710819SB.LON
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.3

London, August 19, 1971
Pradyumna: Translation: "Know, O thoughtful men, that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the mature fruit of the tree of Vedic literature. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this nectarean fruit is all the more relishable by liberated souls." [SB 1.1.3]
Prabhupada: So Srimad-Bhagavatam is the ripened fruit of Vedic literature. Nigama-kalpa-taru. Kalpa-taru. We have no experience of kalpa-taru within this material world, but in the spiritual world there is kalpa-taru. Kalpa means "desire" and taru means "tree." Here you can get from a mango tree mango, not any other fruit. But in the kalpa-taru... The description of kalpa-taru is there in the Brahma-samhita. Cintamani kalpa-taru.
There is Krsna's planet. That planet is made of touchstone. We do not know whether anyone has got experience of this touchstone, but there is a touchstone which you touch on iron, it becomes gold. Touchstone. So in the spiritual world there are also houses like these trees, like this; there are cows, and the gopis, Krsna. So their description is given in the Brahma-samhita. We should not think that we have imagined something artistic and created a Krsna. No. It is completely supported by Vedic literature, Brahma-samhita.
So in the Brahma-samhita it is clearly stated about Krsna's place, original place. This is also Krsna's place. That is also Krsna's place. But here, because we are forgetful of Krsna, therefore we are accepting this place as material. Just like king: he possesses all the places of the country. Similarly, Krsna is the proprietor. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, sarva-loka-mahesvaram.
If anyone wants happiness, santi, peace, then he must know these three things. What is that? That Krsna is the enjoyer of everything. Krsna says, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram. You can perform yajna, you can perform austerities, penances, but the result should be enjoyed by Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness. When you come to that consciousness that "I am working hard and earning so much money..." Everyone is thinking that "I must enjoy. Why others?" That is the materialistic way of thinking. But we are trying to change the consciousness. Krsna consciousness movement means that, that you earn as much as you like, but the enjoyer should be Krsna, not you. That is Krsna consciousness. Krsna consciousness is not very difficult thing to understand. The only... We have to change the account. That's all. Everyone... The karmis, they are working so hard, day and night. The ultimate aim is that he will enjoy, he'll satisfy his senses. Therefore he's working so hard. The Bhagavatam therefore says,
"Simply for sense gratification we should not work so hard, because these things are done by even hogs and dogs."
So Krsna consciousness movement means that we have to change the account, not for sense gratification. Because real proprietor is Krsna. When I think I am proprietor, I am enjoyer, that is illusion. That is illusion. Janasya moho 'yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. So in the cintamani-dhama, [Bs. 5.29] Krsna's abode, everything is there, but the account is different. That is spiritual world. Here the account is different. Is everything there, but everyone is trying to enjoy for himself. There is competition. I am enjoyer, you are enjoyer; therefore there is competition. Individually, man to man, family to family, society to society, nation to nation, there is always competition. But this competition will stop as soon as there is Krsna consciousness, that "I am not proprietor, we are not proprietor, Krsna is proprietor." That's all. That is the means of santi.
These three things, if we understand properly, that Krsna is the supreme enjoyer, bhokta; He's friend also. Krsna is so nice friend that... Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Krsna, or the Supreme Lord, is situated in everyone's heart as friend. That is stated in the Upanisads. Two birds are sitting on one tree as friend. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other friend is simply witnessing. He is friend, He's supreme friend, not so-called friend. Actually He's our supreme friend. He's always trying to get us back to home, back to Godhead. Not only He's sitting within our hearts, but He's descending as Krsna.
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
[Bg. 4.7]
He comes and canvasses. What is that canvassing? Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. "Why you are engaged in so many so-called occupations? You simply surrender unto Me." Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami.
But we are so engulfed in matter that we cannot take the advice of Krsna. Therefore Krsna again comes as a devotee, Lord Caitanya. Lord Krsna said that "You surrender unto Me." Same Krsna came as devotee of Lord Krsna. Bhaktakhyam bhaktavataram namami bhakta-saktikam.
panca-tattvatmakam krsnam
bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam
namami bhakta-saktikam
Lord Caitanya's prayer.
So Krsna is always trying. He's coming Himself as Lord, the Supreme Lord; He's coming as a devotee; He's sending His representative simply to canvass to come to the cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa [Bs. 5.29], where there is eternal happiness, desire trees... Therefore the Vedic literature... What is the purpose of Vedic literature? Veda means knowledge. Veda means knowledge. Vetti veda-vido jnanam. Anything from which you get knowledge, that is called Veda. So from the Vedas we have to acquire the supreme knowledge. Therefore it is called Vedanta. Vedanta means... We have got so many different types of knowledge, but what is the ultimate knowledge? That is called Vedanta. Ultimate knowledge means to inquire about the Supreme. We are getting knowledge... We are inquiring, "What is the newspaper today? What has happened?" That is also knowledge. But that is not ultimate knowledge. Ultimate knowledge is Krsna. Therefore Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]. Ultimate... Vedanta means to know the Supreme Absolute Truth. That is ultimate knowledge. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah.
