Explanation of the Atmarama Verse in Srimad Bhagwatam 135

Sukadeva Goswami was attracted by the transcendental Pastimes of Lord
Krishna. He attracted by His Personal Beauty the minds of the damsels of Vrin-
daban, and He attracted the attention of Rukmini by His bodily feature and
transcendental qualities. He attracts the mind of the Goddess of Fortune by
playing the flute and by different other features of transcendental attraction.
He attracts the minds of all young girls; He attracts the minds of elderly ladies
by His childlike activities; and He attracts the minds of His friends by His
friendly activities. When He appeared in Vrindaban, He attracted even the
birds and beasts and the trees and the plants. Everyone became attracted in
love and affection for Krishna.

The word Hari has different meanings, of which two are principals. Hari
means that He takes away all inauspicious things from the devotee’s life,
and that He attracts the mind of the devotee by awarding him transcendental
love of Godhead. He is so attractive that anybody remembering Krishna in
some way or other becomes free from the four kinds of material miseries.
With special attention for His devotee, the Lord banishes the devotee’s different
forms of sinful activities, which are a stumbling block for the advancement
of devotional service. This is called routing the influence of ignorance. And,
by hearing alone, one develops love for Him. That is the gift of the Lord.
On one side He takes away our inauspicious things, and on the other side
He awards the most auspicious things. That is the meaning of Hari.

When a person becomes developed in love of Godhead, then by His attrac-
tive power of transcendental qualities, He attracts the devotees body, mind
and everything for the Lord. Such are the merciful activities of Krishna and
such are His transcendental qualities. He is so attractive that, out of transcenden-
tal attachment for Him, a devotee will give up all the four principles of spiri-
tual life: namely religiousness, economic development, regulation of sense
gratification, and salvation. The words Api and Cha are adverbs. They can be
utilized for virtually any purpose, but still the purpose of Cha, or “and,”
means that the whole construction may have seven different readings.

The Lord established the import of eleven items in the verse of Atma
rama. Then He began to explain the imports of each item as follows: the
word Brahman means the greatest in all respects. He is the greatest in all opu-
lences. Nobody can excel over His richness, nobody can excel over His strength,
nobody can excel over His fame, nobody can excel over His beauty, nobody
can excel over His knowledge, and nobody can excel over His renunciation.
Therefore, the real meaning of Brahman is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Krishna.
