Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā Prakāśinī Commentary – Verses 21-30

VERSE 21

sa nityo nitya-sambandhaḥ prakṛtiś ca paraiva sā

That jīva is eternal and has an eternal relationship with Bhagavān which extends unlimitedly through time without any beginning. The jīvā is parā-prakṛti (the superior potency).

Just as the sun and its rays have an eternal relationship, the jīvas and Bhagavān, the transcendental sun, have an eternal relationship. The jīvas are spiritual particles of His rays, thus they are not temporary like those objects created by māyā. The finite jīvas possess an inherent nature (svarūpa) which contains Kṛṣṇa’s qualities in a minute quantity. Therefore the jīva intrinsically possesses jñāna (knowledge), is inherently the jñātṛ (knower of itself), is endowed with ahaṁatā (a sense of ‘I’), is a bhokṭr (an experiencer), a mantṛ (a perceiver) and a kartṛ (a doer). Kṛṣṇa is infinite (vibhu), the jīva is finite (anu) – this characteristic is the difference between them. Their eternal relationship is that the jīva is eternally the servant of Bhagavān and Bhagavān is the eternal master. In relation to bhagavad-rasa (divine mellows for Bhagavān), the jīva has sufficient qualifications.

apareyam itas tvanyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām

“You should know that there is another nature, superior to this inferior nature.” (Bhagavad-gītā 7.5)

By this statement of the Gītā, it is understood that the jīva is Kṛṣṇa’s para-prakṛti (superior potency). All the qualities of the pure jīvātmā are beyond the eight qualities of the aparā-prakṛti (inferior potency) beginning with the false ego etc. Therefore, even though the jīva is insignificant, he is still superior to māyā. Another name for this potency is taṭasthā-śakti, in other words, it is situated in between māyā and cit–tattva. Due to its finite nature, it can be influenced by māyā, but when it is influenced by its master, Kṛṣṇa, then it is no longer controlled by māyā. The jīvas who are ensnared by māyā since time immemorial are subject to the miseries of saṁsāra and rebirth.

VERSE 22

evaṁ sarvātma-sambandhaṁ
nābhyāṁ padmaṁ harer abhūt
tatra brahmābhavad bhūyaś
catur-vedi catur-mukhaḥ

The lotus that appears from the navel of Viṣṇu has a relationship with all ātmās. The four-headed Brahmā who is conversant with the four Vedas, arose from that lotus.

The lotus, which is the abode of the sum-total of all jīvas, appeared from the Puruṣa who entered the guha (the innermost region of the universe). Four-headed Brahmā, who is the embodiment of enjoyment, took birth from Hiraṇyagarbha, the Mūla-Brahmā (original Brahmā), who identifies His body as the aggregate jīvas. Just as Brahmā is a delegated divinity, so also he is a part of Kṛṣṇa as a vibhinnāṁśa (a separated expansion).

VERSE 23

sañjāto bhagavac-chaktyā tat-kālaṁ kila coditaḥ
sisṛkṣāyāṁ matiṁ cakre pūrva-saṁskāra-saṁskṛtaḥ
dadarśa kevalaṁ dhvāntaṁ nānyat kim api sarvataḥ

Having appeared, and being motivated by Bhagavān’s potency, Brahmā contemplated creation according to his pūrva-saṁskāra (mental impressions obtained from previous lives), but could see nothing but darkness in all directions.

Brahmā’s endeavours to create gradually arose only due to his pūrva-saṁskāras. All jīvas acquire their inherent natures according to their pūrva-saṁskāras. Due to that nature, the endeavours of the jīvas arise – this is called adṛṣṭa (that which is unseen) or karma–phala (the results of action). According to all the activities he performed in the previous kalpa, Brahmā’s inherent nature appeared. This is also how any qualified jīva attains the position of Brahmā.

VERSE 24

uvāca puratas tasmai tasya divyā sarasvatī
kāma-kṛṣṇāya govinda he gopī-jana ity api
vallabhāya priyā vahner mantram te dāsyati priyam

Then, Śrī Bhagavān’s divine Sarasvatī spoke thus to Brahmā, who saw darkness in all directions – “O brāhmana! Klīṁ kṛṣṇāya govindāya gopī-jana-vallabhāya svāhā – this mantra will certainly fulfil your desire.

