Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 343

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita As It Is -Shri Shrimad A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Knowledge of the Absolute Chapter 7: Verse-25 näham prakäsah sarvasya yoga-mäyä-samävrtah müdho ’yam näbhijänäti loko mäm ajam avyayam TRANSLATION I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible. PURPORT It may be argued that since krsna was present on this earth and was visible to everyone, then why isn’t He manifest to everyone now? But actually He was not manifest to everyone. When krsna was present there were only a few people who could understand Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the assembly of Kurus, when Sisupäla spoke against Krsna’s being elected president of the assembly, Bhisma supported Him and proclaimed Him to be the Supreme God. Similarly, the Pandavas and a few others knew that He was the Supreme, but not everyone. He was not revealed to the nondevotees and the common man. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita krsna says that but for His pure devotees, all men consider Him to be like themselves. He was manifest only to His devotees as the reservoir of all pleasure. But to others, to unintelligent nondevotees, He was covered by His internal potency. In the prayers of Kunti in the Srimad-Bhägavatamit is said that the Lord is covered by the curtain of yoga-mäyä and thus ordinary people cannot understand Him. This yoga-mäyä curtain is also confirmed in the Isopanisad mantra, in which the devotee prays: hiranmayena pätrena satyasyäpihitam mukham tat tavm püsann apävrnu satya-dharmäya drstaye “O my Lord, You are the maintainer of the entire universe, and devotional service to You is the highest religious principle. Therefore, I pray that You will also maintain me. Your transcendental form is covered by the yoga-mäyä. The brahmajyoti is the covering of the internal potency. May You kindly remove this glowing effulgence that impedes my seeing Your sac-cid-änanda-vigrahat Bs. 5.1 Your eternal form of bliss and knowledge.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental form of bliss and knowledge is covered by he internal potency of the brahmajyoti, and the less intelligent impersonalists cannot see the Supreme on this account. Also in the Srimad-Bhägavatam there is this prayer by Brahmä: “O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Supersoul, O master of all mystery, who can calculate Your potency and pastimes in this world? You are always expanding Your internal potency, and therefore no one can understand You. Learned scientists and learned scholars can examine the atomic constitution of the material world or even the planets, but still they are unable to calculate Your energy and potency, although You are present before them.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, is not only unborn but also avyaya, inexhaustible. His eternal form is bliss and knowledge, and His energies are all inexhaustible.