tvaá¹ bhakti-yoga-paribhÄvita-há¹›t-saroja
Ässe Å›ruteká¹£ita-patho nanu nÄtha puá¹sÄm
yad yad dhiyÄ ta urugÄya vibhÄvayanti
tat tad vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahÄya
tvam - You; bhakti-yoga - by devotional service; paribhÄvita - saturated; há¹›t - of the heart; saroje - on the lotus; Ässe - dwell; Å›ruta - heard; Ä«ká¹£ita - seen; pathaḥ - whose path; nanu - certainly; nÄtha - O Lord; puá¹sÄm - by the devotees; yat yat - whatever; dhiyÄ - by the mind; te - they; uru-gÄya - O Lord, who are glorified in excellent ways; vibhÄvayanti - contemplate upon; tat tat - that; vapuḥ - form; praṇayase - You manifest; sat - to Your devotees; anugrahÄya - to show favor.
“O my Lord, You always dwell in the vision and hearing of Your pure devotees. You also live in their lotuslike hearts, which are purified by devotional service. O my Lord, who are glorified by exalted prayers, You show special favor to Your devotees by manifesting Yourself in the eternal forms in which they welcome You.â€
This text from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (3.9.11) is a prayer by Lord BrahmÄ to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa for His blessings in the work of creation. Knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the descriptions of the Vedic scriptures. For example, the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.29) describes that in the abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is made of cintÄmaṇi (touchstone), the Lord, acting as a cowherd boy, is served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s think that the devotees have imagined the form of Kṛṣṇa, but the authentic Vedic scriptures have actually described Kṛṣṇa and His various transcendental forms.
The word Å›ruta in Å›ruteká¹£ita-pathaḥ refers to the Vedas, and Ä«ká¹£ita indicates that the way to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead is by proper study of the Vedic scriptures. One cannot imagine something about God or His form. Such imagination is not accepted by those who are serious about enlightenment. Here BrahmÄ says that one can know Kṛṣṇa through the path of properly understanding the Vedic texts. If by studying the form, name, qualities, pastimes and paraphernalia of the Supreme Godhead one is attracted to the Lord, he can execute devotional service, and the form of the Lord will be impressed in his heart and remain transcendentally situated there. Unless a devotee actually develops transcendental love for the Lord, it is not possible for him to think always of the Lord within his heart. Such constant thought of the Lord is the sublime perfection of the yogic process, as the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ confirms in the sixth chapter (47), stating that anyone absorbed in such thought is the best of all yogÄ«s. Such transcendental absorption is known as samÄdhi. A pure devotee who is always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the person qualified to see the Lord.
One cannot speak of UrugÄya (the Lord, who is glorified by sublime prayers) unless one is transcendentally elevated. The Lord has innumerable forms, as the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ confirms (advaitam acyutam anÄdim ananta-rÅ«pam). The Lord expands Himself in innumerable svÄá¹Å›a forms. When a devotee, hearing about these innumerable forms, becomes attached to one and always thinks of Him, the Lord appears to him in that form. Lord Kṛṣṇa is especially pleasing to such devotees, in whose hearts He is always present because of their highly elevated transcendental love.
