Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 25
Nārada’s Protection of Kayādhu and Prahlāda’s Womb-Instructions: Ātma-tattva and the Path of Bhakti
बुद्धेर्जागरणं स्वप्न: सुषुप्तिरिति वृत्तय: । ता येनैवानुभूयन्ते सोऽध्यक्ष: पुरुष: पर: ॥ २५ ॥
buddher jāgaraṇaṁ svapnaḥ suṣuptir iti vṛttayaḥ tā yenaivānubhūyante so ’dhyakṣaḥ puruṣaḥ paraḥ
బుద్ధి క్రియలు మూడు స్థితుల్లో కనిపిస్తాయి—జాగరణ, స్వప్నం, సుషుప్తి. ఈ మూడింటినీ అనుభవించే సాక్షి పరమ పురుషుడు, అధీశ్వరుడు, భగవానుడు।
Without intelligence one cannot understand the direct activities of the senses, nor can he understand dreaming or the cessation of all gross and subtle activities. The seer and controller is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Soul, by whose direction the individual soul can understand when he is awake, when he is sleeping, and when he is completely in trance. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) the Lord says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” The living entities are completely absorbed in the three states of wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep through their intelligence. This intelligence is supplied by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who accompanies the individual soul as a friend. Śrīla Madhvācārya says that the living entity is sometimes described as sattva-buddhi when his intelligence acts directly to perceive pains and pleasures above activities. There is a dreaming state in which understanding comes from the Supreme Personality of Godhead ( mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca ). The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, is the supreme controller, and under His direction the living entities are subcontrollers. One must understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead with one’s intelligence.
FAQs
In this verse (7.7.25), Prahlāda explains that waking, dreaming, and deep sleep are functions of the intellect, and they are known because the Supreme Person within acts as the witness who enables their experience.
Prahlāda taught his classmates spiritual knowledge beyond material education—showing that behind changing mental states there is the Supreme overseer (Paramātmā), the true object of realization and devotion.
By observing that thoughts and states change while the inner witness remains, one can detach from anxiety and cultivate remembrance of the Lord as Paramātmā—supporting steadiness in bhakti, meditation, and ethical living.