The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now
hear, O son of Påthä, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with
mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.
SB 7.15.58
When we raise our unmixed faith to the lotus
feet of Kåñëa, everything is revealed. Kåñëa also says in Bhagavad-gétä (7.1):
"Now hear, O son of Påthä [Arjuna], how
by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you
can know Me in full, free from doubt." Simply by raising one's staunch
faith in Kåñëa and His instructions, one can understand reality without a doubt
(asaàçayaà samagraà mäm). One can understand how Kåñëa's material and spiritual
energies are working and how He is present everywhere although everything is
not Him. This philosophy of acintya-bhedäbheda, inconceivable oneness and
difference, is the perfect philosophy enunciated by the Vaiñëavas. Everything
is an emanation from Kåñëa, but it is not that everything must therefore be
worshiped. Speculative knowledge cannot give us reality as it is, but will
continue to be nefariously imperfect. So-called scientists try to prove that
there is no God and that everything is happening because of the laws of nature,
but this is imperfect knowledge because nothing can work unless directed by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is explained in Bhagavad-gétä (9.10) by
the Lord Himself:
"This material nature is working under
My direction, O son of Kunté, and it is producing all moving and unmoving
beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and
again." In this regard, Çréla Madhväcärya gives this note: durghaöatväd
arthatvena parameçvareëaiva kalpitam. The background of everything is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Väsudeva. Väsudevaù sarvam iti sa mahätmä
sudurlabhaù [Bg. 7.19]. This can be understood by a mahätmä who is perfect in
knowledge. Such a mahätmä is rarely seen.
SB 9.4.18-20
In Bhagavad-gétä (7.1) the Lord recommends,
mayy äsakta-manäù pärtha yogaà yuïjan mad-äçrayaù. This indicates that one must
execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under
the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible,
however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master.
Therefore, according to the instructions of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, the first
business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train
him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the
Lord.
Out of many thousands among men, one may
endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one
knows Me in truth.
SB 1.2.20
In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.3) it is said that
out of many thousands of ordinary men, one fortunate man endeavors for
perfection in life. Mostly men are conducted by the modes of passion and
ignorance, and thus they are engaged always in lust, desire, hankerings,
ignorance and sleep. Out of many such manlike animals, there is actually a man
who knows the responsibility of human life and thus tries to make life perfect
by following the prescribed duties. And out of many thousands of such persons
who have thus attained success in human life, one may know scientifically about
the Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa.
SB 1.5.16
Theological science is a difficult subject,
especially when it deals with the transcendental nature of God. It is not a
subject matter to be understood by persons who are too much attached to
material activities. Only the very expert, who have almost retired from
materialistic activities by culture of spiritual knowledge, can be admitted to
the study of this great science. In the Bhagavad-gétä it is clearly stated that
out of many hundreds and thousands of men only one person deserves to enter
into transcendental realization. And out of many thousands of such
transcendentally realized persons, only a few can understand the theological
science specifically dealing with God as a person. Çré Vyäsadeva is therefore
advised by Närada to describe the science of God directly by relating His
transcendental activities. Vyäsadeva is himself a personality expert in this
science, and he is unattached to material enjoyment. Therefore he is the right
person to describe it, and Çukadeva Gosvämé, the son of Vyäsadeva, is the right
person to receive it.
SB 2.4.3-4
The three activities of religion, economic
development and sense gratification are generally attractive for conditioned
souls struggling for existence in the material world. Such regulated activities
prescribed in the Vedas are called the karma-käëòéya conception of life, and
householders are generally recommended to follow the rules just to enjoy
material prosperity both in this life and in the next. Most people are
attracted by such activities. Even in the activities of their modern godless
civilization, people are more concerned with economic development and sense
gratification without any religious sentiments. As a great emperor of the
world, Mahäräja Parékñit had to observe such regulations of the Vedic
karma-käëòéya section, but by his slight association with Çukadeva Gosvämé he
could perfectly understand that Lord Kåñëa, the Absolute Personality of Godhead
(Väsudeva), for whom he had a natural love since his birth, is everything, and
thus he fixed his mind firmly upon Him, renouncing all modes of Vedic
karma-käëòéya activities. This perfectional stage is attained by a jïäné after
many, many births. The jïänés, or the empiric philosophers endeavoring for
liberation, are thousands of times better than the fruitive workers, and out of
hundreds of thousands of such jïänés one is liberated factually. And out of
hundreds of thousands of such liberated persons, even one person is rarely
found who can firmly fix his mind unto the lotus feet of Lord Çré Kåñëa, as
declared by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19).
SB 3.21.34
It is clearly stated here that the sage
Kardama began to look to the path by which the Lord was being carried to
Vaikuëöha. It is thus confirmed that the Lord descends from His abode,
Vaikuëöha, in the spiritual sky, and is carried by Garuòa. The path which leads
to Vaikuëöha is not worshiped by the ordinary class of transcendentalists. Only
those who are already liberated from material bondage can become devotees of
the Lord. Those who are not liberated from material bondage cannot understand
transcendental devotional service. In Bhagavad-gétä it is clearly stated,
yatatäm api siddhänäm [Bg. 7.3]. There are many persons who are trying to
attain perfection by striving for liberation from material bondage, and those
who are actually liberated are called brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20] or siddha. Only
the siddhas, or persons liberated from material bondage, can become devotees.
This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä: anyone who is engaged in Kåñëa
consciousness, or devotional service, is already liberated from the influence
of the modes of material nature. Here it is also confirmed that the path of
devotional service is worshiped by liberated persons, not the conditioned
souls. The conditioned soul cannot understand the devotional service of the
Lord. Kardama Muni was a liberated soul who saw the Supreme Lord in person, face
to face. There was no doubt that he was liberated, and thus he could see Garuòa
carrying the Lord on the way to Vaikuëöha and hear the flapping of his wings
vibrating the sound of Hare Kåñëa, the essence of the Säma Veda.
SB 6.1.15
The word kecit, which is used in this verse,
means. "a few people but not all." Not everyone can become Kåñëa
conscious. As Kåñëa explains in Bhagavad-gétä (7.3):
"Out of many thousands among men, one
may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly
one knows Me in truth." Practically no one understands Kåñëa as He is, for
Kåñëa cannot be understood through pious activities or attainment of the most
elevated speculative knowledge. Actually the highest knowledge consists of
understanding Kåñëa. Unintelligent men who do not understand Kåñëa are grossly
puffed up, thinking that they are liberated or have themselves become Kåñëa or
Näräyaëa. This is ignorance.
SB 6.3.14-15
Among many thousands of men, one may
endeavor for perfection, and even among the siddhas, those who have already
become perfect, only one who adopts the process of bhakti, devotional service,
can understand Kåñëa.
SB 8.13.13
In Bhagavad-gétä (7.3) it is stated,
manuñyäëäà sahasreñu kaçcid yatati siddhaye: out of many millions of people,
one may attempt to achieve success in life. This success is explained here.
Räddham indra-padaà hitvä tataù siddhim aväpsyati. Siddhi consists of achieving
the favor of Lord Viñëu, not the yoga-siddhis. The yoga-siddhis-aëimä, laghimä,
mahimä, präpti, präkämya, éçitva, vaçitva and kämävasäyitä—are temporary. The
ultimate siddhi is to achieve the favor of Lord Viñëu.
SB 10.10.37
Unless delivered or blessed by a devotee,
one cannot realize that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Manuñyäëäà
sahasreñu kaçcid yatati siddhaye. According to this verse of Bhagavad-gétä
(7.3), there are so many siddhas or yogés who cannot understand Kåñëa; instead,
they misunderstand Him. But if one takes shelter of a devotee descending from
the paramparä system of Närada (svayambhür näradaù çambhuù [SB 6.3.20]), one
can then understand who is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. In this age, many pseudo incarnations are advertised simply for having
exhibited some magical performances, but except for persons who are servants of
Närada and other servants of Kåñëa, no one can understand who is God and who is
not. This is confirmed by Narottama däsa Öhäkura. Chäòiyä vaiñëava-sevä nistära
päyeche kebä: no one is delivered from the material conception of life unless
favored by a Vaiñëava. Others can never understand, neither by speculation nor
by any other bodily or mental gymnastics.
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated
material energies.
SB 2.6.22
The supreme truth has been ascertained in
the previous verse as puruña or the puruñottama, the Supreme person. The
Absolute person is the éçvara, or the supreme controller, by His different
energies. The ekapäd-vibhüti manifestation of the material energy of the Lord
is just like one of the many mistresses of the Lord, by whom the Lord is not so
much attracted, as indicated in the language of the Gétä (bhinnä prakåtiù). But
the region of the tripäd-vibhüti, being a pure spiritual manifestation of the
energy of the Lord, is, so to speak, more attractive to Him. The Lord,
therefore, generates the material manifestations by impregnating the material
energy, and then, within the manifestation, He expands Himself as the gigantic
form of the viçva-rüpa.
SB 2.10.33
As explained in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.4), the
separated material energy of the Personality of Godhead is covered by eight
kinds of material coverings: earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence
and false ego. All these are emanations from the Personality of Godhead as His
external energy. These coverings are just like the covering of clouds for the
sun. The cloud is a creation of the sun, yet it actually covers the eyes so
that one cannot see the sun. The sun cannot be covered by the clouds. The cloud
can at utmost extend a few hundreds of miles in the sky, but the sun is far
greater than millions of miles. So a hundred-mile covering is not competent to
cover millions of miles. Therefore, one of the various energies of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead cannot, of course, cover the Lord. But these coverings
are created by Him to cover the eyes of the conditioned souls who want to lord
it over the material nature. Actually the conditioned souls are covered by the
illusory creative cloud of matter, and the Lord reserves the right of not being
exposed to their eyes. Because they have no eyes of transcendental vision and
because they cannot see the Personality of Godhead, they therefore deny the
existence of the Lord and the transcendental form of the Lord. The covering of
the gigantic material feature is accepted by such men with a poor fund of
knowledge, and how this is so is explained in the following verse.
SB 7.2.43
In Bhagavad-gétä the Supreme Personality of
Godhead has explained that the material energy and spiritual energy both
emanate from Him. The material energy is described as me bhinnä prakåtir
añöadhä [Bg. 7.4], the eight separated energies of the Lord. But although the
eight gross and subtle material energies—namely, earth, water, fire, air,
ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—are stated to be bhinnä, separate from
the Lord, actually they are not. As fire appears separate from wood and as the
air flowing through the nostrils and mouth of the body appear separate from the
body, so the Paramätmä, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears separate
from the living being but is actually separate and not separate simultaneously.
This is the philosophy of acintya-bhedäbheda-tattva propounded by Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu. According to the reactions of karma, the living being appears
separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but actually he is very
intimately related with the Lord. Consequently, even though we now seem
neglected by the Lord, He is actually always alert to our activities. Under all
circumstances, therefore, we should simply depend on the supremacy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus revive our intimate relationship with
Him. We must depend upon the authority and control of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.
SB 8.12.5
According to the Vedic mantras, yato vä
imäni bhütäni jäyante: everything is an emanation of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. As stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (7.4):
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated
material energies." In other words, the ingredients of the cosmic
manifestation also consist of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This does not mean, however, that because the ingredients come from Him, He is
no longer complete. pürëasya pürëam ädäya pürëam evävaçiñyate: [Éço Invocation]
"Because He is the complete whole, even though so many complete units
emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance." Thus the Lord is called
avyaya, inexhaustible. Unless we accept the Absolute Truth as
acintya-bhedäbheda, simultaneously one and different, we cannot have a clear
conception of the Absolute Truth. The Lord is the root of everything. Aham ädir
hi devänäm: [Bg 10.2] He is the original cause of all the devas, or demigods.
Ahaà sarvasya prabhavaù: [Bg. 10.8] everything emanates from Him. In all
cases—nominative, objective, positive, negative and so on—whatever we may
conceive of in this entire cosmic manifestation is in fact the Supreme Lord.
For Him there are no such distinctions as "this is mine, and this belongs
to someone else," because He is everything. He is therefore called
avyaya—changeless and inexhaustible. Because the Supreme Lord is avyaya, He is
the Absolute Truth, the fully spiritual Supreme Brahman.
Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is
another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are
exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.
SB 1.2.28-29
Väsudeva is the original Personality of
Godhead Lord Çré Kåñëa. As explained before, the original Personality of
Godhead expands Himself by innumerable forms. Such expansion of forms is made
possible by His various energies. His energies are also multifarious, and His
internal energies are superior and external energies inferior in quality. They
are explained in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.4-6) as the parä and the aparä prakåtis.
So His expansions of various forms which take place via the internal energies
are superior forms, whereas the expansions which take place via the external
energies are inferior forms. The living entities are also His expansions. The
living entities who are expanded by His internal potency are eternally
liberated persons, whereas those who are expanded in terms of the material
energies are eternally conditioned souls. Therefore, all culture of knowledge,
austerities, sacrifice and activities should be aimed at changing the quality
of the influence that is acting upon us. For the present, we are all being
controlled by the external energy of the Lord, and just to change the quality
of the influence, we must endeavor to cultivate spiritual energy.
SB 1.11.34
The living beings are by constitution
feminine by nature. The male or enjoyer is the Lord, and all manifestations of His
different potencies are feminine by nature. In the Bhagavad-gétä, the living
beings are designated as parä-prakåti, or the superior potency. The material
elements are aparä-prakåti, or inferior potency. Such potencies are always
employed for the satisfaction of the employer, or the enjoyer. The supreme
enjoyer is the Lord Himself, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (5.29). The
potencies, therefore, when engaged directly in the service of the Lord, revive
the natural color, and thus there is no disparity in the relation of the potent
and potency.
SB 2.5.14
This phenomenal world is impersonally the
representation of Väsudeva because the ingredients of its creation, their
interaction and the enjoyer of the resultant action, the living being, are all
produced by the external and internal energies of Lord Kåñëa. This is confirmed
in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.4-5). The ingredients, namely earth, water, fire, air
and sky, as well as the conception of material identity, intelligence and the
mind, are produced of the external energy of the Lord. The living entity who
enjoys the interaction of the above gross and subtle ingredients, as set up by
eternal time, is an offshoot of internal potency, with freedom to remain either
in the material world or in the spiritual world. In the material world the
living entity is enticed by deluding nescience, but in the spiritual world he
is in the normal condition of spiritual existence without any delusion. The
living entity is known as the marginal potency of the Lord. But in all circumstances,
neither the material ingredients nor the spiritual parts and parcels are
independent of the Personality of Godhead Väsudeva, for all things, whether
products of the external, internal or marginal potencies of the Lord, are
simply displays of the same effulgence of the Lord, just as light, heat and
smoke are displays of fire. None of them are separate from the fire—all of them
combine together to be called fire; similarly, all phenomenal manifestations,
as well as the effulgence of the body of Väsudeva, are His impersonal features,
whereas He eternally exists in His transcendental form called
sac-cid-änanda-vigrahaù [Bs. 5.1], distinct from all conceptions of the
material ingredients mentioned above.
SB 2.9.34
There is one Supreme Person who is the progenitor
of this cosmic manifestation and whose energy acts as prakåti, or the material
nature, dazzling like a reflection. By such illusory action of prakåti, even
dead matter is caused to move by the cooperation of living energy of the Lord,
and the material world appears like a dramatic performance to the ignorant
eyes. The ignorant person, therefore, may even be a scientist or physiologist
in the drama of prakåti, while the sane person knows prakåti as the illusory
energy of the Lord. By such a conclusion, as confirmed by the Bhagavad-gétä, it
is clear that the living entities are also a display of the Lord's superior
energy (parä prakåti), just as the material world is a display of the Lord's
inferior energy (aparä prakåti). The superior energy of the Lord cannot be as
good as the Lord, although there is very little difference between the energy
and the possessor of the energy, or the fire and the heat. Fire is possessed of
heat, but heat is not fire. This simple thing is not understood by the man with
a poor fund of knowledge who falsely claims that the fire and heat are the
same. This energy of the fire (namely heat) is explained here as a reflection,
and not directly fire. Therefore the living energy represented by the living
entities is the reflection of the Lord, and never the Lord Himself. Being the
reflection of the Lord, the existence of the living entity is dependent on the
Supreme Lord, who is the original light. This material energy may be compared
to darkness, as actually it is darkness, and the activities of the living
entities in the darkness are reflections of the original light. The Lord should
be understood by the context of this verse. Nondependence of both the energies
of the Lord is explained as mäyä, or illusion. No one can make a solution of
the darkness of ignorance simply by the reflection of light. Similarly, no one
can come out of material existence simply by the reflected light of the common
man; one has to receive the light from the original light itself. The
reflection of sunlight in the darkness is unable to drive out the darkness, but
the sunlight outside the reflection can drive out the darkness completely. In
darkness no one can see the things in a room. Therefore a person in the dark is
afraid of snakes and scorpions, although there may not be such things. But in
the light the things in the room can be clearly seen, and the fear of snakes
and scorpions is at once removed. Therefore one has to take shelter of the
light of the Lord, as in the Bhagavad-gétä or the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and not
the reflective personalities who have no touch with the Lord. No one should
hear Bhagavad-gétä or Çrémad-Bhägavatam from a person who does not believe in
the existence of the Lord. Such a person is already doomed, and any association
with such a doomed person makes the associater also doomed.
SB 2.10.12
The living entities are the enjoyers of the
material ingredients, time, modes, etc., because they want to lord it over the
material nature. The Lord is the supreme enjoyer, and the living entities are
meant to assist the Lord in His enjoyment and thus participate in the
transcendental enjoyment of everyone. The enjoyer and the enjoyed both
participate in enjoyment, but, deluded by the illusory energy, the living
entities want to become the enjoyer like the Lord, although they are not meant
for such enjoyment. The jévas, the living entities, are mentioned in the
Bhagavad-gétä as the Lord's superior nature, or parä prakåti, and so also it is
mentioned in the Viñëu Puräëa. Therefore the living entities are never the
puruñas, or the factual enjoyers. As such, the spirit of enjoyment by the
living entity in the material world is false. In the spiritual world the living
entities are pure in nature, and therefore they are associates in the enjoyment
of the Supreme Lord. In the material world the spirit of enjoyment of the
living entities by dint of their own actions (karma) gradually fades by the
laws of nature, and thus the illusory energy dictates in the ears of the
conditioned souls that they should become one with the Lord. This is the last
snare of the illusory energy. When the last illusion is also cleared off by the
mercy of the Lord, the living entity again becomes reinstated in his original
position and thus becomes actually liberated. For this attainment of liberation
from the material clutches, the Lord creates the material world, maintains it
for some time (one thousand years of His measurement, as stated in the previous
verse), and then again annihilates it by His will. The living entities are therefore
completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord, and all their so-called
enjoyments by scientific improvement are crushed into dust when the Lord
desires.
SB 3.6.9
In Bhagavad-gétä (7.4-5) it is stated that
the eight elements earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false
ego are all products of the Lord's inferior energy, whereas the living
entities, who are seen to utilize the inferior energy, originally belong to the
superior energy, the internal potency of the Lord. The eight inferior energies
work grossly and subtly, whereas the superior energy works as the central
generating force. This is experienced in the human body. The gross elements,
namely, earth, etc., form the external gross body and are like a coat, whereas
the subtle mind and false ego act like the inner clothing of the body.
SB 5.18.26
Everyone is under the control of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, exactly like dancing dolls controlled by a puppeteer or
a woman controlled by her husband. A woman is compared to a doll (därumayé)
because she has no independence. She should always be controlled by a man.
Still, due to false prestige, a class of women wants to remain independent.
What to speak of women, all living entities are prakåti (female) and therefore
dependent on the Supreme Lord, as Kåñëa Himself explains in Bhagavad-gétä
(apareyam itas tv anyäà prakåtià viddhi me paräm [Bg. 7.5]). The living entity
is never independent. Under all circumstances, he is dependent on the mercy of
the Lord. The Lord creates the social divisions of human society—brähmaëas,
kñatriyas, vaiçyas and çüdras—and ordains that they follow rules and
regulations suited to their particular position. In this way, all members of
society remain always under the Supreme Lord's control. Still, some people
foolishly deny the existence of God.
SB 6.15.7
From Bhagavad-gétä we understand that there
are two energies, namely the superior energy and inferior energy. Inferior
energy consists of the five gross and three subtle material elements. The
living entity, who represents the superior energy, appears in different types
of bodies through these elements by the manipulation or supervision of the
material energy. Actually both the material and spiritual energies—matter and
spirit—exist eternally as potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
potent entity is the Supreme Person. Since the spiritual energy, the living
being, who is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, desires to enjoy this
material world, the Lord gives him a chance to accept different types of
material bodies and enjoy or suffer in different material conditions.
Factually, the spiritual energy, the living entity who desires to enjoy
material things, is manipulated by the Supreme Lord. The so-called father and
mother have nothing to do with the living entity. As a result of his own choice
and karma, the living being takes different bodies through the agency of
so-called fathers and mothers.
SB 6.16.51
Herein it is said, ahaà vai sarva-bhütäni:
the Lord is everything (sarva-bhütäni), including the living entities and the
material or physical elements. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (7.4-5):
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated
material energies. Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there
is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of the living entities, who are
struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe." The
living entity tries to lord it over the material or physical elements, but both
the physical elements and the spiritual spark are energies emanating from the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord says, ahaà vai
sarva-bhütäni: "I am everything." Just as heat and light emanate from
fire, these two energies—the physical elements and the living entities—emanate
from the Supreme Lord. Therefore the Lord says, ahaà vai sarva-bhütäni: "I
expand the physical and spiritual categories."
SB 7.3.5
The consciousness of the living being is
always present and never changes under any circumstances, as above mentioned.
When a living man moves from one place to another, he is conscious that he has
changed his position. He is always present in the past, present and future,
like electricity. One can remember incidents from his past and can conjecture
about his future also on the basis of past experience. He never forgets his
personal identity, even though he is placed in awkward circumstances. How then
can the living entity become forgetful of his real identity as pure spirit soul
and identify with matter unless influenced by something beyond himself? The
conclusion is that the living entity is influenced by the avidyä potency, as
confirmed in both the Viñëu Puräëa and the beginning of Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The
living entity is mentioned in Bhagavad-gétä (7.5) as parä prakåti, and in the
Viñëu Puräëa he is mentioned as the parä çakti. He is part and parcel of the
Supreme Lord as potency and not as the potent. The potent can exhibit many
potencies, but the potency cannot equal the potent at any stage. One potency
may be overcome by another potency, but to the potent, all potencies are under
control. The jéva potency, or the kñetrajïa-çakti of the Lord, has the tendency
to be overpowered by the external potency, avidyä-karma-saàjïä, and in this way
he is placed in the awkward circumstances of material existence. The living
entity cannot be forgetful of his real identity unless influenced by the avidyä
potency. Because the living entity is prone to the influence of the avidyä
potency, he can never equal the supreme potent.
SB 8.12.8
Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura says
that the living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead's marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living
entities are products of the material energy. Thus the body is considered
material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both,
however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord explains in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.4-5):
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated
material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna,
there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who
are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe." Thus
both matter and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme
Lord. Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the
material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the
Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything. In
this regard, the example may be given of gold that has not been molded and gold
that has been molded into various ornaments. A gold earring and the gold in a
mine are different only as cause and effect; otherwise they are the same. The
Vedänta-sütra describes that Brahman is the cause of everything. Janmädy asya
yataù [SB 1.1.1]. Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which
everything emanates as different energies. None of these energies, therefore,
should be considered false. The Mäyävädés' differentiation between Brahman and
mäyä is only due to ignorance.
SB 10.13.39
"At first," Lord Balaräma said,
"I thought that these boys and calves were a display of the power of great
sages like Närada, but now I see that all these boys and calves are You."
After inquiring from Kåñëa, Lord Balaräma understood that Kåñëa Himself had
become many. That the Lord can do this is stated in the Brahma-saàhitä (5.33).
Advaitam acyutam anädim ananta-rüpam: although He is one, He can expand Himself
in so many forms. According to the Vedic version, ekaà bahu syäm: He can expand
Himself into many thousands and millions but still remain one. In that sense,
everything is spiritual because everything is an expansion of Kåñëa; that is,
everything is an expansion either of Kåñëa Himself or of His potency. Because
the potency is nondifferent from the potent, the potency and the potent are one
(çakti-çaktimatayor abhedaù). The Mäyävädés, however, say, cid-acit-samanvayaù:
spirit and matter are one. This is a wrong conception. Spirit (cit) is
different from matter (acit), as explained by Kåñëa Himself in Bhagavad-gétä
(7.4-5):
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated
material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna,
there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who
are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe."
Spirit and matter cannot be made one, for actually they are superior and
inferior energies, yet the Mäyävädés, or Advaita-vädés, try to make them one.
This is wrong. Although spirit and matter ultimately come from the same one
source, they cannot be made one. For example, there are many things that come
from our bodies, but although they come from the same source, they cannot be
made one. We should be careful to note that although the supreme source is one,
the emanations from this source should be separately regarded as inferior and
superior. The difference between the Mäyäväda and Vaiñëava philosophies is that
the Vaiñëava philosophy recognizes this fact. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu's
philosophy, therefore, is called acintya-bhedäbheda—simultaneous oneness and
difference. For example, fire and heat cannot be separated, for where there is
fire there is heat and where there is heat there is fire. Nonetheless, although
we cannot touch fire, heat we can tolerate. Therefore, although they are one,
they are different.
O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth
superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
SB 1.15.6
Factually for a living being there is no one
dearer than the Lord. The Lord expands Himself by innumerable parts and parcels
as sväàça and vibhinnäàça. Paramätmä is the sväàça part of the Lord, whereas
the vibhinnäàça parts are the living beings. As the living being is the
important factor in the material body, for without the living being the material
body has no value, similarly without Paramätmä the living being has no status
quo. Similarly, Brahman or Paramätmä has no locus standi without the Supreme
Lord Kåñëa. This is thoroughly explained in the Bhagavad-gétä. They are all
interlinked with one another, or interdependent factors; thus in the ultimate
issue the Lord is the summum bonum and therefore the vital principle of
everything.
SB 2.6.32
The conception of one without a second is
clearly confirmed here. The one is Lord Väsudeva, and only by His different
energies and expansions are different manifestations, both in the material and
in the spiritual worlds, maintained. In the material world also, Lord Väsudeva
is everything, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19). Väsudevaù sarvam iti: everything
is Väsudeva only. In the Vedic hymns also the same Väsudeva is held to be
supreme. It is said in the Vedas, väsudevät paro brahman na cänyo 'rtho 'sti
tattvataù: in fact there is no greater truth than Väsudeva. And Lord Kåñëa
affirms the same truth in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.7). Mattaù parataraà nänyat:
"There is nothing above Me [Lord Kåñëa]." So the conception of
oneness, as overly stressed by the impersonalist, is also accepted by the
personalist devotee of the Lord. The difference is that the impersonalist
denies personality in the ultimate issue, whereas the devotee gives more
importance to the Personality of Godhead.
SB 4.14.28
As stated by Kåñëa Himself throughout
Bhagavad-gétä, there is no truth superior to Him. King Vena was imitating the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and was also speaking out of false pride,
presenting himself as the Supreme Lord. These are all characteristics of a
demonic person.
SB 7.3.29
In this verse it is clearly indicated that
the original source of everything is life. Brahmä was instructed by the supreme
life, Kåñëa. Kåñëa is the supreme living entity (nityo nityänäà cetanaç
cetanänäm (Kaöha Upaniñad 2.2.13)), and Brahmä is also a living entity, but the
original source of Brahmä is Kåñëa. Therefore Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä
(7.7), mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya: "O Arjuna, there is
no truth superior to Me." Kåñëa is the original source of Brahmä, who is
the original source of this universe. Brahmä is a representative of Kåñëa, and
therefore all the qualities and activities of Kåñëa are also present in Lord
Brahmä.
SB 8.12.36
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known
as all-powerful because no one can excel Him in any activity. In Bhagavad-gétä
(7.7) the Lord says, mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya: "O
conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me." No one can equal
the Lord or be greater than Him, for He is the master of everyone. As stated in
Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi 5.142), ekale éçvara kåñëa, ära saba bhåtya. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, is the only master of everyone,
including even Lord Çiva, what to speak of others. Lord Çiva was already aware
of the supreme power of Lord Viñëu, but when he was actually put into
bewilderment, he felt proud to have such an exalted master.
SB 10.1.4
If we hear the glories of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead from liberated persons, this hearing will certainly free
us from the bondage of material activities, but hearing Çrémad-Bhägavatam
spoken by a professional reciter cannot actually help us achieve liberation.
Kåñëa-kathä is very simple. In Bhagavad-gétä it is said that Kåñëa is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. As He Himself explains, mattaù parataraà nänyat
kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya: "O Arjuna, there is no truth superior to Me."
(Bg. 7.7) Simply by understanding this fact—that Kåñëa is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead—one can become a liberated person.
O son of Kunté, I am the taste of water, the
light of the sun and the moon, the syllable oà in the Vedic mantras; I am the
sound in ether and ability in man.
SB 2.1.17
Oàkära, or the praëava, is the seed of
transcendental realization, and it is composed of the three transcendental
letters a-u-m. By its chanting by the mind, in conjunction with the breathing
process, which is a transcendental but mechanical way of getting into trance,
as devised by the experience of great mystics, one is able to bring the mind,
which is materially absorbed, under control. This is the way of changing the
habit of the mind. The mind is not to be killed. Mind or desire cannot be
stopped, but to develop a desire to function for spiritual realization, the
quality of engagement by the mind has to be changed. The mind is the pivot of
the active sense organs, and as such if the quality of thinking, feeling and
willing is changed, naturally the quality of actions by the instrumental senses
will also change. Oàkära is the seed of all transcendental sound and it is only
the transcendental sound which can bring about the desired change of the mind
and the senses. Even a mentally deranged man can be cured by treatment of
transcendental sound. In the Bhagavad-gétä, the praëava (oàkära) has been
accepted as the direct, literal representation of the Supreme Absolute Truth.
One who is not able to chant directly the holy name of the Lord, as recommended
above, can easily chant the praëava (oàkära). This oàkära is a note of address,
such as "O my Lord," just as oà hari om means "O my Lord, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead." As we have explained before, the Lord's
holy name is identical with the Lord Himself. So also is oàkära. But persons
who are unable to realize the transcendental personal form or name of the Lord
on account of their imperfect senses (in other words, the neophytes) are
trained to the practice of self-realization by this mechanical process of
regulating the breathing function and simultaneously repeating the praëava
(oàkära) within the mind. As we have several times expressed, since the
transcendental name, form, attributes, pastimes, etc., of the Personality of
Godhead are impossible to understand with the present material senses, it is
necessary that through the mind, the center of sensual activities, such
transcendental realization be set into motion. The devotees directly fix their
minds on the Person of the Absolute Truth. But one who is unable to accommodate
such personal features of the Absolute is disciplined in impersonality to train
the mind to make further progress.
SB 6.5.26
Every Vedic mantra is called brahma because
each mantra is preceded by the brahmäkñara (aum or oàkära). For example, oà
namo bhagavate väsudeväya. Lord Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (7.8), praëavaù
sarva-vedeñu: "In all the Vedic mantras, I am represented by praëava, or
oàkära." Thus chanting of the Vedic mantras beginning with oàkära is
directly chanting of Kåñëa's name. There is no difference. Whether one chants
oàkära or addresses the Lord as "Kåñëa," the meaning is the same, but
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has recommended that in this age one chant the Hare
Kåñëa mantra (harer näma eva kevalam [Cc. Ädi 17.21]). Although there is no
difference between Hare Kåñëa and the Vedic mantras beginning with oàkära, Çré
Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the leader of the spiritual movement for this age, has
recommended that one chant Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare
Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
SB 7.8.16
In Bhagavad-gétä (7.8), Kåñëa explains
Himself by saying:
"O son of Kunté [Arjuna], I am the
taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic
mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man." Here the Lord
exhibited His presence everywhere by the tumultuous sound in the sky (çabdaù
khe). The tumultuous thundering sound was proof of the Lord's presence. The
demons like Hiraëyakaçipu could now realize the supreme ruling power of the
Lord, and thus Hiraëyakaçipu became afraid. However powerful a man may be, he
always fears the sound of a thunderbolt. Similarly, Hiraëyakaçipu and all the
demons who were his associates were extremely afraid because of the presence of
the Supreme Lord in the form of sound, although they could not trace out the
source of the sound.
SB 7.13.29
This is an accurate example depicting how
the living entity, because of lack of knowledge, runs after happiness outside
his own self. When one understands his real identity as a spiritual being, he
can understand the supreme spiritual being, Kåñëa, and the real happiness
exchanged between Kåñëa and one's self. It is very interesting to note how this
verse points to the body's growth from the spirit soul. The modern
materialistic scientist thinks that life grows from matter, but actually the
fact is that matter grows from life. The life, or the spiritual soul, is
compared herein to water, from which clumps of matter grow in the form of
grass. One who is ignorant of scientific knowledge of the spirit soul does not
look inside the body to find happiness in the soul; instead, he goes outside to
search for happiness, just as a deer without knowledge of the water beneath the
grass goes out to the desert to find water. The Kåñëa consciousness movement is
trying to remove the ignorance of misled human beings who are trying to find
water outside the jurisdiction of life. Raso vai saù. Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya
[Bg. 7.8]. The taste of water is Kåñëa. To quench one's thirst, one must taste
water by association with Kåñëa. This is the Vedic injunction.
SB 8.3.2
Oàkära (praëava) is the symbolic sound
representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Oà tat sad iti nirdeço
brahmaëas tri-vidhaù småtaù: the three words oà tat sat immediately invoke the
Supreme Person. Therefore Kåñëa says that He is oàkära in all the Vedic mantras
(praëavaù sarva-vedeñu). The Vedic mantras are pronounced beginning with oàkära
to indicate immediately the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
for example, begins with the words oà namo bhagavate väsudeväya. There is no
difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Väsudeva, and oàkära
(praëava). We should be careful to understand that oàkära does not indicate
anything niräkära, or formless. Indeed, this verse immediately says, oà namo
bhagavate. Bhagavän is a person. Thus oàkära is the representation of the
Supreme Person. Oàkära is not meant to be impersonal, as the Mäyävädé
philosophers consider it to be. This is distinctly expressed here by the word
puruñäya. The supreme truth addressed by oàkära is puruña, the Supreme Person;
He is not impersonal. Unless He is a person, how can He control the great,
stalwart controllers of this universe? Lord Viñëu, Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva
are the supreme controllers of this universe, but Lord Viñëu is offered
obeisances even by Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä. Therefore this verse uses the
word pareçäya, which indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped
by exalted demigods. Pareçäya means parameçvara. Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva are
éçvaras, great controllers, but Lord Viñëu is parameçvara, the supreme
controller.
O son of Påthä, know that I am the original
seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of
all powerful men.
SB 4.19.8
If rivers are not polluted and are allowed
to flow in their own way, or sometimes allowed to flood the land, the land will
become very fertile and able to produce all kinds of vegetables, trees and
plants. The word rasa means "taste." Actually all rasas are tastes
within the earth, and as soon as seeds are sown in the ground, various trees
sprout up to satisfy our different tastes. For instance, sugarcane provides its
juices to satisfy our taste for sweetness, and oranges provide their juices to
satisfy our taste for a mixture of the sour and the sweet. Similarly, there are
pineapples and other fruits. At the same time, there are chilies to satisfy our
taste for pungency. Although the earth's ground is the same, different tastes
arise due to different kinds of seeds. As Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (7.10),
béjaà mäà sarva-bhütänäm: "I am the original seed of all existences."
Therefore all arrangements are there. And as stated in Éçopaniñad: pürëam idam
[Éçopaniñad, Invocation]. Complete arrangements for the production of all the
necessities of life are made by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People
should therefore learn how to satisfy the yajïa-puruña, Lord Viñëu. Indeed, the
living entity's prime business is to satisfy the Lord because the living entity
is part and parcel of the Lord. Thus the whole system is so arranged that the
living entity must do his duty as he is constitutionally made. Without doing
so, all living entities must suffer. That is the law of nature.
SB 6.16.36
Scientists say that water is a combination
of hydrogen and oxygen, but when they see a vast ocean they are puzzled about
where such a quantity of hydrogen and oxygen could have come from. They think
that everything evolved from chemicals, but where did the chemicals come from?
That they do not know. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of
all causes, He can produce immense quantities of chemicals to create a
situation for chemical evolution. We actually see that chemicals are produced
from living entities. For example, a lemon tree produces many tons of citric
acid. The citric acid is not the cause of the tree; rather, the tree is the
cause of the acid. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause
of everything. He is the cause of the tree that produces the citric acid (béjaà
mäà sarva-bhütänäm [Bg. 7.10]). Devotees can see that the original potencies
causing the cosmic manifestation are not in chemicals but in the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, for He is the cause of the chemicals.
SB 7.9.31
"O son of Påthä, know that I am the
original seed of all existences." In the Vedic literature it is said,
éçäväsyam idaà sarvam [Éço mantra 1], yato vä imäni bhütäni jäyante and sarvaà
khalv idaà brahma. All this Vedic information indicates that there is only one
God and that there is nothing else but Him. The Mäyävädé philosophers explain
this in their own way, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead asserts the truth
that He is everything and yet is separate from everything. This is the
philosophy of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, which is called
acintya-bhedäbheda-tattva. Everything is one, the Supreme Lord, yet everything
is separate from the Lord. This is the understanding of oneness and difference.
The example given in this regard—vasukälavad
añöi-tarvoù—is very easy to understand. Everything exists in time, yet there
are different phases of the time factor—present, past and future. Present, past
and future are one. Every day we can experience the time factor as morning,
noon and evening, and although morning is different from noon, which is
different from evening, all of them taken together are one. The time factor is
the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Lord is separate from
the time factor. Everything is created, maintained and annihilated by time, but
the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, has no beginning and no end. He
is nityaù çäçvataù—eternal, permanent. Everything passes through time's phases
of present, past and future, yet the Lord is always the same. Thus there is
undoubtedly a difference between the Lord and the cosmic manifestation, but
actually they are not different. Accepting them to be different is called
avidyä, ignorance.
I am the strength of the strong, devoid of
passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious
principles, O lord of the Bhäratas [Arjuna].
SB 3.14.38
The conditions for having good progeny in
society are that the husband should be disciplined in religious and regulative
principles and the wife should be faithful to the husband. In Bhagavad-gétä
(7.11) it is said that sexual intercourse according to religious principles is
a representation of Kåñëa consciousness. Before engaging in sexual intercourse,
both the husband and the wife must consider their mental condition, the
particular time, the husband's direction, and obedience to the demigods.
According to Vedic society, there is a suitable auspicious time for sex life,
which is called the time for garbhädhäna. Diti neglected all the principles of
scriptural injunction, and therefore, although she was very anxious for
auspicious children, she was informed that her children would not be worthy to
be the sons of a brähmaëa. There is a clear indication herein that a brähmaëa's
son is not always a brähmaëa. Personalities like Rävaëa and Hiraëyakaçipu were
actually born of brähmaëas, but they were not accepted as brähmaëas because
their fathers did not follow the regulative principles for their birth. Such
children are called demons, or Räkñasas. There were only one or two Räkñasas in
the previous ages due to negligence of the disciplinary methods, but during the
age of Kali there is no discipline in sex life. How, then, can one expect good
children? Certainly unwanted children cannot be a source of happiness in
society, but through the Kåñëa consciousness movement they can be raised to the
human standard by chanting the holy name of God. That is the unique
contribution of Lord Caitanya to human society.
SB 5.14.19
In Bhagavad-gétä (7.11) it is said:
dharmäviruddho bhüteñu kämo 'smi bharatarñabha. Sex is allowed only for the
begetting of children, not for enjoyment. One can indulge in sex to beget a
good child for the benefit of the family, society and world. Otherwise, sex is against
the rules and regulations of religious life. A materialistic person does not
believe that everything is managed in nature, and he does not know that if one
does something wrong, he is witnessed by different demigods. A person enjoys
illicit sex, and due to his blind, lusty desire, he thinks that no one can see
him, but this illicit sex is thoroughly observed by the agents of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Therefore the person is punished in so many ways,
presently in Kali-yuga there are many pregnancies due to illicit sex, and
sometimes abortions ensue. These sinful activities are witnessed by the agents
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and a man and woman who create such a
situation are punished in the future by the stringent laws of material nature
(daivé hy eñä guëa-mayé mama mäyä duratyayä [Bg. 7.14]). Illicit sex is never
excused, and those who indulge in it are punished life after life. As confirmed
in Bhagavad-gétä (16.20):
"Attaining repeated birth among the
species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they
sink down to the most abominable type of existence."
The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not
allow anyone to act against the stringent laws of material nature; therefore
illicit sex is punished life after life. Illicit sex creates pregnancies, and
these unwanted pregnancies lead to abortion. Those involved become implicated
in these sins, so much so that they are punished in the same way the next life.
Thus in the next life they also enter the womb of a mother and are killed in
the same way. All these things can be avoided by remaining on the
transcendental platform of Kåñëa consciousness. In this way one does not commit
sinful activity. Illicit sex is the most prominent sin due to lusty desire.
When one associates with the mode of passion, he is implicated in suffering
life after life.
SB 6.4.52
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (7.11),
dharmäviruddho bhüteñu kämo 'smi: "I am sex that is not contrary to
religious principles." Sexual intercourse ordained by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is dharma, a religious principle, but it is not intended
for sense enjoyment. Indulgence in sense enjoyment through sexual intercourse
is not allowed by the Vedic principles. One may follow the natural tendency for
sex life only to beget children.
Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion
and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and
inexhaustible.
SB 2.6.37
We have many times mentioned the names of
twelve selected authorities (dvädaça-mahäjana), of which Brahmä, Närada and
Lord Çiva head the list as the first, second and third in order of merit of
those who know something of the Supreme Lord. Other demigods, semi-demigods,
Gandharvas, Cäraëas, Vidyädharas, human beings or asuras cannot possibly know
fully about the potencies of the Absolute Lord, Çré Kåñëa. The demigods,
semi-demigods, Gandharvas, etc., are all highly intelligent persons in the
upper planets, the human beings are inhabitants of the intermediate planets,
and the asuras are inhabitants of the lower planets. All of them have their
respective conceptions and estimations of the Absolute Truth, as does the
scientist or the empiric philosopher in human society. All such living entities
are creatures of the material nature, and consequently they are bewildered by
the wonderful display of the three modes of material nature. Such bewilderment
is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.13). Tribhir guëamayair bhävair ebhiù
samam idaà jagat: every entity, beginning from Brahmä down to the ant, is
individually bewildered by the three modes of material nature, namely goodness,
passion and ignorance. Everyone thinks, in terms of individual capacity, that
this universe, which is manifested before us, is all in all. And so the
scientist in the human society of the twentieth century calculates the
beginning and end of the universe in his own way. But what can the scientists
know? Even Brahmä himself was once bewildered, thinking himself the only one
Brahmä favored by the Lord, but later on, by the grace of the Lord, he came to
know that there are innumerable more powerful Brahmäs as well, in far bigger
universes beyond this universe, and all of these universes combined together
form ekapäd-vibhüti, or one fourth of the manifestation of the Lord's creative
energy. The other three fourths of His energy are displayed in the spiritual
world, and so what can the tiny scientist with a tiny brain know of the
Absolute Personality of Godhead, Lord Kåñëa? The Lord says, therefore, mohitaà
näbhijänäti mäm ebhyaù param avyayam: [Bg. 7.13] bewildered by such modes of
material nature, they cannot understand that beyond these manifestations is a
Supreme Person who is the absolute controller of everything. Brahmä, Närada and
Lord Çiva know about the Lord to a considerable extent, and therefore one
should follow the instructions of these great personalities instead of being
satisfied with a tiny brain and its playful discoveries such as spacecraft and
similar products of science. As the mother is the only authority to identify
the father of a child, so the mother Vedas, presented by the recognized
authority such as Brahmä, Närada or Çiva, is the only authority to inform us
about the Absolute Truth.
SB 10.6.9
Although Pütanä was an outsider and although
she personified fierce death because the determination within her heart was to
kill the child, when she directly came and placed the child on her lap to offer
the child her breast to suck, the mothers were so captivated by her beauty that
they did not prohibit her. Sometimes a beautiful woman is dangerous because
everyone, being captivated by external beauty (mäyä-mohita), is unable to
understand what is in her mind. Those who are captivated by the beauty of the
external energy are called mäyä-mohita. Mohitaà näbhijänäti mäm ebhyaù param
avyayam (Bg. 7.13). Na te viduù svärtha-gatià hi viñëuà duräçayä ye
bahir-artha-mäninaù (SB 7.5.31). Here, of course, the two mothers Rohiëé and
Yaçodä were not mäyä-mohita, deluded by the external energy, but to develop the
pastimes of the Lord, they were captivated by yogamäyä. Such mäyä-moha is the
action of yogamäyä.
This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the
three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have
surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
SB 1.7.5
An affectionate father does not like his
children to be chastised by another agent, yet he puts his disobedient children
under the custody of a severe man just to bring them to order. But the
all-affectionate Almighty Father at the same time desires relief for the
conditioned soul, relief from the clutches of the illusory energy. The king
puts the disobedient citizens within the walls of the jail, but sometimes the
king, desiring the prisoners' relief, personally goes there and pleads for reformation,
and on his doing so the prisoners are set free. Similarly, the Supreme Lord
descends from His kingdom upon the kingdom of illusory energy and personally
gives relief in the form of the Bhagavad-gétä, wherein He personally suggests
that although the ways of illusory energy are very stiff to overcome, one who
surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord is set free by the order of the
Supreme. This surrendering process is the remedial measure for getting relief
from the bewildering ways of the illusory energy.
SB 1.11.34
As stated above, the living beings are not
factual enjoyers of things which are manifested as God's creation. The Lord is
the genuine proprietor and enjoyer of everything manifested in His creation.
Unfortunately, influenced by the deluding energy, the living being becomes a
false enjoyer under the dictation of the modes of nature. Puffed up by such a
false sense of becoming God, the deluded living being increases his material
strength by so many activities and thus becomes the burden of the earth, so
much so that the earth becomes completely uninhabitable by the sane. This state
of affairs is called dharmasya gläëi, or misuse of the energy of the human
being. When such misuse of human energy is prominent, the saner living beings
become perturbed by the awkward situation created by the vicious
administrators, who are simply burdens of the earth, and the Lord appears by
His internal potency just to save the saner section of humanity and to
alleviate the burden due to the earthly administrators in different parts of
the world. He does not favor either of the unwanted administrators, but by His
potential power He creates hostility between such unwanted administrators, as
the air creates fire in the forest by the friction of the bamboos. The fire in
the forest takes place automatically by the force of the air, and similarly the
hostility between different groups of politicians takes place by the unseen
design of the Lord. The unwanted administrators, puffed up by false power and
military strength, thus become engaged in fighting amongst themselves over
ideological conflicts and so exhaust themselves of all powers. The history of
the world reflects this factual will of the Lord, and it will continue to be
enacted until the living beings are attached to the service of the Lord. In the
Bhagavad-gétä this fact is very vividly described (Bg. 7.14). It is said,
"The deluding energy is My potency, and thus it is not possible for the
dependent living beings to supersede the strength of the material modes. But
those who take shelter in Me [the Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa] can cross
over the gigantic ocean of material energy." This means that no one can
establish peace and prosperity in the world by fruitive activities or by
speculative philosophy or ideology. The only way is to surrender unto the
Supreme Lord and thus become free from the illusion of the deluding energy.
SB 3.26.7
In conditional life the living entity
actually remains as if a captive in the hands of material energy. Whatever the
material energy dictates, the conditioned soul does. He has no responsibility;
he is simply the witness of the action, but he is forced to act in that way due
to his offense in his eternal relationship with Kåñëa. Lord Kåñëa therefore
says in Bhagavad-gétä that mäyä, His material energy, is so forceful that it is
insurmountable. But if a living entity simply understands that his
constitutional position is to serve Kåñëa and he tries to act on this
principle, then however conditioned he may be, the influence of mäyä
immediately vanishes. This is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gétä, Seventh Chapter:
Kåñëa takes charge of anyone who surrenders to Him in helplessness, and thus
the influence of mäyä, or conditional life, is removed.
SB 3.28.44
It is stated in Bhagavad-gétä that the spell
of mäyä, which covers the knowledge of the living entity, is insurmountable.
However, one who surrenders unto Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can
conquer this seemingly insurmountable spell of mäyä. Here also it is stated
that the daivé prakåti, or the external energy of the Supreme Lord, is
durvibhävyä, very difficult to understand and very difficult to conquer. One
must, however, conquer this insurmountable spell of mäyä, and this is possible,
by the grace of the Lord, when God reveals Himself to the surrendered soul. It
is also stated here, svarüpeëävatiñöhate. Svarüpa means that one has to know
that he is not the Supreme Soul, but rather, part and parcel of the Supreme
Soul; that is self-realization. To think falsely that one is the Supreme Soul
and that one is all-pervading is not svarüpa. This is not realization of his
actual position. The real position is that one is part and parcel. It is
recommended here that one remain in that position of actual self-realization.
In Bhagavad-gétä this understanding is defined as Brahman realization.
SB 4.2.27
The Caitanya-caritämåta confirms that that
which is accepted in this material world to be a benediction and that which is
taken to be a curse are both on the same platform because they are material. To
get out of this material contamination, one should take shelter of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, as recommended in Bhagavad-gétä (7.14): mäm eva ye
prapadyante mäyäm etäà taranti te. The best path is to transcend all material
curses and benedictions and take shelter of the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, and remain
in a transcendental position. Persons who have taken shelter of Kåñëa are
always peaceful; they are never cursed by anyone, nor do they attempt to curse
anyone. That is a transcendental position.
SB 6.17.15
Because Citraketu was undoubtedly a
Vaiñëava, he might have been surprised that Pärvaté had cursed him. Therefore
the goddess Pärvaté addressed him as putra, or son. Everyone is the son of
mother Durgä, but she is not an ordinary mother. As soon as there is a small
discrepancy in a demon's behavior, mother Durgä immediately punishes the demon
so that he may come to his senses. This is explained by Lord Kåñëa in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.14):
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting
of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who
have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." To surrender to
Kåñëa means to surrender to His devotees also, for no one can be a proper
servant of Kåñëa unless he is a proper servant of a devotee. Chäòiyä
vaiñëava-sevä nistära päyeche kebä: without serving a servant of Kåñëa, one
cannot be elevated to being a servant of Kåñëa Himself. Therefore mother
Pärvaté spoke to Citraketu exactly like a mother who says to her naughty child,
"My dear child, I am punishing you so that you won't do anything like this
again." This tendency of a mother to punish her child is found even in
mother Yaçodä, who became the mother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Mother Yaçodä punished Kåñëa by binding Him and showing Him a stick. Thus it is
the duty of a mother to chastise her beloved son, even in the case of the
Supreme Lord. It is to be understood that mother Durgä was justified in
punishing Citraketu. This punishment was a boon to Citraketu because after
taking birth as the demon Våträsura, he was promoted directly to Vaikuëöha.
SB 7.1.7
The original position of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is one of equality. There is no question of His being
influenced by sattva-guëa, rujo-guëa or tamo-guëa, for these material qualities
cannot touch the Supreme Lord. The Lord is therefore called the supreme éçvara.
Éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù: [Bs. 5.1] He is the supreme controller. He controls the
material qualities (daivé hy eñä guëa-mayé mama mäyä [Bg. 7.14]). Mayädhyakñena
prakåtiù süyate: [Bg. 9.10] material nature (prakåti) works under His order.
How, then, can He be under the qualities of prakåti? Kåñëa is never influenced
by the material qualities. Therefore there is no question of partiality in the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who
are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who
partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me.
SB 1.5.40
As far as the bad men are concerned, they
are also four in number: (1) those who are simply addicted to the mode of
progressive fruitive work and thus are subjected to the accompanying miseries,
(2) those who are simply addicted to vicious work for sense satisfaction and so
suffer the consequence, (3) those who are materially very much advanced in
knowledge, but who suffer because they do not have the sense to acknowledge the
authority of the Almighty Lord, and (4) the class of men who are known as
atheists and who therefore purposely hate the very name of God, although they
are always in difficulty.
Çré Näradajé advised Vyäsadeva to describe
the glories of the Lord just to do good to all eight classes of men, both good
and bad. Çrémad-Bhägavatam is therefore not meant for any particular class of
men or sect. It is for the sincere soul who actually wants his own welfare and
peace of mind.
SB 1.11.34
Unfortunately persons who are engaged in
destructive work are unable to surrender to the Personality of Godhead. They
are all fools of the first order; they are the lowest of the human species of
life; they are robbed of their knowledge, although apparently they seem to be
academically educated. They are all of the demoniac mentality, always
challenging the supreme power of the Lord. Those who are very materialistic,
always hankering after material power and strength, are undoubtedly fools of
the first order because they have no information of the living energy, and
being ignorant of that supreme spiritual science, they are absorbed in material
science, which ends with the end of the material body. They are the lowest of
human beings because the human life is especially meant for reestablishing the
lost relation with the Lord, and they miss this opportunity by being engaged in
material activities. They are robbed of their knowledge because even after
prolonged speculation they cannot reach to the stage of knowing the Personality
of Godhead, the summum bonum of everything. And all of them are men of demoniac
principle, and they suffer the consequences, as did such materialistic heroes
as Rävaëa, Hiraëyakaçipu, Kaàsa and others.
SB 2.9.36
Universal consciousness is factually
achieved by coordinated service of all concerned to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and that alone can insure total perfection. Therefore even the great
scientists, the great philosophers, the great mental speculators, the great
politicians, the great industrialists, the great social reformers, etc., cannot
give any relief to the restless society of the material world because they do
not know the secret of success as mentioned in this verse of the Bhägavatam,
namely that one must know the mystery of bhakti-yoga. In the Bhagavad-gétä
(7.15) also it is said:
na mäà duñkåtino müòhäù
prapadyante narädhamäù
mäyayäpahåta-jïänä
äsuraà bhävam äçritäù
Because the so-called great leaders of human
society are ignorant of this great knowledge of bhakti-yoga and are always
engaged in ignoble acts of sense gratification, bewildered by the external
energy of the Lord, they are stubborn rebels against the supremacy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they never agree to surrender unto Him
because they are fools, miscreants and the lowest type of human beings. Such
faithless nonbelievers may be highly educated in the material sense of the
term, but factually they are the greatest fools of the world because by the
influence of the external, material nature all their so-called acquisition of
knowledge has been made null and void. Therefore all advancement of knowledge
in the present context of things is being misused by cats and dogs fighting
with one another for sense gratification, and all acquisition of knowledge in
science, philosophy, fine arts, nationalism, economic development, religion and
great activities are being spoiled by being used as dresses for dead men. There
is no utility in the dresses used for covering a coffin of a dead body save
getting false applause from the ignorant public. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam
therefore says again and again that without attainment of the status of
bhakti-yoga, all the activities of human society are to be considered absolute
failures only.
SB 3.4.34
The transcendental forms and pastimes of the
Lord, as described in Bhagavad-gétä, are difficult subject matters for those
who are not devotees to understand. The Lord never reveals Himself to persons
like the jïänés and yogés. And there are others who, because of their envying
the Lord from the bottom of their hearts, are classified amongst the beasts,
and for such envious beasts the subject matter of the Lord's appearance and
disappearance is simply a mental disturbance. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä
(7.15), the miscreants who are simply concerned with material enjoyment, who
work very hard like beasts of burden, can hardly know the Personality of Godhead
at any stage due to äsurika-bhäva, or a spirit of revolt against the Supreme
Lord.
SB 5.14.27
The conditioned soul has to accept all these
conditions simply to enjoy sense gratification in this world. Although people
declare themselves great scientists, economists, philosophers, politicians and
sociologists. they are actually nothing but rascals. Therefore they have been
described as müòhas and narädhamas in Bhagavad-gétä (7.15):
"Those miscreants who are grossly
foolish, lowest among mankind. whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who
partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me."
Due to their foolishness, all these
materialists are described in Bhagavad-gétä as narädhamas. They have attained
the human form in order to get released from material bondage, but instead of
doing so, they become further embarrassed amid the miserable material
conditions. Therefore they are narädhamas, the lowest of men. One may ask
whether scientists, philosophers, economists and mathematicians are also
narädhamas, the lowest of men, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead replies
that they are because they have no actual knowledge. They are simply proud of
their false prestige and position. Actually they do not know how to get relief
from the material condition and renovate their spiritual life of transcendental
bliss and knowledge. Consequently they waste time and energy in the search for
so-called happiness. These are the qualifications of the demons. In
Bhagavad-gétä it says that when one has all these demonic qualities, he becomes
a müòha [Bg. 9.11]. Due to this, he envies the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
therefore birth after birth he is born into a demonic family, and he
transmigrates from one demonic body to another. Thus he forgets his relationship
with Kåñëa and remains a narädhama in an abominable condition life after life.
SB 6.4.34
Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura comments
that this verse is especially meant for the impersonalist, who thinks that he
himself is the Supreme because there is no difference between the living being
and God. The Mäyävädé philosopher thinks that there is only one Supreme Truth
and that he is also that Supreme Truth. Actually this is not knowledge but
foolishness, and this verse is especially meant for such fools, whose knowledge
has been stolen by illusion (mäyayäpahåta jïänäù [Bg. 7.15]). Viçvanätha
Cakravarté Öhäkura says that such persons, jïäni-mäninaù, think themselves very
advanced, but actually they are unintelligent.
SB 6.12-15
The word jïäna-hetavaù is very significant
because great personalities like those listed in these verses wander on the
surface of the globe not to mislead the populace, but to distribute real
knowledge. Without this knowledge, human life is wasted. The human form of life
is meant for realization of one's relationship with Kåñëa, or God. One who
lacks this knowledge is categorized among the animals. The Lord Himself says in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.15)
SB 7.2.55
Another point in this verse is that fathers
and mothers have protective feelings for their children even in bird and beast
society, not to speak of human society. Kali-yuga, however, is so degraded that
a father and mother even kill their children in the womb on the plea of their
scientific knowledge that within the womb the child has no life. Prestigious
medical practitioners give this opinion, and therefore the father and mother of
this day kill their children within the womb. How degraded human society has
become! Their scientific knowledge is so advanced that they think that within
the egg and the embryo there is no life. Now these so-called scientists are
receiving Nobel Prizes for advancing the theory of chemical evolution. But if
chemical combinations are the source of life, why don't the scientists
manufacture something like an egg through chemistry and put it in an incubator
so that a chicken will come out? What is their answer? With their scientific
knowledge they are unable to create even an egg. Such scientists are described
in Bhagavad-gétä as mäyayäpahåta jïänäù [Bg. 7.15], fools whose real knowledge
has been taken away. They are not men of knowledge, but they pose as scientists
and philosophers, although their so-called theoretical knowledge cannot produce
practical results.
SB 7.11.28
According to the injunction of Yäjïavalkya,
an authority on religious principles, äçuddheù sampratikñyo hi
mahäpätaka-düñitaù. One is considered contaminated by the reactions of great
sinful activities when one has not been purified according to the methods of
the daça-vidhä-saàskära. In Bhagavad-gétä, however, the Lord says, na mäà
duñkåtino müòhäù prapadyante narädhamäù: [Bg. 7.15] "Those miscreants who
do not surrender unto Me are the lowest of mankind." The word narädhama
means "nondevotee." Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu also said, yei bhaje sei baòa,
abhakta-héna [Cc. Antya 4.67], chära. Anyone who is a devotee is sinless. One
who is not a devotee, however, is the most fallen and condemned. It is
recommended, therefore, that a chaste wife not associate with a fallen husband.
A fallen husband is one who is addicted to the four principles of sinful
activity—namely illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication.
Specifically, if one is not a soul surrendered to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, he is understood to be contaminated. Thus a chaste woman is advised
not to agree to serve such a husband. It is not that a chaste woman should be
like a slave while her husband is narädhama, the lowest of men. Although the
duties of a woman are different from those of a man, a chaste woman is not
meant to serve a fallen husband. If her husband is fallen, it is recommended
that she give up his association. Giving up the association of her husband does
not mean, however, that a woman should marry again and thus indulge in
prostitution. If a chaste woman unfortunately marries a husband who is fallen,
she should live separately from him. Similarly, a husband can separate himself
from a woman who is not chaste according to the description of the çästra. The
conclusion is that a husband should be a pure Vaiñëava and that a woman should
be a chaste wife with all the symptoms described in this regard. Then both of
them will be happy and make spiritual progress in Kåñëa consciousness.
SB 8.2.32
We may invent so many ways to be happy or to
counteract the dangers of this material world, but unless our attempts are
sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they will never make us
happy. Those who try to be happy without taking shelter of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead are müòhas, rascals. Na mäà duñkåtino müòhäù prapadyante
narädhamäù [Bg. 7.15]. Those who are the lowest of men refuse to take to Kåñëa
consciousness because they think that they will be able to protect themselves
without Kåñëa's care. This is their mistake.
SB 8.7.3
In regard to the words svädhyäya-çruta-sampannäù
prakhyätä janma-karmabhiù, another question may be raised. If one is actually
educated in Vedic knowledge, is famous for performing prescribed activities and
has been born in a great aristocratic family, why should he be called a demon?
The answer is that one may be highly educated and may have been born in an
aristocratic family, but if he is godless, if he does not listen to the
instructions of God, then he is a demon. There are many examples in history of
men like Hiraëyakaçipu, Rävaëa and Kaàsa who were well educated, who were born
in aristocratic families and who were very powerful and chivalrous in fighting,
but who, because of deriding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were called
Räkñasas, or demons. One may be very well educated, but if he has no sense of
Kåñëa consciousness, no obedience to the Supreme Lord, he is a demon. That is
described by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (7.15):
"Those miscreants who are grossly
foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who
partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me."
Äsuraà bhävam refers to not accepting the existence of God or the
transcendental instructions of the Personality of Godhead. Bhagavad-gétä
clearly consists of transcendental instructions imparted directly by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. But asuras, instead of accepting these
instructions directly, make commentaries according to their own whimsical ways
and mislead everyone, without profit even for themselves. One should therefore
be very careful of demoniac, godless persons. According to the words of Lord
Kåñëa, even if a godless demon is very well educated, he must be considered a
müòha, narädhama and mäyayäpahåta jïäna.
SB 10.10.18
If we give up the association of sädhus,
saintly persons engaged in Kåñëa consciousness, and associate with persons
seeking sense gratification and accumulating wealth for this purpose, our life
is spoiled. The word asat refers to an avaiñëava, one who is not a devotee of
Kåñëa, and sat refers to a Vaiñëava, Kåñëa's devotee. One should always seek
the association of Vaiñëavas and not spoil one's life by mixing with
avaiñëavas. In Bhagavad-gétä (7.15), the distinction between Vaiñëava and
avaiñëava is enunciated.
Anyone who is not surrendered to Kåñëa is a
most sinful person (duñkåté), a rascal (müòha), and the lowest of men
(narädhama). Therefore one should not avoid the association of Vaiñëavas, which
is now available all over the world in the form of the Kåñëa consciousness
movement.
O best among the Bhäratas, four kinds of pious
men begin to render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of
wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.
SB 1.5.40
Çré Närada Muni from practical experience
definitely asserts that the prime solution of all problems of material work is
to broadcast very widely the transcendental glories of the Supreme Lord. There
are four classes of good men, and there are four classes of bad men also. The
four classes of good men acknowledge the authority of the Almighty God, and
therefore such good men (1) when they are in difficulty, (2) when they are in
need of money, (3) when they are advanced in knowledge and (4) when they are
inquisitive to know more and more about God, intuitively take shelter of the
Lord. As such, Näradajé advises Vyäsadeva to broadcast the transcendental
knowledge of God in terms of the vast Vedic knowledge which he had already
attained.
SB 1.8.25
Generally the distressed, the needy, the
intelligent and the inquisitive, who have performed some pious activities,
worship or begin to worship the Lord. Others, who are thriving on misdeeds
only, regardless of status, cannot approach the Supreme due to being misled by
the illusory energy. Therefore, for a pious person, if there is some calamity
there is no other alternative than to take shelter of the lotus feet of the
Lord. Constantly remembering the lotus feet of the Lord means preparing for
liberation from birth and death. Therefore, even though there are so-called
calamities, they are welcome because they give us an opportunity to remember
the Lord, which means liberation.
SB 2.7.15
Every living entity is always distressed in
this material world because this place is such that at every step one has to meet
with some kind of distress. But one who is supported by his past good deeds
engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord, as confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä (7.16). Those who are supported by impious acts cannot be engaged
in the devotional service of the Lord, even though they are distressed. This is
also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.15).
SB 4.8.23
Although a pure devotee does not seek
benedictions from the Supreme Lord for material advancement, it is stated in
Bhagavad-gétä that pious persons go to the Lord even for material benedictions.
A person who goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for material gain is
gradually purified in association with the Supreme Lord. Thus he becomes free
from all material desires and is elevated to the platform of spiritual life.
Unless one is raised to the spiritual platform, it is not possible for him to
completely transcend all material contamination.
SB 5.3.15
Worship of the Supreme Lord for material
gain is not approved by authorities. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (7.16):
"O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna],
four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the
desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of
the Absolute."
Initiation into bhakti begins when one is in
a distressed condition or in want of money, or when one is inquisitive to
understand the Absolute Truth. Nonetheless, people who approach the Supreme
Lord in this way are not actually devotees. They are accepted as pious
(sukåtinaù) due to their inquiring about the Absolute Truth, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Not knowing the various activities and engagements of
the Lord, such people unnecessarily disturb the Lord for material gain.
However, the Lord is so kind that even though disturbed, He fulfills the
desires of such beggars. The pure devotee is anyäbhiläñitä-çünya; he has no
motive behind his worship. He is not conducted by the influence of mäyä in the
form of karma or jïäna. The pure devotee is always prepared to execute the order
of the Lord without personal consideration. The åtvijaù, the priests at the
sacrifice, knew very well the distinction between karma and bhakti, and because
they considered themselves under the influence of karma, fruitive activity,
they begged the Lord's pardon. They knew that the Lord had been invited to come
for some paltry reason.
SB 6.9.44
The four classes of neophyte devotees who
approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead to offer devotional service because
of material motives are not pure devotees, but the advantage for such
materialistic devotees is that they sometimes give up their material desires
and become pure. When the demigods are utterly helpless, they approach the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in grief and with tears in their eyes, praying
to the Lord, and thus they become almost pure devotees, free from material
desires. Admitting that they have forgotten pure devotional service because of
extensive material opportunities, they fully surrender to the Lord, leaving to
His consideration whether to maintain them or annihilate them. Such surrender
is necessary. Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura sings, märabi räkhabi-yo icchä tohärä:
"O Lord, I fully surrender unto Your lotus feet. Now, as You desire, You
may protect me or annihilate me. You have the full right to do either."
SB 7.10.4
It is sometimes found that one comes to a
devotee or a temple of the Lord just to get some material benefit. Such a
person is described here as a mercantile man. Bhagavad-gétä speaks of ärto
jijïäsur arthärthé. The word ärta refers to one who is physically distressed,
and arthärthé refers to one in need of money. Such persons are forced to
approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for mitigation of their distress or
to get some money by the benediction of the Lord. They have been described as
sukåté, pious, because in their distress or need for money they have approached
the Supreme Lord. Unless one is pious, one cannot approach the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. However, although a pious man may receive some material
benefit, one who is concerned with material benefits cannot be a pure devotee.
When a pure devotee receives material opulences, this is not because of his
pious activity but for the service of the Lord. When one engages in devotional
service, one is automatically pious. Therefore, a pure devotee is
anyäbhiläñitä-çünyam [Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu 1.1.11]. He has no desire for
material profit, nor does the Lord induce him to try to profit materially. When
a devotee needs something, the Supreme Personality of Godhead supplies it
(yoga-kñemaà vahämy aham [Bg. 9.22]).
Sometimes materialists go to a temple to
offer flowers and fruit to the Lord because they have learned from
Bhagavad-gétä that if a devotee offers some flowers and fruits, the Lord
accepts them. In Bhagavad-gétä (9.26) the Lord says:
"If one offers Me with love and
devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." Thus a man
with a mercantile mentality thinks that if he can get some material benefit,
like a large amount of money, simply by offering a little fruit and flower,
this is good business. Such persons are not accepted as pure devotees. Because
their desires are not purified, they are still mercantile men, even though they
go to temples to make a show of being devotees. Sarvopädhi-vinirmuktaà
tat-paratvena nirmalam: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] only when one is fully freed from
material desires can one be purified, and only in that purified state can one
serve the Lord. Håñékeëa håñékeça-sevanaà bhaktir ucyate. This is the pure
devotional platform.
SB 7.15.47
As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (16.7),
pravåttià ca nivåttià ca janä na vidur äsuräù: the asuras, nondevotees, cannot
distinguish between pravåtti and nivåtti. Whatever they like they do. Such
persons think themselves independent of the strong material nature, and
therefore they are irresponsible and do not care to act piously. Indeed, they
do not distinguish between pious and impious activity. Bhakti, of course, does
not depend on pious or impious activity. As stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.6):
"The supreme occupation [dharma] for
all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto
the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and
uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self." Nonetheless, those
who act piously have a better chance to become devotees. As Kåñëa says in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.16), catur-vidhä bhajante mäà janäù sukåtino 'rjuna: "O
Arjuna, four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me." One
who takes to devotional service, even with some material motive, is considered
pious, and because he has come to Kåñëa, he will gradually come to the stage of
bhakti. Then, like Dhruva Mahäräja, he will refuse to accept any material
benediction from the Lord (svämin kåtärtho 'smi varaà na yäce [Cc. Madhya
22.42]). Therefore, even if one is materially inclined, one may take to the
shelter of the lotus feet of Kåñëa and Balaräma, or Gaura and Nitäi, so that he
will very soon be purified of all material desires (kñipraà bhavati dharmätmä çaçvac
chäntià nigacchati). As soon as one is freed from inclinations toward pious and
impious activities, he becomes a perfect candidate for returning home, back to
Godhead.
SB 8.2.31
Everyone in the material world is engaged in
a struggle for existence. Everyone tries to save himself from danger, but when
one is unable to save himself, if he is pious, he then takes shelter of the
lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.16):
Four kinds of pious men—namely, one who is
in danger, one who is in need of money, one who is searching for knowledge and
one who is inquisitive—begin to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead in order to be saved or to advance. The King of the elephants, in his
condition of danger, decided to seek shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.
After considerable thought, he intelligently arrived at this correct decision.
Such a decision is not reached by a sinful man. Therefore in Bhagavad-gétä it
is said that those who are pious (sukåté) can decide that in a dangerous or
awkward condition one should seek shelter of the lotus feet of Kåñëa.
SB 8.16.22
Here is the beginning of worship of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (7.16):
"O best among the Bhäratas, four kinds
of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of
wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the
Absolute." Aditi was ärta, a person in distress. She was very much
aggrieved because her sons, the demigods, were bereft of everything. Thus she
wanted to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the
direction of her husband, Kaçyapa Muni.
SB 10.8.46
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (7.16),
catur-vidhä bhajante mäà janäù sukåtino 'rjuna. Without sukåti, or pious
activities, no one can come to the shelter of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. The Lord is approached by four kinds of pious men (ärto jijïäsur
arthärthé jïäné ca), but here we see that Nanda Mahäräja and Yaçodä surpassed
all of them. Therefore Parékñit Mahäräja naturally inquired, "What kind of
pious activities did they perform in their past lives by which they achieved
such a stage of perfection?" Of course, Nanda Mahäräja and Yaçodä are
accepted as the father and mother of Kåñëa, yet mother Yaçodä was more
fortunate than Nanda Mahäräja, Kåñëa's father, because Nanda Mahäräja was
sometimes separated from Kåñëa whereas Yaçodä, Kåñëa's mother, was not
separated from Kåñëa at any moment. From Kåñëa's babyhood to His childhood and
from His childhood to His youth, mother Yaçodä was always in association with
Kåñëa. Even when Kåñëa was grown up, He would go to Våndävana and sit on the
lap of mother Yaçodä. Therefore there is no comparison to the fortune of mother
Yaçodä, and Parékñit Mahäräja naturally inquired, yaçodä ca mahä-bhägä.
After many births and deaths, he who is
actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all
causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.
SB 1.1.1
Unless one surrenders unto the lotus feet of
the Supreme Lord, it is certain that he will be bewildered. When an intelligent
man surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kåñëa and knows completely that Kåñëa is
the cause of all causes, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä, then only can such an
intelligent man become a mahätmä, or great soul. But such a great soul is
rarely seen. Only the mahätmäs can understand that the Supreme Lord is the
primeval cause of all creations. He is parama or ultimate truth because all
other truths are relative to Him. He is omniscient. For Him, there is no
illusion.
SB 2.1.20
Persons generally conducted by the modes of
passion and ignorance cannot be bona fide candidates for being situated in the
transcendental stage of God realization. Only persons conducted by the mode of
goodness can have the knowledge of the Supreme Truth. Effects of the modes of
passion and ignorance are manifested by too much hankering after wealth and
women. And those who are too much after wealth and women can rectify their
leanings only by constant remembrance of Viñëu in His potential impersonal
feature. Generally the impersonalists or monists are influenced by the modes of
passion and ignorance. Such impersonalists think of themselves as liberated
souls, but they have no knowledge of the transcendental personal feature of the
Absolute Truth. Actually they are impure in heart on account of being devoid of
knowledge of the personal feature of the Absolute. In the Bhagavad-gétä, it is
said that after many hundreds of births, the impersonal philosopher surrenders
unto the Personality of Godhead. To acquire such a qualification of God
realization in the personal feature, the neophyte impersonalist is given a
chance to realize the relation of the Lord in everything by the philosophy of
pantheism.
Pantheism in its higher status does not
permit the student to form an impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth, but
it extends the conception of the Absolute Truth into the field of the so-called
material energy. Everything created by the material energy can be dovetailed
with the Absolute by an attitude of service, which is the essential part of
living energy. The pure devotee of the Lord knows the art of converting
everything into its spiritual existence by this service attitude, and only in
that devotional way can the theory of pantheism be perfected.
SB 2.7.19
The devotee and devotional service are two
correlative terms. Unless one is inclined to be a devotee of the Lord, he
cannot enter into the intricacies of devotional service. Lord Çré Kåñëa wanted
to explain the Bhagavad-gétä, which is the science of devotional service, unto
Çré Arjuna because Arjuna was not only His friend but a great devotee as well.
The whole process is that all living entities, being constitutionally parts and
parcels of the supreme living being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, have
proportionately minute independence of action also. So the preliminary
qualification for entering into the devotional service of the Lord is that one
become a willing cooperator, and as such one should voluntarily cooperate with
persons who are already engaged in the transcendental devotional service of the
Lord. By cooperating with such persons, the prospective candidate will
gradually learn the techniques of devotional service, and with the progress of
such learning one becomes proportionately free from the contamination of
material association. Such a purificatory process will establish the
prospective candidate in firm faith and gradually elevate him to the stage of
transcendental taste for such devotional service. Thus he acquires a genuine
attachment for the devotional service of the Lord, and his conviction carries
him on to the point of ecstasy, just prior to the stage of transcendental love.
Such knowledge of devotional service may be
divided into two sections, namely preliminary knowledge of the nature of
devotional service and the secondary knowledge of its execution. Bhägavatam is
in relation with the Personality of Godhead, His beauty, fame, opulence,
dignity, attraction and transcendental qualities which attract one towards Him
for exchanges of love and affection. There is a natural affinity of the living
entity for the loving service of the Lord. This affinity becomes artificially
covered by the influence of material association, and Çrémad-Bhägavatam helps
one very genuinely remove that artificial covering. Therefore it is
particularly mentioned herein that Çrémad-Bhägavatam acts like the lamp of
transcendental knowledge. These two sections of transcendental knowledge in
devotional service become revealed to a person who is a soul surrendered unto
Väsudeva; as it is said in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19), such a great soul, fully
surrendered unto the lotus feet of Väsudeva, is very, very rare.
SB 4.22.38
The word prapadye is also significant in
this verse, for it refers to the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66):
sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja. In another place the Lord
says: bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate (Bg. 7.19). This prapadye
or çaraëaà vraja refers to the individual's surrender to the Supersoul. The
individual soul, when surrendered, can understand that the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, although situated within the heart of the individual soul, is
superior to the individual soul. The Lord is always transcendental to the
material manifestation, even though it appears that the Lord and the material
manifestation are one and the same. According to the Vaiñëava philosophy, He is
one and different simultaneously. The material energy is a manifestation of His
external potency, and since the potency is identical with the potent, it
appears that the Lord and individual soul are one; but actually the individual
soul is under the influence of material energy, and the Lord is always
transcendental to it. Unless the Lord is superior to the individual soul, there
is no question of prapadye, or surrender unto Him. This word prapadye refers to
the process of devotional service. Simply by nondevotional speculation on the
rope and the snake, one cannot approach the Absolute Truth. Therefore
devotional service is stressed as more important than deliberation or mental
speculation to understand the Absolute Truth.
SB 6.4.30
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa,
is the original cause, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (ahaà sarvasya prabhavaù
[Bg. 10.8]). Even this material world, which is conducted under the modes of
material nature, is caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who therefore
also has an intimate relationship with the material world. If the material world
were not a part of His body, the Supreme Lord, the supreme cause, would be
incomplete. Therefore we hear, väsudevaù sarvam iti sa mahätmä sudurlabhaù:
[Bg. 7.19] if one knows that Väsudeva is the original cause of all causes, he
becomes a perfect mahätmä.
SB 7.6.20-23
The process of surrender in a devotional
attitude is accepted by a fortunate living being. After wandering through many
varieties of life on many planetary systems, when one comes to the real
understanding of the Absolute Truth by the grace of a devotee, one surrenders
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (bahünäà
janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]).
SB 7.7.19-20
We should always remember that although we
are equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in quality, we are never equal
to Him in quantity. Persons with a small fund of intelligence, finding
themselves equal in quality with God, foolishly think that they are equal in
quantity also. Their intelligence is called aviçuddha-buddhayaù-unpolished or
contaminated intelligence. When such persons, after endeavoring hard for many,
many lives to understand the supreme cause, are finally in actual knowledge of
Kåñëa, Väsudeva, they surrender unto Him (väsudevaù sarvam iti sa mahätmä
sudurlabhaù [Bg. 7.19]). Thus they become great mahätmäs, perfect souls. If one
is fortunate enough to understand his relationship with God, knowing that God
is great (vibhu) whereas the living entity is small (aëu), he is perfect in
knowledge. The individual exists in darkness when he thinks that he is the
material body and that everything in relationship with the material body
belongs to him. This is called ahaà mama (janasya moho 'yam ahaà mameti [SB
5.5.8]). This is illusion. One must give up his illusory conception and thus
become fully aware of everything.
SB 7.7.22
The material energy is in fact divided into
twenty-four elements. The individual soul, the owner of the individual body, is
a twenty-fifth subject, and above everything is Lord Viñëu as Paramätmä, the supreme
controller, who is the twenty-sixth subject. When one understands all of these
twenty-six subjects, he becomes adhyätma-vit, an expert in understanding the
distinction between matter and spirit. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (13.3),
kñetra-kñetrajïayor jïänam: understanding of the kñetra (the constitution of
the body) and of the individual soul and the Supersoul constitutes real jïäna,
or knowledge. Unless one ultimately understands that the Supreme Lord is
eternally related with the individual soul, one's knowledge is imperfect. This
is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (7.19):
"After many births and deaths, he who
is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all
causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." Everything, material
and spiritual, consists of various energies of Väsudeva, to whom the individual
soul, the spiritual part of the Supreme Lord, is subordinate. Upon
understanding this perfect knowledge, one surrenders to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead (väsudevaù sarvam iti sa mahätmä sudurlabhaù [Bg. 7.19]).
SB 7.9.36
The word mäyämayam means "spiritual
knowledge." This is explained by Madhväcärya. Mäyämayaà jïäna-svarüpam.
The word mäyämayam, describing the Lord's form, should not be taken to mean
illusion. Rather, the Lord's form is factual, and seeing this form is the
result of perfect knowledge. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä: bahünäà
janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. The word jïänavän refers to
one who is perfectly in knowledge. Such a person can see the Personality of
Godhead, and therefore he surrenders unto the Lord. The Lord's being
symptomized by a face, nose, ears and so on is eternal. Without such a form, no
one can be blissful. The Lord, however, is sac-cid-änanda-vigraha, as stated in
the çästra (éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù sac-cid-änanda-vigrahaù [Bs. 5.1]). When one
is in perfect transcendental bliss, he can see the Lord's supreme form
(vigraha).
SB 7.15.79
After hearing the conversation between
Närada and Yudhiñöhira, if one still has any doubts about Kåñëa's being the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should immediately give them up. Asaàçayaà
samagram. Without any doubt and without any defect, one should understand Kåñëa
to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus surrender at His lotus feet.
Ordinary persons do not do this, even after hearing all the Vedas, but if one
is fortunate, although it may be even after many, many births, he comes to this
conclusion (bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]).
SB 8.3.12
Even impersonalists who stress the knowledge
feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead want to merge in the effulgence
of the Lord. Therefore, here the word jïäna-ghanäya indicates that for atheists
who disbelieve in the form and existence of the Lord, all these various
incarnations appear. Since the Lord comes to teach in so many forms, no one can
say that there is no God. The word jïäna-ghanäya is especially used here to
refer to those whose knowledge has become solidified by dint of their searching
for the Lord through speculative philosophical understanding. Superficial
knowledge is useless for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but
when one's knowledge becomes extremely intense and deep, one understands
Väsudeva (väsudevaù sarvam iti sa mahätmä sudurlabhaù [Bg. 7.19]). A jïäné
attains this stage after many, many births. Therefore the word jïäna-ghanäya is
used here. The word çantäya indicates that Lord Väsudeva is situated in
everyone's heart but does not act with the living entity. Impersonalist jïänés
realize Väsudeva when they are fully mature in knowledge (väsudevaù samam iti
sa mahätmä sudurlabhaù).
SB 9.18.49
As stated by the Lord Himself in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.19):
"After many births and deaths, he who
is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all
causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." The Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Väsudeva, is one with the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme
Absolute Truth. Everything is in Him in the beginning, and at the end all
manifestations enter into Him. He is situated in everyone's heart (sarvasya
cähaà hådi sanniviñöaù [Bg. 15.15]). And from Him everything has emanated
(janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]). All material manifestations, however, are
temporary. The word svapna means "dreams," mäyä means
"illusion," and manoratha means "mental creations." Dreams,
illusions and mental creations are temporary. Similarly, all material creation
is temporary, but Väsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the eternal
Absolute Truth.
SB 10.1.43
As soon as the living entity returns to his
original, spiritual form and understanding, he immediately surrenders to the
supreme form, the Personality of Godhead. This is explained in Bhagavad-gétä
(7.19). Bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate. When the living entity,
after many, many births in different forms, returns to his original form of
Kåñëa consciousness, he immediately surrenders unto the lotus feet of the
supreme form, Kåñëa. This is liberation. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä
(18.54):
"One who is thus transcendentally
situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He
never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every
living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me."
Surrender unto the supreme form is the result of bhakti. This bhakti, or
understanding of one's own position, is the complete liberation. As long as one
is under an impersonal understanding of the Absolute Truth, he is not in pure
knowledge, but must still struggle for pure knowledge.
Those whose intelligence has been stolen by
material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and
regulations of worship according to their own natures.
SB 1.2.27
There is no need to worship demigods of
whatsoever category if one is serious about going back to Godhead. In the
Bhagavad-gétä (7.20, 23) it is clearly said that those who are mad after
material enjoyment approach the different demigods for temporary benefits,
which are meant for men with a poor fund of knowledge. We should never desire
to increase the depth of material enjoyment. Material enjoyment should be
accepted only up to the point of the bare necessities of life and not more or
less than that. To accept more material enjoyment means to bind oneself more
and more to the miseries of material existence. More wealth, more women and
false aristocracy are some of the demands of the materially disposed man
because he has no information of the benefit derived from Viñëu worship. By
Viñëu worship one can derive benefit in this life as well as in life after
death. Forgetting these principles, foolish people who are after more wealth,
more wives and more children worship various demigods. The aim of life is to end
the miseries of life and not to increase them.
For material enjoyment there is no need to
approach the demigods. The demigods are but servants of the Lord. As such, they
are duty-bound to supply necessities of life in the form of water, light, air,
etc. One should work hard and worship the Supreme Lord by the fruits of one's
hard labor for existence, and that should be the motto of life. One should be
careful to execute occupational service with faith in God in the proper way,
and that will lead one gradually on the progressive march back to Godhead.
Lord Çré Kåñëa, when He was personally
present at Vrajadhäma, stopped the worship of the demigod Indra and advised the
residents of Vraja to worship by their business and to have faith in God.
Worshiping the multidemigods for material gain is practically a perversity of
religion. This sort of religious activity has been condemned in the very
beginning of the Bhägavatam as kaitava-dharma. There is only one religion in
the world to be followed by one and all, and that is the Bhägavata-dharma, or
the religion which teaches one to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and no one else.
SB 2.3.2-7
There are different modes of worship for
different persons desiring success in particular subjects. The conditioned soul
living within the purview of the material world cannot be an expert in every
type of materially enjoyable asset, but one can have considerable influence
over a particular matter by worshiping a particular demigod, as mentioned
above. Rävaëa was made a very powerful man by worshiping Lord Çiva, and he used
to offer severed heads to please Lord Çiva. He became so powerful by the grace
of Lord Çiva that all the demigods were afraid of him, until he at last
challenged the Personality of Godhead Çré Rämacandra and thus ruined himself.
In other words, all such persons who aspire after gaining some or all of the
material objects of enjoyment, or the gross materialistic persons, are on the
whole less intelligent, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.20). It is said
there that those who are bereft of all good sense, or those whose intelligence
is withdrawn by the deluding energy of mäyä, aspire to achieve all sorts of
material enjoyment in life by pleasing the various demigods, or by advancing in
material civilization under the heading of scientific progress. The real
problem of life in the material world is to solve the question of birth, death,
old age and disease. No one wants to change his birthright, no one wants to
meet death, no one wants to be old or invalid, and no one wants diseases. But
these problems are solved neither by the grace of any demigod nor by the
so-called advancement of material science. In the Bhagavad-gétä, as well as in
the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, such less intelligent persons have been described as
devoid of all good sense.
SB 6.16.34
A living entity cannot exist without
desires, but desires that can never be fulfilled are called käma, lusty
desires. Kämais tais tair håta jïänäù: [Bg. 7.20] because of lusty desires,
nondevotees are deprived of their intelligence. Thus they are unable to conquer
the Supreme Lord, whereas devotees, being freed from such unreasonable desires,
can conquer the Lord.
SB 6.16.38
Bhagavad-gétä (7.20) says, kämais tais tair
håta jïänäù prapadyante 'nya-devatäù: "Those whose minds are distorted by
material desires surrender unto the demigods." Similarly, this verse
condemns worship of the demigods. We may show our respect to the demigods, but
the demigods are not worshipable. The intelligence of those who worship the demigods
is lost (håta jïänäù) because these worshipers do not know that when the entire
material cosmic manifestation is annihilated, the demigods, who are the
departmental heads of that manifestation, will be vanquished. When the demigods
are vanquished, the benedictions given by the demigods to unintelligent men
will also be vanquished. Therefore a devotee should not hanker to obtain
material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but should engage in the service
of the Lord, who will satisfy all his desires.
SB 9.18.39
This is the nature of lusty desires. In
Bhagavad-gétä (7.20) it is said, kämais tais tair håta jïänäù: when one is too
attached to sense gratification, he actually loses his sense. The word håta
jïänäù refers to one who has lost his sense. Here is an example: the father
shamelessly asked his son to exchange youth for old age. Of course, the entire
world is under such illusion. Therefore it is said that everyone is pramattaù,
or exclusively mad. Nünaà pramattaù kurute vikarma: [SB 5.5.4] when one becomes
almost like a madman, he indulges in sex and sense gratification. Sex and sense
gratification can be controlled, however, and one achieves perfection when he
has no desires for sex. This is possible only when one is fully Kåñëa
conscious.
SB 10.10.2-3
This verse mentions some of the material
advantages afforded to persons associated with or devoted to Lord Çiva. Apart
from Lord Çiva, if one is a devotee of any other demigod, one receives some
material advantages. Foolish people, therefore, become devotees of demigods.
This has been pointed out and criticized by Lord Kåñëa in Bhagavad-gétä (7.20):
kämais tais tair håta jïänäù prapadyante 'nya-devatäù. Those who are not
devotees of Kåñëa have a taste for women, wine and so forth, and therefore they
have been described as håta jïäna, bereft of sense. The Kåñëa consciousness
movement can very easily point out such foolish persons, for they have been
indicated in Bhagavad-gétä (7.15), where Lord Kåñëa says:
na mäà duñkåtino müòhäù
prapadyante narädhamäù
mäyayäpahåta-jïänä
äsuraà bhävaà äçritäù
"Those miscreants who are grossly
foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who
partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me."
Anyone who is not a devotee of Kåñëa and does not surrender to Kåñëa must be
considered narädhama, the lowest of men, and duñkåté, one who always commits
sinful activities. Thus there is no difficulty in finding out who is a
third-class or fourth-class man, for one's position can be understood simply by
this crucial test: is he or is he not a devotee of Kåñëa?
Why are devotees of the demigods greater in
number than the Vaiñëavas? The answer is given herein. Vaiñëavas are not
interested in such fourth-class pleasures as wine and women, nor does Kåñëa
allow them such facilities.
Men of small intelligence worship the
demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the
demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My
supreme planet.
SB 5.18.22
The material opulences a person obtains by
offering prayers to the goddess Durgä are temporary. As described in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.23), antavat tu phalaà teñäà tad bhavaty alpa-medhasäm: men of
meager intelligence desire temporary happiness. We have actually seen that one
of the disciples of Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura wanted to enjoy the
property of his spiritual master, and the spiritual master, being merciful
toward him, gave him the temporary property, but not the power to preach the
cult of Caitanya Mahäprabhu all over the world. That special mercy of the power
to preach is given to a devotee who does not want anything material from his
spiritual master but wants only to serve him. The story of the demon Rävaëa
illustrates this point. Although Rävaëa tried to abduct the goddess of fortune
Sétädevé from the custody of Lord Rämacandra, he could not possibly do so. The
Sétädevé he forcibly took with him was not the original Sétädevé, but an
expansion of mäyä, or Durgädevé. As a result, instead of winning the favor of
the real goddess of fortune, Rävaëa and his whole family were vanquished by the
power of Durgädevé (såñöi-sthiti-pralaya-sädhana-çaktir ekä [Bs. 5.44]).
SB 7.2.48
There is a Vedic statement apäma-somam amåtä
abhüma apsarobhir viharäma. With reference to such a conception, one wants to
go to the heavenly planets to enjoy with the young girls there and drink
soma-rasa. Such imaginary pleasure, however, has no value. As confirmed in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.23), antavat tu phalaà teñäà tad bhavaty alpa-medhasäm:
"Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are
limited and temporary." Even if by fruitive activity or worship of the
demigods one is elevated to the higher planetary systems for sense enjoyment,
his situation is condemned in Bhagavad-gétä as antavat, perishable. The
happiness one enjoys in this way is like the pleasure of embracing a young
woman in a dream; for some time it may be pleasing, but actually the basic
principle is false. The mental concoctions of happiness and distress in this
material world are compared to dreams because of their falseness. All thoughts
of obtaining happiness by using the material senses have a false background and
therefore have no meaning.
SB 8.24.30
The demigods like Indra, Candra and Sürya
are ordinary living entities who are differentiated parts and parcels of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord expands Himself through the living
beings (nityo nityänäà cetanaç cetanänäm (Kaöha Upaniñad 2.2.13)). His personal
viñëu-tattva forms, which are all spiritual, are called sväàça, and the living
entities who are differentiated parts are called vibhinnäàça. Some of the
vibhinnäàça forms are spiritual, and some are a combination of matter and
spirit. The conditioned souls in the material world are different from their
external bodies made of material energy. Thus the demigods living in the upper
planetary systems and the living entities living in the lower planetary system
are of the same nature. Nonetheless, those living as human beings on this
planet are sometimes attracted to worshiping the demigods in the higher
planetary systems. Such worship is temporary. As the human beings on this
planet have to change their bodies (tathä dehäntara-präptiù [Bg. 2.13]), the
living entities known as Indra, Candra, Varuëa and so on will also have to
change their bodies in due course of time. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä, antavat
tu phalaà teñäà tad bhavaty alpa-medhasäm: [Bg. 7.23] "Men of small
intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and
temporary." Kämais tais tair håta jïänäù prapadyante 'nya-devatäù: [Bg.
7.20] those who do not know the position of the demigods are inclined to
worship the demigods for some material purpose, but the results of such worship
are never permanent. Consequently, here it is said, yathetareñäà påthag-ätmanäà
satäm, padopasarpaëaà måñä bhavet. In other words, if one is to worship someone
else, he must worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then his worship will
never be fruitless. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya träyate mahato bhayät: even a
slight attempt to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a permanent
asset. Therefore, as recommended in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, tyaktvä sva-dharmaà
caraëämbujaà hareù. One should take to the worship of the lotus feet of Hari,
even if this means giving up the so-called occupational duty assigned because
of the particular body one has accepted. Because worship in terms of the body
is temporary, it does not bear any permanent fruit. But worship of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead gives immense benefit.
I am never manifest to the foolish and
unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they
do not know that I am unborn and infallible.
SB 1.15.35
In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.24-25) the Lord says,
"The impersonalists think that I have no form, that I am formless, but
that at present I have accepted a form to serve a purpose, and now I am
manifested. But such speculators are factually without sharp intelligence.
Though they may be good scholars in the Vedic literatures, they are practically
ignorant of My inconceivable energies and My eternal forms of personality. The
reason is that I reserve the power of not being exposed to the nondevotees by
My mystic curtain. The less intelligent fools are therefore unaware of My
eternal form, which is never to be vanquished and is unborn."
SB 2.5.20
In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.24-25) the Lord has
declared very clearly that the impersonalist, who gives more importance to the
transcendental rays of the Lord as brahmajyoti and who concludes that the
Absolute Truth is ultimately impersonal and only manifests a form at a time of
necessity, is less intelligent than the personalist, however much the
impersonalist may be engaged in studying the Vedänta. The fact is that such
impersonalists are covered by the above-mentioned three modes of material
nature; therefore, they are unable to approach the transcendental Personality
of the Lord. The Lord is not approachable by everyone because He is curtained
by His yogamäyä potency. But one should not wrongly conclude that the Lord was
formerly unmanifested and has now manifested Himself in the human form. This
misconception of the formlessness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is due
to the yogamäyä curtain of the Lord and can be removed only by the Supreme
Will, as soon as the conditioned soul surrenders unto Him. The devotees of the
Lord who are transcendental to the above-mentioned three modes of material
nature can see the all-blissful transcendental form of the Lord with their
vision of love in the attitude of pure devotional service.
SB 3.4.29
By practical experience also, it is seen, up
to the present day, that the Lord's transcendental form is worshiped by
devotees in different temples, and all the devotees of the Lord factually
realize that the form of the Deity in the temple is nondifferent from the form
of the Lord. This inconceivable performance of the internal potency of the Lord
is described in Bhagavad-gétä (7.25): nähaà prakäçaù sarvasya
yoga-mäyä-samävåtaù. The Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to
everyone. In the Padma Puräëa it is said, ataù çré-kåñëa-nämädi na bhaved
grähyam indriyaiù [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. The name and form of the Lord cannot be
perceived by the material senses, but when He appears within the vision of the
mundane people He assumes the form of the viräö-rüpa. This is an additional
material exhibition of form and is supported by the logic of a subject and its
adjectives. In grammar, when an adjective is taken away from the subject, the subject
it modifies does not change. Similarly, when the Lord quits His viräö-rüpa, His
eternal form does not change, although there is no material difference between
Himself and any one of His innumerable forms. In the Fifth Canto it will be
seen how the Lord is worshiped in different planets in His different forms,
even now, and how He is worshiped in different temples of this earth also.
Çréla Jéva Gosvämé and Çréla Viçvanätha
Cakravarté Öhäkura have very elaborately explained this incident of the Lord's
disappearance in their commentaries, quoting various authentic versions of
Vedic literatures. We purposely do not include them all here to avoid an
increase in the volume of this book. The entire matter is explained in
Bhagavad-gétä, as quoted above: the Lord reserves the right of not being
exposed to everyone. He always keeps Himself out of the vision of the
nondevotees, who are devoid of love and devotion, and thus He puts them still
further away from the Lord. The Lord appeared on the invitation of Brahmä, who
prayed before the Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu, and therefore when the Lord appeared,
all the forms of Viñëu amalgamated with Him, and when the mission was
fulfilled, all of them disintegrated from Him in the usual course.
SB 3.9.11
The statement here that the Lord manifests
Himself before the devotee in the form in which the devotee likes to worship
Him indicates that the Lord becomes subordinate to the desire of the devotee—so
much so that He manifests His particular form as the devotee demands. This
demand of the devotee is satisfied by the Lord because He is pliable in terms
of the transcendental loving service of the devotee. This is also confirmed in
Bhagavad-gétä (4.11): ye yathä mäà prapadyante täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham. We
should note, however, that the Lord is never the order supplier of the devotee.
Here in this verse it is particularly mentioned: tvaà bhakti-yoga-paribhävita.
This indicates the efficiency achieved through execution of matured devotional
service, or premä, love of Godhead. This state of premä is achieved by the
gradual process of development from faith to love. On faith one associates with
bona fide devotees, and by such association one can become engaged in bona fide
devotional service, which includes proper initiation and the execution of the
primary devotional duties prescribed in the revealed scriptures. This is
clearly indicated herein by the word çrutekñita. The çrutekñita path is to hear
from bona fide devotees who are conversant with Vedic wisdom, free from mundane
sentiment. By this bona fide hearing process, the neophyte devotee becomes
cleansed of all material rubbish, and thus he becomes attached to one of the
many transcendental forms of the Lord, as described in the Vedas.
This attachment of the devotee to a
particular form of the Lord is due to natural inclination. Each and every
living entity is originally attached to a particular type of transcendental
service because he is eternally the servitor of the Lord. Lord Caitanya says
that the living entity is eternally a servitor of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Çré Kåñëa. Therefore, every living entity has a particular type of
service relationship with the Lord, eternally. This particular attachment is
invoked by practice of regulative devotional service to the Lord, and thus the
devotee becomes attached to the eternal form of the Lord, exactly like one who
is already eternally attached. This attachment for a particular form of the
Lord is called svarüpa-siddhi. The Lord sits on the lotus heart of the devotee
in the eternal form the pure devotee desires, and thus the Lord does not part
from the devotee, as confirmed in the previous verse. The Lord, however, does
not disclose Himself to a casual or unauthentic worshiper to be exploited. This
is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (7.25): nähaà prakäçaù sarvasya
yoga-mäyä-samävåtaù. Rather, by yoga-mäyä, the Lord remains concealed to the
nondevotees or casual devotees who are serving their sense gratification. The
Lord is never visible to the pseudodevotees who worship the demigods in charge
of universal affairs. The conclusion is that the Lord cannot become the order
supplier of a pseudodevotee, but He is always prepared to respond to the
desires of a pure, unconditional devotee, who is free from all tinges of
material infection.
SB 7.8.12
Demons sometimes declare to a devotee that
they cannot accept the existence of God because they cannot see Him. But what
the demon does not know is stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (7.25):
nähaà prakäçaù sarvasya yogamäyä-samävåtaù. "I am never manifest to the
foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by yogamäyä." The Lord is
open to being seen by devotees, but nondevotees cannot see Him. The
qualification for seeing God is stated in Brahma-saàhitä (5.38):
premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaù sadaiva hådayeñu vilokayanti. A
devotee who has developed a genuine love for Kåñëa can always see Him
everywhere, whereas a demon, not having a clear understanding of the Supreme
Lord, cannot see Him. When Hiraëyakaçipu was threatening to kill Prahläda
Mahäräja, Prahläda certainly saw the column standing before him and his father,
and he saw that the Lord was present in the pillar to encourage him not to fear
his demoniac father's words. The Lord was present to protect him. Hiraëyakaçipu
marked Prahläda's observation and asked him, "Where is your God?"
Prahläda Mahäräja replied, "He is everywhere." Then Hiraëyakaçipu
asked, "Why is He not in this pillar before me?" Thus in all
circumstances the devotee can always see the Supreme Lord, whereas the
nondevotee cannot.
SB 10.2.35
"Our dear Lord, the way of
understanding is not to study Your absolute nature, form and activities by
mental speculation. One must engage himself in devotional service; then one can
understand Your absolute nature and Your transcendental form, name and quality.
Actually, only a person who has a little taste for the service of Your lotus
feet can understand Your transcendental nature or form and quality. Others may
go on speculating for millions of years, but it is not possible for them to
understand even a single part of Your actual position." In other words,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, cannot be understood by the
nondevotees because there is a curtain of yogamäyä which covers Kåñëa's actual
features. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.25), nähaà prakäçaù sarvasya.
The Lord says, "I am not exposed to anyone and everyone." When Kåñëa
came, He was actually present on the battlefield of Kurukñetra, and everyone
saw Him. But not everyone could understand that He was the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Still, everyone who died in His presence attained complete
liberation from material bondage and was transferred to the spiritual world.
O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening
in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living
entities; but Me no one knows.
SB 2.10.9
The individual living entity, the jéva, is
always dependent on the Supersoul, Paramätmä, because the individual soul
forgets his spiritual identity whereas the Supersoul, Paramätmä, does not
forget His transcendental position. In the Bhagavad-gétä these separate
positions of the jéva-ätmä and the Paramätmä are specifically mentioned. In the
Fourth Chapter, Arjuna, the jéva soul, is represented as forgetful of his many,
many previous births, but the Lord, the Supersoul, is not forgetful. The Lord
even remembers when He taught the Bhagavad-gétä to the sun-god some billions of
years before. The Lord can remember such millions and billions of years, as
stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.26) as follows:
The Lord in His eternal blissful body of
knowledge is fully aware of all that happened in the past, that which is going
on at the present and also what will happen in the future. But in spite of His
being the shelter of both the Paramätmä and Brahman, persons with a poor fund
of knowledge are unable to understand Him as He is.
The propaganda of the identity of cosmic
consciousness with the consciousness of the individual living entities is
completely misleading because even such a person or individual soul as Arjuna
could not remember his past deeds, although he is always with the Lord. And
what can the tiny ordinary man, falsely claiming to be one with the cosmic
consciousness, know about his past, present and future?
SB 4.6.3
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (7.26), vedähaà
samatétäni vartamänäni cärjuna. The Lord says, "I know everything that has
happened in the past and is going to happen in the future." Lord Viñëu is
omniscient, and He therefore knew what would happen at Dakña's sacrificial
arena. For this reason neither Näräyaëa nor Lord Brahmä attended the great
sacrifice performed by Dakña.
O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe,
all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from
desire and hate.
SB 2.5.24
Materialistic ego, or the sense of
identification with matter, is grossly self-centered, devoid of clear knowledge
of the existence of God. And this self-centered egoism of the materialistic
living entities is the cause of their being conditioned by the other
paraphernalia and continuing their bondage of material existence. In the
Bhagavad-gétä this self-centered egoism is very nicely explained in the Seventh
Chapter (verses 24 through 27). The self-centered impersonalist, without a
clear conception of the Personality of Godhead, concludes in his own way that
the Personality of Godhead takes a material shape from His original impersonal
spiritual existence for a particular mission. And this misleading conception of
the Supreme Lord by the self-centered impersonalist continues, even though he
is seen to be very interested in the Vedic literatures such as the
Brahma-sütras and other highly intellectual sources of knowledge. This
ignorance of the personal feature of the Lord is due simply to ignorance of the
mixture of different modes. The impersonalist thus cannot conceive of the
Lord's eternal spiritual form of eternal knowledge, bliss and existence. The
reason is that the Lord reserves the right of not exposing Himself to the
nondevotee who, even after a thorough study of literature like the
Bhagavad-gétä, remains an impersonalist simply by obstinacy. This obstinacy is
due to the action of yogamäyä, a personal energy of the Lord that acts like an
aide-de-camp by covering the vision of the obstinate impersonalist. Such a
bewildered human being is described as müòha, or grossly ignorant, because he
is unable to understand the transcendental form of the Lord as being unborn and
unchangeable. If the Lord takes a form or material shape from His original
impersonal feature, then it means that He is born and changeable from
impersonal to personal. But He is not changeable. Nor does He ever take a new
birth like a conditioned soul. The conditioned soul may take a form birth after
birth due to his conditional existence in matter, but the self-centered
impersonalists, by their gross ignorance, accept the Lord as one of them
because of self-centered egoism, even after so-called advancement of knowledge
in the Vedänta. The Lord, being situated in the heart of every individual
living entity, knows very well the tendency of such conditioned souls in terms
of past, present and future, but the bewildered conditioned soul hardly can
know Him in His eternal form. By the will of the Lord, therefore, the
impersonalist, even after knowing the Brahman and Paramätmä features of the
Lord, remains ignorant of His eternal personal feature as ever-existent
Näräyaëa, transcendental to all material creation.
The cause of such gross ignorance is
constant engagement by the materialistic man in the matter of artificially
increasing material demands. To realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one
has to purify the materialistic senses by devotional service. The mode of
goodness, or the brahminical culture recommended in the Vedic literatures, is
helpful to such spiritual realization, and thus the jïäna-çakti stage of the
conditioned soul is comparatively better than the other two stages, namely
dravya-çakti and kriyä-çakti. The whole material civilization is manifested by
a huge accumulation of materials, or, in other words, raw materials for
industrial purposes, and the industrial enterprises (kriyä-çakti) are all due
to gross ignorance of spiritual life. In order to rectify this great anomaly of
materialistic civilization, based on the principles of dravya-çakti and
kriyä-çakti, one has to adopt the process of devotional service of the Lord by
adoption of the principles of karma-yoga, mentioned in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.27)
as follows:
yat karoñi yad açnäsi
yaj juhoñi dadäsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruñva mad-arpaëam
"O son of Kunté, all that you do, all
that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that
you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me."
SB 3.15.34
The reason why pure souls come into the
existential circumstances of the material world, which is considered to be the
criminal department of the Supreme Lord, is stated in Bhagavad-gétä, Seventh
Chapter, verse 27. It is stated that as long as a living entity is pure, he is
in complete harmony with the desires of the Supreme Lord, but as soon as he
becomes impure he is in disharmony with the desires of the Lord. By
contamination he is forced to transfer to this material world, where the living
entities have three enemies, namely desire, anger and lust. These three enemies
force the living entities to continue material existence, and when one is free
from them he is eligible to enter the kingdom of God. One should not,
therefore, be angry in the absence of an opportunity for sense gratification,
and one should not be lusty to acquire more than necessary. In this verse it is
clearly stated that the two doormen should be sent into the material world,
where criminals are allowed to reside. Since the basic principles of
criminality are sense gratification, anger and unnecessary lust, persons
conducted by these three enemies of the living entity are never promoted to
Vaikuëöhaloka. People should learn Bhagavad-gétä and accept the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, as the Lord of everything; they should practice
satisfying the senses of the Supreme Lord instead of trying to satisfy their
own senses. Training in Kåñëa consciousness will help one be promoted to Vaikuëöha.
SB 3.27.20
Material bondage is caused by putting
oneself under the control of matter because of the false ego of lording it over
material nature. Bhagavad-gétä (7.27) states, icchä-dveña-samutthena. Two kinds
of propensities arise in the living entity. One propensity is icchä, which
means desire to lord it over material nature or to be as great as the Supreme
Lord. Everyone desires to be the greatest personality in this material world.
Dveña means "envy." When one becomes envious of Kåñëa, or the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one thinks, "Why should Kåñëa be the all and all?
I'm as good as Kåñëa." These two items, desire to be the Lord and envy of
the Lord, are the beginning cause of material bondage. As long as a
philosopher, salvationist or voidist has some desire to be supreme, to be
everything, or to deny the existence of God, the cause remains, and there is no
question of his liberation.
SB 4.25.31
Such a speech is typical of a living entity
attracted by the opposite sex. This is called bewilderment occasioned by
becoming conditioned by material nature. When thus attracted by the beauty of
the material energy, one becomes very eager to enjoy. This is elaborately
described in this instance of Puraïjana's becoming attracted by the beautiful
woman. In conditional life the living entity is attracted by a face, eyebrows
or eyes, a voice or anything. In short, everything becomes attractive. When a
man or a woman is attracted by the opposite sex, it does not matter whether the
opposite sex is beautiful or not. The lover sees everything beautiful in the
face of the beloved and thus becomes attracted. This attraction causes the
living entity to fall down in this material world. This is described in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.27):
icchä-dveña-samutthena
dvandva-mohena bhärata
sarva-bhütäni sammohaà
sarge yänti parantapa
"O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O
conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by
the dualities of desire and hate."
This condition of life is called avidyä.
Opposed to this avidyä is real knowledge. Çré Éçopaniñad distinguishes between
vidyä and avidyä, knowledge and ignorance. By avidyä (ignorance) one becomes
conditioned, and by vidyä (knowledge) one becomes liberated. Puraïjana admits
herein that he is attracted by avidyä. Now he wishes to see the complete
feature of avidyä and so requests the girl to raise her head so that he can see
her face to face. He thus wishes to see the various features that make avidyä
attractive.
Persons who have acted piously in previous
lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are
freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service
with determination.
SB 1.13.28
To become narottama, or a first-class human
being depending completely on the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa, is not possible for
any ordinary man. It is stated in Bhagavad-gétä (7.28) that a person who is
completely relieved of all taints of sinful acts can alone depend on the
Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa, the Personality of Godhead. Dhåtaräñöra was advised by
Vidura at least to become a dhéra in the beginning if it were impossible for
him to become a sannyäsé or a narottama. Persistently endeavoring on the line
of self-realization helps a person to rise to the conditions of a narottama from
the stage of a dhéra. The dhéra stage is attained after prolonged practice of
the yoga system, but by the grace of Vidura one can attain the stage
immediately simply by willing to adopt the means of the dhéra stage, which is
the preparatory stage for sannyäsa. The sannyäsa stage is the preparatory stage
of paramahaàsa, or the first-grade devotee of the Lord.
SB 1.15.46
In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.28) the Lord says
that only those who have done pious deeds in previous lives and have become
freed from the results of all impious acts can concentrate upon the lotus feet
of the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa. The Päëòavas, not only in this life but also in
their previous lives, had always performed the supreme pious work, and thus
they are ever free from all the reactions of impious work. It is quite
reasonable, therefore, that they concentrated their minds upon the lotus feet
of the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa. According to Çré Viçvanätha Cakravarté, dharma,
artha, käma and mokña principles are accepted by persons who are not free from
the results of impious action. Such persons affected with the contaminations of
the above four principles cannot at once accept the lotus feet of the Lord in
the spiritual sky. The Vaikuëöha world is situated far beyond the material sky.
The material sky is under the management of Durgä Devé, or the material energy
of the Lord, but the Vaikuëöha world is managed by the personal energy of the
Lord.
SB 2.6.40-41
The fruitive worker wants reward for his
work, the mystic wants some perfection of life, and the empiric philosopher
wants to merge in the existence of the Lord. Somehow or other, as long as there
is a demand for sense satisfaction, there is no chance for pacification; on the
contrary, by unnecessary dry speculative arguments, the whole matter becomes
distorted, and thus the Lord moves still further away from our understanding.
The dry speculators, however, because of their following the principles of
austerity and penance, can have knowledge of the impersonal features of the
Lord to some extent, but there is no chance of their understanding His ultimate
form as Govinda because only the amalätmanas, or the completely sinless
persons, can accept pure devotional service to the Lord, as confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä (7.28)
SB 2.9.23
One cannot, however, be engaged in the
penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins. As
stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, only a person who is completely free from all
reactions of sins can engage himself in the worship of the Lord. Brahmäjé was sinless,
and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, "tapa
tapa," and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired
result. Therefore only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus
one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the
sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.
SB 6.2.23
Indeed, one cannot glorify the Lord unless
one is completely free from all sinful activities. This is confirmed by Kåñëa
Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (7.28)
SB 6.14.1
In this material world, everyone is obsessed
with the modes of passion and ignorance. However, unless one conquers these
modes and comes to the platform of goodness, there is no chance of one's
becoming a pure devotee. This is confirmed by Lord Kåñëa Himself in
Bhagavad-gétä (7.28)
SB 7.5.14
As soon as one is purified of material
contamination, he is again attracted by Kåñëa (sarvopädhi-vinirmuktaà
tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]). In the material world, everyone is
contaminated by the dirt of sense gratification and is acting according to
different designations, sometimes as a human being, sometimes a beast,
sometimes a demigod or tree, and so on. One must be cleansed of all these
designations. Then one will be naturally attracted to Kåñëa. The bhakti process
purifies the living entity of all unnatural attractions. When one is purified
he is attracted by Kåñëa and begins to serve Kåñëa instead of serving mäyä.
This is his natural position. A devotee is attracted by Kåñëa, whereas a
nondevotee, being contaminated by the dirt of material enjoyment, is not. This
is confirmed by the Lord in Bhagavad-gétä (7.28):
"Persons who have acted piously in
previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated
and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service
with determination." One must be freed from all the sinful dirt of
material existence. Everyone in this material world is contaminated by material
desire. Unless one is free from all material desire (anyäbhiläñitä-çünyam
[Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu 1.1.11]), one cannot be attracted by Kåñëa.
SB 8.6.12
Agriculture and cow protection are the way
to become sinless and thus be attracted to devotional service. Those who are
sinful cannot be attracted by devotional service. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä
(7.28):
"Persons who have acted piously in
previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated
and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service
with determination." The majority of people in this age of Kali are
sinful, short-living, unfortunate and disturbed (mandäù sumanda-matayo
manda-bhägyä hy upadrutäù [SB 1.1.10]). For them, Caitanya Mahäprabhu has
advised:
"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy
the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is
no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way."
And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his
body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.
SB 6.10.32
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (8.5):
"Whoever, at the time of death, quits
his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no
doubt." Of course, one must practice before one is overcome by death, but
the perfect yogé, namely the devotee, dies in trance, thinking of Kåñëa. He
does not feel his material body being separated from his soul; the soul is
immediately transferred to the spiritual world. Tyaktvä dehaà punar janma naiti
mäm eti: [Bg. 4.9] the soul does not enter the womb of a material mother again,
but is transferred back home, back to Godhead.
Whatever state of being one remembers when he
quits his body, O son of Kunté, that state he will attain without fail.
SB 4.28.2
As one's body engages in sense
gratification, it becomes weaker and weaker daily. Finally the vital force
becomes so weak that it is herein compared to a weak serpent. The life air has
already been compared to the serpent. When the vital force within the body
becomes weak, the body itself also becomes weak. At such a time the death
symptoms—that is, the dangerous soldiers of death's superintendent,
Yamaräja—begin to attack very severely. According to the Vedic system, before
coming to such a stage one should leave home and take sannyäsa to preach the
message of God for the duration of life. However, if one sits at home and is
served by his beloved wife and children, he certainly becomes weaker and weaker
due to sense gratification. When death finally comes, one leaves the body
devoid of spiritual assets. At the present time, even the oldest man in the
family does not leave home, being attracted by wife, children, money, opulence,
dwelling, etc. Thus at the end of life one worries about how his wife will be
protected and how she will manage the great family responsibilities. In this
way a man usually thinks of his wife before death. According to Bhagavad-gétä
(8.6):
"Whatever state of being one remembers
when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail."
At the end of life, a person thinks of what
he has done throughout his whole life; thus he gets another body (dehäntara)
according to his thoughts and desires at the end of life. One overly addicted
to life at home naturally thinks of his beloved wife at the end of life.
Consequently, in the next life he gets the body of a woman, and he also
acquires the results of his pious or impious activities. In this chapter the
acceptance of a woman's body by King Puraïjana will be thoroughly explained.
SB 6.1.54
The gross body is a product of the subtle
body. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (8.6):
"Whatever state of being one remembers
when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail." The
atmosphere of the subtle body at the time of death is created by the activities
of the gross body. Thus the gross body acts during one's lifetime, and the
subtle body acts at the time of death. The subtle body, which is called liìga,
the body of desire, is the background for the development of a particular type
of gross body, which is either like that of one's mother or like that of one's
father. According to the Åg Veda, if at the time of sex the secretions of the
mother are more profuse than those of the father, the child will receive a
female body, and if the secretions of the father are more profuse than those of
the mother, the child will receive a male body. These are the subtle laws of
nature, which act according to the desire of the living entity. If a human
being is taught to change his subtle body by developing a consciousness of
Kåñëa, at the time of death the subtle body will create a gross body in which
he will be a devotee of Kåñëa, or if he is still more perfect, he will not take
another material body but will immediately get a spiritual body and thus return
home, back to Godhead. This is the process of the transmigration of the soul.
Therefore instead of trying to unite human society through pacts for sense
gratification that can never be achieved, it is clearly desirable to teach
people how to become Kåñëa conscious and return home, back to Godhead. This is
true now and, indeed, at any time.
SB 6.2.15
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (8.6):
"Whatever state of being one remembers
when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail." If one
practices chanting the Hare Kåñëa mantra, he is naturally expected to chant
Hare Kåñëa when he meets with some accident. Even without such practice,
however, if one somehow or other chants the holy name of the Lord (Hare Kåñëa)
when he meets with an accident and dies, he will be saved from hellish life
after death.
Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of
Me in the form of Kåñëa and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of
fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence
fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.
SB 6.1.1
According to the opinion of the äcäryas, the
word krama-yogopalabdhena indicates that by first performing karma-yoga and
then jïäna-yoga and finally coming to the platform of bhakti-yoga, one can be
liberated. Bhakti-yoga, however, is so powerful that it does not depend on
karma-yoga or jïäna-yoga. Bhakti-yoga itself is so powerful that even an
impious man with no assets in karma-yoga or an illiterate with no assets in
jïäna-yoga can undoubtedly be elevated to the spiritual world if he simply
adheres to bhakti-yoga. Mäm evaiñyasy asaàçayaù. Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä
(8.7) that by the process of bhakti-yoga one undoubtedly goes back to Godhead,
back home to the spiritual world.
SB 9.10.20
The soldiers Lord Rämacandra recruited in
the jungle were all monkeys and did not have proper equipment with which to
fight the soldiers of Rävaëa, for Rävaëa's soldiers were equipped with weapons
of modern warfare whereas the monkeys could only throw stones, mountain peaks
and trees. It was only Lord Rämacandra and Lakñmaëa who shot some arrows. But
because the soldiers of Rävaëa were condemned by the curse of mother Sétä, the
monkeys were able to kill them simply by throwing stones and trees. There are
two kinds of strength—daiva and puruñäkära. Daiva refers to the strength
achieved from the Transcendence, and puruñäkära refers to the strength
organized by one's own intelligence and power. Transcendental power is always
superior to the power of the materialist. Depending on the mercy of the Supreme
Lord, one must fight one's enemies even though one may not be equipped with
modern weapons. Therefore Kåñëa instructed Arjuna, mäm anusmara yudhya ca: [Bg.
8.7] "Think of Me and fight." We should fight our enemy to the best
of our ability, but for victory we must depend on the mercy of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
He who meditates on Me as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me,
undeviated from the path, he, O Pärtha, is sure to reach Me.
SB 10.1.42
By regulative practice one can control the
mind, and this is the purpose of the yoga system (abhyäsa-yoga-yuktena [Bg.
8.8]). But there is a chance of failure with the yoga system, especially in
this age of Kali, because the yoga system uses artificial means. If the mind is
engaged in bhakti-yoga, however, by the grace of Kåñëa one can very easily
control it. Therefore Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has recommended, harer näma harer
näma harer nämaiva kevalam [Cc. Ädi 17.21]. One should chant the holy name of
the Lord constantly, for the holy name of the Lord is nondifferent from Hari,
the Supreme Person.
For one who always remembers Me without
deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Påthä, because of his constant
engagement in devotional service.
SB 2.2.15
In the Bhagavad-gétä (8.14) it is clearly
stated that a person who is totally engaged in the transcendental loving
service of the Lord, and who constantly remembers Him at every step, easily
obtains the mercy of the Lord by entering into His personal contact. Such
devotees do not need to seek an opportune moment to leave the present body. But
those who are mixed devotees, alloyed with fruitive action or empirical
philosophical speculation, require an opportune moment for quitting this body.
For them the opportune moments are stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (8.23-26). But
these opportune moments are not as important as one's being a successful yogé
who is able to quit his body as he likes. Such a yogé must be competent to
control his senses by the mind. The mind is easily conquered simply by engaging
it at the lotus feet of the Lord. Gradually, by such service, all the senses
become automatically engaged in the service of the Lord. That is the way of
merging into the Supreme Absolute.
After attaining Me, the great souls, who are
yogés in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of
miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
SB 1.8.26
This material world is certified by the Lord
in the Bhagavad-gétä as a dangerous place full of calamities. Less intelligent
persons prepare plans to adjust to those calamities without knowing that the
nature of this place is itself full of calamities. They have no information of
the abode of the Lord, which is full of bliss and without trace of calamity.
The duty of the sane person, therefore, is to be undisturbed by worldly
calamities, which are sure to happen in all circumstances. Suffering all sorts
of unavoidable misfortunes, one should make progress in spiritual realization
because that is the mission of human life. The spirit soul is transcendental to
all material calamities; therefore, the so-called calamities are called false.
A man may see a tiger swallowing him in a dream, and he may cry for this
calamity. Actually there is no tiger and there is no suffering; it is simply a
case of dreams. In the same way, all calamities of life are said to be dreams.
If someone is lucky enough to get in contact with the Lord by devotional
service, it is all gain. Contact with the Lord by any one of the nine
devotional services is always a forward step on the path going back to Godhead.
SB 3.30.9
In Bhagavad-gétä the Personality of Godhead
Himself certifies the material world as an impermanent place that is full of
miseries. There is no question of happiness in this material world, either
individually or in terms of family, society or country. If something is going
on in the name of happiness, that is also illusion. Here in this material
world, happiness means successful counteraction to the effects of distress. The
material world is so made that unless one becomes a clever diplomat, his life
will be a failure. Not to speak of human society, even the society of lower
animals, the birds and bees, cleverly manages its bodily demands of eating,
sleeping and mating. Human society competes nationally or individually, and in
the attempt to be successful the entire human society becomes full of diplomacy.
We should always remember that in spite of all diplomacy and all intelligence
in the struggle for our existence, everything will end in a second by the
supreme will. Therefore, all our attempts to become happy in this material
world are simply a delusion offered by mäyä.
SB 6.4.43
As the Lord Himself confirms in
Bhagavad-gétä (8.15), one reaches the highest perfection when he attains the
fortune of realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead:
"After attaining Me, the great souls,
who are yogés in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full
of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection." Therefore
the Kåñëa consciousness movement teaches one to follow the path toward the
topmost perfection simply by performing devotional service.
SB 7.9.43
Throughout the entire world, everyone is
making big, big plans to adjust the miseries of the material world, and this is
true at present, in the past and in the future. Nonetheless, although they make
elaborate political, social and cultural plans, they have all been described
herein as vimüòha—fools. The material world has been described in Bhagavad-gétä
as duùkhälayam açäçvatam [Bg. 8.15]—temporary and miserable—but these fools are
trying to turn the material world into sukhälayam, a place of happiness, not
knowing how everything acts by the arrangement of material nature, which works
in her own way.
SB 8.5.43
The word durvibhävyam is very important in
this verse. No one can understand how everything is happening in this material
world by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His
material energies. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.10), mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù
süyate sacaräcaram: everything is actually happening under the direction of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. This much we can learn, but how it is happening
is extremely difficult to understand. We cannot even understand how the affairs
within our body are systematically taking place. The body is a small universe,
and since we cannot understand how things are happening in this small universe,
how can we understand the affairs of the bigger universe? Actually this
universe is very difficult to understand, yet learned sages have advised, as
Kåñëa has also advised, that this material world is duùkhälayam açäçvatam; [Bg.
8.15] in other words, it is a place of misery and temporality. One must give up
this world and go back home, back to the Personality of Godhead. Materialists
may argue, "If this material world and its affairs are impossible to
understand, how can we reject it?" The answer is provided by the word
prabudhäpabädham. We have to reject this material world because it is rejected
by those who are learned in Vedic wisdom. Even though we cannot understand what
this material world is, we should be ready to reject it in accordance with the
advice of learned persons, especially the advice of Kåñëa. Kåñëa says:
"After attaining Me, the great souls,
who are yogés in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full
of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection." (Bg.
8.15) One has to return home, back to Godhead, for this is the highest
perfection of life. To go back to Godhead means to reject this material world.
Although we cannot understand the functions of this material world and whether
it is good for us or bad for us, in accordance with the advice of the supreme
authority we must reject it and go back home, back to Godhead.
8.16
From the highest planet in the material world
down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death
take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunté, never takes birth
again.
SB 1.5.18
tasyaiva hetoù prayateta
kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatäm
upary adhaù
tal labhyate duùkhavad
anyataù sukhaà
kälena sarvatra gabhéra-raàhasä
SYNONYMS
tasya—for that
purpose; eva—only; hetoù—reason; prayateta—should
endeavor; kovidaù—one who is philosophically inclined; na
labhyate—is not obtained; yat—what; bhramatäm—wandering; upari
adhaù—from top to bottom; tat—that; labhyate—can be obtained;
duùkhavat—like
the miseries; anyataù—as a result of previous work; sukham—sense enjoyment; kälena—in
course of time; sarvatra—everywhere; gabhéra—subtle; raàhasä—progress.
TRANSLATION
Persons who are actually intelligent and
philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is
not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet [Brahmaloka] down to
the lowest planet [Pätäla]. As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is
concerned, it can be obtained automatically in course of time, just as in
course of time we obtain miseries even though we do not desire them.
PURPORT
Every man everywhere is trying to obtain the
greatest amount of sense enjoyment by various endeavors. Some men are busy
engaged in trade, industry, economic development, political supremacy, etc.,
and some of them are engaged in fruitive work to become happy in the next life
by attaining higher planets. It is said that on the moon the inhabitants are
fit for greater sense enjoyment by drinking soma-rasa, and the Pitåloka is
obtained by good charitable work. So there are various programs for sense
enjoyment, either during this life or in the life after death. Some are trying
to reach the moon or other planets by some mechanical arrangement, for they are
very anxious to get into such planets without doing good work. But it is not to
happen. By the law of the Supreme, different places are meant for different
grades of living beings according to the work they have performed. By good work
only, as prescribed in the scriptures, can one obtain birth in a good family,
opulence, good education and good bodily features. We see also that even in
this life one obtains a good education or money by good work. Similarly, in our
next birth we get such desirable positions only by good work. Otherwise, it
would not so happen that two persons born in the same place at the same time
are seen differently placed according to previous work. But all such material
positions are impermanent. The positions in the topmost Brahmaloka and in the
lowest Pätäla are also changeable according to our own work. The
philosophically inclined person must not be tempted by such changeable
positions. He should try to get into the permanent life of bliss and knowledge
where he will not be forced to come back again to the miserable material world,
either in this or that planet. Miseries and mixed happiness are two features of
material life, and they are obtained in Brahmaloka and in other lokas also.
