Shloka 31
येनैवाहं भगवतो वासुदेवस्य वेधस: । मायानुभावमविदं येन गच्छन्ति तत्पदम् ॥ ३१ ॥
yenaivāhaṁ bhagavato vāsudevasya vedhasaḥ māyānubhāvam avidaṁ yena gacchanti tat-padam
By that confidential knowledge I clearly understood the influence of the māyā-energy of Bhagavān Vāsudeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa—the creator, maintainer, and annihilator of all. Knowing this, one can attain His abode and meet Him personally.
By devotional service or by the most confidential knowledge, one can understand very easily how the different energies of the Lord are working. One part of His energy is manifesting the material world; the other (superior) part of His energy is manifesting the spiritual world. And His intermediate energy is manifesting the living entities who are serving either of the above-mentioned energies. The living entities serving material energy are struggling hard for existence, and happiness, which is presented to them as illusion. But those in the spiritual energy are placed under the direct service of the Lord in eternal life, complete knowledge and perpetual bliss. The Lord desires, as He has directly said in the Bhagavad-gītā, that all conditioned souls, rotting in the kingdom of material energy, come back to Him by giving up all engagements in the material world. This is the most confidential part of knowledge. But this can be understood only by the pure devotees, and only such devotees enter the kingdom of God to see Him personally and serve Him personally. The concrete example is Nārada himself, who attained this stage of eternal knowledge and eternal bliss. And the ways and means are open to all, provided one agrees to follow in the footsteps of Śrī Nārada Muni. According to śruti, the Supreme Lord has unlimited energies (without effort by Him), and these are described under three principal headings, as above mentioned.
FAQs
This verse states that the same devotional means by which Nārada understood the Lord’s māyā also enables beings to attain the Lord’s supreme abode—implying bhakti as the direct path.
Nārada is instructing Vyāsa that realization of the Supreme Lord and freedom from illusion come through devotion; he uses his own experience as proof to guide Vyāsa toward composing pure Bhāgavata literature.
Practice steady devotion—hearing and chanting about Vāsudeva—so daily anxieties and attachments are seen clearly as temporary, strengthening detachment and God-centered decision-making.