By Satyanarayana Dasa - Continuation from Paramātmā Sandarbha, Anuccheda 93.4: Devotees are Self-Satisfied - Translation: [An objection is raised] It is not to be conjectured that since the Lord gives bliss to His devotees and they to Him, He [or His devotees] must not be self-satisfied; nor that since He gives pleasure to His devotees while neglecting others, He must be subject to another form of bias. The answer to the first objection is that although the sages have bodies endowed with the power of pure sattva and have thus attained the very heights of self-satisfaction, when we see the Lord’s affection towards these devotees it can be understood that this quality is a consequence of His self-satisfaction and not opposed to it.
By Satyanarayana Dasa - At present I am working on Paramātmā Sandarbha, the third book of Jīva Gosvāmī's Ṣaṭ Sandarbhas. I thought of sharing the 93rd Anuccheda of the book, which is an elaborate analysis of the nature of Bhagavān and His relation with the world and His devotees
The Purpose of Story-Telling The intention of Śrī Vyāsa is not to give us historical information, but to impart transcendental knowledge. Still there may... Read More
Chapters four through seven of the First Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavat Purāṇa relays the story of how Śrī Vyāsadeva composed the present version of... Read More
As similar example can be found in the story of the churning of the milk-ocean by the devas and asuras. (Devas are those who live responsibly, looking after the condition of nature and the world. Asuras are materialistic people whose prime interest is sense gratification, regardless of its effect on nature and the world).
According to Jīva Gosvāmī (in Tattva Sandarbha, Anuccheda 26.2), there are three ways to instruct: like a king, like a friend, or like a beloved. The Vedas instruct like a king, giving direct instructions. The Purāṇas teach like a friend by giving stories which have a moral. And books of Sāhitya (Indian literature) teach indirectly.
The ego we identify with in the conditioned stage of existence is our acquired, material ego. It is based on our relationship with this body-mind complex, which is temporary. Just as the body is always undergoing change, so our ego also changes and will continue to change.