They are obtained in the life of the demigods and also in the life of the dogs
and hogs. The miseries and mixed happiness of all living beings are only of
different degree and quality, but no one is free from the miseries of birth,
death, old age and disease. Similarly, everyone has his destined happiness
also. No one can get more or less of these things simply by personal endeavors.
Even if they are obtained, they can be lost again. One should not, therefore,
waste time with these flimsy things; one should only endeavor to go back to
Godhead. That should be the mission of everyone's life.
SB 1.12.6
The whole material world is full of hungry
living beings. The hunger is not for good food, shelter or sense gratification.
The hunger is for the spiritual atmosphere. Due to ignorance only they think
that the world is dissatisfied because there is not sufficient food, shelter,
defense and objects of sense gratification. This is called illusion. When the
living being is hungry for spiritual satisfaction, he is misrepresented by
material hunger. But the foolish leaders cannot see that even the people who
are most sumptuously materially satisfied are still hungry. And what is their
hunger and poverty? This hunger is actually for spiritual food, spiritual
shelter, spiritual defense and spiritual sense gratification. These can be
obtained in the association of the Supreme Spirit, Lord Çré Kåñëa, and
therefore one who has them cannot be attracted by the so-called food, shelter,
defense and sense gratification of the material world, even if they are
relished by the denizens of the heavenly planets. Therefore, in the
Bhagavad-gétä (8.16) it is said by the Lord that even in the topmost planet of
the universe, namely the Brahmaloka, where the duration of life is multiplied
by millions of years by earth calculation, one cannot satisfy his hunger. Such
hunger can be satisfied only when the living being is situated in immortality,
which is attained in the spiritual sky, far, far above the Brahmaloka, in the
association of Lord Mukunda, the Lord who awards His devotees the transcendental
pleasure of liberation.
SB 2.3.11
We also have information from the
Bhagavad-gétä that all the planets within the material world, including
Brahmaloka, are but temporarily situated, and after a fixed period they are all
annihilated. Therefore the demigods and their followers are all annihilated at
the period of devastation, but one who reaches the kingdom of God gets a
permanent share in eternal life. That is the verdict of Vedic literature. The
worshipers of the demigods have one facility more than the unbelievers due to
their being convinced of the Vedic version, by which they can get information
of the benefit of worshiping the Supreme Lord in the association of the
devotees of the Lord. The gross materialist, however, without any faith in the
Vedic version, remains eternally in darkness, driven by a false conviction on
the basis of imperfect experimental knowledge, or so-called material science,
which can never reach into the realm of transcendental knowledge.
Therefore unless the gross materialists or
the worshipers of the temporary demigods come in contact with a
transcendentalist like the pure devotee of the Lord, their attempts are simply
a waste of energy. Only by the grace of the divine personalities, the pure
devotees of the Lord, can one achieve pure devotion, which is the highest
perfection of human life. Only a pure devotee of the Lord can show one the
right way of progressive life. Otherwise both the materialistic way of life,
without any information of God or the demigods, and the life engaged in the
worship of demigods, in pursuit of temporary material enjoyments, are different
phases of phantasmagoria. They are nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gétä also,
but the Bhagavad-gétä can be understood in the association of pure devotees
only, and not by the interpretations of politicians or dry philosophical
speculators.
SB 2.10.4
In the Bhagavad-gétä it is said that
beginning from the topmost planet of this universe down to the lowest planet,
Pätälaloka, all are destructible, and the conditioned souls may travel in space
either by good or bad work or by modern spacecraft, but they are sure to die
everywhere, although the duration of life in different planets is different.
The only means to attain eternal life is to go back home, back to Godhead,
where there is no more rebirth as in the material planets. The conditioned
souls, being unaware of this very simple fact because of forgetting their
relationship with the Lord of Vaikuëöha, try to plan out a permanent life in
this material world. Being illusioned by the external energy, they thus become
engaged in various types of economic and religious development, forgetting that
they are meant for going back home, back to Godhead. This forgetfulness is so
strong due to the influence of mäyä that the conditioned souls do not at all
want to go back to Godhead. By sense enjoyment they become victims of birth and
death repeatedly and thus spoil human lives which are chances for going back to
Viñëu.
SB 4.11.5
An important word in this verse is
ürdhva-retasaù, which means brahmacärés who have never discharged semen.
Celibacy is so important that even though one does not undergo any austerities,
penances or ritualistic ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas, if one simply keeps
himself a pure brahmacäré, not discharging his semen, the result is that after
death he goes to the Satyaloka. Generally, sex life is the cause of all
miseries in the material world. In the Vedic civilization sex life is
restricted in various ways. Out of the whole population of the social structure,
only the gåhasthas are allowed restricted sex life. All others refrain from
sex. The people of this age especially do not know the value of not discharging
semen. As such, they are variously entangled with material qualities and suffer
an existence of struggle only. The word ürdhva-retasaù especially indicates the
Mäyävädé sannyäsés, who undergo strict principles of austerity. But in the
Bhagavad-gétä (8.16) the Lord says that even if one goes up to Brahmaloka, he
again comes back (äbrahma-bhuvanäl lokäù punar ävartino 'rjuna). Therefore,
actual mukti, or liberation, can be attained only by devotional service,
because by devotional service one can go above Brahmaloka, or to the spiritual
world, wherefrom he never comes back. Mäyävädé sannyäsés are very proud of
becoming liberated, but actual liberation is not possible unless one is in
touch with the Supreme Lord in devotional service. It is said, harià vinä na
måtim taranti: without Kåñëa's mercy, no one can have liberation.
SB 6.11.20
Våträsura not only assured King Indra that
the thunderbolt was invincible, but also encouraged Indra to use it against him
as soon as possible. Våträsura was eager to die with the stroke of the
thunderbolt sent by Lord Viñëu so that he could immediately return home, back
to Godhead. By hurling the thunderbolt, Indra would gain victory and enjoy the
heavenly planets, remaining in the material world for repeated birth and death.
Indra wanted to gain victory over Våträsura and thereby become happy, but that
would not at all be happiness. The heavenly planets are just below Brahmaloka,
but as stated by the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, äbrahma-bhuvanäl lokäù punar ävartino
'rjuna: [Bg. 8.16] even if one achieves Brahmaloka, he must still fall to the
lower planetary systems again and again. However, if one goes back to Godhead,
he never returns to this material world. By killing Våträsura, Indra would not
actually gain; he would remain in the material world. Våträsura, however, would
go to the spiritual world. Therefore victory was destined for Våträsura, not
for Indra.
At the beginning of Brahmä's day, all living
entities become manifest from the unmanifest state, and thereafter, when the
night falls, they are merged into the unmanifest again.
SB 2.6.11
In the Bhagavad-gétä (8.17-18) it is stated
that according to human calculations one day of Brahmä is equal to one thousand
ages of four millenniums (4,300,000 years) each, and the same period is
calculated to be his night also. A Brahmä lives for one hundred such years and
then dies. A Brahmä, who is generally a great devotee of the Lord, attains
liberation after such a downfall. The universe (called the brahmäëòa, or the
round football-like domain controlled by a Brahmä) is thus annihilated, and
thus the inhabitants of a particular planet, or of the whole universe, are also
annihilated. Avyakta, mentioned here in this verse, means the night of Brahmä,
when partial annihilation takes place and the living entities of that
particular brahmäëòa, up to the planets of Brahmaloka, along with the big
oceans, etc., all repose in the belly of the viräö-puruña. At the end of a
Brahmä's night, the creation again takes place, and the living entities,
reserved within the belly of the Lord, are let loose to play their respective
parts as if being awakened from a deep slumber. Since the living entities are
never destroyed, the annihilation of the material world does not annihilate the
existence of the living entities, but until liberation is attained one has to
accept one material body after another, again and again. The human life is
meant for making a solution to this repeated change of bodies and thereby
attaining a place in the spiritual sky, where everything is eternal, blissful
and full of knowledge. In other words, the subtle forms of the living entities
take place in the heart of the Supreme Being, and such forms take tangible
shape at the time of creation.
Again and again, when Brahmä's day arrives,
all living entities come into being, and with the arrival of Brahmä's night
they are helplessly annihilated.
SB 1.3.1
In the Bhagavad-gétä it is also mentioned
that the material world is created at certain intervals and then again
destroyed. This creation and destruction is done by the supreme will because of
the conditioned souls, or the nitya-baddha living beings. The nitya-baddha, or
the eternally conditioned souls, have the sense of individuality or ahaìkära,
which dictates them sense enjoyment, which they are unable to have
constitutionally. The Lord is the only enjoyer, and all others are enjoyed. The
living beings are predominated enjoyers. But the eternally conditioned souls,
forgetful of this constitutional position, have strong aspirations to enjoy.
The chance to enjoy matter is given to the conditioned souls in the material
world, and side by side they are given the chance to understand their real
constitutional position. Those fortunate living entities who catch the truth
and surrender unto the lotus feet of Väsudeva after many, many births in the
material world join the eternally liberated souls and thus are allowed to enter
into the kingdom of Godhead. After this, such fortunate living entities need
not come again within the occasional material creation. But those who cannot
catch the constitutional truth are again merged into the mahat-tattva at the
time of the annihilation of the material creation. When the creation is again
set up, this mahat-tattva is again let loose. This mahat-tattva contains all
the ingredients of the material manifestations, including the conditioned
souls. Primarily this mahat-tattva is divided into sixteen parts, namely the
five gross material elements and the eleven working instruments or senses. It
is like the cloud in the clear sky. In the spiritual sky, the effulgence of
Brahman is spread all around, and the whole system is dazzling in spiritual
light. The mahat-tattva is assembled in some corner of the vast, unlimited
spiritual sky, and the part which is thus covered by the mahat-tattva is called
the material sky. This part of the spiritual sky, called the mahat-tattva, is
only an insignificant portion of the whole spiritual sky, and within this
mahat-tattva there are innumerable universes. All these universes are
collectively produced by the Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu, called also the Mahä-Viñëu,
who simply throws His glance to impregnate the material sky.
SB 6.4.47
After the annihilation of everything, the
Supreme Lord, because of His sac-cid-änanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], remains in His
original form, but since the other living entities have material bodies, the
matter merges into matter, and the subtle form of the spirit soul remains
within the body of the Lord. The Lord does not sleep, but the ordinary living
entities remain asleep until the next creation. An unintelligent person thinks
that the opulence of the Supreme Lord is nonexistent after the annihilation,
but that is not a fact. The opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
remains as it is in the spiritual world; only in the material world is
everything dissolved. Brahma-léna, merging into the Supreme Brahman, is not
actual léna, or annihilation, for the subtle form remaining in the Brahman
effulgence will return to the material world after the material creation and
again assume a material form. This is described as bhütvä bhütvä praléyate [Bg.
8.19]. When the material body is annihilated, the spirit soul remains in a
subtle form, which later assumes another material body. This is true for the
conditioned souls, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains eternally in
His original consciousness and spiritual body.
Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which
is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It
is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated,
that part remains as it is.
SB 2.10.43
This creation is very appropriately compared
to clouds. Clouds are created or situated in the sky, and when they are
displaced they remain in the same sky without manifestation. Similarly, the
whole creation is made by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of
Brahmä, it is maintained by Him in the form of Viñëu, and it is destroyed by
Him in the form of Rudra, or Çiva, all in due course. This creation,
maintenance and destruction are nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gétä
(8.19-20).
The nature of the material world is that it
is first created very nicely, then it develops very nicely and stays for a
great number of years (even beyond the calculation of the greatest
mathematician), but after that it is again destroyed during the night of
Brahmä, without any resistance, and at the end of the night of Brahmä it is
again manifested as a creation to follow the same principles of maintenance and
destruction. The foolish conditioned soul who has taken this temporary world as
a permanent settlement has to learn intelligently why such creation and
destruction take place. The fruitive actors in the material world are very
enthusiastic in the creation of big enterprises, big houses, big empires, big
industries and so many big, big things out of the energy and ingredients
supplied by the material agent of the Supreme Lord. With such resources, and at
the cost of valuable energy, the conditioned soul creates, satisfies his whims,
but unwillingly has to depart from all his creations and enter into another
phase of life to create again and again. To give hope to such foolish
conditioned souls who waste their energy in this temporary material world, the
Lord gives information that there is another nature, which is eternally
existent without being occasionally created or destroyed, and that the
conditioned soul can understand what he should do and how his valuable energy
may be utilized. Instead of wasting his energy in matter, which is sure to be
destroyed in due course by the supreme will, the conditioned soul should utilize
his energy in the devotional service of the Lord so that he can be transferred
to the other, eternal nature, where there is no birth, no death, no creation,
no destruction, but permanent life instead, full of knowledge and unlimited
bliss. The temporary creation is thus exhibited and destroyed just to give
information to the conditioned soul who is attached to temporary things. It is
also meant to give him a chance for self-realization, and not for sense
gratification, which is the prime aim of all fruitive actors.
That which the Vedäntists describe as
unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that
place from which, having attained it, one never returns—that is My supreme
abode
SB 1.10.27
The Lord is the soul of all living beings,
and He desires always to have all the living beings, in their svarüpa, in their
constitutional position, to participate in transcendental life in His
association. His attractive features and sweet smiles go deep into the heart of
everyone, and once it is so done the living being is admitted into the kingdom
of God, from which no one returns. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä.
The heavenly planets may be very famous for
offering better facilities of material enjoyment, but as we learn from the
Bhagavad-gétä (9.20-21), one has to come back again to the earth planet as soon
as the acquired virtue is finished. Dvärakä is certainly more important than
the heavenly planets because whoever has been favored with the smiling glance
of the Lord shall never come back again to this rotten earth, which is
certified by the Lord Himself as a place of misery. Not only this earth but
also all the planets of the universes are places of misery because in none of
the planets within the universe is there eternal life, eternal bliss and
eternal knowledge.
This knowledge is the king of education, the
most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives
direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion.
It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.
SB 4.21.32
In this verse the word vijïäna is
specifically important. Jïäna, the knowledge of spiritual identity that one
attains when he does not consider himself to be the body, is explained in
Bhagavad-gétä as brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20], the revival of spiritual
realization. In the conditioned state of material existence one cannot be
spiritually realized because he identifies himself materially. The
understanding of the distinction between material existence and spiritual
existence is called jïäna. After coming to the platform of jïäna, or the
brahma-bhüta state, one ultimately comes to devotional service, in which he
completely understands his own position and the position of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. This understanding is explained here as vijïäna-viçeña.
The Lord says, therefore, that knowledge of Him is vijïäna, science. In other
words, when one is strengthened by scientific knowledge of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, his position of liberation is guaranteed. In
Bhagavad-gétä (9.2), the science of devotional service is described as
pratyakñävagamaà dharmyam, direct understanding of the principles of religion
by realization.
Those who are not faithful in this devotional
service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the
path of birth and death in this material world.
SB 7.15.41
It is said, therefore, ätmänaà rathinaà
viddhi çaréraà ratham eva ca. The body is just like a chariot or car in which
one may go anywhere. One may drive well, or else one may drive whimsically, in
which case it is quite possible that he may have an accident and fall into a
ditch. In other words, if one takes directions from the experienced spiritual
master one can go back home, back to Godhead; otherwise, one may return to the
cycle of birth and death. Therefore Kåñëa personally advises: "Those who
are not faithful on the path of devotional service cannot attain Me, O
conqueror of foes, but return to birth and death in this material world."
(Bg. 9.3) The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, personally gives
instructions on how one can return home, back to Godhead, but if one does not
care to listen to His instructions, the result will be that one will never go
back to Godhead, but will continue life in this miserable condition of repeated
birth and death in material existence (måtyu-saàsära-vartmani).
SB 9.13.10
The material body, whether in the higher or
lower planetary system, is destined to die. In the lower planetary system or
lower species of life one may die soon, and in the higher planets or higher
species one may live for a long, long time, but death is inevitable. This fact
should be understood. In the human form of life one should take the opportunity
to put an end to birth, death, old age and disease by performing tapasya. This
is the aim of human civilization: to stop the repetition of birth and death, which
is called måtyu-saàsära-vartmani [Bg. 9.3]. This can be done only when one is
Kåñëa conscious, or has achieved the service of the lotus feet of the Lord.
Otherwise one must rot in this material world and accept a material body
subject to birth, death, old age and disease.
SB 10.2.32
Aside from devotees, there are many others,
nondevotees, known as karmés, jïänés or yogés, philanthropists, altruists,
politicians, impersonalists and voidists. There are many varieties of
nondevotees who have their respective ways of liberation, but simply because
they do not know the shelter of the Lord's lotus feet, although they falsely
think that they have been liberated and elevated to the highest position, they
fall down. As clearly stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (9.3):
"Those who are not faithful on the path
of devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, but return to
birth and death in this material world." It doesn't matter whether one is
a karmé, jïäné, yogé, philanthropist, politician or whatever; if one has no
love for the lotus feet of the Lord, one falls down. That is the verdict given
by Lord Brahmä in this verse.
SB 10.10.10
Çäbde pare ca niñëätam (SB 11.3.21): a guru
is one who has full transcendental knowledge. Unless one approaches a spiritual
master, one remains in ignorance. Äcäryavän puruño veda (Chändogya Upaniñad
6.14.2): one has full knowledge about life when one is äcäryavän, controlled by
the äcärya. But when one is conducted by rajo-guëa and tamo-guëa, one does not
care about anything; instead, one acts like an ordinary foolish animal, risking
his life (måtyu-saàsära-vartmani [Bg. 9.3]) and therefore continuing to go
through suffering after suffering. Na te viduù svärtha-gatià hi viñëum (SB
7.5.31). Such a foolish person does not know how to elevate himself in this
body. Instead, he indulges in sinful activities and goes deeper and deeper into
hellish life.
By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire
universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.
SB 2.1.26
Outside the bodily existence of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the manifested cosmic existence has no reality.
Everything and anything of the manifested world rests on Him, as confirmed in
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.4), but that does not imply that everything and anything
in the vision of a materialist is the Supreme Personality. The conception of
the universal form of the Lord gives a chance to the materialist to think of
the Supreme Lord, but the materialist must know for certain that his
visualization of the world in a spirit of lording over it is not God
realization. The materialistic view of exploitation of the material resources
is occasioned by the illusion of the external energy of the Lord, and as such,
if anyone wants to realize the Supreme Truth by conceiving of the universal
form of the Lord, he must cultivate the service attitude.
SB 2.6.39
The creation is nondifferent from the Lord,
and still He is not in the creation. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gétä
(9.4) as follows:
mayä tatam idaà sarvaà
jagad avyakta-mürtinä
mat-sthäni sarva-bhütäni
na cähaà teñv avasthitaù
The impersonal conception of the Absolute
Truth is also a form of the Lord called avyakta-mürti. Mürti means
"form," but because His impersonal feature is inexplicable to our limited
senses, He is the avyakta-mürti form, and in that inexplicable form of the Lord
the whole creation is resting; or, in other words, the whole creation is the
Lord Himself, and the creation is also nondifferent from Him, but
simultaneously He, as the original Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa, is aloof
from the created manifestation. The impersonalist gives stress to the
impersonal form or feature of the Lord and does not believe in the original
personality of the Lord, but the Vaiñëavas accept the original form of the
Lord, of whom the impersonal form is merely one of the features. The impersonal
and personal conceptions of the Lord are existing simultaneously, and this fact
is clearly described both in the Bhagavad-gétä and in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and
also in other Vedic scriptures. Inconceivable to human intelligence, the idea
must simply be accepted on the authority of the scriptures, and it can only be
practically realized by the progress of devotional service unto the Lord, and
never by mental speculation or inductive logic. The impersonalists depend more
or less on inductive logic, and therefore they always remain in darkness about
the original Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa. Their conception of Kåñëa is not
clear, although everything is clearly mentioned in all the Vedic scriptures. A
poor fund of knowledge cannot comprehend the existence of an original personal
form of the Lord when He is expanded in everything. This imperfectness is due,
more or less, to the material conception that a substance distributed widely in
parts can no longer exist in the original form.
SB 2.7.50
Since we generally have the experience of
the temporary, material world and conditioned souls trying to lord it over the
material worlds, Brahmäjé explained to Näradadeva that this temporary world is
the work of the external potency of the Lord and that the conditioned souls
struggling here for existence are the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord, the
Personality of Godhead. There is no cause for all these phenomenal activities
but Him, Hari, the Supreme Lord, who is the primeval cause of all causes. This
does not mean, however, that the Lord Himself is distributed impersonally. He
is aloof from all these interactions of the external and marginal potencies. In
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.4) it is confirmed that by His potencies alone He is
present everywhere and anywhere. Everything that is manifested rests on His
potency only, but He, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always aloof
from everything. The potency and the potent are simultaneously one and
different from one another.
SB 3.7.3
Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
one without a second, there is no possibility that anything besides Him can
exist. He expands Himself by His energies in multiforms of self-expansions and
separated expansions as well, just as fire expands itself by heat and light.
Since there is no other existence besides the Lord Himself, the Lord's
association with anything manifests His association with Himself. In
Bhagavad-gétä (9.4) the Lord says:
"The complete manifestation of the
cosmic situation is an expansion of the Lord Himself in His impersonal feature.
All things are situated in Him only, yet He is not in them." That is the
opulence of the Lord's attachment and detachment. He is attached to everything,
yet He is detached from all.
SB 4.11.26
There are two kinds of energies in the
matter of creation. The Lord creates this material world through His external,
material energy, whereas the spiritual world is a manifestation of His internal
energy. He is always associated with the internal energy, but He is always
aloof from the material energy. Therefore in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4) the Lord says,
mat-sthäni sarva-bhütäni na cähaà teñv avasthitaù: "All living entities
are living on Me or on My energy, but I am not everywhere." He is
personally always situated in the spiritual world. In the material world also,
wherever the Supreme Lord is personally present is to be understood as being
the spiritual world. For example, the Lord is worshiped in the temple by pure
devotees. The temple is therefore to be understood as being the spiritual
world.
SB 5.12.8
Originally the cause or primary ingredient
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the varieties are only by-products.
In the Chändogya Upaniñad it is stated: yathä saumy ekena måt-piëòena sarvaà
månmayaà vijïätaà syäd väcärambhaëaà vikäro nämadheyaà måttikety eva satyam. If
one studies the earth, he naturally understands the by-products of the earth.
The Vedas therefore enjoin, yasmin vijïäte sarvam evaà vijïätaà bhavati
(Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.3): if one simply understands the original cause, Kåñëa,
the cause of all causes, then naturally everything else is understood, although
it may be presented in different varieties. By understanding the original cause
of different varieties, one can understand everything. If we understand Kåñëa,
the original cause of everything, we do not need to separately study the
subsidiary varieties. Therefore from the very beginning it is said: satyaà
paraà dhémahi [SB 1.1.1]. One has to concentrate one's understanding on the
Supreme Truth, Kåñëa or Väsudeva. The word Väsudeva indicates the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, who is the cause of all causes. Mat-sthäni
sarva-bhütäni na cähaà teñv avasthitaù [Bg. 9.4]. This is a summary of
phenomenal and noumenal philosophy. The phenomenal world depends on the
noumenal existence; similarly, everything exists by virtue of the potency of
the Supreme Lord, although due to our ignorance the Supreme Lord is not
perceived in everything.
SB 5.18.31
Mäyävädé philosophers think the universal
form of the Lord to be real and His personal form illusory. We can understand
their mistake by a simple example. A fire consists of three elements: heat and
light, which are the energy of the fire, and the fire itself. Anyone can
understand that the original fire is the reality and that the heat and light
are simply the fire's energy. Heat and light are the formless energies of fire,
and in that sense they are unreal. Only the fire has form, and therefore it is
the real form of the heat and light. As Kåñëa states in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4),
mayä tatam idaà sarvaà jagad avyakta-mürtinä: "By Me, in My unmanifested
form. this entire universe is pervaded." Thus the impersonal conception of
the Lord is like the expansion of heat and light from a fire. In Bhagavad-gétä
the Lord also says, mat-sthäni sarva-bhütäni na cähaà teñv avasthitaù: the
entire material creation is resting on Kåñëa's energy, either material,
spiritual or marginal, but because His form is absent from the expansion of His
energy, He is not personally present. This inconceivable expansion of the
Supreme Lord's energy is called acintya-çakti. Therefore no one can understand
the real form of the Lord without becoming His devotee.
SB 6.8.32-33
A person highly elevated in spiritual
knowledge knows that nothing exists but the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4) where Lord Kåñëa says, mayä tatam
idaà sarvam, indicating that everything we see is an expansion of His energy. This
is confirmed in the Viñëu Puräëa (1.22.52):
As a fire, although existing in one place,
can expand its light and heat everywhere, so the omnipotent Lord, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, although situated in His spiritual abode, expands
Himself everywhere, in both the material and spiritual worlds, by His various
energies. Since both cause and effect are the Supreme Lord, there is no
difference between cause and effect. Consequently the ornaments and weapons of
the Lord, being expansions of His spiritual energy, are not different from Him.
There is no difference between the Lord and His variously presented energies.
SB 6.9.34
The Brahma-saàhitä (5.37) says, goloka eva
nivasaty akhilätma-bhütaù: the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, is always
situated in Goloka Våndävana. It is also said, våndävanaà parityajya padam ekaà
na gacchati: Kåñëa never goes even a step from Våndävana. Nevertheless,
although Kåñëa is situated in His own abode, Goloka Våndävana, He is
simultaneously all-pervading and is therefore present everywhere. This is very
difficult for a conditioned soul to understand, but devotees can understand how
Kåñëa, without undergoing any changes, can simultaneously be in His abode and
be all-pervasive. The demigods are understood to be various limbs of the
Supreme Lord's body, although the Supreme Lord has no material body and does
not need anyone's help. He is spread everywhere (mayä tatam idaà sarvaà jagad
avyakta-mürtinä [Bg. 9.4]). Nevertheless, He is not present everywhere in His
spiritual form. According to the Mäyäväda philosophy, the Supreme Truth, being
all-pervasive, does not need a transcendental form. The Mäyävädés suppose that
since His form is distributed everywhere, He has no form. This is untrue. The
Lord keeps His transcendental form, and at the same time He extends everywhere,
in every nook and corner of the material creation.
SB 6.16.52
The Mäyäväda philosophy sees everything as
being equal in quality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the Supreme
Brahman, and therefore sees everything as worshipable. This dangerous theory of
the Mäyäväda school has turned people in general toward atheism. On the
strength of this theory, one thinks that he is God, but this is not a fact. As
stated in Bhagavad-gétä (mayä tatam idaà sarvaà jagad avyakta-mürtinä [Bg.
9.4]), the fact is that the entire cosmic manifestation is an expansion of the
Supreme Lord's energies, which are manifested in the physical elements and the
living entities. The living entities wrongly consider the physical elements to
be resources meant for their enjoyment, and they think themselves to be the
enjoyers. However, neither of them is independent; they are both energies of
the Lord. The original cause for the material energy and spiritual energy is
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, although the expansion of the
Lord's energies is the original cause, one should not think that the Lord
Himself has expanded in different ways. To condemn the theories of the
Mäyävädés, the Lord clearly says in Bhagavad-gétä, mat-sthäni sarva-bhütäni na
cähaà teñv avasthitaù: [Bg. 9.4] "All beings are in Me, but I am not in
them." Everything rests upon Him, and everything is but an expansion of
His energies, but this does not mean that everything is as worshipable as the
Lord Himself. The material expansion is temporary, but the Lord is not
temporary. The living entities are parts of the Lord, but they are not the Lord
Himself. The living entities in this material world are not inconceivable, but
the Lord is. The theory that the Lord's energies, being expansions of the Lord,
are as good as the Lord is mistaken.
SB 7.9.30
To create this cosmic manifestation,
Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expands His external energy and
thus enters everything in the universe, including the atomic particles. In this
way He exists in the entire cosmic manifestation. Therefore the activities of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead in maintaining His devotees are
transcendental, not material. He exists in everything as the cause and effect,
yet He is separate, existing beyond this cosmic manifestation. This is also
confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4).
The entire cosmic manifestation is but an
expansion of the Lord's energy; everything rests in Him, yet He exists
separately, beyond creation, maintenance and annihilation. The varieties of
creation are performed by His external energy. Because the energy and energetic
are one, everything is one (sarvaà khalv idaà brahma). Therefore without Kåñëa,
the Parabrahman, nothing can exist. The difference between the material and
spiritual worlds is that His external energy is manifested in the material
world, whereas His spiritual energy exists in the spiritual world. Both
energies, however, belong to the Supreme Lord, and therefore in a higher sense
there is no exhibition of material energy because everything is spiritual
energy. The energy in which the Lord's all-pervasiveness is not realized is
called material. Otherwise, everything is spiritual. Therefore Prahläda prays,
ekas tvam eva jagad etam: "You are everything.
SB 7.12.15
Realization of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead's omnipresence is the perfect realization of the Absolute Truth to be
attained through the study of the Vedic literatures. As stated in the
Brahma-saàhitä (5.35), aëòäntara-stha-paramäëu-cayäntara-stham: the Lord is
situated within the universe, within the heart of every living entity and also
within the atom. We should understand that whenever the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is present, He is present with all His paraphernalia, including His
name, form, associates and servants. The living entity is part and parcel of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus one should understand that since
the Supreme Lord has entered the atom, the living entities are also there. One
must accept the inconceivable quality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
for no one can understand from the material point of view how the Lord is
all-pervasive and yet is situated in His own abode, Goloka Våndävana. This
realization is possible if one strictly follows the regulative principles of
äçrama (brahmacäré, gåhastha, vänaprastha and sannyäsa). Çréla Madhväcärya says
in this regard: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His original form, has
not entered everything (apraviñöaù), but in His impersonal form He has entered
(praviñöaù). Thus He has entered and not entered simultaneously. This is also
explained in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4), wherein the Lord says: "By Me, in My
unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but
I am not in them." The Lord can defy Himself. Thus there is variety in
unity (ekatvaà bahutvam).
SB 7.13.5
The unconscious state is nothing but
ignorance, darkness or material existence, and in the conscious state one is
awake. The marginal state, between consciousness and unconsciousness, has no
permanent existence. Therefore one who is advanced in understanding the self
should understand that unconsciousness and consciousness are but illusions, for
they fundamentally do not exist. Only the Supreme Absolute Truth exists. As
confirmed by the Lord in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4): "By Me, in My unmanifested
form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in
them." Everything exists on the basis of Kåñëa's impersonal feature;
nothing can exist without Kåñëa. Therefore the advanced devotee of Kåñëa can
see the Lord everywhere, without illusion.
SB 7.15.59
A forest is certainly a transformation of
the earth, but one tree does not depend on another tree; if one is cut down,
this does not mean that the others are cut down. Therefore, the forest is
neither a combination nor a transformation of the trees. The best explanation
is given by Kåñëa Himself:
"By Me, in My unmanifested form, this
entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them."
(Bg. 9.4) Everything is an expansion of Kåñëa's energy. As it is said, paräsya
çaktir vividhaiva çrüyate: [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport] the Lord has
multi-energies, which are expressed in different ways. The energies are
existing, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead also exists simultaneously;
because everything is His energy, He is simultaneously one with everything and
different from everything. Thus our speculative theories that ätmä, the living
force, is a combination of matter, that matter is a transformation of the soul,
or that the body is part of the soul are all insubstantial.
Since all the Lord's energies are
simultaneously existing, one must understand the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. But although He is everything, He is not present in everything. The
Lord must be worshiped in His original form as Kåñëa. He can also present
Himself in any one of His various expanded energies. When we worship the Deity
of the Lord in the temple, the Deity appears to be stone or wood. Now, because
the Supreme Lord does not have a material body, He is not stone or wood, yet
stone and wood are not different from Him. Thus by worshiping stone or wood we
get no result, but when the stone and wood are represented in the Lord's
original form, by worshiping the Deity we get the desired result. This is
supported by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu's philosophy, acintya-bhedäbheda, which
explains how the Lord can present Himself everywhere and anywhere in a form of
His energy to accept service from the devotee.
SB 8.1.12
For the Lord's existence there is no cause,
for He is the cause of everything. He is in everything (mayä tatam idaà sarvam
[Bg. 9.4]), He is expanded in everything, but He is not everything. He is
acintya-bhedäbheda, simultaneously one and different. That is explained in this
verse. In the material condition we have a conception of beginning, end and
middle, but for the Supreme Personality of Godhead there are no such things.
The universal cosmic manifestation is also the viräö-rüpa that was shown to
Arjuna in Bhagavad-gétä. Therefore, since the Lord is present everywhere and
all the time, He is the Absolute Truth and the greatest. He is complete in
greatness. God is great, and how He is great is explained here.
SB 8.3.3
In Bhagavad-gétä (9.4) the Lord says, mayä
tatam idaà sarvaà jagad avyakta-mürtinä: "I am the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, but everything rests upon My energy, just as an earthen pot rests on
the earth." The place where an earthen pot rests is also earth. Then
again, the earthen pot is manufactured by a potter, whose body is a product of
earth. The potter's wheel with which the pot is made is an expansion of earth,
and the ingredients from which the pot are made are also earth. As confirmed in
the çruti-mantra, yato vä imäni bhütäni jäyante. yena jätäni jévanti yat
prayanty abhisaàviçanti. The original cause of everything is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and after being annihilated, everything enters into Him
(prakåtià yänti mämikäm). Thus the Supreme Lord, the Personality of
Godhead—Lord Rämacandra or Lord Kåñëa—is the original cause of everything.
SB 8.7.31
The impersonal Brahman is unknown even to
the other directors of the material creation, including Lord Brahmä, Lord Indra
and even Lord Viñëu. This does not mean, however, that Lord Viñëu is not
omniscient. Lord Viñëu is omniscient, but He does not need to understand what
is going on in His all-pervading expansion. Therefore in Bhagavad-gétä the Lord
says that although everything is an expansion of Him (mayä tatam idaà sarvam
[Bg. 9.4]), He does not need to take care of everything (na cähaà teñv
avasthitaù), since there are various directors like Lord Brahmä, Lord Çiva and
Indra.
SB 8.12.7
This explains the philosophy of simultaneous
oneness and difference, known as acintya-bhedäbheda. Everything is the Supreme
Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, yet the Supreme Person is differently
situated from everything. Indeed, because the Lord is differently situated from
everything material, He is the Supreme Brahman, the supreme cause, the supreme
controller. Éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù sac-cid-änanda-vigrahaù [Bs. 5.1]. The Lord
is the supreme cause, and His form has nothing to do with the material modes of
nature. The devotee prays: "As Your devotee is completely free from all
desires, Your Lordship is also completely free from desires. You are fully
independent. Although all living entities engage in Your service, You do not
depend on the service of anyone. Although this material world is created
complete by You, everything depends on Your sanction.
SB 8.12.8
Çrémad Véraräghava Äcärya, in his
Bhägavata-candra-candrikä, describes the Vaiñëava philosophy as follows. The
cosmic manifestation is described as sat and asat, as cit and acit. Matter is
acit, and the living force is cit, but their origin is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, in whom there is no difference between matter and spirit. According
to this conception, the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and
spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Idaà hi viçvaà
bhagavän ivetaraù: "This cosmic manifestation is also the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him." In
Bhagavad-gétä (9.4) the Lord says:
"By Me, in My unmanifested form, this
entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them."
Thus although someone may say that the Supreme Person is different from the
cosmic manifestation, actually He is not. The Lord says, mayä tatam idaà
sarvam: "In My impersonal feature I am spread throughout the world."
Therefore, this world is not different from Him. The difference is a difference
in names. For example, whether we speak of gold earrings, gold bangles or gold
necklaces, ultimately they are all gold. In a similar way, all the different
manifestations of matter and spirit are ultimately one in the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. ekam evädvitéyaà brahma. This is the Vedic version
(Chändogya Upaniñad 6.2.1). There is oneness because everything emanates from
the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference
between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is. The Vaiçeñika
philosophers, however, because of their Mäyäväda conception, create
differences. They say, brahma satyaà jagan mithyä: "The Absolute Truth is
real, and the cosmic manifestation is false." But why should the jagat be
considered mithyä? The jagat is an emanation from Brahman. Therefore the jagat
is also truth.
Vaiñëavas, therefore, do not consider the
jagat to be mithyä; rather, they regard everything as reality in connection
with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"Things should be accepted for the
Lord's service and not for one's personal sense gratification. If one accepts
something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kåñëa,
one's renunciation is called yuktaà vairägyam. Whatever is favorable for the
rendering of service to the Lord should be accepted and should not be rejected
as a material thing." (Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu 1.2.255-256) The jagat
should not be rejected as mithyä. It is truth, and the truth is realized when
everything is engaged in the service of the Lord. A flower accepted for one's
sense gratification is material, but when the same flower is offered to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead by a devotee, it is spiritual. Food taken and
cooked for oneself is material, but food cooked for the Supreme Lord is
spiritual prasäda. This is a question of realization. Actually, everything is
given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore everything is
spiritual, but those who are not advanced in proper knowledge make distinctions
because of the interactions of the three modes of material nature. In this
regard, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé says that although the sun is the only light, the
sunshine, which is exhibited in seven colors, and darkness, which is the
absence of sunshine, are not different from the sun, for without the existence
of the sun such differentiations cannot exist. There may be varied nomenclature
because of different conditions, but they are all the sun. The puräëas
therefore say:
"Just as the illumination of a fire,
which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this universe."
(Viñëu Puräëa 1.22.53) Materially, we can directly perceive the sunshine
spreading itself according to different names and activities, but ultimately
the sun is one. Similarly, sarvaà khalv idaà brahma: everything is an expansion
of the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, the Supreme Lord is everything, and He is
one without differentiation. There is no existence separate from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
SB 10.7.19
Mother Yaçodä did not understand that Kåñëa
is the heaviest of all heavy things and that Kåñëa rests within everything
(mat-sthäni sarva-bhütäni). As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4), mayä tatam
idaà sarvaà jagad avyakta-mürtinä: Kåñëa is everywhere in His impersonal form,
and everything rests upon Him. Nonetheless, na cähaà teñv avasthitaù: Kåñëa is
not everywhere. Mother Yaçodä was unable to understand this philosophy because
she was dealing with Kåñëa as His real mother by the arrangement of yogamäyä.
Not understanding the importance of Kåñëa, she could only seek shelter of
Näräyaëa for Kåñëa's safety and call the brähmaëas to counteract the situation.
SB 10.13.19
Kåñëa, paraà brahma, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, is ädyam, the beginning of everything; He is ädi-puruñam, the
ever-youthful original person. He can expand Himself in more forms than one can
imagine, yet He does not fall down from His original form as Kåñëa; therefore
He is called Acyuta. This is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sarvaà
viñëumayaà jagat. Sarvaà khalv idaà brahma. Kåñëa thus proved that He is
everything, that He can become everything, but that still He is personally
different from everything (mat-sthäni sarva-bhütäni na cähaà teñv avasthitaù
[Bg. 9.4]). This is Kåñëa, who is understood by acintya-bhedäbheda-tattva
philosophy. pürëasya pürëam ädäya pürëam evävaçiñyate: [Éço Invocation] Kåñëa
is always complete, and although He can create millions of universes, all of
them full in all opulences, He remains as opulent as ever, without any change
(advaitam). This is explained by different Vaiñëava äcäryas through
philosophies such as viçuddhädvaita, viçiñöädvaita and dvaitädvaita. Therefore
one must learn about Kåñëa from the äcäryas. Äcäryavän puruño veda: one who
follows the path of the äcäryas knows things as they are. Such a person can
know Kåñëa as He is, at least to some extent, and as soon as one understands
Kåñëa (janma karma ca me divyam evaà yo vetti tattvataù [Bg. 4.9]), one is
liberated from material bondage (tyaktvä dehaà punar janma naiti mäm eti so
'rjuna).
And yet everything that is created does not
rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all
living entities and although I am everywhere, I am not a part of this cosmic
manifestation, for My Self is the very source of creation.
SB 2.6.13-16
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His
partial representation, measuring not more than nine inches as Supersoul,
expands by His potential energy in the shape of the universal form, which
includes everything manifested in different varieties of organic and inorganic
materials. The manifested varieties of the universe are therefore not different
from the Lord, just as golden ornaments of different shapes and forms are
nondifferent from the original stock reserve of gold. In other words, the Lord
is the Supreme Person who controls everything within the creation, and still He
remains the supreme separate identity, distinct from all manifested material
creation. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.4-5) He is therefore said to be Yogeçvara.
Everything rests on the potency of Lord Çré Kåñëa, and still the Lord is
different from and transcendental to all such identities. In the Vedic
Puruña-sükta of the Åg mantra, this is also confirmed. This philosophical truth
of simultaneous oneness and difference was propounded by Lord Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu, and it is known as acintya-bhedäbheda-tattva. Brahmä, Närada and
all others are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from the Supreme
Lord. We are all one with Him, just as the gold ornaments are one in quality
with the stock gold, but the individual gold ornament is never equal in
quantity with the stock gold. The stock gold is never exhausted even if there
are innumerable ornaments emanating from the stock because the stock is pürëam,
complete; even if pürëam is deducted from the pürëam, still the supreme pürëam
remains the same pürëam. This fact is inconceivable to our present imperfect
senses. Lord Caitanya therefore defined His theory of philosophy as acintya
(inconceivable), and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä as well as in the
Bhägavatam, Lord Caitanya's theory of acintya-bhedäbheda-tattva is the perfect
philosophy of the Absolute Truth.
SB 4.11.17
How the external energy of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead works within this material world is explained in this
verse. Everything is happening by the energy of the Supreme Lord. The atheistic
philosophers, who do not agree to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as
the original cause of creation, think that the material world moves by the
action and reaction of different material elements. A simple example of the
interaction of elements occurs when we mix soda and acid and the movement of
effervescence is produced. But one cannot produce life by such interaction of
chemicals. There are 8,400,000 different species of life, with different wishes
and different actions. How the material force is working cannot be explained
just on the basis of chemical reaction. A suitable example in this connection
is that of the potter and the potter's wheel. The potter's wheel rotates, and
several varieties of earthen pots come out. There are many causes for the
earthen pots, but the original cause is the potter, who sets a force on the
wheel. That force comes by his superintendence. The same idea is explained in
Bhagavad-gétä—behind all material action and reaction there is Kåñëa, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kåñëa says that everything depends on His
energy, and yet He is not everywhere. The pot is produced under certain
conditions of action and reaction of material energy, but the potter is not in
the pot. In a similar way, the material creation is set up by the Lord, but He
remains aloof. As stated in the Vedas, He simply glanced over it, and the
agitation of matter immediately began.
