Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.24-25 - Six Comparisons between Maths Guru (download mp3) , (download flv) and (download mp4)
by Murlidhar Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.net
SB 10.14.24
evam-vidham tvam sakalatmanam api
svatmanam atmatmataya vicaksate
gurv-arka-labdhopanisat-sucaksusa
ye te tarantiva bhavanrtambudhim
Translation:
Those who have received the clear vision of knowledge from the sunlike spiritual master can see You in this way, as the very Soul of all souls, the Supersoul of everyone’s own self. Thus understanding Your original personality, they are able to cross over the ocean of illusory material existence.
Purport:
As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”
SB 10.14.25
atmanam evatmatayavijanatam
tenaiva jatam nikhilam prapañcitam
jñanena bhuyo ’pi ca tat praliyate
rajjvam aher bhoga-bhavabhavau yatha
Translation:
A person who mistakes a rope for a snake becomes fearful, but he then gives up his fear upon realizing that the so-called snake does not exist. Similarly, for those who fail to recognize You as the Supreme Soul of all souls, the expansive illusory material existence arises, but knowledge of You at once causes it to subside.
Purport:
Those submerged in illusion see material existence as infinite, just as one who is submerged in water sees only water all around him. For example, material scientists and philosophers, submerged deep within the ocean of material illusion, imagine that material nature extends infinitely in all directions. In fact, the material creation is a finite ocean of ignorance in which foolish living entities, such as material scientists, are unceremoniously dunked by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
To be trapped in a world in which all things are born and die is certainly a fearful experience. Anyone trapped in a dark place naturally becomes fearful. Since material life is always covered by the darkness of ignorance, every conditioned soul is fearful. The material nature is not ultimate reality, and thus analysis of matter can never provide answers to ultimate questions. This dark, snakelike existence called material life immediately disappears as soon as one opens his eyes to the bright light of Krsna consciousness.
