Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Canto, Chapter Two

The Lord in the Heart

Translation and Purports

TEXT 1
śrī-śuka uvāca
evaṁ purā dhāraṇayātma-yonir
naṣṭāṁ smṛtiṁ pratyavarudhya tuṣṭāt
tathā sasarjedam amogha-dṛṣṭir
yathāpyayāt prāg vyavasāya-buddhiḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam—just in the same
way; purā—prior to the manifestation of the cosmos; dhāraṇayā—by
such a conception; ātma-yoniḥ—of Brahmājī; naṣṭām—lost; smṛtim—re-
membrance; pratyavarudhya—by regaining consciousness; tuṣṭāt—be-
cause of appeasing the Lord; tathā—thereafter; sasarja—created;
idam—this material world; amogha-dṛṣṭiḥ—one who has attained clear
vision; yathā—as; apyayāt—created; prāk—as formerly; vyavasāya—as-
certained; buddhiḥ—intelligence.

TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Formerly, prior to the manifesta-
tion of the cosmos, Lord Brahmā, by meditating on the virāṭ-rū-
pa, regained his lost consciousness by appeasing the Lord. Thus
he was able to rebuild the creation as it was before.

PURPORT
The example cited herein of Śrī Brahmājī is one of forgetfulness.
Brahmājī is the incarnation of one of the mundane attributes of the
Lord. Being the incarnation of the passion mode of material nature,
he is empowered by the Lord to generate the beautiful material mani-
festation. Yet due to his being one of the numerous living entities, he
is apt to forget the art of his creative energy. This forgetfulness of the
living being-beginning from Brahmā down to the lowest insignificant
ant-is a tendency which can be counteracted by meditation on the
virāṭ-rūpa of the Lord. This chance is available in the human form of
life, and if a human being follows the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgava-
tam and begins to meditate upon the virāṭ-rūpa, then revival of his
pure consciousness and counteraction of the tendency to forget his
eternal relationship with the Lord can follow simultaneously. And as
soon as this forgetfulness is removed, the vyavasāya-buddhi, as men-
tioned here and in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.41), follows at once. This ascer-
tained knowledge of the living being leads to loving service to the
Lord, which the living being requires. The kingdom of God is unlim-
ited; therefore the number of the assisting hands of the Lord is also
unlimited. The Bhagavad-gītā (13.14) asserts that the Lord has His
hands, legs, eyes and mouths in every nook and corner of His crea-
tion, This means that the expansions of differentiated parts and par-
cels, called jīvas or living entities, are assisting hands of the Lord, and
all of them are meant for rendering a particular pattern of service to
the Lord. The conditioned soul, even in the position of a Brahmā, for-
gets this by the influence of illusory, material energy generated out
of false egoism. One can counteract such false egoism by invoking
God consciousness. Liberation means getting out of the slumber of
forgetfulness and becoming situated in the real loving service of the
Lord, as exemplified in the case of Brahmā. The service of Brahmā is
the sample of service in liberation distinguished from the so-called al-
truistic services full of mistakes and forgetfulness. Liberation is never
inaction, but service without human mistakes.
TEXT 2
śābdasya hi brahmaṇa eṣa panthā
yan nāmabhir dhyāyati dhīr apārthaiḥ
 paribhramaṁs tatra na vindate 'rthān
māyāmaye vāsanayā śayānaḥ
SYNONYMS
śābdasya—of the Vedic sound; hi—certainly; brahmaṇaḥ—of the Vedas;
eṣaḥ—these; panthāḥ—the way; yat—what is; nāmabhiḥ—by different
names; dhyāyati—ponders; dhīḥ—intelligence; apārthaiḥ—by meaning-
less ideas; paribhraman—wandering; tatra—there; na—never; vindate—
enjoys; arthān—realities; māyā-maye—in illusory things; vāsanayā—by
different desires; śayānaḥ—as if dreaming in sleep.

TRANSLATION
The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewilder-
ing that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless
things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover
in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they
do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.

PURPORT
The conditioned soul is always engaged in laying out plans for
happiness within the material world, even up to the end of the uni-
versal limit. He is not even satisfied with available amenities on this
planet earth, where he has exploited the resources of nature to the
best of his ability. He wants to go to the moon or the planet Venus to
exploit resources there. But the Lord has warned us in the Bhagavad-
gītā (8.16) about the worthlessness of all the innumerable planets of
this universe, as well as those planets within other systems. There are
innumerable universes and also innumerable planets in each of them.
But none of them is immune to the chief miseries of material exis-
tence, namely the pangs of birth, the pangs of death, the pangs of old
age and the pangs of disease. The Lord says that even the topmost
planet, known as the Brahmaloka or Satyaloka, (and what to speak of
other planets, like the heavenly planets) is not a happy land for resi-
dential purposes, due to the presence of material pangs, as above
mentioned. Conditioned souls are strictly under the laws of fruitive
activities, and as such they sometimes go up to Brahmaloka and again
come down to Pātālaloka, as if they were unintelligent children on a
merry-go-round. The real happiness is in the kingdom of God, where
no one has to undergo the pangs of material existence. Therefore, the
Vedic ways of fruitive activities for the living entities are misleading.
One thinks of a superior way of life in this country or that, or on this
planet or another, but nowhere in the material world can he fulfill his
real desire of life, namely eternal life, full intelligence and complete
bliss. Indirectly, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī affirms that Mahārāja
Parīkṣit, in the last stage of life, should not desire to transfer himself
to the so-called heavenly planets, but should prepare himself for
going back home, back to Godhead. None of the material planets, nor
the amenities available there for living conditions, is everlasting;
therefore one must have a factual reluctance to enjoy such tempo-
rary happiness as they afford.
TEXT 3
ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvad arthaḥ
syād apramatto vyavasāya-buddhiḥ
siddhe 'nyathārthe na yateta tatra
pariśramaṁ tatra samīkṣamāṇaḥ
SYNONYMS
ataḥ—for this reason; kaviḥ—the enlightened person; nāmasu—in
names only; yāvat—minimum; arthaḥ—necessity; syāt—must be;
apramattaḥ—without being mad after them; vyavasāya-buddhiḥ—intel-
ligently fixed; siddhe—for success; anyathā—otherwise; arthe—in the
interest of; na—should never; yateta—endeavor for; tatra—there; pari-
śramam—laboring hard; tatra—there; samīkṣamāṇaḥ—one who sees
practically.

TRANSLATION
For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only
for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names.
He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwan-
ted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such
endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing.

PURPORT
The bhāgavata-dharma, or the cult of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is per-
fectly distinct from the way of fruitive activities, which are consid-
ered by the devotees to be merely a waste of time. The whole uni-
verse, or for that matter all material existence, is moving on as jagat,
simply for planning business to make one's position very comfortable
or secure, although everyone sees that this existence is neither com-
fortable nor secure and can never become comfortable or secure at
any stage of development. Those who are captivated by the illusory
advancement of material civilization (following the way of phantas-
magoria) are certainly madmen. The whole material creation is a jug-
glery of names only; in fact, it is nothing but a bewildering creation of
matter like earth, water and fire. The buildings, furniture, cars, bun-
galows, mills, factories, industries, peace, war or even the highest per-
fection of material science, namely atomic energy and electronics,
are all simply bewildering names of material elements with their con-
comitant reactions of the three modes. Since the devotee of the Lord
knows them perfectly well, he is not interested in creating unwanted
things for a situation which is not at all reality, but simply names of
no more significance than the babble of sea waves. The great kings,
leaders and soldiers fight with one another in order to perpetuate
their names in history. They are forgotten in due course of time, and
they make a place for another era in history. But the devotee realizes
how much history and historical persons are useless products of flick-
ering time. The fruitive worker aspires after a big fortune in the mat-
ter of wealth, woman and worldly adoration, but those who are fixed
in perfect reality are not at all interested in such false things. For
them it is all a waste of time. Since every second of human life is im-
portant, an enlightened man should be very careful to utilize time
very cautiously. One second of human life wasted in the vain research
of planning for happiness in the material world can never be re-
placed, even if one spends millions of coins of gold. Therefore, the
transcendentalist desiring freedom from the clutches of māyā, or the
illusory activities of life, is warned herewith not to be captivated by
the external features of fruitive actors. Human life is never meant for
sense gratification, but for self-realization. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in-
structs us solely on this subject from the very beginning to the end.
Human life is simply meant for self-realization. The civilization which
aims at this utmost perfection never indulges in creating unwanted
things, and such a perfect civilization prepares men only to accept
the bare necessities of life or to follow the principle of the best use of
a bad bargain. Our material bodies and our lives in that connection
are bad bargains because the living entity is actually spirit, and spiri-
tual advancement of the living entity is absolutely necessary. Human
life is intended for the realization of this important factor, and one
should act accordingly, accepting only the bare necessities of life and
depending more on God's gift without diversion of human energy for
any other purpose, such as being mad for material enjoyment. The
materialistic advancement of civilization is called "the civilization of
the demons," which ultimately ends in wars and scarcity. The tran-
scendentalist is specifically warned herewith to be fixed in mind, so
that even if there is difficulty in plain living and high thinking he will
not budge even an inch from his stark determination. For a transcen-
dentalist, it is a suicidal policy to be intimately in touch with the
sense gratifiers of the world, because such a policy will frustrate the
ultimate gain of life. Śukadeva Gosvāmī met Mahārāja Parīkṣit when
the latter felt a necessity for such a meeting. It is the duty of a tran-
scendentalist to help persons who desire real salvation and to sup-
port the cause of salvation. One might note that Śukadeva Gosvāmī
never met Mahārāja Parīkṣit while he was ruling as a great king. For a
transcendentalist, the mode of activities is explained in the next śloka.
TEXT 4
satyāṁ kṣitau kiṁ kaśipoḥ prayāsair
 bāhau svasiddhe hy upabarhaṇaiḥ kim
saty añjalau kiṁ purudhānna-pātryā
dig-valkalādau sati kiṁ dukūlaiḥ
SYNONYMS
satyām—being in possession; kṣitau—earthly flats; kim—where is the
necessity; kaśipoḥ—of beds and cots; prayāsaiḥ—endeavoring for; bā-
hau—the arms; sva-siddhe—being self-sufficient; hi—certainly;
upabarhaṇaiḥ—bed and bedstead; kim—what is the use; sati—being
present; añjalau—the palms of the hands; kim—what is the use; purud-
hā—varieties of; anna—eatables; pātryā—by the utensils; dik—open
space; valkala-ādau—skins of trees; sati—being existent; kim—what is
the use of; dukūlaiḥ—clothes.

TRANSLATION
When there are ample earthly flats to lie on, what is the ne-
cessity of cots and beds? When one can use his own arms, what is
the necessity of a pillow? When one can use the palms of his
hands, what is the necessity of varieties of utensils? When there
is ample covering, or the skins of trees, what is the necessity of
clothing?

PURPORT
The necessities of life for the protection and comfort of the body
must not be unnecessarily increased. Human energy is spoiled in a
vain search after such illusory happiness. If one is able to lie down on
the floor, then why should one endeavor to get a good bedstead or
soft cushion to lie on? If one can rest without any pillow and make
use of the soft arms endowed by nature, there is no necessity of
searching after a pillow. If we make a study of the general life of the
animals, we can see that they have no intelligence for building big
houses, furniture, and other household paraphernalia, and yet they
maintain a healthy life by lying down on the open land. They do not
know how to cook or prepare foodstuff, yet they still live healthy
lives more easily than the human being. This does not mean that hu-
man civilization should revert to animal life or that the human being
should live naked in the jungles without any culture, education and
sense of morality. An intelligent human cannot live the life of an ani-
mal; rather, man should try to utilize his intelligence in arts and sci-
ence, poetry and philosophy. In such a way he can further the pro-
gressive march of human civilization. But here the idea given by Śrīla
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is that the reserve energy of human life, which is
far superior to that of animals, should simply he utilized for self-real-
ization. Advancement of human civilization must be towards the goal
of establishing our lost relationship with God, which is not possible in
any form of life other than the human. One must realize the nullity of
the material phenomenon, considering it a passing phantasmagoria,
and must endeavor to make a solution to the miseries of life. Self-
complacence with a polished type of animal civilization geared to
sense gratification is delusion, and such a "civilization" is not worthy
of the name. In pursuit of such false activities, a human being is in the
clutches of māyā, or illusion. Great sages and saints in the days of yore
were not living in palatial buildings furnished with good furniture
and so-called amenities of life. They used to live in huts and groves
and sit on the flat ground, and yet they have left immense treasures
of high knowledge with all perfection. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla
Sanātana Gosvāmī were high-ranking ministers of state, but they
were able to leave behind them immense writings on transcendental
knowledge, while residing only for one night underneath one tree.
They did not live even two nights under the same tree, and what to
speak of well-furnished rooms with modern amenities. And still they
were able to give us most important literatures of self-realization. So-
called comforts of life are not actually helpful for progressive civiliza-
tion; rather, they are detrimental to such progressive life. In the sys-
tem of sanātana-dharma, of four divisions of social life and four orders
of progressive realization, there are ample opportunities and suffi-
cient directions for a happy termination of the progressive life, and
the sincere followers are advised therein to accept a voluntary life of
renunciation in order to achieve the desired goal of life. If one is not
accustomed to abiding by the life of renunciation and self-abnegation
from the beginning, one should try to get into the habit at a later
stage of life as recommended by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and that
will help one to achieve the desired success.
TEXT 5
cīrāṇi kiṁ pathi na santi diśanti bhikṣāṁ
naivāṅghripāḥ para-bhṛtaḥ sarito 'py aśuṣyan
ruddhā guhāḥ kim ajito 'vati nopasannān
kasmād bhajanti kavayo dhana-durmadāndhān
SYNONYMS
cīrāṇi—torn clothes; kim—whether; pathi—on the road; na—not; santi—
there is; diśanti—give in charity; bhikṣām—alms; na—not; eva—also;
aṅghripāḥ—the trees; para-bhṛtaḥ—one who maintains others; saritaḥ—
the rivers; api—also; aśuṣyan—have dried up; ruddhāḥ—closed; guhāḥ—
caves; kim—whether; ajitaḥ—the Almighty Lord; avati—give protec-
tion; na—not; upasannān—the surrendered soul; kasmāt—what for,
then; bhajanti—flatters; kavayaḥ—the learned; dhana—wealth; durma-
da-andhān—too intoxicated by.

TRANSLATION
Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the
trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in
charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to
the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed, or, above
all, does the Almighty Lord not protect the fully surrendered
souls? Why then do the learned sages go to flatter those who are
intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?

PURPORT
The renounced order of life is never meant for begging or living
at the cost of others as a parasite. According to the dictionary, a para-
site is a sycophant who lives at the cost of society without making
any contribution to that society. The renounced order is meant for
contributing something substantial to society and not depending on
the earnings of the householders. On the contrary, acceptance of
alms from the householders by the bona fide mendicant is an oppor-
tunity afforded by the saint for the tangible benefit of the donor. In
the sanātana-dharma institution, alms-giving to the mendicant is part
of a householder's duty, and it is advised in the scriptures that the
householders should treat the mendicants as their family children
and should provide them with food, clothing, etc., without being
asked. Pseudo-mendicants, therefore, should not take advantage of
the charitable disposition of the faithful householders. The first duty
of a person in the renounced order of life is to contribute some liter-
ary work for the benefit of the human being in order to give him real-
ized direction toward self-realization. Amongst the other duties in
the renounced order of life of Śrīla Sanātana, Śrīla Rūpa and the other
Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, the foremost duty discharged by them was
to hold learned discourses amongst themselves at Sevākuñja,
Vṛndāvana (the spot where Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara Temple was estab-
lished by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and where the actual samādhi tombs of
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī are laid). For the benefit of
all in human society, they left behind them immense literatures of
transcendental importance. Similarly, all the ācāryas who voluntarily
accepted the renounced order of life aimed at benefiting human soci-
ety and not at living a comfortable or irresponsible life at the cost of
others. However, those who cannot give any contribution should not
go to the householders for food, for such mendicants asking bread
from the householders are an insult to the highest order. Śukadeva
Gosvāmī gave this warning especially for those mendicants who
adopt this line of profession to solve their economic problems. Such
mendicants are in abundance in the age of Kali. When a man becomes
a mendicant willfully or by circumstances, he must be of firm faith
and conviction that the Supreme Lord is the maintainer of all living
beings everywhere in the universe. Why, then, would He neglect the
maintenance of a surrendered soul who is cent percent engaged in
the service of the Lord? A common master looks to the necessities of
his servant, so how much more would the all-powerful, all-opulent
Supreme Lord look after the necessities of life for a fully surrendered
soul. The general rule is that a mendicant devotee will accept a sim-
ple small loincloth without asking anyone to give it in charity. He
simply salvages it from the rejected torn cloth thrown in the street.
When he is hungry he may go to a magnanimous tree which drops
fruits, and when he is thirsty he may drink water from the flowing
river. He does not require to live in a comfortable house, but should
find a cave in the hills and not be afraid of jungle animals, keeping
faith in God, who lives in everyone's heart. The Lord may dictate to ti-
gers and other jungle animals not to disturb His devotee. Haridāsa
Ṭhākura, a great devotee of Lord Śrī Caitanya, used to live in such a
cave, and by chance a great venomous snake was a co-partner of the
cave. Some admirer of Ṭhākura Haridāsa who had to visit the Ṭhākura
every day feared the snake and suggested that the Ṭhākura leave that
place. Because his devotees were afraid of the snake and they were
regularly visiting the cave, Ṭhākura Haridāsa agreed to the proposal
on their account. But as soon as this was settled, the snake actually
crawled out of its hole in the cave and left the cave for good before
everyone present. By the dictation of the Lord, who lived also within
the heart of the snake, the snake gave preference to Haridāsa and de-
cided to leave the place and not disturb him. So this is a tangible ex-
ample of how the Lord gives protection to a bona fide devotee like
Ṭhākura Haridāsa. According to the regulations of the sanātana-dhar-
ma institution, one is trained from the beginning to depend fully on
the protection of the Lord in all circumstances. The path of renuncia-
tion is recommended for acceptance by one who is fully accom-
plished and fully purified in his existence. This stage is described also
in the Bhagavad-gītā (16.5) as daivī sampat. A human being is required
to accumulate daivī sampat, or spiritual assets; otherwise, the next al-
ternative, āsurī sampat, or material assets, will overcome him dispro-
portionately, and thus one will be forced into the entanglement of
different miseries of the material world. A sannyāsī should always live
alone, without company, and he must be fearless. He should never be
afraid of living alone, although he is never alone. The Lord is residing
in everyone's heart, and unless one is purified by the prescribed proc-
ess, one will feel that he is alone. But a man in the renounced order of
life must be purified by the process; thus he will feel the presence of
the Lord everywhere and will have nothing to fear (such as being
without any company). Everyone can become a fearless and honest
person if his very existence is purified by discharging the prescribed
duty for each and every order of life. One can become fixed in one's
prescribed duty by faithful aural reception of Vedic instructions and
assimilation of the essence of Vedic knowledge by devotional service
to the Lord.
TEXT 6
evaṁ sva-citte svata eva siddha
ātmā priyo 'rtho bhagavān anantaḥ
taṁ nirvṛto niyatārtho bhajeta
saṁsāra-hetūparamaś ca yatra
SYNONYMS
evam—thus; sva-citte—in one's own heart; svataḥ—by His omnipo-
tency; eva—certainly; siddhaḥ—fully represented; ātmā—the Super-
soul; priyaḥ—very dear; arthaḥ—substance; bhagavān—the Supreme
Personality of Godhead; anantaḥ—the eternal unlimited; tam—unto
Him; nirvṛtaḥ—being detached from the world; niyata—permanent;
arthaḥ—the supreme gain; bhajeta—one must worship; saṁsāra-hetu—
the cause of the conditioned state of existence; uparamaḥ—cessation;
ca—certainly; yatra—in which.

TRANSLATION
Thus being fixed, one must render service unto the Super-
soul situated in one's own heart by His omnipotency. Because He
is the Almighty Personality of Godhead, eternal and unlimited,
He is the ultimate goal of life, and by worshiping Him one can
end the cause of the conditioned state of existence.

PURPORT
As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61), the Supreme Personality of
Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the all-pervading omnipresent Supersoul. There-
fore one who is a yogī can worship only Him because He is the sub-
stance and not illusion. Every living creature is engaging in the serv-
ice of something else. A living being's constitutional position is to
render service, but in the atmosphere of māyā, or illusion, or the con-
ditional state of existence, the conditioned soul seeks the service of il-
lusion. A conditioned soul works in the service of his temporary body,
bodily relatives like the wife and children, and the necessary para-
phernalia for maintaining the body and bodily relations, such as the
house, land, wealth, society and country, but he does not know that
all such renderings of service are totally illusory. As we have dis-
cussed many times before, this material world is itself an illusion, like
a mirage in the desert. In the desert there is an illusion of water, and
the foolish animals become entrapped by such an illusion and run
after water in the desert, although there is no water at all. But be-
cause there is no water in the desert, one does not conclude that
there is no water at all. The intelligent person knows well that there
is certainly water, water in the seas and oceans, but such vast reser-
voirs of water are far, far away from the desert. One should therefore
search for water in the vicinity of seas and oceans and not in the des-
ert. Every one of us is searching after real happiness in life, namely
eternal life, eternal or unlimited knowledge and unending blissful
life. But foolish people who have no knowledge of the substance
search after the reality of life in the illusion. This material body does
not endure eternally, and everything in relation with this temporary
body, such as the wife, children, society and country, also changes
along with the change of body. This is called saṁsāra, or repetition of
birth, death, old age and disease. We would like to find a solution for
all these problems of life, but we do not know the way. Herein it is
suggested that anyone who wants to make an end to these miseries of
life, namely repetition of birth, death, disease, and old age, must take
to this process of worshiping the Supreme Lord and not others, as it
is also ultimately suggested in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.65). If we at all
want to end the cause of our conditioned life, we must take to the
worship of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is present in everyone's heart by His
natural affection for all living beings, who are actually the parts and
parcels of the Lord (Bg. 18.61). The baby in the lap of his mother is
naturally attached to the mother, and the mother is attached to the
child. But when the child grows up and becomes overwhelmed by cir-
cumstances, he gradually becomes detached from the mother,
although the mother always expects some sort of service from the
grown-up child and is equally affectionate toward her child, even
though the child is forgetful. Similarly, because we are all part and
parcel of the Lord, the Lord is always affectionate to us, and He al-
ways tries to get us back home, back to Godhead. But we, the condi-
tioned souls, do not care for Him and run instead after the illusory
bodily connections. We must therefore extricate ourselves from all il-
lusory connections of the world and seek reunion with the Lord, try-
ing to render service unto Him because He is the ultimate truth. Ac-
tually we are hankering after Him as the child seeks the mother. And
to search out the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we need not go
anywhere else, because the Lord is within our hearts. This does not
suggest, however, that we should not go to the places of worship,
namely the temples, churches and mosques. Such holy places of wor-
ship are also occupied by the Lord because the Lord is omnipresent.
For the common man these holy places are centers of learning about
the science of God. When the temples are devoid of activities, the peo-
ple in general become uninterested in such places, and consequently
the mass of people gradually become godless, and a godless civiliza-
tion is the result. Such a hellish civilization artificially increases the
conditions of life, and existence becomes intolerable for everyone.
The foolish leaders of a godless civilization try to devise various plans
to bring about peace and prosperity in the godless world under a pat-
ent trademark of materialism, and because such attempts are illusory
only, the people elect incompetent, blind leaders, one after another,
who are incapable of offering solutions. If we want at all to end this
anomaly of a godless civilization, we must follow the principles of re-
vealed scriptures like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and follow the instruc-
tion of a person like Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī who has no attraction for
material gain.
TEXT 7
kas tāṁ tv anādṛtya parānucintām
ṛte paśūn asatīṁ nāma kuryāt
paśyañ janaṁ patitaṁ vaitaraṇyāṁ
sva-karmajān paritāpāñ juṣāṇam
SYNONYMS
kaḥ—who else; tām—that; tu—but; anādṛtya—by neglecting; para-anu-
cintām—transcendental thoughts; ṛte—without; paśūn—the material-
ists; asatīm—in the nonpermanent; nāma—name; kuryāt—will adopt;
paśyan—seeing definitely; janam—the general mass of people; pati-
tam—fallen; vaitaraṇyām—in Vaitaraṇī, the river of suffering; sva-kar-
ma-jān—produced from one's own work; paritāpān—suffering;
juṣāṇam—being overtaken by.

TRANSLATION
Who else but the gross materialists will neglect such tran-
scendental thought and take to the nonpermanent names only,
seeing the mass of people fallen in the river of suffering as the
consequence of accruing the result of their own work?

PURPORT
In the Vedas it is said that persons who are attached to demigods
to the exclusion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are like the
animals who follow the herdsman even though they are taken to the
slaughterhouse. The materialists, like animals, also do not know how
they are being misdirected by neglecting the transcendental thought
of the Supreme person. No one can remain vacant of thought. It is
said that an idle brain is a devil's workshop because a person who
cannot think in the right way must think of something which may
bring about disaster. The materialists are always worshiping some mi-
nor demigods, although this is condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20).
As long as a person is illusioned by material gains, he petitions the re-
spective demigods to draw some particular benefit which is, after all,
illusory and nonpermanent. The enlightened transcendentalist is not
captivated by such illusory things; therefore he is always absorbed in
the transcendental thought of the Supreme in different stages of real-
ization, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. In the previous
verse it is suggested that one should think of the Supersoul, which is
one step higher than the impersonal thought of Brahman, as it was
suggested in the case of contemplating the virāṭ-rūpa of the Personal-
ity of Godhead.
Intelligent persons who can see properly may look into the gen-
eral conditions of the living entities who are wandering in the cycle
of the 8,400,000 spieces of life, as well as in different classes of human
beings. It is said that there is an everlasting belt of water called the
River Vaitaraṇī at the entrance of the plutonic planet of Yamarāja,
who punishes sinners in different manners. After being subjected to
such sufferings, a sinner is awarded a particular species of life accord-
ing to his deeds in the past. Such living entities as are punished by Ya-
marāja are seen in different varieties of conditioned life. Some of
them are in heaven, and some of them are in hell. Some of them are
brāhmaṇas, and some of them are misers. But no one is happy in this
material world, and all of them are either class A, B or C prisoners suf-
fering because of their own deeds. The Lord is impartial to all circum-
stances of the sufferings of the living entities, but to one who takes
shelter at His lotus feet, the Lord gives proper protection, and He
takes such a living entity back home, back to Himself.
 TEXT 8
kecit sva-dehāntar-hṛdayāvakāśe
prādeśa-mātraṁ puruṣaṁ vasantam
catur-bhujaṁ kañja-rathāṅga-śaṅkha-
gadā-dharaṁ dhāraṇayā smaranti
SYNONYMS
kecit—others; sva-deha-antaḥ—within the body; hṛdaya-avakāśe—in the
region of the heart; prādeśa-mātram—measuring only eight inches;
puruṣam—the Personality of Godhead; vasantam—residing; catuḥ-bhu-
jam—with four hands; kañja—lotus; ratha-aṅga—the wheel of a chariot;
śaṅkha—conchshell; gadā-dharam—and with a club in the hand;
dhāraṇayā—conceiving in that way; smaranti—do meditate upon Him.

TRANSLATION
Others conceive of the Personality of Godhead residing with-
in the body in the region of the heart and measuring only eight
inches, with four hands carrying a lotus, a wheel of a chariot, a
conchshell and a club respectively.

PURPORT
The all-pervading Personality of Godhead resides as Paramātmā
in the heart of each and every living entity. The measurement of the
localized Personality of Godhead is estimated to expand from the ring
finger to the end of the thumb, more or less eight inches. The form of
the Lord described in this verse with distribution of different sym-
bols-beginning from the lower right hand up and down to the lower
left hand with lotus, wheel of a chariot, conchshell and club respec-
tively-is called Janārdana, or the plenary portion of the Lord who con-
trols the general mass. There are many other forms of the Lord with
varied situations of the symbols of lotus, conchshell, etc., and they
are differently known as Puruṣottama, Acyuta, Narasiṁha, Trivikra-
ma, Hṛṣīkeśa, Keśava, Mādhava, Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Saṅkarṣaṇa,
Śrīdhara, Vāsudeva, Dāmodara, Janārdana, Nārāyaṇa, Hari, Padma-
nābha, Vāmana, Madhusūdana, Govinda, Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇumūrti, Adhok-
ṣaja and Upendra. These twenty-four forms of the localized Personal-
ity of Godhead are worshiped in different parts of the planetary sys-
tem, and in each system there is an incarnation of the Lord having a
different Vaikuṇṭha planet in the spiritual sky, which is called the par-
avyoma. There are many other hundreds and scores of different forms
of the Lord, and each and every one of them has a particular planet in
the spiritual sky, of which this material sky is only a fragmental off-
shoot. The Lord exists as puruṣa, or the male enjoyer, although there
is no comparing Him to any male form in the material world. But all
such forms are advaita, nondifferent from one another, and each of
them is eternally young. The young Lord with four hands is nicely
decorated, as described below.
TEXT 9
prasanna-vaktraṁ nalināyatekṣaṇaṁ
kadamba-kiñjalka-piśaṅga-vāsasam
lasan-mahā-ratna-hiraṇmayāṅgadaṁ
sphuran-mahā-ratna-kirīṭa-kuṇḍalam
SYNONYMS
prasanna—expresses happiness; vaktram—mouth; nalina-āyata—spread
like the petals of a lotus; īkṣaṇam—eyes; kadamba—kadamba flower;
kiñjalka—saffron; piśaṅga—yellow; vāsasam—garments; lasat—hanging;
mahā-ratna—valuable jewels; hiraṇmaya—made of gold; aṅgadam—or-
nament; sphurat—glowing; mahā-ratna—valuable jewels; kirīṭa—head
dress; kuṇḍalam—earrings.

