Shloka 43
Kapila’s Advent: Brahmā’s Confirmation, the Marriage of the Nine Daughters, and Kardama’s Renunciation
मनो ब्रह्मणि युञ्जानो यत्तत्सदसत: परम् । गुणावभासे विगुण एकभक्त्यानुभाविते ॥ ४३ ॥
mano brahmaṇi yuñjāno yat tat sad-asataḥ param guṇāvabhāse viguṇa eka-bhaktyānubhāvite
उसने मन को परब्रह्म, परम पुरुषोत्तम भगवान में स्थिर किया, जो कारण-कार्य से परे हैं, त्रिगुणों को प्रकट करते हुए भी त्रिगुणातीत हैं, और केवल अनन्य भक्ति से ही अनुभूत होते हैं।
Whenever there is bhakti, there must be three things present — the devotee, the devotion and the Lord. Without these three — bhakta, bhakti and Bhagavān — there is no meaning to the word bhakti. Kardama Muni fixed his mind on the Supreme Brahman and realized Him through bhakti, or devotional service. This indicates that he fixed his mind on the personal feature of the Lord because bhakti cannot be executed unless one has realization of the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Guṇāvabhāse: He is beyond the three modes of material nature, but it is due to Him that the three modes of material nature are manifested. In other words, although the material energy is an emanation of the Supreme Lord, He is not affected, as we are, by the modes of material nature. We are conditioned souls, but He is not affected, although the material nature has emanated from Him. He is the supreme living entity and is never affected by māyā, but we are subordinate, minute living entities, prone to be affected by the limitations of māyā. If he is in constant contact with the Supreme Lord by devotional service, the conditioned living entity also becomes freed from the infection of māyā. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā: sa guṇān samatītyaitān. A person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is at once liberated from the influence of the three modes of material nature. In other words, once the conditioned soul engages himself in devotional service, he also becomes liberated like the Lord.
FAQs
This verse teaches that the Supreme beyond sat and asat is directly experienced through exclusive, one-pointed devotion, even though He appears within the realm of the guṇas.
Kapila is instructing Devahūti in sāṅkhya-yoga and devotion, showing that steady absorption of the mind in the Absolute culminates in realizing the transcendental Lord who is beyond material modes.
By repeatedly bringing the mind back to the Supreme—through consistent prayer, mantra-japa, hearing sacred teachings, and dedicating daily actions—so devotion becomes focused rather than scattered.