Text 39]
Creation of the Universal Form
257
mahātmānas tu mām pārtha daivīm prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
satatam kīrtayanto mām yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ na ma syantaś ca mām bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate.
(Bg. 9.13 -14)
The pure devotees of the Lord take shelter of the  parā-prakṛti , the internal potency of the Lord called Lakṣmīdevī, Śītādevī, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī or Śrīmatī Rukmīṇīdevī, and thus they become actual  mahātmās  or great souls.  Mahātmās  are not fond of indulging in mental speculations, but they actually take to the devotional service of the Lord, without the slightest deviation. Devotional service is manifested by the primary process of hearing and chanting about the activities of the Lord. This transcendental method practiced by the  mahātmās  gives them sufficient knowledge of the Lord because if the Lord can at all be known to some extent, it is only through the means of devotional service and no other way. One may go on speculating and waste the valuable time of his human life, but that will not help anyone to enter into the precincts of the Lord. The  mahātmās , however, are not concerned with knowing the Lord by mental speculation because they enjoy hearing about His glorious activities in His transcendental dealings with His devotees or with the demons. The devotees take pleasure in both and are happy in this life and the life after.
TEXT 39
अतो भगवतो माया मायिनामपि मोहिनी । यत्स्वयं चात्मवत्मात्मा न वेद क्रियतापरे ॥३९॥
ato bhagavato māyā māyinām api mohinī yat svayam cātma-vartmātmā na veda kim-utāpare
ataḥ—therefore; bhagavataḥ—godly; māyā—potencies; māyinām—of the jugglers; api—even; mohinī—enchanting; yat—that which; svayam—personally; ca—also; ātma-vartma—self-sufficient; ātmā—self; na—does not; veda—know; kim—what; uta—to speak of; apare—others.
TRANSLATION
The wonderful potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is bewildering even to the jugglers. That potential power is unknown even to the self-sufficient Lord, so it is certainly unknown to others.