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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 7 · Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings

7.15.60 7.15.62

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.15.61

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.15.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

स्यात्साद‍ृश्यभ्रमस्तावद्विकल्पे सति वस्तुन: ।

जाग्रत्स्वापौ यथा स्वप्ने तथा विधिनिषेधता ॥ ६१ ॥

syāt sādṛśya-bhramas tāvad

vikalpe sati vastunaḥ

jāgrat-svāpau yathā svapne

tathā vidhi-niṣedhatā

Translation

When a substance and its parts are separated, the acceptance of similarity between one and the other is called illusion. While dreaming, one creates a separation between the existences called wakefulness and sleep. It is in such a state of mind that the regulative principles of the scriptures, consisting of injunctions and prohibitions, are recommended.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Spiritual World Is Eternally Real

1
The temporary nature of our material body does not mean that the Supreme Lord's body is temporary. Similarity between material and spiritual forms does not make them the same.
2
A mirage contains no real water, but water exists elsewhere. Similarly, the material world is a temporary reflection of the real spiritual world.
3
The Lord's form and His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, are eternal realities. His supreme abode remains when the material world is annihilated, and those who reach it do not return.

Key points from the purport

In material existence there are many regulative principles and formalities.
The spiritual world is real, and the material world is similar to it.
The material world is temporary or false, but the spiritual world is an eternal reality.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 7.15.61 quotesBG 8.19

This is explained by the Lord Himself in the Eighth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (8.19-21):

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Seriousness → Principled living. The example of bhakti becomes a guide to daily life.

Chapters 11–15 of Canto 7: Teachings on social and spiritual conduct. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Because of performing fruitive activities, which are called the path of dharma, one has to accept the cycle of birth and death, but when one takes the path of mokṣa, or liberation, which is described in Bhagavad-gītā as arcanā-mārga, one can get relief from the cycle of birth and death. The Vedas describe these two paths as pitṛ-yāna and deva-yāna.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.15

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

syātit so becomes
sādṛśyasimilarity
bhramaḥmistake
tāvatas long as
vikalpein separation
satithe part
vastunaḥfrom the substance
jāgratwaking

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

Mukti · Liberation
What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10
Viraha · Longing in separation
Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 7.15
In this verse: “separation”, “separated”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.15
In this verse: “illusion”, “material”
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 7.15
In this verse: “principles”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I sometimes apply the limitations of my material body to the Lord's eternal form?

Practice

Write one sentence distinguishing your temporary body from the Lord's eternal form.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Spiritual World Is Eternally RealThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 7.15.61? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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