Bhagavatam in just 4 verses? Understanding the Catuh-sloki

There are four verses in the Srimad Bhagavatam that contain the whole text in a seed form. These four verses were transmitted from the Lord to Brahma at the beginning of the creation.

There are four verses in the Srimad Bhagavatam that contain the whole text in a seed form. These four verses were transmitted from the Lord to Brahma at the beginning of the creation and then transmitted to Narada, who in turn transmitted them to Vyasadeva, who expanded it, resulting in the verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam we have today.

These four verses have unlimited meaning, and this is hinted at in the deep philosophical purports Prabhupada gives to all four of them. Here I'm trying to just give a summary of the central ideas.

Verse 1 (2.9.33) is:

"Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead."

Prabhupada emphasizes that Krsna refers to Himself as "I" (aham) three times in the verse, not leaving any doubts that He is indeed a person, although being the original source of everything. Krsna is a person, He is eternal and He is the source of everything, both material and spiritual.

Krsna is the ultimate cause of the creation. He existed before the material creation and will continue to exist after the final dissolution of the universe. However, the fact He exists doesn't mean he exists alone. When someone says "The king is coming", it's understood that the king is coming accompanied by his entire retinue of servants, ministers, soldiers, etc.

Similarly, when the Lord says "aham", I, it includes all His energies, namely all the spiritual planets, His different expansions, His eternal associates, His names, paraphernalia and pastimes, all the spirit souls, both liberated and conditioned, etc. All of these energies are spiritual and thus eternal, and they all existed before the creation of the material world. Therefore, when Krsna says "I existed before creation", it means the whole spiritual world, all His expansions, all the infinitesimal souls, all His unlimited potencies, and so on.

Verse 2 (2.9.34):

"O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness."

Krsna is called "the absolute truth" because there is nothing separate from Him. Anything that exists, at any stage, be it at the creation, maintenance, or destruction of the cosmos, exists in relation to the Lord. Krsna has two energies, yoga-māyā and mahā-māyā. When we see things in the proper perspective, as being connected to the Lord, we act under yoga-māyā, the energy of union. On the other hand, when trying to separate things from the Lord we act under mahā-māyā, material illusion.

Both yoga-māyā and mahā-māyā are energies of the Lord. The difference is that yoga-māyā assists the souls who are connected with the Lord in loving service, while mahā-māyā controls the souls who want to forget Him. Both light and darkness are effects of the sun. Light is the direct effect of the sun, and darkness appears when the light of the sun is blocked. Darkness is thus relative to the sun, just like light. Everything is part of the Lord. Things appear to be separated or independent from the Lord only under the influence of mahā-māyā, the Lord's illusory energy.

One may see the light of the sun reflected on a mirror inside a dark room and think that it is separated from the sun, but this is just an illusion. The reflection can't exist separately from the sun, and it appears to be valuable only as long as one is unaware of the sun shining outside. Similarly, the light of the Brahmajoti, the effulgence of Krsna's body is reflected in this world as the light of the sun, fire, electricity, and ultimately as everything attractive. Nothing of it is false, but to see it as separated from Krsna is an illusion.

Maya can't cover the Lord, but it can cover the individual soul who desires to forget the Lord. The souls who are thus covered can't see the Lord, or think that the Lord is also covered by Maya, but the ones who are liberated, free from the grip of Maya, can see that He is beyond the material covering. Maya is thus a cover that can cover the sun only for the people under it.

To think there is no God is Maya, to think we are independent from Him is also Maya. To think we are God is Maya, and to think we are not eternally connected with the Lord is Maya. These are all false concepts that are the fruit of a lack of knowledge.

The soul is eternally part and parcel of Krsna, and can't be factually separated from Him. However, under the influence of illusion, we think we are separated from Him, or that we are independent from Him, or that we were never connected with Him. Similarly, we see this material world as separated from Him, a place that exists for our enjoyment. To see things in the proper perspective, that I am an eternal servant of Krsna, and that everything should be used in His service means to gradually reconnect with yoga-māyā, His internal potency, gradually uncovering our eternal nature.

Verse 3 (2.9.35):

"O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything."

Pure devotional service is the main topic of the Vedas. One will however have difficulty in finding passages that directly mention it. It is described everywhere, but indirectly. The reason for that is that pure devotional service is rahasyam, a great secret. Only the ones who know how to look may find it in the Vedas. In the same way, this third sloka appears to speak about something else, but it describes pure devotional service.

Although Krsna is everywhere and in the heart of everyone, not many can see Him. The secret to seeing Him is not to have good material vision, or even great intelligence and erudition, but to know the secret, to have love for Him. From the point this is understood, we can see that the verse has unlimited meaning.

In His Bhagavata-sandarbha, starting from section 95, Srila Jiva Goswami quotes many other verses that help us to understand the meaning of devotional service. Jiva Goswami also gives an interesting explanation of how Krsna is present everywhere. Each material element is created from the previous. Earth is created from water, water is created from fire, and so on. Each element is thus situated in its effect. Ether is present in air, air in fire, and so on. In this way, being the ultimate source of everything, Krsna is present in everything.

One can only understand the sastras when he accepts the conclusions of pure devotees since they are the only ones who can properly understand the scriptures. As Srila Prabhupada explains, "If one is fortunate enough to have received the knowledge in the transcendental disciplic succession, surely he will have the chance to understand the mystery of the Lord and that of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the sound incarnation of the Lord."

We have a great debt to Srila Prabhupada for revealing all these deeper meanings of the scriptures, which are not understood even by great scholars. To the extent we value this knowledge and sincerely try to understand it, we can understand the real meaning of the scriptures. One who tries to understand the scriptures by mere scholarship will reach all kinds of incorrect conclusions.

Krsna is ready to reciprocate with everyone. Materialists want a world without God, and thus Krsna allows them to perceive the world as such. Impersonalists want to believe that Brahman is everything, and thus Krsna allows them to see it in this way. Yogis want to see Paramatma in their hearts, and Krsna also allows that. However, the ones who love Him can see Him as He is.

Verse 4 (2.9.36):

"A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly."

After revealing the secret of love of Godhead in the previous verse, the Lord explains the process for attaining it. One should hear about Krsna's qualities and activities, chant His holy names, glorify Him, and remember Him. And when and where should it be done? "In all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly."

This is a principle that is discussed in the Srimad Bhagavatam from the beginning. Suta Goswami made this point in the first canto, and Sukadeva Goswami concluded his instructions to Maharaja Pariksit at the beginning of the second canto on the same note. Now the Lord Himself is speaking it to Brahma.

Due to the influence of the illusory energy, the whole world moves around sense gratification, which is in turn centered around sex life. This illusory happiness is like the reflection of the sun in a dark room, it appears to be dazzling just because one has no knowledge of the sun outside, and it appears to be separated from the sun only due to illusion. The real goal of life is to enquire about self-realization, and one should thus be very determined in this regard.

As we can see from the example of these four verses, it's not possible to understand the deeper meaning of the scriptures directly. We need to receive the proper conclusions through the parampara system, otherwise we will inevitably come to the wrong conclusions. Perfect knowledge can't be manufactured in this world. It always has to come from the spirtual world, through the Lord Himself or his bonafide representatives.

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