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Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.
You know that I am out and out in Sreemad Bhagavatam. Sreemad Bhagavatam is considered to be a paramahamsya samhita as I have repeatedly said. A samhita is actually a compendium on any subject it deals with. It has to be very full and even fuller and fullest account of the different thought processes, findings, approaches, attitudes, conclusions, and arguments pertaining to a particular subject. While it presents different types of thought processes and philosophies, the samhitakara will have one important line of thinking which he wants to emphasize, corroborate, and confirm from various points of view. Then it becomes a samhita. Sreemad Bhagavata is one such.
The theme of Sreemad Bhagavatam is clearly set forth right from the beginning. Everything is given a devotional touch. But what Sreemad Bhagavata proposes to bring about is spiritual wisdom and wisdom alone.
ज्ञानं परं गीयते ।
In the whole of Sreemad Bhagavatam, what is being sung is jñāna. But along with jñāna, Sreemad Bhagavatam also deals with two other important items which are allied. One is bhakti and another is virakti. Bhakti means devotion to the Supreme reality and that reality Sreemad Bhagavata repeatedly shows and discusses as the very Self in oneself, and what is the Self? The Self is that presence or that power which is denoted by the term 'I' the first person pronoun.
You know, all our activities as well as experiences, also wisdom, all of them rest upon three important pronouns. One is 'I', the other is 'YOU', the third is 'HE', 'SHE', 'IT', or 'THEY'. Without these three identifications, no interaction, no experience, no knowledge, nothing can be had. The Supreme Reality, Sreemad Bhagavatam, as also our scriptures say, is the presence that is denoted by the term 'I'. Now the 'I' is a kind of knowledge everyone has. What is knowledge? Experience itself is knowledge. I generally put it up in this manner. Experience, when it undergoes a mystic transformation, it becomes knowledge and memory. 'I', to begin with, is a matter of experience. Everybody experiences himself or herself, and thereafter that 'I' becomes so much of an experience, that it has become a knowledge factor in you.
So, Sreemad Bhagavatam speaks about jñāna, supported by, allied with devotion - devotion to the Supreme reality or the Supreme Lord, and that Lord as I said, is the presence denoted by the term 'I'. See, then devotion becomes knowledge there. Now in order to generate, cultivate, preserve and strengthen this knowledge, devotion on the one hand and something more is necessary, viraktih - dispassion. As much as you are devoted to God, so much you should also be having dispassion for the perishable things including your body, in the world. If there is bhakti, not supported and corroborated by virakti, then that bhakti will not fruition, grow at all, and when bhakti truly grows in the manner in which it should, you require knowledge, and that knowledge is the knowledge of the Self.
Bhakti, devotion to the Lord, viraktih, dispassion to the world, Bhagavat prabodhah, the knowledge and realization of God.
So, Sreemad Bhagavatam discusses and elaborates presenting a number of theories, a number of arguments, a number of dialogues, a number of presentations, hymns, and what not, these three themes. they are actually inter allied. So far as the supreme reality is concerned, what is Sreemad Bhagavata’s position? The question is raised by a group of listeners around Suta, the narrator. Suta himself is one who by his very life and also pursuit reads all the scriptures of the land right from the Vedas, including the Upanishads, then the itihāsās, purāṇās, sutrās, samhitās and what not. So the people around him, a scholarly assembly asked him, “Respectable Sir, you have read all the scriptures of our land and your knowledge is paramount. We would like you to tell us, what exactly is the essence of all these scriptures?” Suta had no problem at all. He simply presents the answer altogether in 32 letters. In a four line anushtup metered words.
This is the answer. This is presented in Sreemad Bhagavata right in the first portion. What does it say?
You have asked me, “What is the essence of all the scriptures and scriptural compositions in our country”. My answer is, knowers of truth, tattvavidah, those people who are experts in trying to understand the supreme truth, who are prepared to undergo the necessary ascetic life, discipline, virtue and austerity, they have clearly said - what have they said, वदन्ति तत्तत्त्वविदः तत्त्वं यद्ज्ञानं अद्वयम् . Just see, all of you must have very good imagination and sensitiveness to grasp this paramount point. The knowers of truth say that what you have asked for, the essence of all the scriptures and allied texts, is तत्त्वं यद्ज्ञानं अद्वयम्.It is not a matter or energy. It is not an existence, it is not an entity. On the other hand, it is a principle. I don’t know whether the word principle is ample enough to translate the word tattva. So it is a tattva. Tattva is something that the mind and the intelligence alone and do grasp. Senses will not be able to penetrate that area at all because it is not a visible existence. It is a principle. What is that principle?
यद्ज्ञानं अद्वयम् It is actually knowledge that gives no room for a concept like two and many. अद्वयं ज्ञानम् This is a great discovery of our land. What is that? When you probe into existence and you try to find out the ultimate level or nature or constitution of the existence, we find, the entire existence disappears and you are lodged in a level of understanding, knowledge and what is that knowledge? That knowledge never gives any room for, or allows a dual consideration. ज्ञानं अद्वयं. It is actually non dual knowledge. A knowledge that never gives you a scope for dividing things into many, two or otherwise, and this non dual knowledge is itself spoken of differently as ब्रह्मेति, the Supreme Reality called Brahman. परमात्मेति, another concept or truth called the Paramatma, which you refer to as 'I'. भगवानिति शब्द्यते - It is the same non dual knowledge that is spoken of as Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord Almighty. This is the message of Sreemad Bhagavatam.
Just imagine, it is a book on devotion as it is said to be, but it actually discusses only the knowledge and realization of the human mind and heart.
I would like you to reflect upon this presentation.
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.