Text 9
yeṣāṁ bibharmy aham akhaṇḍa-vikuṇṭha-yoga-
māyā-vibhūtir amalāṅghri-rajaḥ kirīṭaiḥ
viprāṁs tu ko na viṣaheta yad-arhaṇāmbhaḥ
sadyaḥ punāti saha-candra-lalāma-lokān
yeṣām — of the brāhmaṇas; bibharmi — I bear; aham — I; akhaṇḍa — unbroken; vikuṇṭha — unobstructed; yoga-māyā — internal energy; vibhūtiḥ — opulence; amala — pure; aṅghri — of the feet; rajaḥ — the dust; kirīṭaiḥ — on My helmet; viprān — the brāhmaṇas; tu — then; kaḥ — who; na — not; viṣaheta — carry; yat — of the Supreme Lord; arhaṇa-ambhaḥ — water which has washed the feet; sadyaḥ — at once; punāti — sanctifies; saha — along with; candra-lalāma — Lord Śiva; lokān — the three worlds.
I am the master of My unobstructed internal energy, and the water of the Ganges is the remnant left after My feet are washed. That water sanctifies the three worlds, along with Lord Śiva, who bears it on his head. If I can take the dust of the feet of the Vaiṣṇava on My head, who will refuse to do the same?
The difference between the internal and external energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is that in the internal energy, or in the spiritual world, all the opulences are undisturbed, whereas in the external or material energy, all the opulences are temporary manifestations. The Lord’s supremacy is equal in both the spiritual and material worlds, but the spiritual world is called the kingdom of God, and the material world is called the kingdom of māyā. Māyā refers to that which is not actually fact. The opulence of the material world is a reflection. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that this material world is just like a tree whose roots are up and branches down. This means that the material world is the shadow of the spiritual world. Real opulence is in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world the predominating Deity is the Lord Himself, whereas in the material world there are many lords. That is the difference between the internal and external energies. The Lord says that although He is the predominating factor of the internal energy and although the material world is sanctified just by the water that has washed His feet, He has the greatest respect for the brāhmaṇa and the Vaiṣṇava. When the Lord Himself offers so much respect to the Vaiṣṇava and the brāhmaṇa, how can one deny such respect to such personalities?