Knowledge of the Absolute, Part 7

by Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja

[Editor’s note: This is the seventh of a series of eighteen essays on the chapters of Bhagavad-gītā.]

The Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā marks the beginning of the second great division of this work. In the first six chapters Śrī Kṛṣṅa has elaborately described the distinction between matter and spirit and the difference between the living entity and dead matter. And He has also described many yoga systems which are for elevating the living entity from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness. At the end of the Sixth Chapter it has been clearly stated that the steady concentration of the mind on Kṛṣṅa, or in other words Kṛṣṅa consciousness, is the ultimate end of all yoga. Only by concentrating one’s mind upon Śrī Kṛṣṅa can one know the Absolute Truth completely. Moreover, impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā have been declared to be partial representations of the Supreme Person Kṛṣṅa. The different types of yoga are merely steppingstones to the path of bhakti-yoga or Kṛṣṅa consciousness. One who takes directly to Kṛṣṅa consciousness is called an intelligent man, for by practice of Kṛṣṅa consciousness one can know everything in full, namely the Absolute Truth, the living entities, material nature and their manifestations with paraphernalia.

It Is Not A Cheap Thing

In the Seventh through the Twelfth chapters Kṛṣṅa gives an elaborate description of the Supreme Personality Himself, His nature and manifestations. Here in the Seventh Chapter, the nature of Kṛṣṅa is fully described as being full of all opulences. How He manifests such opulences is also described in this chapter. The first three verses serve as a preface. “Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (7.3) It is not an easy thing to become Kṛṣṅa conscious, nor is it a cheap thing. The stake is full knowledge or perfection, and Lord Jesus said, “Few there be that find it.” In the very first verse here Kṛṣṅa lays down the qualification: “By practicing yoga in full consciousness with mind attached to Me …” It is almost exactly the same thought found in the 47th verse of the previous chapter. “And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.” Therefore, only by hearing of Kṛṣṅa from Kṛṣṅa Himself or from the pure devotee who repeats only what Kṛṣṅa has said, can one understand the science of Kṛṣṅa. That is the secret of Kṛṣṅa consciousness which was also explained in the Fourth Chapter when the Lord told Arjuna that He had originally spoken this science of Kṛṣṅa consciousness to the sun-god Vivasvān, who had spoken it to his son, and to his son, etc. And so it was coming down in disciplic succession, but somehow or other it was broken. This indicates that someone made a change. As soon as one interprets or puts his intellect between the message of Kṛṣṅa and the transmission, the message immediately becomes material.

He Is The Source Of Everything

Kṛṣṅa repeats here in the Seventh Chapter: “I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and noumenal, knowing which there remains nothing further to be known.” Kṛṣṅa is the source of both phenomenal and noumenal knowledge. When one knows Kṛṣṅa, he knows everything spiritual and material, for one knows Kṛṣṅa with all of His variegated energies. When the cause of all causes becomes known, then everything knowable becomes known, and nothing remains unknown. That is the verdict of the Vedas. Again it is said that no one can know Kṛṣṅa as He is by the blunt material senses; He reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him.

Arjuna is an intimate friend and devotee of Kṛṣṅa, and Kṛṣṅa is here explaining in detail His own nature. As already stated, Kṛṣṅa is full of all energies, variegated energies, and in the fourth and fifth verses these energies are divided into two great categories, the superior and inferior. “Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intelligence and false ego—altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies.” Those are the inferior energies. “Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine which are all living entities who are struggling with material inferior nature.” Here it is clearly stated that the living entities are part of the Lord’s superior energy. They are not part of the inferior energy, which is manifested in so many inert forms; it is clearly stated that they are the energy, not the energetic. Kṛṣṅa maintains that He is the energetic, and therefore the living entity, the energy, is always controlled by the Supreme eternally.

Philosophers who somehow think that the living entity somehow becomes God after liberation simply do not understand. Energies never become the energetic but are always controlled. The living entity, however powerful he may be, is still controlled by the supreme controller, Kṛṣṅa, under the agency of His superior or inferior energy. This concept is confirmed in the seventh verse, where Kṛṣṅa says, “There is no truth superior to Ale. Everything rests upon Me as pearls are strung on a thread.” Again in the Ninth Chapter, Kṛṣṅa says, “This material nature is working under My direction. The whole cosmic order is under Me. By My will it is manifested again and again, and by My will it is annihilated at the end.” So this seventh verse is very important. Kṛṣṅa makes absolute claim to being the Absolute Person, and of course this is affirmed in so many other scriptures. For instance, the Brahma-saṁhitā says that the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is Lord Kṛṣṅa, who is the primal Lord, the reservoir of all pleasures, Govinda, the eternal form of complete bliss and knowledge.

The impersonalists are convinced on the strength of the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad that the supreme absolute transcendence has no material form and is free from all material contaminations, and one who can know Him also becomes transcendental, and those who do not know Him suffer the miseries of the material world.” The impersonalists take it that the word arūpam, “no material form,” means that the Supreme Absolute is impersonal. But that is not logical. Because A is not B does not mean that A is C. Rather, what is indicated here is that the transcendental form of sac-cid-ānanda, or eternity, bliss and knowledge, as described in the Brahma-saṁhitā, is not material. The same Upaniṣad substantiates this as follows: “I know that Supreme Personality of Godhead who is transcendental to all conceptions of darkness. Only he who knows Him can transcend the bonds of birth and death.” There is no way of liberation other than this knowledge of that Supreme Person. There is no truth superior to that Supreme Person because He is the supermost. He is smaller than the smallest, and He is greater than the greatest. He illumines the transcendental sky. As a tree spreads its roots, He spreads His extensive energies. Kṛṣṅa’s form may not be material, but there can be no doubt that He has form. If Kṛṣṅa has no form, how can His energies have form? The energy can never supersede the energetic. So it is the conclusion of these verses that the Supreme Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa.

He Is All-Pervasive

In the eighth to the twelfth verses, Kṛṣṅa describes how He is manifested within everything. “I am the taste of water,” He says, “the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable Om and the sound in ether. I am the strength of the strong, and I am sex life. I am the life of all that lives. All states of being, be they of goodness, passion or ignorance, are manifested by My energy. I am in one sense everything, but I am independent. I am not under the modes of this material nature.” The Lord is thus explaining how He is all-pervasive by dint of His diverse energies, material and spiritual. As the demigod in the sun is a person and is perceived by his all-pervading energy, the sunshine, similarly the Lord, although in His eternal abode, is perceived by His all-pervading diffuse energies. Kṛṣṅa consciousness means to become aware that earth, water, fire—the active principles in all chemicals, all material elements—are due to Kṛṣṅa only. The duration of man’s life is also due to Kṛṣṅa. By the grace of Kṛṣṅa man can prolong his life or diminish it. Kṛṣṅa is the active principle in every sphere. The conclusion, as stated in the twelfth verse, is that all states of being, whether of goodness, passion or ignorance, are manifested by Kṛṣṅa’s energy. “I am in one sense everything, but I am independent. I am not under the modes of this material nature.” Here the word nirguṅa is used. Nirguṅa means not to be under the control of material nature, or to be without material contamination. It is sometimes translated to mean without material form, but here Kṛṣṅa asserts that He is manifesting this material nature yet He is independent. “They are in Me, but I am not in them.” These guṅas of goodness, passion and ignorance are emanating from Kṛṣṅa, but they do not affect Him. That is one of the special characteristics of Bhagavān or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The thirteenth verse says, “Deluded by the three guṅas, goodness, passion and ignorance, the whole world does not know Me, for I am above the guṅas and am inexhaustible.” Kṛṣṅa is never deluded. As stated in the Second Chapter, He remembers everything past, present and future. That is again stated in the twenty-sixth verse of this chapter. “I know everything which has happened in the past, or that is happening in the present, or of all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities, but Me no one knows.” Because Kṛṣṅa is never deluded, He is never under the control of the deluding energy. The fourteenth verse sayṣ, “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome, but those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” As stated at the outset, Kṛṣṅa consciousness is open to the surrendered soul, to the devotee and friend of Kṛṣṅa, but for others it is very difficult.

Four Classes Of Atheists

As explained in the succeeding verses, there are four classes of men who will never surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa; similarly, there are four classes of men who do surrender. The four classes of men who refuse to surrender to Kṛṣṅa, as explained in the fifteenth verse, are the grossly foolish, the lowest among mankind, those whose knowledge is stolen by illusion and those who partake of the atheistic nature of demons. The grossly foolish are called mūḍhas or asses, for they are simply like hardworking beasts of burden. They try to accumulate some enjoyment by working hard, but they know neither the source of enjoyment nor the source of misery. The example used is that of the ass who, in India at least, works very hard for the washerman. The ass does not know for whom he is working; he simply remains satisfied with a little hay. He sleeps under the fear of being beaten and satisfies his sex appetite at the risk of being kicked by the obliging party. The ass sometimes sings poetry and philosophy, but this braying only disturbs others. This is the position of the foolish fruitive worker who does not know the meaning of work, karma, nor that work is meant for sacrifice, yajña. He is simply working very hard night and day to relieve himself from some self-imposed duties; he has no time to hear of the science of Kṛṣṅa. It is a strange paradox that to the grossly foolish mūḍhas, material gains which are so perishable are their sole objective. They are never disillusioned when they receive so little, and they spend sleepless days and nights in search of so-called material success, tolerating ulcers and indigestion, putting up with food and water that is hardly fit for the animals, serving every temporal master under the sun. But for the Supreme Master, they have no time. The stool-eating swine does not care for sweetmeats made of sugar and ghee, and similarly the foolish worker chews the chewed of mammon and leaves the succulence of Kṛṣṅa consciousness.

The Lowest Of Mankind

The second class of miscreants is called the “lowest of mankind.” Out of 8,400,000 species of life, 400,000 are said to be human, but of these 400,000 most are uncivilized. Civilized means to be regulated in matters of social, political and religious life, and perfect regulation is exemplified in the system of varṅāśrama-dharma. The purpose of varṅāśrama-dharma is simply that society is so regulated that maximum facilities are given to each individual so that he may pursue his eternal course back to Godhead. To that end every society needs a head: brāhmaṅas. It needs arms for defense: kṣatriyas. It needs an abdomen for sustenance (vaiśyas) and legs for movement (śūdras). All head or all feet is equally bad, but a society, nicely divided on the basis of qualification, not birth, is a society in which everyone can revive his lost consciousness or his eternal relationship with the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṅa.

Hare Kṛṣṅa Hare Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The civilized human form of life is meant for reviving this lost consciousness or invoking this dormant love of God that is within all of us. And if the opportunity is lost, then life is wasted, and a person who wastes his valuable time is called narādhama, or lowest of mankind. By the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one can reawaken his Kṛṣṅa consciousness simply by submissively hearing the message and activities of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṅa as contained in such great literatures as this Bhagavad-gītā. Even narādhamas or the lowest of human beings can be delivered by this submissive hearing process, by simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Unfortunately they do not even listen to these transcendental vibrations, let alone surrender unto the will of the Supreme Lord. Therefore the narādhamas fully neglect the prime duty of the human being.

The next class of miscreants are those whose erudite knowledge has been nullified by the influence of illusory material energy. In mundane circles these are called very learned men, great philosophers, poets, PhD’s, scientists, philanthropists, utopians, etc., but because of impure desires, the illusory energy of Kṛṣṅa misguides them, and therefore they disobey the Supreme Lord. A truly learned man has been described as one who sees all women as his mother, the property of others as so much refuse in the street and himself in all beings. And according to Kṛṣṅa’s statement in the Gītā, “A learned man is he who sees on equal terms the learned brāhmaṅa, the dog, the cow, the elephant, and the dog-eater.” But when the whole population becomes narādhama and when they thereby neglect the purpose of self-realization, their education has no such vision. What is circulated under the name of education is actually void of all eternal potency by the powerful illusory energy. Most intellectuals are more interested in the creature than in the creator, and ultimately their knowledge is frustrated because they are seeking for everything in the wrong place.

The Gītā clearly states in many places that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that there is none equal to or greater than Him. He is said to be the father of Brahmā, and He claims to be the father of all living entities. He declares Himself to be the ground of impersonal Brahman, and He states that Paramātmā or the Supersoul resides in every living entity by His expansion. In short, He is the fountainhead of everything, and everyone is advised to surrender unto Him. That is the ultimate conclusion of Bhagavad-gītā: “Simply surrender unto Me.” But despite all these clear statements, those whose knowledge has been nullified by the influence of illusory energy consider Him merely another human being. They do not know that this human form of life is designed after the eternal and transcendental feature of the Supreme Lord. As the Bible says, “Man is made in the image and likeness of God.” All the unauthorized interpretations of the Gītā by this class of so-called learned scholars who are outside the purview of the paramparā system, the disciplic succession of devotees, are so many stumbling blocks in the path of spiritual understanding.

The last class of miscreants are those of demonic principles. This class is openly atheistic. They sometimes maintain that the Supreme cannot descend to the material plane, but they are unable to give any valid reason why not, other than it does not conform to their reasoning patterns. Because it is their desire, Kṛṣṅa remains forever veiled from them. Śrī Yāmunācārya says, “O My Lord, You are unknowable to persons involved with atheistic principles, despite Your uncommon features, qualities, and activities, despite Your personality being strongly confirmed by all the revealed scriptures, and despite Your being acknowledged by the famous authorities renowned for their depth of knowledge and situated in godly qualities.” Therefore, the grossly foolish, the lowest of mankind, the deluded speculators and the atheists, never surrender unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead despite all scriptural authoritative advice.

Four Kinds Of Pious Men

In verse sixteen Kṛṣṅa enumerates four kinds of pious men who render devotional service unto the Supreme: they are the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive and the man in search of the Absolute Truth. These four classes of men come to the Lord to render some devotional service under different conditions, but they are not pure devotees because they have some ambition to fulfill in exchange for devotional service. Pure devotional service is without material calculation or desire for material benefit. The Nectar of Devotion puts it this way: “One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṅa favorably without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” But when these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service, they become completely purified by association with the pure devotee, and thus they also become pure devotees. Even a miscreant, for whom devotional service is extremely difficult due to his irregular, nonspiritual life, can also become a pure devotee if by chance he comes in contact with a pure devotee. Actually how we come to Kṛṣṅa is not so important. Man may be distressed—he may have lost his wife or family, his business may have failed, some love relationship has gone haywire—and in that distress turn to the Supreme Lord. Somehow or other we get an inkling that our happiness is not to be achieved in material goals, but in the Supreme. And in that state, even though it is occasioned by a material event, we have an opportunity to associate with the Supreme Lord or with His devotee.

He Turns To Kṛṣṅa

Similarly, the man who is after some material wealth sometimes performs sacrifices or follows some scriptural injunction in order to achieve some desired goal. In the Vedas, there are many prescriptions for acquiring material wealth. Certainly one’s desire at this stage is not pure, but the very fact that one has come to Kṛṣṅa to ask for it means that one has a chance to associate with Kṛṣṅa, and in that condition one can become enamored of the Supreme Person Himself. There is a prophetic poem in Sanskrit entitled “Govinda,” which says, “My dear friend, if you still have an inclination to enjoy material life with society, friendship and love, then please do not see the boy named Govinda who is standing in a three-curved way, smiling and skillfully playing on His flute with His lips brightened by the full-moon shine.”

One may not be very pure when he comes to Kṛṣṅa, but in the association of Kṛṣṅa or His devotee one becomes pure. Similarly, the man who comes to Kṛṣṅa because he is inquisitive finds in Kṛṣṅa his full satisfaction because Kṛṣṅa can satisfy all curiosity. Kṛṣṅa is all knowledge, and therefore those who are eager for knowledge can be satisfied only in Kṛṣṅa. And finally the man who is actually searching after Kṛṣṅa is, of course, most happy when he actually finds Kṛṣṅa. Actually Kṛṣṅa is everywhere, but unless we have eyes to see Kṛṣṅa, we cannot see Him. The eyes that can see Kṛṣṅa are the eyes that are smeared with love, and the process of cultivating love of Kṛṣṅa is known as devotional service. This can be taught by the pure devotee of Kṛṣṅa. It is something like the man who went searching after diamonds, and he went around the world here and there looking for diamonds, and when he returned home he found that his own backyard was full of diamonds. Kṛṣṅa is everywhere, but until we are awakened to Kṛṣṅa everywhere by love of Kṛṣṅa, we cannot recognize Him.

Very Dear To The Lord

Therefore the seventeenth verse says, “Of these, the wise one, who is in full knowledge in union with Me through pure devotional service is the best, for I am very dear to him, and he is very dear to Me.” “All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider verily to dwell in Me. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he attains Me.” Here Kṛṣṅa affirms that all four categories of seekers are great souls, mahātmās. They are great not because they are tinged with material desire, but in spite of it, or, more accurately, because they have come to the right source for the fulfillment of their desire. They have come to Kṛṣṅa for various reasons, but still they have come to Kṛṣṅa. That means they have come to the ultimate goal for whatever reasons; therefore they are mahātmās or great souls. But the devotee in full knowledge and in constant service is considered to be very dear to the Lord because his only purpose is to serve the Lord with love and devotion. Such a devotee cannot live a second without contacting or serving the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the Lord is very fond of His devotees and cannot be separated from them. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 9.4.57, the Lord says, “The devotees are always in My heart, and I am always in the hearts of the devotees. The devotee does not know anything beyond Me, so I cannot forget the devotee. There is a very intimate relationship between Me and the pure devotees. Pure devotees in pure knowledge are never out of spiritual touch. Therefore they are very much dear to Me.”

The Wise Surrender To Kṛṣṅa

The conclusion of all this search is stated in the nineteenth verse, “ After many, many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” This is the final vision. Nirmama. Nothing is mine; everything is Kṛṣṅa’s. Because everything is Kṛṣṅa’s, I am also Kṛṣṅa’s. Therefore let me render loving service to Kṛṣṅa. Such a universal vision of the ultimate relationship of everything to Kṛṣṅa precipitates one’s final surrender and ultimate union with Kṛṣṅa. “But those whose minds are still distorted by material desires,” we are told in the next verse, “sometimes surrender unto demigods in order to achieve some temporary material result.” Kṛṣṅa asserts that as the Supersoul within everyone’s heart, He helps to fulfill such a desire for the living entity, but Kṛṣṅa does not advise that. He calls these men of small intelligence. Why? Because they desire fruits that are limited and temporary. And then He says, “Those who worship the demigods go to the various planets of the demigods, but My devotee; ultimately reach My supreme planet.” Some commentators say that one can worship anything—be it Kālī, Indra or Śiva or any other demigod—and will ultimately reach Kṛṣṅa or the Supreme, but that is here flatly denied. If this were so, Kṛṣṅa would not have called them men of small intelligence with perverted desires. He say outright: “Those who worship the demigods go to the various planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.”

Devotional service should never be confused with ritualistic worship. In the Caitanya-Caritāmṛta it is said that one who worships the Supreme Lord and at the same time desires material enjoyment is contradictory in his desires. Devotional service of the Supreme Lord and the worship of a demigod cannot be on the same platform because worship of a demigod is material and devotional service to the Supreme Lord is completely spiritual. Also it is clearly stated here that worship of the demigods is temporary. The results are also temporary. That means that it is completely material, for only the material world is temporary, but when one chants Hare Kṛṣṅa and worships Kṛṣṅa, that is spiritual. One is factually seated on the transcendental plane in one’s eternal position to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṅa. As such, he is in a position to enjoy sac-cid-ānanda—eternity, knowledge, and bliss eternally. At the end of this material body such a person seated in Kṛṣṅa consciousness at once attains to the highest abode of Lord Kṛṣṅa, Goloka Vṛndāvana. That is here promised: “My devotee reaches My supreme planet.”

