Bhagavad-gita As It Is
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
CHAPTER TEN
The Opulence of the Absolute
Bg10.1
TEXT 1
sri-bhagavan uvaca
bhuya eva maha-baho
srnu me paramam vacah
yat te ’ham priyamanaya
vaksyami hita-kamyaya
sri bhagavan uvaca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; bhuyah—again; eva—certainly; maha-baho—O mighty-armed; srnu—just hear; me—My; paramam—supreme; vacah—information; yat—that which; te—to you; aham—I; priyamanaya—thinking you dear to Me; vaksyami—say; hita-kamyaya—for your benefit.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Lord said: My dear friend, mighty-armed Arjuna, listen again to My supreme word, which I shall impart to you for your benefit and which will give you great joy.
PURPORT
The word paramam is explained thus by Parasara Muni: one who is full in six opulences, who has full strength, full fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation, is paramam, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. While Krsna was present on this earth, He displayed all six opulences. Therefore great sages like Parasara Muni have all accepted Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now Krsna is instructing Arjuna in more confidential knowledge of His opulences and His work. Previously, beginning with the Seventh Chapter, the Lord already explained His different energies and how they are acting. Now in this chapter He explains His specific opulences to Arjuna. In the previous chapter he has clearly explained His different energies to establish devotion in firm conviction. Again in this chapter He tells Arjuna about His manifestations and various opulences.
The more one hears about the Supreme God, the more one becomes fixed in devotional service. One should always hear about the Lord in the association of devotees; that will enhance one’s devotional service. Discourses in the society of devotees can take place only among those who are really anxious to be in Krsna consciousness. Others cannot take part in such discourses. The Lord clearly tells Arjuna that because he is very dear to Him, for his benefit such discourses are taking place. Bg10.2 TEXT 2 na me viduh sura-ganah prabhavam na maharsayah aham adir hi devanam maharsinam ca sarvasah na—never; me—My; viduh—knows; sura-ganah—demigods; prabhavam—opulences; na—never; maharsayah—great sages; aham—I am; adih—the origin; hi—certainly; devanam—of the demigods; maharsinam—of the great sages; ca—also; sarvasah—in all respects. TRANSLATION Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and the sages. PURPORT As stated in the Brahma-samhita, Lord Krsna is the Supreme Lord. No one is greater than Him; He is the cause of all causes. Here it is also stated by the Lord personally that He is the cause of all the demigods and sages. Even the demigods and great sages cannot understand Krsna; they can understand neither His name nor His personality, so what is the position of the so-called scholars of this tiny planet? No one can understand why this Supreme God comes to earth as an ordinary human being and executes such commonplace and yet wonderful activities. One should know, then, that scholarship is not the qualification necessary to understand Krsna. Even the demigods and the great sages have tried to understand Krsna by their mental speculation, and they have failed to do so. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also it is clearly said that even the great demigods are not able to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They can speculate to the limits of their imperfect senses and can reach the opposite conclusion of impersonalism, of something not manifested by the three qualities of material nature, or they can imagine something by mental speculation, but it is not possible to understand Krsna by such foolish speculation. Here the Lord indirectly says that if anyone wants to know the Absolute Truth, “Here I am present as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am the Supreme.” One should know this. Although one cannot understand the inconceivable Lord who is personally present, He nonetheless exists. We can actually understand Krsna, who is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge, simply by studying His words in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The impersonal Brahman can be conceived by persons who are already in the inferior energy of the Lord, but the Personality of Godhead cannot be conceived unless one is in the transcendental position. Because most men cannot understand Krsna in His actual situation, out of His causeless mercy He descends to show favor to such speculators. Yet despite the Supreme Lord’s uncommon activities, these speculators, due to contamination in the material energy, still think that the impersonal Brahman is the Supreme. Only the devotees who are fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord can understand, by the grace of the Supreme Personality, that He is Krsna. The devotees of the Lord do not bother about the impersonal Brahman conception of God; their faith and devotion bring them to surrender immediately unto the Supreme Lord, and out of the causeless mercy of Krsna, they can understand Krsna. No one else can understand Him. So even great sages agree: What is atma, what is the Supreme? It is He whom we have to worship. Bg10.3 TEXT 3 yo mam ajam anadim ca vetti loka-mahesvaram asammudhah sa martyesu sarva-papaih pramucyate yah—anyone; mam—unto Me; ajam—unborn; anadim—without beginning; ca—also; vetti—knows; loka—the planets; mahesvaram—supreme master; asammudhah—without doubt; sah—he; martyesu—among those subject to death; sarva-papaih—from all sinful reactions; pramucyate—is delivered. TRANSLATION He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginningless, as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds—he, undeluded among men, is freed from all sins. PURPORT As stated in the Seventh Chapter, those who are trying to elevate themselves to the platform of spiritual realization are not ordinary men. They are superior to millions and millions of ordinary men who have no knowledge of spiritual realization, but out of those actually trying to understand their spiritual situation, one who can come to the understanding that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the proprietor of everything, the unborn, is the most successful spiritually realized person. In that stage only, when one has fully understood Krsna’s supreme position, can one be free completely from all sinful reactions. Here the word ajam, meaning unborn, should not be confused with the living entities, who are described in the Second Chapter as ajam. The Lord is different from the living entities who are taking birth and dying due to material attachment. The conditional souls are changing their bodies, but His body is not changeable. Even when He comes to this material world, He comes as the same unborn; therefore in the Fourth Chapter it is said that the Lord, by His internal potency, is not under the inferior material energy, but is always in the superior energy. He was existing before the creation, and He is different from His creation. All the demigods were created within this material world, but as far as Krsna is concerned, it is said that He is not created; therefore Krsna is different even from the great demigods like Brahma and Siva. And because He is the creator of Brahma, Siva and all the other demigods, He is the Supreme Person of all planets. Sri Krsna is therefore different from everything that is created, and anyone who knows Him as such immediately becomes liberated from all sinful reaction. One must be liberated from all sinful activities to be in the knowledge of the Supreme Lord. Only by devotional service can He be known and not by any other means, as stated in Bhagavad-gita. One should not try to understand Krsna as a human being. As stated previously, only a foolish person thinks Him to be a human being. This is again expressed here in a different way. A man who is not foolish, who is intelligent enough to understand the constitutional position of the Godhead, is always free from all sinful reactions. If Krsna is known as the son of Devaki, then how can He be unborn? That is also explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam: When He appeared before Devaki and Vasudeva, He was not born as an ordinary child; He appeared in His original form, and then He transformed Himself into an ordinary child. Anything done under the direction of Krsna is transcendental. It cannot be contaminated by the material reactions, which may be auspicious or inauspicious. The conception that there are things auspicious and inauspicious in the material world is more or less a mental concoction because there is nothing auspicious in the material world. Everything is inauspicious because the very material mask is inauspicious. We simply imagine it to be auspicious. Real auspiciousness depends on activities in Krsna consciousness in full devotion and service. Therefore if we at all want our activities to he auspicious, then we should work under the directions of the Supreme Lord. Such directions are given in authoritative scriptures such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, or from a bona fide spiritual master. Because the spiritual master is the representative of the Supreme Lord, his direction is directly the direction of the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master, saintly persons and scriptures direct in the same way. There is no contradiction in these three sources. All actions done under such direction are free from the reactions of pious or impious activities of this material world. The transcendental attitude of the devotee in the performance of activities is actually that of renunciation, and this is called sannyasa. Anyone acting under the direction of the Supreme Lord is actually a sannyasi and a yogi, and not the man who has simply taken the dress of the sannyasi, or a pseudo-yogi. Bg10.4-5 TEXTS 4–5 buddhir jnanam asammohah ksama satyam damah samah sukham duhkham bhavo ’bhavo bhayam cabhayam eva ca ahimsa samata tustis tapo danam yaso ’yasah bhavanti bhava bhutanam matta eva prthag-vidhah buddhih—intelligence; jnanam—knowledge; asam-mohah—freedom from doubt; ksama—forgiveness; satyam—truthfulness; damah—control of the senses; samah—control of the mind; sukham—happiness; duhkham—distress; bhavah—birth; abhavah—death; bhayam—fear; ca—also; abhayam—without fear; eva—also; ca—and; ahimsa—nonviolence; samata—equilibrium; tustih—satisfaction; tapah—penance; danam—charity; yasah—fame; ayasah—infamy; bhavanti—become; bhavah—natures; bhutanam—of living entities; mattah—from Me; eva—certainly; prthak-vidhah—differently arranged. TRANSLATION Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, self-control and calmness, pleasure and pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy are created by Me alone. PURPORT The different qualities of living entities, be they good or bad, are all created by Krsna, and they are described here. Intelligence refers to the power of analyzing things in proper perspective, and knowledge refers to understanding what is spirit and what is matter. Ordinary knowledge obtained by a university education pertains only to matter, and it is not accepted here as knowledge. Knowledge means knowing the distinction between spirit and matter. In modern education there is no knowledge about the spirit; they are simply taking care of the material elements and bodily needs. Therefore academic knowledge is not complete. Asammohah, freedom from doubt and delusion, can be achieved when one is not hesitant and when he understands the transcendental philosophy. Slowly but surely he becomes free from bewilderment. Nothing should be accepted blindly; everything should be accepted with care and with caution. Ksama, forgiveness, should be practiced, and one should excuse the minor offenses of others. Satyam, truthfulness, means that facts should be presented as they are for the benefit of others. Facts should not be misrepresented. According to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth only when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The truth should be spoken in a straight and forward way, so that others will understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if people are warned that he is a thief, that is truth. Although sometimes the truth is unpalatable, one should not refrain from speaking it. Truthfulness demands that the facts be presented as they are for the benefit of others. That is the definition of truth. Self-control means that the senses should not be used for unnecessary personal enjoyment. There is no prohibition against meeting the proper needs of the senses, but unnecessary sense enjoyment is detrimental for spiritual advancement. Therefore the senses should be restrained from unnecessary use. Similarly, the mind should not indulge in unnecessary thoughts; that is called samah, or calmness. Nor should one spend one’s time pondering over earning money. That is a misuse of the thinking power. The mind should be used to understand the prime necessity of human beings, and that should be presented authoritatively. The power of thought should be developed in association with persons who are authorities in the scriptures, saintly persons and spiritual masters and those whose thinking is highly developed. Sukham, pleasure or happiness, should always be in that which is favorable for the cultivation of the spiritual knowledge of Krsna consciousness. And similarly, that which is painful or which causes distress is that which is unfavorable for the cultivation of Krsna consciousness. Anything favorable for the development of Krsna consciousness should be accepted, and anything unfavorable should be rejected. Bhava, birth, should be understood to refer to the body. As far as the soul is concerned, there is neither birth nor death; that we have discussed in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Birth and death apply to one’s embodiment in the material world. Fear is due to worrying about the future. A person in Krsna consciousness has no fear because by his activities he is sure to go back to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead. Therefore his future is very bright. Others, however, do not know what their future holds; they have no knowledge of what the next life holds. So they are therefore in constant anxiety. If we want to get free from anxiety, then the best course is to understand Krsna and be situated always in Krsna consciousness. In that way we will be free from all fear. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam. it is stated that fear is caused by our absorption in the illusory energy, but those who are free from the illusory energy, those who are confident that they are not the material body, that they are spiritual parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are therefore engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme Godhead, have nothing to fear. Their future is very bright. This fear is a condition of persons who are not in Krsna consciousness. Bhayam, fearlessness, is only possible for one in Krsna consciousness. Ahimsa, nonviolence, means that one should not do anything which will put others into misery or confusion. Material activities that are promised by so many politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc., do not produce very good results because the politicians and philanthropists have no transcendental vision; they do not know what is actually beneficial for human society. Ahimsa means that people should be trained in such a way that the full utilization of the human body can be achieved. The human body is meant for spiritual realization, so any movement or any commissions which do not further that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers the future spiritual happiness of the people in general is called nonviolence. Samata, equanimity, refers to freedom from attachment and aversion. To be very much attached or to be very much detached is not the best. This material world should be accepted without attachment or aversion. Similarly, that which is favorable for prosecuting Krsna consciousness should be accepted; that which is unfavorable should be rejected. That is called samata, equanimity. A person in Krsna consciousness has nothing to reject and nothing to accept unless it is useful in the prosecution of Krsna consciousness. Tustih, satisfaction, means that one should not be eager to gather more and more material goods by unnecessary activity. One should be satisfied with whatever is obtained by the grace of the Supreme Lord; that is called satisfaction. Tapas means austerity or penance. There are many rules and definitions in the Vedas which apply here, like rising early in the morning and taking a bath. Sometimes it is very troublesome to rise early in the morning, but whatever voluntary trouble one may suffer in this way is called penance. Similarly, there are prescriptions for fasting on certain days of the month. One may not be inclined to practice such fasting, but because of his determination to make advancement in the science of Krsna consciousness, he should accept such bodily troubles which are recommended. However, one should not fast unnecessarily or against Vedic injunctions. One should not fast for some political purpose; that is described in Bhagavad-gita as fasting in ignorance, and anything done in ignorance or passion does not lead to spiritual advancement. Everything done in the mode of goodness does advance one, however, and fasting done in terms of the Vedic injunctions enriches one in spiritual knowledge. As far as charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his earnings to some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that which is conducted in terms of Krsna consciousness. That is not only a good cause, but it is the best cause. Because Krsna is good, His cause is also good. Thus charity should be given to a person who is engaged in Krsna consciousness. According to Vedic literature, it is enjoined that charity should be given to the brahmanas. This practice is still followed, although not very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction. But still the injunction is that charity should be given to the brahmanas. Why? Because they are engaged in higher cultivation of spiritual knowledge. A brahmana is supposed to devote his whole life to understanding Brahman. A brahma-jana is one who knows Brahman; he is called a brahmana. Thus charity is offered to the brahmanas because since they are always engaged in higher spiritual service, they have no time to earn their livelihood. In the Vedic literature, charity is also to be awarded to the renouncer of life, the sannyasi. The sannyasis beg from door to door, not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten their actual purpose in life—awakening their Krsna consciousness—it is the business of the sannyasis to go as beggars to the householders and encourage them to be Krsna conscious. As it is said in the Vedas, one should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form of life. This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannyasis; hence charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brahmanas, and similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause. Yasah, fame, should be according to Lord Caitanya, who said that a man is famous when he is known as a great devotee. That is real fame. If one has become a great man in Krsna consciousness and it is known, then he is truly famous. One who does not have such fame is infamous. All these qualities are manifest throughout the universe in human society and in the society of the demigods. There are many forms of humanity on other planets, and these qualities are there. Now, for one who wants to advance in Krsna consciousness, Krsna creates all these qualities, but the person develops them himself from within. One who engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord develops all the good qualities, as arranged by the Supreme Lord. Of whatever we find, good or bad, the origin is Krsna. Nothing can manifest in this material world which is not in Krsna. That is knowledge; although we know that things are differently situated, we should realize that everything flows from Krsna. Bg10.6 TEXT 6 maharsayah sapta purve catvaro manavas tatha mad-bhava manasa jata yesam loka imah prajah maharsayah—the great sages; sapta—seven; purve—before; catvarah—four; manavah—Manus; tatha—also; mat-bhavah—born of Me; manasah—from the mind; jatah—born; yesam—of them; loke—the planets; imah—all this; prajah—population. TRANSLATION The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus [progenitors of mankind] are born out of My mind, and all creatures in these planets descend from them. PURPORT The Lord is giving a genealogical synopsis of the universal population. Brahma is the original creature born out of the energy of the Supreme Lord known as Hiranyagarbha. And from Brahma all the seven great sages, and before them four other great sages, named Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara, and the Manus, are manifest. All these twenty-five great sages are known as the patriarchs of the living entities all over the universe. There are innumerable universes and innumerable planets within each universe, and each planet is full of population of different varieties. All of them are born of these twenty-five patriarchs. Brahma underwent penance for one thousand years of the demigods before he realized by the grace of Krsna how to create. Then from Brahma, Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara came out, then Rudra, and then the seven sages, and in this way all the brahmanas and ksatriyas are born out of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahma is known as pitamaha, the grandfather, and Krsna is known as the prapita-maha, the father of the grandfather. That is stated in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. (Bg. 11.39) Bg10.7 TEXT 7 etam vibhutim yogam ca mama yo vetti tattvatah so ’vikalpena yogena yujyate natra samsayah etam—all this; vibhutim—opulence; yogam ca—also mystic power; mama—of Mine; yah—anyone; vetti—knows; tattvatah—factually; sah—he; avikalpena—without division; yogena—in devotional service; yujyate—engaged; na—never; atra—here; samsayah—doubt. TRANSLATION He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt. PURPORT The highest summit of spiritual perfection is knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is firmly convinced of the different opulences of the Supreme Lord, he cannot engage in devotional service. Generally people know that God is great, but they do not know in detail how God is great. Here are the details. If one knows factually how God is great, then naturally he becomes a surrendered soul and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord. When one factually knows the opulences of the Supreme, there is no alternative but to surrender to Him. This factual knowledge can be known from the descriptions in Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita and similar literatures. In the administration of this universe there are many demigods distributed throughout the planetary system, and the chief of them are Brahma, Lord Siva and the four great Kumaras and other patriarchs. There are many forefathers of the population of the universe, and all of them are born of the Supreme Lord Krsna. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the original forefather of all forefathers. These are some of the opulences of the Supreme Lord. When one is firmly convinced of them, he accepts Krsna with great faith and without any doubt, and he engages in devotional service. All this particular knowledge is required in order to increase one’s interest in the loving devotional service of the Lord. One should not neglect to understand fully how great Krsna is, for by knowing the greatness of Krsna one will be able to be fixed in sincere devotional service. Bg10.8 TEXT 8 aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah aham—I; sarvasya—of all; prabhavah—source of generation; mattah—from Me; sarvam—everything; pravartate—emanates; iti—thus; matva—knowing; bhajante—becomes devoted; mam—unto Me; budhah—learned; bhava-samanvitah—with great attention. TRANSLATION I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. PURPORT A learned scholar who has studied the Vedas perfectly and has information from authorities like Lord Caitanya and who knows how to apply these teachings can understand that Krsna is the origin of everything in both the material and spiritual worlds, and because he knows this perfectly he becomes firmly fixed in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. He can never be deviated by any amount of nonsensical commentaries or by fools. All Vedic literature agrees that Krsna is the source of Brahma, Siva and all other demigods. In the Atharva-veda it is said, “yo brahmanam vidadhati: purvam yo vai vedams ca gapayati sma krsnah.” “It was Krsna who in the beginning instructed Brahma in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past.” Then again it is said, “atha puruso ha vai narayano ’kamayata prajah srjeya ity upakramya.” “Then the Supreme Personality Narayana desired to create living entities.” Again it is said: narayanad brahma jayate, narayanad prajapatih prajayate, narayanad indro jayate, narayanad astau vasavo jayante, narayanad ekadasa rudra jayante, narayanad dvadasadityah. “From Narayana, Brahma is born, and from Narayana, the patriarchs are also born. From Narayana, Indra is born, from Narayana the eight Vasus are born, from Narayana the eleven Rudras are born, from Narayana the twelve Adityas are born.” It is said in the same Vedas: brahmanyo devaki-putrah: “The son of Devaki, Krsna, is the Supreme Personality.” Then it is said: eko vai narayana asin na brahma na isano napo nagni samau neme “In the beginning of the creation there was only the Supreme Personality Narayana. There was no Brahma, no Siva, no fire, no moon, no stars in the sky, no sun. There was only Krsna, who creates all and enjoys all.” In the many Puranas it is said that Lord Siva was born from the highest, the Supreme Lord Krsna, and the Vedas