Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 21
Mahārāja Sagara, Kapila Muni, and the Deliverance of the Sixty Thousand Sons
अंशुमानुवाच न पश्यति त्वां परमात्मनोऽजनो न बुध्यतेऽद्यापि समाधियुक्तिभि: । कुतोऽपरे तस्य मन:शरीरधी- विसर्गसृष्टा वयमप्रकाशा: ॥ २१ ॥
aṁśumān uvāca na paśyati tvāṁ param ātmano ’jano na budhyate ’dyāpi samādhi-yuktibhiḥ kuto ’pare tasya manaḥ-śarīra-dhī- visarga-sṛṣṭā vayam aprakāśāḥ
Aṁśumān sprach: O Herr, Paramātmā, selbst Brahmā vermag bis heute Deine Stellung nicht zu begreifen, weder durch Meditation noch durch geistige Spekulation. Was ist dann erst von uns zu sagen, die wir als Brahmās Schöpfung in vielerlei Gestalten erscheinen und ganz in Unwissenheit sind? Wie könnten wir Dich, den Transzendenten, erkennen?
icchā-dveṣa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa
FAQs
This verse says that the ignorant cannot see the Supreme Soul, and even samādhi techniques may fail to reveal Him without true spiritual understanding and divine grace.
He emphasizes the Lord’s transcendence: if those relying on yogic samādhi still do not comprehend Him, then ordinary beings—products of secondary creation—should be even more humble about their capacity to know Him.
Cultivate humility and prioritize sincere devotion and inner purification rather than relying only on technique, intellect, or external methods to “force” spiritual realization.