva. Because they suggested the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they reminded Nārada of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus Nārada replied to Vasudeva as follows.

VERSE 11.2.11

śrī-nārada uvāca

samyag etad vyavasitaṁ
bhavatā sātvatarṣabha
yat pṛcchase bhāgavatān
dharmāṁs tvaṁ viśva-bhāvanān

SYNONYMS

śrī-nāradaḥ uvāca — Nārada Muni said; samyak — correctly; etat — this; vyavasitam — determined; bhavatā — by you; sātvata-ṛṣabha — O best of the Sātvata clan; yat — because; pṛcchase — you are asking about; bhāgavatān dharmān — duties toward the Supreme Lord; tvam — you; viśva-bhāvanān — which can purify the entire universe.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Nārada said: O best of the Sātvatas, you have quite correctly asked about the eternal duty of the living entity toward the Supreme Lord. Such devotional service to the Lord is so potent that its performance can purify the entire universe.

VERSE 11.2.12

śruto ’nupaṭhito dhyāta
ādṛto vānumoditaḥ
sadyaḥ punāti sad-dharmo
deva-viśva-druho ’pi hi

SYNONYMS

śrutaḥ — heard; anupaṭhitaḥ — subsequently chanted; dhyātaḥ — meditated on; ādṛtaḥ— faithfully accepted; vā — or; anumoditaḥ — praised when performed by others; sadyaḥ — immediately; punāti — purifies; sat-dharmaḥ — pure devotional service; deva— to the demigods; viśva — and to the universe; druhaḥ — those who are hateful; api hi— even.

TRANSLATION

Pure devotional service rendered to the Supreme Lord is spiritually so potent that simply by hearing about such transcendental service, by chanting its glories in response, by meditating on it, by respectfully and faithfully accepting it, or by praising the devotional service of others, even persons who hate the demigods and all other living beings can be immediately purified.

VERSE 11.2.13

tvayā parama-kalyāṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
smārito bhagavān adya
devo nārāyaṇo mama

SYNONYMS

tvayā — by you; parama — supremely; kalyāṇaḥ — blissful; puṇya — very pious; śravaṇa— hearing; kīrtanaḥ — and chanting (about whom); smāritaḥ — brought to memory; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord; adya — today; devaḥ nārāyaṇaḥ — Lord Nārāyaṇa; mama — my.

TRANSLATION

Today you have made me remember my Lord, the supremely blissful Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. The Supreme Lord is so auspicious that whoever hears and chants about Him becomes completely pious.

VERSE 11.2.14

atrāpy udāharantīmam
itihāsaṁ purātanam
ārṣabhāṇāṁ ca saṁvādaṁ
videhasya mahātmanaḥ

SYNONYMS

atra api — in this very matter (of describing bhāgavata-dharma); udāharanti — is given as an example; imam — this; itihāsam — historical account; purātanam — ancient; ārṣabhāṇām — of the sons of Ṛṣabha; ca — and; saṁvādam — the conversation; videhasya — with Janaka, King of Videha; mahā-ātmanaḥ — who was a great broad-minded soul.

TRANSLATION

To explain the devotional service of the Lord, sages have related the ancient history of the conversation between the great soul King Videha and the sons of Ṛṣabha.

VERSE 11.2.15

priyavrato nāma suto
manoḥ svāyambhuvasya yaḥ
tasyāgnīdhras tato nābhir
ṛṣabhas tat-sutaḥ smṛtaḥ

SYNONYMS

priyavrataḥ — Mahārāja Priyavrata; nāma — by name; sutaḥ — the son; manoḥsvāyambhuvasya — of Svāyambhuva Manu; yaḥ — who; tasya — his; āgnīdhraḥ — (son was) Āgnīdhra; tataḥ — from him (Āgnīdhra); nābhiḥ — King Nābhi; ṛṣabhaḥ — Lord Ṛṣabhadeva; tat-sutaḥ — his son; smṛtaḥ — is so remembered.

TRANSLATION

Svāyambhuva Manu had a son named Mahārāja Priyavrata, and among Priyavrata’s sons was Āgnīdhra. From Āgnīdhra was born Nābhi, whose son was known as Ṛṣabhadeva.

VERSE 11.2.16

tam āhur vāsudevāṁśaṁ
mokṣa-dharma-vivakṣayā
avatīrṇaṁ suta-śataṁ
tasyāsīd brahma-pāragam

SYNONYMS

tam — Him; āhuḥ — they call; vāsudeva-aṁśam — a plenary expansion of the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva; mokṣa-dharma — the process of attaining liberation; vivakṣayā — with the desire to teach; avatīrṇam — appeared in this world; suta — sons; śatam — one hundred; tasya — His; āsīt — there were; brahma — the Vedas; pāra-gam — who perfectly assimilated.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Ṛṣabhadeva is accepted as an expansion of the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva. He incarnated in this world to propagate those religious principles that lead living entities to ultimate liberation. He had one hundred sons, all perfect in Vedic knowledge.

VERSE 11.2.17

teṣāṁ vai bharato jyeṣṭho
nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ
vikhyātaṁ varṣam etad yan-
nāmnā bhāratam adbhutam

SYNONYMS

teṣām — of them; vai — indeed; bharataḥ — Bharata; jyeṣṭhaḥ — the oldest; nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ — completely devoted to Lord Nārāyaṇa; vikhyātam — is famous; varṣam — the planet; etat — this; yat-nāmnā — by whose name; bhāratam — Bhārata-varṣa; adbhutam — wonderful.

TRANSLATION

Of the one hundred sons of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, the eldest, Bharata, was completely devoted to Lord Nārāyaṇa. It is because of Bharata’s fame that this planet is now celebrated as the great Bhārata-varṣa.

VERSE 11.2.18

sa bhukta-bhogāṁ tyaktvemāṁ
nirgatas tapasā harim
upāsīnas tat-padavīṁ
lebhe vai janmabhis tribhiḥ

SYNONYMS

saḥ — he; bhukta — used up; bhogām — all the pleasures; tyaktvā — rejecting; imām — of this (earth); nirgataḥ — having left home; tapasā — by austerities; harim — the Supreme Lord, Hari; upāsīnaḥ — having worshiped; tat-padavīm — His destination; lebhe — he achieved; vai — indeed; janmabhiḥ — in births; tribhiḥ — three.

TRANSLATION

King Bharata rejected this material world, considering all types of material pleasure temporary and useless. Leaving his beautiful young wife and family, he worshiped Lord Hari by severe austerities and attained the abode of the Lord after three lifetimes.

VERSE 11.2.19

teṣāṁ nava nava-dvīpa-
patayo ’sya samantataḥ
karma-tantra-praṇetāra
ekāśītir dvijātayaḥ

SYNONYMS

teṣām — of them (the one hundred sons of Ṛṣabhadeva); nava — nine; nava-dvīpa — of the nine islands (comprising Bhārata-varṣa); patayaḥ — the masters; asya — of this varṣa; samantataḥ — covering it entirely; karma-tantra — of the path of fruitive Vedic sacrifices; praṇetāraḥ — initiators; ekāśītiḥ — eighty-one; dvi-jātayaḥ — twice-born brāhmaṇas.

TRANSLATION

Nine of the remaining sons of Ṛṣabhadeva became the rulers of the nine islands of Bhārata-varṣa, and they exercised complete sovereignty over this planet. Eighty-one sons became twice-born brāhmaṇas and helped initiate the Vedic path of fruitive sacrifices [karma-kāṇḍa].

VERSE 11.2.20-21

navābhavan mahā-bhāgā
munayo hy artha-śaṁsinaḥ
śramaṇā vāta-rasanā
ātma-vidyā-viśāradāḥ

kavir havir antarīkṣaḥ
prabuddhaḥ pippalāyanaḥ
āvirhotro ’tha drumilaś
camasaḥ karabhājanaḥ

SYNONYMS

nava — nine; abhavan — there were; mahā-bhāgāḥ — greatly fortunate souls; munayaḥ— sages; hi — indeed; artha-śaṁsinaḥ — engaged in explaining the Absolute Truth; śramaṇāḥ — thus exerting great endeavor; vāta-rasanāḥ — dressed by the wind (naked); ātma-vidyā — in spiritual science; viśāradāḥ — learned; kaviḥ haviḥ antarīkṣaḥ — Kavi, Havir and Antarīkṣa; prabuddhaḥ pippalāyanaḥ — Prabuddha and Pippalāyana; āvirhotraḥ — Āvirhotra; atha — also; drumilaḥ — Drumila; camasaḥ karabhājanaḥ — Camasa and Karabhājana.

TRANSLATION

The nine remaining sons of Ṛṣabha were greatly fortunate sages who worked vigorously to spread knowledge of the Absolute Truth. They wandered about naked and were very well versed in spiritual science. Their names were Kavi, Havir, Antarīkṣa, Prabuddha, Pippalāyana, Āvirhotra, Drumila, Camasa and Karabhājana.

VERSE 11.2.22

ta ete bhagavad-rūpaṁ
viśvaṁ sad-asad-ātmakam
ātmano ’vyatirekeṇa
paśyanto vyacaran mahīm

SYNONYMS

te ete — these (nine Yogendras); bhagavat — of the Supreme Lord; rūpam — a form; viśvam — the entire universe; sat-asat-ātmakam — consisting of both gross and subtle objects; ātmanaḥ — from the self; avyatirekeṇa — as nondifferent; paśyantaḥ — seeing; vyacaran — they wandered; mahīm — the earth.

TRANSLATION

These sages wandered the earth seeing the entire universe, with all its gross and subtle objects, as a manifestation of the Supreme Lord and as nondifferent from the self.

VERSE 11.2.23

avyāhateṣṭa-gatayaḥ sura-siddha-sādhya-
gandharva-yakṣa-nara-kinnara-nāga-lokān
muktāś caranti muni-cāraṇa-bhūtanātha-
vidyādhara-dvija-gavāṁ bhuvanāni kāmam

SYNONYMS

avyāhata — unimpeded; iṣṭa-gatayaḥ — in moving as they please; sura — of the demigods; siddha — perfected mystics; sādhya — Sādhyas; gandharva — heavenly musicians; yakṣa — associates of Kuvera; nara — human beings; kinnara — minor demigods who can change their form at will; nāga — and serpents; lokān — the worlds; muktāḥ — free; caranti — they travel; muni — of the sages; cāraṇa — angels; bhūta-nātha— ghostly followers of Lord Śiva; vidyādhara — Vidyādharas; dvija — brāhmaṇas; gavām— and of the cows; bhuvanāni — the worlds; kāmam — however they want.

TRANSLATION

The nine Yogendras are liberated souls who travel freely to the planets of the demigods, the perfected mystics, the Sādhyas, the heavenly musicians, the Yakṣas, the human beings, and the minor demigods such as the Kinnaras and the serpents. No mundane force can check their free movement, and exactly as they wish they can travel as well to the worlds of the sages, the angels, the ghostly followers of Lord Śiva, the Vidyādharas, the brāhmaṇas and the cows.

VERSE 11.2.24

ta ekadā nimeḥ satram
upajagmur yadṛcchayā
vitāyamānam ṛṣibhir
ajanābhe mahātmanaḥ

SYNONYMS

te — they; ekadā — once; nimeḥ — of King Nimi; satram — the soma sacrifice; upajagmuḥ — they approached; yadṛcchayā — as they wished; vitāyamānam — being carried out; ṛṣibhiḥ — by sages; ajanābhe — in Ajanābha (the old name for Bhārata-varṣa); mahā-ātmanaḥ — of the great soul.

TRANSLATION

Once in Ajanābha [the former name of the earth], they came upon the sacrificial performance of the great soul Mahārāja Nimi, which was being carried out under the direction of elevated sages.

VERSE 11.2.25

tān dṛṣṭvā sūrya-saṅkāśān
mahā-bhāgavatān nṛpa
yajamāno ’gnayo viprāḥ
sarva evopatasthire

SYNONYMS

tān — them; dṛṣṭvā — seeing; sūrya — the sun; saṅkāśān — who rivaled in brilliance; mahā-bhāgavatān — the pure devotees of the Lord; nṛpa — O King (Vasudeva); yajamānaḥ — the performer of the sacrifice (Nimi Mahārāja); agnayaḥ — the fires; viprāḥ— the brāhmaṇas; sarve — everyone; eva — even; upatasthire — stood in respect.

TRANSLATION

My dear King, seeing those pure devotees of the Lord, who rival the sun in brilliance, everyone present — the performer of the sacrifice, the brāhmaṇas and even the sacrificial fires — stood in respect.

VERSE 11.2.26

videhas tān abhipretya
nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇān
prītaḥ sampūjayāṁ cakre
āsana-sthān yathārhataḥ

SYNONYMS

videhaḥ — Nimi Mahārāja; tān — them; abhipretya — recognizing; nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇān— as devotees whose only goal was Nārāyaṇa; prītaḥ — satisfied; sampūjayām cakre — he fully worshiped them; āsana-sthān — who had been seated; yathā-arhataḥ — as they deserved.

TRANSLATION

King Videha [Nimi] understood that the nine sages were exalted devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, overjoyed at their auspicious arrival, he offered them suitable sitting places and worshiped them in a proper way, just as one would worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

VERSE 11.2.27

tān rocamānān sva-rucā
brahma-putropamān nava
papraccha parama-prītaḥ
praśrayāvanato nṛpaḥ

SYNONYMS

tān — them; rocamānān — glowing; sva-rucā — by their own effulgence; brahma-putra-upamān — just like the sons of Brahmā; nava — nine; papraccha — he asked; parama-prītaḥ — transcendentally overjoyed; praśraya — with humility; avanataḥ — bowed down; nṛpaḥ — the King.

TRANSLATION

Overwhelmed by transcendental joy, the King humbly bowed his head and then proceeded to question the nine sages. These nine great souls glowed with their own effulgence and thus appeared equal to the four Kumāras, the sons of Lord Brahmā.

VERSE 11.2.28

śrī-videha uvāca

manye bhagavataḥ sākṣāt
pārṣadān vo madhu-dvisaḥ
viṣṇor bhūtāni lokānāṁ
pāvanāya caranti hi

SYNONYMS

śrī-videhaḥ uvāca — King Videha said; manye — I consider; bhagavataḥ — of the Supreme Lord; sākṣāt — directly; pārṣadān — personal associates; vaḥ — you; madhu-dviṣaḥ — of the enemy of Madhu; visṇoḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu; bhūtāni — the servants; lokānām — of all the worlds; pāvanāya — for the purification; caranti — they move about; hi — indeed.

TRANSLATION

King Videha said: I think that you must be direct associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is famous as the enemy of the demon Madhu. Indeed, the pure devotees of Lord Viṣṇu wander throughout the universe not for their personal, selfish interest, but to purify all the conditioned souls.

VERSE 11.2.29

durlabho mānuṣo deho
dehināṁ kṣaṇa-bhaṅguraḥ
tatrāpi durlabhaṁ manye
vaikuṇṭha-priya-darśanam

SYNONYMS

durlabhaḥ — difficult to achieve; mānuṣaḥ — human; dehaḥ — body; dehinām — for embodied beings; kṣaṇa-bhaṅguraḥ — prone to be destroyed at any moment; tatra — in that human body; api — even; durlabham — more difficult to achieve; manye — I consider; vaikuṇṭhapriya — of those who are dear to the Supreme Lord, Vaikuṇṭha; darśanam — the vision.

TRANSLATION

For the conditioned souls, the human body is most difficult to achieve, and it can be lost at any moment. But I think that even those who have achieved human life rarely gain the association of pure devotees, who are dear to the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha.

VERSE 11.2.30

ata ātyantikaṁ kṣemaṁ
pṛcchāmo bhavato ’naghāḥ
saṁsāre ’smin kṣaṇārdho ’pi
sat-saṅgaḥ śevadhir nṛṇām

SYNONYMS

ataḥ — therefore; ātyantikam — supreme; kṣemam — good; pṛcchāmaḥ — I am asking; bhavataḥ — from you; anaghāḥ — O sinless ones; saṁsāre — in the cycle of birth and death; asmin — this; kṣaṇa-ardhaḥ — lasting only half of one moment; api — even; sat-saṅgaḥ — the association of devotees of the Lord; śevadhiḥ — a great treasure; nṛṇām — for human beings.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, O completely sinless ones, I ask you to kindly tell me what the supreme good is. After all, even half a moment’s association with pure devotees within this world of birth and death is a priceless treasure for any man.

VERSE 11.2.31

dharmān bhāgavatān brūta
yadi naḥ śrutaye kṣamam
yaiḥ prasannaḥ prapannāya
dāsyaty ātmānam apy ajaḥ

SYNONYMS

dharmān bhāgavatān — the science of devotional service; brūta — please speak; yadi — if; naḥ — of us; śrutaye — to hear properly; kṣamam — there is the capacity; yaiḥ — by which (devotional service); prasannaḥ — being satisfied; prapannāya — to one who has taken shelter; dāsyati — He will give; ātmānam — Himself; api — even; ajaḥ — the unborn Supreme Lord.

TRANSLATION

Please speak about how one engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, if you consider me capable of properly hearing these topics. When a living entity offers loving service to the Supreme Lord, the Lord is immediately satisfied, and in return He will give even His own self to the surrendered soul.

VERSE 11.2.32

śrī-nārada uvāca

evaṁ te niminā pṛṣṭā
vasudeva mahattamāḥ
pratipūjyābruvan prītyā
sa-sadasyartvijaṁ nṛpam

SYNONYMS

śrī-nāradaḥ uvāca — Śrī Nārada said; evam — thus; te — they; niminā — by King Nimi; pṛṣṭāḥ — questioned; vasudeva — O Vasudeva; mahat-tamāḥ — those best of saints; pratipūjya — offering him words of respect in return; abruvan — they spoke; prītyā — affectionately; sa-sadasya — who was accompanied by the members of the sacrificial assembly; ṛtvijam — and by the priests; nṛpam — to the King.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Nārada said: O Vasudeva, when Mahārāja Nimi had thus inquired from the nine Yogendras about devotional service to the Lord, those best of saintly persons sincerely thanked the King for his questions and spoke to him with affection in the presence of the members of the sacrificial assembly and the brāhmaṇa priests.

VERSE 11.2.33

śrī-kavir uvāca

manye ’kutaścid-bhayam acyutasya
pādāmbujopāsanam atra nityam
udvigna-buddher asad-ātma-bhāvād
viśvātmanā yatra nivartate bhīḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-kaviḥ uvāca — Śrī Kavi said; manye — I consider; akutaścit-bhayam — fearlessness; acyutasya — of the infallible Lord; pāda-ambuja — of the lotus feet; upāsanam — the worship; atra — in this world; nityam — constantly; udvigna-buddheḥ — of one whose intelligence is disturbed; asat — that which is only temporary; ātma-bhāvāt — by thinking to be the self; viśva-ātmanā — thoroughly; yatra — in which (service to the Lord); nivartate — ceases; bhīḥ — fear.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Kavi said: I consider that one whose intelligence is constantly disturbed by his falsely identifying himself with the temporary material world can achieve real freedom from fear only by worshiping the lotus feet of the infallible Supreme Lord. In such devotional service, all fear ceases entirely.

