Chapter Eighty-Four
The Sages’ Teachings at Kuruksetra
1. Sukadeva Gosvami said: Prtha, Gandhari, Draupadi, Subhadra, the wives of other kings and the Lord’s cowherd girlfriends were all amazed to hear of the queens’ deep love for Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and Soul of all beings, and their eyes filled with tears.
2-5. As the women thus talked among themselves and the men among themselves, a number of great sages arrived there, all of them eager to see Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama. They included Dvaipayana, Narada, Cyavana, Devala and Asita, Visvamitra, Satananda, Bharadvaja and Gautama, Lord Parasurama and his disciples, Vasistha, Galava, Bhrgu, Pulastya and Kasyapa, Atri, Markandeya and Brhaspati, Dvita, Trita, Ekata and the four Kumaras, and Angira, Agastya, Yajnavalkya and Vamadeva.
6. As soon as they saw the sages approaching, the kings and other gentlemen who had been seated immediately stood up, including the Pandava brothers and Krishna and Balarama. They all then bowed down to the sages, who are honored throughout the universe.
7. Lord Krishna, Lord Balarama and the other kings and leaders properly worshiped the sages by offering them words of greeting, sitting places, water for washing their feet, drinking water, flower garlands, incense and sandalwood paste.
8. After the sages were comfortably seated, the Supreme Lord Krishna, whose transcendental body protects religious principles, addressed them in the midst of that great assembly. Everyone listened silently with rapt attention.
9. The Supreme Lord said: Now our lives are indeed successful, for we have obtained life’s ultimate goal: the audience of great yoga masters, which even demigods only rarely obtain.
10. How is it that people who are not very austere and who recognize God only in His Deity form in the temple can now see you, touch you, inquire from you, bow down to you, worship your feet and serve you in other ways?
11. Mere bodies of water are not the real sacred places of pilgrimage, nor are mere images of earth and stone the true worshipable deities. These purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify one immediately upon being seen.
12. Neither the demigods controlling fire, the sun, the moon and the stars nor those in charge of earth, water, ether, air, speech and mind actually remove the sins of their worshipers, who continue to see in terms of dualities. But wise sages destroy one’s sins when respectfully served for even a few moments.
13. One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.
14. Sukadeva Gosvami said: Hearing such unfathomable words from the unlimitedly wise Lord Krishna, the learned brahmanas remained silent, their minds bewildered.
15. For some time the sages pondered the Supreme Lord’s behavior, which resembled that of a subordinate living being. They concluded that He was acting this way to instruct the people in general. Thus they smiled and spoke to Him, the spiritual master of the universe.
16. The great sages said: Your power of illusion has totally bewildered us, the most exalted knowers of the truth and leaders among the universal creators. Ah, how amazing is the behavior of the Supreme Lord! He covers Himself with His humanlike activities and pretends to be subject to superior control.
17. Indeed, the humanlike pastimes of the Almighty are simply a pretense! Effortlessly, He alone sends forth from His Self this variegated creation, maintains it and then swallows it up again, all without becoming entangled, just as the element earth takes on many names and forms in its various transformations.
18. Nonetheless, at suitable times You assume the pure mode of goodness to protect Your devotees and punish the wicked. Thus You, the Soul of the varnasrama social order, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, maintain the eternal path of the Vedas by enjoying Your pleasure pastimes.
19. The Vedas are Your spotless heart, and through them one can perceive—by means of austerity, study and self-control—the manifest, the unmanifest and the pure existence transcendental to both.
20. Therefore, O Supreme Brahman, You honor the members of the brahminical community, for they are the perfect agents by which one can realize You through the evidence of the Vedas. For that very reason You are the foremost worshiper of the brahmanas.
21. Today our birth, education, austerity and vision have all become perfect because we have been able to associate with You, the goal of all saintly persons. Indeed, You Yourself are the ultimate, supreme blessing.
22. Let us offer obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, the infinitely intelligent Supersoul, who has disguised His greatness through His mystic Yogamaya.
23. Neither these kings nor even the Vrsnis, who enjoy Your intimate association, know You as the Soul of all existence, the force of time and the supreme controller. For them You are covered by the curtain of Maya.
24-25. A sleeping person imagines an alternative reality for himself and, seeing himself as having various names and forms, forgets his waking identity, which is distinct from the dream. Similarly, the senses of one whose consciousness is bewildered by illusion perceive only the names and forms of material objects. Thus such a person loses his memory and cannot know You.
26. Today we have directly seen Your feet, the source of the holy Ganges, which washes away volumes of sins. Perfected yogis can at best meditate upon Your feet within their hearts. But only those who render You wholehearted devotional service and in this way vanquish the soul’s covering—the material mind—attain You as their final destination. Therefore kindly show mercy to us, Your devotees.
27. Sukadeva Gosvami said: Having thus spoken, O wise king, the sages then took leave of Lord Dasarha, Dhrtarastra and Yudhisthira and prepared to depart for their asramas.
28. Seeing that they were about to leave, the renowned Vasudeva approached the sages. After bowing down to them and touching their feet, he spoke to them with carefully chosen words.
29. Sri Vasudeva said: Obeisances to you, the residence of all the demigods. Please hear me, O sages. Kindly tell us how the reactions of one’s work can be counteracted by further work.
30. Sri Narada Muni said: O brahmanas, it is not so amazing that in his eagerness to know, Vasudeva has asked us about his ultimate benefit, for he considers Krishna a mere boy.
31. In this world familiarity breeds contempt. For example, one who lives on the banks of the Ganges might travel to some other body of water to be purified.
32-33. The Supreme Lord’s awareness is never disturbed by time, by the creation and destruction of the universe, by changes in its own qualities, or by anything else, whether self-caused or external. But although the consciousness of the Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme one without a second, is never affected by material distress, by the reactions of material work or by the constant flow of nature’s modes, ordinary persons nonetheless think that the Lord is covered by His own creations of prana and other material elements, just as one may think that the sun is covered by clouds, snow or an eclipse.
34. [Sukadeva Gosvami continued:] The sages then spoke again, O King, addressing Vasudeva while all the kings, along with Lord Acyuta and Lord Rama, listened.
35. [The sages said:] It has been definitely concluded that work is counteracted by further work when one executes Vedic sacrifices as a means of worshiping Visnu, the Lord of all sacrifices, with sincere faith.
