Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class on Fri 18th June 2021 by Sri Chaitanya Dāsa 5.15.11 by Hare Krishna Melbourne

The earth over which Mahārāja Gaya ruled is compared to a cow. The good qualities whereby he maintained and ruled the citizens are compared to the calf. A cow delivers milk in the presence of her calf; similarly the cow, or earth, fulfilled the desires of Mahārāja Gaya, who was able to utilize all the resources of the earth to benefit his citizens. This was possible because he was bathed in sanctified water by the honest daughters of Dakṣa. Unless a king or ruler is blessed by authorities, he cannot rule the citizens very satisfactorily. Through the good qualities of the ruler, the citizens become very happy and well qualified.

As a representative of the Supreme Lord, the king had the duty to protect the citizens in a perfect way so that they would not be anxious for food and protection and so that they would be jubilant. The king would supply everything for their benefit, and because of this he would levy taxes. If the king or government otherwise levies taxes on the citizens, he becomes responsible for the sinful activities of the citizens.

A direct incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called aṁśa or svāṁśa, whereas an incarnation from aṁśa is called kalā. Among the kalās there are the vibhinnāṁśa-jīvas, or living entities. These are counted among the jīva-tattvas. Those who come directly from Lord Viṣṇu are called viṣṇu-tattva and are sometimes designated as Mahāpuruṣa. Another name for Kṛṣṇa is Mahāpuruṣa, and a devotee is sometimes called mahā-pauruṣika.

God consciousness is not imaginary or concocted. The devotee who is pure and advanced realizes God as He is. Mahārāja Pratīha did so, and due to his direct realization of Lord Viṣṇu, he propagated self-realization and became a preacher. A real preacher cannot be bogus; he must first of all realize Lord Viṣṇu as He is.

Lord Buddha, an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, adopted a particular means to propagate the philosophy of bhāgavata-dharma. He preached almost exclusively among atheists. Atheists do not want any God, and Lord Buddha therefore said that there is no God, but he adopted the means to instruct his followers for their benefit. Therefore he preached in a duplicitous way, saying that there is no God. Nonetheless, he himself was an incarnation of God.

If one submissively hears and chants about the all-auspicious Mahārāja Bharata, one’s life span and material opulences certainly increase. One can become very famous and easily attain promotion to the heavenly planets, or attain liberation by merging into the existence of the Lord. Whatever one desires can be attained simply by hearing, chanting and glorifying the activities of Mahārāja Bharata. In this way, one can fulfill all his material and spiritual desires. One does not have to ask anyone else for these things, for simply by studying the life of Mahārāja Bharata, one can attain all desirable things.

The purpose of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, as stated by Madhvācārya, is to link or connect with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The goal is not to display some material perfections.

A person who always desires to serve Kṛṣṇa is interested in ways to convince people that there is a Supreme Personality of Godhead and that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa. That is his ambition. It doesn’t matter whether he is in heaven or in hell.

We have to learn from the great King Bharata how to become cautious in cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A little inattention will retard our devotional service for the time being. Yet any service rendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never lost: svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt (Bg. 2.40). A little devotional service rendered sincerely is a permanent asset.