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sattvam—consciousness; ca—also; asya—of the gigantic form; vinirbhinnam—being separately manifested; mahan—the total energy, mahat-tattva; dhisnyam—with control; upavisat—entered into; cittena amsena—along with His part of consciousness; yena—by which; asau—the living entity; vijnanam—specific knowledge; pratipadyate—cultivates.

Thereafter, when His consciousness separately manifested itself, the total energy, mahat-tattva, entered with His conscious part. Thus the living entity is able to conceive specific knowledge.

SB3.6.27

TEXT 27

sirsno ’sya dyaur dhara padbhyam

kham nabher udapadyata

gunanam vrttayo yesu

pratiyante suradayah

SYNONYMS

sirsnah—head; asya—of the gigantic form; dyauh—the heavenly planets; dhara—earthly planets; padbhyam—on His legs; kham—the sky; nabheh—from the abdomen; udapadyata—became manifested; gunanam—of the three modes of nature; vrttayah—reactions; yesu—in which; pratiyante—manifest; sura-adayah—the demigods and others.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, from the head of the gigantic form, the heavenly planets were manifested, and from His legs the earthly planets and from His abdomen the sky separately manifested themselves. Within them the demigods and others also were manifested in terms of the modes of material nature.

SB3.6.28

TEXT 28

atyantikena sattvena

divam devah prapedire

dharam rajah-svabhavena

panayo ye ca tan anu

SYNONYMS

atyantikena—excessive; sattvena—by the mode of goodness; divam—in the higher planets; devah—the demigods; prapedire—have been situated; dharam—on the earth; rajah—the mode of passion; svabhavena—by nature; panayah—the human being; ye—all those; ca—also; tan—their; anu—subordinate.

TRANSLATION

The demigods, qualified by the superexcellent quality of the mode of goodness, are situated in the heavenly planets, whereas the human beings, because of their nature in the mode of passion, live on the earth in company with their subordinates.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita (14.14–15) it is said that those who are highly developed in the mode of goodness are promoted to the higher, heavenly planetary system, and those who are overpowered by the mode of passion are situated in the middle planetary systems—the earth and similar planets. But those who are surcharged with the mode of ignorance are degraded to the lower planetary systems or to the animal kingdom. The demigods are highly developed in the mode of goodness, and thus they are situated in the heavenly planets. Below human beings are the animals, although some of them mingle with human society; cows, horses, dogs, etc., are habituated to living under the protection of human beings.

The word atyantikena is very significant in this verse. By development of the mode of goodness of material nature one can become situated in the heavenly planets. But by excessive development of the modes of passion and ignorance, the human being indulges in killing the animals who are meant to be protected by mankind. Persons who indulge in unnecessary animal killing have excessively developed in the modes of passion and ignorance and have no hope of advancing to the mode of goodness; they are destined to be degraded to lower statuses of life. The planetary systems are calculated as upper and lower in terms of the classes of living entities who live there.

SB3.6.29

TEXT 29

tartiyena svabhavena

bhagavan-nabhim asritah

ubhayor antaram vyoma

ye rudra-parsadam ganah

tartiyena—by excessive development of the third mode of material nature, the mode of ignorance; svabhavena—by such nature; bhagavat-nabhim—the abdominal navel of the gigantic form of the Personality of Godhead; asritah—those who are so situated; ubhayoh—between the two; antaram—in between; vyoma—the sky; ye—all of whom; rudra-parsadam—associates of Rudra; ganah—population.

Living entities who are associates of Rudra develop in the third mode of material nature, or ignorance. They are situated in the sky between the earthly planets and the heavenly planets.

This middle portion of the sky is called Bhuvarloka, as confirmed by both Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti and Srila Jiva Gosvami. In Bhagavad-gita it is stated that those who develop in the mode of passion are situated in the middle region. Those who are situated in the mode of goodness are promoted to the regions of the demigods, those who are situated in the mode of passion are placed in human society, and those who are situated in the mode of ignorance are placed in the society of animals or ghosts. There are no contradictions in this conclusion. Numerous living entities are distributed all over the universe in different planets and are so situated in terms of their own qualities in the modes of material nature.

SB3.6.30

TEXT 30

mukhato ’vartata brahma

purusasya kurudvaha

yas tunmukhatvad varnanam

mukhyo ’bhud brahmano guruh

mukhatah—from the mouth; avartata—generated; brahma—the Vedic wisdom; purusasya—of the virat-purusa, the gigantic form; kuru-udvaha—O chief of the Kuru dynasty; yah—who are; tu—due to; unmukhatvat—inclined to; varnanam—of the orders of society; mukhyah—the chief; abhut—so became; brahmanah—called the brahmanas; guruh—the recognized teacher or spiritual master.

O chief of the Kuru dynasty, the Vedic wisdom became manifested from the mouth of the virat, the gigantic form. Those who are inclined to this Vedic knowledge are called brahmanas, and they are the natural teachers and spiritual masters of all the orders of society.

bahubhyo ’vartata ksatram

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (4.13), the four orders of human society developed with the order of the body of the gigantic form. The bodily divisions are the mouth, arms, waist and legs. Those who are situated on the mouth are called brahmanas, those who are situated on the arms are called ksatriyas, those who are situated on the waist are called vaisyas, and those who are situated on the legs are called sudras. Everyone is situated in the body of the Supreme in His gigantic visva-rupa form. In terms of the four orders, therefore, no caste is to be considered degraded because of being situated on a particular part of the body. In our own bodies we do not show any actual difference in our treatment towards the hands or legs. Each and every part of the body is important, although the mouth is the most important of the bodily parts. If other parts are cut off from the body, a man can continue his life, but if the mouth is cut off, one cannot live. Therefore, this most important part of the body of the Lord is called the sitting place of the brahmanas, who are inclined to the Vedic wisdom. One who is not inclined to the Vedic wisdom but to mundane affairs cannot be called a brahmana, even if he is born of a brahmana family or father. To have a brahmana father does not qualify one as a brahmana. The main qualification of a brahmana is to be inclined to the Vedic wisdom. The Vedas are situated on the mouth of the Lord, and therefore anyone who is inclined to the Vedic wisdom is certainly situated on the mouth of the Lord, and he is a brahmana. This inclination towards Vedic wisdom is also not restricted to any particular caste or community. Anyone from any family and from any part of the world may become inclined to the Vedic wisdom, and that will qualify him as a real brahmana.

A real brahmana is the natural teacher or spiritual master. Unless one has Vedic knowledge, one cannot become a spiritual master. The perfect knowledge of the Vedas is to know the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, and that is the end of Vedic knowledge, or Vedanta. One who is situated in the impersonal Brahman and has no information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead may become a brahmana, but he cannot become a spiritual master. It is said in the Padma Purana:

sat-karma-nipuno vipro
mantra-tantra-visaradah
avaisnavo gurur na syad
vaisnavah sva-paco guruh

An impersonalist can become a qualified brahmana, but he cannot become a spiritual master unless and until he is promoted to the stage of a Vaisnava, or a devotee of the Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya, the great authority of Vedic wisdom in the modern age, stated:

kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya
yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei ’guru’ haya

A person may be a brahmana or a sudra or a sannyasi, but if he happens to be well versed in the science of Krsna, then he is fit to become a spiritual master. (Cc. Madhya 8.128) The qualification, then, of a spiritual master is not to be a qualified brahmana, but to be well versed in the science of Krsna.

One who is conversant with Vedic wisdom is a brahmana. And only a brahmana who is a pure Vaisnava and knows all the intricacies of the science of Krsna can become a spiritual master.

SB3.6.31

TEXT 31

ksatriyas tad anuvratah

yo jatas trayate varnan

paurusah kantaka-ksatat

bahubhyah—from the arms; avartata—generate d; ksatram—the power of protection; ksatriyah—in relation to the power of protection; tat—that; anuvratah—followers; yah—one who; jatah—so becomes; trayate—delivers; varnan—the other occupations; paurusah—representative of the Personality of Godhead; kantaka—of disturbing elements like thieves and debauchees; ksatat—from the mischief.

Thereafter the power of protection was generated from the arms of the gigantic virat form, and in relation to such power the ksatriyas also came into existence by following the ksatriya principle of protecting society from the disturbance of thieves and miscreants.

vaisyas tad-udbhavo vartam

As the brahmanas are recognized by their particular qualification of inclination towards the transcendental knowledge of Vedic wisdom, so also the ksatriyas are recognized by the power to protect society from the disturbing elements of thieves and miscreants. The word anuvratah is significant. A person who follows the ksatriya principles by protecting society from thieves and miscreants is called a ksatriya, not the one who is simply born a ksatriya. The conception of the caste system is always based on quality and not on the qualification of birth. Birth is an extraneous consideration; it is not the main feature of the orders and divisions. In Bhagavad-gita (18.41–44) the qualifications of the brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are specifically mentioned, and it is understood that all such qualifications are needed before one can be designated as belonging to a particular group.

