Text 21]
Conversation Between Nārada and Vyāsa
297
The Lord was much pleased with Nārada Muni, and therefore the necessary strength was invested in him so that he could hear the Lord. It is not, however, possible for others to perceive directly the touch of the Lord during the probation stage of regulative devotional service. It was a special gift for Nārada. When he heard the pleasing words of the Lord, the feelings of separation were to some extent mitigated. A devotee in love with God feels always the pangs of separation and is therefore always enwrapped in transcendental ecstasy.
TEXT 21
हन्तासिञ्जन्मनि भवान्मा मां द्रष्टुमिहार्हति । अविषक्कशयाणां दुर्दर्शोऽहं कुयोगिनाम् ॥२१॥
hantāsmiñ janmani bhavān mā mām draṣṭum ihārhati avipakva-kaṣāyāṇām durdarśo ham kuyoginām
hanta—O Nārada; asmin—this; janmani—duration of life; bhavān—yourself; mā—not; mām—Me; draṣṭum—to see; iha—here; arhati—deserve; avipakva—immature; kaṣāyāṇām—material dirt; durdarśaḥ—difficult to be seen; aham—I; kuyoginām—incomplete in service.
TRANSLATION
O Nārada [the Lord spoke], I regret that during this lifetime you will not be able to see Me any more. Those who are incomplete in service and who are not completely free from all material taints can hardly see Me.
PURPORT
The Personality of Godhead is described in the  Bhagavad-gītā  as the most pure, the Supreme and the Absolute Truth. There is no trace of a tinge of materiality in His person, and thus one who has the slightest tinge of material affection cannot approach Him. The beginning of devotional service starts from the point when one is freed from at least two forms of material modes, namely the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. The result is exhibited by the signs of being freed from  kāma  (lust) and  lobha  (covetousness). That is to say, one must be freed from the desires