naimiṣīyopākhyāne janma-guhyaṁ nāma

COMMENTARY

“But Pitṛs and devatās are said to worshippable by the Vedas. What is wrong with them?”

The Vedas have as their purport Vāsudeva.

ālena naṣṭā pralaye vāṇīyaṁ veda-saṁjñitā

mayādau brahmaṇe proktā dharmo yasyāṁ mad-ātmakaḥ

By the influence of time, the transcendental sound of Vedic knowledge was lost at the time of annihilation. Therefore, when the subsequent creation took place, I spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahmā because I Myself am the religious principles enunciated in the Vedas. SB 11.14.3

kiṁ vidhatte kim ācaṣṭe kim anūdya vikalpayet

ity asyā hṛdayaṁ loke nānyo mad veda kaścana

In the entire world no one but Me actually understands the confidential purpose of Vedic knowledge. Thus people do not know what the Vedas are actually prescribing in the ritualistic injunctions of karma-kāṇḍa, or what object is actually being indicated in the formulas of worship found in the upāsanā-kāṇḍa, or that which is elaborately discussed through various hypotheses in the jñāna-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas. SB 11.21.42

māṁ vidhatte ’bhidhatte māṁ vikalpyāpohyate tv aham

etāvān sarva-vedārthaḥ śabda āsthāya māṁ bhidām

māyā-mātram anūdyānte pratiṣidhya prasīdati

I am the ritualistic sacrifice enjoined by the Vedas, and I am the worshipable Deity. It is I who am presented as various philosophical hypotheses, and it is I alone who am then refuted by philosophical analysis. The transcendental sound vibration thus establishes Me as the essential meaning of all Vedic knowledge. The Vedas, elaborately analyzing all material duality as nothing but My illusory potency, ultimately completely negate this duality and achieve their own satisfaction. SB 11.21.43

Thus these people, not knowing the purport of the Vedas, worship the Pitṛs and others.

“But it is clearly seen that the Vedas are concerned with sacrifice and yoga.” That is true.

svaṁ lokaṁ na vidus te vai yatra devo janārdanaḥ

āhur dhūmra-dhiyo vedaṁ sakarmakam atad-vidaḥ

Those who are less intelligent accept the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies as all in all. They do not know that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand one’s own home, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead lives. Not being interested in their real home, they are illusioned and search after other homes.SB 4.29.48

Thus according to the words of Nārada, sacrifice and yoga are not meaning of the Vedas. The Lord himself says dharmo yasyāṁ mad-ātmakaḥ: I Myself am the religious principles enunciated in the Vedas. (SB 11.14.3) Devahūti says

aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam

tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Āryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required. SB 3.33.7

Nārada, in saying yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena (SB 4.31.14), has indicated that Vāsudeva is the conclusion of the Vedas. Thus it is clear that the meaning of all the Vedas is simply devotion to bhagavān alone.

Or, all sacrifices are dedicated to Vāsudeva can mean that the sacrifices worship Indra and others as the limbs of Vāsudeva. This is well known in the story of Bharata.[15] Yoga is dedicated to meditation of the Lord. This is well known from the story of Kapila. All karmas are dependent on the Lord since they cannot bestow results without including worship of the Lord. Jñāna and tapas are also dependent on the Lord for results. Since karma-yoga has already been mentioned by the words vāsudeva-parā kriyaḥ, vāsudeva-paro dharmaḥ means parama-dharma, the actions of bhakti such as hearing and chanting. These are all dedicated to Vāsudeva. Paro dharma and the goal (gati), prema and liberation, are dependent on Vāsudeva alone for results.

|| 1.2.30 ||

sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre bhagavān ātma-māyayā |

sad-asad-rūpayā cāsau guṇamayāguṇo vibhuḥ ||

TRANSLATION

The powerful Lord alone, devoid of material guṇas, previously created this universe by his material energy composed of material guṇas and endowed with cause and effect.

