Bhagvata 1

Bhagvata   1

We meditate on that transcendent Reality(God) from whom  this universe springs up, in whom it abides and into whom it returns—because He is invariably present in all existing things and is distinct from all non-entities –who is self-conscious and self-effulgent, who  revealed to Brahma(the very first seer) by His mere will the Vedas that cause bewilderment even to the greatest sages, in whom this threefold creation(consisting of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), though unreal, appears as real(because of the reality of its substratum)—even as the sun’s rays(which are made up of the element of fire) are mistaken for water (in a mirage), water for earth and earth for water—and who ever excludes Maya by His own self-effulgent glory.(1.1)

In this glorious Bhagvata, produced by the great sage Vedavyasa, has been taught that supreme Religion (the religion of God-worship, the Bhagvata Dharma as it is called) which is entirely free from all self-deception in the shape of desire (including the desire for Moksa or Liberation). Nay, herein has been expounded that absolute Reality which can be known only by saints who are free from malice, nay, which is the bestower of supreme bliss and uproots the threefold agony (1.the agony caused by bodily distemper, 2.that which is attributable to natural agancies and 3.that inflicted by a fellow-being). While it is doubtful that God can be instantly seized through this work by those blessed persons who have a keen desire to hear it recited. (1.2)

That alone is the highest duty of men, from which follows devotion to Sri Krisna—a devotion which is absolutely motiveless and knows no obstruction, and as a result of which the soul realizes the all-blissful God and attains its object.(2.6)

Riches cannot be the end of Dharma (virtue), which culminates in absolution or final beatitude. Even so wealth is a means of earning religious merit; sensuous enjoyment has not been recognized as its consummation.(2.9)

Again, gratification of the senses is not the end of sensuous enjoyment; keeping the body and soul together is the only use of sensuous enjoyment. And enquiry into Truth is the object of keeping the body and soul together and not the attainment of heaven etc., through the performance of pious acts. (2.10)

The knowers of Truth declare knowledge alone as the Reality—that knowledge which does not admit of duality (the distinction of subject and object), in other words, which is indivisible and one without a second, and which is called by different names such as Brahma(the Abosolute), Paramatama (the Supreme Spirit or oversoul) and Bhagvan (the Deity) (2.11)

Hence with undivided mind one should ever hear and sing the praises of , meditate upon and worship the Lord, who is the protector of His devotees. (2.14)

Speech, which, though full of figurative expressions, never utters the praises of Sri Hari—the praises that possess the virtue of sanctifying the whole world—is considered to be the delight of voluptuous men, who wallow in the pleasures of sense like crows that feed upon the dirty leavings of food. Like swans, that are traditionally believed to have their abode in the lotus-bed of the Manassarovara lake, devotees who have taken shelter in the lotus-feet of the Lord and therefore ever abide in His heart never take delight in such speech. (5.10)

On the other hand , that composition which, though faulty in diction, consists of verses each of which contains the name of the immortal Lord, bearing the impress of His glory, wipes out the sins of the people; it is such composition that pious men love to hear, sing and repeat to an audience. (5.11)

Narration of the Lord’s doings has been found to be veritable raft to cross the ocean of mundane existence for those whose mind is incessantly tormented by the craving for sense-enjoyment. (6.35)

Shaving the head 0as token of disgrace) , seizure of property and expulsion from a place(where one happens to be)—this is the form od capital punishment prescribed for fallen Brahmanas; there is no other corporeal form of capital punishment for them. (7.57)

Even as the Ganga incessantly pours its water into ocean, so let my thought, o Lord of Madhus, constantly and exclusively find delight in You. (8.42)

Fed up with this world either by himself or by another’s precept and with a subdued mind and holding Sri Hari in his heart, he who leaves his home(as a recluse) is foremost among men. (13.26)

The king allocated to Kali the five places 1.dice, 2.wine, 3.woman, 4.shambles, 5.gold, the hotbeds of vices (falsehood, intoxication, passion, cruelty and animosity. (17.38-39)