| Canto 11: General History | Chapter 11: The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.43-45
goshv ańga yavasādinā
dravyais toya-purahsaraih
SYNONYMS
sūrye — in the sun; tu — indeed; vidyayā trayyā — by offering selected Vedic hymns of praise, worship and obeisances; havishā — with offerings of clarified butter; agnau — in the fire; yajeta — one should worship; mām — Me; ātithyena — by respectfully receiving them as guests even when uninvited; tu — indeed; vipra — of brāhmanas; agrye — in the best; goshu — in the cows; ańga — O Uddhava; yavasa-ādinā — by offering grass and other paraphernalia for their maintenance; vaishnave — in the Vaishnava; bandhu — with loving friendship; sat-krityā — by honoring; hridi — within the heart; khe — within the inner space; dhyāna — in meditation; nishthayā — by being fixed; vāyau — in the air; mukhya — the most important; dhiyā — considering by intelligence; toye — in water; dravyaih — by material elements; toya-purah-saraih — by water, etc.; sthandile — in the earth; mantra-hridayaih — by application of confidential mantras; bhogaih — by offering of materially enjoyable objects; ātmānam — the jīva soul; ātmani — within the body; kshetra-jñam — the Supersoul; sarva-bhūteshu — within all living beings; samatvena — seeing Him equally everywhere; yajeta — one should worship; mām — Me.
TRANSLATION
My dear Uddhava, one should worship Me within the sun by chanting selected Vedic mantras and by performing worship and offering obeisances. One may worship Me within fire by offering oblations of ghee, and one may worship Me among the brāhmanas by respectfully receiving them as guests, even when uninvited. I can be worshiped within the cows by offerings of grass and other suitable grains and paraphernalia for the pleasure and health of the cows, and one may worship Me within the Vaishnavas by offering loving friendship to them and honoring them in all respects. Through steady meditation I am worshiped within the inner space of the heart, and within the air I can be worshiped by knowledge that prāna, the life air, is the chief among elements. I am worshiped within water by offerings of water itself, along with other elements such as flowers and tulasī leaves, and one may worship Me within the earth by proper application of confidential seed mantras. One may worship Me within the individual living entity by offering food and other enjoyable substances, and one may worship Me within all living entities by seeing the Supersoul within all of them, thus maintaining equal vision.
PURPORT
Significantly, the Lord emphasizes in these three verses that one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is expanded within all living beings. It is not recommended that one accept any material or spiritual object other than the Lord as supreme. By maintaining steady consciousness of the Lord in His all-pervading feature, one can remain in a worshipful mood twenty-four hours a day. Thus, one will naturally try to engage all material and spiritual elements in the loving service of Lord Krishna. If because of ignorance one forgets the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one may become inclined to worship powerful material phenomena independent of the Supreme Lord, or one may foolishly consider oneself to be supreme. One should remain sane and accept the worshipable presence of the Supreme Lord within everything.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari