516
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 9]
never the Lord Himself. And as the reflection of the Lord, the existence of the living entity is dependent on the Supreme Lord, who is the original light. This material energy may be compared with darkness, as actually it is darkness, and the activities of the living entities in the darkness are reflections of the original light. The Lord should be understood by the context of this verse. Nondependence of both the energies of the Lord is explained as  māyā , or illusion. No one can make a solution of the darkness of ignorance simply by the reflection of light. Similarly, no one can come out of the material existence simply by the reflected light of the common man, but one has to receive the light from the original light itself. The reflection of sunlight in the darkness is unable to drive out the darkness, but the sunlight which is outside the reflection can drive out the darkness completely. In darkness no one can see the things in a room. Therefore a person in the dark is afraid of snakes and scorpions, although there may not be such things. But in the light the things in the room can be clearly seen, and the fear of snakes and scorpions is at once removed. Therefore one has to take shelter of the light of the Lord, as in the  Bhagavad-gītā  or the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , and not the reflective personalities who have no touch with the Lord. No one should hear  Bhagavad-gītā  or  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  from a person who is a nonbeliever in the existence of the Lord. Such a person is already doomed, and any association with such a doomed person makes the associater also doomed.
According to the  Padma Purāṇa , within the material compass there are innumerable material universes, and all of them are full of darkness. Any living being, beginning from Brahmās (there are innumerable Brahmās also in innumerable universes) to the insignificant ant, are all born in darkness, and they require factual light from the Lord to see Him directly, just as the sun can be seen only by the direct light of the sun. No lamp or manmade torchlight, however powerful it may be, can help one to see the sun. The sun reveals itself. Therefore the action of different energies of the Lord or the Personality of Godhead Himself can be realized by the light manifested by the causeless mercy of the Lord. The impersonalists say that God cannot be seen. God can be seen by the light of God and not by manmade speculations. Here it is specifically mentioned as  vidyāt , which is an order by the Lord to Brahmā. This direct order of the Lord is a manifestation of His internal energy, and this particular energy is the means of seeing the Lord eye to eye. Not only Brahmā but anyone who may be graced by the Lord to see such merciful direct internal energy can also realize the Personality of Godhead without any mental speculation.