SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM

CANTO 1CHAPTER 2TEXT 22-24

Vishnu thatva, the only deliverer from material world

TEXT 22ato vai kavayo nityaṁbhaktiṁ paramayā mudāvāsudeve bhagavatikurvanty ātma-prasādanīm

Certainly, therefore, since time immemorial, all transcendentalists have been rendering devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, with great delight, because such devotional service is enlivening to the self.

Goal of Transcendentalists

Lord Kṛṣṇa is the svayaṁ-rūpa Personality of Godhead, and all other thousands of manifestations, beginning from Śrī Baladeva, and extending to the puruṣa-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras, līlā-avatāras, yuga-avatāras and etc…are Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's plenary portions and integrated parts.He is the last word in the Transcendence. Thus He is more attractive to the higher transcendentalists who participate in the eternal pastimes of the Lord.In other forms other than Krishna and Baladeva, there is no facility for intimate personal contact as in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord at Vrajabhūmi.His pastimes are eternal and are manifested in due course once in a day of Brahmājī.

TEXT 23sattvaṁ rajas tama iti prakṛter guṇās tairyuktaḥ paraḥ puruṣa eka ihāsya dhattesthity-ādaye hari-viriñci-hareti saṁjñāḥ

śreyāṁsi tatra khalu sattva-tanor nṛṇāṁ syuḥ

The transcendental Personality of Godhead is indirectly associated with the three modes of material nature,

namely passion, goodness and ignorance, and just for the material world's creation, maintenance and

destruction He accepts the three qualitative forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva. Of these three, all human beings can derive ultimate benefit from Viṣṇu, the

form of the quality of goodness.

Deities and their dutiesViṣṇu or the Deity of the quality of goodness in the material world is the puruṣa-avatāra known as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu or Paramātmā.Brahmā is the deity of rajas (passion), and Śiva of ignorance.The creation is made possible by Brahma's quality of passion and his endeavor, it is maintained by the goodness of Viṣṇu, and when it requires to be destroyed, Lord Śiva does it by the tāṇḍava-nṛtya. Integrated forms of Vishnu are called Godhead, and the separated forms are called the living entities or the jīvas. Both the jīvas and Godhead have their original spiritual forms.

The prison house of the material world

Jīvas are sometimes subjected to the control of material energy, but the Viṣṇu forms are always controllers of this energy. Viṣṇu appears in the material world to deliver the conditioned living beings who are under the material energy.Prison house of the material world is created by Brahmā under instruction of the Personality of Godhead, and at the conclusion of a kalpa the whole thing is destroyed by Śiva.Anyone who wishes to get out of this prison house, which is full of miseries like repetition of birth, death, disease and old age, must please Lord Viṣṇu for such liberation. Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped by devotional service only.Demigod’s worship gives only temporary relief.

TEXT 24pārthivād dāruṇo dhūmastasmād agnis trayīmayaḥtamasas tu rajas tasmāt

sattvaṁ yad brahma-darśanam

Firewood is a transformation of earth, but smoke is better than the raw wood. And fire is still better, for by fire we can derive the benefits of superior knowledge [through Vedic sacrifices]. Similarly, passion [rajas] is better than ignorance [tamas], but goodness [sattva] is best because by goodness one can come to realize

the Absolute Truth.

Satva Guna helps to realize the Absolute Truth

One has to rise to the platform of the mode of goodness (sattva) so that one can be eligible for the devotional service of the Lord.Even from the platform of tamas, can gradually rise to the sattva platform by the expert direction of the spiritual master.To consider that worship of any quality or any form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is equally beneficial is mistakeExcept Viṣṇu, all forms are separated, being manifested under the conditions of material energy, cannot help anyone rise to the platform of sattva.