Reading Srimad-Bhagavatam

Description of Vaikuntha

From Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.15.16–23)

“In those Vaikuntha planets there are many forests which are very auspicious. In those forests the trees are wish-fulfilling trees, and in all seasons they are filled with flowers and fruits because everything in the Vaikuntha planets is spiritual and personal.

Description of Goloka

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam we find descriptions of Lord Krishna’s eternal home, such as this one:

“Goloka, also called Vrindavana, is always full of cows. There are many waterfalls, which are always pouring water, and the sound is so sweet that it covers the sound of the crickets. And because water flows all over, the forest always looks very green and beautiful.

Internal Potency: Nature of the Spiritual World

Krishna’s internal potency manifests the spiritual world. It is divided into the

• potency for existence
• potency for knowledge
• potency for pleasure

The potency for eternal existence manifests the spiritual planets and the bodies of all the inhabitants. It gives shape to the unlimited variegatedness of the land, villages, forests, hills, and pastime places in the spiritual world.

Three Spiritual Realms

There are three primary destinations in the spiritual world, which has innumerable spiritual planets and expands without limit.

Spiritual World

The Vedas tell us that beyond the limited material world is the infinite spiritual world, the abode of Krishna and His expansions, and our original home as well. Everyone there is eternal and absorbed in ever-increasing happiness.

Transcendence is not static, but full of dynamic variety and rich with spiritual qualities. Spirit by nature is conscious, and every aspect of the spiritual world—plants, animals, people, hills, rivers, houses—is a fully God-conscious person.