Approaching the Catuh-Sloki of Srimad-Bhagavatam In explaining the first verse of his mangalacarana of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, the most venerable

Sri Krsnadasa Kavira a !os"ami cites the "ell-kno"n catuh-sloki, or four essential verses, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam# $e does so "hile elaborating on the opening "ords of his text% vande gurun# Sri Krsnadasa "ants to stress that Krishna instructs his devotees from "ithin and is thus the original siksa guru, "ho is represented externally in the form of a saint# Because Brahma&s experience of Sri Krishna&s instruction "as internal, these Bhagavata verses surrounding Brahma&s antara-darsana serve "ell as scriptural evidence in support of the author&s contention# 'hile these important Bhagavata verses support the premise of the author, they also contain the very gist of the precepts of Sri Caitanya, and therefore Krsnadasa appropriately places them at the onset of the text# (et us explore their significance# )he Bhagavata depicts Brahma in search of his source at the da"n of creation# In ans"er to his soul searching, Brahma hears a mandate in the form of t"o Sanskrit syllables that represent the essence of meaningful life% ta and pa*tapa# )he Sanskrit "ord tapa implies +heating,- here it refers to the fire of self-sacrifice*a life of devotion# It is by the fire of self-sacrifice that one moves for"ard in this "orld, for if there is anything to gain in this "orld it is to be found in the act of giving# !ive and gro"- give and kno"- give and live a life "orth living# And if "e are to give comprehensively, "e must do so "ithout motive, "hile directing our giving to the center, by "hich the circumference and all "ithin its circle "ill be served# .ollo"ing this directive, Brahma proceeded to meditate on these t"o syllables# $e sat in meditation for years on end and eventually, the center of all sacrifice personified, Sri Krishna, appeared "ithin his heart# At that time, Brahma asked Krishna four /uestions% t"o concerning sambandha 0a conceptual orientation to Krishna bhakti1, one concerning prayo ana 0the goal of bhakti-sadhana1, and one concerning abhideya 0the performance of bhakti1% 'hat is the nature of your form in all respects2 0sambandha1 $o" do your various energies interact2 0sambandha1 'hat is the nature of your lila filled "ith prema for you2 0prayo ana1 $o" can I attain you2 0abhideya1 Sri Krishna replied to Brahma&s /uestions in six verses, t"o of "hich preface and explain the four essential verses that follo"# )hese four essential verses ans"er Brahma in the order of his /uestions and thus deal "ith sambandbha, prayo ana, and abhideya, in this order# )he follo"ing is a paraphrasing of the essence and farreaching implications of these six verses, as revealed by the principle !audiya acaryas# 3# 4lease take this confidential kno"ledge of my opulence 0 nana1 and the special and more confidential kno"ledge of my s"eetness 0vi nana1 in relation to my original form*svayam bhagavan# I give this kno"ledge to you in theory 0 nana1 although it is the secret of sacred sound*sastra# It is no" yours to reali5e 0vi nana1# It culminates in the mystery of the highest love for me*prema 0rahasyam1, "hich is attended by various bhavas 0tad angam1 and is attained by raganuga sadhana-bhakti supported by vaidhi sadhana-bhakti in the form of hearing and chanting about and meditating on me 0tad angam1# 6o" you should endeavor to tread this path of prema#

