SB 1.5.14 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ततोऽन्यथा किञ्चन यद्विवक्षत: पृथग्दृशस्तत्कृतरूपनामभि: । न कर्हिचित्क्वापि च दु:स्थिता मति- र्लभेत वाताहतनौरिवास्पदम् ॥ १४ ॥

Verse text

tato ’nyathā kiṣcana yad vivakṣataḥ pṛthag dṛśas tat-kṛta-rūpa-nāmabhiḥ na karhicit kvāpi ca duḥsthitā matir labheta vātāhata-naur ivāspadam

Synonyms

tataḥ — from that ; anyathā — apart ; kiṣcana — something ; yat — whatsoever ; vivakṣataḥ — desiring to describe ; pṛthak — separately ; dṛśaḥ — vision ; tat — kṛta — reactionary to that ; rūpa — form ; nāmabhiḥ — by names ; na karhicit — never ; kvāpi — any ; ca — and ; duḥsthitā matiḥ — oscillating mind ; labheta — gains ; vāta — āhata — troubled by the wind ; nauḥ — boat ; iva — like ; āspadam — place .

Translation

Whatever you desire to describe that is separate in vision from the Lord simply reacts, with different forms, names and results, to agitate the mind, as the wind agitates a boat which has no resting place.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The intelligence of people desiring to speak on other subjects, who develop another vision, become disturbed by the words describing these other objects, and can never attain its proper object. It is like a boat attacked by the wind.

Purport

Śrī Vyāsadeva is the editor of all descriptions of the Vedic literatures, and thus he has described transcendental realization in different ways, namely by fruitive activities, speculative knowledge, mystic power and devotional service. Besides that, in his various Purāṇas he has recommended the worship of so many demigods in different forms and names. The result is that people in general are puzzled how to fix their minds in the service of the Lord; they are always disturbed about finding the real path of self-realization. Śrīla Nāradadeva is stressing this particular defect in the Vedic literatures compiled by Vyāsadeva, and thus he is trying to emphasize describing everything in relation with the Supreme Lord, and no one else. In fact, there is nothing existent except the Lord. The Lord is manifested in different expansions. He is the root of the complete tree. He is the stomach of the complete body. Pouring water on the root is the right process to water the tree, as much as feeding the stomach supplies energy to all parts of the body. Therefore, Śrīla Vyāsadeva should not have compiled any Purāṇas other than the Bhāgavata Purāṇa because a slight deviation from that may create havoc for self-realization. If a slight deviation can create such havoc, then what to speak of deliberate expansion of the ideas separate from the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead. The most defective part of worshiping demigods is that it creates a definite conception of pantheism, ending disastrously in many religious sects detrimental to the progress of the principles of the Bhāgavatam, which alone can give the accurate direction for self-realization in eternal relation with the Personality of Godhead by devotional service in transcendental love. The example of the boat disturbed by whirling wind is suitable in this respect. The diverted mind of the pantheist can never reach the perfection of self-realization, due to the disturbed condition of the selection of object.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The positive statement having been made, the negative version is now expressed. Some people desire to speak about topics other than the pastimes of the Lord. Having desired, they speak, and having spoken someone hears from them. And this causes a different type of vision. For persons having a vision of objects other than the lord’s pastimes resulting from desire to speak about other things, the intelligence, disturbed by words (nāmabhiḥ) describing other objects (rūpa) produced by the different vision, at no time and at no place can attain its destination. It is like a boat beaten by the wind. Being turned about by the wind and going in various directions, struck by the wind, it sinks. Similarly the intelligence is destroyed because of skilful words, poetry, karma and jṣāna.