2. Based on the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder Acharya International Society for Krishna Consciousness

3. Seeking the Blessings of Guru, Gauranga & All the Assembled Vaishnavas

4. Overview  29 – Phala Sruti – Fruit of hearing  30 – 39 Progressing from Matter upward to Brahman, Paramatma and finally Bhagavan  30 – 31 – A start – Seeing Spirit in Matter  32 – 34 – Seeing all as spirit  35 – 39 – Knowing Paramatma & Bhagavan  1.3.35 – 1.3.39

5. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.29 janma guhyaḿ bhagavato ya etat prayato naraḥ sāyaḿ prātar gṛṇan bhaktyā duḥkha-grāmād vimucyate TRANSLATION Whoever carefully recites the mysterious appearances of the Lord, with devotion in the morning and in the evening, gets relief from all miseries of life.

6. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Personality of Godhead has declared that anyone who knows the principles of the transcendental birth and activities of the Lord will go back to Godhead after being relieved from this material tabernacle. So simply knowing factually the mysterious way of the Lord's incarnation in this material world can liberate one from material bondage. Therefore the birth and activities of the Lord, as manifested by Him for the welfare of the people in general, are not ordinary. gītā 1.3.29 - Purport

7. They are mysterious, and only by those who carefully try to go deep into the matter by spiritual devotion is the mystery discovered. Thus one gets liberation from material bondage. It is advised therefore that one who simply recites this chapter of Bhāgavatam, describing the appearance of the Lord in different incarnations, in sincerity and devotion, can have insight into the birth and activities of the Lord. The very word vimukti, or liberation, indicates that the Lord's birth and activities are all transcendental; otherwise simply by reciting them one could not attain liberation. They are therefore mysterious, and those who do not follow the prescribed regulations of devotional service are not entitled to enter into the mysteries of His births and activities. BhāgavatamvimuktiBhāgavatamvimukti 1.3.29 - Purport

8. 1.3.30TRANSLATION The conception of the virāṭ universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord's having form. But factually the Lord has no material form. virāṭ Purport The conception of the Lord known as the viśva-rūpa or the virāṭ-rūpa is particularly not mentioned along with the various incarnations of the Lord because all the incarnations of the Lord mentioned above are transcendental and there is not a tinge of materialism in their bodies. The conclusion is that the material conception of the body of the Lord as virāṭ is imaginary. Both the Lord and the living beings are living spirits and have original spiritual bodies. viśvarūpavirāṭrūpavirāṭviśvarūpavirāṭrūpavirāṭ

9. 1.3.31TRANSLATION Clouds and dust are carried by the air, but less intelligent persons say that the sky is cloudy and the air is dirty. Similarly, they also implant material bodily conceptions on the spirit self. Purport When the President goes out in his particular car, we say, "There is the President." For the time being we identify the car with the President. Similarly, less intelligent men who want to see God immediately without necessary qualification are shown first the gigantic material cosmos as the form of the Lord, although the Lord is within and without.

10. 1.3.32TRANSLATION Beyond this gross conception of form is another, subtle conception of form which is without formal shape and is unseen, unheard and unmanifest. The living being has his form beyond this subtlety, otherwise he could not have repeated births. Purport The conclusion is that the Lord is eternally existent in His transcendental form, which is neither gross nor subtle like that of the living being; His body is never to be compared to the gross and subtle bodies of the living being. All such conceptions of God's body are imaginary. The living being has his eternal spiritual form, which is conditioned only by his material contamination.

11. 1.3.33TRANSLATION Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Lord. Purport Self-realization means becoming indifferent to the needs of the gross and subtle bodies and becoming serious about the activities of the self Therefore a man who is engaged in the activities of the self is called jīvan-mukta, or a liberated person even in the conditional existence jīvanmukta jīvanmukta

12. 1.3.33 - Purport This perfect stage of self-realization is attained not by artificial means, but under the lotus feet of the Lord, who is always transcendental. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He is present in everyone's heart, and from Him only all knowledge, remembrance or forgetfulness take place. When the living being desires to be an enjoyer of material energy (illusory phenomena), the Lord covers the living being in the mystery of forgetfulness, and thus the living being misinterprets the gross body and subtle mind to be his own self. And by culture of transcendental knowledge, when the living being prays to the Lord for deliverance from the clutches of forgetfulness, the Lord, by His causeless mercy, removes the living being's illusory curtain, and thus he realizes his own self. He then engages himself in the service of the Lord in his eternal constitutional position, becoming liberated from the conditioned life. All this is executed by the Lord either through His external potency or directly by the internal potency. gītā

