SB 03.25.35 pasyanti te me rucirany amba santah... cited

Expressions researched:
"pasyanti te me rucirany amba santah" |"prasanna-vaktraruna-locanani" |"rupani divyani vara-pradani" |"sakam vacam sprhaniyam vadanti"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.25.35, Translation and Purport:

O My mother, My devotees always see the smiling face of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun. They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all benevolent, and they also talk favorably with Me.

Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti, Verse 35

Māyāvādīs and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Personality of Godhead in His arcā incarnation. Arcā refers to the form which we can worship in our present condition. Actually, in our present state it is not possible to see God in His spiritual form because our material eyes and senses cannot conceive of a spiritual form. We cannot even see the spiritual form of the individual soul. When a man dies we cannot see how the spiritual form leaves the body. That is the defect of our material senses. In order to be seen by our material senses, the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts a favorable form which is called arcā-vigraha. This arcā-vigraha, sometimes called the arcā incarnation, is not different from Him. Just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts various incarnations, He takes on forms made out of matter—clay, wood, metal and jewels.

There are many śāstric injunctions which give instructions for carving forms of the Lord. These forms are not material. If God is all-pervading, then He is also in the material elements. There is no doubt about it. But the atheists think otherwise. Although they preach that everything is God, when they go to the temple and see the form of the Lord, they deny that He is God. According to their own theory, everything is God. Then why is the Deity not God? Actually, they have no conception of God. The devotees' vision, however, is different; their vision is smeared with love of God. As soon as they see the Lord in His different forms, the devotees become saturated with love, for they do not find any difference between the Lord and His form in the temple, as do the atheists. The smiling face of the Deity in the temple is beheld by the devotees as transcendental and spiritual, and the decoration of the body of the Lord is very much appreciated by the devotees. It is the duty of the spiritual master to teach how to decorate the Deity in the temple, how to cleanse the temple and how to worship the Deity. There are different procedures and rules and regulations which are followed in temples of Viṣṇu, and devotees go there and see the Deity, the vigraha, and spiritually enjoy the form because all of the Deities are benevolent. The devotees express their minds before the Deity, and in many instances the Deity also gives answers. But one must be a very elevated devotee in order to be able to speak with the Supreme Lord. Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them. Kapila Muni is explaining how the devotees see the decorated body and face of the Deity and how they speak with Him in devotional service.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.25.35 -- Bombay, December 4, 1974:

Nitāi: "O My mother, My devotees always see the smiling face of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun. They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all benevolent, and they also talk favorably with Me."

Prabhupāda:

paśyanti te me rucirāṇy amba santaḥ

prasanna-vaktrāruṇa-locanāni

rūpāṇi divyāni vara-pradāni

sākaṁ vācaṁ spṛhaṇīyāṁ vadanti

(SB 3.25.35)

In the previous verse it is said, anyonyato bhāgavatāḥ prasajya sabhājayante mama pauruṣāṇi. Those who are devotees, they assemble together. Bodhayantaḥ parasparam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, "They discuss about the glories of the Lord." Bodhayantaḥ parasparam. That is sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83). We have also discussed this. Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ (SB 3.25.25). When things are discussed about the Supreme Personality of Godhead amongst the devotees, it becomes a different thing than the discussion in the debating club of the nondevotees. The kṛṣṇa-kathā is not a subject matter for debating club. It is meant for the devotees. Without devotees, nobody can understand. The others who are not devotee, they simply waste their time in reading Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, such literature. They simply waste their time because these subject matters are for the devotees.

We have several times discussed this point that the so-called scholars, politicians, and philosophers, they read Bhagavad-gītā and comment in a different way. This is their foolishness. They cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā. It is not possible. My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "It is just licking the bottle of honey." Now you want honey. I give you one bottle, but you do not know how to taste it. You begin to lick up the bottle. Then what you will taste? If you think, "Here is the bottle of honey. Let me lick," you will not get any taste. It must be opened. But the opening key is with the devotee. You do not know how to open it. Therefore it is said, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ (SB 3.25.25). The devotees know how to open it, the bottle. And then they can taste. Therefore, sabhājayante mama pauruṣāṇi.

Lecture on SB 3.25.35 -- Bombay, December 4, 1974:

So here it is said, paśyanti te me rucirāṇy amba santaḥ? "They can see Me, santaḥ." Not these rascals and fools. They cannot see. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25), Bhagavān says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "I am not exposed to these fools and rascals, nondevotees." Why I say "fools and rascals" to the nondevotees? I am not saying; Kṛṣṇa says. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Mūḍha means rascal. Mūḍha means rascal. And duṣkṛtinaḥ, duṣkṛtinaḥ mean always engaged in sinful activities, no restraint. They can eat everything, they can drink everything, they can do everything without any restriction. They think, "What is there in drinking and eating in the matter of religion?" That is the new invention of swamis and yogis, that "You can do everything, and still you become advanced." But that is not possible. One has to become a pure brāhmaṇa. Then why, in the Vedic civilization, a pure brāhmaṇa is so respected? Because they are symbolic representation of the Vedas. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam (BG 18.42). That is brāhmaṇa, who has got this qualification, satyam, who has taken the Absolute Truth as the aim of life. People, ordinary people, how they will know? Satyaṁ śaucam, very clean always, tri-sandhyā-snāna, taking bathing thrice. Satyaṁ śaucaṁ śamam, controlling the mind, not that "I am servant of my mind. I shall do whatever my mind dictates." These are the qualification of brāhmaṇa. Śamaṁ damam, controlling the senses. These are the symbolic representation of the Vedas.

Lecture on SB 3.25.35 -- Bombay, December 4, 1974:

So we should not be like that. If we want to be fixed up then, in devotional service, then, as it is advised by Kapiladeva... He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead incarnate. He says, paśyanti te me rucirāṇy amba santaḥ? "They can see that..." So unless God has got form, how one can see? How God can be nirākāra? God is never nirākāra, but He's sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. His ākāra is not like us. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). His form is sac-cid-ānanda. This body is not sac-cid-ānanda. Sat means eternal, and cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda means full of bliss. So if we study, "Is our body eternal?" no, sir. It is temporary, say, fifty years, sixty years, utmost hundred years. So it is not eternal, it is not sat. Asat. Asato mā sad gama, the Vedic injunction, that "Don't keep yourself in this asat body. Just get your original sat body, eternal body." We are not interested. We are simply interested with this temporary body: "I am this body." I am not this body. I am spirit soul. I am within this body. This is knowledge. This is called siddhi. So long I am thinking, "I am this body," then I am cats and dogs. They are thinking like that. But when I know that "I am not this body. I am the spirit spark, spirit soul. I am encaged within this body," that is knowledge. That is knowledge. So those who are self-realized spirit soul, they can see.

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā

na śocati na kāṅkṣati

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu

mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

(BG 18.54)

That bhakti means they can see God, Kṛṣṇa, and they can serve Him. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Bhakti means to engage your senses, hṛṣīka, in the service of the Hṛṣīkeśa. That is bhakti.

Lecture on SB 3.25.35 -- Bombay, December 4, 1974:

So rūpāṇi divyāni vara-pradāni. Divyāni. Divya means divine. Divyāni. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, janma karma ca me divyam (BG 4.9). Divyam. They are not material things. One has to see. So if you say, as it is said, sākaṁ vācaṁ spṛhaṇīyāṁ vadanti, spṛhaṇīyām, very favorably you talk... Suppose if I say, "You have no eyes. You are blind," this is not favorable. So the nondevotees, Māyāvādīs, they say that God has no eyes. So it is indirectly saying, "God is blind." So if I say, "You are blind. You nonsense, you are blind," is it favorably talking? Most unfavorable. Directly insulting. So those who are talking about God, nirākāra—no eyes, no leg, no head, no tail, nothing, nirākāra—they are simply blaspheming, not spṛhaṇīyām. God does not want to hear such nonsense things. Therefore it is said, sākaṁ vācaṁ spṛhaṇīyāṁ vadanti. You cannot say that "Kṛṣṇa is blind. Kṛṣṇa is lame. Kṛṣṇa has no hands. Kṛṣṇa has no nothing, nothing." Indirectly saying, "Kṛṣṇa has..., does not exist." This kind of addressing Kṛṣṇa, nirākāra, is not favorable talking with Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 3.25.35 -- Bombay, December 4, 1974:

So here it is said that sākaṁ vācaṁ spṛhaṇīyāṁ vadanti. So we should pray in such a way Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spṛhaṇīyām. Don't think He is dead stone. That is the conclusion of the atheist class of men. No, dead, no. You talk in such a way that He will be pleased upon you. He will be pleased. He is pleased, He is satisfied in Himself, but He wants to see that you are also talking about Him pleasingly. That's all. Therefore He comes. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). You talk unpleasingly or pleasingly; it doesn't matter to Kṛṣṇa. But if you talk pleasingly, then you become benefited. You become benefited. So therefore there are stotra. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's another name is Uttamaśloka. Uttamaśloka mean He is worshiped, God is worshiped, by the best selected words, not patchy words. No. All selected words. So you will find in so many prayers, not only in our Vedic scripture and other scripture also, in Bible, in Koran, the prayer. Prayer is also devotion. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyam (SB 7.5.23). Vandanam, this vandanam. The Christians and the Muhammadans, they offer vandanam. Although they do not worship the Deity, but they offer prayers to the Lord. That is also good. That is also bhakti.