Describing God's Activities - Transcendental Narrations
The Supreme Lord is not a static void; He is eternally engaged in dynamic, blissful pastimes. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that correctly describing the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without concoction is the easiest and most joyful method for transcending the miseries of the material world.
The Inconceivable Pastimes
The activities of the Supreme Lord cannot be measured by mundane logic. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the incarnations of the Lord perform wonderful, transcendental activities through Their inconceivable potencies, and these divine actions are meticulously recorded in the Vedic literatures.
- As described in this verse (SB 8.1.2) by the word mahiyasah, the activities of an incarnation are not ordinary magic or jugglery, but are wonderful activities.
- Here (in ISO 5) is a description of some of the Supreme Lord's transcendental activities, executed by His inconceivable potencies. The contradictions given here prove the inconceivable potencies of the Lord. He walks, and He does not walk.
- There are also descriptions (in the Laghu-bhagavatamrta) of the difference between the powerful and the power, and the inconceivable activities of the Supreme Lord.
- 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.
The Ecstasy of the Sages
For a pure devotee, narrating the pastimes of the Lord is a source of limitless joy. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how great sages are always eager to describe the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never experiencing any material fatigue during such transcendental discussions.
- Great learned sages like Maitreya Muni are always very enthusiastic about describing the transcendental activities of the Lord. Maitreya Muni, being thus invited by Vidura to speak, appeared to be smiling because he actually felt transcendental bliss.
- The activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotees are so fascinating that neither the devotee who is describing them nor the devotee who is hearing is at all fatigued by the inquiries and answers.
- Please, therefore, describe the Almighty Lord's activities which you have (Vyasadeva) learned by your vast knowledge of the Vedas, for that will satisfy the hankerings of great learned men.
- Now, if you (Sukadeva Gosvami) will, kindly describe the wonderful, glorious activities of Lord Visnu, or Krsna, who appeared in that Yadu dynasty with Baladeva, His plenary expansion.
Rejecting Mental Speculation
The Absolute Truth cannot be comprehended through the imperfect human mind. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that atheists and nondevotees commit a grave offense when they try to describe the Lord's activities using their own imagination, often dismissing them as mere mythology.
- Sometimes Lord Ramacandra's activities are described in terms of one's own imaginations, speculations or material sentiments. But the characteristics of Lord Ramacandra should not be handled as something imaginary.
- Unfortunate, less intelligent persons, bereft of devotional service, cannot understand the Lord's activities, and therefore such persons describe these activities as kalpana-mythology or imagination-because they are rascals and the lowest of men.
- There are some men, with a poor fund of knowledge, who desire to understand the Absolute Truth by imperfect mental speculation and faulty description of His activities.
- We cannot concoct the form and attributes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We must simply accept the description given in Vedic literatures about the Lord's form and activities.
The Ultimate Spiritual Benefit
Actively speaking about the Lord is a potent form of devotional service. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that by submissively hearing and describing the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord, the conditioned soul easily escapes the illusory energy and achieves spiritual elevation.
- Intelligent persons should therefore hear personally and cause others to hear the descriptive narrations of the Lord's activities, for that will destroy the pangs of material existence.
- If we engage our speech in describing the activities of the Lord and our ears in hearing about His pastimes, and if we follow the regulative principles to keep the mind intact for advancing in Krsna Consiousness, we shall certainly be elevated to the spiritual platform.
- The Lord's activities in association with His different energies should be described, appreciated and heard in accordance with the teachings of the Supreme Lord. If this is done regularly with devotion and respect, one is sure to get out of the illusory energy.
- In the sastras - the puranas and other Vedic literatures - there are so many narrations describing the transcendental activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and everyone should hear them again and again.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda brilliantly contrasts the authorized, joyful process of describing the Supreme Lord's activities with the foolish, speculative approach of the nondevotees. The pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not mundane histories or mythological tales born of human imagination; they are the eternal, inconceivable realities of the spiritual world. Great sages relish describing these activities without fatigue, for such divine narrations are absolute and non-different from the Lord Himself. To understand these pastimes, one must abandon all mental concoction and submissively hear from the authorized Vedic literatures and pure devotees. By engaging the tongue in describing the Lord's glorious activities and the ears in hearing them, the sincere soul is immediately purified, the pangs of material existence are eradicated, and the path back home, back to Godhead, is fully illuminated.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Describing God's Activities. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.