Supreme Lord Is Very Intimate With His Devotees

2010-02-05
Srimad Bhagavatam 8.12.07 - Supreme Lord Is Very Intimate With His Devotees (download mp3)
by Gauranga Priya Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.net




SB 8.12.7
tvam brahma purnam amrtam vigunam visokam
ananda-matram avikaram ananyad anyat
visvasya hetur udaya-sthiti-samyamanam
atmesvaras ca tad-apeksatayanapeksah

Translation: 
My Lord, You are the Supreme Brahman, complete in everything. Being completely spiritual, You are eternal, free from the material modes of nature, and full of transcendental bliss. Indeed, for You there is no question of lamentation. Since You are the supreme cause, the cause of all causes, nothing can exist without You. Yet we are different from You in a relationship of cause and effect, for in one sense the cause and effect are different. You are the original cause of creation, manifestation and annihilation, and You bestow benedictions upon all living entities. Everyone depends upon You for the results of his activities, but You are always independent.

Purport: 
The Supreme Personality of Godhead says in Bhagavad-gita (9.4):

maya tatam idam sarvam
jagad avyakta-murtina
mat-sthani sarva-bhutani
na caham tesv avasthitah

"By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them." This explains the philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, known as acintya-bhedabheda. Everything is the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, yet the Supreme Person is differently situated from everything. Indeed, because the Lord is differently situated from everything material, He is the Supreme Brahman, the supreme cause, the supreme controller. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. The Lord is the supreme cause, and His form has nothing to do with the material modes of nature. The devotee prays: "As Your devotee is completely free from all desires, Your Lordship is also completely free from desires. You are fully independent. Although all living entities engage in Your service, You do not depend on the service of anyone. Although this material world is created complete by You, everything depends on Your sanction. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, mattah smrtir jñanam apohanam ca: [Bg. 15.15] remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness come from You. Nothing can be done independently, yet You act independently of the service rendered by Your servants. The living entities depend on Your mercy for liberation, but when You want to give them liberation, You do not depend on anyone else. Indeed, by Your causeless mercy, You can give liberation to anyone. Those who receive Your mercy are called krpa-siddha. To reach the platform of perfection takes many, many lives (bahunam janmanam ante jñanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]). Nonetheless, even without undergoing severe austerities, one can attain perfection by Your mercy. Devotional service should be unmotivated and free from impediments (ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati). This is the position of nirasisah, or freedom from expectations for results. A pure devotee continuously offers transcendental loving service to You, but You may nonetheless offer mercy to anyone, without depending on his service."