Shloka 35
Kapila’s Devotional Sāṅkhya: Sādhu-saṅga, Bhakti-yoga, and Fearlessness in the Supreme Shelter
पश्यन्ति ते मे रुचिराण्यम्ब सन्त: प्रसन्नवक्त्रारुणलोचनानि । रूपाणि दिव्यानि वरप्रदानि साकं वाचं स्पृहणीयां वदन्ति ॥ ३५ ॥
paśyanti te me rucirāṇy amba santaḥ prasanna-vaktrāruṇa-locanāni rūpāṇi divyāni vara-pradāni sākaṁ vācaṁ spṛhaṇīyāṁ vadanti
O My mother, My saintly devotees always behold My charming form—My smiling face and eyes tinged like the rising morning sun. They delight to see My many transcendental forms, all benevolent and bestowing boons, and they also speak with Me in words that are dear and pleasing.
Māyāvādīs and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Personality of Godhead in His arcā incarnation. Arcā refers to the form which we can worship in our present condition. Actually, in our present state it is not possible to see God in His spiritual form because our material eyes and senses cannot conceive of a spiritual form. We cannot even see the spiritual form of the individual soul. When a man dies we cannot see how the spiritual form leaves the body. That is the defect of our material senses. In order to be seen by our material senses, the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts a favorable form, which is called arcā-vigraha. This arcā-vigraha, sometimes called the arcā incarnation, is not different from Him. Just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts various incarnations, He takes on forms made out of matter — clay, wood, metal and jewels.
FAQs
This verse says saintly devotees behold the Lord’s charming, compassionate divine forms and relish speaking and hearing words about Him—an inner life marked by serene joy and attraction to Hari-kathā.
Kapiladeva is teaching his mother the glory of bhakti: by saintly association and devotion, one gains direct realization of the Lord’s form and develops deep taste for speaking and hearing spiritual topics.
Seek sādhus and satsanga, cultivate steady hearing/chanting of the Lord’s names and teachings, and let devotion reshape speech and attention toward what purifies the heart.