This part covers:

• More questions from the sages.
• The story of the Srimad Bhagavatam.
• Vyasadeva’s dissatisfaction.
• Why did Vyasadeva compile the Srimad Bhagavatam?
• Vedic knowledge appears and disappears on our planet.
• Appearance and disappearance of the Vedic knowledge
• The story of Narada Muni.

Saunaka Rishi speaks

The Srimad Bhagavatam started with Saunaka Rishi asking questions to Suta Goswami. He wanted to know about the ultimate goal for all people, the essence of all scriptures, the pastimes of the Lord, and the shelter for people living in Kali-yuga. During the course of the answers of Suta Goswami, it became clear that the answer to all these questions is the same: The Srimad Bhagavatam.

Saunaka Rishi then becomes interested in hearing more and begins the 4th chapter by congratulating Suta Goswami and asking him to narrate the Srimad Bhagavatam to them.

The purport of the first verse brings us a very important piece of information about the process by which we can understand and later explain the Srimad Bhagavatam:

“Personal realization does not mean that one should, out of vanity, attempt to show one’s own learning by trying to surpass the previous ācārya. He must have full confidence in the previous ācārya, and at the same time he must realize the subject matter so nicely that he can present the matter for the particular circumstances in a suitable manner. The original purpose of the text must be maintained. No obscure meaning should be screwed out of it, yet it should be presented in an interesting manner for the understanding of the audience. This is called realization.” (SB 1.4.1)

As emphasized in other passages, perfect knowledge can’t be produced in this material world. To properly understand any transcendental text one has to accept the conclusions of the previous acaryas. In our case, Prabhupada is the prominent acarya, and we are receiving knowledge from him through his books. The process is that we should study his books and accept his conclusions, and from there try to explain the same knowledge to other people, adjusting our explanations according to what they are interested on and what they are prepared to hear, without however deviating from the main message.

More questions from the sages

Understanding the importance of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Saunaka Rishi asks several questions connected with the story of the Srimad Bhagavatam in verses 1.4.2 to 1.4.13:

1- When and how did Vyasadeva compile the Srimad Bhagavatam? Why did he feel the need to write this additional book even after compiling all the Vedas?

2- Sukadeva Goswami was liberated from birth. Being a liberated soul, how and why did he become interested in studying the Srimad Bhagavatam?

3- Sukadeva Goswami was completely uninterested in mundane activities. Even when he would go to the houses of Grhastas to beg for milk, he would not stay for more time than needed to milk the cow. How is that that he spent seven days with Maharaja Pariksit, who was not only a householder but a king, involved with all kinds of material activities?

4- Why did Pariksit renounce everything to hear the Srimad Bhagavatam and fast until death? Even if he was detached, how could he abandon his duty as a king?

5- How was Sukadeva Goswami recognized as the qualified speaker by the king and all the sages who assembled around him?

These questions are quite profound, and Suta Goswami will dedicate most of the remaining chapters of the first canto to answering them. This first canto thus describes the scenario of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Telling us of how this literary incarnation of Krsna manifested in the world.

In this connection, it’s interesting to note that the whole first canto narrates the conversation between Suta Goswami and Saunaka Rishi and the questions and answers of their conversation. The narration of the discussion between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit starts from the second canto. Similarly, the second half of the 12th canto, after Maharaja Pariksit passes away also narrates discussions between Suta Goswami and Saunaka Rishi. In this way, the first canto and the second half of the 12th canto are contributions of Suta Goswami that further enriched the text.

Why did Vyasadeva compile the Srimad Bhagavatam?

The remaining verses of the 4th chapter are dedicated to answering the first question: Why did Vyasadeva compile the Srimad Bhagavatam, even after compiling so many other books? Why the Srimad Bhagavatam is so special?

Vyasadeva did a monumental work in compiling the Vedic literature. All the Vedic texts we have today, including all the Puranas, Upanishads, and so on are estimated to be just 7% of all the verses compiled by Vyasadeva that survived the passage of time. Originally he wrote much more.

Vyasadeva originally divided the original Veda into four and passed each division to one of his disciples. They in turn subdivided the knowledge amongst their different disciples, giving birth to all different branches of knowledge:

1) Ṛg Veda (given to Paila Ṛṣi)
2) Sāma Veda (given to Jaimini)
3) Yajur Veda (given to Vaiśampāyana)
4) Atharva Veda (given to Aṅgirā)

Srila Prabhupada mentions that “The original source of knowledge is the Vedas. There are no branches of knowledge, either mundane or transcendental, which do not belong to the original text of the Vedas. They have simply been developed into different branches.”