TRANSLATION
His mouth expresses His happiness. His eyes spread like the
petals of a lotus, and His garments, yellowish like the saffron of
a kadamba flower, are bedecked with valuable jewels. His orna-
ments are all made of gold, set with jewels, and He wears a glow-
ing head dress and earrings.

TEXT 10
unnidra-hṛt-paṅkaja-karṇikālaye
yogeśvarāsthāpita-pāda-pallavam
śrī-lakṣaṇaṁ kaustubha-ratna-kandharam
amlāna-lakṣmyā vana-mālayācitam
SYNONYMS
unnidra—blooming; hṛt—heart; paṅkaja—lotus flower; karṇikā-ālaye—
on the surface of the whorl; yoga-īśvara—the great mystics; āsthāpita—
placed; pāda-pallavam—lotus feet; śrī—the goddess of fortune, or a
beautiful calf; lakṣaṇam—marked in that way; kaustubha—the Kaustub-
ha jewel; ratna—other jewels; kandharam—on the shoulder; amlāna—
quite fresh; lakṣmyā—beauty; vana-mālayā—by a flower garland; āci-
tam—spread over.

TRANSLATION
His lotus feet are placed over the whorls of the lotuslike
hearts of great mystics. On His chest is the Kaustubha jewel, en-
graved with a beautiful calf, and there are other jewels on His
shoulders. His complete torso is garlanded with fresh flowers.

PURPORT
The ornaments, flowers, clothing and all the other decorations
on the transcendental body of the Personality of Godhead are identi-
cal with the body of the Lord. None of them are made of material in-
gredients; otherwise there would be no chance of their decorating
the body of the Lord. As such, in the paravyoma, spiritual varieties are
also distinguished from the material variegatedness.
TEXT 11
vibhūṣitaṁ mekhalayāṅgulīyakair
mahā-dhanair nūpura-kaṅkaṇādibhiḥ
 snigdhāmalākuñcita-nīla-kuntalair
virocamānānana-hāsa-peśalam
SYNONYMS
vibhūṣitam—well decorated; mekhalayā—with an ornamental wreath
about the waist; aṅgulīyakaiḥ—by finger rings; mahā-dhanaiḥ—all
highly valuable; nūpura—ringing leglets; kaṅkaṇa-ādibhiḥ—also by ban-
gles; snigdha—slick; amala—spotless; ākuñcita—curling; nīla—bluish;
kuntalaiḥ—hair; virocamāna—very pleasing; ānana—face; hāsa—smile;
peśalam—beautiful.

TRANSLATION
He is well decorated with an ornamental wreath about His
waist and rings studded with valuable jewels on His fingers. His
leglets, His bangles, His oiled hair, curling with a bluish tint, and
His beautiful smiling face are all very pleasing.

PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most beautiful person
amongst all others, and Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes every part
of His transcendental beauty, one after another, in order to teach the
impersonalist that the Personality of Godhead is not an imagination
by the devotee for facility of worship, but is the Supreme Person in
fact and figure. The impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth is but
His radiation, as the sun rays are but radiations from the sun.
TEXT 12
adīna-līlā-hasitekṣaṇollasad-
bhrū-bhaṅga-saṁsūcita-bhūry-anugraham
īkṣeta cintāmayam enam īśvaraṁ
yāvan mano dhāraṇayāvatiṣṭhate
SYNONYMS
adīna—very magnanimous; līlā—pastimes ; hasita—smiling; īkṣaṇa—by
glancing over; ullasat—glowing; bhrū-bhaṅga—signals of the eyebrow;
saṁsūcita—indicated; bhūri—extensive; anugraham—benediction;
īkṣeta—one must concentrate on; cintāmayam—transcendental; enam—
this particular; īśvaram—the Supreme Lord; yāvat—as long as; manaḥ—
the mind; dhāraṇayā—by meditation; avatiṣṭhate—can be fixed.

TRANSLATION
The Lord's magnanimous pastimes and the glowing glancing
of His smiling face are all indications of His extensive benedic-
tions. One must therefore concentrate on this transcendental
form of the Lord, as long as the mind can be fixed on Him by
meditation.

PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) it is said that the impersonalist undergoes
a series of difficult programs on account of his impersonal medita-
tion. But the devotee, due to the Lord's personal service, progresses
very easily. Impersonal meditation is therefore a source of suffering
for the impersonalist. Here, the devotee has an advantage over the
impersonalist philosopher. The impersonalist is doubtful about the
personal feature of the Lord, and therefore he always tries to medi-
tate upon something which is not objective. For this reason there is
an authentic statement in the Bhāgavatam regarding the positive con-
centration of the mind on the factual form of the Lord.
The process of meditation recommended herein is bhakti-yoga, or
the process of devotional service after one is liberated from the mate-
rial conditions. Jñāna-yoga is the process of liberation from the mate-
rial conditions. After one is liberated from the conditions of material
existence, i.e., when one is nivṛtta, as previously stated herein, or
when one is freed from all material necessities, one becomes qualified
to discharge the process of bhakti-yoga. Therefore bhakti-yoga includes
jñāna-yoga, or, in other words, the process of pure devotional service
simultaneously serves the purpose of jñāna-yoga; liberation from ma-
terial conditions is automatically achieved by the gradual develop-
ment of pure devotional service. These effects of bhakti-yoga are
called anartha-nivṛtti. Things which are artificially acquired gradually
disappear along with the progress of bhakti-yoga. Meditation on the
lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, the first processional step,
must show its effect by anartha-nivṛtti. The grossest type of anartha
which binds the conditioned soul in material existence is sex desire,
and this sex desire gradually develops in the union of the male and fe-
male. When the male and female are united, the sex desire is further
aggravated by the accumulation of buildings, children, friends, rela-
tives and wealth. When all these are acquired, the conditioned soul
becomes overwhelmed by such entanglements, and the false sense of
egoism, or the sense of "myself" and "mine," becomes prominent,
and the sex desire expands to various political, social, altruistic, phi-
lanthropic and many other unwanted engagements, resembling the
foam of the sea waves, which becomes very prominent at one time
and at the next moment vanishes as quickly as a cloud in the sky. The
conditioned soul is encircled by such products, as well as products of
sex desire, and therefore bhakti-yoga leads to gradual evaporation of
the sex desire, which is summarized in three headings, namely profit,
adoration and distinction. All conditioned souls are mad after these dif-
ferent forms of sex desire, and one shall see for himself how much he
has been freed from such material hankerings based primarily on the
sex desire. As a person feels his hunger satisfied after eating each
morsel of foodstuff, he must similarly be able to see the degree to
which he has been freed from sex desire. The sex desire is diminished
along with its various forms by the process of bhakti-yoga because
bhakti-yoga automatically, by the grace of the Lord, effectively results
in knowledge and renunciation, even if the devotee is not materially
very well educated. Knowledge means knowing things as they are,
and if by deliberation it is found that there are things which are at all
unnecessary, naturally the person who has acquired knowledge
leaves aside such unwanted things. When the conditioned soul finds
by culture of knowledge that material necessities are unwanted
things, he becomes detached from such unwanted things. This stage
of knowledge is called vairāgya, or detachment from unwanted things.
We have previously discussed that the transcendentalist is required
to be self-sufficient and should not beg from the rich blind persons to
fulfill the bare necessities of life. Śukadeva Gosvāmī has suggested
some alternatives for the bare necessities of life, namely the problem
of eating, sleeping and shelter, but he has not suggested any alterna-
tive for sex satisfaction. One who has the sex desire still with him
should not at all try to accept the renounced order of life. For one
who has not attained to this stage, there is no question of a re-
nounced order of life. So by the gradual process of devotional service
under the guidance of a proper spiritual master, and following the
principles of the Bhāgavatam, one must be able at least to control the
gross sex desire before one accepts the renounced order of life factu-
ally.
So purification means getting free gradually from sex desire, and
this is attained by meditation on the person of the Lord as described
herein, beginning from the feet. One should not try to go upwards ar-
tificially without seeing for himself how much he has been released
from the sex desire. The smiling face of the Lord is the Tenth Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and there are many upstarts who at once try to
begin with the Tenth Canto and especially with the five chapters
which delineate the rāsa-līlā of the Lord. This is certainly improper.
By such improper study or hearing of Bhāgavatam, the material oppor-
tunists have played havoc by indulgence in sex life in the name of
Bhāgavatam. This vilification of Bhāgavatam is rendered by the acts of
the so-called devotees; one should be free from all kinds of sex desire
before he tries to make a show of recital of Bhāgavatam. Śrī Viśvanā-
tha Cakravartī Ṭhākura clearly defines the import of purification as
cessation from sex indulgence. He says, yathā yathā dhīś ca śudhyati
viṣaya-lāmpaṭyaṁ tyajati, tathā tathā dhārayed iti citta-śuddhi-tāratamye-
naiva dhyāna-tāratamyam uktam. And as one gets free from the intoxi-
cation of sex indulgence by purification of intelligence, one should
step forward for the next meditation, or in other words, the progress
of meditation on the different limbs of the transcendental body of the
Lord should be enhanced in proportion to the progress of purification
of the heart. The conclusion is that those who are still entrapped by
sex indulgence should never progress to meditation above the feet of
the Lord; therefore recital of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by them should be
restricted to the First and Second Cantos of the great literature. One
must complete the purificatory process by assimilating the contents
of the first nine cantos. Then one should be admitted into the realm
of the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
TEXT 13
ekaikaśo 'ṅgāni dhiyānubhāvayet
pādādi yāvad dhasitaṁ gadābhṛtaḥ
jitaṁ jitaṁ sthānam apohya dhārayet
paraṁ paraṁ śuddhyati dhīr yathā yathā
SYNONYMS
eka-ekaśaḥ—one to one, or one after another; aṅgāni—limbs; dhiyā—by
attention; anubhāvayet—meditate upon; pāda-ādi—legs, etc.; yāvat—un-
til; hasitam—smiling; gadā-bhṛtaḥ—the Personality of Godhead; jitam ji-
tam—gradually controlling the mind; sthānam—place; apohya—leav-
ing; dhārayet—meditate upon; param param—higher and higher; śud-
dhyati—purified; dhīḥ—intelligence; yathā yathā—as much as.

TRANSLATION
The process of meditation should begin from the lotus feet of
the Lord and progress to His smiling face. The meditation should
be concentrated upon the lotus feet, then the calves, then the
thighs, and in this way higher and higher. The more the mind be-
comes fixed upon the different parts of the limbs, one after an-
other, the more the intelligence becomes purified.

PURPORT
The process of meditation recommended in the Śrīmad-Bhāgava-
tam is not to fix one's attention on something impersonal or void. The
meditation should concentrate on the person of the Supreme God-
head, either in His virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic universal form, or in His
sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], as described in the scriptures. There
are authorized descriptions of Viṣṇu forms, and there are authorized
representations of Deities in the temples. Thus one can practice medi-
tating upon the Deity, concentrating his mind on the lotus feet of the
Lord and gradually rising higher and higher, up to His smiling face.
According to the Bhāgavata school, the Lord's rāsa dancing is the
smiling face of the Lord. Since it is recommended in this verse that
one should gradually progress from the lotus feet up to the smiling
face, we shall not jump at once to understand the Lord's pastimes in
the rāsa dance. It is better to practice concentrating our attention by
offering flowers and tulasi to the lotus feet of the Lord. In this way, we
gradually become purified by the arcanā process. We dress the Lord,
bathe Him, etc., and all these transcendental activities help us purify
our existence. When we reach the higher standard of purification, if
we see the smiling face of the Lord or hear the rāsa dance pastimes of
the Lord, then we can relish His activities. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
therefore, the rāsa dance pastimes are delineated in the Tenth Canto
(Chapters 29-34).
The more one concentrates on the transcendental form of the
Lord, either on the lotus feet, the calves, the thighs or the chest, the
more one becomes purified. In this verse it is clearly stated, "the
more the intelligence becomes purified," which means the more one
becomes detached from sense gratification. Our intelligence in the
present conditioned state of life is impure due to being engaged in
sense gratification. The result of meditation on the transcendental
form of the Lord will be manifested by one's detachment from sense
gratification. Therefore, the ultimate purpose of meditation is purifi-
cation of one's intelligence.
Those who are too engrossed in sense gratification cannot be al-
lowed to participate in arcanā or to touch the transcendental form of
the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu Deities. For them it is better to meditate
upon the gigantic virāṭ-rūpa of the Lord, as recommended in the next
verse. The impersonalists and the voidists are therefore recom-
mended to meditate upon the universal form of the Lord, whereas the
devotees are recommended to meditate on the Deity worship in the
temple. Because the impersonalists and the voidists are not suffi-
ciently purified in their spiritual activities, arcanā is not meant for
them.
TEXT 14
yāvan na jāyeta parāvare 'smin
viśveśvare draṣṭari bhakti-yogaḥ
tāvat sthavīyaḥ puruṣasya rūpaṁ
kriyāvasāne prayataḥ smareta
SYNONYMS
yāvat—as long as; na—does not; jāyeta—develop; para—transcendental;
avare—mundane; asmin—in this form of; viśva-īśvare—the Lord of all
worlds; draṣṭari—unto the seer; bhakti-yogaḥ—devotional service; tā-
vat—so long; sthavīyaḥ—the gross materialist; puruṣasya—of the virāṭ-
puruṣa; rūpam—universal form; kriyā-avasāne—at the end of one's pre-
scribed duties; prayataḥ—with proper attention; smareta—one should
remember.

TRANSLATION
Unless the gross materialist develops a sense of loving serv-
ice unto the Supreme Lord, the seer of both the transcendental
and material worlds, he should remember or meditate upon the
universal form of the Lord at the end of his prescribed duties.

PURPORT
The Supreme Lord is the seer of all worlds, both material and
transcendental. In other words, the Supreme Lord is the ultimate ben-
eficiary and enjoyer of all worlds, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā
(5.29). The spiritual world is the manifestation of His internal po-
tency, and the material world is the manifestation of His external po-
tency. The living entities are also His marginal potency, and by their
own choice they can live in either the transcendental or material
worlds. The material world is not a fit place for living entities because
they are spiritually one with the Lord and in the material world the
living entities become conditioned by the laws of the material world.
The Lord wants all living entities, who are His parts and parcels, to
live with Him in the transcendental world, and for enlightening con-
ditioned souls in the material world, all the Vedas and the revealed
scriptures are there-expressly to recall the conditioned souls back
home, back to Godhead. Unfortunately, the conditioned living enti-
ties, although suffering continually the threefold miseries of condi-
tioned life, are not very serious about going back to Godhead. It is due
to their misguided way of living, complicated by sins and virtues.
Some of them who are virtuous by deeds begin to reestablish the lost
relation with the Lord, but they are unable to understand the person-
al feature of the Lord. The real purpose of life is to make contact with
the Lord and be engaged in His service. That is the natural position of
living entities. But those who are impersonalists and are unable to
render any loving service to the Lord have been advised to meditate
upon His impersonal feature, the virāṭ-rūpa, or universal form. Some
way or other, one must try to reestablish one's forgotten relation
with the Lord if one at all desires to gain real happiness in life, and to
reclaim his natural unfettered condition. For the less intelligent be-
ginners, meditation on the impersonal feature, the virāṭ-rūpa, or uni-
versal form of the Lord, will gradually qualify one to rise to personal
contact. One is advised herewith to meditate upon the virāṭ-rūpa
specified in the previous chapters in order to understand how the dif-
ferent planets, seas, mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, human beings,
demigods and all that we can conceive are but different parts and
limbs of the Lord's virāṭ form. This sort of thinking is also a type of
meditation on the Absolute Truth, and as soon as such meditation be-
gins, one develops one's godly qualities, and the whole world appears
to be a happy and peaceful residence for all the people of the world.
Without such meditation on God, either personal or impersonal, all
good qualities of the human being become covered with misconcep-
tions regarding his constitutional position, and without such ad-
vanced knowledge, the whole world becomes a hell for the human
being.
TEXT 15
sthiraṁ sukhaṁ cāsanam āsthito yatir
yadā jihāsur imam aṅga lokam
kāle ca deśe ca mano na sajjayet
prāṇān niyacchen manasā jitāsuḥ
SYNONYMS
sthiram—without being disturbed; sukham—comfortable; ca—also; āsa-
nam—sitting accommodation; āsthitaḥ—being situated; yatiḥ—the
sage; yadā—whenever; jihāsuḥ—desires to give up; imam—this; aṅga—O
King; lokam—this body; kāle—in time; ca—and; deśe—in a proper place;
ca—also; manaḥ—the mind; na—not; sajjayet—may not be perplexed;
prāṇān—the senses; niyacchet—must control; manasā—by the mind; ji-
ta-asuḥ—conquering the life air.

TRANSLATION
O King, whenever the yogī desires to leave this planet of hu-
man beings, he should not be perplexed about the proper time or
place, but should comfortably sit without being disturbed and,
regulating the life air, should control the senses by the mind.

PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gītā (8.14) it is clearly stated that a person who is
totally engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and
who constantly remembers Him at every step, easily obtains the
mercy of the Lord by entering into His personal contact. Such devo-
tees do not need to seek an opportune moment to leave the present
body. But those who are mixed devotees, alloyed with fruitive action
or empirical philosophical speculation, require an opportune mo-
ment for quitting this body. For them the opportune moments are
stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.23-26). But these opportune moments
are not as important as one's being a successful yogī who is able to
quit his body as he likes. Such a yogī must be competent to control his
senses by the mind. The mind is easily conquered simply by engaging
it at the lotus feet of the Lord. Gradually, by such service, all the
senses become automatically engaged in the service of the Lord. That
is the way of merging into the Supreme Absolute.
TEXT 16
manaḥ sva-buddhyāmalayā niyamya
kṣetra-jña etāṁ ninayet tam ātmani
ātmānam ātmany avarudhya dhīro
labdhopaśāntir virameta kṛtyāt
SYNONYMS
manaḥ—the mind; sva-buddhyā—by his own intelligence; amalayā—un-
alloyed; niyamya—by regulating; kṣetra-jñe—unto the living entity;
etām—all of them; ninayet—merge; tam—that; ātmani—the self; ātmā-
nam—the self; ātmani—in the Superself; avarudhya—being locked up;
dhīraḥ—the fully satisfied; labdha-upaśāntiḥ—one who has attained full
bliss; virameta—ceases from; kṛtyāt—all other activities.

TRANSLATION
Thereafter, the yogī should merge his mind, by his unalloyed
intelligence, into the living entity, and then merge the living en-
tity into the Superself. And by doing this, the fully satisfied liv-
ing entity becomes situated in the supreme stage of satisfaction,
so that he ceases from all other activities.

PURPORT
The functions of the mind are thinking, feeling and willing. When
the mind is materialistic, or absorbed in material contact, it acts for
material advancement of knowledge, destructively ending in discov-
ery of nuclear weapons. But when the mind acts under spiritual urge,
it acts wonderfully for going back home, back to Godhead, for life in
complete bliss and eternity. Therefore the mind has to be manipu-
lated by good and unalloyed intelligence. Perfect intelligence is to
render service unto the Lord. One should be intelligent enough to
understand that the living being is, in all circumstances, a servant of
the circumstances. Every living being is serving the dictates of desire,
anger, lust, illusion, insanity and enviousness-all materially affected.
But even while executing such dictations of different temperaments,
he is perpetually unhappy. When one actually feels this and turns his
intelligence to inquiring about it from the right sources, he gets infor-
mation of the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Instead of
serving materially for the abovementioned different humors of the
body, the living entity's intelligence then becomes freed from the un-
happy illusion of materialistic temperament, and thus, by unalloyed
intelligence, the mind is brought into the service of the Lord. The
Lord and His service are identical, being on the absolute plane. There-
fore the unalloyed intelligence and the mind are merged into the
Lord, and thus the living entity does not remain a seer himself but be-
comes seen by the Lord transcendentally. When the living entity is di-
rectly seen by the Lord, the Lord dictates to him to act according to
His desire, and when the living entity follows Him perfectly, the liv-
ing entity ceases to discharge any other duty for his illusory satisfac-
tion. In his pure unalloyed state, the living being attains the stage of
full bliss, labdhopaśānti, and ceases all material hankerings.

TEXT 17
na yatra kālo 'nimiṣāṁ paraḥ prabhuḥ
kuto nu devā jagatāṁ ya īśire
na yatra sattvaṁ na rajas tamaś ca
na vai vikāro na mahān pradhānam
 SYNONYMS
na—not; yatra—wherein; kālaḥ—destructive time; animiṣām—of the
heavenly demigods; paraḥ—superior; prabhuḥ—controller; kutaḥ—
where is there; nu—certainly; devāḥ—the demigods; jagatām—the
mundane creatures; ye—those; īśire—rules; na—not; yatra—therein;
sattvam—mundane goodness; na—nor; rajaḥ—mundane passion;
tamaḥ—mundane ignorance; ca—also; na—nor; vai—certainly;
vikāraḥ—transformation; na—nor; mahān—the material Causal Ocean;
pradhānam—material nature.

TRANSLATION
In that transcendental state of labdhopaśānti, there is no su-
premacy of devastating time, which controls even the celestial
demigods who are empowered to rule over mundane creatures.
(And what to speak of the demigods themselves?) Nor is there
the mode of material goodness, nor passion, nor ignorance, nor
even the false ego, nor the material Causal Ocean, nor the mate-
rial nature.

PURPORT
Devastating time, which controls even the celestial demigods by
its manifestations of past, present and future, does not act on the
transcendental plane. The influence of time is exhibited by the symp-
toms of birth, death, old age and disease, and these four principles of
material conditions are present everywhere in any part of the materi-
al cosmos up to the planet Brahmaloka, where the duration of life of
the inhabitants appears to us to be fabulous. Insurmountable time
even brings about the death of Brahmā, so what to speak of other
demigods like Indra, Candra, Sūrya, Vāyu and Varuṇa? The astronom-
ical influence directed by the different demigods over mundane crea-
tures is also conspicuous by its absence. In material existence, the liv-
ing entities are afraid of Satanic influence, but for a devotee on the
transcendental plane there is no such fear at all. The living entities
change their material bodies in different shapes and forms under the
influence of the different modes of material nature, but in the tran-
scendental state the devotee is guṇa-tīta, or above the material modes
of goodness, passion and ignorance. Thus the false ego of "I am the
lord of all I survey" does not arise there. In the material world the
false ego of the living being trying to lord it over the material nature
is something like the moth's falling in a blazing fire. The moth is cap-
tivated by the glaring beauty of the fire, and when he comes to enjoy
it, the blazing fire consumes him. In the transcendental state the liv-
ing being is pure in his consciousness, and as such he has no false ego
to lord it over the material nature. Rather, his pure consciousness di-
rects him to surrender unto the Supreme Lord, as stated in the Bhaga-
vad-gītā (7.19): vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. All this in-
dicates that in the transcendental state there is neither material crea-
tion nor the Causal Ocean for material nature.
The above-mentioned state of affairs is factual on the transcen-
dental plane, but is factually revealed in a transcendentalist's knowl-
edge of the advanced state of pure consciousness. Such transcenden-
talists are of two types, namely the impersonalists and the devotees.
For the impersonalist the ultimate goal or destination is the brahma-
jyoti of the spiritual sky, but for the devotees the ultimate goal is the
Vaikuṇṭha planets. The devotees experience the above-mentioned
state of affairs by attainment of spiritual forms for activity in the
transcendental loving service of the Lord. But the impersonalist, be-
cause of his neglecting the association of the Lord, does not develop a
spiritual body for spiritual activity, but remains a spiritual spark on-
ly, merged in the effulgent spiritual rays of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. The Lord is the full-fledged form of eternity, bliss and
knowledge, but the formless brahmajyoti is simply eternity and knowl-
edge. The Vaikuṇṭha planets are also forms of eternity, bliss and
knowledge, and therefore the devotees of the Lord, who are admitted
into the abode of the Lord, also get bodies of eternity, bliss and
knowledge. As such there is no difference between one and another.
The Lord's abode, name, fame, entourage, etc., are of the same tran-
scendental quality, and how this transcendental quality differs from
the material world is explained herewith in this verse. In the Bhaga-
vad-gītā, three principal subjects have been explained by Lord Śrī
Kṛṣṇa, namely karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga, but one can
reach the Vaikuṇṭha planets by the practice of bhakti-yoga only. The
other two are incompetent in helping one reach the Vaikuṇṭhalokas,
although they can, however, conveniently take one to the effulgent
brahmajyoti, as described above.
TEXT 18
paraṁ padaṁ vaiṣṇavam āmananti tad
yan neti netīty atad utsisṛkṣavaḥ
visṛjya daurātmyam ananya-sauhṛdā
hṛdopaguhyārha-padaṁ pade pade
SYNONYMS
param—the supreme; padam—situation; vaiṣṇavam—in relation with
the Personality of Godhead; āmananti—do they know; tat—that; yat—
which; na iti—not this; na iti—not this; iti—thus; atat—godless;
utsisṛkṣavaḥ—those who desire to avoid; visṛjya—giving it up com-
pletely; daurātmyam—perplexities; ananya—absolutely; sauhṛdāḥ—in
good will; hṛdā upaguhya—taking them into his heart; arha—that
which is only worshipable; padam—lotus feet; pade pade—at every mo-
ment.

TRANSLATION
The transcendentalists desire to avoid everything godless,
for they know that supreme situation in which everything is re-
lated with the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore a pure devotee
who is in absolute harmony with the Lord does not create per-
plexities, but worships the lotus feet of the Lord at every mo-
ment, taking them into his heart.

PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gītā, mad-dhāma ("My abode") is mentioned sev-
eral times, and according to the version of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa there exists the unlimited spiritual sky, wherein
the planets are called Vaikuṇṭhas, or the abode of the Personality of
Godhead. In that sky, which is far, far beyond the material sky and its
sevenfold coverings, there is no need of the sun or the moon, nor is
there necessity of electricity for illumination, because the planets are
self-illuminating and more brilliant than the material suns. pure dev-
otees of the Lord are absolutely in harmony with the Personality of
Godhead, or in other words, they always think of the Lord as their on-
ly dependable friend and well-wisher. They do not care for any mun-
dane creature, up to the status of Brahmā, the lord of the universe.
Only they can definitely have a clear vision of the Vaikuṇṭha planets.
Such pure devotees, being perfectly directed by the Supreme Lord, do
not create any artificial perplexity in the matter of transcendental
understanding by wasting time in discussing what is Brahman and
what is non-Brahman, or māyā, nor do they falsely think of them-
selves as one with the Lord, or argue that there is no existence of the
Lord separately, or that there is no God at all, or that living beings are
themselves God, or that when God incarnates Himself He assumes a
material body. Nor do they concern themselves with many obscure
speculative theories, which are in actuality so many stumbling blocks
on the path of transcendental understanding. Apart from the class of
impersonalists or nondevotees, there are also classes who pose them-
selves as devotees of the Lord but at heart maintain the idea of salva-
tion by becoming one with the impersonal Brahman. They wrongly
manufacture their own way of devotional service by open debauch-
ery and mislead others who are simpletons or debauchees like them-
selves. All these nondevotees and debauchees are, according to Viśva-
nātha Cakravartī, durātmās, or crooked souls in the dress of mahātmās,
or great souls. Such nondevotees and debauchees are completely ex-
cluded from the list of transcendentalists by the presentation of this
particular verse by Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
So the Vaikuṇṭha planets are factually the supreme residential
places called the paraṁ padam. The impersonal brahmajyoti is also
called the paraṁ padam due to its being the rays of the Vaikuṇṭha
planets, as the sun rays are the rays of the sun. In the Bhagavad-gītā
(14.27) it is clearly said that the impersonal brahmajyoti rests on the
person of the Lord, and because everything rests on the brahmajyoti
directly and indirectly, everything is generated from the Lord, every-
thing rests on Him, and after annihilation, everything is merged in
Him only. Therefore, nothing is independent of Him. A pure devotee
of the Lord no longer wastes valuable time in discriminating the
Brahman from non-Brahman because he knows perfectly well that
the Lord Parabrahman, by His Brahman energy, is interwoven in
everything, and thus everything is looked upon by a devotee as the
property of the Lord. The devotee tries to engage everything in His
service and does not create perplexities by falsely lording it over the
creation of the Lord. He is so faithful that he engages himself, as well
as everything else, in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. In
everything, the devotee sees the Lord, and he sees everything in the
Lord. The specific disturbance created by a durātmā, or crooked soul,
is due to his maintaining that the transcendental form of the Lord is
something material.
TEXT 19
itthaṁ munis tūparamed vyavasthito
vijñāna-dṛg-vīrya-surandhitāśayaḥ
sva-pārṣṇināpīḍya gudaṁ tato 'nilaṁ
sthāneṣu ṣaṭsūnnamayej jita-klamaḥ
SYNONYMS
ittham—thus, by Brahman realization; muniḥ—the philosopher; tu—
but; uparamet—should retire; vyavasthitaḥ—well situated; vijñāna-dṛk—
by scientific knowledge; vīrya—strength; su-randhita—well regulated;
āśayaḥ—aim of life; sva-pārṣṇinā—with the heel of one's foot; āpīḍya—
by blocking; gudam—the air hole; tataḥ—thereafter; anilam—life air;
sthāneṣu—in the places; ṣaṭsu—six primary; unnamayet—must be lifted;
jita-klamaḥ—by extinguishing material desires.
 TRANSLATION
By the strength of scientific knowledge, one should be well
situated in absolute realization and thus be able to extinguish all
material desires. One should then give up the material body by
blocking the air hole [through which stool is evacuated] with the
heel of one's foot and by lifting the life air from one place to an-
other in the six primary places.

PURPORT
There are many durātmās who claim to have realized themselves
as Brahman and yet are unable to conquer material desires. In the
Bhagavad-gītā (18.54) it is clearly explained that an absolutely self-
realized soul becomes completely aloof from all material desires. Ma-
terial desires are based on the false ego of the living being and are ex-
hibited by his childish and useless activities to conquer the laws of
material nature and by his desire to lord it over the resources of the
five elements. With such a mentality, one is led to believe in the
strength of material science, with its discovery of atomic energy and
space travel by mechanical vehicles, and by such tiny advancements
in material science the false egoist tries to challenge even the
strength of the Supreme Lord, who can finish all man's tiny endeav-
ors in less than a second. The well-situated self, or Brahman-realized
soul, perfectly understands that the Supreme Brahman, or the Per-
sonality of Godhead, is the all-powerful Vāsudeva and that he (the
self-realized living being) is a part and parcel of the supreme whole.
As such, his constitutional position is to cooperate with Him in all re-
spects in the transcendental relation of the served and the servitor.
Such a self-realized soul ceases to exhibit his useless activities of at-
tempting to lord it over material nature. Being scientifically well in-
formed, he fully engages himself in faithful devotion to the Lord.
The expert yogī who has thoroughly practiced the control of the
life air by the prescribed method of the yoga system is advised to quit
the body as follows. He should plug up the evacuating hole with the
heel of the foot and then progressively move the life air on and on to
six places: the navel, abdomen, heart, chest, palate, eyebrows and cer-
ebral pit. Controlling the life air by the prescribed yogic process is
mechanical, and the practice is more or less a physical endeavor for
spiritual perfection. In olden days such practice was very common for
the transcendentalist, for the mode of life and character in those days
were favorable. But in modern days, when the influence of Kali Age is
so disturbing, practically everyone is untrained in this art of bodily
exercise. Concentration of the mind is more easily attained in these
days by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The results are
more effective than those derived from the inner exercise of the life
air.
TEXT 20
nābhyāṁ sthitaṁ hṛdy adhiropya tasmād
udāna-gatyorasi taṁ nayen muniḥ
tato 'nusandhāya dhiyā manasvī
sva-tālu-mūlaṁ śanakair nayeta
SYNONYMS
nābhyām—on the navel; sthitam—situated; hṛdi—in the heart; adhiro-
pya—by placing; tasmāt—from there; udāna—soaring; gatya—force; ura-
si—on the chest; tam—thereafter; nayet—should draw; muniḥ—the
meditative devotee; tataḥ—them; anusandhāya—just to search out;
dhiyā—by intelligence; manasvī—the meditative; sva-tālu-mūlam—at
the root of the palate; śanakaiḥ—slowly; nayeta—may be brought in.

TRANSLATION
The meditative devotee should slowly push up the life air
from the navel to the heart, from there to the chest and from
there to the root of the palate. He should search out the proper
places with intelligence.
 PURPORT
There are six circles of the movement of the life air, and the intel-
ligent bhakti-yogī should search out these places with intelligence and
in a meditative mood. Among these, mentioned above is the
svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra, or the powerhouse of the life air, and above this,
just below the abdomen and navel, is the maṇi-pūraka-cakra. When
upper space is further searched out in the heart, one reaches the anā-
hata-cakra, and further up, when the life air is placed at the root of
the palate, one reaches the viśuddhi-cakra.
TEXT 21
tasmād bhruvor antaram unnayeta
niruddha-saptāyatano 'napekṣaḥ
sthitvā muhūrtārdham akuṇṭha-dṛṣṭir
nirbhidya mūrdhan visṛjet paraṁ gataḥ
SYNONYMS
tasmāt—from there; bhruvoḥ—of the eyebrows; antaram—in between;
unnayeta—should be brought in; niruddha—by blocking; sapta—seven;
āyatanaḥ—outlets of the life air; anapekṣaḥ—independent of all materi-
al enjoyment; sthitvā—by keeping; muhūrta—of a moment; ardham—
half; akuṇṭha—back home, back to Godhead; dṛṣṭiḥ—one whose aim is
targeted like that; nirbhidya—punching; mūrdhan—the cerebral hole;
visṛjet—should give up his body; param—the Supreme; gataḥ—having
gone to.

TRANSLATION
Thereafter the bhakti-yogī should push the life air up be-
tween the eyebrows, and then, blocking the seven outlets of the
life air, he should maintain his aim for going back home, back to
Godhead. If he is completely free from all desires for material en-
joyment, he should then reach the cerebral hole and give up his
material connections, having gone to the Supreme.
 PURPORT
The process of giving up all material connections and returning
home, back to Godhead, the Supreme, is recommended herein. The
condition is that one should be completely freed from desire for ma-
terial enjoyment. There are different grades of material enjoyments
in respect to duration of life and sensual gratification. The highest
plane of sensual enjoyment for the longest period of life is mentioned
in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.20). All are but material enjoyments, and one
should be thoroughly convinced that he has no need of such a long
duration of life, even in the Brahmaloka planet. He must return
home, back to Godhead, and must not be attracted by any amount of
material facilities. In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.59) it is said that this sort of
material detachment is possible to attain when one is acquainted
with the supreme association of life. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. One can-
not be freed from material attraction unless he has complete under-
standing of the nature of spiritual life. The propaganda by a certain
class of impersonalists that spiritual life is void of all varieties is dan-
gerous propaganda to mislead the living beings into becoming more
and more attracted by material enjoyments. As such, persons with a
poor fund of knowledge cannot have any conception of the param, the
Supreme; they try to stick to the varieties of material enjoyments,
although they may flatter themselves as being Brahman-realized
souls. Such less intelligent persons cannot have any conception of the
param, as mentioned in this verse, and therefore they cannot reach
the Supreme. The devotees have full knowledge of the spiritual
world, the Personality of Godhead and His transcendental association
in unlimited spiritual planets called Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Herein akuṇṭha-
dṛṣṭiḥ is mentioned. Akuṇṭha and vaikuṇṭha convey the same import,
and only one who has his aim fixed upon that spiritual world and per-
sonal association with the Godhead can give up his material connec-
tions even while living in the material world. This param and the
paraṁ dhāma mentioned in several places in the Bhagavad-gītā are one
and the same thing. One who goes to the paraṁ dhāma does not re-
turn to the material world. This freedom is not possible even by
reaching the topmost loka of the material world.
The life air passes through seven openings, namely two eyes, two
nostrils, two ears and one mouth. Generally it passes through the
mouth at the time of an ordinary man's death. But the yogī, as above
mentioned, who controls the life air in his own way, generally re-
leases the life air by puncturing the cerebral hole in the head. The yo-
gī therefore blocks up all the above-mentioned seven openings, so
that the life air will naturally burst forth through the cerebral hole.
This is the sure sign of a great devotee's leaving the material connec-
tion.
TEXT 22
yadi prayāsyan nṛpa pārameṣṭhyaṁ
vaihāyasānām uta yad vihāram
aṣṭādhipatyaṁ guṇa-sannivāye
sahaiva gacchen manasendriyaiś ca
SYNONYMS
yadi—however; prayāsyan—maintaining a desire; nṛpa—O King;
pārameṣṭhyam—the governing planet of the material world; vaihāyasā-
nām—of the beings known as the Vaihāyasas; uta—it is said; yat—what
is; vihāram—place of enjoyment; aṣṭa-ādhipatyam—lording it over with
eightfold achievements; guṇa-sannivāye—in the world of three modes
of nature; saha—along with; eva—certainly; gacchet—should go; mana-
sā—accompanied by the mind; indriyaiḥ—and the senses; ca—also.

TRANSLATION
However, O King, if a yogī maintains a desire for improved
material enjoyments, like transference to the topmost planet,
Brahmaloka, or the achievement of the eightfold perfections,
travel in outer space with the Vaihāyasas, or a situation in one of
the millions of planets, then he has to take away with him the
materially molded mind and senses.
 PURPORT
In the upper status of the planetary systems there are facilities
thousands and thousands of times greater for material enjoyments
than in the lower planetary systems. The topmost planetary systems
consist of planets like Brahmaloka and Dhruvaloka (the polestar), and
all of them are situated beyond Maharloka. The inhabitants of those
planets are empowered with eightfold achievements of mystic perfec-
tion. They do not have to learn and practice the mystic processes of
yoga perfection and achieve the power of becoming small like a par-
ticle (aṇimā-siddhi), or lighter than a soft feather (laghimā-siddhi).
They do not have to get anything and everything from anywhere and
everywhere (prāpti-siddhi), to become heavier than the heaviest (mahi-
mā-siddhi), to act freely even to create something wonderful or to an-
nihilate anything at will (īśitva-siddhi), to control all material ele-
ments (vaśitva-siddhi), to possess such power as will never be frus-
trated in any desire (prākāmya-siddhi), or to assume any shape or form
one may even whimsically desire (kāmāvasāyitā-siddhi). All these expe-
diencies are as common as natural gifts for the inhabitants of those
higher planets. They do not require any mechanical help to travel in
outer space, and they can move and travel at will from one planet to
any other planet within no time. The inhabitants of the earth cannot
move even to the nearest planet except by mechanical vehicles like
spacecraft, but the highly talented inhabitants of such higher planets
can do everything very easily.
Since a materialist is generally inquisitive to experience what is
actually in such planetary systems, he wants to see everything per-
sonally. As inquisitive persons tour all over the world to gain direct
local experience, the less intelligent transcendentalist similarly de-
sires to have some experience of those planets about which he has
heard so many wonderful things. The yogī can, however, easily fulfill
his desire by going there with the present materialistic mind and
senses. The prime inclination of the materialistic mind is to lord it
over the material world, and all the siddhis mentioned above are fea-
tures of domination over the world. The devotees of the Lord are not
ambitious to dominate a false and temporary phenomenon. On the
contrary, a devotee wants to be dominated by the supreme predomi-
nator, the Lord. A desire to serve the Lord, the supreme predomina-
tor, is spiritual or transcendental, and one has to attain this purifica-
tion of the mind and the senses to get admission into the spiritual
kingdom. With the materialistic mind one can reach the best planet
in the universe, but no one can enter into the kingdom of God. Senses
are called spiritually purified when they are not involved in sense
gratification. Senses require engagements, and when the senses are
engaged totally in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they
have no chance to become contaminated by material infections.
TEXT 23
yogeśvarāṇāṁ gatim āhur antar-
bahis-tri-lokyāḥ pavanāntar-ātmanām
na karmabhis tāṁ gatim āpnuvanti
vidyā-tapo-yoga-samādhi-bhājām
SYNONYMS
yoga-īśvarāṇām—of the great saints and devotees; gatim—destination;
āhuḥ—it is said; antaḥ—within; bahiḥ—without; tri-lokyāḥ—of the three
planetary systems; pavana-antaḥ—within the air; ātmanām—of the
subtle body; na—never; karmabhiḥ—by fruitive activities; tām—that;
gatim—speed; āpnuvanti—achieve; vidyā—devotional service; tapaḥ—
austerities; yoga—mystic power; samādhi—knowledge; bhājām—of
those who entertain.

TRANSLATION
The transcendentalists are concerned with the spiritual
body. As such, by the strength of their devotional service, auster-
ities, mystic power and transcendental knowledge, their move-
ments are unrestricted, within and beyond the material worlds.
The fruitive workers, or the gross materialists, can never move
in such an unrestricted manner.
 PURPORT
The materialistic scientist's endeavor to reach other planets by
mechanical vehicles is only a futile attempt. One can, however, reach
heavenly planets by virtuous activities, but one can never expect to
go beyond Svarga or Janaloka by such mechanical or materialistic ac-
tivities, either gross or subtle. The transcendentalists who have noth-
ing to do with the gross material body can move anywhere within or
beyond the material worlds. Within the material worlds they move in
the planetary systems of the Mahar, Janas, Tapas and Satya lokas, and
beyond the material worlds they can move in the Vaikuṇṭhas as unre-
stricted spacemen. Nārada Muni is one of the examples of such space-
men, and Durvāsā Muni is one of such mystics. By the strength of de-
votional service, austerities, mystic powers and transcendental
knowledge, everyone can move like Nārada Muni or Durvāsā Muni. It
is said that Durvāsā Muni traveled throughout the entirety of materi-
al space and part of spiritual space within one year only. The speed of
the transcendentalists can never be attained by the gross or subtle
materialists.

TEXT 24
vaiśvānaraṁ yāti vihāyasā gataḥ
suṣumṇayā brahma-pathena śociṣā
vidhūta-kalko 'tha harer udastāt
prayāti cakraṁ nṛpa śaiśumāram
SYNONYMS
vaiśvānaram—the controlling deity of fire; yāti—goes; vihāyasā—by the
path in the sky (the Milky Way); gataḥ—by passing over; suṣumṇayā—
by the Suṣumṇā; brahma—Brahmaloka; pathena—on the way to;
śociṣā—illuminating; vidhūta—being washed off; kalkaḥ—dirt; atha—
thereafter; hareḥ—of Lord Hari; udastāt—upwards; prayāti—does reach;
cakram—circle; nṛpa—O King; śaiśumāram—named Śiśumāra.
 TRANSLATION
O King, when such a mystic passes over the Milky Way by the
illuminating Suṣumṇā to reach the highest planet, Brahmaloka,
he goes first to Vaiśvānara, the planet of the deity of fire, where-
in he becomes completely cleansed of all contaminations, and
thereafter he still goes higher, to the circle of Śiśumāra, to relate
with Lord Hari, the Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT
The polar star of the universe and the circle thereof is called the
Śiśumāra circle, and therein the local residential planet of the Person-
ality of Godhead (Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu) is situated. Before reaching
there, the mystic passes over the Milky Way to reach Brahmaloka,
and while going there he first reaches Vaiśvānara-loka, where the
demigod controls fire. On Vaiśvānara-loka the yogī becomes com-
pletely cleansed of all dirty sins acquired while in contact with the
material world. The Milky Way in the sky is indicated herein as the
way leading to Brahmaloka, the highest planet of the universe.
TEXT 25
tad viśva-nābhiṁ tv ativartya viṣṇor
aṇīyasā virajenātmanaikaḥ
namaskṛtaṁ brahma-vidām upaiti
kalpāyuṣo yad vibudhā ramante
SYNONYMS
tat—that; viśva-nābhim—navel of the universal Personality of God-
head; tu—but; ativartya—crossing over; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu, the Per-
sonality of Godhead; aṇīyasā—due to mystic perfection; virajena—by
the purified; ātmanā—by the living entity; ekaḥ—alone; namaskṛtam—
worshipable; brahma-vidām—by those who are transcendentally situ-
ated; upaiti—reaches; kalpa-āyuṣaḥ—a period of 4,300,000,000 solar
years; yat—the place; vibudhāḥ—self-realized souls; ramante—do enjoy.
 TRANSLATION
This Śiśumāra is the pivot for the turning of the complete
universe, and it is called the navel of Viṣṇu [Garbhodakaśāyī
Viṣṇu]. The yogī alone goes beyond this circle of Śiśumāra and
attains the planet [Maharloka] where purified saints like Bhṛgu
enjoy a duration of life of 4,300,000,000 solar years. This planet
is worshipable even for the saints who are transcendentally situ-
ated.
TEXT 26
atho anantasya mukhānalena
dandahyamānaṁ sa nirīkṣya viśvam
niryāti siddheśvara-yuṣṭa-dhiṣṇyaṁ
yad dvai-parārdhyaṁ tad u pārameṣṭhyam
SYNONYMS
atho—thereupon; anantasya—of Ananta, the resting incarnation of
Godhead; mukha-analena—by the fire emanating from His mouth; dan-
dahyamānam—burning to ashes; saḥ—he; nirīkṣya—by seeing this; viś-
vam—the universe; niryāti—goes out; siddheśvara-yuṣṭa-dhiṣṇyam—air-
planes used by the great purified souls; yat—the place; dvai-parā-
rdhyam—15,480,000,000,000 solar years; tat—that; u—the exalted;
pārameṣṭhyam—Satyaloka, where Brahmā resides.

