Par Brahmu no Šrīmad Bhāgavatam
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
3.8.16.
tasyāḿ sa cāmbho-ruha-karṇikāyām
avasthito lokam apaśyamānaḥ
parikraman vyomni vivṛtta-netraś
catvāri lebhe 'nudiśaḿ mukhāni
Brahmā, born out of the lotus flower, could not see the world, although he was situated in the whorl. He therefore circumambulated all of space, and while moving his eyes in all directions he achieved four heads in terms of the four directions.
3.8.17.
tasmād yugānta-śvasanāvaghūrṇa-
jalormi-cakrāt salilād virūḍham
upāśritaḥ kañjam u loka-tattvaḿ
nātmānam addhāvidad ādi-devaḥ
Lord Brahmā, situated in that lotus, could not perfectly understand the creation, the lotus or himself. At the end of the millennium the air of devastation began to move the water and the lotus in great circular waves.
Lord Brahmā was perplexed about his creation, the lotus and the world, even though he tried to understand them for one millennium, which is beyond calculation in the solar years of human beings. No one, therefore, can know the mystery of the creation and cosmic manifestation simply by mental speculation. The human being is so limited in his capacity that without the help of the Supreme he can hardly understand the mystery of the will of the Lord in terms of creation, continuance and destruction.
3.8.18.
ka eṣa yo 'sāv aham abja-pṛṣṭha
etat kuto vābjam ananyad apsu
asti hy adhastād iha kiñcanaitad
adhiṣṭhitaḿ yatra satā nu bhāvyam
Lord Brahmā, in his ignorance, contemplated: Who am I that am situated on the top of this lotus? Wherefrom has it sprouted? There must be something downwards, and that from which this lotus has grown must be within the water.
The subject matter of the speculations of Brahmā in the beginning regarding the creation of the cosmic manifestation is still a subject matter for mental speculators. The most intelligent man is he who tries to find the cause of his personal existence and that of the whole cosmic creation and thus tries to find the ultimate cause. If his attempt is properly executed with penances and perseverance, it is sure to be crowned with success.
3.8.19.
sa ittham udvīkṣya tad-abja-nāla-
nāḍībhir antar-jalam āviveśa
nārvāg-gatas tat-khara-nāla-nāla-
nābhiḿ vicinvaḿs tad avindatājaḥ
Lord Brahmā, thus contemplating, entered the water through the channel of the stem of the lotus. But in spite of entering the stem and going nearer to the navel of Viṣṇu, he could not trace out the root.
By dint of one's personal endeavor one may go nearer to the Lord, but without the Lord's mercy one cannot reach the ultimate point. Such understanding of the Lord is possible only by devotional service, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55): bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ.
3.8.20.
tamasy apāre vidurātma-sargaḿ
vicinvato 'bhūt sumahāḿs tri-ṇemiḥ
yo deha-bhājāḿ bhayam īrayāṇaḥ
parikṣiṇoty āyur ajasya hetiḥ
O Vidura, while searching in that way about his existence, Brahmā reached his ultimate time, which is the eternal wheel in the hand of Viṣṇu and which generates fear in the mind of the living entity like the fear of death.
3.8.21.
tato nivṛtto 'pratilabdha-kāmaḥ
sva-dhiṣṇyam āsādya punaḥ sa devaḥ
śanair jita-śvāsa-nivṛtta-citto
nyaṣīdad ārūḍha-samādhi-yogaḥ
Thereafter, being unable to achieve the desired destination, he retired from such searching and came back again to the top of the lotus. Thus, controlling all objectives, he concentrated his mind on the Supreme Lord.
Samādhi involves concentrating the mind upon the supreme cause of all, even if one is unaware of whether His actual nature is personal, impersonal or localized. Concentration of the mind on the Supreme is certainly a form of devotional service. To cease from personal sense endeavors and to concentrate on the supreme cause is a sign of self-surrender, and when self-surrender is present, that is a sure sign of devotional service. Each and every living entity needs to engage in devotional service to the Lord if he wishes to understand the ultimate cause of his existence.
3.8.22.
kālena so 'jaḥ puruṣāyuṣābhi-
pravṛtta-yogena virūḍha-bodhaḥ
svayaḿ tad antar-hṛdaye 'vabhātam
apaśyatāpaśyata yan na pūrvam
At the end of Brahmā's one hundred years, when his meditation was complete, he developed the required knowledge, and as a result he could see in his head the Supreme within himself, whom he could not see before with the greatest endeavor.
The Supreme Lord can be experienced only through the process of devotional service and not by one's personal endeavor in mental speculation. The age of Brahmā is calculated in terms of divya years, which are distinct from the solar years of human beings. The divya years are calculated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.17): sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ. Brahmā's one day is equal to one thousand times the aggregate of the four yugas (calculated to be 4,300,000 years). On that basis, Brahmā meditated for one hundred years before he could understand the supreme cause of all causes, and then he wrote the Brahma-saḿhitā, which is approved and recognized by Lord Caitanya and in which he sings, govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi **. One has to wait for the mercy of the Lord before one can either render service unto Him or know Him as He is.
3.8.23.
mṛṇāla-gaurāyata-śeṣa-bhoga-
paryańka ekaḿ puruṣaḿ śayānam
phaṇātapatrāyuta-mūrdha-ratna-
dyubhir hata-dhvānta-yugānta-toye
Brahmā could see that on the water there was a gigantic lotuslike white bedstead, the body of Śeṣa-nāga, on which the Personality of Godhead was lying alone. The whole atmosphere was illuminated by the rays of the jewels bedecking the hood of Śeṣa-nāga, and that illumination dissipated all the darkness of those regions.
3.8.24.
prekṣāḿ kṣipantaḿ haritopalādreḥ
sandhyābhra-nīver uru-rukma-mūrdhnaḥ
ratnodadhārauṣadhi-saumanasya
vana-srajo veṇu-bhujāńghripāńghreḥ
The luster of the transcendental body of the Lord mocked the beauty of the coral mountain. The coral mountain is very beautifully dressed by the evening sky, but the yellow dress of the Lord mocked its beauty. There is gold on the summit of the mountain, but the Lord's helmet, bedecked with jewels, mocked it. The mountain's waterfalls, herbs, etc., with a panorama of flowers, seem like garlands, but the Lord's gigantic body, and His hands and legs, decorated with jewels, pearls, tulasī leaves and flower garlands, mocked the scene on the mountain.
The panoramic beauty of nature, which strikes one with wonder, may be taken as a perverted reflection of the transcendental body of the Lord. One who is therefore attracted by the beauty of the Lord is no longer attracted by the beauty of material nature, although he does not minimize its beauty. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.59) it is described that one who is attracted by param, the Supreme, is no longer attracted by anything inferior.
3.8.25.
āyāmato vistarataḥ sva-māna-
dehena loka-traya-sańgraheṇa
vicitra-divyābharaṇāḿśukānāḿ
kṛta-śriyāpāśrita-veṣa-deham
His transcendental body, unlimited in length and breadth, occupied the three planetary systems, upper, middle and lower. His body was self-illuminated by unparalleled dress and variegatedness and was properly ornamented.
The length and breadth of the transcendental body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead could only be measured by His own measurement because He is all-pervading throughout the complete cosmic manifestation. The beauty of material nature is due to His personal beauty, yet He is always magnificently dressed and ornamented to prove His transcendental variegatedness, which is so important in the advancement of spiritual knowledge.
3.8.26.
puḿsāḿ sva-kāmāya vivikta-mārgair
abhyarcatāḿ kāma-dughāńghri-padmam
pradarśayantaḿ kṛpayā nakhendu-
mayūkha-bhinnāńguli-cāru-patram
The Lord showed His lotus feet by raising them. His lotus feet are the source of all awards achieved by devotional service free from material contamination. Such awards are for those who worship Him in pure devotion. The splendor of the transcendental rays from His moonlike toenails and fingernails appeared like the petals of a flower.
The Lord fulfills the desires of everyone just as one desires. Pure devotees are interested in achieving the transcendental service of the Lord, which is nondifferent from Him. Therefore, the Lord is the only desire of the pure devotees, and devotional service is the only spotless process for achieving His favor. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11) that pure devotional service is jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: [Madhya 19.167] pure devotional service is without any tinge of speculative knowledge and fruitive activities. Such devotional service is able to award the pure devotee the highest result, namely direct association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. According to the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad, the Lord showed one of the many thousands of petals of His lotus feet. It is said: brāhmaṇo'sāv anavarataḿ me dhyātaḥ stutaḥ parārdhānte so 'budhyata gopa-veśo me purastāt āvirbabhūva. After penetrating for millions of years, Lord Brahmā could understand the transcendental form of the Lord as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the dress of a cowherd boy, and thus he recorded his experience in the Brahma-saḿhitā in the famous prayer, govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi **.
3.8.27.
mukhena lokārti-hara-smitena
parisphurat-kuṇḍala-maṇḍitena
śoṇāyitenādhara-bimba-bhāsā
pratyarhayantaḿ sunasena subhrvā
He also acknowledged the service of the devotees and vanquished their distress by His beautiful smile. The reflection of His face, decorated with earrings, was so pleasing because it dazzled with the rays from His lips and the beauty of His nose and eyebrows.
Devotional service to the Lord is very much obliging to Him. There are many transcendentalists in different fields of spiritual activities, but devotional service to the Lord is unique. Devotees do not ask anything from the Lord in exchange for their service. Even the most desirable liberation is refused by devotees, although offered by the Lord. Thus the Lord becomes a kind of debtor to the devotees, and He can only try to repay the devotees, service with His ever-enchanting smile. The devotees are ever satisfied by the smiling face of the Lord, and they become enlivened. And by seeing the devotees so enlivened, the Lord Himself is further satisfied. So there is continuous transcendental competition between the Lord and His devotees by such reciprocation of service and acknowledgement.
3.8.28.
kadamba-kiñjalka-piśańga-vāsasā
svalańkṛtaḿ mekhalayā nitambe
hāreṇa cānanta-dhanena vatsa
śrīvatsa-vakṣaḥ-sthala-vallabhena
O my dear Vidura, the Lord's waist was covered with yellow cloth resembling the saffron dust of the kadamba flower, and it was encircled by a well-decorated belt. His chest was decorated with the śrīvatsa marking and a necklace of unlimited value.
3.8.29.
parārdhya-keyūra-maṇi-praveka-
paryasta-dordaṇḍa-sahasra-śākham
avyakta-mūlaḿ bhuvanāńghripendram
ahīndra-bhogair adhivīta-valśam
As a sandalwood tree is decorated with fragrant flowers and branches, the Lord's body was decorated with valuable jewels and pearls. He was the self-situated tree, the Lord of all others in the universe. And as a sandalwood tree is covered with many snakes, so the Lord's body was also covered by the hoods of Ananta.
The word avyakta-mūlam is significant here. Generally, no one can see the roots of a tree. But as far as the Lord is concerned, He is the root of Himself because there is no other separate cause of His standing but He Himself. In the Vedas it is said that the Lord is svāśrayāśraya; He is His own support, and there is no other support for Him. Therefore, avyakta means the Supreme Lord Himself and no one else.
3.8.30.
carācarauko bhagavan-mahīdhram
ahīndra-bandhuḿ salilopagūḍham
kirīṭa-sāhasra-hiraṇya-śṛńgam
āvirbhavat kaustubha-ratna-garbham
Like a great mountain, the Lord stands as the abode for all moving and nonmoving living entities. He is the friend of the snakes because Lord Ananta is His friend. As a mountain has thousands of golden peas, so the Lord was seen with the thousands of golden-helmeted hoods of Ananta-nāga; and as a mountain is sometimes filled with jewels, so also His transcendental body was fully decorated with valuable jewels. As a mountains is sometimes submerged in the ocean water, so the Lord is sometimes submerged in the water of devastation.
3.8.31.
nivītam āmnāya-madhu-vrata-śriyā
sva-kīrti-mayyā vana-mālayā harim
sūryendu-vāyv-agny-agamaḿ tri-dhāmabhiḥ
parikramat-prādhanikair durāsadam
Lord Brahmā, thus looking upon the Lord in the shape of a mountain, concluded that He was Hari, the Personality of Godhead. He saw that the garland of flowers on His chest glorified Him with Vedic wisdom in sweet songs and looked very beautiful. He was protected by the Sudarśana wheel for fighting, and even the sun, moon, air, fire, etc., could not have access to Him.
3.8.32.
tarhy eva tan-nābhi-saraḥ-sarojam
ātmānam ambhaḥ śvasanaḿ viyac ca
dadarśa devo jagato vidhātā
nātaḥ paraḿ loka-visarga-dṛṣṭiḥ
When Lord Brahmā, the maker of the universal destination, thus saw the Lord, be simultaneously glanced over creation. Lord Brahmā saw the lake in Lord Viṣṇu's navel, and the lotus flower, as well as the devastating water, the drying air and the sky. All became visible to him.
3.8.33.
sa karma-bījaḿ rajasoparaktaḥ
prajāḥ sisṛkṣann iyad eva dṛṣṭvā
astaud visargābhimukhas tam īḍyam
avyakta-vartmany abhiveśitātmā
Lord Brahmā, thus being surcharged with the mode of passion, became inclined to create, and after seeing the five causes of creation indicated by the Personality of Godhead, he began to offer his respectful prayers on the path of the creative mentality.
Even if one is in the material mode of passion, to create something in the world he has to take shelter of the Supreme for the necessary energy. That is the path of the successful termination of any attempt. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Eighth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Manifestation of Brahmā from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu."
3.9.1.
Brahmovāca
jñāto 'si me 'dya sucirān nanu deha-bhājāḿ
na jñāyate bhagavato gatir ity avadyam
nānyat tvad asti bhagavann api tan na śuddhaḿ
māyā-guṇa-vyatikarād yad urur vibhāsi
Lord Brahmā said: O my Lord, today, after many, many years of penance, I have come to know about You. Oh, how unfortunate the embodied living entities are that they are unable to know Your personality! My Lord, You are the only knowable object because there is nothing supreme beyond You. If there is anything supposedly superior to You, it is not the Absolute. You exist as the Supreme by exhibiting the creative energy of matter.
The highest peak of the ignorance of the living entities who are conditioned by material bodies is that they are unaware of the supreme cause of the cosmic manifestation. Different people have different theories regarding the supreme cause, but none of them are genuine. The only supreme cause is Viṣṇu, and the intervening impediment is the illusory energy of the Lord. The Lord has employed His wonderful material energy in manifesting many, many wonderful distractions in the material world, and the conditioned souls, illusioned by the same energy, are thus unable to know the supreme cause. The most stalwart scientists and philosophers, therefore, cannot be accepted as wonderful. They only appear wonderful because they are instruments in the hands of the illusory energy of the Lord. Under illusion, the general mass of people deny the existence of the Supreme Lord and accept the foolish products of illusory energy as supreme.
One can know the supreme cause, the Personality of Godhead, by the causeless mercy of the Lord, which is bestowed upon the Lord's pure devotees like Brahmā and those in his disciplic succession. By acts of penance only was Lord Brahmā able to see the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and by realization only could he understand the Lord as He is. Brahmā was extremely satisfied upon observing the magnificent beauty and opulence of the Lord, and he admitted that nothing can be comparable to Him. Only by penance can one appreciate the beauty and opulence of the Lord, and when one is acquainted with that beauty and opulence, he is no longer attracted by any other. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59): paraḿ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. Foolish human beings who do not endeavor to investigate the supreme beauty and opulence of the Lord are here condemned by Brahmā. It is imperative that every human being try for such knowledge, and if anyone does not do so, his life is spoiled. Anything that is beautiful and opulent in the material sense is enjoyed by those living entities who are like crows. Crows always engage in picking at rejected garbage, whereas the white ducks do not mix with the crows. Rather, they take pleasure in transparent lakes with lotus flowers, surrounded by beautiful orchards. Both crows and ducks are undoubtedly birds by birth, but they are not of the same feather.
