SB 1.5.2
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 2
nārada uvāca
pārāśarya mahā-bhāga
bhavataḥ kaccid ātmanā
parituṣyati śārīra
ātmā mānasa eva vā
SYNONYMS
nāradaḥ—Nārada; uvāca—said; pārāśarya—O son of Parāśara; mahā-bhāga—the greatly fortunate; bhavataḥ—your; kaccit—if it is; ātmanā—by the self-realization of; parituṣyati—does it satisfy; śārīraḥ—identifying the body; ātmā—self; mānasaḥ—identifying the mind; eva—certainly; vā—and.
TRANSLATION
Addressing Vyāsadeva, the son of Parāśara, Nārada inquired: Are you satisfied by identifying with the body or the mind as objects of self-realization?
PURPORT
This was a hint by Nārada to Vyāsadeva regarding the cause of his despondency. Vyāsadeva, as the descendant of Parāśara, a greatly powerful sage, had the privilege of having a great parentage which should not have given Vyāsadeva cause for despondency. Being a great son of a great father, he should not have identified the self with the body or the mind. Ordinary men with a poor fund of knowledge can identify the body as self or the mind as self, but Vyāsadeva should not have done so. One cannot be cheerful by nature unless one is factually seated in self-realization, which is transcendental to the material body and mind.