The Blessings of the Sound Incarnation of Lord Krishna

Dear Vaishnavas,
Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

In the 3rd chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam 1st Canto, various incarnations of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna are briefly mentioned. The significant point to note is that at the end of description of all the incarnations including the incarnator Sri Krishna, Srimad Bhagavatam is also mentioned as one of the incarnations of Krishna. This is an important point to note because we easily accept the personal form of Krishna's incarnations such as Rama, Nrsimha, etc but do not give due importance to His literary incarnation. Unless we put our heads into the literary incarnation and try to seriously study the various incarnations of the Supreme Lord, His devotees and their instructions through the transcendental sound vibration, we will not be able to understand the intricate knowledge of the Supreme Lord.

In SB 1.3.40 Srila Suta Goswami very beautifully says,

idaṁ bhāgavataṁ nāma purāṇaṁ brahma-sammitam
uttama-śloka-caritaṁ cakāra bhagavān ṛṣiḥ
niḥśreyasāya lokasya dhanyaṁ svasty-ayanaṁ mahat

This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is compiled by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect.

In the word-word equivalents, Srila Prabhupada has translated brahma-sammitam as "Incarnation of Lord Sri Krishna". Then in the purport he beautifully writes as follows. "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is therefore non-different from Him. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be worshiped as respectfully as we worship the Lord. Thereby we can derive the ultimate blessings of the Lord through its careful and patient study. As God is all light, all bliss and all perfection, so also is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We can have all the transcendental light of the Supreme Brahman, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, from the recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, provided it is received through the medium of the transparent spiritual master."

Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the point that the most important requirement for getting all the blessings from Srimad Bhagavatam is through its careful and patient study. Many times, we lack this quality. We rush through and skim on the surface while reading. We do not do deep study of this great literature. As a result, the reciprocation from this sound incarnation of Krishna is also likewise. Secondly, the recitation of Srimad Bhagavatam will give all the transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Lord. Recently we had this wonderful experience in Rajkot when Maharaj asked us all to recite the entire 10th canto and we took a few days to finish the chapters. Even without reading the translation or purport, just the simple recitation gave such a pleasing feeling to ourselves as well as those who heard us even for a little while. This is the first installment of Lord Krishna's causeless mercy. 

Srila Prabhupada then concludes this excellent purport thus, "One can derive from the study of the Bhāgavatam all benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the Lord. It carries with it all the transcendental blessings of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa that we can expect from His personal contact."

If we want the transcendental personal blessings of Lord Sri Krishna, the requirement from our side is to do daily recitation of Srimad Bhagavatam and do a careful and patient study of the deep meanings churned out by Srila Prabhupada in his word-word equivalents, translation and purports.

We sincerely pray to the Supreme Lord and our spiritual master to grant us this mercy of reciting and studying Srimad Bhagavatam eternally life after life.

Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Kalacakra Krsna das.