Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twenty-four
The Renunciation of Kardama Muni
SB3.24.1
TEXT 1
maitreya uvaca
nirveda-vadinim evam
manor duhitaram munih
dayaluh salinim aha
suklabhivyahrtam smaran
SYNONYMS
maitreyah—the great sage Maitreya; uvaca—said; nirveda-vadinim—who was speaking words full of renunciation; evam—thus; manoh—of Svayambhuva Manu; duhitaram—to the daughter; munih—the sage Kardama; dayaluh—merciful; salinim—who was worthy of praise; aha—replied; sukla—by Lord Visnu; abhivyahrtam—what was said; smaran—recalling.
TRANSLATION
Recalling the words of Lord Visnu, the merciful sage Kardama replied as follows to Svayambhuva Manu’s praiseworthy daughter, Devahuti, who was speaking words full of renunciation.
SB3.24.2
TEXT 2
rsir uvaca
ma khido raja-putrittham
atmanam praty anindite
bhagavams te ’ksaro garbham
adurat samprapatsyate
SYNONYMS
rsih uvaca—the sage said; ma khidah—do not be disappointed; raja-putri—O princess; ittham—in this way; atmanam—yourself; prati—toward; anindite—O praiseworthy Devahuti; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; te—your; aksarah—infallible; garbham—womb; adurat—without delay; samprapatsyate—will enter.
TRANSLATION
The sage said: Do not be disappointed with yourself, O princess. You are actually praiseworthy. The infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead will shortly enter your womb as your son.
PURPORT
Kardama Muni encouraged his wife not to be sorry, thinking herself unfortunate, because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His incarnation, was going to come from her body. SB3.24.3 TEXT 3 dhrta-vratasi bhadram te damena niyamena ca tapo-dravina-danais ca sraddhaya cesvaram bhaja SYNONYMS dhrta-vrata asi—you have undertaken sacred vows; bhadram te—may God bless you; damena—by control of the senses; niyamena—by religious observances; ca—and; tapah—austerities; dravina—of money; danaih—by giving in charity; ca—and; sraddhaya—with great faith; ca—and; isvaram—the Supreme Lord; bhaja—worship. TRANSLATION You have undertaken sacred vows. God will bless you. Hence you should worship the Lord with great faith, through sensory control, religious observances, austerities and gifts of your money in charity. PURPORT In order to spiritually advance or to achieve the mercy of the Lord, one must be self-controlled in the following manner: he must be restrained in sense gratification and must follow the rules and regulations of religious principles. Without austerity and penance and without sacrificing one’s riches, one cannot achieve the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Kardama Muni advised his wife: “You have to factually engage in devotional service with austerity and penance, following the religious principles and giving charity. Then the Supreme Lord will be pleased with you, and He will come as your son.” SB3.24.4 TEXT 4 sa tvayaradhitah suklo vitanvan mamakam yasah chetta te hrdaya-granthim audaryo brahma-bhavanah SYNONYMS sah—He; tvaya—by you; aradhitah—being worshiped; suklah—the Personality of Godhead; vitanvan—spreading; mamakam—my; yasah—fame; chetta—He will cut; te—your; hrdaya—of the heart; granthim—knot; audaryah—your son; brahma—knowledge of Brahman; bhavanah—teaching. TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead, being worshiped by you, will spread my name and fame. He will vanquish the knot of your heart by becoming your son and teaching knowledge of Brahman. PURPORT When the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes to disseminate spiritual knowledge for the benefit of all people, He generally descends as the son of a devotee, being pleased by the devotee’s devotional service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the father of everyone. No one, therefore, is His father, but by His inconceivable energy He accepts some of the devotees as His parents and descendants. It is explained here that spiritual knowledge vanquishes the knot of the heart. Matter and spirit are knotted by false ego. This identification of oneself with matter, which is called hrdaya-granthi, exists for all conditioned souls, and it becomes more and more tightened when there is too much affection for sex life. The explanation was given by Lord Rsabha to His sons that this material world is an atmosphere of attraction between male and female. That attraction takes the shape of a knot in the heart, and by material affection it becomes still more tight. For people who hanker after material possessions, society, friendship and love, this knot of affection becomes very strong. It is only by brahma-bhavana—the instruction by which spiritual knowledge is enhanced—that the knot in the heart is cut to pieces. No material weapon is needed to cut this knot, but it requires bona fide spiritual instruction. Kardama Muni instructed his wife, Devahuti, that the Lord would appear