242 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

passion and goodness. That is the way of Vedic understanding. Great sages
like the four Kumaras, headed by Sanaka, followed these principles of
Vedic knowledge and came gradually from impersonal understanding to
the platform of personal worship of the Supreme Lord. It is therefore rec-
ommended that we must follow the great personalities. Sukadeva Go-
svami is also one of the great personalities, and his answer to the inquiry
of Maharaja Pariksit is authorized. One who follows in the footsteps of such
great personalities surely walks very easily on the path of liberation and
ultimately goes back to home, back to Godhead. That is the way of per-
fecting this human form of life.

Sukadeva Gosvami continued to speak to Pariksit Maharaja. “My dear
King,” he said, “I will narrate in this regard a nice story. This story is im-
portant because it is in connection with Narayana, the Supreme Person-
ality of Godhead. This narration is a conversation between Narayana Rsi
and the great sage Narada. Narayana Rsi still resides in Badarikasrama in
the Himalayan hills and is accepted as an incarnation of Narayana. Once
when Narada, the great devotee and ascetic. amongst the demigods, was
traveling in different planets, he desired to personally meet the ascetic
Narayana in Badarikasrama and offer him his respects. This great sage in-
carnation of Godhead, Narayana Rsi, has been undergoing great penances
and austerities from the very beginning of the creation in order to teach
the inhabitants of Bharatavarsa how to attain the highest perfectional
stage of going back to Godhead. His austerities and penances are exem-
plary practices for the human being.”

Badarikagrama is situated in the northernmost part of the Himalayan
Mountains and is always covered with snow. Religious Indians still go to
visit this place during the summer season, when the snowfall is not very
severe. Once, the incarnation of God Narayana Rsi was sitting amongst
many devotees in the village known as Kalapagrama. Of course, these were
not ordinary sages who were sitting with him, and the great sage Narada
also appeared there. After offering his respects to Narayana Rsi, Narada
asked him exactly the same question asked by King Pariksit of Sukadeva
Gosvami. When Narada asked his question of Narayana Rsi, the Rsi also
answered by following in the footsteps of his predecessors. He narrated a
story of how the same question had been discussed on the planet known
as Janaloka. Janaloka is above the Svargaloka planets, such as the moon,
Venus, etc. In this planet, great sages and saintly persons live, and they
were also discussing the same point regarding the understanding of Brah-
man and His real identity.

The great sage Narayana began to speak. “My dear Narada,” he said, “‘I
