Text 23
śuddhāya śāntāya namaḥ sva-niṣṭhayā
manasy apārthaṁ vilasad-dvayāya
namo jagat-sthāna-layodayeṣu
gṛhīta-māyā-guṇa-vigrahāya
śuddhāya — unto the unadulterated; śāntāya — unto the most peaceful; namaḥ — we offer our obeisances; sva-niṣṭhayā — by being situated in one’s position; manasi — in the mind; apārtham — without any meaning; vilasat — appearing; dvayāya — in whom the dual world; namaḥ — obeisances; jagat — of the cosmic manifestation; sthāna — maintenance; laya — annihilation; udayeṣu — and for creation; gṛhīta — accepted; māyā — material; guṇa — of the modes of nature; vigrahāya — the forms.
Dear Lord, we beg to offer our obeisances unto You. When the mind is fixed upon You, the world of duality, although a place for material enjoyment, appears meaningless. Your transcendental form is full of transcendental bliss. We therefore offer our respects unto You. Your appearances as Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva are meant for the purpose of creating, maintaining and annihilating this cosmic manifestation.
A pure devotee, whose mind is always engaged in the service of the Lord, can certainly appreciate the impermanence of this material world. Although such a devotee may be engaged in executing material activities, this stage is called anāsakti. As explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. A devotee is always unattached to material activities because in the liberated stage his mind is always fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord.
This material world is called dvaita, the world of duality. A devotee knows very well that everything within this material world is but a manifestation of the Supreme Lord’s energy. To maintain the three modes of material nature, the Supreme Lord takes on different forms as Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva. Unaffected by the modes of material nature, the Lord takes on different forms to create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation. The conclusion is that although the pure devotee appears to engage in material activities in the service of the Lord, he knows very well that material enjoyment for sense gratification has no use whatsoever.