Inclination (SB cantos 1 - 4)

Expressions researched:
"inclination" |"inclinations" |"incline" |"inclined" |"inclines"

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

When the Lord became aware of this, He began to consider the various types of men found in society. He noted that especially the students, professors, fruitive workers, yogīs, nondevotees, and different types of atheists were all opposed to the devotional service of the Lord. "My mission is to deliver all the fallen souls of this age," He thought, "but if they commit offenses against Me, thinking Me to be an ordinary man, they will not benefit. If they are to begin their life of spiritual realization, they must some way or another offer obeisances unto Me." Thus the Lord decided to accept the renounced order of life (sannyāsa) because people in general were inclined to offer respects to a sannyāsī.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.1.12, Purport:

Bhagavān means the Almighty God who is the controller of all opulences, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. He is the protector of His pure devotees. Although God is equally disposed to everyone, He is especially inclined to His devotees. Sat means the Absolute Truth. And persons who are servitors of the Absolute Truth are called sātvatas.

SB 1.5.15, Translation:

The people in general are naturally inclined to enjoy, and you have encouraged them in that way in the name of religion. This is verily condemned and is quite unreasonable. Because they are guided under your instructions, they will accept such activities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions.

SB 1.5.15, Purport:

Śrīla Vyāsadeva's compilation of different Vedic literatures on the basis of regulated performances of fruitive activities as depicted in the Mahābhārata and other literature is condemned herewith by Śrīla Nārada. The human beings, by long material association, life after life, have a natural inclination, by practice, to endeavor to lord it over material energy. They have no sense of the responsibility of human life. This human form of life is a chance to get out of the clutches of illusory matter.

SB 1.5.15, Purport:

A patient suffering from a particular type of malady is almost always inclined to accept eatables which are forbidden for him. The expert physician does not make any compromise with the patient by allowing him to take partially what he should not at all take. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that a man attached to fruitive work should not be discouraged from his occupation, for gradually he may be elevated to the position of self-realization.

SB 1.5.18, Translation:

Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet (Brahmaloka) down to the lowest planet (Pātāla). As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained automatically in course of time, just as in course of time we obtain miseries even though we do not desire them.

SB 1.5.18, Purport:

The positions in the topmost Brahmaloka and in the lowest Pātāla are also changeable according to our own work. The philosophically inclined person must not be tempted by such changeable positions. He should try to get into the permanent life of bliss and knowledge where he will not be forced to come back again to the miserable material world, either in this or that planet. Miseries and mixed happiness are two features of material life, and they are obtained in Brahmaloka and in other lokas also.

SB 1.5.28, Purport:

Transcendental loving service for the Supreme Lord is the natural inclination of every living being. The instinct is dormant in everyone, but due to the association of material nature the modes of passion and ignorance cover this from time immemorial. If, by the grace of the Lord and the great-souled devotees of the Lord, a living being becomes fortunate enough to associate with the unadulterated devotees of the Lord and gets a chance to hear the unadulterated glories of the Lord, certainly the flow of devotional service takes place like the flow of a river.

SB 1.7.8, Purport:

The synopsis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was given before the detailed description under instruction of Nārada. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science for following the path of nivṛtti-mārga. The path of pravṛtti-mārga was condemned by Nārada. That path is the natural inclination for all conditioned souls. The theme of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the cure of the materialistic disease of the human being, or stopping completely the pangs of material existence.

SB 1.7.25, Purport:

It appears that the Lord is partial to His devotees. Everyone is related with the Lord. He is equal to everyone, and yet He is more inclined to His own men and devotees. The Lord is everyone's father. No one can be His father, and yet no one can be His son. His devotees are His kinsmen, and His devotees are His relations.

SB 1.8.11, Purport:

The Lord is impartial in every respect, but still He is inclined towards His devotees because there is a great necessity of this for everyone's wellbeing. The Pāṇḍava family was a family of devotees, and therefore the Lord wanted them to rule the world. That was the reason He vanquished the rule of the company of Duryodhana and established the rule of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.

SB 1.8.21, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore confirmed that no one is as fortunate as the residents of Vrajabhūmi, and specifically the cowherd girls, who dedicated their everything for the satisfaction of the Lord. His pastimes with Nanda and Yaśodā and His pastimes with the cowherd men and especially with the cowherd boys and the cows have caused Him to be known as Govinda. Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda is more inclined to the brāhmaṇas and the cows, indicating thereby that human prosperity depends more on these two items, namely brahminical culture and cow protection. Lord Kṛṣṇa is never satisfied where these are lacking.

SB 1.8.36, Purport:

Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference in the transcendental nature of each and every dealing of the Lord. But sometimes people, in an unauthorized hearing process, take more interest in hearing about His dealings with the gopīs. Such an inclination indicates the lusty feelings of the hearer, so a bona fide speaker of the dealings of the Lord never indulges in such hearings. One must hear about the Lord from the very beginning, as in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or any other scriptures, and that will help the hearer attain perfection by progressive development.

SB 1.9.22, Purport:

The Supreme Lord, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, although equal to everyone, is still more inclined to His unflinching devotee who is completely surrendered and knows no one else as his protector and master. Having unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord as one's protector, friend and master is the natural condition of eternal life.

SB 1.10.1, Purport:

Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the greatest of all men of religion. Thus he was not at all inclined to fight with his cousins for the sake of enjoying the kingdom: he fought for the right cause because the kingdom of Hastināpura was his rightful inheritance and his cousins wanted to usurp it for themselves. He fought, therefore, for the right cause under the guidance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but he could not enjoy the results of his victory because his cousins were all killed in the fight.

SB 1.10.28, Purport:

The kissing of the Lord, either by His wives or His young girl friends who aspired to have the Lord as their fiance, is not of any mundane perverted quality. Had such things been mundane, a liberated soul like Śukadeva would not have taken the trouble to relish them, nor would Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu have been inclined to participate in those subjects after renouncing worldly life. The stage is earned after many lives of penance.

SB 1.12.19, Purport:

All the saintly kings, beginning from the King of the sun globe down to the King of the earth, are so inclined by the influence of the Vedic literatures. The Vedic literatures are taught in higher planets also, as there is reference in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.1) about the teachings to the sun-god (Vivasvān) by the Lord, and such lessons are transferred by disciplic succession, as it was done by the sun-god to his son Manu, and from Manu to Mahārāja Ikṣvāku.

SB 1.12.21, Purport:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa made a plan to help Arjuna to kidnap Subhadrā, sister of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, because Baladeva was inclined to hand her over to Duryodhana. Yudhiṣṭhira also agreed with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and thus Subhadrā was taken by force by Arjuna and then married to him. Subhadrā's son is Abhimanyu, the father of Parīkṣit Mahārāja, the posthumous child.

SB 1.12.34, Purport:

The more astonishing thing is that no subject of the state also collected such unclaimed gold for industrial enterprise or anything like that. This means that the state citizens were completely satisfied with all necessities of life and therefore not inclined to accept unnecessary productive enterprises for sense gratification. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira also requisitioned the heaps of gold for performing sacrifices and for pleasing the Supreme Hari Personality of Godhead. Otherwise he had no desire to collect them for the state treasury.

SB 1.13.2, Purport:

One who is not seriously inclined to put questions before a spiritual master need not accommodate a show-bottle spiritual master, nor should a person who may be a spiritual master for others pose to be so if he is unable to engage his disciple ultimately in the transcendental loving service of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Vidura was successful in approaching such a spiritual master like Maitreya, and he got the ultimate goal of life: bhakti unto Govinda. Thus there was nothing to be known further about spiritual progress.

SB 1.14.34, Purport:

The stage of a devotee, which attracts the transcendental affection of the Lord, does not develop unless one has developed the qualities of a brāhmaṇa as above mentioned. The Lord is inclined to a brāhmaṇa of quality and not of false prestige. Those who are less than a brāhmaṇa by qualification cannot establish any relation with the Lord, just as fire cannot be kindled from the raw earth unless there is wood, although there is a relation between wood and the earth.

SB 1.15.42, Purport:

When one is thus inclined to become an associate of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, in one of the innumerable planets of the spiritual sky, especially in Goloka Vṛndāvana, one has to think always that he is different from the material energy; he has nothing to do with it, and he has to realize himself as pure spirit, Brahman, qualitatively equal with the Supreme Brahman (Parameśvara). Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after distributing his kingdom to Parīkṣit and Vajra, did not think himself Emperor of the world or head of the Kuru dynasty.

SB 1.16.22, Translation:

The so-called administrators are now bewildered by the influence of this age of Kali, and thus they have put all state affairs into disorder. Are you now lamenting this disorder? Now the general populace does not follow the rules and regulations for eating, sleeping, drinking, mating, etc., and they are inclined to perform such anywhere and everywhere. Are you unhappy because of this?

SB 1.18.45, Purport:

It is foretold herein that in the absence of a monarchical regime, the general mass of people will be an unwanted population like dogs and monkeys. As the monkeys are too sexually inclined and dogs are shameless in sexual intercourse, the general mass of population born of illegitimate connection will systematically go astray from the Vedic way of good manners and qualitative engagements in the castes and orders of life.

SB 1.18.48, Translation:

The devotees of the Lord are so forbearing that even though they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed, neglected or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves.

SB 1.18.48, Purport:

The Lord can only give direction to take shelter of the devotee. He thought within himself that if Mahārāja Parīkṣit would countercurse the boy, he might be saved. But he knew also that a pure devotee is callous about worldly advantages or reverses. As such, the devotees are never inclined to counteract personal defamation, curses, negligence, etc. As far as such things are concerned, in personal affairs the devotees do not care for them.

SB 1.19.2, Purport:

The Lord is Himself very much inclined to do good to brāhmaṇas and cows (go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca). Mahārāja Parīkṣit knew all this, and thus he concluded that his insulting a powerful brāhmaṇa was certainly to be punished by the laws of the Lord, and he was expecting something very difficult in the very near future. He therefore desired the imminent calamity to fall on him and not on his family members.

SB 1.19.19, Translation:

All the great sages who were assembled there also praised the decision of Mahārāja Parīkṣit and they expressed their approval by saying, "Very good." Naturally the sages are inclined to do good to common men, for they have all the qualitative powers of the Supreme Lord. Therefore they were very much pleased to see Mahārāja Parīkṣit, a devotee of the Lord, and they spoke as follows.

