Shloka 9
Pṛthu Mahārāja Meets the Four Kumāras: Bhakti as the Boat Across Saṁsāra
नैव लक्षयते लोको लोकान् पर्यटतोऽपि यान् । यथा सर्वदृशं सर्व आत्मानं येऽस्य हेतव: ॥ ९ ॥
naiva lakṣayate loko lokān paryaṭato ’pi yān yathā sarva-dṛśaṁ sarva ātmānaṁ ye ’sya hetavaḥ
Though you travel throughout all worlds, people cannot recognize you—just as they do not perceive the Paramātmā, the all-seeing Witness dwelling in everyone’s heart.
In the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Great demigods like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Indra and Candra are sometimes bewildered trying to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It so happened that when Kṛṣṇa was present on this planet, Lord Brahmā and King Indra also mistook Him. And what to speak of great yogīs or jñānīs who conclude that the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is impersonal? In the same way, great personalities and Vaiṣṇavas like the four Kumāras are also invisible to ordinary persons, although they are traveling all over the universe in different planetary systems. When Sanātana Gosvāmī went to see Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he could not be recognized by Candraśekhara Ācārya. The conclusion is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in everyone’s heart, and His pure devotees, the Vaiṣṇavas, are also traveling all over the world, but those who are under the modes of material nature cannot understand the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of this cosmic manifestation, or the Vaiṣṇavas. It is said, therefore, that one cannot see the Supreme Personality of Godhead or a Vaiṣṇava with these material eyes. One has to purify his senses and engage in the service of the Lord. Then gradually one can realize who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who is a Vaiṣṇava.
FAQs
This verse says that even if one travels everywhere, ordinary vision still fails to recognize the all-seeing Supreme Self within all beings—the cause behind everything—due to ignorance and lack of spiritual realization.
Pṛthu instructs the citizens in spiritual understanding: prosperity and worldly movement do not automatically give God-realization; one must learn to recognize the indwelling Supreme Soul as the true cause and guide.
Practice seeing a higher purpose behind events, cultivate introspection and devotion, and treat others with respect—remembering the same Supreme Self witnesses and supports all.