Shloka 45
Kapila’s Advent: Brahmā’s Confirmation, the Marriage of the Nine Daughters, and Kardama’s Renunciation
वासुदेवे भगवति सर्वज्ञे प्रत्यगात्मनि । परेण भक्तिभावेन लब्धात्मा मुक्तबन्धन: ॥ ४५ ॥
vāsudeve bhagavati sarva-jñe pratyag-ātmani pareṇa bhakti-bhāvena labdhātmā mukta-bandhanaḥ
Thus, by the highest mood of devotion to Bhagavān Vāsudeva—the omniscient Supersoul within all—he became established in the self and was freed from all bondage.
When one engages in the transcendental devotional service of the Lord one becomes aware that his constitutional position, as an individual soul, is to be eternally a servitor of the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva. Self-realization does not mean that because the Supreme Soul and the individual soul are both souls they are equal in every respect. The individual soul is prone to be conditioned, and the Supreme Soul is never conditioned. When the conditioned soul realizes that he is subordinate to the Supreme Soul, his position is called labdhātmā, self-realization, or mukta-bandhana, freedom from material contamination. Material contamination continues as long as one thinks that he is as good as the Supreme Lord or is equal with Him. This condition is the last snare of māyā. Māyā always influences the conditioned soul. Even after much meditation and speculation, if one continues to think himself one with the Supreme Lord, it is to be understood that he is still in the last snares of the spell of māyā.
FAQs
This verse states that supreme devotion to Vāsudeva—the all-knowing Lord present as the indwelling Self—bestows self-realization and frees one from bondage.
Kapila teaches that devotion is not merely external worship; it is directed to the Supreme Lord who is also within as Paramātmā, and realizing Him within leads to liberation.
Cultivate a steady devotional attitude—hearing about the Lord, chanting His names, remembering Him, and offering daily actions to Him—so the mind becomes purified and bondage to anxiety and material craving loosens.