ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvad arthaḥ
syād apramatto vyavasāya-buddhiḥ
siddhe 'nyathārthe na yateta tatra
pariśramaḿ tatra samīkṣamāṇaḥ
SYNONYMS
ataḥ — for this reason; kaviḥ — the enlightened person; nāmasu — in names only; yāvat — minimum; arthaḥ — necessity; syāt — must be; apramattaḥ — without being mad after them; vyavasāya-buddhiḥ — intelligently fixed; siddhe — for success; anyathā — otherwise; arthe — in the interest of; na — should never; yateta — endeavor for; tatra — there; pariśramam — laboring hard; tatra — there; samīkṣamāṇaḥ — one who sees practically.
TRANSLATION
For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing.
PURPORT
The bhāgavata-dharma, or the cult of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is perfectly distinct from the way of fruitive activities, which are considered by the devotees to be merely a waste of time. The whole universe, or for that matter all material existence, is moving on as jagat, simply for planning business to make one's position very comfortable or secure, although everyone sees that this existence is neither comfortable nor secure and can never become comfortable or secure at any stage of development. Those who are captivated by the illusory advancement of material civilization (following the way of phantasmagoria) are certainly madmen. The whole material creation is a jugglery of names only; in fact, it is nothing but a bewildering creation of matter like earth, water and fire. The buildings, furniture, cars, bungalows, mills, factories, industries, peace, war or even the highest perfection of material science, namely atomic energy and electronics, are all simply bewildering names of material elements with their concomitant reactions of the three modes. Since the devotee of the Lord knows them perfectly well, he is not interested in creating unwanted things for a situation which is not at all reality, but simply names of no more significance than the babble of sea waves. The great kings, leaders and soldiers fight with one another in order to perpetuate their names in history. They are forgotten in due course of time, and they make a place for another era in history. But the devotee realizes how much history and historical persons are useless products of flickering time. The fruitive worker aspires after a big fortune in the matter of wealth, woman and worldly adoration, but those who are fixed in perfect reality are not at all interested in such false things. For them it is all a waste of time. Since every second of human life is important, an enlightened man should be very careful to utilize time very cautiously. One second of human life wasted in the vain research of planning for happiness in the material world can never be replaced, even if one spends millions of coins of gold. Therefore, the transcendentalist desiring freedom from the clutches of māyā, or the illusory activities of life, is warned herewith not to be captivated by the external features of fruitive actors. Human life is never meant for sense gratification, but for self-realization. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam instructs us solely on this subject from the very beginning to the end. Human life is simply meant for self-realization. The civilization which aims at this utmost perfection never indulges in creating unwanted things, and such a perfect civilization prepares men only to accept the bare necessities of life or to follow the principle of the best use of a bad bargain. Our material bodies and our lives in that connection are bad bargains because the living entity is actually spirit, and spiritual advancement of the living entity is absolutely necessary. Human life is intended for the realization of this important factor, and one should act accordingly, accepting only the bare necessities of life and depending more on God's gift without diversion of human energy for any other purpose, such as being mad for material enjoyment. The materialistic advancement of civilization is called "the civilization of the demons," which ultimately ends in wars and scarcity. The transcendentalist is specifically warned herewith to be fixed in mind, so that even if there is difficulty in plain living and high thinking he will not budge even an inch from his stark determination. For a transcendentalist, it is a suicidal policy to be intimately in touch with the sense gratifiers of the world, because such a policy will frustrate the ultimate gain of life. Śukadeva Gosvāmī met Mahārāja Parīkṣit when the latter felt a necessity for such a meeting. It is the duty of a transcendentalist to help persons who desire real salvation and to support the cause of salvation. One might note that Śukadeva Gosvāmī never met Mahārāja Parīkṣit while he was ruling as a great king. For a transcendentalist, the mode of activities is explained in the next śloka.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.2
śābdasya hi brahmaṇa eṣa panthā
yan nāmabhir dhyāyati dhīr apārthaiḥ
paribhramaḿs tatra na vindate 'rthān
māyāmaye vāsanayā śayānaḥ
SYNONYMS
śābdasya — of the Vedic sound; hi — certainly; brahmaṇaḥ — of the Vedas; eṣaḥ — these; panthāḥ — the way; yat — what is; nāmabhiḥ — by different names; dhyāyati — ponders; dhīḥ — intelligence; apārthaiḥ — by meaningless ideas; paribhraman — wandering; tatra — there; na — never; vindate — enjoys; arthān — realities; māyā-maye — in illusory things; vāsanayā — by different desires; śayānaḥ — as if dreaming in sleep.
TRANSLATION
The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.
PURPORT
The conditioned soul is always engaged in laying out plans for happiness within the material world, even up to the end of the universal limit. He is not even satisfied with available amenities on this planet earth, where he has exploited the resources of nature to the best of his ability. He wants to go to the moon or the planet Venus to exploit resources there. But the Lord has warned us in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) about the worthlessness of all the innumerable planets of this universe, as well as those planets within other systems. There are innumerable universes and also innumerable planets in each of them. But none of them is immune to the chief miseries of material existence, namely the pangs of birth, the pangs of death, the pangs of old age and the pangs of disease. The Lord says that even the topmost planet, known as the Brahmaloka or Satyaloka, (and what to speak of other planets, like the heavenly planets) is not a happy land for residential purposes, due to the presence of material pangs, as above mentioned. Conditioned souls are strictly under the laws of fruitive activities, and as such they sometimes go up to Brahmaloka and again come down to Pātālaloka, as if they were unintelligent children on a merry-go-round. The real happiness is in the kingdom of God, where no one has to undergo the pangs of material existence. Therefore, the Vedic ways of fruitive activities for the living entities are misleading. One thinks of a superior way of life in this country or that, or on this planet or another, but nowhere in the material world can he fulfill his real desire of life, namely eternal life, full intelligence and complete bliss. Indirectly, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī affirms that Mahārāja Parīkṣit, in the last stage of life, should not desire to transfer himself to the so-called heavenly planets, but should prepare himself for going back home, back to Godhead. None of the material planets, nor the amenities available there for living conditions, is everlasting; therefore one must have a factual reluctance to enjoy such temporary happiness as they afford.
yan nāmabhir dhyāyati dhīr apārthaiḥ
paribhramaḿs tatra na vindate 'rthān
māyāmaye vāsanayā śayānaḥ
SYNONYMS
śābdasya — of the Vedic sound; hi — certainly; brahmaṇaḥ — of the Vedas; eṣaḥ — these; panthāḥ — the way; yat — what is; nāmabhiḥ — by different names; dhyāyati — ponders; dhīḥ — intelligence; apārthaiḥ — by meaningless ideas; paribhraman — wandering; tatra — there; na — never; vindate — enjoys; arthān — realities; māyā-maye — in illusory things; vāsanayā — by different desires; śayānaḥ — as if dreaming in sleep.
