346 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 9
TEXT 11
a atnaprehaaecats
APS ATATTN AS ATT FATT |
rafgara sera fraraated
THEY: ATTA ATMA 112 21
tvam bhak ti-yoga-paribhavita-hyt-saroja
asse Sruteksita-patho nanu natha pumsam
yad yad dhiya ta urugaya vibhavayanti
tat-tad-vapuh pranayase sad-anugrahaya
tvam—unto You; bhakti-yoga—in devotional service; paribhavita—being
one hundred percent engaged; hrt—of the heart; saroje—on the lotus; asse—
You reside; sruta-iksita—seen through the ear; pathah—the path; nanu—now;
natha—O my Lord; pumsam—of the devotees; yat yat—whichever; dhiya—
by meditating; te—Your; urugaya—O Multi-glorious; vibhavayanti—
they specifically think of; tat-tat—the very same; vapuh—transcendental
form; pranayase—do You manifest; sat-anugrahaya—to show Your cause-
less mercy.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, Your devotees can see You through the ears by the process
of bona fide hearing, and thus their hearts become cleansed, and You take
Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest
Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they
always think of You.
PURPORT
The statement here that the Lord manifests Himself before the devotee
in the form in which the devotee likes to worship Him indicates that the
Lord becomes subordinate to the desire of the devotee—so much so that
He manifests His particular form as the devotee demands. This demand of
the devotee is satisfied by the Lord because He is pliable in terms of the
transcendental loving service of the devotee. This is also confirmed in
Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 4.11); ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva
bhajamy aham. We should note, however, that the Lord is never the order
supplier of the devotee. Here in this verse it is particularly mentioned: tuam
bhakti-yoga-paribhavita. This indicates the efficiency achieved through
execution of matured devotional service, or prema, love of Godhead. This
state of prema is achieved by the gradual process of development from
