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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.21.33
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 33
- maitreya uvāca
- evaṁ tam anubhāṣyātha
- bhagavān pratyag-akṣajaḥ
- jagāma bindusarasaḥ
- sarasvatyā pariśritāt
maitreyaḥthe great sage Maitreya said uvācathe great sage Maitreya said — the great sage Maitreya said; evamthus — thus; tamto him — to him; anubhāṣyahaving spoken — having spoken; athathen — then; bhagavānthe Lord — the Lord; pratyakdirectly — directly; akṣaby senses — by senses; jaḥwho is perceived — who is perceived; jagāmawent away — went away; bindufrom Lake Bindu-sarovara-sarasaḥfrom Lake Bindu-sarovara — from Lake Bindu-sarovara; sarasvatyāby the River Sarasvatī — by the River Sarasvatī; pariśritātencircled — encircled.
Maitreya went on: Thus having spoken to Kardama Muni, the Lord, who reveals Himself only when the senses are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, departed from that lake called Bindu-sarovara, which was encircled by the River Sarasvatī.
One word in this verse is very significant. The Lord is stated here to be pratyag-akṣaja. He is imperceptible to material senses, but still He can be seen. This appears to be contradictory. We have material senses, but how can we see the Supreme Lord? He is called adhokṣaja, which means that He cannot be seen by the material senses. Akṣaja means "knowledge perceived by material senses." Because the Lord is not an object that can be understood by speculation with our material senses, He is also called ajita; He will conquer, but no one can conquer Him. What does it mean, then, that still He can be seen? It is explained that no one can hear the transcendental name of Kṛṣṇa, no one can understand His transcendental form, and no one can assimilate His transcendental pastimes. It is not possible. Then how is it possible that He can be seen and understood? When one is trained in devotional service and renders service unto Him, gradually one's senses are purified of material contamination. When one's senses are thus purified, then one can see, one can understand, one can hear and so on. The purification of the material senses and perception of the transcendental form, name and quality of Kṛṣṇa are combined together in one word, pratyag-akṣaja, which is used here.