TRANSLATION
The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.
PURPORT
The conditioned soul is always engaged in laying out plans for happiness within the material world, even up to the end of the universal limit. He is not even satisfied with available amenities on this planet earth, where he has exploited the resources of nature to the best of his ability. He wants to go to the moon or the planet Venus to exploit resources there. But the Lord has warned us in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) about the worthlessness of all the innumerable planets of this universe, as well as those planets within other systems. There are innumerable universes and also innumerable planets in each of them. But none of them is immune to the chief miseries of material existence, namely the pangs of birth, the pangs of death, the pangs of old age and the pangs of disease. The Lord says that even the topmost planet, known as the Brahmaloka or Satyaloka, (and what to speak of other planets, like the heavenly planets) is not a happy land for residential purposes, due to the presence of material pangs, as above mentioned. Conditioned souls are strictly under the laws of fruitive activities, and as such they sometimes go up to Brahmaloka and again come down to Pātālaloka, as if they were unintelligent children on a merry-go-round. The real happiness is in the kingdom of God, where no one has to undergo the pangs of material existence. Therefore, the Vedic ways of fruitive activities for the living entities are misleading. One thinks of a superior way of life in this country or that, or on this planet or another, but nowhere in the material world can he fulfill his real desire of life, namely eternal life, full intelligence and complete bliss. Indirectly, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī affirms that Mahārāja Parīkṣit, in the last stage of life, should not desire to transfer himself to the so-called heavenly planets, but should prepare himself for going back home, back to Godhead. None of the material planets, nor the amenities available there for living conditions, is everlasting; therefore one must have a factual reluctance to enjoy such temporary happiness as they afford.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Canto 2: The Cosmic Manifestation Chapter 2: The Lord in the Heart 2.2.1
Canto 2: The Cosmic Manifestation
Chapter 2: The Lord in the Heart
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.1
śrī-śuka uvāca
evaḿ purā dhāraṇayātma-yonir
naṣṭāḿ smṛtiḿ pratyavarudhya tuṣṭāt
tathā sasarjedam amogha-dṛṣṭir
yathāpyayāt prāg vyavasāya-buddhiḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam — just in the same way; purā — prior to the manifestation of the cosmos; dhāraṇayā — by such a conception; ātma-yoniḥ — of Brahmājī; naṣṭām — lost; smṛtim — remembrance; pratyavarudhya — by regaining consciousness; tuṣṭāt — because of appeasing the Lord; tathā — thereafter; sasarja — created; idam — this material world; amogha-dṛṣṭiḥ — one who has attained clear vision; yathā — as; apyayāt — created; prāk — as formerly; vyavasāya — ascertained; buddhiḥ — intelligence.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Formerly, prior to the manifestation of the cosmos, Lord Brahmā, by meditating on the virāṭ-rūpa, regained his lost consciousness by appeasing the Lord. Thus he was able to rebuild the creation as it was before.
PURPORT
The example cited herein of Śrī Brahmājī is one of forgetfulness. Brahmājī is the incarnation of one of the mundane attributes of the Lord. Being the incarnation of the passion mode of material nature, he is empowered by the Lord to generate the beautiful material manifestation. Yet due to his being one of the numerous living entities, he is apt to forget the an of his creative energy. This forgetfulness of the living being — beginning from Brahmā down to the lowest insignificant ant — is a tendency which can be counteracted by meditation on the virāṭ-rūpa of the Lord. This chance is available in the human form of life, and if a human being follows the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and begins to meditate upon the virāṭ-rūpa, then revival of his pure consciousness and counteraction of the tendency to forget his eternal relationship with the Lord can follow simultaneously. And as soon as this forgetfulness is removed, the vyavasāya-buddhi, as mentioned here and in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.41), follows at once. This ascertained knowledge of the living being leads to loving service to the Lord, which the living being requires. The kingdom of God is unlimited; therefore the number of the assisting hands of the Lord is also unlimited. The Bhagavad-gītā (13.14) asserts that the Lord has His hands, legs, eyes and mouths in every nook and corner of His creation, This means that the expansions of differentiated parts and parcels, called jīvas or living entities, are assisting hands of the Lord, and all of them are meant for rendering a particular pattern of service to the Lord. The conditioned soul, even in the position of a Brahmā, forgets this by the influence of illusory, material energy generated out of false egoism. One can counteract such false egoism by invoking God consciousness. Liberation means getting out of the slumber of forgetfulness and becoming situated in the real loving service of the Lord, as exemplified in the case of Brahmā. The service of Brahmā is the sample of service in liberation distinguished from the so-called altruistic services full of mistakes and forgetfulness. Liberation is never inaction, but service without human mistakes.
Chapter 2: The Lord in the Heart
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.1
śrī-śuka uvāca
evaḿ purā dhāraṇayātma-yonir
naṣṭāḿ smṛtiḿ pratyavarudhya tuṣṭāt
tathā sasarjedam amogha-dṛṣṭir
yathāpyayāt prāg vyavasāya-buddhiḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam — just in the same way; purā — prior to the manifestation of the cosmos; dhāraṇayā — by such a conception; ātma-yoniḥ — of Brahmājī; naṣṭām — lost; smṛtim — remembrance; pratyavarudhya — by regaining consciousness; tuṣṭāt — because of appeasing the Lord; tathā — thereafter; sasarja — created; idam — this material world; amogha-dṛṣṭiḥ — one who has attained clear vision; yathā — as; apyayāt — created; prāk — as formerly; vyavasāya — ascertained; buddhiḥ — intelligence.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Formerly, prior to the manifestation of the cosmos, Lord Brahmā, by meditating on the virāṭ-rūpa, regained his lost consciousness by appeasing the Lord. Thus he was able to rebuild the creation as it was before.
PURPORT
The example cited herein of Śrī Brahmājī is one of forgetfulness. Brahmājī is the incarnation of one of the mundane attributes of the Lord. Being the incarnation of the passion mode of material nature, he is empowered by the Lord to generate the beautiful material manifestation. Yet due to his being one of the numerous living entities, he is apt to forget the an of his creative energy. This forgetfulness of the living being — beginning from Brahmā down to the lowest insignificant ant — is a tendency which can be counteracted by meditation on the virāṭ-rūpa of the Lord. This chance is available in the human form of life, and if a human being follows the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and begins to meditate upon the virāṭ-rūpa, then revival of his pure consciousness and counteraction of the tendency to forget his eternal relationship with the Lord can follow simultaneously. And as soon as this forgetfulness is removed, the vyavasāya-buddhi, as mentioned here and in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.41), follows at once. This ascertained knowledge of the living being leads to loving service to the Lord, which the living being requires. The kingdom of God is unlimited; therefore the number of the assisting hands of the Lord is also unlimited. The Bhagavad-gītā (13.14) asserts that the Lord has His hands, legs, eyes and mouths in every nook and corner of His creation, This means that the expansions of differentiated parts and parcels, called jīvas or living entities, are assisting hands of the Lord, and all of them are meant for rendering a particular pattern of service to the Lord. The conditioned soul, even in the position of a Brahmā, forgets this by the influence of illusory, material energy generated out of false egoism. One can counteract such false egoism by invoking God consciousness. Liberation means getting out of the slumber of forgetfulness and becoming situated in the real loving service of the Lord, as exemplified in the case of Brahmā. The service of Brahmā is the sample of service in liberation distinguished from the so-called altruistic services full of mistakes and forgetfulness. Liberation is never inaction, but service without human mistakes.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.39
sa sarva-dhī-vṛtty-anubhūta-sarva
ātmā yathā svapna-janekṣitaikaḥ
taḿ satyam ānanda-nidhiḿ bhajeta
nānyatra sajjed yata ātma-pātaḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ — He (the Supreme Person); sarva-dhī-vṛtti — the process of realization by all sorts of intelligence; anubhūta — cognizant; sarve — everyone; ātmā — the Supersoul; yathā — as much as; svapna-jana — a person dreaming; īkṣita — seen by; ekaḥ — one and the same; tam — unto Him; satyam — the Supreme Truth; ānanda-nidhim — the ocean of bliss; bhajeta — must one worship; na — never; anyatra — anything else; sajjet — be attached; yataḥ — whereby; ātma-pātaḥ — degradation of oneself.
TRANSLATION
One should concentrate his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who alone distributes Himself in so many manifestations just as ordinary persons create thousands of manifestations in dreams. One must concentrate the mind on Him, the only all-blissful Absolute Truth. Otherwise one will be misled and will cause his own degradation.
PURPORT
In this verse, the process of devotional service is indicated by the great Gosvāmī, Śrīla Śukadeva. He tries to impress upon us that instead of diverting our attention to several branches of self-realization, we should concentrate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the supreme object of realization, worship and devotion. Self-realization is, as it were, offering a fight for eternal life against the material struggle for existence, and therefore by the illusory grace of the external energy, the yogī or the devotee is faced with many allurements which can entangle a great fighter again in the bondage of material existence. A yogī can attain miraculous successes in material achievements, such as aṇimā and laghimā, by which one can become more minute than the minutest or lighter than the lightest, or in the ordinary sense, one may achieve material benedictions in the shape of wealth and women. But one is warned against such allurements because entanglement again in such illusory pleasure means degradation of the self and further imprisonment in the material world. By this warning, one should follow one's vigilant intelligence only.
The Supreme Lord is one, and His expansions are various. He is therefore the Supersoul of everything. When a man sees anything, he must know that his seeing is secondary and the Lord's seeing is primary. One cannot see anything without the Lord's having first seen it. That is the instruction of the Vedas and the Upaniṣads. So whatever we see or do, the Supersoul of all acts of seeing or doing is the Lord. This theory of simultaneous oneness and difference between the individual soul and the Supersoul is propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. The virāṭ-rūpa, or the gigantic feature of the Supreme Lord, includes everything materially manifested, and therefore the virāṭ or gigantic feature of the Lord is the Supersoul of all living and nonliving entities. But the virāṭ-rūpa is also the manifestation of Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu, and going further on and on one will eventually see that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Supersoul of everything that be. The conclusion is that one should unhesitatingly become a worshiper of Lord Kṛṣṇa, or, for that matter, His plenary expansion Nārāyaṇa, and none else. In the Vedic hymns, it is clearly said that first of all Nārāyaṇa cast a glance over matter and thus there was creation. Before creation, there was neither Brahmā nor Śiva, and what to speak of others. Śrīpāda Śańkarācārya has definitely accepted this, that Nārāyaṇa is beyond the material creation and that all others are within the material creation. The whole material creation, therefore, is one with and different from Nārāyaṇa, simultaneously, and this supports the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva philosophy of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Being an emanation from the glancing potency of Nārāyaṇa, the whole material creation is nondifferent from Him. But because it is the effect of His external energy (bahirańgā māyā) and is aloof from the internal potency (ātma-māyā), the whole material creation is different from Him at the same time. The example given in this verse very nicely is that of the dreaming man. The dreaming man creates many things in his dream, and thus he himself becomes the entangled seer of the dream and is also affected by the consequences. This material creation is also exactly a dreamlike creation of the Lord, but He, being the transcendental Supersoul, is neither entangled nor affected by the reactions of such a dreamlike creation. He is always in His transcendental position, but essentially He is everything, and nothing is apart from Him. As a part of Him, one should therefore concentrate on Him only, without deviation; otherwise one is sure to be overcome by the potencies of the material creation, one after another. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.7) as follows:
sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya
prakṛtiḿ yānti māmikām
kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni
kalpādau visṛjāmy aham
"O son of Kuntī, at the end of the millennium every material manifestation enters into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I again create."
The human life, however, is an opportunity to get out of this repetition of creation and annihilation. It is a means whereby one may escape the Lord's external potency and enter into His internal potency.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Second Canto, First Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The First Step in God Realization."
ātmā yathā svapna-janekṣitaikaḥ
taḿ satyam ānanda-nidhiḿ bhajeta
nānyatra sajjed yata ātma-pātaḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ — He (the Supreme Person); sarva-dhī-vṛtti — the process of realization by all sorts of intelligence; anubhūta — cognizant; sarve — everyone; ātmā — the Supersoul; yathā — as much as; svapna-jana — a person dreaming; īkṣita — seen by; ekaḥ — one and the same; tam — unto Him; satyam — the Supreme Truth; ānanda-nidhim — the ocean of bliss; bhajeta — must one worship; na — never; anyatra — anything else; sajjet — be attached; yataḥ — whereby; ātma-pātaḥ — degradation of oneself.
TRANSLATION
One should concentrate his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who alone distributes Himself in so many manifestations just as ordinary persons create thousands of manifestations in dreams. One must concentrate the mind on Him, the only all-blissful Absolute Truth. Otherwise one will be misled and will cause his own degradation.
PURPORT
In this verse, the process of devotional service is indicated by the great Gosvāmī, Śrīla Śukadeva. He tries to impress upon us that instead of diverting our attention to several branches of self-realization, we should concentrate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the supreme object of realization, worship and devotion. Self-realization is, as it were, offering a fight for eternal life against the material struggle for existence, and therefore by the illusory grace of the external energy, the yogī or the devotee is faced with many allurements which can entangle a great fighter again in the bondage of material existence. A yogī can attain miraculous successes in material achievements, such as aṇimā and laghimā, by which one can become more minute than the minutest or lighter than the lightest, or in the ordinary sense, one may achieve material benedictions in the shape of wealth and women. But one is warned against such allurements because entanglement again in such illusory pleasure means degradation of the self and further imprisonment in the material world. By this warning, one should follow one's vigilant intelligence only.
The Supreme Lord is one, and His expansions are various. He is therefore the Supersoul of everything. When a man sees anything, he must know that his seeing is secondary and the Lord's seeing is primary. One cannot see anything without the Lord's having first seen it. That is the instruction of the Vedas and the Upaniṣads. So whatever we see or do, the Supersoul of all acts of seeing or doing is the Lord. This theory of simultaneous oneness and difference between the individual soul and the Supersoul is propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. The virāṭ-rūpa, or the gigantic feature of the Supreme Lord, includes everything materially manifested, and therefore the virāṭ or gigantic feature of the Lord is the Supersoul of all living and nonliving entities. But the virāṭ-rūpa is also the manifestation of Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu, and going further on and on one will eventually see that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Supersoul of everything that be. The conclusion is that one should unhesitatingly become a worshiper of Lord Kṛṣṇa, or, for that matter, His plenary expansion Nārāyaṇa, and none else. In the Vedic hymns, it is clearly said that first of all Nārāyaṇa cast a glance over matter and thus there was creation. Before creation, there was neither Brahmā nor Śiva, and what to speak of others. Śrīpāda Śańkarācārya has definitely accepted this, that Nārāyaṇa is beyond the material creation and that all others are within the material creation. The whole material creation, therefore, is one with and different from Nārāyaṇa, simultaneously, and this supports the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva philosophy of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Being an emanation from the glancing potency of Nārāyaṇa, the whole material creation is nondifferent from Him. But because it is the effect of His external energy (bahirańgā māyā) and is aloof from the internal potency (ātma-māyā), the whole material creation is different from Him at the same time. The example given in this verse very nicely is that of the dreaming man. The dreaming man creates many things in his dream, and thus he himself becomes the entangled seer of the dream and is also affected by the consequences. This material creation is also exactly a dreamlike creation of the Lord, but He, being the transcendental Supersoul, is neither entangled nor affected by the reactions of such a dreamlike creation. He is always in His transcendental position, but essentially He is everything, and nothing is apart from Him. As a part of Him, one should therefore concentrate on Him only, without deviation; otherwise one is sure to be overcome by the potencies of the material creation, one after another. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.7) as follows:
sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya
prakṛtiḿ yānti māmikām
kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni
kalpādau visṛjāmy aham
"O son of Kuntī, at the end of the millennium every material manifestation enters into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I again create."
The human life, however, is an opportunity to get out of this repetition of creation and annihilation. It is a means whereby one may escape the Lord's external potency and enter into His internal potency.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Second Canto, First Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The First Step in God Realization."
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.38
iyān asāv īśvara-vigrahasya
yaḥ sanniveśaḥ kathito mayā te
sandhāryate 'smin vapuṣi sthaviṣṭhe
manaḥ sva-buddhyā na yato 'sti kiñcit
SYNONYMS
iyān — all these; asau — that; īśvara — Supreme Lord; vigrahasya — of the form; yaḥ — whatsoever; sanniveśaḥ — as they are located; kathitaḥ — explained; mayā — by me; te — unto you; sandhāryate — one may concentrate; asmin — in this; vapuṣi — form of virāṭ; sthaviṣṭhe — in the gross; manaḥ — mind; sva-buddhyā — by one's intelligence; na — not; yataḥ — beyond Him; asti — there is; kiñcit — anything else.
TRANSLATION
I have thus explained to you the gross material gigantic conception of the Personality of Godhead. One who seriously desires liberation concentrates his mind on this form of the Lord, because there is nothing more than this in the material world.
PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), the Supreme Personality of Godhead has verily explained that the material nature is only an order-carrying agent of His. She is one of the different potencies of the Lord, and she acts under His direction only. As the supreme transcendental Lord, He simply casts a glance over the material principle, and thus the agitation of matter begins, and the resultant actions are manifested one after another by six kinds of gradual differentiations. All material creation is moving in that way, and thus it appears and disappears in due course.
Less intelligent persons with a poor fund of knowledge cannot accommodate the thought of this inconceivable potency of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, by which He appears just like a human being (Bg. 9.11). His appearance in the material world as one of us is also His causeless mercy upon the fallen souls. He is transcendental to all material conceptions, but by His unbounded mercy upon His pure devotees, He comes down and manifests Himself as the personality of Godhead. Materialistic philosophers and scientists are too much engrossed with atomic energy and the gigantic situation of the universal form, and they offer respect more seriously to the external phenomenal feature of material manifestations than to the noumenal principle of spiritual existence. The transcendental form of the Lord is beyond the jurisdiction of such materialistic activities, and it is very difficult to conceive that the Lord can be simultaneously localized and all-pervasive, because the materialistic philosophers and scientists think of everything in terms of their own experience. Because they are unable to accept the personal feature of the Supreme Lord, the Lord is kind enough to demonstrate the virāṭ feature of His transcendental form, and herein Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has vividly described this form of the Lord. He concludes that there is nothing beyond this gigantic feature of the Lord. None of the materialistic thoughtful men can go beyond this conception of the gigantic form. The minds of the materialistic men are flickering and constantly changing from one aspect to another. Therefore, one is advised to think of the Lord by thinking of any part of His gigantic body, and by one's intelligence only one can think of Him in any manifestation of the material world — the forest, the hill, the ocean, the man, the animal, the demigod, the bird, the beast or anything else. Each and every item of the material manifestation entails a part of the body of the gigantic form, and thus the flickering mind can be fixed in the Lord only and nothing else. This process of concentrating on the different bodily parts of the Lord will gradually diminish the demoniac challenge of godlessness and bring about gradual development of devotional service to the Lord. Everything being a part and parcel of the Complete Whole, the neophyte student will gradually realize the hymns of Īśopaniṣad which state that the Supreme Lord is everywhere, and thus he will learn the art of not committing any offense to the body of the Lord. This sense of God-mindedness will diminish one's pride in challenging the existence of God. Thus one can learn to show respect to everything, for all things are parts and parcels of the supreme body.
yaḥ sanniveśaḥ kathito mayā te
sandhāryate 'smin vapuṣi sthaviṣṭhe
manaḥ sva-buddhyā na yato 'sti kiñcit
SYNONYMS
iyān — all these; asau — that; īśvara — Supreme Lord; vigrahasya — of the form; yaḥ — whatsoever; sanniveśaḥ — as they are located; kathitaḥ — explained; mayā — by me; te — unto you; sandhāryate — one may concentrate; asmin — in this; vapuṣi — form of virāṭ; sthaviṣṭhe — in the gross; manaḥ — mind; sva-buddhyā — by one's intelligence; na — not; yataḥ — beyond Him; asti — there is; kiñcit — anything else.
TRANSLATION
I have thus explained to you the gross material gigantic conception of the Personality of Godhead. One who seriously desires liberation concentrates his mind on this form of the Lord, because there is nothing more than this in the material world.
PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), the Supreme Personality of Godhead has verily explained that the material nature is only an order-carrying agent of His. She is one of the different potencies of the Lord, and she acts under His direction only. As the supreme transcendental Lord, He simply casts a glance over the material principle, and thus the agitation of matter begins, and the resultant actions are manifested one after another by six kinds of gradual differentiations. All material creation is moving in that way, and thus it appears and disappears in due course.
Less intelligent persons with a poor fund of knowledge cannot accommodate the thought of this inconceivable potency of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, by which He appears just like a human being (Bg. 9.11). His appearance in the material world as one of us is also His causeless mercy upon the fallen souls. He is transcendental to all material conceptions, but by His unbounded mercy upon His pure devotees, He comes down and manifests Himself as the personality of Godhead. Materialistic philosophers and scientists are too much engrossed with atomic energy and the gigantic situation of the universal form, and they offer respect more seriously to the external phenomenal feature of material manifestations than to the noumenal principle of spiritual existence. The transcendental form of the Lord is beyond the jurisdiction of such materialistic activities, and it is very difficult to conceive that the Lord can be simultaneously localized and all-pervasive, because the materialistic philosophers and scientists think of everything in terms of their own experience. Because they are unable to accept the personal feature of the Supreme Lord, the Lord is kind enough to demonstrate the virāṭ feature of His transcendental form, and herein Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has vividly described this form of the Lord. He concludes that there is nothing beyond this gigantic feature of the Lord. None of the materialistic thoughtful men can go beyond this conception of the gigantic form. The minds of the materialistic men are flickering and constantly changing from one aspect to another. Therefore, one is advised to think of the Lord by thinking of any part of His gigantic body, and by one's intelligence only one can think of Him in any manifestation of the material world — the forest, the hill, the ocean, the man, the animal, the demigod, the bird, the beast or anything else. Each and every item of the material manifestation entails a part of the body of the gigantic form, and thus the flickering mind can be fixed in the Lord only and nothing else. This process of concentrating on the different bodily parts of the Lord will gradually diminish the demoniac challenge of godlessness and bring about gradual development of devotional service to the Lord. Everything being a part and parcel of the Complete Whole, the neophyte student will gradually realize the hymns of Īśopaniṣad which state that the Supreme Lord is everywhere, and thus he will learn the art of not committing any offense to the body of the Lord. This sense of God-mindedness will diminish one's pride in challenging the existence of God. Thus one can learn to show respect to everything, for all things are parts and parcels of the supreme body.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.37
brahmānanaḿ kṣatra-bhujo mahātmā
viḍ ūrur ańghri-śrita-kṛṣṇa-varṇaḥ
nānābhidhābhījya-gaṇopapanno
dravyātmakaḥ karma vitāna-yogaḥ
SYNONYMS
brahma — the brāhmaṇas; ānanam — the face; kṣatra — the kṣatriyas; bhujaḥ — the arms; mahātmā — the virāṭ-puruṣa; viṭ — the vaiśyas; ūruḥ — the thighs; ańghri-śrita — under the protection of His feet; kṛṣṇa-varṇaḥ — the śūdras; nānā — various; abhidhā — by names; abhījya-gaṇa — the demigods; upapannaḥ — being overtaken; dravya-ātmakaḥ — with feasible goods; karma — activities; vitāna-yogaḥ — performances of sacrifice.
TRANSLATION
The virāṭ-puruṣa's face is the brāhmaṇas, His arms are the kṣatriyas, His thighs are the vaiśyas, and the śūdras are under the protection of His feet. All the worshipable demigods are also overtaken by Him, and it is the duty of everyone to perform sacrifices with feasible goods to appease the Lord.
PURPORT
Monotheism is practically suggested here. Offering sacrifices to many demigods under different names is mentioned in the Vedic literatures, but the suggestion made in this verse is that all those varieties of demigods are included in the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they are only the parts and parcels of the original whole. Similarly, the divisions of the orders of human society, namely the brāhmaṇas (the intelligent class), the kṣatriyas (the administrators), the vaiśyas (the mercantile community) and the śūdras (the laborer class), are all included in the body of the Supreme. As such, sacrifice by every one of them in terms of pleasing the Supreme by feasible goods is recommended. Generally, the sacrifice is offered with clarified butter and grains, but with the progress of time, human society has produced varieties of goods by transforming materials supplied by God's material nature. Human society, therefore, must learn to offer sacrifices not only with clarified butter, but also with other manufactured goods in the propagation of the Lord's glory, and that will bring about perfection in human society. The intelligent class of men, or brāhmaṇas, may give direction for such sacrifices in consultation with the previous ācāryas; the administrators may give all facilities to perform such sacrifices; the vaiśya class or mercantile community, who produce such goods, may offer them for sacrifice; and the śūdra class may offer their manual labor for the successful termination of such sacrifice. Thus by the cooperation of all classes of human beings, the sacrifice recommended in this age, namely the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, may be executed for the common welfare of all the people of the world.
viḍ ūrur ańghri-śrita-kṛṣṇa-varṇaḥ
nānābhidhābhījya-gaṇopapanno
dravyātmakaḥ karma vitāna-yogaḥ
SYNONYMS
brahma — the brāhmaṇas; ānanam — the face; kṣatra — the kṣatriyas; bhujaḥ — the arms; mahātmā — the virāṭ-puruṣa; viṭ — the vaiśyas; ūruḥ — the thighs; ańghri-śrita — under the protection of His feet; kṛṣṇa-varṇaḥ — the śūdras; nānā — various; abhidhā — by names; abhījya-gaṇa — the demigods; upapannaḥ — being overtaken; dravya-ātmakaḥ — with feasible goods; karma — activities; vitāna-yogaḥ — performances of sacrifice.
TRANSLATION
The virāṭ-puruṣa's face is the brāhmaṇas, His arms are the kṣatriyas, His thighs are the vaiśyas, and the śūdras are under the protection of His feet. All the worshipable demigods are also overtaken by Him, and it is the duty of everyone to perform sacrifices with feasible goods to appease the Lord.
PURPORT
Monotheism is practically suggested here. Offering sacrifices to many demigods under different names is mentioned in the Vedic literatures, but the suggestion made in this verse is that all those varieties of demigods are included in the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they are only the parts and parcels of the original whole. Similarly, the divisions of the orders of human society, namely the brāhmaṇas (the intelligent class), the kṣatriyas (the administrators), the vaiśyas (the mercantile community) and the śūdras (the laborer class), are all included in the body of the Supreme. As such, sacrifice by every one of them in terms of pleasing the Supreme by feasible goods is recommended. Generally, the sacrifice is offered with clarified butter and grains, but with the progress of time, human society has produced varieties of goods by transforming materials supplied by God's material nature. Human society, therefore, must learn to offer sacrifices not only with clarified butter, but also with other manufactured goods in the propagation of the Lord's glory, and that will bring about perfection in human society. The intelligent class of men, or brāhmaṇas, may give direction for such sacrifices in consultation with the previous ācāryas; the administrators may give all facilities to perform such sacrifices; the vaiśya class or mercantile community, who produce such goods, may offer them for sacrifice; and the śūdra class may offer their manual labor for the successful termination of such sacrifice. Thus by the cooperation of all classes of human beings, the sacrifice recommended in this age, namely the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, may be executed for the common welfare of all the people of the world.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.36
vayāḿsi tad-vyākaraṇaḿ vicitraḿ
manur manīṣā manujo nivāsaḥ
gandharva-vidyādhara-cāraṇāpsaraḥ
svara-smṛtīr asurānīka-vīryaḥ
SYNONYMS
vayāḿsi — varieties of birds; tat-vyākaraṇam — vocables; vicitram — artistic; manuḥ — the father of mankind; manīṣā — thoughts; manujaḥ — mankind (the sons of Manu); nivāsaḥ — residence; gandharva — the human beings named Gandharvas; vidyādhara — the Vidyādharas; cāraṇa — the Cāraṇas; apsaraḥ — the angels; svara — musical rhythm; smṛtīḥ — remembrance; asura-anīka — the demoniac soldiers; vīryaḥ — prowess.
TRANSLATION
Varieties of birds are indications of His masterful artistic sense. Manu, the father of mankind, is the emblem of His standard intelligence, and humanity is His residence. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas and angels, all represent His musical rhythm, and the demoniac soldiers are representations of His wonderful prowess.
PURPORT
The aesthetic sense of the Lord is manifested in the artistic, colorful creation of varieties of birds like the peacock, parrot and cuckoo. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas and Vidyādharas, can sing wonderfully and can entice even the minds of the heavenly demigods. Their musical rhythm represents the musical sense of the Lord. How then can He be impersonal? His musical taste, artistic sense and standard intelligence, which is never fallible, are different signs of His supreme personality. The Manu-saḿhitā is the standard lawbook for humanity, and every human being is advised to follow this great book of social knowledge. Human society is the residential quarters for the Lord. This means that the human being is meant for God realization and association with God. This life is a chance for the conditioned soul to regain his eternal God consciousness and thus fulfill the mission of life. Mahārāja Prahlāda is the right type of representative of the Lord in the family of asuras. None of the living beings is away from the Lord's gigantic body. Each and every one has a particular duty in relation to the supreme body. Disruption in the matter of discharging the specific duty assigned to each and every living being is the cause of disharmony between one living being and another, but when the relation is reestablished in relation with the Supreme Lord, there is complete unity between all living beings, even up to the limit of the wild animals and human society. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed this living unity in the jungle of Madhya Pradesh, where even the tigers, elephants and many other ferocious animals perfectly cooperated in glorifying the Supreme Lord. That is the way to peace and amity all over the world.
manur manīṣā manujo nivāsaḥ
gandharva-vidyādhara-cāraṇāpsaraḥ
svara-smṛtīr asurānīka-vīryaḥ
SYNONYMS
vayāḿsi — varieties of birds; tat-vyākaraṇam — vocables; vicitram — artistic; manuḥ — the father of mankind; manīṣā — thoughts; manujaḥ — mankind (the sons of Manu); nivāsaḥ — residence; gandharva — the human beings named Gandharvas; vidyādhara — the Vidyādharas; cāraṇa — the Cāraṇas; apsaraḥ — the angels; svara — musical rhythm; smṛtīḥ — remembrance; asura-anīka — the demoniac soldiers; vīryaḥ — prowess.
TRANSLATION
Varieties of birds are indications of His masterful artistic sense. Manu, the father of mankind, is the emblem of His standard intelligence, and humanity is His residence. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas and angels, all represent His musical rhythm, and the demoniac soldiers are representations of His wonderful prowess.
PURPORT
The aesthetic sense of the Lord is manifested in the artistic, colorful creation of varieties of birds like the peacock, parrot and cuckoo. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas and Vidyādharas, can sing wonderfully and can entice even the minds of the heavenly demigods. Their musical rhythm represents the musical sense of the Lord. How then can He be impersonal? His musical taste, artistic sense and standard intelligence, which is never fallible, are different signs of His supreme personality. The Manu-saḿhitā is the standard lawbook for humanity, and every human being is advised to follow this great book of social knowledge. Human society is the residential quarters for the Lord. This means that the human being is meant for God realization and association with God. This life is a chance for the conditioned soul to regain his eternal God consciousness and thus fulfill the mission of life. Mahārāja Prahlāda is the right type of representative of the Lord in the family of asuras. None of the living beings is away from the Lord's gigantic body. Each and every one has a particular duty in relation to the supreme body. Disruption in the matter of discharging the specific duty assigned to each and every living being is the cause of disharmony between one living being and another, but when the relation is reestablished in relation with the Supreme Lord, there is complete unity between all living beings, even up to the limit of the wild animals and human society. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed this living unity in the jungle of Madhya Pradesh, where even the tigers, elephants and many other ferocious animals perfectly cooperated in glorifying the Supreme Lord. That is the way to peace and amity all over the world.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.35
vijñāna-śaktiḿ mahim āmananti
sarvātmano 'ntaḥ-karaṇaḿ giritram
aśvāśvatary-uṣṭra-gajā nakhāni
sarve mṛgāḥ paśavaḥ śroṇi-deśe
SYNONYMS
vijñāna-śaktim — consciousness; mahim — the principle of matter; āmananti — they call it so; sarva-ātmanaḥ — of the omnipresent; antaḥ-karaṇam — ego; giritram — Rudra (Śiva); aśva — horse; aśvatari — mule; uṣṭra — camel; gajāḥ — elephant; nakhāni — nails; sarve — all other; mṛgāḥ — stags; paśavaḥ — quadrupeds; śroṇi-deśe — on the region of the belt.
TRANSLATION
The principle of matter [mahat-tattva] is the consciousness of the omnipresent Lord, as asserted by the experts, and Rudradeva is His ego. The horse, mule, camel and elephant are His nails, and wild animals and all quadrupeds are situated in the belt zone of the Lord.
sarvātmano 'ntaḥ-karaṇaḿ giritram
aśvāśvatary-uṣṭra-gajā nakhāni
sarve mṛgāḥ paśavaḥ śroṇi-deśe
SYNONYMS
vijñāna-śaktim — consciousness; mahim — the principle of matter; āmananti — they call it so; sarva-ātmanaḥ — of the omnipresent; antaḥ-karaṇam — ego; giritram — Rudra (Śiva); aśva — horse; aśvatari — mule; uṣṭra — camel; gajāḥ — elephant; nakhāni — nails; sarve — all other; mṛgāḥ — stags; paśavaḥ — quadrupeds; śroṇi-deśe — on the region of the belt.
TRANSLATION
The principle of matter [mahat-tattva] is the consciousness of the omnipresent Lord, as asserted by the experts, and Rudradeva is His ego. The horse, mule, camel and elephant are His nails, and wild animals and all quadrupeds are situated in the belt zone of the Lord.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.34
īśasya keśān vidur ambuvāhān
vāsas tu sandhyāḿ kuru-varya bhūmnaḥ
avyaktam āhur hṛdayaḿ manaś ca
sa candramāḥ sarva-vikāra-kośaḥ
SYNONYMS
īśasya — of the supreme controller; keśān — hairs on the head; viduḥ — you may know it from me; ambu-vāhān — the clouds which carry water; vāsaḥ tu — the dress; sandhyām — termination of day and night; kuru-varya — O best of the Kurus; bhūmnaḥ — of the Almighty; avyaktam — the prime cause of material creation; āhuḥ — it is said; hṛdayam — intelligence; manaḥ ca — and the mind; saḥ — He; candramāḥ — the moon; sarva-vikāra-kośaḥ — the reservoir of all changes.
TRANSLATION
O best amongst the Kurus, the clouds which carry water are the hairs on His head, the terminations of days or nights are His dress, and the supreme cause of material creation is His intelligence. His mind is the moon, the reservoir of all changes.
vāsas tu sandhyāḿ kuru-varya bhūmnaḥ
avyaktam āhur hṛdayaḿ manaś ca
sa candramāḥ sarva-vikāra-kośaḥ
SYNONYMS
īśasya — of the supreme controller; keśān — hairs on the head; viduḥ — you may know it from me; ambu-vāhān — the clouds which carry water; vāsaḥ tu — the dress; sandhyām — termination of day and night; kuru-varya — O best of the Kurus; bhūmnaḥ — of the Almighty; avyaktam — the prime cause of material creation; āhuḥ — it is said; hṛdayam — intelligence; manaḥ ca — and the mind; saḥ — He; candramāḥ — the moon; sarva-vikāra-kośaḥ — the reservoir of all changes.
TRANSLATION
O best amongst the Kurus, the clouds which carry water are the hairs on His head, the terminations of days or nights are His dress, and the supreme cause of material creation is His intelligence. His mind is the moon, the reservoir of all changes.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.33
nadyo 'sya nāḍyo 'tha tanū-ruhāṇi
mahī-ruhā viśva-tanor nṛpendra
ananta-vīryaḥ śvasitaḿ mātariśvā
gatir vayaḥ karma guṇa-pravāhaḥ
SYNONYMS
nadyaḥ — the rivers; asya — of Him; nāḍyaḥ — veins; atha — and thereafter; tanū-ruhāṇi — hairs on the body; mahī-ruhāḥ — the plants and trees; viśva-tanoḥ — of the universal form; nṛpa-indra — O King; ananta-vīryaḥ — of the omnipotent; śvasitam — breathing; mātariśvā — air; gatiḥ — movement; vayaḥ — passing ages; karma — activity; guṇa-pravāhaḥ — reactions of the modes of nature.
TRANSLATION
O King, the rivers are the veins of the gigantic body, the trees are the hairs of His body, and the omnipotent air is His breath. The passing ages are His movements, and His activities are the reactions of the three modes of material nature.
PURPORT
The Personality of Godhead is not a dead stone, nor is He inactive, as is poorly thought by some schools. He moves with the progress of time, and therefore lie knows all about the past and future, along with His present activities. There is nothing unknown to Him. The conditioned souls are driven by the reactions of the modes of material nature, which are the activities of the Lord. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.12), the modes of nature act under His direction only, and as such no natural functions are blind or automatic. The power behind the activities is the supervision of the Lord, and thus the Lord is never inactive as is wrongly conceived. The Vedas say that the Supreme Lord has nothing to do personally, as is always the case with superiors, but everything is done by His direction. As it is said, not a blade of grass moves without His sanction. In the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.48), it is said that all the universes and the heads of them (the Brahmās) exist only for the duration of His breathing period. The same is confirmed here. The air on which the universes and the planets within the universes exist is nothing but a bit of the breath of the unchallengeable virāṭ-puruṣa. 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.
mahī-ruhā viśva-tanor nṛpendra
ananta-vīryaḥ śvasitaḿ mātariśvā
gatir vayaḥ karma guṇa-pravāhaḥ
SYNONYMS
nadyaḥ — the rivers; asya — of Him; nāḍyaḥ — veins; atha — and thereafter; tanū-ruhāṇi — hairs on the body; mahī-ruhāḥ — the plants and trees; viśva-tanoḥ — of the universal form; nṛpa-indra — O King; ananta-vīryaḥ — of the omnipotent; śvasitam — breathing; mātariśvā — air; gatiḥ — movement; vayaḥ — passing ages; karma — activity; guṇa-pravāhaḥ — reactions of the modes of nature.
TRANSLATION
O King, the rivers are the veins of the gigantic body, the trees are the hairs of His body, and the omnipotent air is His breath. The passing ages are His movements, and His activities are the reactions of the three modes of material nature.
PURPORT
The Personality of Godhead is not a dead stone, nor is He inactive, as is poorly thought by some schools. He moves with the progress of time, and therefore lie knows all about the past and future, along with His present activities. There is nothing unknown to Him. The conditioned souls are driven by the reactions of the modes of material nature, which are the activities of the Lord. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.12), the modes of nature act under His direction only, and as such no natural functions are blind or automatic. The power behind the activities is the supervision of the Lord, and thus the Lord is never inactive as is wrongly conceived. The Vedas say that the Supreme Lord has nothing to do personally, as is always the case with superiors, but everything is done by His direction. As it is said, not a blade of grass moves without His sanction. In the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.48), it is said that all the universes and the heads of them (the Brahmās) exist only for the duration of His breathing period. The same is confirmed here. The air on which the universes and the planets within the universes exist is nothing but a bit of the breath of the unchallengeable virāṭ-puruṣa. 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.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.32
vrīḍottarauṣṭho 'dhara eva lobho
dharmaḥ stano 'dharma-patho 'sya pṛṣṭham
kas tasya meḍhraḿ vṛṣaṇau ca mitrau
kukṣiḥ samudrā girayo 'sthi-sańghāḥ
SYNONYMS
vrīḍa — modesty; uttara — upper; oṣṭhaḥ — lip; adharaḥ — chin; eva — certainly; lobhaḥ — hankering; dharmaḥ — religion; stanaḥ — breast; adharma — irreligion; pathaḥ — way; asya — His; pṛṣṭham — back; kaḥ — Brahmā; tasya — His; meḍhram — genitals; vṛṣaṇau — testicles; ca — also; mitrau — the Mitrā-varuṇas; kukṣiḥ — waist; samudrāḥ — the oceans; girayaḥ — the hills; asthi — bones; sańghāḥ — stack.
TRANSLATION
Modesty is the upper portion of His lips, hankering is His chin, religion is the breast of the Lord, and irreligion is His back. Brahmājī, who generates all living beings in the material world, is His genitals, and the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. The ocean is His waist, and the hills and mountains are the stacks of His bones.
PURPORT
The Supreme Lord is not impersonal, as misconceived by less intelligent thinkers. Rather, He is the Supreme person, as confirmed in all authentic Vedic literatures. But His personality is different from what we can conceive. It is stated here that Brahmājī acts as His genitals and that the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. This means that as a person He is complete with all bodily organs, but they are of different types with different potencies. When the Lord is described as impersonal, therefore, it should be understood that His personality is not exactly the type of personality found within our imperfect speculation. One can, however, worship the Lord even by seeing the hills and mountains or the ocean and the sky as different parts and parcels of the gigantic body of the Lord, the virāṭ-puruṣa. The virāṭ-rūpa, as exhibited by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna, is a challenge to the unbelievers.
dharmaḥ stano 'dharma-patho 'sya pṛṣṭham
kas tasya meḍhraḿ vṛṣaṇau ca mitrau
kukṣiḥ samudrā girayo 'sthi-sańghāḥ
SYNONYMS
vrīḍa — modesty; uttara — upper; oṣṭhaḥ — lip; adharaḥ — chin; eva — certainly; lobhaḥ — hankering; dharmaḥ — religion; stanaḥ — breast; adharma — irreligion; pathaḥ — way; asya — His; pṛṣṭham — back; kaḥ — Brahmā; tasya — His; meḍhram — genitals; vṛṣaṇau — testicles; ca — also; mitrau — the Mitrā-varuṇas; kukṣiḥ — waist; samudrāḥ — the oceans; girayaḥ — the hills; asthi — bones; sańghāḥ — stack.
TRANSLATION
Modesty is the upper portion of His lips, hankering is His chin, religion is the breast of the Lord, and irreligion is His back. Brahmājī, who generates all living beings in the material world, is His genitals, and the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. The ocean is His waist, and the hills and mountains are the stacks of His bones.
PURPORT
The Supreme Lord is not impersonal, as misconceived by less intelligent thinkers. Rather, He is the Supreme person, as confirmed in all authentic Vedic literatures. But His personality is different from what we can conceive. It is stated here that Brahmājī acts as His genitals and that the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. This means that as a person He is complete with all bodily organs, but they are of different types with different potencies. When the Lord is described as impersonal, therefore, it should be understood that His personality is not exactly the type of personality found within our imperfect speculation. One can, however, worship the Lord even by seeing the hills and mountains or the ocean and the sky as different parts and parcels of the gigantic body of the Lord, the virāṭ-puruṣa. The virāṭ-rūpa, as exhibited by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna, is a challenge to the unbelievers.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.31
chandāḿsy anantasya śiro gṛṇanti
daḿṣṭrā yamaḥ sneha-kalā dvijāni
hāso janonmāda-karī ca māyā
duranta-sargo yad-apāńga-mokṣaḥ
SYNONYMS
chandāḿsi — the Vedic hymns; anantasya — of the Supreme; śiraḥ — the cerebral passage; gṛṇanti — they say; daḿṣṭrāḥ — the jaws of teeth; yamaḥ — Yamarāja, the director of sinners; sneha-kalāḥ — the art of affection; dvijāni — the set of teeth; hāsaḥ — smile; jana-unmāda-karī — the most alluring; ca — also; māyā — illusory energy; duranta — unsurpassable; sargaḥ — the material creation; yat-apāńga — whose glance; mokṣaḥ — casting over.
TRANSLATION
They say that the Vedic hymns are the cerebral passage of the Lord, and His jaws of teeth are Yama, god of death, who punishes the sinners. The art of affection is His set of teeth, and the most alluring illusory material energy is His smile. This great ocean of material creation is but the casting of His glance over us.
PURPORT
According to Vedic assertion, this material creation is the result of the Lord's casting a glance over the material energy, which is described herein as the most alluring illusory energy. The conditioned souls who are allured by such materialism should know that the material temporary creation is simply an imitation of the reality and that those who are captivated by such alluring glances of the Lord are put under the direction of the controller of sinners called Yamarāja. The Lord smiles affectionately, displaying His teeth. The intelligent person who can grasp these truths about the Lord becomes a soul fully surrendered unto Him.
daḿṣṭrā yamaḥ sneha-kalā dvijāni
hāso janonmāda-karī ca māyā
duranta-sargo yad-apāńga-mokṣaḥ
SYNONYMS
chandāḿsi — the Vedic hymns; anantasya — of the Supreme; śiraḥ — the cerebral passage; gṛṇanti — they say; daḿṣṭrāḥ — the jaws of teeth; yamaḥ — Yamarāja, the director of sinners; sneha-kalāḥ — the art of affection; dvijāni — the set of teeth; hāsaḥ — smile; jana-unmāda-karī — the most alluring; ca — also; māyā — illusory energy; duranta — unsurpassable; sargaḥ — the material creation; yat-apāńga — whose glance; mokṣaḥ — casting over.
TRANSLATION
They say that the Vedic hymns are the cerebral passage of the Lord, and His jaws of teeth are Yama, god of death, who punishes the sinners. The art of affection is His set of teeth, and the most alluring illusory material energy is His smile. This great ocean of material creation is but the casting of His glance over us.
PURPORT
According to Vedic assertion, this material creation is the result of the Lord's casting a glance over the material energy, which is described herein as the most alluring illusory energy. The conditioned souls who are allured by such materialism should know that the material temporary creation is simply an imitation of the reality and that those who are captivated by such alluring glances of the Lord are put under the direction of the controller of sinners called Yamarāja. The Lord smiles affectionately, displaying His teeth. The intelligent person who can grasp these truths about the Lord becomes a soul fully surrendered unto Him.
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