(9/13) Origin of Bhagavatam (3)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bankura Temple Anniversary Festival,
26 January 2021, part 9
Translated from Bengali

As soon as Sukadev came out of his mother’s womb, he ran away. Vyasadev ran behind him, calling out to him, ‘Sukadev, listen! Listen!’ But he did not notice anything. He could only see the Lord. Devotees of this high level do not see anything in this world – they do not see any trees, plants, great houses, big rooms – they only see the Lord. Sukadev and Vyasadev kept walking and running through jungles and, in the end, appeared in the Himalayas.

There were some girls bathing in the river naked (it is cold in the mountains, and clothes do no dry so fast, so they bathed without clothes), but when they saw Sukadev, they did not even think that a young man was walking by and that they were naked – they had seen Sukadev before, and they knew that Sukadev had no eyes. (Even later, when Sukadev Goswami came to the meeting of Pariksit Maharaj, he did not see anyone in front of him.) So, the girls did not bother when they saw Sukadev coming, but when they saw Vyasadev coming behind him, they quickly threw some clothes on to cover their bodies. Such was Sukadev’s nature.

In the meantime, a brahman cursed the king Pariksit Maharaj, saying, ‘You shall die in seven days!’ As the result of this curse, gurus from all kinds of sampradayas came to Pariksit Maharaj and started giving him advice. Each of them advised him according to their conception. Eventually, Sukadev Goswami came to that assembly. When he came, he did not even pay obeisance to anyone. He did not see anyone. His father, Vyasadev, was there, but he did not see even him. His grandfather, Parasara Muni, was also there, but Sukadev did not see him.

[To a devotee in the audience] Are you sleeping? Why are you sleeping? If you sleep during Hari-katha, it means you have other desires. It means you have no place to keep the Lord inside you – you have other desires taking up your heart. If you feel sleepy, say ‘Hare Krishna’, then sleep will go away.

So, when Sukadev Goswami came to the assembly of Pariksit Maharaj, all the great scholars and experts of all scriptures said, ‘O King, you are very fortunate because Sukadev Goswami has come to your assembly today! We will all agree with whatever spiritual insight he gives. We have nothing to say beyond what he has to say.’ Then, Pariksit Maharaj gave a nice asan for Sukadev Goswami to sit down on, and having seated himself on the asan, Sukadev Goswami asked Pariksit Maharaj, ‘What is your question? What do you want to know?’ Pariksit Maharaj said, ‘What is good for me? How can I get real benefit?’ Sukadev Goswami said, ‘Yes, you have asked the right question. Those who ask many questions in this world belong to the illusory world, that is why they have many questions, but those who are true seekers have only one question: What is my real benefit? There is only one question, and there is only one answer. The answer to your question is that you must surrender at the holy lotus feet of the Lord, then you will get the supreme benefit.’ After that, Sukadev Goswami explained and described how one surrenders to the Lord and how one can come to the Lord. This is what then became Srimad Bhagavatam.

Suta Goswami was present at that assembly, and he heard what Sukadev Goswami had said. Suta Goswami is srutadhar, or srutasrava – he could remember everything after hearing it just once. When Krishna spoke Srimad Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, Suta Goswami was also present there, and he could hear and remember everything.

So, this is how Srimad Bhagavatam appeared in this world. Sukadev Goswami spoke Srimad Bhagavatam to Pariksit Maharaj during seven days, and this conversation became a very big book – all volumes put together (with the commentary) weigh nearly forty kilograms. You must remember this: there is only one question, and there is only one answer.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Remembering Guru-Varga
2) Sacrifice For Preaching
3) Loving Interactions
4) A Hole In Surrender
5) Have a Heart For the Temple
6) Power of Service
7) Origin of Bhagavatam (1)
8) Origin of Bhagavatam (2)
9) Origin of Bhagavatam (3)
10) Lacking or Slacking?
11) Feeling Hungry?
12) Main Target
13) Determination and Surrender