TEXT 26
atha tepe sa suciraṁ
prīṇan govindam avyayam
śvetadvīpa-patiṁ kṛṣṇaṁ
goloka-sthaṁ parāt param
prakṛtyā guṇa-rūpiṇyā
rūpiṇyā paryupāsitam
sahasra-dala-sampanne
koṭi-kiñjalka-bṛṁhite
bhūmiś cintāmaṇis tatra
karṇikāre mahāsane
samāsīnaṁ cid-ānandaṁ
jyotī-rūpaṁ sanātanam
śabda-brahma-mayaṁ veṇuṁ
vādayantaṁ mukhāmbuje
vilāsinī-gaṇa-vṛtaṁ
svaiḥ svair aṁśair abhiṣṭutam
atha—then; tepe—practiced austerity; saḥ—he (Brahmā); suciram—for a long time; prīṇan—satisfying; govindam—Govinda; avyayam—imperishable; śvetadvīpa-patim—the Lord of Śvetadvīpa; kṛṣṇam—Kṛṣṇa; goloka-stham—situated in Goloka; parāt param—the greatest of all; prakṛtyā—by the external energy; guṇa-rūpiṇyā—embodying all mundane qualities; rūpiṇyā—possessing form; paryupāsitam—worshiped from outside; sahasra-dala-sampanne—on a lotus of a thousand petals; koṭi-kiñjalka—by millions of filaments; bṛṁhite—augmented; bhūmiḥ—the land; cintāmaṇiḥ—magical touchstone; tatra—there; karṇikāre—on the whorl; mahā-āsane—on a great throne; samāsīnam—seated; cit-ānandam—the form of transcendental bliss; jyotiḥ-rūpam—the form of effulgence; sanātanam—eternal; śabda-brahma—divine sound; mayam—comprising; veṇum—the flute; vādayantam—playing; mukha-ambuje—at His lotus mouth; vilāsinī-gaṇa—by the gopīs; vṛtam—surrounded; svaiḥ svaiḥ—own respective; aṁśaiḥ—by subjective portions; abhiṣṭutam—worshiped.
Brahmā, being desirous of satisfying Govinda, practiced the cultural acts for Kṛṣṇa in Goloka, Lord of Śvetadvīpa, for a long time. His meditation ran thus, "There exists a divine lotus of a thousand petals, augmented by millions of filaments, in the transcendental land of Goloka. On its whorl, there exists a great divine throne on which is seated Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the form of eternal effulgence of transcendental bliss, playing on His divine flute resonant with the divine sound, with His lotus mouth. He is worshiped by His amorous milkmaids with their respective subjective portions and extensions and also by His external energy [who stays outside] embodying all mundane qualities."
Although the object of meditation is fully transcendental, yet owing to her nature which is permeated with the quality of active mundane hankering, Māyā, the nonspiritual potency of Kṛṣṇa, embodying the principles of mixed sattva, rajas, and tamas, in the forms of Durgā, and other nonspiritual powers, meditated on the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa as the object of their worship. So long as there is any trace of mundane desire in one's heart, it is the object of worship of Māyādevī (Durgā) who has to be worshiped by such a person; nevertheless the fulfillment of one's heart's desire results from the worship of the object of worship of Māyādevī, and not from the worship of Māyādevī herself. This is in accordance with the śloka, akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhiḥ / tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param [SB 2.3.10]. The meaning of this śloka of the Bhāgavatam is that though other gods, as distinct manifestations of the Supreme Lord, are bestowers of sundry specific boons, yet a sensible person should worship the all powerful Supreme Lord, giver of all good, with unalloyed devotion, without worshiping those mundane gift-giving deities. Accordingly, Brahmā meditated upon Kṛṣṇa in Goloka, the object of the worship, from a distance, of Māyādevī. True devotion is unalloyed devotional activity free from all mundane desire. The devotion of Brahmā, etc., is not unmixed devotion. But there is a stage of unmixed predilection even in devotion for the attainment of one's selfish desire. This has been fully described in the concluding five ślokas of this work. That is the easiest method of divine service, prior to the attainment of self-realization, by fallen souls.