athÄpi te deva padÄmbuja-dvaya-
prasÄda-leÅ›Änugá¹›hÄ«ta eva hi
jÄnÄti tattvaá¹ bhagavan-mahimno
na cÄnya eko 'pi ciraá¹ vicinvan

 atha - therefore; api - indeed; te - Your; deva - my Lord; pada-ambuja-dvaya - of the two lotus feet; prasÄda - of the mercy; leÅ›a - by only a trace; anugá¹›hÄ«taḥ - favored; eva - certainly; hi - indeed; jÄnÄti - one knows; tattvam - the truth; bhagavat - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahimnaḥ - of the greatness; na - never; ca - and; anyaḥ - another; ekaḥ - one; api - although; ciram - for a long period; vicinvan - speculating.


Text

“ ‘My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate in order to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.’ â€

Purport

The above verse is from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.14.29). The Brahma-saá¹hitÄ states, vedeá¹£u durlabham adurlabham Ätma-bhaktau (Bs. 5.33). Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the ultimate goal of knowledge (vedaiÅ› ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ), one who is not a pure devotee and who is not engaged in the service of the Lord cannot understand Him. Lord BrahmÄ therefore confirms this. Vedeá¹£u durlabham: “It is very difficult to understand the Supreme Lord simply through one’s studies.†Adurlabham Ätma-bhaktau: “However, it is very easy for the devotees to capture the Lord.†The Lord is known as ajita (unconquerable). No one can conquer the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Lord consents to be conquered by His devotees. That is His nature. As stated in the Padma PurÄṇa:

ataḥ Å›rÄ«-kṛṣṇa-nÄmÄdi na bhaved grahyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvÄdau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ

Being pleased by devotional activities, the Lord reveals Himself to His devotees. That is the way to understand Him.

The verse from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam quoted by GopÄ«nÄtha Ä€cÄrya was originally spoken by Lord BrahmÄ when he was defeated by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord BrahmÄ had stolen all the calves and cowherd boys in order to test Kṛṣṇa’s power. Lord BrahmÄ admitted that his own extraordinary powers within the universe were not in the least comparable to the unlimited powers of Lord Kṛṣṇa. If Lord BrahmÄ can make a mistake in understanding Kṛṣṇa, what to speak of ordinary persons, who either misunderstand Kṛṣṇa or falsely present a so-called incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for their own sense gratification.