COMMENTARY

The creator of all those who are recommended for worship such as Pitṛs, Śiva and Brahmā is Vāsudeva alone. Thus he is worthy of worship. The Lord is without guṇas, but he creates the universe using matter composed of guṇas and material cause and effect (sad-asad-rūpayā).  

|| 1.2.31 ||

tayā vilasiteṣv eṣu guṇeṣu guṇavān iva |

antaḥ-praviṣṭa ābhāti vijñānena vijṛmbhitaḥ ||

TRANSLATION

The Lord entered into the jīvas covered by the guṇas, manifested by material māyā. He appears to be in contact with the guṇas, but he is strengthened by his spiritual potency.

COMMENTARY

The Lord is the inner soul of all that he created. This is explained in three verses. The Lord entered the jīvas covered with guṇas (guṇeṣu), made to manifest (vilasiteṣu) by māyā (tayā). The Lord appears to be associating with the guṇas (guṇavān). But this is not actually so, because he is excels in power by his cit-śakti (vijñānena).

|| 1.2.32 ||

yathā hy avahito vahnir dāruṣv ekaḥ sva-yoniṣu |

nāneva bhāti viśvātmā bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān ||

TRANSLATION

Just as one fire, situated in pieces of wood as its natural place of manifestation, blazes forth as many fires, the one Supreme Lord, the soul of the universe, paramātmā, situated in all living beings, manifests as many.

COMMENTARY

Just as fire is always situated (avahitaḥ) in pieces of wood, so the soul of the universe, antaryāmī Viṣṇu, is situated in all living entities (bhūteṣu). If fire is made to appear in pieces of wood by friction, it burns up those pieces of wood. Similarly by practices of hearing and chanting Paramātmā is made to appear and removes the covering of māyā on the jīva. This is indicated by the example.

|| 1.2.33 ||

asau guṇamayair bhāvair bhūta-sūkṣmendriyātmabhiḥ |

sva-nirmiteṣu nirviṣṭo bhuṅkte bhūteṣu tad-guṇān ||

TRANSLATION

The Lord as paramātmā, having entered all the bodies with material sense objects, senses and mind, which have been created by the Lord, makes the jīvas enjoy the sense objects colored by the guṇas.

COMMENTARY

That soul of the universe, paramātmā, with conditions made of the guṇas in the form of sense objects (bhūta-sukṣma), senses and mind (ātmā), having entered into the bodies of living entities such as devatās and animals created by himself, enjoys those sense objects which correspond to the guṇas (tad-gunān). The Lord does not enjoy happiness of material sense objects. Thus the sentence means that, without the paramātmā, the jīvas cannot act as enjoyers. Or it means that the paramātmā enjoys through the jīva, because the jīva is the taṭastha-śakti of the Lord. Or the verb enjoys may be taken in a causal sense. Thus it means that the paramātmā lets the jīvas enjoy the sense objects.

|| 1.2.34 ||

bhāvayaty eṣa sattvena lokān vai loka-bhāvanaḥ |

līlāvatārānurato deva-tiryaṅ-narādiṣu ||

TRANSLATION

The Lord, creator of the universe, absorbing himself in the forms of various līlāvatāras as devatās, animals and humans, protects the worlds through his role as the controller of sattva-guṇa.

COMMENTARY

It has been described that the Lord appears as many forms when he enters all the living beings. However the lord is without limitation or material contamination in all his forms. He appears in many forms with his svarūpa in his eternal pastimes. Bhāvayati means “he protects.” Or it means “he bestows them with prema (bhāva).” This verse describes the normal goal of all avatāras.[16] Loka-bhāvanaḥ here means “creator of the universe” instead of “protector of the worlds,” to avoid redundant meaning, since bhāvayati lokan already means “he protects the worlds.”

Chapter Three

tṛtīyo ’dhyāyaḥ

|| 1.3.1 ||

sūta uvāca

jagṛhe pauruṣaṁ rūpaṁ bhagavān mahad-ādibhiḥ |

sambhūtaṁ ṣoḍaśa-kalam ādau loka-sisṛkṣayā ||