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Canto 11 · General History · 31 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.2.38

Who is speaking and story frame

अविद्यमानोऽप्यवभाति हि द्वयो

ध्यातुर्धिया स्वप्नमनोरथौ यथा ।

तत् कर्मसङ्कल्पविकल्पकं मनो

बुधो निरुन्ध्यादभयं तत: स्यात् ॥ ३८ ॥

avidyamāno ’py avabhāti hi dvayo

dhyātur dhiyā svapna-manorathau yathā

tat karma-saṅkalpa-vikalpakaṁ mano

budho nirundhyād abhayaṁ tataḥ syāt

Translation

Although the duality of the material world does not ultimately exist, the conditioned soul experiences it as real under the influence of his own conditioned intelligence. This imaginary experience of a world separate from Kṛṣṇa can be compared to the acts of dreaming and desiring. When the conditioned soul dreams at night of something desirable or horrible, or when he daydreams of what he would like to have or avoid, he creates a reality that has no existence beyond his own imagination. The tendency of the mind is to accept and reject various activities based on sense gratification. Therefore an intelligent person should control the mind, restricting it from the illusion of seeing things separate from Kṛṣṇa, and when the mind is thus controlled he will experience actual fearlessness.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Steady the Mind Through Devotion

  1. 1

    The illusion is to experience a world separate from Kṛṣṇa, like a reality imagined in a dream. The soul remains spiritual but imagines itself to be a material creation.

  2. 2

    Control of the mind is a result of steady devotional service. Rather than accepting and rejecting things for sense enjoyment, we should act for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, the eternal master of every living entity.

  3. 3

    Hearing and chanting the Lord’s holy names and submissively hearing His instructions help overcome material illusion. This devotional life requires the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.

Key points from the purport
  • Although the conditioned mind is bewildered by the objects of sense gratification offered by māyā, illusion, if one takes to the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord such material sense gratification gradually dissipates, for it is merely a mental concoction of the conditioned soul.
  • Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has emphasized by the words avyabhicāriṇī bhakti that one cannot dissipate the illusion of material sense gratification unless one takes to the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord.
  • If one desires to subdue the mind, which is constantly engaged in the duality of mental concoction, one must take to the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 11.2.38 quotesBG 9.2

The actual pratyakṣa is described in Bhagavad-gītā (9.2): When one submissively hears the instructions given by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā, which constitute the king of all knowledge (rāja-vidyā) and the most confidential of all information (rāja-guhyam), by associating with such spotless spiritual knowledge (pavitram idam uttamam) one can directly experience one’s eternal nature (pratyakṣāvagamam).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Foreboding → Devotional urgency. Uddhava realizes that Kṛṣṇa's visible association is nearing an end.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 11: The Yadu curse, the nine Yogendras and farewell signs. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Mahārāja Nimi Meets the Nine Yogendras

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Whatever one does with his body, mind, words, intelligence, consciousness, senses and natural proclivities should all be offered to Lord Nārāyaṇa. Living entities averse to the Lord’s lotus feet come under the control of the Lord’s illusory energy, māyā.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. avidyamānaḥnot present in reality
  2. apialthough
  3. avabhātiis manifest
  4. hiindeed
  5. dvayaḥduality
  6. dhyātuḥof the person experiencing
  7. dhiyāby the intelligence
  8. svapnaa dream
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.2

    In this verse: “illusion”, “sense gratification”, “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 11.2

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 11.2

    In this verse: “fearlessness”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where is my mind seeking enjoyment apart from Kṛṣṇa, and how could I redirect it toward His satisfaction?

Practice

Spend two minutes chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, listening carefully to the holy names rather than following the mind’s changing desires.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySteady the Mind Through DevotionThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 11.2.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.