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Realm (Books)

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

The name Kṛṣṇa and the Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa are identical. There is no difference in the absolute realm between the name, form or person of the Absolute Truth because in the absolute realm everything is transcendental bliss. There is no difference between the body and the soul for the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Thus He is different from the living entity who is always different from his outward body.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.1.17, Purport:

These creations, both material and spiritual, are full of opulence, beauty and knowledge, but the spiritual realm is more magnificent due to its being full of knowledge, bliss and eternity. The material creations are manifested for some time as perverted shadows of the spiritual kingdom and can be likened to cinemas. They attract people of less intelligent caliber who are attracted by false things. Such foolish men have no information of the reality, and they take it for granted that the false material manifestation is the all in all. But 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 in His adventures as incarnations wherein He displays the eternal bliss of His association in the transcendental realm. By such activities He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world. Some of these conditioned souls are engaged in the false enjoyment of material senses and others in simply negating their real life in the spiritual world.

SB 1.2.11, Purport:

In the relative world the knower is different from the known, but in the Absolute Truth both the knower and the known are one and the same thing. In the relative world the knower is the living spirit or superior energy, whereas the known is inert matter or inferior energy. Therefore, there is a duality of inferior and superior energy, whereas in the absolute realm both the knower and the known are of the same superior energy. There are three kinds of energies of the supreme energetic. There is no difference between the energy and energetic, but there is a difference of quality of energies. The absolute realm and the living entities are of the same superior energy, but the material world is inferior energy.

SB 1.5.39, Purport:

Communion with the Lord by transmission of the transcendental sound is nondifferent from the whole spirit Lord Sri Krsna. It is a completely perfect method for approaching the Lord. By such pure contact with the Lord, without offense of material conceptions (numbering ten), the devotee can rise above the material plane to understand the inner meaning of the Vedic literatures, including the Lord's existence in the transcendental realm. The Lord reveals His identity gradually to one who has unflinching faith, both in the spiritual master and in the Lord.

SB 1.6.36, Purport:

he process of devotional activities from the beginning to the stage of transcendence is all duly explained to satisfy the inquiries of Vyasadeva. He has explained how the seeds of devotional service were sown by transcendental association and how they gradually developed by hearing the sages. The result of such hearing is detachment from worldliness, so much so that even a small boy could receive the death news of his mother, who was his only caretaker, as the blessing of God. And at once he took the opportunity to search out the Lord. A sincere urge for having an interview with the Lord was also granted to him, although it is not possible for anyone to see the Lord with mundane eyes. He also explained how by execution of pure transcendental service one can get rid of the fruitive action of accumulated work and how he transformed his material body into a spiritual one. The spiritual body is alone able to enter into the spiritual realm of the Lord, and no one but a pure devotee is eligible to enter into the kingdom of God. All the mysteries of transcendental realization are duly experienced by Narada Muni himself, and therefore by hearing such an authority one can have some idea of the results of devotional life, which are hardly delineated even in the original texts of the Vedas.

SB 1.7.4, Purport:

The Supreme Person has manifold energies, out of which the internal, external and marginal energies are specifically important. The energy mentioned here is the external energy, as will be clear from the statements of her activities. The internal energy is there along with the Absolute Person as the moonlight is there with the moon. The external energy is compared to darkness because it keeps the living entities in the darkness of ignorance. The word apasrayam suggests that this energy of the Lord is under full control. The internal potency or superior energy is also called maya, but it is spiritual maya, or energy exhibited in the absolute realm. When one is under the shelter of this internal potency, the darkness of material ignorance is at once dissipated. And even those who are atmarama, or fixed in trance, take shelter of this maya, or internal energy.

SB 1.7.41, Purport:

The transcendental relation of Arjuna with Krsna is of the dearmost friendship. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord Himself has claimed Arjuna as His dearmost friend. Every living being is thus related with the Supreme Lord by some sort of affectionate relation, either as servant or as friend or as parent or as an object of conjugal love. Everyone thus can enjoy the company of the Lord in the spiritual realm if he at all desires and sincerely tries for it by the process of bhakti-yoga.

SB 1.8.9, Purport:

This material world is the world of duality, in contrast with the oneness of the absolute realm. The world of duality is composed of matter and spirit, whereas the absolute world is complete spirit without any tinge of the material qualities. In the dual world everyone is falsely trying to become the master of the world, whereas in the absolute world the Lord is the absolute Lord, and all others are His absolute servitors.

SB 1.8.31, Purport:

When Lord Krsna was present in this material world to manifest His eternal pastimes of the transcendental realm of Goloka Vrndavana as an attraction for the people in general, He displayed a unique picture of subordination before His foster mother, Yasoda. The Lord, in His naturally childish playful activities, used to spoil the stocked butter of mother Yasoda by breaking the pots and distributing the contents to His friends and playmates, including the celebrated monkeys of Vrndavana, who took advantage of the Lord's munificence.

SB 1.9.8, Purport:

Sukadeva Gosvami (Brahmarata): The famous son and disciple of Sri Vyasadeva, who taught him first the Mahabharata and then Srimad-Bhagavatam. Sukadeva Gosvami recited 1,400,000 verses of the Mahabharata in the councils of the Gandharvas, Yaksas and Raksasas, and he recited Srimad-Bhagavatam for the first time in the presence of Maharaja Pariksit. He thoroughly studied all the Vedic literatures from his great father. Thus he was a completely purified soul by dint of his extensive knowledge in the principles of religion. From Mahabharata, Sabha-parva (4.11) it is understood that he was also present in the royal assembly of Maharaja Yudhisthira and at the fasting of Maharaja Pariksit. As a bona fide disciple of Sri Vyasadeva, he inquired from his father very extensively about religious principles and spiritual values, and his great father also satisfied him by teaching him the yoga system by which one can attain the spiritual kingdom, the difference between fruitive work and empiric knowledge, the ways and means of attaining spiritual realization, the four asramas (namely the student life, the householder's life, the retired life and the renounced life), the sublime position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the process of seeing Him eye to eye, the bona fide candidate for receiving knowledge, the consideration of the five elements, the unique position of intelligence, the consciousness of the material nature and the living entity, the symptoms of the self-realized soul, the working principles of the material body, the symptoms of the influential modes of nature, the tree of perpetual desire, and psychic activities. Sometimes he went to the sun planet with the permission of his father and Naradaji. Descriptions of his travel in space are given in the Santi-parva of the Mahabharata (332). At last he attained the transcendental realm. He is known by different names like Araneya, Arunisuta, Vaiyasaki and Vyasatmaja.

SB 1.9.34, Purport:

Because everything in the mundane world is qualitatively mundane, it is full of inebrieties, whereas in the absolute realm, because everything is of the same absolute nature, there are varieties of enjoyment without inebriety. The Lord enjoyed the wounds created by His great devotee Bhismadeva, and because Bhismadeva is a devotee in the chivalrous relation, he fixes up his mind on Krsna in that wounded condition.

SB 1.9.44, Purport:

Bhismadeva, as a pure devotee of the Lord, entered the spiritual realm in one of the Vaikuntha planets where the Lord in His eternal form of Partha-sarathi predominates over the unconditioned living beings who are constantly engaged in the service of the Lord. The love and affection which bind the Lord and devotee are exhibited in the case of Bhismadeva. Bhismadeva never forgot the Lord in His transcendental feature as the Partha-sarathi, and the Lord was present personally before Bhismadeva while he was passing to the transcendental world. That is the highest perfection of life.

SB 1.9.44, Purport:

The successful living beings who are eligible to enter into the realm of the Absolute are called the jnanis, the yogis and the bhaktas. The jnanis and yogis enter into the impersonal rays of the Supreme, but the bhaktas enter into the spiritual planets known as the Vaikunthas. In these spiritual planets the Supreme Lord as Narayana predominates, and the healthy, unconditioned living beings live there by rendering loving service to the Lord in the capacity of servant, friend, parents and fiancee. There the unconditioned living beings enjoy life in full freedom with the Lord, whereas the impersonalist jnanis and yogis enter into the impersonal glowing effulgence of the Vaikuntha planets.

SB 1.11.25, Purport:

When the ladies of the city of Dvaraka got up on the roofs of their palaces, they never thought that they had previously many times seen the beautiful body of the infallible Lord. This indicates that they had no satiation in desiring to see the Lord. Anything material seen for a number of times ultimately becomes unattractive by the law of satiation. The law of satiation acts materially, but there is no scope for it in the spiritual realm. The word infallible is significant here, because although the Lord has mercifully descended on earth, He is still infallible. The living entities are fallible because when they come in contact with the material world they lack their spiritual identity, and thus the body materially obtained becomes subjected to birth, growth, transformation, situation, deterioration and annihilation under the laws of nature.

SB 1.18.11, Purport:

When we hear about the transcendental qualities and activities of the Personality of Godhead, we may always remember what has been spoken by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9). His acts, even when He acts in human society, are all transcendental, for they are all accentuated by the spiritual energy of the Lord, which is distinguished from His material energy. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, such acts are called divyam. This means that He does not act or take His birth like an ordinary living being under the custody of material energy. Nor is His body material or changeable like that of ordinary living beings. And one who understands this fact, either from the Lord or from authorized sources, is not reborn after leaving the present material body. Such an enlightened soul is admitted into the spiritual realm of the Lord and engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Therefore, the more we hear about the transcendental activities of the Lord, as they are stated in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, the more we can know about His transcendental nature and thus make definite progress on the path back to Godhead.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.1.15, Purport:

The best type of body is a spiritual body, which is obtained by those who go back to the kingdom of God or enter the realm of Brahman. In the second chapter of this canto, this matter will be broadly discussed, but as far as the change of body is concerned, one must prepare now for the next life. Foolish people attach more importance to the present temporary life, and thus the foolish leaders make appeals to the body and the bodily relations. The bodily relations extend not only to this body but also to the family members, wife, children, society, country and so many other things which end at the end of life. After death one forgets everything about the present bodily relations; we have a little experience of this at night when we go to sleep. While sleeping, we forget everything about this body and bodily relations, although this forgetfulness is a temporary situation for only a few hours. Death is nothing but sleeping for a few months in order to develop another term of bodily encagement, which we are awarded by the law of nature according to our aspiration.

SB 2.2.12, Purport:

One must complete the purificatory process by assimilating the contents of the first nine cantos. Then one should be admitted into the realm of the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

SB 2.2.28, Purport:

The water of the Causal Ocean is differently situated than the covering water of the universe. The water that serves as covering for the universe is material, whereas the water of the Causal Ocean is spiritual. As such, the watery covering mentioned herein is considered to be the false egoistic covering of all living entities, and the gradual process of liberation from the material coverings, one after another, as mentioned herein, is the gradual process of being liberated from false egoistic conceptions of the material gross body, and then being absorbed in the identification of the subtle body till the attainment of the pure spiritual body in the absolute realm of the kingdom of God.

SB 2.3.11, Purport:

The worshipers of the demigods have one facility more than the unbelievers due to their being convinced of the Vedic version, by which they can get information of the benefit of worshiping the Supreme Lord in the association of the devotees of the Lord. The gross materialist, however, without any faith in the Vedic version, remains eternally in darkness, driven by a false conviction on the basis of imperfect experimental knowledge, or so-called material science, which can never reach into the realm of transcendental knowledge.

SB 2.7.42, Purport:

The unalloyed devotees of the Lord know the glories of the Lord in the sense that they can understand how great the Lord is and how great is His expansion of diverse energy. Those who are attached to the perishable body can hardly enter into the realm of the science of Godhead. The whole materialistic world, based on the conception of the material body as the self, is ignorant of the science of God.

SB 2.9.10, Purport:

n the Agama Puranas also, the transcendental abode is described as follows: The associated members there are free to go everywhere within the creation of the Lord, and there is no limit to such creation, particularly in the region of the three-fourths magnitude. Since the nature of that region is unlimited, there is no history of such association, nor is there end of it.

The conclusion may be drawn that because of the complete absence of the mundane qualities of ignorance and passion, there is no question of creation nor of annihilation. In the material world everything is created, and everything is annihilated, and the duration of life between the creation and annihilation is temporary. In the transcendental realm there is no creation and no destruction, and thus the duration of life is eternal unlimitedly. In other words, everything in the transcendental world is everlasting, full of knowledge and bliss without deterioration. Since there is no deterioration, there is no past, present and future in the estimation of time.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.4.15, Purport:

Those who are associated with the Lord in the Vaikuṇṭha planets achieve all the bodily features of the Lord and appear to be the same as Lord Viṣṇu. Such liberation is called sārūpya-mukti, which is one of the five kinds of liberation. The devotees engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord never accept the sāyujya-mukti, or merging in the rays of the Lord called the brahmajyoti. The devotees can achieve not only liberation but any success in the realm of religiosity, economic development or sense gratification up to the standard of the demigods in the heavenly planets. But such a pure devotee as Uddhava refuses to accept all such facilities. A pure devotee wants simply to engage in the service of the Lord and does not consider his own personal benefit.

SB 3.4.15, Translation:

O my Lord, devotees who engage in the transcendental loving service of Your lotus feet have no difficulty in achieving anything within the realm of the four principles of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. But, O great one, as far as I am concerned, I have preferred only to engage in the loving service of Your lotus feet.

SB 3.25.43, Purport:

If there is a lack of knowledge and renunciation, it is to be understood that one is not in full devotional service. The conclusion is that one cannot be sure of entrance into the spiritual realm—in either the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence of the Lord or the Vaikuṇṭha planets within that Brahman effulgence—unless he is surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. The surrendered souls are called akuto-bhaya. They are doubtless and fearless, and their entrance into the spiritual kingdom is guaranteed.

SB 3.32.40, Purport:

Persons who are always planning to do harm to other living entities are not eligible to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness and cannot enter into the realm of transcendental loving service to the Lord. Also, there are so-called disciples who become submissive to a spiritual master most artificially, with an ulterior motive. They also cannot understand what Kṛṣṇa consciousness or devotional service is. Persons who, due to being initiated by another sect of religious faith, do not find devotional service as the common platform for approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also cannot understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.8.40, Purport:

Dhruva Mahārāja's demand was to achieve an abode even greater than Lord Brahmā's. Within this universe, Lord Brahmā is supposed to be in the most exalted position, for he is the chief of all demigods, but Dhruva Mahārāja wanted a realm beyond his. Therefore his desire was not to be fulfilled by worshiping any demigod. As described in Bhagavad-gītā, the benedictions offered by the demigods are all temporary. Therefore Nārada Muni asked Dhruva Mahārāja to follow the path recommended by his mother—to worship Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. When Kṛṣṇa offers anything, it is beyond the expectation of the devotee.

SB 4.23.26, Purport:

Both Pṛthu Mahārāja's airplane and the airplane carrying Queen Arci were passing out of the vision of the ladies of the higher planetary systems. These ladies were simply astonished to see how Pṛthu Mahārāja and his wife achieved such an exalted position. Although they were the wives of the denizens of the higher planetary system and Pṛthu Mahārāja was an inhabitant of an inferior planetary system (the earth), the King, along with his wife, passed beyond the realms of the demigods and went upward to Vaikuṇṭhaloka.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.19.20, Purport:

Brahman realization is the beginning of liberation, and Paramātmā realization is still further advancement toward the realm of liberation, but one achieves real liberation when he understands his position as an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6)). In the material world, in the bodily concept of life, everyone is working in the wrong direction. When one becomes brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), spiritually realized, one understands that he is not the body and that working in the bodily concept of life is useless and misdirected. Then his devotional service begins.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.9.1, Purport:

One cannot directly perceive the kingdom of heaven, its king and other inhabitants, or how they perform their various engagements, for no one can go to the heavenly planets. Although modern scientists have invented many powerful space vehicles, they cannot even go to the moon, not to speak of other planets. By direct experience one cannot learn anything beyond the range of human perception. One must hear from authorities. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī, a great personality, says, "What I am describing to you, O King, is what I have heard from authoritative sources." This is the Vedic system. The Vedic knowledge is called śruti because it must be received by being heard from authorities. It is beyond the realm of our false experimental knowledge.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.12.11, Purport:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa." (Bs. 5.37)

Although Govinda is always present in His abode (goloka eva nivasati), He is simultaneously present everywhere. Nothing is unknown to Him, and nothing can be hidden from Him. The example given here compares the Lord to the air, which is within the vast sky and within every body but still is different from everything.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.14.14, Translation:

Are You not the original Nārāyaṇa, O supreme controller, since You are the Soul of every embodied being and the eternal witness of all created realms? Indeed, Lord Nārāyaṇa is Your expansion, and He is called Nārāyaṇa because He is the generating source of the primeval water of the universe. He is real, not a product of Your illusory Māyā.

SB 10.40.3, Translation:

The total material nature and these other elements of creation certainly cannot know You as You are, for they are manifested in the realm of dull matter. Since You are beyond the modes of nature, even Lord Brahma, who is bound up in these modes, does not know Your true identity.

SB 10.41.46, Translation:

You two Lords are the ultimate cause of this entire universe. To bestow sustenance and prosperity upon this realm, You have descended with Your plenary expansions.

SB 10.63.37, Translation:

Your current descent into the material realm, O Lord of unrestricted power, is meant for upholding the principles of justice and benefiting the entire universe. We demigods, each depending on Your grace and authority, develop the seven planetary systems.

SB 10.88.25-26, Translation:

The great demigods could only remain silent, not knowing how to counteract the benediction. Then Lord Śiva reached the luminous realm of Vaikuṇṭha, beyond all darkness, where the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa is manifest. That realm is the destination of renunciants who have attained peace and given up all violence against other creatures. Going there, one never returns.

SB 10.89.10-11, Translation:

"Please purify Me, My realm and the realms of the universal rulers devoted to Me by giving us the water that has washed your feet. This holy water is indeed what makes all places of pilgrimage sacred. Today, my lord, I have become the exclusive shelter of the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī; she will consent to reside on My chest because your foot has rid it of sins."

SB 10.89.10-11, Translation:

"Please purify Me, My realm and the realms of the universal rulers devoted to Me by giving us the water that has washed your feet. This holy water is indeed what makes all places of pilgrimage sacred. Today, my lord, I have become the exclusive shelter of the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī; she will consent to reside on My chest because your foot has rid it of sins."

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.12, Translation:

What the Upaniṣads call the transcendental, impersonal Brahman is the realm of the glowing effulgence of the same Supreme Person.

CC Adi 1.12, Purport:

"In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited Brahman effulgence, which is free from material contamination. That effulgent white light is understood by transcendentalists to be the light of all lights. In that realm there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity for illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination. That Brahman is in front and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below. In other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads throughout both the material and spiritual skies."

CC Adi 1.50, Purport:

The English maxim that God helps those who help themselves is also applicable in the transcendental realm. There are many instances in the revealed scriptures of the Personality of Godhead's acting as the spiritual master from within.

CC Adi 1.64, Purport:

Perfect servitors of the Lord are considered His personal associates, whereas devotees endeavoring to attain perfection are called neophytes. Among the associates, some are attracted by the opulences of the Personality of Godhead, and others are attracted by nuptial love of Godhead. The former devotees are placed in the realm of Vaikuṇṭha to render reverential devotional service, whereas the latter devotees are placed in Vṛndāvana for the direct service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 2.17, Translation:

"Naked saints and sannyāsīs who undergo severe physical penances, who can raise the semen to the brain, and who are completely equipoised in Brahman can live in the realm known as Brahmaloka."

CC Adi 2.71, Translation:

An opponent may say, “This is your interpretation, but actually the Supreme Lord is Nārāyaṇa, who is in the transcendental realm.

CC Adi 3.71, Purport:

In the realm of the Absolute, one plus one equals one, and one minus one equals one. Therefore one should not conceive of a fragment of the Supreme Lord in the material sense. In the spiritual world there is no influence of the material energy or material calculations of fragments.

CC Adi 4.28, Purport:

There are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual sky, and in all of them the Lord accepts the service rendered by His eternal devotees in a reverential mood. Therefore Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa presents His most confidential pastimes as He enjoys them in His transcendental realm. Such pastimes are so attractive that they attract even the Lord, and thus He relishes them in the form of Lord Caitanya.

CC Adi 4.44, Purport:

No one is higher or lower than anyone else in transcendental relationships with the Lord, for in the absolute realm everything is equal. But although these relationships are absolute, there are also transcendental differences between them. Thus the transcendental relationship of conjugal love is considered the highest perfection.

CC Adi 4.50, Purport:

Of the four kinds of reciprocation of loving service—dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya—mādhurya is considered the fullest. But the conjugal relationship is further divided into two varieties, namely svakīya and parakīya. Svakīya is the relationship with Kṛṣṇa as a formally married husband, and parakīya is the relationship with Kṛṣṇa as a paramour. Expert analysts have decided that the transcendental ecstasy of the parakīya mellow is better because it is more enthusiastic. This phase of conjugal love is found in those who have surrendered to the Lord in intense love, knowing well that such illicit love with a paramour is not morally approved in society. The risks involved in such love of Godhead make this emotion superior to the relationship in which such risk is not involved. The validity of such risk, however, is possible only in the transcendental realm. Svakīya and parakīya conjugal love of Godhead have no existence in the material world, and parakīya is not exhibited anywhere in Vaikuṇṭha, but only in the portion of Goloka Vṛndāvana known as Vraja.

CC Adi 4.50, Purport:

As the Lord appears by His own internal potency, so He also brings all His paraphernalia by the same internal potency, without extraneous help. It is further stated here in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that the parakīya sentiment exists only in that transcendental realm and nowhere else. This highest form of ecstasy can exist only in the most confidential part of the transcendental world, but by the causeless mercy of the Lord we can have a peep into that invisible Vraja.

CC Adi 4.72, Translation:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa."

CC Adi 4.81, Purport:

In the transcendental realm, enjoyment is fully relished in variety. The exuberance of transcendental mellows is increased by the association of a large number of personalities similar to Rādhārāṇī, who are also known as gopīs or sakhīs. The variety of innumerable mistresses is a source of relish for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and therefore these expansions from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī are necessary for enhancing the pleasure potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Their transcendental exchanges of love are the superexcellent affairs of the pastimes in Vṛndāvana. By these expansions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s personal body, She helps Lord Kṛṣṇa taste the rāsa dance and other, similar activities. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, being the central petal of the rāsa-līlā flower, is also known by the names found in the following verses.

CC Adi 5.14, Translation:

Beyond the material nature lies the realm known as paravyoma, the spiritual sky. Like Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, it possesses all transcendental attributes, such as the six opulences.

CC Adi 5.18, Purport:

That transcendental abode exists by the energy of Śrī Baladeva, who is the original whole of Śeṣa, or Ananta. The tantras also confirm this description by stating that the abode of Śrī Anantadeva, a plenary portion of Baladeva, is called the kingdom of God. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is the innermost abode within the quadrangular realm of Śvetadvīpa, which lies outside of the boundary of Gokula Vṛndāvana.

CC Adi 5.39, Translation:

"Beyond the region of ignorance (the material cosmic manifestation) lies the realm of Siddhaloka. The Siddhas reside there, absorbed in the bliss of Brahman. Demons killed by the Lord also attain that realm."

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

he Lord is Parabrahman, or the source of the impersonal Brahma, which is His all-pervading feature of neutrality. In His personal feature, however, as the owner of all transcendental opulences, the Lord displays His partiality by taking the side of His devotees. Partiality, neutrality and all such qualities are present in God; otherwise they could not be experienced in the creation. Since He is the total existence, all things are properly adjusted in the Absolute. In the relative world such qualities are displayed in a perverted manner, and therefore we experience nonduality as a perverted reflection. Because there is no logic to explain how things happen in the realm of spirit, the Lord is sometimes described as being beyond the range of experience. But if we simply accept the Lord's inconceivability, we can then adjust all things in Him.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 8.64, Purport:

In the Brahmaloka and Virajā-nadī, one cannot conceive of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Brahmaloka and Virajā-nadī are also attained after difficult austerities, but in these realms there is no understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His transcendental loving service. Without such spiritual knowledge, simple detachment from material conditions is but another side of material existence.

CC Madhya 8.83, Purport:

An invented devotional attitude simply creates disturbances in the transcendental realm. If a person overly addicted to family life takes to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Kṛṣṇa consciousness to earn a livelihood, his activity is certainly offensive. One should not become a caste guru and sell mantras for the benefit of mundane customers, nor should one make disciples for a livelihood. All these activities are offensive.

CC Madhya 8.138, Purport:

The spiritual realm of Vṛndāvana is always spiritual. The goddess of fortune and the gopīs are always present there. They are Kṛṣṇa's beloveds, and all of them are as spiritual as Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person and is the husband of all the gopīs and the goddess of fortune. The trees in Vṛndāvana are wish-fulfilling trees. The land is made of touchstone, and the water is nectar. Words are musical vibrations, and all movements are dancing. The flute is the Lord's constant companion. The planet Goloka Vṛndāvana is self-luminous like the sun and is full of spiritual bliss. The perfection of life lies in tasting that spiritual existence; therefore everyone should cultivate its knowledge.

CC Madhya 8.138, Translation:

“In the spiritual realm of Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa is the spiritual, ever-fresh Cupid. He is worshiped by the chanting of the Kāma-gāyatrī mantra, with the spiritual seed klīm.

CC Madhya 8.139, Purport:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord. He resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa."

CC Madhya 8.163, Translation:

“"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa."

CC Madhya 15.237, Purport:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa. I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself, with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love."

CC Madhya 19.154, Purport:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord. He resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa." In the spiritual world, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has expanded Himself by His spiritual potency. He has His eternal form of bliss and knowledge (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)). Everything in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet is a spiritual expansion of sac-cid-ānanda. Everyone there is of the same potency—ānanda-cinmaya-rasa.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 5:

All of the previous instructions imparted by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his broad statements can be summarized thus: as long as one is materially inclined or desirous of merging into the spiritual effulgence, one cannot enter into the realm of pure devotional service. Next, Rūpa Gosvāmī states that devotional service is transcendental to all material considerations and that it is not limited to any particular country, class, society or circumstance.

Nectar of Devotion 16:

It is said by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, "When one is actually liberated from material contamination, he can always remember an eternal devotee in Vṛndāvana in order to love Kṛṣṇa in the same capacity. And developing such an aptitude, one will always live in Vṛndāvana, even within his mind." The purport is that if it is possible one should go and physically be present at Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana, and be engaged always in the service of the Lord, following the devotees in Vraja-dhāma, the spiritual realm of Vraja. If it is not possible, however, to be physically present at Vṛndāvana, one can meditate anywhere upon living in that situation. Wherever he may be, one must always think about life in Vraja-dhāma and about following in the footsteps of a particular devotee in the service of the Lord.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 8, Purport:

"A devotee should always reside in the transcendental realm of Vraja and always engage in kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya preṣṭham, the remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His beloved associates. By following in the footsteps of such associates and by entering under their eternal guidance, one can acquire an intense desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Again Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.295):

sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ

"In the transcendental realm of Vraja (Vraja-dhāma) one should serve the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with a feeling similar to that of His associates, and one should place himself under the direct guidance of a particular associate of Kṛṣṇa and should follow in his footsteps. This method is applicable both in the stage of sādhana (spiritual practices executed while in the stage of bondage) and in the stage of sādhya (God realization), when one is a siddha-puruṣa, or a spiritually perfect soul."

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

Man's desire to be deathless is realized only in the spiritual world. As stated at the beginning of this essay, a desire for eternal life is a sign of dormant spiritual life. The aim of human civilization should be targeted to that end. It is possible for every human being to transfer himself to that spiritual realm by the process of bhakti-yoga, as described herein. It is a great science, and India has produced many scientific literatures by which the perfection of life may be realized.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 87:

It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee engaged full time in the transcendental loving service of the Lord has already surpassed the influence of the three modes of material nature. He is already situated on the Brahman platform and is in the transcendental realm, although he appears to be living within the body or within the material world.

Krsna Book 87:

The impersonalists, yogīs and enemies of the Lord enter into the Lord's transcendental effulgence, but the personalists who follow in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana or strictly follow the path of devotional service are elevated to the personal abode of Kṛṣṇa, Goloka Vṛndāvana, or to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Both the impersonalists and the personalists enter the spiritual realm, the spiritual sky, but the impersonalists are given their place in the impersonal Brahman effulgence, whereas the personalists are given a position in the Vaikuṇṭha planets or in the Vṛndāvana planet, according to their desire to serve the Lord in different mellows.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 1.3:

The grossly materialistic demons are so completely bereft of spiritual knowledge that although at every moment they perceive the transience of the material body, all their activities center on the body. They are unable to understand that the soul within the body is the permanent and essential substance and that the body is mutable and temporary. Becoming first enamoured of then deluded by vivartavāda (the theory of evolution), they conclude that the entire cosmic body also lacks a Soul. Since the fallacious theory they apply to their own physical existence leads them to reject any research into the existence of a soul residing within the body, they fail to perceive the presence of the Supersoul within the gigantic body of the cosmic manifestation. They falsely conclude that the body is everything, that there is nothing beyond it; similarly, they think that the material creation, which is the universal body, is factually governed only by the laws of nature. Any discussion on this subject is invariably put to premature death by their insistence that nature is the be—all and end—all. The more intelligent among them carry this discussion a little further and postulate that impersonalism is the quintessence of everything. But far beyond this realm of manifest and unmanifest material nature is the transcendental and eternal state. The atheists, however, are characteristically unable to believe in its existence.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.2:

Who is Lord Kṛṣṇa, and what is His original form? Unless one knows about His opulence, potencies, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation, one can never enter into the realm of pure devotional service. As stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Adi 2.117),

siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa

A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such philosophical conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one's mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.7:

By the influence of karma, one who is attached to the material body and mind has to change bodies life after life. In this way the soul roams the fourteen planetary systems within this material universe, sometimes going up and sometimes coming down. These planets are transitory—merely theatrical stages upon which the soul enacts his mundane existence. But when the living entity is elevated to spiritual perfection and is situated in his pure, eternal identity, devoid of all mundane designations, he attains the natural habitat of the spirit soul, the supramundane realm transcending this material creation and the intermediary zone of the unmanifested Brahman effulgence.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.7:

Empirical, atheistic philosophers like Kapila spent innumerable tedious hours researching the material phenomena of this cosmic creation. Yet it remained beyond the grasp of their limited intelligence to understand that there exists a realm transcendental and far superior to this manifested material world. Finally, when their probing minds failed to sight land in an ocean of speculation, they concluded that the absolute truth is unmanifest.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.2:

There is one quality among the twenty qualities Kṛṣṇa lists that is especially noteworthy, and that is mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī: "Constant and unalloyed devotion to Me (Kṛṣṇa)." The other qualities are required to cleanse the consciousness. Once the mirror of the mind is purified and the blazing fire of material existence extinguished, constant and unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa begins to appear on the horizon of the heart. The great saintly spiritual master Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, "When will my mind become purified and detached from matter? Oh, when in that purified state will I be able to see the transcendental realm of Vṛndāvana?"

It is interesting to note that once constant and unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa blossoms in the heart of a person, the other nineteen qualities automatically manifest in him.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.3:

As the saying goes, "A tethered cow goes as far as the rope." Similarly, one who uses the inductive method to search for ultimate knowledge will fail. His attempt is futile because one cannot know the supramundane with a mundane mind. Complete comprehension of the Absolute Truth is impossible with an unholy, demoniac mind. When one is possessed of a demoniac mentality that tries to reduce the supremely omnipotent Personality of Godhead to impersonal Brahman, all so-called philosophical debates will fail to discover the realm of absolute knowledge or the truth about the nondual substance. Vaiṣṇavas alone are eligible to cultivate such knowledge.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.2:

Brahman, Paramātmā (the Supersoul), and Bhagavān (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)—all three are the same nondual Supreme Absolute. It would be riduculous to say that Dr. Radhakrishnan is ignorant of this subject, yet we fail to see the logic in his claim that when the Supreme Lord incarnates He comes under the sway of māyā. The Lord unequivocally states in the Gītā that when He appears, He does so in His original transcendental form. Hence there can be no difference between Him and His body. The Lord further states that His appearance, activities, and so on are all transcendental, beyond the realm of matter. He is eternal, supremely pure, the original Supreme Personality and Supreme Brahman.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.3:

