Yato váco nivartante aparápya manasá saha
Anandaḿ brahmańo vidván na vibheti kutashcana.

A person who has realized Brahma (and remember, He cannot be attained through words or with the mind) as the embodiment of bliss fears nothing in this universe. One of the major enemies of human beings is fear. Due to fear much human capacity is wasted and the development of the human personality is retarded. And yet it is not difficult to overcome fear; one has to simply take refuge in Parama Puruśa. I will not say that this is the best way, it is the only way.

Now the question is, why should human beings fear anything? When they are confronted in the present, or may be confronted in the future by a force in the mundane world which is greater than themselves, they are overpowered by the fear instincts. But if they realize that the force of Parama Puruśa is greater than their adversaries, they need not be afraid of anything, even though they may be weak. Parama Puruśa has a personal relationship with each of His created beings. He is the Creator, and the others His progeny. It is a very intimate relationship with each of His created beings. He is the Creator, and the others His progeny. It is a very intimate relationship of father and children. So it’s natural for human beings to depend upon Him, and He is bound to protect them in all possible ways. This personal relationship between human beings and their creator, Parama Puruśa, is called “ota yoga”. Through ota yoga, Parama Puruśa is individually associated with all unit human beings: no one is alone, no one is helpless. Parama Puruśa, who has created the sun, the moon and the stars, that which is manifested and that which is yet to be manifested, that which is within the realm of though and that which is beyond the realm of though, is the controller and the father of every human being. He is related to every human being through His ota-yoga, and therefore there is no need to be afraid of anything or anyone.

Furthermore, Parama Puruśa is also associated with His entire creation through His prota-yoga or pervasive association. In this pervasive association, He maintains a close balance between individual interest on the one hand and the collective interest on the other; that is, between collective freedom and individual freedom. He regulates those who go against the collective interest, or who merely tries to go against it. He ensures that no one succeeds as a demon in this created world. If ever the demons become powerful, He incarnates Himself in a special way to protect the world from them. It has been said unambiguously in the Giitá:

Yadá yadáhi dharmasya glánirbhavati bhárata,
Cábhyutthánaḿ adharmasya tadátmánaḿ srjámyaham.

When the number of demons in the world increases, when dharma is distorted or loses its pristine glory (here “gláni” or “distortion” means the removal of an object from its original place) and adharma rears its ugly head (when something raises its head far above its original height, it is called abhyutthána), Parama Puruśa has to incarnate Himself in a special way to annihilate the powerful demons. The demons try to resist Him with all their strength, but when the Lord appears, He comes with His full force (“bhaga”).

Aeshvaryaiṋca samagraiṋca viiryaiṋca yashasah shriyah;
Jiṋána-vaerágyaiṋca śańńáḿ “bhaga” itiuṋganá.

“‘Bhaga’ means all sorts of powers such as ańimá, laghimá, garimá, antaryámitva and so on (becoming the smallest, becoming the largest, becoming the heaviest, omniscience etc.)” With the advent of such a personality, the world gets polarized. One group extends their blind support and brings Him fame, whereas the other group bitterly opposes and defames Him. One of His qualities is charm or “shrii”. Due to His charm people flock to Him knowingly or unknowingly. The word “shrii” is a combination of two consonants: “Sha” and “ra”. “Sha” is the acoustic root of mutative principle and “ra” the acoustic root of energy. So “shra” means one who is endowed with the energy as well as the capacity to utilize it. In the feminine gender it becomes “shrii” with the addition of the feminine suffix “iip”. Other qualities of His are knowledge and renunciation. Here, knowledge means real knowledge, that is, self-knowledge, which is essential for doing welfare to the world. He is all-knowing, omniscient:

Tatra niratishayaḿ sarvajiṋatvabiijam

And the next quality is vaerágya (renunciation) – prefix “vi” – “rańj” + “ghaiṋ”. Vaerágya is that state in which the mind doesn’t allow any color to influence it. One who remains unassailed by everything is called “aparámrśt́a”. Parama Puruśa is such an entity. One who has all these qualities is called “Bhagaván”.

When the demons perpetrate atrocities in the world to an unbearable degree, and the common people are unable to resist such demonic strength individually or collectively, Parama Puruśa has no other option but to come down to this earth to aid suffering humanity and make all the necessary arrangements for the promotion of human welfare. “Tadátmánaḿ srjámyahaḿ” – “then I have to descend unto this earth”. That’s why human beings need not be afraid of anything under any circumstances. Even when Parama Puruśa does not come down to earth in a special way, He remains everywhere. He is helping all through his individual and collective associations. And when He is required to come to earth in a special way – just as Shiva and Krśńa were required to come – human beings get Him very close in their midst. This is the general principle. Human beings need not be afraid of anything.

What is He like?

Tamiishvaráńáḿ paramaḿ maheshvaraḿ tvaḿ devatánáḿ paramaiṋca daevatam,
Patiḿ patiináḿ paramaḿ parastád vidáma devaḿ bhuvaneshamiidyam.

“Iishvara” means “controller”, the controller of everything. In the world, each and every object requires a controller. It has been said here, “Tamiishvaránám paramaḿ maheshvaram”. In various fields of life there are various controllers of different grades. The Supreme Controller of all these controllers is Maheshvara, the Controller of controllers.

“Tvaḿ devatánáḿ paramaiṋca daevatam”. One who has taken shelter in Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Controller, will never be afraid of other controllers. Indeed, there is no justifiable reason to be afraid.

The innumerable vibrations which emanate from Parama Puruśa and vibrate this universe causing it to endlessly unfold itself in a sequential order, are known as “devas”. Those vibrational manifestations are but the phenomenal expressions of that Singular, Noumenal Entity: Maheshvara. He is also called Mahádeva as He is the root cause of all “devas”.

“Patiḿ patiináḿ”. Pati means owner. In this world there are big and small owners. In Persian, the suffix “dár” is used to denote ownership. For example, a shop owner is called “dokándár”; a living being (an owner of life) is called “jándár”. In Saḿskrta, the word “pati” is used in the sense of “dár” or ownership. For instance, deshapati, kulapati, dalapati and so on. You all surely know that the Bengali surname “Dalui” has come from the word “dalapati”. Parama Puruśa is the Supreme Owner of all other owners, big or small, so why should a person who has taken shelter in Him be afraid of anyone?

“Paramaḿ parastád”. There are invariably two factors behind every action: the witnessed counterpart and the witnessing counterpart. That which is witnessed, which is in the accusative case, is “apara”, and that which witness, which is in the nominative case, is “para”. Human beings are related to this material world through the nerve cells. If the nerve cells are para, the external world is apara. But, when the nerve cells are activated by the mind, the mind becomes para, and the nerve cells, apara. And when mind is apara, unit soul is para. And when the unit soul is apara, Parama Puruśa is para. So Parama Puruśa is the highest para above all the other paras. So why should one who has taken shelter in Him be afraid of anyone?

If the human beings are to know only one entity, they should know the One. Know One, know all. If you want to know all, know One. By studying thousands of books, human beings will not elevate themselves; they will only attain elevation through self-knowledge. So it is said, “Vidáma devaḿ bhuvaneshamiidyam”. One should try to know the Lord of the lords, the supreme and final cause of this universe, and no other entity. If one know Him, one will know all. He is the most venerable entity of this universe. If people venerate Him, they will attain success. There is no other way. “Nányah panthá vidyate’yanáya”.