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rajovaca
aho nr-janmakhila-janma-sobhanam
kim janmabhis tv aparair apy amusmin
na yad dhrsikesa-yasah-krtatmanam
mahatmanam vah pracurah samagamah

TRANSLATION: King Rahugana said: This birth as a human being is the best of all. Even birth among the demigods in the heavenly planets is not as glorious as birth as a human being on this earth. What is the use of the exalted position of a demigod? In the heavenly planets, due to profuse material comforts, there is no possibility of associating with devotees.

PURPORT: Human birth is a great opportunity for self-realization. One may take birth in a high planetary system among the demigods, but due to the profusion of material comforts, one cannot gain release from material bondage. Even on this earth those who are very opulent do not generally care to take to Krsna consciousness. An intelligent person actually interested in getting freed from the material clutches must associate with pure devotees. By such association, one can gradually become detached from the material attraction of money and women. Money and women are the basic principles of material attachment. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore advised those who are actually serious about returning back to Godhead to give up money and women in order to be fit to enter the kingdom of God. Money and women can be fully utilized in the service of the Lord, and one who can utilize them in this way can become freed from material bondage. Satam prasangan mama virya-samvido bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah (SB 3.25.25). Only in the association of devotees can one relish the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just through a little association with a pure devotee, one can become successful in his journey back to Godhead. SB 5.13.22

[invocatory prayers]
HH Bhakti Asraya Vaisnava Swami: So in the context of Srimad Bhagavatam, we are reading the heartfelt expressions of the feelings of Maharaja Rahugana. After getting the divine instructions from Jada Bharata, he became so much enlightened and so much blissful that he could not stop himself from expressing his feelings. That is why in this verse, he is speaking in the beginning: aho! Alas! Oh what a great fortune! Oh what a great opportunity I got by the association of this saintly person.

In front of him Jada Bharata is standing: aho! vipra! What a great fortune I have. Then he is considering who brought that person. How has he become so fortunate? Then he is saying because I am in a human birth that is why I am able to get the instructions of saintly persons like you. Because in any other species except human birth it's not possible to associate with devotees. You may associate, you may see, you may be with them but you cannot get the instructions from them.

Just like Jada Bharata Maharaja was engaged in carrying the palanquin, Rahugana was sitting on the top. The carriers are carrying him. So the carriers could get more association of Jada Bharata. They were walking with him. But they could not get the benefit. Before that Jada Bharata was wandering in the forest. Some forest people took him and they were trying to kill him, they were trying to give him in sacrifice to Kali and almost more than one day they were with him. But they were not getting the benefit of the association. But here for a fraction of a moment, exchange of speech, he got the benefit of the association.

So just being with a saintly person, it is not said that we are getting the association. It is not the meaning of association. Then why is the human birth so important? Because first of all in the human birth-one can HEAR. One can hear the glories, the topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We are having this Bhagavatam class here, only human beings can be sitting here. No other species can come here. They cannot come. And also, this Jada Bharata also achieved this realization in this human life, this Brahma tattva in this human life.

And this human life is karma yoni. All other species except human life is bhoga yoni. You may suffer or enjoy in the heavenly planets or down planets but you cannot do karma. You can do karma only in this human life. If you do karma properly, performing pure devotional service, then in this human life you can go back to Godhead. But if you are not doing it, then you can through the whole process of 8,400,000 species. So this is so important. That is why he is considering, this human life-somehow or the other he is becoming so thankful to the Lord that He has given him this human life. And in this human life many human beings are there. They are not becoming so fortunate enough. So he is thinking, in this human life I am able to associate with saintly persons like you.

What is the real importance of human life, to understand the goal of human life. So what is the goal of human life? Jivasya tattva jijnasa, nartho yasceha karmabhih. There is no other important duty than to know and inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead-about The Absolute Truth. Only tattva jijnasa.

In this case we are seeing king Rahugana was actually tatva jijnasa. He met Jada Bharata in the forest while he was going to attend Bhagavatam class from Kapiladev. He was going because he was jijnasa. Only a jijnasa person can become so fortunate, can get the real benefit of the association of the saintly person. Otherwise we may take the human birth but we'll be considered as two legged animal or civilized animal-whatever. Unless we have the inquisitiveness to know about the Absolute Truth then there is no use of this human form of life. If only we'll consider the goal of human life is to have comfort, to gratify our senses then we are no better than animals. So that's why he is considering human life means: the human who are really tattva jijnasu. And if some tattva jijnasu gets the association, by momentary association he can be free from darkness. That's what he got now. That's why he is becoming so elated, so happy that he is expressing his feelings that Oh my god! I am so fortunate that by this moment I became so fortunate that I became totally free from my doubts, free from the darkness of ignorance.

That is only possible by the association of the saintly persons. What kind of saintly persons? Those saintly persons whose hearts are purified and totally filled with the glories of Hrsikesa. Hrsikesa means that Hari who is so attractive, who is always attracting all the senses of His devotees. The devotees are always attracted by the Lord and by this attraction they are ready to serve, by their senses, to the Lord. So, that Hari is glorified by the devotees. And by this glorification, the hearts of the devotees are totally purified. Hrsikesa yasa kritatmanam (?): the devotees whose hearts are totally purified by the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If you get the association of that kind of a personality, then in a few moments, you'll be totally free from your ignorance and darkness. That is the benefit of saintly association.

King Rahugana is considering that in this material world all the people used to consider which birth is the best birth? Best birth is to take birth in the high species like demigods and all that? But what is the use of that? That is, if you perform so many pious activities in this life, in the next life you may get the birth in the higher species of demigods. But what is the use of that? You will be full of so much comforts that you will have no opportunity to get the association of devotees. So without the association of devotees life is useless. You cannot succeed in your life.

That is why he is considering this human life so important. Even the demigods-what to speak of ordinary demigods, even topmost demigods like Brahma and Shiva-if they want to achieve the real success then they have to come down to this material world and they are also expecting to have a human body so that they can get proper association, enjoy it and go back to Godhead. Anyway, they are already in that supreme platform. But still it is not available in the heavenly planets. The association of the devotees is not available. Though all the elevated personalities are in the heavenly planets and the demigods they can come down and take association of big elevated personalities, but because they are so much engaged in material comforts, so much facilities are there, they cannot avail the real facility of saintly persons. The association they cannot get properly.

So that is why Prabhupada is saying, even in this planet we see that those people who are very opulent they are not interested to take to this Krishna consciousness. Neither the high class, nor the low class. Only the middle class-they are interested. So, Rahugana is becoming so happy and is considering this human life so important because in this human life he was be able to get the mercy from the devotees. So to succeed in our life, we need the association and by the association we'll get real mercy and that we can engage in pure devotional service. In one bhajan Rupa Goswami is saying that how even Brahmadev, even Brahma, he's not that fortunate. He's considering himself, in this bhajan he's saying:

krsna deva! bhavantam vande
man-manasa-madhukaram arpaya nija-pada-pankaja-makarande
(2)

O my Lord Krishna, I am worshipping You. You are my worshippable Lord. man-manasa-madhukara: Let the bumble bee of my mind should engage in relishing the nectar coming down from Your lotus feet. So please allow my mind to do that. Then he is saying:

yadyapi samadhicu vidhir api pasyati na tava nakhagra-maricim
idam icchami nisamya tavacyuta! tad api krpadbhuta-vicim
(2)

He is saying: yadyapi samadhicu vidhir api pasyati. Vidhi means Brahma in his samadhi yoga. In his transcendental meditation for a long time, he is not able to see You, not to see Your Lotus feet, not even the front part of Your lotus feet, not even the nail, not even the light coming out of the nails. na tava nakhagra-maricim. Not able to see even that! The light coming out of the nail of Your lotus feet. idam icchami. He was desiring!

What he was desiring? To release the nectar coming out of Your lotus mouth. How dare to desire like that. Yes, idam icchami. idam icchami nisamya tavacyuta! tad api krpadbhuta-vicim. He Acyuta!, I am desiring that by the strength of hearing Your glories, nisamya, I have heard profusely about Your Kripa. Your adbhuta kripa. krpadbhuta-vicim. Such a wonderful merciful nature You have, so we've heard. Where from have we heard? We've heard from saintly persons, from Your devotees. That's why I am daring to get the nectar from Your lotus feet. Not even Brahma, but I am desiring like that. idam icchami nisamya tavacyuta! tad api krpadbhuta-vicim. The wonderful waves of Your merciful ocean, Your merciful attitude. I've heard about it profusely. Then he's saying:

bhaktir udancati yadyapi madhava! na tvayi mama tila-matri
paramesvarata tad api tavadhika-durghata-ghatana-vidhatri
(2)

He's saying, O Madhava!, though I am not at all Your devotee. bhaktir udancati yadyapi madhava! na tvayi mama tila-matri. Tila means sesame seeds. I've no devotion. I have no devotion, not even like a sesame seed towards You. I am such a rascal. bhaktir udancati yadyapi madhava! O Madhava, I am not at all a devotee, I do not even have devotion like sesame seeds towards You, still paramesvarata tad api tavadhika-durghata-ghatana-vidhatri- You are paramesvara. Your Lordship is so powerful, it can make what is totally impossible, it can make possible. durghata-ghatana-vidhatri. You can make everything possible, even if it is totally impossible. That is Your paramesvarata, That is Your Lordship. So on the basis of that, when I have heard profusely from Your devotees about that, then I am desiring so, I am daring to desire so.

So all of us, by hearing these kinds of instructions from Rupa Goswami, we can become hopeful. Even if we are so wretched rascal, but still we can tell O Madhava, we can become hopeful, because Rupa Goswami is telling like that, that Your wonderful merciful nature is so, that You can do everything possible, even if it is impossible.

sri-krsna-caitanya-daya karaha vicara
vicara karile citte pabe camatkara

So this is the planet of Caitanya Candra. Krishna is merciful, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu with Nityananda prabhu, They are so wonderful! They are so wonderful! We'll be struck with wonder if we consider about Their mercy. What we are getting from the association of saintly persons.

Actually it is said, one big saintly person is saying: binu satsang viveka na hoi, rAma krupA bin sulabha na soi(?). This satsang, the association of devotees, without the association of devotees, our vivek, our thinking power will not improve. And the satsang, the association of devotees will not be available without the mercy of the Lord, whenever we get the real mercy of the Lord.

What is the proof? The proof is that we'll get the association of the devotees. After many many, many births by the accumulation of all your pious activities, the result will be that you will get the association of a pure devotee. Hmm! So what is the benefit of the association of the devotee? The kripa. The mercy of the Supreme Lord is coming down through the association of the devotee. Our Acarya of this movement is called Krsna krpa srimurti: he is the personification of the mercy of the Supreme Lord! He is the murtiman vigraha of the Krsna Krpa.

And just see, he's so merciful, his body is full of the mercy of Krishna and within 10-12 years, in this society, within 10-12 years, within this world, he showered his mercy. Now within 30 years, in this land in the remote place of Navadvipa-mandala more than 10,000 people dancing and chanting on the roads and making their life success. How is this possible? This is because we are getting-in the disciplic succession the kripa- is coming down. The kripa coming from Krishna in the form of Mahaprabhu and through Srila Prabhupada.

Somehow or the other Prabhupada gave association to his devotees, and these devotees gave association to their devotees. These devotees gave association to other devotees. By this, mercy is coming down in the disciplic succession. And whoever is jijnasu, whoever is really interested, whoever is the real human being, whoever is really tatva jijnasu, they can achieve the merit, the benefit of this association-by getting books, by getting prasad, by hearing kirtan, by doing parikrama, from many other ways. But unless you come in contact with these devotees, how will we make our life success?

Raja Rahugana was a king. And he knows the importance of human life. That is why he was going. He was the king, sauvirapati, from Kashmir, He was the king of Kashmir and he was going to attend Bhagavatam class in Gangasagar. All the way from that end to this end. Such a long distance he was covering. And not by plane or train or car. By walking. Carriers they are walking. He was sitting on the palanquin but through so many jungles, crossing so many rivers, they were walking thousands of miles by palanquin. Why is he walking? Just to attend Bhagavatam class from Kapiladev. That was his only goal of his visit.

And he met the saintly person-just consider-in the middle of the jungle. Who knows where we'll get the association of the devotees, in which moment your life will be successful. You may come to temple, but you may not be successful in the temple. You may be in royal palace, it may not be. You may be in Bhagavatam class, it may not be. It may be inside the jungle, full of animals.

That's why he's saying, "Oh my Lord! This jungle is full of ferocious animals but because I am a human being I got this opportunity." And he's not an animal, he's also a human being. So, saintly persons they are always, they will accept the form of a devotee. And anybody, they want to get the real benefit of these saintly persons they have to take form of a human being. And in Bhagavad-gita, Krsna says you have to do three things at least if you want to know about tattva-pariprasna, seva and pranipat. Pranipata, pariprasnena, seva. These three things you have to do.

But here we are seeing, what was he doing? He was just chastising, when he was in palanquin, he was chastising the saintly person. So by chastisement, not doing pranipat, not seva, not inquiring, nothing-rather he was chastising-about to beat him: "I will beat you. I will take care of you. You are not carrying my palanquin properly, you rascal!"

See! Even these kinds of chastisement, in the middle of the forest, if you do to real pure devotee that pure devotee is totally free from all this abuse, prasamsa or whatever. He is free from all this. Their duty is only to bless. Only to shower mercy. Though King Rahugana was chastising him, he was ready to beat him, but still see, Jada Bharata, from birth till now, he must be about 30 years old or so, till now he has not opened his mouth. He was Jada. But was he is really Jada? No, he was making a show of Jada! He was making a drama that I cannot speak. But he could understand; he speaks nicely. Now he is speaking in the middle of the forest.

Some days ago, all these village people, these forest village people, they don't know, they are innocent, ignorant people. They took him to offer him as a sacrifice to goddess Kali. And they got killed-all of them. All of them wholesale, they got murdered by Kali. And he was there present. He didn't speak anything. He didn't speak a word. And because so many things happened: his father, brothers and many other places, he never uttered any word there.

Here in the middle of the forest, a king, he engaged him in carrying his palanquin and chastised him so heavily about to beat him and he is trying to speak to him! He spoke to him and his words, one letter of his pronunciation, one-one letter he is uttering, that is piercing into the heart, direct into the heart of Rahugana, because he was jijnasa. Though he was chastising, but the words coming out of a pure devotee-- that is not something ordinary! That is such a powerful medicine. Such a powerful medicine, the person is not ready to take the medicine. But if somehow or the other it is coming inside your ear and going directly into the heart, it will act, the effect you will see.

See the effect-within a few minutes, Raja Rahugana came down from the palanquin and totally bowed down, totally surrendered. And he is expressing his feelings in this verse. The first verse, in a series of some verses, he will express his feelings. He has become so fortunate. So happily he is expressing. In the next verse he will say, "O my Lord. I don't know. I couldn't recognize you. You are such an elevated person. You never gave your identity to me. So now, I have to offer my obeisances to any human being, any Brahmin, he may be a child or whatever, I have to offer obeisances to everybody."

Who knows in which birth, in which place, in which situation our life will be a success. So one thing we can understand, at any moment, anywhere in any situation our life can be a success. But the only requirement is that we have to be manusya. Manusya means not just accepting the human life, just by having a human life we cannot be called as manusya. Accepting human life is one thing, then the real need is that you have to be tattva-jijnasu. You have to really be inquisitive to know about the Absolute! Otherwise you cannot be called as manusya.

If one isthat kind of tattva jijnasu manusya, then the mercy is available even in the middle of the forest. Even the person who has not spoken a word from the birth, he will speak to you. The mercy of the Lord can be available anywhere. So we have to be the recipient. Hmm! The mercy is abundantly available everywhere but the receivers are not there. Receivers are not there. That's why Bhaktivinoda Thakur in his bhajan is saying,

sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu jive doya kori
swa-parsada swiya dhama saha avatari

Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu-what is the real reason for Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu to incarnate. He is saying the only reason is to. . . . Oh, time is already done. It's OK. Thank You. Next time I will say. Hare Krishna. Any comments or questions?

HG Dravida Prabhu: So thank you very much for the class Maharaja. So the third verse, his success, he is praying: (k???a) deva! bhavanta? vande, man-m?nasa-madhukaram arpaya nija-pada-pa?kaja-makarande. Actually he's praying, isn't he? Correct me. He is praying that, Krishna! You put my mind in the lotus feet, in the honey.

ayam avilolatayadya sanatana! kalitadbhuta-rasa-bharam
nivasatu nityam iham?ta-nindini-vindan madhurima-saram

Today, eternal Lord. My mind is fixed upon Your feet. And so I am tasting endless mellows, wonderful and sweet. I pray that for eternity, my mind may there (?) reside to relish luscious honey that defeats ambrosia's pride. That's the end of the song. So he's successful. Hare Krsna.

HH Bhakti Ashraya Vaishnava Swami: Thank you.
Srimad Bhagavatam Mahapuranam ki jai! Sri Gaura Bhakta Vrinda ki jai!

- Kindly transcribed by Swetha Ganeshan Mataji