3.9.2.
rūpaḿ yad etad avabodha-rasodayena
śaśvan-nivṛtta-tamasaḥ sad-anugrahāya
ādau gṛhītam avatāra-śataika-bījaḿ
yan-nābhi-padma-bhavanād aham āvirāsam
The form which I see is eternally freed from material contamination and has advented to show mercy to the devotees as a manifestation of internal potency. This incarnation is the origin of many other incarnations, and I am born from the lotus flower grown from Your navel home.
The three deities Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva), the executive heads of the three modes of material nature (passion, goodness and ignorance), are all generated from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is described herein by Brahmā. From the Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, many Viṣṇu incarnations expand at different ages in the duration of the cosmic manifestation. They are expanded only for the transcendental happiness of the pure devotees. The incarnations of Viṣṇu, who appear at different ages and times, are never to be compared to the conditioned souls. The viṣṇu-tattvas are not to be compared to deities like Brahmā and Śiva, nor are they on the same level. Anyone who compares them is called a pāṣaṇḍī, or infidel. Tamasaḥ, mentioned herein, is the material nature, and the spiritual nature has a completely separate existence from tamaḥ. Therefore, spiritual nature is called avabodha-rasa, or avarodha-rasa. Avarodha means "that which completely nullifies." In the Transcendence there is no chance of material contact by any means. Brahmā is the first living being, and therefore he mentions his birth from the lotus flower generated from the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
3.9.3.
nātaḥ paraḿ parama yad bhavataḥ svarūpam
ānanda-mātram avikalpam aviddha-varcaḥ
paśyāmi viśva-sṛjam ekam aviśvam ātman
bhūtendriyātmaka-madas ta upāśrito 'smi
O my Lord, I do not see a form superior to Your present form of eternal bliss and knowledge. In Your impersonal Brahman effulgence in the spiritual sky, there is no occasional change and no deterioration of internal potency. I surrender unto You because whereas I am proud of my material body and senses, Your Lordship is the cause of the cosmic manifestation and yet You are untouched by matter.
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: the Supreme Personality of Godhead can only be partially known, and only by the process of devotional service to the Lord. Lord Brahmā became aware that the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa has many, many eternal, blissful forms of knowledge. He has described such expansions of the Supreme Lord, Govinda, in his Brahma-saḿhitā (5.33), as follows:
advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
ādyaḿ purāṇa-puruṣaḿ nava-yauvanaḿ ca
vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau
govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is nondual and infallible. He is the original cause of all causes, even though He expands in many, many forms. Although He is the oldest personality, He is ever youthful, unaffected by old age. The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be known by the academic wisdom of the Vedas; one has to approach the devotee of the Lord to understand Him."
The only way to understand the Lord as He is, is by devotional service to the Lord, or by approaching the devotee of the Lord who always has the Lord in his heart. By devotional perfection one can understand that the impersonal brahmajyoti is only a partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and that the three puruṣa expansions in the material creation are His plenary portions. In the spiritual sky of the brahmajyoti there is no change of various kalpas or millenniums, and there are no creative activities in the Vaikuṇṭha worlds. The influence of time is conspicuous by its absence. The rays of the transcendental body of the Lord, the unlimited brahmajyoti, are undeterred by the influence of material energy. In the material world also, the initial creator is the Lord Himself. He brings about the creation of Brahmā, who becomes the subsequent creator, empowered by the Lord.
3.9.4.
tad vā idaḿ bhuvana-mańgala mańgalāya
dhyāne sma no darśitaḿ ta upāsakānām
tasmai namo bhagavate 'nuvidhema tubhyaḿ
yo 'nādṛto naraka-bhāgbhir asat-prasańgaiḥ
This present form, or any transcendental form expanded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is equally auspicious for all the universes. Since You have manifested this eternal personal form upon whom Your devotees meditate, I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Those who are destined to be dispatched to the path of hell neglect Your personal form because of speculating on material topics.
