The main topic of this second part is the six questions of the sages and their answers.

Srimad Bhagavatam is the conclusion of the Vedas

In the first part, we discussed how we can obtain perfect knowledge, and how the Srimad Bhagavatam is the conclusion of all the Vedas. If one has time, he may gradually study all Vedic literature, starting from the four Vedas, then the Mahabharata, the Upanisads, all the Puranas, etc. However, people of our age, who have limited attention and short lives can attain perfection by just studying the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada explains that the Vedas are like a desire tree that contains all types of knowledge. Because most people are interested only in the four materialistic religious principles of dharma, artha, kama, and moksa (mundane religiosity, economic development, material sense gratification, and impersonal liberation) the Vedas explain a lot about how to achieve these things in the karma-kanda sections, the sections for materialistic people, that teach about how to obtain such material results. For people who are spiritually inclined, there are the jnana-kanda sections, that deal with spiritual knowledge, such as the Upanisads and the Vedanta Sutra, but the Srimad Bhagavatam brings the highest knowledge, directly describing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Srimad Bhagavatam is considered thus the essence or the ripened fruit of all Vedic literature.

Krsna attracts everyone

This knowledge is so attractive that it can attract everyone, even people who are already liberated. In SB 1.7.10 there is a very famous verse that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu once explained in 64 different ways:

ātmārāmāś ca munayo
nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim
ittham-bhūta-guno hariḥ

“All different varieties of atmaramas, especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.”

This is a verse we will study later. But the meaning is that Krsna attracts everyone. One may be educated or not educated, have money or not, follow the rules and regulations from the scriptures or not (in other words, be pious or be not pious), one can be conditioned by the three material modes (goodness, passion, and ignorance), or one may be free from these three modes, and so on, but Krsna can attract everyone. When He appeared in Vṛndāvana, He even attracted the birds, beasts, trees, and plants. In Vrindavana, everyone became attracted in love and affection for Kṛṣṇa.

Liberation is actually not a very high thing. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna explains:

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

“One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.”

As this verse explains, even after one becomes free from all material contamination, there is still something higher, which is love for Krsna. This love for Krsna, or prema is the eternal nature of the soul, and only when one attains this prema will he become fully satisfied. Amongst all the Vedas, the Srimad Bhagavatam is the book that directly speaks about this pure devotional service to Krsna, and therefore it can attract everyone, including all kinds of liberated souls. Surely it can attract us also.

Actually, all of us are already attracted to Krsna, but we are attracted in the wrong way. Everything that exists is connected with Krsna. As He explains in the Bhagavad-Gita (10.41-42): “Know that all opulent, beautiful, and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor. But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself, I pervade and support this entire universe.”

The problem is that now we are trying to enjoy different things as separated from Krsna. This is the source of all our problems. How can we change it?

Devotees who are twice initiated chant the Gayatri mantra three times per day. The first verse of the Gayatri is a meditation on the light of the sun. You may ask, why do we meditate in the light of the sun? Why not meditate on Krsna? The point is that the light of the sun is understood to be a reflection of the light of Krsna’s effulgence. The sun is just like a mirror that reflects a tiny portion of the light of the Brahmajoti, which in turn comes from Krsna. Behind this light is Krsna, Who performs His personal pastimes in the spiritual world. In this way, the mantra teaches us that the light of the sun is not different from Krsna, so we can see Krsna every time we look at the sun.

In the same way, all beauty, power, strength, intelligence, knowledge, and renunciation, or in other words, all the qualities that we find attractive in different beings and objects are just faint reflections of the opulence of Krsna. These different people and objects are just like mirrors, where the beauty, opulence, etc. of Krsna are reflected. However, due to the influence of illusion, we become attracted to the mirror, instead of becoming attracted to the person being reflected. When we become attracted by the illusion, instead of the real Self, Krsna, we end up being abandoned by all these things, since this is the nature of the material illusion. Everything that is separated from Krsna becomes temporary in nature. We become attached to these things and then we suffer when we lose them. Only when we become attracted to the final source of all these things, Krsna, can we find eternal happiness. The Bhagavatam is thus a book that teaches us to find happiness.

One of the names of Krsna is Hari. The meaning of Hari is that on one side He takes away inauspicious things, and on the other side He gives the most auspicious things. When a person develops love of Godhead, his mind becomes automatically attracted to the name, form, and qualities of the Lord. Normally we have a lot of trouble controlling our minds, but this is only because at present our attention is focused on material things, and the mind becomes attracted to what we are seeing and experiencing. The special quality of the Srimad Bhagavatam is that by regularly hearing from it our minds become gradually attracted to Krsna, and as our attention becomes focussed on Krsna, we gradually become less interested in the things of this material world. This is the power of hearing about the transcendental activities of Krsna and Krsna’s pure devotees in their innumerable pastimes.

A short story of the Srimad Bhagavatam

After explaining the Srimad Bhagavatam in the first three verses, Vyasadeva describes the scenario of the discussion. Everything that is spoken in the Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken four to five thousand years ago in the forest of Naimisharanya, in a conversation between Suta Goswami and a group of great sages led by Saunaka Rishi.

This happened already after the beginning of Kali-Yuga. These sages executed a great sacrifice for 1,000 years to try to counteract the negative influences of this age. They chose the forest of Naimisharanya for that because it’s mentioned in the scriptures that by performing sacrifices in this forest the strength of demoniac people is reduced.

That’s the symptom of saintly people, they are always concerned about the well-being of others. Srila Prabhupada comments about that in his purport to 1.1.4:

“The great sages are always anxious to do good to the people in general, and as such the sages headed by Śaunaka and others assembled at this holy place of Naimiṣāraṇya with a program of performing a great and continuous chain of sacrificial ceremonies. Forgetful men do not know the right path for peace and prosperity. However, the sages know it well, and therefore for the good of all men they are always anxious to perform acts which may bring about peace in the world. They are sincere friends to all living entities, and at the risk of great personal inconvenience they are always engaged in the service of the Lord for the good of all people.”

However, the sages were not only concerned about executing sacrifices. They were also concerned about their own spiritual development, and therefore they asked Suta Goswami to speak to them about the transcendental message of the Srimad Bhagavatam, so they could also develop pure love for Krsna.

The story of Suta Goswami and how he came to narrate the Srimad Bhagavatam is quite interesting. The father of Suta Goswami, Romahasana was a disciple of Vyasadeva who learned the Puranas from him.

Romahasana was a great scholar who divided the 18 Puranas into four compilations and wrote six anthologies that were taught to six different disciples, as well as to his son, Suta. All of this happened during the time Krsna was still present on the planet. Romahasana was also the sage who was originally speaking the Puranas to the sages in the forest of Naimisharanya.

The problem was that Romahashana became a little proud somehow, and he ended up offending Lord Balarama when he visited the assembly.

The story is that Romahasana was seated in the Vyasasana, speaking to the sages, and it’s the custom that when one is speaking from the Vyasasana he doesn’t get down to greet people who come. However, in this case, the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally came. Romahasana however just continued speaking, ignoring the appearance of Lord Balarama, even though the other sages got up and then offered Him obeisances.

Noticing his pride, Balarama used a blade of grass to cut off his head. One may question how this is possible, but Prabhupada reminds us that Balarama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he is all-powerful. There is no problem for him in using a blade of grass or anything else as a weapon.

After receiving prayers from the sages, Lord Balarama offered to bring Romahasana back to life, but the sages asked him instead to bless his son, Suta Goswami to speak and continue the narration of the Puranas started by his father, probably understanding that later the same Suta Goswami would be able to speak the Srimad Bhagavatam to them.

The history of the Srimad Bhagavatam is that Vyasadeva first spoke the original version he had composed to his son, Sukadeva Goswami, who later explained the Srimad Bhagavatam to Maharaja Pariksit. Suta Goswami was also present, and later he described the Bhagavatam to the sages in the forest of Naimisharanya, bearing the full blessings of Lord Balarama.

Both Vyasadeva and Sukadeva are far from being ordinary persons. Vyasadeva is an incarnation of Krsna, who comes to restore Vedic knowledge when it’s almost lost at the end of Dvapara Yuga, while Sukadeva Goswami is considered to be an incarnation of the parrot of Srimati Radharani, who came especially to speak the Srimad Bhagavatam, illuminating thus the age of Kali. Being such an exalted soul, Sukadeva had a very profound understanding of spiritual relationships and was thus elected as the speaker of the Srimad Bhagavatam, even in the presence of both Vyasadeva and Narada Muni, who appeared at the assembly to hear him.

Although Sukadeva Goswami was an eternally liberated soul, he played the role of a Brahmavadi while inside the womb, showing fear of the material energy and thus refusing to come out. There are two types of impersonalists: The Brahmavadis are more attracted to the impersonal aspect, but can become Vaishnavas if they hear about Krsna, while the Mayavadis are offensive and reject the form of Krsna as material.

In total, Sukadeva stayed inside the womb for 12 years, coming out only when Vyasadeva brought Krsna Himself and He reassured him that he would not be captured by Maya. Even then, he immediately ran away from home, leaving for the forest to live as a renunciant. With great difficulty, Vyasadeva was able to bring him back for a short period to listen to the Bhagavata Purana, which Sukadeva later expanded in the form of the Srimad Bhagavatam he spoke to Maharaja Pariksit.

After hearing the Bhagavata Purana from Vyasadeva, Sukadeva Goswami used his mystic powers to expand himself in two forms, with the original Sukadeva remaining as renounced sage and later speaking the Srimad Bhagavatam to Maharaja Pariksit, and the expansion returning home to stay with his father. This expansion of Sukadeva later entered family life and had a daughter. It may sound strange that a person may expand into two, but this is actually quite common in higher personalities. Demigods and great yogis can also do it.

Srila Prabhupada mentions this story with Sukadeva Goswami in his purport on SB 9.21.25:

“Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, is described in great detail in the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa. There it is said that Vyāsadeva maintained the daughter of Jābāli as his wife and that after they performed penances together for many years, he placed his seed in her womb. The child remained in the womb of his mother for twelve years, and when the father asked the son to come out, the son replied that he would not come out unless he were completely liberated from the influence of māyā. Vyāsadeva then assured the child that he would not be influenced by māyā, but the child did not believe his father, for the father was still attached to his wife and children. Vyāsadeva then went to Dvārakā and informed the Personality of Godhead about his problem, and the Personality of Godhead, at Vyāsadeva’s request, went to Vyāsadeva’s cottage, where He assured the child in the womb that he would not be influenced by māyā. Thus assured, the child came out, but he immediately went away as a parivrājakācārya. When the father, very much aggrieved, began to follow his saintly boy, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the boy created a duplicate Śukadeva, who later entered family life. Therefore, the śuka-kanyā, or daughter of Śukadeva, mentioned in this verse is the daughter of the duplicate or imitation Śukadeva. The original Śukadeva was a lifelong brahmacārī.”

The qualifications of Suta Goswami

Suta Goswami had many special characteristics that made him qualified to speak the Srimad Bhagavatam. These qualifications are described in verses 1.1.6 to 1.1.8:

“The sages said: Respected Sūta Gosvāmī, you are completely free from all vice. You are well versed in all the scriptures famous for religious life, and in the Purāṇas and the histories as well, for you have gone through them under proper guidance and have also explained them.
Being the eldest learned Vedāntist, O Sūta Gosvāmī, you are acquainted with the knowledge of Vyāsadeva, who is the incarnation of Godhead, and you also know other sages who are fully versed in all kinds of physical and metaphysical knowledge.
And because you are submissive, your spiritual masters have endowed you with all the favors bestowed upon a gentle disciple. Therefore you can tell us all that you have scientifically learned from them.”

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada emphasized the importance of hearing the scriptures from advanced devotees. Although reading is essential, hearing has a special quality:

“To hear and explain them is more important than reading them. One can assimilate the knowledge of the revealed scriptures only by hearing and explaining. Hearing is called śravaṇa, and explaining is called kīrtana. The two processes of śravaṇa and kīrtana are of primary importance to progressive spiritual life. Only one who has properly grasped the transcendental knowledge from the right source by submissive hearing can properly explain the subject.” (SB 1.1.6)

When hearing, another quality is important: one needs to be submissive. Being submissive does not mean being fanatical and accepting everything blindly, but it means valuing the knowledge we are receiving, and understanding that the Srimad Bhagavatam brings perfect knowledge. One has to study the Srimad Bhagavatam starting from the idea that everything that contains transcendental knowledge and everything the book mentions is correct. It’s our understanding that needs to be adjusted to fit this knowledge and not the opposite.

Srila Prabhupada gives the example of cow dung. Although cow dung is the stool of an animal, it is described in the scriptures as pure. It may sound illogical at first, but when we bring it to the laboratory we can observe that it has antiseptic qualities. Cow dung kills bacteria, and can thus be used as a disinfectant agent. In India, cow dung is often used to clean floors and kitchen utensils instead of detergents. It may sound difficult to believe at first, but in the end, the knowledge is proved correct.

Similarly, the Bhagavatam includes many details about the universe and its history, as well as the activities of many great personalities, which may sound fictitious at first, but that are proven correct as we advance in our understanding.

When we start from the principle that all information contained in the text is correct we will have sufficient humility to change our points of view and thus gradually understand the text. If however, we start from the principle that whatever we know is correct and the Bhagavatam is mythology, we will fail in our study.

Apart from being free from vices and knowledgeable in the scriptures, having both learned the scriptures and explained them many times, Suta Goswami was blessed by his spiritual masters, for being a submissive and qualified student. The blessings of senior persons are another factor that is extremely important in our spiritual life since they make us qualified to understand spiritual knowledge.

The six questions of the sages

From verses 1.1.9 to 1.1.23 the sages ask six questions to Suta Goswami. These questions are not only asked for the sage’s own sake. They are concerned about the situation of people who will be living in the age of Kali, and they want to get from Suta Gaswami some knowledge that can help them find their way out of all the darkness and illusion of this age.

Each cycle of creation is divided on our planet into 1000 cycles of four ages: Satya-Yuga, Treta-Yuga, Dwapara-Yuga, and Kali-Yuga. Unfortunately, we live in the most degraded of the four ages, where people not only have very short lives, but are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed (SB 1.1.10). In previous ages, people used to be purer, lived for thousands of years, and had a natural inclination for practicing self-realization. This is unfortunately not the case nowadays, and the sages are anxious for a process that will work despite all these shortcomings.

These six questions are asked in chapter one, and the answers are given in chapters two and three. These chapters are thus intimately connected.

The first question is asked in verse 1.1.9:

• What is the ultimate good for people?

“Please, therefore, being blessed with many years, explain to us, in an easily understandable way, what you have ascertained to be the absolute and ultimate good for the people in general.” (SB 1.1.9)

The answer to this question is given in 1.2.6:

“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.”

The Vedas explain many types of dharma, or religious duties that apply to different people according to their way of life. There are different types of dharma for Brahmanas, Ksatriyas, and so on. However, there is a type of dharma that is higher and applies to everyone: Pure devotional service to Krsna.

Other types of dharma (different duties, rules, and regulations prescribed in the scriptures) can help us to live a pious life and thus gradually advance in spiritual life, but these other types of dharma are by themselves insufficient. Only when they lead us to develop love for Krsna is their real purpose fulfilled.

Pure devotional service has two characteristics. The first is that it is unmotivated since it is practiced out of love, without expectancy of material results. The second is that it is uninterrupted since once one develops this love, he will want to continue serving Krsna without stopping. This transcendental relationship starts here and continues eternally in the spiritual world.

As Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to the verse:

“Each and every living being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Kṛṣṇa is the eternal attraction for all of them. Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, and everything else is His part and parcel. The relation is one of the servant and the served. It is transcendental and is completely distinct from our experience in material existence. This relation of servant and the served is the most congenial form of intimacy. One can realize it as devotional service progresses. Everyone should engage himself in that transcendental loving service of the Lord, even in the present conditional state of material existence. That will gradually give one the clue to actual life and please him to complete satisfaction.” (SB 1.2.6p)

The second question comes on 1.1.11:

• What is the essence of the scriptures?

“There are many varieties of scriptures, and in all of them, there are many prescribed duties, which can be learned only after many years of study in their various divisions. Therefore, O sage, please select the essence of all these scriptures and explain it for the good of all living beings, that by such instruction their hearts may be fully satisfied.”

The answer is given in 1.2.7:

“By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.”

Although the Vedas explain many different subjects, giving different instructions to different types of people, the ultimate goal of the Vedas is to bring people to the platform of devotional service to Krsna. Everything else in the Vedas is more or less just like an excuse or enticement to gradually bring people to this ultimate conclusion.

Different from different activities offered in the Vedas, such as sacrifices, austerities, and so on are available only to certain classes of people who attain the necessary qualifications. Devotional service, on the other hand, can be practiced by everyone, without any consideration of gender, age, culture, social status, and so on. As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to this verse, bhakti is simultaneously sublime and easy. It is sublime for advanced devotees who are in direct contact with the Lord, and easy for others who are just starting. It is a science that is open to all classes of people.

To become free from material things without a positive engagement is very difficult. No one can just give up all desires and become a dead stone. The way to become free from the negative desires connected with material ambitions is to develop positive desires connected with the service to Krsna. When the desire to serve Krsna becomes sufficiently mature, the desire to engage in negative material ambitions starts to disappear. Desire continues to be present, but the quality changes from material to spiritual. Just as material desires keep us in this world, spiritual desires bring us to the spiritual world.

Therefore, just like the ultimate good is the practice of devotional service, the essence and ultimate purpose of the Vedas is to explain devotional service. Without developing love for Krsna, just following rules and regulations has little utility.

This is made clear in 1.2.8:

“The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.”

The idea is that by following the Vedas people can at first come to a pious platform of life, that serves as a base for them to go further, starting on the path of devotional service. A sinful life is a great obstacle on the path of realization. Once a person starts leading a pure and religious life, many obstacles are cleared in his path.

However, if a person just continues executing material duties and activities and never comes to the platform of devotional service, all this effort is considered useless, because one is working but is not getting the fruit of this work. One will thus never find real happiness.

In his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada mentions:

“There is a dormant affection for God within everyone; spiritual existence is manifested through the gross body and mind in the form of perverted affection for gross and subtle matter. Therefore we have to engage ourselves in occupational engagements that will evoke our divine consciousness. This is possible only by hearing and chanting the divine activities of the Supreme Lord, and any occupational activity which does not help one to achieve attachment for hearing and chanting the transcendental message of Godhead is said herein to be simply a waste of time.”

On the other hand, when a person finally attains the platform of devotional service, coming from a pious life, one can continue practicing the rules as a way to serve as an example to others. This is a very great responsibility all kinds of seniors and special spiritual authorities have. As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita (3.21): Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”

This point is further explained in 1.2.9:

“All occupational engagements are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain. Furthermore, according to sages, one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service should never use material gain to cultivate sense gratification.”

The general tendency of ordinary pious people is the perform some religious or pious duties to gain some material blessings or material profit. Even in Vedas, many passages offer material blessings as a way to convince such materialistic people to start their spiritual practice. Although this is a way to start, as we become serious in the practice of devotional service it becomes an obstacle that prevents us from going further.

