Subscribe to receive new articles by e-mail. It’s free, but if you like, you can pledge a donation:
Join the Telegram group if you would like to join the live lessons. This course is maintained with your donations. Click here to donate.
💬 Text of the lesson
In his introduction to the first chapter of the Sixth Canto, Prabhupāda describes:
“Throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are descriptions of ten subject matters, including creation, subsequent creation and the planetary systems. Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has already described creation, subsequent creation and the planetary systems in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cantos. Now, in this Sixth Canto, which consists of nineteen chapters, he will describe poṣaṇa, or protection by the Lord.”
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam deals with ten principal topics. They are listed in text 2.10.1:
śrī-śuka uvāca
atra sargo visargaś ca, sthānaṁ poṣaṇam ūtayaḥ
manvantareśānukathā, nirodho muktir āśrayaḥ“Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are ten divisions of statements regarding the following: the creation of the universe, subcreation, planetary systems, protection by the Lord, the creative impetus, the change of Manus, the science of God, returning home, back to Godhead, liberation, and the summum bonum.”
This is one of the verses where it is important to check the synonyms to get the Sanskrit term for what we are studying. There we find the terms for the ten topics:
sargaḥ — statement of the creation of the universe;
visargaḥ — statement of subcreation;
sthānam — the planetary systems;
poṣaṇam — protection;
ūtayaḥ — the creative impetus;
manvantara — changes of Manus;
īśa-anukathāḥ — the science of God;
nirodhaḥ — going back home, back to Godhead;
muktiḥ — liberation;
āśrayaḥ — the summum bonum.
These ten separate topics are described in each of the ten cantos. In each canto we find instructions connected with the material creation, the protection of the Lord, descriptions of the qualities of the Lord, the process of devotional service, etc. However, specific cantos are more directly connected with specific topics.
Canto 1 (Creation): In his purport to the invocation of he second canto, Prabhupāda describes, “In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the principles of creation are described, and thus the First Canto may be called ‘Creation.’”
In this way, the first canto describes the Sarga (creation), but in a particular way: it describes what the ultimate source is. It establishes all the philosophical basis that establishes Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of the material creation and of all incarnations, and the ultimate goal. This is done through the descriptions of the discussions of the sages in Naimiṣāraṇya, Nārada Muni talking with Vyāsadeva, the cursing of Parīkṣit, etc.
Canto 2 (The Cosmic Manifestation): In the same purport, Prabhupāda describes: “In the Second Canto, the postcreation cosmic manifestation is described. The different planetary systems are described in the Second Canto as different parts of the universal body of the Lord. For this reason, the Second Canto may be called “The Cosmic Manifestation.” The main topic of the second canto is Visarga (the post-creation, or the manifestation of the cosmos). It explains the manifested universe and its dependence on Kṛṣṇa, focusing on the events early in the history of the universe, with Brahmā awakening on the top of the lotus flower and receiving the darśana of the Lord, his talks with Nārada Muni, and so on.
The first two cantos also offer extensive descriptions of all other eight topics, offering a summary of the philosophical content that the later cantos of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam further develop.
Canto 3 (The Status Quo): The main topic is Sarga (the creation of the universe). This topic includes the creation of the material elements, including the five elements (fire, water, earth, air, and ether), sound, form, taste, smell, touch, and the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and mind. This is called sarga, or the primary creation.
The main emphasis of the Third Canto is the creation of the elements and the manifestation of the universe, and from there it describes the creation of Brahmā, the manifestation of the material bodies, and the material situation. We can see this topic described both in the initial chapters and later, inside the teachings of Lord Kapila. Some of these discussions were already introduced in the Second Canto, but the Third Canto brings more details.
Prabhupāda calls the Third Canto “The Status Quo” because it describes how the universe comes to be, and how it works. What is its real constitution, and what is the condition of the living entities living within it?
Canto 4 (The Creation of the Fourth Order): The main topic is Visarga (the sub-creation, or secondary creation. This topic includes the work performed by Lord Brahma in creating the different planets and other structures of the universe, as well as its first inhabitants. This is called the secondary creation because Brahma creates on top of the work done by the Lord in the previous process. Brahma also receives all the knowledge necessary to create the universe from the Lord, building according to instructions given by Him. The Lord is thus the primary creator, and Brahma is the secondary creator.
The Fourth Canto is thus focused on the process of populating the universe once it is already formed, through the description of its progenitors and dynasties. This is why it is called “The Creation of the Fourth Order”, discussing the organization of society according to the Varnāśrama system. We study the genealogy of the daughters of Svāyambhuva Manu, the population generated by Dakṣa, the appearance of Pṛthu Maharaja, etc. The climax is the allegory of Purañjana, where the condition of the soul in material illusion is discussed.
Canto 5 (The Creative Impetus): The main topic is Sthāna (the planetary systems). This is a discussion about the proper situation for the living entities living on the different planets of the universe, which is to obey the laws of the Lord and be in perfect peace of mind under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This is the canto more directly connected with cosmology. There is the description of the division and management of Bhū-mandala by Priyavrata, and then the detailed description of the universe in the later chapters.
What does it have to do with self-realization? The conditioned souls who are illusioned by the external energy and take this material creation as the place for the satisfaction of selfish desires remain in this material world, living under the material laws, and reaping the good and bad results of their actions. That’s why Prabhupāda calls it “The Creative Impetus”, illustrating how the cosmic manifestation drives the souls into continued material activity, life after life. Once this process is understood, our natural tendency is to want to become free of it.
We can see that the Fifth Canto ends with the description of the hellish planets, which are an acute example of the suffering nature of conditioned life. This leads Mahārāja Parīkṣit to inquire how souls can become free from such suffering in the Sixth Canto, leading to the description of the glories of the chanting of the holy names.
Canto 6 (Prescribed Duties for Mankind): The Sixth Canto focuses on Poṣaṇa, the divine protection of the Lord. The jīvas are called the marginal energy of the Lord because they have free will. They can choose between serving the Lord or trying to be separate enjoyers of the material energy. When one wants to challenge the supremacy of the Lord, he lives under karma and the different material laws, but when a soul desires to surrender, the Lord helps him in all possible ways, so he can go back to his constitutional position, back home, back to Godhead.
The Sixth Canto includes the history of Ajāmila, the liberation of Vṛtrāsura, and so on. Prabhupāda calls this canto “Prescribed Duties for Mankind” because it emphasizes the practice of devotional service, which is the original nature and duty of everyone. All the duties prescribed in the Vedas are only secondary. They have the goal of promoting people to this ultimate duty.
Canto 7 (The Science of God): The main topic is Ūti, the creative impetus (inclinations motivating action). Every soul has the tendency to act, but this tendency is manifested in different ways, according to the level of material contamination, and can be counteracted by the practice of Krsna Consciousness.
The Seventh Canto is almost completely focused on the saga of Hiraṇyakaśipu and Prahlāda Mahārāja, which gives us the perfect example of these two paths. The focus is, naturally, to teach us how to go from one to the other; therefore, Prabhupāda calls it The Science of God.
Canto 8 (Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations): The main topic is Manvantara, describing the reins of the Manus. It describes the administration of the universe across the 14 Manvantaras, with different descriptions of important events in the history of the universe, such as the churning of the milk ocean, the conquests of Bali Mahārāja, etc. It also describes the process of dissolution between these periods, with the inundation at the end of the period of Cākṣuṣa Manu, and the appearance of Matsya.
Canto 9 (Liberation): The main topic is Īśānukathā, the science of God. This topic includes the incarnations of the Lord and His different pastimes, alongside the activities of His great devotees. Both the Lord and His devotees descend to various planets in the material world to save the conditioned souls. Hearing about these pastimes can gradually attract us back to the spiritual platform.
The Ninth Canto describes it in the form of accounts of the Lord and devotees. The whole canto revolves around the histories of kings and devotees, showing their stories of attachment, renunciation, and their deliverance by the arrangement of the Lord.
Canto 10 (The Summum Bonum): This canto describes Āśraya, the ultimate shelter, the summum bonum, which is Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all potencies. The Absolute Truth has three aspects: Brahman, Paramātma, and Bhagavān. Bhagavān is the supreme aspect, and even amongst the different expansions and incarnations of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa is the last word. He is the original candle that ignited all the other candles. He is the supreme shelter. All the other nine aspects have the goal of simply illuminating this 10th topic.
