SB 10.51.56 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तस्माद्विसृज्याशिष ईश सर्वतो रजस्तम:सत्त्वगुणानुबन्धना: । निरञ्जनं निर्गुणमद्वयं परं त्वां ज्ञाप्तिमात्रं पुरुषं व्रजाम्यहम् ॥ ५६ ॥

Verse text

tasmād visṛjyāśiṣa īśa sarvato rajas-tamaḥ-sattva-guṇānubandhanāḥ niraṣjanaṁ nirguṇam advayaṁ paraṁ tvāṁ jṣāpti-mātraṁ puruṣaṁ vrajāmy aham

Synonyms

tasmāt — therefore ; visṛjya — putting aside ; āśiṣaḥ — desirable objects ; īśa — O Lord ; sarvataḥ — entirely ; rajaḥ — with passion ; tamaḥ — ignorance ; sattva — and goodness ; guṇa — the material modes ; anu — bandhanāḥ — entangled ; niraṣjanam — free from mundane designations ; nirguṇam — transcendental to the material modes ; advayam — nondual ; param — supreme ; tvām — You ; jṣāpti — mātram — pure knowledge ; puruṣam — the original person ; vrajāmi — am approaching ; aham — I .

Translation

Therefore, O Lord, having put aside all objects of material desire, which are bound to the modes of passion, ignorance and goodness, I am approaching You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for shelter. You are not covered by mundane designations; rather, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, full in pure knowledge and transcendental to the material modes.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Therefore, O Lord, having put aside all objects of material desire, which are bound to the modes of passion, ignorance and goodness, I am approaching You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for shelter. You are not covered by mundane designations; rather, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, full in pure knowledge and transcendental to the material modes. KB 10.51.56 “I therefore surrender unto You because You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the Supersoul living in everyone’s heart, and You are the impersonal Brahman effulgence. Moreover, You are also this material world, because this material world is only the manifestation of Your external energy. Therefore, from any angle of vision, You are the supreme shelter for everyone. Whether on the material plane or the spiritual plane, everyone must take shelter under Your lotus feet. I therefore submit unto You, my Lord.

Purport

The word nirguṇam here indicates that the Lord’s existence is beyond the qualities of material nature. One might argue that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body is made of material nature, but here the word advayam refutes that argument. There is no duality in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s existence. His eternal, spiritual body is Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is God.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this veres Mucukunda clarifies his desirelessness for all objects of the world. Having given up relation with sattva raja and tama gunas, I also give up liberation related to sattva guna, which causes jnana. I pray for bhakti which consists of service to your lotus feet, which is beyond the three gunas. The eleventh chapter of Gita states that bhakti is beyond the three modes. I attain (vrajami) you, as a person (purusam). "But some say that my form as a person is brahman covered by maya. "No, you are without the gunas, nirguna, without covering (niranjana). " "Yes I may be without gunas, but some people say that my body is made of the gunas." "You and your body are not different (advayam). You are your body." "What is the nature of that body?" "It is cit svarupa, Brahman (jnapti matram)." Another meaning: "Because the world is made of your energy, it is not different from you advaya. But you by your svarupa sakti are a body of pure knowledge."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

I reject all results (aśiśaḥ) completely, even liberation, which are contrary to serving your feet. Even jñāna is in sattva and therefore a cause of bondage. Service to your feet however is beyond the guṇas. sāttviky ādhyātmikī śraddhā karma-śraddhā tu rājasī tāmasy adharme yā śraddhā mat-sevāyāṁ tu nirguṇā Faith in ātmā is in sattva, faith in prescribed karma is in rajas, faith in irreligious activities is in tamas, but faith in my devotional service is beyond the guṇas. SB 11.25.27 I surrender to you the Lord (puruṣam), the form of condensed knowledge (jñaptimātram), since you are spotless, because you are beyond the guṇas (nirguṇam), since you are advayam. I surrender to you, Svayam Bhagavān, who have appeared in this form before me. This meaning is consistent with other statements in Bhāgavatam. Satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi: I meditate upon the Lord known as Satya. (SB 1.1.1) Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: of all the forms mentioned Kṛṣṇa is the perfect manifestation of all qualities. (SB 1.3.28) Ādyo ‘vatāraḥ puruṣaḥ parasya: Mahā-viṣṇu is an expansion of the Lord in the spiritual sky. (SB 2.6.82) atha vā bahunaitena kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna | viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat ||42|| But what is the use of knowing all these individual vibhūtis, Arjuna? Please understand: by just one portion of Myself, I am firmly established in this universe. BG 10.42 According to Gītā the antaryāmī is known as Paramātmā: tvāṁ yogino yajanty addhā mahā-puruṣam īśvaram sādhyātmaṁ sādhibhūtaṁ ca sādhidaivaṁ ca sādhavaḥ Pure yogīs worship you, the Supreme Lord, by conceiving of you in the threefold form comprising the living entities, the material elements that constitute the living entities’ bodies, and the controlling deities of those elements. SB 10.40.4 Kṛṣṇa is jñapti-mātram or the Brahman spread everywhere as consciousness alone: jñāna-mātraṁ paraṁ brahma paramātmeśvaraḥ pumān dṛśy-ādibhiḥ pṛthag bhāvair bhagavān eka īyate The one form of Bhagavān also perceived as Brahman, consciousness alone, and as Paramātmā, the puruṣa, by differing practices performed by different practitioners. SB 3.32.26 vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam | brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate || The knowers of truth call this truth advayam-jñānam, the supreme conscious being, who is called brahman by the jñānīs, Paramātmā by the yogīs and Bhagavān by the devotees. SB 1.2.11 You are beyond māyā in these three forms. You are without upādhis (nirañjanam), situated in your svarūpa with no coverings. As Bhagavān and Paramātmā you are without qualities—beyond the material guṇas but having spiritual qualities which are part of your svarūpa (nirguṇam). māṁ bhajanti guṇāḥ sarve nirguṇaṁ nirapekṣakam suhṛdaṁ priyam ātmānaṁ sāmyāsaṅgādayo ’guṇāḥ All superior qualities, which are eternal, such as equality to all beings and attachment to my devotee, reside in me. I am beyond the material guṇas, not dependent on material qualities, and am the devotees’ friend, giving love to them. SB 11.13.40 You have no one equal or superior to you and nothing different from you (advayam). Though you are consciousness alone, your svarūpa-śakti can be realized since it is the nature of the Lord. Īkṣater nāśabdam: the Lord is expressed through words. (Brahma-sūtra 1.1.5) According to the commentary he who is knowledge personified does not need jñāna-sādhana for realization. His very nature is revelation. Therefore he does not depend on a sādhana to be revealed. The scriptures clearly state this in regards to Bhagavān and Paramātmā. na tasya kāryam karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat samaś cābhyadhikaśca dṛśyate parāsya śaktir vivdhaiva śruyate svābhāvikī jñana-bala-kriya ca He has no body and no senses. No one is equal to him or higher. His supreme power is manifold. His actions are naturally revealed with knowledge and strength. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad Apāṇipādo javano grahītā He is without hands and feet but quickly accepts what is offered. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vṛṇute tanuṁ svām || The Lord reveals his form to whomsoever he chooses. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.4 Or, he is completely attractive (nirañjanam). He increases (guṇayati) unlimitedly with distribution of bhakti. He is without rivals (advayam). One of his portions (mātram) is Brahman (jñapti). You are eternity knowledge and bliss, with unlimited śaktis in a human form. I approach you as my object of service (vrajāmi).

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

I reject all results (aśiśaḥ) completely, even liberation, which are contrary to serving your feet. Even jñāna is in sattva and therefore a cause of bondage. I surrender to your alone (advayam). Why? You are the supreme lord (param puruṣam) or the supreme person. Therefore you have unlimited qualities (nirguṇam) or you expand unlimitedly by spreading bhakti. Therefore you are continually attractive (nirañjanam). Since you are pure knowledge, you are awareness itself, with no dependence on another source of knowledge. I approach you. Let others accept other results. O I have great longing for a long time. “I cannot give that for which you take shelter of me.” You are capable of giving everything (īśa). Or you know more than what is to be known from other sources (jñapti-mātram). You can give more than what is requested (īśa).