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tam—him (Prajapati Daksa); tatha—in that way; avanatam—prostrated before Him; bhaktam—a great devotee; praja-kamam—desiring to increase the population; prajapatim—unto the prajapati (Daksa); citta-jnah—who can understand the hearts; sarva-bhutanam—of all living entities; idam—this; aha—said; janardanah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can appease everyone’s desires.

Although Prajapati Daksa could not say anything, when the Lord, who knows everyone’s heart, saw His devotee prostrate in that manner and desiring to increase the population, He addressed him as follows.

SB6.4.43

TEXT 43

sri-bhagavan uvaca

pracetasa maha-bhaga

samsiddhas tapasa bhavan

yac chraddhaya mat-paraya

mayi bhavam param gatah

SYNONYMS

sri-bhagavan uvaca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; pracetasa—O My dear Pracetasa; maha-bhaga—O you who are so fortunate; samsiddhah—perfected; tapasa—by your austerities; bhavan—your good self; yat—because; sraddhaya—by great faith; mat-paraya—whose object is Me; mayi—in Me; bhavam—ecstasy; param—supreme; gatah—attained.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O most fortunate Pracetasa, because of your great faith in Me, you have attained the supreme devotional ecstasy. Indeed, because of your austerities, combined with exalted devotion, your life is now successful. You have achieved complete perfection.

PURPORT

As the Lord Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gita (8.15), one reaches the highest perfection when he attains the fortune of realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead:

mam upetya punar janma
duhkhalayam asasvatam
napnuvanti mahatmanah
samsiddhim paramam gatah

“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement teaches one to follow the path toward the topmost perfection simply by performing devotional service.

SB6.4.44

TEXT 44

prito ’ham te praja-natha

yat te ’syodbrmhanam tapah

mamaisa kamo bhutanam

yad bhuyasur vibhutayah

pritah—very much pleased; aham—I; te—with you; praja-natha—O king of population; yat—because; te—your; asya—of this material world; udbrmhanam—causing increase; tapah—austerity; mama—My; esah—this; kamah—desire; bhutanam—of the living entities; yat—which; bhuyasuh—may there be; vibhutayah—advancement in all respects.

My dear Prajapati Daksa, you have performed extreme austerities for the welfare and growth of the world. My desire also is that everyone within this world be happy. I am therefore very pleased with you because you are endeavoring to fulfill My desire for the welfare of the entire world.

After every dissolution of the material cosmos, all the living entities take shelter in the body of Karanodakasayi Visnu, and when creation takes place again, they come forth from His body in their various species to resume their activities. Why does the creation take place in such a way that the living entities are put into conditioned life to suffer the threefold miseries imposed upon them by the material nature? Here the Lord says to Daksa, “You desire to benefit all living entities, and that is also My desire.” The living entities who come in contact with the material world are meant to be corrected. All the living entities within this material world have revolted against the service of the Lord, and therefore they remain within this material world as ever conditioned, nitya-baddha, taking birth again and again. There is a chance, of course, of their being liberated, but nevertheless the conditioned souls, not taking advantage of this opportunity, continue in a life of sense enjoyment, and thus they are punished by birth and death again and again. This is the law of nature. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (7.14):

daivi hy esa guna-mayi
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gita (15.7) the Lord says:

mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
manah sasthanindriyani
prakrti-sthani karsati

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” The living entity’s struggle for existence within the material world is due to his rebellious nature. Unless a living entity surrenders to Krsna, he must continue this life of struggle.

The Krsna consciousness movement is not a fad. It is a bona fide movement intended to promote the welfare of all conditioned souls by trying to elevate everyone to the platform of Krsna consciousness. If one does not come to this platform, he must continue in material existence perpetually, sometimes in the upper planets and sometimes in the lower planets. As confirmed in Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 20.118), kabhu svarge uthaya, kabhu narake dubaya: the conditioned soul sometimes descends into nescience and sometimes gets some relief by being relatively freed from it. This is the life of the conditioned soul.

Prajapati Daksa is trying to benefit the conditioned souls by begetting them to give them a life with a chance for liberation. Liberation means surrender to Krsna. If one begets children with the purpose of training them to surrender to Krsna, fatherhood is very good. Similarly, when the spiritual master trains the conditioned souls to become Krsna conscious, his position is successful. If one gives the conditioned souls a chance to become Krsna conscious, all his activities are approved by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is extremely pleased, as stated here (prito ’ham). Following the examples of the previous acaryas, all the members of the Krsna consciousness movement should try to benefit the conditioned souls by inducing them to become Krsna conscious and giving them all facilities to do so. Such activities constitute real welfare work. By such activities, a preacher or anyone who endeavors to spread Krsna consciousness is recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gita (18.68–69):

ya idam paramam guhyam
mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati
bhaktim mayi param krtva
mam evaisyaty asamsayah

na ca tasman manusyesu
kascin me priya-krttamah
bhavita na ca me tasmad
anyah priyataro bhuvi

“For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.”

SB6.4.45

TEXT 45

brahma bhavo bhavantas ca

manavo vibudhesvarah

vibhutayo mama hy eta

bhutanam bhuti-hetavah

brahma—Lord Brahma; bhavah—Lord Siva; bhavantah—all of you prajapatis; ca—and; manavah—the Manus; vibudha-isvarah—all the different demigods (such as the sun, the moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, who are all in charge of various activities for the welfare of the world); vibhutayah—expansions of energy; mama—My; hi—indeed; etah—all these; bhutanam—of all the living entities; bhuti—of welfare; hetavah—causes.

Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, the Manus, all the other demigods in the higher planetary systems, and you prajapatis, who are increasing the population, are working for the benefit of all living entities. Thus you expansions of My marginal energy are incarnations of My various qualities.

There are various types of incarnations or expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The expansions of His personal self, or visnu-tattva, are called svamsa expansions, whereas the living entities, who are not visnu-tattva but jiva-tattva, are called vibhinnamsa, separated expansions. Although Prajapati Daksa is not on the same level as Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, he is compared to them because he engages in the service of the Lord. In the service of the Personality of Godhead, it is not that Lord Brahma is considered very great while an ordinary human being trying to preach the glories of the Lord is considered very low. There are no such distinctions. Regardless of whether materially high or materially low, anyone engaged in the service of the Lord is spiritually very dear to Him. In this regard, Srila Madhvacarya gives this quotation from the Tantra-nirnaya:

visesa-vyakti-patratvad
brahmadyas tu vibhutayah
tad-antaryaminas caiva
matsyadya vibhavah smrtah

From Lord Brahma down, all the living entities engaged in the service of the Lord are extraordinary and are called vibhuti. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (10.41):

yad yad vibhutimat sattvam
srimad urjitam eva va
tat tad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo-’msa-sambhavam

“Know that all beautiful, glorious and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.” A living entity especially empowered to act on behalf of the Lord is called vibhuti, whereas the visnu-tattva incarnations of the Lord, such as the Matsya avatara (kesava dhrta-mina-sarira jaya jagad-isa hare), are called vibhava.

SB6.4.46

TEXT 46

tapo me hrdayam brahmams

tanur vidya kriyakrtih

angani kratavo jata

dharma atmasavah surah

tapah—austerities like mental control, mystic yoga and meditation; me—My; hrdayam—heart; brahman—O brahmana; tanuh—the body; vidya—the knowledge derived from Vedic scripture; kriya—spiritual activities; akrtih—form; angani—the limbs of the body; kratavah—the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices mentioned in the Vedic literature; jatah—completed; dharmah—the religious principles for executing the ritualistic ceremonies; atma—My soul; asavah—life airs; surah—the demigods who execute My orders in different departments of the material world.

My dear brahmana, austerity in the form of meditation is My heart, Vedic knowledge in the form of hymns and mantras constitutes My body, and spiritual activities and ecstatic emotions are My actual form. The ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices, when properly conducted, are the various limbs of My body, the unseen good fortune proceeding from pious or spiritual activities constitutes My mind, and the demigods who execute My orders in various departments are My life and soul.

Sometimes atheists argue that since God is invisible to their eyes, they do not believe in God. For them the Supreme Lord is describing a method by which one can see God in His impersonal form. Intelligent persons can see God in His personal form, as stated in the sastras, but if one is very eager to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead immediately, face to face, he can see the Supreme Lord through this description, which portrays the various internal and external parts of His body.

