Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Nine

SB3.9.24

TEXT 24

nabhi-hradad iha sato ’mbhasi yasya pumso

vijnana-saktir aham asam ananta-sakteh

rupam vicitram idam asya vivrnvato me

ma ririsista nigamasya giram visargah

SYNONYMS

nabhi-hradat—from the navel lake; iha—in this millennium; satah—lying; ambhasi—in the water; yasya—one whose; pumsah—of the Personality of Godhead; vijnana—of the total universe; saktih—energy; aham—I; asam—was born; ananta—unlimited; sakteh—of the powerful; rupam—form; vicitram—variegated; idam—this; asya—His; vivrnvatah—manifesting; me—unto me; ma—may not; ririsista—vanish; nigamasya—of the Vedas; giram—of the sounds; visargah—vibration.

TRANSLATION

The Lord’s potencies are innumerable. As He lies down in the water of devastation, I am born as the total universal energy from the navel lake in which the lotus sprouts. I am now engaged in manifesting His diverse energies in the form of the cosmic manifestation. I therefore pray that in the course of my material activities I may not be deviated from the vibration of the Vedic hymns.

PURPORT

Every person engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord in this material world is prone to so many material activities, and if one is not strong enough to protect himself against the onslaught of material affection, he may be diverted from the spiritual energy. In the material creation Brahma has to create all kinds of living entities with bodies suitable to their material conditions. Brahma wants to be protected by the Lord because he has to contact many, many vicious living entities. An ordinary brahmana may fall from the brahma-tejas, or the power of brahminical excellence, due to his association with many fallen, conditioned souls. Brahma, as the supermost brahmana, is afraid of such a falldown, and therefore he prays to the Lord for protection. This is a warning for one and all in the spiritual advancement of life. Unless one is sufficiently protected by the Lord, he may fall down from his spiritual position; therefore one has to pray constantly to the Lord for protection and the blessing to carry out one’s duty. Lord Caitanya also entrusted His missionary work to His devotees and assured them of His protection against the onslaught of material affection. The path of spiritual life is stated in the Vedas to be like the edge of a sharpened razor. A little inattentiveness may at once create havoc and bloodshed, but one who is a completely surrendered soul, always seeking protection from the Lord in the discharge of his entrusted duties, has no fear of falling into material contamination.

SB3.9.25

TEXT 25

so ’sav adabhra-karuno bhagavan vivrddha-

prema-smitena nayanamburuham vijrmbhan

utthaya visva-vijayaya ca no visadam

madhvya girapanayatat purusah puranah

SYNONYMS

sah—He (the Lord); asau—that; adabhra—unlimited; karunah—merciful; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; vivrddha—excessive; prema—love; smitena—by smiling; nayana-amburuham—the lotus eyes; vijrmbhan—by opening; utthaya—for flourishing; visva-vijayaya—for glorifying the cosmic creation; ca—as also; nah—our; visadam—dejection; madhvya—by sweet; gira—words; apanayatat—let Him kindly remove; purusah—the Supreme; puranah—oldest.

TRANSLATION

The Lord, who is supreme and is the oldest of all, is unlimitedly merciful. I wish that He may smilingly bestow His benediction upon me by opening His lotus eyes. He can uplift the entire cosmic creation and remove our dejection by kindly speaking His directions.

PURPORT

The Lord is ever increasingly merciful upon the fallen souls of this material world. The whole cosmic manifestation is a chance for all to improve themselves in devotional service to the Lord, and everyone is meant for that purpose. The Lord expands Himself into many personalities who are either self-expansions or separated expansions. The personalities of the individual souls are His separated expansions, whereas the self-expansions are the Lord Himself. The self-expansions are predominators, and the separated expansions are predominated for reciprocation of transcendental bliss with the supreme form of bliss and knowledge. The liberated souls can join in this blissful reciprocation of predominator and predominated without materially concocted ideas. The typical example of such a transcendental exchange between the predominator and the predominated is the Lord’s rasa-lila with the gopis. The gopis are predominated expansions of the internal potency, and therefore the Lord’s participation in the rasa-lila dance is never to be considered like the mundane relationship of man and woman. It is, rather, the highest perfectional stage of the exchange of feelings between the Lord and the living entities. The Lord gives the fallen souls the chance for this highest perfection of life. Lord Brahma is entrusted with the management of the complete cosmic show, and therefore he prays that the Lord bestow His blessings upon him so that he may execute its purpose.

SB3.9.26

TEXT 26

maitreya uvaca

sva-sambhavam nisamyaivam

tapo-vidya-samadhibhih

yavan mano-vacah stutva

virarama sa khinnavat

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—the great sage Maitreya said; sva-sambhavam—the source of his appearance; nisamya—by seeing; evam—thus; tapah—penance; vidya—knowledge; samadhibhih—as also by concentration of the mind; yavat—as far as possible; manah—mind; vacah—words; stutva—having prayed; virarama—became silent; sah—he (Brahma); khinna-vat—as if tired.

TRANSLATION

The sage Maitreya said: O Vidura, after observing the source of his appearance, namely the Personality of Godhead, Brahma prayed for His mercy as far as his mind and words would permit him. Thus having prayed, he became silent, as if tired from his activities of penance, knowledge and mental concentration.

PURPORT

Brahma’s enlightenment in knowledge was due to the Lord sitting within his heart. After being created, Brahma could not ascertain the source of his appearance, but after penance and mental concentration he could see the source of his birth, and thus he became enlightened through his heart. The spiritual master outside and the spiritual master within are both representations of the Lord. Unless one has contact with such bona fide representations, one cannot claim to be a spiritual master. Lord Brahma had no opportunity to take the help of a spiritual master from outside because at that time Brahma himself was the only creature in the universe. Therefore, on becoming satisfied by the prayers of Brahma, the Lord enlightened him about everything from within.

SB3.9.27-28

TEXTS 27–28

athabhipretam anviksya

brahmano madhusudanah

visanna-cetasam tena

kalpa-vyatikarambhasa

loka-samsthana-vijnana

atmanah parikhidyatah

tam ahagadhaya vaca

kasmalam samayann iva

SYNONYMS

atha—thereupon; abhipretam—intention; anviksya—observing; brahmanah—of Brahma; madhusudanah—the killer of the Madhu demon; visanna—depressed; cetasam—of the heart; tena—by him; kalpa—millennium; vyatikara-ambhasa—devastating water; loka-samsthana—situation of the planetary system; vijnane—in the science; atmanah—of himself; parikhidyatah—sufficiently anxious; tam—unto him; aha—said; agadhaya—deeply thoughtful; vaca—by words; kasmalam—impurities; samayan—removing; iva—like that.

TRANSLATION

The Lord saw that Brahma was very anxious about the planning and construction of the different planetary systems and was depressed upon seeing the devastating water. He could understand the intention of Brahma, and thus He spoke in deep, thoughtful words, removing all the illusion that had arisen.

PURPORT

The devastating water was so fearful that even Brahma was perturbed at its appearance and became very anxious about how to situate the different planetary systems in outer space to accommodate the different kinds of living entities, such as the human beings, those lower than the human beings, and the superhuman beings. All the planets in the universe are situated according to the different grades of living entities under the influence of the modes of material nature. There are three modes of material nature, and when they are mixed with one another they become nine. When the nine are mixed they become eighty-one, and the eighty-one also become mixed, and thus we ultimately do not know how the delusion increases and increases. Lord Brahma had to accommodate different places and situations for the requisite bodies of the conditioned souls. The task was meant only for Brahma, and no one in the universe can even understand how difficult it was. But by the grace of the Lord, Brahma was able to execute the tremendous task so perfectly that everyone is amazed to see the workmanship of the vidhata, or the regulator.

SB3.9.29

TEXT 29

sri-bhagavan uvaca

ma veda-garbha gas tandrim

sarga udyamam avaha

tan mayapaditam hy agre

yan mam prarthayate bhavan

SYNONYMS

sri-bhagavan uvaca—the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, said; ma—do not; veda-garbha—O You who have the depth of all Vedic wisdom; gah tandrim—become dejected; sarge—for creation; udyamam—enterprises; avaha—you just undertake; tat—that (which you want); maya—by Me; apaditam—executed; hi—certainly; agre—previously; yat—which; mam—from Me; prarthayate—begging; bhavan—you.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead then said: O Brahma, O depth of Vedic wisdom, be neither depressed nor anxious about the execution of creation. What you are begging from Me has already been granted before.

PURPORT

Any person authorized by either the Lord or by His bona fide representative is already blessed, as is the work entrusted to him. Of course, the person entrusted with such a responsibility should always be aware of his incapability and must always look for the mercy of the Lord for the successful execution of his duty. One should not be puffed up because he is entrusted with certain executive work. Fortunate is he who is so entrusted, and if he is always fixed in the sense of being subordinate to the will of the Supreme, he is sure to come out successful in the discharge of his work. Arjuna was entrusted with the work of fighting on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, and before he was so entrusted, the Lord had already arranged for his victory. But Arjuna was always conscious of his position as subordinate to the Lord, and thus he accepted Him as the supreme guide in his responsibility. Anyone who takes pride in doing responsible work but does not give credit to the Supreme Lord is certainly falsely proud and cannot execute anything nicely. Brahma and persons in the line of his disciplic succession who follow in his footsteps are always successful in the discharge of loving transcendental service to the Supreme Lord.

SB3.9.30

TEXT 30

bhuyas tvam tapa atistha

vidyam caiva mad-asrayam

tabhyam antar-hrdi brahman

lokan draksyasy apavrtan

SYNONYMS

bhuyah—again; tvam—yourself; tapah—penance; atistha—be situated; vidyam—in the knowledge; ca—also; eva—certainly; mat—My; asrayam—under the protection; tabhyam—by those qualifications; antah—within; hrdi—in the heart; brahman—O brahmana; lokan—all the worlds; draksyasi—you will see; apavrtan—all disclosed.

TRANSLATION

O Brahma, situate yourself in penance and meditation and follow the principles of knowledge to receive My favor. By these actions you will be able to understand everything from within your heart.

PURPORT

The mercy the Lord bestows upon a particular person engaged in executing the responsible work entrusted unto him is beyond imagination. But His mercy is received due to our penance and perseverance in executing devotional service. Brahma was entrusted with the work of creating the planetary systems. The Lord instructed him that when he meditated he would very easily know where and how the planetary systems must be arranged. The directions were to come from within, and there was no necessity for anxiety in that task. Such instructions of buddhi-yoga are directly imparted by the Lord from within, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (10.10).

SB3.9.31

TEXT 31

tata atmani loke ca

bhakti-yuktah samahitah

drastasi mam tatam brahman

mayi lokams tvam atmanah

SYNONYMS

tatah—thereafter; atmani—in yourself; loke—in the universe; ca—also; bhakti-yuktah—being situated in devotional service; samahitah—being completely absorbed; drasta asi—you shall see; mam—Me; tatam—spread throughout; brahman—O Brahma; mayi—in Me; lokan—all the universe; tvam—you; atmanah—the living entities.

TRANSLATION

O Brahma, when you are absorbed in devotional service, in the course of your creative activities, you will see Me in you and throughout the universe, and you will see that you yourself, the universe and the living entities are all in Me.

PURPORT

It is cited herein by the Lord that during his daytime Brahma would see Him as Lord Sri Krsna. He would appreciate how the Lord expanded Himself into all the calves during His childhood at Vrndavana, he would know how Yasodamayi saw all the universes and planetary systems within the mouth of Krsna during His playful childhood pastimes, and he would also see that there are many millions of Brahmas during the appearance of Lord Krsna in Brahma’s daytime. But all these manifestations of the Lord, appearing everywhere in His eternal, transcendental forms, cannot be understood by anyone but the pure devotees, who are always engaged in devotional service to the Lord and are fully absorbed in the Lord. The high qualifications of Brahma are also indicated herein.

SB3.9.32

TEXT 32

yada tu sarva-bhutesu

darusv agnim iva sthitam

praticaksita mam loko

jahyat tarhy eva kasmalam

SYNONYMS

yada—when; tu—but; sarva—all; bhutesu—in the living entities; darusu—in wood; agnim—fire; iva—like; sthitam—situated; praticaksita—you shall see; mam—Me; lokah—and the universe; jahyat—can give up; tarhi—then at once; eva—certainly; kasmalam—illusion.

TRANSLATION

You will see Me in all living entities as well as all over the universe, just as fire is situated in wood. Only in that state of transcendental vision will you be able to be free from all kinds of illusion.

PURPORT

Brahma prayed that he might not forget his eternal relationship with the Lord during the course of his material activities. In answer to that prayer, the Lord said that he should not think of existing without a relationship with His omnipotency. The example is given of the fire in wood. The fire kindled in wood is always the same, although the wood may be of different types. Similarly, the bodies within the material creation may be specifically different according to shape and quality, but the spirit souls within them are not different from one another. The quality of fire, warmth, is the same everywhere, and the spiritual spark, or part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, is the same in every living being; thus the potency of the Lord is distributed all over His creation. This transcendental knowledge alone can save one from the contamination of material illusion. Since the Lord’s potency is distributed everywhere, a pure soul, or devotee of the Lord, can see everything in relationship with the Lord, and therefore he has no affection for the outer coverings. That pure spiritual conception makes him immune to all contamination of material association. The pure devotee never forgets the touch of the Lord in all circumstances.

SB3.9.33

TEXT 33

yada rahitam atmanam

bhutendriya-gunasayaih

svarupena mayopetam

pasyan svarajyam rcchati

SYNONYMS

yada—when; rahitam—freed from; atmanam—self; bhuta—material elements; indriya—material senses; guna-asayaih—under the influence of the material modes of nature; svarupena—in pure existence; maya—by Me; upetam—approaching; pasyan—by seeing; svarajyam—spiritual kingdom; rcchati—enjoy.

TRANSLATION

When you are free from the conception of gross and subtle bodies and when your senses are free from all influences of the modes of material nature, you will realize your pure form in My association. At that time you will be situated in pure consciousness.

PURPORT

In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu it is said that a person whose only desire is to render transcendental loving service to the Lord is a free person in any condition of material existence. That service attitude is the svarupa, or real form, of the living entity. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in the Caitanya-caritamrta, also confirms this statement by declaring that the real, spiritual form of the living entity is eternal servitorship to the Supreme Lord. The Mayavada school shudders at the thought of a service attitude in the living entity, not knowing that in the transcendental world the service of the Lord is based on transcendental love. Transcendental loving service is never to be compared to the forced service of the material world. In the material world, even if one is under the conception that he is no one’s servant, he is still the servant of his senses, under the dictation of the material modes. Factually no one is master here in the material world, and therefore the servants of the senses have a very bad experience of servitude. They shudder at the thought of service because they have no knowledge of the transcendental position. In transcendental loving service, the servitor is as free as the Lord. The Lord is svarat, or fully independent, and the servant is also fully independent, or svarat, in the spiritual atmosphere because there is no forced service. There the transcendental loving service is due to spontaneous love. A reflected glimpse of such service is experienced in the service of the mother unto the son, the friend’s service unto the friend, or the wife’s service unto the husband. These reflections of service by friends, parents or wives are not forced, but are due only to love. Here in this material world, however, the loving service is only a reflection. The real service, or service in svarupa, is present in the transcendental world, in association with the Lord. The very same service in transcendental love can be practiced in devotion here.

This verse is also applicable to the jnani school. The enlightened jnani, when free from all material contaminations, namely the gross and subtle bodies together with the senses of the material modes of nature, is placed in the Supreme and is thus liberated from material bondage. The jnanis and the devotees are actually in agreement up to the point of liberation from material contamination. But whereas the jnanis remain pacified on the platform of simple understanding, the devotees develop further spiritual advancement in loving service. The devotees develop a spiritual individuality in their spontaneous service attitude, which is enhanced on and on, up to the point of madhurya-rasa, or transcendental loving service reciprocated between the lover and the beloved.

SB3.9.34

TEXT 34

nana-karma-vitanena

praja bahvih sisrksatah

natmavasidaty asmims te

varsiyan mad-anugrahah

SYNONYMS

nana-karma—varieties of service; vitanena—by expansion of; prajah—population; bahvih—innumerable; sisrksatah—desiring to increase; na—never; atma—self; avasidati—will be bereaved; asmin—in the matter; te—of you; varsiyan—always increasing; mat—My; anugrahah—causeless mercy.

TRANSLATION

Since you have desired to increase the population innumerably and expand your varieties of service, you shall never be deprived in this matter because My causeless mercy upon you will always increase for all time.

PURPORT

A pure devotee of the Lord, being cognizant of the facts of the particular time, object and circumstances, always desires to expand the number of devotees of the Lord in various ways. Such expansions of transcendental service may appear to be material to the materialist, but factually they are expansions of the causeless mercy of the Lord towards the devotee. Plans for such activities may appear to be material activities, but they are different in potency, being engaged in the satisfaction of the transcendental senses of the Supreme.

SB3.9.35

TEXT 35

rsim adyam na badhnati

papiyams tvam rajo-gunah

yan mano mayi nirbaddham

prajah samsrjato ’pi te

SYNONYMS

rsim—unto the great sage; adyam—the first of the kind; na—never; badhnati—encroaches; papiyan—vicious; tvam—you; rajah-gunah—the material mode of passion; yat—because; manah—mind; mayi—in Me; nirbaddham—compact in; prajah—progeny; samsrjatah—generating; api—in spite of; te—your.

TRANSLATION

You are the original rsi, and because your mind is always fixed on Me, even though you will be engaged in generating various progeny, the vicious mode of passion will never encroach upon you.

PURPORT

The same assurance is given to Brahma in the Second Canto, Chapter Nine, verse 36. Being so favored by the Lord, Brahma’s schemes and plans are all infallible. If sometimes Brahma is seen to be bewildered, as, in the Tenth Canto, he is bewildered by seeing the action of the internal potency, that is also for his further advancement in transcendental service. Arjuna is found to be similarly bewildered. All such bewilderment of the pure devotees of the Lord is specifically meant for their further advancement in knowledge of the Lord.

SB3.9.36

TEXT 36

jnato ’ham bhavata tv adya

durvijneyo ’pi dehinam

yan mam tvam manyase ’yuktam

bhutendriya-gunatmabhih

SYNONYMS

jnatah—known; aham—Myself; bhavata—by you; tu—but; adya—today; duh—difficult; vijneyah—to be known; api—in spite of; dehinam—for the conditioned soul; yat—because; mam—Me; tvam—you; manyase—understand; ayuktam—without being made of; bhuta—material elements; indriya—material senses; guna—material modes; atmabhih—and false ego like the conditioned soul.

TRANSLATION

Although I am not easily knowable by the conditioned soul, you have known Me today because you know that My personality is not constituted of anything material, and specifically not of the five gross and three subtle elements.

PURPORT

Knowledge of the Supreme Absolute Truth does not necessitate negation of the material manifestation but understanding of spiritual existence as it is. To think that because material existence is realized in forms therefore spiritual existence must be formless is only a negative material conception of spirit. The real spiritual conception is that spiritual form is not material form. Brahma appreciated the eternal form of the Lord in that way, and the Personality of Godhead approved of Brahma’s spiritual conception. In Bhagavad-gita the Lord condemned the material conception of Krsna’s body which arises because He is apparently present like a man. The Lord may appear in any of His many, many spiritual forms, but He is not materially composed, nor has He any difference between body and self. That is the way of conceiving the spiritual form of the Lord.