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
[Bg. 15.15]
People are after so-called Vedantists, but they do not know Krsna, so-called Vedantist. But one who is actually Vedantist, he knows Krsna. Therefore sometimes ago some of these Vaisnavas, they gave me this title, Bhaktivedanta. Bhaktivedanta means ultimate understanding of Vedanta is bhakti, not to become impersonalist.
So here it is stated, nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam [SB 1.1.3]. All the Vedas, they are summarized in the Vedanta-sutra. You have heard the name of Vedanta-sutra. So this Srimad-Bhagavatam is explanation of the Vedanta-sutra. Therefore from the very beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the first aphorism of the Vedanta-sutra is there, janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. In the Vedanta-sutra the first quote is athato brahma jijnasa, "Now we have to inquire about Brahman, the Absolute Truth." That is the business of human being. Because in other life other than the human form of body, we have simply passed our time in the matter of bodily necessities of life, ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam.
ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca
samanyam etat pasubhir naranam...
The bodily necessities of life, the animals, they have also bodily necessities of life. Ahara, eating; nidra, sleeping; and bhaya, fearing or defending; and maithuna, sexual intercourse. So the cats and dogs, they have got all these functions, and the human being has also the same functions. It may be little polished, but the function is the same. Then what is the extra business of this human form of life? If you are simply engaged in these four principles of lifeeating, sleeping, sex life, and defending or fearingthen what is the difference between a man and a dog? There is no difference. The only difference is athato brahma jijnasa. A man can come here in this temple and he can inquire about Krsna or the Absolute Truth. That is the difference.
So this Krsna consciousness movement means we are giving chance to everyone to come and inquire about Brahman. Athato brahma jijnasa. Or, in other words, the whole activities of this Krsna consciousness movement is Vedanta life. Vedanta life. Anyone who is inquiring about Krsna, inquiring about the Absolute Truth... Now there are different stages of inquiring about the Absolute Truth. That is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
[SB 1.2.11]
The Absolute Truth is one, but according to our understanding, some are accepting the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman, some of them accepting the Absolute Truth as the localized Paramatma, and some of them are understanding the Absolute Truth as Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna or Visnu. So this Krsna consciousness movement means to understand the Absolute Truth as the ultimate issue. That means to understand the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Person.
Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam is describing the Absolute Truth in the beginning, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Vasudeva means Krsna, the son of Vasudeva. He appeared as the son of Vasudeva, but spiritually, unless one becomes on the position of vasudeva, nobody can understand Vasudeva. Vasudeva is the name of suddha-sattva, pure goodness. Not contaminated goodness. Here in this material world there are three types of status: goodness, passion, and ignorance. So ignorance and passion, they're simply material. The symptom of ignorance and passion is greediness and lust. Above this greediness and lust there is another platform, which is Vedanta platformto understand everything clearly. That is called goodness.
Now pure goodness means one has to transcend even this material platform of goodness, because in the material platform of goodness there is possibility of being contaminated by the other two qualities, namely passion and ignorance. Sometimes it becomes mixed up. The material type of goodness is just like a pure brahmanasatyam samo damas titiksawith all the good qualities: truthfulness, controlling the senses, controlling the mind, full of knowledge, tolerance, and knowledge..., knowledge means about the Supreme. These are brahminical qualifications. But sometimes these brahminical qualifications also become contaminated by the other two qualities, passion and ignorance. It has been experienced. At the present stage also, we see that many persons who are coming to the brahminical family, but they have been contaminated by the other two qualities, passion and ignorance. So there is possibility. In the material goodness there is possibility of being attacked with the other two qualities and thereby fall down. But when you transcend the material platform of goodness and come to this transcendental platform of goodness, then you cannot fall down. That is called sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam. That sattva, that existence of pure goodness, is called vasudeva. In that pure transcendental platform of goodness you can understand Vasudeva. That means in that status of life, Vasudeva is born... Because Vasudeva is already there; you simply realize Him. Vasudeva... Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Vasudeva is already there within your heart, but you simply realize it by placing yourself in the pure consciousness, pure platform.
So this can be done simply by our discussion of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Therefore it is said here, nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam idam [SB 1.1.3]. It is the mature fruit of Vedic knowledge. And suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam. This Srimad-Bhagavatam was written by Vyasadeva. And it was spoken for the first time by Sukadeva Gosvami, his son. He wrote this Srimad-Bhagavatam under the instruction of his spiritual master, Narada, and he taught his son, beloved son, Sukadeva Gosvami, that "You preach. I am writing; you preach." That is the duty of the student. The spiritual master writes, and it is a duty of the disciple to preach. And if the student is also as pure as the spiritual master, then it becomes very nice. Suka-mukhat. Suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam.
The... Another explanation of this verse is that any fruit ripened in the tree, it is already very nice, very sweet. If you take an unripe fruit from the tree and keep at your home, it also ripens, but it is not so tasteful. If it is ripened in the tree and you take it, then it is very tasteful. I think you have got this experience. Again if that fruit is cut by the lips or by the beaks of the parrot, which is called suka, it becomes still more tasteful. Similarly, this fruit, the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge, Srimad-Bhagavatam, is already very tasteful because it is the ripened fruit, but it has been tasted by the lips of Sukadeva Gosvami; therefore it is still more tasteful. Drava-samyutam. Therefore it is recommended, pibata bhagavatam, "Now, this ripened fruit, just taste it," pibata, "drink it." Pibata bhagavatam rasam.
When we eat something, we taste its rasa, the juice. Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya [Bg. 7.8]. Just like Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, "Kaunteya, My dear Arjuna, I am the taste of the water." Everyone, when he's thirsty, he wants, "Give me water, give me water." Because there is a taste in the water which will immediately quench your thirst. So we enjoy everything because there is some taste. That is called rasa. Anything we do. Just like a man, he's working very hard day and night. What for? For maintaining his family, his children and wife. So unless there is some rasa, some taste, he cannot work so hard day and night. There is some flavor in maintaining the family with hard labor. And sometimes we see therefore one who has no family, one who has no family affection, he does not work so hard. He doesn't care to work. This is practical. Therefore in the Vedic civilization the family life is recommended unless one will become confused, hopeless, because he has no taste for the family life. So everything there is some rasa, taste. Without that taste, nobody can live.
Now here it is recommended, srimad-bhagavatam rasam alayam. Here is a taste which you can enjoy up to the end of your life or up to the point of liberation. Because life is meant for getting liberated from this painful material existence. That is life. Everyone is trying to get out of the painful situation. That is struggle for existence. But they do not know what is the ultimate life, free from all painful activities. That is called liberation. The whole Vedic civilization is based on this point, how to get liberated and enjoy eternal happiness.
ramante yogino 'nante
satyanande cid-atmani
iti rama-padenasau
param brahmabhidhiyate
[Cc. Madhya 9.29]
Rama. Rama, this word, comes from ramana, ram, ram-dhatu, "enjoyment." Just like here in this material world they are also engaged in ram, ramana, but that is sex life. That's all. That is sex life. That is also ramana. But there is another ramana, that is Rama. If you take the shelter of Rama, that is real happiness. Ramante yoginah anante. Those who are yogis... Yogis means transcendentalists. Those who are aspiring after spiritual perfection, they are called yogis. So the preliminary yoga system that is practiced generally, hatha-yoga, astanga-yoga, that is preliminary. Nobody gets perfection even in the preliminary yoga system. And what to speak of further progress. So the bhakti-yogi, those who are engaged in this bhakti-yoga system... Mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate. That is yogi. This yoga system:
mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
[Bg. 14.26]
Krsna says, "If you take to this bhakti-yoga system..." What is that bhakti-yoga system?
So if you take to this bhakti-yoga system, avyabhicarena... Avyabhicarena means without any deviation, strictly on rigid principles. Mam ca yah avyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate. One who is engaged in the service of the Lord by accepting the bhakti-yoga system, sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26], he immediately becomes transcendental to the three material qualities, namely, the sattva-guna, rajo-guna, and tamo-guna. And that is called mukti. Mukti does not mean that when you become liberated you'll have got so many heads or so many legs, no. Mukti means svarupena vyavasthitih [SB 2.10.6], to be situated in one's original, constitutional position. That is Krsna consciousness.
So this verse recommends that pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam. Rasam alayam. Alayam, laya. Laya means "to merge." We are also merged into this material world. Just like your body, my body is material. But I am the soul, you are the soul. I am merged into this material... But because I am spirit, although I am merged, I am not getting happiness. Just like if you are put into the Atlantic Ocean, you merge, but because you are not the living entity of the water, you cannot be happy. You cannot be happy. That merging is there. You have to merge into the spiritual existence; then you'll be happy. That is bhagavatam rasam alayam.
Thank you very much. (end)

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