Text 35]
Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed
315
recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my birth.
PURPORT
Brahmā, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe, is admitting his failure to know the Supreme Lord in spite of his vast learning in the Vedic wisdom, austerity, penance, mystic powers and self-realization, and despite being worshiped by the great Prajāpatis, the forefathers of the living entities. So these qualifications are not sufficient to know the Supreme Lord. Brahmājī could understand the Lord to a little extent only when he was trying to serve Him by the eagerness of his heart ( hṛdaut-kaṇṭhya ), which is the devotional service mood. Therefore, the Lord can be known only by the sincere mood of eagerness for service, and not by any amount of material qualification as scientist or speculative philosopher or by attainment of mystic powers. This fact is clearly corroborated in the  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 18.54-55):
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parāṁ. bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad anantaram.
Self-realization only, by attainment of the above high qualifications of Vedic wisdom, austerity, etc., can help one on the path of devotional service. But failing in devotional service, one remains still imperfect because even in that position of self-realization, one cannot factually know the Supreme Lord. By self-realization, one is qualified to become a devotee, and the devotee, by service mood ( bhaktyā ) only, can gradually know the Personality of Godhead. ● one should not, however, misunderstand the import of  viśate  (enters into) as being merged into the existence of the Supreme. Even in the material existence, one is merged in the existence of the Lord. No materialist can disentangle self from matter due to the self's being merged in the external energy of the Lord. As no layman can separate butter from milk, similarly no one can extricate the merged self from matter by acquiring some material qualification. This  viśate  by devotion ( bhakti ) means to be able to participate in the association of the Lord in person.  Bhakti , or devotional service of the Lord, means to become free from the material entanglement and then to enter into the kingdom