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
| Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 24: Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Śiva |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.24.28
SYNONYMS
yah — anyone; param — transcendental; ramhasah — of the controller; sākshāt — directly; tri-gunāt — from the three modes of material nature; jīva-samjñitāt — living entities called by the name jīvas; bhagavantam — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudevam — unto Krishna; prapannah — surrendered; sah — he; priyah — very dear; hi — undoubtedly; me — of me.
TRANSLATION
Lord Śiva continued: Any person who is surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the controller of everything — material nature as well as the living entity — is actually very dear to me.
PURPORT
Now Lord Śiva explains the reason he has personally come before the princes. It is because all the princes are devotees of Lord Krishna. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19):
"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare."
Lord Śiva is rarely seen by common men, and similarly a person who is fully surrendered unto Vāsudeva, Krishna, is also very rarely seen because a person who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord is very rare (sa mahātmā sudurlabhah). Consequently Lord Śiva came especially to see the Pracetās because they were fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva is also mentioned in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the mantra, om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Since Vāsudeva is the ultimate truth, Lord Śiva openly proclaims that one who is a devotee of Lord Vāsudeva, who is surrendered to Lord Krishna, is actually very dear to him. Lord Vāsudeva, Krishna, is worshipable not only by ordinary living entities but by demigods like Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā and others. Yam brahmā-varunendra-rudra-marutah stuvanti divyaih stavaih (Bhāg. 12.13.1). Krishna is worshiped by Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Varuna, Indra, Candra and all other demigods. That is also the situation with a devotee. Indeed, one who takes to Krishna consciousness immediately becomes very dear to anyone who is simply finding out and beginning to understand what Krishna consciousness actually is. Similarly, all the demigods are also trying to find out who is actually surrendered to Lord Vāsudeva. Because the Pracetā princes were surrendered to Vāsudeva, Lord Śiva willingly came forth to see them.
Lord Vāsudeva, or Krishna, is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Purushottama. Actually He is the enjoyer (purusha) and the Supreme (uttama) as well. He is the enjoyer of everything — the prakriti and the purusha. Being influenced by the three modes of material nature, the living entity tries to dominate material nature, but actually he is not the purusha (enjoyer) but prakriti, as described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5): apareyam itas tv anyām prakritim viddhi me parām. Thus the jīva, or living entity, is actually prakriti, or the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord. Being associated with material energy, he tries to lord it over the material nature. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7):
manah-shashthānīndriyāni
"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."
By endeavoring to dominate material nature, the living entity simply struggles hard for existence. Indeed, he struggles so hard to enjoy himself that he cannot even enjoy the material resources. Thus he is sometimes called prakriti, or jīva, for he is situated in the marginal potency. When the living entity is covered with the three modes of material nature, he is called jīva-samjñita. There are two kinds of living entities: one is called kshara, and the other is akshara. Kshara refers to those who have fallen down and become conditioned, and akshara refers to those who are not conditioned. The vast majority of living entities live in the spiritual world and are called akshara. They are in the position of Brahman, pure spiritual existence. They are different from those who have been conditioned by the three modes of material nature.
Being above both the kshara and akshara, Lord Krishna, Vāsudeva, is described in Bhagavad-gītā (15.18) as Purushottama. The impersonalists may say that Vāsudeva is the impersonal Brahman, but actually the impersonal Brahman is subordinate to Krishna, as also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27): brahmano hi pratishthāham. That Krishna is the source of the impersonal Brahman is also confirmed in Brahma-samhitā (5.40): yasya prabhā prabhavato jagadanda-koti. The impersonal Brahman is nothing but the effulgence or bodily rays of Krishna, and in those bodily rays there are innumerable universes floating. Thus in all respects Vāsudeva, Krishna, is the Supreme Lord, and Lord Śiva is very satisfied with those who are completely surrendered to Him. Complete surrender is desired by Krishna, as He indicates in the last chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaranam vraja. The word sākshāt, meaning "directly," is very significant. There are many so-called devotees, but actually they are only karmīs and jñānīs, for they are not directly devotees of Lord Krishna. The karmīs sometimes offer the results of their activities to Lord Vāsudeva, and this offering is called karmārpanam. These are considered to be fruitive activities, for the karmīs consider Lord Vishnu to be one of the demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Because they consider Lord Vishnu to be on the same level with the demigods, they contend that surrendering to the demigods is as good as surrendering unto Vāsudeva. This contention is denied herein because if it were true, Lord Śiva would have said that surrender unto him, Lord Vāsudeva, Vishnu or Brahmā is the same. However, Lord Śiva does not say this because he himself surrenders unto Vāsudeva, and whoever else surrenders unto Vāsudeva is very, very dear to him. This is expressed herein openly. The conclusion is that a devotee of Lord Śiva is not dear to Lord Śiva, but a devotee of Lord Krishna is very dear to Lord Śiva.
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