SB 8.24.37
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 37
ahaṁ tvām ṛṣibhiḥ sārdhaṁ
saha-nāvam udanvati
vikarṣan vicariṣyāmi
yāvad brāhmī niśā prabho
SYNONYMS
aham—I; tvām—unto you; ṛṣibhiḥ—with all the saintly persons; sārdham—all together; saha—with; nāvam—the boat; udanvati—in the water of devastation; vikarṣan—contacting; vicariṣyāmi—I shall travel; yāvat—as long as; brāhmī—pertaining to Lord Brahmā; niśā—night; prabho—O King.
TRANSLATION
Pulling the boat, with you and all the ṛṣis in it, O King, I shall travel in the water of devastation until the night of Lord Brahmā's slumber is over.
PURPORT
This particular devastation actually took place not during the night of Lord Brahmā but during his day, for it was during the time of Cākṣuṣa Manu. Brahmā's night takes place when Brahmā goes to sleep, but in the daytime there are fourteen Manus, one of whom is Cākṣuṣa Manu. Therefore, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that although it was daytime for Lord Brahmā, Brahmā felt sleepy for a short time by the supreme will of the Lord. This short period is regarded as Lord Brahmā's night. This has been elaborately discussed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta. The following is a summary of his analysis. Because Agastya Muni cursed Svāyambhuva Manu, during the time of Svāyambhuva Manu a devastation took place. This devastation is mentioned in the Matsya Purāṇa. During the time of Cākṣuṣa Manu, by the supreme will of the Lord, there was suddenly another pralaya, or devastation. This is mentioned by Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi in the Viṣṇu-dharmottara. At the end of Manu's time there is not necessarily a devastation, but at the end of the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His illusory energy, wanted to show Satyavrata the effects of devastation. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī also agrees with this opinion. The Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta says:
- madhye manvantarasyaiva
- muneḥ śāpān manuṁ prati
- pralayo 'sau babhūveti
- purāṇe kvacid īryate
- ayam ākasmiko jātaś
- cākṣuṣasyāntare manoḥ
- pralayaḥ padmanābhasya
- līlayeti ca kutracit
- sarva-manvantarasyānte
- pralayo niścitaṁ bhavet
- viṣṇu-dharmottare tv etat
- mārkaṇḍeyeṇa bhāṣitam
- manor ante layo nāsti
- manave 'darśi māyayā
- viṣṇuneti bruvāṇais tu
- svāmibhir naiṣa manyate
SB 8.24.38
2008-03-17T12:26:01Z
Acyuta
2
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 38
madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca
paraṁ brahmeti śabditam
vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me
sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi
SYNONYMS
madīyam—pertaining to Me; mahimānam—glories; ca—and; param brahma—the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth; iti—thus; śabditam—celebrated; vetsyasi—you shall understand; anugṛhītam—being favored; me—by Me; sampraśnaiḥ—by inquiries; vivṛtam—thoroughly explained; hṛdi—within the heart.
TRANSLATION
You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as paraṁ brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā, is situated in everyone's heart, and from Him come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. The Lord reveals Himself in proportion to one's surrender to Him. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). In responsive cooperation, the Lord reveals Himself in proportion to one's surrender. That which is revealed to one who fully surrenders is different from what is revealed to one who surrenders partially. Everyone naturally surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, either directly or indirectly. The conditioned soul surrenders to the laws of nature in material existence, but when one fully surrenders to the Lord, material nature does not act upon him. Such a fully surrendered soul is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). One who has fully surrendered to the Lord has no fear of the modes of material nature, for everything is but an expansion of the Lord's glories (sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma), and these glories are gradually revealed and realized. The Lord is the supreme purifier (paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12)). The more one is purified and the more he wants to know about the Supreme, the more the Lord reveals to him. Full knowledge of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān is revealed to the pure devotees. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 10.11):
- teṣām evānukampārtham
- aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
- nāśayāmy ātma-bhāvastho
- jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
"Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance."