Category: Chirag Patel

Bhagavatam Booklet 1 – Chirag Patel

 

1-1-1

 

janmaadyasya yatoanvayaaditaratashchvaartheshhvabhijnah svaraaT |

tene brahma hryudaa ya aadikavaye muhyanti yatsoorayah ||

tejo vaarimrudaam yathaa vinimayo yatra trisargoamrushhaa |

dhaamnaa svena sadaa nirastakuhakam satyam param dheemahi ||

 

Meaning:

 

One who taught the vedas which confuses learned scholars to brahmaa; One who creates, retains and destroys this world; One who knows everything and who is knowledge; such is God whom we meditate. Like mirage is seen thru’ sun rays, still water is seen as glass, or glass is seen as water – are all illusions but truth; similarly this world created by One with three guNas – sattva, rajas, tamas – is illusion and seen as truth. Also, whose grace removes treachery of  maayaa that is ignorance; One who is present as truth in all three states (creation, retention, destruction) and in all three times (past, present, future); we meditate upon such God.

 

[These very first shlokas mention three states of existence – creation, retention, destruction. It talks about some physical phenomena – mirage and glass. At that time, such observations and terms were in use. God is a concept which does not have physical or any other type of existence. If God exists, God is subject to creation and destruction. The entity which is subject to existence cannot be ever present or cannot be the source of all. The goal of bhagavatam is thus set to find this eternal truth.]

 

When vyaasa were thinking of future generations, he guessed that in kaliyuga, humans would be short lived, feeble, non-believers and lifeless. So, he divided veda into four divisions. Then, he created mahaabhaarata. He was still agitated internally. One day naarada visited him and asked him to write a book which would describe krushNa‘s glory in detail.

 

This whole world is naaraayaNa and every soul is also naaraayaNa.

 

1-5-37 vaasudeva gaayatree mantra given to naarada by sages:

 

namo bhagavate tubhyam vaasudevaaya dheemahi |

pradyumnaayaaniruddhaaya namah sankarshhaNaayacha ||

 

Meaning:

 

I bow to and meditate upon God as vaasudeva, pradyumna, aniruddha, sankarshhaNa.

 

[These 4 forms of God are grouped as shreevigraha. krushNa or vaasudeva was son of vasudeva. pradyumna and  aniruddha were krushNa‘s sons. balaraama or sankarshhaNa was krushNa‘s brother. sankarshhaNa is considered a form of ahamkaara (self indulgence) to meditate upon, aniruddha is for mind, pradyumna is for intellect and vaasudeva is for consciousness.]

 

When karmas are offered to God, they do not bind to samsaara (worldly deeds and attachments).

 

Root cause of every sorrow is mind.

 

There are seven notes – shhaDaj, rushhabh, gaandhaar, madhyam, pancham, dhaivat, nishhaad.

 

bhakti (devotion) brings peace to mind and soul effortlessly.

 

bhaagavata avasthaa is the state when one forgets self (and soul) while remembering brahman such as saakara (sugar stone) melts into milk and becomes milk.

 

[People at that time had sugar stones made by lumping melted sugar of canes.]

 

keertana (singing songs in praise of God) detaches one from world and brings to God.

 

In kaliyuga, praying God’s form brings faster results.

 

[Praying God in any form is fine. God is above any form. So, any form that one can have the highest regards is the one to devote to.]

 

vyaasa sat in meditation in his aashrama (specially built huts) named shamyaapraasa at the bank of river sarasvati. He realized God and maayaa and found the truth behind naarada‘s words on bhaagavatam.

 

vyaasa selected following two shlokas and asked his disciples to keep chanting around son shuka to bring him back to learn bhagavatam. They are:

 

3-2-23

 

aho bakee yam stanakaalakooTam jighaansayaapaayayadapyasaadhvee |

lebhe gatim dhaatryuchitaantatoanyam kam vaa dayaalum sharaNam vrajema ||

 

Meaning:

 

Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than One who granted the position of mother to a pootanaa (she-demon) although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

 

10-21-5

 

barhaapeeDam naTavaravapuhu karNayo karNikaaram

bibhradvaasaha kanakakapisham vaijayanteem cha maalaam |

randhraanveNoradharasudhayaa poorayan gopavrundai –

rvrundaaraNyam svapadaramaNam praavishad – geetakeertihi ||

 

Meaning:

 

shreekrushNa had dress like the best actor, he had crown with peacock feather, he had two karNikaar flowers (kanak champaa or bayur tree or dinner plate tree or muchookund) in ears, he wore peetaambara (loin cloth) with golden yellow color, he had vaijayantee (grass seeds found in present day Uttar Pradesh state in India or panya grass seeds or white bead seeds) garland around neck. He was filling flute holes with nectar from his lower lip and gopas (cow herders) were chanting his praise. Such shreekrushNa entered beautiful vrundaavana (region in present day Uttar Pradesh) and started playing flute.

 

History of Shrimad Bhagavatam – Chirag Patel

 

naimishhaaraNya (present day Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh State of India) was the forest where rushi (sage) shaunaka asked narrator suta of bhagavata. It was on the bank of river gomati. There were some 88,000 rushis gathered there.

 

vyasa rushi wrote bhagavata which is one of 18 major puranas. His son shuka narrated bhagavata to raja (king) parikshita. Afterwards, shuka lived on one bank of river narmada (present state of Gujarat in India) and vyasa lived on the other bank.

 

There are total 18,000 shlokas (stanza) in bhagavata. The whole book is written as poem. It is divided into 12 skandhas (booklets). Every booklet has adhyaayas (chapters) with many shlokas. There are various chhandas (meters) – more than 35, used in this book. Some chhandas used : shaardoolavikreeDita (first 1-1-1 and last 12-13-19), vasantatilakaa, mandaakraantaa, lalita, aaryaa, narkuTam, anushhTupa, indravajra, upendravajra, vanshastha, svaagataa, pramaaNika, shaalinee, staaviNee, ruchiraa, mattamayoora etc.

 

There are 84 stutis (praises) in the book. There are many upadeshas (teachings) in the book. Some important ones : kapila to mother devahuti (booklet 3), sanatkumaaras’ (booklet 4), rushabhadeva’s and jadabharata‘s (booklet 5), jiva‘s to king chitraketu (booklet 6),  hiraNyakashipu to family members and prahlaada to friends (booklet 7), krushNa to devotee uddhava (booklet 11). Lord krushNa‘s teachings to his friend and devotee uddhava is the best of all.

 

satyam param dheemahi – we meditate upon the utmost truth. This is in the very first shloka and in the last shloka of bhagavata. The goal of bhagavata is to find the truth.

 

Let us begin our journey in search of that eternal truth.

Preface to Bhagavatam – Chirag Patel

Namaste!

I was reading The Grand Design by respected Mr Stephen Hawking. He was suggesting that in olden times, philosophy was basis of scientific discoveries. But, in modern times, philosophy has stopped contributing and aligning with scientific discoveries. For recent centuries, philosophy has evolved into theoretical realms. Philosophy is no longer influential force on human life.

Indian scriptures and philosophy is still in practice in modern India and in Indians across the world. People still follow ancient doctrines today unlike the then contemporary cultures (if there ever were). That means those principles and philosophies are as relevant today as they were in ancient times. So, there is some eternal aspect in these philosophies.

There are many commentaries written on Indian philosophical scriptures. This is my attempt to evaluate ancient mind with modern approach. I would like to attempt philosophical avenues of ancient mind into practical life today.

This is the first book in a series of books on the subject. What is better than Shrimad Bhagavatam to begin with! This book has influenced numerous people over millennia. This is my tribute to universal mind. The original text is written in ancient language Sanskrut(Sanskrit). I have made attempt to translate typical words into English to the most truthful manner per my capacity.

I dedicate this series to all who touched me in this life, in previous lives and next lives if any.

May eternal truth flow thru everyone’s mind to ignite yearning so that all experience the one and the truth!