FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.3.10

नम आत्मप्रदीपाय साक्षिणे परमात्मने । नमो गिरां विदूराय मनसश्चेतसामपि ॥ १० ॥
nama ātma-pradīpāya
[nama aatma-pradeepaaya]
sākṣiṇe paramātmane
[saakshine paramaatmane]
namo girāṁ vidūrāya
[namo giraam vidooraaya]
manasaś cetasām api
[manasash chetasaam api]
Word-for-word
namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances ātma-pradīpāya — unto Him who is self-effulgent or who gives enlightenment to the living entities sākṣiṇe — who is situated in everyone’s heart as a witness parama-ātmane — unto the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances girām — by words vidūrāya — who is impossible to reach manasaḥ — by the mind cetasām — or by consciousness api — even.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nama ātma-pradīpāya
namaḥ
I offer my respectful obeisances
ātma-pradīpāya
unto Him who is self-effulgent or who gives enlightenment to the living entities
sākṣiṇe paramātmane
sākṣiṇe
who is situated in everyone’s heart as a witness
parama-ātmane
unto the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul
namo girāṁ vidūrāya
namaḥ
I offer my respectful obeisances
girām
by words
vidūrāya
who is impossible to reach
manasaś cetasām api
manasaḥ
by the mind
cetasām
or by consciousness
api
even.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the self-effulgent Supersoul, who is the witness in everyone’s heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness.
Purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, cannot be understood by the individual soul through mental, physical or intellectual exercises. It is by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that the individual soul is enlightened. Therefore, the Lord is described here as ātma-pradīpa. The Lord is like the sun, which illuminates everything and cannot be illuminated by anyone. Therefore, if one is serious about understanding the Supreme, one must receive enlightenment from Him, as instructed in Bhagavad-gītā. One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s mental, physical or intellectual powers.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
I offer respects to the Paramātmā who reveals the jīva, who is the witness of the jīva, and who is not approachable by the jīva’s words, mind or citta. The Lord is not understood by the mind and words of the jīva. The Lord is the revealer of knowledge to the jīva (ātmā-pradīpāya). That which is revealed does not know the nature of the revealer. deho 'savo 'kṣā manavo bhūta-mātrām ātmānam anyaṁ ca viduḥ paraṁ yat sarvaṁ pumān veda guṇāṁś ca taj-jño na veda sarva-jñam anantam īḍe The body, life airs, senses, internal senses, gross elements and sense objects do not know themselves or other things or the jīva. The jīva knows all of these items and the guṇas which cause them. He also knows Paramātmā, but does not know the omniscient Lord. I worship that Lord with infinite qualities. SB 6.4.25 I offer respects to the Lord who cannot be understood (vidūrāya) by the actions of the jīva’s consciousness (cetasām).
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The Lord is the self-effulgent Supersoul who alone enlightens the individual soul; He cannot be reached by mental or verbal exercise. Spiritual knowledge dawns from His side, not ours. Practice with humility and wait for the light He alone can give.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I still trying to figure out the Lord by clever thinking?
  • How can I shift from 'understanding harder' to 'asking more sincerely'?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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