When Lord Brahmā, the first reated being, found himself seated upon a lotus flower, he was unable to find its source. He could not see that the lotus sprang from the Lord; nor did he
know who he was or what his purpose was. He followed the stem of the lotus down to the waters from which it had arisen, and there he considered all these questions. While thus engaged in thinking, Brahmā heard two syllables joined together. These formed the word tapa, austerity, which is the wealth of the renounced order of life. When he heard this sound, he tried to find the speaker, searching on all sides. But when he was unable to find anyone besides himself, he thought it wise to sit down firmly on his lotus seat and give his attention to the execution of penance, as he had been instructed. He underwent penances for one thousand years by the calculation of the demigods. Thus he controlled his mind and senses as a great lesson for the living entities. By reciting the mantra of the Lord and meditating on the transcendental form of the Lord in the spiritual world, Brahmā at last heard the sound of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's flute. As the sound entered his eight ears, it came out of his mouths as the transcendental Gāyatrī mantra. In this way Brahmā was initiated with all the Vedic knowledge and came to understand who he was and how he was to engage himself in creation of this universe.