Lord Visnu is always mentioned as the purusa in all Vedic scriptures. Sometimes the living entities are also mentioned as purusas, although they are essentially purusa-sakti (para sakti or para prakrti), the superior energy of the purusa. Illusioned by the external potency of the purusa (the Lord), the living entities falsely think of themselves as the purusa although they actually have no qualifications. The Lord has the power to protect. Of the three deities Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara, the first has the power to create, the second has the power to protect, and the third has the power to destroy. The word purusa is significant in this verse because the ksatriyas are expected to represent the purusa Lord in giving protection to the prajas, or all those who are born in the land and water. Protection is therefore meant for both man and the animals. in modern society the prajas are not protected from the hands of thieves and miscreants. The modern democratic state, which has no ksatriyas, is a government of the vaisyas and sudras, and not of brahmanas and ksatriyas as formerly. Maharaja Yudhisthira and his grandson, Maharaja Pariksit, were typical ksatriya kings, for they gave protection to all men and animals. When the personification of Kali attempted to kill a cow, Maharaja Pariksit at once prepared himself to kill the miscreant, and the personification of Kali was banished from his kingdom. That is the sign of purusa, or the representative of Lord Visnu. According to Vedic civilization, a qualified ksatriya monarch is given the respect of the Lord because he represents the Lord by giving protection to the prajas. Modern elected presidents cannot even give protection from theft cases, and therefore one has to take protection from an insurance company. The problems of modern human society are due to the lack of qualified brahmanas and ksatriyas and the overinfluence of the vaisyas and sudras by so-called general franchise.

SB3.6.32

TEXT 32

viso ’vartanta tasyorvor

loka-vrttikarir vibhoh

nrnam yah samavartayat

visah—means of living by production and distribution; avartanta—generated; tasya—His (the gigantic form’s); urvoh—from the thighs; loka-vrttikarih—means of livelihood; vibhoh—of the Lord; vaisyah—the mercantile community; tat—their; udbhavah—orientation; vartam—means of living; nrnam—of all men; yah—one who; samavartayat—executed.

The means of livelihood of all persons, namely production of grains and their distribution to the prajas, was generated from the thighs of the Lord’s gigantic form. The mercantile men who take charge of such execution are called vaisyas.

Human society’s means of living is clearly mentioned here as visa, or agriculture and the business of distributing agricultural products, which involves transport, banking, etc. Industry is an artificial means of livelihood, and large-scale industry especially is the source of all the problems of society. In Bhagavad-gita also the duties of the vaisyas, who are engaged in visa, are stated as cow protection, agriculture and business. We have already discussed that the human being can safely depend on the cow and agricultural land for his livelihood.

The exchange of produce by banking and transportation is a branch of this type of living. The vaisyas are divided into many subsections: some of them are called ksetri, or landowners, some are called krsana, or land tillers, some of them are called tila-vanik, or grain raisers, some are called gandha-vanik, or merchants in spices, and some are called suvarna-vanik, or merchants in gold and banking. The brahmanas are the teachers and spiritual masters, the ksatriyas protect the citizens from the hands of thieves and miscreants, and the vaisyas are in charge of production and distribution. The sudras, the unintelligent class of men who cannot act independently in any of the above-mentioned activities, are meant for serving the three higher classes for their livelihood.

Formerly, the brahmanas were given all the necessities of life by the ksatriyas and vaisyas because they had no time to spend making a living. The ksatriyas would collect taxes from the vaisyas and sudras, but the brahmanas were exempt from paying income tax or land revenue. That system of human society was so nice that there were no political, social and economic upheavals. The different castes, or varna classifications, are therefore essential for maintaining a peaceful human society.

SB3.6.33

TEXT 33

padbhyam bhagavato jajne

susrusa dharma-siddhaye

tasyam jatah pura sudro

yad-vrttya tusyate harih

padbhyam—from the legs; bhagavatah—of the Personality of Godhead; jajne—became manifested; susrusa—service; dharma—occupational duty; siddhaye—for the matter of; tasyam—in that; jatah—being generated; pura—formerly; sudrah—the servitors; yat-vrttya—the occupation by which; tusyate—becomes satisfied; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Thereafter, service was manifested from the legs of the Personality of Godhead for the sake of perfecting the religious function. Situated on the legs are the sudras, who satisfy the Lord by service.

Service is the real constitutional occupation of all living entities. The living entities are meant to render service to the Lord, and they can attain religious perfection by this service attitude. One cannot attain religious perfection simply by speculating to attain theoretical knowledge. The jnani division of spiritualists go on speculating only to distinguish the soul from matter, but they have no information of the activities of the soul after being liberated by knowledge. It is said that persons who only mentally speculate to know things as they are and who do not engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are simply wasting their time.

It is clearly said here that the principle of service was generated from the legs of the Lord for the sake of perfecting the religious process, but this transcendental service is different from the idea of service in the material world. In the material world, no one wants to be a servant; everyone wants to become the master because false mastership is the basic disease of the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul in the material world wants to lord it over others. Illusioned by the external energy of the Lord, he is forced to become a servant of the material world. That is the real position of the conditioned soul. The last snare of the illusory, external energy is the conception of becoming one with the Lord, and due to this conception the illusioned soul remains in the bondage of material energy, falsely thinking himself a liberated soul and “as good as Narayana.”

It is actually better to be a sudra than to be a brahmana and not develop the service attitude, because that attitude alone satisfies the Lord. Every living being—even if he be a brahmana by qualification—must take to the transcendental service of the Lord. Both Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam support that this service attitude is the perfection of the living entity. A brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra can perfect his occupational duties only by rendering service unto the Lord. A brahmana is supposed to know this fact due to his perfection in Vedic wisdom. The other sections are supposed to follow the direction of the brahmana Vaisnava (one who is a brahmana by qualification and a Vaisnava by action). That will make the entire society perfect in regard to the order of its social construction. A disordered society cannot satisfy either the members of the society or the Lord. Even if one is not a perfect brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra but takes to the service of the Lord, not caring for the perfection of his social position, he becomes a perfect human being simply by developing the attitude of service to the Supreme Lord.

SB3.6.34

TEXT 34

ete varnah sva-dharmena

yajanti sva-gurum harim

sraddhayatma-visuddhy-artham

yaj-jatah saha vrttibhih

ete—all these; varnah—orders of society; sva-dharmena—by one’s own occupational duties; yajanti—worship; sva-gurum—with the spiritual master; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sraddhaya—with faith and devotion; atma—self; visuddhi-artham—for purifying; yat—from whom; jatah—born; saha—along with; vrttibhih—occupational duty.

All these different social divisions are born, with their occupational duties and living conditions, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus for unconditional life and self-realization one has to worship the Supreme Lord under the direction of the spiritual master.

Since they are born from different parts of the body of the Supreme Lord in His gigantic form, all living entities in all parts of the entire universe are supposed to he eternal servitors of the supreme body. Every part of our own body, such as the mouth, hands, thighs and legs, is meant to render service to the whole. That is their constitutional position. In subhuman life the living entities are not conscious of this constitutional position, but in the human form of life they are supposed to know this through the system of the varnas, the social orders. As above mentioned, the brahmana is the spiritual master of all the orders of society, and thus brahminical culture, culminating in the transcendental service of the Lord, is the basic principle for purifying the soul.

In conditioned life the soul is under the impression that he can become the lord of the universe, and the last point of this misconception is to think oneself the Supreme. The foolish conditioned soul does not take into account that the Supreme cannot be conditioned by maya, or illusion. If the Supreme were to become conditioned by illusion, where would be His supremacy? In that case, maya, or illusion, would be the Supreme. Therefore, because the living entities are conditioned, they cannot be supreme. The actual position of the conditioned soul is explained in this verse: all the conditioned souls are impure due to contact with the material energy in three modes of nature. Therefore it is necessary that they purify themselves under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, who not only is a brahmana by qualification but must also be a Vaisnava. The only self-purifying process mentioned herein is to worship the Lord under the recognized method—under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master. That is the natural way of purification, and no other method is recommended as bona fide. The other methods of purification may be helpful to come to this stage of life, but ultimately one has to come to this last point before he attains actual perfection. Bhagavad-gita (7.19) confirms this truth as follows:

bahunam janmanam ante
jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma sudurlabhah

SB3.6.35

TEXT 35

etat ksattar bhagavato

daiva-karmatma-rupinah

kah sraddadhyad upakartum

yogamaya-balodayam

etat—this; ksattah—O Vidura; bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; daiva-karma-atma-rupinah—of the gigantic form of transcendental work, time and nature; kah—who else; sraddadhyat—can aspire; upakartum—measure in totality; yogamaya—internal potency; bala-udayam—manifested by the strength of.

O Vidura, who can estimate or measure the transcendental time, work and potency of the gigantic form manifested by the internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

kirtim hareh svam sat-kartum

The froggish philosophers may go on with their mental speculations on the subject matter of the virat, the gigantic form exhibited by the yogamaya internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but factually no one can measure such a vast exhibition. In Bhagavad-gita (11.16), Arjuna, the recognized devotee of the Lord, says:

aneka-bahudara-vaktra-netram
pasyami tvam sarvato ’nanta-rupam
nantam na madhyam na punas tavadim
pasyami visvesvara visva-rupa

“O my Lord, O gigantic visva-rupa form, O master of the universe, I see innumerable hands, bodies, mouths and eyes in all directions, and they are all unlimited. I cannot find the end of this manifestation, nor do I see the middle, nor the beginning.”

Bhagavad-gita was specifically spoken to Arjuna, and the visva-rupa was exhibited before him at his request. He was awarded the specific eyes to see this visva-rupa, yet although he was able to see the Lord’s innumerable hands and mouths, he was unable to see Him completely. Since Arjuna was unable to estimate the length and breadth of the potency of the Lord, who else would be able to do so? One may only indulge in miscalculation like the frog-philosopher. The frog-philosopher wanted to estimate the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean by his experience of a well three cubic feet large, and thus he began to puff himself up to become as big as the Pacific Ocean, but at last he burst and died by this process. This story is applicable to the mental philosophers who, under the illusion of the Lord’s external energy, indulge in estimating the length and breadth of the Supreme Lord. The best path is to become a cool-headed, submissive devotee of the Lord, try to hear about the Lord from the bona fide spiritual master, and thus serve the Lord in transcendental loving service, as suggested in the previous verse.

SB3.6.36

TEXT 36

tathapi kirtayamy anga

yatha-mati yatha-srutam

giram anyabhidhasatim

tatha—therefore; api—although it is so; kirtayami—I do describe; anga—O Vidura; yatha—as much as; mati—intelligence; yatha—as much as; srutam—heard; kirtim—glories; hareh—of the Lord; svam—own; sat-kartum—just purify; giram—speeches; anyabhidha—otherwise; asatim—unchaste.

In spite of my inability, whatever I have been able to hear [from the spiritual master] and whatever I could assimilate I am now describing in glorification of the Lord by pure speech, for otherwise my power of speaking would remain unchaste.

The purification of the conditioned soul necessitates purification of his consciousness. By the presence of consciousness, the presence of the transcendental soul is verified, and as soon as consciousness leaves the body, the material body is not active. Consciousness is perceived, therefore, by activities. The theory put forward by empiric philosophers that consciousness can remain in an inactive state is the proof of their poor fund of knowledge. One should not become unchaste by stopping the activities of pure consciousness. If the activities of pure consciousness are stopped, certainly the conscious living force will be otherwise engaged because unless engaged the consciousness has no standing. Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment. When the body does not act, the consciousness acts in the form of dreams. Unconsciousness is artificial; by induced extraneous help it remains for a limited period, but when the intoxication of the drug is finished or when one is awake, the consciousness again acts earnestly.

Maitreya’s statement is that in order to avoid unchaste conscious activities, he was trying to describe the unlimited glories of the Lord, although he did not have the ability to describe them perfectly. This glorification of the Lord is not a product of research, but the result of hearing submissively from the authority of the spiritual master. It is also not possible to repeat all that one has heard from his spiritual master, but one can narrate as far as possible by one’s honest endeavor. It does not matter whether the Lord’s glories are fully explained or not. One must attempt to engage one’s bodily, mental and verbal activities in the transcendental glorification of the Lord, otherwise such activities will remain unchaste and impure. The existence of the conditioned soul can be purified only by the method of engaging mind and speech in the service of the Lord. The tridandi-sannyasi of the Vaisnava school accepts three rods, representing the vow to engage in the service of the Lord with body, mind and speech, whereas the ekadandi-sannyasi takes the vow to become one with the Supreme. Since the Lord is the Absolute, there is no distinction between Him and His glories. The glories of the Lord as chanted by the Vaisnava sannyasi are as substantial as the Lord Himself, and thus while glorifying the Lord the devotee becomes one with Him in transcendental interest, although he remains eternally a transcendental servitor. This simultaneously one and different position of the devotee makes him eternally purified, and thus his life becomes a complete success.