Regarding the personal and impersonal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth, the personal forms exhibited by the Lord in His different plenary expansions are all for the benediction of all the universes. The personal form of the Lord is also worshiped in meditation as Supersoul, Paramātmā, but the impersonal brahmajyoti is not worshiped. Persons who are addicted to the impersonal feature of the Lord, whether in meditation or otherwise, are all pilgrims to hell because, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (12.5), impersonalists simply waste their time in mundane mental speculation because they are addicted more to false arguments than to reality. Therefore, the association of the impersonalists is condemned herewith by Brahmā.
All the plenary expansions of the Personality of Godhead are equally potent, as confirmed in the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.46):
dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya
dīpāyate vivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā
yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti
govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi
The Lord expands Himself as the flames of a fire expand one after another. Although the original flame, or Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is accepted as Govinda, the Supreme Person, all other expansions, such as Rāma, Nṛsiḿha and Varāha, are as potent as the original Lord. All such expanded forms are transcendental. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is made clear that the Supreme Truth is eternally uncontaminated by material touch. There is no jugglery of words and activities in the transcendental kingdom of the Lord. All the Lord's forms are transcendental, and such manifestations are ever identical. The particular form of the Lord exhibited to a devotee is not mundane, even though the devotee may retain material desire, nor is it manifest under the influence of material energy, as is foolishly considered by the impersonalists. Impersonalists who consider the transcendental forms of the Lord to be products of the material world are surely destined for hell.
3.9.5.
ye tu tvadīya-caraṇāmbuja-kośa-gandhaḿ
jighranti karṇa-vivaraiḥ śruti-vāta-nītam
bhaktyā gṛhīta-caraṇaḥ parayā ca teṣāḿ
nāpaiṣi nātha hṛdayāmburuhāt sva-puḿsām
O my Lord, persons who smell the aroma of Your lotus feet, carried by the air of Vedic sound through the holes of the ears, accept Your devotional service. For them You are never separated from the lotus of their hearts.
For the pure devotee of the Lord there is nothing beyond the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord knows that such devotees do not wish anything more than that. The word tu specifically establishes this fact. The Lord also does not wish to be separated from the lotus hearts of those pure devotees. That is the transcendental relationship between the pure devotees and the Personality of Godhead. Because the Lord does not wish to separate Himself from the hearts of such pure devotees, it is understood that they are specifically dearer than the impersonalists. The relationship of the pure devotees with the Lord develops because of devotional service to the Lord on the authentic basis of Vedic authority. Such pure devotees are not mundane sentimentalists, but are factually realists because their activities are supported by the Vedic authorities who have given aural reception to the facts mentioned in the Vedic literatures.
The word parayā is very significant. parā bhakti, or spontaneous love of God, is the basis of an intimate relationship with the Lord. This highest stage of relationship with the Lord can be attained simply by hearing about Him (His name, form, quality, etc.) from authentic sources like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, recited by pure, unalloyed devotees of the Lord.
3.9.6.
tāvad bhayaḿ draviṇa-deha-suhṛn-nimittaḿ
śokaḥ spṛhā paribhavo vipulaś ca lobhaḥ
tāvan mamety asad-avagraha ārti-mūlaḿ
yāvan na te 'ńghrim abhayaḿ pravṛṇīta lokaḥ
O my Lord, the people of the world are embarrassed by all material anxieties — they are always afraid. They always try to protect wealth, body and friends, they are filled with lamentation and unlawful desires and paraphernalia, and they avariciously base their undertakings on the perishable conceptions of "my" and "mine." As long as they do not take shelter of Your safe lotus feet, they are full of such anxieties.
One may question how one can always think of the Lord in regard to His name, fame, quality, etc., if one is embarrassed by thoughts of family affairs. Everyone in the material world is full of thoughts about how to maintain his family, how to protect his wealth, how to keep pace with friends and relatives, etc. Thus he is always in fear and lamentation, trying to keep up with the status quo. In answer to this question, this verse spoken by Brahmā is very appropriate.
A pure devotee of the Lord never thinks of himself as the proprietor of his home. He surrenders everything unto the supreme control of the Lord, and thus he has no fear for maintaining his family or protecting the interests of his family. Because of this surrender, he no longer has any attraction for wealth. Even if there is attraction for wealth, it is not for sense enjoyment, but for the service of the Lord. A pure devotee may be attracted to accumulating wealth just like an ordinary man, but the difference is that a devotee acquires money for the service of the Lord, whereas the ordinary man acquires money for his sense enjoyment. Thus the acquisition of wealth by a devotee is not a source of anxieties, as is the case for a worldly man. And because a pure devotee accepts everything in the sense of serving the Lord, the poisonous teeth of accumulation of wealth are extracted. If a snake has its poison removed and bites a man, there is no fatal effect. Similarly, wealth accumulated in the cause of the Lord has no poisonous teeth, and the effect is not fatal. A pure devotee is never entangled in material worldly affairs even though he may remain in the world like an ordinary man.
3.9.7.
daivena te hata-dhiyo bhavataḥ prasańgāt
sarvāśubhopaśamanād vimukhendriyā ye
kurvanti kāma-sukha-leśa-lavāya dīnā
lobhābhibhūta-manaso 'kuśalāni śaśvat
O my Lord, persons who are bereft of the all-auspicious performance of chanting and hearing about Your transcendental activities are certainly unfortunate and are also bereft of good sense. They engage in inauspicious activities, enjoying sense gratification for a very little while.
The next question is why people are against such auspicious activities as chanting and hearing the glories and pastimes of the Lord, which can bring total freedom from the cares and anxieties of material existence. The only answer to this question is that they are unfortunate because of supernatural control due to their offensive activities performed simply for the sake of sense gratification. The Lord's pure devotees, however, take compassion upon such unfortunate persons and, in a missionary spirit, try to persuade them into the line of devotional service. Only by the grace of pure devotees can such unfortunate men be elevated to the position of transcendental service.
3.9.8.
kṣut-tṛṭ-tridhātubhir imā muhur ardyamānāḥ
śītoṣṇa-vāta-varaṣair itaretarāc ca
kāmāgninācyuta-ruṣā ca sudurbhareṇa
sampaśyato mana urukrama sīdate me
O great actor, my Lord, all these poor creatures are constantly perplexed by hunger, thirst, severe cold, secretion and bile, attacked by coughing winter, blasting summer, rains and many other disturbing elements, and overwhelmed by strong sex urges and indefatigable anger. I take pity on them, and I am very much aggrieved for them.
A pure devotee of the Lord like Brahmā and persons in his disciplic succession are always unhappy to see the perplexities of the conditioned souls, who are suffering the onslaughts of the threefold miseries which pertain to the body and mind, to the disturbances of material nature, and to many other such material disadvantages. Not knowing adequate measures for relieving such difficulties, suffering persons sometimes pose themselves as leaders of the people, and the unfortunate followers are put into further disadvantages under such so-called leadership. This is like a blind man's leading another blind man to fall into a ditch. Therefore, unless the devotees of the Lord take pity on them and teach them the right path, their lives are hopeless failures. The devotees of the Lord who voluntarily take the responsibility of raising the foolish materialistic sense enjoyers are as confidential to the Lord as Lord Brahmā.
3.9.9.
yāvat pṛthaktvam idam ātmana indriyārtha-
māyā-balaḿ bhagavato jana īśa paśyet
tāvan na saḿsṛtir asau pratisańkrameta
vyarthāpi duḥkha-nivahaḿ vahatī kriyārthā
O my Lord, the material miseries are without factual existence for the soul. Yet as long as the conditioned soul sees the body as meant for sense enjoyment, he cannot get out of the entanglement of material miseries, being influenced by Your external energy.
The whole trouble of the living entity in material existence is that he has an independent conception of life. He is always dependent on the rules of the Supreme Lord, in both the conditioned and liberated states, but by the influence of the external energy the conditioned soul thinks himself independent of the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead. His constitutional position is to dovetail himself with the desire of the supreme will, but as long as he does not do so, he is sure to drag on in the shackles of material bondage. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.55), prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha mano-gatān: he has to give up all sorts of plans manufactured by mental concoction. The living entity has to dovetail himself with the supreme will. That will help him to get out of the entanglement of material existence.
