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Brahmā Personal Quote by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

“Here the four sages Sanat-kumāra, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanaka are described as actually sincere devotees. Although they had heard from their father, Brahmā, about the personal feature of the Lord, only the impersonal feature, Brahman, was revealed to them. But because they were sincerely…” quote by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
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““Here the four sages Sanat-kumāra, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanaka are described as actually sincere devotees. Although they had heard from their father, Brahmā, about the personal feature of the Lord, only the impersonal feature, Brahman, was revealed to them. But because they were sincerely searching for the Lord, they finally saw His personal feature directly, which corresponded with the description given by their father. They thus became fully satisfied. Here they express their gratitude because although they were foolish impersonalists in the beginning, by the grace of the Lord they could now have the good fortune to see His personal feature. Another significant aspect of this verse is that the sages describe their experience of hearing from their father, Brahmā, who was born of the Lord directly. In other words, the disciplic succession from the Lord to Brahmā and from Brahmā to Nārada and from Nārada to Vyāsa, and so on, is accepted here. Because the Kumāras were sons of Brahmā, they had the opportunity to learn Vedic knowledge from the disciplic succession of Brahmā, and therefore, in spite of their impersonalist beginnings, they became, in the end, direct seers of the personal feature of the Lord.””

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

About This Quote

Source Scripture: Bhagavata Purana, Canto 3, Chapter 2

Sages initially grasp impersonal truth, but sincere seeking reveals the personal aspect of the divine, leading to fulfillment.

In simple terms: Seeking personal experience of the divine after abstract study.

Key Takeaway

Seek personal experience of the divine.

Themes

Spiritual seeking personal revelation fulfillment

Mood

reverent reflective

Type

scriptural philosophical

When to use this quote

  • religious study
  • meditation
  • spiritual guidance
  • devotional practice

Key Concepts

impersonalism personalism disciple lineage

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does personal experience change your faith?
  • What role does lineage play in spiritual insight?
A Different Perspective

May conflict with purely philosophical or rational approaches.

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