Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 7 Chapter 1 Verses 28-29

Canto 7: The Science of God | Chapter 1: The Supreme Lord Is Equal to Everyone

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.1.28-29

kīṭaḥ peśaskṛtā ruddhaḥ

kuḍyāyāḿ tam anusmaran

saḿrambha-bhaya-yogena

vindate tat-svarūpatām

evaḿ kṛṣṇe bhagavati

māyā-manuja īśvare

vaireṇa pūta-pāpmānas

tam āpur anucintayā

SYNONYMS

kīṭaḥ — the grassworm; peśaskṛtā — by a bee; ruddhaḥ — confined; kuḍyāyām — in a hole in a wall; tam — that (bee); anusmaran — thinking of; saḿrambha-bhaya-yogena — through intense fear and enmity; vindate — attains; tat — of that bee; sva-rūpatām — the same form; evam — thus; kṛṣṇe — in Kṛṣṇa; bhagavati — the Personality of Godhead; māyā-manuje — who appeared by His own energy in His eternal humanlike form; īśvare — the Supreme; vaireṇa — by enmity; pūta-pāpmānaḥ — those purified of sins; tam — Him; āpuḥ — attained; anucintayā — by thinking of.

TRANSLATION

A grassworm confined in a hole of a wall by a bee always thinks of the bee in fear and enmity and later becomes a bee simply because of such remembrance. Similarly, if the conditioned souls somehow or other think of Kṛṣṇa, who is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], they will become free from their sins. Whether thinking of Him as their worshipable Lord or an enemy, because of constantly thinking of Him they will regain their spiritual bodies.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gītā (4.10) the Lord says:

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā

man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ

bahavo jñāna-tapasā

pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

"Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me — and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me." There are two ways of constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa — as a devotee and as an enemy. A devotee, of course, by his knowledge and tapasya, becomes free from fear and anger and becomes a pure devotee. Similarly, an enemy, although thinking of Kṛṣṇa inimically, thinks of Him constantly and also becomes purified. This is confirmed elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (9.30), where the Lord says:

api cet su-durācāro

bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ

samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

"Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he engages in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated." A devotee undoubtedly worships the Lord with rapt attention. Similarly, if an enemy (sudurācāraḥ) always thinks of Kṛṣṇa, he also becomes a purified devotee. The example given here concerns the grassworm that becomes beelike because of constantly thinking of the bee that forces it to enter a hole. By always thinking of the bee in fear, the grassworm starts to become a bee. This is a practical example. Lord Kṛṣṇa appears within this material world for two purposes — paritrāṇāya sādhūnāḿ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: [Bg. 4.8] to protect the devotees and annihilate the demons. The sādhus and devotees certainly think of the Lord always, but duṣkṛtīs, the demons like Kaḿsa and Śiśupāla, also think of Kṛṣṇa in terms of killing Him. By thinking of Kṛṣṇa, both the demons and devotees attain liberation from the clutches of material māyā.

This verse uses the word māyā-manuje. When Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in His original spiritual potency (sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā [Bg. 4.6]), He is not forced to accept a form made by material nature. Therefore the Lord is addressed as īśvara, the controller of māyā. He is not controlled by māyā. When a demon continuously thinks of Kṛṣṇa because of enmity toward Him, he is certainly freed from the sinful reactions of his life. To think of Kṛṣṇa in any way, in terms of His name, form, qualities, paraphernalia or anything pertaining to Him, is beneficial for everyone. Sṛṇvatāḿ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17]. Thinking of Kṛṣṇa, hearing the holy name of Kṛṣṇa or hearing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa will make one pure, and then he will become a devotee. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore trying to introduce the system of somehow or other letting everyone hear the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and take Kṛṣṇa's prasāda. Thus one will gradually become a devotee, and his life will be successful.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness