SB 2.2.1
sri-suka uvaca
evam pura dharanayatma-yonir
nastam smrtim pratyavarudhya tustat
tatha sasarjedam amogha-drstir
yathapyayat prag vyavasaya-buddhih
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Formerly, prior to the manifestation of the cosmos, Lord Brahma, by meditating on the virat-rupa, regained his lost consciousness by appeasing the Lord. Thus he was able to rebuild the creation as it was before.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The example cited herein of Sri Brahmaji is one of forgetfulness. Brahmaji is the incarnation of one of the mundane attributes of the Lord. Being the incarnation of the passion mode of material nature, he is empowered by the Lord to generate the beautiful material manifestation. Yet due to his being one of the numerous living entities, he is apt to forget the art of his creative energy. This forgetfulness of the living being — beginning from Brahma down to the lowest insignificant ant — is a tendency which can be counteracted by meditation on the virat-rupa of the Lord. This chance is available in the human form of life, and if a human being follows the instruction of Srimad-Bhagavatam and begins to meditate upon the virat-rupa, then revival of his pure consciousness and counteraction of the tendency to forget his eternal relationship with the Lord can follow simultaneously. And as soon as this forgetfulness is removed, the vyavasaya-buddhi, as mentioned here and in the Bhagavad-gita (2.41), follows at once. This ascertained knowledge of the living being leads to loving service to the Lord, which the living being requires. The kingdom of God is unlimited; therefore the number of the assisting hands of the Lord is also unlimited. The Bhagavad-gita (13.14) asserts that the Lord has His hands, legs, eyes and mouths in every nook and corner of His creation. This means that the expansions of differentiated parts and parcels, called jivas or living entities, are assisting hands of the Lord, and all of them are meant for rendering a particular pattern of service to the Lord. The conditioned soul, even in the position of a Brahma, forgets this by the influence of the illusory material energy generated out of false egoism. One can counteract such false egoism by invoking God consciousness. Liberation means getting out of the slumber of forgetfulness and becoming situated in the real loving service of the Lord, as exemplified in the case of Brahma. The service of Brahma is the sample of service in liberation distinguished from the so-called altruistic services full of mistakes and forgetfulness. Liberation is never inaction, but service without human mistakes.