The Meeting of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the Brāhmaṇa of the Name Sudāmā

Next, Chapter Eighty: "The Meeting of Lord Krsna with the Brahmana of the Name Sudama."

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King Pariksit was hearing about the narrations of the pastimes of Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama from Sukadeva Gosvami. All of them being transcendentally pleasurable to hear, he began to say, addressing Sukadeva Gosvami as follows: [within quotation] "My dear lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the bestower of both liberation and love of God simultaneously. Anyone becoming a devotee of the Lord automatically attains liberation without separate attempt. He is unlimited, and as such His pastimes and activities for creating, maintaining and destroying the whole cosmic manifestation are unlimited. I therefore wish to hear about His other pastimes which you may not have spoken as yet.

"My dear master, the conditioned soul within this material world have been exasperated in the matter of searching out the pleasure of happiness derived from sense gratification. Such desires for material enjoyment are always piercing in the heart of conditioned soul. I am practically experiencing how the transcendental topics of Lord Krsna's pastimes can relieve one from the state of being afflicted by such sense gratificatory material activities. I think no intelligent person reject this method of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Lord again and again, in order to remain always in transcendental pleasure without being attracted by material sense gratification." [quotation close]

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In this connection, Maharaja Pariksit has used two important words: visanna and visesa-jna. This visanna means "morose." The materialistic persons, they are inventing so many ways and means for becoming fully satisfied, but actually they remain to be still morose. Question may be raised in this connection that sometimes those who are transcendentalist, they also remain morose. In this connection, Pariksit Maharaja has used the word visesa-jna. There are two kinds of transcendentalist, namely the impersonalist and the personalist. Visesa-jna means the personalist, who are interested in the transcendental variegatedness. That is, the devotees, they are jubilant in the description of personal activities of the Supreme Lord, whereas the impersonalist, they are superficially attracted by the personal activities of the Supreme Lord, but actually they are attracted by the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord. As such, the impersonalist, in spite of coming in contact with the pastimes of the Lord, do not fully realize the benefit out of it, and as such they remain exactly in the same way as the materialists are in pursuance of their fruitive activities.

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The king Pariksit therefore continued to say, [within quotation] "Our capacity for talking can be perfected only by describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord. Our capacity for working with our hands can be successful when we engage ourself in the service of the Lord with those hands. Similarly, our mind can be pacified only when we simply think of Krsna in full Krsna consciousness. This thinking power does not mean that one has to be very thoughtful, but one has simply to understand that Krsna, the Absolute Truth, is all-pervasive by His localized aspect as Paramatma. Therefore, if one…, only one can think that as Paramatma Krsna is everywhere, even within the atom, such kind of thinking power will make the thinking, feeling and willing function of the mind as perfect. Perfect devotee does not see the material world as it is, but he sees everywhere the presence of his worshipable Lord in His Paramatma feature."

Maharaja Pariksit continued to say that the function of the ear can be perfected simply by engaging them in hearing the transcendental activities of the Lord. Maharaja Pariksit further said that the function of our head can be fully utilized when the head is engaged in bowing down before the Lord and His representative. The Lord is represented in everyone's heart, that's a fact. Therefore, a highly advanced devotee offers his respect to every living entity, considering that the body is the temple of the Lord.

But it is not possible for all men to come to that stage of life immediately, because that stage of consideration is for the first-class devotee. The second-class devotee, of course, can consider the Vaisnavas, or the devotees of the Lord, as representative of Krsna. Or the devotees who are just beginning in the neophyte stage can bow down his head before the Deity in the temple and the spiritual master, who is direct manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, in either of the above stages, namely either in the beginning, neophyte stage or further advanced intermediate stage or fully advanced in the perfect stage, one can make the function of the head perfect by bowing down before the Lord or His representative. Similarly, he can make perfect the function of the eyes by seeing the Lord and His representative.

"In this way, everyone can elevate the functions of the different parts of the body to the highest perfectional stage simply by engaging them in the service of the Lord or His representative. If one is able to do anything more, he can simply bow down before the Lord and His representative and drink the caranamrtam, the washed water from the lotus feet of the Lord or His devotee." [quotation close]

On hearing these statements of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Gosvami become too much overwhelmed with devotional ecstasy on account of King Pariksit's advanced understanding of the Vaisnava philosophy. Sukadeva Gosvami was already engaged in describing the activities of the Lord, and when he was further asked to describe by Maharaja Pariksit, with great pleasure he continued to narrate the description of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

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There was a very nice brahmana friend of Lord Krsna. As a perfect brahmana, he was very much elevated in transcendental knowledge, and because of his advanced knowledge, necessarily he was not at all attached to material enjoyment. Therefore, he was very peaceful and achieved supreme controlling power of the senses. This means this brahmana was a perfect devotee, because without becoming a perfect devotee nobody can achieve the highest standard of knowledge. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that a person who has come to the point of perfection of knowledge surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, in other words, it can be said that any person who has surrendered his life for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has come to the point of perfect knowledge.

The result of perfect knowledge is that one becomes detached from the materialistic way of life, and detachment of materialistic way of life means complete control of the senses, which are always attracted by material enjoyment. This means the senses of the devotee become purified, and in that purified stage the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord. That is the complete field of devotional service.

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This brahmana friend of Lord Krsna was a householder also, but even as a householder he was not busy in accumulating wealth for living very comfortably. Therefore, he was satisfied only by the income which automatically came to him according to his destiny. This is the sign of perfect knowledge, because a man who is in perfect knowledge knows that one cannot be happier than what he is destined for. In this material world, everyone is destined to suffer a certain amount of distresses and to enjoy a certain amount of happinesses also. These amounts of happinesses and distresses are already there, destined for every living entity. Nobody can increase or decrease it, so far his materialistic way of life is concerned.

The brahmana, therefore, did not exert himself for more material happiness, but he saved time for advancement of Krsna consciousness. Externally he appeared to be very poor because he had no nice dress, neither he could provide a very nice dress for his wife. And because their material condition was not very opulent, both of them appeared to be very lean and thin because of their not eating even sufficiently. The wife was not very much anxious for her personal comfort, but she felt very much for her husband, who was such a nice, pious brahmana but had no sufficient means to live-and live very comfortably. The wife was trembling on account of her weak health, and although she did not like to dictate her husband, still she wanted to request him as follows.

She said, [within quotation] "My dear lord, I know that Lord Krsna, who is the husband of goddess of fortune, is your personal class friend. You are also devotee of Lord Krsna, and Lord Krsna is always ready to help His devotee. Even if you think that you are not rendering any devotional service to the Lord, still, you are surrendered to Him, and the Lord is the protector of the surrendered soul. Over and above this, I know that Lord Krsna is the ideal personality of Vedic culture. He is very, very kind to the brahmanas. He is always in favor of the qualified brahmanas and brahminical culture.

"So far yourself is concerned, you are the most fortunate person because you have got your friend the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Krsna is the only shelter for personalities like you. Because you are fully surrendered unto Him, you are saintly, learned and fully in control of your senses. Under the circumstances, Lord Krsna is the only shelter of you.

"Please, therefore, you go to Him. I am sure He will immediately understand your poverty-stricken position, and you are also a householder, therefore you are in distressed condition. But as soon as He understands your position, certainly He will give you sufficient riches so that you can live very comfortably. Lord Krsna nowadays is the king of the Bhoja dynasty, Vrsni dynasty and Andhaka dynasty, but I have heard that He is not out of His capital city, Dvaraka. Nowadays He is living there without any outside engagements. He is so kind and liberal that any person who surrenders unto Him, immediately He gives him everything, up to His personal self.

"When He is prepared to give Himself personally to His devotee, what is there wonderful that He cannot give some material riches to the devotee? Of course, He does not give much material riches to His devotee so long he is not very much fixed up, but I think in your case He knows perfectly well how much you are fixed up in devotional service. Therefore, He will not hesitate to award you some material benefits for the bare necessities of your life." [quotation close]

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In this way, the wife of the brahmana began to request him to go to Lord Krsna again and again, in great humility and submission. Induced by the repeated requests of his wife, the brahmana thought that there was no need of asking any material benefit from Lord Sri Krsna, but because his wife was requesting to see Him, that is a great benefit by her request. "If I go there, I shall be able to see the Lord personally. That is a great opportunity, even though I may not ask anything from Him as material benefit."

Thus, when he decided to go to Krsna, he asked his wife if she had anything in the home for offering to Krsna because when he would go there, he must take with him some presentation for the friend. The wife, immediately after hearing her husband, collected four palmful of chipped rice from the neighboring friends, and she tied in a small cloth, like handkerchief, and gave it to her husband for presenting to Krsna. The brahmana also, without waiting further, he took charge of the presentation and began to proceed towards Dvaraka to see Krsna. When he was proceeding towards Dvaraka, he was absorbed in the thought how he could be able to see Lord Krsna. He had no other thought than Krsna within his heart.

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It was, of course, very difficult to reach to the palaces of the kings of Yadu dynasty. But still, the brahmanas were allowed to visit the palaces, and when the brahmana friend of Lord Krsna went there, he had to pass through three military cantonments along with other brahmanas. In each and every such campus there was very big, big gates also, and he had to pass through them. Between the gates and the camps, there were sixteen thousand big palaces, as the residential quarters of the sixteen thousand queens of Lord Krsna. In one of them the brahmana entered, because that particular palace was very much gorgeous and decorated. That particular palace appeared to be very, very beautiful. When he entered this particular palace, he thought that he was swimming in the ocean of transcendental pleasure. He thought himself that constantly he was diving and coming out of the ocean.

At that time, Lord Krsna was sitting on the bedstead of Queen Rukmini. But yet even from considerable distance, He could see the brahmana coming to His home, and He could recognize him as His friend. Lord Krsna immediately left His seat and came forward to receive His brahmana friend, and coming nearby He immediately embraced the brahmana with His two arms. Lord Krsna is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure; still, by embracing His poor friend the brahmana, He felt greater pleasure because He met His very, very dear friend.

After meeting His dear friend, He got him seated on His own bedstead and personally brought all kinds of fruits and drink to offer him, as it is due to a worshipable guest. Lord Sri Krsna is the supreme pure, and still, because He was playing the role of ordinary human being, He immediately washed the feet of the brahmana, and with that washing water He sprinkled His head to become purified by such action.

After this, the Lord smeared over the body of the brahmana with different kinds of scented pulp, as of sandalwood, aguru and saffron. Not only this, He immediately burned several scented incense and, as were usual, He offered him arati with burning lamps. Thus after offering him all adequate welcome etiquette, when the brahmana had taken some food and drink, Lord Krsna said, "My dear friend, it is a great fortune that you have come here."

The brahmana, being very poor, was not dressed very nicely. His clothings were almost torn and dirty, his body was also very lean and thin and appeared to be not very clean, and because of his weak body, all the nerves were distinctly visible. The goddess of fortune Rukminidevi personally began to fan him with the camara (within brackets) [whisk].

When the brahmana was being received in that way, other women in the palace became very much astonished to see the behavior of Lord Krsna. They were surprised how Lord Krsna was so much eager to welcome this particular brahmana. They began to think within themselves as to how Lord Krsna engaged personally to receive a brahmana who is very poor, not very neat and clean, ugly dressed. But at the same time they could realize that the brahmana was not an ordinary living being. He must have had performed great pious activities; otherwise how Lord Krsna, the husband of the goddess of fortune, was taking so much care of him?

They were still more surprised to see that the brahmana was seated on the bedstead of Lord Krsna. They were surprised to see that Lord Krsna had embraced him exactly like He does to embrace His eldest brother, Balaramaji. They were surprised because Lord Krsna used to embrace either Rukmini or His elder brother Balarama, and nobody else.

After this, Lord Krsna and the brahmana captured each other's hand and began to talk about their past life when both of them were living under the protection of gurukula (within brackets) [a school boarding house]. Thus Lord Krsna, after receiving the brahmana nicely and seated him on His own cushion, bed, He said, [within quotation], "My dear brahmana friend, you are the most intelligent personality, and you know very well the principles of religious life. Therefore, I believe after you finished your education at the house of...

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...brahmana nicely and seated him on His own cushion, bed, He said, [within quotation] "My dear brahmana friend, you are the most intelligent personality, and you know very well the principles of religious life. Therefore, I believe after you finished your education at the house of teacher and sufficiently remunerated him, you must have accepted a suitable wife after coming back to your home. I know very well, from the beginning you were not at all attached to materialistic way of life, neither you desired to be very opulent materially, and therefore you are in need of money.

"In this material world, persons who are not attached to material opulence is very hardly found. Such unattached person hasn't got the least idea of accumulating wealth and prosperity for sense gratification, but sometimes they are found to collect money just to exhibit exemplary life of householder, how by proper distribution of wealth one can became the ideal householder and at the same times a great devotee simultaneously. Such ideal householders are to be considered completely followers of My footsteps. I hope, My dear brahmana friend, you remember all those days when both you and Me were living together at the boardinghouse of our school life. Actually, whatever knowledge both you and I received in our life, they were accumulated in our student life only.

"If a man is sufficiently educated in student life under proper guidance and teacher, then his life becomes successful in the future. He can very easily cross over the ocean of nescience, and he is not subjected to the influence of illusory energy. My dear friend, everyone should consider his father as the first teacher because he gives birth, and by the mercy of our father we get this body. The father is therefore natural spiritual master. Our next spiritual master is who initiates us in the transcendental knowledge. The spiritual master is therefore adorable as much as I am.

"Such spiritual master may be more than one. The spiritual master who instructs the disciple about spiritual master is called siksa-guru, and the spiritual master who initiates the disciple is called diksa-guru, and both of them are My representative. There may be many instructor spiritual master, but the initiator spiritual master is one. A human being who takes advantage of these different types of teacher spiritual master and thus receiving proper knowledge from them cross over the ocean of material existence, he is to be understood to have properly utilized his human form of life. He knows practically what is the ultimate interest of this human form of life, because in this human form of life only one can achieve spiritual perfection and thus be transferred back to home, back to Godhead.

"My dear friend, I am the Supersoul in everyone's heart, and as Paramatma I am present in everyone's heart. My direct order is therefore that human society must follow the principles of varnas and asramas. As I have stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that the human society should be divided into four varnas, according to quality and action. Similarly, everyone should divide his life into four parts.

The first part of the life should utilized by becoming a bona fide student and receive adequate knowledge, keeping oneself in the vow of brahmacari, so that one may completely devote his life for the service of the spiritual master without any indulgence of sense gratification. A brahmacari is meant for leading a life of austerities and penance. The householder is meant for living a regulative life of sense gratification, but nobody should remain a householder for the third stage of life, wherein one has to revoke his former austerities and penances practiced in brahmacari life and thus get oneself relieved from the attraction of household life. And after being relieved from all sort of attraction for materialistic way of life, one may accept the order of sannyasa.

"As Supersoul of the living entity sitting in one's heart, I observe everyone's activity in any stage or order of life. So above all of them, when I see one is engaged seriously and sincerely to discharge the duties ordered by the spiritual master and thus dedicate one's life in his service, I like that person the foremost. So far the life of brahmacari is concerned, if one can continue the life of a brahmacari under the direction of a spiritual master, that is very, very good. But in the brahmacari life if one feels sex impulses, then such brahmacari should take leave of his spiritual master by satisfying him according to his desire, which is called guru-daksina. Then he should take to householder's life and accept a wife under religious rites." [quotation close]

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These instructions of Lord Krsna while talking with His friend, the learned brahmana, are very good for the guidance of the human society. A system of human civilization without reference to the principles of varna and asrama is nothing but polished animal society. A man or woman living single is never accepted in the human society. Man, either he should strictly follow the principles of brahmacari life; otherwise, with the permission of his spiritual master, he must get himself married. Single life with illicit sex is exactly the life of animals, where there is no such injunction as valid marriage.