TRANSLATION
At the time of the final devastation of the complete universe
[the end of the duration of Brahmā's life], a flame of fire ema-
nates from the mouth of Ananta [from the bottom of the uni-
verse]. The yogī sees all the planets of the universe burning to
ashes, and thus he leaves for Satyaloka by airplanes used by the
great purified souls. The duration of life in Satyaloka is calcu-
lated to be 15,480,000,000,000 years.
 PURPORT
It is indicated herein that the residents of Maharloka, where the
purified living entities or demigods possess a duration of life calcu-
lated to be 4,300,000,000 solar years, have airships by which they
reach Satyaloka, the topmost planet of the universe. In other words,
the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives us many clues about other planets far,
far away from us which modern planes and spacecraft cannot reach,
even by imaginary speeds. The statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are
accepted by great ācāryas like Śrīdhara Svāmī, Rāmānujācārya and
Vallabhācārya. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu specifically accepts Śrī-
mad-Bhāgavatam as the spotless Vedic authority, and as such no sane
man can ignore the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam when it is spo-
ken by the self-realized soul Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who follows in
the footsteps of his great father, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of all
Vedic literatures. In the creation of the Lord there are many wonder-
ful things we can see with our own eyes every day and night, but we
are unable to reach them equipped by modern materialistic science.
We should not, therefore, depend on the fragmentary authority of
materialistic science for knowing things beyond the range of scien-
tific purview. For a common man, both modern science and Vedic
wisdom are simply to be accepted because none of the statements ei-
ther of modern science or of Vedic literature can be verified by him.
The alternative for a common man is to believe either of them or
both of them. The Vedic way of understanding, however, is more au-
thentic because it has been accepted by the ācāryas, who are not only
faithful and learned men, but are also liberated souls without any of
the flaws of conditioned souls. The modern scientists, however, are
conditioned souls liable to so many errors and mistakes; therefore the
safe side is to accept the authentic version of Vedic literatures, like
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is accepted unanimously by the great ācār-
yas.
TEXT 27
na yatra śoko na jarā na mṛtyur
 nārtir na codvega ṛte kutaścit
yac cit tato 'daḥ kṛpayānidaṁ-vidāṁ
duranta-duḥkha-prabhavānudarśanāt
SYNONYMS
na—never; yatra—there are; śokaḥ—bereavement; na—nor; jarā—old
age; na—nor; mṛtyuḥ—death; na—nor; artiḥ—pains; na—nor; ca—also;
udvegaḥ—anxieties; ṛte—save and except; kutaścit—sometimes; yat—
because of; cit—consciousness; tataḥ—therefore; adaḥ—compassion;
kṛpayā—out of heartfelt sympathy; an-idam-vidām—of those who are
ignorant of the process of devotional service; duranta—unsurpassable;
duḥkha—misery; prabhava—repeated birth and death; anudarśanāt—by
successive experience.

TRANSLATION
In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement,
nor old age nor death. There is no pain of any kind, and there-
fore there are no anxieties, save that sometimes, due to con-
sciousness, there is a feeling of compassion for those unaware of
the process of devotional service, who are subjected to unsur-
passable miseries in the material world.

PURPORT
Foolish men of materialistic temperament do not take advantage
of successive authorized knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is author-
ized and is acquired not by experiment but by authentic statements
of the Vedic literatures explained by bona fide authorities. Simply by
becoming an academic scholar one cannot understand the Vedic
statements; one has to approach the real authority who has received
the Vedic knowledge by disciplic succession, as clearly explained in
the Bhagavad-gītā (4.2). Lord Kṛṣṇa affirmed that the system of knowl-
edge as explained in the Bhagavad-gītā was explained to the sun-god,
and the knowledge descended by disciplic succession from the sun-
god to his son Manu, and from Manu to King Ikṣvāku (the forefather
of Lord Rāmacandra), and thus the system of knowledge was ex-
plained down the line of great sages, one after another. But in due
course of time the authorized succession was broken, and therefore,
just to reestablish the true spirit of the knowledge, the Lord again ex-
plained the same knowledge to Arjuna, who was a bona fide candi-
date for understanding due to his being a pure devotee of the Lord.
Bhagavad-gītā, as it was understood by Arjuna, is also explained (Bg.
10.12-13), but there are many foolish men who do not follow in the
footsteps of Arjuna in understanding the spirit of Bhagavad-gītā. They
create instead their own interpretations, which are as foolish as they
themselves, and thereby only help to put a stumbling block on the
path of real understanding, misdirecting the innocent followers who
are less intelligent, or the śūdras. It is said that one should become a
brāhmaṇa before one can understand the Vedic statements, and this
stricture is as important as the stricture that no one shall become a
lawyer who has not qualified himself as a graduate. Such a stricture is
not an impediment in the path of progress for anyone and everyone,
but it is necessary for an unqualified understanding of a particular
science. Vedic knowledge is misinterpreted by those who are not
qualified brāhmaṇas. A qualified brāhmaṇa is one who has undergone
strict training under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.
The Vedic wisdom guides us to understanding our relation with
the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and to acting accordingly in order to
achieve the desired result of returning home, back to Godhead. But
materialistic men do not understand this. They want to make a plan
to become happy in a place where there is no happiness. For false
happiness they try to reach other planets, either by Vedic rituals or
by spacecraft, but they should know for certain that any amount of
materialistic adjustment for becoming happy in a place which is
meant for distress cannot benefit the misguided man because, after
all, the whole universe with all its paraphernalia will come to an end
after a certain period. Then all plans of materialistic happiness will
automatically come to an end. The intelligent person therefore makes
a plan to return home, back to Godhead. Such an intelligent person
surpasses all the pangs of material existence, like birth, death, disease
and old age. He is actually happy because he has no anxieties of mate-
rial existence, but as a compassionate sympathizer he feels unhappi-
ness for the suffering materialistic men, and thus he occasionally
comes before the materialistic men to teach them the necessity of
going back to Godhead. All the bona fide ācāryas preach this truth of
returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false
plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth.
TEXT 28
tato viśeṣaṁ pratipadya nirbhayas
tenātmanāpo 'nala-mūrtir atvaran
jyotirmayo vāyum upetya kāle
vāyv-ātmanā khaṁ bṛhad ātma-liṅgam
SYNONYMS
tataḥ—thereafter; viśeṣam—particularly; pratipadya—by obtaining;
nirbhayaḥ—without any doubt; tena—by that; ātmanā—pure self;
āpaḥ—water; anala—fire; mūrtiḥ—forms; atvaran—by surpassing;
jyotiḥ-mayaḥ—effulgent; vāyum—atmosphere; upetya—having reached
there; kāle—in due course of time; vāyu—air; ātmanā—by the self;
kham—ethereal; bṛhat—great; ātma-liṅgam—the real form of the self.

TRANSLATION
After reaching Satyaloka, the devotee is specifically able to
be incorporated fearlessly by the subtle body in an identity simi-
lar to that of the gross body, and one after another he gradually
attains stages of existence from earthly to watery, fiery, glowing
and airy, until he reaches the ethereal stage.

PURPORT
Anyone who can reach Brahmaloka, or Satyaloka, by dint of spiri-
tual perfection and practice is qualified to attain three different types
of perfection. One who has attained a specific planet by dint of pious
activities attains places in terms of his comparative pious activities.
One who has attained the place by dint of virāṭ or Hiraṇyagarbha wor-
ship is liberated along with the liberation of Brahmā. But one who at-
tains the place by dint of devotional service is specifically mentioned
here, in relation to how he can penetrate into the different coverings
of the universe and thus ultimately disclose his spiritual identity in
the absolute atmosphere of supreme existence.
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, all the universes are clustered
together up and down, and each and every one of them is separately
sevenfold-covered. The watery portion is beyond the sevenfold cover-
ings, and each covering is ten times more expansive than the pre-
vious covering. The Personality of Godhead who creates all such uni-
verses by His breathing period lies above the cluster of the universes.
The water of the Causal Ocean is differently situated than the cover-
ing water of the universe. The water that serves as covering for the
universe is material, whereas the water of the Causal Ocean is spiritu-
al. As such, the watery covering mentioned herein is considered to be
the false egoistic covering of all living entities, and the gradual proc-
ess of liberation from the material coverings, one after another, as
mentioned herein, is the gradual process of being liberated from false
egoistic conceptions of the material gross body, and then being ab-
sorbed in the identification of the subtle body till the attainment of
the pure spiritual body in the absolute realm of the kingdom of God.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī confirms that a part of the material nature,
after being initiated by the Lord, is known as the mahat-tattva. A frac-
tional portion of the mahat-tattva is called the false ego. A portion of
the ego is the vibration of sound, and a portion of sound is atmos-
pheric air. A portion of the airy atmosphere is turned into forms, and
the forms constitute the power of electricity or heat. Heat produces
the smell of the aroma of the earth, and the gross earth is produced
by such aroma. And all these combined together constitute the cos-
mic phenomenon. The extent of the cosmic phenomenon is calcu-
lated to be diametrically (both ways) four billion miles. Then the cov-
erings of the universe begin. The first stratum of the covering is cal-
culated to extend eighty million miles, and the subsequent coverings
of the universe are respectively of fire, effulgence, air and ether, one
after another, each extending ten times further than the previous.
The fearless devotee of the Lord penetrates each one of them and ulti-
mately reaches the absolute atmosphere where everything is of one
and the same spiritual identity. Then the devotee enters one of the
Vaikuṇṭha planets, where he assumes exactly the same form as the
Lord and engages in the loving transcendental service of the Lord.
That is the highest perfection of devotional life. Beyond this there is
nothing to be desired or achieved by the perfect yogī.

TEXT 29
ghrāṇena gandhaṁ rasanena vai rasaṁ
rūpaṁ ca dṛṣṭyā śvasanaṁ tvacaiva
śrotreṇa copetya nabho-guṇatvaṁ
prāṇena cākūtim upaiti yogī
SYNONYMS
ghrāṇena—by smelling; gandham—aroma; rasanena—by taste; vai—ex-
actly; rasam—palate; rūpam—forms; ca—also; dṛṣṭyā—by vision; śvasa-
nam—contact; tvacā—touch; eva—as it were; śrotreṇa—by vibration of
the ear; ca—also; upetya—by achieving; nabhaḥ-guṇatvam—identifica-
tion of ether; prāṇena—by sense organs; ca—also; ākūtim—material ac-
tivities; upaiti—attains; yogī—the devotee.

TRANSLATION
The devotee thus surpasses the subtle objects of different
senses like aroma by smelling, the palate by tasting, vision by
seeing forms, touch by contacting, the vibrations of the ear by
ethereal identification, and the sense organs by material activ-
ities.
 PURPORT
Beyond the sky there are subtle coverings, resembling the ele-
mentary coverings of the universes. The gross coverings are a devel-
opment of partial ingredients of the subtle causes. So the yogī or devo-
tee, along with liquidation of the gross elements, relinquishes the
subtle causes like aroma by smelling. The pure spiritual spark, the liv-
ing entity, thus becomes completely cleansed of all material contami-
nation to become eligible for entrance into the kingdom of God.
TEXT 30
sa bhūta-sūkṣmendriya-sannikarṣaṁ
manomayaṁ devamayaṁ vikāryam
saṁsādya gatyā saha tena yāti
vijñāna-tattvaṁ guṇa-sannirodham
SYNONYMS
saḥ—he (the devotee); bhūta—the gross; sūkṣma—and the subtle; in-
driya—senses; sannikarṣam—the point of neutralization; manaḥ-
mayam—the mental plane; deva-mayam—in the mode of goodness; vi-
kāryam—egoism; saṁsādya—surpassing; gatyā—by the progress; saha—
along with; tena—them; yāti—goes; vijñāna—perfect knowledge; tatt-
vam—truth; guṇa—the material modes; sannirodham—completely sus-
pended.

TRANSLATION
The devotee, thus surpassing the gross and the subtle forms
of coverings, enters the plane of egoism. And in that status he
merges the material modes of nature [ignorance and passion] in
this point of neutralization and thus reaches egoism in goodness.
After this, all egoism is merged in the mahat-tattva, and he
comes to the point of pure self-realization.

PURPORT
Pure self-realization, as we have several times discussed, is the
pure consciousness of admitting oneself to be the eternal servitor of
the Lord. Thus one is reinstated in his original position of transcen-
dental loving service to the Lord, as will be clearly explained in the
following verse. This stage of rendering transcendental loving service
to the Lord without any hopes of emolument from the Lord, or any
other way, can be attained when the material senses are purified and
the original pure state of the senses is revived. It is suggested herein
that the process of purifying the senses is by the yogic way, namely
the gross senses are merged in the mode of ignorance, and the subtle
senses are merged in the mode of passion. The mind belongs to the
mode of goodness and therefore is called devamaya, or godly. perfect
purification of the mind is made possible when one is fixed in the
conviction of being the eternal servitor of the Lord. Therefore simple
attainment of goodness is also a material mode; one has to surpass
this stage of material goodness and reach the point of purified good-
ness, or vasudeva-sattva. This vasudeva-sattva helps one to enter into
the kingdom of God.
We may also remember in this connection that the process of
gradual emancipation by the devotees in the manner mentioned
above, although authoritative, is not viable in the present age be-
cause of people's being primarily unaware of yoga practice. The so-
called yoga practice by the professional protagonists may be physio-
logically beneficial, but such small successes cannot help one in the
attainment of spiritual emancipation as mentioned herein. Five thou-
sand years ago, when the social status of human society was in per-
fect Vedic order, the yoga process mentioned herein was a common
affair for everyone because everyone, and especially the brāhmaṇa
and kṣatriya, was trained in the transcendental art under the care of
the spiritual master far away from home, in the status of brahmacarya.
Modern man, however, is incompetent to understand it perfectly.
Lord Śrī Caitanya, therefore, made it easier for the prospective
devotee of the present age in the following specific manner. Ulti-
mately there is no difference in the result. The first and foremost
point is that one must understand the prime importance of bhakti-yo-
ga. The living beings in different species of life are undergoing differ-
ent terms of encagement according to their fruitive actions and reac-
tions. But in the execution of different activities, one who secures
some resources in bhakti-yoga can understand the importance of serv-
ice to the Lord through the causeless mercy of the Lord, as well as
that of the spiritual master. A sincere soul is helped by the Lord
through meeting a bona fide spiritual master, the representative of
the Lord. By the instruction of such a spiritual master, one gets the
seed of bhakti-yoga. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that
the devotee sow the seed of bhakti-yoga in his heart and nurture it by
the watering of hearing and chanting the holy name, fame, etc., of
the Lord. The simple process of offenselessly chanting and hearing
the holy name of the Lord will gradually promote one very soon to
the stage of emancipation. There are three stages in chanting the
holy name of the Lord. The first stage is the offensive chanting of the
holy name, and the second is the reflective stage of chanting the holy
name. The third stage is the offenseless chanting of the holy name of
the Lord. In the second stage only, the stage of reflection, between
the offensive and offenseless stages, one automatically attains the
stage of emancipation. And in the offenseless stage, one actually en-
ters into the kingdom of God, although physically he may apparently
be within the material world. To attain the offenseless stage, one
must be on guard in the following manner.
When we speak of hearing and chanting, it means that not only
should one chant and hear of the holy name of the Lord as Rāma,
Kṛṣṇa (or systematically the sixteen names Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa,
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare
Hare), but one should also read and hear the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrī-
mad-Bhāgavatam in the association of devotees. The primary practice
of bhakti-yoga will cause the seed already sowed in heart to sprout,
and by a regular watering process, as mentioned above, the bhakti-yo-
ga creeper will begin to grow. By systematic nurturing, the creeper
will grow to such an extent that it will penetrate the coverings of the
universe, as we have heard in the previous verses, reach the effulgent
sky, the brahmajyoti, and go farther and farther and reach the spiritu-
al sky, where there are innumerable spiritual planets called
Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Above all of them is Kṛṣṇaloka, or Goloka
Vṛndāvana, wherein the growing creeper enters and takes repose at
the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead.
When one reaches the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa at Goloka Vṛndāvana,
the watering process of hearing and reading, as also chanting of the
holy name in the pure devotional stage, fructifies, and the fruits
grown there in the form of love of God are tangibly tasted by the dev-
otee, even though he is here in this material world. The ripe fruits of
love of God are relished only by the devotees constantly engaged in
the watering process as described above. But the working devotee
must always be mindful so that the creeper which has so grown will
not be cut off. Therefore he should be mindful of the following con-
siderations:
(1) Offense by one at the feet of a pure devotee may be likened to
the mad elephant who devastates a very good garden if it enters.
(2) One must be very careful to guard himself against such of-
fenses at the feet of pure devotees, just as one protects a creeper by
all-around fencing.
(3) It so happens that by the watering process some weeds are al-
so grown, and unless such weeds are uprooted, the nurturing of the
main creeper, or the creeper of bhakti-yoga, may be hampered.
(4) Actually these weeds are material enjoyment, merging of the
self in the Absolute without separate individuality, and many other
desires in the field of religion, economic development, sense enjoy-
ment and emancipation.
(5) There are many other weeds, like disobedience to the tenets
of the revered scriptures, unnecessary engagements, killing animals,
and hankering after material gain, prestige and adoration.
(6) If sufficient care is not taken, then the watering process may
only help to breed the weeds, stunting the healthy growth of the
main creeper and resulting in no fructification of the ultimate re-
quirement: love of God.
(7) The devotee must therefore be very careful to uproot the dif-
ferent weeds in the very beginning. Only then will the healthy
growth of the main creeper not be stunted.
(8) And by so doing, the devotee is able to relish the fruit of love
of God and thus live practically with Lord Kṛṣṇa, even in this life, and
be able to see the Lord in every step.
The highest perfection of life is to enjoy life constantly in the as-
sociation of the Lord, and one who can relish this does not aspire
after any temporary enjoyment of the material world via other me-
dia.
TEXT 31
tenātmanātmānam upaiti śāntam
ānandam ānandamayo 'vasāne
etāṁ gatiṁ bhāgavatīṁ gato yaḥ
sa vai punar neha viṣajjate 'ṅga
SYNONYMS
tena—by that purified; ātmanā—by the self; ātmānam—the Supersoul;
upaiti—attains; śāntam—rest; ānandam—satisfaction; ānanda-mayaḥ—
naturally so being; avasāne—being freed from all material contamina-
tion; etām—such; gatim—destination; bhāgavatīm—devotional; gataḥ—
attained by; yaḥ—the person; saḥ—he; vai—certainly; punaḥ—again;
na—never; iha—in this material world; viṣajjate—becomes attracted;
aṅga—O Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

TRANSLATION
Only the purified soul can attain the perfection of associat-
ing with the Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satis-
faction in his constitutional state. Whoever is able to renovate
such devotional perfection is never again attracted by this mate-
rial world, and he never returns.

PURPORT
We should specially note in this verse the description of gatiṁ
bhāgavatīm. To become merged in the rays of the Parabrahman, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, as desired by the brahmavādī imper-
sonalist, is not bhāgavatīm perfection. The bhāgavatas never accept
merging in the impersonal rays of the Lord, but always aspire after
personal association with the Supreme Lord in one of the Vaikuṇṭha
spiritual planets in the spiritual sky. The whole of the spiritual sky, of
which the total number of the material skies is only an insignificant
part, is full of unlimited numbers of Vaikuṇṭha planets. The destina-
tion of the devotee (the bhāgavata) is to enter into one of the
Vaikuṇṭha planets, in each of which the Personality of Godhead, in
His unlimited personal expansions, enjoys Himself in the association
of unlimited numbers of pure devotee associates. The conditioned
souls in the material world, after gaining emancipation by devotional
service, are promoted to these planets. But the number of ever-liber-
ated souls is far, far greater than the number of conditioned souls in
the material world, and the ever-liberated souls in the Vaikuṇṭha
planets never care to visit this miserable material world.
The impersonalists, who aspire to merge in the impersonal brah-
majyoti effulgence of the Supreme Lord but have no conception of lov-
ing devotional service to Him in His personal form in the spiritual
manifestation, may be compared to certain species of fish, who, being
born in the rivers and rivulets, migrate to the great ocean. They can-
not stay in the ocean indefinitely, for their urge for sense gratifica-
tion brings them back to the rivers and streams to spawn. Similarly,
when the materialist becomes frustrated in his attempts to enjoy
himself in the limited material world, he may seek impersonal libera-
tion by merging either with the Causal Ocean or with the impersonal
brahmajyoti effulgence. However, as neither the Causal Ocean nor the
impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence affords any superior substitute for
association and engagement of the senses, the impersonalist will fall
again into the limited material world to become entangled once more
in the wheel of births and deaths, drawn on by the inextinguishable
desire for sensual engagement. But any devotee who enters the king-
dom of God by transcendental engagement of his senses in devotional
service, and who associates with the liberated souls and the Personal-
ity of Godhead there, will never be attracted to the limited surround-
ings of the material world.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (8.15) also the same is confirmed, as the Lord
says, "The great mahātmās, or the bhakti-yogīs, after attaining My asso-
ciation, never come back to this material world, which is full of miser-
ies and is nonpermanent." The highest perfection of life, therefore, is
to attain His association, and nothing else. The bhakti-yogī, being com-
pletely engaged in the Lord's service, has no attraction for any other
process of liberation like jñāna or yoga. A pure devotee is a one hun-
dred percent devotee of the Lord and nothing more.
We should further note in this verse the two words śāntam and
ānandam, which denote that devotional service of the Lord can really
bestow upon the devotee two important benedictions, namely peace
and satisfaction. The impersonalist is desirous of becoming one with
the Supreme, or in other words, he wants to become the Supreme.
This is a myth only. The mystic yogīs become encumbered by various
mystic powers and so have neither peace nor satisfaction. So neither
the impersonalists nor the yogi can have real peace and satisfaction,
but the devotee can become fully peaceful and satisfied because of his
association with the complete whole. Therefore, merging in the Abso-
lute or attaining some mystic powers has no attraction for the devo-
tee.
Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all
other attractions. The conditioned soul has many aspirations such as
becoming a religious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or be-
coming God himself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and act-
ing wonderfully by getting anything or doing anything, but all these
aspirations should be rejected by the prospective devotee who ac-
tually wants to revive his dormant love of God. The impure devotee
aspires after all of the abovementioned material things by perfection
of devotion. But a pure devotee has none of the tinges of the above
contaminations, which are the influence of material desires, imperso-
nal speculations and attainment of mystic powers. One can attain the
stage of love of God by pure devotional service, or by "a learned labor
of love," for the sake of the devotee's lovable object, the Personality
of Godhead.
To be more clear, if one wants to attain the stage of love of God-
head, he must give up all desires for material enjoyment, he should
refrain from worshiping any of the demigods, and he should devote
himself only to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
He must give up the foolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and
the desire to have some wonderful powers just to get the ephemeral
adoration of the world. The pure devotee is only favorably engaged in
the service of the Lord, without any hope of emolument. This will
bring about love of Godhead, or the stage of śāntam and ānandam, as
stated in this verse.
TEXT 32
ete sṛtī te nṛpa veda-gīte
tvayābhipṛṣṭe ca sanātane ca
ye vai purā brahmaṇa āha tuṣṭa
ārādhito bhagavān vāsudevaḥ
SYNONYMS
ete—all that is described; sṛtī—way; te—unto you; nṛpa—O Mahārāja
Parīkṣit; veda-gīte—according to the version of the Vedas; tvayā—by
Your Majesty; abhipṛṣṭe—being properly inquired; ca—also; sanātane—
in the matter of eternal truth; ca—verily; ye—which; vai—certainly;
purā—before; brahmaṇe—unto Lord Brahmā; āha—said; tuṣṭaḥ—being
satisfied; ārādhitaḥ—being worshiped; bhagavān—the Personality of
Godhead; vāsudevaḥ—Lord Kṛṣṇa.
 TRANSLATION
Your Majesty Mahārāja Parīkṣit, know that all that I have de-
scribed in reply to your proper inquiry is just according to the
version of the Vedas, and it is eternal truth. This was described
personally by Lord Kṛṣṇa unto Brahmā, with whom the Lord was
satisfied upon being properly worshiped.

PURPORT
The two different ways of reaching the spiritual sky and thereby
getting emancipation from all material bondage, namely either the
direct process of reaching the kingdom of God or the gradual process
through the other higher planets of the universe, are set forth exactly
according to the version of the Vedas. The Vedic versions in this con-
nection are, yadā sarve pramucyante kāmā ye 'sya hṛdi śritāḥ/ atha martyo
'mṛto bhavaty atra brahma samaśnute (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.7)
and te 'rcir abhisambhavanti (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.2.15): "Those
who are free from all material desires, which are diseases of the
heart, are able to conquer death and enter the kingdom of God
through the Arci planets." These Vedic versions corroborate the ver-
sion of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the latter is further confirmed by
Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who affirms that the truth was disclosed by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, to Brah-
mā, the first authority on the Vedas. The disciplic succession holds
that the Vedas were uttered by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Brahmā, by Brahmā to
Nārada, and by Nārada to Vyāsadeva, and then by Vyāsadeva to Śuka-
deva Gosvāmī and so on. So there is no difference between the ver-
sions of all the authorities. The truth is eternal, and as such there can-
not be any new opinion about the truth. That is the way of knowing
the knowledge contained in the Vedas. It is not a thing to be under-
stood by one's erudite scholarship or by the fashionable interpreta-
tions of mundane scholars. There is nothing to be added and nothing
to be subtracted, because the truth is the truth. One has to accept,
after all, some authority. The modern scientists are also authorities
for the common man for some scientific truths. The common man fol-
lows the version of the scientist. This means that the common man
follows the authority. The Vedic knowledge is also received in that
way. The common man cannot argue about what is beyond the sky or
beyond the universe; he must accept the versions of the Vedas as they
are understood by the authorized disciplic succession. In the Bhaga-
vad-gītā also the same process of understanding the Gītā is stated in
the Fourth Chapter. If one does not follow the authoritative version
of the ācāryas, he will vainly search after the truth mentioned in the
Vedas.
TEXT 33
na hy ato 'nyaḥ śivaḥ panthā
viśataḥ saṁsṛtāv iha
vāsudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogo yato bhavet
SYNONYMS
na—never; hi—certainly; ataḥ—beyond this; anyaḥ—any other; śivaḥ—
auspicious; panthāḥ—means; viśataḥ—wandering; saṁsṛtau—in the ma-
terial world; iha—in this life; vāsudeve—unto Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa;
bhagavati—the Personality of Godhead; bhakti-yogaḥ—direct devotion-
al service; yataḥ—wherein; bhavet—may result in.

TRANSLATION
For those who are wandering in the material universe, there
is no more auspicious means of deliverance than what is aimed
at in the direct devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT
As will be clarified in the next verse, devotional service, or direct
bhakti-yoga, is the only absolute and auspicious means of deliverance
from the grip of material existence. There are many indirect methods
for deliverance from the clutches of material existence, but none of
them is as easy and auspicious as bhakti-yoga. The means of jñāna and
yoga and other allied disciplines are not independent in delivering a
performer. Such activities help one to reach the stage of bhakti-yoga
after many, many years. In the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) it is said that
those who are attached to the impersonal feature of the Absolute are
liable to many troubles in the pursuit of their desired goal, and the
empiricist philosophers, searching after the Absolute Truth, realize
the importance of Vāsudeva realization as all in all after many, many
births (Bg. 7.19). As far as yoga systems are concerned, it is also said in
the Bhagavad-gītā (6.47) that amongst the mystics who pursue the Ab-
solute Truth, the one who is always engaged in the service of the Lord
is the greatest of all. And the last instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā
(18.66) advises fully surrendering unto the Lord, leaving aside all oth-
er engagements or different processes for self-realization and libera-
tion from material bondage. And the purport of all Vedic literatures
is to induce one to accept the transcendental loving service of the
Lord by all means.
As already explained in the texts of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (First Can-
to), either direct bhakti-yoga or the means which ultimately culminate
in bhakti-yoga, without any tinge of fruitive activity, constitutes the
highest form of religion. Everything else is simply a waste of time for
the performer.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī and all other ācāryas, like Jīva Gosvāmī,
agree that bhakti-yoga is not only easy, simple, natural and free from
trouble, but is the only source of happiness for the human being.
TEXT 34
bhagavān brahma kārtsnyena
trir anvīkṣya manīṣayā
tad adhyavasyat kūṭa-stho
ratir ātman yato bhavet
SYNONYMS
bhagavān—the great personality Brahmā; brahma—the Vedas; kārtsnye-
na—by summarization; triḥ—three times; anvīkṣya—scrutinizingly ex-
amined; manīṣayā—with scholarly attention; tat—that; adhyavasyat—
ascertained it; kūṭa-sthaḥ—with concentration of the mind; ratiḥ—at-
traction; ātman (ātmani)-unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī
Kṛṣṇa; yataḥ—by which; bhavet—it so happens.