The eighteen syllable mantra accompanied by the kāma–bīja (klīṁ) is the best of all. It has two types of function. One kind of function is that it propels the pure jīva to run towards Gokula-pati (the Lord of Gokula), the supreme attractor of the mind, and Kṛṣṇa, who is Gopī-jana-pati (the Lord of the gopīs). This is the zenith of the jīva’s spiritual progress. When a practitioner (sādhaka) becomes free of material desires, he achieves the result of perfection of prema. However, for those practitioners who have material aspirations, this best of mantras awards them their desires. For transcendental matters, the kāma-bīja is placed within the centre of the lotus of Goloka, and for mundane matters, a reflection of the kāma-bīja awards all kinds of desires within the māyika world.

VERSE 25

tapas tvaṁ tapa etena tava siddhir bhaviṣyati

“O brāhmaṇa! Perform austerities with this mantra, then you will achieve all perfection.”

The meaning is clear.

VERSE 26

atha tepe sa suciraṁ prīṇan govindam avyayam
śvetadvīpa-patiṁ kṛṣṇaṁ goloka-sthaṁ parāt param
prakṛtyā guṇa-rūpiṇyā rūpiṇyā paryupāsitam
sahasra-dala-sampanne koṭi-kiñjalka-bṛṁhite
bhūmiś cintāmaṇis tatra karṇikāre mahāsane
samāsīnaṁ cid-ānandaṁ jyotī-rūpaṁ sanātanam
śabda-brahma-mayaṁ veṇuṁ vādayantaṁ mukhāmbuje
vilāsinī-gaṇa-vṛtaṁ svaiḥ svair aṁśair abhiṣṭutam

With a desire to please Govinda, Brahmā began to do penance for Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Śvetadvīpa who resides in Goloka. His meditation was thus – in that land of cintāmaṇi, there is located a thousand-petalled lotus possessing millions of filaments. In its whorl there exists a great throne. Seated on that is the eternal Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose effulgent form is comprised of existence and bliss. A song emanates from the flute which rests on His lotus lips and is made up of śabda-brahma (the sound of the Vedas). Furthermore, He is glorified and surrounded by charming gopīs and His very own associates who are His vilāsāṁśas (pastime expansions). As the Worshippable Object, He is venerated (from the outside) by Material Nature, who is the personification of the modes of nature.

Although the object of meditation is fully spiritual, the inferior potency of Māyā who accepts forms such as Durgā etc., in other words, the personification of the modes of sattva, rajaḥ and tama, meditates upon Kṛṣṇa in a mood of reverence. When there is material desires within the heart, one should worship that tattva worshipped by Māyā Devī. However, the attainment of one’s desires is not achieved by the worship of Māyā Devī, but from her object of worship.

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhiḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param

“A person who has no desires, who has all desires, or who desires liberation, if he possesses broad intelligence, should intensely worship the Supreme Person through bhakti-yoga.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.10)

The meaning of this statement from the Bhāgavata is that although there are various Devatās who are the vibhūtis (expansions) of Bhagavān and they may award specific results, an intelligent person does not worship such Devatās – with firm bhakti, he worships the Supreme Lord who has the power to bestow all results. Accordingly, Brahmā meditated upon Kṛṣṇa who sports in Goloka, that object of worship whom Māyā Devī worships from afar. Pure bhakti, devoid of any other desire is niṣkāma–bhakti (desireless devotion), and the bhakti of Brahmā is sakāma (mixed with material desires). There is also a state of niṣkāma within sakāma–bhakti, and this is elaborated upon in the last five ślokas in this book. While the bound jīva does not attain svarūpa–siddhi, this is the easiest type of bhajana.

VERSE 27

atha veṇu-ninādasya trayī-mūrti-mayī gatiḥ
sphurantī praviveśāśu mukhābjāni svayambhuvaḥ
gāyatrīṁ gāyatas tasmād adhigatya sarojajaḥ
saṁskṛtaś cādi-guruṇā dvijatām agamat tataḥ

After that, Gāyatrī, the tri-mūrti-mayī (she who is comprised of three forms), in other words, She who is form of oṁkāra, emanated as the melodious metrical song from Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s flute. Entering the ears of Brahmā, it quickly manifested within his lotus-mouth. Having received the gāyatri from that song, he who was born from a lotus was initiated by Bhagavān, the original guru, and attained the position of a dvija (twice-born).

