TEXT 31
na te giri-trakhila-loka-pala-
virinca-vaikuntha-surendra-gamyam
jyotih param yatra rajas tamas ca
sattvam na yad brahma nirasta-bhedam
SYNONYMS
nanot; teof Your Lordship; giri-traO King of the mountains; akhila-loka-palaall the directors of departments of material activities; virincaLord Brahma; vaikunthaLord Visnu; sura-indrathe King of heaven; gamyamthey can understand; jyotiheffulgence; paramtranscendental; yatrawherein; rajahthe mode of passion; tamah caand the mode of ignorance; sattvamthe mode of goodness; nanot; yat brahmawhich is impersonal Brahman; nirasta-bhedamwithout distinction between demigods and human beings.
TRANSLATION
O Lord Girisa, since the impersonal Brahman effulgence is transcendental to the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, the various directors of this material world certainly cannot appreciate it or even know where it is. It is not understandable even to Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu or the King of heaven, Mahendra.
PURPORT
The brahmajyoti is actually the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Brahma-samhita (5.40):
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes. Although the impersonal feature of the Absolute is an expansion of the rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He does not need to take care of the impersonalists who enter the brahmajyoti. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (9.4), maya tatam idam sarvam jagad avyakta-murtina: In My impersonal feature I pervade this entire universe. Thus the avyakta-murti, the impersonal feature, is certainly an expansion of Krsnas energy. Mayavadis, who prefer to merge into this Brahman effulgence, worship Lord Siva. The mantras referred to in text 29 are called mukhani pancopanisadas tavesa. Mayavadis take all these mantras seriously in worshiping Lord Siva. These mantras are as follows: (1) tat purusaya vidmahe santyai, (2) maha-devaya dhimahi vidyayai, (3) tan no rudrah pratisthayai, (4) pracodayat dhrtyai, (5) aghorebhyas tama. .., (6) atha ghorebhyo moha. .., (7) aghorebhyo raksa. .., (8) aghoratarebhyo nidra. .., (9) sarvebhyah sarva-vyadhyai, (10) sarva-sarvebhyo mrtyave, (11) namas te stu ksudha. .., (12) rudra-rupebhyas trsna. .., (13) vamadevaya raja. .., (14) jyesthaya svaha. .., (15) sresthaya ratyai, (16) rudraya kalyanyai, (17) kalaya kama. .., (18) kala-vikaranaya sandhinyai, (19) bala-vikaranaya kriya. .., (20) balaya vrddhyai, (21) balacchaya. .., (22) pramathanaya dhatryai, (23) sarva-bhuta-damanaya bhramanyai, (24) manah-sosinyai, (25) unmanaya jvara. .., (26) sadyojatam prapadyami siddhyai, (27) sadyojataya vai namah rddhyai, (28) bhave dityai, (29) abhave laksmyai, (30) natibhave medha. .., (31) bhajasva mam kantyai, (32) bhava svadha. .., (33) udbhavaya prabha. .., (34) isanah sarva-vidyanam sasinyai, (35) isvarah sarva-bhutanam abhaya-da. .. [Bg. 18.61], (36) brahmadhipatir brahmanodhipatir brahman brahmesta-da. .., (37) sivo me astu maricyai, (38) sadasivah jvalinyai.
The impersonal Brahman is unknown even to the other directors of the material creation, including Lord Brahma, Lord Indra and even Lord Visnu. This does not mean, however, that Lord Visnu is not omniscient. Lord Visnu is omniscient, but He does not need to understand what is going on in His all-pervading expansion. Therefore in Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that although everything is an expansion of Him (maya tatam idam sarvam), He does not need to take care of everything (na caham tesv avasthitah), since there are various directors like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Indra.

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