In the twenty-fourth verse the category of unintelligent men is expanded from those who simply worship the demigods to those who cannot conceive of the Lord with a form and personality. “Unintelligent men who know Me not think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme.” By philosophical speculation one may come to know something of Kṛṣṅa, but due to depending on limited knowledge, on the factory of the tiny brain, one cannot know Kṛṣṅa’s higher nature, which is changeless and supreme, nor can one understand Kṛṣṅa as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha in His full form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Nor can one understand how Kṛṣṅa and His body are nondifferent nor how Kṛṣṅa can appear age after age in His same original body. Therefore it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā that the Supreme Lord cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedānta literature, but only by the mercy of the Supreme Lord or the devotee of the Supreme Lord can the Supreme Lord be understood. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the supreme realization begins from the impersonal Brahman and then rises to the localized Supersoul, but the ultimate and last word of the Absolute Truth is the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa.

Impersonalists Less Intelligent

Modern impersonalists are even less intelligent, for they do not even follow Śaṅkarācārya, the greatest of the impersonalists, who has specifically stated that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The fact is that one cannot understand Kṛṣṅa without rendering devotional service. Without developing Kṛṣṅa consciousness, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṅa, or His form, His quality, His name, simply by mental speculation or by discussing Vedic literature. One must understand Him by rendering devotional service.

When one is fully engaged in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, beginning with the chanting of the mahāmantra Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare/Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, then only can one understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The twenty-fifth verse makes this still more clear when Kṛṣṅa says, “I am never manifested to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency, māyā. And so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.” Even when Kṛṣṅa was present personally on this earth 5,000 years ago, only a few people could recognize Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the prayers of Kuntī in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.8.18) it is said that the Lord is covered by His yoga-māyā, and thus ordinary people cannot understand Him. Kuntī prays, “O my Lord, You are the maintainer of the entire universe, and Your devotional service is the highest form of religious principles. Therefore I pray that you will also maintain me. Your transcendental form is covered by yoga-māyā. The Brahmajyoti is the internal potency. May You kindly remove this glowing effulgence that impedes my seeing Your sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, Your eternal form of bliss and knowledge.” Similarly, Lord Brahmā prays, “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 Kṛṣṅa’s energy and potency, although Kṛṣṅa is present before them. No one can see Kṛṣṅa but the devotee. But by the grace of the devotee, one can see Kṛṣṅa. The supreme devotee, Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṅa Himself, has appeared to spread this love of Kṛṣṅa just to reclaim all the forgotten souls back into that loving relationship with the primal Lord, Govinda, Lord Kṛṣṅa, who is not only unborn but inexhaustible, and whose form is eternal, blissful and knowledgeable.

In the concluding four verses Kṛṣṅa affirms again that the only way out of the darkness is through worship of Him, by rendering transcendental loving service unto the Supreme. Only unintelligent persons worship the demigods or rely on their own mental speculation. The twenty-ninth verse says that intelligent persons “take refuge in Me in devotional service.” They are actually Brahman because they entirely know everything about transcendental activities. As explained in the thirtieth verse, “Those who know Me as the Supreme Lord, as the governing principle of the material manifestation, who know Me as the one underlying all the demigods and as the one sustaining all sacrifices, can with steadfast mind understand and know Me even at the hour of death.”

The beginning of Kṛṣṅa consciousness entails association with persons who are Kṛṣṅa conscious. Such association is spiritual and puts one directly in touch with the Supreme Lord, either with His form, His activities, or His words, but most especially with His name. Hearing the name of Kṛṣṅa is not different from seeing Kṛṣṅa. Thus by His inconceivable potencies, simply by chanting the mahāmantra, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one can personally associate with Him. When one is actually associating with Kṛṣṅa, by His grace, one can understand Kṛṣṅa to be the Supreme God. At the same time one comes to understand the constitutional position of the living entity and how the living entity forgets Kṛṣṅa and becomes entangled in material activities. By gradual development of Kṛṣṅa consciousness in good association, the living entity can understand that due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṅa he has become conditioned by the laws of material nature. He can also understand that this human form of life is an opportunity to regain Kṛṣṅa consciousness and should be fully utilized to attain the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord.