Canto Nine / CHAPTER NINE

The Dynasty of Amśumān

The King’s desire was to deliver his forefathers, who had been burnt to ashes because of disrespecting Kapila Muni.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead says:

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Bg. 18.66) The Supreme Personality of Godhead can accept the reactions of anyone’s sinful deeds and neutralize them because He is pavitra, pure, like the sun, which is never contaminated by any worldly infection. Tejīyasām na doshāya vahneh sarva-bhujo yathā (Bhāg. 10.33.29). One who is very powerful is not affected by any sinful activity. But here we see that mother Ganges fears being burdened with the sins of the people in general who would bathe in her waters. This indicates that no one but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is able to neutralize the reactions of sinful deeds, whether one’s own or those of others. Sometimes the spiritual master, after accepting a disciple, must take charge of that disciple’s past sinful activities and, being overloaded, must sometimes suffer — if not fully, then partially — for the sinful acts of the disciple. Every disciple, therefore, must be very careful not to commit sinful activities after initiation. The poor spiritual master is kind and merciful enough to accept a disciple and partially suffer for that disciple’s sinful activities, but Krishna, being merciful to His servant, neutralizes the reactions of sinful deeds for the servant who engages in preaching His glories. Even mother Ganges feared the sinful reactions of the people in general and was anxious about how she would counteract the burden of these sins.

Mother Ganges is available to everyone for bathing. Therefore, not only will sinful persons bathe in the Ganges water, but in Hardwar and other holy places where the Ganges flows, saintly persons and devotees will also bathe in the waters of the Ganges. Devotees and saintly persons advanced in the renounced order can deliver even the Ganges. Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntah-sthena gadābhritā (Bhāg. 1.13.10). Because saintly devotees always keep the Lord within the core of their hearts, they can perfectly cleanse the holy places of all sinful reactions. Therefore, people in general must always respectfully honor saintly persons. It is ordered that as soon as one sees a Vaishnava, or even a sannyāsī, one should immediately offer respects to such a holy man. If one forgets to show respect in this way, one must observe a fast for that day. This is a Vedic injunction. One must be extremely careful to refrain from committing offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee or saintly person.

There are methods of prāyaścitta, or atonement, but they are inadequate to cleanse one of sinful reactions. One can be cleansed of sinful reactions only by devotional service, as stated in regard to the history of Ajāmila:

“Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional service to Krishna 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.” (Bhāg. 6.1.15) If one is under the protection of a devotee and sincerely renders service unto him, by this process of bhakti-yoga one is certainly able to counteract all sinful reactions.

The water of the Ganges is supposed to rest on the head of Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who sustains the entire universe by different potencies. Lord Śiva is described in the Brahma-samhitā (5.45):

“Milk changes into yogurt when mixed with a yogurt culture, but actually yogurt is constitutionally nothing but milk. Similarly, Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, assumes the form of Lord Śiva for the special purpose of material transactions. I offer my obeisances at Lord Govinda’s lotus feet.” Lord Śiva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the same sense that yogurt is also milk although at the same time it is not milk. For the maintenance of the material world there are three incarnations — Brahmā, Vishnu and Maheśvara (Lord Śiva). Lord Śiva is Vishnu in an incarnation for the mode of ignorance. The material world exists predominantly in the mode of ignorance. Therefore Lord Śiva is compared here to the longitude and latitude of the entire universe, which resembles a cloth woven of threads extending for both its length and breadth.

The words āśv atushyata indicate that Lord Śiva was satisfied very soon. Therefore another name for Lord Śiva is Āśutosha. Materialistic persons become attached to Lord Śiva because Lord Śiva bestows benedictions upon anyone and everyone very quickly, not caring to know how his devotees prosper or suffer. Although materialistic persons know that material happiness is nothing but another side of suffering, they want it, and to get it very quickly they worship Lord Śiva. We find that materialists are generally devotees of many demigods, especially Lord Śiva and mother Durgā. They do not actually want spiritual happiness, for it is almost unknown to them. But if one is serious about being happy spiritually, he must take shelter of Lord Vishnu, as the Lord personally demands:

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Bg. 18.66)

Mother Ganges is worshiped by the water of the Ganges: a devotee takes a little water from the Ganges and offers it back to the Ganges. When the devotee takes the water, mother Ganges does not lose anything, and when the water is offered back, mother Ganges does not increase, but in this way the worshiper of the Ganges is benefited. Similarly, a devotee of the Lord offers the Lord patram pushpam phalam toyam — a leaf, flower, fruit or water — in great devotion, but everything, including the leaf, flower, fruit and water, belongs to the Lord, and therefore there is nothing to renounce or to accept. One must simply take advantage of the bhakti process because by following this process one does not lose anything but one gains the favor of the Supreme Person.