SB 1.19.19, Purport:

The natural beauty of a living being is enhanced by rising up to the platform of devotional service. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was absorbed in attachment for Lord Kṛṣṇa. Seeing this, the great sages assembled were very pleased, and they expressed their approval by saying, "Very good." Such sages are naturally inclined to do good to the common man, and when they see a personality like Mahārāja Parīkṣit advance in devotional service, their pleasure knows no bounds, and they offer all blessings in their power.

SB 1.19.23, Translation:

The King said: O great sages, you have all very kindly assembled here, having come from all parts of the universe. You are all as good as supreme knowledge personified, who resides in the planet above the three worlds (Satyaloka). Consequently you are naturally inclined to do good to others, and but for this you have no interest, either in this life or in the next.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.1.3, Purport:

The knowledge concerning this is called ātma-tattva. Those men who are too materialistic are unaware of this knowledge and are more inclined to economic development for material enjoyment. Such materialistic men are called karmīs, or fruitive laborers, and they are allowed regulated economic development or association of woman for sex indulgence.

SB 2.1.33, Purport:

So even by studying the rivers, trees, air and passing ages, one can conceive of the Personality of Godhead without being misled by the formless conception of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) it is stated that those who are much inclined to the formless conception of the Supreme Truth are more troubled than those who can intelligently conceive of the personal form.

SB 2.2.22, Purport:

The yogī can, however, easily fulfill his desire by going there with the present materialistic mind and senses. The prime inclination of the materialistic mind is to lord it over the material world, and all the siddhis mentioned above are features of domination over the world. The devotees of the Lord are not ambitious to dominate a false and temporary phenomenon.

SB 2.3.14, Purport:

Because such roles ultimately culminate in the discussion of topics of the Lord, all such preliminary topics are also transcendental. That is the way of spiritualizing the civic activities of human society. Men have inclinations for studying history and many other mundane literatures—stories, fiction, dramas, magazines, newspapers, etc.—so let them be dovetailed with the transcendental service of the Lord, and all of them will turn to the topics relished by all devotees.

SB 2.3.15, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also confirms the viewpoint of Jīva Gosvāmī. So accepting either of them, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was naturally inclined to Lord Kṛṣṇa from his very childhood. He might have imitated either of the above-mentioned activities, and all of them establish his great devotion from his very childhood, a symptom of a mahā-bhāgavata. Such mahā-bhāgavatas are called nitya-siddhas, or souls liberated from birth.

SB 2.4.21, Purport:

The Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to such mental speculators. And because they cannot enter into network stem of the lotus stem of the Lord, all material speculators differ in conclusions, and at the end they make a useless compromise by saying, "as many conclusions, as many ways," according to one's own inclination.

SB 2.5.15, Purport:

In the material world such an eternal life of bliss and knowledge is progressively realized in the upper planets, but after reaching there one is inclined to achieve further progress along the path back to Godhead. Duration of life, with a proportionate quantity of bliss and knowledge, may be increased from one planet to another.

SB 2.6.7, Purport:

This absolute dependence on the lotus feet of the Lord is called pure devotional service, and it is directly hinted at within this passage. No one should have any kind of doubt in this matter, nor should one be inclined to seek the help of any other demigods, because all of them are dependent on Him only. Everyone, except the Lord Himself, is dependent on the mercy of the Lord; even the all-pervading Supersoul is also dependent on the supreme aspect of Bhagavān, the Personality of Godhead.

SB 2.6.46, Purport:

Every living entity has a tendency to hear pleasing messages, and as such almost every one of us is inclined to hear news and talks broadcast by the radio stations. But the difficulty is that no one is satisfied at heart by hearing all those messages. The cause of such dissatisfaction is the incompatibility of the message with the innermost stratum of the living soul. This transcendental literature is especially prepared by Śrīla Vyāsadeva to give the utmost satisfaction to the people in general by narration of the activities of the Lord, as instructed by Śrī Nārada Muni to Śrīla Vyāsadeva.

SB 2.7.4, Purport:

The sage Atri was related with the Lord in the affectionate vātsalya humor, and therefore, as a result of his devotional perfection, he was inclined to have the Personality of Godhead as his son. The Lord accepted his prayer, and He gave Himself as the son of Atri. Such a relation of sonhood between the Lord and His pure devotees can be cited in many instances.

SB 2.7.4, Purport:

The father actually serves the son, whereas the son only demands all sorts of services from the father; therefore a pure devotee who is always inclined to serve the Lord wants Him as the son, and not as the father. The Lord also accepts such service from the devotee, and thus the devotee becomes more than the Lord. The impersonalists desire to become one with the Supreme, but the devotee becomes more than the Lord, surpassing the desire of the greatest monist.

SB 2.7.19, Purport:

Unless one is inclined to be a devotee of the Lord, he cannot enter into the intricacies of devotional service. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to explain the Bhagavad-gītā, which is the science of devotional service, unto Śrī Arjuna because Arjuna was not only His friend but a great devotee as well. The whole process is that all living entities, being constitutionally parts and parcels of the supreme living being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, have proportionately minute independence of action also.

SB 2.7.49, Purport:

The devotees, however, are naturally inclined to become associates of the Lord and not merge in the spiritual existence, as conceived by the impersonalist. The devotees, therefore, following their constitutional instincts, achieve the desired goal of becoming servitors, friends, fathers, mothers or conjugal lovers of the Lord.

SB 2.9.7, Purport:

The Lord is within every living entity as the Supersoul, and He initiated Brahmā because Brahmā was willing to receive the initiation. The Lord can similarly initiate everyone who is inclined to have it. As already stated, Brahmā is the original spiritual master for the universe, and since he was initiated by the Lord Himself, the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is coming down by disciplic succession, and in order to receive the real message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam one should approach the current link, or spiritual master, in the chain of disciplic succession.

SB 2.10.30, Purport:

The heart of every living entity is the seat of the Supersoul, Paramātmā, a plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without His presence the living entity cannot get into the working energy according to his past deeds. The living entities who are conditioned in the material world are manifested in the creation in terms of respective inclinations inherent in them, and the requisite material body is offered to each and every one of them by the material energy under the direction of the Supersoul.

SB 2.10.49-50, Purport:

Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī was narrating the topics of the creation and destruction of the material world, but it appears that the ṛṣis headed by Śaunaka were more inclined to hear of transcendental subjects, which are on a higher level than the physical. There are two classes of men, namely those too addicted to the gross body and the material world, and others, on the higher level, who are interested more in transcendental knowledge.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.1.4, Purport:

According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one is advised to approach a bona fide spiritual master when one is actually inclined to question from an elevated level of spiritual understanding. A common man who has no interest in spiritual values has no need to approach a spiritual master just as a matter of following fashion.

SB 3.5.7, Purport:

The Lord's pastimes for the protection of the twice-born civilized men, the cows and the demigods are all transcendental. A human being is inclined to hear good narrations and stories, and therefore there are so many books, magazines and newspapers on the market to satisfy the interests of the developed soul. But the pleasure in such literature, after it is read once, becomes stale, and people do not take any interest in reading such literature repeatedly.

SB 3.5.9, Purport:

Every living being is under the plan of his natural inclinations in terms of the modes of material nature. His work is manifested in terms of the nature of the three modes, his form and bodily features are designed according to his work, and his name is designated according to his bodily features. For example, the higher classes of men are white (śukla), and the lower classes of men are black. This division of white and black is in terms of one's white and black duties of life.

SB 3.6.30, Translation:

O chief of the Kuru dynasty, the Vedic wisdom became manifested from the mouth of the virāṭ, the gigantic form. Those who are inclined to this Vedic knowledge are called brāhmaṇas, and they are the natural teachers and spiritual masters of all the orders of society.

SB 3.6.30, Purport:

Each and every part of the body is important, although the mouth is the most important of the bodily parts. If other parts are cut off from the body, a man can continue his life, but if the mouth is cut off, one cannot live. Therefore, this most important part of the body of the Lord is called the sitting place of the brāhmaṇas, who are inclined to the Vedic wisdom. One who is not inclined to the Vedic wisdom but to mundane affairs cannot be called a brāhmaṇa, even if he is born of a brāhmaṇa family or father. To have a brāhmaṇa father does not qualify one as a brāhmaṇa. The main qualification of a brāhmaṇa is to be inclined to the Vedic wisdom. The Vedas are situated on the mouth of the Lord, and therefore anyone who is inclined to the Vedic wisdom is certainly situated on the mouth of the Lord, and he is a brāhmaṇa. This inclination towards Vedic wisdom is also not restricted to any particular caste or community. Anyone from any family and from any part of the world may become inclined to the Vedic wisdom, and that will qualify him as a real brāhmaṇa.

SB 3.6.31, Purport:

As the brāhmaṇas are recognized by their particular qualification of inclination towards the transcendental knowledge of Vedic wisdom, so also the kṣatriyas are recognized by the power to protect society from the disturbing elements of thieves and miscreants. The word anuvrataḥ is significant. A person who follows the kṣatriya principles by protecting society from thieves and miscreants is called a kṣatriya, not the one who is simply born a kṣatriya.

SB 3.8.33, Purport:

Lord Brahmā, thus being surcharged with the mode of passion, became inclined to create, and after seeing the five causes of creation indicated by the Personality of Godhead, he began to offer his respectful prayers on the path of the creative mentality.

SB 3.9.11, Purport:

This attachment of the devotee to a particular form of the Lord is due to natural inclination. Each and every living entity is originally attached to a particular type of transcendental service because he is eternally the servitor of the Lord. Lord Caitanya says that the living entity is eternally a servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

SB 3.12.28, Translation:

O Vidura, we have heard that Brahmā had a daughter named Vāk who was born from his body and who attracted his mind toward sex, although she was not sexually inclined towards him.

SB 3.12.28, Purport:

Maitreya hesitated to state this anomaly on the part of Brahmā, who was sexually inclined to his own daughter, but still he mentioned it because sometimes it so happens, and the living example is Brahmā himself, although he is the primeval living being and the most learned within the whole universe. If Brahmā could be a victim of the sexual urge, then what of others, who are prone to so many mundane frailties?

SB 3.13.1, Purport:

The word ādṛtaḥ is significant because it indicates that Vidura had a natural inclination for hearing the transcendental message of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he was never fully satisfied though continuing to hear those topics. He wanted to hear more and more so that he could be more and more blessed by the transcendental message.

SB 3.14.5, Purport:

A devotee has no taste for hearing anything mundane. There are many topics of mundane warfare, but a devotee is not inclined to hear them. The topics of the warfare in which the Lord engages do not concern the war of death but the war against the chain of māyā which obliges one to accept repeated birth and death. In other words, one who takes delight in hearing the war topics of the Lord is relieved from the chains of birth and death.

SB 3.14.11, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā sexual intercourse for begetting children is accepted as righteous. A person sexually inclined for simple sense gratification, however, is unrighteous. In Diti's appeal to her husband for sex, it was not exactly that she was afflicted by sex desires, but she desired sons. Since she had no sons, she felt poorer than her co-wives. Therefore Kaśyapa was supposed to satisfy his bona fide wife.

SB 3.14.16, Purport:

Kaśyapa was engaged in his spiritual activities, but he did not have sufficient strength to refuse his wife, who was thus afflicted. He could have refused her with strong words expressing impossibility, but he was not as spiritually strong as Vidura. Vidura is addressed here as a hero because no one is stronger in self-control than a devotee of the Lord. It appears that Kaśyapa was already inclined to have sexual enjoyment with his wife, and because he was not a strong man he tried to dissuade her only with pacifying words.

SB 3.14.39, Purport:

The learned Kaśyapa could foresee the character of the sons who would be born of the condemned womb of Diti. The womb was condemned because of the mother's being too sexually inclined and thus transgressing all the laws and injunctions of the scriptures. In a society where such women are predominant, one should not expect good children.

SB 3.15.39, Purport:

The Lord, being equal to all, and being especially inclined to His devotee, looked as mercifully at the offenders as at the offended. This attitude of the Lord was due to His unlimited quantity of transcendental qualities. His cheerful attitude towards the devotees was so pleasing and heart-touching that His very smile was attractive for them.

SB 3.15.39, Purport:

The Lord is so kind that He gives shelter to everyone—both impersonalists and devotees. He gives shelter to the impersonalists in His impersonal Brahman effulgence, whereas He gives shelter to the devotees in His personal abodes known as the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. He is especially inclined to His devotee; He touches the core of the heart of the devotee simply by smiling and glancing over him.

SB 3.15.45, Purport:

One cannot allow the tongue to take all kinds of forbidden food and drink and at the same time advance in the practice of yoga. It is a very regrettable fact that many unauthorized so-called yogīs come to the Western countries and exploit people's inclination towards yoga practice. Such unauthorized yogīs even dare to say publicly that one can indulge in the habit of drinking and at the same time practice meditation.

SB 3.15.48, Purport:

There are five kinds of liberation, the least important of which is called sāyujya, to become one with the Supreme. Devotees don't care for such liberation because they are actually intelligent. Nor are they inclined to accept any of the other four kinds of liberation, namely to live on the same planet as the Lord, to live with Him side by side as an associate, to have the same opulence, and to attain the same bodily features. They are concerned only with glorifying the Supreme Lord and His auspicious activities.

SB 3.20.23, Purport:

Sex life is the background of material existence. Here also it is repeated that demons are very fond of sex life. The more one is free from the desires for sex, the more he is promoted to the level of the demigods; the more one is inclined to enjoy sex, the more he is degraded to the level of demoniac life.

SB 3.20.24, Purport:

Sexually inclined demons have no respect even for their father, and the best policy for a saintly father like Brahmā is to leave such demoniac sons.

SB 3.20.25, Purport:

There are innumerable universes, and somewhere or other the boar form is now existing. All the forms of the Lord are eternal. It is the devotee's inclination to worship a particular form, and he engages in devotional service to that form. In a verse in the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān, the great devotee of Rāma, said, "I know that there is no difference between the Sītā-Rāma and Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but nevertheless, the form of Rāma and Sītā has absorbed my affection and love.

SB 3.20.51, Purport:

All the living entities created by Brahmā are conditioned souls and are inclined to lord it over material nature. The purpose of sacrificial rituals is to revive, gradually, the spiritual realization of the living entities. That is the beginning of life within this universe. These sacrificial rituals, however, are intended to please the Supreme Lord. Unless one pleases the Supreme Lord, or unless one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, one cannot be happy either in material enjoyment or in spiritual realization.

SB 3.23.56, Purport:

Any work one performs that does not lead to the state of religious life is useless activity. Everyone is by nature inclined to some sort of work, and when that work leads one to religious life and religious life leads one to renunciation and renunciation leads one to devotional service, one attains the perfection of work.

SB 3.24.29, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as bhakta-vatsala. He is never described as jñānī-vatsala or yogī-vatsala. He is always described as bhakta-vatsala because He is more inclined toward His devotees than toward other transcendentalists. In Bhagavad-gītā it is confirmed that only a devotee can understand Him as He is.

SB 3.25.32, Purport:

Lord Kapila said: The senses are symbolic representations of the demigods, and their natural inclination is to work under the direction of the Vedic injunctions. As the senses are representatives of the demigods, so the mind is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mind's natural duty is to serve. When that service spirit is engaged in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, without any motive, that is far better even than salvation.

SB 3.25.32, Purport:

The senses of the living entity are always engaged in some occupation, either in activities prescribed in the injunctions of the Vedas or in material activities. The natural inclination of the senses is to work for something, and the mind is the center of the senses. The mind is actually the leader of the senses; therefore it is called sattva.