To engage in tapasya, or denial of material activities, is the first principle of spiritual life. Then there are spiritual activities, such as the performance of Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, study of the Vedic knowledge, meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. One should also respect the demigods and understand how they are situated, how they act and how they manage the activities of the various departments of this material world. In this way one can see how God is existing and how everything is managed perfectly because of the presence of the Supreme Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (9.10):

mayadhyaksena prakrtih
suyate sa-caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, and it is producing all moving and nonmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.” If one is unable to see the Supreme Lord although He is present as Krsna in His various incarnations, one may see the Supreme Lord’s impersonal feature, according to the direction of the Vedas, by seeing the activities of material nature.

Anything done under the direction of the Vedic injunctions is called dharma, as described by the order carriers of Yamaraja (Bhag. 6.1.40):

veda-pranihito dharmo
hy adharmas tad-viparyayah
vedo narayanah saksat
svayambhur iti susruma

“That which is prescribed in the Vedas constitutes dharma, the religious principles, and the opposite of that is irreligion. The Vedas are directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, and are self-born. This we have heard from Yamaraja.”

In this connection, Srila Madhvacarya comments:

tapo ’bhimani rudras tu
visnor hrdayam asritah
vidya rupa tathaivoma
visnos tanum upasrita

srngarady-akrti-gatah
kriyatma paka-sasanah
angesu kratavah sarve
madhya-dehe ca dharma-rat
prano vayus citta-gato
brahmadyah svesu devatah

The various demigods are all acting under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and according to their various actions the demigods are differently named.

SB6.4.47

TEXT 47

aham evasam evagre

nanyat kincantaram bahih

samjnana-matram avyaktam

prasuptam iva visvatah

aham—I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; eva—only; asam—was; eva—certainly; agre—in the beginning, before the creation; na—not; anyat—other; kinca—anything; antaram—besides Me; bahih—external (since the cosmic manifestation is external to the spiritual world, the spiritual world existed when there was no material world); samjnana-matram—only the consciousness of the living entities; avyaktam—unmanifested; prasuptam—sleeping; iva—like; visvatah—all over.

Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, I alone existed with My specific spiritual potencies. Consciousness was then unmanifested, just as one’s consciousness is unmanifested during the time of sleep.

The word aham indicates a person. As explained in the Vedas, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam: the Lord is the supreme eternal among innumerable eternals and the supreme living being among the innumerable living beings. The Lord is a person who also has impersonal features. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan.” Consideration of the Paramatma and impersonal Brahman arose after the creation; before the creation, only the Supreme Personality of Godhead existed. As firmly declared in Bhagavad-gita (18.55), the Lord can be understood only by bhakti-yoga. The ultimate cause, the supreme cause of creation, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can be understood only by bhakti-yoga. He cannot be understood by speculative philosophical research or by meditation, since all such processes came into existence after the material creation. The impersonal and localized conceptions of the Supreme Lord are more or less materially contaminated. The real spiritual process, therefore, is bhakti-yoga. As the Lord says, bhaktya mam abhijanati: [Bg. 18.55] “Only by devotional service can I be understood.” Before the creation, the Lord existed as a person, as indicated here by the word aham. When Prajapati Daksa saw Him as a person, who was beautifully dressed and ornamented, he actually experienced the meaning of this word aham through devotional service.

Each person is eternal. Because the Lord says that He existed as a person before the creation (agre) and will also exist after the annihilation, the Lord is a person eternally. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura therefore quotes these verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.9.13–14):

na cantar na bahir yasya
na purvam napi caparam
purvaparam bahis cantar
jagato yo jagac ca yah

tam matvatmajam avyaktam
martya-lingam adhoksajam
gopikolukhale damna
babandha prakrtam yatha

The Personality of Godhead appeared in Vrndavana as the son of mother Yasoda, who bound the Lord with rope just as an ordinary mother binds a material child. There are actually no divisions of external and internal for the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]), but when He appears in His own form the unintelligent think Him an ordinary person. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam: [Bg. 9.11] although He comes in His own body, which never changes. mudhas, the unintelligent, think that the impersonal Brahman has assumed a material body to come in the form of a person. Ordinary living beings assume material bodies, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme consciousness, it is stated herein that samjnana-matram, the original consciousness, Krsna consciousness, was unmanifested before the creation, although the consciousness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of everything. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (2.12), “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” Thus the Lord’s person is the Absolute Truth in the past, present and future.

