25--Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.17–18, 1975

Pradyumna: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya [devotees chant responsively 3 times]

tasya-His; karmani-transcendental acts; udarani-magnanimous; parigitani-ventilated; sūribhiḥ-by the great souls; brūhi-please speak; naḥ-unto us; sraddadhananam-ready to receive with respect; lilaya-pastimes; dadhataḥ-advented; kalaḥ-incarnations.

[02:20]

Translation: "His transcendental acts are very magnanimous, and great learned sages like Narada and others do narrate them. Please, therefore, speak to us, who are all eager to hear them, about His adventures which He performs in His various incarnations."

Prabhupada: So Krsna's activities are magnanimous, and such activities should be listened through the mouth of great saints like Vyasa, Narada, Asita, Devala, not from nondevotees. Just like we have received some book written by some Bhattacarya. So if he is not a devotee, such writings should not be listened, should not be utilized. It is according to our gosvamis' sastras: one who is not a Vaisnava, if he speaks something about Krsna or His activities, that is poison. It should be treated as poison.

Here in this material world, there is no love; everything is lust. So one who does not know what is love and what is lust, if he writes some songs, love songs, that means he has accepted these writings of great poet, transcendental poet, as ordinary songs. Avaisnava sūribhiḥ-it must be, especially it is stated, parigitani sūribhiḥ: unless one is advanced devotee…

[aside devotee:] His sika is on fire...

Prabhupada: Go and extinguish. Don't take the risk... So Sanatana Gosvami says that,

Those songs, they are written by great devotee, poet, Vidyapati, Chandidasa. But if they are taken through the mouth of nondevotee, avaisnava,

They are pure, but because it has been touched by some avaisnava, this book is presented by avaisnava, that can be understood. You may ask, "How do you understand that he is avaisnava?" Yes, from the pictures we can understand. That base mentality is expressed in the pictures. And besides that, he has printed some pictures from Benares, professional reciters. That means he has no idea wherefrom to take, how to understand the transcendental… He is a common man, but these songs are very high-standard feeling exchanged. So he thought, "Let me do some business." So he is doing business. Therefore such rascal literature should not be touched. They are poison. They are distributing poison.

Actually, many times we have questions about Krsna's rasa-lila, because people take it very, I mean, unimportantly. Krsna… So many comments have been…, even Dr. Radhakrishnan, he suggest that He was a field boy; became very powerful; perhaps He is worshiped as Krsna, and somebody. That means indirectly they are trying to vilify Krsna; they are asuras. They do not know what is Krsna. They are taking advantage for their devious mentality. It is strictly forbidden, that anyone who is not a devotee, through him nothing should be taken about Krsna.

Just like milk touched by the lips of a serpent, it is no more milk; it is poison. So here it is specifically mentioned that transcendental acts are magnificent and gracious, and great learned sages like Narada sings. So we have to hear from Narada or his representative, not from ordinary person. "Please therefore speak to us who are eager to hear, and the audience should also be very much eager." Both Sukadeva Gosvami and Sūta Gosvami and Pariksit Maharaja-both the reciter and the audience and the listener, both of them purify. So in that association, the activities of the Lord should be heard. That will be effective:

Go on, purport.

Pradyumna: "The Personality of Godhead is never inactive, as it is suggested by some less intelligent persons."

Prabhupada: They say when perfection is there, there is no more activities. Perfection means dead. Because they have no idea that actually when we are perfect, then real activities begin. So impersonalists, they think like that, that God should not have any activity; He must be silent. But no. Our Krsna consciousness is to know about God, Krsna, more and more activities-unlimited. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of Krsna's activities, svarat. Janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnaḥ svarat. His activities are not dependent on any other activities, but there is activities. That is transcendental. Go on

Pradyumna: "His works are magnificent and magnanimous at the same time. His creations both material and spiritual all are wonderful things with all the variegatedness, and they are described nicely by such liberated souls as Srila Narada, Vyasa, Valmiki, Devala, Asita, Madhva, Sri Caitanya, Ramanuja, Visnu Svami, Nimbarka, Sridhara, Visvanatha, Baladeva, Bhaktivinoda, Siddhanta Sarasvati and many such learned and self-realized souls. These creations, both material and spiritual, both are full of opulence, beauty and knowledge, but the spiritual realm is still more magnificent on account of being full of knowledge, blissful and eternal existence. The material creations are manifested for some time as perverted shadows of the spiritual kingdom are similar to cinematographic focus on screen, and attract people of less intelligent caliber who are attracted by false things. Such foolish men have no information of the real reality and take it for granted that the false material manifestation is all in all. The more intelligent men, guided by sages like Vyasa and Narada, know that the eternal kingdom of God is more delightful, larger and eternally full of bliss and knowledge. Those who are not conversant with the activities of the Lord and His transcendental realm are sometimes favored by the Lord by His adventures as incarnations, wherein He displays the eternal bliss of His association in the transcendental realm. By such activities He attracts the conditioned soul of the material world, where some of them are engaged in the false enjoyment of the material senses and others are engaged in the business of negativating their real life."

Prabhupada: Just like Krsna's Vrndavana lila: He is playing with cowherd boys, He is dancing with the gopis. So Krsna is so kind that He descends on this planet with His lila, activity, so that we can be attracted. Here in this material world, we want to play with our friends, but here in this material world our friends, our playmates, they are temporary. They may be for some time, it is joyful; again it becomes very detestful. Here, the love between a young boys and young girls, it may be joyful for some time, but again it becomes detestful-there is separation or there is misunderstanding, sometimes still more detestful. But if we make our friendship with Krsna, if we play with Krsna, if we accept Krsna as our master, if we accept Krsna as our son-all these rasas, humor, are there in this material world, but there are so many inebrieties. But Krsna, by His causeless mercy, exhibits that "These things you have with Me for eternal bliss, for eternal enjoyment." But we are not attracted. It is Krsna's kindness that He descends with all His paraphernalia to show us. Just like somebody makes advertisement, displaying something very attractive. So Krsna comes for this purpose, to attract us to go back to home, back to Godhead. He attracts by such activities. He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world. Go on.

Pradyumna: "Some of them are engaged in the false enjoyment of the material senses, and others are engaged in the business of negativating their real life in the spiritual world. Such less-intelligent persons are…"

Prabhupada: The karmis, the karmis are engaged in this false enjoyment, and the jnanis, when they see that actually there is no enjoyment, they want to make it null and void, nirvisesa-sūnyavadi. They want to make it zero. There are two classes of men: the karmis and the jnanis. One is trying to accept the false things, temporary things, as blissful, and another is trying to reject everything-make it zero. These two classes of men are working. But the devotees, they not only give up this temporary enjoyable things, but they catch up the permanent blissful activities in the association with Krsna. Go on.

Pradyumna: "Such less-intelligent persons are known as karmis, or the fruitive workers, the jnanis, or dry mental speculators, just to make an analysis of the material elements for distinguishing matter and spirit. And above these two classes of men there is the transcendental one, known as the satvatas, or the devotees, who are not busy either with the rampant material activities nor in the business of material elimination. They are engaged in the positive service of the Lord and thereby derive the highest spiritual benefit, unknown to the karmis and jnanis.

"As the supreme controller of both the material and spiritual worlds, the Lord has different incarnations of unlimited categories. Incarnations like Brahma, Rudra, Manu, Prthu, Vyasa, etc., are His material qualitative incarnations, but His incarnations like Rama, Narasimha, Varaha, Vamana, etc., are His transcendental incarnations. Lord Sri Krsna is the fountainhead of all incarnations, and He is therefore the cause of all causes."

Prabhupada: Next verse.

Pradyumna: [devotees repeat responsively]

[break]

Prabhupada: Our activities are karma, and Krsna's activities are lila. We, whatever we are doing, that is due to our past activities we have got a certain type of mentality, certain type of body, and we are acting dictated by the laws of material nature. This is our position. But Krsna's activities are not like that. Therefore Krsna says,

Anyone who simply can understand the activities of Krsna in truth… Just like this man has written the songs and activities of, but he does not know what is Krsna. Otherwise by writing such book he would have been delivered. But he does not know. He is making the some fine sentiments of love affairs a business. Just like so many people, they are writing comments on Bhagavad-gita to make business. Bhagavad-gita is a popular book, and if he gives some interpretation people will read it; he will make some money.

So this is not wanted. Man should be completely well conversant about the activities of Krsna. [break] It is not ordinary activities. Krsna is not ordinary man. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He is acting as ordinary man. That is His mercy, causeless mercy. He comes like ordinary man and teaches us, taking Arjuna as a student; He gives us instruction. But unfortunately we think that Krsna is an ordinary man. Avajananti mam mūḍha [Bg 9.11]. Mūḍha, rascals. They think Krsna is ordinary human being. May be little learned, that's all. No. Krsna is dhimann avatara-kathaḥsubhaḥ. Simply by hearing about Krsna's activities one will be liberated.

We could discuss here the activities of a great politicians, great scientists or so-called scientists, so-called-that is waste of time. Simply waste of time. Others, those who are not in Krsna consciousness, they think, "What is the utility of hearing so much about the activities of Krsna?" They will think like that, that "These people sit down every day morning and discuss about the activities of Krsna-what is the benefit?" They cannot understand. But you don't be misled by such foolish rascals, men. The more you hear about Krsna and Krsna's activities you will become liberated from this contamination of material existence. Chant Hare Krsna... [end]