Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 372

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

Prev.png
Attaining the Supreme
Chapter 8: Verse-22

purusah sa parah pärtha bhaktyä labhyas tv ananyayä
yasyäntah-sthäni bhütäni yena sarvam idam tatam [1]

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.


PURPORT

It is here clearly stated that the supreme destination, from which there is no return, is the abode of Krsna, the Supreme Person. The Brahma-samhitä describes this supreme abode as änanda-cinmaya-rasa, a place where everything is full of spiritual bliss. All the variegatedness manifest there is of the quality of spiritual bliss—nothing there is material. That variegatedness is expanded as the spiritual expansion of the Supreme Godhead Himself, for the manifestation there is totally of the spiritual energy, as explained in Chapter Seven. As far as this material world is concerned, although the Lord is always in His supreme abode, He is nonetheless all-pervading by His material energy. So by His spiritual and material energies He is present everywhere—both in the material and in the spiritual universes. Yasyäntah-sthäni means that everything is sustained within Him, within either His spiritual or material energy. The Lord is all-pervading by these two energies. To enter Krsna’s supreme abode or the innumerable Vaikuntha planets is possible only by bhakti, devotional service, as clearly indicated here by the word bhaktyä. No other process can help one attain that supreme abode. The Vedas (Gopäla-täpani Upanisad Näräyana, Vämana, Padmanäbha, etc.3. also describe the supreme abode and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Eko vasi sarva-gah krsnah. In that abode there is only one Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose name is Krsna. He is the supreme merciful Deity, and although situated there as one He has expanded Himself into millions and millions of plenary expansions. The Vedas compare the Lord to a tree standing still yet bearing many varieties of fruits, flowers and changing leaves. The plenary expansions of the Lord who preside over the Vaikuntha planets are four-armed, and they are known by a variety of names—Purusottama, Trivikrama, Kesava, Mädhava, Aniruddha, Hrsikesa, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Sridhara, Väsudeva, Dämodara, Janärdana, The [2] also confirms that although the Lord is always in the supreme abode, Goloka Vrndävana, He is all-pervading, so that everything is going on nicely (goloka eva nivasaty akhilätma-bhütah). As stated in the Vedas[3]paräsya saktir vividhaiva srüyate/ sväbhäviki jnäna-bala-kriyä ca: His energies are so expansive that they systematically conduct everything in the cosmic manifestation without a flaw, although the Supreme Lord is far, far away.



Next.png

References

  1. purusah=the Supreme Personality; sah=He; parah=the Supreme, than
    whom no one is greater; pärtha=O son of Prthabhaktyä=by devotional service; labhyah=can be achieved; tu—but; ananyayä=unalloyed,
    undeviating; yasya=whom; antah-sthäni=within; bhütäni=all of this material manifestation; yena=by whom; sarvam=all; idam=whatever we can
    see; tatam=is pervaded.
  2. Brahma-samhitä 5.37
  3. Svetäsvatara Upanisad 6.8

Related Articles