346
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 9]
TEXT 11
त्वं मक्तियोगपरिभावितहृत्सरोज आस्से श्रुतेक्षितपथो ननु नाथ पुंसाम् ।
यद्यद्विया त उरुगाय विभावयन्ति
तत्तद्वपुः प्रणयसे सदनुग्रहाय ॥११॥
tvam bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha pumṣām yad yad dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti tat-tad-vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya
tvam—unto You; bhakti-yoga—in devotional service; paribhāvita—being one hundred percent engaged; hṛt—of the heart; saroje—on the lotus; āsse—You reside; śruta-īkṣita—seen through the ear; pathaḥ—the path; nanu—now; nātha—O my Lord; pumṣām—of the devotees; yat yat—whichever; dhiyā—by meditating; te—Your; urugāya—O Multi-glorious; vibhāvayanti—they specifically think of; tat-tat—the very same; vapuḥ—transcendental form; praṇayase—do You manifest; sat-anugrahāya—to show Your causeless mercy.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, Your devotees can see You through the ears by the process of bona fide hearing, and thus their hearts become cleansed, and You take Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You.
PURPORT
The statement here that the Lord manifests Himself before the devotee in the form in which the devotee likes to worship Him indicates that the Lord becomes subordinate to the desire of the devotee—so much so that He manifests His particular form as the devotee demands. This demand of the devotee is satisfied by the Lord because He is pliable in terms of the transcendental loving service of the devotee. This is also confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 4.11):  ye yathā mām prapadyante tāms tathaiva bhajāmy aham.  We should note, however, that the Lord is never the order supplier of the devotee. Here in this verse it is particularly mentioned:  tvam bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita . This indicates the efficiency achieved through execution of matured devotional service, or  premā , love of Godhead. This state of  premā  is achieved by the gradual process of development from