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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 10: Chapter 14: Verses 49-61
The king (Pariksit) said : (Pray) tell me, 0 holy one, how was such a love possible (in the case of the inhabitants of Vraja) for Sri Krsna, born of another, as did not flow before even towards children sprung from themselves ?[1] Sri Suka replied : To all created beings, 0 protector of men, their own self alone is dear; others such as one's progeny and wealth are dear only because of the latter being loved by one's own self. Therefore, 0 king of kings, the same love as is seen in the heart of embodied beings severally for their own self, they do not have for their son, wealth, house etc., which are regarded as their own. (Nay,) even in the eyes of men who speak of the body (alone) as their own self, 0 jewel among the Ksatriyas, those (men and objects) that are connected with the body are as a matter of fact not so supremely dear as their (own) body.
If even the body (which is ordinarily regarded as one's own self) comes to be recognized (as a result of deep thinking) as one's own (other than one's self), it would not then be loved like the self whereas (previously) the desire to survive was very keen even when the body was worn out. Therefore, one's own self is supremely dear to all embodied beings; the whole of this creation, mobile as well as immobile, is loved for the sake of the self alone. Know this Krsna to be the Self of all living beings; for the good of the world (alone) even He appears through His Maya (deluding potency) like one invested with a body. In the eyes of those who know Sri Krsna in reality (as the Cause of the universe) everything mobile and immobile in this world is a manifestation of the Lord; there is nothing other than Him here. The essence of all things lies in their cause and Lord Sri Krsna is the (ultimate) cause of the latter. (Hence) what substance other than Him may be affirmed ?
With them who have sincerely taken refuge in the boat-like feet of Lord Sri Krsna of sacred renown-feet which are tender as a fresh leaf and are the goal of the great (such as Brahma and Siva)-the ocean of mundane existence is reduced to the (mere) footprint of a calf. (Nay,) Vaikuntha (the highest realm) becomes their abode and the world (the home of miseries) ceases. What I was asked by you on this subject has all been narrated by me, viz., how that which had been done by Sri Hari during His childhood was proclaimed on all sides during His boyhood. A man hearing or reciting this story of what was done by Sri Krsna (the Slayer of Mura) in the company of His playmates, (viz.,) the destruction of the demon Agha, His dining on the grass, His assuming forms which were other than phenomenal and the grand hymn of praise sung by Brahma (the birthless one), would attain all his desired ends. Thus Balarama and Sri Krsna passed their childhood in Vraja in childlike pastimes such as hidd-and-seek, construction of dams and jumping about like monkeys.
Thus ends the fourteenth discourse entitled "Brahma extols the Lord," in the first half of Book Ten of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.
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