256 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 6
TEXT 38
ARTISTA TH ARAL BHATIA |
dreracarad fie ataaTeET 12cII

atmano’ vasito vatsa
mahima kavina ’’dina

samvatsara-sahasrante
dhiya yoga-vipakkaya

atmanah—of the Supreme Soul; avasitah-known; vatsa—O my dear
sons; mahima—glories; kavina—by the poet Brahma; adina—original;
samvatsara—celestial year; sahasra-ante—at the end of one thousand;
dhiya—by intelligence; yoga-vipakkaya—by matured meditation.

TRANSLATION

The original poet, Brahma, after mature meditation for one thousand
celestial years, could know only that the glories of the Supreme Soul are
inconceivable.

PURPORT

There are some froggish philosophers who want to know the Supreme
Soul by means of philosophy and mental speculation. And when the
devotees, who are, to some extent, in knowledge of the Supreme Lord,
admit that the glories of the Lord are inestimable or inconceivable, the
froggish philosophers adversely criticize them. These philosophers, like the
frog in the well who tried to estimate the measurement of the Pacific
Ocean, like to take trouble over fruitless mental speculation instead of
taking instructions from devotees like the original poet, namely, Brahma.
Lord Brahma underwent a severe type of meditation for one thousand
celestial years, yet he said that the glories of the Lord are inconceivable.
Therefore what can the froggish philosophers hope to gain from their
mental speculations?

It is said in the Brahma-samhita that the mental speculator may fly
through the sky of speculation with the velocity of the mind or the wind
for thousands of millions of years, and still he will find it inconceivable.
The devotees, however, do not waste time in such vain searching after
knowledge of the Supreme, but they submissively hear the glories of the
Lord from bona fide devotees. Thus they transcendentally enjoy the
process of hearing and chanting. The Lord approves of the devotional
activities of the devotees or mahatmas, and He says:
