Question: In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, there is Catuhślokī Bhāgavatam, which is spoken by the Lord Himself (SB 2.9.33–36). Was it spoken by the Lord on the first day (kalpa) of Lord Brahmā, or during the present kalpa?
Answer: On the first day of Brahmā.
Question: Do Sanatkumāra, Lord Śiva, and Śrī Nārada Muni take birth in every kalpa?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Are mother Sarasvatī and mother Gāyatrī two wives of Lord Brahmā?
Answer: Yes.
Question: In the Brahma-saṁhitā, we read that Lord Brahmā received kāma-gāyatrī from mother Sarasvatī.
Answer: There is also Sarasvatī in the spiritual world.
Question: In Bhāgavatam 3.12 28, are Vak (daughter of Lord Brahmā) and mother Sarasvatī the same person?
Answer: Sometimes they are described as the same and sometimes as different personalities. There are differences in the stories because they belong to different creation cycles. Creation cycles have no beginning. The stories from different kalpas are also merged and thus described as one cycle. The most important aspect is the teaching conveyed through stories. The teaching is the same but told in many ways. That is why the stories also vary from one Purāṇa to another.
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Question: I’ve come across conflicting statements and thought to write you for clarity.
Although Brahmā is a post, meaning many persons may fill that post, is there only one such person in each universe during its duration? Are there times when a Brahmā is liberated during the manifestation of that universe, and another fills the post of Brahmā?
Answer: Brahmā stays for his complete span of life. He is not liberated before that. For this reference, please refer to Vedanta Sutra 3.3.33—yāvad-adhikāram avasthitirīdhikāriṇām and also SB 12.4.5, which states that Brahmā stays for a period of dvi-parardha (his complete lifespan). There is only one person qualified for this post in a particular brahmāṇḍa. If there are more than one, they would be made in-charge in another brahmāṇḍa. When no one is qualified to take up the post, then Viṣṇu Himself accepts the post. When you read statements in some other texts that Viṣṇū manifestfrom Brahmā or Śiva, then it is to be understood that the specific Brahmā or Śiva is none other than Viṣṇu. In their unrestricted sense (mukta-pragraha nyāya) the words Brahmā and Śiva refer to Viṣṇu. But their popular meanings refer to the guṇavatāras of rajas and tamas.
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Question: Who is Lord Śiva, and how did he manifest? What is his relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa? Who’s superior in tattva?
Answer: Please read the Twelfth Chapter of the Third Canto of the Bhāgavata.
Question: It says that Rudra was born out of the wrath of Brahmā. I have also heard other things about his origin; for example, He’s svayambhu, or in a different time period, he appeared first and expanded into Viṣṇu and Brahmā (ŚivaPurāṇa). I also read that Nārāyaṇa and Śiva are like milk and curd. Which version is correct?
Answer: We accept the Śrīmad Bhāgavata version. However, if you want to understand the true meaning of the statements that differ from the Bhāgavata description, then you have to study them in proper context. You did not give any references to your different descriptions, so I cannot comment on them.
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Question: Only the Lord retains the two insignia of Śrīvatsa and Kaustubha. Śrīvatsa represents the consort of Lord, Śrī Lakṣmī Devī, the Goddess of Happiness. How can Lakṣmī Devī be understood in relation to Rādhārāṇī?
Answer: Rādhārāṇī is Mahālakṣmī.
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Question: In Bhagavat Sandarbha, four types of sannyāsīs are mentioned. The most complete type is the paramahaṁsa. Can you explain the difference between a jñānī-paramahaṁsa and a bhāgavata-paramahaṁsa?
Answer: Jñānī-paramahaṁsa means a sannyāsī following Advaitavāda, like Śaṅkarācārya. Bhāgavata-paramahaṁsameans a devotee sannyāsī, like the Gosvāmīs of Vrindavan.
