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iti—thus; sambhrta—executed; sambharah—equipped myself well; purusa—the Personality of Godhead; avayavaih—by the parts and parcels; aham—I; tam eva—unto Him; purusam—the Personality of Godhead; yajnam—the enjoyer of all sacrifices; tena eva—by all those; ayajam—worshiped; isvaram—the supreme controller.

Thus I created the ingredients and paraphernalia for offering sacrifice out of the parts of the body of the Supreme Lord, the enjoyer of the sacrifice, and I performed the sacrifice to satisfy the Lord.

People in general are always anxious to have peace of mind or peace in the world, but they do not know how to achieve such a standard of peace in the world. Such peace in the world is obtainable by performances of sacrifice and by practice of austerity. In the Bhagavad-gita (5.29) the following prescription is recommended:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati

“The karma-yogis know that the Supreme Lord is the factual enjoyer and maintainer of all sacrifices and of the austere life. They also know that the Lord is the ultimate proprietor of all the planets and is the factual friend of all living entities. Such knowledge gradually converts the karma-yogis into pure devotees of the Lord through the association of unalloyed devotees, and thus they are able to be liberated from material bondage.”

Brahma, the original living being within the material world, taught us the way of sacrifice. The word “sacrifice” suggests dedication of one’s own interests for satisfaction of a second person. That is the way of all activities. Every man is engaged in sacrificing his interests for others, either in the form of family, society, community, country or the entire human society. But perfection of such sacrifices is attained when they are performed for the sake of the Supreme Person, the Lord. Because the Lord is the proprietor of everything, because the Lord is the friend of all living creatures, and because He is the maintainer of the performer of sacrifice, as well as the supplier of the ingredients of sacrifices, it is He only and no one else who should be satisfied by all sacrifices.

The whole world is engaged in sacrificing energy for advancement of learning, social upliftment, economic development and plans for total improvement of the human condition, but no one is interested in sacrificing for the sake of the Lord, as it is advised in the Bhagavad-gita. Therefore, there is no peace in the world. If men at all want peace in the world, they must practice sacrifice in the interest of the supreme proprietor and friend of all.

SB2.6.29

TEXT 29

tatas te bhratara ime

prajanam patayo nava

ayajan vyaktam avyaktam

purusam su-samahitah

tatah—thereafter; te—your; bhratarah—brothers; ime—these; prajanam—of the living creatures; patayah—masters; nava—nine; ayajan—performed; vyaktam—manifested; avyaktam—nonmanifested; purusam—personalities; su-samahitah—with proper rituals.

My dear son, thereafter your nine brothers, who are the masters of living creatures, performed the sacrifice with proper rituals to satisfy both the manifested and nonmanifested personalities.

The manifested personalities are the demigods like the ruler of the heavenly kingdom, Indra, and his associates; and the nonmanifested personality is the Lord Himself. The manifested personalities are mundane controllers of the material affairs, whereas the nonmanifested Personality of Godhead is transcendental, beyond the range of the material atmosphere. In this age of Kali the manifested demigods are also not to be seen, for space travel has completely stopped. So both the powerful demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nonmanifested to the covered eyes of the modern man. Modern men want to see everything with their eyes, although they are not sufficiently qualified. Consequently, they disbelieve in the existence of the demigods or of the Supreme God. They should see through the pages of authentic scriptures and should not simply believe their unqualified eyes. Even in these days, God can also be seen by qualified eyes tinged with the ointment of love of God.

SB2.6.30

TEXT 30

tatas ca manavah kale

ijire rsayo ’pare

pitaro vibudha daitya

manusyah kratubhir vibhum

tatah—thereafter; ca—also; manavah—the Manus, the fathers of mankind; kale—in due course of time; ijire—worshiped; rsayah—great sages; apare—others; pitarah—the forefathers; vibudhah—the learned scholars; daityah—great devotees of the demigods; manusyah—mankind; kratubhih vibhum—by performance of sacrifices to please the Supreme Lord.

Thereafter, the Manus, the fathers of mankind, the great sages, the forefathers, the learned scholars, the Daityas and mankind performed sacrifices meant to please the Supreme Lord.

The daityas are devotees of the demigods because they want to derive the greatest possible material facilities from them. The devotees of the Lord are eka-nistha, or absolutely attached to the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore they have practically no time to seek the benefits of material facilities. Because of their realization of their spiritual identity, they are more concerned with spiritual emancipation than with material comforts.

SB2.6.31

TEXT 31

narayane bhagavati

tad idam visvam ahitam

grhita-mayoru-gunah

sargadav agunah svatah

narayane—unto Narayana; bhagavati—the Personality of Godhead; tat idam—all these material manifestations; visvam—all the universes; ahitam—situated; grhita—having accepted; maya—material energies; uru-gunah—greatly powerful; sarga-adau—in creation, maintenance and destruction; agunah—without affinity for the material modes; svatah—self-sufficiently.

All the material manifestations of the universes are therefore situated in His powerful material energies, which He accepts self-sufficiently, although He is eternally without affinity for the material modes.

The question put by Narada before Brahma concerning the sustenance of the material creation is thus answered. Material actions and reactions, as the material scientist can superficially observe, are not basically ultimate truth in regard to creation, maintenance and destruction. The material energy is a potency of the Lord which is displayed in time, accepting the three qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance in the forms of Visnu, Brahma and Siva. The material energy thus works under the supreme spell of His Lordship, although He is always transcendental to all such material activities. A rich man constructs a big house by spending his energy in the shape of resources, and similarly he destroys a big house by his resources, but the maintenance is always under his personal care. The Lord is the richest of the rich because He is always fully complete in six opulences. Therefore He is not required to do anything personally, but everything in the material world is carried out by His wishes and direction; therefore, the entire material manifestation is situated in Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The impersonal conception of the supreme truth is due to lack of knowledge only, and this fact is clearly explained by Brahmaji, who is supposed to be the creator of the universal affairs. Brahmaji is the highest authority in Vedic wisdom, and his assertion in this connection is therefore the supreme information.

SB2.6.32

TEXT 32

srjami tan-niyukto ’ham

haro harati tad-vasah

visvam purusa-rupena

paripati tri-sakti-dhrk

srjami—do create; tat—by His; niyuktah—appointment; aham—I; harah—Lord Siva; harati—destroys; tat-vasah—under His subordination; visvam—the whole universe; purusa—the Personality of Godhead; rupena—by His eternal form; paripati—maintains; tri-sakti-dhrk—the controller of three energies.

By His will, I create, Lord Siva destroys, and He Himself, in His eternal form as the Personality of Godhead, maintains everything. He is the powerful controller of these three energies.

The conception of one without a second is clearly confirmed here. The one is Lord Vasudeva, and only by His different energies and expansions are different manifestations, both in the material and in the spiritual worlds, maintained. In the material world also, Lord Vasudeva is everything, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (7.19). Vasudevah sarvam iti: everything is Vasudeva only. In the Vedic hymns also the same Vasudeva is held to be supreme. It is said in the Vedas, vasudevat paro brahman na canyo ’rtho ’sti tattvatah: in fact there is no greater truth than Vasudeva. And Lord Krsna affirms the same truth in the Bhagavad-gita (7.7). Mattah parataram nanyat: “There is nothing above Me [Lord Krsna].” So the conception of oneness, as overly stressed by the impersonalist, is also accepted by the personalist devotee of the Lord. The difference is that the impersonalist denies personality in the ultimate issue, whereas the devotee gives more importance to the Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam explains this truth in the verse under discussion: Lord Vasudeva is one without a second, but because He is all-powerful, He can expand Himself as well as display His omnipotencies. The Lord is described here as omnipotent by three energies (tri-sakti-dhrk). So primarily His three energies are internal, marginal and external. This external energy is also displayed in the three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Similarly, the internal potency is also displayed in three spiritual modes—samvit, sandhini and hladini. The marginal potency, or the living entities, is also spiritual (prakrtim viddhi me param), but the living entities are never equal to the Lord. The Lord is nirasta-samya-atisaya; in other words, no one is greater than or equal to the Supreme Lord. So the living entities, including even such great personalities as Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, are all subordinate to the Lord. In the material world also, in His eternal form of Visnu, He maintains and controls all the affairs of the demigods, including Brahma and Siva.

SB2.6.33

TEXT 33

iti te ’bhihitam tata

yathedam anuprcchasi

nanyad bhagavatah kincid

bhavyam sad-asad-atmakam

iti—thus; te—unto you; abhihitam—explained; tata—my dear son; yatha—as; idam—all these; anuprcchasi—as you have inquired; na—never; anyat—anything else; bhagavatah—beyond the Personality of Godhead; kincit—nothing; bhavyam—to be thought ever; sat—cause; asat—effect; atmakam—in the matter of.

My dear son, whatever you inquired from me I have thus explained unto you, and you must know for certain that whatever there is (either as cause or as effect, both in the material and spiritual worlds) is dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The complete cosmic situation, both in the material and in the spiritual manifestations of the energies of the Lord, is working and moving first as the cause and then as the effect. But the original cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Effects of the original cause become the causes of other effects, and thus everything, either permanent or temporary, is working as cause and effect. And because the Lord is the primeval cause of all persons and all energies, He is called the cause of all causes, as confirmed in the Brahma-samhita as well as in the Bhagavad-gita. The Brahma-samhita (5.1) affirms:

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

And in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8) it is said:

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

So the original primeval cause is vigraha, the personal, and the impersonal spiritual effulgence, brahmajyoti, is also an effect of the Supreme Brahman (brahmano hi pratisthaham [14.27]), Lord Krsna.

