The Brāhmaṇa Sudāmā Visits Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments herein that we see many persons who, even after hearing the topics of the Lord repeatedly, give up their spiritual dedication. The ācārya replies that the word viśeṣa-jña is therefore significant here. Those who have actually understood the essence of life do not give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A further qualification is to be viṣaṇṇaḥ kāma-mārgaṇaiḥ, disgusted with material sense gratification. These two qualities are complementary. One who has experienced the real taste of Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically becomes disgusted with the inferior taste of material pleasure. Such a genuine hearer of the topics of Kṛṣṇa cannot give up hearing about the Lord’s fascinating pastimes.

While continuing from the previous verse to glorify the sense of hearing dedicated to the Lord, King Parīkṣit mentions the other senses also, so that we gain a complete picture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Here he declares that without any connection to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, all the organs of the body become useless. A similar statement is made by Śaunaka Ṛṣi in the Second Canto, Third Chapter, verses 20 to 24.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī mentions that the senses should work together in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In other words, whatever the eyes or the ears experience, the mind should simply remember Kṛṣṇa, who is within all things.

Sudāmā’s chaste wife was also poorly dressed, and whatever food she obtained she gave to her husband. Thus she remained fatigued from hunger.

According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, the chaste lady was especially unhappy because she could not obtain food to feed her husband. Further, she was fearful to approach her husband because she knew that he did not want to beg for anything other than devotion to the Supreme Lord.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains in his commentary how the brāhmaṇa’s wife anticipated every possible objection her husband might make to her request that he go to Lord Kṛṣṇa to beg charity. If the brāhmaṇa might say, “How could the husband of the goddess of fortune befriend a fallen soul like myself?” she replies by saying that Lord Kṛṣṇa is brahmaṇya, very favorably disposed toward the brāhmaṇas. If Sudāmā might claim to have no real devotion for the Lord, she replies by saying that he is a great and wise personality who would surely obtain the shelter and mercy of the Lord. If the brāhmaṇa might object that Lord Kṛṣṇa is equally disposed to all the countless unhappy conditioned souls suffering the fruits of their own karma, she replies that Lord Kṛṣṇa is especially the Lord of the devotees, and thus even if He Himself did not grant Sudāmā His mercy, certainly the devotees engaged in serving the Lord would mercifully give him some charity. Since the Lord protects the Sātvatas, the members of the Yadu dynasty, what difficulty would there be for Him to protect a humble brāhmaṇa like Sudāmā, and what fault would there be in His doing so?

The brāhmaṇa’s wife here implies that since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ruler of the Bhojas, Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, if these opulent rulers merely acknowledge Sudāmā as a personal friend of Kṛṣṇa’s, they could give him everything he required.

In this connection Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments that since Lord Kṛṣṇa had at this point put aside His weapons, He no longer traveled outside His own capital of Dvārakā. Thus Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “[The brāhmaṇa’s wife said: ] ‘I have heard that He never leaves His capital city, Dvārakā. He is living there without outside engagements.’”

As mentioned here, material wealth and sense gratification are not very desirable. The reason for this is that in the long run they give no real satisfaction. Still, Sudāmā’s wife thought, even if Sudāmā went to Dvārakā and simply remained silent before the Lord, He would certainly give him abundant wealth, as well as shelter at His lotus feet, which was Sudāmā’s real objective.

Sudāmā was naturally humble, and thus although at first he was dissatisfied with his wife’s proposal, finally he settled his mind and decided to go. Now the last detail was that he had to take a gift for his friend.

Among other things, Sudāmā assumed that the gatekeepers would stop him.

When the saintly brāhmaṇa entered the precincts of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s palaces and then actually entered one of the palaces, he completely forgot everything else, and thus his state of mind is compared to that of one who has just achieved the bliss of spiritual liberation. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes from the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, wherein we learn that the brāhmaṇa actually entered the palace of Rukmiṇī: sa tu rukmiṇy-antaḥ-pura-dvāri kṣaṇaṁ tūṣṇīṁ sthitaḥ. “He stood for a moment in silence at the doorway of Queen Rukmiṇī’s palace.”

Among civilized human beings, the question of āśrama, or spiritual order, is significant. In other words, every human being must execute prescribed duties as a celibate student, a married man or woman, a retired person or a renunciant. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa could see that the brāhmaṇa was poorly dressed, He inquired if His friend had been properly married and was executing the duties of household life. Since he was not dressed as a renunciant, he would be without a suitable āśrama unless he were properly married.

Lord Kṛṣṇa here reveals that in fact He was well aware of His friend’s situation. Sudāmā was actually learned and spiritually advanced, and therefore he was not interested in ordinary sense gratification, as is the common man.

One’s father is a natural object of reverence, as is a religious leader who initiates one into sacred ceremonies and instructs one in general wisdom. But ultimately the bona fide spiritual master, learned in the transcendental science and thus able to take one across the ocean of birth and death to the spiritual world — such a guru is most deserving of worship and respect, for he is the direct representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as stated here.

The word prajāti here indicates either begetting good children or the second birth obtained by ritual initiation into Vedic culture. Although both of these are praiseworthy, Lord Kṛṣṇa here states that faithful service rendered to a bona fide spiritual master is still higher.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that this storm arose during winter and was therefore unseasonal.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī points out that the verb paribabhrima may be understood to be the prefix pari with either the verb bhṛ or bhram. In the case of bhram, it indicates that Kṛṣṇa and Sudāmā wandered all about, and in the case of bhṛ, which means “to carry,” it indicates that as the two young boys wandered about, they continued to carry the firewood they had secured for their spiritual master.

One engages one’s body to realize one’s purposes. The body is also the basis of the material conception of “I,” while one’s fortune is the basis of the conception of “mine.” Thus by offering everything to the spiritual master, one realizes one’s self to be an eternal servant of the Lord. The spiritual master does not exploit the disciple but rather engages him fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the disciple’s eternal benefit.

Cooked food left sitting for three hours is called yāta-yāma, indicating that it has lost its taste, and similarly if a devotee does not remain fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the transcendental knowledge that once inspired him on the spiritual path will lose its “taste,” or meaning, for him. Thus Sāndīpani Muni blesses his disciples that the Vedic mantras, which reveal the Absolute Truth, will never lose their meaning for them but will remain ever fresh in their minds.

Sudāmā Brāhmaṇa wisely understands his extraordinary good fortune of having lived with Śrī Kṛṣṇa at the residence of their spiritual master. Thus whatever external difficulties they experienced were actually an expression of the Lord’s mercy, to teach the importance of service to the spiritual master.

Śrīla Prabhupāda renders the learned brāhmaṇa’s feelings as follows: “[Sudāmā said:] ‘My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are the Supreme Lord and the supreme spiritual master of everyone, and since I was fortunate enough to live with You in the house of our guru, I think I have nothing more to do in the matter of prescribed Vedic duties.’”