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In the modern society, there is no fixed-up aim for fulfilling the mission of human life. The mission of human life is back to home, back to Godhead. Thus to fulfill this mission of life, the system of varna and asrama must be followed. Anywhere, any part of the universe this Vedic system of varnasrama is followed, consciously or unconsciously. But when the system is followed rigidly and consciously, it fulfils the mission of our life. But when it is followed indirectly, without any guidance of superior order, then it simply creates a disturbing condition of the human society, without any peace and prosperity.

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Thus Krsna continued to talk with His brahmana friend and inquired from him, "My dear friend, I think you remember all those days and activities of our living as student, and you may remember that sometimes both you and I went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of our guru's wife. While we were collecting the dry wood, by chance we entered in the dense forest, and thus we were lost in it. As there was accidentally a occurrence of a dust storm, and after that there was a cloud in the sky, roaring sound of the thunderbolt and lightning etc., and immediately there was sunset, and everywhere became dark and we were lost in the jungle.

"After this, there was severe rainfall and the whole ground became overflooded with water, and we could not trace out how to return back, neither we could ascertain how to find out our way back to guru's asrama. You may remember that heavy rainfall-it was not actually rainfall, but it was a sort of devastation. On account of the dust storm and then heavy rain, we began to feel very much painful and were bewildered from all direction. Thus being distressed in that condition, both of us caught each other's hand and engaged how to find out to get out from that condition. The whole night we passed in that way, and early in the morning, when it was known to our gurudeva, he sent his other disciples to search out us. He also came with them, and after all, when they reached in that jungle, they saw us too much distressed.

"With great compassion, our gurudeva began to say as follows: 'My dear boys, it is very wonderful…, it is very wonderful that you have suffered so much trouble for me. Everyone likes to take care of one's body as first consideration, but you are so good and faithful to your guru that you did not care of the comforts of your body, and you have taken so much trouble for me. I am glad also to see that a bona fide student like you undergoes any kind of trouble for the satisfaction of his spiritual master. That is the way of becoming free from the indebtedness to the spiritual master by a bona fide disciple. It is the duty of the disciple to dedicate his life for the service of the spiritual master.

"'My dear best of the twice-born, I am very much pleased with your action, and I bless you that all your desires and ambitions may be fulfilled. I also bless you that your studies of the Vedas from me may always continue to remain within your memory, so that at every moment you can remember the teachings of the Vedas and you can quote the instruction without any difficulty. Thus you may not be disappointed, both in this life and in the next.' "

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Krsna continued to say, "My dear friend, you may remember that many such occurrences happened while we were in the asrama of our spiritual master. Both of us therefore can realize that without the blessings of a spiritual master, nobody can be happy. By the mercy of the spiritual master and his blessings, one can achieve the platform of peace and prosperity and is able to fulfill the mission of human life."

On hearing this, the learned brahmana replied as follows: "My dear Krsna, You are the Supreme Lord and the supreme spiritual master of everyone, and since I was so much fortunate to live with You in the house of our guru, I think I have to do nothing more in the matter of prescribed duties of Vedic injunction. My dear Lord, the Vedic hymns, ritualistic ceremonies, religious activities, economic development, sense gratification, liberation-all that are necessities for the perfection of human life-all of them are derived from one source: Your supreme personality.

"Such different destination of life are ultimately meant for understanding Your personality. In other words, they are different parts of Your transcendental form. And still, You played the role of a student and lived with us in the house of guru. This means that You adopted all these pastimes for Your pleasure only; otherwise there was no need of Your playing in the role of a human being."

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Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of Chapter Eighty Krsna in the matter of "Lord Krsna Meets Sudama the Brahmana Friend."