Text 27] Narada’s Instructions on Srimad-Bhagavatam 261

these; sat-asat—gross and subtle; sva-mayaya—one’s own ignorance; pasye—
see; mayi—in me; brahmani—the Supreme; kalpitam—is accepted; pare—
in the Transcendence.

TRANSLATION

O great sage, as soon as I got a taste of the Personality of Godhead,
my attention to hear of the Lord was unflinching. And as my taste
developed, | could realize that it was only in my ignorance that | had
accepted gross and subtle coverings, for both the Lord and I are transcen-
dental.

PURPORT

Ignorance in material existence is compared to darkness, and in all
Vedic literatures the Personality of Godhead is compared to the sun.
Wherever there is light there cannot be darkness. Hearing of the Lord’s
pastimes is itself transcendental association with the Lord because there
is no difference between the Lord and His transcendental pastimes. To
become associated with the supreme light is to dissipate all ignorance.
By ignorance only the conditioned soul wrongly thinks that both he and
the Lord are products of material nature. But in fact the Personality of
Godhead and the living beings are transcendental, and they have nothing
to do with the material nature. When ignorance is removed and it is
perfectly realized that there is nothing existing without the Personality of
Godhead, then nescience is removed. Since the gross and the subtle bodies
are emanations from the Personality of Godhead, the knowledge of light
permits one to engage both of them in the service of the Lord. The gross
body should be engaged in acts of rendering service to the Lord (as in
bringing water, cleansing the temple or making obeisances, etc.). The path
of arcana, or worshiping the Lord in the temple, involves engaging one’s
gross body in the service of the Lord. Similarly, the subtle mind should
be engaged in hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, thinking
about them, chanting His name, etc. All such activities are transcendental.
None of the gross or subtle senses should otherwise be engaged. Such
realization of transcendental activities is made possible by many, many
years of apprenticeship in the devotional service, but simply attraction of
love to the Personality of Godhead, as it was developed in Narada Muni,
by hearing, is highly effective.