as her son and disseminate spiritual knowledge to cut the knot of material identification. SB3.24.5 TEXT 5 maitreya uvaca devahuty api sandesam gauravena prajapateh samyak sraddhaya purusam kuta-stham abhajad gurum SYNONYMS maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; devahuti—Devahuti; api—also; sandesam—the direction; gauravena—with great respect; prajapateh—of Kardama; samyak—complete; sraddhaya—having faith in; purusam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kuta-stham—situated in everyone’s heart; abhajat—worshiped; gurum—most worshipable. TRANSLATION Sri Maitreya said: Devahuti was fully faithful and respectful toward the direction of her husband, Kardama, who was one of the Prajapatis, or generators of human beings in the universe. O great sage, she thus began to worship the master of the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone’s heart. PURPORT This is the process of spiritual realization; one has to receive instruction from a bona fide spiritual master. Kardama Muni was Devahuti’s husband, but because he instructed her on how to achieve spiritual perfection, he naturally became her spiritual master also. There are many instances wherein the husband becomes the spiritual master. Lord Siva also is the spiritual master of his consort, Parvati. A husband should be so enlightened that he should become the spiritual master of his wife in order to enlighten her in the advancement of Krsna consciousness. Generally stri, or woman, is less intelligent than man; therefore, if the husband is intelligent enough, the woman gets a great opportunity for spiritual enlightenment. Here it is clearly said (samyak sraddhaya) that with great faith one should receive knowledge from the spiritual master and with great faith execute the performance of service. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, in his commentary on Bhagavad-gita, has especially stressed the instruction of the spiritual master. One should accept the instruction of the spiritual master as one’s life and soul. Whether one is liberated or not liberated, one should execute the instruction of the spiritual master with great faith. It is also stated that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. One does not have to seek the Lord outside; He is already there. One simply has to concentrate on one’s worship in good faith, as instructed by the bona fide spiritual master, and one’s efforts will come out successfully. It is also clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not appear as an ordinary child; He appears as He is. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, He appears by His own internal potency, atma-maya. And how does He appear? He appears when pleased by the worship of a devotee. A devotee may ask the Lord to appear as her son. The Lord is already sitting within the heart, and if He comes out from the body of a devotee it does not mean that the particular woman becomes His mother in the material sense. He is always there, but in order to please His devotee, He appears as her son. SB3.24.6 TEXT 6 tasyam bahu-tithe kale bhagavan madhusudanah kardamam viryam apanno jajne ’gnir iva daruni SYNONYMS tasyam—in Devahuti; bahu-tithe kale—after many years; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; madhu-sudanah—the killer of the demon Madhu; kardamam—of Kardama; viryam—the semen; apannah—entered; jajne—He appeared; agnih—fire; iva—like; daruni—in wood. TRANSLATION After many, many years, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Madhusudana, the killer of the demon Madhu, having entered the semen of Kardama, appeared in Devahuti just as fire comes from wood in a sacrifice. PURPORT It is clearly stated here that the Lord is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He appeared as the son of Kardama Muni. Fire is already present in wood, but by a certain process, fire is kindled. Similarly, God is all-pervading. He is everywhere, and since He may come out from everything, He appeared in His devotee’s semen. Just as an ordinary living entity takes his birth by taking shelter of the semen of a certain living entity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts the shelter of the semen of His devotee and comes out as His son. This manifests His full independence to act in any way, and it does not mean that He is an ordinary living entity forced to take birth in a certain type of womb. Lord Nrsimha appeared from the pillar of Hiranyakasipu’s palace, Lord Varaha appeared from the nostril of Brahma, and Lord Kapila appeared from the semen of Kardama, but this does not mean that the nostril of Brahma or the pillar of Hiranyakasipu’s palace or the semen of Kardama Muni is the source of the appearance of the Lord. The Lord is always the Lord. Bhagavan madhusudanah—He is the killer of all kinds of demons, and He always remains the Lord, even