SB 10.2.8
The entire creation, as well as its
individual parts, is an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Therefore, even though the Lord enters the material world, He does not
do so. This is explained by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (9.4-5):
"By Me, in My unmanifested form, this
entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them. And
yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence!
Although I am the maintainer of all living entities, and although I am
everywhere, My Self is the very source of creation." Sarvaà khalv idaà
brahma. Everything is an expansion of Brahman, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, yet everything is not the Supreme Godhead, and He is not everywhere.
Everything rests upon Him and yet does not rest upon Him. This can be explained
only through the acintya-bhedäbheda philosophy. Such truths cannot be
understood, however, unless one is a pure devotee, for the Lord says in
Bhagavad-gétä (18.55), bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti yävän yaç cäsmi tattvataù:
"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional
service." Even though the Lord cannot be understood by ordinary persons,
this principle should be understood from the statement of the çästras.
O son of Kunté, at the end of the millennium
all material manifestations enter into My nature, and at the beginning of
another millennium, by My potency, I create them again.
SB 2.6.39
So this Mahä-Viñëu is the first incarnation
in the creation, and from Him all the universes are generated and all material
manifestations are produced, one after another. The Causal Ocean is created by
the Lord as the mahat-tattva, as a cloud in the spiritual sky, and is only a
part of His different manifestations. The spiritual sky is an expansion of His
personal rays, and He is the mahat-tattva cloud also. He lies down and
generates the universes by His breathing, and again, by entering into each
universe as Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu, He creates Brahmä, Çiva and many other
demigods for maintenance of the universe and again absorbs the whole thing into
His person as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.7):
sarva-bhütäni kaunteya
prakåtià yänti mämikäm
kalpa-kñaye punas täni
kalpädau visåjämy aham
"O son of Kunté, when the kalpa, or the
duration of the life of Brahmä, is ended, then all the created manifestations
enter into My prakåti, or energy, and again, when I desire, the same creation
takes place by My personal energy."
The conclusion is that these are all but
displays of the Lord's inconceivable personal energies, of which no one can
have any full information. This point we have already discussed.
SB 6.9.26-27
In this verse, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Viñëu, is ascertained to be the original cause of creation. Çrédhara
Svämé, in his commentary Bhävärtha-dépikä, replies to the idea that prakåti and
puruña are the causes of the cosmic manifestation. As stated herein, paraà
pradhänaà puruñaà viçvam anyam: "He is the supreme cause, represented as
the male and female creative energies. Although different from this universe,
He exists in His universal form [viräö rüpa]." The word prakåti, which is
used to indicate the source of generation, refers to the material energy of the
Supreme Lord, and the word puruña refers to the living entities, who are the
superior energy of the Lord. Both the prakåti and puruña ultimately enter the
Supreme Lord, as stated in Bhagavad-gétä (prakåtià yänti mämikäm).
The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My
will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is
annihilated at the end.
SB 2.10.13
In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.7-8) the creation
and annihilation of the material world are stated as follows:
"At the end of each millennium the
creative forces, namely the material nature and the living entities who
struggle in the material nature, all merge together into the transcendental
body of the Lord, and again when the Lord desires to manifest them, all of them
are again displayed by the Lord.
"Therefore the material nature is
working under the control of the Lord. All of them, under the agency of
material nature and under the control of the Lord, are thus repeatedly created and
annihilated by the will of the Lord."
As such, before the creation or
manifestation of the material cosmic world, the Lord exists as total energy
(mahä-samañöi), and thus desiring Himself to be diffused to many, He expands
Himself further into multitotal energy (samañöi). From the multitotal energy He
further expands Himself into individuals in three dimensions, namely adhyätmic,
adhidaivic and adhibhautic, as explained before (vyañöi). As such, the whole
creation and the creative energies are nondifferent and different
simultaneously. Because everything is an emanation from Him (the Mahä-Viñëu or
Mahä-samañöi), nothing of the cosmic energies is different from Him; but all
such expanded energies have specific functions and display as designed by the
Lord, and therefore they are simultaneously different from the Lord. The living
entities are also similar energy (marginal potency) of the Lord, and thus they
are simultaneously one with and different from Him.
At the stage of nonmanifestation, the living
energies remain potent in the Lord, and when they are let loose in the cosmic
manifestation they are exhibited differently in terms of different desires
under the modes of nature. Such differential manifestations of the living
energies are conditional states of the living entities. The liberated living
entities, however, in the sanätana (eternal) manifestation, are unconditionally
surrendered souls, and therefore they are not subject to the conditions of
creation and annihilation. So this creation takes place by the glance of the
Lord from His bedstead of mystic slumber. And thus all the universes and the
lord of the universe, Brahmä, are again and again manifested and annihilated.
SB 3.10.13
There is a systematic schedule for the
perpetual manifestation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world, as
stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.8): bhüta-grämam imaà kåtsnam avaçaà prakåter vaçät.
As it is created now and as it will be destroyed later on, so also it existed
in the past and again will be created, maintained and destroyed in due course
of time. Therefore, the systematic activities of the time factor are perpetual
and eternal and cannot be stated to be false. The manifestation is temporary
and occasional, but it is not false as claimed by the Mäyävädé philosophers.
This material nature, which is one of My
energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunté, producing all moving
and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and
annihilated again and again.
SB 1.15.24
According to the anthropologists, there is
nature's law of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. But they do
not know that behind the law of nature is the supreme direction of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gétä it is confirmed that the law of
nature is executed under the direction of the Lord. Whenever, therefore, there
is peace in the world, it must be known that it is due to the good will of the
Lord. And whenever there is upheaval in the world, it is also due to the
supreme will of the Lord. Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the
Lord. Whenever, therefore, there is disobedience of the established rules
enacted by the Lord, there is war between men and nations.
SB 1.16.26-30
The creative material energy is working
under His direction, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.10). He is the
control switch of the material energy, and to control the material energy in
the innumerable universes, He is the root cause of innumerable incarnations in
all the universes.
SB 2.1.38
In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.10), the Supreme
Personality of Godhead has verily explained that the material nature is only an
order-carrying agent of His. She is one of the different potencies of the Lord,
and she acts under His direction only. As the supreme transcendental Lord, He
simply casts a glance over the material principle, and thus the agitation of
matter begins, and the resultant actions are manifested one after another by
six kinds of gradual differentiations. All material creation is moving in that
way, and thus it appears and disappears in due course.
SB 2.9.3
We have already discussed many times that
the material energy is controlled by the Lord. The Bhagavad-gétä (9.10)
confirms this controlling power of the Lord over the material nature. Can a
living entity who claims to be as good as the Supreme Being control the
material nature? The foolish "I" would reply that he will do so in
the future. Even accepting that in the future one will be as good a controller
of material nature as the Supreme Being, then why is one now under the control
of material nature? The Bhagavad-gétä says that one can be freed from the
control of the material nature by surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, but if
there is no surrender, then the living entity will never be able to control the
material nature.
SB 2.10.30
The heart of every living entity is the seat
of the Supersoul, Paramätmä, a plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Without His presence the living entity cannot get into the working
energy according to his past deeds. The living entities who are conditioned in
the material world are manifested in the creation in terms of respective
inclinations inherent in them, and the requisite material body is offered to
each and every one of them by the material energy under the direction of the
Supersoul. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.10). When, therefore, the
Supersoul is situated in the heart of the conditioned soul, the requisite mind
is manifested in the conditioned soul, and he becomes conscious of his
occupation as one is conscious of his duty after waking up from slumber.
Therefore the material mind of the living entity develops when the Supersoul
sits on his heart, after which the mind, the controlling deity (moon), and then
the activities of the mind (namely thinking, feeling and willing) all take
place. The activities of the mind cannot begin without the manifestation of the
heart, and the heart becomes manifested when the Lord wants to see the
activities of the material creation.
SB 2.10.45
Inert matter is undoubtedly energy with
potential to interact, but it has no initiative of its own. Çrémad-Bhägavatam
therefore comments on the aphorism janmädy asya by saying abhijïaù and svaräö,
i.e., the Supreme Brahman is not inert matter, but He is supreme consciousness
and is independent. Therefore inert matter cannot be the ultimate cause of the
creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world. Superficially
material nature appears to be the cause of creation, maintenance and
destruction, but material nature is set into motion for creation by the supreme
conscious being, the Personality of Godhead. He is the background of all
creation, maintenance and destruction, and this is confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä (9.10).
The material nature is one of the energies
of the Lord, and she can work under the direction of the Lord (adhyakñeëa).
When the Lord throws His transcendental glance over the material nature, then
only can the material nature act, as a father contacts the mother, who is then
able to conceive a child. Although it appears to the layman that the mother
gives birth to the child, the experienced man knows that the father gives birth
to the child. The material nature therefore produces the moving and standing
manifestations of the material world after being contacted by the supreme
father, and not independently. Considering material nature to be the cause of
creation, maintenance, etc., is called "the logic of nipples on the neck
of a goat."
SB 3.5.25
The material nature, known as mäyä, is both
the material and efficient cause of the cosmos, but in the background the Lord
is the consciousness for all activities. As in the individual body the
consciousness is the source of all energies of the body, so the supreme
consciousness of the Lord is the source of all energies in material nature.
SB 6.3.13
In this material world, everyone is
conditioned, regardless of who he is. One may be a human being, a demigod or an
animal, tree or plant, but everything is controlled by the laws of nature, and
behind this natural control is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is
confirmed by Bhagavad-gétä (9.10), wherein Kåñëa says, mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù
süyate sa-caräcaram: "The material nature is working under My direction
and producing all moving and nonmoving beings." Thus Kåñëa is behind the
natural machine, which works under His control.
SB 6.4.46
To engage in tapasya, or denial of material
activities, is the first principle of spiritual life. Then there are spiritual
activities, such as the performance of Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, study of
the Vedic knowledge, meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and
chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra. One should also respect the demigods
and understand how they are situated, how they act and how they manage the
activities of the various departments of this material world. In this way one
can see how God is existing and how everything is managed perfectly because of
the presence of the Supreme Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.10):
"This material nature is working under
My direction, O son of Kunté, and it is producing all moving and nonmoving
beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and
again." If one is unable to see the Supreme Lord although He is present as
Kåñëa in His various incarnations, one may see the Supreme Lord's impersonal
feature, according to the direction of the Vedas, by seeing the activities of
material nature.
SB 7.1.10
The different changes in the material world
take place as actions and reactions of the three guëas, but above the three
guëas is their director, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the various
types of bodies given to the living entities by material nature (yanträrüòhäni
mäyayä), either sattva-guëa, rajo-guëa or tamo-guëa is prominent. The body is
produced by material nature according to the direction of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is said here, yadä sisåkñuù pura ätmanaù
paraù, indicating that the body is certainly created by the Lord. Karmaëä
daiva-netreëa: [SB 3.31.1] according to the karma of the living entity, a body
is prepared under the Supreme Lord's supervision. Whether the body is of
sattva-guëa, rajo-guëa or tamo-guëa, everything is done by the direction of the
Supreme Lord through the agency of the external energy (påthak sva-mäyayä). In
this way, in different types of bodies, the Lord (éçvara) gives directions as
Paramätmä, and again, to destroy the body, He employs the tamo-guëa. This is
the way the living entities receive different types of bodies.
SB 8.3.14
The word sarva-pratyaya-hetave is explained
by Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura, who says that a result gives one a
glimpse of its cause. For example, since an earthen pot is the result of the
actions of a potter, by seeing the earthen pot one can guess at the existence
of the potter. Similarly, this material world resembles the spiritual world,
and any intelligent person can guess how it is acting. As explained in
Bhagavad-gétä, mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate sa-caräcaram [Bg. 9.10]. The activities
of the material world suggest that behind them is the superintendence of the
Lord.
SB 8.5.43
The word durvibhävyam is very important in
this verse. No one can understand how everything is happening in this material
world by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His
material energies. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.10), mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù
süyate sacaräcaram: everything is actually happening under the direction of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. This much we can learn, but how it is happening
is extremely difficult to understand. We cannot even understand how the affairs
within our body are systematically taking place. The body is a small universe,
and since we cannot understand how things are happening in this small universe,
how can we understand the affairs of the bigger universe? Actually this
universe is very difficult to understand, yet learned sages have advised, as
Kåñëa has also advised, that this material world is duùkhälayam açäçvatam; [Bg.
8.15] in other words, it is a place of misery and temporality. One must give up
this world and go back home, back to the Personality of Godhead. Materialists
may argue, "If this material world and its affairs are impossible to
understand, how can we reject it?" The answer is provided by the word
prabudhäpabädham. We have to reject this material world because it is rejected
by those who are learned in Vedic wisdom. Even though we cannot understand what
this material world is, we should be ready to reject it in accordance with the
advice of learned persons, especially the advice of Kåñëa. Kåñëa says:
"After attaining Me, the great souls,
who are yogés in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full
of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection." (Bg.
8.15) One has to return home, back to Godhead, for this is the highest
perfection of life. To go back to Godhead means to reject this material world.
Although we cannot understand the functions of this material world and whether
it is good for us or bad for us, in accordance with the advice of the supreme
authority we must reject it and go back home, back to Godhead.
SB 8.12.4
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu,
resides within the material world as the sattva-guëa-avatära. Lord Çiva is the
tamo-guëa-avatära, and Lord Brahmä is the rajo-guëa-avatära, but although Lord
Viñëu is among them, He is not in the same category. Lord Viñëu is deva-deva,
the chief of all the demigods. Since Lord Çiva is in this material world, the
energy of the Supreme Lord, Viñëu, includes Lord Çiva. Lord Viñëu is therefore
called jagad-vyäpé, "the all-pervading Lord." Lord Çiva is sometimes
called Maheçvara, and so people think that Lord Çiva is everything. But here
Lord Çiva addresses Lord Viñëu as Jagad-éça, "the master of the
universe." Lord Çiva is sometimes called Viçveçvara, but here he addresses
Lord Viñëu as Jagan-maya, indicating that even Viçveçvara is under Lord Viñëu's
control. Lord Viñëu is the master of the spiritual world, yet He controls the
material world also, as stated in Bhagavad-gétä (mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate
sacaräcaram [Bg. 9.10]). Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva are also sometimes called
éçvara, but the supreme éçvara is Lord Viñëu, Lord Kåñëa. As stated in
Brahma-saàhitä, éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù: [Bs. 5.1] the Supreme Lord is Kåñëa,
Lord Viñëu. Everything in existence works in proper order because of Lord
Viñëu. Aëòäntara-stha-paramäëu-cayäntara-stham [Bs. 5.35]. Even paramäëu, the
small atoms, work because of Lord Viñëu's presence within them.
SB 8.24.6
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
master of the material nature (mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate sacaräcaram [Bg.
9.10]). Therefore, being the supreme controller of the laws of nature, the Lord
cannot be under their influence. An example given in this regard is that
although the wind blows through many places, the air is not affected by the
qualities of these places. Although the air sometimes carries the odor of a
filthy place, the air has nothing to do with such a place. Similarly, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, being all-good and all-auspicious, is never
affected by the material qualities like an ordinary living entity. puruñaù
prakåti-stho hi bhuìkte prakåtijän guëän [Bg. 13.22]. When the living entity is
in the material nature, he is affected by its qualities. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead, however, is not affected. Disrespectfully, one who does
not know this considers the Supreme Personality of Godhead an ordinary living
being (avajänanti mäà müòhäù [Bg. 9.11]). Paraà bhävam ajänantaù: such a
conclusion is reached by the unintelligent because they are unaware of the
transcendental qualities of the Lord.
SB 10.3.26
Although we see the cosmic manifestation as
gigantic and wonderful, it is within the limitations of käla, the time factor.
This time factor is also controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as
confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate sa-caräcaram [Bg.
9.10]). Prakåti, the cosmic manifestation, is under the control of time.
Indeed, everything is under the control of time, and time is controlled by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Supreme Lord has no fear of the
onslaughts of time. Time is estimated according to the movements of the sun
(savitä). Every minute, every second, every day, every night, every month and
every year of time can be calculated according to the sun's movements. But the
sun is not independent, for it is under time's control. Bhramati
saàbhåta-käla-cakraù: the sun moves within the käla-cakra, the orbit of time.
The sun is under the control of time, and time is controlled by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord has no fear of time.
SB 10.8.37-39
All the cosmic manifestations that exist on
the gross and subtle elements, as well as the means of their agitation, the
three guëas, the living entity, creation, maintenance, annihilation and
everything going on in the external energy of the Lord—all this comes from the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda. Everything is within the control of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.10). Mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate sa-caräcaram: everything in the material
nature (prakåti) works under His control. Because all these manifestations come
from Govinda, they could all be visible within the mouth of Govinda. Quite
astonishingly, mother Yaçodä was afraid because of intense maternal affection.
She could not believe that within the mouth of her son such things could
appear. Yet she saw them, and therefore she was struck with fear and wonder.
Fools deride Me when I descend in the human
form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that
be.
SB 1.8.19
In the Bhagavad-gétä Lord Çré Kåñëa affirms
that less intelligent persons mistake Him to be an ordinary man like us, and
thus they deride Him. The same is confirmed herein by Queen Kunté. The less
intelligent persons are those who rebel against the authority of the Lord. Such
persons are known as asuras. The asuras cannot recognize the Lord's authority.
When the Lord Himself appears amongst us, as Räma, Nåsiàha, Varäha or in His
original form as Kåñëa, He performs many wonderful acts which are humanly
impossible. As we shall find in the Tenth Canto of this great literature, Lord
Çré Kåñëa exhibited His humanly impossible activities even from the days of His
lying on the lap of His mother. He killed the Pütanä witch, although she
smeared her breast with poison just to kill the Lord. The Lord sucked her
breast like a natural baby, and He sucked out her very life also. Similarly, He
lifted the Govardhana Hill, just as a boy picks up a frog's umbrella, and stood
several days continuously just to give protection to the residents of
Våndävana. These are some of the superhuman activities of the Lord described in
the authoritative Vedic literatures like the Puräëas, Itihäsas (histories) and
Upaniñads. He has delivered wonderful instructions in the shape of the
Bhagavad-gétä. He has shown marvelous capacities as a hero, as a householder,
as a teacher and as a renouncer. He is accepted as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead by such authoritative personalities as Vyäsa, Devala, Asita, Närada,
Madhva, Çaìkara, Rämänuja, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Jéva Gosvämé, Viçvanätha
Cakravarté, Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté and all other authorities of the line. He
Himself has declared as much in many places of the authentic literatures. And
yet there is a class of men with demoniac mentality who are always reluctant to
accept the Lord as the Supreme Absolute Truth. This is partially due to their poor
fund of knowledge and partially due to their stubborn obstinacy, which results
from various misdeeds in the past and present. Such persons could not recognize
Lord Çré Kåñëa even when He was present before them. Another difficulty is that
those who depend more on their imperfect senses cannot realize Him as the
Supreme Lord. Such persons are like the modern scientist. They want to know
everything by their experimental knowledge. But it is not possible to know the
Supreme Person by imperfect experimental knowledge. He is described herein as
adhokñaja, or beyond the range of experimental knowledge. All our senses are
imperfect. We claim to observe everything and anything, but we must admit that
we can observe things under certain material conditions only, which are also
beyond our control. The Lord is beyond the observation of sense perception.
Queen Kunté accepts this deficiency of the conditioned soul, especially of the
woman class, who are less intelligent. For less intelligent men there must be
such things as temples, mosques or churches so that they may begin to recognize
the authority of the Lord and hear about Him from authorities in such holy
places. For less intelligent men, this beginning of spiritual life is
essential, and only foolish men decry the establishment of such places of
worship, which are required to raise the standard of spiritual attributes for
the mass of people. For less intelligent persons, bowing down before the
authority of the Lord, as generally done in the temples, mosques or churches,
is as beneficial as it is for the advanced devotees to meditate upon Him by
active service.
SB 1.9.18
Kåñëa is the first Näräyaëa. In the
spiritual world (Vaikuëöha) there are unlimited numbers of Näräyaëas, who are
all the same Personality of Godhead and are considered to be the plenary
expansions of the original Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa. The first form of
the Lord Çré Kåñëa first expands Himself as the form of Baladeva, and Baladeva
expands in so many other forms, such as Saìkarñaëa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha,
Väsudeva, Näräyaëa, Puruña, Räma and Nåsiàha. All these expansions are one and
the same viñëu-tattva, and Çré Kåñëa is the original source of all the plenary
expansions. He is therefore the direct Personality of Godhead. He is the creator
of the material world, and He is the predominating Deity known as Näräyaëa in
all the Vaikuëöha planets. Therefore, His movements amongst human beings is
another sort of bewilderment. The Lord therefore says in the Bhagavad-gétä that
foolish persons consider Him to be one of the human beings without knowing the
intricacies of His movements.
SB 1.9.42
Lord Çré Kåñëa is the one Absolute Supreme
Personality of Godhead, but He has expanded Himself into His multiplenary
portions by His inconceivable energy. The conception of duality is due to
ignorance of His inconceivable energy. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11) the Lord
says that only the foolish take Him to be a mere human being. Such foolish men
are not aware of His inconceivable energies. By His inconceivable energy He is
present in everyone's heart, as the sun is present before everyone all over the
world. The Paramätmä feature of the Lord is an expansion of His plenary
portions. He expands Himself as Paramätmä in everyone's heart by His
inconceivable energy, and He also expands Himself as the glowing effulgence of
brahmajyoti by expansion of His personal glow. It is stated in the
Brahma-saàhitä that the brahmajyoti is His personal glow. Therefore, there is
no difference between Him and His personal glow, brahmajyoti, or His plenary
portions as Paramätmä. Less intelligent persons who are not aware of this fact
consider brahmajyoti and Paramätmä to be different from Çré Kåñëa. This
misconception of duality is completely removed from the mind of Bhéñmadeva, and
he is now satisfied that it is Lord Çré Kåñëa only who is all in all in
everything.
SB 2.1.22
The nondevotee class of men cannot think of
the personal feature of the Lord. Because of their poor fund of knowledge, the
personal form of the Lord, like Räma or Kåñëa, is completely revolting to them.
They have a poor estimation of the potency of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gétä
(9.11) it is explained by the Lord Himself that people with a poor fund of
knowledge deride the supreme personality of the Lord, taking Him to be a common
man. Such men are ignorant of the inconceivable potency of the Lord. By the
inconceivable potency of the Lord, He can move in human society or any other
society of living beings and yet remain the same omnipotent Lord, without
deviating in the slightest from His transcendental position. So, for the
benefit of men who are unable to accept the Lord in His personal eternal form,
Mahäräja Parékñit inquired from Çukadeva Gosvämé how to fix the mind on Him in
the beginning, and the Gosvämé replied in detail as follows.
SB 2.1.38
Less intelligent persons with a poor fund of
knowledge cannot accommodate the thought of this inconceivable potency of the
Lord Çré Kåñëa, by which He appears just like a human being (Bg. 9.11). His
appearance in the material world as one of us is also His causeless mercy upon
the fallen souls. He is transcendental to all material conceptions, but by His
unbounded mercy upon His pure devotees, He comes down and manifests Himself as
the Personality of Godhead. Materialistic philosophers and scientists are too
much engrossed with atomic energy and the gigantic situation of the universal
form, and they offer respect more seriously to the external phenomenal feature
of material manifestations than to the noumenal principle of spiritual
existence. The transcendental form of the Lord is beyond the jurisdiction of
such materialistic activities, and it is very difficult to conceive that the
Lord can be simultaneously localized and all-pervasive, because the
materialistic philosophers and scientists think of everything in terms of their
own experience.
SB 2.5.39
This material world is only a shadow
phantasmagoria of the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, and because it is a shadow
it is never eternal; the variegatedness in the material world of duality
(spirit and matter) cannot be compared to that of the spiritual world. Because
of a poor fund of knowledge, less intelligent persons sometimes mistake the
conditions of the shadow world to be equivalent to those of the spiritual
world, and thus they mistake the Lord and His pastimes in the material world to
be one with the conditioned souls and their activities. The Lord condemns such
less intelligent persons in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11):
avajänanti mäà müòhä
mänuñéà tanum äçritam
paraà bhävam ajänanto
mama bhüta-maheçvaram
Whenever the Lord incarnates, He does so in
His full internal potency (ätma-mäyä), and less intelligent persons mistake Him
to be one of the material creations.
SB 2.10.10
The scientists explain the material
functions by so many technological terms of material law, but such blind
scientists forget the lawmaker. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam points out the lawmaker.
One should not be amazed by the mechanical arrangement of the complicated
engine or dynamo, but one should praise the engineer who creates such a
wonderful working machine. That is the difference between the devotee and the
nondevotee. Devotees are always full with praising the Lord, who directs the
physical laws. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.10) the direction of the Lord upon the material
nature is described as follows:
"The material nature full of physical
laws is one of My different energies; therefore it is neither independent nor
blind. Because I am transcendentally all-powerful, simply by My glancing over
material nature, the physical laws of nature work so wonderfully. The actions
and reactions of the physical laws work on that account, and thus the material
world is created, maintained and annihilated again and again."
Men with a poor fund of knowledge, however,
become astonished by studying the physical laws both within the construction of
the individual body and within the cosmic manifestation, and foolishly they
decry the existence of God, taking it for granted that the physical laws are
independent, without any metaphysical control. The Bhagavad-gétä (9.11) replies
to this foolishness in the following words:
"The foolish men [müòhäù] do not know
the Personality of Godhead in His eternal form of bliss and knowledge."
The foolish man thinks of the transcendental body of the Lord as something like
his own, and therefore he cannot think of the unlimited controlling power of
the Lord, who is not visible in the acting of the physical laws. The Lord is,
however, visible to the naked eyes of people in general when He descends Himself
by His own personal potency. Lord Kåñëa incarnated Himself as He is and played
very wonderful parts as the Lord Himself, and the Bhagavad-gétä concerns such
wonderful actions and knowledge. Yet foolish men will not accept Lord Kåñëa as
the Supreme Lord. Generally they consider the infinitesimal and infinite
features of the Lord because they themselves are unable to become either the
infinitesimal or the infinite, but one should know that the infinite and
infinitesimal sizes of the Lord are not His highest glories. The most wonderful
manifestation of the Lord's power is exhibited when the infinite Lord becomes
visible to our eyes as one of us. Yet His activities are different from those
of the finite beings. Lifting a mountain at the age of seven years and marrying
sixteen thousand wives in the prime of His youth are some of the examples of
His infinite energy, but the müòhas, after seeing them or hearing about them,
decry them as legendary and take the Lord as one of them. They cannot
understand that the Lord Çré Kåñëa, although in the form of a human being by
His own potency, is still the Supreme Lord with full potency as the supreme
controller.
When, however, the müòhas give submissive
and aural reception to the messages of the Lord as in the Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä
or in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam through the channel of disciplic succession, such
müòhas also become devotees of the Lord by the grace of His pure devotees. And
for this reason only, either in the Bhagavad-gétä or in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
the pastimes of the Lord in the material world are delineated for the benefit
of those men with a poor fund of knowledge.
SB 2.10.42
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Viñëu
incarnates Himself in different societies of living entities to reclaim them
from the clutches of illusion, and such activities of the Lord are not limited
only to human society. He incarnates Himself even as a fish, hog, tree and many
other forms, but less intelligent persons who have no knowledge of Him deride
Him even if He is in human society as a human being. The Lord therefore says in
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11)
As we have already discussed in the previous
verses, it is concluded that the Lord is never a product of the material
creation. His transcendental position is always unchanged. He is the eternal
form of knowledge and bliss, and He executes His almighty will by His different
energies. As such, He is never the subject of reactions for any of His acts. He
is transcendental to all such conceptions of actions and reactions. Even if He
is visible in the material world, the exhibition is only of His internal
energy, for He is above the good and bad conceptions of this material world. In
the material world the fish or the hog may be considered lower than the man,
but when the Lord appears as a fish or hog, He is neither of them in the
material conception. It is His causeless mercy that He appears in every society
or species of life, but He is never to be considered one of them. Conceptions
of the material world such as good and bad, lower and upper, important and
insignificant, are estimations of the material energy, and the Supreme Lord is
transcendental to all such conceptions. The words paraà bhävam, or
transcendental nature, can never be compared to the material conception. We
should not forget that the potencies of the Almighty Lord are always the same
and do not decrease because the Lord assumes the form of a lower animal. There
is no difference between Lord Çré Räma, Lord Çré Kåñëa and His incarnations as
a fish and hog. He is all-pervading and simultaneously localized at any and
every place. But the foolish person with a poor fund of knowledge, for want of
that paraà bhävam of the Lord, cannot understand how the Supreme Lord can take
the form of a man or a fish. One compares everything to one's own standard of
knowledge, as the frog in the well considers the sea to be like the well. The
frog in the well cannot even think of the sea, and when such a frog is informed
of the greatness of the sea, it takes the conception of the sea as being a
little greater than the well. As such, one who is foolish about the
transcendental science of the Lord will find it difficult to understand how
Lord Viñëu can equally manifest Himself in every society of living entities.
SB 3.2.8
From this ocean of milk the moon was born,
but the fish in the milk ocean could not recognize that the moon. was not
another fish and was different from them. The fish took the moon to be one of
them or maybe something illuminating, but nothing more. The unfortunate persons
who do not recognize Lord Kåñëa are like such fish. They take Him to be one of
them, although a little extraordinary in opulence, strength, etc. The
Bhagavad-gétä (9.11) confirms such foolish persons to be most unfortunate:
avajänanti mäà müòhä mänuñéà tanum äçritam.
SB 6.9.25
Here is an explanation of why the
conditioned soul cannot see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face.
Even though the Lord appears before us as Lord Kåñëa or Lord Rämacandra and
lives in human society as a leader or king, the conditioned soul cannot
understand Him. Avajänanti mäà müòhä mänuñéà tanum äçritam: [Bg. 9.11] rascals
(müòhas) deride the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking Him an ordinary
human being. However insignificant we are, we think that we are also God, that
we can create a universe or that we can create another God. This is why we
cannot see or understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard,
Çréla Madhväcärya says:
We are all conditioned to various degrees,
but we think that we are God. This is why we cannot understand who God is or
see Him face to face.
SB 7.7.40
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä, kñéëe puëye
martya-lokaà viçanti [Bg. 9.21]. Even if one is promoted to the higher
planetary systems by performing great sacrifices, which are accompanied by the
sinful act of sacrificing animals, the standard of happiness in Svargaloka is
also not free of disturbances. There is a similar struggle for existence even
for the King of heaven, Indra. Thus there is no practical benefit in promoting
oneself to the heavenly planets. Indeed, from the heavenly planets one must
return to this earth after one has exhausted the results of his pious
activities. In the Vedas it is said, tad yatheha karma jito lokaù kñéyate evam
evämutra puëya jito lokaù kñéyata. As the material positions we acquire here by
hard work are vanquished in due course of time, one's residence in the heavenly
planets is also eventually vanquished. According to one's activities of piety
in different degrees, one obtains different standards of life, but none of them
are permanent, and therefore they are all impure. Consequently, one should not
endeavor to be promoted to the higher planetary systems, only to return to this
earth or descend still lower to the hellish planets. To stop this cycle of
going up and coming down, one must take to Kåñëa consciousness.
SB 7.8.18
A demon cannot calculate the unlimited
potency of the Supreme Lord. As stated in the Vedas, paräsya çaktir vividhaiva
çrüyate sväbhäviké jïäna-bala-kriyä ca: [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport] the
different potencies of the Lord are always working as an automatic exhibition
of His knowledge. For a demon it is certainly wonderful that the form of a lion
and the form of a man can be united, since a demon has no experience of the
inconceivable power for which the Supreme Lord is called
"all-powerful." Demons cannot understand the omnipotence of the Lord.
They simply compare the Lord to one of them (avajänanti mäà müòhä mänuñéà tanum
äçritam [Bg. 9.11]). Müòhas, rascals, think that Kåñëa is an ordinary human being
who appears for the benefit of other human beings. paraà bhävam ajänantaù:
fools, rascals and demons cannot realize the supreme potency of the Lord, but
He can do anything and everything; indeed, He can do whatever He likes. When
Hiraëyakaçipu received benedictions from Lord Brahmä, he thought that he was
safe, since he received the benediction that he would not be killed either by
an animal or by a human being. He never thought that an animal and human being
would be combined so that demons like him would be puzzled by such a form. This
is the meaning of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's omnipotence.
SB 7.9.37
In summary, whenever the Lord incarnates, He
appears in His original transcendental form. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä
(4.7):
"Whenever and wherever there is a
decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bhärata, and a predominant rise
of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself." It is simply foolish to
think of the Lord as being originally impersonal but accepting a material body
when He appears as a personal incarnation. Whenever the Lord appears, He
appears in His original transcendental form, which is spiritual and blissful.
But unintelligent men, such as the Mäyävädés, cannot understand the
transcendental form of the Lord, and therefore the Lord chastises them by
saying, avajänanti mäà müòhä mänuñéà tanum äçritam: [Bg. 9.11] "Fools
deride Me when I descend in the human form." Whenever the Lord appears,
whether as a fish, a tortoise, a hog or any other form, one should understand
that He maintains His transcendental position and that His only business, as
stated here, is hatvä—to kill the demons. The Lord appears in order to protect
the devotees and kill the demons (pariträëäya sädhünäà vinäçäya ca duñkåtäm
[Bg. 4.8]). Since the demons are always ready to oppose Vedic civilization,
they are sure to be killed by the transcendental form of the Lord.
SB 8.5.25
It is said that when Brahmä and the other
demigods go to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Çvetadvépa, they
cannot directly see Him, but their prayers are heard by the Lord, and the
needful action is taken. This we have seen in many instances. The word
çruta-pürväya is significant. We get experience by directly seeing or by
hearing. If it is not possible to see someone directly, we can hear about him
from authentic sources. Sometimes people ask whether we can show them God. This
is ludicrous. It is not necessary for one to see God before he can accept God.
Our sensory perception is always incomplete. Therefore, even if we see God, we
may not be able to understand Him. When Kåñëa was on earth, many, many people
saw Him but could not understand that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Avajänanti mäà müòhä mänuñéà tanum äçritam [Bg. 9.11]. Even though the rascals
and fools saw Kåñëa personally, they could not understand that He is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even upon seeing God personally, one who is
unfortunate cannot understand Him. Therefore we have to hear about God, Kåñëa,
from the authentic Vedic literature and from persons who understand the Vedic
version properly. Even though Brahmä had not seen the Supreme Personality of
Godhead before, he was confident that the Lord was there in Çvetadvépa. Thus he
took the opportunity to go there and offer prayers to the Lord.
SB 8.6.11
The material energy creates, maintains and
devastates the entire cosmic manifestation because of directions given by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who enters this universe as Garbhodakaçäyé
Viñëu but is untouched by the material qualities. In Bhagavad-gétä the Lord
refers to mäyä, the external energy, which creates this material world, as mama
mäyä, "My energy," because this energy works under the full control
of the Lord. These facts can be realized only by those who are well versed in
Vedic knowledge and advanced in Kåñëa consciousness.
SB 8.6.39
Garuòa was asked by the Lord to leave that
place because the snake Väsuki, who was to be used as the rope for churning,
could not go there in the presence of Garuòa. Garuòa, the carrier of Lord Viñëu,
is not a vegetarian. He eats big snakes. Väsuki, being a great snake, would be
natural food for Garuòa, the chief of birds. Lord Viñëu therefore asked Garuòa
to leave so that Väsuki could be brought to churn the ocean with Mandara
Mountain, which was to be used as the churning rod. These are the wonderful
arrangements of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nothing takes place by
accident. Carrying Mandara Mountain on the back of a bird and putting it in its
right position might be difficult for anyone, whether demigod or demon, but for
the Supreme Personality of Godhead everything is possible, as shown by this
pastime. The Lord had no difficulty lifting the mountain with one hand, and
Garuòa, His carrier, carried all the demons and demigods together by the grace
of the Supreme Lord. The Lord is known as Yogeçvara, the master of all mystic
power, because of His omnipotence. If He likes, He can make anything lighter
than cotton or heavier than the universe. Those who do not believe in the
activities of the Lord cannot explain how things happen. Using words like
"accident," they take shelter of ideas that are unbelievable. Nothing
is accidental. Everything is done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the
Lord Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gétä (9.10). Mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate
sacaräcaram. Whatever actions and reactions occur within the cosmic
manifestation all take place under the superintendence of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. However, because the demons do not understand the
potency of the Lord, when wonderful things are done, the demons think that they
are accidental.
SB 9.10.11
As explained by Çréla Svarüpa Dämodara
Gosvämé, rädhä-kåñëa-praëaya-vikåtir hlädiné-çaktiù: the dealings of love
between Rädhä and Kåñëa are displayed as the pleasure potency of the Lord. The
Lord is the original source of all pleasure, the reservoir of all pleasure.
Lord Rämacandra, therefore, manifested the truth both spiritually and
materially. Materially those who are attached to women suffer, but spiritually
when there are feelings of separation between the Lord and His pleasure potency
the spiritual bliss of the Lord increases. This is further explained in
Bhagavad-gétä (9.11)
One who does not know the spiritual potency
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead thinks of the Lord as an ordinary human
being. But the Lord's mind, intelligence and senses can never be affected by
material conditions.
SB 10.3.44
Devaké did not need to be reminded that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viñëu, had appeared as her son; she
already accepted this. Nonetheless, she was anxious, thinking that if her
neighbors heard that Viñëu had appeared as her son, none of them would believe
it. Therefore she wanted Lord Viñëu to transform Himself into a human child. On
the other hand, the Supreme Lord was also anxious, thinking that if He appeared
as an ordinary child, she would not believe that Lord Viñëu had appeared. Such
are the dealings between devotees and the Lord. The Lord deals with His
devotees exactly like a human being, but this does not mean that the Lord is
one of the human beings, for this is the conclusion of nondevotees (avajänanti
mäà müòhä mänuñéà tanum äçritam [Bg. 9.11]). Devotees know the Supreme
Personality of Godhead under any circumstances. This is the difference between
a devotee and a nondevotee. The Lord says, man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé
mäà namaskuru: [Bg. 18.65] "Engage your mind always in thinking of Me,
become My devotee, offer obeisances and worship Me." A nondevotee cannot
believe that simply by thinking of one person, one can achieve liberation from
this material world and go back home, back to Godhead. But this is a fact. The
Lord comes as a human being, and if one becomes attached to the Lord on the
platform of loving service, one's promotion to the transcendental world is
assured.
Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by
demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for
liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all
defeated.
SB 7.14.30-33
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu wanted the Hare
Kåñëa movement, with installed Deities, to spread to every village and town in
the world, so that everyone in the world might take advantage of this movement
and become all-auspicious in spiritual life. Without spiritual life, nothing is
auspicious. Moghäçä mogha-karmäëo mogha jïänä vicetasaù (Bg. 9.12). No one can
become successful in fruitive activities or speculative knowledge without being
Kåñëa conscious. As recommended in the çästras, everyone should be very eagerly
interested in taking part in the Kåñëa consciousness movement and understanding
the value of spiritual life.
SB 8.6.12
The people of this age are inclined toward
industrial enterprises for comfortable living, but they refuse to endeavor to
execute devotional service, by which they can achieve the ultimate goal of life
by returning home, back to Godhead. Unfortunately, as it is said, na te viduù
svärtha-gatià hi viñëuà duräçayä ye bahir-artha-mäninaù [SB 7.5.31]. People
without spiritual education do not know that the ultimate goal of life is to go
back home, back to Godhead. Forgetting this aim of life, they are working very
hard in disappointment and frustration (moghäçä mogha-karmäëo mogha jïänä
vicetasaù [Bg. 9.12]). The so-called vaiçyas—the industrialists or
businessmen—are involved in big, big industrial enterprises, but they are not
interested in food grains and milk. However, as indicated here, by digging for
water, even in the desert, we can produce food grains; when we produce food
grains and vegetables, we can give protection to the cows; while giving
protection to the cows, we can draw from them abundant quantities of milk; and
by getting enough milk and combining it with food grains and vegetables, we can
prepare hundreds of nectarean foods. We can happily eat this food and thus
avoid industrial enterprises and joblessness.
SB 8.9.29
This is the distinction between
materialistic activities and activities performed in Kåñëa consciousness. The
entire world is active, and this includes the karmés, the jïänés, the yogés and
the bhaktas. However, all activities except those of the bhaktas, the devotees,
end in bafflement and a waste of time and energy. Moghäçä mogha-karmäëo mogha
jïänä vicetasaù: [Bg. 9.12] if one is not a devotee, his hopes, his activities
and his knowledge are all baffled. A nondevotee works for his personal sense
gratification or for the sense gratification of his family, society, community
or nation, but because all such activities are separate from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, they are considered asat. The word asat means bad or
temporary, and sat means permanent and good. Activities performed for the
satisfaction of Kåñëa are permanent and good, but asat activity, although
sometimes celebrated as philanthropy, altruism, nationalism, this
"ism" or that "ism," will never produce any permanent
result and is therefore all bad. Even a little work done in Kåñëa consciousness
is a permanent asset and is all-good because it is done for Kåñëa, the all-good
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is everyone's friend (suhådaà
sarva-bhütänäm).
SB 10.4.30
Those who are devotees of Lord Viñëu, Kåñëa,
are suras, or devas, whereas those who are opposed to the devotees are called
asuras. Devotees are expert in all transactions (yasyästi bhaktir bhagavaty
akiïcanä sarvair guëais tatra samäsate suräù [SB 5.18.12]). Therefore they are
called kovida, which means "expert." Asuras, however, although
superficially showing expertise in passionate activities, are actually all
fools. They are neither sober nor expert. Whatever they do is imperfect.
Moghäçä mogha-karmäëaù. According to this description of the asuras given in
Bhagavad-gétä (9.12), whatever they do will ultimately be baffled. It was such
persons who advised Kaàsa because they were his chief friends and ministers.
O son of Påthä, those who are not deluded, the
great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully
engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.
SB 1.2.28-29
In the Bhagavad-gétä it is said that those
who are mahätmäs, or those whose minds have been so broadened as to be engaged
in the service of Lord Kåñëa, are under the influence of the internal potency,
and the effect is that such broadminded living beings are constantly engaged in
the service of the Lord without deviation. That should be the aim of life. And
that is the verdict of all the Vedic literatures. No one should bother himself
with fruitive activities or dry speculation about transcendental knowledge.
Everyone should at once engage himself in the transcendental loving service of
the Lord. Nor should one worship different demigods who work as different hands
of the Lord for creation, maintenance or destruction of the material world.
SB 3.22.6
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä, mahätmänas tu:
those who are great souls are under the spell of spiritual energy, and their
symptom is that they fully engage in Kåñëa consciousness for the service of the
Lord. Therefore they are called mahat. Unless one is fortunate enough to have
the dust of the lotus feet of a mahätmä on one's head, there is no possibility
of perfection in spiritual life.
SB 6.1.16
Tat-puruña refers to a preacher of Kåñëa
consciousness, such as the spiritual master. Çréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura has
said, chäòiyä vaiñëava-sevä nistära päyeche kebä: "Without serving a bona
fide spiritual master, an ideal Vaiñëava, who can be delivered from the
clutches of mäyä?" This idea is also expressed in many other places.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (5.5.2) says, mahat-seväà dväram ähur vimukteù: if one
desires liberation from the clutches of mäyä, one must associate with a pure
devotee mahätmä. A mahätmä is one who engages twenty-four hours daily in the
loving service of the Lord. As Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.13):
"O son of Påthä, those who are not
deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They
are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible." Thus the symptom of a
mahätmä is that he has no engagement other than service to Kåñëa. One must
render service to a Vaiñëava in order to get freed from sinful reactions,
revive one's original Kåñëa consciousness and be trained in how to love Kåñëa.
This is the result of mahätma-sevä. Of course, if one engages in the service of
a pure devotee, the reactions of one's sinful life are vanquished
automatically. Devotional service is necessary not to drive away an
insignificant stock of sins, but to awaken our dormant love for Kåñëa. As fog
is vanquished at the first glimpse of sunlight, one's sinful reactions are
automatically vanquished as soon as one begins serving a pure devotee; no
separate endeavor is required.
Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with
great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually
worship Me with devotion.
SB 1.6.32
Following in the footsteps of Çréla Närada
Muni, a self-realized soul in the material world should also properly use the
sound meters, namely ña, å, gä, mä, etc., in the service of the Lord by
constantly singing the glories of the Lord, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä.
SB 2.7.26
Now the question is why the Lord, who is
omnipotent, comes here to diminish the burden created upon the world by the
unscrupulous kingly order. Certainly the Lord does not need to come here
personally for such purposes, but He actually descends to exhibit His
transcendental activities in order to encourage His pure devotees, who want to
enjoy life by chanting the glories of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.13-14)
it is stated that the mahätmäs, great devotees of the Lord, take pleasure in
chanting of the activities of the Lord. All Vedic literatures are meant for
turning one's attention towards the Lord and His transcendental activities.
Thus the activities of the Lord, in His dealings with worldly people, create a
subject matter for discussion by His pure devotees.
SB 6.1.63
Devotional service, which begins with
chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is so powerful that even if one falls
down from the exalted position of a brähmaëa through sexual indulgence, he can
be saved from all calamities if he somehow or other chants the holy name of the
Lord. This is the extraordinary power of the Lord's holy name. Therefore in
Bhagavad-gétä it is advised that one not forget the chanting of the holy name
even for a moment (satataà kértayanto mäà yatantaç ca dåòha-vratäù [Bg. 9.14]).
There are so many dangers in this material world that one may fall down from an
exalted position at any time. Yet if one keeps himself always pure and steady
by chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra, he will be safe without a doubt.
Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma
juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful
reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they
enjoy godly delights.
SB 2.2.21
There are different grades of material
enjoyments in respect to duration of life and sensual gratification. The
highest plane of sensual enjoyment for the longest period of life is mentioned
in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.20). All are but material enjoyments, and one should be
thoroughly convinced that he has no need of such a long duration of life, even
in the Brahmaloka planet. He must return home, back to Godhead, and must not be
attracted by any amount of material facilities.
SB 2.7.32
Factually there is no need of offering
sacrifices to the demigods for their services if one is engaged in the service
of the Supreme Lord. Sacrifices recommended in the Vedic literature for
satisfaction of the demigods are a sort of inducement to the sacrificers to
realize the existence of higher authorities. The demigods are engaged by the
Lord as controlling deities of material affairs, and according to the
Bhagavad-gétä, when a demigod is worshiped the process is accepted as the
indirect method for worshiping the Supreme Lord. But when the Supreme Lord is
worshiped directly there is no need of worshiping the demigods or offering them
sacrifices as recommended in particular circumstances. Lord Kåñëa therefore
advised the inhabitants of Vrajabhümi not to offer any sacrifices to the
heavenly King Indra. But Indra, not knowing Lord Kåñëa in Vrajabhümi, was angry
at the inhabitants of Vrajabhümi and tried to avenge the offense. But,
competent as the Lord was, He saved the inhabitants and animals of Vrajabhümi
by His personal energy and proved definitely that anyone directly engaged as a
devotee of the Supreme Lord need not satisfy any other demigods, however great,
even to the level of Brahmä, or Çiva. Thus this incident definitely proved
without a doubt that Lord Kåñëa is the Personality of Godhead and that He was
so in all circumstances, as a child on the lap of His mother, as a boy 7 years
old, and as an old man of 125 years of age. In either case He was never on the
level of the ordinary man, and even in His advanced age He appeared a young boy
16 years old. These are the particular features of the transcendental body of
the Lord.
When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly
sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they
return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by
adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and
death.
SB 7.15.50-51
This is explained in Bhagavad-gétä (9.21)
"When those who follow the
pravåtti-märga have enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return to this mortal
planet again. Thus, through the Vedic principles, they achieve only flickering
happiness." Following the pravåtti-märga, the living entity who desires to
be promoted to the higher planetary systems performs sacrifices regularly, and
how he goes up and comes down again is described here in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, as
well as in Bhagavad-gétä. It is also said, traiguëya-viñayä vedäù: "The
Vedas deal mainly with the three modes of material nature." The Vedas,
especially three Vedas, namely Säma, Yajur and Åk, vividly describe this
process of ascending to the higher planets and returning. But Kåñëa advises
Arjuna, traiguëya-viñayä vedä nistraiguëyo bhavärjuna: one has to transcend
these three modes of material nature, and then one will be released from the
cycle of birth and death. Otherwise, although one may be promoted to a higher
planetary system such as Candraloka, one must again come down (kñéëe puëye
martya-lokaà viçanti [Bg. 9.21]). After one's enjoyment due to pious activities
is finished, one must return to this planet in rainfall and first take birth as
a plant or creeper, which is eaten by various animals, including human beings,
and turned to semen. This semen is injected into the female body, and thus the
living entity takes birth. Those who return to earth in this way take birth
especially in higher families like those of brähmaëas.
SB 9.10.23
In Bhagavad-gétä (9.21) it is said, kñéëe
puëye martya-lokaà viçanti: "When the results of their pious activities
are exhausted, those who have enjoyed in the heavenly planets fall again to
earth." The fruitive activities of this material world are such that
whether one acts piously or impiously one must remain within the material world
according to different conditions, for neither pious nor impious actions can
relieve one from mäyä's clutches of repeated birth and death. Somehow or other,
Rävaëa was raised to an exalted position as the king of a great kingdom with
all material opulences, but because of his sinful act of kidnapping mother
Sétä, all the results of his pious activities were destroyed. If one offends an
exalted personality, especially the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one
certainly becomes most abominable; bereft of the results of pious activities,
one must fall down like Rävaëa and other demons. It is therefore advised that
one transcend both pious and impious activities and remain in the pure state of
freedom from all designations (sarvopädhi-vinirmuktaà tat-paratvena nirmalam
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]). When one is fixed in devotional service, he is above the
material platform.
9.22
But those who always worship Me with exclusive
devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack,
and I preserve what they have.
SB 6.18.75
A pure devotee never begs the Lord for
material happiness in the shape of riches, followers, a good wife or even
mukti. The Lord promises, however, yoga-kñemaà vahämy aham: [Bg. 9.22] "I
voluntarily bring everything necessary for My service."
SB 6.19.4
Therefore, to take shelter of the Supreme
Lord is required. Whatever a devotee needs will be supplied by the complete
Supreme Personality of Godhead (teñäà nityäbhiyuktänäà yoga-kñemaà vahämy aham
[Bg. 9.22]). Therefore a pure devotee will not ask anything from the Lord. He
simply offers the Lord his respectful obeisances, and the Lord is prepared to
accept whatever the devotee can secure to worship Him, even patraà puñpaà
phalaà toyam [Bg. 9.26]-a leaf, flower, fruit or water. There is no need to
artificially exert oneself. It is better to be plain and simple and with
respectful obeisances offer to the Lord whatever one can secure. The Lord is
completely able to bless the devotee with all opulences.
Those who are devotees of other gods and who
worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunté, but they do
so in a wrong way.
SB 1.17.34
It is even sometimes seen that demigods like
Indra and Candra are worshiped and offered sacrificial awards, yet the rewards
of all such sacrifices are awarded to the worshiper by the Supreme Lord, and it
is the Lord only who can offer all welfare to the worshiper. The demigods,
although worshiped, cannot do anything without the sanction of the Lord because
the Lord is the Supersoul of everyone, both moving and nonmoving.
SB 2.5.15
The supreme worshipable Deity is Näräyaëa.
The demigods are recommended secondarily for worship in relation to Näräyaëa
because the demigods are assisting hands in the management of the universal
affairs. As the officers of a kingdom are respected due to their relation to
the king, the demigods are worshiped due to their relation to the Lord. Without
the Lord's relation, worship of the demigods is unauthorized (avidhi-pürvakam),
just as it is improper to water the leaves and branches of a tree without
watering its root. Therefore the demigods are also dependent on Näräyaëa.
SB 6.18.33-34
The demigods are various assistants who act
like the hands and legs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is not
in direct touch with the Supreme Lord and cannot conceive of the exalted
position of the Lord is sometimes advised to worship the demigods as various
parts of the Lord. If women, who are usually very much attached to their
husbands, worship their husbands as representatives of Väsudeva, the women
benefit, just as Ajämila benefited by calling for Näräyaëa, his son. Ajämila
was concerned with his son, but because of his attachment to the name of
Näräyaëa, he attained salvation simply by chanting that name. In India a
husband is still called pati-guru, the husband spiritual master. If husband and
wife are attached to one another for advancement in Kåñëa consciousness, their
relationship of cooperation is very effective for such advancement. Although
the names of Indra and Agni are sometimes uttered in the Vedic mantras (indräya
svähä, agnaye svähä), the Vedic sacrifices are actually performed for the
satisfaction of Lord Viñëu. As long as one is very much attached to material
sense gratification, the worship of the demigods or the worship of one's
husband is recommended.
SB 6.18.33-34
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.23):
"Whatever a man may sacrifice to other
gods, O son of Kunté, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without
true understanding." The demigods are various assistants who act like the
hands and legs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is not in direct
touch with the Supreme Lord and cannot conceive of the exalted position of the
Lord is sometimes advised to worship the demigods as various parts of the Lord.
If women, who are usually very much attached to their husbands, worship their
husbands as representatives of Väsudeva, the women benefit, just as Ajämila
benefited by calling for Näräyaëa, his son. Ajämila was concerned with his son,
but because of his attachment to the name of Näräyaëa, he attained salvation
simply by chanting that name. In India a husband is still called pati-guru, the
husband spiritual master. If husband and wife are attached to one another for
advancement in Kåñëa consciousness, their relationship of cooperation is very
effective for such advancement. Although the names of Indra and Agni are
sometimes uttered in the Vedic mantras (indräya svähä, agnaye svähä), the Vedic
sacrifices are actually performed for the satisfaction of Lord Viñëu. As long
as one is very much attached to material sense gratification, the worship of
the demigods or the worship of one's husband is recommended.
I am the only enjoyer and master of all
sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature
fall down.
SB 7.3.24
Lord Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.23-24):
"Whatever a man may sacrifice to other
gods, O son of Kunté, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without
true understanding. I am the only enjoyer and the only object of sacrifice.
Those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature fall down."
In effect, Kåñëa says, "Persons engaged
in the worship of demigods are not very intelligent, although such worship is
indirectly offered to Me." For example, when a man pours water on the
leaves and branches of a tree without pouring water on the root, he does so
without sufficient knowledge or without observing regulative principles. The
process of watering a tree is to pour water on the root. Similarly, the process
of rendering service to different parts of the body is to supply food to the
stomach. The demigods are, so to speak, different officers and directors in the
government of the Supreme Lord. One has to follow the laws made by the
government, not by the officers or directors. Similarly, everyone is to offer
his worship to the Supreme Lord only. That will automatically satisfy the
different officers and directors of the Lord. The officers and directors are
engaged as representatives of the government, and to offer some bribe to the
officers and directors is illegal. This is stated in Bhagavad-gétä as
avidhi-pürvakam. In other words, Kåñëa does not approve the unnecessary worship
of the demigods. In Bhagavad-gétä it is clearly stated that there are many
types of yajïa performances recommended in the Vedic literatures, but actually
all of them are meant for satisfying the Supreme Lord. Yajïa means Viñëu. In the
Third Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä it is clearly stated that one should work only
for satisfying Yajïa, or Viñëu. The perfectional form of human civilization,
known as varëäçrama-dharma, is specifically meant for satisfying Viñëu.
Therefore, Kåñëa says, "I am the enjoyer of all sacrifices because I am
the supreme master." However, less intelligent persons, without knowing
this fact, worship demigods for temporary benefit. Therefore they fall down to
material existence and do not achieve the desired goal of life. If, however,
anyone has any material desire to be fulfilled, he had better pray for it to
the Supreme Lord (although that is not pure devotion), and he will thus achieve
the desired result.
Those who worship the demigods will take birth
among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those
who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who
worship Me will live with Me.
SB 1.12.5
Here the word lokäù is significant. There
are different lokas or higher planets scattered all over the sky, both material
and spiritual. A person can reach them by dint of his work in the present life,
as stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.25). No forceful entrance is allowed there. The
tiny material scientists and engineers who have discovered vehicles to travel
over a few thousand miles in outer space will not be allowed entrance. That is
not the way to reach the better planets. One must qualify himself to enter into
such happy planets by sacrifice and service. Those who are sinful in every step
of life can expect only to be degraded into animal life to suffer more and more
the pangs of material existence, and this is also stated in Bhagavad-gétä
(16.19). Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira's good sacrifices and qualifications were so
lofty and virtuous that even the residents of the higher celestial planets were
already prepared to receive him as one of them.
SB 4.18.18
In Bhagavad-gétä (9.25) it is said, pitèn
yänti pitå-vratäù. Those who are interested in family welfare are called
pitå-vratäù. There is a planet called Pitåloka, and the predominating deity of
that planet is called Aryamä. He is somewhat of a demigod, and by satisfying
him one can help ghostly family members develop a gross body. Those who are
very sinful and attached to their family, house, village or country do not
receive a gross body made of material elements but remain in a subtle body,
composed of mind, ego and intelligence. Those who live in such subtle bodies
are called ghosts. This ghostly position is very painful because a ghost has
intelligence, mind and ego and wants to enjoy material life, but because he
doesn't have a gross material body, he can only create disturbances for want of
material satisfaction. It is the duty of family members, especially the son, to
offer oblations to the demigod Aryamä or to Lord Viñëu. From time immemorial in
India the son of a dead man goes to Gayä and, at a Viñëu temple there, offers
oblations for the benefit of his ghostly father. It is not that everyone's
father becomes a ghost, but the oblations of piëòa are offered to the lotus
feet of Lord Viñëu so that if a family member happens to become a ghost, he
will be favored with a gross body. However, if one is habituated to taking the
prasäda of Lord Viñëu, there is no chance of his becoming a ghost or anything
lower than a human being. In Vedic civilization there is a performance called
çräddha by which food is offered with faith and devotion. If one offers
oblations with faith and devotion—either to the lotus feet of Lord Viñëu or to
His representative in Pitåloka, Aryamä—one's forefathers will attain material
bodies to enjoy whatever material enjoyment is due them. In other words, they
do not have to become ghosts.
SB 6.1.2
As Lord Kåñëa explains in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.25):
"Those who worship the demigods will
take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take
birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and
those who worship Me will live with Me." Because of the influence of the various
modes of nature, the living entities have various tendencies or propensities,
and therefore they are qualified to achieve various destinations. As long as
one is materially attached, he wants to be elevated to the heavenly planets
because of his attraction to the material world. The Supreme Personality of
Godhead declares, however, "Those who worship Me come to Me." If one
has no information about the Supreme Lord and His abode, one tries to be
elevated only to a higher material position, but when one concludes that in
this material world there is nothing but repeated birth and death, he tries to
return home, back to Godhead. If one attains that destination, he need never
return to this material world (yad gatvä na nivartante tad dhäma paramaà mama
[Bg. 15.6]).
SB 7.2.46
The conditioned soul has knowledge, and if
he wants to fully utilize the gross and subtle bodies for his real advancement
in life, he can do so. It is therefore said here that by his high intelligence
(svena tejasä), by the superior power of superior knowledge achieved from the
right source—the spiritual master, or äcärya—he can give up his conditional
life in a material body and return home, back to Godhead. However, if he wants
to keep himself in the darkness of this material world, he can do so. The Lord
confirms this as follows in Bhagavad-gétä (9.25):
"Those who worship the demigods will
take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take
birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and
those who worship Me will live with Me."
The human form of body is valuable. One can
use this body to go to the higher planetary systems, to Pitåloka, or he can
remain in this lower planetary system, but if one tries he can also return
home, back to Godhead. This prowess is given by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead as the Supersoul. Therefore the Lord says, mattaù småtir jïänam
apohanaà ca: [Bg. 15.15] "From Me come remembrance, knowledge and
forgetfulness." If one wants to receive real knowledge from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one can become free from bondage to repeated acceptance
of material bodies. If one takes to the devotional service of the Lord and
surrenders unto Him, the Lord is prepared to give one directions by which to
return home, back to Godhead, but if one foolishly wants to keep himself in
darkness, he can continue in a life of material existence.
If one offers Me with love and devotion a
leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.
SB 1.13.47
A systematic law of subsistence in the
struggle for existence is there by the supreme will, and there is no escape for
anyone by any amount of planning. The living beings who have come to the
material world against the will of the Supreme Being are under the control of a
supreme power called mäyä-çakti, the deputed agent of the Lord, and this daivé
mäyä is meant to pinch the conditioned souls by threefold miseries, one of
which is explained here in this verse: the weak are the subsistence of the
strong. No one is strong enough to protect himself from the onslaught of a
stronger, and by the will of the Lord there are systematic categories of the
weak, the stronger and the strongest. There is nothing to be lamented if a
tiger eats a weaker animal, including a man, because that is the law of the
Supreme Lord. But although the law states that a human being must subsist on
another living being, there is the law of good sense also, for the human being
is meant to obey the laws of the scriptures. This is impossible for other
animals. The human being is meant for self-realization, and for that purpose he
is not to eat anything which is not first offered to the Lord. The Lord accepts
from His devotee all kinds of food preparations made of vegetables, fruits,
leaves and grains. Fruits, leaves and milk in different varieties can be
offered to the Lord, and after the Lord accepts the foodstuff, the devotee can
partake of the prasäda, by which all suffering in the struggle for existence
will be gradually mitigated. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.26).
Even those who are accustomed to eat animals can offer foodstuff, not to the
Lord directly, but to an agent of the Lord, under certain conditions of
religious rites. Injunctions of the scriptures are meant not to encourage the
eaters of animals, but to restrict them by regulated principles.
SB 3.3.28
The word uru-rasam is also significant here.
Hundreds of delicacies can be prepared simply by the combination of grains,
vegetables and milk. All such preparations are in the mode of goodness and therefore
may be offered to the Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.26), the Lord accepts only foodstuffs which are within the range of fruits,
flowers, leaves and liquids, provided they are offered in complete devotional
service. Devotional service is the only criterion for a bona fide offering to
the Lord. The Lord assures that He positively eats such foodstuffs offered by
the devotees. So, judging from all sides, the Yadus were perfectly trained
civilized persons, and their being cursed by the brähmaëa sages was only by the
desire of the Lord; the whole incident was a warning to all concerned that no
one should behave lightly with brähmaëas and Vaiñëavas.
SB 4.30.28
The form of the Lord known as arcä-vigraha
is an expansion of His unlimited potencies. When the Lord is gradually
satisfied with the service of a devotee, in due course of time He accepts the
devotee as one of His many unalloyed servants. By nature, the Lord is very
compassionate; therefore the service of neophyte devotees is accepted by the
Lord. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (9.26):
"If one offers Me with love and
devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." The devotee
offers eatables in the form of vegetables, fruits, leaves and water to the
arcä-vigraha. The Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, compassionate upon His devotees,
accepts these offerings. Atheists may think that the devotees are engaged in
idol worship, but the fact is different. Janärdana, the Supreme Lord, accepts
bhäva, the attitude of service. The neophyte devotee engaged in the worship of
the Lord may not understand the value of such worship, but the Supreme Lord,
being bhakta-vatsala, accepts His devotee and in due course of time takes him
home.
SB 6.19.5
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed
with all six opulences in full, and moreover He is extremely kind to His
devotee. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless wants all the living
entities to surrender unto Him so that they may engage in His service. Thus He
becomes satisfied. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless becomes
pleased when His devotee offers Him patraà puñpaà phalaà toyam [Bg. 9.26]—a
leaf, flower, fruit or water—in devotion. Sometimes the Lord, as the child of
mother Yaçodä, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very hungry.
Sometimes He tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His garden are
now very old and that He cannot enjoy them very nicely. Thus He requests the
devotee to repair them. Sometimes He is buried in the earth, and as if unable
to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him. Sometimes He
requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He
alone is quite competent to perform this task. Even though the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient,
He depends on His devotees. Therefore the relationship of the Lord with His
devotees is extremely confidential. Only the devotee can perceive how the Lord,
although full in Himself, depends on His devotee for some particular work. This
is explained in Bhagavad-gétä (11.33), where the Lord tells Arjuna,
nimitta-mätraà bhava savyasäcin: "O Arjuna, merely be an instrument in the
fight." Lord Kåñëa had the competence to win the Battle of Kurukñetra, but
nonetheless He induced His devotee Arjuna to fight and become the cause of
victory. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name
and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do
this work. Considering all these points, the most important aspect of the
Supreme Lord's self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. This is
called His causeless mercy. The devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master
and the servant.
SB 7.1.2
Envy and friendship arise in one who is
imperfect. We fear our enemies because in the material world we are always in
need of help. The Lord, however, does not need anyone's help, for He is
ätmäräma. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.26):
"If a devotee offers Me with devotion a
little leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I shall accept it." Why does the
Lord say this? Is He dependent on the offering of the devotee? He is not
actually dependent, but He likes to be dependent upon His devotee. This is His
mercy. Similarly, He does not fear the asuras. Thus there is no question of
partiality in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 8.16.9
According to the Vedic system, a fire
sacrifice is held in order to offer oblations of ghee, grains, fruits, flowers
and so on, so that Lord Viñëu may eat and be satisfied. The Lord says in
Bhagavad-gétä (9.26):
"If one offers Me with love and
devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." Therefore,
all these items may be offered in the sacrificial fire, and Lord Viñëu will be
satisfied. Similarly, brähmaëa-bhojana, feeding of the brähmaëas, is also
recommended, for when the brähmaëas eat sumptuous remnants of food after yajïa,
this is another way that Lord Viñëu Himself eats. Therefore the Vedic
principles recommend that in every festival or ceremony one offer oblations to
the fire and give sumptuous food for the brähmaëas to eat. By such activities,
a householder may be elevated to the heavenly planets and similar places in the
higher planetary systems.
SB 10.11.11
Kåñëa is so kind that if anyone offers Him a
leaf, a fruit, a flower or some water, He will immediately accept it. The only
condition is that these things should be offered with bhakti (yo me bhaktyä
prayacchati). Otherwise, if one is puffed up with false prestige, thinking,
"I have so much opulence, and I am giving something to Kåñëa," one's
offering will not be accepted by Kåñëa. The fruit vendor, although a woman
belonging to the poor aborigine class, dealt with Kåñëa with great affection,
saying, "Kåñëa, You have come to me to take some fruit in exchange for
grains. All the grains have fallen, but still You may take whatever You
like." Thus she filled Kåñëa's palms with whatever fruits He could carry.
In exchange, Kåñëa filled her whole basket with jewels and gold.
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever
you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform—do that, O son of
Kunté, as an offering to Me.
SB 1.15.24
The surest way to the path of peace, therefore,
is dovetailing everything to the established rule of the Lord. The established
rule is that whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we sacrifice or whatever
we give in charity must be done to the full satisfaction of the Lord. No one
should do anything, eat anything, sacrifice anything or give anything in
charity against the will of the Lord. Discretion is the better part of valor,
and one must learn how to discriminate between actions which may be pleasing to
the Lord and those which may not be pleasing to the Lord. An action is thus
judged by the Lord's pleasure or displeasure. There is no room for personal
whims; we must always be guided by the pleasure of the Lord. Such action is
called yogaù karmasu kauçalam [Bg. 2.50], or actions performed which are linked
with the Supreme Lord. That is the art of doing a thing perfectly.
SB 2.4.17
People in general have no knowledge that the
self-interest of a living being attains perfection only when such an interest
coincides with the interest of the Lord. For example, what is the interest of
maintaining body and soul together? One earns money for maintenance of the body
(personal or social), but unless there is God consciousness, unless the body is
being properly maintained to realize one's relation with God, all good efforts
to maintain body and soul together are similar to the attempts of the animals
to maintain body and soul together. The purpose of maintaining the human body
is different from that of the animals. Similarly, advancement of learning, economic
development, philosophical research, study in the Vedic literature or even the
execution of pious activities (like charity, opening of hospitals, and the
distribution of food grains) should be done in relation with the Lord. The aim
of all such acts and endeavors must be the pleasure of the Lord and not the
satisfaction of any other identity, individual or collective (saàsiddhir
hari-toñaëam [SB 1.2.13]). In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.27) the same principle is
confirmed where it is said that whatever we may give in charity and whatever we
may observe in austerity must be given over to the Lord or be done on His
account only. The expert leaders of a godless human civilization cannot bring
about a fruitful result in all their different attempts at educational advancement
or economic development unless they are God conscious. And to become God
conscious one has to hear about the all-auspicious Lord, as He is described in
literature like the Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
SB 2.9.36
In the Bhagavad-gétä it is stated that one
can serve the Lord by offering the result of one's own work; it does not matter
what one does. Generally men may say that whatever they are doing is inspired
by God, but that is not all. One should actually work on behalf of God as a servant
of God. The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.27):
Do whatever you like or whatever may be
easier for you to do, eat whatever you may eat, sacrifice whatever you can
sacrifice, give whatever you may give in charity, and do whatever you may
undertake in penance, but everything must be done for Him only. If you do
business or if you accept some employment, do so on behalf of the Lord.
Whatever you may eat, you may offer the same to the Lord and be assured that He
will return the food after eating it Himself. He is the complete whole, and
therefore whatever He may eat as offered by the devotee is accepted because of
the devotee's love, but again it is returned as prasäda for the devotee so that
he can be happy by eating. In other words, be a servant of God and live
peacefully in that consciousness, ultimately returning home, back to Godhead.
SB 3.9.13
Absolute devotional service, conducted in
nine different spiritual activities—hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping,
praying, etc.—does not always appeal to people with a pompous nature; they are
more attracted by the Vedic superficial rituals and other costly performances
of social religious shows. But the process according to the Vedic injunctions
is that the fruits of all pious activities should be offered to the Supreme
Lord. In Bhagavad-gétä (9.27), the Lord demands that whatever one may do in
one's daily activities, such as worship, sacrifice, and offering charity, all
the results should be offered to Him only. This offering of the results of
pious acts unto the Supreme Lord is a sign of devotional service to the Lord
and is of permanent value, whereas enjoying the same results for oneself is
only temporary. Anything done on account of the Lord is a permanent asset and
accumulates in the form of unseen piety for gradual promotion to the unalloyed
devotional service of the Lord. These undetected pious activities will one day
result in full-fledged devotional service by the grace of the Supreme Lord.
Therefore, any pious act done on account of the Supreme Lord is also
recommended here for those who are not pure devotees.
SB 7.15.64
The Kåñëa consciousness movement is teaching
people how to come to the stage of dedicating everything to the service of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.27):
"O son of Kunté, all that you do, all
that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that
you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me." If whatever we
do, whatever we eat, whatever we think and whatever we plan is for the
advancement of the Kåñëa consciousness movement, this is oneness. There is no
difference between chanting for Kåñëa consciousness and working for Kåñëa
consciousness. On the transcendental platform, they are one. But we must be
guided by the spiritual master about this oneness; we should not manufacture
our own oneness.
SB 10.11.11
From this incident one should learn that for
anything offered to Kåñëa with love and affection, Kåñëa can reciprocate many
millions of times over, both materially and spiritually. The basic principle
involved is an exchange of love. Therefore Kåñëa teaches in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.27):
"O son of Kunté, all that you do, all
that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that
you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me." With love and
affection, one should try to give something to Kåñëa from one's source of
income. Then one's life will be successful. Kåñëa is full in all opulences; He
does not need anything from anyone. But if one is prepared to give something to
Kåñëa, that is for one's own benefit. The example given in this connection is
that when one's real face is decorated, the reflection of one's face is
automatically decorated. Similarly, if we try to serve Kåñëa with all our
opulences, we, as parts and parcels or reflections of Kåñëa, will become happy
in exchange. Kåñëa is always happy, for He is ätmäräma, fully satisfied with
His own opulence.
I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I
am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend,
is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.
SB 1.14.38
Those who are directly servitors of the Lord
are protected by the Lord from all fearfulness, and they also enjoy the best of
things, even if they are forcibly accumulated. The Lord is equal in behavior to
all living beings, but He is partial to His pure devotees, being very
affectionate toward them. The city of Dvärakä was flourishing, being enriched
with the best of things in the material world. The state assembly house is
constructed according to the dignity of the particular state. In the heavenly
planets, the state assembly house called Sudharmä was deserving of the dignity
of the best of the demigods. Such an assembly house is never meant for any
state on the globe because the human being on the earth is unable to construct
it, however far a particular state may be materially advanced. But during the
time of Lord Kåñëa's presence on the earth, the members of the Yadu family
forcibly brought the celestial assembly house to earth and placed it at
Dvärakä. They were able to use such force because they were certain of the
indulgence and protection of the Supreme Lord Kåñëa. In other words, the Lord
is provided with the best things in the universe by His pure devotees. Lord
Kåñëa was provided with all kinds of comforts and facilities available within
the universe by the members of the Yadu dynasty, and in return such servitors
of the Lord were protected and fearless.
SB 1.16.26-30
By equality (10), the Lord is equally kind
to everyone, as the sun is equal in distributing its rays over everyone. Yet
there are many who are unable to take advantage of the sun's rays. Similarly,
the Lord says that surrendering unto Him is the guarantee for all protection
from Him, but unfortunate persons are unable to accept this proposition, and
therefore they suffer from all material miseries. So even though the Lord is
equally well-wishing to everyone, the unfortunate living being, due to bad
association only, is unable to accept His instructions in toto, and for this
the Lord is never to be blamed. He is called the well-wisher for the devotees
only. He appears to be partial to His devotees, but factually the matter rests
on the living being to accept or reject equal treatment by the Lord.
SB 2.8.21
The Lord gives special attention to His
devotees in their activities within material, conditional life (Bg. 9.29).
Therefore everyone should take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and be a
pure devotee of the Lord by all means.
SB 7.1.9
By external features one cannot understand
who is favored by Kåñëa and who is not. According to one's attitude, Kåñëa
becomes one's direct adviser, or Kåñëa becomes unknown. This is not Kåñëa's
partiality; it is His response to one's ability to understand Him. According to
one's receptiveness—whether one be a devatä, asura, Yakña or Räkñasa—Kåñëa's
quality is proportionately exhibited. This proportionate exhibition of Kåñëa's
power is misunderstood by less intelligent men to be Kåñëa's partiality, but actually
it is no such thing. Kåñëa is equal to everyone, and according to one's ability
to receive the favor of Kåñëa, one advances in Kåñëa consciousness. Çréla
Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura gives a practical example in this connection. In
the sky there are many luminaries. At night, even in darkness, the moon is
extremely brilliant and can be directly perceived. The sun is also extremely
brilliant. When covered by clouds, however, these luminaries are not distinctly
visible. Similarly, the more one advances in sattva-guëa, the more his
brilliance is exhibited by devotional service, but the more one is covered by
rajo-guëa and tamo-guëa, the less visible his brilliance, for he is covered by
these qualities. The visibility of one's qualities does not depend on the
partiality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; it is due to various
coverings in different proportions. Thus one can understand how far he has
advanced in terms of sattva-guëa and how much he is covered by rajo-guëa and
tamo-guëa.
SB 7.1.12
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.29),
samo'haà sarva-bhüteñu na me dveñyo 'sti na priyaù: "I envy no one, nor am
I partial to anyone. I am equal to all." The Supreme Personality of
Godhead cannot be partial; He is always equal to everyone. Therefore when the
demigods are favored and the demons killed, this is not His partiality but the
influence of the time factor. A good example in this regard is that an
electrician connects both a heater and a cooler to the same electrical energy.
The cause of the heating and cooling is the electrician's manipulation of the
electrical energy according to his desire, but factually the electrician has
nothing to do with causing heat or cold, nor with the enjoyment or suffering
that results.
There have been many historical incidents in
which the Lord killed a demon, but the demon attained a higher position by the
mercy of the Lord. Pütanä is an example. Pütanä's purpose was to kill Kåñëa.
Aho baké yaà stana-käla-küöam. She approached the house of Nanda Mahäräja with
the purpose of killing Kåñëa by smearing poison on her breast, yet when she was
killed she attained the highest position, achieving the status of Kåñëa's
mother. Kåñëa is so kind and impartial that because he sucked Pütanä's breast,
He immediately accepted her as His mother. This superfluous activity of killing
Pütanä did not diminish the Lord's impartiality. He is suhådaà sarva-bhütänäm,
the friend of everyone. Therefore partiality cannot apply to the character of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who always maintains His position as the
supreme controller. The Lord killed Pütanä as an enemy, but because of His
being the supreme controller, she attained an exalted position as His mother.
Çréla Madhva Muni therefore remarks, käle käla-viñaye 'péçitä.
dehädi-käraëatvät suränékam iva sthitaà sattvam. Ordinarily a murderer is
hanged, and in the Manu-saàhitä it is said that a king bestows mercy upon a
murderer by killing him, thus saving him from various kinds of suffering.
Because of his sinful activities, such a murderer is killed by the mercy of the
king. Kåñëa, the supreme judge, deals with matters in a similar way because He
is the supreme controller. The conclusion, therefore, is that the Lord is
always impartial and always very kind to all living entities.
SB 7.2.6
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.29), samo 'haà
sarva-bhüteñu: the Lord is equal to all living entities. Since the demigods and
demons are both living entities, how is it possible that the Lord was partial
to one class of living beings and opposed to another? Actually it is not
possible for the Lord to be partial. Nonetheless, since the demigods, the
devotees, always strictly follow the Supreme Lord's orders, because of
sincerity they are victorious over the demons, who know that the Supreme Lord
is Viñëu but do not follow His instructions. Because of constantly remembering
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu, the demons generally attain
säyujya-mukti after death. The demon Hiraëyakaçipu accused the Lord of being
partial because the demigods worshiped Him, but in fact the Lord, like the
government, is not partial at all. The government is not partial to any
citizen, but if a citizen is law-abiding he receives abundant opportunities
from the state laws to live peacefully and fulfill his real interests.
SB 8.5.24
Another word, sura-priya, is also
significant. Although Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is equal
toward everyone, He is especially inclined toward His devotees (ye bhajanti tu
mäà bhaktyä mayi te teñu cäpy aham). The devotees are all demigods. There are
two kinds of men within this world. One is called the deva, and the other is
called the asura. The Padma Puräëa states:
dvau bhüta-sargau loke 'smin
daiva äsura eva ca
viñëu-bhaktaù småto daiva
äsuras tad-viparyayaù
Anyone who is a devotee of Lord Kåñëa is
called a deva, and others, even though they may be devotees of demigods, are
called asuras. Rävaëa, for example, was a great devotee of Lord Çiva, but he is
described as an asura. Similarly, Hiraëyakaçipu is described as a great devotee
of Lord Brahmä, yet he was also an asura. Therefore, only the devotee of Lord
Viñëu is called sura, not asura. Lord Kåñëa is very much pleased with His
devotees, even if they are not on the topmost stage of devotional service. Even
on the lower stages of devotional service one is transcendental, and if one
continues with devotional life, he continues to be a deva or sura. If one
continues in this way, Kåñëa will always be pleased with him and will give him
all instructions so that he may very easily return home, back to Godhead.
SB 8.12.47
The instruction of this narration concerning
the churning of the milk ocean is clearly manifested by the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Although He is equal to everyone, because of natural affection He
favors His devotees. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.29):
"I envy no one, nor am I partial to
anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a
friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him." This partiality of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is natural. A person cares for his children not
because of partiality but in a reciprocation of love. The children depend on
the father's affection, and the father affectionately maintains the children.
Similarly, because devotees do not know anything but the lotus feet of the
Lord, the Lord is always prepared to give protection to His devotees and
fulfill their desires. He therefore says, kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù
praëaçyati: [Bg. 9.31] "O son of Kunté, declare it boldly that My devotee
never perishes."
Even if one commits the most abominable
action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly
because he is properly situated in his determination.
SB 1.11.38
The Divinity and His associates are on the
same transcendental plane, and their glories are always sanctified by the
action of yogamäyä, or the internal potency of the Lord. The devotees of the
Lord are always transcendental, even if they are sometimes found to have fallen
in their behavior. The Lord emphatically declares in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30)
that even if an unalloyed devotee is found to be fallen due to a previous
material contamination, he is nevertheless to be accepted as fully
transcendental because of his being engaged cent percent in the devotional
service of the Lord. The Lord protects him always because of his rendering
service unto Him, and the fallen conditions are to be considered accidental and
temporary. They will vanish in no time.
SB 6.1.19
Parékñit Mahäräja had inquired from Çukadeva
Gosvämé how one can be saved from falling into the various conditions of
hellish life. In this verse Çukadeva Gosvämé answers that a soul who has
surrendered to Kåñëa certainly cannot go to naraka, hellish existence. To say
nothing of going there, even in his dreams he does not see Yamaräja or his
order carriers, who are able to take one there. In other words, if one wants to
save himself from falling into naraka, hellish life, he should fully surrender
to Kåñëa. The word sakåt is significant because it indicates that if one
sincerely surrenders to Kåñëa once, he is saved even if by chance he falls down
by committing sinful activities. Therefore Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.30):
"Even if one commits the most
abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be
considered saintly because he is properly situated." If one never for a
moment forgets Kåñëa, he is safe even if by chance he falls down by committing
sinful acts.
In the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä
(2.40) the Lord also says:
"In this endeavor there is no loss or
diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most
dangerous type of fear."
Elsewhere in the Gétä (6.40) the Lord says,
na hi kalyäëa-kåt kaçcid durgatià täta gacchati: "one who performs
auspicious activity is never overcome by evil." The highest kalyäëa
(auspicious) activity is to surrender to Kåñëa. That is the only path by which
to save oneself from falling down into hellish life. Çréla Prabodhänanda
Sarasvaté has confirmed this as follows:
kaivalyaà narakäyate
tri-daça-pür äkäça-puñpäyate
durdäntendriya-käla-sarpa-paöalé
protkhäta-daàñöräyate
viçvaà pürëa-sukhäyate
vidhi-mahendrädiç ca kéöäyate
yat-käruëya-kaöäkña-vaibhavavatäà
taà gauram eva stumaù
(Caitanya-candrämåta 5)
The sinful actions of one who has
surrendered unto Kåñëa are compared to a snake with its poison fangs removed
(protkhäta-daàñöräyate). Such a snake is no longer to be feared. Of course, one
should not commit sinful activities on the strength of having surrendered to
Kåñëa. However, even if one who has surrendered to Kåñëa happens to do
something sinful because of his former habits, such sinful actions no longer
have a destructive effect. Therefore one should adhere to the lotus feet of
Kåñëa very tightly and serve Him under the direction of the spiritual master.
Thus in all conditions one will be akuto-bhaya, free from fear.
SB 7.1.28-29
There are two ways of constantly thinking of
Kåñëa—as a devotee and as an enemy. A devotee, of course, by his knowledge and
tapasya, becomes free from fear and anger and becomes a pure devotee.
Similarly, an enemy, although thinking of Kåñëa inimically, thinks of Him
constantly and also becomes purified. This is confirmed elsewhere in
Bhagavad-gétä (9.30), where the Lord says:
"Even if one commits the most abominable
actions, if he engages in devotional service he is to be considered saintly
because he is properly situated." A devotee undoubtedly worships the Lord
with rapt attention. Similarly, if an enemy (suduräcäraù) always thinks of
Kåñëa, he also becomes a purified devotee. The example given here concerns the
grassworm that becomes beelike because of constantly thinking of the bee that
forces it to enter a hole. By always thinking of the bee in fear, the grassworm
starts to become a bee. This is a practical example. Lord Kåñëa appears within
this material world for two purposes—pariträëäya sädhünäà vinäçäya ca duñkåtäm:
[Bg. 4.8] to protect the devotees and annihilate the demons. The sädhus and
devotees certainly think of the Lord always, but duñkåtés, the demons like
Kaàsa and Çiçupäla, also think of Kåñëa in terms of killing Him. By thinking of
Kåñëa, both the demons and devotees attain liberation from the clutches of
material mäyä.
SB 7.7.51-52
Prahläda Mahäräja concludes that one can
become perfect by serving the Supreme Lord sincerely by all means. Material
elevation to life as a brähmaëa, demigod, åñi and so on are not causes for
developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the
Lord, his Kåñëa consciousness is complete. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.30):
"Even if one commits the most
abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be
considered saintly because he is properly situated." To develop unalloyed
love for Kåñëa is the perfection of life. Other processes may be helpful, but
if one does not develop his love for Kåñëa, these other processes are simply a
waste of time.
SB 10.7.31
Kåñëa conscious life means innocent
devotional life, and a sädhu is one who is fully devoted to Kåñëa. As confirmed
by Kåñëa in Bhagavad-gétä (9.30), bhajate mäà ananya-bhäk sädhur eva sa
mantavyaù: anyone fully attached to Kåñëa is a sädhu. Nanda Mahäräja and the
gopés and other cowherd men could not understand that Kåñëa was the Supreme
Personality of Godhead playing as a human child and that His life was not in
danger under any circumstances. Rather, because of their intense parental love
for Kåñëa, they thought that Kåñëa was an innocent child and had been saved by
the Supreme Lord.
He quickly becomes righteous and attains
lasting peace. O son of Kunté, declare it boldly that My devotee never
perishes.
SB 1.12.9
It is said in the Brahma-saàhitä (Ch. 5)
that the Supreme Lord Govinda, by His one plenary portion, enters into the halo
of the universe and distributes himself as Paramätmä, or the Supersoul, not
only within the heart of every living being, but also within every atom of the
material elements. Thus the Lord is all-pervading by His inconceivable potency,
and thus He entered the womb of Uttarä to save His beloved devotee Mahäräja
Parékñit. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.31) the Lord assured everyone that His
devotees are never to be vanquished. No one can kill a devotee of the Lord
because he is protected by the Lord, and no one can save a person whom the Lord
desires to kill. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He can both save and
kill as He likes.
SB 1.13.43
It is assured in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30-31)
that the Lord saves a pure devotee who has surrendered unto Him without
reservation from all sorts of reactions of sins, and there is no doubt about
this. There are hundreds of examples of reactions changed by the Lord in the
history of the world. If the Lord is able to change the reactions of one's past
deeds, then certainly He is not Himself bound by any action or reaction of His
own deeds. He is perfect and transcendental to all laws.
SB 2.6.34
na bhäraté me 'ìga
måñopalakñyate
na vai kvacin me manaso måñä
gatiù
na me håñékäëi patanty
asat-pathe
yan me hådautkaëöhyavatä dhåto
hariù
SYNONYMS
na—never; bhäraté—statements;
me—mind;
aìga—O
Närada; måñä—untruth; upalakñyate—prove to be; na—never;
vai—certainly;
kvacit—at
any time; me—mine; manasaù—of the mind; måñä—untruth;
gatiù—progress;
na—nor;
me—mine;
håñékäëi—senses;
patanti—degrades;
asat-pathe—in
temporary matter; yat—because; me—mine; hådä—heart; autkaëöhyavatä—by
great earnestness; dhåtaù—caught hold of; hariù—the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
TRANSLATION
O Närada, because I have caught hold of
the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal,
whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my
mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to
matter.
PURPORT
Lord Brahmä is the original speaker of Vedic
wisdom to Närada, and Närada is the distributor of transcendental knowledge all
over the world through his various disciples, like Vyäsadeva and others. The
followers of Vedic wisdom accept the statements of Brahmäjé as gospel truth,
and transcendental knowledge is thus being distributed all over the world by
the process of disciplic succession from time immemorial, since the beginning
of the creation. Lord Brahmä is the perfect liberated living being within the
material world, and any sincere student of transcendental knowledge must accept
the words and statements of Brahmäjé as infallible. The Vedic knowledge is
infallible because it comes down directly from the Supreme Lord unto the heart
of Brahmä, and since he is the most perfect living being, Brahmäjé is always
correct to the letter. And this is because Lord Brahmä is a great devotee of
the Lord who has earnestly accepted the lotus feet of the Lord as the supreme
truth. In the Brahma-saàhitä, which is compiled by Brahmäjé, he repeats the
aphorism govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi: ** "I am a worshiper of
the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, the primeval Lord." So
whatever he says, whatever he thinks, and whatever he does normally in his mood
are to be accepted as truth because of his direct and very intimate connection
with Govinda, the primeval Lord. Çré Govinda, who pleasingly accepts the loving
transcendental service of His devotees, gives all protection to the words and
actions of His devotees. The Lord declares in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.31),
kaunteya pratijänéhi: "O son of Kunté, please declare it." The Lord
asks Arjuna to declare, and why? Because sometimes the declaration of Govinda
Himself may seem contradictory to mundane creatures, but the mundaner will
never find any contradiction in the words of the Lord's devotees. The devotees
are especially protected by the Lord so that they may remain infallible.
Therefore the process of devotional service always begins in the service of the
devotee who appears in disciplic succession. The devotees are always liberated,
but that does not mean that they are impersonal. The Lord is a person
eternally, and the devotee of the Lord is also a person eternally. Because the
devotee has his sense organs even at the liberated stage, he is therefore a
person always. And because the devotee's service is accepted by the Lord in
full reciprocation, the Lord is also a person in His complete spiritual
embodiment. The devotee's senses, being engaged in the service of the Lord,
never go astray under the attraction of false material enjoyment. The plans of
the devotee never go in vain, and all this is due to the faithful attachment of
the devotee for the service of the Lord. This is the standard of perfection and
liberation. Anyone, beginning from Brahmäjé down to the human being, is at once
put on the path of liberation simply by his attachment in great earnestness for
the Supreme Lord, Çré Kåñëa, the primeval Lord. The Lord affirms this in the
Bhagavad-gétä (14.26):
mäà ca yo 'vyabhicäreëa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guëän samatétyaitän
brahma-bhüyäya kalpate
Anyone, therefore, who is earnestly serious
in heart and soul about being in intimate touch with the Personality of Godhead
in the relationship of transcendental loving service will always be infallible
in words and action. The reason is that the Supreme Lord is Absolute Truth, and
anything earnestly dovetailed with the Absolute Truth attains the same
transcendental quality. On the other hand, any amount of mental speculation on
the strength of material science and knowledge without any bona fide touch with
the Absolute Truth is sure to be a mundane untruth and failure, simply due to
not being in touch with the Absolute Truth. Such godless, unfaithful words and
actions, however materially enriched, are never to be trusted. That is the
purport of this important verse. A grain of devotion is more valuable than tons
of faithlessness.
SB 3.16.6
Real purification can take place in human
society if its members take to Kåñëa consciousness. This is clearly stated in
all Vedic literature. Anyone who takes to Kåñëa consciousness in all sincerity,
even if he is not very advanced in good behavior, is purified. A devotee can be
recruited from any section of human society, although it is not expected that
everyone in all segments of society is well behaved. As stated in this verse
and in many places in Bhagavad-gétä, even if one is not born in a brähmaëa
family, or even if he is born in a family of caëòälas, if he simply takes to
Kåñëa consciousness he is immediately purified. In Bhagavad-gétä, Ninth
Chapter, verses 30-32, it is clearly stated that even though a man is not well
behaved, if he simply takes to Kåñëa consciousness he is understood to be a
saintly person. As long as a person is in this material world he has two
different relationships in his dealings with others—one relationship pertains
to the body, and the other pertains to the spirit. As far as bodily affairs or
social activities are concerned, although a person is purified on the spiritual
platform, it is sometimes seen that he acts in terms of his bodily
relationships. If a devotee born in the family of a caëòäla (the lowest caste)
is sometimes found engaged in his habitual activities, he is not to be
considered a caëòäla. In other words, a Vaiñëava should not be evaluated in
terms of his body. The çästra states that no one should think the Deity in the
temple to be made of wood or stone, and no one should think that a person
coming from a lower-caste family who has taken to Kåñëa consciousness is still
of the same low caste. These attitudes are forbidden because anyone who takes
to Kåñëa consciousness is understood to be fully purified. He is at least
engaged in the process of purification, and if he sticks to the principle of
Kåñëa consciousness he will very soon be fully purified. The conclusion is that
if one takes to Kåñëa consciousness with all seriousness, he is to be
understood as already purified, and Kåñëa is ready to give him protection by
all means. The Lord assures herein that He is ready to give protection to His
devotee even if there is need to cut off part of His own body.
SB 6.1.58-60
In Kali-yuga, a drunk, half-naked woman
embracing a drunk man is a very common sight, especially in the Western
countries, and restraining oneself after seeing such things is very difficult. Nevertheless,
if by the grace of Kåñëa one adheres to the regulative principles and chants
the Hare Kåñëa mantra, Kåñëa will certainly protect him. Indeed, Kåñëa says
that His devotee is never vanquished (kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù
praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]). Therefore all the disciples practicing Kåñëa
consciousness should obediently follow the regulative principles and remain
fixed in chanting the holy name of the Lord. Then there need be no fear.
Otherwise one's position is very dangerous, especially in this Kali-yuga.
SB 6.3.18
Yamaräja has specifically described the
qualities of the Viñëudütas to convince his own servants not to be envious of
them. Yamaräja warned the Yamadütas that the Viñëudütas are worshiped with
respectful obeisances by the demigods and are always very alert to protect the
devotees of the Lord from the hands of enemies, from natural disturbances and
from all dangerous conditions in this material world. Sometimes the members of
the Kåñëa Consciousness Society are afraid of the impending danger of world war
and ask what would happen to them if a war should occur. In all kinds of
danger, they should be confident of their protection by the Viñëudütas or the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (kaunteya pratijänéhi
na me bhaktaù praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]). Material danger is not meant for
devotees. This is also confirmed in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Padaà padaà yad vipadäà
na teñäm: [SB 10.14.58] in this material world there are dangers at every step,
but they are not meant for devotees who have fully surrendered unto the lotus
feet of the Lord. The pure devotees of Lord Viñëu may rest assured of the
Lord's protection, and as long as they are in this material world they should
fully engage in devotional service by preaching the cult of Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu and Lord Kåñëa, namely the Hare Kåñëa movement of Kåñëa
consciousness.
SB 7.7.10
There have been many instances in which
demons or nondevotees have attempted to kill a devotee, but they have never
been able to destroy a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
Lord promises in Bhagavad-gétä (9.31), kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù
praëaçyati. This is a declaration by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that
His devotee cannot be killed by demons. Prahläda Mahäräja is the vivid example
of the truth of this promise. Närada Muni told the King of heaven, "it
would be impossible for you to kill the child, even though you are demigods,
and certainly it would be impossible for others."
SB 7.8.6
The relationship between a pure devotee and
the Supreme Personality of Godhead is extremely relishable. A devotee never
claims to be very powerful himself; instead, he fully surrenders to the lotus
feet of Kåñëa, being confident that in all dangerous conditions Kåñëa will
protect His devotee. Kåñëa Himself says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.31), kaunteya
pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati: "O son of Kunté, declare boldly that
My devotee never perishes." The Lord requested Arjuna to declare this
instead of declaring it Himself because sometimes Kåñëa changes His view and
therefore people might not believe Him. Thus Kåñëa asked Arjuna to declare that
a devotee of the Lord is never vanquished.
SB 7.8.17
When Hiraëyakaçipu asked Prahläda Mahäräja,
"Where is your Lord? Is He present in this pillar?" Prahläda Mahäräja
fearlessly replied, "Yes, my Lord is present everywhere." Therefore,
to convince Hiraëyakaçipu that the statement of Prahläda Mahäräja was
unmistakably true, the Lord appeared from the pillar. The Lord appeared as half
lion and half man so that Hiraëyakaçipu could not understand whether the great
giant was a lion or a human being. To substantiate Prahläda's statement, the
Lord proved that His devotee, as declared in Bhagavad-gétä, is never vanquished
(kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]). Prahläda Mahäräja's
demoniac father had repeatedly threatened to kill Prahläda, but Prahläda was
confident that he could not be killed, since he was protected by the Supreme
Lord. By appearing from the pillar, the Lord encouraged His devotee, saying in
effect, "Don't worry. I am present here." By manifesting His form as
Nåsiàhadeva, the Lord also preserved the truth of Lord Brahmä's promise that
Hiraëyakaçipu was not to be killed by any animal or any man. The Lord appeared
in a form that could not be said to be fully a man or a lion.
SB 7.9.19
Through parental care, through remedies for
different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in
the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds
of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures
for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no
permanent benefit. Despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot
be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one
can help, including the parents. Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one
who takes shelter of the Lord is protected. This is guaranteed. As the Lord
says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.31), kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati:
"O son of Kunté, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes."
Therefore, unless one is protected by the mercy of the Lord, no remedial
measure can act effectively. One should consequently depend fully on the causeless
mercy of the Lord. Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course
accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 7.9.29
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is
undoubtedly equal to everyone. He has no friend and no enemy, but as one
desires benefits from the Lord, the Lord is very pleased to award them. The
lower and higher positions of different living entities are due to their
desires, for the Lord, being equal to all, fulfills everyone's desires. The
killing of Hiraëyakaçipu and saving of Prahläda Mahäräja also strictly followed
this law of the supreme controller's activities. When Prahläda's mother,
Hiraëyakaçipu's wife, Kayädhu, was under the protection of Närada, she prayed
for the protection of her son from the enemy, and Närada Muni gave assurance
that Prahläda Mahäräja would always be saved from the enemy's hands. Thus when
Hiraëyakaçipu was going to kill Prahläda Mahäräja, the Lord saved Prahläda to
fulfill His promise in Bhagavad-gétä (kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù
praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]) and to prove true the words of Närada. The Lord can
fulfill many purposes through one action. Thus the killing of Hiraëyakaçipu and
the saving of Prahläda were enacted simultaneously to prove the truthfulness of
the Lord's devotee and the fidelity of the Lord Himself to His own purpose. The
Lord acts only to satisfy the desires of His devotees; otherwise He has nothing
to do. As confirmed in the Vedic language, na tasya käryaà karaëaà ca vidyate:
the Lord has nothing to do personally, for everything is done through His
different potencies (paräsya çaktir vividhaiva çrüyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65,
purport]). The Lord has multifarious energies, through which everything is
done. Thus when He personally does something, it is only to satisfy His
devotee. The Lord is known as bhakta-vatsala because He very much favors His
devoted servant.
SB 7.10.65-66
As stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (12.13.16):
vaiñëavänäà yathä çambhuù: Lord Çiva is the best of the Vaiñëavas, the devotees
of Lord Kåñëa. Indeed, he is one of the mahäjanas, the twelve authorities on
Vaiñëava philosophy (svayambhür näradaù çambhuù kumäraù kapilo manuù, etc. [SB
6.3.20]). Lord Kåñëa is always prepared to help all the mahäjanas and devotees
in every respect (kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]).
Although Lord Çiva is very powerful, he lost a battle to the asuras, and
therefore he was morose and disappointed. However, because he is one of the
chief devotees of the Lord, the Lord personally equipped him with all the
paraphernalia for war. The devotee, therefore, must serve the Lord sincerely,
and Kåñëa is always in the background to protect him and, if need be, to equip
him fully to fight with his enemy. For devotees there is no scarcity of
knowledge or material requisites for spreading the Kåñëa consciousness
movement.
SB 9.4.48
As a pure devotee, Mahäräja Ambaréña,
although in such danger, did not move an inch from his position, nor did he
request the Supreme Personality of Godhead to give him protection. He was fixed
in understanding, and it was certain that he was simply thinking of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead in the core of his heart. A devotee is never fearful of
his death, for he meditates on the Supreme Personality of Godhead always, not
for any material profit, but as his duty. The Lord, however, knows how to
protect His devotee. As indicated by the words präg diñöam, the Lord knew
everything. Therefore, before anything happened, He had already arranged for
His cakra to protect Mahäräja Ambaréña. This protection is offered to a devotee
even from the very beginning of his devotional service. Kaunteya pratijänéhi na
me bhaktaù praëaçyati (Bg. 9.31). If one simply begins devotional service, he
is immediately protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also
confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (18.66): ahaà tväà sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi.
Protection begins immediately. The Lord is so kind and merciful that He gives
the devotee proper guidance and all protection, and thus the devotee very
peacefully makes solid progress in Kåñëa consciousness without outward
disturbances. A serpent may be very angry and ready to bite, but the furious
snake is helpless when faced by a blazing fire in the forest. Although an enemy
of a devotee may be very strong, he is compared to an angry serpent before the
fire of devotional service.
SB 10.2.33
Devotees generally do not fall down, but if
circumstantially they do, the Lord, because of their strong attachment to Him,
gives them protection in all circumstances. Thus even if devotees fall down,
they are still strong enough to traverse the heads of their enemies. We have
actually seen that our Kåñëa consciousness movement has many opponents, such as
the "deprogrammers," who instituted a strong legal case against the
devotees. We thought that this case would take a long time to settle, but
because the devotees were protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we
unexpectedly won the case in one day. Thus a case that was expected to continue
for years was settled in a day because of the protection of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, who has promised in Bhagavad-gétä (9.31), kaunteya
pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati: "O son of Kunté, declare it boldly
that My devotee never perishes." In history there are many instances of
devotees like Citraketu, Indradyumna and Mahäräja Bharata who circumstantially
fell down but were still protected. Mahäräja Bharata, for example, because of
his attachment to a deer, thought of the deer at the time of death, and
therefore in his next life he became a deer (yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà tyajaty
ante kalevaram [Bg. 8.6]). Because of protection by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, however, the deer remembered his relationship with the Lord and next
took birth in a good brahminical family and performed devotional service
(çucénäà çrématäà gehe yoga-bhrañöo 'bhijäyate [Bg. 6.41]). Similarly,
Citraketu fell down and became a demon, Våträsura, but he too was protected.
Thus even if one falls down from the path of bhakti-yoga, one is ultimately
saved. If a devotee is strongly situated in devotional service, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead has promised to protect him (kaunteya pratijänéhi na me
bhaktaù praëaçyati [Bg. 9.31]). But even if a devotee circumstantially falls
down, he is protected by Mädhava.
The word Mädhava is significant. Mä, mother
Lakñmé, the mother of all opulences, is always with the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and if a devotee is in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
all the opulences of the Lord are ready to help him.
Wherever there is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Kåñëa, and His devotee Arjuna, Pärtha, there is victory, opulence,
extraordinary power and morality. The opulences of a devotee are not a result of
karma-käëòa-vicära. A devotee is always protected by all of the Supreme Lord's
opulences, of which no one can deprive him (teñäà nityäbhiyuktänäà yoga-kñemaà
vahämy aham [Bg. 9.22]). Thus a devotee cannot be defeated by any opponents. A
devotee, therefore, should not deviate knowingly from the path of devotion. The
adherent devotee is assured all protection from the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
O son of Påthä, those who take shelter in Me,
though they be of lower birth—women, vaiçyas [merchants] and çüdras
[workers]—can attain the supreme destination.
SB 1.1.15
In Bhagavad-gétä it is said that any person,
regardless of birth as çüdra, woman, or merchant, can take shelter of the lotus
feet of the Lord and by so doing can return to Godhead. To take shelter of the
lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter of the pure devotees.
SB 1.11.19
In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.32) the Lord says,
"O son of Påthä, even the low-born caëòälas and those who are born in a
family of unbelievers, and even the prostitutes, shall attain perfection of
life if they take shelter of unalloyed devotional service to Me, because in the
path of devotional service there are no impediments due to degraded birth and
occupation. The path is open for everyone who agrees to follow it."
It appears that the prostitutes of Dvärakä,
who were so eager to meet the Lord, were all His unalloyed devotees, and thus
they were all on the path of salvation according to the above version of the
Bhagavad-gétä. Therefore, the only reformation that is necessary in society is
to make an organized effort to turn the citizens into devotees of the Lord, and
thus all good qualities of the denizens of heaven will overtake them in their
own way. On the other hand, those who are nondevotees have no good qualifications
whatsoever, however they may be materially advanced. The difference is that the
devotees of the Lord are on the path of liberation, whereas the nondevotees are
on the path of further entanglement in material bondage. The criterion of
advancement of civilization is whether the people are educated and advanced on
the path of salvation.
SB 2.4.18
According to the cult of devotion, generally
known as the Vaiñëava cult, there is no bar against anyone's advancing in the
matter of God realization. A Vaiñëava is powerful enough to turn into a
Vaiñëava even the Kiräta, etc., as above mentioned. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.32)
it is said by the Lord that there is no bar to becoming a devotee of the Lord
(even for those who are lowborn, or women, çüdras or vaiçyas), and by becoming
a devotee everyone is eligible to return home, back to Godhead. The only
qualification is that one take shelter of a pure devotee of the Lord who has
thorough knowledge in the transcendental science of Kåñëa (Bhagavad-gétä and
Çrémad-Bhägavatam). Anyone from any part of the world who becomes well
conversant in the science of Kåñëa becomes a pure devotee and a spiritual
master for the general mass of people and may reclaim them by purification of
heart. Though a person be even the most sinful man, he can at once be purified
by systematic contact with a pure Vaiñëava.
SB 2.9.36
Therefore there is no need to seek properly
qualified candidates for discharging devotional service to the Lord. Let them
be either well behaved or ill trained, let them be either learned or fools, let
them be either grossly attached or in the renounced order of life, let them be
liberated souls or desirous of salvation, let them be inexpert in the discharge
of devotional service or expert in the same, all of them can be elevated to the
supreme position by discharging devotional service under the proper guidance.
This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30, 32) as follows:
Even if a person is fully addicted to all
sorts of sinful acts, if he happens to be engaged in the loving transcendental
service of the Lord under proper guidance, he is to be considered the most
perfect holy man without a doubt. And thus any person, whatsoever and whosoever
he or she may be—even the fallen woman, the less intelligent laborer, the dull
mercantile man, or even a man lower than all these—can attain the highest
perfection of life by going back home, back to Godhead, provided he or she
takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord in all earnestness. This sincere
earnestness is the only qualification that can lead one to the highest
perfectional stage of life, and unless and until such real earnestness is
aroused, there is a difference between cleanliness or uncleanliness, learning
or nonlearning, in the material estimation. Fire is always fire, and thus if
someone touches the fire, knowingly or unknowingly, the fire will act in its
own way without discrimination. The principle is: harir harati päpäni
duñöa-cittair api småtaù. The all-powerful Lord can purify the devotee of all
sinful reactions, just as the sun can sterilize all sorts of infections by its
powerful rays.
SB 4.4.17
The instruction set forth here in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam is that one should not tolerate at any cost the activities of
a person who vilifies or blasphemes an authority. If one is a brähmaëa he
should not give up his body because by doing so he would be responsible for
killing a brähmaëa; therefore a brähmaëa should leave the place or block his
ears so that he will not hear the blasphemy. If one happens to be a kñatriya he
has the power to punish any man; therefore a kñatriya should at once cut out
the tongue of the vilifier and kill him. But as far as the vaiçyas and çüdras
are concerned, they should immediately give up their bodies. Saté decided to
give up her body because she thought herself to be among the çüdras and
vaiçyas. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.32), striyo vaiçyäs tathä çüdräù. Women,
laborers and the mercantile class are on the same level. Thus since it is
recommended that vaiçyas and çüdras should immediately give up their bodies
upon hearing blasphemy of an exalted person like Lord Çiva, she decided to give
up her life.
SB 7.9.6
On the strength of these verses from
Bhagavad-gétä, it is evident that although Prahläda Mahäräja was born in a
demoniac family and although virtually demoniac blood flowed within his body,
he was cleansed of all material bodily contamination because of his exalted
position as a devotee. In other words, such impediments on the spiritual path
could not stop him from progressing, for he was directly in touch with the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are physically and mentally
contaminated by atheism cannot be situated on the transcendental platform, but
as soon as one is freed from material contamination he is immediately fit to be
situated in devotional service.
SB 7.15.67
The ultimate goal of life is Viñëu, Kåñëa.
Therefore, either by Vedic regulative principles or by materialistic
activities, if one tries to reach the destination of Kåñëa, that is the
perfection of life. Kåñëa should be the target; everyone should try to reach
Kåñëa, from any position of life.
Kåñëa accepts service from anyone. The Lord
says in Bhagavad-gétä (9.32):
"O son of Påthä, those who take shelter
in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiçyas [merchants], as well as
çüdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination." It does not matter
what one's position is; if one aims at reaching Kåñëa by performing his
occupational duty under the direction of the spiritual master, his life is
successful. It is not that only sannyäsés, vänaprasthas and brahmacärés can
reach Kåñëa. A gåhastha, a householder, can also reach Kåñëa, provided he
becomes a pure devotee without material desires. An example of this is cited in
the next verse.
SB 7.15.73
The Supreme Personality of Godhead says in
Bhagavad-gétä (9.32):
"O son of Påthä, those who take shelter
in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiçyas [merchants], as well as
çüdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination." It doesn't matter
whether a person is born as a çüdra, a woman or a vaiçya; if he associates with
devotees repeatedly or always (sädhu-saìgena), he can be elevated to the
highest perfection. Närada Muni is explaining this in relation to his own life.
The saìkértana movement is important, for regardless of whether one is a çüdra,
vaiçya, mleccha, yavana or whatever, if one associates with a pure devotee,
follows his instructions and serves the pure devotee, his life is successful.
This is bhakti. Änukülyena kåñëänuçélanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. Bhakti consists
of serving Kåñëa and His devotees very favorably. Anyäbhiläñitä-çünyam
[Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu 1.1.11]. If one has no desire other than to serve Kåñëa
and His devotee, then his life is successful. This is explained by Närada Muni
through this practical example from his own life.
SB 9.6.55
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (9.32), striyo
vaiçyäs tathä çüdräs te 'pi yänti paräà gatim. Women are not considered very
powerful in following spiritual principles, but if a woman is fortunate enough
to get a suitable husband who is spiritually advanced and if she always engages
in his service, she also gets the same benefit as her husband. Here it is
clearly said that the wives of Saubhari Muni also entered the spiritual world
by the influence of their husband. They were unfit, but because they were
faithful followers of their husband, they also entered the spiritual world with
him. Thus a woman should be a faithful servant of her husband, and if the
husband is spiritually advanced, the woman will automatically get the
opportunity to enter the spiritual world.
How much more this is so of the righteous
brähmaëas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this
temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me.
SB 10.6.1
Whenever there is danger, the pure devotee
thinks of the protection and shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This is also advised in Bhagavad-gétä (9.33): anityam asukhaà lokam imaà präpya
bhajasva mäm. In this material world there is danger at every step (padaà padaà
yad vipadäm [SB 10.14.58]). Therefore a devotee has no other course than to
take shelter of the Lord at every step.
Engage your mind always in thinking of Me,
become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely
absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.
SB 3.21.31
Actually, to be one with the Supreme Lord
means to be one with the interest of the Lord. Becoming one with the Supreme
Lord does not imply becoming as great as the Supreme Lord. It is impossible. The
part is never equal to the whole. The living entity is always a minute part.
Therefore his oneness with the Lord is that he is interested in the one
interest of the Lord. The Lord wants every living entity to always think about
Him, to be His devotee and always worship Him. This is clearly stated in
Bhagavad-gétä: man-manä bhava mad-bhaktaù [Bg. 9.34]. Kåñëa wants everyone
always to think of Him. Everyone should always offer obeisances to Kåñëa. This
is the will of the Supreme Lord, and devotees should try to fulfill His desire.
Since the Lord is unlimited, His desire is also unlimited. There is no
stoppage, and therefore the service of the devotee is also unlimited. In the
transcendental world there is unlimited competition between the Lord and the
servitor. The Lord wants to fulfill His desires unlimitedly, and the devotee
also serves Him to fulfill His unlimited desires. There is an unlimited oneness
of interest between the Lord and His devotee.
I am the source of all spiritual and material
worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in
My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
SB 2.6.23
For sacrificial performances many
ingredients were in need, especially animals. The animal sacrifice is never
meant for killing the animal, but for achieving the successful result of the
sacrifice. The animal offered in the sacrificial fire is, so to speak,
destroyed, but the next moment it is given a new life by dint of the Vedic
hymns chanted by the expert priest. When such an expert priest is not
available, the animal sacrifice in the fire of the sacrificial altar is
forbidden. Thus Brahmä created even the sacrificial ingredients out of the
bodily limbs of the Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu, which means that the cosmic order was
created by Brahmä himself. Also, nothing is created out of nothing, but
everything is created from the person of the Lord. The Lord says in the
Bhagavad-gétä (10.8), ahaà sarvasya prabhavo mattaù sarvaà pravartate.
"Everything is made from My bodily limbs, and I am therefore the original
source of all creations."
SB 3.27.6
Bhävena, or bhäva, is a very important
factor in the practice of yoga or in any spiritual process. Bhäva is explained
in Bhagavad-gétä (10.8). Budhä bhäva-samanvitäù: one should be absorbed in the
thought of love of Kåñëa. When one knows that Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is the source of everything and that everything emanates from Him
(ahaà sarvasya prabhavaù [Bg. 10.8]), then one understands the Vedänta aphorism
janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1] ("the original source of everything"),
and then he can become absorbed in bhäva, or the preliminary stage of love of
Godhead.
SB 6.9.26-27
Both the prakåti and puruña, which are
inferior and superior energies, are emanations from the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. As explained in Bhagavad-gétä (gäm äviçya [Bg. 15.13]), the Lord
enters the prakåti, and then the prakåti creates different manifestations. The
prakåti is not independent or beyond His energies. Väsudeva, Lord Çré Kåñëa, is
the original cause of everything. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä
(10.8):
"I am the source of all spiritual and
material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this
engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts." In
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (2.9.33) the Lord also says, aham eväsam evägre: "Only I
existed before the creation." This is confirmed in the Brahmäëòa Puräëa as
follows:
To generate the universe, the Lord acts
indirectly as the puruña and directly as the prakåti. Because both energies
emanate from Lord Väsudeva, the all-pervasive Supreme Personality of Godhead,
He is known as both prakåti and puruña. Therefore Väsudeva is the cause of
everything (sarva-käraëa-käraëam [Bs. 5.1])
SB 7.14.36
In Bhagavad-gétä (10.8) the Lord says:
"I am the source of all spiritual and
material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this
engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts."
People are very much anxious to give service to other living entities,
especially to the poor, but although they have manufactured many ways to give
such help, actually they are expert in killing the poor living entities. This
sort of service or mercy is not recommended in the Vedic wisdom. As stated in a
previous verse, it has been decided (niruktam) by expert saintly persons that
Kåñëa is the root of everything and that worshiping Kåñëa is worshiping
everyone, just as supplying water to the root of a tree means satisfying all of
its branches and twigs.
SB 8.24.50
The conditioned soul, being wrapped in
ignorance and therefore not knowing the goal of life, accepts a guru who can
juggle words and make some display of magic that is wonderful to a fool.
Sometimes a foolish person accepts someone as a guru because he can manufacture
a small quantity of gold by mystic yogic power. Because such a disciple has a
poor fund of knowledge, he cannot judge whether the manufacture of gold is the
criterion for a guru. Why should one not accept the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Kåñëa, from whom unlimited numbers of gold mines come into being? Ahaà
sarvasya prabhavo mattaù sarvaà pravartate [Bg. 10.8]. All the gold mines are
created by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, why
should one accept a magician who can manufacture only a small portion of gold?
Such gurus are accepted by those who are blind, not knowing the goal of life.
Mahäräja Satyavrata, however, knew the goal of life. He knew the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and therefore he accepted the Lord as his guru. Either
the Supreme Lord or His representative can become guru. The Lord says, mäm eva
ye prapadyante mäyäm etäà taranti te: [Bg. 7.14] "One can get relief from
the clutches of mäyä as soon as he surrenders unto Me." Therefore it is
the guru's business to instruct his disciple to surrender to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead if he wants relief from the material clutches. This is
the symptom of the guru. This same principle was instructed by Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu: yäre dekha, täre kaha 'kåñëa'-upadeça [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. In other
words, one is advised not to accept a guru who does not follow the path of
instruction given by Lord Kåñëa.
The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me,
their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction
and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.
SB 2.3.12
According to Bhagavad-gétä (10.9) the
characteristics of pure devotees are wonderful. The complete functional
activities of a pure devotee are always engaged in the service of the Lord, and
thus the pure devotees exchange feelings of ecstasy between themselves and
relish transcendental bliss. This transcendental bliss is experienced even in
the stage of devotional practice (sädhana-avasthä), if properly undertaken
under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. And in the mature stage the
developed transcendental feeling culminates in realization of the particular
relationship with the Lord by which a living entity is originally constituted
(up to the relationship of conjugal love with the Lord, which is estimated to
be the highest transcendental bliss). Thus bhakti-yoga, being the only means of
God realization, is called kaivalya. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé quotes the Vedic
version (eko näräyaëo devaù, parävaräëäà parama äste kaivalya-saàjïitaù) in
this connection and establishes that Näräyaëa, the Personality of Godhead, is
known as kaivalya, and the means which enables one to approach the Lord is
called the kaivalya-panthä, or the only means of attainment of Godhead.
To those who are constantly devoted to serving
Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
SB 1.3.38
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä, the Lord Himself
guides the pure devotees toward the path of realization due to their constant
engagement in the loving service of the Lord in spontaneous affection. That is
the secret of entering into the kingdom of God. Fruitive activities and
speculation are no qualifications for entering.
SB 1.9.32
It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä by the
Lord Himself that He gives His instruction from within the heart of a pure
devotee who is constantly engaged in the service of the Lord. Such instruction
is given not for any material purpose but only for going back home, back to
Godhead (Bg. 10.10). For the ordinary man who wants to lord it over material
nature, the Lord not only sanctions and becomes a witness of activities, but He
never gives the nondevotee instructions for going back to Godhead. That is the
difference in dealings by the Lord with different living beings, both the
devotee and the nondevotee. He is leader of all the living beings, as the king
of the state rules both the prisoners and the free citizens. But His dealings
are different in terms of devotee and nondevotee.
SB 2.4.21
This humbleness of the pure devotee, who is
one hundred percent engaged in His service, puts the devotee of the Lord in a
trance by which to realize everything, because to the sincere devotee of the
Lord, the Lord reveals Himself, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.10). The
Lord, being the Lord of intelligence in everyone (even in the nondevotee),
favors His devotee with proper intelligence so that automatically the pure
devotee is enlightened with the factual truth about the Lord and His different
energies. The Lord is revealed not by one's speculative power or by one's
verbal jugglery over the Absolute Truth. Rather, He reveals Himself to a
devotee when He is fully satisfied by the devotee's service attitude. Çukadeva
Gosvämé is not a mental speculator or compromiser of the theory of "as
many ways, as many conclusions." Rather, he prays to the Lord only, invoking
His transcendental pleasure. That is the way of knowing the Lord.
SB 2.9.37
In this stage of full satisfaction and
detachment from the sensory world, one can know the mystery of the science of
God with all its confidential intricacies, and not by grammar or academic
speculation. Because Brahmä qualified himself for such reception, the Lord was
pleased to disclose the purpose of Çrémad-Bhägavatam. This direct instruction
by the Lord to any devotee who is detached from the world of sense
gratification is possible, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.10).
Unto the devotees who are constantly engaged
in the Lord's transcendental loving service (préti-pürvakam), the Lord, out of
His causeless mercy upon the devotee, gives direct instructions so that the
devotee may make accurate progress on the path returning home, back to Godhead.
One should not, therefore, try to understand these four verses of
Çrémad-Bhägavatam by mental speculation. Rather, by direct perception of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is able to know all about His abode,
Vaikuëöha, as was seen and experienced by Brahmäjé. Such Vaikuëöha realization
is possible by any devotee of the Lord situated in the transcendental position
as a result of devotional service.
SB 3.5.4
As already explained in the First Canto of
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the Absolute Truth is realized in three different
phases—although they are one and the same—in terms of the knower's capacity to
understand. The most capable transcendentalist is the pure devotee of the Lord,
who is without any tinge of fruitive actions or philosophical speculation. By
devotional service only does one's heart become completely purified from all
material coverings like karma, jïäna and yoga. Only in such a purified stage
does the Lord, who is seated in everyone's heart with the individual soul, give
instruction so that the devotee can reach the ultimate destination of going
back home, back to Godhead. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10): teñäà
satata-yuktänäà bhajatäm. Only when the Lord is satisfied with the devotional
service of the devotee does He impart knowledge, as He did for Arjuna and
Uddhava.
The jïänés, yogés and karmés cannot expect
this direct cooperation of the Lord. They are not able to satisfy the Lord by
transcendental loving service, nor do they believe in such service to the Lord.
SB 4.9.4
Every devotee wants to chant the
transcendental qualities of the Lord. Devotees are always interested in hearing
about the Lord's transcendental qualities, and they are always eager to glorify
these qualities, but sometimes they feel inconvenienced by humbleness. The
Personality of Godhead, being situated in everyone's heart, specifically gives
a devotee intelligence to describe Him. It is therefore understood that when a
devotee writes or speaks about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his words
are dictated by the Lord from within. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä, Tenth
Chapter: to those who constantly engage in the transcendental loving service of
the Lord, the Lord, from within, dictates what to do next in order to serve
Him. When Dhruva Mahäräja felt hesitant, not knowing how to describe the Lord
for want of sufficient experience, the Lord, out of His causeless mercy,
touched His conchshell to Dhruva's forehead, and he was transcendentally inspired.
This transcendental inspiration is called brahma-maya because when one is thus
inspired, the sound he produces exactly corresponds to the sound vibration of
the Vedas. This is not the ordinary sound vibration of this material world.
Therefore the sound vibration of the Hare Kåñëa mantra, although presented in
the ordinary alphabet, should not be taken as mundane or material.
SB 4.9.17
Dhruva Mahäräja was cognizant of the
defective nature of his own devotional service. Pure devotional service is
without material form and is not covered by mental speculation or fruitive
activities. Pure devotional service is therefore called ahaituké, unmotivated.
Dhruva Mahäräja knew that he had come to worship the Lord in devotional service
with a motive—to get the kingdom of his father. Such an adulterated devotee can
never see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. He therefore felt
very grateful for the causeless mercy of the Lord. The Lord is so merciful that
not only does He fulfill the desires of a devotee who is driven by ignorance
and desires for material benefit, but He also gives such a devotee all
protection, just as a cow gives milk to a newly born calf. In the Bhagavad-gétä
it is said that the Lord gives intelligence to the constantly engaged devotee so
that he may gradually approach the Lord without difficulty. A devotee must be
very sincere in his devotional service; then, although there may be many things
wrong on the devotee's part, Kåñëa will guide him and gradually elevate him to
the highest position of devotional service.
SB 4.20.20
Here the words suhåt satäm are very
significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always very inclined toward
His devotee and is always thinking of the devotee's well-being. This is not
partiality. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä, the Lord is equal to everyone (samo
'haà sarva-bhüteñu [Bg. 9.29]), but to one who particularly engages in His
service, He is very much inclined. In another place, the Lord says that a
devotee always exists in His heart, and He also exists always in the heart of
the devotee.
The special inclination of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead for His pure devotee is not unnatural, nor is it
partiality. For example, sometimes a father has several children, but he has
special affection for one child who is very much inclined toward him. This is
explained in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10):
Those who constantly engage in the
devotional service of the Lord in love and affection are directly in contact
with the Supreme Personality of Godhead sitting as the Supersoul in everyone's
heart. The Lord is not far away from the devotee. He is always in everyone's
heart, but only the devotee can realize the Lord's presence, and thus he is
directly connected, and he takes instruction from the Lord at every moment.
Therefore, there is no chance of a devotee's being in error, nor is there any
partiality on the part of the Lord for His pure devotees.
SB 4.29.46
When one is engaged in devotional service,
he is no longer attracted to material activities. When a man is covered by different
designations, he cannot engage in devotional service. One has to become freed
from such designative activities (sarvopädhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170])
and become pure in order to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead through
purified senses. Håñékeëa håñékeça-sevanaà bhaktir ucyate: the service of the
Lord through purified senses is called bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. The
sincere devotee is always helped by the Supersoul, who resides within the heart
of every living entity, as Lord Kåñëa confirms in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10):
"To those who are constantly devoted
and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to
Me."
This is the stage of becoming free from the
contamination of the material world. At such a time a devotee makes friends
with another devotee, and his engagement in material activities ceases
completely. At that time, he attains the favor of the Lord and loses his faith
in material civilization, which begins with varëäçrama-dharma. Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu speaks clearly of one's becoming liberated from the
varëäçrama-dharma, the most exalted system of human civilization. At such a
time one feels himself to be perpetually the servant of Lord Kåñëa, a position
taken by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu Himself.
"I am not a brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya
or çüdra. I am not a brahmacäré, gåhastha, vänaprastha or sannyäsé. What am I?
I am the eternal servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Kåñëa [Cc.
Madhya 13.80]." Through the disciplic succession, one can attain this
conclusion, which is perfect elevation to the transcendental platform.
SB 6.9.50
Conditioned souls are generally bereft of
intelligence because of profound desires for sense gratification. They do not
know what benedictions to ask. Therefore nondevotees are advised in the çästras
to worship various demigods to achieve material benefits. For example, if one
wants a beautiful wife, he is advised to worship Umä, or goddess Durgä. If one
wants to be cured of a disease, he is advised to worship the sun-god. All
requests for benedictions from the demigods, however, are due to material lust.
The benedictions will be finished at the end of the cosmic manifestation, along
with those who bestow them. If one approaches Lord Viñëu for benedictions, the
Lord will give him a benediction that will help him return home, back to
Godhead. This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10)
Lord Viñëu, or Lord Kåñëa, instructs a
devotee who constantly engages in His service how to approach Him at the end of
his material body. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (4.9):
"One who knows the transcendental
nature of My appearance and activities, does not, upon leaving the body, take
his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O
Arjuna." This is the benediction of Lord Viñëu, Kåñëa. After giving up his
body, a devotee returns home, back to Godhead.
A devotee may foolishly ask for material
benedictions, but Lord Kåñëa does not give him such benedictions, despite the
devotee's prayers. Therefore people who are very attached to material life do
not generally become devotees of Kåñëa or Viñëu. Instead they become devotees
of the demigods (kämais tais tair håta jïänäù prapadyante 'nya-devatäù [Bg.
7.20]). The benedictions of the demigods, however, are condemned in
Bhagavad-gétä. Antavat tu phalaà teñäà tad bhavaty alpa-medhasäm: [Bg. 7.23]
"Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are
limited and temporary." A non-Vaiñëava, one who is not engaged in the
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is considered a fool with a
small quantity of brain substance.
SB 6.16.51
The science of devotional service has been
instructed by Närada and Aìgirä to Citraketu. Now, because of Citraketu's
devotional service, he has seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By
performing devotional service, one advances step by step, and when one is on
the platform of love of Godhead (premä pumartho mahän) he sees the Supreme Lord
at every moment. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä, when one engages in devotional
service twenty-four hours a day (teñäà satata-yuktänäà bhajatäà préti-pürvakam
[Bg. 10.10]) in accordance with the instructions of the spiritual master, his
devotional service becomes more and more pleasing. Then the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, who is within the core of everyone's heart, speaks to the devotee
(dadämi buddhi-yogaà taà yena mäm upayänti te). Citraketu Mahäräja was first
instructed by his gurus, Aìgirä and Närada, and now, having followed their
instructions, he has come to the stage of seeing the Supreme Lord face to face.
Therefore the Lord is now instructing him in the essence of knowledge.