say that it is the Supreme Lord, the creator of Brahma and Siva, who is to be worshiped. In the Moksa-dharma Krsna also says, prajapatim ca rudram capy aham eva srjami vai tau hi mam na vijanito mama maya-vimohitau. “The patriarchs, Siva and others are created by Me, though they do not know that they are created by Me because they are deluded by My illusory energy.” In Varaha Purana it is also said, narayanah paro devas tasmaj jatas caturmukhah tasmad rudro ’bhavad devah sa ca sarvajnatam gatah. “Narayana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him Brahma was born, from whom Siva was born.” Lord Krsna is the source of all generations, and He is called the most efficient cause of everything. He says that because “everything is born of Me, I am the original source of all. Everything is under Me; no one is above Me.” There is no supreme controller other than Krsna. One who understands Krsna in such a way from a bona fide spiritual master and from Vedic literature, who engages all his energy in Krsna consciousness, becomes a truly learned man. In comparison to him, all others, who do not know Krsna properly, are but fools. Only a fool would consider Krsna to be an ordinary man. A Krsna conscious person should not be bewildered by fools; he should avoid all unauthorized commentaries and interpretations on Bhagavad-gita and proceed in Krsna consciousness with determination and firmness. Bg10.9 TEXT 9 mac-citta mad-gata-prana bodhayantah parasparam kathayantas ca mam nityam tusyanti ca ramanti ca mat-cittah—minds fully engaged in Me; mat-gata-pranah—lives devoted to the service of Krsna; bodhayantah—preaching; parasparam—among themselves; kathayantah ca—talking also; mam—about Me; nityam—perpetually; tusyanti—are pleased; ca—also; ramanti—enjoy transcendental bliss; ca—also. TRANSLATION The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me. PURPORT Pure devotees, whose characteristics are mentioned here, engage themselves fully in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Their minds cannot be diverted from the lotus feet of Krsna. Their talks are solely on the transcendental subjects. The symptoms of the pure devotees are described in this verse specifically. Devotees of the Supreme Lord are twenty-four hours daily engaged in glorifying the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Their hearts and souls are constantly submerged in Krsna, and they take pleasure in discussing Him with other devotees. In the preliminary stage of devotional service they relish the transcendental pleasure from the service itself, and in the mature stage they are actually situated in love of God. Once situated in that transcendental position, they can relish the highest perfection which is exhibited by the Lord in His abode. Lord Caitanya likens transcendental devotional service to the sowing of a seed in the heart of the living entity. There are innumerable living entities traveling throughout the different planets of the universe, and out of them there are a few who are fortunate enough to meet a pure devotee and get the chance to understand devotional service. This devotional service is just like a seed, and if it is sown in the heart of a living entity, and if he goes on hearing and chanting, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, that seed fructifies, just as the seed of a tree fructifies with regular watering. The spiritual plant of devotional service gradually grows and grows until it penetrates the covering of the material universe and enters into the brahmajyoti effulgence in the spiritual sky. In the spiritual sky also that plant grows more and more until it reaches the highest planet, which is called Goloka Vrndavana, the supreme planet of Krsna. Ultimately, the plant takes shelter under the lotus feet of Krsna and rests there. Gradually, as a plant grows fruits and flowers, that plant of devotional service also produces fruits, and the watering process in the form of chanting and hearing goes on. This plant of devotional service is fully described in the Caitanya-caritamrta. It is explained there that when the complete plant takes shelter under the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, one becomes fully absorbed in love of God; then he cannot live even for a moment without being in contact with the Supreme Lord, just as a fish cannot live without water. In such a state, the devotee actually attains the transcendental qualities in contact with the Supreme Lord. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is also full of such narration about the relationship between the Supreme Lord and His devotees; therefore the Srimad-Bhagavatam is very dear to the devotees. In this narration there is nothing about material activities, sense gratification or liberation. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the only narration in which the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord and His devotees is fully described. Thus the realized souls in Krsna consciousness take continual pleasure in hearing such transcendental literatures, just as a young boy and girl take pleasure in association.
dyav-aprthivi na naksatrani na suryah sa ekaki na ramate tasya
dhyanantah sthasya yatra chandogaih kriyamanastakadi-samjnaka
stuti-stomah stomam ucyate.