58 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 2

they had no intimate touch with the Lord, but more unfortunate were the
family members of the Lord, the members of the Yadu dynasty, who were
always in company with the Lord but were unable to recognize Him as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Uddhava lamented his own fortune also
because although he knew Krsna to be the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, he could not properly use the opportunity to render devotional
service to the Lord. He regretted everyone’s misfortune, including his own.
The pure devotee of the Lord thinks himself most unfortunate. That is due
to excessive love for the Lord and is one of the transcendental perceptions
of viraha, the suffering of separation.

It is learned from the revealed scriptures that the moon was born from
the milk ocean. There is a milk ocean in the upper planets, and there Lord
Visnu, who controls the heart of every living being as Paramatma (the
Supersoul), resides as the Ksirodakagayi Visnu. Those who do not believe
in the existence of the ocean of milk because they have experience only of
the salty water in the ocean should know that the world is also called the
Go, which means the cow. The urine of a cow is salty, and according to
Ayurvedic medicine, the cow’s urine is very effective in treating patients
suffering from liver trouble. Such patients may not have any experience of
the cow’s milk because milk is never given to liver patients. But the liver
patient may: know that the cow has milk also, although he has never
tasted it. Similarly, men who have experience only of this tiny planet
where the salt-water ocean exists may take information from the re-
vealed scriptures that there is also an ocean of milk, although we have
never seen it. From this ocean of milk the moon was born, but the fish in
the milk ocean could not recognize that the moon was not another fish
and was different from them. The fish took the moon to be one of them
or maybe something illuminating, but nothing more. The unfortunate
persons who do not recognize Lord Krsna are like such fish. They take Him
to be one of them, although a little extraordinary in opulence, strength,
etc. The Bhagavad-gita confirms such foolish persons to be most unfor-
tunate: avajananti mar midha manusim tanum aéritam. (Bg. 9.11)

TEXT 9

CHAT TET THAT ATeaAaT: |
aaa ay arava U8 Il

ingita-jiiah puru-praudha
ekadramas ca satvatah

satvatam rsabham sarve
bhiitdvasam amamsata
