etan mataá¹ samÄtiá¹£á¹ha
parameṇa samÄdhinÄ
bhavÄn kalpa-vikalpeá¹£u
na vimuhyati karhicit
etat - this; matam - the conclusion; samÄtiá¹£á¹ha - remain fixed; parameṇa - by the supreme; samÄdhinÄ - concentration of the mind; bhavÄn - yourself; kalpa - intermediate devastation; vikalpeá¹£u - in the final devastation; na vimuhyati - will never bewilder; karhicit - anything like complacence.
As in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, Tenth Chapter, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, has summarized the whole text in four verses, namely ahaá¹ sarvasya prabhavaḥ, etc., so the complete ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam has also been summarized in four verses, as aham evÄsam evÄgre, etc. Thus the secret purpose of the most important BhÄgavatite conclusion has been explained by the original speaker of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, who was also the original speaker of the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, the Personality of Godhead, Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa. There are many grammarians and nondevotee material wranglers who have tried to present false interpretations of these four verses of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam but the Lord Himself advised BrahmÄjÄ« not to be deviated from the fixed conclusion the Lord had taught him. The Lord was the teacher of the nucleus of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam in four verses, and BrahmÄ was the receiver of the knowledge. Misinterpretation of the word aham by the word jugglery of the impersonalist should not disturb the mind of the strict followers of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam is the text of the Personality of Godhead and His unalloyed devotees, who are also known as the bhÄgavatas, and any outsider should have no access to this confidential literature of devotional service. But unfortunately the impersonalist, who has no relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sometimes tries to interpret ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam by his poor fund of knowledge in grammar and dry speculation. Therefore, the Lord warns BrahmÄ (and, through BrahmÄ, all future devotees of the Lord in the disciplic succession of BrahmÄ) that one should never be misled by the conclusion of the so-called grammarians or by other men with a poor fund of knowledge, but must always fix the mind properly, via the paramparÄ system. No one should try to give a new interpretation by dint of mundane knowledge. And the first step, therefore, in pursuance of the system of knowledge received by BrahmÄ, is to approach a bona fide guru who is the representative of the Lord following the paramparÄ system. No one should try to squeeze out his own meaning by imperfect mundane knowledge. The guru, or the bona fide spiritual master, is competent to teach the disciple in the right path with reference to the context of all authentic Vedic literature. He does not attempt to juggle words to bewilder the student. The bona fide spiritual master, by his personal activities, teaches the disciple the principles of devotional service. Without personal service, one would go on speculating like the impersonalists and dry speculators life after life and would be unable to reach the final conclusion. By following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master in conjunction with the principles of revealed scriptures, the student will rise to the plane of complete knowledge, which will be exhibited by development of detachment from the world of sense gratification. The mundane wranglers are surprised that one can detach himself from the world of sense gratification, and thus any attempt to be fixed in God realization appears to them to be mysticism. This detachment from the sensory world is called the brahma-bhÅ«ta stage of realization, the preliminary stage of transcendental devotional life (parÄ bhaktiḥ). The brahma-bhÅ«ta stage of life is also known as the ÄtmÄrÄma stage, in which one is fully self-satisfied and does not hanker for the world of sense enjoyment. This stage of full satisfaction is the proper situation for understanding the transcendental knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. The ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (1.2.20) affirms this:
evaá¹ prasanna-manaso
bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ
bhagavat-tattva-vijñÄnaá¹
mukta-saá¹…gasya jÄyate
Thus in the completely satisfied stage of life, exhibited by full detachment from the world of sense enjoyment as a result of performing devotional service, one can understand the science of God in the liberated stage.
In this stage of full satisfaction and detachment from the sensory world, one can know the mystery of the science of God with all its confidential intricacies, and not by grammar or academic speculation. Because BrahmÄ qualified himself for such reception, the Lord was pleased to disclose the purpose of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. This direct instruction by the Lord to any devotee who is detached from the world of sense gratification is possible, as stated in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (10.10):
teá¹£Äá¹ satata-yuktÄnÄá¹
bhajatÄá¹ prÄ«ti-pÅ«rvakam
dadÄmi buddhi-yogaá¹ taá¹
yena mÄm upayÄnti te
Unto the devotees who are constantly engaged in the Lord’s transcendental loving service (prÄ«ti-pÅ«rvakam), the Lord, out of His causeless mercy upon the devotee, gives direct instructions so that the devotee may make accurate progress on the path returning home, back to Godhead. One should not, therefore, try to understand these four verses of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam by mental speculation. Rather, by direct perception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is able to know all about His abode, Vaikuṇá¹ha, as was seen and experienced by BrahmÄjÄ«. Such Vaikuṇá¹ha realization is possible by any devotee of the Lord situated in the transcendental position as a result of devotional service.
In the GopÄla-tÄpanÄ« Upaniá¹£ad (Å›ruti) it is said, gopa-veÅ›o me puruá¹£aḥ purastÄd Ävirbabhuva: the Lord appeared before BrahmÄ as a cowboy, that is, as the original Personality of Godhead, Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, who is later described by BrahmÄjÄ« in his Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.29):
cintÄmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpavá¹›ká¹£a-
laká¹£Ävá¹›teá¹£u surabhÄ«r abhipÄlayantam
laká¹£mÄ«-sahasra-Å›ata-sambhrama-sevyamÄnaá¹
govindam Ädi-puruá¹£aá¹ tam ahaá¹ bhajÄmi
BrahmÄjÄ« desires to worship the original Personality of Godhead, Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, who resides in the topmost Vaikuṇá¹ha planet, known as Goloka Vá¹›ndÄvana, where He is in the habit of keeping surabhi cows as a cowboy and where He is served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune (the gopÄ«s) with love and respect.
Therefore Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa is the original form of the Supreme Lord (kṛṣṇas tu bhagavÄn svayam). This is also clear from this instruction. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Lord Kṛṣṇa, and not directly NÄrÄyaṇa or the puruá¹£a-avatÄras, which are subsequent manifestations. Therefore ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam means consciousness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, and ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam is the sound representation of the Lord as much as the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ is. Thus the conclusion is that ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam is the science of the Lord in which the Lord and His abode are perfectly realized.