186 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 10, Ch. 2
senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental
service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and
pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” Since Krsna and His transcenden-
tal name, form and activities are all of a transcendental nature, ordinary
persons or those who are only slightly advanced cannot understand them.
Even big scholars who are nondevotees think that Krsna is fictitious. Yet
although so-called scholars and commentators do not believe that Krsna
was factually a historical person whose presence on the Battlefield of
Kuruksetra is recorded in the history of Mahabharata, they feel com-
pelled to write commentaries on Bhagavad-gité and other historical
records. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah: Krsna’s
transcendental name, form, attributes and activities can be revealed only
when one engages in His service in full consciousness. This confirms
Krsna’s own words in Bhagavad-gita (18.55):
bhaktyé mam abhijanati
yavan yas cdsmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jndtva
visate tad-anantaram
“One can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is only
by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the
Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.”
Only by sevonmukha, by engaging oneself in the Lord’s service, can one
realize the name, form and qualities of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.

“O Lord,” the demigods say, “the impersonalists, who are nondevo-
tees, cannot understand that Your name is identical with Your form.”
Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and
His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form
and name. The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango.
One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting, ““Mango, mango,
mango.” But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between
the name and the form of the Lord chants Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare
Hare, and realizes that he is always in Krsna’s company.

For persons who are not very advanced in absolute knowledge of the
