Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 18
Guṇa-viveka, Haṁsa-gītā, and the Yoga that Cuts False Ego
श्रीभगवानुवाच एवं पृष्टो महादेव: स्वयम्भूर्भूतभावन: । ध्यायमान: प्रश्नबीजं नाभ्यपद्यत कर्मधी: ॥ १८ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca evaṁ pṛṣṭo mahā-devaḥ svayambhūr bhūta-bhāvanaḥ dhyāyamānaḥ praśna-bījaṁ nābhyapadyata karma-dhīḥ
Le Seigneur Suprême dit : Cher Uddhava, ainsi questionné, le grand deva Brahmā, né de lui-même et bienfaiteur des êtres, médita profondément sur la semence de la question de ses fils, menés par Sanaka ; mais son intelligence, troublée par son œuvre de création, ne put découvrir la réponse essentielle.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has quoted three verses from the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as follows. In the Ninth Chapter, verse 32, Lord Kṛṣṇa blessed Brahmā with realized knowledge of the Lord’s actual form, qualities and activities. In the Ninth Chapter, verse 37, the Lord ordered Brahmā to rigidly carry out the Lord’s injunctions and affirmed that Brahmā would thus never be bewildered in his cosmic decision-making. In the Sixth Chapter, verse 34, Lord Brahmā assured his son Nārada, “O Nārada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false, nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred, nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter.”
FAQs
It teaches that a mind fixed mainly on ritual action (karma) may fail to grasp the essential seed of a deeper spiritual question, which requires subtler realization.
The verse highlights a specific limitation: when intelligence is oriented toward karmic duty and ritual frameworks, the innermost essence of transcendental inquiry may remain elusive even for a great deity.
Do your duties, but prioritize inner inquiry, hearing, and devotion—so practice does not become mere routine, and the heart catches the purpose behind spiritual questions.