The Tenth Canto describes the appearance and pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, representing the culmination of all the topics described in the previous cantos. This is the smiling face of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Canto 11 (General History): This canto deals with Mukti, liberation. After we hear about Kṛṣṇa, the next question is: how can we go to Him? The Eleventh canto thus describes the process of attaining freedom through the practice of devotional service, focusing on the instructions of Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava before His departure. This canto also describes the history of the concluding events of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, the disappearance of the Yadu dynasty, etc.; that’s why Prabhupāda calls it “General History.”
Canto 12 (The Age of Deterioration): The main topic is nirodha (the dissolution of material conditioning). At every cycle of creation of the universe, just a small number of souls go back to Godhead. The ones who remain forgetful of their relationship with the Lord merge back into the body of Lord Mahā-Vishnu after the destruction of the universe, where they sleep until the beginning of the next creation.
The Twelfth Canto brings the closure, explaining the age of Kali, the cosmic annihilation, and the glorious passing away of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. It leaves us with the conclusion, which is going back home, back to Godhead.
How can the souls be saved?
The Fifth Canto describes the different planetary systems, which the souls see as a place for the satisfaction of their material desires. The whole universe is a miserable place, in the sense that everywhere there is birth and death, but materially speaking, most of the inhabitants of the universe live quite comfortably, either in Svargaloka, or the earthly heavens of Bhū-mandala, or in the bila-svarga, in the lower planetary systems. This is the path of pravṛtti-mārga, the path of material enjoyment.
The problem is that material desires eventually lead to selfish action, and this leads many souls to abandon the path of piety and act sinfully, and this eventually brings them to the hellish planets, where they face real suffering.
Parīkṣit thus asks how people can be saved from gliding down this path:
“O greatly fortunate and opulent Śukadeva Gosvāmī, now kindly tell me how human beings may be saved from having to enter hellish conditions in which they suffer terrible pains.” (SB 6.1.6)
In other words, he asks about what process can free a sinful person from going to hell. This is especially relevant for people in our age, since practically all of us come from sinful backgrounds. We live in a society where not only meat-eating, but promiscuity, drug use, gambling, etc. are not only normalized, but often encouraged. Practically no one is sinless in this day and age. What is thus the hope for us?
The first answer of Śukadeva Gosvāmī is somehow enigmatic:
“My dear King, if before one’s next death whatever impious acts one has performed in this life with his mind, words and body are not counteracted through proper atonement according to the description of the Manu-saṁhitā and other dharma-śāstras, one will certainly enter the hellish planets after death and undergo terrible suffering, as I have previously described to you.”
For five cantos, we have been hearing how Kṛṣṇa is the supreme shelter, and devotional service is the ultimate goal of life, and it should be practiced by everyone and in all circumstances. Now, however, when the question of being freed from sinful reactions appears, Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends something else as the solution: the process of prāyaścitta, or the Vedic process of penances to become free from sins previously committed, which is described in the dharma-śāstras.
Does it mean that devotional service is not potent enough to purify a devotee? Does it mean that prāyaścitta is more powerful than the protection of Kṛṣṇa, or that we should stop serving Kṛṣṇa and go to practice penances if we want to avoid going to hell?
Of course not. The reason Śukadeva Gosvāmī brings up this topic is to test Mahārāja Parīkṣit, just as gurus many times do. There are different paths and processes, which are chosen according to the mentality of the disciple. Often a guru starts by describing a lower process to check the reaction of the disciple before revealing the higher conclusion.
Fortunately for us, Mahārāja Parīkṣit easily passes the test. He understands the structural failure of the process of prāyaścitta: it may purify one of the sinful reactions, but it does not neutralize the material desires themselves. Therefore, as soon as one finishes his atonement, one goes back to do the same things again:
“One may know that sinful activity is injurious for him because he actually sees that a criminal is punished by the government and rebuked by people in general and because he hears from scriptures and learned scholars that one is thrown into hellish conditions in the next life for committing sinful acts. Nevertheless, in spite of such knowledge, one is forced to commit sins again and again, even after performing acts of atonement. Therefore, what is the value of such atonement?
Sometimes one who is very alert so as not to commit sinful acts is victimized by sinful life again. I therefore consider this process of repeated sinning and atoning to be useless. It is like the bathing of an elephant, for an elephant cleanses itself by taking a full bath, but then throws dust over its head and body as soon as it returns to the land.”
Prāyaścitta is a fruitive process. Just like one performs charity and sacrifice as recommended in the karma-kanda section of the Vedas for elevation to the heavenly planets, one may practice penances for not going to hell for his sinful activities. Both are selfish, and do little to cure the material disease of the soul.
Parīkṣit thus compares it to the bathing of an elephant, who washes himself very nicely in the river, throwing water all over his body using his trunk, but afterward unceremoniously throws dust all over his body again.
Parīkṣit noticed this and thus passed the test. Śukadeva Gosvāmī thus agrees to describe the real path.
He starts by describing the path of prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam in text 6.1.11. Vimarśana means the cultivation of knowledge. This is also a form of prāyaścitta. When we come to understand that we are the soul and not the body, and understand the position of the Supreme Lord, we naturally give up material activities, which are the source of all sinful activities. As soon as we fully situate ourselves in our eternal spiritual identity, there is no question of sinful reactions.
“Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vedavyāsa, answered: My dear King, since acts meant to neutralize impious actions are also fruitive, they will not release one from the tendency to act fruitively. Persons who subject themselves to the rules and regulations of atonement are not at all intelligent. Indeed, they are in the mode of darkness. Unless one is freed from the mode of ignorance, trying to counteract one action through another is useless because this will not uproot one’s desires. Thus even though one may superficially seem pious, he will undoubtedly be prone to act impiously. Therefore real atonement is enlightenment in perfect knowledge, Vedānta, by which one understands the Supreme Absolute Truth.” (SB 6.1.11)
This path of prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam is formally part of the jñāna path, but it also applies to devotees, since we also cultivate spiritual knowledge.
Development of knowledge should lead to a regulated life, which is compared by Śukadeva Gosvāmī to following a suitable diet during a health treatment. Even by following the path of jñāna, combining the cultivation of transcendental knowledge with proper regulation, one can become gradually purified, as indicated in text 6.1.12:
“My dear King, if a diseased person eats the pure, uncontaminated food prescribed by a physician, he is gradually cured, and the infection of disease can no longer touch him. Similarly, if one follows the regulative principles of knowledge, he gradually progresses toward liberation from material contamination.”
These rules and regulations are described in the next two verses. These rules are universal; they apply to both the path of jñāna and the path of bhakti. The main difference is that because the path of jñāna is not so powerful in purifying a conditioned soul, in jñāna one has to strictly follow all the rules and regulations from the beginning, leaving his family and dedicating himself exclusively to self-realization. The path of bhakti is much more flexible. One may remain with his family and maintain his job, and still advance by chanting the holy names and performing his activities for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, as described in the Bhagavad-gītā.
“To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord. Thus a sober and faithful person who knows the religious principles is temporarily purified of all sins performed with his body, words and mind. These sins are like the dried leaves of creepers beneath a bamboo tree, which may be burned by fire although their roots remain to grow again at the first opportunity.” (6.1.13-14)
We can notice that the translation includes “regularly chant the holy name of the Lord.” Prabhupāda takes this from the word “niyamena”. Originally, niyamena means pious religious activities, such as the chanting of mantras, but in the higher sense, it means to chant the holy names, since this is the highest religious activity. With this, Prabhupāda connects the explanation with the practical process of devotional service we follow. We study his books, follow the four regulative principles, and regularly chant the holy names.
The explicit connection with the path of devotional service comes in text 6.1.15:
“Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional service to Kṛṣṇa can uproot the weeds of sinful actions with no possibility that they will revive. He can do this simply by discharging devotional service, just as the sun can immediately dissipate fog by its rays.”
The ordinary process of atonement described in texts 6.1.7-8 to test Parīkṣit is ineffective, for it superficially cleans the results of sins without curing the mentality that causes them. The process of prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam described in texts 6.1.11-14 is better, because it situates a person in knowledge, attacking the root cause. Jñāna, however, has to bring one to bhakti, which is the final stage. Without progressing into bhakti, a jñanī eventually falls back into fruitive activities. Therefore, bhakti is the true path. One may come to bhakti directly or indirectly through jñāna or some other path, but in any case, everyone has to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa.
As Prabhupāda explains in his purport:
“Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra ca: if one is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, material activities, both sinful and pious, automatically become distasteful to him. That is the test of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Both pious and impious activities are actually due to ignorance because a living entity, as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, has no need to act for his personal sense gratification. Therefore as soon as one is reclaimed to the platform of devotional service, he relinquishes his attachment for pious and impious activities and is interested only in what will satisfy Kṛṣṇa. This process of bhakti, devotional service to Kṛṣṇa (vāsudeva-parāyaṇa), relieves one from the reactions of all activities.”
The real, eternal nature of the soul is service to Kṛṣṇa. This eternal nature becomes covered when we come into contact with the material energy, and just as a person diseased with jaundice, we taste sugar as bitter. However, as soon as it is cured, we again taste sugar as sweet and become naturally attracted to it.
What about destroying the results of sinful activities? Later in the same purport, Prabhupāda offers us a technical explanation of how bhakti is potent in purifying us.
There are two divisions of bhakti:
1) santatā: This is continuous devotional service, performed with faith and love. It incessantly flows without impediment; this is the devotional service that is unmotivated and uninterrupted and can completely satisfy the self that was earlier mentioned in text 1.2.6. This is the platform we aim to reach.
2) kādācitkī: This is unstable devotional service, that is sometimes awakened, and sometimes not.
This stage is subdivided into three levels:
a) ābhāsa-rūpā (a slight glimpse of devotional service, the beginning stage).
b) rāgābhāsa-śūnya-svarūpa-bhūtā (the stage where one becomes attached to the constitutional position of serving).
c) rāgābhāsamayī (where one comes close to genuine attachment to Kṛṣṇa).
Which level do we need to reach to become free from sinful reactions? It may sound surprising, but even the lowest level, ābhāsa-rūpā, where there is just a slight glimpse of devotional service, is already sufficient. Even the beginning stage already supersedes the level of prāyaścitta, or ordinary Vedic atonement from the karma-kanda path. If even the beginning level is so effective in destroying sinful reactions, what to say of the advanced levels?
Prabhupāda explains this point in detail:
“Even in the stage of ābhāsa-rūpā bhakti, all the reactions of sinful life are uprooted and vanquished. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī expresses the opinion that the word kārtsnyena means that even if one has a desire to commit sinful actions, the roots of that desire are vanquished merely by ābhāsa-rūpā bhakti. The example of bhāskara, the sun, is most appropriate. The ābhāsa feature of bhakti is compared to dawn, and the accumulation of one’s sinful activities is compared to fog. Since fog does not spread throughout the sky, the sun need do no more than merely manifest its first rays, and the fog immediately disappears. Similarly, if one has even a slight relationship with devotional service, all the fog of his sinful life is immediately vanquished.”
Thus, as Śukadeva Gosvāmī concludes, all other processes are ineffective, or only superficially effective. He compares them to washing a clay pot containing liquor. Such a pot cannot be purified simply by being washed with water. To become truly free from sinful reactions, one has to come to the path of devotional service. Just as dense fog can be easily dissipated as soon as the sun appears, even a glimpse of devotional service can destroy all sinful reactions.
The path of devotional service starts by associating with a devotee of the Lord, and learning from him or her how to serve Kṛṣṇa. In the process of serving a devotee and learning to serve Kṛṣṇa, the reactions of sinful life are destroyed automatically. There is no need to follow any separate path of expiation; one simply has to come to the path of devotional service with confidence.
One point, however, that is also made by Prabhupāda in the purport is that although the path of devotional service is so effective in destroying sins, a devotee should not practice thinking about it. Instead, a devotee should simply focus on serving Kṛṣṇa and developing an attitude of unalloyed devotional service unto Him. As described in the next chapters, there is no possibility of a devotee who is sincerely engaged in serving Kṛṣṇa and chanting the holy names going to hell. Even if the Yamadūtas come to take him by mistake, the Viṣṇudutas, armed with their transcendental weapons, fight them if necessary. However, a devotee should not be puffed up because of it. On the opposite, a devotee should meditate that even if he goes to hell because of his sins, he will never stop serving Kṛṣṇa. This attitude becomes possible when we are seriously engaged under the guidance of the spiritual master, and it is the secret of success.
To prove the supremacy of the path of devotional service, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the history of the deliverance of Ajāmila, the brāhmana who completely fell from regulative principles and was saved in the last moment by chanting only once the name of Nārāyaṇa.
This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.
If you would like to contribute further, you can find the donation links here.