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.