Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 23
Brahmā’s Tapasya, the Vision of Vaikuṇṭha, and the Lord’s Seed Instructions
Catuḥ-śloki
प्रत्यादिष्टं मया तत्र त्वयि कर्मविमोहिते । तपो मे हृदयं साक्षादात्माहं तपसोऽनघ ॥ २३ ॥
pratyādiṣṭaṁ mayā tatra tvayi karma-vimohite tapo me hṛdayaṁ sākṣād ātmāhaṁ tapaso ’nagha
O sündloser Brahmā, als du in deiner Pflicht verwirrt warst, war Ich es, der dir zuerst die Askese gebot. Askese ist Mein Herz und Meine Seele; daher sind Askese und Ich nicht verschieden.
The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. Such penance is the internal potency of the Lord and is nondifferent from Him. Such acts of internal potency are exhibited by nonattachment for material enjoyment. The living entities are encaged in the conditions of material bondage because of their propensity for overlordship. But by engagement in the devotional service of the Lord one becomes detached from this enjoying spirit. The devotees automatically become detached from worldly enjoyment, and this detachment is the result of perfect knowledge. Therefore the penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.
FAQs
In this verse, the Lord declares that tapas is His very heart and that He is the essence of austerity—showing tapas as a direct, God-centered path to clarity and spiritual empowerment.
Brahmā was momentarily confused by the workings of karma and the task of creation; the Lord reminded him that disciplined austerity is the divine principle that purifies and enables him to carry out his service properly.
Adopt purposeful discipline—regulated habits, sincere prayer/chanting, and restraint from distractions—so that your work becomes purified and your mind becomes steady for devotion and right action.