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 8: Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations | Chapter 3: Gajendra's Prayers of Surrender |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.3.15
nishkāranāyādbhuta-kāranāya
sarvāgamāmnāya-mahārnavāya
namo 'pavargāya parāyanāya
SYNONYMS
namah — I offer my respectful obeisances; namah — again I offer my respectful obeisances; te — unto You; akhila-kāranāya — unto the supreme cause of everything; nishkāranāya — unto You who are causeless; adbhuta-kāranāya — the wonderful cause of everything; sarva — all; āgama-āmnāya — unto the source of the paramparā system of all Vedic knowledge; mahā-arnavāya — the great ocean of knowledge, or the great ocean wherein all the rivers of knowledge merge; namah — I offer my obeisances; apavargāya — unto You who can give deliverance or liberation; para-ayanāya — the shelter of all transcendentalists.
TRANSLATION
My Lord, You are the cause of all causes, but You Yourself have no cause. Therefore You are the wonderful cause of everything. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the shelter of the Vedic knowledge contained in the śāstras like the Pańcarātras and Vedānta-sūtra, which are Your representations, and who are the source of the paramparā system. Because it is You who can give liberation, You are the only shelter for all transcendentalists. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described herein as the wonderful cause. He is wonderful in the sense that although there may be unlimited emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead (janmādy asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]), He always remains complete (pūrnasya pūrnam ādāya pūrnam evāvaśishyate). In our experience in the material world, if we have a bank balance of one million dollars, as we withdraw money from the bank the balance gradually diminishes until it becomes nil. However, the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is so complete that although innumerable Personalities of Godhead expand from Him, He remains the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pūrnasya pūrnam ādāya pūrnam evāvaśishyate. Therefore He is the wonderful cause. Govindam ādi-purusham tam aham bhajāmi **.
anādir ādir govindah
"Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes." (Brahma-samhitā 5.1)
Even in this material world, we can understand that the sun has existed for millions of years and has given off heat and light since its creation, yet the sun still retains its power and never changes. What then is to be said of the supreme cause, param brahma, Krishna? Everything emanates from Him perpetually, yet He maintains His original form (sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahah). Krishna personally says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), mattah sarvam pravartate: "Everything emanates from Me." Everything emanates from Krishna eternally, yet He is the same Krishna and does not change. Therefore He is the shelter of all transcendentalists who are eager to get free from material bondage.
Everyone must take shelter of Krishna. It is therefore advised:
"Whether one desires everything or nothing or desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service." (Bhāg. 2.3.10) Param brahma, the Supreme Lord, and param dhāma, the supreme repose, is Krishna. Therefore anyone who desires anything — whether he be a karmī, a jńānī or a yogī — should try to perceive the Supreme Personality of Godhead very seriously, and all of his desires will be fulfilled. The Lord says, ye yathā mām prapadyante tāms tathaiva bhajāmy aham: [Bg. 4.11] "As the living entities surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly." Even the karmī who wants everything for his enjoyment can get it from Krishna. For Krishna, supplying what he wants is not at all difficult. Actually, however, one should worship Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the sake of getting liberation.
Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]. By studying the Vedic literature, one should understand Krishna. As confirmed here, sarvāgamāmnāya-mahārnavāya. He is the ocean, and all Vedic knowledge flows toward Him. Therefore, intelligent transcendentalists take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]). This is the ultimate goal.
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