Text 41
sākṣād bhagavatoktena
guruṇā hariṇā nṛpa
viśuddha-jñāna-dīpena
sphuratā viśvato-mukham
sākṣāt — directly; bhagavatā — by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; uktena — instructed; guruṇā — the spiritual master; hariṇā — by Lord Hari; nṛpa — O King; viśuddha — pure; jñāna — knowledge; dīpena — by the light of; sphuratā — enlightening; viśvataḥ-mukham — all angles of vision.
In this way King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge because in his pure state he was directly instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By means of such enlightening transcendental knowledge, he could understand everything from all angles of vision.
In this verse the words sākṣād bhagavatoktena guruṇā hariṇā are very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead speaks directly to the individual soul when the devotee has completely purified himself by rendering devotional service to the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this also in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”
The Lord is the Supersoul seated in everyone’s heart, and He acts as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within. However, He gives direct instructions only to the advanced, pure devotees. In the beginning, when a devotee is serious and sincere, the Lord gives him directions from within to approach a bona fide spiritual master. When one is trained by the spiritual master according to the regulative principles of devotional service and is situated on the platform of spontaneous attachment for the Lord (rāga-bhakti), the Lord also gives instructions from within (teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam/ dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam). This distinct advantage is obtained by a liberated soul. Having attained this stage, King Malayadhvaja was directly in touch with the Supreme Lord and was receiving instructions from Him directly.