Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.7.30

bhṛgur uvāca

yan māyayā gahanayāpahṛtātma-bodhā

brahmādayas tanu-bhṛtas tamasi svapantaḥ

nātman-śritaḿ tava vidanty adhunāpi tattvaḿ

so 'yaḿ prasīdatu bhavān praṇatātma-bandhuḥ

SYNONYMS

bhṛguḥ uvāca — Śrī Bhṛgu said; yat — who; māyayā — by illusory energy; gahanayā — insurmountable; apahṛta — stolen; ātma-bodhāḥ — knowledge of the constitutional position; brahma-ādayaḥ — Lord Brahmā, etc.; tanu-bhṛtaḥ — embodied living entities; tamasi — in the darkness of illusion; svapantaḥ — lying down; na — not; ātman — in the living entity; śritam — situated in; tava — Your; vidanti — understand; adhunā — now; api — certainly; tattvam — absolute position; saḥ — You; ayam — this; prasīdatu — be kind; bhavān — Your Lordship; praṇata-ātma — surrendered soul; bandhuḥ — friend.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Bhṛgu said: My dear Lord, all living entities, beginning from the highest, namely Lord Brahmā, down to the ordinary ant, are under the influence of the insurmountable spell of illusory energy, and thus they are ignorant of their constitutional position. Everyone believes in the concept of the body, and all are thus submerged in the darkness of illusion. They are actually unable to understand how You live in every living entity as the Supersoul, nor can they understand Your absolute position. But You are the eternal friend and protector of all surrendered souls. Therefore, please be kind toward us and forgive all our offenses.

PURPORT

Bhṛgu Muni was conscious of the scandalous behavior exhibited by each and every one of them, including Brahmā and Lord Śiva, in the sacrificial ceremony of Dakṣa. By mentioning Brahmā, the chief of all living entities within this material world, he wanted to state that everyone, including also Brahmā and Lord Śiva, is under the concept of the body and under the spell of material energy — all but Viṣṇu. That is the version of Bhṛgu. As long as one is under the concept of the body as self, it is very difficult to understand the Supersoul or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Conscious that he was not greater than Brahma-, Bhṛgu included himself in the list of offenders. Ignorant personalities, or conditioned souls, have no choice but to accept their precarious condition under material nature. The only remedy is to surrender to Viṣṇu and always pray to be excused. One should depend only on the causeless mercy of the Lord for deliverance and not even slightly on one's own strength. That is the perfect position of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. The Lord is everyone's friend, but He is especially friendly to the surrendered soul. The simple process, therefore, is that a conditioned soul should remain surrendered to the Lord, and the Lord will give him all protection to keep him out of the clutches of material contamination.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness