Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Nine
SB3.9.12
TEXT 12
natiprasidati tathopacitopacarair
aradhitah sura-ganair hrdi baddha-kamaih
yat sarva-bhuta-dayayasad-alabhyayaiko
nana-janesv avahitah suhrd antar-atma
SYNONYMS
na—never; ati—very much; prasidati—become satisfied; tatha—as much as; upacita—by pompous arrangement; upacaraih—with much worshipable paraphernalia; aradhitah—being worshiped; sura-ganaih—by the celestial demigods; hrdi baddha-kamaih—with hearts full of all sorts of material desires; yat—that which; sarva—all; bhuta—living entities; dayaya—to show them causeless mercy; asat—nondevotee; alabhyaya—not being achieved; ekah—one without a second; nana—various; janesu—in living entities; avahitah—perceived; suhrt—well-wishing friend; antah—within; atma—Supersoul.
TRANSLATION
My Lord, You are not very much satisfied by the worship of the demigods, who arrange for Your worship very pompously, with various paraphernalia, but who are full of material hankerings. You are situated in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul just to show Your causeless mercy, and You are the eternal well-wisher, but You are unavailable for the nondevotee.
PURPORT
The demigods in the celestial heavenly planets, who are appointed administrators of the material affairs, are also devotees of the Lord. But, at the same time, they have desires for material opulence and sense gratification. The Lord is so kind that He awards them all sorts of material happiness, more than they can desire, but He is not satisfied with them because they are not pure devotees. The Lord does not want any one of His innumerable sons (the living entities) to remain in the material world of threefold miseries to perpetually suffer the material pangs of birth, death, old age and disease. The demigods in the heavenly planets, and many devotees on this planet also, want to remain in the material world as devotees of the Lord and take advantage of material happiness. They do so at a risk of falling down to the lower status of existence, and this makes the Lord dissatisfied with them.
Pure devotees are not desirous of any material enjoyment, nor are they averse to it. They completely dovetail their desires with the desires of the Lord and perform nothing on their personal account. Arjuna is a good example. On his own sentiment, due to family affection, Arjuna did not want to fight, but finally, after hearing Srimad Bhagavad-gita, he agreed to fight in the interests of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord is very much satisfied with pure devotees because they do not act for sense gratification but only in terms of the Lord’s desire. As Paramatma, or Supersoul, He is situated in everyone’s heart, always giving everyone the chance of good counsel. Thus everyone should take the opportunity and render transcendental loving service to Him wholly and solely.
The nondevotees, however, are neither like the demigods nor like the pure devotees, but are averse to the transcendental relationship with the Lord. They have revolted against the Lord and must perpetually undergo the reactions of their own activities.
Bhagavad-gita (4.11) states: ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham. “Although the Lord is equally kind to every living being, the living beings, for their own part, are able to please the Lord to either a greater or lesser extent.” The demigods are called sakama devotees, or devotees with material desires in mind, while the pure devotees are called niskama devotees because they have no desires for their personal interests. The sakama devotees are self-interested because they do not think of others, and therefore they are not able to satisfy the Lord perfectly, whereas the pure devotees take the missionary responsibility of turning nondevotees into devotees, and they are therefore able to satisfy the Lord more than the demigods. The Lord is unmindful of the nondevotees, although He is sitting within everyone’s heart as well-wisher and Supersoul. However, He also gives them the chance to receive His mercy through His pure devotees who are engaged in missionary activities. Sometimes the Lord Himself descends for missionary activities, as He did in the form of Lord Caitanya, but mostly He sends His bona fide representatives, and thus He shows His causeless mercy towards the nondevotees. The Lord is so satisfied with His pure devotees that He wants to give them the credit for missionary success, although He could do the work personally. This is the sign of His satisfaction with His pure, niskama devotees, compared to the sakama devotees. By such transcendental activities the Lord simultaneously becomes free from the charge of partiality and exhibits His pleasure with the devotees.
Now a question arises: If the Lord is sitting in the hearts of nondevotees, why are they not moved to become devotees? It may be answered that the stubborn nondevotees are like the barren land or alkaline field, where no agricultural activities can be successful. As part and parcel of the Lord, every individual living entity has a minute quantity of independence, and by misuse of this minute independence, the nondevotees commit offense after offense, to both the Lord and His pure devotees engaged in missionary work. As a result of such acts, they become as barren as an alkaline field, where there is no strength to produce. SB3.9.13 TEXT 13 pumsam ato vividha-karmabhir adhvaradyair danena cogra-tapasa paricaryaya ca aradhanam bhagavatas tava sat-kriyartho dharmo ’rpitah karhicid mriyate na yatra SYNONYMS pumsam—of the people; atah—therefore; vividha-karmabhih—by various fruitive activities; adhvara-adyaih—by performance of Vedic rituals; danena—by charities; ca—and; ugra—very hard; tapasa—austerity; paricaryaya—by transcendental service; ca—also; aradhanam—worship; bhagavatah—of the Personality of Godhead; tava—Your; sat-kriya-arthah—simply for pleasing Your Lordship; dharmah—religion; arpitah—so offered; karhicit—at any time; mriyate—vanquishes; na—never; yatra—there. TRANSLATION But the pious activities of the people, such as performance of Vedic rituals, charity, austere penances, and transcendental service, performed with a view to worship You and satisfy You by offering You the fruitive results, are also beneficial. Such acts of religion never go in vain. PURPORT Absolute devotional service, conducted in nine different spiritual activities—hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, etc.—does not always appeal to people with a pompous nature; they are more attracted by the Vedic superficial rituals and other costly performances of social religious shows. But the process according to the Vedic injunctions is that the fruits of all pious activities should be offered to the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gita (9.27), the Lord demands that whatever one may do in one’s daily activities, such as worship, sacrifice, and offering charity, all the results should be offered to Him only. This offering of the results of pious acts unto the Supreme Lord is a sign of devotional service to the Lord and is of permanent value, whereas enjoying the same results for oneself is only temporary. Anything done on account of the Lord is a permanent asset and accumulates in the form of unseen piety for gradual promotion to the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. These undetected pious activities will one day result in full-fledged devotional service by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, any pious act done on account of the Supreme Lord is also recommended here for those who are not pure devotees. SB3.9.14 TEXT 14 sasvat svarupa-mahasaiva nipita-bheda- mohaya bodha-dhisanaya namah parasmai visvodbhava-sthiti-layesu nimitta-lila- rasaya te nama idam cakrmesvaraya SYNONYMS sasvat—eternally; svarupa—transcendental form; mahasa—by the glories; eva—certainly; nipita—distinguished; bheda—differentiation; mohaya—unto the illusory conception; bodha—self-knowledge; dhisanaya—intelligence; namah—obeisances; parasmai—unto the Transcendence; visva-udbhava—creation of the cosmic manifestation; sthiti—maintenance; layesu—also destruction; nimitta—for the matter of; lila—by such pastimes; rasaya—for enjoyment; te—unto You; namah—obeisances; idam—this; cakrma—do I perform; isvaraya—unto the Supreme. TRANSLATION Let me offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Transcendence, who is eternally distinguished by His internal potency. His indistinguishable impersonal feature is realized by intelligence for self-realization. I offer my obeisances unto Him who by His pastimes enjoys the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation. PURPORT The Supreme Lord is eternally distinguished from the living entities by His internal potency, although He is also understood in His impersonal feature by self-realized intelligence. Devotees of the Lord, therefore, offer all respectful obeisances unto the impersonal feature of the Lord. The word rasa is significant herein. The rasa dance is performed by Lord Krsna in the company of the cowherd damsels at Vrndavana, and the Personality of Godhead Garbhodakasayi Visnu is also engaged in rasa enjoyment with His external potency, by which He creates, maintains and dissolves the entire material manifestation. Indirectly, Lord Brahma offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Sri Krsna, who is factually ever engaged in rasa enjoyment with the gopis, as confirmed in the Gopala-tapani Upanisad in the following words: parardhante so ’budhyata gopa-veso me purusah purastad avirbabhuva. The distinction between the Lord and the living entity is definitely experienced when there is sufficient intelligence to understand His internal potency, as distinguished from the external potency by which He makes possible the material manifestation. SB3.9.15 TEXT 15 yasyavatara-guna-karma-vidambanani namani ye ’su-vigame vivasa grnanti te ’naika-janma-samalam sahasaiva hitva samyanty apavrtamrtam tam ajam prapadye SYNONYMS yasya—whose; avatara—incarnations; guna—transcendental qualities; karma—activities; vidambanani—all mysterious; namani—transcendental names; ye—those; asu-vigame—while quitting this life; vivasah—automatically; grnanti—invoke; te—they; anaika—many; janma—births; samalam—accumulated sins; sahasa—immediately; eva—certainly; hitva—giving up; samyanti—obtain; apavrta—open; amrtam—immortality; tam—Him; ajam—the unborn; prapadye—I take shelter. TRANSLATION Let me take shelter of the lotus feet of Him whose incarnations, qualities and activities are mysterious imitations of worldly affairs. One who invokes His transcendental names, even unconsciously, at the time he quits this life, is certainly washed immediately of the sins of many, many births and attains Him without fail. PURPORT The activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are a kind of imitation of the activities going on in the material world. He is just like an actor on a stage. An actor imitates the activities of a king on stage, although actually he is not the king. Similarly, when the Lord incarnates, He imitates parts with which He has nothing to do. In Bhagavad-gita (4.14), it is said that the Lord has nothing to do with the activities in which He is supposedly engaged: na mam karmani limpanti na me karma-phale sprha. The Lord is omnipotent; simply by His will He can perform anything and everything. When the Lord appeared as Lord Krsna, He played the part of the son of Yasoda and Nanda, and He lifted the Govardhana Hill, although lifting a hill is not His concern. He can lift millions of Govardhana Hills by His simple desire; He does not need to lift it with His hand. But He imitates the ordinary living entity by this lifting, and at the same time He exhibits His supernatural power. Thus His name is chanted as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, or Sri Govardhana-dhari. Therefore, His acts in His incarnations and His partiality to the devotees are all imitations only, just like the stage makeup of an expert dramatical player. His acts in that capacity, however, are all omnipotent, and the remembrance of such activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is as powerful as the Lord Himself. Ajamila remembered the holy name of the Lord, Narayana, by merely calling the name of his son Narayana, and that gave him a complete opportunity to achieve the highest perfection of life. SB3.9.16 TEXT 16 yo va aham ca girisas ca vibhuh svayam ca sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetava atma-mulam bhittva tri-pad vavrdha eka uru-prarohas tasmai namo bhagavate bhuvana-drumaya SYNONYMS yah—one who; vai—certainly; aham ca—also I; girisah ca—also Siva; vibhuh—the Almighty; svayam—personality (as Visnu); ca—and; sthiti—maintenance; udbhava—creation; pralaya—dissolution; hetavah—the causes; atma-mulam—self-rooted; bhittva—having penetrated; tri-pat—three trunks; vavrdhe—grew; ekah—one without a second; uru—many; prarohah—branches; tasmai—unto Him; namah—obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; bhuvana-drumaya—unto the tree of the planetary system. TRANSLATION Your Lordship is the prime root of the tree of the planetary systems. This tree has grown by first penetrating the material nature in three trunks—as me, Siva and You, the Almighty—for creation, maintenance and dissolution, and we three have grown with many branches. Therefore I offer my obeisances unto You, the tree of the cosmic manifestation. PURPORT The cosmic manifestation is grossly divided into three worlds, the upper, lower and middle planetary systems, and then it broadens into the cosmos of fourteen planetary systems, with the manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the supreme root. Material nature, which appears to be the cause of the cosmic manifestation, is only the agency or energy of the Lord. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.10): mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram. “Only under the superintendence of the Supreme Lord does material nature appear to be the cause of all creation, maintenance and dissolution.” The Lord expands Himself into three—Visnu, Brahma and Siva—for maintenance, creation and destruction respectively. Of the three principal agents controlling the three modes of material nature, Visnu is the Almighty; even though He is within material nature for the purpose of maintenance, He is not controlled by the laws of material nature. The other two, Brahma and Siva, although almost as greatly powerful as Visnu, are within the control of the material energy of the Supreme Lord. The conception of many gods controlling the many departments of material nature is ill conceived of by the foolish pantheist. God is one without a second, and He is the primal cause of all causes. As there are many departmental heads of governmental affairs, so there are many heads of management of the universal affairs. Due to a poor fund of knowledge, the impersonalist does not believe in the personal management of things as they are. But in this verse it is clearly explained that everything is personal and nothing is impersonal. We have already discussed this point in the Introduction, and it is confirmed here in this verse. The tree of the material manifestation is described in the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita as an asvattha tree whose root is upward. We have actual experience of such a tree when we see the shadow of a tree on the bank of a reservoir of water. The reflection of the tree on the water appears to hang down from its upward roots. The tree of creation described here is only a shadow of the reality which is Parabrahman, Visnu. In the internal potential manifestation of the Vaikunthalokas, the actual tree exists, and the tree reflected in the material nature is only the shadow of this actual tree. The impersonalists, theory that Brahman is void of all variegatedness is false because the shadow-tree described in Bhagavad-gita cannot exist without being the reflection of a real tree. The real tree is situated in the eternal existence of spiritual nature, full of transcendental varieties, and Lord Visnu is the root of that tree also. The root is the same—the Lord—both for the real tree and the false, but the false tree is only the perverted reflection of the real tree. The Lord, being the real tree, is here offered obeisances by Brahma on his own behalf and also on behalf of Lord Siva. SB3.9.17 TEXT 17 loko vikarma-niratah kusale pramattah karmany ayam tvad-udite bhavad-arcane sve yas tavad asya balavan iha jivitasam sadyas chinatty animisaya namo ’stu tasmai SYNONYMS lokah—people in general; vikarma—work without sense; niratah—engaged in; kusale—in beneficial activity; pramattah—negligent; karmani—in activity; ayam—this; tvat—by You; udite—enunciated; bhavat—of You; arcane—in worship; sve—their own; yah—who; tavat—as long as; asya—of the people in general; balavan—very strong; iha—this; jivita-asam—struggle for existence; sadyah—directly; chinatti—is cut to pieces; animisaya—by the eternal time; namah—my obeisances; astu—let there be; tasmai—unto Him. TRANSLATION People in general all engage in foolish acts, not in the really beneficial activities enunciated directly by You for their guidance. As long as their tendency for foolish work remains powerful, all their plans in the struggle for existence will be cut to pieces. I therefore offer my obeisances unto Him who acts as eternal time. PURPORT People in general are all engaged in senseless work. They are systematically unmindful of the real beneficial work, which is the devotional service of the Lord, technically called the arcana regulations. The arcana regulations are directly instructed by the Lord in the Narada-pancaratra and are strictly followed by the intelligent men, who know well that the highest perfectional goal of life is to reach Lord Visnu, who is the root of the tree called the cosmic manifestation. Also, in the Bhagavatam and in Bhagavad-gita such regulative activities are clearly mentioned. Foolish people do not know that their self-interest is in realization of Visnu. The Bhagavatam (7.5.30–32) says: matir na krsne paratah svato va na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim “Persons who are determined to totally rot in false, material happiness cannot become Krsna-minded either by instructions from teachers, by self-realization or by parliamentary discussions. They are dragged by the unbridled senses into the darkest region of ignorance, and thus they madly engage in what is called ‘chewing the chewed.’ “Because of their foolish activities, they are unaware that the ultimate goal of human life is to achieve Visnu, the Lord of the cosmic manifestation, and so their struggle for existence is in the wrong direction of material civilization, which is under the external energy. They are led by similar foolish persons, just as one blind man is led by another blind man and both fall in the ditch. “Such foolish men cannot be attracted towards the activities of the Supreme Powerful, who is actually the neutralizing measure for their foolish activities, unless and until they have the good sense to be guided by the great souls who are completely freed from material attachment.” In Bhagavad-gita the Lord asks everyone to give up all other occupational duties and absolutely engage in arcana activities, or in pleasing the Lord. But almost no one is attracted to such arcana activity. Everyone is more or less attracted by activities which are conditions of rebellion against the Supreme Lord. The systems of jnana and yoga are also indirectly rebellious acts against the Lord. There is no auspicious activity except arcana of the Lord. Jnana and yoga are sometimes accepted within the purview of arcana when the ultimate aim is Visnu, and not otherwise. The conclusion is that only the devotees of the Lord are bona fide human beings eligible for salvation. Others are vainly struggling for existence without any actual benefit. SB3.9.18 TEXT 18 yasmad bibhemy aham api dviparardha-dhisnyam adhyasitah sakala-loka-namaskrtam yat tepe tapo bahu-savo ’varurutsamanas tasmai namo bhagavate ’dhimakhaya tubhyam SYNONYMS yasmat—from whom; bibhemi—fear; aham—I; api—also; dvi-para-ardha—up to the limit of 4,300,000,000 x 2 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years; dhisnyam—place; adhyasitah—situated in; sakala-loka—all other planets; namaskrtam—honored by; yat—that; tepe—underwent; tapah—penances; bahu-savah—many, many years; avarurutsamanah—desiring to obtain You; tasmai—unto Him; namah—I do offer my obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhimakhaya—unto Him who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices; tubhyam—unto Your Lordship. TRANSLATION Your Lordship, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You who are indefatigable time and the enjoyer of all sacrifices. Although I am situated in an abode which will continue to exist for a time duration of two parardhas, although I am the leader of all other planets in the universe, and although I have undergone many, many years of penance for self-realization, still I offer my respects unto You. PURPORT Brahma is the greatest personality in the universe because he has the longest duration of life. He is the most respectable personality because of his penance, influence, prestige, etc., and still he has to offer his respectful obeisances unto the Lord. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all others, who are far, far below the standard of Brahma, to do as he did and offer respects as a matter of duty. SB3.9.19 TEXT 19 tiryan-manusya-vibudhadisu jiva-yonisv atmecchayatma-krta-setu-paripsaya yah reme nirasta-visayo ’py avaruddha-dehas tasmai namo bhagavate purusottamaya SYNONYMS tiryak—animals lower than human beings; manusya—human beings, etc.; vibudha-adisu—amongst the demigods; jiva-yonisu—in different species of life; atma—self; icchaya—by the will; atma-krta—self-created; setu—obligations; paripsaya—desiring to preserve; yah—who; reme—performing transcendental pastimes; nirasta—not being affected; visayah—material contamination; api—certainly; avaruddha—manifested; dehah—transcendental body; tasmai—unto Him; namah—my obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; purusottamaya—the primeval Lord. TRANSLATION O my Lord, by Your own will You appear in the various species of living entities, among animals lower than human beings as well as among the demigods, to perform Your transcendental pastimes. You are not affected by material contamination. You come just to fulfill the obligations of Your own principles of religion, and therefore, O Supreme Personality, I offer my obeisances unto You for manifesting such different forms. PURPORT The Lord’s incarnations in different species of life are all transcendental. He appears as a human being in His incarnations of Krsna, Rama, etc., but He is not a human being. Anyone who mistakes Him for an ordinary human being is certainly not very intelligent, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.11): avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam. The same principle is applicable when He appears as the hog or fish incarnations. They are transcendental forms of the Lord and are manifested under certain necessities of His own pleasure and pastimes. Such manifestations of the transcendental forms of the Lord are accepted by Him mostly to enliven His devotees. All His incarnations are manifested whenever there is a need to deliver His devotees and maintain His own principles. SB3.9.20 TEXT 20 yo ’vidyayanupahato ’pi dasardha-vrttya nidram uvaha jathari-krta-loka-yatrah antar-jale ’hi-kasipu-sparsanukulam bhimormi-malini janasya sukham