Bhāgavata Dharmas

The Bhāgavata dharmas are “the dharmas (ways of right living) of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa’s devotees”. They are found in Chapter 29 of the 11th Skandha (book) of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa. This is the last and highest teaching that Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa gave to his devotee Uddhava before sending him to Badarikāśrama in the Himālaya.

Uddhava admitted that yoga practice is very hard for people who have not yet mastered their senses. In reply, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa showed him the most direct and easy path: see Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa in all beings, give every action of body, speech and mind to him, and bow down before every creature as a form of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa declared that these dharmas, when practised with śraddhā (faith), are guṇātīta: beyond the three guṇas (the three basic qualities of nature). For this reason they can never create binding karma, and they never fade away.

The Setting: Uddhava’s Question

Uddhava had already received the whole teaching known as the Uddhava Gītā. It covered sāṅkhya (the analysis of reality), yoga, bhakti (devotion), jñāna (knowledge), varṇāśrama-dharma (the duties of one’s social role and stage of life), the method of pūjā, and the deepest teachings of Vedānta. Then Uddhava turned to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa with one last question. For people whose senses are not yet fully controlled and whose minds are not yet steady, the strict path of yoga is extremely hard. What direct, easy means can lead even such a person to mokṣa?

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa answered with the Bhāgavata dharmas. These are the special dharmas of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa’s devotees. They need no special qualification, and when practised sincerely they cut the very root of saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death).

The Heart of the Practice: Seeing Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa in All Beings

The most basic Bhāgavata dharma is this: the sādhaka (spiritual seeker) should see Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa as the ātman (inner self) of every creature. This is not meant as a mere idea. It is a living awareness carried into every action.

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa taught:

• See him in all beings with the mind, remember him in the citta (the heart and memory), and let the mind be filled with love for his dharmas.
• Little by little, do every action, whatever it may be, for his sake alone.
• Go to the places where his devotees, those who have realised him, have lived and acted, and take shelter in those holy places.

Honouring All Beings by Bowing Down

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said that the sādhaka should not make distinctions of high and low based on the body. Putting aside all worldly embarrassment, even if one’s own relatives laugh, the devotee should offer full prostration (sāṣṭāṅga-namaskāra) before every creature: before dogs, before people thought to be of low birth, before cows, before donkeys, before all living beings. For those who cannot literally lie down before them, the same act is done by giving food and care.

“One who sees me in all beings, and honours all beings as my forms, will quickly lose the four great faults: rivalry with equals, envy of the great, contempt for those below, and pride. These fade away because their root, the sense of a separate self, is being faced directly in practice.”

Festivals and Public Service of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa

The Bhāgavata dharma also includes:

• Holding great utsavas (festivals) for Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, alone or with others, on holy days and at public gatherings.
• Including in these festivals singing (gāyana), dance (nṛtya), artistic performances and royal honours offered to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, such as the chattra (parasol) and cāmara (fan made of yak-tail).
• Such public celebrations purify everyone who takes part and spread Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa’s presence out into the community.

The Goal: Seeing Brahman Everywhere

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa described how the practice grows. As the sādhaka goes on seeing Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa in all beings and honouring all beings as his forms, a time comes when this seeing is no longer an effort. It becomes a direct and constant experience. Then:

• Everything is seen as Brahman (the supreme reality).
• All doubt disappears completely.
• All binding karma falls away.
• The sādhaka reaches jīvanmukti, liberation while still living in the body.

“Seeing me in all beings, and honouring all beings as my forms through the actions of body, speech and mind: this is the most perfect of all the means I have taught. This is my final conclusion.”

Bhāgavata Dharma Is Beyond the Guṇas

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa declared that this practice, niṣkāma upāsanā (selfless devotion) to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa by seeing him in all beings, never fades once it has begun. Because it is guṇātīta, it is not caught in the cycle of sattva, rajas and tamas (the three guṇas) that rules all ordinary action. Even a small effort, even one moment of true seeing, can never be lost. Progress made in this direction cannot be undone.

Even an act that seems like defeat or suffering becomes dharma if it is offered to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.

“Whatever a person does, whether running from fear, weeping in grief, or any action that simply happens, if it is offered to me without desire for its result, it is dharma.”

The Close of the Teaching

After giving these Bhāgavata dharmas, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa summed up the whole Uddhava Gītā. He said he had given Uddhava the complete essence of all Vedānta, both in short and in full. Whoever hears this holy dialogue with growing śraddhā reaches the highest bhakti for Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and is no longer bound by karma.

He then told Uddhava not to share this teaching with those who are hypocritical, who reject faith (nāstikas), who are deceitful, or who have no bhakti. But it should be given freely to the devoted brāhmaṇa, to the śūdra who has bhakti, to women, and to anyone who sincerely longs for mokṣa.

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa ended by saying that whoever hears this and gives up to him all action, and even the very sense of being the doer, becomes supremely dear to him. Such a person gains amṛtatva (immortality, that is, jīvanmukti) and becomes fit for final union with him.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 11th Skandha, Chapter 29