Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 - Chapter 10

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 1 Sanskrit: श्रीभगवानुवाचमयोदितेष्ववहित: स्वधर्मेषु मदाश्रय: ।वर्णाश्रमकुलाचारमकामात्मा समाचरेत् ॥ १ ॥ ITRANS: śrī-bhagavān uvācamayoditeṣv avahitaḥsva-dharmeṣu mad-āśrayaḥvarṇāśrama-kulācāramakāmātmā samācaret Translation: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Taking full shelter in Me, with the mind carefully fixed in the devotional service of the Lord as spoken by Me, one should live without personal desire and practice the social and occupational system called varṇāśrama. Purport: In the previous chapters Lord Kṛṣṇa described through the story of an avadhūta brāhmaṇa the qualities and character of a saintly person....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 2 Sanskrit: अन्वीक्षेत विशुद्धात्मा देहिनां विषयात्मनाम् ।गुणेषु तत्त्वध्यानेन सर्वारम्भविपर्ययम् ॥ २ ॥ ITRANS: anvīkṣeta viśuddhātmādehināṁ viṣayātmanāmguṇeṣu tattva-dhyānenasarvārambha-viparyayam Translation: A purified soul should see that because the conditioned souls who are dedicated to sense gratification have falsely accepted the objects of sense pleasure as truth, all of their endeavors are doomed to failure. Purport: In this verse the Lord describes the process of becoming desireless....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 3 Sanskrit: सुप्तस्य विषयालोको ध्यायतो वा मनोरथ: ।नानात्मकत्वाद् विफलस्तथा भेदात्मधीर्गुणै: ॥ ३ ॥ ITRANS: suptasya viṣayālokodhyāyato vā manorathaḥnānātmakatvād viphalastathā bhedātma-dhīr guṇaiḥ Translation: One who is sleeping may see many objects of sense gratification in a dream, but such pleasurable things are merely creations of the mind and are thus ultimately useless. Similarly, the living entity who is asleep to his spiritual identity also sees many sense objects, but these innumerable objects of temporary gratification are creations of the Lord’s illusory potency and have no permanent existence....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 4 Sanskrit: निवृत्तं कर्म सेवेत प्रवृत्तं मत्परस्त्यजेत् ।जिज्ञासायां सम्प्रवृत्तो नाद्रियेत् कर्मचोदनाम् ॥ ४ ॥ ITRANS: nivṛttaṁ karma sevetapravṛttaṁ mat-paras tyajetjijñāsāyāṁ sampravṛttonādriyet karma-codanām Translation: One who has fixed Me within his mind as the goal of life should give up activities based on sense gratification and should instead execute work governed by the regulative principles for advancement. When, however, one is fully engaged in searching out the ultimate truth of the soul, one should not accept the scriptural injunctions governing fruitive activities....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 5 Sanskrit: यमानभीक्ष्णं सेवेत नियमान् मत्पर: क्व‍‍चित् ।मदभिज्ञं गुरुं शान्तमुपासीत मदात्मकम् ॥ ५ ॥ ITRANS: yamān abhīkṣṇaṁ sevetaniyamān mat-paraḥ kvacitmad-abhijñaṁ guruṁ śāntamupāsīta mad-ātmakam Translation: One who has accepted Me as the supreme goal of life should strictly observe the scriptural injunctions forbidding sinful activities and, as far as possible, should execute the injunctions prescribing minor regulative duties such as cleanliness. Ultimately, however, one should approach a bona fide spiritual master who is full in knowledge of Me as I am, who is peaceful, and who by spiritual elevation is not different from Me....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 6 Sanskrit: अमान्यमत्सरो दक्षो निर्ममोद‍ृढसौहृद: ।असत्वरोऽर्थजिज्ञासुरनसूयुरमोघवाक् ॥ ६ ॥ ITRANS: amāny amatsaro dakṣonirmamo dṛḍha-sauhṛdaḥasatvaro ’rtha-jijñāsuranasūyur amogha-vāk Translation: The servant or disciple of the spiritual master should be free from false prestige, never considering himself to be the doer. He should be active and never lazy and should give up all sense of proprietorship over the objects of the senses, including his wife, children, home and society....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 7 Sanskrit: जायापत्यगृहक्षेत्रस्वजनद्रविणादिषु ।उदासीन: समं पश्यन् सर्वेष्वर्थमिवात्मन: ॥ ७ ॥ ITRANS: jāyāpatya-gṛha-kṣetra-svajana-draviṇādiṣuudāsīnaḥ samaṁ paśyansarveṣv artham ivātmanaḥ Translation: One should see one’s real self-interest in life in all circumstances and should therefore remain detached from wife, children, home, land, relatives, friends, wealth and so on. Purport: A devotee of the Lord recognizes that his wife, children, home, land, friends and money are meant to be engaged in the loving service of the Supreme Lord....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 8 Sanskrit: विलक्षण: स्थूलसूक्ष्माद् देहादात्मेक्षिता स्वद‍ृक् ।यथाग्निर्दारुणो दाह्याद् दाहकोऽन्य: प्रकाशक: ॥ ८ ॥ ITRANS: vilakṣaṇaḥ sthūla-sūkṣmāddehād ātmekṣitā sva-dṛkyathāgnir dāruṇo dāhyāddāhako ’nyaḥ prakāśakaḥ Translation: Just as fire, which burns and illuminates, is different from firewood, which is to be burned to give illumination, similarly the seer within the body, the self-enlightened spirit soul, is different from the material body, which is to be illuminated by consciousness....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 9 Sanskrit: निरोधोत्पत्त्यणुबृहन्नानात्वं तत्कृतान् गुणान् ।अन्त:प्रविष्ट आधत्त एवं देहगुणान् पर: ॥ ९ ॥ ITRANS: nirodhotpatty-aṇu-bṛhan-nānātvaṁ tat-kṛtān guṇānantaḥ praviṣṭa ādhattaevaṁ deha-guṇān paraḥ Translation: Just as fire may appear differently as dormant, manifest, weak, brilliant and so on, according to the condition of the fuel, similarly, the spirit soul enters a material body and accepts particular bodily characteristics. Purport: Although fire may appear and disappear within a particular object, the element fire always exists....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 10 Sanskrit: योऽसौ गुणैर्विरचितो देहोऽयं पुरुषस्य हि ।संसारस्तन्निबन्धोऽयं पुंसो विद्याच्छिदात्मन: ॥ १० ॥ ITRANS: yo ’sau guṇair viracitodeho ’yaṁ puruṣasya hisaṁsāras tan-nibandho ’yaṁpuṁso vidyā cchid ātmanaḥ Translation: The subtle and gross material bodies are created by the material modes of nature, which expand from the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Material existence occurs when the living entity falsely accepts the qualities of the gross and subtle bodies as being his own factual nature....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 11 Sanskrit: तस्माज्जिज्ञासयात्मानमात्मस्थं केवलं परम् ।सङ्गम्य निरसेदेतद्वस्तुबुद्धिं यथाक्रमम् ॥ ११ ॥ ITRANS: tasmāj jijñāsayātmānamātma-sthaṁ kevalaṁ paramsaṅgamya nirased etadvastu-buddhiṁ yathā-kramam Translation: Therefore, by the cultivation of knowledge one should approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead situated within oneself. By understanding the Lord’s pure, transcendental existence, one should gradually give up the false vision of the material world as independent reality. Purport: The word yathā-kramam (“step by step”) means that after first realizing oneself to be different from the gross material body one should then progressively detach oneself from material mental activities....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 12 Sanskrit: आचार्योऽरणिराद्य: स्यादन्तेवास्युत्तरारणि: ।तत्सन्धानं प्रवचनं विद्यासन्धि: सुखावह: ॥ १२ ॥ ITRANS: ācāryo ’raṇir ādyaḥ syādante-vāsy uttarāraṇiḥtat-sandhānaṁ pravacanaṁvidyā-sandhiḥ sukhāvahaḥ Translation: The spiritual master can be compared to the lower kindling stick, the disciple to the upper kindling stick, and the instruction given by the guru to the third stick placed in between. The transcendental knowledge communicated from guru to disciple is compared to the fire arising from the contact of these, which burns the darkness of ignorance to ashes, bringing great happiness both to guru and disciple....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 13 Sanskrit: वैशारदी सातिविशुद्धबुद्धि-र्धुनोति मायां गुणसम्प्रसूताम् ।गुणांश्च सन्दह्य यदात्ममेतत्स्वयं च शाम्यत्यसमिद् यथाग्नि: ॥ १३ ॥ ITRANS: vaiśāradī sāti-viśuddha-buddhirdhunoti māyāṁ guṇa-samprasūtāmgunāṁś ca sandahya yad-ātmam etatsvayaṁ ca śāṁyaty asamid yathāgniḥ Translation: By submissively hearing from an expert spiritual master, the expert disciple develops pure knowledge, which repels the onslaught of material illusion arising from the three modes of material nature. Finally this pure knowledge itself ceases, just as fire ceases when the stock of fuel has been consumed....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 14-16 Sanskrit: अथैषाम् कर्मकर्तृणां भोक्तृणां सुखदु:खयो: ।नानात्वमथ नित्यत्वं लोककालागमात्मनाम् ॥ १४ ॥मन्यसे सर्वभावानां संस्था ह्यौत्पत्तिकी यथा ।तत्तदाकृतिभेदेन जायते भिद्यते च धी: ॥ १५ ॥एवमप्यङ्ग सर्वेषां देहिनां देहयोगत: ।कालावयवत: सन्ति भावा जन्मादयोऽसकृत् ॥ १६ ॥ ITRANS: athaiṣām karma-kartṝṇāṁbhoktṝṇāṁ sukha-duḥkhayoḥnānātvam atha nityatvaṁloka-kālāgamātmanām Translation: My dear Uddhava, I have thus explained to you perfect knowledge. There are philosophers, however, who challenge My conclusion. They state that the natural position of the living entity is to engage in fruitive activities, and they see him as the enjoyer of the happiness and unhappiness that accrue from his own work....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 17 Sanskrit: तत्रापि कर्मणां कर्तुरस्वातन्‍त्र्‍यं च लक्ष्यते ।भोक्तुश्च दु:खसुखयो: को न्वर्थो विवशं भजेत् ॥ १७ ॥ ITRANS: tatrāpi karmaṇāṁ karturasvātantryaṁ ca lakṣyatebhoktuś ca duḥkha-sukhayoḥko nv artho vivaśaṁ bhajet Translation: Although the performer of fruitive activities desires perpetual happiness, it is clearly observed that materialistic workers are often unhappy and only occasionally satisfied, thus proving that they are not independent or in control of their destiny....