The Vedas include both spiritual and material knowledge and all branches of human knowledge, including sciences like medicine, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, physics, etc. came from these different branches started by the disciples of Vyasadeva. As time went on, however, these different branches of knowledge lost the original connection with the Vedas and thus lost their spiritual touch.

Because the Vedas deal mainly with material piety, fruitive activities, and different branches of material knowledge, the real purport of the Vedas (which is spiritual knowledge) is not always evident. To make it more clear, Vyasadeva then compiled the 108 Upanisads selecting only the most relevant philosophical passages, and compiled their conclusions in the Vedanta Sutra.

Next, Vyasadeva compiled the 5th Veda in the form of the Puranas and Itihasas, which describe the Vedic knowledge in the form of stories that are easier to understand than the heavy philosophy of the four original Vedas. They were given to Romaharsana. Later, when he was killed by Lord Balarama, the custody was passed to Suta Goswami.

All the Vedas were originally spoken by Lord Brahma, who received this knowledge directly from Krsna. In his Tattva Sandarbha. Srila Jiva Goswami describes that Brahma originally spoke the Puranas with one billion verses. In other words, the Puranas were originally much more extensive than the books we have access to nowadays. This original version of one billion verses is still studied on the celestial planets, but understanding the situation of people of this age, Srila Vyasadeva selected the most essential passages.

It’s interesting to note that all Puranas deal with the same ten subjects:

1) Sarga (the primary creation done by Lord Maha-Vishnu).
2) Visarga (the secondary creation, done by Lord Brahma).
3) Vrtti (the maintenance of the universe, conducted by different demigods empowered by the Lord).
4) Raksa (the maintenance of all living beings who live inside the universe).
5) Antarani (the reigns of the Manus, 14 of which appear during each day of Brahma).
6) Vamsah (the description of the dynasties of great kings and their descendants).
7) Vamsa-anucaritam (the narrations of their activities and the spiritual messages they contain).
8) Samstha (the annihilation of the universe at the end of each day of Brahma and at the end of his life)
9) Hetuh (the reasons and motivation for the involvement of the soul in material activities)
10) Apasrayah (description of the supreme shelter, the Lord)

The same pastimes and historical events are explained in all the different Puranas, but each Purana focuses on different details. This happens because all the Puranas came from a single narration (the original Purana of one billion verses) which was divided by Srila Vyasadeva into 18 books for different classes of readers, classified according to the three modes of material nature.

a) For people in the mode of ignorance, there are the Shiva, Linga, Matsya, Kurma, Skanda, and Agni Puranas, who often recommend the worship of demigods with the goal of gradually elevating the reader to a pious platform. To reinforce the faith of the reader, demigods like Lord Shiva are glorified up to the point one may think they are supreme.
b) For people in the mode of passion, there are the Brahma, Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavisya, and Vamana Puranas, which often emphasize fruitive activities mixed with spiritual knowledge, offering rewards to the reader in exchange for spiritual practice.
c) Finally, for readers in the mode of Goodness, there are the Vishnu, Bhagavata, Garuda, Naradiya, Padma, and Varaha Puranas, which directly speak about devotional service to the Lord.

All the Puranas, including the ones for people in the mode of ignorance, contain spiritual knowledge (we can see that Prabhupada often quotes from the Skanda Purana, for example, which is one of the Puranas for people in the mode of ignorance), it’s just that the Puranas in the mode of ignorance and passion also discuss other topics that are necessary to attract the attention of readers in the lower modes, while the sattvic puranas, especially the Srimad Bhagavam discuss directly devotional service. Right in the opening verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Vyasadeva declares that everything that is not connected with pure love to Krsna is excluded from Srimad Bhagavatam.

The 4th chapter brings us a short narration of this exhaustive work of Srila Vyasadeva in compiling all the Vedic literature, culminating with the Srimad Bhagavatam. Why did Vyasadeva take the trouble of writing such a vast literature?

“The great sage, who was fully equipped in knowledge, could see through his transcendental vision the deterioration of everything material due to the influence of the age. He could also see that the faithless people in general would be reduced in duration of life and would be impatient due to lack of goodness. Thus he contemplated for the welfare of men in all statuses and orders of life.” (SB 1.4.17-18)

Vyasadeva did all this work out of compassion for the people of Kali-yuga, who otherwise would not be able to understand the Vedas. He also compiled the Mahabharata, using the history of the Pandavas as a pretext to transmit transcendental knowledge in a format that could be easily assimilated by the less educated parcels of the population. Until today it’s common that children in India grow up hearing stories from the Mahabharata, and thus become familiar with the principles of dharma, even if their parents are materialists.

Vyasadeva’s dissatisfaction

Vyasadeva did an incredibly complex and extensive work in compiling all the Vedas and teaching them to his disciples. However, in the end, he was feeling dissatisfied at heart. Normally, when we do some great service or even some important material work we feel very satisfied or even proud of ourselves, but that was not the case of Vyasadeva. He was feeling empty inside. Why?

“I have, under strict disciplinary vows, unpretentiously worshiped the Vedas, the spiritual masters and the altar of sacrifice. I have also abided by the rulings and have shown the import of disciplic succession through the explanation of the Mahābhārata, by which even women, śūdras and others [friends of the twice-born] can see the path of religion.
I am feeling incomplete, though I myself am fully equipped with everything required by the Vedas.” (SB 1.4.28-30)

However, Vyasadeva himself after deliberating on that understands what is missing:

“This may be because I did not specifically point out the devotional service of the Lord, which is dear both to perfect beings and to the infallible Lord.”

Vyasadeva spoke a lot about dharma, fruitive activities, religious duties, and different branches of material knowledge, but not a single book he compiled spoke directly and exclusively about devotional service.

Prabhupada makes the point that if Vyasadeva, the compiler himself was still dissatisfied after compiling the Vedanta, what to say about others who just study it as part of their dry philosophical exercises? To find real satisfaction one must study the Srimad Bhagavatam and start the process of devotional service.

Often we think that everything the Vedas speak is on the same level and that we should follow everything, but it’s not like that. The Vedas deal with different levels of knowledge, and some parts are more important than others. We can say that Krsna himself says in the Bhagavad-Gita:

trai-gunya-visaya veda/ nistrai-gunyo bhavarjuna
“The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna.” (BG 2.45)

Most of the Vedas actually deal with fruitive activities destined to elevate one to celestial planets. That’s what most people are interested in, and what the Vedas offer as a way to entice them to live pious lives. There are some passages in the Vedas that deal with spiritual knowledge (compiled in the Upanisads) and then the parts that deal directly with devotional service, culminating in the Srimad Bhagavatam. If one believes he will have a very long life, one may try to study everything sequentially, but if one just goes directly to the Srimad Bhagavatam he will save a lot of time.

When Krsna says trai-gunya-visaya veda, he refers to the Ṛg, Sāma and Yajur Vedas. That’s the same context from 9.17, where he mentions “I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.” The Atarva Veda is not even mentioned, because it deals primarily with material subjects.

As Vyasadeva considered these different points, Narada MUni, his spiritual master appeared at his cottage. Understanding the situation, Narada Muni immediately pointed out what was missing:

“Addressing Vyāsadeva, the son of Parāśara, Nārada inquired: Are you satisfied by identifying with the body or the mind as objects of self-realization?” (SB 1.5.2)

Being the son of a great father, Vyasa was also very competent. In this way, Narada simultaneously pointed out the mistake of giving too much attention to material subjects and encouraged Vyasadeva to do better.

Narada questions how Vyasa could be unhappy even after doing such great work, compiling such a vast literature, and then points out the reason:

“Śrī Nārada said: You have not actually broadcast the sublime and spotless glories of the Personality of Godhead. That philosophy which does not satisfy the transcendental senses of the Lord is considered worthless.” (1.5.9)

Narada Muni makes a point, saying that even knowledge about the soul is not very useful if it doesn’t give a clear idea about the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (and not just as the impersonal Brahman), what to say about knowledge about fruitive activities and mere material piety that just gives temporary results? Only if one has a clear idea about devotional service and practices Karma-yoga will this be useful. In any case, everything revolves around devotional service. In this way he makes it clear that Vyasadeva should write another book, this time speaking directly about devotional service to Krsna. Vyasadeva is surely qualified to do this.

“Knowledge of self-realization, even though free from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God]. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?
O Vyāsadeva, your vision is completely perfect. Your good fame is spotless. You are firm in vow and situated in truthfulness. And thus you can think of the pastimes of the Lord in trance for the liberation of the people in general from all material bondage.” (1.5.12-13)

In the next verses, Narada makes another important point:

“Whatever you desire to describe that is separate in vision from the Lord simply reacts, with different forms, names and results, to agitate the mind, as the wind agitates a boat which has no resting place.
The people in general are naturally inclined to enjoy, and you have encouraged them in that way in the name of religion. This is verily condemned and is quite unreasonable. Because they are guided under your instructions, they will accept such activities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions.” (SB 1.5.14-15)

Although Vyasadeva had good intentions when he compiled the Vedas, the problem is that most people don’t understand the purpose of the Vedas. They then take the parts that look interesting for them —fruitive activities that elevate one to the celestial planets, or mental speculation about a vague Supreme Brahman— and forget about what is really important.

“Śrīla Vyāsadeva should not have compiled any Purāṇas other than the Bhāgavata Purāṇa because a slight deviation from that may create havoc for self-realization. If a slight deviation can create such havoc, then what to speak of deliberate expansion of the ideas separate from the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead. The most defective part of worshiping demigods is that it creates a definite conception of pantheism, ending disastrously in many religious sects detrimental to the progress of the principles of the Bhāgavatam, which alone can give the accurate direction for self-realization in eternal relation with the Personality of Godhead by devotional service in transcendental love.”

After the beginning of Kali-yuga, people in India quickly forgot about any conception of devotional service and became just attached to fruitive activities, especially animal sacrifices. Thus the real purpose of the Vedas is completely lost and people became immersed in materialism and hedonism, killing animals in so-called Vedic sacrifices just to eat their flesh. In such a situation, the Lord appeared as Buddha, to teach the principles of non-violence. Since it’s easier to build a new house than to fix an old and broken one, he rejected the Vedas in the process.

Later, Sankaracarya brought people back to the study of the Vedas by preaching his monistic philosophy, which was nothing more than a covered version of Buddhism based on the Vedas. This paved the way for Ramanujacarya to speak about a personal God and devotional service to Him, sustaining his points by quoting passages of the scriptures, ideas that were further reinforced by Madvacarya. In this way, the people from Kali-yuga were gradually elevated by a sequence of acaryas, culminating with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who established the supreme goal.

Therefore, as far as possible we should teach people about this supreme goal instead of distracting them with other things that in the end have little value. That’s what Narada told Vyasadeva.

• The story of the Srimad Bhagavatam

It’s interesting to note that the Srimad Bhagavatam was compiled two times, first as one of the 18 original Puranas, compiled by Vyasadeva before the Mahabharata and later as the Srimad Bhagavatam we have today, with the help of Sukadeva Goswami and Suta Goswami.

The story was that after compiling all the Vedas, including the original Bhagavata Purana, the Mahabharata, and the Vedanta Sutra, Vyasadeva was still feeling dissatisfied, not having sufficiently described the glories of the Lord. At this point, Narada Muni appears and mildly chastises him for having given too much importance to indirect topics in his previous works, and not having written a book that exclusively glorifies Krsna. After that, Vyasadeva proceeded to compile the second version of the Srimad Bhagavatam, an expanded version of the original Bhagavata Purana he had compiled earlier.

This is explained by Srila Jiva Goswami in his Tattva-Sandarbha (verse 48):

“Suta Gosvami states this in the verse beginning sa-samhitam [Bhag. 1.7.8]. In this verse the phrase kṛtvanukramya (“after compiling and revising”) indicates that Vyasadeva first wrote Srimad Bhagavatam in an abbreviated form and that later on, after being instructed by Śri Narada Muni, He expanded and rearranged it. Thus two apparently contradictory statements are reconciled-one found here [in the Bhagavatam] saying that the Bhagavatam was composed after the Mahabharata, and the other found elsewhere [the Skanda Purana, Prabhasa- khanda 2.94], saying that the Mahabharata was compiled after the eighteen Puranas.”

This Srimad Bhagavatam compiled by Srila Vyasadeva was then spoken to Sukadeva Goswami, who explained it to Pariksit Maharaja. The way self-realized souls perceive spiritual knowledge is different from ours. We are limited to understanding spiritual knowledge in a theoretical way, using our intelligence, but we can’t directly perceive it. We may study the pastimes of Krsna in Vrindavana, for example, but we can’t directly see these pastimes. Self-realized souls, however, are connected to the spiritual reality, and they can directly see these pastimes. When Sukadeva Goswami received the Srimad Bhagavatam from Vyasadeva, he not only received a set of verses but as a direct vision of the pastimes described there. When he sat to narrate the Srimad Bhagavatam to Maharaja Pariksit, he didn’t just repeat the original verses compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, but directly described the pastimes based on his spiritual vision as a direct witness. Both Vyasadeva and Narada Muni were present, hearing his description, and both became amazed as if hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam for the first time.

“Suka” means parrot. It’s described that when a parrot bites a mango, it becomes even sweeter than originally. Similarly, Sukadeva Goswami was able to make the Srimad Bhagavatam even sweeter by his recitation, even though it was already relishable by all classes of men.

Suta Goswami was also present at the assembly, and he later narrated the Srimad Bhagavatam to the sages in Naimisharanya, also adding his contribution, in the form of the first and last cantos, as well as a few supplementary explanations along the text. This final version of the Srimad Bhagavatam was then commented on by many powerful acaryas through the centuries, culminating with the commentary of Srila Prabhupada, who studied all the previous works and wrote his commentary, adding all the important details. The Srimad Bhagavatam we have in our hands is thus the fruit of the contribution of many generations of powerful acaryas, starting with Vyasadeva himself. By studying it, we can directly associate with all these powerful personalities.

• Appearance and disappearance of the Vedic knowledge

Going back to the work of Vyasadeva in compiling the Vedas, another point to consider is that the Vedas are an extremely extensive mass of knowledge, that is available in toto only in the upper planets. Different parts of the Vedas and the Puranas appear and disappear on our planet over the course of time, repeatedly being lost, and then restablished by great sages or demigods, who make different parts of the knowledge again known.

In The Bhagavad-Gita (4.1-3) Krsna explains how He originally transmitted the Bhagavad-Gita to Vivasvān, but after many millions of years the line of succession had been broken, and thus he was transmitting it again to Arjuna, who was qualified to start a new disciplic line. Just like the Bhagavad-Gita, other portions of the Vedas exist eternally, but they become available of not in human society at different times.

At the end of Dwapara-Yuga, most of the Vedic knowledge had been forgotten, and thus Vyasadeva came to restore and organize this mass of knowledge, so it could become available to the people in Kali-Yuga.

Unfortunately, most of the original work of Vyasadeva is currently lost. We have access to just about 7% of the original verses compiled by him. However, this is not such a tragical loss as it may seem, because the Srimad Bhagavatam contains all the confidential meaning of the Vedas. Srila Vyasadeva wrote the Vedanta Sutra, giving the conclusions of the Vedas in a condensed form and the Srimad Bhagavatam is an elaboration of it. It’s not by chance that Srila Prabhupada spent so much of his effort writing his commentary on the Srimad Bhagavatam, forecasting that his commentary would become the most prominent book of knowledge during the Golden Age predicted by Lord Caitanya.

Although lamentable, the fact that about 93% of the Vedic knowledge compiled by Vyasadeva was lost is actually not as tragic as it may seem, because the Srimad Bhagavatam includes all the important conclusions, that were made accessible to us by the commentaries of Srila Prabhupada. One who just studies and properly understands the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-Gita as it as receives all the important conclusions and will be armed with all the tools to find his or her way back to Godhead. Other books offer additional details, that elaborate and reinforce such conclusions, but the Srimad Bhagavatam in itself is complete.

• The story of Narada Muni

To convince Vyasadeva of the value of devotional service to the Lord, Narada Muni describes his own story. In the past life, he was the son of a maidservant who became self-realized by having the opportunity to associate with a group of pure devotees, hearing their discussions about the pastimes of the Lord and serving them.

Even being just a small child, who didn’t have an opportunity of getting an education, Narada had the opportunity of serving these great sages alongside his mother. Although he was just a small child. Narada got a taste for hearing their talks about the pastimes of Krsna and once was able to honor their mahaprasadam.

We can see that this story is a practical example of the principle of naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu we studied in the second chapter (By regular hearing and service to the pure devotee, all anarthas are almost completely destroyed, and loving service is established).

Narada was a simple, pious boy, who was not naught and had no attachment for plays and sports. Both he and his mother were living in an asrama and serving the different visitors who would come. A group of sages stayed there during the period of chaturmasya, the four months of the rainy season in India. During these months, there are many floods and the roads become impassable. Even great sages and devotees used to refrain from traveling during these months, using instead the time for executing austerities and concentrating on their spiritual practice. Narada was especially fortunate because a group of Bhaktivedantas (pure Vaishnavas very well-versed in the scriptures) stayed with them and invested their time in deep devotional discussions about the pastimes of the Lord. Although just a small child, Narada was naturally attracted to these meetings, and thus he had the good fortune of associating with these sages.

It’s said that devotional service is highly transmissible. Just like one may easily contract a disease by staying close to the sick, one can contract the “disease” of devotional service by serving pure devotees.

Apart from listening and serving them together with his mother, Narada just once ate the remnants of food left by the sages. This can be done even without asking permission, but being such a polite boy, Narada asked them and ate the Mahaprasadam after receiving their permission.

As he narrates: “Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me.” (1.5.25)

By serving and taking this mahaprasadam, Narada quickly became very advanced in spiritual realization, but he was still bound to the position of a dependent child by the affection and care of his mother. Due to this, when the Bhaktivedantas left, he was not able to accompany them.

However, after a short time, the mother of Narada passed away after being bitten by a snake. Instead of becoming morose, Narada accepted it as the will of providence. This is also a lesson for us: often the Lord uses material difficulties as a way to move us around and make us spiritually qualified. By understanding that the Lord is just in the process of giving us something better, we can face these situations without lamentation.

He cremated the body of his mother by burning the whole house they were living in and started traveling alone. By practicing meditation he was quickly able to see the Lord for a short while. By seeing the Lord, the spiritual senses of Narada immediately awakened. While we are in this body, we need to do one thing at a time, but in a spiritual body, all the senses work independently and there is no such limitation. Narada describes this experience on 1.6.17:

“O Vyāsadeva, at that time, being exceedingly overpowered by feelings of happiness, every part of my body became separately enlivened. Being absorbed in an ocean of ecstasy, I could not see both myself and the Lord.”

This verse proves something that Prabhupada mentions in different passages. He explains that our spiritual body is part of the soul, and is thus present in us even now. It’s just covered by the material body, as well as the mind, intelligence, and so on. When these external layers are removed, the spiritual body automatically manifests. It doesn’t have to be gained from some separate source. We can see that in the case of Narada, as soon as he saw the Lord his spiritual body became active.

However, after just a moment the Lord disappeared. Narada tried again and again to repeat the same process of mechanical meditation but without success. At this point, he heard a voice saying:

“O Nārada [the Lord spoke], I regret that during this lifetime you will not be able to see Me anymore. Those who are incomplete in service and who are not completely free from all material taints can hardly see Me.”
O virtuous one, you have only once seen My person, and this is just to increase your desire for Me, because the more you hanker for Me, the more you will be freed from all material desires.

At this stage, Narada was in the stage of Brahma-bhuta, he had become free from material contamination due to the association of the sages, but he hadn’t come yet to a platform of devotional service.

There are two steps in our spiritual realization: one is negative, becoming free from lust, anger, different material desires, and so on. This culminates in the stage of Brahma-bhuta, or liberation when we become free from all material contamination. This negative process can bring us all the way to the impersonal Brahmajoti, but not further. After this, however, there is also the positive process of reviving our pure love for the Lord, which allows us to enter into the spiritual planets.

Srila Prabhupada hints at the purports that Narada was at this point situated in the mode of goodness. Material goodness is very close to spiritual goodness, but as long as one doesn’t develop pure love for Krsna, some traces of material contamination will remain. That’s why the Lord says to Narada that “Those who are incomplete in service and who are not completely free from all material taints can hardly see Me.”

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura mentions in his commentary that Narada was actually at the platform of Prema at this stage, but the Lord spoke to him like this to increase his humility and teach him to be perfectly situated in Krsna Consciousness, transcending the material mode of goodness and in the process leaving his example for us to follow.

