Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 10 Chapter 40:1-12

Book 10: Fortieth Chapter (First Half)

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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 10: Chapter 40: Verses 1-12
Akrura's eulogy (of the Lord)

Akrura prayed : I bow to You, Lord Narayana, the most ancient and undecaying Person, the Cause of all causes (the Mahat-tattva and so on), from the lotus bud sprung from whose navel emerged Brahma, from whom evolved this creation (both animate and inanimate)! Whatever causes there are, viz., the earth, water, fire, the air, ether and its cause (Ahankara), the Mahat-tattva (the principle of cosmic intelligence), Prakrti (primordial Matter) as well as its Cause (the Spirit), the mind, the Indriyas (the five senses of perception and the five organs of action), the objects of all the (five) senses as well as the deities (presiding over them) have all evolved from Your (divine) Person. (All) these (causes), Prakrti and so on, which are (objectively) perceived, fail to know Your essential character because of their being material (other than the Spirit); while You are the Spirit. The celebrated Brahma (too) who is conditioned by the modes of Prakrti, is unable to know Your reality, which lies beyond the three Gunas. (Yet) pious Yogis (those given to contemplation) directly worship (and thereby seek to attain) You as indwelling the (diverse) limbs of the body (the eye, the heart and so on), (nay,) informing all material bodies and presiding over the bodies of the (various) gods, the Inner Controller and Ruler of the universe. Some Brahmanas given to sacrificial performance worship You alone under the name of gods invested with different forms, through extensive sacrifices as revealed by the three Vedas (Rk, Yajus and Sama). Some men of wisdom, who have developed dispassion, worship You, the embodiment of (pure) consciousness, through sacrifice in the form of spiritual enlightenment (consisting of absorption in to the Self), renouncing all actions (in the form of worldly as well as religious duties).
And, having consecrated themselves (through initiation in the various forms of . worship), and (fully) absorbed in You, others worship You in a plurality of forms (viz., Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha) or in one form (that of Narayana) according to the procedure taught by Yourself (in Tantric works such as the Pancaratra). Others (the votaries of Lord Siva) duly worship You alone in the form of Siva along the lines recommended by Siva (Himself), (of course,) differing in detail according to the teachings of a plurality of teachers, 0 almighty Lord Even those who are devoted to other (minor) deities, although they look upon those gods as other than You, 0 Lord, all worship You alone, the almighty God representing all the gods (in Your Person). (9) (Just) as rivers having their source in a mountain and made full by the god of rain (and branching forth into so many streams), 0 Lord, find their way into the ocean from all sides, so do all paths ultimately lead to You alone. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the (three) modes of Your (own) Prakrti (energy). Hence those endowed with a material body-from inanimate creatures (trees etc.) to Brahma (the creator)-(ultimately) enter into them (and they into Prakrti, the latter merging in You. In this way all the gods finally enter into You). (My) salutation be to You, whose mind is unattached, identified as You are with all and the witness of all minds ! This stream of the (three) Gunas (in the form of the cycle of birth and death), brought about by Avidya (an energy of Yours that veils one's essential character), operates (only) on those that are identified with a celestial, human or sub-human form.

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