It has actually been seen that anyone who regularly worships mother Ganges simply by bathing in her water keeps very good health and gradually becomes a devotee of the Lord. This is the effect of bathing in the water of the Ganges. Bathing in the Ganges is recommended in all Vedic śāstras, and one who takes to this path will certainly be completely freed from all sinful reactions. The practical example of this is that the sons of Mahārāja Sagara went to the heavenly planets when water from the Ganges merely touched the ashes of their burnt bodies.

Gambling is also an art. Kshatriyas are allowed to exhibit talent in this art of gambling. By the grace of Krishna, the Pāndavas lost everything by gambling and were deprived of their kingdom, wife, family and home because they were not expert in the gambling art. In other words, a devotee may not be expert in materialistic activities. It is therefore advised in the śāstra that materialistic activities are not at all suitable for the living entities, especially the devotees. A devotee should therefore be satisfied to eat whatever is sent as prasāda by the Supreme Lord. A devotee remains pure because he does not take to sinful activities such as gambling, intoxication, meat-eating and illicit sex.

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Thākura has sung:

The body of a human being is extremely valuable because in this body one can understand the instructions of Krishna and attain the ultimate destination of the living entity. The living entity is within the material world to fulfill the mission of going back home, back to Godhead. In the material world, one hankers for happiness, but because one does not know the ultimate destination, one changes bodies one after another. However, if one gets the opportunity to possess a human form of body, in this body he can fulfill the four principles of dharma, artha, kāma and moksha, and if one is properly regulated he makes further progress, after liberation, to engage in the service of Rādhā and Krishna. This is the success of life: to stop the process of repeated birth and death and go back home, back to Godhead (mām eti), to be engaged in the service of Rādhā and Krishna. Therefore, taking a human body is meant for completing one’s progress in life. Throughout human society, killing of a human being is taken very seriously. Hundreds and thousands of animals are killed in slaughterhouses, and no one cares about them, but the killing of even one human being is taken very seriously. Why? Because the human form of body is extremely important in executing the mission of life.

The wife of the brāhmana did not regard her husband as a superficial brāhmana who was called a brāhmana merely because he was born of a brāhmana family. Rather, this brāhmana was actually qualified with the brahminical symptoms. Yasya yal lakshanam proktam (Bhāg. 7.11.35). The symptoms of a brāhmana are stated in the śāstra:

“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness — these are the qualities by which the brāhmanas work.” (Bg. 18.42) Not only must a brāhmana be qualified, but he must also engage in actual brahminical activities. Simply to be qualified is not enough; one must engage in a brāhmana’s duties. The duty of a brāhmana is to know the param brahma, Krishna (param brahma param dhāma pavitram paramam bhavān). Because this brāhmana was actually qualified and was also engaged in brahminical activities (brahma-karma), killing him would be a greatly sinful act, and the brāhmana’s wife requested that he not be killed.

The word rājarshi refers to a king who behaves like a rishi, or sage. Such a king is also called naradeva because he is considered a representative of the Supreme Lord. Because his duty is to rule the kingdom to maintain brahminical culture, he never desires to kill a brāhmana. Generally, a brāhmana, woman, child, old man or cow is never regarded as punishable. Thus the wife of the brāhmana requested the King to refrain from this sinful act.

As stated in the Amara-kośa dictionary, bhrūno ’rbhake bāla-garbhe: the word bhrūna refers either to the cow or to the living entity in embryo. According to Vedic culture, destroying the undeveloped embryo of the soul in the womb is as sinful as killing a cow or a brāhmana. In the embryo, the living entity is present in an undeveloped stage. The modern scientific theory that life is a combination of chemicals is nonsense; scientists cannot manufacture living beings, even like those born from eggs. The idea that scientists can develop a chemical situation resembling that of an egg and bring life from it is nonsensical. Their theory that a chemical combination can have life may be accepted, but these rascals cannot create such a combination. This verse refers to bhrūnasya vadham — the killing of a bhrūna or destruction of the embryo. Here is a challenge from the Vedic literature. The crude, atheistic understanding that the living entity is a combination of matter belongs to the grossest ignorance.

In the Vedic culture there is a system known as satī or saha-marana, in which a woman dies with her husband. According to this system, if the husband dies, the wife will voluntarily die by falling in the blazing funeral pyre of her husband. Here, in this verse, the feelings inherent in this culture are expressed by the wife of the brāhmana. A woman without a husband is like a dead body. Therefore according to Vedic culture a girl must be married. This is the responsibility of her father. A girl may be given in charity, and a husband may have more than one wife, but a girl must be married. This is Vedic culture. A woman is supposed to be always dependent — in her childhood she is dependent on her father, in youth on her husband, and in old age on her elderly sons. According to Manu-samhitā, she is never independent. Independence for a woman means miserable life. In this age, so many girls are unmarried and falsely imagining themselves free, but their life is miserable. Here is an instance in which a woman felt that without her husband she was nothing but a dead body.

This is an example of destiny. King Saudāsa was condemned by the curse of Vasishtha, and therefore even though he was well qualified he could not restrain himself from becoming a tigerlike Rākshasa, for this was his destiny. Tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukham (Bhāg. 1.5.18). As one is put into distress by destiny, destiny can also put one in a happy situation. Destiny is extremely strong, but one can change destiny if one comes to the platform of Krishna consciousness. Karmāni nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Brahma-samhitā 5.54).

The example of Mahārāja Khatvānga in performing devotional service is brilliant. Mahārāja Khatvānga engaged himself for only a moment in devotional service to the Lord, but he was promoted back to Godhead. Therefore, if one practices devotional service from the beginning of his life, surely he will return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt (asamśaya).

In Bhagavad-gītā the word asamśaya is used to describe the devotee. There the Lord Himself gives this instruction:

“Now hear, O son of Prithā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.” (Bg. 7.1)

The Lord also instructs:

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Bg. 4.9)

Therefore, from the very beginning of one’s life one should practice bhakti-yoga, which increases one’s attachment for Krishna. If one daily sees the Deity in the temple, makes offerings by worshiping the Deity, chants the holy name of the Personality of Godhead, and preaches about the glorious activities of the Lord as much as possible, he thus becomes attached to Krishna. This attachment is called āsakti. When one’s mind is attached to Krishna (mayy āsakta-manāh), one can fulfill the mission of life in one human birth. If one misses this opportunity, one does not know where he is going, how long he will remain in the cycle of birth and death, and when he will again achieve the human form of life and the chance to return home, back to Godhead. The most intelligent person, therefore, uses every moment of his life to render loving service to the Lord.

Mahārāja Khatvānga, being in favor of the brahminical culture, wanted to utilize one moment’s time by fully surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is worshiped with this prayer:

“I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Absolute Truth, Krishna, who is the well-wisher of the cows and the brāhmanas as well as the living entities in general. I offer my repeated obeisances to Govinda, who is the pleasure reservoir for all the senses.” A devotee of Krishna is very much attached to brahminical culture. Indeed, an expert personality who knows who Krishna is and what He wants is a real brāhmana. Brahma jānātīti brāhmanah. Krishna is the Parabrahman, and therefore all Krishna conscious persons, or devotees of Krishna, are exalted brāhmanas. Khatvānga Mahārāja regarded the devotees of Krishna as the real brāhmanas and the real light for human society. One who desires to advance in Krishna consciousness and spiritual understanding must give the utmost importance to brahminical culture and must understand Krishna (krishnāya govindāya). Then his life will be successful.

Mahārāja Khatvānga provides a typical example of a Krishna conscious person. A Krishna conscious person does not see anything to be important but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor does he accept anything within this material world as being unconnected to the Supreme Lord. As stated in Caitanya-caritāmrita (Madhya 8.274):

“The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.” Although a devotee is within the material world, he has no connection with it. Nirbandhah krishna-sambandhe. He accepts this material world in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A devotee may be engaged in earning money, but he uses that money for propagating the Krishna consciousness movement by constructing large temples and establishing worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Khatvānga Mahārāja, therefore, was not a materialist. A materialist is always attached to wife, children, home, property and many other things for sense gratification, but, as stated above, Khatvānga Mahārāja was not attached to such things, nor could he think of anything existing without the purpose of the Supreme Lord. Īśāvāsyam idam sarvam: everything is related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of course, this consciousness is not for the ordinary person, but if one takes to the path of devotional service, as prescribed in The Nectar of Devotion, he can be trained in this consciousness and attain perfect understanding. For a Krishna conscious person, nothing is palatable without a relationship with Krishna.

