SB 8.3.28 The power to protect the surrendered and trap the unsurrendered both demonstrate the Lord’s glory

Transcript

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Bhagavatam 8.328 So here, Gajendra is praying.
I offer my obeisances to you, oh lord. Asahaya Vega So actually, the urges that come from your material nature, they are Asahaya. Shakti Traya Khila Ati Gunaya So Shakti Traya Shakti Traya is referring to the supreme lord who is the source of the three urges.
This can refer to multiple things, three kinds of energies. It can refer to the three modes of material nature. It can refer to, as Prabhupada says, attachment, greed and lust in the purport.
So the point is, the material nature’s forces are formidable and ultimately the material nature is controlled by the supreme lord. So in that sense, indirectly they are his forces. Just as if the prison’s rules are very strong, then that indicates also the strength of the king.
The king will keep the prison rules also strong. So we are so strapped in material existence because of our own godlessness and the power of our material nature is meant to remind us of the power of the supreme lord. Shakti Traya Khila Dhi Gunaya So these three forces, they create illusions that captivate the Dhi, the intelligence.
And the soul is strapped in material existence. Prapannapalaya Dhrantashaktaye That lord is Prapannapalaya. Just as the king is the protector of those who obey, those who are obedient, responsible citizens.
So like that, obeying the supreme lord and surrendering to his will is our supreme responsibility. And when we do that, then the lord becomes our protector. As he has described in 9.22 in the Bhagavad Gita, Yogakshemam Vahamyaham And the king’s power is seen in the king’s capacity to protect the law-abiding and also in the capacity to punish, to incarcerate the law-defying.
So Dhrantashaktaye Kad Indriyanan Anvapya Vartmane Dhrantashaktaye Your Shakti is Dhrant, it’s so formidable. It’s impossible to surmount. So Kad Indriyanan, Kad Indriyanan means people who do not control their senses Anvapya Vartmane You cannot be obtained by those people who cannot control their senses.
So the connection is that the uncontrolled senses which trap the conditioned soul in illusion also indirectly demonstrate the power of the lord. And those who choose not to serve the lord they have to serve him indirectly by serving their senses. So that way, Gajendra now is recognizing that he is calling out to the lord and he is thinking that I am trapped in ignorance and this ignorance is so difficult to come out of.
So I have prayed to the lord, do not give me birth again because again I will be trapped in ignorance. Don’t just liberate me from this bodily shackle but release me from the whole shackle of material existence. That is the prayer.
So he is acknowledging that this is not a very easy thing to do. And he is in this way glorifying the lord. He says, I am trying to do Prapanna, my dear lord.
And if I surrender to you, please Pala, please protect me. At the same time I know that for a long time I have lived in defiance of your will and forgetfulness of you. And because of the conditionings from that I am finding it difficult.
Your Shakti is very difficult to overcome. So I acknowledge my weakness and I seek your mercy, my dear lord. I beg for your mercy.
So this is a very good prayer to use for our chanting. That if we do not take shelter of the holy name, if we do not become Prapanna Palaya, then we will find that the mind will have this Duranta Shakti. Formidable Shakti which will simply drive us crazy.
So Kadindri Anam. And as long as we let ourselves be driven by the mind and the senses, then we will not be able to attain the lord. So we offer obeisances to the lord for his beauty and his glory manifesting as the holy name.
And we offer obeisances to the lord for his formidable power manifesting as the power of the mind. And we beg the lord. My dear lord, I have had enough of serving the mind, serving you indirectly and inimically.
Now I want to serve you directly and intimately. Please accept my surrender and please allow me to serve you.