Text 51]
King Citraketu Meets the Lord
151
emanate from the Supreme Lord. Therefore the Lord says,  aham vai sarva-bhūtāni : “I expand the physical and spiritual categories.”
Again, the Lord, as the Supersoul, guides the living entities who are conditioned by the physical atmosphere. Therefore he is called  bhūtāmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ . He gives the living entity the intelligence with which to improve his position so that he may return home, back to Godhead, or if he does not want to go back to Godhead, the Lord gives him the intelligence with which to improve his material position. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in  Bhagavad-gītā  (15.15).  Sarvasya cāham hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanam ca : “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” From within, the Lord gives the living being the intelligence with which to work. Therefore the previous verse said that after the Supreme Personality of Godhead endeavors, our endeavors begin. We cannot independently endeavor or act upon anything. Therefore the Lord is  bhūta-bhāvanaḥ .
Another specific feature of the knowledge given in this verse is that  śabda-brahma  is also a form of the Supreme Lord. In His eternal, blissful form, Lord Kṛṣṇa is accepted by Arjuna as  param brahma . A living entity in the conditioned stage accepts something illusory as substantial. This is called  māyā  or  avidyā —ignorance. Therefore according to the Vedic knowledge, one must become a devotee, and one must then distinguish between  avidyā  and  vidyā , which are elaborately explained in the  Īśopaniṣad . When one is actually on the platform of  vidyā , he can personally understand the Personality of Godhead in His forms like those of Lord Rāma, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Saṅkarṣaṇa. The Vedic knowledge is described as the breathing of the Supreme Lord, and activities begin on the basis of Vedic knowledge. Therefore the Lord says that when He endeavors or breathes, the material universes come into existence, and various activities gradually develop. The Lord says in  Bhagavad-gītā ,  praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu : “I am the syllable  om  in all the Vedic  mantras .” Vedic knowledge begins with the vibration of the transcendental sound  praṇava ,  omkāra . The same transcendental sound is Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.  Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ : there is no difference between the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself.