Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 2: “The Cosmic Manifestation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Nine
SB2.9.10
TEXT 10
pravartate yatra rajas tamas tayoḥ
sattvaṁ ca miśraṁ na ca kāla-vikramaḥ
na yatra māyā kim utāpare harer
anuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ
SYNONYMS
pravartate—prevail; yatra—wherein; rajaḥ tamaḥ—the modes of passion and ignorance; tayoḥ—of both of them; sattvam—the mode of goodness; ca—and; miśram—mixture; na—never; ca—and; kāla—time; vikramaḥ—influence; na—neither; yatra—therein; māyā—illusory, external energy; kim—what; uta—there is; apare—others; hareḥ—of the Personality of Godhead; anuvratāḥ—devotees; yatra—wherein; sura—by the demigods; asura—and the demons; arcitāḥ—worshiped.
TRANSLATION
In that personal abode of the Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the influence of time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that region. Without discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees.
PURPORT
The kingdom of God, or the atmosphere of the Vaikuṇṭha nature, which is called the tripād-vibhūti, is three times bigger than the material universes and is described here, as also in the Bhagavad-gītā, in a nutshell. This universe, containing billions of stars and planets, is one of the billions of such universes clustered together within the compass of the mahat-tattva. And all these millions and billions of universes combined together constitute only one fourth of the magnitude of the whole creation of the Lord. There is the spiritual sky also; beyond this sky are the spiritual planets under the names of Vaikuṇṭha, and all of them constitute three fourths of the entire creation of the Lord. God’s creations are always innumerable. Even the leaves of a tree cannot be counted by a man, nor can the hairs on his head. However, foolish men are puffed up with the idea of becoming God Himself, though unable to create a hair of their own bodies. Man may discover so many wonderful vehicles of journey, but even if he reaches the moon by his much advertised spacecraft, he cannot remain there. The sane man, therefore, without being puffed up, as if he were the God of the universe, abides by the instructions of the Vedic literature, the easiest way to acquire knowledge in transcendence. So let us know through the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of the nature and constitution of the transcendental world beyond the material sky. In that sky the material qualities, especially the modes of ignorance and passion, are completely absent. The mode of ignorance influences a living entity to the habit of lust and hankering, and this means that in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas the living entities are free from these two things. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the brahma-bhūta stage of life one becomes free from hankering and lamentation. Therefore the conclusion is that the inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are all brahma-bhūta living entities, as distinguished from the mundane creatures who are all compact in hankering and lamentation. When one is not in the modes of ignorance and passion, one is supposed to be situated in the mode of goodness in the material world. Goodness in the material world also at times becomes contaminated by touches of the modes of passion and ignorance. In the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, it is unalloyed goodness only.
The whole situation there is one of freedom from the illusory manifestation of the external energy. Although illusory energy is also part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, illusory energy is differentiated from the Lord. The illusory energy is not, however, false, as claimed by the monist philosophers. The rope accepted as a snake may be an illusion to a particular person, but the rope is a fact, and the snake is also a fact. The illusion of water on the hot desert may be illusion for the ignorant animal searching for water in the desert, but the desert and water are actual facts. Therefore the material creation of the Lord may be an illusion to the nondevotee, but to a devotee even the material creation of the Lord is a fact, as the manifestation of His external energy. But this energy of the Lord is not all. The Lord has His internal energy also, which has another creation known to be the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, where there is no ignorance, no passion, no illusion and no past and present. With a poor fund of knowledge one may be unable to understand the existence of such things as the Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere, but that does not nullify its existence. That spacecraft cannot reach these planets does not mean that there are no such planets, for they are described in the revealed scriptures.
As quoted by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, we can know from the Nārada-pañcarātra that the transcendental world or Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere is enriched with transcendental qualities. These transcendental qualities, as revealed through the devotional service of the Lord, are distinct from the mundane qualities of ignorance, passion and goodness. Such qualities are not attainable by the nondevotee class of men. In the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, it is stated that beyond the one-fourth part of God’s creation is the three-fourths manifestation. The marginal line between the material manifestation and the spiritual manifestation is the Virajā River, and beyond the Virajā, which is a transcendental current flowing from the perspiration of the body of the Lord, there is the three-fourths manifestation of God’s creation. This part is eternal, everlasting, without deterioration, and unlimited, and it contains the highest perfectional stage of living conditions. In the Sāṅkhya-kaumudī it is stated that unalloyed goodness or transcendence is just opposite to the material modes. All living entities there are eternally associated without any break, and the Lord is the chief and prime entity. In the Āgama Purāṇas also, the transcendental abode is described as follows: The associated members there are free to go everywhere within the creation of the Lord, and there is no limit to such creation, particularly in the region of the three-fourths magnitude. Since the nature of that region is unlimited, there is no history of such association, nor is there end of it.
