SB 1.10.11-12 (1964)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXTS No. 11 & 12
Satsangat mukta duhsamgo hatum notsahet budhah Kirtamano yaso yasya sakrid akarna rochanam.
Tasmin nyastadhiyah parthah saheran viraham katham Darsana sparsa samlap sayana asana bhojanaih.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Satsangat—by association of pure devotees, Muktaduhsamga—freed from bad materialistic association, Hatum—to give up, Notsahet—never attempts, Budhah—one who has understood the Lord, Kirtamano—glorifying, Yasya—whose, Yaso—fame, Sakrid—once only, Akarna—hearing only, Rochanam—pleasing, Tasmin—unto Him, Nyastadhiyah—one who has given up the mind unto Him, Parthah—the sons of Prithu, Saheran—can tolerate, Viraham—separation, Katham—how, Darsana—seeing eye to eye, Sparsa—touching, Samlap—conversing, Sayana—sleeping, Asana—sitting, Bhojanai—dining together.
TRANSLATION
Intelligent person, who has understood the Supreme Lord in the association of pure devotees and has become freed from materialistic bad association, can never attempt to avoid hearing the glories of the Lord even though he has heard it only once. How then the Pandavas can tolerate His separation with whom they had been intimately associated personally in the matter of seeing eye to eye, touching, conversing, sleeping, sitting, and dining together.
PURPORT
The living being's constitutional position being one of serving the superior, he is obliged to serve by force the dictates of illusory material energy in different phases of sense gratification. And by serving the senses he is never tired of or even though he may be tired, the illusory energy forces him to do so without being satisfied perpetually. There is no end of such sense gratificatory business and the conditioned soul becomes entangled in such servitude without any hope of release. The release is only effected by association of pure devotees. By such association one is gradually promoted to his transcendental consciousness and he can know that his eternal position is to render service unto the Lord and not to the perverted senses in the capacity of lust, anger, desire to lord it over. The material society, friendship and love all are different phases of lust. Home, country, family, society, wealth and all sorts of corollaries are all causes of bondage in the material world where threefold miseries of life are concomitant factors. By association of pure devotees and by hearing them submissively attachment for material enjoyment becomes slackened and attraction for hearing about the transcendental activities of the Lord becomes prominent. Once they are started as attractive features of the conditioned soul it will go on progressively with out any stoppage like the fire in the gun powder. It is said that Hari the Personality of Godhead is so much transcendentally attractive that even those who are self satisfied by self realisation and are factually liberated from all material bondage do also become a devotee of the Lord. Under the circumstances it is easily understood what must have been the position of the Pandavas who were constant companion of the Lord. They could not even think of separation from Sri Krishna because the attraction was more intense for them on account of continuous personal contact. The position of separation of the Pandavas was no less than that of the Gopis at Vrindaban. The Lord being however Absolute even separation from the Lord is as good as personal contact. His remembrance by His form, quality, name, fame pastimes etc is also attractive for the pure devotee so much so that he forgets all forms, quality, name, fame and activities of the mundane world and due to his mature association with pure devotees such devotee is not out of contact with the Lord for a moment even.