Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Three

Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender

SB8.3Summary

In this chapter, the prayers by Gajendra, the King of the elephants, are described. It appears that the King of the elephants was formerly a human being known as Indradyumna and that he learned a prayer to the Supreme Lord. Fortunately he remembered that prayer and began to chant it to himself. First he offered his respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because of his awkward position in having been attacked by the crocodile, he expressed his inability to recite prayers nicely. Nonetheless, he tried to chant the mantra and expressed himself in appropriate words as follows.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, the original person from whom everything has emanated. He is the root cause of this cosmic manifestation, and the entire cosmos rests in Him, yet He is transcendental, for He does everything in relation to the material world through His external energy. He is eternally situated in the spiritual world—in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrndavana—where He engages in His eternal pastimes. The material world is a product of His external energy, or material nature, which works under His direction. It is thus that creation, maintenance and annihilation take place. The Lord exists at all times. This is extremely difficult for a nondevotee to understand. Although the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead is perceivable by everyone, only the pure devotees perceive His presence and activities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely free from material birth, death, old age and disease. Indeed, if anyone in this material world takes shelter of Him, he also becomes situated in that transcendental position. For the satisfaction of the devotee (paritranaya sadhunam), the Lord appears and exhibits His activities. His appearance, disappearance and other pastimes are not at all material. One who knows this secret can enter the kingdom of God. In the Lord, all opposing elements are adjusted. The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. He is the controller of everything, He is the witness of all activities, and He is the original source of all living entities. Indeed, all living entities are parts of Him, for He is the origin of Maha-Visnu, who is the source of the living entities within this material world. The Lord can observe the activities of our senses, which can work and achieve material results because of His mercy. Although He is the original source of everything, He is untouched by any of His by-products. In this way He is like a gold mine, which is the source of gold in ornaments and yet is different from the ornaments themselves. The Lord is worshiped by the method prescribed in the Pancaratras. He is the source of our knowledge, and He can give us liberation. Therefore it is our duty to understand Him according to the instructions of devotees, in particular the spiritual master. Although for us the mode of goodness is covered, by following the instructions of saintly persons and the spiritual master we can be freed from material clutches.

“The self-effulgent material form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is adored by nondevotees, His impersonal form is adored by those advanced in spiritual knowledge, and His feature as the localized Supersoul is appreciated by yogis. But His original form as a person is understood only by devotees. That Supreme Personality of Godhead is competent to dissipate the darkness of the conditioned soul through His instructions in Bhagavad-gita. He is the ocean of transcendental qualities and can be understood only by liberated persons freed from the bodily concept of life. By His causeless mercy, the Lord can rescue the conditioned soul from the material clutches and enable him to return home, back to Godhead, to become His personal associate. Nonetheless, a pure devotee does not aspire to go back to Godhead; he is simply satisfied with executing his service in this material world. A pure devotee does not ask anything from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His only prayer is to be freed from the material conception of life and to be engaged in the Lord’s transcendental loving service.”

In this way the King of the elephants, Gajendra, offered prayers directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without mistaking Him for one of the demigods. None of the demigods came to see him, not even Brahma or Siva. Rather, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, seated on Garuda, personally appeared before him. Gajendra, by lifting his trunk, offered obeisances to the Lord, and the Lord immediately pulled him from the water along with the crocodile who had captured his leg. Then the Lord killed the crocodile and thus rescued Gajendra.

SB8.3.1

TEXT 1

sri-badarayanir uvaca

evam vyavasito buddhya

samadhaya mano hrdi

jajapa paramam japyam

prag-janmany anusiksitam

SYNONYMS

sri-badarayanih uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; evam—thus; vyavasitah—fixed; buddhya—by intelligence; samadhaya—for concentration; manah—the mind; hrdi—in consciousness or in the heart; jajapa—he chanted; paramam—a supreme; japyammantra he had learned from great devotees; prak-janmani—in his previous birth; anusiksitam—practiced.

TRANSLATION

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Krsna.

PURPORT

Such remembrance is described in Bhagavad-gita (6.43–44):

tatra tam buddhi-samyogam
labhate paurva-dehikam
yatate ca tato bhuyah
samsiddhau kuru-nandana

purvabhyasena tenaiva
hriyate hy avaso ’pi sah

In these verses it is assured that even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained later, Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants. Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life. Yatate ca tato bhuyah samsiddhau kuru-nandana. To enable one to achieve perfection, Krsna gives one the chance to remember Him again. This is proved here, for although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It is imperative, therefore, that all devotees in Krsna consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly one should chant the Hare Krsna mantra, which is the maha-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintamani-prakara-sadmasu or the Nrsimha strotra (ito nrsimhah parato nrsimho yato yato yami tato nrsimhah). Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Krsna consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. Of course, a devotee should try to perfect his Krsna consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Krsna and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. Even if there is some falldown, practice of Krsna consciousness never goes in vain. For example, Ajamila, in his boyhood, practiced chanting the name of Narayana under the direction of his father, but later, in his youth, he fell down and became a drunkard, woman-hunter, rogue and thief. Nonetheless, because of chanting the name of Narayana for the purpose of calling his son, whom he had named Narayana, he became advanced, even though he was involved in sinful activities. Therefore, we should not forget the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra.

SB8.3.2

TEXT 2

sri-gajendra uvaca

om namo bhagavate tasmai

yata etac cid-atmakam

purusayadi-bijaya

paresayabhidhimahi

SYNONYMS

sri-gajendrah uvaca—Gajendra, the King of elephants, said; om—O my Lord; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tasmai—unto Him; yatah—from whom; etat—this body and the material manifestation; cit-atmakam—is moving due to consciousness (the spirit soul); purusaya—unto the Supreme Person; adi-bijaya—who is the origin or root cause of everything; para-isaya—who is supreme, transcendental and worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahma and Siva; abhidhimahi—let me meditate upon Him.

TRANSLATION

The King of the elephants, Gajendra, said: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person, Vasudeva [om namo bhagavate vasudevaya]. Because of Him this material body acts due to the presence of spirit, and He is therefore the root cause of everyone. He is worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahma and Siva, and He has entered the heart of every living being. Let me meditate upon Him.

PURPORT

In this verse the words etac cid-atmakam are very important. The material body certainly consists only of material elements, but when one awakens to Krsna conscious understanding, the body is no longer material but spiritual. The material body is meant for sense enjoyment, whereas the spiritual body engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Therefore, a devotee who engages in the service of the Supreme Lord and who constantly thinks of Him should never be considered to have a material body. It is therefore enjoined, gurusu nara-matih: one should stop thinking of the spiritual master as an ordinary human being with a material body. Arcye visnau sila-dhih: everyone knows that the Deity in the temple is made of stone, but to think that the Deity is merely stone is an offense. Similarly, to think that the body of the spiritual master consists of material ingredients is offensive. Atheists think that devotees foolishly worship a stone statue as God and an ordinary man as the guru. The fact is, however, that by the grace of Krsna’s omnipotence, the so-called stone statue of the Deity is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the body of the spiritual master is directly spiritual. A pure devotee who is engaged in unalloyed devotional service should be understood to be situated on the transcendental platform (sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]). Let us therefore offer our obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose mercy so-called material things also become spiritual when they are engaged in spiritual activity.

Omkara (pranava) is the symbolic sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Om tat sad iti nirdeso brahmanas tri-vidhah smrtah: the three words om tat sat immediately invoke the Supreme Person. Therefore Krsna says that He is omkara in all the Vedic mantras (pranavah sarva-vedesu). The Vedic mantras are pronounced beginning with omkara to indicate immediately the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam, for example, begins with the words om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. There is no difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, and omkara (pranava). We should be careful to understand that omkara does not indicate anything nirakara, or formless. Indeed, this verse immediately says, om namo bhagavate. Bhagavan is a person. Thus omkara is the representation of the Supreme Person. Omkara is not meant to be impersonal, as the Mayavadi philosophers consider it to be. This is distinctly expressed here by the word purusaya. The supreme truth addressed by omkara is purusa, the Supreme Person; He is not impersonal. Unless He is a person, how can He control the great, stalwart controllers of this universe? Lord Visnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are the supreme controllers of this universe, but Lord Visnu is offered obeisances even by Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Therefore this verse uses the word paresaya, which indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by exalted demigods. Paresaya means paramesvara. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are isvaras, great controllers, but Lord Visnu is paramesvara, the supreme controller.

SB8.3.3

TEXT 3

yasminn idam yatas cedam

yenedam ya idam svayam

yo ’smat parasmac ca paras

tam prapadye svayambhuvam

SYNONYMS

yasmin—the basic platform on which; idam—the universe rests; yatah—the ingredients from which; ca—and; idam—the cosmic manifestation is produced; yena—by whom; idam—this cosmic manifestation is created and maintained; yah—He who; idam—this material world; svayam—is Himself; yah—He who; asmat—from the effect (this material world); parasmat—from the cause; ca—and; parah—transcendental or different; tam—unto Him; prapadye—I surrender; svayambhuvam—unto the supreme self-sufficient.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Godhead is the supreme platform on which everything rests, the ingredient by which everything has been produced, and the person who has created and is the only cause of this cosmic manifestation. Nonetheless, He is different from the cause and the result. I surrender unto Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is self-sufficient in everything.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita (9.4) the Lord says, maya tatam idam sarvam jagad avyakta-murtina: “I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but everything rests upon My energy, just as an earthen pot rests on the earth.” The place where an earthen pot rests is also earth. Then again, the earthen pot is manufactured by a potter, whose body is a product of earth. The potter’s wheel with which the pot is made is an expansion of earth, and the ingredients from which the pot are made are also earth. As confirmed in the sruti-mantra, yato va imani bhutani jayante. yena jatani jivanti yat prayanty abhisamvisanti. The original cause of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and after being annihilated, everything enters into Him (prakrtim yanti mamikam). Thus the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead—Lord Ramacandra or Lord Krsna—is the original cause of everything.

isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam

“Krsna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.” (Brahma-samhita 5.1) The Lord is the cause for everything, but there is no cause for Him. Sarvam khalv idam brahma. Mat-sthani sarva-bhutani na caham tesv avasthitah. Although He is everything, His personality is different from the cosmic manifestation.

SB8.3.4

TEXT 4

yah svatmanidam nija-mayayarpitam

kvacid vibhatam kva ca tat tirohitam

aviddha-drk saksy ubhayam tad iksate

sa atma-mulo ’vatu mam parat-parah

SYNONYMS

yah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead who; sva-atmani—in Him; idam—this cosmic manifestation; nija-mayaya—by His own potency; arpitam—invested; kvacit—sometimes, at the beginning of a kalpa; vibhatam—it is manifested; kva ca—sometimes, during dissolution; tat—that (manifestation); tirohitam—not visible; aviddha-drk—He sees everything (in all these circumstances); saksi—the witness; ubhayam—both (manifestation and annihilation); tat iksate—sees everything, without loss of sight; sah—that Supreme Personality of Godhead; atma-mulah—self-sufficient, having no other cause; avatu—please give protection; mam—unto me; parat-parah—He is transcendental to transcendental, or above all transcendence.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His own energy, keeps this cosmic manifestation visible and again sometimes renders it invisible. He is both the supreme cause and the supreme result, the observer and the witness, in all circumstances. Thus He is transcendental to everything. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has multipotencies (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate). Therefore, as soon as He likes, He uses one of His potencies, and by that expansion He creates this cosmic manifestation. Again, when the cosmic manifestation is annihilated, it rests in Him. Nonetheless, He is infallibly the supreme observer. Under any circumstances, the Supreme Lord is changeless. He is simply a witness and is aloof from all creation and annihilation.

SB8.3.5

TEXT 5

kalena pancatvam itesu krtsnaso

lokesu palesu ca sarva-hetusu

tamas tadasid gahanam gabhiram

yas tasya pare ’bhivirajate vibhuh

SYNONYMS

kalena—in due course of time (after millions and millions of years); pancatvam—when everything illusory is annihilated; itesu—all transformations; krtsnasah—with everything within this cosmic manifestation; lokesu—all the planets, or everything that exists; palesu—maintainers like Lord Brahma; ca—also; sarva-hetusu—all causative existences; tamah—great darkness; tada—then; asit—was; gahanam—very dense; gabhiram—very deep; yah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead who; tasya—this dark situation; pare—over and above; abhivirajate—exists or shines; vibhuh—the Supreme.

TRANSLATION

In due course of time, when all the causative and effective manifestations of the universe, including the planets and their directors and maintainers, are annihilated, there is a situation of dense darkness. Above this darkness, however, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I take shelter of His lotus feet.

PURPORT

From the Vedic mantras we understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is above everything. He is supreme, above all the demigods, including Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. He is the supreme controller. When everything disappears by the influence of His energy, the cosmic situation is one of dense darkness. The Supreme Lord, however, is the sunshine, as confirmed in the Vedic mantras: aditya-varnam tamasah parastat. In our daily experience, when we on earth are in the darkness of night, the sun is always luminous somewhere in the sky. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme sun, always remains luminous, even when the entire cosmic manifestation is annihilated in due course of time.

SB8.3.6

TEXT 6

na yasya deva rsayah padam vidur

jantuh punah ko ’rhati gantum iritum

yatha natasyakrtibhir vicestato

duratyayanukramanah sa mavatu

SYNONYMS

na—neither; yasya—He of whom; devah—the demigods; rsayah—great sages; padam—position; viduh—can understand; jantuh—unintelligent living beings like animals; punah—again; kah—who; arhati—is able; gantum—to enter into the knowledge; iritum—or to express by words; yatha—as; natasya—of the artist; akrtibhih—by bodily features; vicestatah—dancing in different ways; duratyaya—very difficult; anukramanah—His movements; sah—that Supreme Personality of Godhead; ma—unto me; avatu—may give His protection.

TRANSLATION

An artist onstage, being covered by attractive dresses and dancing with different movements, is not understood by his audience; similarly, the activities and features of the supreme artist cannot be understood even by the demigods or great sages, and certainly not by those who are unintelligent like animals. Neither the demigods and sages nor the unintelligent can understand the features of the Lord, nor can they express in words His actual position. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection.

PURPORT

A similar understanding was expressed by Kuntidevi. The Supreme Lord exists everywhere, within and without. He even exists within the heart. Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto [Bg. 15.15]. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Thus it is indicated that one can find the Supreme Lord within one’s heart. There are many, many yogis trying to find Him. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. Nonetheless, even great yogis, demigods, saints and sages have been unable to understand the bodily features of that great artist, nor could they understand the meaning of His movements. What then is to be said of ordinary speculators like the so-called philosophers of this material world? For them He is impossible to understand. Therefore we must accept the statements given by the Supreme when He kindly incarnates to instruct us. We must simply accept the word of Lord Ramacandra, Lord Krsna and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and follow in Their footsteps. Then it may be possible for us to know the purpose of Their incarnations.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

(Bg. 4.9)

If by the Lord’s grace one can understand Him, one will immediately be delivered, even within his material body. The material body will no longer have any function, and whatever activities take place with the body will be activities of Krsna consciousness. In this way one may give up his body and return home, back to Godhead.

SB8.3.7

TEXT 7

didrksavo yasya padam sumangalam

vimukta-sanga munayah susadhavah

caranty aloka-vratam avranam vane

bhutatma-bhutah suhrdah sa me gatih

SYNONYMS

didrksavah—those who desire to see (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); yasya—of Him; padam—the lotus feet; su-mangalam—all-auspicious; vimukta-sangah—persons who are completely disinfected of material conditions; munayah—great sages; su-sadhavah—those who are highly elevated in spiritual consciousness; caranti—practice; aloka-vratam—vows of brahmacarya, vanaprastha or sannyasa; avranam—without any fault; vane—in the forest; bhuta-atma-bhutah—those who are equal to all living entities; suhrdah—those who are friends to everyone; sah—that same Supreme Personality of Godhead; me—my; gatih—destination.

TRANSLATION

Renunciants and great sages who see all living beings equally, who are friendly to everyone and who flawlessly practice in the forest the vows of brahmacarya, vanaprastha and sannyasa desire to see the all-auspicious lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. May that same Supreme Personality of Godhead be my destination.

PURPORT

This verse describes the qualifications for devotees or persons highly elevated in spiritual consciousness. Devotees are always equal to everyone, seeing no distinction between lower and higher classes. panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]. They look upon everyone as a spirit soul who is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Thus they are competent to search for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Understanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the friend of everyone (suhrdam sarva-bhutanam), they act as friends of everyone on behalf of the Supreme Lord. Making no distinction between one nation and another or one community and another, they preach Krsna consciousness, the teachings of Bhagavad-gita, everywhere. Thus they are competent to see the lotus feet of the Lord. Such preachers in Krsna consciousness are called paramahamsas. As indicated by the word vimukta-sanga, they have nothing to do with material conditions. One must take shelter of such a devotee in order to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB8.3.8-9

TEXTS 8–9

na vidyate yasya ca janma karma va

na nama-rupe guna-dosa eva va

tathapi lokapyaya-sambhavaya yah

sva-mayaya tany anukalam rcchati

tasmai namah paresaya

brahmane ’nanta-saktaye

arupayoru-rupaya

nama ascarya-karmane

SYNONYMS

na—not; vidyate—there is; yasya—of whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); ca—also; janma—birth; karma—activities; va—or; na—nor; nama-rupe—any material name or material form; guna—qualities; dosah—fault; eva—certainly; va—either; tathapi—still; loka—of this cosmic manifestation; apyaya—who is the destruction; sambhavaya—and creation; yah—He who; sva-mayaya—by His own potency; tani—activities; anukalam—eternally; rcchati—accepts; tasmai—unto Him; namah—I offer my obeisances; para—transcendental; isaya—who is the supreme controller; brahmane—who is the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman); ananta-saktaye—with unlimited potency; arupaya—possessing no material form; uru-rupaya—possessing various forms as incarnations; namah—I offer my obeisances; ascarya-karmane—whose activities are wonderful.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material birth, activities, name, form, qualities or faults. To fulfill the purpose for which this material world is created and destroyed, He comes in the form of a human being like Lord Rama or Lord Krsna by His original internal potency. He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him.

PURPORT

In the Visnu Purana it is said, gunams ca dosams ca mune vyatita samasta-kalyana-gunatmako hi. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material form, qualities or faults. He is spiritual and is the only reservoir of all spiritual qualities. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.8) by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. The Lord’s activities of saving the devotees and annihilating the demons are transcendental. Anyone annihilated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead gets the same result as a devotee who is protected by the Lord; both of them are transcendentally promoted. The only difference is that a devotee goes directly to the spiritual planets and becomes an associate of the Supreme Lord, whereas demons are promoted to brahmaloka, the impersonal effulgence of the Lord. Both of them, however, are transcendentally promoted. The Lord’s killing or annihilating of the demons is not exactly like the killing of this material world. Although He appears to act within the modes of material nature, He is nirguna, above the modes of nature. His name is not material; otherwise how could one get liberation by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Rama? The names of the Lord like Rama and Krsna are nondifferent from the person Rama and Krsna. Thus by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra one constantly associates with Rama and Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore becomes liberated. A practical example is Ajamila, who always remained transcendental to his activities simply by chanting the name Narayana. If this was true of Ajamila, what is to be said of the Supreme Lord? When the Lord comes to this material world, He does not become a product of matter. This is confirmed throughout Bhagavad-gita (janma-karma ca me divyam, avajananti mam mudhah manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 4.9]). Therefore, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead—Rama or Krsna—descends to act transcendentally for our benefit, we should not consider Him an ordinary human being. When the Lord comes, He does so on the basis of His spiritual potency (sambhavamy atma-mayaya [Bg. 4.6]). Because He is not forced to come by the material energy, He is always transcendental. One should not consider the Supreme Lord an ordinary human being. Material names and forms are contaminated, but spiritual name and spiritual form are transcendental.

SB8.3.10

TEXT 10

nama atma-pradipaya

saksine paramatmane

namo giram viduraya

manasas cetasam api

SYNONYMS

namah—I offer my respectful obeisances; atma-pradipaya—unto He who is self-effulgent or who gives enlightenment to the living entities; saksine—who is situated in everyone’s heart as a witness; parama-atmane—unto the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances; giram—by words; viduraya—who is impossible to reach; manasah—by the mind; cetasam—or by consciousness; api—even.

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the self-effulgent Supersoul, who is the witness in everyone’s heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, cannot be understood by the individual soul through mental, physical or intellectual exercises. It is by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that the individual soul is enlightened. Therefore, the Lord is described here as atma-pradipa. The Lord is like the sun, which illuminates everything and cannot be illuminated by anyone. Therefore, if one is serious about understanding the Supreme, one must receive enlightenment from Him, as instructed in Bhagavad-gita. One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s mental, physical or intellectual powers.

SB8.3.11

TEXT 11

sattvena pratilabhyaya

naiskarmyena vipascita

namah kaivalya-nathaya

nirvana-sukha-samvide

SYNONYMS

sattvena—by pure devotional service; prati-labhyaya—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is achieved by such devotional activities; naiskarmyena—by transcendental activities; vipascita—by persons who are sufficiently learned; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances; kaivalya-nathaya—unto the master of the transcendental world; nirvana—for one completely freed from material activities; sukha—of happiness; samvide—who is the bestower.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is realized by pure devotees who act in the transcendental existence of bhakti-yoga. He is the bestower of uncontaminated happiness and is the master of the transcendental world. Therefore I offer my respect unto Him.

PURPORT

As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood only by devotional service. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. If one wants to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead in truth, one must take to the activities of devotional service. These activities are called sattva or suddha-sattva. In the material world, activities of goodness, which are symptomatic of a pure brahmana, are appreciated. But the activities of devotional service are suddha-sattva; in other words, they are on the transcendental platform. Only by devotional service can one understand the Supreme.

Devotional service is called naiskarmya. Mere negation of material activity will not endure. Naiskarmyam apy acyuta-bhava-varjitam. Unless one performs activities with reference to Krsna consciousness, cessation of material activities will not be helpful. In hopes of achieving naiskarmya, freedom from material action, many highly elevated sannyasis stopped their activities, yet they failed and returned to the material platform to act as materialistic persons. But once one is engaged in the spiritual activities of bhakti-yoga, one does not fall down. Our Krsna consciousness movement is therefore an attempt to engage everyone always in spiritual activity, by which one becomes transcendental to material actions. The spiritual activities of bhakti-marga—sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam [SB 7.5.23]—lead one to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, as stated here, sattvena pratilabhyaya naiskarmyena vipascita: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is realized by pure devotees who act in the transcendental existence of bhakti-yoga.

The Gopala-tapani Upanisad (15) says, bhaktir asya bhajanam tad ihamutropadhi-nairasyenaivamusmin manasah kalpanam etad eva ca naiskarmyam. This is a definition of naiskarmya. One acts in naiskarmya when he fully engages in Krsna conscious activities without material desires to enjoy, either here or in the upper planetary systems, in the present life or in a future life (iha-amutra). Anyabhilasita-sunyam [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11]. When one is freed from all contamination and he acts in devotional service under the direction of the spiritual master, one is on the platform of naiskarma. By such transcendental devotional service, the Lord is served. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

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