vivrnvan SYNONYMS yah—one; avidyaya—influenced by nescience; anupahatah—without being affected; api—in spite of; dasa-ardha—five; vrttya—interaction; nidram—sleep; uvaha—accepted; jathari—within the abdomen; krta—doing so; loka-yatrah—maintenance of the different entities; antah-jale—within the water of devastation; ahi-kasipu—on the snake bed; sparsa-anukulam—happy for the touch; bhima-urmi—violent waves; malini—chain of; janasya—of the intelligent person; sukham—happiness; vivrnvan—showing. TRANSLATION My Lord, You accept the pleasure of sleeping in the water of devastation, where there are violent waves, and You enjoy pleasure on the bed of snakes, showing the happiness of Your sleep to intelligent persons. At that time, all the universal planets are stationed within Your abdomen. PURPORT Persons who cannot think of anything beyond the limit of their own power are like frogs in a well who cannot imagine the length and breadth of the great Pacific Ocean. Such people take it as legendary when they hear that the Supreme Lord is lying on His bed within the great ocean of the universe. They are surprised that one can lie down within water and sleep very happily. But a little intelligence can mitigate this foolish astonishment. There are many living entities within the bed of the ocean who also enjoy the material bodily activities of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. If such insignificant living entities can enjoy life within the water, why can’t the Supreme Lord, who is all-powerful, sleep on the cool body of a serpent and enjoy in the turmoil of violent ocean waves? The distinction of the Lord is that His activities are all transcendental, and He is able to do anything and everything without being deterred by limitations of time and space. He can enjoy His transcendental happiness regardless of material considerations. SB3.9.21 TEXT 21 yan-nabhi-padma-bhavanad aham asam idya loka-trayopakarano yad-anugrahena tasmai namas ta udara-stha-bhavaya yoga- nidravasana-vikasan-nalineksanaya SYNONYMS yat—whose; nabhi—navel; padma—lotus; bhavanat—from the house of; aham—I; asam—became manifested; idya—O worshipable one; loka-traya—the three worlds; upakaranah—helping in the creation of; yat—whose; anugrahena—by the mercy; tasmai—unto Him; namah—my obeisances; te—unto You; udara-stha—situated within the abdomen; bhavaya—having the universe; yoga-nidra-avasana—after the end of that transcendental sleep; vikasat—blossoming; nalina-iksanaya—unto Him whose opening eyes are like lotuses. TRANSLATION O object of my worship, I am born from the house of Your lotus navel for the purpose of creating the universe by Your mercy. All these planets of the universe were stationed within Your transcendental abdomen while You were enjoying sleep. Now, Your sleep having ended, Your eyes are open like blossoming lotuses in the morning. PURPORT Brahma is teaching us the beginning of arcana regulations from morning (four o’clock) to night (ten o’clock). Early in the morning, the devotee has to rise from his bed and pray to the Lord, and there are other regulative principles for offering mangala-arati early in the morning. Foolish nondevotees, not understanding the importance of arcana, criticize the regulative principles, but they have no eyes to see that the Lord also sleeps, by His own will. The impersonal conception of the Supreme is so detrimental to the path of devotional service that it is very difficult to associate with the stubborn nondevotees, who always think in terms of material conceptions. Impersonalists always think backwards. They think that because there is form in matter, spirit should be formless; because in matter there is sleep, in spirit there cannot be sleep; and because the sleeping of the Deity is accepted in arcana worship, the arcana is maya. All these thoughts are basically material. To think either positively or negatively is still thinking materially. Knowledge accepted from the superior source of the Vedas is standard. Here in these verses of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, we find that arcana is recommended. Before Brahma took up the task of creation, he found the Lord sleeping on the serpent bed in the waves of the water of devastation. Therefore, sleeping exists in the internal potency of the Lord, and this is not denied by pure devotees of the Lord like Brahma and his disciplic succession. It is clearly said here that the Lord slept very happily within the violent waves of the water, manifesting thereby that He is able to do anything and everything by His transcendental will and not be hampered by any circumstances. The Mayavadi cannot think beyond this material experience, and thus he denies the Lord’s ability to sleep within the water. His mistake is that he compares the Lord to himself—and that comparison is also a material thought. The whole philosophy of the Mayavada school, based on “not this, not that” (neti, neti), is basically material. Such thought cannot give one the chance to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is. SB3.9.22 TEXT 22 so ’yam samasta-jagatam suhrd eka atma sattvena yan mrdayate bhagavan bhagena tenaiva me drsam anusprsatad yathaham sraksyami purvavad idam pranata-priyo ’sau SYNONYMS sah—He; ayam—the Lord; samasta-jagatam—of all the universes; suhrt ekah—the one friend and philosopher; atma—the Supersoul; sattvena—by the mode of goodness; yat—one who; mrdayate—causes happiness; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; bhagena—with six opulences; tena—by Him; eva—certainly; me—to me; drsam—power of introspection; anusprsatat—let Him give; yatha—as; aham—I; sraksyami—will be able to create; purva-vat—as before; idam—this universe; pranata—surrendered; priyah—dear; asau—He (the Lord). TRANSLATION Let the Supreme Lord be merciful towards me. He is the one friend and soul of all living entities in the world, and He maintains all, for their ultimate happiness, by His six transcendental opulences. May He be merciful towards me so that I, as before, may be empowered with the introspection to create, for I am also one of the surrendered souls who are dear to the Lord. PURPORT The Supreme Lord, Purusottama, or Sri Krsna, is the maintainer of all, in both the transcendental and material worlds. He is the life and friend of all because there is eternally natural affection and love between the living entities and the Lord. He is the one friend and well-wisher for all, and He is one without a second. The Lord maintains all the living entities everywhere by His six transcendental opulences, for which He is known as bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Brahma prayed for His mercy so that he might be able to create the universal affairs as he did before; only by the Lord’s causeless mercy could he create both material and spiritual personalities like Marici and Narada respectively. Brahma prayed to the Lord because He is very much dear to the surrendered soul. The surrendered soul knows nothing but the Lord, and therefore the Lord is very affectionate towards him. SB3.9.23 TEXT 23 esa prapanna-varado ramayatma-saktya yad yat karisyati grhita-gunavatarah tasmin sva-vikramam idam srjato ’pi ceto yunjita karma-samalam ca yatha vijahyam SYNONYMS esah—this; prapanna—one who is surrendered; vara-dah—benefactor; ramaya—enjoying always with the goddess of fortune (Laksmi); atma-saktya—with His internal potency; yat yat—whatever; karisyati—He may act; grhita—accepting; guna-avatarah—incarnation of the mode of goodness; tasmin—unto Him; sva-vikramam—with omnipotency; idam—this cosmic manifestation; srjatah—creating; api—in spite of; cetah—heart; yunjita—be engaged; karma—work; samalam—material affection; ca—also; yatha—as much as; vijahyam—I can give up. TRANSLATION The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is always the benefactor of the surrendered souls. His activities are always enacted through His internal potency, Rama, or the goddess of fortune. I pray only to engage in His service in the creation of the material world, and I pray that I not be materially affected by my works, for thus I may be able to give up the false prestige of being the creator. PURPORT In the matter of material creation, maintenance and destruction, there are three incarnations of the material modes of nature—Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara. But the Lord’s incarnation as Visnu, in His internal potency, is the supreme energy for the total activities. Brahma, who is only an assistant in the modes of creation, wanted to remain in his actual position as an instrument of the Lord instead of becoming puffed up by the false prestige of thinking himself the creator. That is the way of becoming dear to the Supreme Lord and receiving His benediction. Foolish men want to take credit for all creations made by them, but intelligent persons know very well that not a blade of grass can move without the will of the Lord; thus all the credit for wonderful creations must go to Him. By spiritual consciousness only can one be free from the contamination of material affection and receive the benedictions offered by the Lord.
mitho ’bhipadyeta grha-vratanam
adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram
punah punas carvita-carvananam
durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah
andha yathandhair upaniyamanas
te ’pisa-tantryam uru-damni baddhah
sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
mahiyasam pada-rajo-’bhisekam
niskincananam na vrnita yavat