Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.38.11
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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īkṣitā
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the witness, the seer
From √īkṣ — to see. Bhāgavata's preferred term for Bhagavān's primal cognitive act: He sees the prakṛti and worlds emerge. Gauḍīyas hold this seeing as the personal initiating act, against Māyāvāda's notion of impersonal awareness.
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asat - satoḥ
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of material products and causes
Compound dual: asat (effect, perishable) + sat (cause, enduring). The whole sāṅkhya-machinery of prakṛti. Bhagavān is the witness of both without being conditioned by either — acintya-bhedābheda in compressed form.
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sva - tejasā
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by His personal potency
Compound: sva (own) + tejas (effulgence, potency). Gauḍīyas read sva-tejas as svarūpa-śakti, the internal energy by which the Lord dispels māyā. Distinct from prakṛti, which is the external energy.
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sva - māyayā
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by His material creative energy
Compound: sva + māyā. Māyā is His own — not an independent power, not illusion in the Māyāvāda sense. Gauḍīyas distinguish māyā-śakti (external) from yoga-māyā (internal); both are sva-māyā of the Lord.
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ātman
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within Himself
Here ātman refers to Bhagavān Himself as the locus within which jīvas are produced. Gauḍīyas read this carefully: jīvas exist within Him as His parts (cf. BG 15.7, mamaivāṁśo), without becoming Him — the bheda inside the abheda.
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tat - īkṣayā
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by His glancing upon that māyā
Compound: tat (that) + īkṣā (glance). The cosmic glance — Bhagavān's apāṅga-pāta on prakṛti is the trigger of creation. Personal initiation, not impersonal emergence. Gauḍīyas regard this glance as Mahā-Viṣṇu's puruṣa-avatāra act.
In this verse Akrūra establishes the all-powerful position of the Supreme Lord, whom he is about to see in Vṛndāvana. The false concept of separation from the Lord is described in the Eleventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam (11.2.37) : bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smṛtiḥ. Although all existence emanates from the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa, we imagine a “second thing,” this material world, to be entirely separate from the Lord’s existence. With this mentality, we try to exploit that “second thing” for our sense gratification. Thus the psychological underpinning of material life is the illusion that this world is somehow separate from God and therefore meant for our enjoyment. It is ironic that the impersonal philosophers, in their radical renunciation of this world, claim it to be utterly false and totally separate from the Absolute. Unfortunately, this artificial attempt to divest this world of its divine nature, or, in other words, its relation to God, does not lead people to utterly reject it but rather to try to enjoy it. While it is true that this world is temporary and thus in one sense illusory, the mechanism of illusion is a spiritual potency of the Supreme Lord. Realizing this, we should immediately desist from any attempt to exploit this world; rather, we should recognize it as God’s energy. We will actually give up our material desires only when we understand that this world belongs to God and is therefore not meant for our selfish gratification. The word abhīyate here refers to a process of surmising the presence of the Lord through meditative introspection. This process is also described in the Second Canto of the Bhāgavatam (2.2.35) : bhagavān sarva-bhūteṣu lakṣitaḥ svātmanā hariḥ dṛśyair buddhy-ādibhir draṣṭā lakṣaṇair anumāpakaiḥ “The Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is in every living being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the intelligence.” Akrūra states that the Lord is free of the egoistic pride afflicting ordinary, embodied souls. Yet the Lord appears to be embodied like everyone else, and therefore someone might object to the statement that He is free of egoism. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments on this puzzle as follows: “How can we distinguish between being free of false ego and being afflicted by it? ‘If a living entity is situated in a body,’ [argues the objector,] ‘he will encounter the unhappiness and confusion that occur within it, just as a person living in a house, whether he be attached to it or not, cannot avoid experiencing the darkness, warmth and cold that occur within it.’ This objection is answered as follows: By His internal potency the Lord dispels the darkness of ignorance along with the separateness and bewilderment it produces.”
"One should realize the beauty of human like form of Krsna with the eyes. Krsna is now in Nanda grama, but as he resides in the heart, he can be realized through inference. Like me there exist many people everywhere, who must see him in this way. He is the seer of the good and bad actions of all jivas. Though residing in all bodies he is devoid of false bodily identification (aham rahito’pi), though the jiva has false identity (indicated by api). He resides in all entities, devoid of false ego as the witness of everything." "Why should there be consideration of having or not having false ego? As long as one is situated in a body he must be subject to sorrow and illusion. If one is situated in a house, whether attached or unattached, he will experience darkness, hot or cold." "By the cit sakti (sva tejasa) ignorance and its results separateness and illusion cannot touch him. From the creation of the jiva endowed with prana, senses and intelligence, one can infer the creator, and infer his presence in each body. As it has been said, "guna prakasair anumiyate bhavan." But the most fortunate result is to realize the beauty of your form."
Three verses are joined together with the main clause in verse 13 with “he has appeared in the Sātvata dynasty.” Śrīdhara Svāmī says that these verses answer the objection “If Kṛṣṇa enjoys and performs actions like us, how can he be considered Viṣṇu?” This is the opinion of a skeptic, since Akrūra has already stated his firm faith in Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the agent in the creations of māyā which attains ability by his glance. In glancing, he is devoid of absorption in the task (ahaṁ-rahitaḥ). By not being absorbed, he is completely different from jīvas. By his cit-śakti (sva-tejasā) he dissolves absorption in ignorance and ideas concerning difference. This distinguishes the Lord from jivanmuktas who have destroyed ignorance. Cit-śakti means yoga-māyā. “Through the yoga-māyā of the Lord, the Kumāras attained Vaikuṇṭha.” (SB 3.15.26) Thus the cit-śakti of the Lord and his direct presence are not different. The śakti causes the destruction of ignorance. The Lord is perceived by the jīvas endowed with karmendriyas (prāṇa), jñānedriyas (akṣa) and the antaḥkaraṇa (dhībhiḥ) in the ātmā, the aṁśa of the Lord. Mamaivāṁśo jīvaloke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ: the eternal jīvas are my aṁśas. (BG 15.7) jāgrat svapnaḥ suṣuptaṁ ca guṇato buddhi-vṛttayaḥ tāsāṁ vilakṣaṇo jīvaḥ sākṣitvena viniścitaḥ Waking, sleeping and deep sleep, the three functions of the intelligence, are caused by the three guṇas. The jīva is ascertained to be different from these three states since it is only the witness of them. SB 11.13.27 Thus in this verse ātman refers to the jīva. The pure jīva as the observer can perceive the Lord though covered by senses and antaḥkaraṇa. These jīvas are endowed with senses by māyā, by the glance of the Lord, since māyā does not have capacity on her own. The jīvas do not have enough knowledge on their own to accomplish this, since they are dependent on the Lord. The Lord who is attached to performing playful actions among the trees of Vṛndāvana and in the gopīs’ houses (sadaneśu) can be perceived in front of (abhi) these jīvas. Again and again Akrūra had doubts that he would see Kṛṣṇa since he was so playful. Since Kṛṣṇa would perceive that Akrūra was not attached in their type of prema, Kṛṣṇa may not be visible to his eyes. Or, because he destroys the jīvas’ ignorance and the resultant perception of difference and confusion (bhramaḥ) by his cit-śakti in their bodies, the Lord is perceived by conditioned jīvas produced by the Lord’s māyā, by jīvas who have attained action and knowledge senses as well as antaḥkaraṇa by the influence of cause and effect. Without that influence the senses etc. cannot do their actions.
He creates by his glance, without ahaṅkāra. This distinguishes the Lord from the jīvas. He destroys ignorance by his cit śakti. This distinguishes him from jīvanmuktas. Jīvanmuktas do not have cit-śakti. Prāṇa refers to the life force or to five gross elements and sense objects. Akṣa refers to the senses. Dhi refers to the antaḥkaraṇa. The Lord is perceived by the jīvas endowed with prāṇas (prāṇa), senses (akṣa) and the antaḥkaraṇa (dhībhiḥ). Since the associates are not covered by māyā, they only appear to have attachments (as does the Lord). By his will (tad-īkṣayā), using māyā, which has no power on its own, he manifests these senses in these persons. This means that by his power they act as if attached. On their own they cannot perceive the truth. They depend on him alone. The appearance of being attached is actually not true. Their loss of knowledge is caused by the Lord. Or “Why do you want to see me herding cows. It is filled with identity of ahaṅkāra.” You are devoid of ahaṅkāra as the cause of the universe of cause and effect. Devoid of the concept of I and mine, destroying ignorance by your cit śakti, you are realized by people in the house of Nanda and others as if being attached. These people are accepted by you as your own using their prāṇas, senses, minds. Without serving you, without perceiving you, the senses, and minds would be useless. “Is perceiving him rare?” His rareness is described by three descriptive terms. Even in one’s house he is perceived by the jīvas by searching for him (ikṣayā). What to speak of seeing him in Nanda’s house? The cause is his mercy (sva-māyayā). In order to attain him, by his mercy he makes them with prāṇas, senses and mind. Or by his glance (īkṣayā) endowed with his mercy (sva-māyayā), he is attained without fear (abhi īyate), by those who are created, using their praṇas and senses. Jāyamānaṁ hi puruṣaṁ paśyed yaṁ madhusūdanaḥ Sāttvikaḥ sa tu vijñeyo bhaven mokṣārtha-niścitaḥ The person upon whom the Lord glances with mercy is understood to be spiritual and fixed in bhakti. Mokṣa-dharma Or though the Lord is devoid of ahaṅkāra, and though he destroys ignorance, by his great power he glances (īkṣitā) upon the subtle and gross, or the low and the elevated souls. This shows his great mercy. The Lord is realized by these jīvas who are completely controlled by māyā when the jīvas engage their prāṇas, senses and mind. The activities of prāṇa are bodily actions. The activities of the senses are various services. The activities of the mind are faith etc.
- UM SB 10-38-11 - Detachment - 2022-08-01 Hillsborough
- Revati Raman Pr SB 10-38-11 - 2011-12-23 ISKCON Tirupati
- Bhanu Sw SB 10-38-11 - Akrura glorifying Krsna about Creation and Processes offered for Jivas to realize Him - ISKCON Chennai
- 08 - RGS SB 10-38-11-12%20 - Akrura Manoratha Part-08 - Vrindavan
- 11 - RGS SB 10-38-11-19 - Yugal Geet-11 - 2007 Haridwar
- Romapada Sw SB 10-38-11 - Akruras arrival in Vrindavan-01 - 2020-09-23 Palatine
- Romapada Sw SB 10-38-11 - Akruras arrival in Vrindavan-02 - 2020-09-23 Palatine
- Where do you mistake the inner light of awareness for your own achievement?
- How does recognizing Kṛṣṇa as the witness change your experience of daily perception?
The sun is the cause of every shadow, yet no shadow falls on the sun. Kṛṣṇa is the seer behind every seeing, the māyā that produces the world is His own glance, and yet He stands unshadowed by what He projects — the philosophical heart of acintya-bhedābheda put on Akrūra's tongue.
My note
Source: vedabase.io