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Srimad-Bhagavatam Overview-Canto 1, Chapter 1

The subject of a scripture is usually described rst! Therefore Srila "eda"yasadeva, the compiler of the Srimad Bhagavatam, describes #r$ %rishna,the subject of Srimad Bhagavatam, in the rst verse!

Srila "yasadeva&s very rst words state that %rishna is 'od--(omnamobhagavate vasudevaya. )e then e*plains why %rishna is 'od by describingthe characteristics that distinguish )im from anyone else! %rishna is describedasjanmady asya yato +from whom all manifested universes are manifested,sustained and destroyed, itaratas carthesv abhijnah +who directly andindirectly nows everything, svarat +who is fully independent, and tenebrahma hrda ya adi kavaye who taught "edic %nowledge to the rst createdbeing, .ord Brahma, all characteristics which can only be ascribed to 'od! )etherefore concludes /param satyam dhimahi-we should meditate on #r$%rishna who is the Supreme 0bsolute Truth!1

11 Speaing the truth may not always convey the truth! or e*ample, anine*perienced young devotee of %rishna may enthusiastically tell his parentsthat he ultimately has no relationship with them because they are not thebodies, but spirit souls! )e has certainly spoen the truth, but has failed tomae the truth understood! )is parents now thin that %rishna-consciousnessis a cult which denies fellowship and family, which certainly is not the truth!

0 spiritual teacher is thus careful that his lessons are not only true, butunderstood as truth! or this reason great acaryas may even present certaintruths indirectly, or relavitistically, to philosophically or culturally immature

audiences!

or e*ample, because souls in this world by nature are envious of 'od andthus revolted by )is form, many of the "edic literatures, such as the2panishads, describe 'od in an impersonal way to help avert the conditionedsouls attention from matter to transcendence!

Similarly, when "yasadeva compiled the "edas he was hestitant to directlypresent the highest truth of devotional service, because people in the worldare naturally materialistic and only act religiously for selsh reasons! )e thusdeliberately avoided e*tensively glorifying the Supreme .ord and promoting

the practice of pure devotional service!

3onetheless, he was chastised by )is spiritual master, for improperly using hisvaluable time in giving more importance to the engagements of religiosity,economic development, sense gratication and salvation, than the superiorengagement of devotional service, especially as the people in %ali 4uga areshort-lived and by an indirect process may never get around to the goal ofdirectly glorifying %rishna!

3arada therefore rebued his disciple5 /4ou have not actually broadcast the

sublime and spotless glories of the 6ersonality of 'odhead! That philosophywhich does not satisfy the transcendental senses of the .ord is consideredworthless!(

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0fter describing #r$ %rishna in the rst verse, Srila "yasadeva describesSrimad-Bhagavatam in the ne*t verse! )e informs us that it is the greatest ofall scriptures, because any objective other than pure devotional service iscompletely rejected (dharmah projjhita kaitavah). 7t is therefore for pure soulswho are free from envy +nirmatsaranam satam).

7t is also a superior scripture because by nowledge of pure devotional serviceone becomes free from all material miseries (tapa-trayonmulanam),itiscompiled by the great sage "yasadeva in the maturity of his reali8ation(maha-muni-krte),it&s message submissively heard manifests the Supreme.ord in the heart without delay (susrusubhis tat-ksanat).

7n the third verse Srila "yasadeva glories the Srimad Bhagavatam as not onlycompletely pure, but the ripened fruit of all "edic .iterature (nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalama), because spiritual rasa is described, and can bee*perienced, in Srimad-Bhagavatam! 7t is especially nectarean having

emanated from the lips of Suadeva 'oswami! Srila "yasadeva thereforeinvites manind, but especially those that are e*perts and connoseurs of thisnowledge (rasika bhuvi bhavakah) to taste the special sweetness of theSrimad Bhagavatam! +vs!1-9

Srila "yasadeva begins to narrate the story of the Srimad-Bhagvatam as it wasspoen for the third time at the holy place of 3aimasaranya! :Before the great

0s a result of Sti 3arada&s instructions, "yasadeva went to his asrama, *edhis mind in devotional service, and wrote the Srimad-Bhagavatam in the

maturity of his reali8ation

0s he had been chastised by his spiritual master, Sri 3arada, for not directlyand su;ciently glorifying the Supreme .ord, he boldly begins this ne*t treatiseby clearly asserting the identity of the origin of creation- (om namo bhagavatevasudevaya, .ord %rishna, the son of "asudeva, is the Supreme 6ersonalityof 'odhead!

Srila 6rabhupada appreciates "yasadeva&s boldness in so directly indentifyingthe Supreme Truth at the beginning of the Srimad Bhagavatam5/7t is natural that a philosophical mind wants to now about the origin ofcreation! 0t night he sees the stars in the sy, and he naturally speculatesabout their inhabitants! Such in

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sages at 3aimasaranya begin their in

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the lilavatars +