Instead, as the verse explains, we should practice devotional service from a humble platform, performing our material duties as an offering to Krsna, and as a way to give a good example to others, and at the same time internally focus on our spiritual practice.

Prabhupada uses the analogy of a lover to explain how this works. He explains that if a married woman finds a lover, she will become even more attentive in taking care of her family and doing everything at home, so no one will suspect her infidelity. At the same time, however, she will be always thinking of her paramour. Similarly, a devotee externally continues performing his different duties to family and society, but internally he becomes focused on his spiritual practice.

This topic is concluded on 1.2.10:

“Life’s desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should desire only a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one’s works.”

Prabhupada explains that because the body is made of senses, it always requires a certain amount of satisfaction. One has to eat, sleep, and so on, but all of this should be done in the right measure. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna says that one can’t be a yogi if he sleeps too much sleeps too little, eats too much, or eats too little. In this way, we make arrangements for prasadam to satisfy the necessity of eating, we make arrangements for beds and other facilities for sleeping, similarly, there are arrangements for religious marriages, and so on. Without these things, it’s difficult for anyone to live.

However, unrestricted sense enjoyment is considered very dangerous for one who is seriously interested in advancing spiritually, because the more we try to satisfy the needs of the body and the desires of the mind, the more we fall back to the material platform. There is thus a delicate balance between satisfying the basic necessities of the body and becoming attached to material life that each of us has to find. The right measure will vary from person to person.

The third question (asked on 1.1.12) is:

• Why and how did Krsna appear on this planet as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki?

“All blessings upon you, O Sūta Gosvāmī. You know for what purpose the Personality of Godhead appeared in the womb of Devakī as the son of Vasudeva.”

The answer is given on 1.2.34:

“Thus the Lord of the universes maintains all planets inhabited by demigods, men and lower animals. Assuming the roles of incarnations, He performs pastimes to reclaim those in the mode of pure goodness.”

Krsna mentions in the Bhagavad-Gita that He comes to this world to kill the atheistic demons, protect the devotees, and reestablish the principles of religion (BG 4.7-8). However, the first and third activities are actually secondary. The real reason Krsna comes to this world in different forms is to give association to His devotees and thus bring them back to Godhead. Not just His pure devotees, but all pious souls (people influenced by the mode of Godness, such as pious sages, demigods, and so on) are benefited. People influenced by the mode of passion and ignorance, like sinful atheists, fruitive workers, and so on frequently just offend Krsna and consider Him an ordinary person.

Krsna is extraordinarily intelligent, and therefore He can fulfill many purposes simultaneously through each of His actions and pastimes. A more elaborate explanation of the reasons for Krsna’s advent is given later in the tenth canto.

The fourth question (asked on 1.1.17) is:

• What are the activities and pastimes Krsna displays in His different purusha incarnations, in creating the material universes?

“His transcendental acts are magnificent and gracious, and great learned sages like Nārada sing of them. Please, therefore, speak to us, who are eager to hear, about the adventures He performs in His various incarnations.”

According to Srila Jiva Goswami, this question is about the activities of the Lord connected with the creation of the world. This is answered on SB 1.2.30 to 1.2.33.

As Lord Maha-Vishnu, Krsna creates the whole material manifestation, by generating the Maha-Tattva (the sum of all material elements) and emanating all the different material universes through His pores. Through His look, he sends all the souls who want to take birth in these different universes, and He enters into each of these different universes as Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. This is the form of the Lord who lays down in the Garbodaka ocean and gives birth to Lord Brahma through a lotus flower coming from His navel. The Lord then expands again and becomes Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, entering into everything as Paramatma, appearing in the heart of all living beings and even inside the atoms.

We often think that there is a separate form of Paramatma in each living being and every atom, but in reality there is just one Ksirodakasayi Vishnu who just observes everything and is present everywhere. The same Ksirodakasayi Vishnu lives on a small island in the ocean of milk (one of the seven cosmic oceans that are part of the intermediate planetary system, in the middle of our universe). This is the form of Lord Vishnu to Whom the demigods pray when they are defeated by the demons, as described in different pastimes of Srimad Bhagavatam.

