A question

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>"Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti offers his good counsel to the interested

>Vaisnavas when he says that they should not be interested in hearing only

>about the Lord's activities (like rasa-lila) but must be keenly interested

>in His pastimes in His feature of the purusavataras in connection with

>srsti-tattva, creational functions, following the example of Maharaja

>Pariksit, the ideal disciple, and Sukadeva Goswami, the ideal spiritual

>master." SB 2.4.10 purport

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

A similar quote is there in SB 2.7.53&purp, which answers Maharaja's

question to some extent:

 

m€y€ˆ varŠayato 'muya

…varasy€numodataƒ

Švataƒ raddhay€ nityaˆ

m€yay€tm€ na muhyati

 

 

TRANSLATION

 

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 of the Lord.

 

PURPORT

 

....

 

Some of them think that to hear about the pastimes of the Lord means to hear

about His activities with the gop…s or about His pastimes like lifting the

Govardhana Hill, and they have nothing to do with the Lord's plenary

expansions as the puru€vat€ras and Their pastimes of the creation,

maintenance or annihilation of the material worlds. But a pure devotee knows

that there is no difference between the pastimes of the Lord, either in

r€sa-l…l€ or in creation, maintenance or destruction of the material world.

Rather, the descriptions of such activities of the Lord as the puru€vat€ras

are specifically meant for persons who are in the clutches of the external

energy. Topics like the r€sa-l…l€ are meant for the liberated souls and not

for the conditioned souls.

 

****The conditioned souls, therefore, must hear with appreciation and

devotion the Lord's pastimes in relationship with the external energy, and

such acts are as good as the hearing of r€sa-l…l€ in the liberated

stage.*****

 

A conditioned soul should not imitate the activities of liberated souls.

Lord ®r… Caitanya never indulged in hearing the r€sa-l…la with ordinary men.

 

....

 

Begging to remain

 

your servant,

Madana-mohana das