Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 3 Chapter 24:35-47

Book 3: Chapter 24

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 24: Verses 35-47 Descent of Lord Kapila The Lord replied : Whatever I say is an authority to the world in matters secular as well as sacred. Therefore, it is only to redeem what I said to youthat I have been born as your son, O sage. My present birth in this world is meant only for expounding the true nature of the categories so helpful in Self-Realization to those seeking release from their subtle body. This mysterious path of Self-Knowledge had been obscured through long ages. Know that this personality has been assumed by Me in order to revive that path. Allowed by Me, go wherever you like and, conquering death, which is exceedingly difficult to conquer, through actions dedicated to Me, adore Me with a view to attaining immortality. Beholding Me-the supreme self-effulgent Spirit dwelling in the heart of all beings-in your own heart through your intellect, you will be freed from all sorrow and attain the fearless state (viz., final beatitude). To My mother (Devahuti) as well I shall impart that spiritual Knowledge, which frees one from the bondage of all actions and by virtue of which she will get over the fear of transmigration and attain supreme joy. Maitreya resumed : Thus addressed by the celebrated Kapila, Kardama (a lord of created beings) went round the Lord (as a mark of respect) and straightaway withdrew to the forest, full of joy. Observing a vow of non-violence, practised by hermits, and exclusively depending on Sri Hari (the Supreme Spirit), the sage renounced the sacrificial fire as well as a permanent dwelling and roamed about the globe, free from attachment. He fixed his mind on Brahma (the Infinite), who is beyond both cause and effect, who, though devoid of the three Gunas (modes of Prakrti), yet brings them to light, and who had been realized through excluslve Devotion. Free from egotism and the sense of mineness, indifferent to pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, etc., etc.), and viewing all with the same eye, Kardama perceived his own self everywhere. His mind had turned inward and was perfectly composed, and the self-possessed sage looked like an ocean without waves. His mind being fixed through supreme Devotion on the all-knowing Lord Vasudeva, the Self (Inner Controller) of all embodied souls, he was now free from the bondage of ignorance. He perceived the Lord, his own Self, as present in all living beings, and all living beings in the Lord, His own Self. In this way Kardama, who had no desire and was free from malice, who was even-minded towards all, and who had developed Devotion to the Lord, attained union with Him. Thus ends the twenty-fourth discourse, forming part of the Story of Lord Kapila° in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.