Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 7: “The Science of God”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Nine

SB7.9.12

TEXT 12

tasmad aham vigata-viklava isvarasya

sarvatmana mahi grnami yatha manisam

nico ’jaya guna-visargam anupravistah

puyeta yena hi puman anuvarnitena

SYNONYMS

tasmat—therefore; aham—I; vigata-viklavah—having given up contemplation of being unfit; isvarasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sarva-atmana—in full surrender; mahi—glory; grnami— I shall chant or describe; yatha manisam—according to my intelligence; nicah—although lowborn (my father being a great demon, devoid of all good qualities); ajaya—because of ignorance; guna-visargam—the material world (wherein the living entity takes birth according to the contamination of the modes of nature); anupravistah—entered into; puyeta—may be purified; yena—by which (the glory of the Lord); hi—indeed; puman—a person; anuvarnitena—being chanted or recited.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, although I was born in a demoniac family, I may without a doubt offer prayers to the Lord with full endeavor, as far as my intelligence allows. Anyone who has been forced by ignorance to enter the material world may be purified of material life if he offers prayers to the Lord and hears the Lord’s glories.

PURPORT

It is clearly understood that a devotee does not need to be born in a very high family, to be rich, to be aristocratic or to be very beautiful. None of these qualifications will engage one in devotional service. With devotion one should feel, “God is great, and I am very small. Therefore my duty is to offer my prayers to the Lord.” Only on this basis can one understand and render service to the Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (18.55):

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

“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” Thus Prahlada Maharaja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position.

SB7.9.13

TEXT 13

sarve hy ami vidhi-karas tava sattva-dhamno

brahmadayo vayam ivesa na codvijantah

ksemaya bhutaya utatma-sukhaya casya

vikriditam bhagavato ruciravataraih

SYNONYMS

sarve—all; hi—certainly; ami—these; vidhi-karah—executors of orders; tava—Your; sattva-dhamnah—being always situated in the transcendental world; brahma-adayah—the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma; vayam—we; iva—like; isa—O my Lord; na—not; ca—and; udvijantah—who are afraid (of Your fearful appearance); ksemaya—for the protection; bhutaye—for the increase; uta—it is said; atma-sukhaya—for personal satisfaction by such pastimes; ca—also; asya—of this (material world); vikriditam—manifested; bhagavatah—of Your Lordship; rucira—very pleasing; avataraih—by Your incarnations.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, are sincere servants of Your Lordship, who are situated in a transcendental position. Therefore they are not like us [Prahlada and his father, the demon Hiranyakasipu]. Your appearance in this fearsome form is Your pastime for Your own pleasure. Such an incarnation is always meant for the protection and improvement of the universe.

PURPORT

Prahlada Maharaja wanted to assert that his father and the other members of his family were all unfortunate because they were demoniac, whereas the devotees of the Lord are always fortunate because they are always ready to follow the orders of the Lord. When the Supreme Lord appears in this material world in His various incarnations, He performs two functions—saving the devotee and vanquishing the demon (paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]). Lord Nrsimhadeva, for example, appeared for the protection of His devotee. Such pastimes as those of Nrsimhadeva are certainly not meant to create a fearful situation for the devotees, but nonetheless the devotees, being very simple and faithful, were afraid of the fierce incarnation of the Lord. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja, in the following prayer, requests the Lord to give up His anger.

SB7.9.14

TEXT 14

tad yaccha manyum asuras ca hatas tvayadya

modeta sadhur api vrscika-sarpa-hatya

lokas ca nirvrtim itah pratiyanti sarve

rupam nrsimha vibhayaya janah smaranti

SYNONYMS

tat—therefore; yaccha—kindly give up; manyum—Your anger; asurah—my father, Hiranyakasipu, the great demon; ca—also; hatah—killed; tvaya—by You; adya—today; modeta—take pleasure; sadhuh api—even a saintly person; vrscika-sarpa-hatya—by killing a snake or a scorpion; lokah—all the planets; ca—indeed; nirvrtim—pleasure; itah—have achieved; pratiyanti—are waiting (for pacification of Your anger); sarve—all of them; rupam—this form; nrsimha—O Lord Nrsimhadeva; vibhayaya—for mitigating their fear; janah—all the people of the universe; smaranti—will remember.

TRANSLATION

My Lord Nrsimhadeva, please, therefore, cease Your anger now that my father, the great demon Hiranyakasipu, has been killed. Since even saintly persons take pleasure in the killing of a scorpion or a snake, all the worlds have achieved great satisfaction because of the death of this demon. Now they are confident of their happiness, and they will always remember Your auspicious incarnation in order to be free from fear.

