Srimad Bhagavatam Class @ Iskcon Newtown Kolkata – January 2026

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu on 1^st Jan 2026

Verse Number: SB 11.7.47
Chapter Name: Contents of the Gītā Summarized

Important Points from Translation & Purport

“The foolish conditioned souls ignore the spectacular presence of the Lord within everything and instead absorb their mediocre consciousness in their own temporary material coverings, thinking, “I am a strong man,” “I am a beautiful woman,” “I am the richest man in this city,” “I am a Ph.D.,” and so on. One should cut off such useless entanglement and accept the fact that one is pure spirit soul, the eternal, blissful servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7.47 Purport

Important Points from the Class

Closest person is Krishna sitting withing the heart.
We are not able to see him because there are so many voices which comes from mind, intelligence and false ego.
Viswanth Chakravarthi Thakura gives analogy that fire is present in the wood but may not be visible but if we stir it then fire is seen.
Similarly, Krishna is within the heart, when we stir our heart by hearing and chanting, we can see him.
We have to see spirit in connection with Krishna and also matter in connection with Krishna. When we do so we become qualified to enter spiritual world.
How to see material world in connection with Krishna? This is possible by chanting and hearing the glories of Krishna.
Nam Chintamani Krishna – Krishna has descended in the form of sound vibration, in holy name.
We criticize how someone can meditate on space and light, we say deity is there, SB is there. Sound vibration is our worshipable Lord i.e. the sound vibration of holy name.
We have to realize that sound vibration i.e. holy name is non different from Krishna. This can be realized when we start chanting at the stage of sudha nama.
Krishna’s holy name is most merciful incarnation but because of our conditioned nature we are not able to realize this.
The most intimate companion is the holy name of Krishna.
Japa means chanting one’s own japa.
Bhakti Vinod Thakura says while chanting, close the door, window, blindfold yourself and then chant.
Today, we can meditate, how many New Year we have spent in this body.
Do the sadhana of remembering Krishna in solitude.
Once the secretary called HH RNSM at 11 pm in year 2005 explaining how book launch is so successful. But Maharaj said that I am remembering how in 1970s I was there under the tree in Vrindavan in chira ghat.
Sadhu always aspire solitude with Krishna relishing sweetness of Krishna’s sweetness in solitude.
Since sadhu is nourished within so despite of so many issues are able to deal with the situation in a Krishna Conscious manner.
To see Krishna everywhere, we should meditate on Krishna’s name, we should put endeavour.
Follow the verses of 5 & 6 of NOI where Rupa Goswami explains how to deal with the devotees.
Our relationship with the devotees, how we deal is based on advancement of devotee in Krishna Consciousness. Sometimes a person may be socially advanced but not devotionally and so may be devotionally advanced but may not be materially success.
Practice the principle of yukta vairgya. Deal with the matter in such a way that is conducive to Krishna’s service.
Advanced devotee can engage entire world in Krishna’s service, but we are not, so we cannot. As per our capacity we should engage in Krishna’s service.
We should do conscious endeavour to meditate on our faults. SBSST says that how I can see faults in others when I am covered with honeycomb of faults. When we see other person’s faults, then we should meditate on our faults. And when we see then we find that our fault is much bigger than others’ faults. So, we should focus on purifying ourselves.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HG Prem Swarup Prabhu on 2^nd Jan 2026

Verse Number: SB 11.7.48
Chapter Name: Contents of the Gītā Summarized

Important Points from Class

2025 moved to 2026 and we did not realize how time passes
Every rising and setting of sun, one day is stolen and moving from 2025 -2026, we have lost one year
We are moving closer to graveyard.
Put a time bomb in the car, and also put a person in the car, and the person can hear the tickling of time bomb but at when it is going to explode he does not know.
We all are sitting in the car of ahankara (pride), and we are moving towards death.
SP says for a devotee, time is like cat holding a kitten in the mouth but for a non-devotee, it is like cat holding a rat. After catching rat, the cat leaves the rat, the cat with its claw hit the rat, wounds him, now the movement of rat reduces and then catches it. Again, releases it, hits him again, making him more injured and so on. During this time the rat is bloodied and finally a final hit and the rat die.
For us it is birth, then disease, old age and then death.
Time is imperceptible.
Cat holds kitten with teeth, the experience of kitten, is shelter, joy. The same imperceptible time creates hope, shelter for a devotee.
Birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, dwindling and death is superfluous to the soul. Waning, the moon becoming smaller, waxing, the moon becoming larger, for us but there is no change in the moon. The change which we see is our perception. Similarly we are spirit soul, only the body changes.
When the body goes changes then we experience it because of our attachment to the body and our identification with the body.
In this world everyone is affected by time which creates nervousness.
The glance of the Lord is the time factor. Time activates modes of material nature. Modes of material nature creates influence, but time creates experiences. Change causes nervousness because change can change my situation.
Living entity has a nature to adjust in any circumstances even in the body of a pig. But by the time we are trying to adjust, the situation changes.
We get absorbed in YouTube shorts because of “change.” Once a YouTube famous personality said if you want to keep the audience hooked then every 3 seconds there should be some change.
If someone is not feeling stability then how can one experience happiness. Otherwise we are constantly fixing our situation in life – health, family, money, fixing things.
Envy and rivalry constantly keeps us agiated because we may be having everything but we become envious.
HH RNSM explains, “One person made a beautiful farm in London, his pleasure was to bring friends and get applaud. When the people came to see his farm, the people became so envious, that they killed the person. They could not tolerate his opulence.”
One king asked his citizens to give something that when I am happy I become unhappy and when I am unhappy I will become happy. One person gave him a ring where it was written “This shall also pass.”
Chanakya says, you become sober by meditating on the factor of time then your agitation and excitement will got away.
First book SP wrote was “Easy Journey to Other Planets.”
What is the situation which keeps us fixed?
In one family one children died and the whole family got traumatized.
Krishna first tells Arjuna that you are not waxing and waning moon, you are the moon, you are the soul. Gita is to free us from this misidentification that we are body, but we are eternal soul.
Bhakti is direct engagement of soul. Krishna is giving Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti yoga to free Arjuna from the misidentification.
We cannot have rasa until we have stability.
First principle which keeps us unhappy is misidentification.
If we are working on bodily platform, we will act on mediocre platform. Any change happens to our mind, body, we will get disturbed. We have to understand that we are not mind but using faculty of mind, we are not body, but we are in the body.
We have to engage senses, mind in Krishna’s service, practicing yukta vairagya.
When you sit to chant, then unplug yourself from the world, go to the state of timelessness. When we chant, we should not expect anything from Krishna but just want Krishna’s association.
Krishna is the oldest (purana purusam), means he has the best experience, he knows us completely.
Time does not control everything, Krishna controls time.
A person who does not have material desire, no desire to enjoyment, fix on Krishna then he can go beyond space and time.
We are under kal, karma, guna bondage. Only Krishna can free us from the bondage – man mana bhav..
We are created to love Krishna. We become happy when we love serving Krishna.
When devotees said that SP we will miss you then SP said that if you chant Krishna and I chant Krishna then we will always be together.
In the spiritual world, time is there but it does not act the way it acts in this material world. It is like cat catching kitten.
We dance because in the spiritual world no one walks but everyone dances. We sing because in the spiritual world no one speaks but sings.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HG Aravind Gopal Prabhu on 9^th Jan 2026

Verse Number: SB 11.7.55-56
Chapter Name: Contents of the Gītā Summarized

Important Points from Translation & Purport

The she-pigeon would flatteringly cajole her husband, and he in turn would gratify her by faithfully doing whatever she wanted, even with great personal difficulty.
If one’s intelligence is not dedicated to serving Hṛṣīkeśa, the Supreme Lord of sense activity, undoubtedly one will plunge into the nescience of bodily gratification.

Important Points from Class

From pigeon’s example given in Srimad Bhagavatam, we learn that we should not get excessively attached to people of this world.

When Indra was cursed to become a hog then he became attached to the body and life of hog. When Brahmaji came to take him back to heaven then he was not willing to give up his life of a hog.

Why do we get materially attached? 1) Because we find shelter in something material. When we put time, energy and resources into that shelter, we get attached to it. Example: Parents put so much time, energy, money so they get attached to children. 2) We get rasa, pleasure from the attachment. Most important pleasure is attachment between male and female. Cause of male – female attachment is bodily attachment. We have example of liquid beauty – a beautiful lady stored all are vomit, pus, stool and showed to a prince who was physically attracted to her.

Srila Prabhupada would call attraction between male and female as skin disease. Just tear the skin and you will see the reality. Maya packages things in such a way that the foolish living entity gets bewildered. Also, material beauty fades with time.
A wealthy person got attracted to a model, wanted to marry her, so he divorced his chaste wife and drove away children. After marrying her, he realized that the model is having other affairs too. Now the rich man wanted to divorce her, but she wanted 50% of his wealth. The man thought why should I give her money, let me get her killed. The lady similarly thought that let me kill this person and I can have all the wealth. So, they both although living in the same house, hired goondas to kill each other.
Person thinks – body, wealth, wife, children can protect me. But they are not permanent shelters.
If the Supreme Lord does not protect then parents cannot protect a child, doctor cannot save a person, a boat cannot save a drowning man.
Srimad Bhagavatam teaches to not take shelter of temporary material things.
Jivatma cannot live without attachment, otherwise one will be like a dead matter.
Because of consciousness we have attachment.
Material attachment causes pain and frustration, will entangle us in this material world.
The same attachment should be dovetailed to great devotees then it will open the door of liberation.
We should be attracted to spiritual beauty which never fades. Those who meditate on Krishna carry Krishna in their heart and become very beautiful. One should be attached to unalloyed devotion to the Lord which attracts Krishna. Pure devotional service even attracts Krishna. Pure devotion is there in the heart of pure devotees.
Every devotee has some purity, which he is using in the service of Krishna. We should be attached to that and that is spiritual attachment.
In our life we have to see where we are putting our attachment.
When we start serving guru, Krishna then we get attached and we will understand that they are our real shelter.
When Kurma Brahman wanted to leave family life thinking it to be too painful then Mahaprabhu said that do not leave home but chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra offensively and along with that share the Krishna Conscious knowledge with all –yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa/āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa