Text 46] The Harnsa-guhya Prayers 249

tapah—austerities like mental control, mystic yoga and meditation;
me—My; hrdayam—heart; brahman—O brahmana; tanuh—the body;
vidya—the knowledge derived from Vedic scripture; kriydé—spiritual
activities; dkrttih—form; arigdni—the limbs of the body; kratavah—the
ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices mentioned in the Vedic literature;
jatah—completed; dharmah—the religious principles for executing the
ritualistic ceremonies; Gtma—My soul; asavah—life airs; surah—the
demigods who execute My orders in different departments of the ma-
terial world.

TRANSLATION

My dear brahmana, austerity in the form of meditation is My
heart, Vedic knowledge in the form of hymns and mantras con-
stitute My body, and spiritual activities and ecstatic emotions are
My actual form. The ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices, when
properly conducted, are the various limbs of My body, the unseen
good fortune proceeding from pious or spiritual activities con-
stitutes My mind, and the demigods who execute My orders in
various departments are My life and soul.

PURPORT

Sometimes atheists argue that since God is invisible to their eyes, they
do not believe in God. For them the Supreme Lord is describing a method
by which one can see God in His impersonal form. Intelligent persons can
see God in His personal form, as stated in the Sdastras, but if one is very
eager to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead immediately, face to
face, he can see the Supreme Lord through this description, which
portrays the various internal and external parts of His body.

To engage in tapasya, or denial of material activities, is the first prin-
ciple of spiritual life. Then there are spiritual activities, such as the per-
formance of Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, study of the Vedic knowledge,
meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and chanting of
the Hare Krsna mahd-mantra. One should also respect the demigods and
understand how they are situated, how they act and how they manage the
activities of the various departments of this material world. In this way
one can see how God is existing and how everything is managed perfectly
