Revealed Scriptures 105

[Krsna], please let us know the date when Your mother Devaki
devi gave birth to You. If You kindly inform us about this, then
we shall observe a great celebration on this date. O killer of
Kesi, we are souls one hundred percent surrendered unto Your
lotus feet, and we wish only to please You with our ceremonies.”

This statement of the Bhavisya Purana gives evidence that by ob-
serving different functions in relationship with the Lord one is sure
to become pleasing to the Lord. It is said in the Adi Purana: “A per-
son who is constantly engaged in chanting the holy name and who
feels transcendental pleasure, being engaged in devotional service, is
certainly awarded the facilities of devotional service, and is never
given just mukti [liberation] .”

Mukti means liberation from material contamination; when lib-
erated, one does not have to take birth again in the material world. The
impersonalists desire to merge into the spiritual existence, to end
their individual existence, but according to Srimad-Bhagavatam,
mukti is only the beginning of one’s becoming situated in his normal
condition. The normal condition of every living entity is to be en-
gaged in the devotional service of the Lord. From the statement of
the Adi Purana it appears that a devotee is satisfied simply with being
engaged in devotional service. He does not aspire for any liberation
from material conditional life. In other words, anyone who is en-
gaged in devotional service is not in the material condition of life,

although he may appear so.

Recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam

Srimad-Bhagavatam is the desire-tree of Vedic wisdom. Veda itself
means the aggregate of knowledge. And whatever knowledge is re-
quired for human society is perfectly presented in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam. There are different branches of knowledge in the Vedic
writings, including sociology, politics, medicine and military art. All
these and other branches of knowledge are perfectly described in the
Vedas. So, as far as spiritual knowledge is concerned, that is also per-
fectly described there, and Srimad-Bhagavatam is considered to be
