Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 6 Text 15-18

tasmin nirmanuje ’ra ṇ ye pippalopastha āśrita ḥ ātmanātmānam ātmastha ṁ yathā-śrutam acintayam After that, under the shadow of a banyan tree in an uninhabited forest I began to meditate upon the Supersoul situated within, using my intelligence, as I had learned from liberated souls.

One should not meditate according to one’s personal whims. One should know perfectly well from the authoritative sources of scriptures through the transparent medium of a bona fide spiritual master and by proper use of one’s trained intelligence for meditating upon the Supersoul dwelling within every living being. This consciousness is firmly developed by a devotee who has rendered loving service unto the Lord by carrying out the orders of the spiritual master. Śrī Nāradajī contacted bona fide spiritual masters, served them sincerely and got enlightenment rightly. Thus he began to meditate.

dhyāyataś cara ṇ āmbhoja ṁ bhāva-nirjita-cetasā autka ṇṭ hyāśru-kalāk ṣ asya h ṛ dy āsīn me śanair hari ḥ As soon as I began to meditate upon the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead with my mind transformed in transcendental love, tears rolled down my eyes, and without delay the Personality of Godhead, Śrī K ṛṣṇ a, appeared on the lotus of my heart.

The word bhāva is significant here. This bhāva stage is attained after one has transcendental affection for the Lord. The first initial stage is called śraddhā, or a liking for the Supreme Lord, and in order to increase that liking one has to associate with pure devotees of the Lord. This stage leads to attraction, and after this there is bhāva, or the prior stage of unalloyed love for God, prema Being so surcharged with transcendental love, there comes a strong feeling of separation which leads to eight different kinds of ecstasies. Śrī Nārada Muni in his previous birth attained that stage very quickly after his departure from home, it was quite possible for him to perceive the actual presence of the Lord.

premātibhara-nirbhinna- pulakā ṅ go ’tinirv ṛ ta ḥ ānanda-samplave līno nāpaśyam ubhaya ṁ mune O Vyāsadeva, at that time, being exceedingly overpowered by feelings of happiness, every part of my body became separately enlivened. Being absorbed in an ocean of ecstasy, I could not see both myself and the Lord.

Spiritual feelings of happiness and intense ecstasies have no mundane comparison. Each and every part of the body or senses has its particular function. After seeing the Lord, all the senses become fully awakened to render service unto the Lord because in the liberated state the senses are fully efficient in serving the Lord. As such, in that transcendental ecstasy it so happened that the senses became separately enlivened to serve the Lord. Nārada Muni lost himself in seeing both himself and the Lord simultaneously.

rūpa ṁ bhagavato yat tan mana ḥ -kānta ṁ śucāpaham apaśyan sahasottasthe vaiklavyād durmanā iva The transcendental form of the Lord, as it is, satisfies the mind’s desire and at once erases all mental incongruities. Upon losing that form, I suddenly got up, being perturbed, as is usual when one loses that which is desirable.

The Lord is not formless is experienced by Nārada Muni. But His form is completely different from all forms of our material experience. Once seen that form is not satisfied with anything else; no form in the material world can any longer satisfy the seer. That the Lord is formless or impersonal means that He has nothing like a material form and is not like any material personality. After experiencing the beautiful form of the Lord. He became perturbed and stood up all of a sudden to search it out,having not seen it again