7# I bless you that you may reali5e in prema all that I, the co"herd son of 6anda, am *my form, /ualities, nature, activities, and existence# (et these be a"akened "ithin you by my mercy# 8# Kno"ledge of my form is this% I existed along "ith my eternal retinue*both in 9aikuntha in my form as 6arayana and in my confidential abode, !oloka*in the form of a co"herd before the "orld of material experience "as manifested from me# I am the cause and also the effect of the "orld itself, in that the "orld is constituted of my energies and nothing more# It is I "ho also oversee the "orld and enter into it in the form of countless avataras# 'hen, by my arrangement, the "orld again becomes unmanifest, I continue to exist along "ith my associates and abode# :# ;ou ask about my sakti# <y saktis are dependent upon me and they do not exist apart from me# =nder the influence of my maya-sakti, the iva-sakti perceives value in that "hich appears unrelated to me and is also unrelated to the iva itself# Such perception is only a reflection of that "hich has real value- it is only darkness, not the light of my svarupa-sakti, "hich gives prema to the iva-sakti# ># )he nature of prema is very confidential# It is something like the gross elements, "hich "hile all-pervasive are at the same time locali5ed "ithin the bodies of the ivas# Similarly, although I myself am all-pervasive, I simultaneously appear "ithin the hearts of my prema-bhaktas# Indeed, in prema I appear "ithin their hearts and outside their hearts, standing in front of them# <y mother sa" me to be all-pervasive, but "ith the rope of her love she tied me up and I could not escape# I am the supreme controller, but at the same time I am controlled by my devotees& prema# <y lila is behind everything and yet at the same time it appears on ?arth# I am one "ith everything and different from it at the same time, and this inconceivable metaphysical reality is the canvas on "hich the art of my pastimes of prema are dra"n# @# )he means to attain me*to attain prema*is thus% first of all, one must be interested in understanding the highest truth# Such interest "ill be best served at the feet of the guru# )herein one "ill systematically learn the nature of karma, nana, yoga, bhakti, and ho" prema-bhakti is the highest truth# )he guru "ill teach all of these things and thus directly and indirectly explain the glory of prema-bhakti, dra"ing from the sacred texts and thereby making the student one-minded# Ane must then follo" me in the form of the guru by enthusiastically rendering service# )his means at all times and in all circumstances*those favorable and those unfavorable* making this effort one&s life and soul# $ere "e find that in the first introductory verse to the catuh-sloki of SrimadBhagavatam, Sri Krishna tells Brahma that he is giving him theoretical kno"ledge 0 nana1 from revealed scripture, the sruti# $e says that this kno"ledge is very confidential because it brings one closer to Bhagavan than any other kno"ledge found in the sruti, including kno"ledge of the likeness bet"een the atma and 4aramatma# Krishna then tells Brahma that this kno"ledge, "hen applied, leads to reali5ation 0vi nana1 of an eternal relationship "ith Bhagavan# )hus he says that in the catuhsloki he "ill give Brahma sambandha nana, "hich is both theoretical kno"ledge that informs one&s bhakti and reali5ed kno"ledge that informs it further# )heoretical kno"ledge is relative to sadhana-bhakti "hile reali5ed kno"ledge pertains to bhavabhakti# In sadhana-bhakti one is informed by scriptural kno"ledge that strengthens

one&s faith and fosters humble submission and the relin/uishing of separate interests"hereas, in bhava-bhakti one has retired the identity and ego of exploitation that is based on such interests and in their place, as a result of complete identification "ith the ob ect of one&s love 0Sri Krishna1, one reali5es a spiritual serving ego and identity in relation to Bhagavan# It is this identity that is suitable for participating in his lila# .urthermore, nana and vi nana in this introductory verse also refer to kno"ledge of Krishna&s opulence and kno"ledge of his s"eetness, respectively#3 Kno"ledge of his opulence, by "hich he can be overtly recogni5ed as !od, directly nourishes the ideal of reverential love of !od and indirectly nourishes the ideal of intimate love of !od# It serves the ideal of intimate love of !od indirectly by "ay of clearly identifying the perfect ob ect of love, in "hom all possibilities of love*not merely reverential love *can be reali5ed# )hus Sri Krishna is seen as the !od of gods, as the source of even 6arayana# $o"ever, it is kno"ledge of his s"eetness, characteri5ed by his intimate loving exchanges "ith his eternal associates, that directly fosters intimate love of !od# Both of these t"o types of kno"ledge, along "ith kno"ledge of his saktis and their relationship "ith one another, are specific examples of the sambandha- nana that Krishna speaks about in his first t"o verses of the catuh-sloki# )"o other important points are raised in the first t"o introductory verses% Krishna stresses that Brahma must make an effort, and Krishna assures Brahma that he "ill bless him# <ercy and effort go hand in hand on the bhakti-marga# In the first verse he stresses effort in relation to embracing the limbs of sadhana-bhakti 0tad angam1# $e later explains this sadhana 0abhideya-tattva1 in the fourth verse of the catuh-sloki# $e also mentions the mysterious and confidential 0rahasyam1 goal of sadhana-bhakti, prema 0prayo ana tattva1 and its ingredients of various bhavas 0tad angam1, all of "hich he explains in the third verse of the catuh-sloki# $is blessing and the assurance of his mercy are found in the second introductory verse# In the first and second verses of the catuh-sloki, Krishna instructs Brahma in sambandha- nana, kno"ledge of his form, his principle saktis, and ho" they interact bet"een themselves and "ith the !odhead, making the "orld of our experience and Sri Krishna&s abode# )hus he ans"ers Brahma&s four /uestions#