Monday, January 11, 2016

Worship by Insult

The demon addressed the Lord: O best of the demigods, dressed in the form of a boar, just hear me. This earth is entrusted to us, the inhabitants of the lower regions, and You cannot take it from my presence and not be hurt by me.

Purport: 

Śrīdhara Svāmī, commenting on this verse, states that although the demon wanted to deride the Personality of Godhead in the form of a boar, actually he worshiped Him in several words. 

For example, he addressed Him as 
  1. vana-gocaraḥ, which means “one who is a resident of the forest,” 
  2. but another meaning of vana-gocaraḥ is “one who lies on the water.” 
Viṣṇu lies on the water, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be properly addressed in this way.

The demon also addressed Him as mṛgaḥ, indicating, unintentionally, that the Supreme Personality is sought after by 
  1. great sages, 
  2. saintly persons and 
  3. transcendentalists. 
He also addressed Him as ajña. Śrīdhara Svāmī says that jña means “knowledge,” and there is no knowledge which is unknown to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indirectly, therefore, the demon said that Viṣṇu knows everything.

The demon addressed Him as surādhama. Sura means “the demigods,” and adhama means “Lord of all there is.” He is Lord of all the demigods; therefore He is the best of all demigods, or God. 

When the demon used the phrase “in my presence,” the implied meaning was, “In spite of my presence, You are completely able to take away the earth.” Na svasti yāsyasi: “Unless You kindly take this earth from our custody, there can be no good fortune for us.”

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