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yasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who; brahma-adayah—the great demigods, headed by Lord Brahma; devah—and other demigods; vedah—the Vedic knowledge; lokah—different personalities; cara-acarah—the moving and the nonmoving (like trees and plants); nama-rupa—of different names and different forms; vibhedena—by such divisions; phalgvya—who are less important; ca—also; kalaya—by the parts; krtah—created; yatha—as; arcisah—the sparks; agneh—of fire; savituh—from the sun; gabhastayah—the shining particles; niryanti—emanate from; samyanti—and enter into; asakrt—again and again; sva-rocisah—as parts and parcels; tatha—similarly; yatah—the Personality of Godhead from whom; ayam—this; guna-sampravahah—continuous manifestation of the different modes of nature; buddhih manah—the intelligence and mind; khani—the senses; sarira—of the body (gross and subtle); sargah—the divisions; sah—that Supreme Personality of Godhead; vai—indeed; na—is not; deva—demigod; asura—demon; martya—human being; tiryak—bird or beast; na—neither; stri—woman; na—nor; sandhah—neuter; na—neither; puman—man; na—nor; jantuh—living being or animal; na ayam—nor is He; gunah—material quality; karma—fruitive activity; na—is not; sat—manifestation; na—nor; ca—also; asat—nonmanifestation; nisedha—of the discrimination of neti neti (“not this, not this”); sesah—He is the end; jayatat—all glories unto Him; asesah—who is unlimited.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates His minor parts and parcels, the jiva-tattva, beginning with Lord Brahma, the demigods and the expansions of Vedic knowledge [Sama, Rg, Yajur and Atharva] and including all other living entities, moving and nonmoving, with their different names and characteristics. As the sparks of a fire or the shining rays of the sun emanate from their source and merge into it again and again, the mind, the intelligence, the senses, the gross and subtle material bodies, and the continuous transformations of the different modes of nature all emanate from the Lord and again merge into Him. He is neither demigod nor demon, neither human nor bird or beast. He is not woman, man, or neuter, nor is He an animal. He is not a material quality, a fruitive activity, a manifestation or nonmanifestation. He is the last word in the discrimination of “not this, not this,” and He is unlimited. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead!

This is a summary description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s unlimited potency. That supreme one is acting in different phases by manifesting His parts and parcels, which are all simultaneously differently situated by His different potencies (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate). Each and every potency is acting quite naturally (svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca). Therefore the Lord is unlimited. Na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate: nothing is equal to Him, nor is anything greater than Him. Although He manifests Himself in so many ways, personally He has nothing to do (na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate), for everything is done by expansions of His unlimited energies.

SB8.3.25

TEXT 25

jijivise naham ihamuya kim

antar bahis cavrtayebha-yonya

icchami kalena na yasya viplavas

tasyatma-lokavaranasya moksam

jijivise—wish to live long; na—not; aham—I; iha—in this life; amuya—or in the next life (I do not wish to live upon being saved from this dangerous position); kim—what is the value; antah—internally; bahih—externally; ca—and; avrtaya—covered by ignorance; ibha-yonya—in this birth as an elephant; icchami—I desire; kalena—because of the influence of time; na—there is not; yasya—of which; viplavah—annihilation; tasya—that; atma-loka-avaranasya—from the covering of self-realization; moksam—liberation.

I do not wish to live anymore after I am released from the attack of the crocodile. What is the use of an elephant’s body covered externally and internally by ignorance? I simply desire eternal liberation from the covering of ignorance. That covering is not destroyed by the influence of time.

In this material world, every living entity is covered by the darkness of ignorance. Therefore the Vedas enjoin that one should approach the Supreme Lord through the spiritual master, who is described and offered prayers in the Gautamiya-tantra as follows:

om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.” Although one may struggle for existence in this material world, to live forever is impossible. One must understand, however, that this struggle for existence is due to ignorance, for otherwise every living being is an eternal part of the Supreme Lord. There is no need to live as an elephant or man, American or Indian; one should desire only to achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Because of ignorance, we consider every life offered by nature to be happy and pleasing, but in the degraded life within this material world, from the life of Lord Brahma down to that of an ant, no one can actually be happy. We are making so many plans to live happily, but there cannot be any happiness in this material world, however we may try to make a permanent settlement in this life or that.

SB8.3.26

TEXT 26

so ’ham visva-srjam visvam

avisvam visva-vedasam

visvatmanam ajam brahma

pranato ’smi param padam

sah—that; aham—I (the person desiring release from material life); visva-srjam—unto He who has created this cosmic manifestation; visvam—who is Himself the whole cosmic presentation; avisvam—although He is transcendental to the cosmic manifestation; visva-vedasam—who is the knower or ingredient of this universal manifestation; visva-atmanam—the soul of the universe; ajam—who is never born, eternally existing; brahma—the Supreme; pranatah asmi—I offer my respectful obeisances; param—who is transcendental; padam—the shelter.

Now, fully desiring release from material life, I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Person who is the creator of the universe, who is Himself the form of the universe and who is nonetheless transcendental to this cosmic manifestation. He is the supreme knower of everything in this world, the Supersoul of the universe. He is the unborn, supremely situated Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

Sometimes when bhakti-yoga, Krsna consciousness, is preached to the common man, people argue, “Where is Krsna? Where is God? Can you show Him to us?” In this verse the answer is given that if we are sufficiently intelligent, we must know that there is someone who has created the entire cosmic manifestation, who has supplied and has become the ingredients for this cosmic manifestation, who is eternally existing, but who is not within the cosmic manifestation. Simply on the basis of this suggestion, one can offer respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord. This is the beginning of devotional life.

SB8.3.27

TEXT 27

yoga-randhita-karmano

hrdi yoga-vibhavite

yogino yam prapasyanti

yogesam tam nato ’smy aham

yoga-randhita-karmanah—persons whose reactions to fruitive activities have been burnt up by bhakti-yoga; hrdi—within the core of the heart; yoga-vibhavite—completely purified and clean; yoginah—mystics who are competent; yam—unto the Personality of Godhead who; prapasyanti—directly see; yoga-isam—unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all mystic yoga; tam—unto Him; natah asmi—offering obeisances; aham—I.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, the Supersoul, the master of all mystic yoga, who is seen in the core of the heart by perfect mystics when they are completely purified and freed from the reactions of fruitive activity by practicing bhakti-yoga.

namo namas tubhyam asahya-vega-

The King of the elephants, Gajendra, simply accepted that there must be someone who has created this cosmic manifestation and has supplied its ingredients. This should be admitted by everyone, even the most determined atheists. Why, then, do the nondevotees and atheists not admit this? The reason is that they are polluted by the reactions of their fruitive activities. One must be freed from all the dirt accumulated within the heart due to fruitive activities performed one after another. One must wash off this dirt by practicing bhakti-yoga. Yoga-randhita-karmanah. As long as one is covered by material nature’s modes of ignorance and passion, there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Lord. Tada rajas-tamo-bhavah kama-lobhadayas ca ye [SB 1.2.19]. When one is freed from the modes of ignorance and passion, one becomes free from the lowest qualities—kama and lobha, lust and greed.

Nowadays there are so many yoga schools to encourage people in developing their lusty desires and greed through the practice of yoga. People are therefore very much fond of so-called yoga practice. The actual practice of yoga, however, is described here. As authoritatively stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.1), dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah: a yogi is one who always meditates on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in the Brahma-samhita (5.38):

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti
yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Syamasundara, Krsna Himself, with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.” The bhakti-yogi constantly sees Syamasundara—beautiful Lord Krsna with His blackish bodily hue. Because the King of the elephants, Gajendra, thought himself an ordinary animal, he thought himself unfit to see the Lord. In his humility, he thought that he could not practice yoga. In other words, how can those who are like animals in the bodily concept of life, and who have no purity of consciousness, practice yoga? In the present day, people who have no control over their senses, who have no understanding of philosophy and who do not follow religious principles or rules and regulations are nonetheless pretending to be yogis. This is the greatest anomaly in the practice of mystic yoga.

SB8.3.28

TEXT 28

sakti-trayayakhila-dhi-gunaya

prapanna-palaya duranta-saktaye

kad-indriyanam anavapya-vartmane

namah—I offer my respectful obeisances; namah—again I offer my respectful obeisances; tubhyam—unto You; asahya—formidable; vega—forces; sakti-trayaya—unto the Supreme Person, who has threefold potencies; akhila—of the universe; dhi—for the intelligence; gunaya—who appears as the sense objects; prapanna-palaya—unto the Supreme, who gives shelter to the surrendered; duranta-saktaye—who possesses energies very difficult to overcome; kat-indriyanam—by persons unable to control their senses; anavapya—who is unattainable; vartmane—on the path.

My Lord, You are the controller of formidable strength in three kinds of energy. You appear as the reservoir of all sense pleasure and the protector of the surrendered souls. You possess unlimited energy, but You are unapproachable by those who are unable to control their senses. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again.

Attachment, greed and lust are three formidable forces that prevent one from concentrating upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These forces act because the Supreme Lord does not like to be realized by nondevotees and atheists. However, when one surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, these impediments are withdrawn, and one can realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord is the protector of the surrendered soul. One cannot become a devotee until one surrenders unto the Lord’s lotus feet. Then the Lord gives one the intelligence from within by which one can return home, back to Godhead.

SB8.3.29

TEXT 29

nayam veda svam atmanam

yac-chaktyaham-dhiya hatam

tam duratyaya-mahatmyam

bhagavantam ito ’smy aham

na—not; ayam—people in general; veda—know; svam—own; atmanam—identity; yat-saktya—by whose influence; aham—I am independent; dhiya—by this intelligence; hatam—defeated or covered; tam—unto Him; duratyaya—difficult to understand; mahatmyam—whose glories; bhagavantam—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; itah—taking shelter; asmi aham—I am.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose illusory energy the jiva, who is part and parcel of God, forgets his real identity because of the bodily concept of life. I take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose glories are difficult to understand.

evam gajendram upavarnita-nirvisesam

As stated in Bhagavad-gita, every living entity—regardless of whether he be human, demigod, animal, bird, bee or whatever—is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord and the living entity are intimately related like father and son. Unfortunately, because of material contact, the living entity forgets this and wants to enjoy the material world independently, according to his own plan. This illusion (maya) is very difficult to surmount. Maya covers the living entity because of his willingness to forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead and make his own plan to enjoy this material world. As long as this contamination continues, the conditioned soul will be unable to understand his real identity and will perpetually continue under illusion, life after life. Ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho ’yam aham mameti (Bhag. 5.5.8). As long as the living entity is not enlightened so that he may understand his real position, he will be attracted to materialistic life, to house, country or field, to society, sons, family, community, bank balance and so on. Covered by all this, he will continue to think, “I am this body, and everything related to this body is mine.” This materialistic conception of life is extremely difficult to surmount, but one who surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as did Gajendra, the King of the elephants, comes to enlightenment on the Brahman platform.

brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param

“One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed toward all living entities. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.” (Bg. 18.54) Since a devotee is completely on the Brahman platform, he is not jealous of any other living entity (samah sarvesu bhutesu).

SB8.3.30

TEXT 30

sri-suka uvaca

brahmadayo vividha-linga-bhidabhimanah

naite yadopasasrpur nikhilatmakatvat

tatrakhilamara-mayo harir avirasit

sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; evam—in this way; gajendram—unto the King of the elephants, Gajendra; upavarnita—whose description; nirvisesam—not directed to any particular person (but to the Supreme, although he did not know who the Supreme is); brahma-adayah—the demigods, beginning with Brahma, Siva, Indra and Candra; vividha—varieties; linga-bhida—with separate forms; abhimanah—considering themselves separate authorities; na—not; ete—all of them; yada—when; upasasrpuh—approached; nikhila-atmakatvat—because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul of everyone; tatra—there; akhila—of the universe; amara-mayah—consisting of the demigods (who are only external parts of the body); harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can take away everything; avirasit—appeared (before the elephant).

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued: When the King of the elephants was describing the supreme authority, without mentioning any particular person, he did not invoke the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Indra and Candra. Thus none of them approached him. However, because Lord Hari is the Supersoul, Purusottama, the Personality of Godhead, He appeared before Gajendra.

tam tadvad artam upalabhya jagan-nivasah

From the description of Gajendra, he apparently was aiming at the supreme authority although he did not know who the supreme authority is. He conjectured, “There is a supreme authority who is above everything.” Under the circumstances, the Lord’s various expansions, such as Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Candra and Indra, all thought, “Gajendra is not asking our help. He is asking the help of the Supreme, who is above all of us.” As Gajendra has described, the Supreme Lord has various parts and parcels, including the demigods, human beings and animals, all covered by separate forms. Although the demigods are in charge of maintaining different aspects of the universe, Gajendra thought that they were unable to rescue him. Harim vina naiva mrtim taranti: no one can rescue anyone from the dangers of birth, death, old age and disease. It is only the Supreme Personality of Godhead who can rescue one from the dangers of material existence. Therefore an intelligent person, to get free from this dangerous existence, approaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not any demigod. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (7.20), kamais tais tair hrta jnanah prapadyante ’nya-devatah: those who are unintelligent approach the various demigods for temporary material benefits. Actually, however, these demigods cannot rescue the living entity from the dangers of material existence. Like other living entities, the demigods are merely external parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s transcendental body. As stated in the Vedic mantras, sa atma-angany anya devatah. Within the body is the atma, the soul, whereas the various parts of the body like the hands and legs are external. Similarly, the atma of the entire cosmic manifestation is Narayana, Lord Visnu, and all the demigods, human beings and other living entities are parts of His body.

It may also be concluded that since a tree lives on the strength of its root and when the root is nourished with water all the parts of the tree are nourished, one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original root of everything. Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very difficult to approach, He is very near to us because He lives within our hearts. As soon as the Lord understands that one is seeking His favor by fully surrendering, naturally He immediately takes action. Therefore although the demigods did not come to the aid of Gajendra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead immediately appeared before him because of his fervent prayer. This does not mean that the demigods were angry with Gajendra, for actually when Lord Visnu is worshiped, all the other demigods are also worshiped. Yasmin tuste jagat tustam: if the Supreme Personality of Godhead is satisfied, everyone is satisfied.

yatha taror mula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

“As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, so simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.” (Bhag. 4.31.14) When the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped, all the demigods are satisfied.

SB8.3.31

TEXT 31

stotram nisamya divijaih saha samstuvadbhih

chandomayena garudena samuhyamanas

cakrayudho ’bhyagamad asu yato gajendrah