Lord Brahma addressed the Devatas and said, “O Devatas! Rudra, myself, you, demons, humans, animals, birds, trees, insects, worms and all other forms of living entities have been created out of a tiny aspect of the Universal Lord, who is the incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Let us seek refuge under that indestructible Supreme Lord- **Vrajāma sarve śaraṇaṁ tam avyayam **

There is none who can protect Him or who can destroy Him. Differences such as ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ do not exist in Him. Nevertheless, for the purposes of creation, sustenance and dissolution He accepts bodies with the traits of action (rajo), goodness (sattva) and ignorance (tamo).

To that Supreme Lord who, seeking the well-being of the living entities has taken on a body which is predominantly filled with traits of goodness (sattva), this is the most opportune time for protecting the creation. Therefore let us seek refuge under the Supreme Lord, who is the Lord for this entire universe. Devatas are very dear to Him. He is the Guru for the entire creation. Undoubtedly He will bring happiness to us, his dearest devotees”.

Having said this, Lord Brahma together with all the Devatas reached Vaikunṭha, the supreme plane which is invisible to the eyes of the spiritually ignorant.

O Emperor! Although the Devatas had heard about the Supreme Lord Srihari, He was not visible to them when they reached Vaikunṭha. They searched for Him everywhere but could not locate Him. Then Lord Brahma, brought his senses (indriyas) under total control and with absolute concentration extolled the Lord with the hymns contained in the Vedas.

“Avikriyaṁ satyam anantam ādyaṁ guhā-śayaṁ niṣkalam apratarkyam Mano-’grayānaṁ vacasāniruktaṁ namāmahe deva-varaṁ vareṇyam

I offer obeisance to that Supreme Lord Srihari, who is changeless, who has the indivisible absolute Knowledge as His form, who is beyond time, who is the cause for the existence of this entire creation, who manifests in the cave called heart, who is devoid of body or any other modifications, who is inconceivable, who is beyond the scope of mind and speech, who is the most supreme and who is the Lord of all the Devatas.

The Supreme Lord is the seer (dṛṣṭa) to the life-force (prāṇa), mind, intellect and body. Sound and other subtle sensory perceptions illumine Him through the medium of the ear and other senses. He illumines everything. He is indestructible. The living entity, who is filled with the subtle impressions of past actions, has in him both worldly knowledge and ignorance. However in the Supreme Lord both are absent. He eternally remains as an embodiment of Supreme Knowledge. In him sorrows are absent. He exists in all times and is all-pervading. I seek refuge under that Supreme Lord who manifests in all the three Yugas (eons).

Illusory power, which is without beginning, quickly rotates the wheel called repeated re-births (samsāra), which too is without beginning. This wheel, in which mind assumes utmost importance, has 15 spokes viz., 5 organs of action, 5 organs of perception and the 5 life-forces. It has 3 hubs called the three attributes of Nature. The five basic elements, mind, intellect, egoism are the 8 bars. Mahatmas declare that the Supreme Lord remains as the axis to this wheel of repeated re-births, which is as unsteady as lightning. We seek refuge under such Supreme Lord.

The Supreme Lord who has non-dual knowledge as His form is beyond Nature or illusion. He is beyond the scope of the mind and senses and cannot be measured by time and place. As the inner witness He is stationed in the beautiful bird-like heart of the living entity. The path of devotion is the path to reach Him. Intelligent persons, through the medium of this bhakti yoga, worship the Supreme Essence.

It is impossible to cross the Lord’s illusion without His grace. Deluded by His illusionary energy the ignorant living entity fails to realise his true Self. We seek refuge under the Supreme Lord who has retained illusion and its three attributes are under His total control. We offer obeisance to that Lord who, in the form of life-force (prana), equally pervades through every living entity.

O Lord of all Lords! We, the Devatas and Maharishis, have been created such that we are predominantly constituted with traits of goodness (sattva). Even then we fail to understand Your subtle principle by which externally you manifest as existence (uniki) while internally illuminating as intelligence. This being the case, O Lord, how can demons and other living entities who are primarily composed of traits of passion and ignorance, ever understand You?

This Earth, which is the residence for four types of living entities viz., those born from womb, those hatched from egg, those which tear open the earth to emerge and those which are born from sweat and other impurities, has been created by the Supreme Lord. Such Earth rests on the lotus feet of the Universal form of the Lord. May the self-willed Supreme Lord who has the highest opulence and who is beyond the limitations of time and place be pleased with us!

Water has great potency. It is due to water that in all the three worlds, not only the living entities but also the Guardian-deities are created and sustained. Water is nothing but the semen of the Supreme Lord. May such Supreme Lord who retains such water be pleased with us!

Moon is the bestower of food, energy and longevity to the Devatas, who are the inhabitants of heaven”.

The Devatas were praying to that Supreme Force who remained invisible to them. They could not see anything.

Narayanaya namah