Canto 5: The Creative ImpetusChapter 5: Lord Rishabhadeva's Teachings to His Sons

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.5.35

iti nānā-yoga-caryācarano bhagavān kaivalya-patir rishabho 'virata-parama-mahānandānubhava ātmani sarveshām bhūtānām ātma-bhūte bhagavati vāsudeva ātmano 'vyavadhānānanta-rodara-bhāvena siddha-samastārtha-paripūrno yogaiśvaryāni vaihāyasa-mano-javāntardhāna-parakāya-praveśa-dūra-grahanādīni yadricchayopagatāni nāñjasā nripa hridayenābhyanandat

SYNONYMS

iti — thus; nānā — various; yoga — of mystic yoga; caryā — performances; ācaranah — practicing; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kaivalya-patih — the master of kaivalya, oneness, or the giver of sāyujya-mukti; rishabhah — Lord Rishabha; avirata — incessantly; parama — supreme; mahā — great; ānanda-anubhavah — feeling transcendental bliss; ātmaniin the Supreme Soul; sarveshām — of all; bhūtānām — living entities; ātma-bhūte — situated in the heart; bhagavati — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudeveKrishna, the son of Vasudeva; ātmanah — of Himself; avyavadhāna — by the nondifference of constitution; ananta — unlimited; rodara — like crying, laughing and shivering; bhāvena — by the symptoms of love; siddha — completely perfect; samasta — all; artha — with desirable opulences; paripūrnah — full; yoga-aiśvaryāni — the mystic powers; vaihāyasa — flying in the sky; manah-java — traveling at the speed of mind; antardhāna — the ability to disappear; parakāya-praveśa — the ability to enter another's body; dūra-grahana — the ability to perceive things far, far away; ādīni — and others; yadricchayā — without difficulty, automatically; upagatāni — achieved; na — not; añjasā — directly; nripaO King Parīkshit; hridayena — within the heart; abhyanandat — accepted.

TRANSLATION

O King Parīkshit, just to show all the yogīs the mystic process, Lord Rishabhadeva, the partial expansion of Lord Krishna, performed wonderful activities. Actually He was the master of liberation and was fully absorbed in transcendental bliss, which increased a thousandfold. Lord Krishna, Vāsudeva, the son of Vasudeva, is the original source of Lord Rishabhadeva. There is no difference in Their constitution, and consequently Lord Rishabhadeva awakened the loving symptoms of crying, laughing and shivering. He was always absorbed in transcendental love. Due to this, all mystic powers automatically approached Him, such as the ability to travel in outer space at the speed of mind, to appear and disappear, to enter the bodies of others, and to see things far, far away. Although He could do all this, He did not exercise these powers.

PURPORT

In the Caitanya-caritāmrita (Madhya 19.149) it is said:

krishna-bhaktanishkāma, ataeva 'śānta'

bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmīsakali 'aśānta'

The word śānta means completely peaceful. Unless all one's desires are fulfilled, one cannot be peaceful. Everyone is trying to fulfill his aspirations and desires, be they material or spiritual. Those in the material world are aśānta (without peace) because they have so many desires to fulfill. The pure devotee, however, is without desire. Anyābhilāshitā-śūnya: a pure devotee is completely free from all kinds of material desire. Karmīs, on the other hand, are simply full of desires because they try to enjoy sense gratification. They are not peaceful in this life, nor the next, during the past, present or future. Similarly, jñānīs are always aspiring after liberation and trying to become one with the Supreme. Yogīs are aspiring after many siddhis (powers) — animā, laghimā, prāpti, etc. However, a devotee is not at all interested in these things because he is fully dependent on the mercy of Krishna. Krishna is yogeśvara, the possessor of all mystic powers (siddhis), and He is ātmārāma, fully self-satisfied. The yoga-siddhis are described in this verse. One can fly in outer space without the aid of a machine, and he can travel at the speed of mind. This means that as soon as a yogī desires to go somewhere within this universe or even beyond this universe, he can do so immediately. One cannot estimate the speed of mind, for within a second the mind can go many millions of miles. Sometimes yogīs enter into the bodies of other people and act as they desire when their bodies are not working properly. When the body becomes old, a perfect yogī can find a young, able body. Giving up his old body, the yogī can enter into the young body and act as he pleases. Being a plenary expansion of Lord Vāsudeva, Lord Rishabhadeva possessed all these mystic yoga powers, but He was satisfied with His devotional love of Krishna, which was evinced by the ecstatic symptoms, such as crying, laughing and shivering.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Fifth Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam entitled "Lord Rishabhadeva's Teachings to His Sons."

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