Text 23]
Talks Between Lord Śiva and Satī
105
in devotional service,  cetasā nānyagāminā  (Bg. 8.8), or simply by hearing about God and chanting about Him, if one's mind is always engaged in chanting and hearing and is not allowed to go elsewhere, one can realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed by Lord Caitanya, by the  bhakti-yoga  process, beginning from hearing and chanting, one can cleanse the heart and mind, and thus one can clearly see the face of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lord Śiva said that since his heart was always filled with the conception of Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of His presence within his mind and heart, he was always offering obeisances unto Him. In other words, Lord Śiva is always in trance,  samādhi . This  samādhi  is not under the control of the devotee; it is under the control of Vāsudeva, for the entire internal energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead acts under His order. Of course the material energy also acts by His order, but His direct will is specifically executed through the spiritual energy. Thus by His spiritual energy He reveals Himself. It is stated in  Bhagavad-gītā ,  sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā . (Bg. 4.6).  Ātma-māyayā  means internal potency. By His sweet will He reveals Himself by His internal potency, being satisfied by the transcendental loving service of the devotee. The devotee never commands, "My dear Lord, please come here so that I can see You." It is not the position of the devotee to command the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come before him or to dance before him. There are many so-called devotees who command the Lord to come before them dancing. The Lord, however, is not subject to anyone's command, but if He is satisfied by one's pure devotional activities, He reveals Himself. Therefore a meaningful word in this verse is  adhokṣaja , for it indicates that the activities of our material senses will fail to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One cannot realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by the attempt of his speculative mind, but if one desires he can subdue all the material activities of his senses, and by manifesting His spiritual energy the Lord can reveal Himself to the pure devotee. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead reveals Himself to the pure devotee, the devotee has no other duty than to offer Him respectful obeisances. The Absolute Truth reveals Himself to the devotee in His form. He is not formless. Vāsudeva is not formless because it is stated in this verse that as soon as the Lord reveals Himself, the devotee offers his obeisances. Obeisances are offered to a person, not to anything impersonal. One should not accept the Māyāvādī interpretation that Vāsudeva is impersonal. As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā ,  prapadyate , one surrenders. One surrenders to a person, not to impersonal nonduality. Whenever there is a question of surrendering or