SB2.6.34

TEXT 34

na bharati me ’nga mrsopalaksyate

na vai kvacin me manaso mrsa gatih

na me hrsikani patanty asat-pathe

yan me hrdautkanthyavata dhrto harih

na—never; bharati—statements; me—mind; anga—O Narada; mrsa—untruth; upalaksyate—prove to be; na—never; vai—certainly; kvacit—at any time; me—mine; manasah—of the mind; mrsa—untruth; gatih—progress; na—nor; me—mine; hrsikani—senses; patanti—degrades; asat-pathe—in temporary matter; yat—because; me—mine; hrda—heart; autkanthyavata—by great earnestness; dhrtah—caught hold of; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

O Narada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter.

so ’ham samamnayamayas tapomayah

Lord Brahma is the original speaker of Vedic wisdom to Narada, and Narada is the distributor of transcendental knowledge all over the world through his various disciples, like Vyasadeva and others. The followers of Vedic wisdom accept the statements of Brahmaji as gospel truth, and transcendental knowledge is thus being distributed all over the world by the process of disciplic succession from time immemorial, since the beginning of the creation. Lord Brahma is the perfect liberated living being within the material world, and any sincere student of transcendental knowledge must accept the words and statements of Brahmaji as infallible. The Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down directly from the Supreme Lord unto the heart of Brahma, and since he is the most perfect living being, Brahmaji is always correct to the letter. And this is because Lord Brahma is a great devotee of the Lord who has earnestly accepted the lotus feet of the Lord as the supreme truth. In the Brahma-samhita, which is compiled by Brahmaji, he repeats the aphorism govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami: ** “I am a worshiper of the original personality of Godhead, Govinda, the primeval Lord.” So whatever he says, whatever he thinks, and whatever he does normally in his mood are to be accepted as truth because of his direct and very intimate connection with Govinda, the primeval Lord. Sri Govinda, who pleasingly accepts the loving transcendental service of His devotees, gives all protection to the words and actions of His devotees. The Lord declares in the Bhagavad-gita (9.31), kaunteya pratijanihi: “O son of Kunti, please declare it.” The Lord asks Arjuna to declare, and why? Because sometimes the declaration of Govinda Himself may seem contradictory to mundane creatures, but the mundaner will never find any contradiction in the words of the Lord’s devotees. The devotees are especially protected by the Lord so that they may remain infallible. Therefore the process of devotional service always begins in the service of the devotee who appears in disciplic succession. The devotees are always liberated, but that does not mean that they are impersonal. The Lord is a person eternally, and the devotee of the Lord is also a person eternally. Because the devotee has his sense organs even at the liberated stage, he is therefore a person always. And because the devotee’s service is accepted by the Lord in full reciprocation, the Lord is also a person in His complete spiritual embodiment. The devotee’s senses, being engaged in the service of the Lord, never go astray under the attraction of false material enjoyment. The plans of the devotee never go in vain, and all this is due to the faithful attachment of the devotee for the service of the Lord. This is the standard of perfection and liberation. Anyone, beginning from Brahmaji down to the human being, is at once put on the path of liberation simply by his attachment in great earnestness for the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, the primeval Lord. The Lord affirms this in the Bhagavad-gita (14.26):

mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

Anyone, therefore, who is earnestly serious in heart and soul about being in intimate touch with the Personality of Godhead in the relationship of transcendental loving service will always be infallible in words and action. The reason is that the Supreme Lord is Absolute Truth, and anything earnestly dovetailed with the Absolute Truth attains the same transcendental quality. On the other hand, any amount of mental speculation on the strength of material science and knowledge without any bona fide touch with the Absolute Truth is sure to be a mundane untruth and failure, simply due to not being in touch with the Absolute Truth. Such godless, unfaithful words and actions, however materially enriched, are never to be trusted. That is the purport of this important verse. A grain of devotion is more valuable than tons of faithlessness.

SB2.6.35

TEXT 35

prajapatinam abhivanditah patih

asthaya yogam nipunam samahitas

tam nadhyagaccham yata atma-sambhavah

sah aham—myself (the great Brahma); samamnaya-mayah—in the chain of disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom; tapah-mayah—successfully having undergone all austerities; prajapatinam—of all the forefathers of living entities; abhivanditah—worshipable; patih—master; asthaya—successfully practiced; yogam—mystic powers; nipunam—very expert; samahitah—self-realized; tam—the Supreme Lord; na—did not; adhyagaccham—properly understood; yatah—from whom; atma—self; sambhavah—generated.

Although I am known as the great Brahma, perfect in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization, and although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my birth.

Brahma, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe, is admitting his failure to know the Supreme Lord despite his vast learning in the Vedic wisdom, despite his austerity, penance, mystic powers and self-realization, and despite being worshiped by the great Prajapatis, the forefathers of the living entities. So these qualifications are not sufficient to know the Supreme Lord. Brahmaji could understand the Lord to a little extent only when he was trying to serve Him by the eagerness of his heart (hrdautkanthyavata), which is the devotional service mood. Therefore, the Lord can be known only by the sincere mood of eagerness for service, and not by any amount of material qualification as scientist or speculative philosopher or by attainment of mystic powers. This fact is clearly corroborated in the Bhagavad-gita (18.54–55):

brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param

bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram

Only self-realization, by attainment of the above high qualifications of Vedic wisdom, austerity, etc., can help one on the path of devotional service. But failing in devotional service, one remains still imperfect because even in that position of self-realization one cannot factually know the Supreme Lord. By self-realization, one is qualified to become a devotee, and the devotee, by service mood (bhaktya) only, can gradually know the personality of Godhead. One should not, however, misunderstand the import of visate (“enters into”) as referring to merging into the existence of the Supreme. Even in material existence, one is merged in the existence of the Lord. No materialist can disentangle self from matter, for the self is merged in the external energy of the Lord. As no layman can separate butter from milk, no one can extricate the merged self from matter by acquiring some material qualification. This visate by devotion (bhaktya) means to be able to participate in the association of the Lord in person. Bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord, means to become free from material entanglement and then to enter into the kingdom of God, becoming one like Him. Losing one’s individuality is not the aim of bhakti-yoga or of the devotees of the Lord. There are five types of liberation, one of which is called sayujya-mukti, or being merged into the existence or body of the Lord. The other forms of liberation maintain the individuality of the particle soul and involve being always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The word visate, used in the verses of the Bhagavad-gita, is thus meant for the devotees who are not at all anxious for any kind of liberation. The devotees are satisfied simply in being engaged in the service of the Lord, regardless of the situation.

Lord Brahma is the first living being, who directly learned the Vedic wisdom from the Lord (tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye). Therefore, who can be a more learned Vedantist than Lord Brahma? He admits that in spite of his perfect knowledge in the Vedas, he was unable to know the glories of the Lord. Since no one can be more than Lord Brahma, how can a so-called Vedantist be perfectly cognizant of the Absolute Truth? The so-called Vedantist, therefore, cannot enter into the existence of the Lord without being trained in the matter of bhakti-vedanta, or Vedanta plus bhakti. Vedanta means self-realization, and bhakti means realization of the Personality of Godhead, to some extent. No one can know the personality of Godhead in full, but at least to a certain extent one can know the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, by self-surrender and a devotional attitude, and by nothing else. In the Brahma-samhita also, it is said, vedesu durlabham, or simply by study of Vedanta one can hardly find out the existence of the personality of Godhead, but the Lord is adurlabham atma-bhaktau, very easily available to His devotee. Srila Vyasadeva, therefore, was not satisfied simply with compiling the Vedanta-sutras, but over and above this, by the advice of his spiritual master, Narada, he compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam in order to understand the real import of Vedanta. Srimad-Bhagavatam therefore, is the absolute medium by which to understand the Absolute Truth.

SB2.6.36

TEXT 36

nato ’smy aham tac-caranam samiyusam

bhavac-chidam svasty-ayanam sumangalam

yo hy atma-maya-vibhavam sma paryagad

yatha nabhah svantam athapare kutah

natah—let me offer my obeisances; asmi—am; aham—I; tat—the Lord’s; caranam—feet; samiyusam—of the surrendered soul; bhavat-chidam—that which stops repetition of birth and death; svasti-ayanam—perception of all happiness; su-mangalam—all-auspicious; yah—one who; hi—exactly; atma-maya—personal energies; vibhavam—potency; sma—certainly; paryagat—cannot estimate; yatha—as much as; nabhah—the sky; sva-antam—its own limit; atha—therefore; apare—others; kutah—how.

Therefore it is best for me to surrender unto His feet, which alone can deliver one from the miseries of repeated birth and death. Such surrender is all-auspicious and allows one to perceive all happiness. Even the sky cannot estimate the limits of its own expansion. So what can others do when the Lord Himself is unable to estimate His own limits?