oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi
Translation:
O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
Some important points from this verse we discussed from Srila Prabhupada's purports, from HG Bhurijana Prabhu's book "Unveiling His Lotus Feet:" and from HG Radha Krishna Prabhu's lectures. If there are any inadequacies it is because of my tendency to commit mistakes. Please feel free to use the comments section to send me a message on the mistakes and I will correct them
The whole point is to accept Lord Krishna as the summum bonum- then we can surrender. Till we get there we can surrender by following the instructions of the Spiritual Master.
Lord Krishna is the Absolute Truth, the cause of all causes, fully independent and fully cognizant, who has imparted the Vedic knowledge in the heart of Brahmaji, by surrendering to Him alone we can overcome illusion and develop loving service unto Him.That is why we pray that we meditate upon Him.
- First few verses are directly related to the Vedanta Sutras
- They answer the question athato brahma jijnasa
- You get the answer to athato brahma jijnasa by meditating upon the Supreme Person- [who am I, who is God]
- First text as pointing to the Gaytari Mantra -satyam param dhimahi
- We meditate upon the Supreme Person because He is the actual and efficient cause behind the creation. He is the material cause(cause) and the efficient cause (the effect)
- He is the only person who maintains
- The Gayatri Mantra
- Jiva Goswami explains that the SB's opening text comments on the Gaytari
- Gayatri Mantra OM is explained the SB as janamady asya yatah - indicates the absolute truth Krishna who is the cause of the creation , maintenance and destruction of the manifested universes
- bhur bhuvah svah denoting lower, middle and upper planetary systems, are explained the Sb's first text as yatra tri saro mrsa words that also refer to the material universes
- savitur varenyam bhargah- indicates the sun's self sustaining effulgence, is contained in the word svarat- indicating the Lord is fully independent
- Jiva Goswami compares the Gayari's prayerful mood of enlightenment- "May the Lord mercifully engage our thoughts in meditation upon Him" to the words "tene brahma hrda"meaning the Lord enlightens Brahma because of Brahma's prayerful mood.
- Sri Jiva Goswami also indicates that the Vyasadeva's words satyam param dhimahi at both the beginning and end of the Bhagavatam (1..1 and 12.13.19), indicate that the Bhagavatam's indicate that the Bhagavatam's ultimate objective is meditation on Krsna, because He is the Absolute Truth.
- That the Brahma Gayatri mantra also uses the word dhimahi indicates that the goal of chanting the mantra is the same as the goal of the Bhagavatam:meditation on Krishna , the Absolute Truth.
- Srila Vyasadeva has made the benefits of understanding the Brahma Gayatri mantra widely available through the Srimad Bhagavatam, free from status limitations and time strictures applicable to chanters of the mantra. He has included only the essential word dhimahi in the first text to avoid making the mantra public
- abhijnah and svarat
- abhijñaḥ — fully cognizant; sva-rāṭ — fully independent
- In this śloka, the particular words abhijñaḥ and svarāṭ are significant. These two words distinguish the Supreme Lord from all the other living entities. No other living entity is eitherabhijñaḥ or svarāṭ. That is, no one is either fully cognizant or fully independent. Even Brahmā has to meditate upon the Supreme Lord in order to create. Then what to speak of great scientists like Einstein! The brains of such a scientist are certainly not the products of any human being. Scientists cannot manufacture such a brain, and what to speak of foolish atheists who defy the authority of the Lord? Even Māyāvādī impersonalists who flatter themselves that they can become one with the Lord are neither abhijñaḥ nor svarāṭ.
- tene brahma hrda adi kavaye
- It is He who imparted the Vedic knowledge into the heart of Brahmaji
- muhyanti yat surayah
- if the demigods and sages are bewildered what to speak of us
- VCT points that the deluding potency can be overcome only by shelter of the Lord
Some things to ponder:
- If the Lord is everything- the absolute Truth then why am I wasting my time on false non essentials?
- If the Lord is everything- the supreme benefcator of all living entities then what can I do now to further my relationship with Him?