In this regard, Madhvacarya quotes two verses from the Matsya Purana:

nana-varno haris tv eko
bahu-sirsa-bhujo rupat
asil laye tad-anyat tu
suksma-rupam sriyam vina

asuptah supta iva ca
militakso ’bhavad dharih
anyatranadarad visnau
sris ca lineva kathyate
suksmatvena harau sthanal
linam anyad apisyate

After the annihilation of everything, the Supreme Lord, because of His sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], remains in His original form, but since the other living entities have material bodies, the matter merges into matter, and the subtle form of the spirit soul remains within the body of the Lord. The Lord does not sleep, but the ordinary living entities remain asleep until the next creation. An unintelligent person thinks that the opulence of the Supreme Lord is nonexistent after the annihilation, but that is not a fact. The opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as it is in the spiritual world; only in the material world is everything dissolved. Brahma-lina, merging into the Supreme Brahman, is not actual lina, or annihilation, for the subtle form remaining in the Brahman effulgence will return to the material world after the material creation and again assume a material form. This is described as bhutva bhutva praliyate. When the material body is annihilated, the spirit soul remains in a subtle form, which later assumes another material body. This is true for the conditioned souls, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains eternally in His original consciousness and spiritual body.

SB6.4.48

TEXT 48

mayy ananta-gune ’nante

gunato guna-vigrahah

yadasit tata evadyah

svayambhuh samabhud ajah

mayi—in Me; ananta-gune—possessing unlimited potency; anante—unlimited; gunatah—from My potency known as maya; guna-vigrahah—the universe, which is a result of the modes of nature; yada—when; asit—it came into existence; tatah—therein; eva—indeed; adyah—the first living being; svayambhuh—Lord Brahma; samabhut—was born; ajah—although not from a material mother.

I am the reservoir of unlimited potency, and therefore I am known as unlimited or all-pervading. From My material energy the cosmic manifestation appeared within Me, and in this universal manifestation appeared the chief being, Lord Brahma, who is your source and is not born of a material mother.

This is a description of the history of the universal creation. The first cause is the Lord Himself, the Supreme Person. From Him, Brahma is created, and Brahma takes charge of the affairs of the universe. The universal affairs of the material creation depend upon the material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is therefore the cause of the material creation. The entire cosmic manifestation is described herein as guna-vigrahah, the form of the Lord’s qualities. From the cosmic universal form, the first creation is Lord Brahma, who is the cause of all living entities. In this regard, Srila Madhvacarya describes the unlimited attributes of the Lord:

praty-ekaso gunanam tu
nihsimatvam udiryate
tadanantyam tu gunatas
te cananta hi sankhyaya
ato ’nanta-guno visnur
gunato ’nanta eva ca

Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate: the Lord has innumerable potencies, all of which are unlimited. Therefore the Lord Himself and all His qualities, forms, pastimes and paraphernalia are also unlimited. Because Lord Visnu has unlimited attributes, He is known as Ananta.

mene khilam ivatmanam

udyatah svarga-karmani

atha me ’bhihito devas

tapo ’tapyata darunam

nava visva-srjo yusman

yenadav asrjad vibhuh

sah—that Lord Brahma; vai—indeed; yada—when; maha-devah—the chief of all the demigods; mama—My; virya-upabrmhitah—being increased by the potency; mene—thought; khilam—incapable; iva—as if; atmanam—himself; udyatah—attempting; svarga-karmani—in the creation of the universal affairs; atha—at that time; me—by Me; abhihitah—advised; devah—that Lord Brahma; tapah—austerity; atapyata—performed; darunam—extremely difficult; nava—nine; visva-srjah—important personalities to create the universe; yusman—all of you; yena—by whom; adau—in the beginning; asrjat—created; vibhuh—the great.

When the chief lord of the universe, Lord Brahma [Svayambhu], having been inspired by My energy, was attempting to create, he thought himself incapable. Therefore I gave him advice, and in accordance with My instructions he underwent extremely difficult austerities. Because of these austerities, the great Lord Brahma was able to create nine personalities, including you, to help him in the functions of creation.

Nothing is possible without tapasya. Lord Brahma, however, was empowered to create this entire universe because of his austerities. The more we engage in austerities, the more we become powerful by the grace of the Lord. Therefore Rsabhadeva advised His sons, tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyed: “One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one’s heart is purified.” (Bhag. 5.5.1) In our material existence we are impure, and therefore we cannot do anything wonderful, but if we purify our existence by tapasya, we can do wonderful things by the grace of the Lord. Therefore tapasya is very important, as stressed in this verse.