SB3.9.37

TEXT 37

tubhyam mad-vicikitsayam

atma me darsito ’bahih

nalena salile mulam

puskarasya vicinvatah

SYNONYMS

tubhyam—unto you; mat—Me; vicikitsayam—on your trying to know; atma—self; me—of Myself; darsitah—exhibited; abahih—from within; nalena—through the stem; salile—in the water; mulam—root; puskarasya—of the lotus, the primeval source; vicinvatah—contemplating.

TRANSLATION

When you were contemplating whether there was a source to the stem of the lotus of your birth and you even entered into that stem, you could not trace out anything. But at that time I manifested My form from within.

PURPORT

The Personality of Godhead can be experienced only by His causeless mercy, not by mental speculation or with the help of the material senses. Material senses cannot approach the transcendental understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He can be appreciated only by submissive devotional service when He reveals Himself before the devotee. Only by love of Godhead can one know God, and not otherwise. The Personality of Godhead cannot be seen with the material eyes, but He can be seen from within by spiritual eyes opened by the ointment of love of Godhead. As long as one’s spiritual eyes are closed due to the dirty covering of matter, one cannot see the Lord. But when the dirt is removed by the process of devotional service, one can see the Lord, without a doubt. Brahma’s personal endeavor to see the root of the lotus pipe failed, but when the Lord was satisfied by his penance and devotion, He revealed Himself from within with no external endeavor.

SB3.9.38

TEXT 38

yac cakarthanga mat-stotram

mat-kathabhyudayankitam

yad va tapasi te nistha

sa esa mad-anugrahah

SYNONYMS

yat—that which; cakartha—performed; anga—O Brahma; mat-stotram—prayers for Me; mat-katha—words regarding My activities; abhyudaya-ankitam—enumerating My transcendental glories; yat—or that; va—either; tapasi—in penance; te—your; nistha—faith; sah—that; esah—all these; mat—My; anugrahah—causeless mercy.

TRANSLATION

O Brahma, the prayers that you have chanted praising the glories of My transcendental activities, the penances you have undertaken to understand Me, and your firm faith in Me—all these are to be considered My causeless mercy.

PURPORT

When a living entity desires to serve the Lord in transcendental loving service, the Lord helps the devotee in so many ways as the caitya-guru, or the spiritual master within, and thus the devotee can perform many wonderful activities beyond material estimation. By the mercy of the Lord even a layman can compose prayers of the highest spiritual perfection. Such spiritual perfection is not limited by material qualifications but is developed by dint of one’s sincere endeavor to render transcendental service. Voluntary endeavor is the only qualification for spiritual perfection. Material acquisitions of wealth or education are not considered.

SB3.9.39

TEXT 39

prito ’ham astu bhadram te

lokanam vijayecchaya

yad astausir gunamayam

nirgunam manuvarnayan

SYNONYMS

pritah—pleased; aham—Myself; astu—let it be so; bhadram—all benediction; te—unto you; lokanam—of the planets; vijaya—for glorification; icchaya—by your desire; yat—that which; astausih—you prayed for; guna-mayam—describing all transcendental qualities; nirgunam—although I am free from all material qualities; ma—Me; anuvarnayan—nicely describing.

TRANSLATION

I am very much pleased by your description of Me in terms of My transcendental qualities, which appear mundane to the mundaners. I grant you all benedictions in your desire to glorify all the planets by your activities.

PURPORT

A pure devotee of the Lord like Brahma and those in his line of disciplic succession always desire that the Lord be known all over the universe by each and every one of the living entities. That desire of the devotee is always blessed by the Lord. The impersonalist sometimes prays for the mercy of the Personality of Godhead Narayana as the embodiment of material goodness, but such prayers do not satisfy the Lord because He is not thereby glorified in terms of His actual transcendental qualities. The pure devotees of the Lord are always most dear to Him, although He is always kind and merciful to all living entities. Here the word gunamayam is significant because it indicates the Lord’s possessing transcendental qualities.

SB3.9.40

TEXT 40

ya etena puman nityam

stutva stotrena mam bhajet

tasyasu samprasideyam

sarva-kama-varesvarah

SYNONYMS

yah—anyone who; etena—by this; puman—human being; nityam—regularly; stutva—praying; stotrena—by the verses; mam—Me; bhajet—may worship; tasya—his; asu—very soon; samprasideyam—I shall fulfill; sarva—all; kama—desires; vara-isvarah—the Lord of all benediction.

