Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.3.15
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesMaterial Sorrow and Spiritual Bliss Differ
“The great sage Maitreya said: Lord Śiva, the deliverer of the hill Kailāsa, having thus been addressed by his dear wife, replied smilingly, although at the same time he remembered the malicious, heart-piercing speeches delivered by Dakṣa before the guardians of the universal affairs.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Śiva remembered Dakṣa’s heart-piercing words and felt sorrow, yet smiled to please his wife.
- Although Lord Śiva is fully self-realized, he is in charge of tamo-guṇa, the material mode of ignorance, and is sometimes affected by material pleasure and pain.
- In the spiritual world, even apparent sorrow is full of transcendental bliss. Kṛṣṇa’s childhood tears are not a reaction of material ignorance.
Try this today
Reread the passage about Kṛṣṇa’s tears and reflect for a minute on their transcendental nature.
Ask yourself
Do I mistake the apparent sorrow in Kṛṣṇa’s activities for ordinary material suffering?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.