CC Adi 7.97 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 97
- kṛṣṇa-nāme ye ānanda-sindhu-āsvādana
- brahmānanda tāra āge khātodaka-sama
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-nāme—in the holy name of the Lord; ye—which; ānanda—transcendental bliss; sindhu—ocean; āsvādana—tasting; brahma-ānanda—the transcendental bliss of impersonal understanding; tāra—its; āge—in front; khāta-udaka—shallow water in the canals; sama—like.
TRANSLATION
"Compared to the ocean of transcendental bliss that is tasted by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman realization [brahmānanda] is like the shallow water in a canal.
PURPORT
In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.38) it is stated:
- brahmānando bhaved eṣa
- cet parārdha-guṇī-kṛtaḥ
- naiti bhakti-sukhāmbhodheḥ
- paramāṇu-tulām api
"If brahmānanda, the transcendental bliss derived from understanding impersonal Brahman, were multiplied a million times, such a quantity of brahmānanda could not compare with even an atomic portion of the pleasure relished in pure devotional service."