PURPORT

The most important point in this verse is that although saintly persons never desire the killing of any living entity, they take pleasure in the killing of envious living entities like snakes and scorpions. Hiranyakasipu was killed because he was worse than a snake or a scorpion, and therefore everyone was happy. Now there was no need for the Lord to be angry. The devotees can always remember the form of Nrsimhadeva when they are in danger, and therefore the appearance of Nrsimhadeva was not at all inauspicious. The Lord’s appearance is always worshipable and auspicious for all sane persons and devotees.

SB7.9.15

TEXT 15

naham bibhemy ajita te ’tibhayanakasya-

jihvarka-netra-bhrukuti-rabhasogra-damstrat

antra-srajah-ksataja-kesara-sanku-karnan

nirhrada-bhita-digibhad ari-bhin-nakhagrat

SYNONYMS

na—not; aham—I; bibhemi—am afraid; ajita—O supreme victorious person, who are never conquered by anyone; te—Your; ati—very much; bhayanaka—fearful; asya—mouth; jihva—tongue; arka-netra—eyes shining like the sun; bhrukuti—frowning brows; rabhasa—strong; ugra-damstrat—ferocious teeth; antra-srajah—garlanded by intestines; ksataja—bloody; kesara—manes; sanku-karnat—wedgelike ears; nirhrada—by a roaring sound (caused by You); bhita—frightened; digibhat—from which even the great elephants; ari-bhit—piercing the enemy; nakha-agrat—the tips of whose nails.

TRANSLATION

My Lord, who are never conquered by anyone, I am certainly not afraid of Your ferocious mouth and tongue, Your eyes bright like the sun or Your frowning eyebrows. I do not fear Your sharp, pinching teeth, Your garland of intestines, Your mane soaked with blood, or Your high, wedgelike ears. Nor do I fear Your tumultuous roaring, which makes elephants flee to distant places, or Your nails, which are meant to kill Your enemies.

PURPORT

Lord Nrsimhadeva’s fierce appearance was certainly most dangerous for the nondevotees, but for Prahlada Maharaja such a fearful appearance was not at all disturbing. The lion is very fearsome for other animals, but its cubs are not at all afraid of the lion. The water of the sea is certainly dreadful for all living entities on the land, but within the sea even the small fish is unafraid. Why? Because the small fish has taken shelter of the big ocean. It is said that although great elephants are taken away by the flooding waters of the river, the small fish swim opposite the current. Therefore although the Lord sometimes assumes a fierce appearance to kill the duskrtis, the devotees worship Him. Kesava dhrta-nara-hari-rupa jaya jagadisa hare. The devotee always takes pleasure in worshiping the Lord and glorifying the Lord in any form, either pleasing or fierce.

SB7.9.16

TEXT 16

trasto ’smy aham krpana-vatsala duhsahogra-

samsara-cakra-kadanad grasatam pranitah

baddhah sva-karmabhir usattama te ’nghri-mulam

prito ’pavarga-saranam hvayase kada nu

SYNONYMS

trastah—frightened; asmi—am; aham—I; krpana-vatsala—O my Lord, who are so kind to the fallen souls (who have no spiritual knowledge); duhsaha—intolerable; ugra—ferocious; samsara-cakra—of the cycle of birth and death; kadanat—from such a miserable condition; grasatam—among other conditioned souls, who devour one another; pranitah—being thrown; baddhah—bound; sva-karmabhih—the course by the reactions of my own activities; usattama—O great insurmountable; te—Your; anghri-mulam—to the soles of the lotus feet; pritah—being pleased (with me); apavarga-saranam—which are the shelter meant for liberation from this horrible condition of material existence; hvayase—You will call (me); kada—when; nu—indeed.

TRANSLATION

O most powerful, insurmountable Lord, who are kind to the fallen souls, I have been put into the association of demons as a result of my activities, and therefore I am very much afraid of my condition of life within this material world. When will that moment come when You will call me to the shelter of Your lotus feet, which are the ultimate goal for liberation from conditional life?

PURPORT

Being in the material world is certainly miserable, but certainly when one is put into the association of asuras, or atheistic men, it is intolerably so. One may ask why the living entity is put into the material world. Indeed, sometimes foolish people deride the Lord for having put them here. Actually, everyone is put into conditional life according to his karma. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja, representing all the other conditioned souls, admits that he was put into life among the asuras because of the results of his karma. The Lord is known as krpana-vatsala because He is extremely kind to the conditioned souls. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, therefore, the Lord appears whenever there are discrepancies in the execution of religious principles (yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata. .. tadatmanam srjamy aham [Bg. 4.7]). The Lord is extremely anxious to deliver the conditioned souls, and therefore He instructs all of us to return home, back to Godhead (sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]). Thus Prahlada Maharaja expected that the Lord, by His kindness, would call him again to the shelter of His lotus feet. In other words, everyone should be eager to return home, back to Godhead, taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and thus being fully trained in Krsna consciousness.

SB7.9.17

TEXT 17

yasmat priyapriya-viyoga-samyoga-janma-

sokagnina sakala-yonisu dahyamanah

duhkhausadham tad api duhkham atad-dhiyaham

bhuman bhramami vada me tava dasya-yogam

SYNONYMS

yasmat—because of which (because of existing in the material world); priya—pleasing; apriya—not pleasing; viyoga—by separation; samyoga—and combination; janma—whose birth; soka-agnina—by the fire of lamentation; sakala-yonisu—in any type of body; dahyamanah—being burned; duhkha-ausadham—remedial measures for miserable life; tat—that; api—also; duhkham—suffering; a-tat-dhiya—by accepting the body as the self; aham—I; bhuman—O great one; bhramami—am wandering (within the cycle of birth and death); vada—kindly instruct; me—unto me; tava—Your; dasya-yogam—activities of service.

TRANSLATION

O great one, O Supreme Lord, because of combination with pleasing and displeasing circumstances and because of separation from them, one is placed in a most regrettable position, within heavenly or hellish planets, as if burning in a fire of lamentation. Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Therefore I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service.

PURPORT

Prahlada Maharaja aspired to engage in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. After the death of his father, who was materially very opulent, Prahlada would have inherited his father’s property, which extended throughout the world, but Prahlada Maharaja was not inclined to accept such material opulence, for whether one is in the heavenly or hellish planets or is a rich or a poor man’s son, material conditions are everywhere. Therefore no condition of life is at all pleasing. If one wants the uncontaminated pleasure of blissful life, he must engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Material opulence may be somewhat pleasing for the time being, but to come to that temporary pleasing condition one must work extremely hard. When a poor man is rich he may be better situated, but to come to that position he had to accept many miseries. The fact is that in material life, whether one is miserable or happy, both conditions are miserable. If one actually wants happy, blissful life, one must become Krsna conscious and constantly engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. That is the real remedy. The entire world is under the illusion that people will be happy by advancing in materialistic measures to counteract the miseries of conditional life, but this attempt will never be successful. Humanity must be trained to engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. That is the purpose of the Krsna consciousness movement. There can be no happiness in changing one’s material conditions, for everywhere there is trouble and misery.

SB7.9.18

TEXT 18

so ’ham priyasya suhrdah paradevataya

lila-kathas tava nrsimha virinca-gitah

anjas titarmy anugrnan guna-vipramukto

durgani te pada-yugalaya-hamsa-sangah

SYNONYMS

sah—that; aham—I (Prahlada Maharaja); priyasya—of the dearmost; suhrdah—well-wisher; paradevatayah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; lila-kathah—narrations of the pastimes; tava—Your; nrsimha—O my Lord Nrsimhadeva; virinca-gitah—given by Lord Brahma by the disciplic succession; anjah—easily; titarmi—I shall cross; anugrnan—constantly describing; guna—by the modes of material nature; vipramuktah—specifically being uncontaminated; durgani—all miserable conditions of life; te—of You; pada-yuga-alaya—fully absorbed in meditation on the lotus feet; hamsa-sangah—having the association of the hamsas, or liberated persons (who have no connection with material activities).

TRANSLATION

O my Lord Nrsimhadeva, by engaging in Your transcendental loving service in the association of devotees who are liberated souls [hamsas], I shall become completely uncontaminated by the association of the three modes of material nature and be able to chant the glories of Your Lordship, who are so dear to me. I shall chant Your glories, following exactly in the footsteps of Lord Brahma and his disciplic succession. In this way I shall undoubtedly be able to cross the ocean of nescience.

PURPORT

A devotee’s life and duty are very well explained herein. As soon as a devotee can chant the holy name and glories of the Supreme Lord, he certainly comes to the liberated position. Attachment for glorifying the Lord by hearing and chanting the holy name and activities of the Lord (sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]) certainly brings one to the position where material contamination is absent. One should chant the bona fide songs received from the disciplic succession. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that the chanting is powerful when one follows the disciplic succession (evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]). Manufacturing many ways of chanting will never be effective. However, chanting the song or the narration left by the previous acaryas (mahajano yena gatah sa panthah) is extremely effective, and this process is very easy. Therefore in this verse Prahlada Maharaja uses the word anjah (“easily”). Accepting the thoughts of exalted authorities through disciplic succession is certainly much easier than the method of mental speculation, by which one tries to invent some means to understand the Absolute Truth. The best process is to accept the instructions of the previous acaryas and follow them. Then God realization and self-realization become extremely easy. By following this easy method, one is liberated from the contamination of the material modes of nature, and thus one can certainly cross the ocean of nescience, in which there are many miserable conditions. By following in the footsteps of the great acaryas, one associates with the hamsas or paramahamsas, those who are completely freed from material contamination. Indeed, by following the instructions of the acaryas one is always freed from all material contamination, and thus one’s life becomes successful, for one reaches the goal of life. This material world is miserable, regardless of one’s standard of life. Of this there is no doubt. Attempts to mitigate the miseries of material existence by material methods will never be successful. One must take to Krsna consciousness to become really happy; otherwise happiness is impossible. One might say that becoming advanced in spiritual life also involves tapasya, voluntary acceptance of some inconvenience. However, such inconvenience is not as dangerous as material attempts to mitigate all miseries.

SB7.9.19

TEXT 19

balasya neha saranam pitarau nrsimha

nartasya cagadam udanvati majjato nauh

taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihanjasestas

tavad vibho tanu-bhrtam tvad-upeksitanam

SYNONYMS

balasya—of a little child; na—not; iha—in this world; saranam—shelter (protection); pitarau—the father and mother; nrsimha—O my Lord Nrsimhadeva; na—neither; artasya—of a person suffering from some disease; ca—also; agadam—medicine; udanvati—in the water of the ocean; majjatah—of a person who is drowning; nauh—the boat; taptasya—of a person suffering from a condition of material misery; tat-pratividhih—the counteraction (invented for stopping the suffering of material existence); yah—that which; iha—in this material world; anjasa—very easily; istah—accepted (as a remedy); tavat—similarly; vibho—O my Lord, O Supreme; tanu-bhrtam—of the living entities who have accepted material bodies; tvat-upeksitanam—who are neglected by You and not accepted by You.

TRANSLATION

My Lord Nrsimhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.

PURPORT

Through parental care, through remedies for different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no permanent benefit. Despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one can help, including the parents. Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one who takes shelter of the Lord is protected. This is guaranteed. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (9.31), kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati: “O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” Therefore, unless one is protected by the mercy of the Lord, no remedial measure can act effectively. One should consequently depend fully on the causeless mercy of the Lord. Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this material world, everyone is trying to counteract the onslaught of material nature, but everyone is ultimately fully controlled by material nature. Therefore even though so-called philosophers and scientists try to surmount the onslaught of material nature, they have not been able to do so. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (13.9) that the real sufferings of the material world are four—janma-mrtyu jara-vyadhi (birth, death, old age and disease). In the history of the world, no one has been successful in conquering these miseries imposed by material nature. prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. Nature (prakrti) is so strong that no one can overcome her stringent laws. So-called scientists, philosophers, religionists and politicians should therefore conclude that they cannot offer facilities to the people in general. They should make vigorous propaganda to awaken the populace and raise them to the platform of Krsna consciousness. Our humble attempt to propagate the Krsna consciousness movement all over the world is the only remedy that can bring about a peaceful and happy life. We can never be happy without the mercy of the Supreme Lord (tvad-upeksitanam). If we keep displeasing our supreme father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.

