14
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 1
and under different influences of the modes of material nature. For example, the sufferings of  jīvas  who are situated in the mode of goodness are less than those of  jīvas  situated in the mode of ignorance. Pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the birthright of all living entities because every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The consciousness of the Lord is also in the part and parcel, and according to the proportion to which that consciousness is cleared of material dirt, the living entities are differently situated. In the  Vedānta-sūtra  the living entities of different gradations are compared to candles or lamps with different candle power. For example, some electric bulbs have the power of one thousand candles, some have the power of 500 candles, some the power of 100 candles, some fifty candles, etc., but all electric bulbs have light. Light is present in every bulb, but the gradations of light are different. Similarly, there are gradations of Brahman. The  Viṣṇu svāmśa  expansions of the Supreme Lord in different  Viṣṇu  forms are like lamps, Lord Śiva is also like a lamp, and the supreme candle power or the 100 percent light is Kṛṣṇa. The  Viṣṇu-tattva  has ninety-four percent, the  Śiva-tattva  has eighty-four percent, Lord Brahmā has seventy-eight percent, and the living entities are also like Brahmā, but in the conditioned state their power is still more dim. There are gradations of Brahman, and no one can deny this fact. Therefore the words  ātmeśa-brahma-sambhavān  indicate that Dattātreya is directly part and parcel of  Viṣṇu , whereas Durvāsā and Soma are parts and parcels of Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā.
TEXT 16
बिदुर उवाच
अत्रेगृहे सुरश्रेष्ठाः स्थित्युत्पत्त्यन्तहेतवः । किञ्चिच्चिकीर्षवो जाता एतदाख्याहि मे गुरो ॥१६॥
vidura uvāca   atrer gṛhe sura-śreṣṭhāḥ   sthity-utpatty-anta-hetavaḥ   kiñcic cikīrṣavo jātā   etad ākhyāhi me guro
viduraḥ uvāca —Śrī Vidura said;  atreḥ gṛhe —in the house of Atri;  sura-śreṣṭhāḥ —chief demigods;  sthiti —maintenance;  utpatti —creation;  anta —destruction;  hetavaḥ —causes;  kiñcit —something;  cikīrṣavaḥ —desiring to do;  jātāḥ —appeared;  etat —this;  ākhyāhi —tell;  me —to me;  guro —spiritual master.