The conclusion may be drawn that because of the complete absence of the mundane qualities of ignorance and passion, there is no question of creation nor of annihilation. In the material world everything is created, and everything is annihilated, and the duration of life between the creation and annihilation is temporary. In the transcendental realm there is no creation and no destruction, and thus the duration of life is eternal unlimitedly. In other words, everything in the transcendental world is everlasting, full of knowledge and bliss without deterioration. Since there is no deterioration, there is no past, present and future in the estimation of time. It is clearly stated in this verse that the influence of time is conspicuous by its absence. The whole material existence is manifested by actions and reactions of elements which make the influence of time prominent in the matter of past, present and future. There are no such actions and reactions of cause and effects there, so the cycle of birth, growth, existence, transformations, deterioration and annihilation—the six material changes—are not existent there. It is the unalloyed manifestation of the energy of the Lord, without illusion as experienced here in the material world. The whole Vaikuṇṭha existence proclaims that everyone there is a follower of the Lord. The Lord is the chief leader there, without any competition for leadership, and the people in general are all followers of the Lord. It is confirmed in the Vedas, therefore, that the Lord is the chief leader and all other living entities are subordinate to Him, for only the Lord satisfies all the needs of all other living entities.
SB2.9.11 TEXT 11 śyāmāvadātāḥ śata-patra-locanāḥ piśaṅga-vastrāḥ surucaḥ supeśasaḥ sarve catur-bāhava unmiṣan-maṇi- praveka-niṣkābharaṇāḥ suvarcasaḥ SYNONYMS śyāma—sky-bluish; avadātāḥ—glowing; śata-patra—lotus flower; locanāḥ—eyes; piśaṅga—yellowish; vastrāḥ—clothing; su-rucaḥ—greatly attractive; su-peśasaḥ—growing youthful; sarve—all of them; catuḥ—four; bāhavaḥ—hands; unmiṣan—rising luster; maṇi—pearls; praveka—superior quality; niṣka-ābharaṇāḥ—ornamental medallions; su-varcasaḥ—effulgent.
TRANSLATION The inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bodily features very attractive. They are just the age of growing youths, they all have four hands, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be effulgent. PURPORT The inhabitants in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are all personalities with spiritual bodily features not to be found in the material world. We can find the descriptions in the revealed scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Impersonal descriptions of transcendence in the scriptures indicate that the bodily features in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are never to be seen in any part of the universe. As there are different bodily features in different places of a particular planet, or as there are different bodily features between bodies in different planets, similarly the bodily features of the inhabitants in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are completely different from those in the material universe. For example, the four hands are distinct from the two hands in this world.
SB2.9.12 TEXT 12 pravāla-vaidūrya-mṛṇāla-varcasaḥ parisphurat-kuṇḍala-mauli-mālinaḥ SYNONYMS pravāla—coral; vaidūrya—a special diamond; mṛṇāla—celestial lotus; varcasaḥ—rays; parisphurat—blooming; kuṇḍala—earring; mauli—heads; mālinaḥ—with garlands.
TRANSLATION Some of them are effulgent like coral and diamonds in complexion and have garlands on their heads, blooming like lotus flowers, and some wear earrings. PURPORT There are some inhabitants who have attained the liberation of sārūpya, or possessing bodily features like those of the Personality of Godhead. The vaidūrya diamond is especially meant for the Personality of Godhead, but one who achieves the liberation of bodily equality with the Lord is especially favored with such diamonds on his body.
SB2.9.13 TEXT 13 bhrājiṣṇubhir yaḥ parito virājate lasad-vimānāvalibhir mahātmanām vidyotamānaḥ pramadottamādyubhiḥ savidyud abhrāvalibhir yathā nabhaḥ SYNONYMS bhrājiṣṇubhiḥ—by the glowing; yaḥ—the Vaikuṇṭhalokas; paritaḥ—surrounded by; virājate—thus situated; lasat—brilliant; vimāna—airplanes; avalibhiḥ—assemblage; mahā-ātmanām—of the great devotees of the Lord; vidyotamānaḥ—beautiful like lightning; pramada—ladies; uttama—celestial; adyubhiḥ—by complexion; sa-vidyut—with electric lightning; abhrāvalibhiḥ—with clouds in the sky; yathā—as it were; nabhaḥ—the sky.
TRANSLATION The Vaikuṇṭha planets are also surrounded by various airplanes, all glowing and brilliantly situated. These airplanes belong to the great mahātmās or devotees of the Lord. The ladies are as beautiful as lightning because of their celestial complexions, and all these combined together appear just like the sky decorated with both clouds and lightning. PURPORT It appears that in the Vaikuṇṭha planets there are also airplanes brilliantly glowing, and they are occupied by the great devotees of the Lord with ladies of celestial beauty as brilliant as lightning. As there are airplanes, so there must be different types of carriages like airplanes, but they may not be driven machines, as we have experience in this world. Because everything is of the same nature of eternity, bliss and knowledge, the airplanes and carriages are of the same quality as Brahman. Although there is nothing except Brahman, one should not mistakenly think that there is only void and no variegatedness. Thinking like that is due to a poor fund of knowledge; otherwise no one would have such a misconception of voidness in Brahman. As there are airplanes, ladies and gentlemen, so there must be cities and houses and everything else just suitable to the particular planets. One should not carry the ideas of imperfection from this world to the transcendental world and not take into consideration the nature of the atmosphere, as completely free from the influence of time, etc., as described previously.
SB2.9.14 TEXT 14 śrīr yatra rūpiṇy urugāya-pādayoḥ karoti mānaṁ bahudhā vibhūtibhiḥ preṅkhaṁ śritā yā kusumākarānugair vigīyamānā priya-karma gāyatī SYNONYMS śrīḥ—the goddess of fortune; yatra—in the Vaikuṇṭha planets; rūpiṇī—in her transcendental form; urugāya—the Lord, who is sung of by the great devotees; pādayoḥ—under the lotus feet of the Lord; karoti—does; mānam—respectful services; bahudhā—in diverse paraphernalia; vibhūtibhiḥ—accompanied by her personal associates; preṅkham—movement of enjoyment; śritā—taken shelter of; yā—who; kusumākara—spring; anugaiḥ—by the black bees; vigīyamānā—being followed by the songs; priya-karma—activities of the dearmost; gāyatī—singing.
TRANSLATION The goddess of fortune in her transcendental form is engaged in the loving service of the Lord’s lotus feet, and being moved by the black bees, followers of spring, she is not only engaged in variegated pleasure—service to the Lord, along with her constant companions—but is also engaged in singing the glories of the Lord’s activities. SB2.9.15 TEXT 15 dadarśa tatrākhila-sātvatāṁ patiṁ śriyaḥ patiṁ yajña-patiṁ jagat-patim sunanda-nanda-prabalārhaṇādibhiḥ sva-pārṣadāgraiḥ parisevitaṁ vibhum SYNONYMS dadarśa—Brahmā saw; tatra—there (in Vaikuṇṭhaloka); akhila—entire; sātvatām—of the great devotees; patim—the Lord; śriyaḥ—of the goddess of fortune; patim—the Lord; yajña—of sacrifice; patim—the Lord; jagat—of the universe; patim—the Lord; sunanda—Sunanda; nanda—Nanda; prabala—Prabala; arhaṇa—Arhaṇa; ādibhiḥ—by them; sva-pārṣada—own associates; agraiḥ—by the foremost; parisevitam—being served in transcendental love; vibhum—the great Almighty.
TRANSLATION Lord Brahmā saw in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the Personality of Godhead, who is the Lord of the entire devotee community, the Lord of the goddess of fortune, the Lord of all sacrifices, and the Lord of the universe, and who is served by the foremost servitors like Nanda, Sunanda, Prabala and Arhaṇa, His immediate associates. PURPORT When we speak of a king it is naturally understood that the king is accompanied by his confidential associates, like his secretary, private secretary, aide-de-camp, ministers and advisers. So also when we see the Lord we see Him with His different energies, associates, confidential servitors, etc. So the Supreme Lord, who is the leader of all living entities, the Lord of all devotee sects, the Lord of all opulences, the Lord of sacrifices and the enjoyer of everything in His entire creation, is not only the Supreme Person, but also is always surrounded by His immediate associates, all engaged in their loving transcendental service to Him.
SB2.9.16 TEXT 16 bhṛtya-prasādābhimukhaṁ dṛg-āsavaṁ prasanna-hāsāruṇa-locanānanam kirīṭinaṁ kuṇḍalinaṁ catur-bhujaṁ pītāṁśukaṁ vakṣasi lakṣitaṁ śriyā SYNONYMS bhṛtya—the servitor; prasāda—affection; abhimukham—favorably facing; dṛk—the very sight; āsavam—an intoxication; prasanna—very much pleased; hāsa—smile; aruṇa—reddish; locana—eyes; ānanam—face; kirīṭinam—with helmet; kuṇḍalinam—with earrings; catuḥ-bhujam—with four hands; pīta—yellow; aṁśukam—dress; vakṣasi—on the chest; lakṣitam—marked; śriyā—with the goddess of fortune.
TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead, seen leaning favorably towards His loving servitors, His very sight intoxicating and attractive, appeared to be very much satisfied. He had a smiling face decorated with an enchanting reddish hue. He was dressed in yellow robes and wore earrings and a helmet on his head. He had four hands, and His chest was marked with the lines of the goddess of fortune. PURPORT In the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, there is a full description of the yoga-pīṭha, or the particular place where the Lord is in audience to His eternal devotees. In that yoga-pīṭha, the personifications of religion, knowledge, opulence and renunciation are all seated at the lotus feet of the Lord. The four Vedas, namely Ṛk, Sāma, Yajur and Atharva, are present there personally to advise the Lord. The sixteen energies headed by Caṇḍa are all present there. Caṇḍa and Kumuda are the first two doorkeepers, at the middle door are the doorkeepers named Bhadra and Subhadra, and at the last door are Jaya and Vijaya. There are other doorkeepers also, named Kumuda, Kumudākṣa, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Śaṅkukarṇa, Sarvanetra, Sumukha, etc. The Lord’s palace is well decorated and protected by the above-mentioned doorkeepers.
SB2.9.17 TEXT 17 adhyarhaṇīyāsanam āsthitaṁ paraṁ vṛtaṁ catuḥ-ṣoḍaśa-pañca-śaktibhiḥ yuktaṁ bhagaiḥ svair itaratra cādhruvaiḥ sva eva dhāman ramamāṇam īśvaram SYNONYMS adhyarhaṇīya—greatly worshipable; āsanam—throne; āsthitam—seated on it; param—the Supreme; vṛtam—surrounded by; catuḥ—four, namely prakṛti, puruṣa, mahat and ego; ṣoḍaśa—the sixteen; pañca—the five; śaktibhiḥ—by the energies; yuktam—empowered with; bhagaiḥ—His opulences; svaiḥ—personal; itaratra—other minor prowesses; ca—also; adhruvaiḥ—temporary; sve—own; eva—certainly; dhāman—abode; ramamāṇam—enjoying; īśvaram—the Supreme Lord.
TRANSLATION The Lord was seated on His throne and was surrounded by different energies like the four, the sixteen, the five, and the six natural opulences, along with other insignificant energies of the temporary character. But He was the factual Supreme Lord, enjoying His own abode. PURPORT The Lord is naturally endowed with His six opulences. Specifically, He is the richest, He is the most powerful, He is the most famous, He is the most beautiful, He is the greatest in knowledge, and He is the greatest renouncer as well. And for His material creative energies, He is served by four, namely the principles of prakṛti, puruṣa, mahat-tattva and ego. He is also served by the sixteen, namely the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and sky), the five perceptive sense organs (the eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin), and the five working sense organs (the hand, the leg, the stomach, the evacuation outlet and the genitals), and the mind. The five includes the sense objects, namely form, taste, smell, sound and touch. All these twenty-five items serve the Lord in the material creation, and all of them are personally present to serve the Lord. The insignificant opulences numbering eight (the aṣṭa-siddhis, attained by yogīs for temporary overlordship) are also under His control, but He is naturally full with all such powers without any effort, and therefore He is the Supreme Lord.
The living being, by severe penance and performance of bodily exercises, can temporarily attain some wonderful power, but that does not make him the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord, by His own potency, is unlimitedly more powerful than any yogī, He is unlimitedly more learned than any jñānī, He is unlimitedly richer than any wealthy person, He is unlimitedly more beautiful than any beautiful living being, and He is unlimitedly more charitable than any philanthropist. He is above all; no one is equal to or greater than Him. Nor can anyone reach His level of perfection in any of the above powers by any amount of penance or yogic demonstrations. The yogīs are dependent on His mercy. Out of His immensely charitable disposition He can award some temporary powers to the yogīs because of the yogīs hankering after them, but to His unalloyed devotees, who do not want anything from the Lord save and except His transcendental service, the Lord is so pleased that He gives Himself in exchange for unalloyed service.
SB2.9.18 TEXT 18 tad-darśanāhlāda-pariplutāntaro hṛṣyat-tanuḥ prema-bharāśru-locanaḥ nanāma pādāmbujam asya viśva-sṛg yat pāramahaṁsyena pathādhigamyate SYNONYMS tat—by that audience of the Lord; darśana—audience; āhlāda—joy; paripluta—overwhelmed; antaraḥ—within the heart; hṛṣyat—full in ecstasy; tanuḥ—body; prema-bhara—in full transcendental love; aśru—tears; locanaḥ—in the eyes; nanāma—bowed down; pāda-ambujam—under the lotus feet; asya—of the Lord; viśva-sṛk—the creator of the universe; yat—which; pāramahaṁsyena—by the great liberated soul; pathā—the path; adhigamyate—is followed.
TRANSLATION Lord Brahmā, thus seeing the Personality of Godhead in His fullness, was overwhelmed with joy within his heart, and thus in full transcendental love and ecstasy, his eyes filled with tears of love. He thus bowed down before the Lord. That is the way of the highest perfection for the living being [paramahaṁsa]. PURPORT In the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that this great literature is meant for the paramahaṁsas. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām, i.e. the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for persons completely free from malice. In the conditioned life the malicious life begins from the top, namely bearing malice against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead is an established fact in all the revealed scriptures, and in the Bhagavad-gītā the personal feature of the Supreme Lord is especially mentioned, so much so that the last portion of the great literature has emphatically stressed that one should surrender unto the Personality of Godhead to be saved from the miseries of life. Unfortunately, persons with impious backgrounds do not believe in the Personality of Godhead, and everyone wants to become God himself without any qualification. This malicious nature in the conditioned soul continues even up to the stage when a person wants to be one with the Lord, and thus even the greatest of the empiric philosophers speculating on becoming one with the Supreme Lord cannot become a paramahaṁsa because the malicious mind is there. Therefore the paramahaṁsa stage of life can be attained only by those who are fixed in the practice of bhakti-yoga. This bhakti-yoga begins if a person has the firm conviction that simply discharging devotional service to the Lord in full transcendental love can elevate him to the highest perfectional stage of life. Brahmājī believed in this art of bhakti-yoga; he believed in the instruction of the Lord to execute tapa, and he discharged the function with great penance and thus achieved the great success of seeing the Vaikuṇṭhalokas and the Lord also by personal experience. No one can reach the abode of the Supreme Lord by any mechanical means of the mind or machine, but one can reach the abode of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas simply by following the process of bhakti-yoga because the Lord can be realized only through the bhakti-yoga process. Lord Brahmājī was actually sitting on his lotus seat, and from there, by executing the process of bhakti-yoga in great seriousness, he could see the Vaikuṇṭhalokas with all variegatedness as well as the Lord in person and His associates.
Following in the footsteps of Lord Brahmā, any person, even up to this day, can attain the same perfection by following the path of the paramahaṁsa as recommended herein. Lord Caitanya also approved of this method of self-realization for men in this age. One should first, with all conviction, believe in the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and without making efforts to realize Him by speculative philosophy, one should prefer to hear about Him from the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and later from the text of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One should hear such discourses from a person Bhāgavatam and not from the professional man, or from the karmī, jñānī or yogī. That is the secret of learning the science. One does not need to be in the renounced order of life; he can remain in his present condition of life, but he must search out the association of a bona fide devotee of the Lord and hear from him the transcendental message of the Lord with faith and conviction. That is the path of the paramahaṁsa recommended herein. Amongst various holy names of the Lord, He is also called ajita, or one who can never be conquered by anyone else. Yet He can be conquered by the paramahaṁsa path, as practically realized and shown by the great spiritual master Lord Brahmā. Lord Brahmā has personally recommended this paramahaṁsa-panthāḥ in his own words as follows:
jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva Lord Brahmā said, “O my Lord Kṛṣṇa, a devotee who abandons the path of empiric philosophical speculation aimed at merging in the existence of the Supreme and engages himself in hearing Your glories and activities from a bona fide sādhu, or saint, and who lives an honest life in the occupational engagement of his social life, can conquer Your sympathy and mercy even though You are ajita, or unconquerable.” (Bhāg. 10.14.3) That is the path of the paramahaṁsas, which was personally followed by Lord Brahmā and later recommended by him for attaining perfect success in life.
SB2.9.19 TEXT 19 taṁ prīyamāṇaṁ samupasthitaṁ kaviṁ prajā-visarge nija-śāsanārhaṇam babhāṣa īṣat-smita-śociṣā girā priyaḥ priyaṁ prīta-manāḥ kare spṛśan SYNONYMS tam—unto Lord Brahmā; prīyamāṇam—worthy of being dear; samupasthitam—present before; kavim—the great scholar; prajā—living entities; visarge—in the matter of creation; nija—His own; śāsana—control; arhaṇam—just suitable; babhāṣe—addressed; īṣat—mild; smita—smiling; śociṣā—with enlightening; girā—words; priyaḥ—the beloved; priyam—the counterpart of love; prīta-manāḥ—being very much pleased; kare—by the hand; spṛśan—shaking.
TRANSLATION And seeing Brahmā present before Him, the Lord accepted him as worthy to create living beings, to be controlled as He desired, and thus being much satisfied with him, the Lord shook hands with Brahmā and, slightly smiling, addressed him thus. PURPORT The creation of the material world is not blind or accidental. The living entities who are ever conditioned, or nitya-baddha, are thus given a chance for liberation under the guidance of His own representative like Brahmā. The Lord instructs Brahmā in Vedic knowledge in order to diffuse this knowledge to the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are forgetful souls in their relationship with the Lord, and thus a period of creation and the process of dissemination of Vedic knowledge are necessary activities of the Lord. Lord Brahmā has a great responsibility in delivering the conditioned souls, and therefore he is very dear to the Lord.
Brahmā also does his duty very perfectly, not only by generating the living entities but also by spreading his party for reclaiming the fallen souls. The party is called the Brahma-sampradāya, and any member of this party to date is naturally engaged in reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead, back home. The Lord is very much anxious to get back His parts and parcels, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. No one is more dear than the one who takes the task of reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead.
There are many renegades from the Brahma-sampradāya whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord and thus entangle them more and more in material existence. Such persons are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.
Anyone, however, preaching the mission of the Lord in the line of the Brahma-sampradāya is always dear to the Lord, and the Lord, being satisfied with such a preacher of the authorized bhakti cult, shakes hands with him in great satisfaction.
SB2.9.20 TEXT 20 śrī-bhagavān uvāca tvayāhaṁ toṣitaḥ samyag veda-garbha sisṛkṣayā ciraṁ bhṛtena tapasā dustoṣaḥ kūṭa-yoginām SYNONYMS śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the all-beautiful Personality of Godhead said; tvayā—by you; aham—I am; toṣitaḥ—pleased; samyak—complete; veda-garbha—impregnated with the Vedas; sisṛkṣayā—for creating; ciram—for a long time; bhṛtena—accumulated; tapasā—by penance; dustoṣaḥ—very hard to please; kūṭa-yoginām—for the pseudo mystics.
TRANSLATION The beautiful Personality of Godhead addressed Lord Brahmā: O Brahmā, impregnated with the Vedas, I am very much pleased with your long accumulated penance with the desire for creation. Hardly am I pleased with the pseudo mystics. PURPORT There are two kinds of penance: one for sense gratification and the other for self-realization. There are many pseudo mystics who undergo severe penances for their own satisfaction, and there are others who undergo severe penances for the satisfaction of the senses of the Lord. For example, the penances undertaken to discover nuclear weapons will never satisfy the Lord because such a penance is never satisfactory. By nature’s own way, everyone has to meet death, and if such a process of death is accelerated by anyone’s penances, there is no satisfaction for the Lord. The Lord wants every one of His parts and parcels to attain eternal life and bliss by coming home to Godhead, and the whole material creation is meant for that objective. Brahmā underwent severe penances for that purpose, namely to regulate the process of creation so that the Lord might be satisfied. Therefore the Lord was very much pleased with him, and for this Brahmā was impregnated with Vedic knowledge. The ultimate purpose of Vedic knowledge is to know the Lord and not to misuse the knowledge for any other purposes. Those who do not utilize Vedic knowledge for that purpose are known as kūṭa-yogīs, or pseudo transcendentalists who spoil their lives with ulterior motives.
SB2.9.21 TEXT 21 varaṁ varaya bhadraṁ te vareśaṁ mābhivāñchitam brahmañ chreyaḥ-pariśrāmaḥ puṁsāṁ mad-darśanāvadhiḥ SYNONYMS varam—benediction; varaya—just ask from; bhadram—auspicious; te—unto you; vara-īśam—the giver of all benediction; mā (mām)—from Me; abhivāñchitam—wishing; brahman—O Brahmā; śreyaḥ—the ultimate success; pariśrāmaḥ—for all penances; puṁsām—for everyone; mat—My; darśana—realization; avadhiḥ—up to the limit of.
TRANSLATION I wish you good luck. O Brahmā, you may ask from Me, the giver of all benediction, all that you may desire. You may know that the ultimate benediction, as the result of all penances, is to see Me by realization. PURPORT The ultimate realization of the Supreme Truth is knowing and seeing face to face the Personality of Godhead. Realization of the impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā features of the Personality of Godhead is not ultimate realization, When one realizes the Supreme Lord, one does not struggle hard to perform such penances. The next stage of life is to discharge devotional service to the Lord just to satisfy Him. In other words, one who has realized and seen the Supreme Lord has attained all perfection because everything is included in that highest perfectional stage. The impersonalists and the pseudo mystics, however, cannot reach this state.
SB2.9.22 TEXT 22 manīṣitānubhāvo ’yaṁ mama lokāvalokanam yad upaśrutya rahasi cakartha paramaṁ tapaḥ SYNONYMS manīṣita—ingenuity; anubhāvaḥ—perception; ayam—this; mama—My; loka—abode; avalokanam—seeing by actual experience; yat—because; upaśrutya—hearing; rahasi—in great penance; cakartha—having performed; paramam—highest; tapaḥ—penance.
TRANSLATION The highest perfectional ingenuity is the personal perception of My abodes, and this has been possible because of your submissive attitude in the performance of severe penance according to My order. PURPORT The highest perfectional stage of life is to know the Lord by actual perception, by the grace of the Lord. This can be attained by everyone who is willing to discharge the act of devotional service to the Lord as enjoined in the revealed scriptures that are standard and accepted by the bona fide ācāryas, spiritual masters. For example, the Bhagavad-gītā is the approved Vedic literature accepted by all the great ācāryas, such as Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Madhva, Caitanya, Viśvanātha, Baladeva, Siddhānta Sarasvatī and many others. In that Bhagavad-gītā the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, asks that one always be mindful of Him, always be His devotee, always worship Him only, and always bow down before the Lord. And by doing so one is sure to go back home, back to Godhead, without any doubt. In other places also the same order is there, that one give up all other engagements and fully surrender unto the Lord without hesitation. And the Lord will give such a devotee all protection. These are the secrets of attaining the highest perfectional stage. Lord Brahmā exactly followed these principles without any superiority complex, and thus he attained the highest perfectional stage of experiencing the abode of the Lord and the Lord Himself with all His paraphernalia. Impersonal realization of the effulgence of the Lord’s body is not the highest perfectional stage, nor is the stage of Paramātmā realization. The word manīṣita is significant. Everyone is falsely or factually proud of his so-called learning. But the Lord says that the highest perfectional stage of learning is to know Him and His abode, devoid of all illusion.
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