Text 23] The Activities of the Pracetas 1515

Suddhdaya santdya namah sva-nisthaya
manasy apartham vilasad-dvayaya

namo jagat-sthana-layodayesu
grhita-maya-guna-vigrahaya

Suddhaya—unto the unadulterated; santaya—unto the most peaceful;
namah—we offer our obeisances; sva-nisthaya—by being situated in one’s po-
sition; manasi—in the mind; apartham—without any meaning; vilasat—ap-
pearing; dvaydya—in whom the dual world; namah—obeisances; jagat—of
the cosmic manifestation; sthdna— maintenance; laya—annihilation; udayesu
—and for creation; grhita—accepted; mayda—material; guna—of the modes
of nature; vigrahaya—the forms.

TRANSLATION

Dear Lord, we beg to offer our obeisances unto You. When the mind is
fixed upon You, the world of duality, although a place for material enjoy-
ment, appears meaningless. Your transcendental form is full of transcen-
dental bliss. We therefore offer our respects unto You. Your appearances
as Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu and Lord Siva are meant for the purpose of
creating, maintaining and annihilating this cosmic manifestation.

PURPORT

A pure devotee whose mind is always engaged in the service of the Lord
can certainly appreciate the impermanence of this material world. Although
such a devotee may be engaged in executing material activities, this stage
is called andsakti. As explained by Srila Ripa Gosvami, andsaktasya visayan
yatharham upayufijatah. A devotee is always unattached to material
activities because in the liberated stage his mind is always fixed on the
lotus feet of the Lord.

This material world is called dvaita, the world of duality. A devotee
knows very well that everything within this material world is but a
manifestation of the Supreme Lord’s energy. To maintain the three modes
of material nature, the Supreme Lord takes on different forms as Lord
Brahma, Lord Visnu and Lord Siva. Unaffected by the modes of material
nature, the Lord takes on different forms to create, maintain and annihi-
late this cosmic manifestation. The conclusion is that although the pure
devotee appears to engage in material activities in the service of the Lord,
he knows very well that material enjoyment for sense gratification has no
use whatsoever.