The specific sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute comprises of sac-cid-ānanda (eternity, knowledge and bliss), thus the template of the entire Vedas is present within it. Gāyatrī is a Vedic metre. In brief, it is a meditation and prayer. Furthermore, amongst gāyatrīs, the kāma-gāyatrī is best because the meditation and prayer within it contains the entire cid-vilāsa (spiritual pastimes). There is no other gāyatrī like this. The gāyatrī which is received after the eighteen-syllable mantra is the kāma-gāyatrī. It is this:

klīṁ kāma-devāya vidmahe puṣpa-bāṇāya dhīmahi tan no ‘naṅgaḥ pracodayāt

After full meditation on Śrī Gopī-jana-vallabha, the divine Anaṅga (Kāmadeva) is invoked within this gāyatrī as a prayer to obtain entrance into His pastimes. In the spiritual world there is no greater endeavours in prema than taking shelter of this preeminent rasa. As soon as that gāyatrī entered Brahmā’s ears, he attained initiation into the status of a dvija and began to sing that gāyatrī. Those jīvas who have received this gāyatrī-tattva have attained transcendental rebirth. This status as a dvija which grants entrance into the divine abode is superior to the status of a dvija obtained by those materially bound jīvas according to their nature and lineage within the māyika saṁsāra. This is because by achieving this status as a dvija and divine birth through initiation into spiritual topics, one attains the spiritual world, which is the jīva’s supreme glory.

VERSE 28

trayyā prabuddho ‘tha vidhir vijñāta-tattva-sāgaraḥ
tuṣṭāva veda-sāreṇa stotreṇānena keśavam

Enlightened by the remembrance of that threefold gāyatrī, Brahmā became acquainted with the ocean of philosophical truths. Then he praised Śrī Kṛṣṇa with this prayer, which is the essence of all the Vedas.

By remembering the kāma-gāyatrī, he understood, “I am an eternal maidservant of Kṛṣṇa.” Although other secrets in relation to the position of being Kṛṣṇa’s maidservant were not revealed to him, from Brahmā’s discrimination between spirit and matter, he became acquainted with ocean of philosophical truths. When all the Vedic statements were manifest to him, through the essence of all those Vedas, he composed this prayer. As this prayer contains Vaiṣṇava siddhānta in its entirety, Mahāprabhu taught it to His devotees. Readers should recite and relish this prayer with the utmost attention.

VERSE 29

cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

I worship Govinda, the original Person, who is surrounded by abodes made from cintāmaṇi gems and millions of desire trees (kalpa-vṛkṣa), who tends the wish-fulfiling surabhī cows, and is graciously served by hundred and thousands of Lakṣmīs.

Here, the word cintāmaṇi should be understood to be divine gems. Just as the māyā-śakti creates the material world with the five material elements, the cit-śakti has created the spiritual world with cintāmaṇi which is a spiritual substance. The cintāmaṇi which is the ingredient in creating the abode of Bhagavān in Goloka, is much rarer and more acceptable than ordinary cintāmaṇi.* The ordinary kalpa-vṛkṣa produce the fruits of dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa (religiosity, wealth, sense enjoyment and liberation), and the kalpa-vṛkṣas in Kṛṣṇa’s abode award the unlimited fruits of prema-vaicitrya (the various states of divine love). Upon milking them, ordinary kāma-dhenus (wish-fulfiling cows) only produce milk, and the kāma-dhenus of Goloka always secrete an ocean of milk in the form of rivers of prema flowing with knowledge and bliss, which quenches the hunger and thirst of those jīvas who are pure devotees. All words such as lakṣa-lakṣa and sahasra-śata signify an unlimited number. Sambhrama means with affection, in other words, submerged in prema. The word lakṣmī means the beautiful gopīs. Ādi-puruṣa means He who is the origin of all.

* Translator’s Note: In this world, ordinary cintāmaṇi is commonly known as the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ – a rare substance produced through an alchemic process which is supposed to transform any metal into gold.

VERSE 30

veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣam-
barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam
kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

I worship Govinda, the original Person, who is absorbed in playing the flute, whose blooming eyes are like lotus petals, whose head is decorated with a peacock feather, whose beautiful form is the hue of a blue raincloud, and whose outstanding beauty charms millions of Kandarpas.

(The incomparable beauty of Kṛṣṇa, the supreme lover of Goloka, is described). Naturally, Kṛṣṇa, who is infinite consciousness possesses a spiritual body. It is not that Kṛṣṇa’s form has been imagined after observing all the beautiful things in this material world. What is being described is what Brahmā perceives in his samādhi which is imbued with bhakti. Kṛṣṇa is absorbed in playing the flute. This flute steals the minds of all conscious substances with its delightful music. Just as lotus petals bestow an impression of softness, similarly, the two eyes of Kṛṣṇa, which manifest our spiritual vision, spread unlimited beauty over His moonlike face. The lovely peacock feather adorning His head enhances His divine beauty. Just as a blue raincloud is a pleasant site, so to is Kṛṣṇa’s dark transcendental complexion. Even if one sees or imagines millions of forms and qualities of Kandarpa in this material world, the nature of Kṛṣna’s form is still more alluring.