KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.8.15 – 17:
- Those who are of the opinion that the devotees of the Lord are satisfied with mere sentiments can find in the inquiries of Mahārāja Parīkṣit good lessons as to how inquisitive a pure devotee is to know things in their true perfection.
- The modern scientist is unable to know about the inner space of the universal horizon, and what to speak of the space which covers the universe.
- Mahārāja Parīkṣit is not satisfied with only material knowledge. He is inquisitive about the character and activities of the great souls, the devotees of the Lord.
- By the grace of the Lord the devotees are able to see everything in the universe within the mouth of the Lord.
- The very idea of the scientific divisions of four classes of human society and four orders of life is also inquired about herewith on the basis of individual personal quality.
- No one can artificially claim the supreme position of the Lord, but everyone is meant to serve the purpose of the supreme whole.
- Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all the incarnations of the Supreme Lord, although nondifferent from Him, are emanations from the Supreme.
- The Supreme Lord is the supreme will and the background of this material manifestation, but the management is being conducted by material nature.
- Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā that of all the living entities in different forms and species, “I am the father.” The father gives seeds to the womb of the mother for the child, and similarly the Supreme Lord by His mere glance injects all the living entities into the womb of material nature, and they come out in their different forms and species, according to their last desires and activities.
- Supreme Personality of Godhead; actually He has nothing to do with this material world, but He creates by His glance and ordains.
- Material nature, without the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot do anything. Yet the Supreme Personality is detached from all material activities.
- Mahārāja Parīkṣit was not to be carried away by the sentiments of the common man to accept an incarnation of the Lord very cheaply. Instead he wished to accept the incarnation of the Lord by symptoms mentioned in the Vedic literatures and confirmed by an ācārya like Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
- Thus to hear the activities of the Lord means to associate with the Lord directly, and association with the Lord directly means purification from material contamination.
SB 2.8.15 TRANSLATION:
O best of the brāhmaṇas, please also describe how the creation of the globes throughout the universe, the four directions of the heavens, the sky, the planets, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, the seas and the islands, as well as their different kinds of inhabitants, takes place.
The inhabitants of different varieties of land, etc., are differently situated, and not all of them are equal in all respects. The inhabitants of the land are different from the inhabitants of the water or the sky, and similarly the inhabitants of the different planets and stars in the sky are also different from one another. By the laws of the Lord, no place is vacant, but the creatures of one particular place are different from those of other places. Even in human society the inhabitants of the jungles or the deserts are different from those of the cities and villages. They are so made according to different qualities of the modes of nature. Such adjustment by the laws of nature is not blind. There is a great plan behind the arrangement. Mahārāja Parīkṣit requests the great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī to explain all these authoritatively, in accordance with proper understanding.
SB 2.8.16
Also, please describe the inner and outer space of the universe by specific divisions, as well as the character and activities of the great souls, and also the characteristics of the different classifications of the castes and orders of social life.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit is a typical devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and as such, he is anxious to know the complete significance of the creation of the Lord. He wants to know the inner and outer space of the universal form. It is quite fitting for the real searcher of knowledge to know all about this. Those who are of the opinion that the devotees of the Lord are satisfied with mere sentiments can find in the inquiries of Mahārāja Parīkṣit good lessons as to how inquisitive a pure devotee is to know things in their true perfection. The modern scientist is unable to know about the inner space of the universal horizon, and what to speak of the space which covers the universe.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit is not satisfied with only material knowledge. He is inquisitive about the character and activities of the great souls, the devotees of the Lord. The glories of the Lord and the glories of His devotees, combined together, comprise the complete knowledge of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lord Kṛṣṇa showed His mother the complete universal creation within His mouth, while she, completely charmed by her son, wanted to look inside the mouth of the Lord just to see how much earth the child had eaten. By the grace of the Lord the devotees are able to see everything in the universe within the mouth of the Lord.
The very idea of the scientific divisions of four classes of human society and four orders of life is also inquired about herewith on the basis of individual personal quality. The four divisions are exactly like the four divisions of one’s personal body. The parts and parcels of the body are nondifferent from the body, but by themselves they are only parts. That is the significance of the whole scientific system of four castes and four social orders. The value of such scientific divisions of human society can be ascertained only in terms of the proportionate development of devotional service to the Lord. Any person employed in government service, including the president, is a part and parcel of the entire government. Everyone is a government servant, but no one is the government himself. That is the position of all living entities in the government of the Supreme Lord. No one can artificially claim the supreme position of the Lord, but everyone is meant to serve the purpose of the supreme whole.
SB 2.8.17
Please explain all the different ages in the duration of the creation, and also the duration of such ages. Also tell me about the different activities of the different incarnations of the Lord in different ages.
Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all the incarnations of the Supreme Lord, although nondifferent from Him, are emanations from the Supreme. Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired from the great and learned sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī about the different activities of such incarnations so that the incarnation of the Lord might be confirmed by His activities in the authoritative scriptures.
Scientists do not want to know about the origin and the end they are only interested in what happened in between.,
BG 9.10
This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
It is clearly stated here that the Supreme Lord, although aloof from all the activities of the material world, remains the supreme director. The Supreme Lord is the supreme will and the background of this material manifestation, but the management is being conducted by material nature. Kṛṣṇa also states in Bhagavad-gītā that of all the living entities in different forms and species, “I am the father.” The father gives seeds to the womb of the mother for the child, and similarly the Supreme Lord by His mere glance injects all the living entities into the womb of material nature, and they come out in their different forms and species, according to their last desires and activities. All these living entities, although born under the glance of the Supreme Lord, take their different bodies according to their past deeds and desires. So the Lord is not directly attached to this material creation. He simply glances over material nature; material nature is thus activated, and everything is created immediately. Because He glances over material nature, there is undoubtedly activity on the part of the Supreme Lord, but He has nothing to do with the manifestation of the material world directly. This example is given in the smṛti: when there is a fragrant flower before someone, the fragrance is touched by the smelling power of the person, yet the smelling and the flower are detached from one another. There is a similar connection between the material world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead; actually He has nothing to do with this material world, but He creates by His glance and ordains. In summary, material nature, without the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot do anything. Yet the Supreme Personality is detached from all material activities.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit was not to be carried away by the sentiments of the common man to accept an incarnation of the Lord very cheaply. Instead he wished to accept the incarnation of the Lord by symptoms mentioned in the Vedic literatures and confirmed by an ācārya like Śukadeva Gosvāmī. The Lord descends by His internal energy without any obligation to the laws of material nature, and thus His activities are also uncommon. The specific activities of the Lord are mentioned, and one should know that the activities of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical due to being on the absolute plane. Thus to hear the activities of the Lord means to associate with the Lord directly, and association with the Lord directly means purification from material contamination. We have already discussed this point in the previous volume.
Video played in the class – Origin of Universe – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdPzOWlLrbE