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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.19
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 19
- vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma
- uttama-śloka-vikrame
- yac-chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ
- svādu svādu pade pade
vayamwe — we; tubut — but; nanot — not; vitṛpyāmaḥshall be at rest — shall be at rest; uttamathe Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by transcendental prayers-ślokathe Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by transcendental prayers — the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by transcendental prayers; vikrameadventures — adventures; yatwhich — which; śṛṇvatāmby continuous hearing — by continuous hearing; rasahumor — humor; jñānāmthose who are conversant with — those who are conversant with; svādurelishing — relishing; svādupalatable — palatable; padeat every step padeat every step — at every step.
We never tire of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by hymns and prayers. Those who have developed a taste for transcendental relationships with Him relish hearing of His pastimes at every moment.
There is a great difference between mundane stories, fiction, or history and the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. The histories of the whole universe contain references to the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord. The Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages recorded in connection with the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord and therefore remain fresh even after repeated readings. For example, anyone may read Bhagavad-gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam repeatedly throughout his whole life and yet find in them new light of information. Mundane news is static whereas transcendental news is dynamic, inasmuch as the spirit is dynamic and matter is static. Those who have developed a taste for understanding the transcendental subject matter are never tired of hearing such narrations. One is quickly satiated by mundane activities, but no one is satiated by transcendental or devotional activities. Uttama-śloka indicates that literature which is not meant for nescience. Mundane literature is in the mode of darkness or ignorance, whereas transcendental literature is quite different. Transcendental literature is above the mode of darkness, and its light becomes more luminous with progressive reading and realization of the transcendental subject matter. The so-called liberated persons are never satisfied by the repetition of the words ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Such artificial realization of Brahman becomes hackneyed, and so to relish real pleasure they turn to the narrations of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Those who are not so fortunate turn to altruism and worldly philanthropy. This means the Māyāvāda philosophy is mundane, whereas the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental.