11:2 What is the Greatest Treasure?

Now towards the end of the year, here at One Year Bhagavatam we are studying the end of Srimad Bhagavatam.  It is quite possible to read this great literature in a year.  The thing is, Bhagavatam is so large, powerful and mysterious that it always seems new and surprising,  like this chapter - 11:2.

To begin with, 11:2 carries some very famous slokas, bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad SB 11.2.37, and bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir SB 11.2.42 and yan asthaya naro rajan SB 11.2.35. Also the three definition verses for kanistha, madhyama and uttama bhaktas reside in this chapter.

Plus, there's a great story:

Narada is residing in Dwaraka (Daksa's curse preventing Narada from staying in one place didn't work on him there!) and he visits the home of Vasudeva (Krsna's Mathura father).  Vasudeva is so humble and is eager to hear Narada speak about Krsna that he asks to hear about pure devotional service. That service that frees one from all kinds of fear.  He explains that he never prayed for bhakti he only prayed for a good son so he would like to know how to engage in activities that please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Narada is delighted with his question and to answer it  he tells Vasudeva the story of Maharaja Nimi and the Nine Yogendras.

Now the Yogendras are nine of Rshabdeva's famous 100 sons and they are great mystic yogis that have the ability to travel anywhere in the universe.  They travel freely to the planets of the demigods, the mystics, the Sadhyas the Gandharvas, the human beings, the Kinnaras and the serpents.  They can visit the realms of the sages, angels, ghosts, Vidyadharas, brahmanas and cows.  The Yogendras are perfectly realized yogis and they see Paramatma everywhere.

Once upon a time they visited the earth planet and arrived at the sacrificial arena of a great soul named Maharaja Nimi.  The Yogendras were as effulgent as the sun and all who were present there stood to offer respects.  The king stopped everything and made a place for the sages to sit and worshipped them in a suitable way.  The king humbled himself before these great souls and and began to inquire about spiritual life.  (here's another famous verse 11:28):

"King Videha said:  I think that you must be direct associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is famous as the enemy of the demon Madhu.  Indeed, the pure devotees of Lord Visnu wander throughout the universe not for their personal, selfish interest, but to purify all the conditioned souls."

Maharaja Nimi's first question is, what is the the most beneficial thing, what is the highest good, what is the greatest treasure?  Kavi Yogendra answers, "O King!  I consider the highest goal to be bhakti by performing which one becomes free of fear of time, karma or other obstacles."

In a nut shell, he says:

"Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord.  When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord.  This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion called maya.  Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul."

( There's more beautiful descriptions of bhakti at this point in the chapter, but you can't fit much in a nutshell!)

The next question Maharaja Nimi asks is, what are devotees like?  Please describe them to me.

Havir yogendra answers by describing the characteristics of the maha-bhagavata devotee, the intermediate devotee and the neophyte devotee.

Here's the last verse of this incredible chapter:

11:2:55

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead

is so kind to the conditioned souls

that if they call upon Him by speaking His holy name,

even unintentionally or unwillingly,

the Lord is inclined to destroy

innumerable sinful reactions in their hearts.

Therefore,

when a devotee who has taken shelter of the Lord's

lotus feet chants the holy name of Krsna with genuine love,

the Supreme Personality of Godhead can never give up the heart of such

a devotee.

One who has thus captured the Supreme Lord

within his heart is to be known as bhagavata-pradhana,

the most exalted devotee of the Lord"

Bhakti is the greatest treasure.