A devotee is always transcendentally situated. Param drishtvā nivartate: one who has seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead is no longer interested in material sense enjoyment. Even such an exalted devotee as Dhruva Mahārāja went to the forest for the sake of material benefit, but when he actually saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he refused to accept any material benediction. He said, svāmin kritārtho ’smi varam na yāce: “My dear Lord, I am fully satisfied with whatever You have given me or not given me. I have nothing to ask from You, for I am fully satisfied to be engaged in Your service.” This is the mentality of a pure devotee, who does not want anything, material or spiritual, from the Personality of Godhead. Our Krishna consciousness movement is therefore called krishna-bhāvanāmrita-sangha, the association of persons who are simply satisfied in thoughts of Krishna. Being absorbed in thoughts of Krishna is neither expensive nor troublesome. Krishna says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī mām namaskuru: “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me.” (Bg. 9.34) Anyone can always think of Krishna, without difficulties or obstacles. This is called krishna-bhāvanāmrita. One who is absorbed in krishna-bhāvanāmrita has no material benefits to ask from Krishna. Instead, such a person prays to the Lord for the benediction of being able to spread His glories all over the world. Mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi. A Krishna conscious person does not even want to stop his cycle of birth and death. He simply prays, “I may take birth as You like, but my only prayer is that I may be engaged in Your service.”

It is a fact that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always situated in everyone’s heart (īśvarah sarva-bhūtānām hrid-deśe ’rjuna tishthati). But because of our material anxieties, which are inevitable in this material world, we cannot understand the Supreme Lord, although He is situated so near to us. For those always agitated by material conditions, the yogic process is recommended so that one may concentrate his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the heart. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yam yoginah. Because in material conditions the mind and senses are always agitated, by the yogic procedures like dhāranā, āsana and dhyāna one must quiet the mind and concentrate it upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, the yogic process is a material attempt to realize the Lord, whereas bhakti, devotional service, is the spiritual process by which to realize Him. Mahārāja Khatvānga accepted the spiritual path, and therefore he was no longer interested in anything material. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: “Only by devotional service can I be understood.” One can understand Krishna, the Parabrahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only through devotional service. The Lord never says that one can understand Him by performing mystic yoga or by philosophically speculating. Bhakti is above all such material attempts. Anyābhilāshitā-śūnyam jñāna-karmādy-anāvritam. Bhakti is uncontaminated, being unalloyed even by jñāna or pious activities.

When passing through a mountainous region in an airplane, one may sometimes see a city in the sky with towers and palaces, or one may see similar things in a big forest. This is called a gandharva-pura, a phantasmagoria. This entire world resembles such a phantasmagoria, and every materially situated person has attachment for it. But Khatvānga Mahārāja, because of his advanced Krishna consciousness, was not interested in such things. Even though a devotee may engage in apparently materialistic activities, he knows his position very well. Nirbandhah krishna-sambandhe yuktam vairāgyam ucyate. If one engages all material things in relation with the loving service of the Lord, one is situated in yukta-vairāgya, proper renunciation. In this material world, nothing should be accepted for one’s sense gratification: everything should be accepted for the service of the Lord. This is the mentality of the spiritual world. Mahārāja Khatvānga advises that one give up material attachments and surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus one achieves success in life. This is pure bhakti-yoga, which involves vairāgya-vidyā — renunciation and knowledge.

“Let me surrender unto the Personality of Godhead who has appeared now as Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is the ocean of all mercy and has come down to teach us material detachment, learning and devotional service to Himself.” (Caitanya-candrodaya-nātaka 6.74) Śrī Krishna Caitanya Mahāprabhu inaugurated this movement of vairāgya-vidyā, by which one detaches himself from material existence and engages in loving devotional service. The Krishna consciousness movement of devotional service is the only process by which to counteract our false prestige in this material world.

When one actually becomes purely Krishna conscious, no one has any right to rule over him. When situated in Krishna consciousness, one is no longer in the darkness of ignorance, and when freed from all such darkness, one is situated in his original position. Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — krishnera ‘nitya-dāsa.’ The living entity is eternally the servant of the Lord, and thus when he engages himself in the service of the Lord in all respects, he enjoys the perfection of life.

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11):

The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases — as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Bhagavān is the origin of everything. Brahman is a partial representation of Bhagavān, and Vāsudeva, the Supersoul living everywhere and in everyone’s heart, is also an advanced realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But when one comes to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead (vāsudevah sarvam iti), when one realizes that Vāsudeva is both Paramātmā and the impersonal Brahman, he is then in perfect knowledge. Krishna is therefore described by Arjuna as param brahma param dhāma pavitram paramam bhavān. The words param brahma refer to the shelter of the impersonal Brahman and also of the all-pervading Supersoul. When Krishna says tyaktvā deham punar janma naiti mām eti, this means that the perfect devotee, after perfect realization, returns home, back to Godhead. Mahārāja Khatvānga accepted the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because of his full surrender he achieved perfection.