There are thus three different forms of Vishnu who participate in the creation of the material universes. They are all partial expansions of Krsna but perform different roles.

Lord Maha-Vishnu: That’s the Lord Who lays down on the causal ocean and creates all the universes. Lord Maha-Vishnu is just one, and His form is truly gigantic, with all the universes passing through His pores.

Garbhodakasayi Vishnu: After creating the universes, Lord Maha-Vishnu expands Himself and enters each and every one of the different universes. He lays down on the Garbodaka ocean in the middle of each universe and gives birth to Lord Brahma.

Ksirodakasayi Vishnu: In this third form, the Lord lays down in the ocean of milk and permeates everything as Paramatma. He also listens to the prayers of the demigods when they have difficulties.

There are many more details about these different forms of Lord Vishnu and the creation of the universe throughout the Srimad Bhagavatam. That’s one of the main topics of the book. We will see more details through our study.

The fifth question is asked on SB 1.1.18:

• What are the transcendental incarnations of the Lord and their pastimes?

“O wise Sūta, please narrate to us the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Godhead’s multi-incarnations. Such auspicious adventures and pastimes of the Lord, the supreme controller, are performed by His internal powers.”

This question is answered in chapter three, which gives a short description of each of Krsna’s incarnations in this particular universe. Krsna’s forms are unlimited, and therefore He plays unlimited pastimes in the different material universes, as well as in the spiritual world, but to keep the list short, Srila Suta Goswami describes just the incarnations that appeared in this universe, and in the current cycle of creation.

Each time Lord Brahma goes to sleep the universe is partially destroyed, and every time he wakes up the universe is created anew. During each day there is a sequence of different incarnations, including Nara-Narayana rishis, Lord Kapila, Yajña, Ṛṣabhadeva, Pṛthu, Matsya, Dhanvantari, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmanadeva, Parasurama, Rama, Balarama, Kalik and so on, as well as the four Kumaras (the sons of Brahma), Narada Muni and others, who are considered empowered incarnations since they are special souls who are empowered by the Lord to perform different activities. This all culminates with Krsna coming personally with Balarama to perform their pastimes in Vrindavana. Srila Vyasadeva concludes that all of these different incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead.

The activities of these different incarnations of Krsna are explained in more detail during the whole Srimad Bhagavatam.

The sixth and last question is asked on 1.1.23:

• What became the shelter of the religious principles after Krsna left our planet, five thousand years ago?

“Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, the master of all mystic powers, has departed for His own abode, please tell us to whom the religious principles have now gone for shelter.”

Krsna was personally present on our planet with Balarama five thousand years ago. They both played their pastimes like human beings, but at the same time performed many wonderful activities. Krsna organized things so that many demons would be killed, culminating with the battle of Kuruksetra. In this way, Krsna took out the burden of all these sinful people and restored religious principles. However, where can we take shelter now that Krsna left? By the time Suta Goswami was speaking the Bhagavatam to the sages, Krsna had already left, so this question was as relevant back there as it is today.

The answer is given on SB 1.3.43:

“This Bhāgavata Purāṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the Age of Kali shall get light from this Purāṇa.”

At the same time, Krsna left our planet, going back to the spirtual world, the Srimad Bhagavatam descended, offering a beacon of light to the people confused due to all the ignorance and confusion of the current age. The Srimad Bhagavatam is non-different from Krsna, therefore taking shelter in the Srimad Bhagavatam by attentively studying it is as good as personally associating with Krsna.

When Krsna was present on our planet, five thousand years ago, not everyone could associate with Him. Many devotees were able to associate with Him only briefly, while others (like the sages in Badarikasrama) were not able to meet Him personally at all. However, in our age, we can associate with Krsna constantly through the pages of the Srimad Bhagavatam. In other words, we have an even greater opportunity of understanding Krsna than people who we here when He was personally present.