SB 11.10.36 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कथं वर्तेत विहरेत् कैर्वा ज्ञायेत लक्षणै: । किं भुञ्जीतोत विसृजेच्छयीतासीत याति वा ॥ ३६ ॥ एतदच्युत मे ब्रूहि प्रश्न‍ं प्रश्न‍‌विदां वर । नित्यबद्धो नित्यमुक्त एक एवेति मे भ्रम: ॥ ३७ ॥

Verse text

kathaṁ varteta viharet kair vā jṣāyeta lakṣaṇaiḥ kiṁ bhuṣjītota visṛjec chayītāsīta yāti vā etad acyuta me brūhi praśnaṁ praśna-vidāṁ vara nitya-baddho nitya-mukta eka eveti me bhramaḥ

Synonyms

katham — in what way ; varteta — he is situated ; viharet — he enjoys ; kaiḥ — by which ; vā — or ; jṣāyeta — would be known ; lakṣaṇaiḥ — by symptoms ; kim — what ; bhuṣjīta — he would eat ; uta — and ; visṛjet — would evacuate ; śayīta — would lie down ; āsīta — would sit ; yāti — goes ; vā — or ; etat — this ; acyuta — O Acyuta ; me — to me ; brūhi — explain ; praśnam — the question ; praśna — vidām — of all those who know how to answer questions ; vara — O the best ; nitya — baddhaḥ — eternally conditioned ; nitya — muktaḥ — eternally liberated ; ekaḥ — singular ; eva — certainly ; iti — thus ; me — my ; bhramaḥ — confusion .

Translation

O my Lord, Acyuta, the same living entity is sometimes described as eternally conditioned and at other times as eternally liberated. I am not able to understand, therefore, the actual situation of the living entity. You, my Lord, are the best of those who are expert in answering philosophical questions. Please explain to me the symptoms by which one can tell the difference between a living entity who is eternally liberated and one who is eternally conditioned. In what various ways would they remain situated, enjoy life, eat, evacuate, lie down, sit or move about?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

By what symptoms can I know the liberated jīva, since he carries on existence, enjoys, evacuates, sleeps, eats, sits and walks using a material identity? O Lord! O best answerer of questions! Please answer my question. Those who are eternally bound up and those who are eternally liberated seem to be the same. This is my confusion. If one is bound by identity with sense objects and senses, then, by destruction of the sense objects, senses and guṇas, one becomes liberated even in the presence of the guṇas. How should I understand this? Uddhava thus asks questions. What qualities should I seek in a liberated person, since existing, enjoying, eating, evacuation, sleeping, sitting and going are actions related to material identity? Since perfectly liberated persons like Dattātreya and Bharata carry out daily activities like the completely bound jīvas, they seem to be the same. This is confusing. It is impossible for me to understand the difference. You must tell me. The word nitya here means “perfect.” Thus ends the commentary on Tenth Chapter of the Eleventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas. Chapter Eleven Conditioned and Liberated Jīvas

Purport

In previous verses Lord Kṛṣṇa has explained to Uddhava that an eternally liberated soul is beyond the three modes of material nature. Since a liberated soul is considered to be beyond even the superior mode of goodness, how can he be recognized? By false identification with the modes of nature, which produce one’s own material body, one is bound by illusion. On the other hand, by transcending the modes of nature, one is liberated. However, in ordinary activities — such as eating, evacuating, relaxing, sitting and sleeping — a liberated soul and a conditioned soul appear to be the same. Therefore Uddhava is inquiring, “By what symptoms can I recognize that one living entity is performing such external activities without false ego, and by what symptoms can I recognize one who is working under the illusory bondage of material identification? This is difficult, because the ordinary bodily functions of liberated and conditioned personalities appear similar.” Uddhava has approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead, taking Him as his personal spiritual master, and wants to be enlightened about how to understand the differences between material and spiritual life. Since the living entity is sometimes called eternally conditioned, how could he ever be considered eternally liberated, or vice versa? This is an apparent contradiction, which will be cleared up by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Eleventh Canto, Tenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Nature of Fruitive Activity.”