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Monday, August 24, 2009

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 1 Chapter 18 Text 14

ko nama trpyed rasavit kathayam
mahattamaikanta-parayanasya
nantam gunanam agunasya jagmur
yogesvara ye bhava-padma-mukhyah

kah--who is he; nama--specifically; trpyet--get full satisfaction; rasa-vit--expert in relishing mellow nectar; kathayam--in the topics of; mahat-tama--the greatest amongst the living beings; ekanta--exclusively; parayanasya--of one who is the shelter of; na--never; antam--end; gunanam--of attributes; agunasya--of the Transcendence; jagmuh--could ascertain; yoga-isvarah--the lords of mystic power; ye--all they; bhava--Lord Siva; padma--Lord Brahma; mukhyah--heads.




TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna [Govinda], is the exclusive shelter for all great living beings, and His transcendental attributes cannot even be measured by such masters of mystic powers as Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Can anyone who is expert in relishing nectar [rasa] ever be fully satiated by hearing topics about Him?

PURPORT

Lord Siva and Lord Brahma are two chiefs of the demigods. They are full of mystic powers. For example, Lord Siva drank an ocean of poison of which one drop was sufficient to kill an ordinary living being. Similarly, Brahma could create many powerful demigods, including Lord Siva. So they are isvaras, or lords of the universe. But they are not the supreme powerful. The supreme powerful is Govinda, Lord Krsna. He is the Transcendence, and His transcendental attributes cannot be measured even by such powerful isvaras as Siva and Brahma. Therefore Lord Krsna is the exclusive shelter of the greatest of all living beings. Brahma is counted amongst the living beings, but he is the greatest of all of us. And why is the greatest of all the living beings so much attached to the transcendental topics of Lord Krsna? Because He is the reservoir of all enjoyment. Everyone wants to relish some kind of taste in everything, but one who is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord can derive unlimited pleasure from such engagement. The Lord is unlimited, and His name, attributes, pastimes, entourage, variegatedness, etc. are unlimited, and those who relish them can do so unlimitedly and still not feel satiated. This fact is confirmed in the Padma Purana:

ramante yogino 'nante satyananda-cid-atmani
iti rama-padenasau param brahmabhidhiyate

"The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rama."
There is no end to such transcendental discourses. In mundane affairs there is the law of satiation, but in transcendence there is no such satiation. Suta Gosvami desired to continue the topics of Lord Krsna before the sages of Naimisaranya, and the sages also expressed their readiness to hear from him continuously. Since the Lord is transcendence and His attributes are transcendental, such discourses increase the receptive mood of the purified audience.