Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 9.11.1

sri-suka uvaca

bhagavan atmanatmanam

rama uttama-kalpakaih

sarva-devamayam devam

ije 'thacaryavan makhaih

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca -- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; bhagavan -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atmana -- by Himself; atmanam -- Himself; ramah -- Lord Ramacandra; uttama-kalpakaih -- with very opulent paraphernalia; sarva-deva-mayam -- the heart and soul of all the demigods; devam -- the Supreme Lord Himself; ije -- worshiped; atha -- thus; acaryavan -- under the guidance of an acarya; makhaih -- by performing sacrifices.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thereafter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ramacandra, accepted an acarya and performed sacrifices [yajnas] with opulent paraphernalia. Thus He Himself worshiped Himself, for He is the Supreme Lord of all demigods.

PURPORT

Sarvarhanam acyutejya. If Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshiped, then everyone is worshiped. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.31.14):

yatha taror mula-nishecanena

tripyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah

pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam

tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

"As pouring water on the root of a tree nourishes the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfies the demigods, who are part of that Supreme Personality." Performing yajna involves worshiping the Supreme Lord. Here the Supreme Lord worshiped the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is said, bhagavan atmanatmanam ije: the Lord worshiped Himself by Himself. This does not, of course, justify the Mayavada philosophy, by which one thinks himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jiva, the living entity, is always different from the Supreme Lord. The living entities (vibhinnamsa) never become one with the Lord, although Mayavadis sometimes imitate the Lord's worship of Himself. Lord Krishna meditated upon Himself every morning as a grihastha, and similarly Lord Ramacandra performed yajnas to satisfy Himself, but this does not mean that an ordinary living being should imitate the Lord by accepting the process of ahangraha-upasana. Such unauthorized worship is not recommended herein.

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