Text 7]
The First Step in God Realization
11
TEXT 7
प्रायेण मुनयो गजन्निवृत्ता विधिषेधतः । नैर्गुण्या रमन्ते म्म गुणानुकथने हरेः ॥ ७ ॥
prāyeṇa munayo rājan nivṛttā vidhi-ṣedhataḥ nairguṇya-sthā ramante sma guṇānukathane hareḥ
prāyeṇa—mainly; munayaḥ—all sages; rājan—O King; nivṛttāḥ—above the; vidhi—regulative principles; ṣedhataḥ—from restrictions; nairguṇya-sthāḥ—transcendentally situated; ramante—take pleasure in; sma—distinctly; guṇānukathane—describing the glories; hareḥ—of the Lord.
TRANSLATION
O King Parīkṣit, mainly the topmost transcendentalists, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord.
PURPORT
The topmost transcendentalist is a liberated soul and, therefore, is 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, such liberated souls also take pleasure in describing the transcendental activities. As mentioned above, since Nārāyaṇa, 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-gītā , the Personality of Godhead declares that His appearance and activities are all  divyam , or transcendental. (Bg. 4.9) 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