In this part:

Vidhura asks about the nature of the soul and the Lord (chapter 3.7)
The Kumaras met Lord Sankarsana (chapter 3.8)
Lord Sankarsana describes the beginning of the universe to the Kumaras
Solving apparent contradictions
Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy (chapter 3.9)
The position of the materialist
The position of the devotees
Brahma is empowered to re-create the universe

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Vidhura asks about the nature of the soul and the Lord (chapter 3.7)

In chapter 6, Maitreya described the process of creation from the point of view of the Lord, explaining how the Lord participates in the process of creation. Although in reality the Lord never gets in contact with the material energy, remaining aloof, still He participates in every step of creation through His different energies.

In the classical Indian systems of philosophy, two common ideas about the nature of the Lord are monism and dualism. Monist philosophers believe that everything is one, everything is Brahman and there is nothing apart from Brahman. In the philosophy of Sankaracarya, for example, it’s said that the souls are just parts of Brahman that become covered by Maya. Once this illusory covering is removed, we become again one. Dualist philosophers believe there is a difference between Brahman and the individual souls, as well as the material energy, and explain the existence of the universe through the combination of these different forces. In dualism, Brahman is not Supreme, because other forces are separated and independent from him.

In this part:

The blueprint of the Universe (chapter 3.6)
The Lord enters the material elements
The process of creation starts
The three sets of components of material creation
The virat-rupa as an incarnation of the Lord
The creation of the demigods
The creation of the planetary systems
The four social classes

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The blueprint of the Universe (chapter 3.6)

Chapter 3.5 narrates how Lord Maha-Vishnu created the five basic material elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth), as well as their properties (sound, touch, form, taste, and smell) and the predominating deities of these elements.

The function of these deities is to assist the Lord in the creation of the universe, and they were eager to do so, however, seeing themselves incapable of creating the material manifestation by themselves, they prayed to the Lord.

It happens that the material elements and even their predominating deities have no power to create for themselves, just like factory workers have no ability to produce a new car alone. Unless there is a project and a manager to guide them, nothing will be done. Similarly, the predominating deities of the material elements can only offer their work in manipulating the building blocks of the material manifestation. For the cosmos to manifest, a project is necessary, as well as competent managers who can oversee the construction. Both things have to be provided by the Lord. In this sixth chapter, we will see how the Supreme Lord provided these two components, so the process of creation could be completed.

In this part:

Uddhava continues to describe Krsna’s pastimes (chapter 3.3)
The disappearance of the Yadu dynasty (Chapter 3.4)
The Lord instructs Uddhava and Maitreya
Vidhura meets Maitreya
The creation of the material elements (chapter 3.5)
How does the Srimad Bhagavatam relate to modern theories?
The prayers by the predominating deities of the elements

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Uddhava continues to describe Krsna’s pastimes (chapter 3.3)

In chapter 3.2, Uddhava begins a description of Krsna’s pastimes, starting with His childhood pastimes and continuing into the pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill and his pastimes with the Gopis. Now, he continues with His pastimes out of Vrindavana.

Krsna went to Mathura and killed Kamsa to save his parents, Vasudeva and Devaki who he was imprisoning. Kamsa was so powerful that even demigods were afraid of him, but Krsna killed him without difficulty, after exterminating his demoniac allies.

When Krsna was in the Gurukula, He played the role of a perfect student, being extremely obedient to His teacher, Samdipani Muni, and learning the Vedas by just hearing them once. After finishing His studies, he rewarded His teacher by bringing his dead son back to life. Krsna knows everything and is all-powerful, but he plays these pastimes to teach us the necessity of learning from the spiritual master and as far as possible rewarding him for his efforts.

In this part:

Vidhura meets Uddhava (chapter 3.1).
The story of Vidhura
Uddhava, the pure devotee of the Lord
Vidhura meets Uddhava
Vidhura inquires and Uddhava’s answers (chapter 3.2)
Vidhura reveals that Krsna left
Vidhura describes Krsna’s pastimes
The childhood pastimes of the Lord

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Vidhura meets Uddhava (third canto, chapter 1)

At the end of the second canto, Śaunaka Ṛṣi asked Suta Goswami about the activities of Vidhura after leaving the palace, being offended by Duryodhana. Suta Goswami answers that Pariksit Maharaja asked the same question to Sukadeva Goswami after hearing the explanation of the Catuh-sloki Bhagavatam given in chapter 2.10, and thus proceeds in narrating it.

The third and fourth cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam are centered around the conversation of Vidhura and Maitreya. All the pastimes narrated there, including the pregnancy of Diti and the birth of Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakashipu, the pastime of Kardama Muni and Devahuti, the instructions of Lord Kapila, Daksa offending Lord Shiva and Sati leaving her body, Prthu Maharaja milking the Earth and so on, are part of this discussion.

In this part:

The conclusion of the Catuh-sloki (chapter 2.9)
When did Brahma see the Lord?
Narayana or Krsna?
The Lord disappears
Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions (chapter 10)
The adhyātmic, adhidaivic, and adhibhautic persons
The creation of the universe
The Lord is behind everything
Why is the universal form described?
Understanding the cosmic cycles
Setting the chronology

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The conclusion of the Catuh-sloki (chapter 2.9)

In the previous part, we studied the meaning of the Catuh-sloki Bhagavatam, the four original verses that Krsna spoke to Brahma in answer to his four questions.

Here is a summary of Brahma’s questions and the answers given in the four verses:

In this part:

Questions by King Parīkṣit (chapter 2.8)
Sukadeva Goswami answers by citing the Lord’s instructions (chapter 2.9)
Lord Brahma sees the spiritual world
Brahma meets the Lord
Lord Brahma’s enquires
The Catuh-sloki Bhagavatam

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Questions by King Parīkṣit (chapter 2.8)

In the previous chapters, Brahma described the process of creation, described the glories of the Lord, and revealed that devotional service unto Him is the ultimate goal of life. In the end, he asked Narada Muni to expand this description and teach it to others. This is a very ancient conversation that happened at the beginning of the day of Brahma, more than two billion years ago. Since then, Narada Muni has been traveling and speaking about devotional service.

Hearing this description, Maharaja Parikit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī:

In this part:

Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed (chapter 2.6)
The Virāṭ-puruṣa
Lord Brahma desires to perform sacrifices
Taking shelter at the feet of the Lord
The Lord’s incarnations
Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions (chapter 2.7)
There is no cause beyond the Lord

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Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed (chapter 2.6)

Being present inside each universe as Gabodakasayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, the Lord is the foundation upon which the whole material creation rests. Everything is created and maintained by His energy. The Lord is thus called the virat-purusha, the enjoyer of the cosmic manifestation, since everything is generated from His energy, and ultimately everything exists to satisfy Him.

Because the universal form, or virat-rupa is described as a form of the Lord, the terms virat-rupa and virat-purusha are used more or less interchangeably.

In the first chapter, it was mentioned that Lord Brahma meditated in the universal form, the virat-rupa, to remember how to create the universe. As we also studied, there are two processes of creation: the primary creation, performed by Lord Maha-Vishnu, and the secondary creation, performed by Lord Brahma. The universal form exists even before the creation of the universe as part of the primary creation, a concept or model that guides the creation of Brahma. By meditating in this form, Brahma obtained all the necessary knowledge to recreate the universe the way it was before.

In this part:

The questions of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Goswami glorifies the Lord (chapter 2.4)
Hearing about Rasa Lila
Sukadeva Goswami starts to answer
The recent story of our planet
The Lord is the Cause of All Causes (Chapter 2.5)
Lord Brahma describes the greatness of the Supreme Lord
Primary and secondary creation
Brahma describes the creation of the universe
The process of creation
The nature of the material elements
How does the soul interact with the body?
False or illusory?
Last words

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Session 14, The Process of Creation

The questions of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Goswami glorifies the Lord (chapter 4)

After hearing the words of Saunaka Rsi, Suta Goswami continued his description of the discussion between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Parikisit, answering the question the Rsi asked in verse 2.3.13 (What did Mahārāja Parīkṣit again inquire from him after hearing all that he had said?).

First of all, in verses 1 to 4, he describes the immediate effects of the instructions Sukadeva Goswami gave in the first chapters:

In this part:

The Lord of the Heart (chapter 2.2)
The path of renunciation
Worship of the Supersoul
The process of leaving one’s body
A yogi can choose where to go next
The extraordinarily long life of the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems
Life in the coverings of the universe
Devotional Service: The Change in Heart (chapter 2.3)
Back to Naimisaranya
Living in vain
Steel-framed hearts

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The Lord of the Heart (chapter 2)

At the end of each day of Brahma, the universe is partially destroyed and has to be recreated at the beginning of the next day. From the scriptures, we learn that although Brahma is very powerful, he is a living being, just like us. The soul inside the body of Brahma is not different from the soul in the body of an ant. How come Brahma can be so powerful to the extent of creating an entire universe, while the ant can just lift a grain of sugar?

In this part:

The First Step in God Realization (SB 2.1)
The Grhasta and the Grhamedhi
The highest perfection
Living for just a moment in full consciousness
The First Step in God Realization
The process of Astanga-yoga
Meditation on the Universal Form

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The First Step in God Realization (SB 2.1)

After Pariksit Maharaja presented his questions before Sukadeva Goswami, the great sage started to reply. In the first canto, Suta Goswami answers the questions of Saunaka Rishi, while in the second canto, the Same Suta Goswami narrates the conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit.

In the first canto, Vyasadeva started his recitation with the words “oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya”, offering his respects to the Supreme Lord. Now, in the second canto, Sukadeva Goswami starts his recitation by uttering the same words. The word “Bhagavan” can sometimes be used in relation to an ordinary powerful person, but Vāsudevāya makes it clear who is being addressed, “Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva”.