Texts 4-5
brāhme muhūrta utthāya
vāry upaspṛśya mādhavaḥ
dadhyau prasanna-karaṇa
ātmānaṁ tamasaḥ param
ekaṁ svayaṁ-jyotir ananyam avyayaṁ
sva-saṁsthayā nitya-nirasta-kalmaṣam
brahmākhyam asyodbhava-nāśa-hetubhiḥ
sva-śaktibhir lakṣita-bhāva-nirvṛtim
brāhme muhūrte — during the most suitable period of the day for spiritual activity, before sunrise; utthāya — rising; vāri — water; upaspṛśya — touching; mādhavaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; dadhyau — meditated; prasanna — clear; karaṇaḥ — His mind; ātmānam — upon Himself; tamasaḥ — ignorance; param — beyond; ekam — exclusive; svayam-jyotiḥ — self-luminous; ananyam — without another; avyayam — infallible; sva-saṁsthayā — by His own nature; nitya — perpetually; nirasta — dispelling; kalmaṣam — contamination; brahma-ākhyam — known as Brahman, the Absolute Truth; asya — of this (universe); udbhava — of creation; nāśa — and destruction; hetubhiḥ — by the causes; sva — His own; śaktibhiḥ — energies; lakṣita — manifest; bhāva — existence; nirvṛtim — joy.
Lord Mādhava would rise during the brāhma-muhūrta period and touch water. With a clear mind He would then meditate upon Himself, the single, self-luminous, unequaled and infallible Supreme Truth, known as Brahman, who by His very nature ever dispels all contamination, and who through His personal energies, which cause the creation and destruction of this universe, manifests His own pure and blissful existence.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura points out that the word bhāva in this verse indicates the created beings. Thus the compound word lakṣita-bhāva-nirvṛtim means that Lord Kṛṣṇa gives pleasure to the created beings through His various energies. Of course, the soul is never created, but our material, conditioned existence is created by the interaction of the Lord’s energies.
One who is favored by the Lord’s internal potency can understand the nature of the Absolute Truth; this understanding is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa explains that His energies are divided into inferior and superior, or material and spiritual, potencies. The Brahma-saṁhitā further explains that the material potency acts like a shadow, following the movements of the spiritual reality, which is the Lord Himself and His spiritual potency. When one is favored by Lord Kṛṣṇa, He reveals Himself to the surrendered soul, and thus the same creation that formerly covered the soul becomes an impetus for spiritual enlightenment.