NBS#29 The Appearance of Lord Kapila Jan. 2016 | Page 7

Issue no 29, Page 7

Sri BaladevaVidyabhushana

nityaà bhägavata-sevayä

deeds. For this purpose I appear, sambhavämi yuge
yuge (Bhagavad-gétä 4.8) millennium after millennium
to deliver My devotees. Being the Supreme Lord over
all, even though I am one, desiring to uphold truth, I
appear in many forms such as Narasimhadev, Lord
Ramacandra, etc, just as a Vaidurya gem changes colour
yet remains one. Whenever and wherever I appear, My
appearance and My dealings in relationship with My
devotees both are spiritual, beyond the material modes,
and eternal.”
As it is stated in the Vedic scriptures: eko devo nityalélänurakto bhakta-vyäpé bhakta-hådyantar-ätmä
—“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally
engaged in many, many transcendental forms in
relationships with His unalloyed devotees, in the past,
present, and future. Thus, the Vedas declare My birth
and activities to be spiritual, and I also confirm this. O
Arjuna! One who understands this in truth, having firm
faith in My words, without reasoning, he will not take
birth again in this material world after giving up this
present body, but he will come to Me. He will enter into
My pleasing pastimes, he will be liberated.”
Tattvataù can also refer to the Vedic version tat tvam
asi, meaning You (the Lord) are the Supreme Brahman,

accepting which leads to liberation. Then, tattvataù will
not be translated as knowing My birth and activities
in truth, but as knowing them as being of the nature
of Brahman. In other words, as is stated in the Vedic
scriptures tam eva viditväati måtyum eti nänyaù panthä
vidyate ’yanäya — "One can attain the perfect stage of
liberation from birth and death simply by knowing the
Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and there is
no other way to achieve this perfection." More proof for
the eternal nature of the Lord's birth, etc, is seen in more
detail in other places.
— Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä As It Is » Chapter 4 -Transcendental Knowledge
» Verse: 9 . Translated by Vrajsevika devi dasi ·

How Should One Approach The Supreme Lord?
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
The Supreme Lord cannot be known through our
intellectual efforts. Unless He gives us the power of
knowing Him, we cannot know Him. It is His mercy. If
He is not at all merciful to us, we wont be able, by our
strenuous exertions, to approach Him. The thing is that
we have to approach Him and He has to give us the
facility of approaching Him. He is the Autocrat – He is the
Despot – He has the fullest freedom. We cannot, by our
flimsy little way of thinking and by any of our attempts,
reach Him in any way. So craving is the only need in
us by which we can surmount all these difficulties, the
barriers and the impediments of these phenomena. The
objective references of the reciprocated entities of our
senses, will never disclose Him unless He is so lenient
to show us that latitude as to be approachable by us.
This is the only method by which we can approach the
Absolute. It will be a tremendous task for us to have an
access to Him through our intellectualism and labour
and our senses confined to finite things. So we should
show our aptitude for craving for His mercy. This is
bhakti.
Bhakti represents devotion – transcendental devotion.
Transcendental devotion need not be covered by our
thoughts, fruitive attempts or desire for salvation. If we
mix up bhakti with worldly ideas – finitudinal ideas- it
will not lead us to the Absolute. Our ideas are wrong,
they are quite inadequate for the purpose of leading us
to the Absolute. Unless the Absolute condescends to
be seen or worshipped by us, it would be quite useless
to make efforts to approach Him. At t