SB6.4.51

TEXT 51

esa pancajanasyanga

duhita vai prajapateh

asikni nama patnitve

prajesa pratigrhyatam

esa—this; pancajanasya—of Pancajana; anga—O My dear son; duhita—the daughter; vai—indeed; prajapateh—another prajapati; asikni nama—of the name Asikni; patnitve—as your wife; prajesa—O prajapati; pratigrhyatam—let her be accepted.

O My dear son Daksa, Prajapati Pancajana has a daughter named Asikni, whom I offer to you so that you may accept her as your wife.

SB6.4.52

TEXT 52

mithuna-vyavaya-dharmas tvam

praja-sargam imam punah

mithuna-vyavaya-dharminyam

bhuriso bhavayisyasi

SYNONYMS

mithuna—of man and woman; vyavaya—sexual activities; dharmah—who accepts by religious performance; tvam—you; praja-sargam—creation of living entities; imam—this; punah—again; mithuna—of man and woman united; vyavaya-dharminyam—in her according to the religious performance of sexual intercourse; bhurisah—manifold; bhavayisyasi—you will cause to be.

TRANSLATION

Now unite in sexual life as man and woman, and in this way, by sexual intercourse, you will be able to beget hundreds of children in the womb of this girl to increase the population.

PURPORT

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (7.11), dharmaviruddho bhutesu kamo ’smi: “I am sex that is not contrary to religious principles.” Sexual intercourse ordained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is dharma, a religious principle, but it is not intended for sense enjoyment. Indulgence in sense enjoyment through sexual intercourse is not allowed by the Vedic principles. One may follow the natural tendency for sex life only to beget children. Therefore the Lord told Daksa in this verse, “This girl is offered to you only for sex life to beget children, not for any other purpose. She is very fertile, and therefore you will be able to have as many children as you can beget.”

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura remarks in this connection that Daksa was given the facility for unlimited sexual intercourse. In Daksa’s previous life he was also known as Daksa, but in the course of performing sacrifices he offended Lord Siva, and thus his head was replaced with that of a goat. Then Daksa gave up his life because of his degraded condition, but because he maintained the same unlimited sexual desires, he underwent austerities by which he satisfied the Supreme Lord, who then gave him unlimited potency for sexual intercourse.

It should be noted that although such a facility for sexual intercourse is achieved by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this facility is not offered to advanced devotees, who are free from material desires (anyabhilasita-sunyam [Madhya 19.167]). In this connection it may be noted that if the American boys and girls engaged in the Krsna consciousness movement want to advance in Krsna consciousness to achieve the supreme benefit of loving service to the Lord, they should refrain from indulging in this facility for sex life. Therefore we advise that one should at least refrain from illicit sex. Even if there are opportunities for sex life, one should voluntarily accept the limitation of having sex only for progeny, not for any other purpose. Kardama Muni was also given the facility for sex life, but he had only a slight desire for it. Therefore after begetting children in the womb of Devahuti, Kardama Muni became completely renounced. The purport is that if one wants to return home, back to Godhead, one should voluntarily refrain from sex life. Sex should be accepted only as much as needed, not unlimitedly.

One should not think that Daksa received the favor of the Lord by receiving the facilities for unlimited sex. Later verses will reveal that Daksa again committed an offense, this time at the lotus feet of Narada. Therefore although sex life is the topmost enjoyment in the material world and although one may have an opportunity for sexual enjoyment by the grace of God, this entails a risk of committing offenses. Daksa was open to such offenses, and therefore, strictly speaking, he was not actually favored by the Supreme Lord. One should not seek the favor of the Lord for unlimited potency in sex life.

SB6.4.53

TEXT 53

tvatto ’dhastat prajah sarva

mithuni-bhuya mayaya

madiyaya bhavisyanti

harisyanti ca me balim

tvattah—you; adhastat—after; prajah—the living entities; sarvah—all; mithuni-bhuya—having sex life; mayaya—because of the influence or facilities given by the illusory energy; madiyaya—My; bhavisyanti—they will become; harisyanti—they will offer; ca—also; me—unto Me; balim—presentations.