TRANSLATION
The great personality Brahmā, with great attention and con-
centration of the mind, studied the Vedas three times, and after
scrutinizingly examining them, he ascertained that attraction
for the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the highest
perfection of religion.

PURPORT
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī is referring to the highest Vedic authority,
Lord Brahmā, who is the qualitative incarnation of Godhead. The Ve-
das were taught to Brahmājī in the beginning of the material creation.
Although Brahmājī was to hear Vedic instructions directly from the
Personality of Godhead, in order to satisfy the inquisitiveness of all
prospective students of the Vedas, Brahmājī, just like a scholar,
studied the Vedas three times, as generally done by all scholars. He
studied with great attention, concentrating on the purpose of the Ve-
das, and after scrutinizingly examining the whole process, he ascer-
tained that becoming a pure, unalloyed devotee of the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the topmost perfection of all reli-
gious principles. Aid this is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā di-
rectly presented by the Personality of Godhead. The Vedic conclusion
is thus accepted by all ācāryas, and those who are against this conclu-
sion are only veda-vāda-ratas, as explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.42).
TEXT 35
bhagavān sarva-bhūteṣu
lakṣitaḥ svātmanā hariḥ
dṛśyair buddhy-ādibhir draṣṭā
 lakṣaṇair anumāpakaiḥ
SYNONYMS
bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; sarva—all; bhūteṣu—in the liv-
ing entities; lakṣitaḥ—is visible; sva-ātmanā—along with the self;
hariḥ—the Lord; dṛśyaiḥ—by what is seen; buddhi-ādibhiḥ—by intelli-
gence; draṣṭā—one who sees; lakṣaṇaiḥ—by different signs;
anumāpakaiḥ—by hypothesis.

TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in every living
being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived
and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the
intelligence.

PURPORT
The general argument of the common man is that since the Lord
is not visible to our eyes, how can one either surrender unto Him or
render transcendental loving service unto Him? To such a common
man, here is a practical suggestion given by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī
as to how one can perceive the Supreme Lord by reason and percep-
tion. Actually the Lord is not perceivable by our present materialized
senses, but when one is convinced of the presence of the Lord by a
practical service attitude, there is a revelation by the Lord's mercy,
and such a pure devotee of the Lord can perceive the Lord's presence
always and everywhere. He can perceive that intelligence is the form-
direction of the Paramātmā plenary portion of the Personality of God-
head. The presence of Paramātmā in everyone's company is not very
difficult to realize, even for the common man. The procedure is as fol-
lows. One can perceive one's self-identification and feel positively
that he exists. He may not feel it very abruptly, but by using a little
intelligence, he can feel that he is not the body. He can feel that the
hand, the leg, the head, the hair and the limbs are all his bodily parts
and parcels, but as such the hand, the leg, the head, etc., cannot be
identified with his self. Therefore just by using intelligence he can
distinguish and separate his self from other things that he sees. So
the natural conclusion is that the living being, either man or beast, is
the seer, and he sees besides himself all other things. So there is a dif-
ference between the seer and the seen. Now, by a little use of intelli-
gence we can also readily agree that the living being who sees the
things beyond himself by ordinary vision has no power to see or to
move independently. All our ordinary actions and perceptions de-
pend on various forms of energy supplied to us by nature in various
combinations. Our senses of perception and of action, that is to say,
our five perceptive senses of (1) hearing, (2) touch, (3) sight, (4) taste
and (5) smell, as well as our five senses of action, namely (1) hands,
(2) legs, (3) speech, (4) evacuation organs and (5) reproductive or-
gans, and also our three subtle senses, namely (1) mind, (2) intelli-
gence and (3) ego (thirteen senses in all), are supplied to us by vari-
ous arrangements of gross or subtle forms of natural energy. And it is
equally evident that our objects of perception are nothing but the
products of the inexhaustible permutations and combinations of the
forms taken by natural energy. As this conclusively proves that the
ordinary living being has no independent power of perception or of
motion, and as we undoubtedly feel our existence being conditioned
by nature's energy, we conclude that he who sees is spirit, and that
the senses as well as the objects of perception are material. The spiri-
tual quality of the seer is manifest in our dissatisfaction with the lim-
ited state of materially conditioned existence. That is the difference
between spirit and matter. There are some less intelligent arguments
that matter develops the power of seeing and moving as a certain or-
ganic development, but such an argument cannot be accepted be-
cause there is no experimental evidence that matter has anywhere
produced a living entity. Trust no future, however pleasant. Idle talks
regarding future development of matter into spirit are actually fool-
ish because no matter has ever developed the power of seeing or
moving in any part of the world. Therefore it is definite that matter
and spirit are two different identities, and this conclusion is arrived
at by the use of intelligence. Now we come to the point that the
things which are seen by a little use of intelligence cannot be animate
unless we accept someone as the user of or director of the intelli-
gence. Intelligence gives one direction like some higher authority,
and the living being cannot see or move or eat or do anything with-
out the use of intelligence. When one fails to take advantage of intelli-
gence he becomes a deranged man, and so a living being is dependent
on intelligence or the direction of a superior being. Such intelligence
is all-pervading. Every living being has his intelligence, and this intel-
ligence, being the direction of some higher authority, is just like a fa-
ther giving direction to his son. The higher authority, who is present
and residing within every individual living being, is the Superself.
At this point in our investigation, we may consider the following
question: on the one hand we realize that all our perceptions and ac-
tivities are conditioned by arrangements of material nature, yet we
also ordinarily feel and say, "I am perceiving" or "I am doing." There-
fore we can say that our material senses of perception and action are
moving because we are identifying the self with the material body,
and that the superior principle of Superself is guiding and supplying
us according to our desire. By taking advantage of the guidance of
Superself in the form of intelligence, we can either continue to study
and to put into practice our conclusion that "I am not this body," or
we can choose to remain in the false material identification, fancying
ourselves to be the possessors and doers. Our freedom consists in ori-
enting our desire either toward the ignorant, material misconception
or the true, spiritual conception. We can easily attain to the true, spi-
ritual conception by recognizing the Superself (Paramātmā) to be our
friend and guide and by dovetailing our intelligence with the superior
intelligence of Paramātmā. The Superself and the individual self are
both spirit, and therefore the Superself and the individual self are
both qualitatively one and distinct from matter. But the Superself
and the individual self cannot be on an equal level because the Super-
self gives direction or supplies intelligence and the individual self fol-
lows the direction, and thus actions are performed properly. The indi-
vidual is completely dependent on the direction of the Superself be-
cause in every step the individual self follows the direction of the
Superself in the matter of seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling, willing,
etc.
So far as common sense is concerned, we come to the conclusion
that there are three identities, namely matter, spirit and Superspirit.
Now if we go to the Bhagavad-gītā, or the Vedic intelligence, we can
further understand that all three identities, namely matter, individu-
al spirit, and the Superspirit, are all dependent on the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead. The Superself is a partial representation or ple-
nary portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhagavad-gī-
tā affirms that the Supreme Personality of Godhead dominates all
over the material world by His partial representation only. God is
great, and He cannot be simply an order supplier of the individual
selves; therefore the Superself cannot be a full representation of the
Supreme Self, Puruṣottama, the Absolute Personality of Godhead.
Realization of the Superself by the individual self is the beginning of
self-realization, and by the progress of such self-realization one is
able to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead by intelligence,
by the help of authorized scriptures, and, principally, by the grace of
the Lord. The Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary conception of the Per-
sonality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the further
explanation of the science of Godhead. So if we stick to our determi-
nation and pray for the mercy of the director of intelligence sitting
within the same bodily tree, like a bird sitting with another bird (as
explained in the Upaniṣads), certainly the purport of the revealed in-
formations in the Vedas becomes clear to our vision, and there is no
difficulty in realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva.
The intelligent man therefore, after many births of such use of intelli-
gence, surrenders himself at the lotus feet of Vāsudeva, as confirmed
by the Bhagavad-gītā (7.19).
 TEXT 36
tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan
hariḥ sarvatra sarvadā
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
smartavyo bhagavān nṛṇām
SYNONYMS
tasmāt—therefore; sarva—all; ātmanā—soul; rājan—O King; hariḥ—the
Lord; sarvatra—everywhere; sarvadā—always; śrotavyaḥ—must be
heard; kīrtitavyaḥ—glorified; ca—also; smartavyaḥ—be remembered;
bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; nṛṇām—by the human being.

TRANSLATION
O King, it is therefore essential that every human being hear
about, glorify and remember the Supreme Lord, the Personality
of Godhead, always and everywhere.

PURPORT
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī begins this verse with the word tasmāt,
or "therefore," because in the previous verse he has already ex-
plained that there is no auspicious means for salvation other than the
sublime process of bhakti-yoga. The bhakti-yoga process is practiced by
the devotees in different methods like hearing, chanting, remember-
ing, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping, praying, rendering
service in love, becoming friendly, and offering all that one may pos-
sess. All nine methods are bona fide methods, and either all of them,
some of them or even one of them can bring about the desired result
for the sincere devotee. But out of all the nine different methods, the
first one, namely hearing, is the most important function in the proc-
ess of bhakti-yoga. Without hearing sufficiently and properly, no one
can make any progress by any of the methods of practice. And for
hearing only, all the Vedic literatures are there, compiled by author-
ized persons like Vyāsadeva, who is the powerful incarnation of God-
head. And since it has been ascertained that the Lord is the Supersoul
of everything, He should therefore be heard and glorified everywhere
and always. That is the special duty of the human being. When the
human being gives up the process of hearing about the all-pervading
Personality of Godhead, he becomes victim to hearing rubbish trans-
mitted by man-made machines. Machinery is not bad because
through the machine one can take advantage of hearing about the
Lord, but because machinery is used for ulterior purposes, it is creat-
ing rapid degradation in the standard of human civilization. It is said
here that it is incumbent upon the human beings to hear because the
scriptures like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are made for that
purpose. Living beings other than human beings have no ability to
hear such Vedic literatures. If human society gives itself to the proc-
ess of hearing the Vedic literature, it will not become a victim to the
impious sounds vibrated by impious men who degrade the standards
of the total society. Hearing is solidified by the process of chanting.
One who has perfectly heard from the perfect source becomes con-
vinced about the all-pervading Personality of Godhead and thus be-
comes enthusiastic in glorifying the Lord. All the great ācāryas, like
Rāmānuja, Madhva, Caitanya, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura or even, in other
countries, Muhammad, Christ and others, have all extensively glori-
fied the Lord by chanting always and in every place. Because the Lord
is all-pervading, it is essential to glorify Him always and everywhere.
In the process of glorifying the Lord there should be no restriction of
time and space. This is called sanātana-dharma or bhāgavata-dharma.
Sanātana means eternal, always and everywhere. Bhāgavata means
pertaining to Bhagavān, the Lord. The Lord is the master of all time
and all space, and therefore the Lord's holy name must be heard, glo-
rified and remembered everywhere in the world. That will bring
about the desired peace and prosperity so eagerly awaited by the peo-
ple of the world. The word ca includes all the remaining processes or
methods of bhakti-yoga, as mentioned above.
TEXT 37
pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ
kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam
 punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ
vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikam
SYNONYMS
pibanti—who drink; ye—those; bhagavataḥ—of the Personality of God-
head; ātmanaḥ—of the most dear; satām—of devotees; kathā-amṛtam—
the nectar of the messages; śravaṇa-puṭeṣu—within the earholes;
sambhṛtam—fully filled; punanti—purify; te—their; viṣaya—material en-
joyment; vidūṣita-āśayam—polluted aim of life; vrajanti—do go back;
tat—the Lord's; caraṇa—feet; saroruha-antikam—near the lotus.

TRANSLATION
Those who drink through aural reception, fully filled with
the nectarean message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved of the devo-
tees, purify the polluted aim of life known as material enjoyment
and thus go back to Godhead, to the lotus feet of Him [the Per-
sonality of Godhead].

PURPORT
The sufferings of human society are due to a polluted aim of life,
namely lording it over the material resources. The more human soci-
ety engages in the exploitation of undeveloped material resources for
sense gratification, the more it will be entrapped by the illusory, ma-
terial energy of the Lord, and thus the distress of the world will be in-
tensified instead of diminished. The human necessities of life are fully
supplied by the Lord in the shape of food grains, milk, fruit, wood,
stone, sugar, silk, jewels, cotton, salt, water, vegetables, etc., in suffi-
cient quantity to feed and care for the human race of the world as
well as the living beings on each and every planet within the uni-
verse. The supply source is complete, and only a little energy by the
human being is required to get his necessities into the proper chan-
nel. There is no need of machines and tools or huge steel plants for
artificially creating comforts of life. Life is never made comfortable
by artificial needs, but by plain living and high thinking. The highest
perfectional thinking for human society is suggested here by Śukade-
va Gosvāmī, namely, sufficiently hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. For men
in this age of Kali, when they have lost the perfect vision of life, this
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the torchlight by which to see the real path. Śrī-
la Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda has commented on the kathāmṛtam men-
tioned in this verse and has indicated Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to be the
nectarean message of the Personality of Godhead. By sufficient hear-
ing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the polluted aim of life, namely lording it
over matter, will subside, and the people in general in all parts of the
world will be able to live a peaceful life of knowledge and bliss.
For a pure devotee of the Lord, any topics in relation with His
name, fame, quality, entourage, etc., are all pleasing, and because
such topics have been approved by great devotees like Nārada, Hanu-
mān, Nanda Mahārāja and other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, certainly
such messages are transcendental and pleasing to the heart and soul.
And by the constant hearing of the messages of the Bhagavad-gītā,
and later of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one is assured herein by Śrīla Śukade-
va Gosvāmī that he will reach the Personality of Godhead and render
Him transcendental loving service in the spiritual planet of the name
Goloka Vṛndāvana, which resembles a huge lotus flower.
Thus by the process of bhakti-yoga, directly accepted, as sug-
gested in this verse, by sufficient hearing of the transcendental mes-
sage of the Lord, the material contamination is directly eliminated
without one's attempting to contemplate the impersonal virāṭ con-
ception of the Lord. And by practicing bhakti-yoga, if the performer is
not purified from the material contamination, he must be a pseudo-
devotee. For such an imposter there is no remedy for being freed
from material entanglement.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Second Canto, Second