Once, the mental sons of Lord Brahmā—the sages headed by Sanaka—inquired from their father about the difficult subject matter of the supreme goal of yoga. "O Lord," said Sanaka, "people's mindsare naturally attracted to material sense objects, and similarly the sense objects in the form of desire enter within the mind. Therefore, how can a person who desires liberation, who desires to cross over activities of sense gratification, destroy this mutual relationship between the sense objects and the mind? Please explain this to us."
Lord Brahmā seriously contemplated the question posed by his sons, but his intelligence had been affected by his activities of creation, and thus he could not think of the answer. Desiring to attain the answer, he fixed his mind on the Supreme Lord, and soon the Lord appeared to Brahmā as Hamsa, the swan incarnation.
When the four sages headed by Sanaka saw the Lord, they placed Brahmā before them and approached the Lord's lotus feet. Then they inquired from Him about His identity and the truth of the yoga system.
PAINTING JAGAT-KARANA-DEVĪ DĀSĪ