Brahma’s Description of God’s Form

A concise summary of Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 8

Sanat-Kumar, one of the four sons of Lord Brahma, desired to know the eternal nature of God. He, accompanied by other great sages, reached out to Lord Sankarshan.

Lord Sankarshan is the energy of the Supreme Lord. This energy manifests as Adi-Sesha, Balarama and Lakshmana to serve the Lord. The Supreme Lord is a conglomerate of various energies. It can be compared to Sun (the object) and Sunlight (the energy of the Sun). In the case of the Sun, there is only one energy but in the case of the Supreme Lord, there are unlimited energies because the Lord is unlimited.

Sanat-Kumara was already a self-realized soul by then. He had a complete realization of the formless nature of the Supreme. He is the author of a collection of hymns to Lord Shiva in Shiva Purana. He also appeared as Lord Krishna’s son, Pradyumna to assist in Lord’s playful activities. In Spite of being a great self-realized yogi, he was still curious to understand the eternal form of the Lord. It is said that the Lord’s form gives pleasure to even the self-realized souls. The Lord’s form is not temporary but it is eternal. The Supreme Spirit has an eternal spiritual manifestation. Sanat Kumara received the description of the Supreme Lord’s form directly from Lord Sankarshan, who is closely associated with the Lord. This shows that one should approach someone who is closely connected with the Lord and serves the Lord in order to get complete understanding of the Supreme. It is said in the scriptures that whoever understands the spiritual form of the Lord loses interest in petty pleasures and gets relief from the miseries of the Lord.

Lord Sankarshan describes to the sages headed by Sanat-Kumara how Lord Brahma got the vision of the eternal form of the Supreme Lord. He begins by stating that the sages can absorb this knowledge because they are faithful and devoted to the Lord.

In order to create the material universe, the Supreme Lord lays down in yogic sleep and injects his energy called “Time” to activate the matter. As soon as the matter is activated, the first manifestation is a lotus-like flower. The first soul is released by the Lord onto the lotus to further create material manifestation and progeny. This first soul is Lord Brahma who is also known as Prajapati.

Lord Brahma contemplates the reason and cause for his birth. This is called brahma-jijnasa, the beginning of self-realization. Brahma spent innumerable years trying to find the cause. He just heard the sound “tapa” (meditate) twice. He finally restrained his mind by controlling his breath (pranayam) and performed the path of deep meditation (dhyana) for 100 years. Brahma’s one day is equal to 4,300,000 human years. Then he saw the Supreme Person lying on the bed of Adi-Sesha.

The Supreme Lord, Vasudeva assumes the form of Lord Vishnu by lying down in yogic sleep and his energy Sankarshan as Adi-Sesa. Lord Rudra (Shankara Mahadev) manifests from Sankarshan. Lord Vishnu, Lord Sankarshan and Lord Rudra are eternal and spiritual unlike Lord Brahma, who is the foremost living being.

Lord Brahma praises the glories of the Supreme Lord’s form. He says that the body of the Lord makes the beauty of a coral mountain petty. The Lord looks handsome in a yellow dress. The Lord’s helmet is bedecked with jewels. The Lord’s body is gigantic and is decorated with jewels, garland of flowers and tulsi leaves. The Lord’s body stretches as wide as the three realms (heaven, earthly and hellish realms) collectively. The bright effulgence emerges from the Lord's body which surpasses the brightness of the Sun. The Lord chest has a "Srivatsa" mark and is ornamented with a necklace. The Lord holds a Sudarshan wheel in his hand.

As soon as Lord Brahma saw Lord Vishnu, the knowledge required to create the material planets instantly appeared in his heart. This shows that any kind of knowledge whether spiritual or material automatically develops when one gets the vision of the Lord.

The process of Yoga is to restrain senses so that one can effectively meditate. When one meditates, one’s mind gets purified and develops love for the Lord. When one develops love for the Lord, one gets the vision of the Lord. When one gets the vision of the Lord, the knowledge naturally manifests and the ignorance is destroyed.