Small apparent disagreements like these are common in the comments of different acaryas because they comment on the texts from different points of view. The process to understand these differences is not trying to judge who is right and who is wrong, but to harmonize the different purports, understanding that they are all correct, and is our understanding that must be adjusted in a way that we can see all the different points as parts of a unified explanation.

Back to the pastime, the Lord thus told Narada that although he had become purified of material contamination, he still had to practice more and develop this pure love. This short darshan was causeless mercy to help him become more desirous of achieving this stage.

Most of us have also some similar experiences at the beginning of our spiritual lives. Often in the beginning we see the temple as the best place, devotees as saints, and the deities as the Lord Himself. Prasadam is the most wonderful food, and doing any small service is complete bliss. This is actually reality, that’s how things really are, and the Lord in the heart gives us a taste of it, so we can become determined in spiritual practice. However, after a little while this fades and we again see things according to our imperfect realization. Now we have to practice and become purified so we can again start seeing things as they are, just like Narada had to practice for more time in order to mature his devotional service and see the Lord again. The more we hanker for the Lord, the quicker we become free from all material desires.

Narada had this darshan of the Lord when he was still a small child. He then continued practicing until he became an old man. During this time, his natural love for the Lord developed. When he eventually met with death, his material body died, while his spiritual body simultaneously became active, just like lightning and illumination appear simultaneously.

At this point, his spiritual body manifested, a body that was fit for a personal associate of the Lord. The mission of Narada Muni is to travel everywhere, teaching the science of devotional service. He is counted as one of the incarnations of the Lord because he is especially empowered to do so. He can thus freely travel in both material and spiritual words, meeting everyone and transmitting the transcendental message. He is especially empowered to always be at the right place and at the right time, and we can see that he participates in many of the pastimes narrated in the Srimad Bhagavatam, always appearing at the exact time to give important spiritual instructions.

• In the previous creation

This all happened during the previous day of Brahma. Every time the universe is created, things go on more or less the same way. The posts of different demigods are occupied by qualified souls, the Earth as well as other planets are there and people live in the same fashion following the sequence of four eras. At the time Narada was living, there was India, there were the months of Caturmasia, and just as recently, people used to settle down and focus on their spiritual practice during these rainy months.

As Narada describes: “At the end of the millennium, when the Personality of Godhead, Lord Nārāyaṇa, lay down within the water of devastation, Brahmā began to enter into Him along with all creative elements, and I also entered through His breathing. After 4,300,000,000 solar years, when Brahmā awoke to create again by the will of the Lord, all the ṛṣis like Marīci, Aṅgirā, Atri and so on were created from the transcendental body of the Lord, and I also appeared along with them. Since then, by the grace of the almighty Viṣṇu, I travel everywhere without restriction both in the transcendental world and in the three divisions of the material world. This is because I am fixed in unbroken devotional service of the Lord.”

Narada Muni appeared again at the beginning of the current day of Brahma, as one of his sons, with the mission of traveling all over the universe and propagating devotional service to the Lord. However, at the same time, it is described that he is an eternal associate of the Lord.

This may sound very confusing, but it can be observed in many pastimes. For example, we understand that Laksmi Devi is the eternal consort of Lord Vishnu, but at the same time, there is the pastime of her appearance from the churning of the milk ocean. Lord Shiva exists eternally in Sadashiva Loka, his eternal abode, but at the same time, he appears in each universe from the anger of Lord Brahma, and so on. In the same way, although eternally perfect souls, the Lord’s associates like Prahlada Maharaja and Narada Muni appear continuously in different universes to execute their pastimes.

The fact is that as conditioned souls we have a very great difficulty in understanding eternity, and thus Krsna and His associates play different pastimes in the different material universes, giving us a story we can relate to, where they take birth and practice some process of self-realization between revealing their true nature as perfect devotees. Thus, even though eternally perfect, Narada Muni plays the role of a soul trying to achieve perfection.

• A mysterious verse

On SB 1.4.14 there is a verse that we may have a little trouble explaining:

“Sūta Gosvāmī said: When the second millennium overlapped the third, the great sage [Vyāsadeva] was born to Parāśara in the womb of Satyavatī, the daughter of Vasu.”

Prabhupada mentions in the purport:

“There is a chronological order of the four millenniums, namely Satya, Dvāpara, Tretā and Kali. But sometimes there is overlapping. During the regime of Vaivasvata Manu, there was an overlapping of the twenty-eighth round of the four millenniums, and the third millennium appeared prior to the second. In that particular millennium, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa also descends, and because of this there was some particular alteration.”

Just in case you are wondering, the literal translation of the verse is:

“Coming in the second millennium (Dvāpara-yuga), at the time the third (Treta-yuga) appeared before it, he (Vyasa) was begotten by the great sage Parāśara in the womb of the daughter of Vasu. He is the plenary portion of the Personality of Godhead.”

The literal meaning gives the same idea that Prabhupada gives in his purport. Vyasadeva appeared at the end of Dwapara-yuga, the same millennium when Krsna also appeared, therefore the verse does not make sense if interpreted differently.

Time on our planet is divided into four eras.

• The first lasts for 1,728,000 years and the process of self-realization is meditation.
• The second lasts 1,296,000 years and the process is fire sacrifices.
• The third lasts for 864,000 years and the dharma is elaborate temple worship.
• The fourth lasts for 432,000 years, and the process is to chant the holy names.

In most references, we find the order of the yugas mentioned as Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali. The process of self-realization for Treta-yuga is mentioned as fire sacrifices and for Dwapara-yuga is mentioned as temple worship. That’s what Srila Prabhupada mentions in his books most of the time, and how we usually learn.

However, there are a few references, like this one, mentioning that actually, the usual order is Satya, Dwapara, Treta, and Kali, and sometimes (once in a day of Brahma, when Krsna appears, Lord Krsna appears) the order is changed to Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali. How does it work?

Everyone agrees that Satya-Yuga lasts for 1,728,000 years and the process for self-realization is meditation, up to here there is nothing to be confused about. The confusing part is that this verse mentions that normally the next is Dwapara-Yuga (and not Treta), which lasts for 1,296,000 years and where the process of self-realization is fire sacrifices. The third is then Treta-Yuga, which lasts for 864,000 years and where the process of self-realization is temple worship, and finally, Kali-Yuga, where the process is the chanting of the holy names.

However, in the special Divya-Yuga when Krsna appears (the one we are in) the order changes and the order becomes Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. In this particular Divya-Yuga, the order of the yugas is switched. Treta-Yuga comes first, and Dwapara-Yuga comes after it.

In other words, in this special Divya-Yuga, Treta-Yuga becomes the second age and lasts for 1,296,000 years, and Dwapara-Yuga becomes the third and lasts for 864,000 years.

According to this purport by Srila Prabhupada, it appears that most of the references from the scriptures mention the order of the eras as Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali just because that’s what is current for us, having happened in this way in the current divya-yuga we are living in, while the passages that mention the order as being Satya, Dvāpara, Tretā and Kali mention the general order of the ages in other divya-yugas.

Nominally, the dharma for Treta-Yuga is fire sacrifices, and for Dwapara-yuga is temple worship, following the normal sequence for the three ages, but we can see that in practice people were doing a lot of fire sacrifices in the last Dwapara-yuga. We can see that during the whole Mahabharata the Pandavas and others are doing fire sacrifices. Temple worship is mentioned just in a few passages (like in the marriage ceremony of Rukmini), and not as something very central. In this way, it appears that together with the overlap of the eras, there is also some overlap in the religious duties practiced in both millenniums.

Why do these changes happen? It appears that the ultimate reason is to facilitate Krsna’s pastimes, since He comes in the age of the Ksatriyas to annihilate the demons and protect the devotees. In the normal course of Yugas, the age of the Ksatriyas would come earlier, right after Satya-Yuga, and the next age would be an age where people would do temple worship. Both eras would be relatively peaceful since there would be powerful Ksatriyas in Dwapara-Yuga, but they would be virtuous, and in Treta-Yuga when people would have more vices there would not be powerful Ksatriyas anymore and thus not so many conflicts.

However, when Krsna comes the order is switched, and we have the explosive combination of the vices of the third age combined with the presence of powerful Ksatriyas, setting the stage for all the conflicts that Krsna uses it as a pretext for His pastimes involving the Pandavas, the battle of Kuruksetra, and so on.

This is an obscure detail mentioned in the Puranas. It doesn’t make much of a difference in practice, but since it’s mentioned in the verse we are studying so there is no doubt.