SB7.9.20

TEXT 20

yasmin yato yarhi yena ca yasya yasmad

yasmai yatha yad uta yas tv aparah paro va

bhavah karoti vikaroti prthak svabhavah

sancoditas tad akhilam bhavatah svarupam

SYNONYMS

yasmin—in any condition of life; yatah—because of anything; yarhi—at any time (past, present or future); yena—by something; ca—also; yasya—in relationship with anyone; yasmat—from any causal representative; yasmai—unto anyone (without discrimination in regard to place, person or time); yatha—in any manner; yat—whatever it may be; uta—certainly; yah—anyone who; tu—but; aparah—the other; parah—the supreme; va—or; bhavah—being; karoti—does; vikaroti—changes; prthak—separate; svabhavah—nature (under the influence of different modes of material nature); sancoditah—being influenced; tat—that; akhilam—all; bhavatah—of Your Lordship; svarupam—emanated from Your different energies.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, everyone in this material world is under the modes of material nature, being influenced by goodness, passion and ignorance. Everyone—from the greatest personality, Lord Brahma, down to the small ant—works under the influence of these modes. Therefore everyone in this material world is influenced by Your energy. The cause for which they work, the place where they work, the time when they work, the matter due to which they work, the goal of life they have considered final, and the process for obtaining this goal—all are nothing but manifestations of Your energy. Indeed, since the energy and energetic are identical, all of them are but manifestations of You.

PURPORT

Whether one thinks himself protected by his parents, by the government, by some place or by some other cause, everything is due to the various potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything that is done, whether in the higher, middle or lower planetary systems, is due to the supervision or control of the Supreme Lord. It is therefore said, karmana-daiva-netrena jantur dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul within the core of everyone’s heart, gives inspirations for action according to one’s mentality. All of these mentalities are merely facilities given by Krsna to the person acting. Bhagavad-gita therefore says, mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: [Bg. 15.15] everyone works according to the inspiration given by the Supersoul. Because everyone has a different goal of life, everyone acts differently, as guided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The words yasmin yato yarhi yena ca yasya yasmat indicate that all activities, whatever they may be, are but different features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All of them are created by the living entity and fulfilled by the mercy of the Lord. Although all such activities are nondifferent from the Lord, the Lord nonetheless directs, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: [Bg. 18.66] “Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me.” When we accept this direction from the Lord, we can actually become happy. As long as we work according to our material senses we are in material life, but as soon as we act according to the real, transcendental direction of the Lord, our position is spiritual. The activities of bhakti, devotional service, are directly under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Narada-pancaratra states:

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-
sevanam bhaktir ucyate

[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

When one gives up materially designated positions and works directly under the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one’s spiritual life is revived. This is described as svarupena avasthiti, being situated in one’s original constitutional position. This is the real description of mukti, or liberation from material bondage.

SB7.9.21

TEXT 21

maya manah srjati karmamayam baliyah

kalena codita-gunanumatena pumsah

chandomayam yad ajayarpita-sodasaram

samsara-cakram aja ko ’titaret tvad-anyah

SYNONYMS

maya—the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; manah—the mind; srjati—creates; karma-mayam—producing hundreds and thousands of desires and acting accordingly; baliyah—extremely powerful, insurmountable; kalena—by time; codita-guna—whose three modes of material nature are agitated; anumatena—permitted by the mercy of the glance (time); pumsah—of the plenary portion, Lord Visnu, the expansion of Lord Krsna; chandah-mayam—chiefly influenced by the directions in the Vedas; yat—which; ajaya—because of dark ignorance; arpita—offered; sodasa—sixteen; aram—the spokes; samsara-cakram—the wheel of repeated birth and death in different species of life; aja—O unborn Lord; kah—who (is there); atitaret—able to get out; tvat-anyah—without taking shelter at Your lotus feet.

TRANSLATION

O Lord, O supreme eternal, by expanding Your plenary portion You have created the subtle bodies of the living entities through the agency of Your external energy, which is agitated by time. Thus the mind entraps the living entity in unlimited varieties of desires to be fulfilled by the Vedic directions of karma-kanda [fruitive activity] and the sixteen elements. Who can get free from this entanglement unless he takes shelter at Your lotus feet?

PURPORT

If the hand of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everything, where is the question of being liberated from material encagement to spiritual, blissful life? Indeed, it is a fact that Krsna is the source of everything, as we understand from Krsna Himself in Bhagavad-gita (aham sarvasya prabhavah). All the activities in both the spiritual and material world are certainly conducted by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the agency of either the material or spiritual nature. As further confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.10), mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sacaracaram: without the direction of the Supreme Lord, material nature cannot do anything; it cannot act independently. Therefore, in the beginning the living entity wanted to enjoy the material energy, and to give the living entity all facility, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, created this material world and gave the living entity the facility to concoct different ideas and plans through the mind. These facilities offered by the Lord to the living entity constitute the sixteen kinds of perverted support in terms of the knowledge-gathering senses, the working senses, the mind and the five material elements. The wheel of repeated birth and death is created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but to direct the bewildered living entity in progress toward liberation according to varied stages of advancement, different directions are given in the Vedas (chandomayam). If one wants to be elevated to the higher planetary systems, he may follow the Vedic directions. As the Lord states in Bhagavad-gita (9.25):

yanti deva-vrata devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya
yanti mad-yajino ’pi mam

“Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.” The real purpose of the Vedas is to direct one back home, back to Godhead, but the living entity, not knowing the real goal of his life, wants to go sometimes here and sometimes there and do sometimes this and sometimes that. In this way he wanders throughout the entire universe, imprisoned in various species and thus engaging in various activities for which he must suffer the reactions. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore says:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

(Cc. Madhya 19.151)

The fallen, conditioned living entity, trapped by the external energy, loiters in the material world, but if by good fortune he meets a bona fide representative of the Lord who gives him the seed of devotional service, and if he takes advantage of such a guru, or representative of God, he receives the bhakti-lata-bija, the seed of devotional service. If he properly cultivates Krsna consciousness, he is then gradually elevated to the spiritual world. The ultimate conclusion is that one must surrender to the principles of bhakti-yoga, for then one will gradually attain liberation. No other method of liberation from the material struggle is at all possible.

SB7.9.22

TEXT 22

sa tvam hi nitya-vijitatma-gunah sva-dhamna

kalo vasi-krta-visrjya-visarga-saktih

cakre visrstam ajayesvara sodasare

nispidyamanam upakarsa vibho prapannam

SYNONYMS

sah—that one (the supreme independent person who, through His external energy, has created the material mind, which is the cause of all suffering in this material world); tvam—You (are); hi—indeed; nitya—eternally; vijita-atma—conquered; gunah—whose property of the intelligence; sva-dhamna—by Your personal spiritual energy; kalah—the time element (which creates and annihilates); vasi-krta—brought under Your control; visrjya—by which all effects; visarga—and causes; saktih—the energy; cakre—in the wheel of time (the repetition of birth and death); visrstam—being thrown; ajaya—by Your external energy, the mode of ignorance; isvara—O supreme controller; sodasa-are—with sixteen spokes (the five material elements, the ten senses, and the leader of the senses, namely the mind); nispidyamanam—being crushed (under that wheel); upakarsa—kindly take me (to the shelter of Your lotus feet); vibho—O supreme great; prapannam—who am fully surrendered unto You.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, O supreme great, You have created this material world of sixteen constituents, but You are transcendental to their material qualities. In other words, these material qualities are under Your full control, and You are never conquered by them. Therefore the time element is Your representation. My Lord, O Supreme, no one can conquer You. As for me, however, I am being crushed by the wheel of time, and therefore I surrender fully unto You. Now kindly take me under the protection of Your lotus feet.

PURPORT

The wheel of material miseries is also a creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He is not under the control of the material energy. Rather, He is the controller of the material energy, whereas we, the living entities, are under its control. When we give up our constitutional position (jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’ [Cc. Madhya 20.108]), the Supreme Personality of Godhead creates this material energy and her influence over the conditioned soul. Therefore He is the Supreme, and only He can deliver the conditioned soul from the onslaught of material nature (mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]). Maya, the external energy, continuously imposes upon the conditioned souls the suffering of the threefold miseries of this material world. Therefore, in the previous verse, Prahlada Maharaja prayed to the Lord, “But for Your Lordship, no one can save me.” Prahlada Maharaja has also explained that a child’s protectors, his parents, cannot save the child from the onslaught of birth and death, nor can medicine and a physician save one from death, nor can a boat or similar means of protection save a person drowning in the water, for everything is controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore suffering humanity must surrender to Krsna, as Krsna Himself demands in the last instruction of Bhagavad-gita (18.66):

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” All of human society must take advantage of this offer and thus be saved by Krsna from the danger of being crushed by the wheel of time, the wheel of past, present and future.

The word nispidyamanam (“being crushed”) is very significant. Every living entity in the material condition is actually being crushed again and again, and to be saved from this position one must take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then one will be happy. The word prapannam is also very significant, for unless one fully surrenders to the Supreme Lord one cannot be saved from being crushed. A criminal is put in prison and punished by the government, but the same government, if it likes, can release the criminal from imprisoned life. Similarly, we must know conclusively that our material condition of suffering has been allotted to us by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and if we want to be saved from this suffering, we must appeal to the same controller. Thus one can be saved from this material condition.

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