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TEXT 24
sri-devaky uvaca
rupam yat tat prahur avyaktam adyam
brahma jyotir nirgunam nirvikaram
satta-matram nirvisesam niriham
sa tvam saksad visnur adhyatma-dipah
SYNONYMS
sri-devaki uvacaSri Devaki said; rupamform or substance; yat tatbecause You are the same substance; prahuhYou are sometimes called; avyaktamnot perceivable by the material senses (atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih); adyamYou are the original cause; brahmaYou are known as Brahman; jyotihlight; nirgunamwithout material qualities; nirvikaramwithout change, the same form of Visnu perpetually; satta-matramthe original substance, the cause of everything; nirvisesamYou are present everywhere as the Supersoul (within the heart of a human being and within the heart of an animal, the same substance is present); nirihamwithout material desires; sahthat Supreme Person; tvamYour Lordship; saksatdirectly; visnuhLord Visnu; adhyatma-dipahthe light for all transcendental knowledge (knowing You, one knows everything: yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati).
TRANSLATION
Sri Devaki said: My dear Lord, there are different Vedas, some of which describe You as unperceivable through words and the mind. Yet You are the origin of the entire cosmic manifestation. You are Brahman, the greatest of everything, full of effulgence like the sun. You have no material cause, You are free from change and deviation, and You have no material desires. Thus the Vedas say that You are the substance. Therefore, my Lord, You are directly the origin of all Vedic statements, and by understanding You, one gradually understands everything. You are different from the light of Brahman and Paramatma, yet You are not different from them. Everything emanates from You. Indeed, You are the cause of all causes, Lord Visnu, the light of all transcendental knowledge.
PURPORT
Visnu is the origin of everything, and there is no difference between Lord Visnu and Lord Krsna because both of Them are visnu-tattva. From the Rg Veda we understand, om tad visnoh paramam padam: the original substance is the all-pervading Lord Visnu, who is also Paramatma and the effulgent Brahman. The living entities are also part and parcel of Visnu, who has various energies (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca). Visnu, or Krsna, is therefore everything. Lord Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8), aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate: I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. Krsna, therefore, is the original cause of everything (sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1]). When Visnu expands in His all-pervading aspect, we should understand Him to be the nirakara-nirvisesa-brahmajyoti.
Although everything emanates from Krsna, He is ultimately a person. Aham adir hi devanam: He is the origin of Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara, and from them many other demigods are manifested. Krsna therefore says in Bhagavad-gita (14.27), brahmano hi pratisthaham; Brahman rests upon Me. The Lord also says:
Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kunti, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding. (Bg. 9.23) There are many persons who worship different demigods, considering all of them to be separate gods, which in fact they are not. The fact is that every demigod, and every living entity, is part and parcel of Krsna (mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah). The demigods are also in the category of living entities; they are not separate gods. But men whose knowledge is immature and contaminated by the modes of material nature worship various demigods, according to their intelligence. Therefore they are rebuked in Bhagavad-gita (kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah prapadyante nya-devatah [Bg. 7.20]). Because they are unintelligent and not very advanced and have not properly considered the truth, they take to the worship of various demigods or speculate according to various philosophies, such as the Mayavada philosophy.
Krsna, Visnu, is the actual origin of everything. As stated in the Vedas, yasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati. The Absolute Truth is described later in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.28.15) as satyam jnanam anantam yad brahma-jyotih sanatanam. The brahmajyoti is sanatana, eternal, yet it is dependent on Krsna (brahmano hi pratisthaham). The Brahma-samhita states that the Lord is all-pervading. Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham: He is within this universe, and He is within the atom as Paramatma. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhu-ti-bhinnam: [Bs. 5.40] Brahman is also not independent of Him. Therefore whatever a philosopher may describe is ultimately Krsna, or Lord Visnu (sarvam khalv idam brahma, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]). According to different phases of understanding, Lord Visnu is differently described, but in fact He is the origin of everything.
Because Devaki was an unalloyed devotee, she could understand that the same Lord Visnu had appeared as her son. Therefore, after the prayers of Vasudeva, Devaki offered her prayers. She was very frightened because of her brothers atrocities. Devaki said, My dear Lord, Your eternal forms, like Narayana, Lord Rama, Sesa, Varaha, Nrsimha, Vamana, Baladeva, and millions of similar incarnations emanating from Visnu, are described in the Vedic literature as original. You are original because all Your forms as incarnations are outside of this material creation. Your form was existing before this cosmic manifestation was created. Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are ever-cognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only; all such transcendental, eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Visnu. We may conclude, therefore, that Lord Visnu is everything, although He is also different from everything. This is the philosophy.
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