Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur specifically deals with the original and pure sex psychology (adi-rasa), devoid of all mundane inebriety. The whole material creation is moving under the principle of sex life. In modern civilization, sex life is the focal point for all activities. Whereever one turns his face, he sees sex life predominant. Therefore, sex life is not unreal. Its reality is experienced in the spiritual world. The material sex life is but a perverted reflection on the original fact. The original fact is in the Absolute Truth, and thus the Absolute Truth cannot be impersonal. It is not possible to be impersonal and contain pure sex life. Consequently, the impersonalist philosophers have given indirect impetus to the abominable mundane sex life because they have overstressed the impersonality of the ultimate truth. Consequently, man without information of the actual spiritual form of sex has acceptedperverted material sex life as the all in all. There is a distinction between sex life in the diseased material condition and spiritual sex life.
This Srimad-Bhagavatam will gradually elevate the unbiased reader to the highest perfectional stage of transcendence. It will enable him to transcend the three modes of material activities: fruitive actions, speculative philosophy, and worship of functional deities as inculcated in Vedic verses.
TEXT 2
घम॔ः प्रोज्झतकैतवोऽत्र परमो निम॔त्सराणां सतां
वेघं वास्तवमत्र वस्तु शिवदं तापत्रयोन्मूलनम् ।
श्रीमभ्दागवते महामुनिकृते किं वा परैरीश्र्वरः
सघो ह्रघवरूध्यतेऽत्र कृतिभिः शुश्रूषुभिस्तत्क्षणात् ॥२॥
"dharmah-religiosity; projjhita-completely rejected; kaitavah-covered by fruitive intention; atra-herein; paramah-the highest; nirmatsaranam-of the one hundred percent pure in heart; satam-devotees; vedyam-understandable; vastavam-factual; atra-herein; vastu-substance; sivadam-well-being; tapa-traya-three-fold miseries; unmulanam-causing uprooting of; srimat-beautiful; bhagavate-the Bhagavata Purana; mahamuni-the great sage (Vyasadeva); krte-having compiled; kim-what is; va-the need; paraih-others; isvarah-the Supreme Lord; sadyah-at once; hrdi-within the heart; avarudhyate-become compact; atra-herein; krtibhih-by the pious men; susrubhih-by culture; tat-ksanat-without delay."
TRANSLATION
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Sri Vyasadeva, is sufficient in itself for God realization. As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, he becomes attached to the Supreme Lord.
PURPORT
Religion includes four primary subjects, namely pious activities, economic development, satisfaction of the senses, and finally liberation from material bondage. Irreligious life is a barbarous condition. Indeed, human life begins when religion begins. Eating, sleeping, fearing, and mating are the four principles of animal life. These are common both to animals and to human beings. But religion is the extra function of the human being. Without religion, human life is no better than animal life. Therefore, in human societies there is some form of religion which aims at self-realization and which makes reference to man's eternal relationship with God.
In the lower stages of human civilization, there is always competition to lord it over the material nature or, in other words, there is a continuous rivalry to satisfy the senses. Driven by such consciousness, man turns to religion. He thus performs pious activities or religious functions in order to gain something material. But if such material gains are obtainable in other ways, then so-called religion is neglected. This is the situation in modern civilization. Man is thriving economically, so at present he is not very interested in religion. Churches, mosques or temples are now practically vacant. Men are more interested in factories, shops, and cinemas than in religious places which were erected by their forefathers. This practically proves that religion is performed for some economic gains. Economic gains are needed for sense gratification. Often when one is baffled in the pursuit of sense gratification, he takes to salvation and tries to become one with the Supreme Lord. Consequently, all these states are simply different types of sense gratification.
In the Vedas, the above mentioned four activities are prescribed in the regulative way so that there will not be any undue competition for sense gratification. But Srimad-Bhagavatam is transcendental to all these sense gratificatory activities. It is purely transcendental literature which can be understood only by the pure devotees of the Lord who are transcendental to competitive sense gratification. In the material world there is keen competition between animal and animal, man and man, community and community, nation and nation. But the devotees of the Lord rise above such competitions. They do not compete with the materialist because they are on the path back to Godhead where life is eternal and blissful. Such transcendentalists are nonenvious and pure in heart. In the material world, everyone is envious of everyone else, and therefore there is competition. But the transcendental devotees of the Lord are not only free from material envy, but they are well-wishers to everyone, and they strive to establish a competitionless society with God in the center. The contemporary socialists' conception of a competitionless society is artificial because in the socialist state there is competition for the post of dictator. From the point of view of the Vedas or from the point of view of common human activities, sense gratification is the basis of materail life. There are three paths mentioned in the Vedas. One involves fruitive activities to gain promotion to the planets of the demigods, and another involves realizing the Absolute Truth and His impersonal feature and becoming one with Him.
The impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is not the highest. Above the impersonal feature is the Paramatma feature, and above this there is the personal feature of the ABsolute Truth or Bhagavan. Srimad-Bhagavatam gives information about the Absolute in His personal feature. It is higher than impersoalist literatures and higer than the jnana-kanda division of the Vedas. It is even higher than the karma-kanda division, and even higher than the upasana-kanda division because it recommends the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna. In the karma-kanda, there is competition to reach heavenly planets for better sense gratification, and there is similar competition in the jnana-kanda and the upasana-kanda. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is superior to all of these because it aims at the Supreme Truth which is the substance or the root of all categories. From Srimad-Bhagavatam one can come to know the substance as well as the categories. The substance is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, and all emanations are relative forms of energy.
Nothing is apart from the substance, but at the same time the energies are different from the substance. This conception is not contradictory. Srimad-Bhagavatam explicity promulgates this simultaneously one and different philosophy of the Vedanta-sutra, which begins with the "janmady asya" sutra.
This knowledge of the energy of the Lord being simultaneously one and different from the Lord is an answer to the mental speculators' attempt to establish the energy as the Absolute. When this knowledge is factually understood one sees the conceptions of monism and dualism to be imperfect. Development of this transcendental consciousness grounded in the conception of simultaneously one and different leads one immediately to the stage of freedom from the threefold miseries. The threefold miseries are 1.) those miseries which arises from the mind and body, 2.) those miseries inflicted by other living beings, and 3.) those miseries arising from natural catastrophes over which one has no control. Srimad-Bhagavatam begins with the surrenders of the devotee unto the Absolute Person. The devotee is fully aware that he is one with the Absolute and at the same time in the eternal position of servant of the Absolute. In the material conception, one falsely thinks himself the lord of all he surveys, and therefore he is always troubled by the threefold miseries of life. But as soon as one comes to know his real position as transcendental servant, he at once becomes free from all miseries. As long as the living entity is trying to master material nature, there is no possibility of his becoming servant of the Supreme. Service to the Lord is rendered in pure consciousness of one's spiritual identity; by service one is immediately freed from material encumbrances.
Over and above this, Srimad-Bhagavatam is a personal commentation on the Vedanta-sutra by Sri Vyasadeva. It is written in the maturity of his spiritual life through the mercy of Narada. Sri Vyasadeva is the authorized incarnation of Narayana, the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, there is no question as to his authority. He is the author of all other Vedic literatures, yet he recommends the study of Srimad-Bhagavatam above all others.
In other Puranas there are different methods set forth by which one can worship demigods. But in the Bhagavatam only the Supreme Lord is mentioned. The Supreme Lord is the total body, and the demigods are the different parts of that body. Consequently, by worshiping the Supreme Lord, one does not need to worship the demigods. The Supreme Lord becomes fixed in the heart of the devotee immediately. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu had recommended the Srimad-Bhagavatam as the spotless Purana and distinguishes it from all other Puranas.
The proper method for receiving this transcendental message is to hear it submissively. A challenging attitude cannot help one realize this transcendental message. One particular word is used herein for proper guidance. This word is susrusu. One must be anxious to hear this transcendental message. The desire to sincerely hear is the first qualification.