if He appears as the son of a particular devotee. The word kardamam is significant, for it indicates that the Lord had some devotional affection or relationship in devotional service with Kardama and Devahuti. But we should not mistakenly understand that He was born just like an ordinary living entity from the semen of Kardama Muni in the womb of Devahuti. SB3.24.7 TEXT 7 avadayams tada vyomni vaditrani ghanaghanah gayanti tam sma gandharva nrtyanty apsaraso muda SYNONYMS avadayan—sounded; tada—at that time; vyomni—in the sky; vaditrani—musical instruments; ghanaghanah—the rain clouds; gayanti—sang; tam—to Him; sma—certainly; gandharvah—the Gandharvas; nrtyanti—danced; apsarasah—the Apsaras; muda—in joyful ecstasy. TRANSLATION At the time of His descent on earth, demigods in the form of raining clouds sounded musical instruments in the sky. The celestial musicians, the Gandharvas, sang the glories of the Lord, while celestial dancing girls known as Apsaras danced in joyful ecstasy. SB3.24.8 TEXT 8 petuh sumanaso divyah khe-carair apavarjitah prasedus ca disah sarva ambhamsi ca manamsi ca SYNONYMS petuh—fell; sumanasah—flowers; divyah—beautiful; khe-caraih—by the demigods who fly in the sky; apavarjitah—dropped; praseduh—became satisfied; ca—and; disah—directions; sarvah—all; ambhamsi—waters; ca—and; manamsi—minds; ca—and. TRANSLATION At the time of the Lord’s appearance, the demigods flying freely in the sky showered flowers. All the directions, all the waters and everyone’s mind became very satisfied. PURPORT It is learned herewith that in the higher sky there are living entities who can travel through the air without being hampered. Although we can travel in outer space, we are hampered by so many impediments, but they are not. We learn from the pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam that the inhabitants of the planet called Siddhaloka can travel in space from one planet to another without impediment. They showered flowers on the earth when Lord Kapila, the son of Kardama, appeared. SB3.24.9 TEXT 9 tat kardamasrama-padam sarasvatya parisritam svayambhuh sakam rsibhir maricy-adibhir abhyayat SYNONYMS tat—that; kardama—of Kardama; asrama-padam—to the place of the hermitage; sarasvatya—by the River Sarasvati; parisritam—surrounded; svayambhuh—Brahma (the self-born); sakam—along with; rsibhih—the sages; marici—the great sage Marici; adibhih—and others; abhyayat—he came there. TRANSLATION Brahma, the first-born living being, went along with Marici and other sages to the place of Kardama’s hermitage, which was surrounded by the River Sarasvati. PURPORT Brahma is called Svayambhu because he is not born of any material father and mother. He is the first living creature and is born from the lotus which grows from the abdomen of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Therefore he is called Svayambhu, self-born. SB3.24.10 TEXT 10 bhagavantam param brahma sattvenamsena satru-han tattva-sankhyana-vijnaptyai jatam vidvan ajah svarat SYNONYMS bhagavantam—the Lord; param—supreme; brahma—Brahman; sattvena—having an uncontaminated existence; amsena—by a plenary portion; satru-han—O killer of the enemy, Vidura; tattva-sankhyana—the philosophy of the twenty-four material elements; vijnaptyai—for explaining; jatam—appeared; vidvan—knowing; ajah—the unborn (Lord Brahma); sva-rat—independent. TRANSLATION Maitreya continued: O killer of the enemy, the unborn Lord Brahma, who is almost independent in acquiring knowledge, could understand that a portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His quality of pure existence, had appeared in the womb of Devahuti just to explain the complete state of knowledge known as sankhya-yoga. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gita, Fifteenth Chapter, it is stated that the Lord Himself is the compiler of Vedanta-sutra, and He is the perfect knower of Vedanta-sutra. Similarly, the Sankhya philosophy is compiled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His appearance as Kapila. There is an imitation Kapila who has a Sankhya philosophical system, but Kapila the incarnation of God is different from that Kapila. Kapila the son of Kardama Muni, in His system of Sankhya philosophy, very explicitly explained not only the material world but also the spiritual world. Brahma could understand this fact because he is svarat, almost independent in receiving knowledge. He is called svarat because he did not go to any school or college to learn but learned everything from within. Because Brahma is the first living creature within this universe, he had no teacher; his teacher was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, who is seated in the heart of every living creature. Brahma acquired knowledge directly from the Supreme Lord within the heart; therefore he is sometimes called svarat and aja. Another important point is