Text 6

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.4–6) it is stated:

भक्ति-योगेन मनसि सम्यक् प्रणिहिते’मले
अपश्यत् पुरुषं पूर्णं मायां च तद्-अपाश्रयाम्
यया सम्मोहितो जीव आत्मानं त्रि-गुणात्मकम्
परो’पि मनुते’नर्थं तत्-कृतं चाभिपद्यते
अनर्थोपशमं साक्षाद् भक्ति-योगम् अधोक्षजे
लोकस्याजानतो विद्वांश् चक्रे सात्वत-संहिताम्

bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite’male
apaśyat puruṣaṃ pūrṇaṃ māyāṃ ca tad-apāśrayām
yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṃ tri-guṇātmakam
paro’pi manute’narthaṃ tat-kṛtaṃ cābhipadyate
anarthopaśamaṃ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje
lokasyājānato vidvāṃś cakre sātvata-saṃhitām

With a pure heart, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa became absorbed in meditation through the process of bhakti-yoga. He thus saw the Supreme Person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, along with His external energ y (māyā), which was far away from Him but under His control. Due to this māyā, the conditioned living entity (baddha-jīva) forgets his service to Kṛṣṇa and becomes affected by anarthas. Although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, the living entity who is bewildered by māyā considers himself a material product. He thus identifies himself with this body and considers that which is related to it to be his. The infinitesimal living entity can only be delivered by kṛṣṇa-bhakti-yoga, but the mass of people in the material world are ignorant of this fact. Understanding this, Śrī Vyāsa manifested Bhāgavatam through bhakti-yoga.

कृष्ण, कृष्ण-माया, जीव एइ तिन तत्त्व माया-मोहे
माया-बद्ध जीवेर अनर्थ

kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-māyā, jīva ei tina tattva māyā-mohe
māyā-baddha jīvera anartha

चित्-कण जीवेर कृष्ण-भक्ति-योग-बले
अनर्थ विनष्ट हय कृष्ण प्रेम-फले

cit-kaṇa jīvera kṛṣṇa-bhakti-yoga-bale
anartha vinaṣṭa haya kṛṣṇa prema-phale

एइ तत्त्व नाम-समाधिते पाइल व्यास
भागवते भक्ति-योग करिल प्रकाश

ei tattva nāma-samādhite pāila vyāsa
bhāgavate bhakti-yoga karila prakāśa

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

Śrī Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa manifested all the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Purāṇas and so forth. Even though he had realisation of the Supreme Absolute Truth and His sound incarnation (śabda-brahma), he remained dissatisfied, feeling an inner lack. He enquired from Śrī Nārada about this, who answered, “You have not described Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweet pastimes and spotless glories. You should do so, and by this your heart will become satisfied.” By the mercy of Śrī Nārada and by the means of bhakti-yoga, Vedavyāsa, with a pure heart, became absorbed in meditation and received darśana of all Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes. He then manifested the Bhāgavatam, the fully ripened fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literature.

The essential teaching of this incident is that when the mind of the living entity becomes pure through the practice of bhakti, then by the combined mercy of the saṃvit- and hlādinī-śaktis, he can experience Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency (Yogamāyā) and his own constitutional nature (svarūpa). The object of bhajana will manifest in the heart naturally through bhakti-yoga. Those who desire liberation through jñāna and karma are deprived of realisation of the complete, eternally conscious object.

The words puruṣaṃ pūrṇam in this Text refer to Svayam Bhagavān Vrajendra-nandana Śyāmasundara, who is the possessor of all potencies (sarva-śaktimān), and to all the residents of Vraja, including the gopīs.

By means of bhakti-yoga, Śrīla Vyāsadeva saw Bhagavān’s various manifestations and His three potencies: svarūpa-śakti, māyāśakti and jīva-śakti. Through His svarūpa-śakti, Bhagavān performs eternal, transcendental pastimes. Māyā-śakti has two functions to control the jīvas who are averse to Bhagavān: āvaraṇātmikā (to cover real knowledge) and vikṣepātmikā (to hurl the living entity down into the ocean of material existence). Those living entities who are controlled by material activities are moved by the desire to gratify their senses, and Māyā-devī makes them dance like puppets.

An argument can be raised in this connection. When Vyāsadeva received darśana of the Supreme Lord’s form, qualities, pastimes and so forth, what was the purpose of his also receiving darśana of māyā ? The answer is that Vyāsadeva was not an ordinary living being, so he had no familiarity with the suffering of the conditioned souls ensnared by māyā. How, then, could he help them? For this reason he also received darśana of the illusory energ y.

The ācāryas write that the living entities who are controlled by māyā are absorbed in the three modes, devoured by the great disease of material existence and unable to taste the sweetness of Śrī Bhagavān. The liberation of the living entities bound by māyā is possible only when māyā’s coverings are removed. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains in his commentary on this Text that to cure a sick patient, an expert doctor prescribes both medicine and a good diet. The remedial measure for the conditioned living entities is the process of bhakti. The medicine is hearing hari-kathā and chanting harināma, and the diet is to stay in the association of devotees and avoid offences.

After receiving the above-mentioned darśana, Śrīla Vyāsa manifested Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the eternal authoritative scripture that is filled with all truths. He did this for the benefit of ignorant people who are devoured by the great disease of material existence. By hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the living entities can become free from their anarthas and ignorance, and thus obtain kṛṣṇa-prema. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s prema-filled transcendental pastimes with the vraja-devīs are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By hearing these narrations with faith, the living entities can again become established in their eternal dharma.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.36) states: “yāḥ śrutvā tat-paro bhavet–upon hearing such pastimes, one becomes dedicated to Him.” Service to Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa is filled with the sweetest nectar of prema, and to become established in service to Them is the purpose of life. One can achieve this after the removal of one’s anarthas through the process of bhakti-yoga, the essence of all truths.