212 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 4

oversees the material manifestation; tasmai—unto Him; mahd-iséya—
unto the supreme controller; namaskaromi—I offer my obeisances.

TRANSLATION

As the sense objects [form, taste, touch, smell and sound] cannot
understand how the senses perceive them, so the conditioned soul,
although residing in his body along with the Supersoul, cannot
understand how the supreme spiritual person, the master of the
material creation, directs his senses. Let me offer my respectful
obeisances unto that Supreme Person, who is the supreme
controller.

PURPORT

The individual soul and the Supreme Soul live together within the
body. This is confirmed in the Upanisads by the analogy that two
friendly birds live in one tree—one bird eating the fruit of the tree and
the other simply witnessing and directing. Although the individual living
being, who is compared to the bird that is eating, is sitting with his friend
the Supreme Soul, the individual living being cannot see Him. Actually
the Supersoul is directing the workings of his senses in the enjoyment of
sense objects, but as these sense objects cannot see the senses, the condi-
tioned soul cannot see the directing soul. The conditioned soul has
desires, and the Supreme Soul fulfills them, but the conditioned soul is
unable to see the Supreme Soul. Thus Prajapati Daksa offers his obei-
sances to the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul, even though unable to see
Him. Another example given is that although ordinary citizens work
under the direction of the government, they cannot understand how they
are being governed or what the government is. In this regard,
Madhvacarya quotes the following verse from the Skanda Purana:

yatha rajnah priyatvam tu
bhrtyd vedena cédtmanah
tatha jivo na yat-sakhyam
vetti tasmai namo ’stu te

‘As the various servants in the different departments of big establish-
ments cannot see the supreme managing director under whom they are
