Shloka 55
Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa (Brahmā-stuti) and the Restoration of Vraja’s Lunch Pastime
कृष्णमेनमवेहि त्वमात्मानमखिलात्मनाम् । जगद्धिताय सोऽप्यत्र देहीवाभाति मायया ॥ ५५ ॥
kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam ātmānam akhilātmanām jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra dehīvābhāti māyayā
నీవు కృష్ణుని సమస్త జీవుల ఆద్యాత్మగా తెలుసుకో. జగద్ధితార్థం ఆయన తన అంతరంగ శక్తిచేత సాధారణ మనుష్యునివలె దేహధారిగా ఇక్కడ ప్రకాశిస్తాడు.
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līla, Chapter Twenty, text 162, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse as follows: “Parīkṣit Mahārāja asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī why Kṛṣṇa was so beloved by the residents of Vṛndāvana, who loved Him even more than their own offspring or life itself. At that time, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied that everyone’s ātmā, or soul, is very, very dear, especially to all living entities who have accepted material bodies. However, that ātmā, the spirit soul, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. For this reason, Kṛṣṇa is very dear to every living entity. Everyone’s body is very dear to oneself, and one wants to protect the body by all means because within the body the soul is living. Due to the intimate relationship between the soul and the body, the body is important and dear to everyone. Similarly, the soul, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is very, very dear to all living entities. Unfortunately, the soul forgets his constitutional position and thinks he is only the body ( dehātma-buddhi ). Thus the soul is subjected to the rules and regulations of material nature. When a living entity, by his intelligence, reawakens his attraction for Kṛṣṇa, he can understand that he is not the body but part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Thus filled with knowledge, he no longer labors under attachment to the body and everything related to the body ( janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti ). Material existence, wherein one thinks, ‘I am the body, and this belongs to me,’ is also illusory. One must redirect his attraction to Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.7) states:
FAQs
This verse explains that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Self of all beings, yet He appears “as if” embodied in the world through His own māyā, for the welfare of all.
After being humbled by Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy in Vṛndāvana, Brahmā offers prayers acknowledging that Kṛṣṇa is the universal Self and that His seemingly human appearance is a divine, benevolent manifestation.
See the Divine presence behind appearances: don’t judge spiritual reality by externals, and cultivate devotion by recognizing that God may act within the world for the upliftment of all.