Srimad Bhagavatam – day 654
Brahma glorifies the Lord
Canto Ten Chapter Fourteen
In this chapter, Lord Brahma worshipfully praising Lord Krishna is covered.
“Lord Brahma prayed,
Naumīḍya te ‘bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya
Guñjāvataḿsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya
Vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu-
lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāńgajāya
O Supreme Lord! You are the only one worthy of praise. You, who possess a body akin to the rain-bearing clouds, are clad in clothing that is as bright as lightning. Dazzling earrings made from precious Kuruvinda gems adorn Your ears. You, the all-pervading Lord, are shining resplendently with a face that is adorned with lovely peacock feathers. O Lord, an exquisite garland made from forest flowers (vanamala) adorns Your neck. In Your hand, You hold the morsel of curd rice, a baton, a bugle and a flute. Your chest shines with the beautiful birth-mark. O son of cowherd Nanda, You possess lovely, tender feet. To You, O Lord, I offer obeisance.
O Supreme Lord! This incarnation of Yours which You, out of Your free will, have taken in accordance to the desires of the devotees is not composed of the gross elements. This body of Yours has incarnated solely to uplift me. None in the creation, including myself, can fathom the transcendence of this body”.
This marvellous incarnation of Yours, O Lord, is beyond the understanding of any living entity, including myself. What to say of Your decoration and attire? You hold the morsel of curd rice and butter in Your hand. Who is that entity for whose benefit You have incarnated? O Lord, in reality You have incarnated for the upliftment of this entire creation.
“This entire creation, which has emerged from You, is reeling under the traits of ignorance and arrogance (tamas) and appears to have distanced from You as well as from the traits of goodness. This incarnation of Yours is to destroy this ignorance and to help living entities merge into You. Is it possible for me, or for any other living entity to ever understand Your illusion? In this creation of Yours, only You should decipher methods to understand Your illusion since no other entity can ever decipher Your illusion. This is undoubtedly true”.
Swamiji explains: Here Brahma says- Yours is Vishnu-maya. Even if another Vishnu existed, he would have failed to understand the illusion created by You.
“O Supreme Lord, although myself, Rudra and Vishnu are Your aspects, we fail to understand the illusion created by You. You have bestowed upon me this form, which is being addressed by me as ‘I’. The term ‘I’ used by me refers purely to this form which has been created by You. In reality, ‘I’ do not exist. As long as this form exists, ‘I’ remain. Once this form vanishes, ‘I’ ceases to exist. Hence, I declare that Your illusion is beyond the understanding of myself or any other living entity.
Neither the intellect (buddhi), senses, bonded self nor the life-force can understand You. Even when the mind is turned inward-facing, You cannot be grasped. It is a misconception that in deep meditation the person can turn his mind inwards and understand You. Even at that stage the person will, in accordance to his worthiness, understand only a fractional aspect of the Lord’s illusion, but can never understand the original, complete form of His illusion.
Even the most supreme Yogis, Mahatmas, and ascetics fail to understand Him even after becoming inward-facing. You are none apart from the non-dual Lord. What more can be said of the glory of Your original Sachchidananda (truth, knowledge, bliss) state?”
You are everything. You are the illusion. You are the ignorant deluded entity. We, who are deluded, are nothing but Your forms alone. As such, understanding Your sat+chit+ananda state is beyond the capacity of any living entity. It appears as if it is easy to understand this stage, but it is not so. We do not have such capacity. Awakening should arise in the intellect (buddhi) called ‘I’. Wisdom should dawn in it”.
Swamiji explains: The bhajan ‘jyoti veligindi’ composed by Swamiji states that the intellect should develop intelligence. Within that bhajan Swamiji has secretively filled Vedanta. Here, Brahma is declaring that he is insignificant and hence can neither understand nor describe the Supreme Entity. ‘Who am I? After all, I belong only to You. I am Your aspect. Therefore ‘I’ does not exist. When I merge into You after discarding this body, the question of my separate existence no longer exists. I merge into You. I become You’- he implies.
“O Lord, You are undefeatable. Nevertheless, those people conquer you who, while residing in their bodies, dedicate their ears to listening Your transcendental glories being narrated by noble saints, recollect them repeatedly and sing Your glories while leading lives with absolute purity in mind, body and speech. They merge into You”.
Here it implies the person should always listen to the Lord’s glories while leading a life of purity. Mind should be kept pure always. Efforts should be taken to ensure that impurities do not seep in. Conquering the Lord means to merge into Him.
Krishna Krishna