SB 5.16.3 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

भगवतो गुणमये स्थूलरूप आवेशितं मनो ह्यगुणेऽपि सूक्ष्मतम आत्मज्योतिषि परे ब्रह्मणि भगवति वासुदेवाख्ये क्षममावेशितुं तदु हैतद् गुरोऽर्हस्यनुवर्णयितुमिति ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

bhagavato guṇamaye sthūla-rūpa āveśitaṁ mano hy aguṇe ’pi sūkṣmatama ātma-jyotiṣi pare brahmaṇi bhagavati vāsudevākhye kṣamam āveśituṁ tad u haitad guro ’rhasy anuvarṇayitum iti.

Synonyms

bhagavataḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; guṇa — maye — into the external features, consisting of the three modes of material nature ; sthūla — rūpe — the gross form ; āveśitam — entered ; manaḥ — the mind ; hi — indeed ; aguṇe — transcendental ; api — although ; sūkṣmatame — in His smaller form as Paramātmā within the heart ; ātma — jyotiṣi — who is full of Brahman effulgence ; pare — the supreme ; brahmaṇi — spiritual entity ; bhagavati — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; vāsudeva — ākhye — known as Bhagavān Vāsudeva ; kṣamam — suitable ; āveśitum — to absorb ; tat — that ; u ha — indeed ; etat — this ; guro — O my dear spiritual master ; arhasi anuvarṇayitum — please describe factually ; iti — thus .

Translation

When the mind is fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His external feature made of the material modes of nature — the gross universal form — it is brought to the platform of pure goodness. In that transcendental position, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, who in His subtler form is self-effulgent and beyond the modes of nature. O my lord, please describe vividly how that form, which covers the entire universe, is perceived.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O guru! The mind fixed on the Lord’s gross form made of matter can absorb itself in the supreme Brahman, Bhagavān, Vāsudeva, light of the soul, who is beyond matter. Therefore, you should explain the structure of the universe. This verse states the result of such inquiry. The word mayā (by me) is not used. (Parīkṣit does not say “By fixing my mind on the Lord’s gross form...”) This indicates that Parīkṣit asks the question, not for himself, but at the request of bhakti-miśra-yogīs present at the gathering who desired to concentrate their minds. I however drink with my ears the honey of topics of the Lord flowing from your lotus mouth. That is my way of attaining the Lord. The phrase bhagavato guṇamaye sthūla-rūpe indicates that the gross form of the universe made of guṇas belongs to the Lord (using possessive case bhagavataḥ). It is thus different from the Lord. The words in the phrase aguṇe 'pi sūkṣmatama ātma-jyotiṣi pare brahmaṇi bhagavati are all in the same case, indicating their equivalence. (Bhagavān is Brahman, the light of the soul, the finest, beyond the guṇas.) This indicates that the Lord is beyond the guṇas. O guru! This indicates that because you are the guru of all the sages you should explain this.

Purport

Mahārāja Parīkṣit had already been advised by his spiritual master, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, to think of the universal form of the Lord, and therefore, following the advice of his spiritual master, he continuously thought of that form. The universal form is certainly material, but because everything is an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ultimately nothing is material. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s mind was saturated with spiritual consciousness. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated: prāpaṣcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate Everything, even that which is material, is connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore everything should be engaged in the service of the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura translates this verse as follows: hari-sevāya yāhā haya anukūla viṣaya baliyā tāhāra tyāge haya bhula “One should not give up anything connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking it material or enjoyable for the material senses.” Even the senses, when purified, are spiritual. When Mahārāja Parīkṣit was thinking of the universal form of the Lord, his mind was certainly situated on the transcendental platform. Therefore although he might not have had any reason to be concerned with detailed information of the universe, he was thinking of it in relationship with the Supreme Lord, and therefore such geographical knowledge was not material but transcendental. Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.20) Nārada Muni has said, idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ: the entire universe is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him. Therefore although Parīkṣit Mahārāja had no need for geographical knowledge of this universe, that knowledge was also spiritual and transcendental because he was thinking of the entire universe as an expansion of the energy of the Lord. In our preaching work also, we deal with so much property and money and so many books bought and sold, but because these dealings all pertain to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they should never be considered material. That one is absorbed in thoughts of such management does not mean that he is outside of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the mahā-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.