SB3.6.37

TEXT 37

ekanta-labham vacaso nu pumsam

susloka-mauler guna-vadam ahuh

srutes ca vidvadbhir upakrtayam

katha-sudhayam upasamprayogam

eka-anta—the one which has no comparison; labham—gain; vacasah—by discussions; nu pumsam—after the Supreme Person; susloka—pious; mauleh—activities; guna-vadam—glorification; ahuh—it is so said; sruteh—of the ear; ca—also; vidvadbhih—by the learned; upakrtayam—being so edited; katha-sudhayam—in the nectar of such a transcendental message; upasamprayogam—serves the real purpose, being nearer to.

The highest perfectional gain of humanity is to engage in discussions of the activities and glories of the Pious Actor. Such activities are so nicely arranged in writing by the greatly learned sages that the actual purpose of the ear is served just by being near them.

The impersonalists are very much afraid of hearing the activities of the Lord because they think that the happiness derived from the transcendental situation of Brahman is the ultimate goal of life; they think that anyone’s activity, even that of the Personality of Godhead, is mundane. But the idea of happiness indicated in this verse is different because it relates to the activities of the Supreme Personality, who has transcendental qualities. The word guna-vadam is significant because the qualities of the Lord and His activities and pastimes are the subject matter for the discussions of devotees. A rsi like Maitreya is certainly not interested in discussing anything pertaining to mundane qualities, yet he says that the highest perfectional stage of transcendental realization is to discuss the Lord’s activities. Srila Jiva Gosvami, therefore, concludes that topics regarding the transcendental activities of the Lord are far beyond the transcendental realization of kaivalya happiness. These transcendental activities of the Lord are so arranged in writing by the great sages that simply by hearing of those narrations one becomes perfectly self-realized, and the proper use of the ear and the tongue is also achieved. Srimad-Bhagavatam is one of such great literatures, and the highest perfectional state of life is attained simply by hearing and reciting its contents.

samvatsara-sahasrante

dhiya yoga-vipakkaya

atmanah—of the Supreme Soul; avasitah—known; vatsa—O my dear son; mahima—glories; kavina—by the poet Brahma; adina—original; samvatsara—celestial years; sahasra-ante—at the end of one thousand; dhiya—by intelligence; yoga-vipakkaya—by matured meditation.

O my son, the original poet, Brahma, after mature meditation for one thousand celestial years, could know only that the glories of the Supreme Soul are inconceivable.

There are some froggish philosophers who want to know the Supreme Soul by means of philosophy and mental speculation. And when the devotees, who are to some extent in knowledge of the Supreme Lord, admit that the glories of the Lord are inestimable or inconceivable, the froggish philosophers adversely criticize them. These philosophers, like the frog in the well who tried to estimate the measurement of the Pacific Ocean, like to take trouble over fruitless mental speculation instead of taking instructions from devotees like the original poet, namely, Brahma. Lord Brahma underwent a severe type of meditation for one thousand celestial years, yet he said that the glories of the Lord are inconceivable. Therefore what can the froggish philosophers hope to gain from their mental speculations?

It is said in the Brahma-samhita that the mental speculator may fly through the sky of speculation with the velocity of the mind or the wind for thousands of millions of years, and still he will find it inconceivable. The devotees, however, do not waste time in such vain searching after knowledge of the Supreme, but they submissively hear the glories of the Lord from bona fide devotees. Thus they transcendentally enjoy the process of hearing and chanting. The Lord approves of the devotional activities of the devotees or mahatmas, and He says:

mahatmanas tu mam partha
daivim prakrtim asritah
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jnatva bhutadim avyayam

satatam kirtayanto mam
yatantas ca drdha-vratah
namasyantas ca mam bhaktya
nitya-yukta upasate

(Bg. 9.13–14)

The pure devotees of the Lord take shelter of the para prakrti, the internal potency of the Lord called Laksmidevi, Sitadevi, Srimati Radharani or Srimati Rukminidevi, and thus they become actual mahatmas, or great souls. Mahatma are not fond of indulging in mental speculations, but they actually take to the devotional service of the Lord, without the slightest deviation. Devotional service is manifested by the primary process of hearing and chanting about the activities of the Lord. This transcendental method practiced by the mahatmas gives them sufficient knowledge of the Lord because if the Lord can at all be known to some extent, it is only through the means of devotional service and no other way. One may go on speculating and waste the valuable time of his human life, but that will not help anyone to enter into the precincts of the Lord. The mahatmas, however, are not concerned with knowing the Lord by mental speculation because they enjoy hearing about His glorious activities in His transcendental dealings with His devotees or with the demons. The devotees take pleasure in both and are happy in this life and the life after.

yat svayam catma-vartmatma

na veda kim utapare