Explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam - The Mature Fruit of Vedic Knowledge
The vast library of Vedic knowledge culminates in a single, supreme literary masterpiece. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly emphasizes that everything a human being needs to know about God, the universe, and the ultimate goal of life is perfectly and explicitly explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
The Natural Commentary on Vedānta
Philosophical speculation often leads to confusion when dealing with the condensed codes of the Vedānta-sūtra. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that to avoid the misinterpretations of unauthorized scholars, the original author, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, personally provided the perfect, natural explanation of the Vedānta in the form of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
- Actually, the explanation of this mantra and of practically all the mantras of the Vedic hymns is summarized in the Vedanta-sutra and properly explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom.
- The purpose of the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra and Srimad-Bhagavatam is one and the same. If one studies Srimad-Bhagavatam carefully, he will find that all the Upanisads and the Vedanta-sutra are nicely explained therein.
- The real purpose of Vedanta-sutra is explained by the author himself in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and anyone trying to understand Vedanta-sutra without reference to Srimad-Bhagavatam is certainly misguided.
- In the Vedas and Upanisads there are only indirect hints to all this. Nothing is directly explained there, and therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam is the mature fruit of all the Vedic trees of literatures.
- You'll find all the codes of brahma-sutra or Vedanta-sutra in Srimad-Bhagavatam, very nicely explained. It is practically the explanation of vedanta-sutra.
Establishing the Absolute Truth
The search for the ultimate source of all energies ends with the Bhāgavatam. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that from its very first verse (janmādy asya yataḥ), the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam clearly explains that the Absolute Truth is not a void or an impersonal force, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa.
- The Vedanta-sutra begins with the aphorism janmady asya yatah, which Vyasadeva explains in the first verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam, thus establishing from the very beginning that the supreme source of everything is a cognizant, transcendental person.
- The import of the Vedas is still more explicitly explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The conclusion of the Vedic literatures is that Lord Sri Krsna is the primeval Lord and the cause of all causes.
- The Srimad-Bhagavatam explains that the Supreme Absolute Truth is known as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. In addition, the living entity, individual soul, is also called Brahman.
- As explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 1.2.11), brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate. Unless one understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original source of both Brahman and Paramatma, one is still in darkness about the Absolute Truth.
- Material science has tried to find the ultimate source of creation very insufficiently, but it is a fact that there is one ultimate source of everything that be. This ultimate source is explained rationally and authoritatively in the beautiful Bhagavatam.
Explaining the Material Condition
Why do eternal souls suffer in the temporary world? Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the Bhāgavatam flawlessly explains the psychology of the conditioned soul, detailing exactly how the living entity becomes entangled in the miserable cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra) due to false ego and sense gratification.
- How a living entity becomes a victim of the material condition is lucidly explained in this verse (SB 6.2.38). The beginning is to misidentify the body as one's self.
- The process of liberation is very nicely explained in this verse (in SB 3.27.5). The cause of one's becoming conditioned by material nature is his thinking himself the enjoyer, the proprietor or the friend of all living entities.
- When the mind becomes polluted by desires for sense gratification in the material world, the living entity drops into the material conditions, as explained in this verse.
- The entanglement of the living entity in sense enjoyment is very nicely explained in these verses.
- The sum and substance of material conditional life is explained in this verse (SB 6.1.51). The living entity, the seventeenth element, is struggling alone, life after life. This struggle is called samsrti, or material conditional life.
The Rejection of Māyāvāda Philosophy
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam serves as a powerful weapon against impersonalism. Śrīla Prabhupāda states that the text clearly explains the distinction between the Lord and the living entity, thoroughly defeating the Māyāvāda misconception that the soul is identical to God or that the Lord's form is material.
- Mayavada philosophy tries to designate the Lord as contaminated by a material body when He accepts forms of incarnation. This sort of interpolation is completely denied herein (SB 2.6.40-4) by the explanation that the Lord's position is pure and unalloyed.
- To think oneself the same as the Supreme is not self-realization. Here it is clearly explained that the Supreme Lord is anadi, or purana, and He has no other cause. The living entity is born of the Supreme Godhead as part and parcel.
- Here the statement of self-realization aham brahmasmi, which is interpreted by the Mayavada philosophy to mean "I am the Supreme Lord," is explained. The Supreme Lord is the original seed of everything.
- Asat-sastra, as explained here (in SB 4.2.28), means the doctrine of Mayavada impersonalism, or becoming one with the Supreme.
- The Mayavadi philosophers explain this (that there is only one God and that there is nothing else but Him) in their own way, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead asserts the truth that He is everything and yet is separate from everything.
The Supremacy of Bhakti-yoga
Ultimately, all knowledge must lead to devotion. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how the Bhāgavatam explicitly explains that without mixing one's efforts with unalloyed devotional service (bhakti-yoga), even the most severe austerities, mystic yoga, or philosophical speculations will fail to yield the desired result.
- As will be explained in this book by the greatest authority, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, there is no religion save and except the devotional service of the Lord, though this may be presented in different forms.
- Sukadeva Gosvami explains that there is no auspicious means for salvation other than the sublime process of bhakti-yoga.
- When Vyasadeva was not satisfied even after compiling heaps of books of Vedic knowledge, Narada Muni, his spiritual master, explained that there is no path to self-realization that can be successful without being mixed with devotional service.
- That knowledge and renunciation are never perfect unless joined by devotional service is explicitly explained here - in SB 3.25.19.
- The injunctions or directions of the Lord are infallible, and their benefits are fully assured. According to His directions, which are explained in this verse (SB 7.7.30-31), the perfect form of religion is bhakti-yoga.
Deliverance Through Hearing
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not merely a book; it is the literary incarnation of the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the simple act of hearing its authorized explanations is powerful enough to wash away all sinful reactions and elevate the conditioned soul to the platform of pure love.
- Explained in SB, "The beginning is to hear about Krsna in the association of devotees who have cleansed their hearts by association. Hearing about the transcendental activities of the Lord will result in one's feeling transcendental bliss always."
- My dear Vidura, I (Maitreya) have summarily explained the causes of devastation. One who hears this description three times attains piety and washes the sinful contamination from his soul.
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is Srila Vyasadeva's last, mature contribution, and one should read and hear it in an assembly of realized souls while engaging in devotional service. At such a time one can be liberated from all material bondage.
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is auspicious even for the nondevotees because it explains that even the nondevotees hovering under the spell of material energy can be delivered from such clutches if they hear the narration with devotion and attention.
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam this particular mantra is explained in the questions and answers between Maharaja Pariksit & Sukadeva Gosvami at the very beginning of their meeting. Hearing & chanting of the science of God is the basic principle of devotional life.
The Flawless Transmission of Knowledge
The knowledge found in the Bhāgavatam is not the product of mundane research, but of divine revelation descending through the paramparā. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that this transcendental science was directly explained by the Lord to Brahmā, who passed it down through the unbroken disciplic succession.
- Srimad-Bhagavatam explains that Krsna imparted knowledge into the heart of Brahma, the first created being within the universe. Brahma imparted those lessons to his disciple Narada, and Narada imparted that knowledge to his disciple Vyasadeva - CC Intro.
- How did he (Brahma) receive knowledge? That is explained in the Bhagavatam: tene brahma hrda. The word hrda means - through the heart.
- Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the well-wisher and friend of all living entities, formerly explained this transcendental knowledge to the great saint Narada.
- Srila Vyasadeva explained Srimad-Bhagavatam unto Sukadeva Gosvami from the very beginning of the janmady asya (SB 1.1.1) verse, and so Sukadeva Gosvami also explained it to the king - Maharaja Pariksit.
- He explained these facts (universal affairs of different planetary systems) five thousand years ago, but the knowledge existed long, long before because Sukadeva Gosvami received it through disciplic succession.
The Ultimate Goal of Life
The final conclusion of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is clear: the purpose of human existence is to revive our dormant relationship with the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the Bhāgavatam explains precisely how to cut the knot of material attachment and attain the ultimate destination of pure love of Godhead.
- The real purpose of life is to revive our dormant love of God. Indeed, that is our ultimate necessity. How that love of God can be attained is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.
- As explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 1.2.9), dharmasya hy apavargyasya nartho 'rthayopakalpate: "All occupational engagements are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They (householders) should never be performed for material gain."
- Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.6) explains that one has to achieve real satisfaction (yayatma suprasidati), but atma - the body, mind and soul - all become completely satisfied only if one develops devotional service to the Absolute Truth.
- In this verse (SB 7.15.52), it is explained that one who has perfect brahminical knowledge rejects the process of elevation to higher planets and accepts nivrtti-marga; in other words, he prepares himself to go back home, back to Godhead.
- Everything is explained there. Physical and spiritual, everything is there. So this is bhagavata-dharma, to study Srimad-Bhagavatam very carefully. Everything is . . . Every knowledge is there. Kim va parair isvarah.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the ultimate, flawless authority on all spiritual and material subject matters. Because the condensed codes of the Vedānta-sūtra are susceptible to the dangerous misinterpretations of mundane scholars and impersonalist philosophers, the original author, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, mercifully provided his own natural commentary in the form of the Bhāgavatam. Within its pages, everything is perfectly explained. It reveals the exact mechanics of how the conditioned soul becomes entangled in the agonizing cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra) due to false ego and sense gratification. Simultaneously, it explicitly dismantles the Māyāvāda illusion by proving that the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and that the living entity is His eternal, subordinate servant. Furthermore, the Bhāgavatam definitively explains that mere philosophical speculation, mystic yoga, or fruitive rituals are completely useless unless combined with unalloyed bhakti-yoga. As this pristine knowledge descends flawlessly through the paramparā—from Kṛṣṇa to Brahmā, Nārada, Vyāsadeva, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī—the sincere reader who submissively hears this great literature is guaranteed to cross the ocean of material nescience. Ultimately, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains that the supreme goal of human life is not to accumulate temporary material gain, but to revive one's dormant love for God and return back home, back to Godhead.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.