VERSE 11.2.34

ye vai bhagavatā proktā
upāyā hy ātma-labdhaye
añjaḥ puṁsām aviduṣāṁ
viddhi bhāgavatān hi tān

SYNONYMS

ye — which; vai — indeed; bhagavatā — by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; proktāḥ — spoken; upāyāḥ — means; hi — indeed; ātma-labdhaye — for realizing the Supreme Soul; añjaḥ — easily; puṁsām — by persons; aviduṣām — less intelligent; viddhi — know; bhāgavatān — to be bhāgavata-dharma; hi — certainly; tān — these.

TRANSLATION

Even ignorant living entities can very easily come to know the Supreme Lord if they adopt those means prescribed by the Supreme Lord Himself. The process recommended by the Lord is to be known as bhāgavata-dharma, or devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

VERSE 11.2.35

yān āsthāya naro rājan
na pramādyeta karhicit
dhāvan nimīlya vā netre
na skhalen na pated iha

SYNONYMS

yān — which (means); āsthāya — accepting; naraḥ — a man; rājan — O King; napramādyeta — is not bewildered; karhicit — ever; dhāvan — running; nimīlya — closing; vā — or; netre — his eyes; na skhalet — will not trip; na patet — will not fall; iha — on this path.

TRANSLATION

O King, one who accepts this process of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead will never blunder on his path in this world. Even while running with eyes closed, he will never trip or fall.

VERSE 11.2.36

kāyena vācā manasendriyair vā
buddhyātmanā vānusṛta-svabhāvāt
karoti yad yat sakalaṁ parasmai
nārāyaṇāyeti samarpayet tat

SYNONYMS

kāyena — with the body; vācā — speech; manasā — mind; indriyaiḥ — senses; vā — or; buddhyā — with the intelligence; ātmanā — the purified consciousness; vā — or; anusṛta— followed; svabhāvāt — according to one’s conditioned nature; karoti — one does; yatyat — whatever; sakalam — all; parasmai — to the Supreme; nārāyaṇāya iti — thinking, “This is for Nārāyaṇa”; samarpayet — he should offer; tat — that.

TRANSLATION

In accordance with the particular nature one has acquired in conditioned life, whatever one does with body, words, mind, senses, intelligence or purified consciousness one should offer to the Supreme, thinking, “This is for the pleasure of Lord Nārāyaṇa.”

VERSE 11.2.37

bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smṛtiḥ
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā

SYNONYMS

bhayam — fear; dvitīya — in something seeming to be other than the Lord; abhiniveśataḥ — because of absorption; syāt — it will arise; īśāt — from the Supreme Lord; apetasya — for one who has turned away; viparyayaḥ — misidentification; asmṛtiḥ— forgetfulness; tat — of the Lord; māyayā — by the illusory energy; ataḥ — therefore; budhaḥ — an intelligent person; ābhajet — should worship fully; tam — Him; bhaktyā — with devotion; ekayā — unalloyed; īśam — the Lord; guru-devatā-ātmā — one who sees his own spiritual master as his lord and very soul.

TRANSLATION

Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called māyā. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul.

VERSE 11.2.38

avidyamāno ’py avabhāti hi dvayo
dhyātur dhiyā svapna-manorathau yathā
tat karma-saṅkalpa-vikalpakaṁ mano
budho nirundhyād abhayaṁ tataḥ syāt

SYNONYMS

avidyamānaḥ — not present in reality; api — although; avabhāti — is manifest; hi — indeed; dvayaḥ — duality; dhyātuḥ — of the person experiencing; dhiyā — by the intelligence; svapna — a dream; manaḥ-rathau — or the conceiving of a desire; yathā — as; tat — therefore; karma — of material activities; saṅkalpa-vikalpakam — having the functions of forming positive and negative desires; manaḥ — the mind; budhaḥ — an intelligent person; nirundhyāt — should bring under control; abhayam — fearlessness; tataḥ — in this way; syāt — there may be.

TRANSLATION

Although the duality of the material world does not ultimately exist, the conditioned soul experiences it as real under the influence of his own conditioned intelligence. This imaginary experience of a world separate from Kṛṣṇa can be compared to the acts of dreaming and desiring. When the conditioned soul dreams at night of something desirable or horrible, or when he daydreams of what he would like to have or avoid, he creates a reality that has no existence beyond his own imagination. The tendency of the mind is to accept and reject various activities based on sense gratification. Therefore an intelligent person should control the mind, restricting it from the illusion of seeing things separate from Kṛṣṇa, and when the mind is thus controlled he will experience actual fearlessness.

VERSE 11.2.39

śṛṇvan su-bhadrāṇi rathāṅga-pāṇer
janmāni karmāṇi ca yāni loke
gītāni nāmāni tad-arthakāni
gāyan vilajjo vicared asaṅgaḥ

SYNONYMS

śṛṇvan — hearing; su-bhadrāṇi — all-auspicious; ratha-aṅga-pāṇeḥ — of the Supreme Lord, who holds a chariot wheel in His hand (in His pastime of fighting with grandfather Bhīṣma); janmāni — the appearances; karmāṇi — activities; ca — and; yāni — which; loke— in this world; gītāni — are chanted; nāmāni — names; tat-arthakāni — signifying these appearances and activities; gāyan — singing; vilajjaḥ — free from embarrassment; vicaret — one should wander; asaṅgaḥ — without material association.

TRANSLATION

An intelligent person who has controlled his mind and conquered fear should give up all attachment to material objects such as wife, family and nation and should wander freely without embarrassment, hearing and chanting the holy names of the Lord, the bearer of the chariot wheel. The holy names of Kṛṣṇa are all-auspicious because they describe His transcendental birth and activities, which He performs within this world for the salvation of the conditioned souls. Thus the holy names of the Lord are sung throughout the world.

VERSE 11.2.40

evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā
jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ
hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty
unmāda-van nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ

SYNONYMS

evam-vrataḥ — when one thus engages in the vow to chant and dance; sva — own; priya— very dear; nāma — holy name; kīrtya — by chanting; jāta — in this way develops; anurāgaḥ — attachment; druta-cittaḥ — with a melted heart; uccaiḥ — loudly; hasati — laughs; atho — also; roditi — cries; rauti — becomes agitated; gāyati — chants; unmāda-vat — like a madman; nṛtyati — dancing; loka-bāhyaḥ — without caring for outsiders.

TRANSLATION

By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion.

