Mysteries of the Vedas

Arjuna is the constant companion of Krsna. Every time Krsna appears in some universe of this material world, Arjuna appears with Him. They are always together. In the Bhagavad-Gita, when Arjuna asks Krsna how could he have spoken the Bhagavad-Gita to Vivasvan, millions of years ago, Krsna answers that Arjuna was also present when this happened, but he had forgotten, while He still remembered. “The...

Chronologically, the age of Kali began just after the battle of Kuruksetra, but its effects were been checked due to the presence of Krsna. As soon as Krsna left, the effects of the age of Kali manifested, which was noticed by Maharaja Yudhisthira. However, when Pariksit ascended to the throne he decided to fight with Kali, checking his influence. In his purport, Srila Prabhupada connects the root...

As long as Pariksit was on the planet, there was no chance Kali could flourish. However, at the same time, Kali-yuga is part of the universal cosmic order. The degradation of Kali-yuga creates an opportunity for the most degraded souls, who don’t have enough pious merits to take birth in other eras, to take birth and have the opportunity of receiving the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Another f...

In most of this course, we will be studying two or three chapters per lesson, as far as possible trying to cover an entire topic on each section. However, we are going slowly for now because these are foundational chapters that have a lot of important information, and more or less summarize the contents of the whole Srimad Bhagavatam. Just like the second chapter gives a concise description of the...

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...

At the end of chapter 6, Narada Muni leaves after instructing Vyasadeva. Chapter 7 starts with Śaunaka Ṛṣi inquiring about what happened after that. What did he do after receiving these instructions from his spiritual master? Indirectly, Śaunaka Ṛṣi is asking how the Srimad Bhagavatam was compiled. Suta Goswami answers by describing the meditation of Vyasadeva before starting his work in compiling...

Bhismadeva was defeated by Arjuna and Srikandi during the 10th day of the battle of Kuruksetra. Dozens of arrows transpassed his body, but he landed in such a way that the arrows supported the weight of his body, and he didn’t touch the ground. It looked like he was lying on a bed of arrows. Later, at his request, Arjuna added three arrows under his head, that served as a pillow. Any regular perso...

In the second part of the course, we studied the six questions the sages asked Sukadeva Goswami and their answers. The six questions were: 1- What is the ultimate good for people? A: Loving, unmotivated, and uninterrupted devotional service to the Lord. (1.2.6) 2- What is the essence of the scriptures? A: The process of devotional service is the essence. There is nothing superior. By practicing de...

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...

Srila Prabhupada and other Vaishnava acaryas before him put great emphasis on the study of the Srimad Bhagavatam as an essential part of our spiritual practice. On his purport to SB 1.3.43, for example, Srila Prabhupada wrote: “Both the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are like torchbearers for the blind people of this age. In other words, if men in this age of Kali want to see the real lig...