KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.1.26
- The conception of the universal form of the Lord gives a chance to the materialist to think of the Supreme Lord, but the materialist must know for certain that his visualization of the world in a spirit of lording over it is not God-realization
- if anyone wants to realize the Supreme Truth by conceiving of the universal form of the Lord, he must cultivate the service attitude. Unless the service attitude is revived, the conception of virāṭ realization will have very little effect on the seer
- Supreme Lord is abhijñaḥ or svarāṭ. These two words distinguish the Supreme Lord from all the other living entities. No other living entity is either abhijñaḥ or svarāṭ. That is, no one is either fully cognizant or fully independent. Even Brahmā has to meditate upon the Supreme Lord in order to create.
- Atheists like Rāvaṇa or Hiraṇyakaśipu had to undergo severe penances before they could flout the authority of the Lord. But ultimately, they were rendered helpless and could not save themselves when the Lord appeared before them as cruel death
- Whenever men neglect the authority of the Lord, nature and her laws are there to penalize them. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (Bg. 4.7)
- (SB 1.1.1)The Supreme Lord is abhijñaḥ or svarāṭ. These two words distinguish the Supreme Lord from all the other living entities. No one is either fully cognizant or fully independent.
- Atheists like Rāvaṇa or Hiraṇyakaśipu had to undergo severe penances before they could flout the authority of the Lord. But ultimately, they were rendered helpless and could not save themselves when the Lord appeared before them as cruel death.
- Whenever men neglect the authority of the Lord, nature and her laws are there to penalize them.
- The Supreme Lord is all-perfect is confirmed in all śruti-mantras
- God is asamordhva. No one is equal to or greater than Him
- Only the mahātmās can understand that the Supreme Lord is the primeval cause of all creations.
- Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was advised therein to read regularly Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam if he desired liberation from material bondage.
- This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will gradually elevate the unbiased reader to the highest perfectional stage of transcendence. It will enable him to transcend the three modes of material activities: fruitive actions, speculative philosophy, and worship of functional deities as inculcated in Vedic verses.
SB 2.1.26 TRANSLATION:
Persons who have realized it have studied that the planets known as Pātāla constitute the bottoms of the feet of the universal Lord, and the heels and the toes are the Rasātala planets. The ankles are the Mahātala planets, and His shanks constitute the Talātala planets.
CLASS NOTES:
IF ANYONE WANTS TO REALIZE THE SUPREME TRUTH BY CONCEIVING OF THE UNIVERSAL FORM OF THE LORD, HE MUST CULTIVATE THE SERVICE ATTITUDE.
The conception of the universal form of the Lord gives a chance to the materialist to think of the Supreme Lord, but the materialist must know for certain that his visualization of the world in a spirit of lording over it is not God-realization. The materialistic view of exploitation of the material resources is occasioned by the illusion of the external energy of the Lord, and as such if anyone wants to realize the Supreme Truth by conceiving of the universal form of the Lord, he must cultivate the service attitude. Unless the service attitude is revived, the conception of virāṭ realization will have very little effect on the seer. The transcendental Lord, in any conception of His form, is never a part of the material creation. He keeps His identity as Supreme Spirit in all circumstances and is never affected by the three material qualities, for everything material is contaminated. The Lord always exists by His internal energy.
THE UNIVERSE IS DIVIDED INTO FOURTEEN PLANETARY SYSTEMS.
Seven upward planetary systems – called Bhūr, Bhuvar, Svar, Mahar, Janas, Tapas and Satya, are upward planetary systems, one above the other.
Seven downward planetary systems – known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Pātāla, gradually, one below the other.
In this verse, the description begins from the bottom because it is in the line of devotion that the Lord’s bodily description should begin from His feet. Śukadeva Gosvāmī is a recognized devotee of the Lord, and he is exactly correct in the line.
Simply looking at material nature does not mean that you are meditating on God. If you look at it for sense gratification, we don’t see it correctly. A sane person looks at a child with affection and protects the child. A pedophile looks at a child to exploit the child. How you can meditate on the universal form of the lord. For those who are materialistic like pantheists, everything is God or many gods. As long as their desire is to exploit nature, they are not meditating on God. Another person who meets the devotee and hears from the devotee and is asked to meditate on the universal form of the Lord, due to their tendencies and is given the opportunity to perform devotional service.
Unless the person gets engaged in some devotional service there is no chance of understanding Krsna. Even if they are brilliant and smart. Understanding Krsna is a big subject. That is why Srimad Bhagavatam exists. It took 1 year to read 1st Canto. If we read at this pace it takes 20 years to read the whole SB. It could take lifetimes to understand SB. Going back to verses in the past will help.
Vyasdeva is the incarnation of Narayana Himself. He was not satisfied in spite of compiling and writing – 4 Vedas, Puranas, Mahabharata, VedantaSutra. Narada muni instructs to write Srimad BHagavatam. He wrote commentary of all the vedas and vedanta sutra in the Srimad bhagavatam. There are many people cheating others that they are God. People get cheated because they do not understand who God is. Lord shows Virat rupa to help people who accept anyone and everyone as God. They should ask if you are God, then show me your universal form. That is the litmus test. That saves a person lot of time and trouble. It is like a blue jackal. There are many blue jackals in this world today. Although all the information is available. They ignore BG and SB. Two things that are extremely important to understand Krsna. Abhigya and Svarat.
(SB 1.1.1) SUPREME LORD IS ABHIJÑAḤ OR SVARĀṬ. THESE TWO WORDS DISTINGUISH THE SUPREME LORD FROM ALL THE OTHER LIVING ENTITIES.
janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
These two words distinguish the Supreme Lord from all the other living entities. No other living entity is either abhijñaḥ or svarāṭ. That is, no one is either fully cognizant or fully independent. Even Brahmā has to meditate upon the Supreme Lord in order to create. Then what to speak of great scientists like Einstein! The brains of such a scientist are certainly not the products of any human being. Scientists cannot manufacture such a brain, and what to speak of foolish atheists who defy the authority of the Lord? Even Māyāvādī impersonalists who flatter themselves that they can become one with the Lord are neither abhijñaḥ nor svarāṭ. Such impersonalists undergo severe austerities to acquire knowledge to become one with the Lord. But ultimately they become dependent on some rich disciple who supplies them with money to build monasteries and temples. Atheists like Rāvaṇa or Hiraṇyakaśipu had to undergo severe penances before they could flout the authority of the Lord. But ultimately, they were rendered helpless and could not save themselves when the Lord appeared before them as cruel death. This is also the case with the modern atheists who also dare to flout the authority of the Lord. Such atheists will be dealt with similarly, for history repeats itself. Whenever men neglect the authority of the Lord, nature and her laws are there to penalize them. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (Bg. 4.7) in the well-known verse yadā yadā hi dharmasya glāniḥ. “Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, O Arjuna, then I incarnate Myself.”
(SB 1.1.1) THE SUPREME LORD IS ALL-PERFECT IS CONFIRMED IN ALL ŚRUTI-MANTRAS
That the Supreme Lord is all-perfect is confirmed in all śruti-mantras. It is said in the śruti-mantras that the all-perfect Lord threw a glance over matter and thus created all living beings. The living beings are parts and parcels of the Lord, and He impregnates the vast material creation with seeds of spiritual sparks, and thus the creative energies are set in motion to enact so many wonderful creations.
(SB 1.1.1) GOD IS ASAMORDHVA. NO ONE IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN HIM
Another name for God is asamordhva, which means that no one is equal to or greater than Him. Paraṁ satyam, or the Supreme Truth, is He who has no equal or superior. This is confirmed in the śruti-mantras. It is said that before the creation of the material universe there existed the Lord only, who is master of everyone. That Lord instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge. That Lord has to be obeyed in all respects. Anyone who wants to get rid of the material entanglement must surrender unto Him. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā.
(SB 1.1.1) ONLY THE MAHĀTMĀS CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE SUPREME LORD IS THE PRIMEVAL CAUSE OF ALL CREATIONS.
When an intelligent man surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and knows completely that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, then only can such an intelligent man become a mahātmā, or great soul. But such a great soul is rarely seen.
Only the mahātmās can understand that the Supreme Lord is the primeval cause of all creations. He is parama or ultimate truth because all other truths are relative to Him. He is omniscient. For Him, there is no illusion.
(SB 1.1.1)MAHĀRĀJA AMBARĪṢA WAS ADVISED THEREIN TO READ REGULARLY ŚRĪMAD-BHĀGAVATAM IF HE DESIRED LIBERATION FROM MATERIAL BONDAGE.
In the Padma Purāṇa also there is reference to the Bhāgavatam in a conversation between Gautama and Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. The king was advised therein to read regularly Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam if he desired liberation from material bondage. Under the circumstances, there is no doubt about the authority of the Bhāgavatam. Within the past five hundred years, many erudite scholars and ācāryas like Jīva Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī, Vallabhācārya, and many other distinguished scholars even after the time of Lord Caitanya made elaborate commentaries on the Bhāgavatam. And the serious student would do well to attempt to go through them to better relish the transcendental messages
This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will gradually elevate the unbiased reader to the highest perfectional stage of transcendence. It will enable him to transcend the three modes of material activities: fruitive actions, speculative philosophy, and worship of functional deities as inculcated in Vedic verses.
(SB 1.1.1)THE ORIGINAL FACT IS IN THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH, AND THUS THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH CANNOT BE IMPERSONAL. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BE IMPERSONAL AND CONTAIN PURE SEX LIFE.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura specifically deals with the original and pure sex psychology (ādi-rasa), devoid of all mundane inebriety. The whole material creation is moving under the principle of sex life. In modern civilization, sex life is the focal point for all activities. Wherever one turns his face, he sees sex life predominant. Therefore, sex life is not unreal. Its reality is experienced in the spiritual world. The material sex life is but a perverted reflection of the original fact. The original fact is in the Absolute Truth, and thus the Absolute Truth cannot be impersonal. It is not possible to be impersonal and contain pure sex life. Consequently, the impersonalist philosophers have given indirect impetus to the abominable mundane sex life because they have overstressed the impersonality of the ultimate truth. Consequently, man without information of the actual spiritual form of sex has accepted perverted material sex life as the all in all. There is a distinction between sex life in the diseased material condition and spiritual sex life.