1014 Stimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 25

maitreyah uvdca—Maitreya said; iti—thus; sva-matuh—of His mother;
niravadyam—uncontaminated; ipsitam—desire; nisamya—after hearing;
pumsam-—of people; apavarga—cessation of bodily existence; vardhanam—
increasing; dhiya—mentally; abhinandya—having thanked; atmavatam—
interested in self-realization; satim—of the transcendentalists; gatih—the
path; babhdse—He explained; isat—slightiy; smita—smiling; sobhita—
beautiful; dnanah—His face.

TRANSLATION

After hearing of His mother’s uncontaminated desire for transcendental
realization, the Lord thanked her within Himself for her queetions, and
thus, His face smiling, He explained the path of the transcendentalists who
are interested in self-realization.

PURPORT

Devahiti has surrendered her confession of material entanglement and
her desire to gain release. Her questions to Lord Kapila are very interesting
for persons who are actually trying to get liberation from material entan-
glement and attain the perfectional stage of human life. Unless one is
interested in understanding his spiritual life or his constitutional position,
and unless he also feels inconvenience in material existence, his human form
of life is spoiled. One who does not care for these transcendental necessi-
ties of life and simply engages like an animal in eating, sleeping, fearing and
mating has spoiled his life. Lord Kapila was very much satisfied by His
mother’s questions because the answers stimulate one’s desire for liberation
from the conditional life of material existence. Such questions are called
apavarga-vardhanam. Those who have actual spiritual interest are called sat
or devotees. Satdrh prasangat. Sat means that which eternally exists, and
asat means that which is not eternal. Unless one is situated on the spiritual
platform, he is not sat; he is asat. The asat stands on a platform which
will not exist, but anyone who stands on the spiritual platform will
exist eternally. As spirit soul, everyone exists eternally, but the asat has
accepted the material world as his shelter, and therefore he is full of
anxiety. Asad-grahan, the incompatible situation of the spirit soul, who has
the false idea of enjoying matter, is the cause of the soul’s being asat.
Actually, the spirit soul is not asat. As soon as one is conscious of this fact
and takes to Krsna consciousness, then he becomes sat. Satam gatih, the
path of the eternal, is very interesting to persons who are after liberation,
and His Lordship Kapila began to speak about that path.