SB 3.25.32, Purport:

The senses and the mind are naturally inclined to work, but when they are materially contaminated they work for some material benefit or for the service of the demigods, although actually they are meant to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The senses are called hṛṣīka, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called Hṛṣīkeśa. Indirectly, all the senses are naturally inclined to serve the Supreme Lord. That is called bhakti.

SB 3.25.32, Purport:

Bhakti, the inclination to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is in a transcendental position far better than mukti, or liberation. Thus bhakti is the stage after liberation. Unless one is liberated one cannot engage the senses in the service of the Lord. When the senses are engaged either in material activities of sense gratification or in the activities of the Vedic injunctions, there is some motive, but when the same senses are engaged in the service of the Lord and there is no motive, that is called animittā and is the natural inclination of the mind.

SB 3.25.41, Purport:

It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord is equal to everyone; no one is His enemy and no one is His friend. But to one who surrenders unto Him, He is especially inclined. By the grace of the Lord, simply by surrendering unto Him one can get out of this cycle of birth and death. Otherwise, one may go on in many, many lives and may many times attempt other processes for liberation.

SB 3.28.17, Purport:

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, although He acts equally to everyone because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and because all living entities are His sons, He is especially inclined to those engaged in devotional service. The same fact is confirmed here: He is always anxious to show favor to the devotees. Just as the devotees are always eager to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord is also very eager to bestow benediction upon the pure devotees.

SB 3.30.5, Translation:

The conditioned living entity is satisfied in his own particular species of life; while deluded by the covering influence of the illusory energy, he feels little inclined to cast off his body, even when in hell, for he takes delight in hellish enjoyment.

SB 3.32.12-15, Purport:

Here the word bheda-dṛṣṭyā occurs because Brahmā has a slight inclination to think that he is as independent as Rudra. Sometimes Brahmā thinks that he is independent of the Supreme Lord, and the worshiper also thinks that Brahmā is independent. For this reason, after the destruction of this material world, when there is again creation by the interaction of the material modes of nature, Brahmā comes back.

SB 3.32.12-15, Purport:

The specific significance of his coming back may be noted. Brahmā and the great ṛṣis and the great master of yoga (Śiva) are not ordinary living entities; they are very powerful and have all the perfections of mystic yoga. But still they have an inclination to try to become one with the Supreme, and therefore they have to come back. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is accepted that as long as one thinks that he is equal with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is not completely purified or knowledgeable.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.3.5-7, Purport:

The dresses and bodily features of the wives of the heavenly denizens are very nicely described here. Their eyes moved, their earrings and other ornaments glittered and glared, their dresses were the nicest possible, and all of them had special lockets on their necklaces. Each woman was accompanied by her husband. Thus they looked so beautiful that Satī, Dākṣāyaṇī, was impelled to dress similarly and go to the sacrifice with her husband. That is the natural inclination of a woman.

SB 4.4.30, Purport:

Dakṣa means "expert," and he was given this name because of his ability to beget many hundreds and thousands of children. Persons who are too sexually inclined and materialistic become so hardhearted because of a slight loss of prestige that they can tolerate even the death of their children.

SB 4.7.38, Translation:

The great mystics said: Dear Lord, persons who see You as nondifferent from themselves, knowing that You are the Supersoul of all living entities, are certainly very, very dear to You. You are very favorable toward those who engage in devotional service, accepting You as the Lord and themselves as the servants. By Your mercy, You are always inclined in their favor.

SB 4.7.38, Purport:

The particular significance of this verse is that the Lord is addressed as vatsala. Vatsala means "always favorably disposed." The Lord's name is bhakta-vatsala. The Lord is famous as bhakta-vatsala, which means that He is always favorably inclined to the devotees, whereas He is never addressed anywhere in the Vedic literature as jñānī-vatsala.

SB 4.8.10, Purport:

The King, of course, was equally affectionate toward both his sons, Uttama and Dhruva, so he had a natural inclination to take Dhruva, as well as Uttama, on his lap. But because of his favoritism towards his queen Suruci, he could not welcome Dhruva Mahārāja, despite his feelings. King Uttānapāda's feeling was understood by Suruci, and therefore with great pride she began to speak about the King's affection for her.

SB 4.8.61, Purport:

For persons who are still inclined to enjoy material life in different stages or on different planets, the stage of liberation in bhakti-yoga is not recommended. Only persons who are completely free from the contamination of sense gratification can execute bhakti-yoga, or the process of devotional service, very purely. The activities on the path of apavarga up to the stages of dharma, artha and kāma are meant for sense gratification, but when one comes to the stage of mokṣa, the impersonalist liberation, the practitioner wants to merge into the existence of the Supreme.

SB 4.11.21, Purport:

Those who are inclined to material activities remain in the material sphere. But persons who engage in devotional service reach the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, where there is neither birth nor death nor different varieties of life under the influence of the law of karma. The best interest of the living entity is to engage himself in devotional service and go back home, back to Godhead.

SB 4.13.24, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura said that by the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed with the mercy of the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master is not inclined to disclose all the secrets of transcendental science unless the disciple is very submissive and devoted. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the process of receiving knowledge from the spiritual master entails submission, inquiry and service.

SB 4.20.16, Translation:

My dear King, I am very captivated by your elevated qualities and excellent behavior, and thus I am very favorably inclined toward you. You may therefore ask from Me any benediction you like. One who does not possess elevated qualities and behavior cannot possibly achieve My favor simply by performance of sacrifices, severe austerities or mystic yoga. But I always remain equipoised in the heart of one who is also equipoised in all circumstances.

SB 4.20.19, Purport:

They are never to be imitated, but when a devotee actually becomes perfect, these symptoms are visible on his body. The Lord is bhakta-vatsala, which means that He is inclined toward His pure devotee (bhakta). Therefore the transcendental ecstatic transaction between the Supreme Lord and His devotee is never like the activities of this material world.

SB 4.20.20, Translation:

The Lord was just about to leave, but because He was so greatly inclined toward the behavior of King Pṛthu, He did not depart. Seeing the behavior of Mahārāja Pṛthu with His lotus eyes, He was detained because He is always the well-wisher of His devotees.

SB 4.20.20, Purport:

Here the words suhṛt satām are very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always very inclined toward His devotee and is always thinking of the devotee's well-being. This is not partiality. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord is equal to everyone (samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu (BG 9.29)), but to one who particularly engages in His service, He is very much inclined. In another place, the Lord says that a devotee always exists in His heart, and He also exists always in the heart of the devotee.

SB 4.20.20, Purport:

The special inclination of the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His pure devotee is not unnatural, nor is it partiality. For example, sometimes a father has several children, but he has special affection for one child who is very much inclined toward him.

SB 4.20.27, Purport:

One of the most important qualities of the Lord is His inclination to His devotees, for which He is called bhakta-vatsala. The devotees are always very much inclined to render service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord is also very much inclined to accept loving service from His devotees. In that exchange of service there are many transcendental transactions, which are called transcendental qualitative activities.

SB 4.20.28, Translation:

My dear Lord of the universe, the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is the mother of the universe, and yet I think that she may be angry with me because of my intruding upon her service and acting on that very platform to which she is so much attached. Yet I am hopeful that even though there is some misunderstanding, You will take my part, for You are very much inclined to the poor and You always magnify even insignificant service unto You. Therefore even though she becomes angry, I think that there is no harm for You, because You are so self-sufficient that You can do without her.

SB 4.20.38, Purport:

The Supreme Lord is not visible to material eyes, but when the material senses are inclined to the transcendental loving service of the Lord and are thus purified, the Lord reveals Himself to the vision of the devotee. Avyakta means "unmanifested." Although the material world is the creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is unmanifested to material eyes. Mahārāja Pṛthu, however, developed spiritual eyes by his pure devotional service.

SB 4.21.10, Purport:

Saint Vidura's purpose in hearing about Pṛthu Mahārāja over and over again was to set an example for ordinary kings and executive heads, who should all be inclined to hear repeatedly about Pṛthu Mahārāja's activities in order to also be able to rule over their kingdoms or states very faithfully for the peace and prosperity of the people in general.

SB 4.21.31, Translation:

By the inclination to serve the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, suffering humanity can immediately cleanse the dirt which has accumulated in their minds during innumerable births. Like the Ganges water, which emanates from the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, such a process immediately cleanses the mind, and thus spiritual or Kṛṣṇa consciousness gradually increases.

SB 4.21.31, Purport:

The River Ganges flows by Calcutta. Sometimes within the water there are many stools and other dirty things which are washed away from neighboring mills and factories, but still thousands of men take baths in the Ganges water, and they are very healthy as well as spiritually inclined. That is the effect of Ganges water. The Ganges is glorified because it emanates from the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB 4.21.50, Purport:

The symptom of a qualified king or political leader is mentioned herein—he must be very merciful and compassionate to the people and see to their prime interest, which is to become elevated devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Great souls are naturally inclined to do good to others, and a Vaiṣṇava especially is the most compassionate and merciful personality in society.

SB 4.22.20, Translation:

Sanat-kumāra continued: My dear King, you already have an inclination to glorify the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such attachment is very difficult to achieve, but when one has attained such unflinching faith in the Lord, it automatically cleanses lusty desires from the core of the heart.

SB 4.22.20, Purport:

Pṛthu Mahārāja was already a self-realized soul; therefore he had a natural inclination to glorify the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Kumāras assured him that there was no chance of his falling victim to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. In other words, the process of hearing and chanting about the glories of the Lord is the only means to clarify the heart of material contamination.

SB 4.22.52, Translation:

Mahārāja Pṛthu, who was very opulent due to the prosperity of his entire empire, remained at home as a householder. Since he was never inclined to utilize his opulences for the gratification of his senses, he remained unattached, exactly like the sun, which is unaffected in all circumstances.

SB 4.23.12, Purport:

However, when one understands that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Kṛṣṇa, he realizes Kṛṣṇa within everyone's heart and therefore helps everyone who is interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually the perfection of life depends on one's inclination to hear about Kṛṣṇa. It is therefore mentioned in this verse: yāvad gadāgraja-kathāsu ratiṁ na kuryāt. Unless one becomes interested in Kṛṣṇa, in His pastimes and activities, there is no question of liberation by means of yoga practice or speculative knowledge.

SB 4.24.41, Translation:

My dear Lord, You are the viewer of the results of pious activities. You are inclination, disinclination and their resultant activities. You are the cause of the miserable conditions of life caused by irreligion, and therefore You are death. I offer You my respectful obeisances.

SB 4.24.41, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in everyone's heart, and from Him issue a living entity's inclinations and disinclinations. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15):

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo

mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca

"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness."

SB 4.24.41, Purport:

According to Bhagavad-gītā (16.7), pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ: the asuras do not know which way one should be inclined to act and which way one should not be inclined to act. Although the asuras oppose devotional service, it is to be understood that they are inclined that way due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because the asuras do not like to engage in the Lord's devotional service, the Lord within gives them the intelligence to forget. Ordinary karmīs desire promotion to Pitṛloka, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25). Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ: "Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods, and those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors."

SB 4.24.44, Purport:

One has to become free from all designation or false egotism and thus become purified. When we engage our senses in the service of the Lord, the desires or the inclinations of the senses can be perfectly fulfilled. Lord Śiva therefore wants to see the Lord in a form which is inconceivable to the Bauddha philosophers, or the Buddhists.

SB 4.25.38, Purport:

The karmīs do not practice brahmacarya, vānaprastha or sannyāsa life, for they are very much interested in gṛhastha life. In other words, a human being is very much materially inclined. Indeed, all living entities are materially inclined. They prefer gṛhastha life because there is a concession for sex. The karmīs think the other statuses of life are worse than animal life, for animals also have sex, whereas the brahmacārī, vānaprastha and sannyāsī completely give up sex. The karmīs, therefore, abhor these orders of spiritual life.

SB 4.25.39, Purport:

On the whole, when one is too much inclined toward sex, he does not care for the transcendental spiritual life. In this age of Kali especially, no one is interested in spiritual advancement. Even though it is sometimes found that one may be interested in spiritual advancement, he is most likely to accept a bogus method of spiritual life, being misguided by so many pretenders.

SB 4.25.51, Purport:

The right ear, or the ear on the southern side, is called Pitṛhū, which indicates that it is used for attaining the higher planetary systems known as Pitṛloka, but the left ear, which is known as Devahū, is utilized for hearing about even higher planetary systems, such as Maharloka, Tapoloka and Brahmaloka—or yet even higher planets, situated in the spiritual universe, where one becomes more inclined to be permanently situated.

SB 4.26.1-3, Purport:

Even though one may be religiously inclined, animal sacrifice is recommended in the śāstras, not only in the Vedas but even in the modern scriptures of other sects. These animal sacrifices are recommended in the name of religion, but actually animal sacrifice is meant for persons in the mode of ignorance. When such people kill animals, they can at least do so in the name of religion.

SB 4.26.6, Purport:

Everyone is inclined in this age to eat meat and fish, drink liquor and indulge in sex life, but according to the Vedic injunctions, sex is allowed only in marriage, meat-eating is allowed only when the animal is killed and offered before the goddess Kālī, and intoxication is allowed only in a restricted way. In this verse the word niyamyate indicates that all these things—namely animal-killing, intoxication and sex—should be regulated.

SB 4.27.1, Purport:

Women in general are very much sexually inclined. Indeed, it is said that a woman's sex desire is nine times stronger than a man's. It is therefore a man's duty to keep a woman under his control by satisfying her, giving her ornaments, nice food and clothes, and engaging her in religious activities. Of course, a woman should have a few children and in this way not be disturbing to the man.

SB 4.27.1, Purport:

If a husband situated in the mode of goodness can control his wife, who is in passion and ignorance, the woman is benefited. Forgetting her natural inclination for passion and ignorance, the woman becomes obedient and faithful to her husband, who is situated in goodness. Such a life becomes very welcome.

SB 4.27.9, Purport:

Purañjana increased his whole family by begetting sons who in their turn begot grandsons. Thus the living entity, being inclined toward sexual gratification, becomes involved in many hundreds and thousands of actions and reactions. In this way he remains within the material world simply for the purpose of sense gratification and transmigrates from one body to another.

SB 4.27.10, Purport:

In India we have actually seen one industrialist who, like King Purañjana, was very much sexually inclined and had a half dozen wives. Each of these wives had a separate establishment that necessitated the expenditure of several thousands of rupees. When I was engaged in talking with him, I saw that he was very busy trying to secure money so that all his sons and daughters would get at least five hundred thousand rupees each. Thus such industrialists, businessmen or karmīs are called mūḍhas in the śāstras.

SB 4.27.11, Purport:

"The people in general are naturally inclined to enjoy, and you have encouraged them in that way in the name of religion. This is verily condemned and is quite unreasonable. Because they are guided under your instructions, they will accept such activities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions." (SB 1.5.15)

SB 4.28.55, Purport:

This material tendency is mentioned in this verse as grāmya-matiḥ (sense gratification). The word mahīm means "within this material world." All living entities within this material world are sensually inclined. Consequently they become entangled in different types of bodies and suffer the pangs of material existence.

SB 4.29.32, Purport:

"Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet (Brahmaloka) down to the lowest planet (Pātāla). As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained automatically in course of time, just as in course of time we obtain miseries even though we do not desire them."