stated here. Sattvenamsena: when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears, He brings with Him all His paraphernalia of Vaikuntha; therefore His name, His form, His quality, His paraphernalia and His entourage all belong to the transcendental world. Real goodness is in the transcendental world. Here in the material world, the quality of goodness is not pure. Goodness may exist, but there must also be some tinges of passion and ignorance. In the spiritual world the unalloyed quality of goodness prevails; there the quality of goodness is called suddha-sattva, pure goodness. Another name for suddha-sattva is vasudeva because God is born from Vasudeva. Another meaning is that when one is purely situated in the qualities of goodness, he can understand the form, name, quality, paraphernalia and entourage of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word amsena also indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, appeared as Kapiladeva in a portion of His portion. God expands either as kala or as amsa. Amsa means “direct expansion,” and kala means “expansion of the expansion.” There is no difference between the expansion, the expansion of the expansion, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly, as there is no difference between one candle and another—but still the candle from which the others are lit is called the original. Krsna, therefore, is called the Parabrahman, or the ultimate Godhead and cause of all causes. SB3.24.11 TEXT 11 sabhajayan visuddhena cetasa tac-cikirsitam prahrsyamanair asubhih kardamam cedam abhyadhat SYNONYMS sabhajayan—worshiping; visuddhena—pure; cetasa—with a heart; tat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; cikirsitam—the intended activities; prahrsyamanaih—gladdened; asubhih—with senses; kardamam—to Kardama Muni; ca—and Devahuti; idam—this; abhyadhat—spoke. TRANSLATION After worshiping the Supreme Lord with gladdened senses and a pure heart for His intended activities as an incarnation, Brahma spoke as follows to Kardama and Devahuti. PURPORT As explained in Bhagavad-gita, Fourth Chapter, anyone who understands the transcendental activities, the appearance and the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be considered liberated. Brahma, therefore, is a liberated soul. Although he is in charge of this material world, he is not exactly like the common living entity. Since he is liberated from the majority of the follies of the common living entities, he was in knowledge of the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he therefore worshiped the Lord’s activities, and with a glad heart he also praised Kardama Muni because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as Kapila, had appeared as his son. One who can become the father of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is certainly a great devotee. There is a verse spoken by a brahmana in which he says that he does not know what the Vedas and what the puranas are, but while others might be interested in the Vedas or puranas, he is interested in Nanda Maharaja, who appeared as the father of Krsna. The brahmana wanted to worship Nanda Maharaja because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as a child, crawled in the yard of his house. These are some of the good sentiments of devotees. If a recognized devotee brings forth the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his son, how he should be praised! Brahma, therefore, not only worshiped the incarnation of Godhead Kapila but also praised His so-called father, Kardama Muni. SB3.24.12 TEXT 12 brahmovaca tvaya me ’pacitis tata kalpita nirvyalikatah yan me sanjagrhe vakyam bhavan manada manayan SYNONYMS brahma—Lord Brahma; uvaca—said; tvaya—by you; me—my; apacitih—worship; tata—O son; kalpita—is accomplished; nirvyalikatah—without duplicity; yat—since; me—my; sanjagrhe—have completely accepted; vakyam—instructions; bhavan—you; mana-da—O Kardama (one who offers honor to others); manayan—respecting. TRANSLATION Lord Brahma said: My dear son Kardama, since you have completely accepted my instructions without duplicity, showing them proper respect, you have worshiped me properly. Whatever instructions you took from me you have carried out, and thereby you have honored me. PURPORT Lord Brahma, as the first living entity within the universe, is supposed to be the spiritual master of everyone, and he is also the father, the creator, of all beings. Kardama Muni is one of the Prajapatis, or creators of the living entities, and he is also a son of Brahma. Brahma praises Kardama because he carried out the orders of the spiritual master in toto and without cheating. A conditioned soul in the material world has the disqualification of cheating. He has four disqualifications: he is sure to commit mistakes, he is sure to be illusioned, he is prone to cheat others, and his senses are imperfect. But if one carries out the order of the spiritual master by disciplic succession, or the parampara system, he overcomes the four defects. Therefore, knowledge received from the bona fide spiritual master is not cheating. Any other knowledge which is manufactured by the conditioned soul is cheating only. Brahma knew well that Kardama Muni exactly carried out the instructions received from him and that he actually honored his spiritual master. To honor the spiritual master means to carry out his instructions word for word. SB3.24.13 TEXT 13 etavaty eva susrusa karya pitari putrakaih badham ity anumanyeta gauravena guror vacah SYNONYMS etavati—to this extent; eva—exactly; susrusa—service; karya—ought to be rendered; pitari—to the father; putrakaih—by the sons; badham iti—accepting, “Yes, sir”; anumanyeta—he should obey; gauravena—with due deference; guroh—of the guru; vacah—commands. TRANSLATION Sons ought to render service to their father exactly to this extent. One should obey the command of his father or spiritual master with due deference, saying, “Yes, sir.” PURPORT Two words in this verse are very important; one word is pitari, and another word is guroh. The son or disciple should accept the words of his spiritual master and father without hesitation. Whatever the father and the spiritual master order should be taken without argument: “Yes.” There should be no instance in which the disciple or the son says, “This is not correct. I cannot carry it out.” When he says that, he is fallen. The father and the spiritual master are on the same platform because a spiritual master is the second father. The higher classes are called dvija, twice-born. Whenever there is a question of birth, there must be a father. The first birth is made possible by the actual father, and the second birth is made possible by the spiritual master. Sometimes the father and the spiritual master may be the same man, and sometimes they are different men. In any case, the order of the father or the order of the spiritual master must be carried out without hesitation, with an immediate yes. There should be no argument. That is real service to the father and to the spiritual master. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has stated that the order of the spiritual master is the life and soul of the disciples. As a man cannot separate his life from his body, a disciple cannot separate the order of the spiritual master from his life. If a disciple follows the instruction of the spiritual master in that way, he is sure to become perfect. This is confirmed in the Upanisads: the import of Vedic instruction is revealed automatically only to one who has implicit faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and in his spiritual master. One may be materially considered an illiterate man, but if he has faith in the spiritual master as well as in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then the meaning of scriptural revelation is immediately manifested before him. SB3.24.14 TEXT 14 ima duhitarah satyas tava vatsa sumadhyamah sargam etam prabhavaih svair brmhayisyanty anekadha SYNONYMS imah—these; duhitarah—daughters; satyah—chaste; tava—your; vatsa—O my dear son; su-madhyamah—thin-waisted; sargam—creation; etam—this; prabhavaih—by descendants; svaih—their own; brmhayisyanti—they will increase; aneka-dha—in various ways. TRANSLATION Lord Brahma then praised Kardama Muni’s nine daughters, saying: All your thin-waisted daughters are certainly very chaste. I am sure they will increase this creation by their own descendants in various ways. PURPORT In the beginning of creation, Brahma was concerned more or less with increasing the population, and when he saw that Kardama Muni had already begotten nine nice daughters, he was hopeful that through the daughters many children would come who would take charge of the creative principle of the material world. He was therefore happy to see them. The word sumadhyama means “a good daughter of a beautiful woman.” If she has a thin waist, a woman is considered very beautiful. All the daughters of Kardama Muni were of the same beautiful feature. SB3.24.15 TEXT 15 atas tvam rsi-mukhyebhyo yatha-silam yatha-ruci atmajah paridehy adya vistrnihi yaso bhuvi SYNONYMS atah—therefore; tvam—you; rsi-mukhyebhyah—unto the foremost sages; yatha-silam—according to temperament; yatha-ruci—according to taste; atma-jah—your daughters; paridehi—please give away; adya—today; vistrnihi—spread; yasah—fame; bhuvi—over the universe. TRANSLATION Therefore, today please give away your daughters to the foremost of the sages, with due regard for the girls’ temperaments and likings, and thereby spread your fame all over the universe. PURPORT The nine principal rsis, or sages, are Marici, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrgu, Vasistha and Atharva. All these rsis are most important, and Brahma desired that the nine daughters already born of Kardama Muni be handed over to them. Here two words are used very significantly—yatha-silam and yatha-ruci. The daughters should be handed over to the respective rsis, not blindly, but according to the combination of character and taste. That is the art of combining a man and woman. Man and woman should not be united simply on the consideration of sex life. There are many other considerations, especially character and taste. If the taste and character differ between the man and woman, their combination will be unhappy. Even about forty years ago, in Indian marriages, the taste and character of the boy and girl were first of all matched, and then they were allowed to marry. This was done under the direction of the respective parents. The parents used to astrologically determine the character and tastes of the boy and girl, and when they corresponded, the match was selected: “This girl and this boy are just suitable, and they should be married.” Other considerations were less important. The same system was also advised in the beginning of the creation by Brahma: “Your daughters should be handed over to the rsis according to taste and character.” According to astrological calculation, a person is classified according to whether he belongs to the godly or demoniac quality. In that way the spouse was selected. A girl of godly quality should be handed over to a boy of godly quality. A girl of demoniac quality should be handed over to a boy of demoniac quality. Then they will be happy. But if the girl is demoniac and the boy is godly, then the combination is incompatible; they cannot be happy in such a marriage. At the present moment, because boys and girls are not married according to quality and character, most marriages are unhappy, and there is divorce. It is foretold in the Twelfth Canto of the Bhagavatam that in this age of Kali married life will be accepted on the consideration of sex only; when the boy and girl are pleased in sex, they get married, and when there is deficiency in sex, they separate. That is not actual marriage, but a combination of men and women like cats and dogs. Therefore, the children produced in the modern age are not exactly human beings. Human beings must be twice-born. A child is first born of a good father and mother, and then he is born again of the spiritual master and the Vedas. The first mother and father bring about his birth into the world; then the spiritual master and the Vedas become his second father and mother. According to the Vedic system of marriage for producing children, every man and woman was enlightened in spiritual knowledge, and at the time of their combination to produce a child, everything was scrutinizingly and scientifically done. SB3.24.16 TEXT 16 vedaham adyam purusam avatirnam sva-mayaya bhutanam sevadhim deham bibhranam kapilam mune SYNONYMS veda—know; aham—I; adyam—the original; purusam—enjoyer; avatirnam—incarnated; sva-mayaya—by His own internal energy; bhutanam—of all the living entities; sevadhim—the bestower of all desired, who is just like a vast treasure; deham—the body; bibhranam—assuming; kapilam—Kapila Muni; mune—O sage Kardama. TRANSLATION O Kardama, I know that the original Supreme Personality of Godhead has now appeared as an incarnation by His internal energy. He is the bestower of all desired by the living entities, and He has now assumed the body of Kapila Muni. PURPORT In this verse we find the words purusam avatirnam sva-mayaya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is everlastingly, eternally the form of purusa, the predominator or enjoyer, and when He appears He never accepts anything of this material energy. The spiritual world is a manifestation of His personal, internal potency, whereas the material world is a manifestation of His material, or differentiated, energy. The word sva-mayaya, “by His own internal potency,” indicates that whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, He comes in His own energy. He may assume the body of a human being, but that body is not material. In Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is clearly stated that only fools and rascals, mudhas, consider the body of Krsna to be the body of a common human being. The word sevadhim means that He is the original bestower of all the necessities of life upon the living entities. In the Vedas also it is stated that He is the chief living entity and that He bestows all the desired necessities of other living entities. Because He is the bestower of the necessities of all others, He is called God. The Supreme is also a living entity; He is not impersonal. As we are individual, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also individual—but He is the supreme individual. That is the difference between God and the ordinary living entities.