13. 1.3.34TRANSLATION If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory. Purport The example of electrical energy Krsna can change the external energy into internal energy by His will. Example: Pariksit Maharaja, Vidura

14. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.35 evaḿ janmāni karmāṇi hy akartur ajanasya ca varṇayanti sma kavayo veda-guhyāni hṛt-pateḥ TRANSLATION Thus learned men describe the births and activities of the unborn and inactive, which is undiscoverable even in the Vedic literatures. He is the Lord of the heart. Purport: We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are meditations on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form. Brahman

15. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.36 sa vā idaḿ viśvam amogha-līlaḥ sṛjaty avaty atti na sajjate 'smin bhūteṣu cāntarhita ātma-tantraḥ ṣāḍ-vargikaḿ jighrati ṣaḍ-guṇeśaḥ TRANSLATION Lord, whose activities are always spotless, is the master of the six senses and is fully omnipotent with six opulences. He creates the manifested universes, maintains them and annihilates them without being in the least affected. He is within every living being and is always independent.

16. 1.3.36 – Purport The Lord is transcendental to all material afflictions because He is full with all six opulences, namely wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, and thus He is the master of the senses. He creates these manifested universes in order to reclaim the living beings who are within them suffering threefold miseries, maintains them, and in due course annihilates them without being the least affected by such actions. He is connected with this material creation very superficially, as one smells odor without being connected with the odorous article. Nongodly elements, therefore, can never approach Him, despite all endeavors.

17. 1.3.37TRANSLATION The foolish with a poor fund of knowledge cannot know the transcendental nature of the forms, names and activities of the Lord, who is playing like an actor in a drama. Nor can they express such things, neither in their speculations nor in their words. Purport As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord is always in a transcendental position, even when He is within the material world. But ignorant men consider the Lord one of the great personalities of the world, and thus they are misled by the illusory energy. gītā

18. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.38 sa veda dhātuḥ padavīḿ parasya duranta-vīryasya rathāńga-pāṇeḥ yo 'māyayā santatayānuvṛttyā bhajeta tat-pāda-saroja-gandham TRANSLATION Only those who render unreserved, uninterrupted, favorable service unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who carries the wheel of the chariot in His hand, can know the creator of the universe in His full glory, power and transcendence. Kṛṣṇa Purport: BG - the Lord Himself guides the pure devotees toward the path of realization due to their constant engagement in the loving service of the Lord in spontaneous affection. That is the secret of entering into the kingdom of God. Fruitive activities and speculation are no qualifications for entering.

19. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.39 atheha dhanyā bhagavanta itthaḿ yad vāsudeve 'khila-loka-nāthe kurvanti sarvātmakam ātma-bhāvaḿ na yatra bhūyaḥ parivarta ugraḥ TRANSLATION Only by making such inquiries in this world can one be successful and perfectly cognizant, for such inquiries invoke transcendental ecstatic love unto the Personality of Godhead, who is the proprietor of all the universes, and guarantee cent- percent immunity from the dreadful repetition of birth and death.

20. 1.3.39– Purport The inquiries of the sages headed by Śaunaka are herewith praised by Sūta Gosvāmī on the merit of their transcendental nature. As already concluded, only the devotees of the Lord can know Him to a considerable extent, and no one else can know Him at all, so the devotees are perfectly cognizant of all spiritual knowledge. The Personality of Godhead is the last word in Absolute Truth. Impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā (Supersoul) are included in the knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. So one who knows the Personality of Godhead can automatically know all about Him, His multipotencies and His expansions. So the devotees are congratulated as being all-successful. A cent-percent devotee of the Lord is immune to the dreadful material miseries of repeated birth and death. ŚaunakaSūtaBrahman ParamātmāŚaunakaSūtaBrahman Paramātmā

21. 1.3.39– Purport The inquiries of the sages headed by Śaunaka are herewith praised by Sūta Gosvāmī on the merit of their transcendental nature. As already concluded, only the devotees of the Lord can know Him to a considerable extent, and no one else can know Him at all, so the devotees are perfectly cognizant of all spiritual knowledge. The Personality of Godhead is the last word in Absolute Truth. Impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā (Supersoul) are included in the knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. So one who knows the Personality of Godhead can automatically know all about Him, His multipotencies and His expansions. So the devotees are congratulated as being all-successful. A cent-percent devotee of the Lord is immune to the dreadful material miseries of repeated birth and death. ŚaunakaSūtaBrahman ParamātmāŚaunakaSūtaBrahman Paramātmā