Verse 2.5.42

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.5.42:

যারে কৃপা করে, সেই ঠাকুরে সে জানে দেখিলে ও শক্তি নাহি কহিতে কথনে ॥ ৪২ ॥

यारे कृपा करे, सेइ ठाकुरे से जाने देखिले ओ शक्ति नाहि कहिते कथने ॥ ४२ ॥

yāre kṛpā kare, sei ṭhākure se jāne dekhile o śakti nāhi kahite kathane || 42 ||

yare krpa kare, sei thakure se jane dekhile o sakti nahi kahite kathane (42)

English translation:

(42) Only one who is favored by the Lord can know Him. Others, even if they see, they cannot explain.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

In the Brahma-tarka it is stated:

paśyamāno ‘pi tu hariṃ na tu vetti kathañcana vetti kiñcit prasādena harer atha guros tathā

“Even if a person sees Lord Hari, he cannot understand Him. One can understand the Lord only by the mercy of Śrī Hari and the spiritual master.” In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.14.29) it is stated:

athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya- prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi jānāti tattvaṃ bhagavan-mahimno

na cānya eko ‘pi ciraṃ vicinvan

“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.”

In the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, Chapter Fifteen, it is said:

cakṣur vinā yathā dīpaṃ yathā darpaṇam eva ca samīpasthaṃ na paśyanti tathā viṣṇuṃ bahirmukhāḥ

“As a blind person cannot see anything even with the help of a lamp or a mirror, persons who are averse to Lord Viṣṇu cannot see Him even if He stands before them.”