VERSE 11.2.41

khaṁ vāyum agniṁ salilaṁ mahīṁ ca
jyotīṁṣi sattvāni diśo drumādīn
sarit-samudrāṁś ca hareḥ śarīraṁ
yat kiṁ ca bhūtaṁ praṇamed ananyaḥ

SYNONYMS

kham — ether; vāyum — air; agnim — fire; salilam — water; mahīm — earth; ca — and; jyotīṁṣi — the sun, moon and other celestial luminaries; sattvāni — all living beings; diśaḥ — the directions; druma-ādīn — trees and other immovable creatures; sarit — the rivers; samudrān — and oceans; ca — also; hareḥ — of the Supreme Lord, Hari; śarīram— the body; yat kim ca — whatever; bhūtam — in created existence; praṇamet — one should bow to; ananyaḥ — thinking nothing to be separate from the Lord.

TRANSLATION

A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans — whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord’s body.

VERSE 11.2.42

bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
anyatra caiṣa trika eka-kālaḥ
prapadyamānasya yathāśnataḥ syus
tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭiḥ kṣud-apāyo ’nu-ghāsam

SYNONYMS

bhaktiḥ — devotion; para-īśa — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anubhavaḥ — direct perception; viraktiḥ — detachment; anyatra — from everything else; ca — and; eṣaḥ — this; trikaḥ — group of three; eka-kālaḥ — simultaneously; prapadyamānasya — for one in the process of taking shelter of the Supreme Lord; yathā — in the same way as; aśnataḥ — for one engaged in eating; syuḥ — they occur; tuṣṭiḥ — satisfaction; puṣṭiḥ — nourishment; kṣut-apāyaḥ — eradication of hunger; anu-ghāsam — increasingly with each morsel.

TRANSLATION

Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things — these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating.

VERSE 11.2.43

ity acyutāṅghriṁ bhajato ’nuvṛttyā
bhaktir viraktir bhagavat-prabodhaḥ
bhavanti vai bhāgavatasya rājaṁs
tataḥ parāṁ śāntim upaiti sākṣāt

SYNONYMS

iti — thus; acyuta — of the infallible Supreme Lord; aṅghrim — the feet; bhajataḥ — for one who is worshiping; anuvṛttyā — by constant practice; bhaktiḥ — devotion; viraktiḥ — detachment; bhagavat-prabodhaḥ — knowledge of the Personality of Godhead; bhavanti — they manifest; vai — indeed; bhāgavatasya — for the devotee; rājan — O King Nimi; tataḥ — then; parām śāntim — supreme peace; upaiti — he attains; sākṣāt — directly.

TRANSLATION

My dear King, the devotee who worships the lotus feet of the infallible Personality of Godhead with constant endeavor thus achieves unflinching devotion, detachment and experienced knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. In this way the successful devotee of the Lord achieves supreme spiritual peace.

VERSE 11.2.44

śrī-rājovāca

atha bhāgavataṁ brūta
yad-dharmo yādṛśo nṛṇām
yathācarati yad brūte
yair liṅgair bhagavat-priyaḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-rājā uvāca — the King spoke; atha — next; bhāgavatam — about the devotee of the Personality of Godhead; brūta — please tell me; yat-dharmaḥ — having what duties; yādṛśaḥ — having what nature; nṛṇām — among men; yathā — how; ācarati — he behaves; yat — what; brūte — he speaks; yaiḥ — by which; liṅgaiḥ — visible symptoms; bhagavat-priyaḥ — (he is known as) one dear to the Supreme Lord.

TRANSLATION

Mahārāja Nimi said: Now please tell me in greater detail about the devotees of the Supreme Lord. What are the natural symptoms by which I can distinguish between the most advanced devotees, those on the middle level and those who are neophytes? What are the typical religious activities of a Vaiṣṇava, and how does he speak? Specifically, please describe those symptoms and characteristics by which Vaiṣṇavas become dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

VERSE 11.2.45

śrī-havir uvāca

sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed
bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany
eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-haviḥ uvāca — Śrī Havir said; sarva-bhūteṣu — in all objects (in matter, spirit, and combinations of matter and spirit); yaḥ — anyone who; paśyet — sees; bhagavat-bhāvam — the ability to be engaged in the service of the Lord; ātmanaḥ — of the supreme spirit soul, or the transcendence beyond the material concept of life; bhūtāni — all beings; bhagavati — in the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ātmani — the basic principle of all existence; eṣaḥ — this; bhāgavata-uttamaḥ — a person advanced in devotional service.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Havir said: The most advanced devotee sees within everything the soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently he sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord and understands that everything that exists is eternally situated within the Lord.

VERSE 11.2.46

īśvare tad-adhīneṣu
bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca
prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā
yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ

SYNONYMS

īśvare — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tat-adhīneṣu — to persons who have taken fully to Kṛṣṇa consciousness; bāliśeṣu — unto the neophytes or the ignorant; dviṣatsu — to persons envious of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s devotees; ca — and; prema — love; maitrī — friendship; kṛpā — mercy; upekṣāḥ — negligence; yaḥ — anyone who; karoti — does; saḥ — he; madhyamaḥ — a second-class devotee.

TRANSLATION

An intermediate or second-class devotee, called madhyama-adhikārī, offers his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to ignorant people who are innocent and disregards those who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

VERSE 11.2.47

arcāyām eva haraye
pūjāṁ yaḥ śraddhayehate
na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu
sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ

SYNONYMS

arcāyām — Deity; eva — certainly; haraye — to Lord Hari; pūjām — worship; yaḥ — who; śraddhayā — faithfully; īhate — engages; na — not; tat — of Kṛṣṇa; bhakteṣu — toward the devotees; ca — and; anyeṣu — toward people in general; saḥ — he; bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ— materialistic devotee; smṛtaḥ — is called.

TRANSLATION

A devotee who faithfully engages in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not behave properly toward other devotees or people in general is called a prākṛta-bhakta, a materialistic devotee, and is considered to be in the lowest position.

VERSE 11.2.48

gṛhītvāpīndriyair arthān
yo na dveṣṭi na hṛṣyati
viṣṇor māyām idaṁ paśyan
sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ

SYNONYMS

gṛhītvā — accepting; api — even though; indriyaiḥ — with his senses; arthān — objects of the senses; yaḥ — who; na dveṣṭi — does not hate; na hṛṣyati — does not rejoice; viṣṇoḥ— of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu; māyām — the illusory potency; idam — this material universe; paśyan — seeing as; saḥ — he; vai — indeed; bhāgavata-uttamaḥ — a first-class devotee.

