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sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; variyan—glorious; esah—this; te—your; prasnah—question; krtah—made by you; loka-hitam—beneficial for all men; nrpa—O King; atmavit—transcendentalist; sammatah—approved; pumsam—of all men; srotavya-adisu—in all kinds of hearing; yah—what is; parah—the supreme.

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists.

Even the very question is so nice that it is the best subject matter for hearing. Simply by such questioning and hearing, one can achieve the highest perfectional stage of life. Because Lord Krsna is the original Supreme Person, any question about Him is original and perfect. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that the highest perfection of life is to achieve the transcendental loving service of Krsna. Because questions and answers about Krsna elevate one to that transcendental position, the questions of Maharaja Pariksit about Krsna philosophy are greatly glorified. Maharaja Pariksit wanted to absorb his mind completely in Krsna, and such absorption can be effected simply by hearing about the uncommon activities of Krsna. For instance, in the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that simply by understanding the transcendental nature of Lord Krsna’s appearance, disappearance, and activities, one can immediately return home, back to Godhead, and never come back to this miserable condition of material existence. It is very auspicious, therefore, to hear always about Krsna. So Maharaja Pariksit requested Sukadeva Gosvami to narrate the activities of Krsna so that he could engage his mind in Krsna. The activities of Krsna are nondifferent from Krsna Himself. As long as one is engaged in hearing such transcendental activities of Krsna, he remains aloof from the conditional life of material existence. The topics of Lord Krsna are so auspicious that they purify the speaker, the hearer and the inquirer. They are compared to the Ganges waters, which flow from the toe of Lord Krsna. Wherever the Ganges waters go, they purify the land and the person who bathes in them. Similarly, krsna-katha, or the topics of Krsna, are so pure that wherever they are spoken, the place, the hearer, the inquirer, the speaker and all concerned become purified.

SB2.1.2

TEXT 2

srotavyadini rajendra

nrnam santi sahasrasah

apasyatam atma-tattvam

grhesu grha-medhinam

srotavya-adini—subject matters for hearing; rajendra—O Emperor; nrnam—of human society; santi—there are; sahasrasah—hundreds and thousands; apasyatam—of the blind; atma-tattvam—knowledge of self, the ultimate truth; grhesu—at home; grha-medhinam—of persons too materially engrossed.

Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, leave many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.

In the revealed scriptures there are two nomenclatures for the householder’s life. One is grhastha, and the other is grhamedhi. The grhasthas are those who live together with wife and children but live transcendentally for realizing the ultimate truth. The grhamedhis, however, are those who live only for the benefit of the family members, extended or centralized, and thus are envious of others. The word medhi indicates jealousy of others. The grhamedhis, being interested in family affairs only, are certainly envious of others. Therefore, one grhamedhi is not on good terms with another grhamedhi, and in the extended form, one community, society or nation is not on good terms with another counterpart of selfish interest. In the age of Kali, all the householders are jealous of one another because they are blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth. They have many subject matters for hearing—political, scientific, social, economic and so on—but due to a poor fund of knowledge, they set aside the question of the ultimate miseries of life, namely miseries of birth, death, old age and disease. Factually, the human life is meant for making an ultimate solution to birth, death, old age and disease, but the grhamedhis, being illusioned by the material nature, forget everything about self-realization. The ultimate solution to the problems of life is to go back home, back to Godhead, and thus, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (8.16), the miseries of material existence—birth, death, old age and disease—are removed.

The process of going back home, back to Godhead, is to hear about the Supreme Lord and His name, form, attributes, pastimes, paraphernalia and variegatedness. Foolish people do not know this. They want to hear something about the name, form, etc., of everything temporary, and they do not know how to utilize this propensity of hearing for the ultimate good. Misguided as they are, they also create some false literatures about the name, form, attributes, etc., of the ultimate truth. One should not, therefore, become a grhamedhi simply to exist for envying others; one should become a real householder in terms of the scriptural injunctions.

SB2.1.3

TEXT 3

nidraya hriyate naktam

vyavayena ca va vayah

diva carthehaya rajan

kutumba-bharanena va

nidraya—by sleeping; hriyate—wastes; naktam—night; vyavayena—sex indulgence; ca—also; va—either; vayah—duration of life; diva—days; ca—and; artha—economic; ihaya—development; rajan—O King; kutumba—family members; bharanena—maintaining; va—either.

The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members.

The present human civilization is primarily based on the principles of sleeping and sex indulgence at night and earning money in the day and spending the same for family maintenance. Such a form of human civilization is condemned by the Bhagavata school.

Because human life is a combination of matter and spirit soul, the whole process of Vedic knowledge is directed at liberating the spirit soul from the contamination of matter. The knowledge concerning this is called atma-tattva. Those men who are too materialistic are unaware of this knowledge and are more inclined to economic development for material enjoyment. Such materialistic men are called karmis, or fruitive laborers, and they are allowed regulated economic development or association of woman for sex indulgence. Those who are above the karmis, that is, the jnanis, yogis and devotees, are strictly prohibited from sex indulgence. The karmis are more or less devoid of atma-tattva knowledge, and as such, their life is spent without spiritual profit. The human life is not meant for hard labor for economic development, nor is it meant for sex indulgence like that of the dogs and hogs. It is specially meant for making a solution to the problems of material life and the miseries thereof. So the karmis waste their valuable human life by sleeping and sex indulgence at night, and by laboring hard in the daytime to accumulate wealth, and after doing so, they try to improve the standard of materialistic life. The materialistic way of life is described herein in a nutshell, and how foolishly men waste the boon of human life is described as follows.

SB2.1.4

TEXT 4

dehapatya-kalatradisv

atma-sainyesv asatsv api

tesam pramatto nidhanam

pasyann api na pasyati

deha—body; apatya—children; kalatra—wife; adisu—and in everything in relation to them; atma—own; sainyesu—fighting soldiers; asatsu—fallible; api—in spite of; tesam—of all of them; pramattah—too attached; nidhanam—destruction; pasyan—having been experienced; api—although; na—does not; pasyati—see it.

Persons devoid of atma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.

This material world is called the world of death. Every living being, beginning from Brahma, whose duration of life is some thousands of millions of years, down to the germs who live for a few seconds only, is struggling for existence. Therefore, this life is a sort of fight with material nature, which imposes death upon all. In the human form of life, a living being is competent enough to come to an understanding of this great struggle for existence, but being too attached to family members, society, country, etc., he wants to win over the invincible material nature by the aid of bodily strength, children, wife, relatives, etc. Although he is sufficiently experienced in the matter by dint of past experience and previous examples of his deceased predecessors, he does not see that the so-called fighting soldiers like the children, relatives, society members and countrymen are all fallible in the great struggle. One should examine the fact that his father or his father’s father has already died, and that he himself is therefore also sure to die, and similarly, his children, who are the would be fathers of their children, will also die in due course. No one will survive in this struggle with material nature. The history of human society definitely proves it, yet the foolish people still suggest that in the future they will be able to live perpetually, with the help of material science. This poor fund of knowledge exhibited by human society is certainly misleading, and it is all due to ignoring the constitution of the living soul. This material world exists only as a dream, due to our attachment to it. Otherwise, the living soul is always different from the material nature. The great ocean of material nature is tossing with the waves of time, and the so-called living conditions are something like foaming bubbles, which appear before us as bodily self, wife, children, society, countrymen, etc. Due to a lack of knowledge of self, we become victimized by the force of ignorance and thus spoil the valuable energy of human life in a vain search after permanent living conditions, which are impossible in this material world.

Our friends, relatives and so-called wives and children are not only fallible, but also bewildered by the outward glamor of material existence. As such, they cannot save us. Still we think that we are safe within the orbit of family, society or country.

The whole materialistic advancement of human civilization is like the decoration of a dead body. Everyone is a dead body flapping only for a few days, and yet all the energy of human life is being wasted in the decoration of this dead body. Sukadeva Gosvami is pointing out the duty of the human being after showing the actual position of bewildered human activities. Persons who are devoid of the knowledge of atma-tattva are misguided, but those who are devotees of the Lord and have perfect realization of transcendental knowledge are not bewildered.

SB2.1.5

TEXT 5

tasmad bharata sarvatma

bhagavan isvaro harih

srotavyah kirtitavyas ca

smartavyas cecchatabhayam

tasmat—for this reason; bharata—O descendant of Bharata; sarvatma—the Supersoul; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; isvarah—the controller; harih—the Lord, who vanquishes all miseries; srotavyah—is to be heard; kirtitavyah—to be glorified; ca—also; smartavyah—to be remembered; ca—and; icchata—of one who desires; abhayam—freedom.

O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.

janma-labhah parah pumsam

In the previous verse, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami has described how the foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time in the improvement of the material conditions of life by sleeping, indulging in sex life, developing economic conditions and maintaining a band of relatives who are to be vanquished in the air of oblivion. Being engaged in all these materialistic activities, the living soul entangles himself in the cycle of the law of fruitive actions. This entails the chain of birth and death in the 8,400,000 species of life: the aquatics, the vegetables, the reptiles, the birds, the beasts, the uncivilized man, and then again the human form, which is the chance for getting out of the cycle of fruitive action. Therefore, if one desires freedom from this vicious circle, then one must cease to act as a karmi or enjoyer of the results of one’s own work, good or bad. One should not do anything, either good or bad, on his own account, but must execute everything on behalf of the Supreme Lord, the ultimate proprietor of everything that be. This process of doing work is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita (9.27) also, where instruction is given for working on the Lord’s account. Therefore, one should first of all hear about the Lord. When one has perfectly and scrutinizingly heard, one must glorify His acts and deeds, and thus it will become possible to remember constantly the transcendental nature of the Lord. Hearing about and glorifying the Lord are identical with the transcendental nature of the Lord, and by so doing, one will be always in the association of the Lord. This brings freedom from all sorts of fear. The Lord is the Supersoul (Paramatma) present in the hearts of all living beings, and thus by the above hearing and glorifying process, the Lord invites the association of all in His creation. This process of hearing about and glorifying the Lord is applicable for everyone, whoever he may be, and it will lead one to the ultimate success in everything in which one may be engaged by providence. There are many classes of human beings: the fruitive workers, the empiric philosophers, the mystic yogis, and ultimately, the unalloyed devotees. For all of them, one and the same process is applicable for achieving the desired success. Everyone wants to be free from all kinds of fear, and everyone wants the fullest extent of happiness in life. The perfect process for achieving this, here and now, is recommended in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is uttered by such a great authority as Srila Sukadeva Gosvami. By hearing about and glorifying the Lord, all a person’s activities become molded into spiritual activities, and thus all conceptions of material miseries become completely vanquished.

SB2.1.6

TEXT 6

etavan sankhya-yogabhyam

sva-dharma-parinisthaya

ante narayana-smrtih

etavan—all these; sankhya—complete knowledge of matter and spirit; yogabhyam—knowledge of mystic power; sva-dharma—particular occupational duty; parinisthaya—by full perception; janma—birth; labhah—gain; parah—the supreme; pumsam—of a person; ante—at the end; narayana—the Personality of Godhead; smrtih—remembrance.

The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.

Narayana is the transcendental Personality of Godhead beyond the material creation. Everything that is created, sustained, and at the end annihilated is within the compass of the mahat-tattva (material principle) and is known as the material world. The existence of Narayana, or the Personality of Godhead, is not within the jurisdiction of this mahat-tattva, and as such, the name, form, attributes, etc. of Narayana are beyond the jurisdiction of the material world. By the speculation of empiric philosophy, which discerns matter from spirit, or by cultivation of mystic powers, which ultimately helps the performer to reach any planet of the universe or beyond the universe, or by discharge of religious duties, one can achieve the highest perfection, provided one is able to reach the stage of narayana-smrti, or constant remembrance of the Personality of Godhead. This is possible only by the association of a pure devotee, who can give a finishing touch to the transcendental activities of all jnanis, yogis, or karmis, in terms of prescribed duties defined in the scriptures. There are many historical instances of the achievement of spiritual perfection, such as that of the Sanakadi Rsis or the nine celebrated Yogendras, who attained perfection only after being situated in the devotional service of the Lord. None of the devotees of the Lord ever deviated from the path of devotional service by taking to other methods as adopted by the jnanis or yogis. Everyone is anxious to achieve the highest perfection of his particular activity, and it is indicated herein that such perfection is narayana-smrti, for which everyone must endeavor his best. In other words, life should be molded in such a manner that one is able to progressively remember the personality of Godhead in every step of life.

SB2.1.7

TEXT 7

prayena munayo rajan

nivrtta vidhi-sedhatah

nairgunya-stha ramante sma

gunanukathane hareh

prayena—mainly; munayah—all sages; rajan—O King; nivrttah—above; vidhi—regulative principles; sedhatah—from restrictions; nairgunya-sthah—transcendentally situated; ramante—take pleasure in; sma—distinctly; guna-anukathane—describing the glories; hareh—of the Lord.

O King Pariksit, mainly the topmost transcendentalists, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord.

The topmost transcendentalist is a liberated soul and is therefore not within the purview of the regulative principles. A neophyte, who is intended to be promoted to the spiritual plane, is guided by the spiritual master under regulative principles. He may be compared to a patient who is treated by various restrictions under medical jurisdiction. Generally, liberated souls also take pleasure in describing the transcendental activities. As mentioned above, since Narayana, Hari, the Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material creation, His form and attributes are not material. The topmost transcendentalists or the liberated souls realize Him by advanced experience of transcendental knowledge, and therefore they take pleasure in the discussion of the transcendental qualities of the Lord’s pastimes. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.9), the personality of Godhead declares that His appearance and activities are all divyam, or transcendental. The common man, who is under the spell of material energy, takes it for granted that the Lord is like one of us, and therefore he refuses to accept the transcendental nature of the Lord’s form, name, etc. The topmost transcendentalist is not interested in anything material, and his taking interest in the matter of the Lord’s activities is definite proof that the Lord is not like one of us in the material world. In the Vedic literatures also, it is confirmed that the Supreme Lord is one, but that He is engaged in His transcendental pastimes in the company of His unalloyed devotees and that simultaneously He is present as the Supersoul, an expansion of Baladeva, in the heart of all living entities. Therefore, the highest perfection of transcendental realization is to take pleasure in hearing and describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord and not in merging into His impersonal Brahman existence, for which the impersonalist monist aspires. Real transcendental pleasure is realized in the glorification of the transcendental Lord, and not in the feeling of being situated in His impersonal feature. But there are also others who are not the topmost transcendentalists but are in a lower status, and who do not take pleasure in describing the transcendental activities of the Lord. Rather, they discuss such activities of the Lord formally with the aim of merging into His existence.

SB2.1.8

TEXT 8

idam bhagavatam nama

puranam brahma-sammitam

adhitavan dvaparadau

pitur dvaipayanad aham

idam—this; bhagavatam—Srimad-Bhagavatam; nama—of the name; puranam—Vedic supplement; brahma-sammitam—approved as the essence of the Vedas; adhitavan—studied; dvapara-adau—at the end of the Dvapara-yuga; pituh—from my father; dvaipayanat—Dvaipayana Vyasadeva; aham—myself.

At the end of the Dvapara-yuga, I studied this great supplement of Vedic literature named Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is equal to all the Vedas, from my father, Srila Dvaipayana Vyasadeva.

The statement made by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami that the topmost transcendentalist, who is beyond the jurisdiction of regulations and restrictions, mainly takes to the task of hearing about and glorifying the Personality of Godhead, is verified by his personal example. Sukadeva Gosvami, being a recognized liberated soul and the topmost transcendentalist, was accepted by all of the topmost sages present in the meeting during the last seven days of Maharaja Pariksit. He cites from the example of his life that he himself was attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord, and he studied Srimad-Bhagavatam from his great father, Sri Dvaipayana Vyasadeva. Srimad-Bhagavatam, or, for that matter, any other scientific literature, cannot be studied at home by one’s own intellectual capacity. Medical books of anatomy or physiology are available in the market, but no one can become a qualified medical practitioner simply by reading such books at home. One has to be admitted to the medical college and study the books under the guidance of learned professors. Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the postgraduate study of the science of Godhead, can only be learned by studying it at the feet of a realized soul like Srila Vyasadeva. Although Sukadeva Gosvami was a liberated soul from the very day of his birth, he still had to take lessons of Srimad-Bhagavatam from his great father, Vyasadeva, who compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam under the instruction of another great soul, Sri Narada Muni. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed a learned brahmana to study Srimad-Bhagavatam from a personal bhagavata. Srimad-Bhagavatam is based on the transcendental name, form, attributes, pastimes, entourage and variegatedness of the Supreme Person, and it is spoken by the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, Srila Vyasadeva. Pastimes of the Lord are executed in cooperation with His pure devotees, and consequently historical incidences are mentioned in this great literature because they are related to Krsna. It is called brahma-sammitam because it is the sound representative of Lord Krsna—like the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is the sound incarnation of the Lord because it is spoken by the Supreme Lord, and Srimad-Bhagavatam is the sound representative of the Lord because it was spoken by the incarnation of the Lord about the activities of the Lord. As stated in the beginning of this book, it is the essence of the Vedic desire tree and the natural commentation on the Brahma-sutras, the topmost philosophical thesis on the subject matter of Brahman. Vyasadeva appeared at the end of Dvapara-yuga as the son of Satyavati, and therefore the word dvapara-adau, or “the beginning of Dvapara-yuga,” in this context means just prior to the beginning of the Kali-yuga. The logic of this statement, according to Srila Jiva Gosvami, is comparable to that of calling the upper portion of the tree the beginning. The root of the tree is the beginning of the tree, but in common knowledge the upper portion of the tree is first seen. In that way the end of the tree is accepted as its beginning.

SB2.1.9

TEXT 9

parinisthito ’pi nairgunya

uttama-sloka-lilaya

grhita-ceta rajarse

akhyanam yad adhitavan

parinisthitah—fully realized; api—in spite of; nairgunye—in transcendence; uttama—enlightened; sloka—verse; lilaya—by the pastimes; grhita—being attracted; cetah—attention; rajarse—O saintly King; akhyanam—delineation; yat—that; adhitavan—I have studied.

O saintly King, I was certainly situated perfectly in transcendence, yet I was still attracted by the delineation of the pastimes of the Lord, who is described by enlightened verses.

The Absolute Truth is realized as the impersonal Brahman at the first instance by philosophical speculation and later as the Supersoul by further progress of transcendental knowledge. But if, by the grace of the Lord, an impersonalist is enlightened by the superior statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam, he is also converted into a transcendental devotee of the Personality of Godhead. With a poor fund of knowledge, we cannot adjust to the idea of the personality of the Absolute Truth, and the personal activities of the Lord are deplored by the less intelligent impersonalists; but reasons and arguments together with the transcendental process of approaching the Absolute Truth help even the staunch impersonalist to become attracted by the personal activities of the Lord. A person like Sukadeva Gosvami cannot be attracted by any mundane activity, but when such a devotee is convinced by a superior method, he is certainly attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord. The Lord is transcendental, as are His activities. He is neither inactive nor impersonal.

SB2.1.10

TEXT 10

tad aham te ’bhidhasyami

maha-paurusiko bhavan

yasya sraddadhatam asu

syan mukunde matih sati

tat—that; aham—I; te—unto you; abhidhasyami—shall recite; maha-paurusikah—the most sincere devotee of Lord Krsna; bhavan—your good self; yasya—of which; sraddadhatam—of one who gives full respect and attention; asu—very soon; syat—it so becomes; mukunde—unto the Lord, who awards salvation; matih—faith; sati—unflinching.

That very Srimad-Bhagavatam I shall recite before you because you are the most sincere devotee of Lord Krsna. One who gives full attention and respect to hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam achieves unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord, the giver of salvation.