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 4.24.42
manave kāranātmane
krishnāyākuntha-medhase
SYNONYMS
namah — offering obeisances; te — unto You; āśishām īśa — O topmost of all bestowers of benediction; manave — unto the supreme mind or supreme Manu; kārana-ātmane — the supreme cause of all causes; namah — offering obeisances; dharmāya — unto one who knows the best of all religion; brihate — the greatest; krishnāya — unto Krishna; akuntha-medhase — unto one whose brain activity is never checked; purushāya — the Supreme Person; purānāya — the oldest of the old; sāńkhya-yoga-īśvarāya — the master of the principles of sāńkhya-yoga; ca — and.
TRANSLATION
My dear Lord, You are the topmost of all bestowers of all benediction, the oldest and supreme enjoyer amongst all enjoyers. You are the master of all the worlds' metaphysical philosophy, for You are the supreme cause of all causes, Lord Krishna. You are the greatest of all religious principles, the supreme mind, and You have a brain which is never checked by any condition. Therefore I repeatedly offer my obeisances unto You.
PURPORT
The words krishnāya akuntha-medhase are significant in this verse. Modern scientists have stopped their brainwork by discovering the theory of uncertainty, but factually for a living being there cannot be any brain activity which is not checked by time and space limitations. A living entity is called anu, an atomic particle of the supreme soul, and therefore his brain is also atomic. It cannot accommodate unlimited knowledge. This does not mean, however, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, has a limited brain. What Krishna says and does is not limited by time and space. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.26) the Lord says:
vedāham samatītāni
vartamānāni cārjuna
"O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows."
Krishna knows everything, but one cannot know Krishna without being favored by Him. Thus for Krishna and His representative there is no question of a theory of uncertainty. What Krishna says is all perfect and certain and is applicable to the past, present and future. Nor is there any uncertainty for one who knows exactly what Krishna says. The Krishna consciousness movement is based on Bhagavad-gītā as it is, as spoken by Lord Krishna, and for those who are engaged in this movement, there is no question of uncertainty.
Lord Krishna is also addressed herein as āśishām īśa. The great saintly personalities, sages and demigods are able to offer benedictions to ordinary living entities, but they in turn are benedicted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without being benedicted by Krishna, one cannot offer benediction to anyone else. The word manave, meaning "unto the supreme Manu," is also significant. The supreme Manu in Vedic literature is Svāyambhuva Manu, who is an incarnation of Krishna. All the Manus are empowered incarnations of Krishna (manvantara-avatāra). There are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahmā, 420 in one month, all the Manus are directors of human society, ultimately Krishna is the supreme director of human society. In another sense, the word manave indicates the perfection of all kinds of mantras. The mantra delivers the conditioned soul from his bondage; so simply by chanting the mantra Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one can gain deliverance from any condition.
Kāranātmane: everything has a cause. The theory of chance is repudiated in this verse. Because everything has its cause, there is no question of chance. Because so-called philosophers and scientists are unable to find the real cause, they foolishly say that everything happens by chance. In Brahma-samhitā Krishna is described as the cause of all causes; therefore He is addressed herein as kāranātmane. His very personality is the original cause of everything, the root of everything and the seed of everything. As described in the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.2), janmādy asya yatah: [SB 1.1.1] the Absolute Truth is the supreme cause of all emanations.
The word sāńkhya-yogeśvarāya is also significant herein, for Krishna is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Yogeśvara, the master of all mystic powers. Without possessing inconceivable mystic powers, one cannot be accepted as God. In this age of Kali, those who have a little fragmental portion of mystic power claim to be God, but such pseudo Gods can only be accepted as fools, for only Krishna is the Supreme Person who possesses all mystic and yogic perfections. The sāńkhya-yoga system popular at the present moment was propounded by the atheist Kapila, but the original sāńkhya-yoga system was propounded by an incarnation of Krishna also named Kapila, the son of Devahūti. Similarly, Dattātreya, another incarnation of Krishna, also explained the sāńkhya-yoga system. Thus Krishna is the origin of all sāńkhya-yoga systems and mystic yoga powers.
The words purushāya purānāya are also worthy of special attention. In Brahma-samhitā, Krishna is accepted as the ādi-purusha, the original person, or the original enjoyer. In Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna is also accepted as purāna-purusha, the oldest person. Although He is the oldest of all personalities, He is also the youngest of all, or nava-yauvana. Another significant word is dharmāya. Since Krishna is the original propounder of all kinds of religious principles, it is said: dharmam tu sākshād bhagavat-pranītam (Bhāg. 6.3.19). No one can introduce a new type of religion, for religion is already there, having been established by Lord Krishna. In Bhagavad-gītā Krishna informs us of the original dharma and asks us to give up all kinds of religious principles. The real dharma is surrender unto Him. In the Mahābhārata, it is also said:
The purport is that one who has studied the Vedas perfectly, who is a perfect vipra, or knower of the Vedas, who knows what spiritual life actually is, speaks about Krishna, the Supreme Person, as one's sanātana-dharma. Lord Śiva therefore teaches us the principles of sanātana-dharma.
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