ye tv aká¹£aram anirdeÅ›yam avyaktaá¹ paryupÄsate sarvatra-gam achintyañ cha kÅ«á¹astham achalaá¹ dhruvam [3]
sanniyamyendriya-grÄmaá¹ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ te prÄpnuvanti mÄm eva sarva-bhÅ«ta-hite ratÄḥ [4]
ye tu–But those who; sanniyamya–fully control; indriya-grÄmam–all the senses; sama-buddhayaḥ–with equanimity; sarvatra–for everything; ratÄḥ–(who are) dedicated; sarva-bhÅ«ta-hite–to the welfare of all beings; (iti)–and thus; paryupÄsate–worship; (me)–My; anirdeÅ›yam–indefinable; avyaktam–unmanifest, impersonal; sarvatra-gam–all-pervading; achintyam–inconceivable; kÅ«á¹a-stham– unchanging; achalam–immovable; dhruvam–eternal; aká¹£aram cha–attributeless aspect of Brahma; te eva–they, too; prÄpnuvanti–attain; mÄm–Me (as My Brahma effulgence). [3–4]
However, those who fully control their senses, who are equal-minded towards everything, who are dedicated to the welfare of all beings and thus worship My indefinable, impersonal, all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, immovable, eternal, attributeless aspect of Brahma—they, too, attain Me (as Brahma).
The Lord’s statement, “The worshippers of Brahma also reach Me,†should not be misconstrued to mean that the impersonalists are on an equal footing with the devotees. The clue as to how the impersonalists can also reach Kṛṣṇa has been given in the writings of ÅšrÄ«la Bhakti Vinod ṬhÄkur.
A person may progress on the path of selfless action up to the stage of meditation, as described in the first six chapters of the Then he may undergo great difficulty in searching for the Lord on the path of impersonalism. But when he progresses to the stage of dedicating himself to perform welfare work for others (sarva-bhÅ«ta-hite ratÄḥ), he may get the chance to render service to a pure devotee.For example, if one engages in the general public welfare work of opening or running a hospital, if some service is even unknowingly rendered to a devotee of the Lord, a Vaiṣṇava, one’s devotional merit begins (ajñÄta-suká¹›ti). By association with a devotee (sÄdhu-saá¹…ga), one develops faith in the divine personal form of the Lord, and automatically abandons the attempt of attaining to the impersonal Brahma.
With such faith, one takes shelter of a bona fide Guru, engages in the devotional practices based on hearing and chanting the Holy Name and glories of the Lord, and progresses on the path back to home, back to Godhead. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa indicates: “I am the ultimate goal, and Brahma is only a relative position. It is not the final absolute, because the absolute position is Mine. Only if the impersonalists serve others they may thereby come to Me—because the only way to come to Me is through a Vaiṣṇava.â€
( : / / )
rahÅ«gaṇaitat tapasÄ na yÄti na chejyayÄ nirvapaṇÄd gá¹›hÄd vÄ na chchhandasÄ naiva jalÄgni-sÅ«ryair vinÄ mahat-pÄda-rajo ’bhiá¹£ekam
(SB: 5.12.12)
(The sage Jaá¸a Bharat said to King RahÅ«gaṇ:) “O RahÅ«gaṇ, without bathing in the dust of the holy feet (service) of the pure devotees (MahÄbhÄgavat Vaiṣṇavas), one cannot know the Supreme Lord by adopting the religious life of brahmacharya, gá¹›hastha, vÄnaprastha, or sannyÄs, or by worshipping the gods of water, fire, and sun, etc.â€
( : / / )
naiá¹£Äá¹ matis tÄvad urukramÄá¹…ghriá¹ spṛśaty anarthÄpagamo yad arthaḥ mahÄ«yasÄá¹ pÄda-rajo ’bhiá¹£ekaá¹ niá¹£kiñchanÄnÄá¹ na vṛṇīta yÄvat
(SB: 7.5.32)
(PrahlÄd MahÄrÄj said:) “As long as persons of mundane mentality have not been bathed by the dust of the feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s surrendered devotees who are free from mundane attachment, they cannot have a touch of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, which are the destroyer of all obstacles.â€
To consider that the Lord has taken the personal and impersonal aspects to be equal is a very commonly committed mistake. In reply to Arjuna’s doubt in this respect, the Lord has clearly stated that the personalists are superior to the impersonalists—yet, the impersonalists are also given a chance to reach Him, because without Him, no ultimate goal exists. Without coming to the path of devotion, the worshippers of impersonal Brahma will reach Brahma, the dazzling effulgence of the divine form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
