Text 21]
Fundamental Principles of Material Nature
1087
yat tat sattva-guṇam svaccham  
 śāntam bhagavataḥ padam  
 yad āhur vāsudevākhyam  
 cittam tan mahad-ātmakam
yat —which;  tat —that;  sattva-guṇam —the mode of goodness;  svaccham —clear;  śāntam —sober;  bhagavataḥ —of the Personality of Godhead;  padam —the status of understanding;  yat —which;  āhuḥ —is called;  vāsudeva-ākhyam —by the name  vāsudeva ;  cittam —consciousness;  tat —that;  mahat-ātmakam —manifest in the  mahat-tattva .
TRANSLATION
The mode of goodness, which is the clear, sober status of understanding the Personality of Godhead and which is generally called vāsudeva, or consciousness, becomes manifest in the mahat-tattva.
PURPORT
The  vāsudeva  manifestation or the status of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called  pure goodness  or  śuddha-sattva . In the  śuddha-sattva  status there is no infringement of the other qualities, namely passion and ignorance. In the Vedic literature there is mention of the Lord's expansion as the four Personalities of Godhead—Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Here in the reappearance of the  mahat-tattva  the four expansions of Godhead occur. He who is seated within as Supersoul expands first as Vāsudeva.
The  vāsudeva  stage is free from infringement by material desires and is the status in which one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the objective which is described in the  Bhagavad-gītā  as  adbhuta . This is another feature of the  mahat-tattva . The  vāsudeva  expansion is also called  Kṛṣṇa consciousness , for it is free from all tinges of material passion and ignorance. This clear state of understanding helps one to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The  vāsudeva  status is also explained in  Bhagavad-gītā  as  kṣetra-jña , which means the knower of the field of activities as well as the Superknower. The living being who has occupied a particular type of body knows that body, but the Superknower, Vāsudeva, knows not only a particular type of body but also the field of activities in all the different varieties of bodies. In order to be situated in clear consciousness or  Kṛṣṇa consciousness , one must worship Vāsudeva.