Pradyumna: Translation: "The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, was requested to go before the Lord by all the demigods present, who because of fear could not do so. But even she had never seen such a wonderful and extraordinary form of the Lord, and thus she could not approach Him."
Prabhupāda:
- sākṣāt śrīḥ preṣitā devair
- dṛṣṭvā taṁ mahad adbhutam
- adṛṣṭāśruta-pūrvatvāt
- sā nopeyāya śaṅkitā
- (SB 7.9.2)
So Śrī, Lakṣmī, she is always in company with Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān. Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Wherever Nārāyaṇa there is, there is Lakṣmī. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). Śriyaḥ. So Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always full in six opulence: aiśvarya, riches; samāgrasya, all riches... Nobody can compete with Him. Here in the material world there is competition. You have got one thousand; I have got two thousand; another man has three thousand or three millions. Nobody can say, "Here is the end 'I have got money.' " No. That is not possible. There must be competition. Sama ūrdhva. Sama means "equal," and ūrdhva means "greater." So nobody can become equal with Nārāyaṇa, and nobody can be greater than Nārāyaṇa. This has become a fashion nowadays, that daridra-nārāyaṇa. No. Daridra cannot be Nārāyaṇa, neither Nārāyaṇa can be daridra, because Nārāyaṇa is always accompanied by Śrī, Lakṣmījī. How He can be daridra? These are manufactured foolish imagination, aparādha.
- yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ
- brahmā-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
- samatvena vikṣeta
- sa pāṣaṇḍi bhaved dhruvam
- (CC Madhya 18.116)
Śastra says, yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devam. Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Lord... Brahmā-rudrādi daivataiḥ. What to speak of daridra, even if you equalize Nārāyaṇa with such big, big demigods like Brahmā or like Lord Śiva, if you look that "Nārāyaṇa is as good as Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva," samatvena vikṣeta sa pāṣaṇḍi bhaved dhruvam, immediately he's a pāṣaṇḍi. Pāṣaṇḍi means most wretched. This is the śāstric injunction. Yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devam brahmā-rudrādi-daivataiḥ samatvena.
So this has become a fashion, to equalize Nārāyaṇa with everyone. So in this way India's culture has been dismantled. Nārāyaṇa cannot be equal. Nārāyaṇa personally says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). The another word is used: asamaurdhva. Nobody can be equal with Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu-tattva. No. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ (Ṛg Veda 1.22.20). This is Ṛg mantra. Viṣṇoḥ padaṁ paramaṁ padam. Bhagavān is addressed by Arjuna, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). Paramaṁ bhavān. So this pāṣaṇḍī imagination will kill one's advancement in spiritual life. Māyāvāda. Māyāvāda. So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has strictly forbidden to associate with Māyāvādī. Māyāvādī bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-naśa (CC Madhya 6.169): "Anyone who has associated with the Māyāvādī, his spiritual life is finished." Sarva-naśa. Māyāvādī haya kṛṣṇe aparādhi. You should be very, very careful to avoid these Māyāvādī rascals. There cannot be such thing as "Nārāyaṇa has become daridra." It is impossible.
So Nārāyaṇa is always associated with sākṣāt śrīḥ. Śrī, especially here, Śrī, Lakṣmījī, is mentioned, that she is associated with Nārāyaṇa constantly. That Śrī expansion is in the Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Lakṣmī-sahasra śata-sambrahma sevyamānaṁ.
- cintāmaṇi prakara-sadmasu kalpa vṛkṣa
- lakśāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī sahasra-śata sambrahma-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.29)
Not only one Śrī, Lakṣmī, but lakṣmī-sahasra-śata. And they are serving the Lord, sambrahma sevyamānaṁ. We are praying to Lakṣmījī with sambrahma, "Mother, give me little money. Give me little favor, I may be happy." We are worshiping Śrī. Still, she does not remain, Śrī. Śrī's another name is Cañcalā. Cañcalā, she is in this material world. Today I may be millionaire; tomorrow I may be beggar in the street. Because every opulence depends on money. So money, here nobody can have fixed up. That is not possible. That Śrī which is so flickering, they are worshiping the Lord with sambrahma, with respect. Here we are thinking, "Lakṣmī may not go away," but there, Śrī is thinking, "Kṛṣṇa may not go away." That is the difference. Here we are afraid that Lakṣmī may go away at any moment, and they are afraid Kṛṣṇa may go away. This is the difference. So such Kṛṣṇa, such Nārāyaṇa, how He can be daridra? This is all imagination.