Category:Narrations of God
Theme Analysis
The transcendental narrations describing the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not ordinary stories; they are absolute sound vibrations that are non-different from the Lord Himself. Because the Lord is absolute, hearing His glorious activities directly brings the conditioned soul into association with the Supreme. This divine contact has a profound purifying effect, cleansing the heart of all accumulated sins and relieving the suffering of material existence. While ordinary material literature quickly becomes boring, the narrations of God are an ever-flowing stream of nectar. Pure devotees and liberated souls are never satiated by hearing these pastimes. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly warns that one must receive these narrations only from bona fide spiritual authorities, as hearing them from nondevotees is spiritually poisonous. Ultimately, absorbing the mind in these divine accounts—especially through literatures like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—is the direct path to unalloyed devotional service.
- Absolute Sound Vibration: The histories and activities of the Supreme Lord are identical to the Lord Himself. Hearing these narrations with a devotional attitude constitutes direct association with the Absolute Truth.
- The Cleansing of the Heart: Submissively hearing the pastimes of God acts as the supreme remedy for the conditioned soul. It destroys the pangs of material existence and cleanses the mind of all accumulated sinful reactions.
- The Inexhaustible Nectar: Unlike mundane stories, the narrations of the Lord's activities are transcendentally relishable. Advanced devotees continuously drink this nectar and are never satiated by its repetition.
- The Danger of Unqualified Speakers: Hearing transcendental narrations from atheists or nondevotees is extremely dangerous. Just as pure milk becomes poisonous when touched by a serpent, the Lord's pastimes become spiritually harmful when spoken by those without devotion.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Narrations of God - Purifying Nectar of the Lord's Pastimes.
Subcategories
This category has only the following subcategory.
Pages in category "Narrations of God"
The following 63 pages are in this category, out of 63 total.
A
- After hearing from the great sage Maitreya about the Lord's incarnation as Varaha, Vidura, who had taken a vow, begged him with folded hands to please narrate further transcendental activities of the Lord, since he (Vidura) did not yet feel satisfied
- Any literature or narration in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Uttamasloka, is described and glorified is certainly great, pure, glorious, auspicious and all good
B
- Both those who are present during such activities and those who hear the transcendental narrations of such activities are benefited
- Brahmaji is also trying to stress the importance of narrating the transcendental pastimes of the Lord as He comes and manifests Himself here on the surface of the material planets
- By hearing the narration of the pastimes of the Lord, one contacts directly the Personality of Godhead, and, as explained before, by hearing about the Personality of Godhead, from within, all accumulated sins of the mundane creature are cleared
H
- He (Dhruva) did not care for death, however, and even with his present body he boarded a spiritual airplane and went to the planet of Visnu because of association with the great sage Narada, who had spoken to him the narration of the pastimes of the Lord
- Here (in SB 3.19.32) the sage Maitreya admits that he explained the incident of the killing of Hiranyaksa by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a straight narration
I
- If one hears and describes in a devotional service attitude this auspicious narration of Lord Boar, which is worthy of description, the Lord, who is within the heart of everyone, is very pleased
- In the Skanda Purana there is a narration that a hunter in the jungle became the most enlightened devotee of the Lord by the guidance of Sri Narada Muni. Therefore devotional service to the Lord can be equally shared by every living being
- In this way (when hearing philosophy, stories, narrations about God and his devotees) a man becomes refreshed in mind, exactly like a person who smears scented sandalwood pulp all over his body and decorates himself with ornaments
- Intelligent persons should therefore hear personally and cause others to hear the descriptive narrations of the Lord's activities, for that will destroy the pangs of material existence
N
- Narada Muni continued: Dear King, just to relieve Jaya and Vijaya of the brahmanas' curse, Lord Ramacandra appeared in order to kill Ravana and Kumbhakarna. It will be better for you to hear narrations about Lord Ramacandra's activities from Markandeya
- Nityananda Prabhu had heard the story of Saksi-gopala from the townspeople. He now recited this again, and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard the narration with great pleasure
- Nondevotees are considered to be like serpents; as milk is poisoned by a serpent's touch, so, although the narration of the pastimes of the Lord is as pure as milk, when administered by serpentlike nondevotees it becomes poisonous
O
- O King Pariksit, anyone who aurally receives the narrations concerning the characteristics of Lord Ramacandra's pastimes will ultimately be freed from the disease of envy and thus be liberated from the bondage of fruitive activities
- O original Supreme Personality of Godhead, supreme controller, shelter of all holy places, You are the shelter of all poor, suffering living entities, and You have appeared to diminish their suffering. Please be kind to us and spread our good fortune
- O Suta Gosvami, all good fortune to you! Please narrate the activities of the Lord, which are all magnanimous and worth glorifying. What sort of devotee can be satiated by hearing the nectarean pastimes of the Lord?
- One must hear about the avataras. Narrations about such avataras are called avatara-katha, the narrations of Krsna's expansions. Hearing and chanting these narrations is completely pious
- One need only concentrate his mind on one such narration (of God and His devotees) and become always absorbed in its thought. Then he will be in samadhi
- One should be very eager to hear about the activities of the Lord from the bona fide source, the pure devotee. If one simply gives aural reception to the narration and accepts the glories of the Lord, then he is qualified
- One who listens to it (the narration of Lord Varaha killing Hiranaksya) at the last moment of his life is transferred to the supreme abode of the Lord, O dear Saunaka
- One who narrates this description of the Matsya incarnation and King Satyavrata will certainly have all his ambitions fulfilled, and he will undoubtedly return home, back to Godhead
P
- Persons who are very expert and most intelligent in understanding things as they are engage in hearing narrations of the auspicious activities and pastimes of the Lord, which are worth chanting and worth hearing
- Prthu Maharaja's history of devotional service is as potent as narrations about the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Pure devotees accept the narrations of the pastimes of the Lord not as stories but as Absolute Truth
S
- Saunaka inquired about the conversation between Vidura and Maitreya: There must have been many narrations of the spotless pastimes of the Lord
- Sravanam kirtanam visnoh (SB 7.5.23). One must simply hear about and describe Lord Visnu and His various incarnations. This narration concerning Prahlada Maharaja and Lord Nrsimhadeva, therefore, has properly described spiritual, transcendental subjects
- Sri Brahmaji is attempting to narrate the principal incarnations of the Lord so that they may be drunk by Narada as transcendental nectar
- Sri Narada Muni was hearing from Him. So in the statement given by Narayana Rsi to Narada Muni, as narrated by Kumara Sanandana in the form of the Veda-stuti, it is understood that God is the one supreme and that all others are His servants
- Sri Suta Gosvami continued: My dear brahmana, Vidura the great devotee of the Lord achieved transcendental bliss by hearing the narration of the pastimes of the SPG from the authoritative source of the sage Kausarava (Maitreya), and he was very pleased
- Sridhara Svami's commentary on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, "My dear Lord, some of the fortunate persons who are swimming in the ocean of Your nectar of devotion, and who are relishing the nectar of the narration of Your pastimes, certainly know ecstasies"
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of narration about the relationship between the Supreme Lord and His devotees; therefore SB is very dear to the devotees. there is nothing about material activities, sense gratification or liberation. BG 1972 purports
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of narrations of the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is mainly full of the narrations of the activities of the Supreme Unlimited, and therefore it is the science of bhakti-yoga, or the devotional service of the Lord
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is the narration of the svarupa of the Lord manifested by His internal potency, and this potency is distinguished from the external potency which has manifested the cosmic world, which is within our experience
- Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is full of narrations of the activities of the Supreme Lord, is auspicious for all living beings residing in every planet. One who takes it as belonging to a particular sect is certainly mistaken
- Sukadeva Gosvami continued to speak to Pariksit Maharaja. "My dear King," he said, "in this regard I shall narrate a nice story. This story is important because it is in connection with Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead"
- Suta Gosvami was narrating the transcendental activities of the Lord before the congregation of sages, and they were factually perceiving the result of hearing these transcendental activities
T
- The King said: I wish to know. Narrations concerning the Lord, who possesses wonderful potencies, are certainly auspicious for living beings in all planets
- The literature is the factual literary incarnation of the Lord. So the laymen can hear the narration of the activities of the Lord. Thereby they are able to associate with the Lord and thus gradually become purified from material diseases
- The Lord appears, acts and leaves behind Him a narrative history which is as transcendental as He Himself. Every one of us is fond of hearing some wonderful narration, but most stories are neither auspicious nor worth hearing
- The narration of Kapiladeva and His mother, Devahuti, is so perfect and transcendental that even if one only hears or reads this description, he achieves the highest perfectional goal of life, for he engages in loving service of God's lotus feet
- The narration of the activities of the Personality of Godhead is like a constant flow of nectar. No one can refuse to drink such nectar except one who is not a human being
- The narration of the pastimes of the Lord, which are always enacted on the transcendental platform, should be received with all respect by devotees
- The narration of the Personality of Godhead and His devotees is absolute in itself, and thus to hear it with a devotional attitude is to associate with the Lord and constant companions of the Lord
- The Supreme Lord within everyone's heart becomes very pleased when a person hears narrations of His activities, and He personally cleanses the dirt from the mind of the listener
- The Vedic literatures contain many narrations of the Lord's pastimes, including the Battle of Kuruksetra and historical facts relating to the life and precepts of devotees like Prahlada Maharaja, Dhruva Maharaja and Ambarisa Maharaja
- There are many books of stories and histories in the world, but except for the histories or narrations on the topics of the Personality of Godhead, none are capable of diminishing the burden of material pangs
- There is a class of less intelligent devotees of the Bhagavata Purana who desire to relish at once the activities of the Lord narrated in the Tenth Canto without first understanding the primary cantos
- These narrations are wonderfully enjoyable, and those who are fortunate are struck with wonder upon hearing of these extraordinary activities of the Lord
- They (conditioned souls) are not so interested in studying the narrations of the pastimes of the Lord, Krsna. And yet the descriptions or the pastimes of Lord Krsna are so attractive that they are relishable for all classes of men
- This narration of Lord Rsabhadeva's pastimes is the reservoir of all auspicious things. Whoever attentively hears or speaks of them, following in the footsteps of the acaryas, will certainly attain unalloyed devotional service at the lotus feet of the SPG
- This story concerning the great King Satyavrata and the fish incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, is a great transcendental narration. Anyone who hears it is delivered from the reactions of sinful life
- This transcendental literature is especially prepared by Srila Vyasadeva to give the utmost satisfaction to the people in general by narration of the activities of the Lord, as instructed by Sri Narada Muni to Srila Vyasadeva
- Those who are actually on the transcendental platform are never satiated by hearing the continuous narration of the pastimes of the Lord
- Transcendental narrations of the pastimes of the Lord can be described only by liberated souls like Vyasadeva and his bona fide representatives who are completely merged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord
V
- Vidura might have heard the pastimes of God many, many times before he met Maitreya, but still he wanted the same narrations to be repeated because he was never satiated by hearing them. That is the transcendental nature of the Lord's glorious pastimes
- Vyasadeva is not an ordinary man but is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He compiled the beautiful Bhagavatam to narrate some of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees
W
- Whatever you have spoken to me appears perfectly right. Your speeches are gradually destroying the darkness of my ignorance, for you are narrating the topics of the Lord
- When a man comes into good consciousness and accepts a saintly person as a spiritual master, he hears many Vedic instructions in the form of philosophy, stories, narrations about great devotees and transactions between God and His devotees