The jīva's becoming "essentially one" with the Lord is not the last word in spiritual life. Of course, Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya propagated this idea so that atheists could at least come to this level of realization. But beyond this is the realm of the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead. Having entered the sphere of transcendence, if one does not perceive the supreme transcendental personality, one's spiritual practice remains incomplete due to contaminated intelligence, and one has to return to the realm of materialism. Though claiming that the world is an illusion—jagan mithyā—such an unsuccessful transcendentalist then becomes entangled in political, social, and altruistic affairs.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.4:

There is substantial proof in the Gītā that those who thoroughly grasp the truth about God will, upon leaving the material body, enter the spiritual realm and be with God. Only those who realize God as the eternal Supreme Personality can become immortal. This realization is the human being's prerogative alone, and one who attains it reaches the highest perfection. Once achieving perfection, the jīva never returns to this temporary world of birth, death, old age, and disease. Only those who discipline their lives so as to attain this objective fulfill the purpose of their human birth; others plunge into oblivion.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

The conditioned living entities are encaged in this many-faceted prison-house called the material world. The nature of this world is creation, sustenance, and destruction. During creation and sustenance this material nature is in a manifest state, and with destruction it again becomes unmanifest. Thus this mundane, illusory realm is the Lord's inferior energy because it is sometimes manifest and at other times unmanifest.

Beyond this manifest and unmanifest external energy of the Lord exists another realm, which is transcendental and spiritually variegated. This is the unlimited spiritual sky, known as Vaikuṇṭha, which is everlasting. This realm is always manifest; it is never unmanifest. Thus it is not subject to creation and annihilation.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

With concerted, strong preaching, the devotees of the Lord must inform such foolish men that their so-called plans will surely be undermined because the platform they have chosen to build their dream houses on is factually a mirage—a movie only. Reality is elsewhere. The information needed to transport one to that realm of reality and truth is available in the magazine called Back to Godhead.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, residing in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, resembling His own spiritual figure, the embodiment of the ecstatic potency possessed of the sixty-four artistic activities, in the company of Her confidantes (sakhīs), embodiments of the extensions of Her bodily form, permeated and vitalized by His ever-blissful spiritual rasa.

Lowest of all is located Devī-dhāma (mundane world), next above it is Maheśa-dhāma (abode of Maheśa); above Maheśa-dhāma is placed Hari-dhāma (abode of Hari) and above them all is located Kṛṣṇa's own realm named Goloka. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who has allotted their respective authorities to the rulers of those graded realms.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Without the mercy of the Supreme Lord, such esoteric subjects are incomprehensible, even if one spends many years researching them. Beyond the sensual realm lie indirect, subtle perceptions, which need to be properly understood. But they can be understood properly only if one sees their relationship to the inconceivable, transcendental Absolute Truth.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

The Lord is present in everyone's heart by His inconceivable spiritual potency. He also directs the movements of the jīvas by means of His material energy, consisting of the three modes of nature. After placing the jīvas in a material body, the Lord controls their wanderings. The intelligence of those jīvas who surrender to the Lord is fixed in devotional service, and so they are never again attracted to mundane activities. Transcending the three modes, they dispassionately observe all activities within the realm of the three modes.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya assessed the prevailing trends of his time and concluded that the monistic view, or the impersonal philosophy, was best suited for his contemporaries. But that was not his final conclusion. He went on to say, bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate: "O fools, simply worship Govinda." From his use of the word bhaja, "worship," we understand him to mean that one should worship Lord Govinda's name, form, qualities, pastimes, and do on. The state of transcendence discussed here is far beyond impersonal realization, the ultimate goal of the monists. Indeed, those who worship Govinda enter into Śrī Vṛndāvana in Śrī Mathurā, the highest spiritual realm, where Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa enact Their quintessential pastimes.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Lowest of all is located Devī-dhāma (mundane world), next above it is Maheśa-dhāma (abode of Maheśa); above Maheśa-dhāma is placed Hari-dhāma (abode of Hari) and above them all is located Kṛṣṇa's own realm named Goloka. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who has allotted their respective authorities to the rulers of those graded realms.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 40, Purport:

The Lord says that in the Vedas it is mentioned that there are two kinds of living beings, called the fallible and the infallible. Those living beings who are materially encaged are all fallible, whereas those who are not conditioned and who are eternally situated in the spiritual realm are called akṣara, or infallible.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 15, Purport:

"In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited Brahman effulgence, which is free from material contamination. That effulgent white light is understood by transcendentalists to be the light of all lights. In that realm there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity for illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination. That Brahman is in front and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below. In other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads throughout both the material and spiritual skies."

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 6, Translation:

O Lord, killer of the demon Naraka! Let me reside either in the realm of the demigods, in the world of human beings, or in hell, as You please. I pray only that at the point of death I may remember Your two lotus feet, whose beauty defies that of the lotus growing in the Śarat season.

Page Title:Realm (Books)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Tripti-Madhavi, Alakananda
Created:21 of Jul, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=37, CC=25, OB=25, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:87