Origin of Bhagavatam (3)

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

When Sukadev came out of his mother's womb, he started running amok, and Vyasadev ran behind calling out to him, "Sukadev, listen! Listen!" Sukadev did not notice anything. He could only see the Lord. Devotees of this high level do not see anything in this world—trees, plants, great houses, big rooms—they only see the Lord. They kept walking and walking and in the end came to the Himalayas. There were some girls bathing in the river naked, but when they saw Sukadev, they had no sense that a young man was walking by and that they were naked—they knew that Sukadev had no eyes. Even 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, they quickly threw some clothes on to cover their bodies.

In the meantime, a brahman cursed a king named Pariksit Maharaj saying, "You will die within seven days." Following this, gurus from all kinds of sapradayas came to Pariksit Maharaj and started giving him advice. Each of them advised him according to their conception. At this time, 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, Parasaramuni, was also there, but Sukadev did not see him.

[His Divine Grace gets distracted:] 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 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 himself has come to your assembly today. We 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. 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 true benefit? There is only one question, and there is only one answer. The answer is that you must surrender at the holy lotus feet of the Lord, then you will get the supreme benefit." Following that, Sukadev Goswami explained and described how one surrenders to the Lord, how to 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 something having heard it just once. Just as when Krishna spoke Srimad Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, Suta Goswami was also present there, and he could hear everything.

This is how Srimad Bhagavatam appeared, and it is a very big book, all volumes must be about forty kilograms. Sukadev Goswami spoke Srimad Bhagavatam to Pariksit Maharaj during seven days. That is why it is said that there is only one question and only one answer.

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