Text-08-09
SB 8.3.8-9
na vidyate yasya ca janma karma va
na nama-rupe guna-dosa eva va
tathapi lokapyaya-sambhavaya yah
sva-mayaya tany anukalam rcchati
tasmai namah paresaya
brahmane ’nanta-saktaye
arupayoru-rupaya
nama ascarya-karmane
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material birth, activities, name, form, qualities or faults. To fulfill the purpose for which this material world is created and destroyed, He comes in the form of a human being like Lord Rama or Lord Krsna by His original internal potency. He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In the Visnu Purana it is said, gunams ca dosams ca mune vyatita samasta-kalyana-gunatmako hi. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material form, qualities or faults. He is spiritual and is the only reservoir of all spiritual qualities. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.8) by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. The Lord’s activities of saving the devotees and annihilating the demons are transcendental. Anyone annihilated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead gets the same result as a devotee who is protected by the Lord; both of them are transcendentally promoted. The only difference is that a devotee goes directly to the spiritual planets and becomes an associate of the Supreme Lord, whereas demons are promoted to brahmaloka, the impersonal effulgence of the Lord. Both of them, however, are transcendentally promoted. The Lord’s killing or annihilating of the demons is not exactly like the killing of this material world. Although He appears to act within the modes of material nature, He is nirguna, above the modes of nature. His name is not material; otherwise how could one get liberation by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Rama? The names of the Lord like Rama and Krsna are nondifferent from the person Rama and Krsna. Thus by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra one constantly associates with Rama and Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore becomes liberated. A practical example is Ajamila, who always remained transcendental to his activities simply by chanting the name Narayana. If this was true of Ajamila, what is to be said of the Supreme Lord? When the Lord comes to this material world, He does not become a product of matter. This is confirmed throughout Bhagavad-gita (janma-karma ca me divyam, avajananti mam mudhah manusim tanum asritam). Therefore, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead — Rama or Krsna — descends to act transcendentally for our benefit, we should not consider Him an ordinary human being. When the Lord comes, He does so on the basis of His spiritual potency (sambhavamy atma-mayaya). Because He is not forced to come by the material energy, He is always transcendental. One should not consider the Supreme Lord an ordinary human being. Material names and forms are contaminated, but spiritual name and spiritual form are transcendental.