TRANSLATION

Even while engaging his senses in contact with their objects, one who sees this whole world as the energy of Lord Viṣṇu is neither repelled nor elated. He is indeed the greatest among devotees.

VERSE 11.2.49

dehendriya-prāṇa-mano-dhiyāṁ yo
janmāpyaya-kṣud-bhaya-tarṣa-kṛcchraiḥ
saṁsāra-dharmair avimuhyamānaḥ
smṛtyā harer bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ

SYNONYMS

deha — of the body; indriya — senses; prāṇa — life air; manaḥ — mind; dhiyām — and intelligence; yaḥ — who; janma — by birth; apyaya — diminution; kṣut — hunger; bhaya— fear; tarṣa — thirst; kṛcchraiḥ — and the pain of exertion; saṁsāra — of material life; dharmaiḥ — by the inseparable features; avimuhyamānaḥ — not bewildered; smṛtyā — because of remembrance; hareḥ — of Lord Hari; bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ — the foremost of devotees.

TRANSLATION

Within the material world, one’s material body is always subject to birth and decay. Similarly, the life air [prāṇa] is harassed by hunger and thirst, the mind is always anxious, the intelligence hankers for that which cannot be obtained, and all of the senses are ultimately exhausted by constant struggle in the material nature. A person who is not bewildered by the inevitable miseries of material existence, and who remains aloof from them simply by remembering the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is to be considered bhāgavata-pradhāna, the foremost devotee of the Lord.

VERSE 11.2.50

na kāma-karma-bījānāṁ
yasya cetasi sambhavaḥ
vāsudevaika-nilayaḥ
sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ

SYNONYMS

na — never; kāma — of lust; karma — fruitive work; bījānām — or of material hankerings, which are the seeds of fruitive activity; yasya — of whom; cetasi — in the mind; sambhavaḥ — chance to arise; vāsudeva-eka-nilayaḥ — one for whom the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva, is the only shelter; saḥ — he; vai — indeed; bhāgavata-uttamaḥ — is a first-class devotee.

TRANSLATION

One who has taken exclusive shelter of the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva, becomes free from fruitive activities, which are based on material lust. In fact, one who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord is freed from even the desire to enjoy material sense gratification. Plans for enjoying sex life, social prestige and money cannot develop within his mind. Thus he is considered bhāgavatottama, a pure devotee of the Lord on the highest platform.

VERSE 11.2.51

na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ
na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ
sajjate ’sminn ahaṁ-bhāvo
dehe vai sa hareḥ priyaḥ

SYNONYMS

na — there is not; yasya — of whom; janma — by good birth; karmabhyām — or meritorious acts; na — not; varṇa-āśrama — by adherence to rules of occupational or religious duty; jātibhiḥ — or by belonging to a certain class of society; sajjate — attaches itself; asmin — in this (body); aham-bhāvaḥ — egotistic sentiment; dehe — in the body; vai — indeed; saḥ — he; hareḥ — to Lord Hari; priyaḥ — is dear.

TRANSLATION

Birth in an aristocratic family and the execution of austere and pious activities certainly cause one to take pride in himself. Similarly, if one enjoys a prestigious position within society because his parents are highly respected members of the varṇāśrama social system, one becomes even more infatuated with himself. But if despite these excellent material qualifications one does not feel even a tinge of pride within himself, he is to be considered the dearmost servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

VERSE 11.2.52

na yasya svaḥ para iti
vitteṣv ātmani vā bhidā
sarva-bhūta-samaḥ śāntaḥ
sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ

SYNONYMS

na — there is not; yasya — of whom; svaḥ paraḥ iti — “mine” and “someone else’s”; vitteṣu — about his property; ātmani — about his body; vā — or; bhidā — by thinking in terms of duality; sarva-bhūta — to all living beings; samaḥ — equal; śāntaḥ — peaceful; saḥ — he; vai — indeed; bhāgavata-uttamaḥ — the best of devotees.

TRANSLATION

When a devotee gives up the selfish conception by which one thinks “This is my property, and that is his,” and when he is no longer concerned with the pleasures of his own material body or indifferent to the discomforts of others, he becomes fully peaceful and satisfied. He considers himself simply one among all the living beings who are equally part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a satisfied Vaiṣṇava is considered to be at the highest standard of devotional service.

VERSE 11.2.53

tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave ’py akuṇṭha-
smṛtir ajitātma-surādibhir vimṛgyāt
na calati bhagavat-padāravindāl
lava-nimiṣārdham api yaḥ sa vaiṣṇavāgryaḥ

SYNONYMS

tri-bhuvana — of the three worlds comprising the material universe; vibhava-hetave — for the sake of the opulences; api — even; akuṇṭha-smṛtiḥ — whose remembrance is undisturbed; ajita-ātma — of whom the unconquerable Lord is the very soul; sura-ādibhiḥ — by the demigods and others; vimṛgyāt — which are sought; na calati — he does not go away; bhagavat — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pada-aravindāt— from the lotus feet; lava — of eight forty-fifths of one second; nimiṣa — or of three times that; ardham — one half; api — even; yaḥ — who; saḥ — he; vaiṣṇava-agryaḥ — the foremost of devotees of Lord Viṣṇu.

TRANSLATION

The lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are sought even by the greatest of demigods, such as Brahmā and Śiva, who have all accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their life and soul. A pure devotee of the Lord can never forget those lotus feet in any circumstance. He will not give up his shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord for a single moment — indeed, not for half a moment — even in exchange for the benediction of ruling and enjoying the opulence of the entire universe. Such a devotee of the Lord is to be considered the best of the Vaiṣṇavas.

VERSE 11.2.54

bhagavata uru-vikramāṅghri-śākhā-
nakha-maṇi-candrikayā nirasta-tāpe
hṛdi katham upasīdatāṁ punaḥ sa
prabhavati candra ivodite ’rka-tāpaḥ

SYNONYMS

bhagavataḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; uru-vikrama — which have performed great heroic deeds; aṅghri — of the lotus feet; śākhā — of the toes; nakha — of the nails; maṇi — which are like jewels; candrikayā — by the moonshine; nirasta-tāpe— when the pain has been removed; hṛdi — in the hearts; katham — how indeed; upasīdatām — of those who are worshiping; punaḥ — again; saḥ — that pain; prabhavati— can have its effect; candre — when the moon; iva — just as; udite — risen; arka — of the sun; tāpaḥ — the burning heat.

TRANSLATION

How can the fire of material suffering continue to burn the hearts of those who worship the Supreme Lord? The Lord’s lotus feet have performed innumerable heroic deeds, and the beautiful nails on His toes resemble valuable jewels. The effulgence emanating from those nails resembles cooling moonshine, for it instantly relieves the suffering within the heart of the pure devotee, just as the appearance of the moon’s cooling light relieves the burning heat of the sun.

VERSE 11.2.55

visṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣād
dharir avaśābhihito ’py aghaugha-nāśaḥ
praṇaya-rasanayā dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ
sa bhavati bhāgavata-pradhāna uktaḥ

SYNONYMS

visṛjati — He leaves; hṛdayam — the heart; na — never; yasya — of whom; sākṣāt — Himself; hariḥ — Lord Hari; avaśa — accidentally; abhihitaḥ — called; api — even though; agha — of sins; ogha — heaps; nāśaḥ — who destroys; praṇaya — of love; rasanayā — by ropes; dhṛta — held; aṅghri-padmaḥ — His lotus feet; saḥ — he; bhavati — is; bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ — the foremost devotee; uktaḥ — called.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind to the conditioned souls that if they call upon Him by speaking His holy name, even unintentionally or unwillingly, the Lord is inclined to destroy innumerable sinful reactions in their hearts. Therefore, when a devotee who has taken shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa with genuine love, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can never give up the heart of such a devotee. One who has thus captured the Supreme Lord within his heart is to be known as bhāgavata-pradhāna, the most exalted devotee of the Lord.

govinda leena mol

govind lino
govind lino 
mol maai govind lino mol
govind lino
govind lino 
mol maai govind lino mol
maine govind lino mol
 
koi kahe sasta koi kahe mehnga
koi kahe sasta koi kahe mehnga
lino taraaju tol
lino taraaju to..ol
maai govind lino mol
haa..aan
govind lino
govind lino
mol maai govind lino mol
maai govind lino mol
 
koi kahe ghar mein
koi kahe ban mein
koi kahe ghar mein
koi kahe ban mein
radha ke sang kilol 
radha ke sang kilol
maai govind lino mol
haa..aan
govind lino
govind lino
mol maai govind lino mol
maai govind lino mol
 
meera ke prabhu giridhar naagar
meera ke prabhu giridhar naagar
meera ke prabhu giridhar naagar
aavat prem ke mol
aavat prem ke mol
maai govind lino mol
haa..aan
govind lino
govind lino
mol maai govind lino mol
maine govind lino mol
haan maine govind lino mol

———————————-
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————–
गोविन्द लीनो
गोविन्द गोविंद लीनो
मोल माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
गोविन्द लीनो
गोविन्द लीनो
मोल माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
मैंने गोविन्द लीनो मोल

कोई कहे सस्ता
कोई कहे महंगा
कोई कहे सस्ता
कोई कहे महंगा
लीनों तराजू तोल
लीनों तराजू तो॰॰ल
माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
हाँ॰॰आं
गोविन्द लीनो
गोविन्द लीनो
मोल माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल

कोई कहे घर में
कोई कहे बन में
कोई कहे घर में
कोई कहे बन में
राधा के संग किलोल
राधा के संग किलोल
माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
हाँ॰॰आं
गोविन्द लीनो
गोविन्द लीनो
मोल माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल

मीरा के प्रभु गिरिधर नागर
मीरा के प्रभु गिरिधर नागर
मीरा के प्रभु गिरिधर नागर
आवत प्रेम के मोल
आवत प्रेम के मोल
माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
हाँ॰॰आं
गोविन्द लीनो
गोविन्द लीनो
मोल माई गोविन्द लीनो मोल
मैंने गोविन्द लीनो मोल
हाँ मैंने गोविन्द लीनो मोल

consciousness is everywhere.

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Leading neuroscientists and Buddhists agree: “Consciousness is everywhere”

BY SAM LITTLEFAIR| JANUARY 8, 2017

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Neuroscientist Christof Koch discusses scientific theories of consciousness with the Dalai Lama.

New theories in neuroscience suggest consciousness is an intrinsic property of everything, just like gravity. That development opens a world of opportunity for collaboration between Buddhists and neuroscientists.

“The heart of consciousness,” says neuroscientist Christof Koch, “is that it feels likesomething. How is it that a piece of matter, like my brain, can feel anything?”

In 2013, Koch, one of the world’s leading experts on consciousness, went to a monastery in India to discuss that question with a group of Buddhist monks. He and the Dalai Lama debated neuroscience and mind for a full day.

They had different approaches. Koch offered contemporary scientific theories on the subject, and His Holiness countered with ancient Buddhist teachings. Yet, at the end of their discussion, the two thinkers agreed on almost every point.

“What struck me most was his belief in what we in the West call ‘panpsychism’ — the belief that consciousness is everywhere,” says Koch. “And that we have to reduce the suffering of all conscious creatures.”

Panpsychism, the idea of universal consciousness, is a prominent thought in some branches of ancient Greek philosophy, paganism, and Buddhism. And it has been largely dismissed by modern science — until recently.

In his work on consciousness, Koch collaborates with a researcher named Giulio Tononi. Tononi is the father of the most popular modern theory of consciousness, called Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which Koch once called “the only really promising fundamental theory of consciousness.”

Tononi’s theory states that consciousness appears in physical systems that contain many different and highly interconnected pieces of information. Based on that hypothesis, consciousness can be measured as a theoretical quantity, which the researchers call phi.

Tononi has a test for measuring phi (the amount of consciousness) in a human brain. It is similar to ringing a bell; scientists send a magnetic pulse into a human brain and watch the pulse reverberate through the neurons — back and forth, side to side. The longer and clearer the reverberation, the higher the subject’s amount of consciousness. Using that test, Koch and Tononi can tell whether a patient is awake, asleep, or anesthetized.

There are already pressing and practical needs for a way to measure consciousness. Doctors and scientists could use phi to tell if a person in a vegetative state is effectively dead, how much awareness a person with dementia has, when a foetus develops consciousness, how much animals perceive, or even whether a computer can feel.

“That’s more urgent,” asserts Koch. “We’re witnessing the birth of computer intelligence. Is a machine conscious? Does it feel like anything? If it does, it may acquire legal rights, and I certainly have ethical obligations towards it. I can’t just turn it off or wipe its disc clean.”

Christof Koch speaking at TEDxRainier Seattle.

IIT also marries these practical applications with profound ideas. The theory says that any object with a phi greater than zero has consciousness. That would mean animals, plants, cells, bacteria, and maybe even protons are conscious beings.

Koch sees IIT as promising because it offers an understanding of panpsychism that fits into modern science. In an academic paper, Koch and Tononi make the profound statement that their theory “treats consciousness as an intrinsic, fundamental property of reality.”

Modern research and recent dialogues between Buddhists and scientists have focused mainly on understanding the physical brain. But scientists have barely begun to develop an understanding of mind — or consciousness — itself.

On the Buddhist side, however, this is a discussion that has been going on for thousands of years. Buddhism associates mind with sentience. The late Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche statedthat while mind, along with all objects, is empty, unlike most objects, it is also luminous. In a similar vein, IIT says consciousness is an intrinsic quality of everything yet only appears significantly in certain conditions — like how everything has mass, but only large objects have noticeable gravity.

In his major work, the Shobogenzo, Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen Buddhism, went so far as to say, “All is sentient being.” Grass, trees, land, sun, moon and stars are all mind, wrote Dogen.

Koch, who became interested in Buddhism in college, says that his personal worldview has come to overlap with the Buddhist teachings on non-self, impermanence, atheism, and panpsychism. His interest in Buddhism, he says, represents a significant shift from his Roman Catholic upbringing. When he started studying consciousness — working with Nobel Prize winner Francis Crick — Koch believed that the only explanation for experience would have to invoke God. But, instead of affirming religion, Koch and Crick together established consciousness as a respected branch of neuroscience and invited Buddhist teachers into the discussion.

At Drepung Monastery, the Dalai Lama told Koch that the Buddha taught that sentience is everywhere at varying levels, and that humans should have compassion for all sentient beings. Until that point, Koch hadn’t appreciated the weight of his philosophy.

“I was confronted with the Buddhist teaching that sentience is probably everywhere at varying levels, and that inspired me to take the consequences of this theory seriously,” says Koch. “When I see insects in my home, I don’t kill them.”

The theory of IIT shows promise for the future. With more research, Koch and Tononi could better test consciousness, to prove scientifically that all beings are sentient. Meanwhile, Buddhists around the world are constantly working to develop an understanding of the mind. Traleg Rinpoche said that analytical methods can only go so far toward understanding the mind. Instead, he says, by resting his or her mind and contemplating it, a meditator can develop an understanding of the nature of mind and how it relates to everything else.

Critics of IIT argue that the theory fails to explain where consciousness comes from. Science writer John Horgan argues, “you can’t explain consciousness by saying it consists of information, because information exists only relative to consciousness.”

Understanding the source of consciousness is an extremely difficult hurdle, but Koch is up to it. He says that his ultimate goal is to understand the universe. Some say that the best way to do that is to look inside your own mind. Maybe Koch is on to something.

science and religion.

Conflicts Between Science And Spirituality Are Rooted In Your Brain

“They are different kinds of insight, so there is really no reason for so much conflict to arise.”

By Carolyn Gregoire

MIKE AGLIOLO VIA GETTY IMAGES

Neuroscience can help shed light on the complex relationship between religious belief and analytic thinking.

The standoff between science and religion — between fact-based and faith-based ways of thinking and explaining the world — is nearly as old as human thought itself. 

In fact, the conflict may be rooted in the very structure of our brains, according to research published last week in the journal PLOS One. 

The researchers observed on the neurological level a deep-seated tension between analytical reasoning — which is associated with disbelief in God — and moral reasoning — which is associated with belief in God or a “universal spirit.” 

The new study reinforces the findings of a previous study by the same research team which showed that the brain has an analytical network used for critical thinking and a social network that allows us to empathize and engage in moral reasoning.

There is an opposition between the two networks, according to the research team. When people are experiencing faith in a supernatural entity, they suppress the brain network used for analytical thinking. And when they reason about the physical world, they disengage the brain network involved in empathy and moral reasoning. 

The findings echo the philosophy of German idealist thinker Immanuel Kant, who held that there were two different types of truths, the empirical and the moral. 

“Kant distinguished between theoretical reason (science) and practical reason (morality),” the study’s lead author Dr. Tony Jack, a professor of philosophy and neuroscience and director of the Brain, Mind and Consciousness Lab at Case Western Reserve University, told The Huffington Post in an email. “Kant pointed out these two types of reason can conflict, and that is pretty close to what we now see in the brain. So in some sense the conflict is rooted in the brain.”

Because these two networks suppress each other, we come to favor one mode of thinking over the other — setting the basis for the conflict between science and religion. 

“Our dialogue around religion would be more productive if scientists respect the insights that religion can offer, and if religious individuals would respect the insights science can offer.”Dr. Tony Jack, director of the Brain, Mind and Consciousness Lab

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In the new study, Jack and his colleagues conducted a series of eight experiments on groups of up to 527 adults. In the first experiment, for instance, the participants were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires measuring critical and mechanical thinking (both measures of analytic reasoning), empathic concern and spiritual and religious beliefs. The other experiments were a variation of the initial study.

The results of the experiments revealed that the greater a participants’ belief in God, the more moral thinking and less analytic reasoning they tended to show. 

“Believing in a religion or being spiritual is linked to empathic feelings, concerns and views,” Dr. Richard Boyatzis, a professor of cognitive science at the university and a co-author of the study’s co-authors, told HuffPost in an email. “People with some form of faith — be it a church-attending Catholic or someone practicing yoga regularly and enjoying the spiritual sensations — appear to think about their relationships with others and are seen by others as demonstrating more empathy in day-to-day interactions than others with less faith.”

Moral concern was positively correlated with regularity of prayer, meditation and other spiritual practices. The experiments also revealed that favoring analytic thinking correlated with a disbelief in spiritual or religious ideas — likely because faith requires the disengagement of brain networks associated with analytical thought. 

“Taking a leap of faith involves shutting down brain regions involved in analytic reason,” Jack said. 

So will we ever reconcile scientific and spiritual approaches to looking at the world? The two ways of thinking may be converging, but the gap is unlikely to ever close entirely — and that’s probably a good thing, according to Jack. 

We can learn something different from each way of thinking, and can draw on analytic and moral reasoning in different situations as they are required. 

“Our dialogue around religion would be more productive if scientists respect the insights that religion can offer, and if religious individuals would respect the insights science can offer,” Jack said. “They are different kinds of insight, so there is really no reason for so much conflict to arise.”

And as individuals, optimal thinking likely results from a dynamic interplay of these two types of reasoning, based on the nature of the particular problem we’re facing. 

“We, like Kant, think these two types of reason are best applied to different sorts of issues,” Jack said. “So long as each type of thinking is kept to the appropriate domain, no conflict emerges.”