TRANSLATION

Any human being who prays like Brahma, and who thus worships Me, shall very soon be blessed with the fulfillment of all his desires, for I am the Lord of all benediction.

PURPORT

The prayers offered by Brahma cannot be chanted by anyone who desires to fulfill his own sense gratification. Such prayers can be selected only by a person who wants to satisfy the Lord in His service. The Lord certainly fulfills all desires in regard to transcendental loving service, but He cannot fulfill the whims of nondevotees, even when such casual devotees offer Him the best of prayers.

SB3.9.41

TEXT 41

purtena tapasa yajnair

danair yoga-samadhina

raddham nihsreyasam pumsam

mat-pritis tattvavin-matam

SYNONYMS

purtena—by traditional good work; tapasa—by penances; yajnaih—by sacrifices; danaih—by charities; yoga—by mysticism; samadhina—by trance; raddham—success; nihsreyasam—ultimately beneficial; pumsam—of the human being; mat—of Me; pritih—satisfaction; tattva-vit—expert transcendentalist; matam—opinion.

TRANSLATION

It is the opinion of expert transcendentalists that the ultimate goal of performing all traditional good works, penances, sacrifices, charities, mystic activities, trances, etc., is to invoke My satisfaction.

PURPORT

There are many traditionally pious activities in human society, such as altruism, philanthropy, nationalism, internationalism, charity, sacrifice, penance, and even meditation in trance, and all of them can be fully beneficial only when they lead to the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The perfection of any activity—social, political, religious or philanthropic—is to satisfy the Supreme Lord. This secret of success is known to the devotee of the Lord, as exemplified by Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. As a good, nonviolent man, Arjuna did not want to fight with his kinsmen, but when he understood that Krsna wanted the fight and had arranged it at Kuruksetra, he gave up his own satisfaction and fought for the satisfaction of the Lord. That is the right decision for all intelligent men. One’s only concern should be to satisfy the Lord by one’s activities. If the Lord is satisfied by an action, whatever it may be, then it is successful. Otherwise, it is simply a waste of time. That is the standard of all sacrifice, penance, austerity, mystic trance and other good and pious work.

SB3.9.42

TEXT 42

aham atmatmanam dhatah

presthah san preyasam api

ato mayi ratim kuryad

dehadir yat-krte priyah

SYNONYMS

aham—I am; atma—the Supersoul; atmanam—of all other souls; dhatah—director; presthah—the dearest; san—being; preyasam—of all dear things; api—certainly; atah—therefore; mayi—unto Me; ratim—attachment; kuryat—one should do; deha-adih—the body and mind; yat-krte—on whose account; priyah—very dear.

TRANSLATION

I am the Supersoul of every individual. I am the supreme director and the dearest. People are wrongly attached to the gross and subtle bodies, but they should be attached to Me only.

PURPORT

The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is the dearest in both the conditioned and liberated states. When a person does not know that the Lord is the only dearmost object, then he is in the conditioned state of life, and when one knows perfectly well that the Lord is the only dearmost object, he is considered to be liberated. There are degrees of knowing one’s relationship with the Lord, depending on the degree of realization as to why the Supreme Lord is the dearmost object of every living being. The real reason is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gita (15.7). Mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah: the living entities are eternally parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The living entity is called the atma, and the Lord is called the Paramatma. The living entity is called Brahman, and the Lord is called the Parabrahman, or the Paramesvara. Isvarah paramah krsnah [Bs. 5.1]. The conditioned souls, who do not have self-realization, accept the material body as the dearmost. The idea of the dearmost is then spread all over the body, both concentrated and extended. The attachment for one’s own body and its extensions like children and relatives is actually developed on the basis of the real living entity. As soon as the real living entity is out of the body, even the body of the most dear son is no longer attractive. Therefore the living spark, or eternal part of the Supreme, is the real basis of affection, and not the body. Because the living entities are also parts of the whole living entity, that supreme living entity is the factual basis of affection for all. One who has forgotten the basic principle of his love for everything has only flickering love because he is in maya. The more one is affected by the principle of maya, the more he is detached from the basic principle of love. One cannot factually love anything unless he is fully developed in the loving service of the Lord.

In the present verse, stress is given to focusing love upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word kuryat is significant here. This means “one must have it.” It is just to stress that we must have more and more attachment to the principle of love. The influence of maya is experienced by the part and parcel spiritual entity, but it cannot influence the Supersoul, the Paramatma. The Mayavadi philosophers, accepting the influence of maya on the living entity, want to become one with the Paramatma. But because they have no actual love for Paramatma, they remain ever entrapped by the influence of maya and are unable to approach the vicinity of Paramatma. This inability is due to their lack of affection for the Paramatma. A rich miser does not know how to utilize his wealth, and therefore, in spite of his being very rich, his miserly behavior keeps him everlastingly a poor man. On the other hand, a person who knows how to utilize wealth can quickly become a rich man, even with a small credit balance.

The eyes and the sun are very intimately related because without sunlight the eyes are unable to see. But the other parts of the body, being attached to the sun as a source of warmth, take more advantage of the sun than do the eyes. Without possessing affection for the sun, the eyes cannot bear the rays of the sun; or, in other words, such eyes have no capacity to understand the utility of the sun’s rays. Similarly, the empiric philosophers, despite their theoretical knowledge of Brahman, cannot utilize the mercy of the Supreme Brahman because they lack affection. So many impersonal philosophers remain everlastingly under the influence of maya Because, although they indulge in theoretical knowledge of Brahman, they do not develop affection for Brahman nor do they have any scope for development of affection because of their defective method. A devotee of the sun-god, even though devoid of eyesight, can see the sun-god as he is even from this planet, whereas one who is not a devotee of the sun cannot even bear the glaring sunlight. Similarly, by devotional service, even though one is not on the level of a jnani, one can see the Personality of Godhead within himself due to his development of pure love. In all circumstances one should try to develop love of Godhead, and that will solve all contending problems.

SB3.9.43

TEXT 43

sarva-veda-mayenedam

atmanatmatma-yonina

prajah srja yatha-purvam

yas ca mayy anuserate

SYNONYMS

sarva—all; veda-mayena—under complete Vedic wisdom; idam—this; atmana—by the body; atma—you; atma-yonina—directly born of the Lord; prajah—living entities; srja—generate; yatha-purvam—as it was hereinbefore; yah—which; ca—also; mayi—in Me; anuserate—lie.

TRANSLATION

By following My instructions you can now generate the living entities as before, by dint of your complete Vedic wisdom and the body you have directly received from Me, the supreme cause of everything.

SB3.9.44

TEXT 44

maitreya uvaca

tasma evam jagat-srastre

pradhana-purusesvarah

vyajyedam svena rupena

kanja-nabhas tirodadhe

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—the sage Maitreya said; tasmai—unto him; evam—thus; jagat-srastre—unto the creator of the universe; pradhana-purusa-isvarah—the primeval Lord, the Personality of Godhead; vyajya idam—after instructing this; svena—in His person; rupena—by the form; kanja-nabhah—the Personality of Godhead Narayana; tirodadhe—disappeared.

TRANSLATION

The sage Maitreya said: After instructing Brahma, the creator of the universe, to expand, the primeval Lord, the Personality of Godhead in His personal form as Narayana, disappeared.

PURPORT

Before his activity in creating the universe, Brahma saw the Lord. That is the explanation of the catuh-sloki Bhagavatam. When the creation awaited Brahma’s activity, Brahma saw the Lord, and therefore the Lord existed in His personal form before the creation. His eternal form is not created by the attempt of Brahma, as imagined by less intelligent men. The Personality of Godhead appeared as He is before Brahma, and He disappeared from him in the same form, which is not materially tinged.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Ninth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Brahma’s prayers for Creative Energy.”

Next chapter (SB 3.10)