Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.47

rūpe ime sad-asatī tava veda-srishte

bījāńkurāv iva na cānyad arūpakasya

yuktāh samaksham ubhayatra vicakshante tvām

yogena vahnim iva dārushu nānyatah syāt

SYNONYMS

rūpe — in the forms; ime — these two; sat-asatī — the cause and the effect; tava — Your; veda-srishte — explained in the Vedas; bīja-ańkurau — the seed and the sprout; iva — like; na — never; ca — also; anyat — any other; arūpakasya — of You, who possess no material form; yuktāh — those engaged in Your devotional service; samaksham — before the very eyes; ubhayatra — in both ways (spiritually and materially); vicakshante — can actually see; tvām — You; yogena — simply by the method of devotional service; vahnim — fire; iva — like; dārushu — in wood; na — not; anyatah — from any other means; syāt — it is possible.

TRANSLATION

By authorized Vedic knowledge one can see that the forms of cause and effect in the cosmic manifestation belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the cosmic manifestation is His energy. Both cause and effect are nothing but energies of the Lord. Therefore, O my Lord, just as a wise man, by considering cause and effect, can see how fire pervades wood, those engaged in devotional service understand how You are both the cause and effect.

PURPORT

As described in previous verses, many so-called students of spiritual understanding follow the ten different methods known as mauna-vrata-śruta-tapo-'dhyayana-sva-dharma-vyākhyā-raho japa-samādhayah. These may be very attractive, but by following such methods, one cannot actually understand the real cause and effect and the original cause of everything (janmādy asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]). The original source of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself (sarva-kārana-kāranam [Bs. 5.1]). This original source of everything is Krishna, the supreme ruler. Īśvarah paramah krishnah sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. He has His eternal spiritual form. Indeed, He is the root of everything (bījam mām sarva-bhūtānām). Whatever manifestations exist, their cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This cannot be understood by so-called silence or by any other hodgepodge method. The supreme cause can be understood only by devotional service, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg. 18.55]). Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.21), the Supreme Godhead personally says, bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyah: one can understand the original cause of all causes, the Supreme Person, only by devotional service, not by show-bottle exhibitionism.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness