Eternally existent in His transcendental abode, Goloka Vrndavana, Lord Sri Krsna sits on a jeweled throne with His eternal consort Srimati Radharani, served by hosts of His beloved milkmaids.
~~~
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
janmādy asya yato ‘nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ‘mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi
~~~
O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/1/1/1
~~~
Dhruva Mahārāja regrets his unfortunate position:
“Alas, just look at me! I am so unfortunate. I approached the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can immediately cut the chain of the repetition of birth and death, but still, out of my foolishness, I prayed for things which are perishable.”
Dhruva Mahārāja was actually initiated by Nārada Muni, the greatest Vaiṣṇava, in the chanting of oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. This mantra is a viṣṇu-mantra, for by practicing the chanting of this mantra one is elevated to the Viṣṇuloka. Dhruva Mahārāja regrets that although he was initiated in the viṣṇu-mantra by a Vaiṣṇava, he still aspired for material benefits. That was another cause for lamentation. Although he got the result of the viṣṇu-mantra by the causeless mercy of the Lord, he lamented how foolish he was to have strived for material benefits while practicing devotional service. In other words, every one of us who is engaged in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be completely free from all material aspirations. Otherwise we will have to lament like Dhruva Mahārāja.
ANYONE WHO MAKES A GIFT OF THIS GREAT WORK ON A FULL MOON DAY ATTAINS TO THE HIGHEST PERFECTION OF LIFE BY RETURNING TO GODHEAD. LITERATURE.
*
Formerly great aristocratic families kings, and rich men, they used to engage a qualified brahmana to copy Srimad-Bhagavatam in HANDWRITING and then present it to a suitable person, especially brahmanas, in a gold casket. That was the system.
*
Letter to: Candravali
—
Seattle
16 October, 1968
68-10-16
My Dear Candrabali,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of Oct. 16, 1968, and I thank you very much for your questions. You are always at liberty to inquiry from me about all such questions in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, and I am so glad that you are reading all these books so carefully. That is our business—we shall chant Hare Krishna or read Srimad-Bhagavatam or or associate with devotees in the temple, so that program shall go on continually for constantly remembering Krishna, and we shall not forget Him, even for a moment.
Regarding the question (In vol I, First Canto, Ch. 1, Text 1, pp. 59 of Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is stated “anyone who hands over a charity of this great work on the full moon day attains to the highest perfection of human life by going back to home, back to Godhead.” Does this mean that by giving the Gayatri mantra, only vol. one, or the complete work?) it is not the Gayatri mantra, but the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The idea is that in olden days there was no press. So books were not available printed. Formerly great aristocratic families kings, and rich men, they used to engage a qualified brahmana to copy Srimad-Bhagavatam in handwriting, and then present it to a suitable person, especially brahmanas, in a gold casket. That was the system. But since printing machine has been introduced, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and other literature are being printed. So therefore, this reference, in the Skandha Purana, is in connection with giving Srimad-Bhagavatam in handwriting. That was a great work of charity. This charity, however, included the complete Srimad-Bhagavatam, and neither vol. one nor two. That was the process. Still there are many rich men in India who have engaged learned brahmanas to copy Srimad-Bhagavatam in handwriting, and they give in charity, to a qualified person, in the above way.
https://prabhupadabooks.com/letters/seattle/october/16/1968/
*
THANK YOU SRILA PRABHUPADA FOR GIVING THE SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM TO THE WORLD OF THE FALLEN IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. WE ARE NEITHER ARISTOCRATIC, NOR KINGS, NOR SUITABLE STILL YOU ALONE GIFTED THE WORLD THIS TREASURE AND YOU PRESENTED IT IN THE GOLDEN CASKET OF YOUR REAL ISKCON. THANK YOU!!!
*