SB 7.1.9
This is very practical. A teacher instructs
the student if the student is capable of taking more and more instructions.
Otherwise, in spite of being instructed by the teacher, the student cannot make
strides in his understanding. This has nothing to do with partiality. When
Kåñëa says teñäà satata-yuktänäà bhajatäà préti-pürvakam/ dadämi buddhi-yogaà
tam, this indicates that Kåñëa is prepared to give bhakti-yoga to everyone, but
one must be capable of receiving it. That is the secret. Thus when a person
exhibits wonderful devotional activities, a thoughtful man understands that
Kåñëa has been more favorable to this devotee.
This is not difficult to understand, but
envious persons do not accept that Kåñëa has bestowed His favor upon a
particular devotee in accordance with his advanced position. Such foolish
persons become envious and try to minimize an advanced devotee's activities.
That is not Vaiñëavism. A Vaiñëava should appreciate the service rendered to
the Lord by other Vaiñëavas. Therefore a Vaiñëava is described in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam as nirmatsara. Vaiñëavas are never envious of other Vaiñëavas
or of anyone else, and therefore they are called nirmatsaräëäà satäm.
SB 7.15.76
Kåñëa can become the director and spiritual
master of anyone who is serious about getting the mercy of Kåñëa. The Lord
sends the spiritual master to train a devotee, and when the devotee is
advanced, the Lord acts as the spiritual master within his heart.
"To those who are constantly devoted
and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to
Me." [Bg. 10.10] Kåñëa does not become the direct spiritual master unless
one is fully trained by His representative spiritual master. Therefore, as we
have already discussed, the Lord's representative spiritual master should not
be considered an ordinary human being. The representative spiritual master
never gives any false knowledge to his disciple, but only perfect knowledge.
Thus he is the representative of Kåñëa. Kåñëa helps as the guru, or spiritual
master, from within and from without. From without He helps the devotee as His
representative, and from within He talks personally with the pure devotee and gives
him instructions by which he may return home, back to Godhead.
SB 8.20.14
The difference between the behavior of Bali
Mahäräja and that of his spiritual master, Çukräcärya, was that Bali Mahäräja
had already developed love of Godhead, whereas Çukräcärya, being merely a
priest of routine rituals, had not. Thus Çukräcärya was never inspired by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead to develop in devotional service. As stated by
the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10):
"To those who are constantly devoted and
worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to
Me."
Devotees who actually engage in devotional
service with faith and love are inspired by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Vaiñëavas are never concerned with ritualistic smärta-brähmaëas. Çréla Sanätana
Gosvämé has therefore compiled Hari-bhakti-viläsa to guide the Vaiñëavas, who
never follow the smärta-viddhi. Although the Supreme Lord is situated in the
core of everyone's heart, unless one is a Vaiñëava, unless one is engaged in
devotional service, one does not get sound advice by which to return home, back
to Godhead. Such instructions are meant only for devotees. Therefore in this
verse the word daiva-prahitaù, "being inspired by the Supreme Lord,"
is important. Çukräcärya should have encouraged Bali Mahäräja to give
everything to Lord Viñëu. This would have been a sign of love for the Supreme
Lord. But he did not do so. On the contrary, he wanted to punish his devoted
disciple by cursing him.
SB 10.9.5
Everything in the household affairs of
mother Yaçodä was meant for Kåñëa. Although Kåñëa was drinking the breast milk
of mother Yaçodä, when she saw that the milk pan in the kitchen was
overflowing, she had to take care of it immediately, and thus she left her son,
who then became very angry, not having been fully satisfied with drinking the
milk of her breast. Sometimes one must take care of more than one item of
important business for the same purpose. Therefore mother Yaçodä was not unjust
when she left her son to take care of the overflowing milk. On the platform of
love and affection, it is the duty of the devotee to do one thing first and
other things later. The proper intuition by which to do this is given by Kåñëa.
In Kåñëa consciousness, everything is dynamic. Kåñëa guides the devotee in what
to do first and what to do next on the platform of absolute truth.
To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in
their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of
ignorance.
SB 1.2.21
In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.11) the Lord says
that in order to show special favor to His pure devotees, He personally
eradicates the dense darkness of all misgivings by switching on the light of
pure knowledge within the heart of a devotee. Therefore, because of the
Personality of Godhead's taking charge of illuminating the heart of His
devotee, certainly a devotee, engaged in His service in transcendental love,
cannot remain in darkness. He comes to know everything of the absolute and the
relative truths. The devotee cannot remain in darkness, and because a devotee
is enlightened by the Personality of Godhead, his knowledge is certainly
perfect. This is not the case for those who speculate on the Absolute Truth by
dint of their own limited power of approach. Perfect knowledge is called
paramparä, or deductive knowledge coming down from the authority to the
submissive aural receiver who is bona fide by service and surrender. One cannot
challenge the authority of the Supreme and know Him also at the same time. He
reserves the right of not being exposed to such a challenging spirit of an
insignificant spark of the whole, a spark subjected to the control of illusory
energy. The devotees are submissive, and therefore the transcendental knowledge
descends from the Personality of Godhead to Brahmä and from Brahmä to his sons
and disciples in succession. This process is helped by the Supersoul within
such devotees. That is the perfect way of learning transcendental knowledge.
SB 2.9.29
Brahmäjé does not want to become a
speculator dependent on the strength of his personal knowledge and conditioned
to material bondage. Everyone should know in clear consciousness that one is,
in the execution of all activities, an instrument. A conditioned soul is
instrumental in the hands of the external energy, guëa-mayé mäyä, or the
illusory energy of the Lord, and in the liberated stage the living entity is
instrumental to the will of the Personality of Godhead directly. To be
instrumental to the direct will of the Lord is the natural constitutional position
of the living entity, whereas to be an instrument in the hands of the illusory
energy of the Lord is material bondage for the living entity. In that
conditioned state, the living entity speculates on the Absolute Truth and His
different activities. But in the unconditioned stage the living entity directly
receives knowledge from the Lord, and such a liberated soul acts flawlessly,
without any speculative habit. The Bhagavad-gétä (10.10-11) confirms
emphatically that the pure devotees, who are constantly engaged in the loving
transcendental service of the Lord, are directly advised by the Lord, so much
so that the devotee unwaveringly makes progress on the path home, back to
Godhead. Pure devotees of the Lord are therefore not proud of their definite progress,
whereas the nondevotee speculator is in the darkness of illusory energy and is
very much proud of his misleading knowledge based on speculation without any
definite path. Lord Brahmä wanted to be saved from that pitfall of pride,
although he was posted in the most exalted position within the universe.
SB 7.5.4
In the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijïäte
samam evaà vijïätaà bhavati: if one properly understands God, he can understand
any subject matter very nicely. Sometimes we have to challenge big scientists
and philosophers, but by the grace of Kåñëa we emerge successful. It is
impossible, practically speaking, for ordinary men to challenge scientists or
philosophers concerning genuine knowledge, but a devotee can challenge them
because the best of everything is known to a devotee by the grace of Kåñëa. As
confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (10.11):
Kåñëa, who is situated in the core of
everyone's heart as the Supersoul, dissipates all the ignorance from the heart
of a devotee. As a special favor, He enlightens the devotee with all knowledge
by putting before him the torch of light.
SB 8.3.16
For a devotee who has taken the lotus feet
of the Lord within his heart, the Lord gives spiritual enlightenment, known as
jïäna-dépa, by special mercy from within. This jïäna-dépa is compared to the
fire hidden within araëi wood. To perform fire sacrifices, great sages
previously did not ignite a fire directly; the fire would be invoked from araëi
wood. Similarly, all living entities are covered by the modes of material nature,
and the fire of knowledge can be ignited only by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead when one takes Him within one's heart. Sa vai manaù
kåñëa-padäravindayoù [SB 9.4.18]. If one takes seriously the lotus feet of
Kåñëa, who is seated within one's heart, the Lord eradicates all ignorance. By
the torch of knowledge, one immediately understands everything properly by the
special mercy of the Supreme Lord and becomes self-realized. In other words,
although a devotee may externally not be very well educated, because of his
devotional service the Supreme Personality of Godhead gives him enlightenment
from within. If the Lord gives enlightenment from within, how can one be in
ignorance? Therefore the allegation of the Mäyävädés that the devotional path
is for the unintelligent or uneducated is untrue.
If one becomes an unalloyed devotee of the
Supreme Lord, he automatically manifests all good qualities. Such a devotee is
above the instructions of the Vedas. He is a paramahaàsa. Even without going
through the Vedic literature, a devotee becomes pure and enlightened by the
mercy of the Lord. "Therefore, my Lord," the devotee says, "I
offer my respectful obeisances unto You."
SB 9.4.68
Since Durväsä Muni wanted to chastise
Mahäräja Ambaréña, it is to be understood that he wanted to give pain to the
heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the Lord says, sädhavo hådayaà
mahyam: "The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart." The
Lord's feelings are like those of a father, who feels pain when his child is in
pain. Therefore, offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee are serious. Caitanya
Mahäprabhu has very strongly recommended that one not commit any offense at the
lotus feet of a devotee. Such offenses are compared to a mad elephant because
when a mad elephant enters a garden it causes devastation. Therefore one should
be extremely careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of a pure
devotee. Actually Mahäräja Ambaréña was not at all at fault; Durväsä Muni
unnecessarily wanted to chastise him on flimsy grounds. Mahäräja Ambaréña
wanted to complete the Ekädaçé-päraëa as part of devotional service to please
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he drank a little water. But
although Durväsä Muni was a great mystic brähmaëa, he did not know what is
what. That is the difference between a pure devotee and a so-called learned
scholar of Vedic knowledge. The devotees, being always situated in the core of
the Lord's heart, surely get all instructions directly from the Lord, as
confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gétä (10.11):
"Out of compassion for them, I,
dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the
darkness born of ignorance." The devotee does not do anything not
sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is said, vaiñëavera
kriyä mudrä vijïeha nä bujhaya [Cc. Madhya 23.39]. Even the most learned or
experienced person cannot understand the movements of a Vaiñëava, a pure
devotee. No one, therefore, should criticize a pure Vaiñëava. A Vaiñëava knows
his own business; whatever he does is precisely right because he is always
guided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the
eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the
great sages such as Närada, Asita, Devala and Vyäsa confirm this truth about
You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.
SB 1.15.44
The specific words brahma param indicate
Lord Çré Kåñëa. This is corroborated in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.13) by Arjuna
with reference to great authorities like Asita, Devala, Närada and Vyäsa. Thus
Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira, while leaving home for the north, constantly remembered
Lord Çré Kåñëa within himself, following in the footsteps of his forefathers as
well as the great devotees of all times.
SB 2.2.27
Bhagavad-gétä, as it was understood by
Arjuna, is also explained (Bg. 10.12-13), but there are many foolish men who do
not follow in the footsteps of Arjuna in understanding the spirit of
Bhagavad-gétä. They create instead their own interpretations, which are as
foolish as they themselves, and thereby only help to put a stumbling block on
the path of real understanding, misdirecting the innocent followers who are
less intelligent, or the çüdras. It is said that one should become a brähmaëa
before one can understand the Vedic statements, and this stricture is as
important as the stricture that no one shall become a lawyer who has not
qualified himself as a graduate. Such a stricture is not an impediment in the
path of progress for anyone and everyone, but it is necessary for an
unqualified understanding of a particular science. Vedic knowledge is
misinterpreted by those who are not qualified brähmaëas. A qualified brähmaëa
is one who has undergone strict training under the guidance of a bona fide
spiritual master.
SB 2.9.45
Arjuna summarized the purpose of the
Bhagavad-gétä by his realization of Lord Çré Kåñëa and thus said, "My dear
Personality of Godhead, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Original Person
in the eternal form of bliss and knowledge, and this is confirmed by Närada,
Asita, Devala and Vyäsadeva, and, above all, Your personal self has also
confirmed it." (Bg. 10.12-13)
SB 5.18.19
In this verse, Lakñmédevé (Ramä) shows
compassion toward women who worship the Lord for the benediction of possessing
a good husband. Although such women desire to be happy with children, wealth, a
long duration of life and everything dear to them, they cannot possibly do so.
In the material world, a so-called husband is dependent on the control of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many examples of a woman whose
husband, being dependent on the result of his own fruitive actions, cannot
maintain his wife, her children, her wealth or her duration of life. Therefore,
factually the only real husband of all women is Kåñëa, the supreme husband.
Because the gopés were liberated souls, they understood this fact. Therefore
they rejected their material husbands and accepted Kåñëa as their real husband.
Kåñëa is the real husband not only of the gopés, but of every living entity.
Everyone should perfectly understand that Kåñëa is the real husband of all
living entities, who are described in the Bhagavad-gétä as prakåti (female),
not puruña (male). In Bhagavad-gétä (10.12), only Kåñëa is addressed as puruña:
"You are the Supreme Brahman, the
ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal
divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are
the unborn and all-pervading beauty."
Kåñëa is the original puruña, and the living
entities are prakåti. Thus Kåñëa is the enjoyer, and all living entities are
meant to be enjoyed by Him. Therefore any woman who seeks a material husband for
her protection, or any man who desires to become the husband of a woman, is
under illusion. To become a husband means to maintain a wife and children
nicely by supplying wealth and security. However, a material husband cannot
possibly do this, for he is dependent on his karma. Karmaëä-daiva-netreëa: [SB
3.31.1] his circumstances are determined by his past fruitive activities.
Therefore if one proudly thinks he can protect his wife, he is under illusion.
Kåñëa is the only husband, and therefore the relationship between a husband and
wife in this material world cannot be absolute. Because we have the desire to
marry, Kåñëa mercifully allows the so-called husband to possess a wife, and the
wife to possess a so-called husband, for mutual satisfaction. In the Éçopaniñad
it is said, tena tyaktena bhuïjéthä: [Éço mantra 1] the Lord provides everyone
with his quota. Actually, however, every living entity is prakåti, or female,
and Kåñëa is the only husband.
ekale éçvara kåñëa, ära saba
bhåtya
yäre yaiche näcäya, se
taiche kare nåtya
[Cc. Ädi 5.142]
Kåñëa is the original master or husband of
everyone, and all other living entities, having taken the form of so-called
husbands, or wives, are dancing according to His desire. A so-called husband
may unite with his wife for sense gratification, but his senses are conducted
by Håñékeça, the master of the senses, who is therefore the actual husband.
SB 7.1.19
Kåñëa is described by Arjuna in
Bhagavad-gétä (10.12) as follows: paraà brahma paraà dhäma pavitraà paramaà
bhavän. "You are the Supreme Brahman, the supreme abode and
purifier." Herein this is confirmed. Viñëuà yad brahma param avyayam. The
Supreme Viñëu is Kåñëa. Kåñëa is the cause of Viñëu, not vice versa. Similarly,
Brahman is not the cause of Kåñëa; Kåñëa is the cause of Brahman. Therefore
Kåñëa is the Parabrahman (yad brahma param avyayam).
SB 7.9.36
Lord Brahmä, being completely pure, could
see the original form of the Lord as Viñëu, having many thousands of faces and
forms. This process is called self-realization. Genuine self-realization
consists not of perceiving the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but seeing
face to face the transcendental form of the Lord. As distinctly mentioned here,
Lord Brahmä saw the Supreme Lord as mahä-puruña, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Arjuna also saw Kåñëa in this same way. Therefore he told the Lord,
paraà brahma paraà dhäma pavitraà paramaà bhavän puruñaà çäçvataà divyam: [Bg.
10.12] "You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and
purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person." The Lord is
parama-puruña, the supreme form. Puruñaà çäçvatam: He is everlastingly the
supreme enjoyer. It is not that the impersonal Brahman assumes a form; on the
contrary, the impersonal Brahman effulgence is an emanation from the supreme
form of the Lord. Upon being purified, Brahmä could see the supreme form of the
Lord. The impersonal Brahman cannot have heads, noses, ears, hands and legs.
This is not possible, for these are attributes of the Lord's form.
SB 10.3.24
Kåñëa, Viñëu, is the actual origin of
everything. As stated in the Vedas, yasya bhäñä sarvam idaà vibhäti. The
Absolute Truth is described later in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.28.15) as satyaà
jïänam anantam yad brahma-jyotiù sanätanam. The brahmajyoti is sanätana,
eternal, yet it is dependent on Kåñëa (brahmaëo hi pratiñöhäham). The
Brahma-saàhitä states that the Lord is all-pervading.
Aëòäntara-stha-paramäëu-cayäntara-stham: [Bs. 5.35] He is within this universe,
and He is within the atom as Paramätmä. Yasya prabhä prabhavato
jagad-aëòa-koöi-koöiñv açeña-vasudhädi-vibhu-ti-bhinnam: [Bs. 5.40] Brahman is
also not independent of Him. Therefore whatever a philosopher may describe is
ultimately Kåñëa, or Lord Viñëu (sarvaà khalv idaà brahma, paraà brahma paraà
dhäma pavitraà paramaà bhavän [Bg. 10.12]). According to different phases of
understanding, Lord Viñëu is differently described, but in fact He is the
origin of everything.
SB 10.9.13-14
In Bhagavad-gétä (10.12), Kåñëa is described
as the Supreme Brahman (paraà brahma paraà dhäma). The word brahma means
"the greatest." Kåñëa is greater than the greatest, being unlimited
and all-pervading. How can it be possible for the all-pervading to be measured
or bound? Then again, Kåñëa is the time factor. Therefore, He is all-pervading
not only in space but also in time. We have measurements of time, but although
we are limited by past, present and future, for Kåñëa these do not exist. Every
individual person can be measured, but Kåñëa has already shown that although He
also is an individual, the entire cosmic manifestation is within His mouth. All
these points considered, Kåñëa cannot be measured. How then did Yaçodä want to
measure Him and bind Him? We must conclude that this took place simply on the
platform of pure transcendental love. This was the only cause.
Of the Ädityas I am Viñëu, of lights I am the
radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Maréci, and among the stars I am the moon.
SB 5.21.11
In Bhagavad-gétä (10.21) Kåñëa says,
nakñaträëäm ahaà çaçé: "Of stars I am the moon." This indicates that
the moon is similar to the other stars. The Vedic literature informs us that
within this universe there is one sun, which is moving. The Western theory that
all the luminaries in the sky are different suns is not confirmed in the Vedic
literature. Nor can we assume that these luminaries are the suns of other
universes, for each universe is covered by various layers of material elements,
and therefore although the universes are clustered together, we cannot see from
one universe to another. In other words, whatever we see is within this one
universe. In each universe there is one Lord Brahmä, and there are other
demigods on other planets, but there is only one sun.
I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating
principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine
speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience.
SB 1.13.19
There is no superior power which can check
the cruel hands of death. No one wants to die, however acute the source of
bodily sufferings may be. Even in the days of so-called scientific advancement
of knowledge, there is no remedial measure either for old age or for death. Old
age is the notice of the arrival of death served by cruel time, and no one can
refuse to accept either summon calls or the supreme judgment of eternal time.
This is explained before Dhåtaräñöra because he might ask Vidura to find out
some remedial measure for the imminent fearful situation, as he had ordered
many times before. Before ordering, however, Vidura informed Dhåtaräñöra that
there was no remedial measure by anyone or from any source in this material
world. And because there is no such thing in the material world, death is
identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as it is said by the Lord
Himself in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.34).
Death cannot be checked by anyone or from
any source within this material world. Hiraëyakaçipu wanted to be immortal and
underwent a severe type of penance by which the whole universe trembled, and
Brahmä himself approached him to dissuade Hiraëyakaçipu from such a severe type
of penance. Hiraëyakaçipu asked Brahmä to award him the blessings of
immortality, but Brahmä said that he himself was subject to death, even in the
topmost planet, so how could he award him the benediction of immortality? So
there is death even in the topmost planet of this universe, and what to speak
of other planets, which are far, far inferior in quality to Brahmaloka, the
residing planet of Brahmä. Wherever there is the influence of eternal time,
there is this set of tribulations, namely birth, disease, old age and death,
and all of them are invincible.
SB 4.17.28
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is death
personified to miscreants and the supreme beloved Lord to the devotees. In Bhagavad-gétä the Lord says, måtyuù sarva-haraç cäham: [Bg.
10.34] "I am all-devouring death." Faithless unbelievers, who
challenge the appearance of God, will be delivered by the Supreme Personality
of Godhead when He appears before them as death. Hiraëyakaçipu, for example,
challenged the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Lord
met him in the form of Nåsiàhadeva and killed him. Similarly, the planet earth
saw Mahäräja Påthu as death personified, and she also saw him in the mood of
anger personified. Therefore she began to tremble. One cannot challenge the
authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in any circumstance. It is
better to surrender unto Him and take His protection at all times.
SB 8.5.31
Atheists and demons cannot understand the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He is situated within everyone. For
them the Lord finally appears in the form of death, as confirmed in
Bhagavad-gétä (måtyuù sarva-haraç cäham [Bg. 10.34]). Atheists think that they
are independent, and therefore they do not care about the supremacy of the
Lord, yet the Lord asserts His supremacy when He overcomes them as death. At
the time of death, their attempts to use their so-called scientific knowledge
and philosophical speculation to deny the supremacy of the Lord cannot work.
Hiraëyakaçipu, for example, was an exalted representative of the atheistic
class of men. He always challenged the existence of God, and thus he became
inimical even toward his own son. Everyone was afraid of Hiraëyakaçipu's atheistic
principles. Nonetheless, when Lord Nåsiàhadeva appeared in order to kill him,
Hiraëyakaçipu's atheistic principles could not save him. Lord Nåsiàhadeva
killed Hiraëyakaçipu and took away all his power, influence and pride.
Atheistic men, however, never understand how everything they create is
annihilated. The Supersoul is situated within them, but because of the
predominance of the modes of passion and ignorance, they cannot understand the
supremacy of the Lord. Even the demigods, the devotees, who are
transcendentally situated or situated on the platform of goodness, are not
fully aware of the qualities and position of the Lord. How then can the demons
and atheists understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead? It is not possible.
Therefore, to gain this understanding, the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmä,
offered their respectful obeisances to the Lord.
SB 9.4.44
In Bhagavad-gétä (10.34) it is said, måtyuù
sarva-haraç cäham: when the Supreme Personality of Godhead approaches as death,
or the supreme controller of time, He takes everything away. In other words,
all opulence, prestige and everything we possess is given by the Supreme Lord
for some purpose. It is the duty of the surrendered soul to execute the orders
of the Supreme. No one can disregard Him. Under the circumstances, Lord Brahmä
refused to give shelter to Durväsä Muni from the powerful Sudarçana cakra sent
by the Lord.
SB 10.4.3
The word kälaù is significant. Although the
child was born to kill Kaàsa, Kaàsa thought that this was the proper time to
kill the child so that he himself would be saved. Käla is actually another name
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He appears only for the purpose of
killing. When Arjuna inquired from Kåñëa in His universal form, "Who are
You?" the Lord presented Himself as käla, death personified to kill. By
nature's law, when there is an unwanted increase in population, käla appears,
and by some arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, people are
killed wholesale in different ways, by war, pestilence, famine and so on. At
that time, even atheistic political leaders go to a church, mosque or temple
for protection by God or gods and submissively say, "God willing."
Before that, they pay no attention to God, not caring to know God or His will,
but when käla appears, they say, "God willing." Death is but another
feature of the supreme käla, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the time of
death, the atheist must submit to this supreme käla, and then the Supreme
Personality of Godhead takes away all his possessions (måtyuù sarva-haraç cäham
[Bg. 10.34]) and forces him to accept another body (tathä dehäntara-präptiù
[Bg. 2.13]). This the atheists do not know, and if they do know, they neglect
it so that they may go on with their normal life. The Kåñëa consciousness
movement is trying to teach them that although for a few years one may act as a
great protector or great watchman, with the appearance of käla, death, one must
take another body by the laws of nature. Not knowing this, they unnecessarily
waste their time in their occupation as watchdogs and do not try to get the
mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is clearly said, apräpya mäà
nivartante måtyu-saàsära-vartmani: [Bg. 9.3] without Kåñëa consciousness, one
is condemned to continue wandering in birth and death, not knowing what will
happen in one's next birth.
Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious
creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.
SB 1.15.5
In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.41) the Lord says,
"Anyone specifically powerful and opulent in wealth, strength, beauty,
knowledge and all that is materially desirable is to be considered but a
product of an insignificant portion of the complete whole of My energy."
No one, therefore, can be independently powerful in any measure without being
endowed by the Lord. When the Lord descends on the earth along with His eternal
ever-liberated associates, He not only displays the divine energy possessed by
Himself, but also empowers His associate devotees with the required energy to execute
His mission of incarnation. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.5) that
the Lord and His eternal associates descend on the earth many times, but the
Lord remembers all the different roles of incarnations, whereas the associates,
by His supreme will, forget them. Similarly, the Lord takes away with Him all
His associates when He disappears from the earth. The power and energy which
were bestowed upon Arjuna were required for fulfillment of the mission of the
Lord, but when His mission was fulfilled, the emergency powers were withdrawn
from Arjuna because the astounding powers of Arjuna, which were astonishing
even to the denizens of heaven, were no longer required, and they were not
meant for going back home, back to Godhead. If endowment of powers and
withdrawal of powers by the Lord are possible even for a great devotee like
Arjuna, or even the demigods in heaven, then what to speak of the ordinary
living beings who are but figs compared to such great souls. The lesson is,
therefore, that no one should be puffed up for his powers borrowed from the
Lord. The sane man should rather feel obliged to the Lord for such benefactions
and must utilize such power for the service of the Lord. Such power can be
withdrawn at any time by the Lord, so the best use of such power and opulence
is to engage them in the service of the Lord.
SB 6.4.45
There are various types of incarnations or
expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The expansions of His
personal self, or viñëu-tattva, are called sväàça expansions, whereas the
living entities, who are not viñëu-tattva but jéva-tattva, are called
vibhinnäàça, separated expansions. Although Prajäpati Dakña is not on the same
level as Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva, he is compared to them because he engages
in the service of the Lord. In the service of the Personality of Godhead, it is
not that Lord Brahmä is considered very great while an ordinary human being
trying to preach the glories of the Lord is considered very low. There are no
such distinctions. Regardless of whether materially high or materially low,
anyone engaged in the service of the Lord is spiritually very dear to Him. In
this regard, Çréla Madhväcärya gives this quotation from the Tantra-nirëaya:
viçeña-vyakti-pätratväd
brahmädyäs tu vibhütayaù
tad-antaryämiëaç caiva
matsyädyä vibhaväù småtäù
From Lord Brahmä down, all the living
entities engaged in the service of the Lord are extraordinary and are called
vibhüti. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä (10.41):
"Know that all beautiful, glorious and
mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor." A living entity
especially empowered to act on behalf of the Lord is called vibhüti, whereas
the viñëu-tattva incarnations of the Lord, such as the Matsya avatära (keçava
dhåta-ména-çaréra jaya jagad-éça hare), are called vibhava.
SB 7.3.13
The word bhütyai means "for increasing
opulence," and the word çreyase refers to ultimately returning home, back
to Godhead. In spiritual advancement, one's material position improves at the
same time that the path of liberation becomes clear and one is freed from
material bondage. If one is situated in an opulent position in spiritual
advancement, his opulence never decreases. Therefore such a spiritual
benediction is called bhüti or vibhüti. Kåñëa confirms this in Bhagavad-gétä
(10.41). Yad yad vibhütimat sattvaà. .. mama tejo-'àça-sambhavam: if a devotee
advances in spiritual consciousness and thus becomes materially opulent also,
his position is a special gift from the Lord. Such opulence is never to be
considered material. At the present, especially on this planet earth, the
influence of Lord Brahmä has decreased considerably, and the representatives of
Hiraëyakaçipu—the Räkñasas and demons—have taken charge. Therefore there is no
protection of brahminical culture and cows, which are the basic prerequisites
for all kinds of good fortune. This age is very dangerous because society is
being managed by demons and Räkñasas.
SB 7.8.7
Prahläda Mahäräja said: My dear King,
the source of my strength, of which you are asking, is also the source of
yours. Indeed, the original source of all kinds of strength is one. He is not
only your strength or mine, but the only strength for everyone. Without Him, no
one can get any strength. Whether moving or not moving, superior or inferior, everyone,
including Lord Brahmä, is controlled by the strength of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.
PURPORT
Lord Kåñëa says in Bhagavad-gétä (10.41):
"Know that all beautiful, glorious and
mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor." This is confirmed
by Prahläda Mahäräja. If one sees extraordinary strength or power anywhere, it
is derived from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To give an example, there
are different grades of fire, but all of them derive heat and light from the
sun. Similarly, all living entities, big or small, are dependent on the mercy
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One's only duty is to surrender, for one
is a servant and cannot independently attain the position of master. One can
attain the position of master only by the mercy of the master, not
independently. Unless one understands this philosophy, he is still a müòha; in
other words, he is not very intelligent. The müòhas, the asses who do not have
this intelligence, cannot surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 7.8.32
The illumination of the planets and stars in
the sky is but a partial manifestation of the Lord's effulgence. There are many
wonderful qualities of different living entities, but whatever extraordinary
things exist are but part of the Lord's tejas, His illumination or brilliance.
The deep waves of the seas and oceans and the many other wonders within the
creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead all become insignificant when
the Lord, in His special feature, incarnates within this material world.
Everything is insignificant in comparison to His personal, all-defeating
transcendental qualities.
But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this
detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this
entire universe.
SB 1.3.1
The Bhagavad-gétä states that the
Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa maintains these material universes by
extending His plenary expansions. So this puruña form is the confirmation of
the same principle. The original Personality of Godhead Väsudeva, or Lord
Kåñëa, who is famous as the son of King Vasudeva or King Nanda, is full with
all opulences, all potencies, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all
renunciation. Part of His opulences are manifested as impersonal Brahman, and
part of His opulences are manifested as Paramätmä. This puruña feature of the
same Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa is the original Paramätmä manifestation
of the Lord. There are three puruña features in the material creation, and this
form, who is known as the Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu, is the first of the three. The
others are known as the Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu and the Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu, which
we shall know one after another. The innumerable universes are generated from
the skin holes of this Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu, and in each one of the universes
the Lord enters as Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu.
SB 2.1.28
The effulgent luminary planets like the sun
and the moon are situated almost in the midplace of the universe, and as such
they are to be known as the chest of the original gigantic form of the Lord.
And above the luminary planets, called also the heavenly places of the
universal directorate demigods, are the Mahar, Janas and Tapas planetary
systems, and, above all, the Satyaloka planetary system, where the chief
directors of the modes of material nature reside, namely Viñëu, Brahmä and
Çiva. This Viñëu is known as the Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu, and He acts as the
Supersoul in every living being. There are innumerable universes floating on
the Causal Ocean, and in each of them the representation of the viräö form of
the Lord is there along with innumerable suns, moons, heavenly demigods,
Brahmäs, Viñëus and Çivas, all of them situated in one part of the
inconceivable potency of Lord Kåñëa, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.42).
SB 2.6.6
bähavo loka-pälänäà
präyaçaù kñema-karmaëäm
SYNONYMS
bähavaù—arms; loka-pälänäm—of
the governing deities of the planets, the demigods; präyaçaù—almost always; kñema-karmaëäm—of
those who are leaders and protectors of the general mass.
TRANSLATION
The Lord's arms are the productive
fields for the great demigods and other leaders of the living entities who
protect the general mass.
PURPORT
This important verse of Çrémad-Bhägavatam is
corroborated and nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.41-42) as follows:
There are many powerful kings, leaders,
learned scholars, scientists, artists, engineers, inventors, excavators,
archaeologists, industrialists, politicians, economists, business magnates, and
many more powerful deities or demigods like Brahmä, Çiva, Indra, Candra, Sürya,
Varuëa and Marut, who are all protecting the interest of the universal affairs
of maintenance, in different positions, and all of them are different powerful
parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa is the father
of all living entities, who are placed in different high and low positions
according to their desires or aspirations. Some of them, as particularly
mentioned above, are specifically endowed with powers by the will of the Lord.
A sane person must know for certain that a living being, however powerful he
may be, is neither absolute nor independent. All living beings must accept the
origin of their specific power as mentioned in this verse. And if they act
accordingly, then simply by discharging their respective occupational duties
they can achieve the highest perfection of life, namely eternal life, complete
knowledge and inexhaustible blessings. As long as the powerful men of the world
do not accept the origin of their respective powers, namely the Personality of
Godhead, the actions of mäyä (illusion) will continue to act. The actions of
mäyä are such that a powerful person, misled by the illusory, material energy,
wrongly accepts himself as all in all and does not develop God consciousness.
As such, the false sense of egoism (namely myself and mine) has become overly
prominent in the world, and there is a hard struggle for existence in human
society. The intelligent class of men, therefore, must admit the Lord as the
ultimate source of all energies and thus pay tribute to the Lord for His good
blessings. Simply by accepting the Lord as the supreme proprietor of
everything, since He is actually so, one can achieve the highest perfection of
life. Whatever a person may be in the estimation of the social order of things,
if a person tries to reciprocate a feeling of love towards the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and is satisfied with the blessings of the Lord, he will
at once feel the highest peace of mind for which he is hankering life after
life. Peace of mind, or in other words the healthy state of mind, can be
achieved only when the mind is situated in the transcendental loving service of
the Lord. The parts and parcels of the Lord are endowed with specific powers
for rendering service unto the Lord, just as a big business magnate's sons are
empowered with specific powers of administration. The obedient son of the
father never goes against the will of the father and therefore passes life very
peacefully in concurrence with the head of the family, the father. Similarly,
the Lord being the father, all living beings should fully and satisfactorily
discharge the duty and will of the father, as faithful sons. This very
mentality will at once bring peace and prosperity to human society.
SB 8.3.17
The words båhate namas te have been
explained by Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura: båhate çré-kåñëäya. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kåñëa. There are many tattvas, such as
viñëu-tattva, jéva-tattva and çakti-tattva, but above everything is the
viñëu-tattva, which is all-pervading. This all-pervading feature of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is explained in Bhagavad-gétä (10.42), wherein the Lord
says:
"But what need is there, Arjuna, for
all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and
support this entire universe." Thus Kåñëa says that the entire material
world is maintained by His partial representation as Paramätmä. The Lord enters
every universe as Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu and then expands Himself as
Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu to enter the hearts of all living entities and even enter
the atoms. Aëòäntara-stha-paramäëu-cayäntara-stham [Bs. 5.35]. Every universe
is full of atoms, and the Lord is not only within the universe but also within
the atoms. Thus within every atom the Supreme Lord exists in His Viñëu feature
as Paramätmä, but all the viñëu-tattvas emanate from Kåñëa. As confirmed in
Bhagavad-gétä (10.2), aham ädir hi devänäm: Kåñëa is the ädi, or beginning, of
the devas of this material world—Brahmä, Viñëu and Maheçvara. Therefore He is
described here as bhagavate båhate. Everyone is bhagavän—everyone possesses
opulence—but Kåñëa is båhän bhagavän, the possessor of unlimited opulence.
Éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù [Bs. 5.1]. Kåñëa is the origin of everyone. Ahaà
sarvasya prabhavaù [Bg. 10.8]. Even Brahmä, Viñëu and Maheçvara come from
Kåñëa. Mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya: [Bg. 7.7] there is no
personality superior to Kåñëa. Therefore Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura says
that bhagavate båhate means "unto Çré Kåñëa."
SB 8.23.29
Vasiñöha Muni has given a mantra about Lord
Viñëu: na te viñëor jäyamäno na jäto mahimnaù päram anantam äpa. No one can
estimate the extent of the uncommonly glorious activities of Lord Viñëu.
Unfortunately, there are so-called scientists who are subject to death at every
moment but are trying to understand by speculation the wonderful creation of
the cosmos. This is a foolish attempt. Long, long ago, Vasiñöha Muni said that
no one in the past could measure the glories of the Lord and that no one can do
so in the future. One must simply be satisfied with seeing the glorious
activities of the Supreme Lord's creation. The Lord therefore says in
Bhagavad-gétä (10.42), viñöabhyäham idaà kåtsnam ekäàçena sthito jagat:
"With a single fragment of Myself, I pervade and support this entire
universe." The material world consists of innumerable universes, each one
full of innumerable planets, which are all considered to be products of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead's material energy. Yet this is only one fourth of
God's creation. The other three fourths of creation constitute the spiritual
world. Among the innumerable planets in only one universe, the so-called
scientists cannot understand even the moon and Mars, but they try to defy the
creation of the Supreme Lord and His uncommon energy. Such men have been
described as crazy. Nünaà pramattaù kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). Such crazy men
unnecessarily waste time, energy and money in attempting to defy the glorious
activities of Urukrama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 2.1.24
The phenomenal manifestation of the gigantic
universe is only a part of His viräö body. Less intelligent men cannot conceive
of the transcendental all-spiritual form of the Lord, but they are astounded by
His different energies, just as the aborigines are struck with wonder by the
manifestation of lightning, a gigantic mountain or a hugely expanded banyan
tree. The aborigines praise the strength of the tiger and the elephant because
of their superior energy and strength. The asuras cannot recognize the
existence of the Lord, although there are vivid descriptions of the Lord in the
revealed scriptures, although the Lord incarnates and exhibits His uncommon
strength and energy, and although He is accepted as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead by learned scholars and saints like Vyäsadeva, Närada, Asita and Devala
in the past and by Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gétä, as also by the äcäryas like Çaìkara,
Rämänuja, Madhva and Lord Çré Caitanya in the modern age. The asuras do not
accept any evidential proof from the revealed scriptures, nor do they recognize
the authority of the great äcäryas. They want to see with their own eyes at
once. Therefore they can see the gigantic body of the Lord as viräö, which will
answer their challenge, and since they are accustomed to paying homage to
superior material strength like that of the tiger, elephant and lightning, they
can offer respect to the viräö-rüpa. Lord Kåñëa, by the request of Arjuna,
exhibited His viräö-rüpa for the asuras. A pure devotee of the Lord, being
unaccustomed to looking into such a mundane gigantic form of the Lord, requires
special vision for the purpose. The Lord, therefore, favored Arjuna with
special vision for looking into His viräö-rüpa, which is described in the
Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä. This viräö-rüpa of the Lord was
especially manifested, not for the benefit of Arjuna, but for that
unintelligent class of men who accept anyone and everyone as an incarnation of
the Lord and so mislead the general mass of people. For them, the indication is
that one should ask the cheap incarnation to exhibit his viräö-rüpa and thus be
established as an incarnation. The viräö-rüpa manifestation of the Lord is
simultaneously a challenge to the atheist and a favor for the asuras, who can
think of the Lord as viräö and thus gradually cleanse the dirty things from
their hearts in order to become qualified to actually see the transcendental form
of the Lord in the near future. This is a favor of the all-merciful Lord to the
atheists and the gross materialists.
SB 2.1.25
In the Eleventh Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gétä, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kåñëa, manifested His
viräö-rüpa just to convince the less intelligent class of men, who cannot
conceive of the Lord as appearing just like a human being, that He factually
has the potency of His claim to be the Supreme Absolute person without any
rival or superior. Materialistic men can think, although very imperfectly, of
the huge universal space, comprehending an innumerable number of planets as big
as the sun. They can see only the circular sky overhead, without any
information that this universe, as well as many other hundreds of thousands of
universes, are each covered by sevenfold material coverings of water, fire,
air, sky, ego, noumenon and material nature, just like a huge football, pumped
and covered, floating on the water of the Causal Ocean, wherein the Lord is
lying as Mahä-Viñëu. All the universes in seed are emanating from the breathing
of the Mahä-Viñëu, who is but part of a partial expansion of the Lord, and all
the universes presided over by the Brahmäs vanish when the Mahä-Viñëu withdraws
His great breath. In this way, the material worlds are being created and
vanished by the supreme will of the Lord. The poor foolish materialist can just
imagine how ignorantly he puts forward an insignificant creature to become His
rival incarnation, simply on the allegations of a dying man. The viräö-rüpa was
particularly exhibited by the Lord just to give lessons to such foolish men, so
that one can accept a person as the incarnation of Godhead only if such a
person is able to exhibit such a viräö-rüpa as Lord Kåñëa did. The
materialistic person may concentrate his mind upon the viräö or gigantic form
of the Lord in his own interest and as recommended by Çukadeva Gosvämé, but he
must be on his guard not to be misled by pretenders who claim to be the
identical person as Lord Kåñëa but are not able to act like Him or exhibit the
viräö-rüpa, comprehending the whole of the universe.
SB 2.1.26
Outside the bodily existence of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the manifested cosmic existence has no reality.
Everything and anything of the manifested world rests on Him, as confirmed in
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.4), but that does not imply that everything and anything
in the vision of a materialist is the Supreme Personality. The conception of
the universal form of the Lord gives a chance to the materialist to think of
the Supreme Lord, but the materialist must know for certain that his
visualization of the world in a spirit of lording over it is not God
realization. The materialistic view of exploitation of the material resources
is occasioned by the illusion of the external energy of the Lord, and as such,
if anyone wants to realize the Supreme Truth by conceiving of the universal
form of the Lord, he must cultivate the service attitude. Unless the service
attitude is revived, the conception of viräö realization will have very little
effect on the seer. The transcendental Lord, in any conception of His form, is
never a part of the material creation. He keeps His identity as Supreme Spirit
in all circumstances and is never affected by the three material qualities, for
everything material is contaminated. The Lord always exists by His internal
energy.
All the various manifestations of Lord Çiva,
the Ädityas, the Vasus, the Sädhyas, the Viçvedevas, the two Açvés, the Maruts,
the forefathers, the Gandharvas, the Yakñas, the Asuras and the perfected
demigods are beholding You in wonder.
O Viñëu, I see You devouring all people from
all sides with Your flaming mouths. Covering all the universe with Your
effulgence, You are manifest with terrible, scorching rays.
SB 2.1.29
indrädayo bähava ähur usräù
karëau diçaù çrotram amuñya
çabdaù
näsatya-dasrau paramasya
näse
ghräëo 'sya gandho mukham
agnir iddhaù
SYNONYMS
indra-ädayaù—demigods
headed by the heavenly king, Indra; bähavaù—arms; ähuù—are called; usräù—the
demigods; karëau—the ears; diçaù—the four directions; çrotram—the
sense of hearing; amuñya—of the Lord; çabdaù—sound; näsatya-dasrau—the
demigods known as the Açviné-kumäras; paramasya—of the Supreme; näse—nostrils;
ghräëaù—the
sense of smell; asya—of Him; gandhaù—fragrance; mukham—the
mouth; agniù—fire; iddhaù—blazing.
TRANSLATION
His arms are the demigods headed by
Indra, the ten directional sides are His ears, and physical sound is His sense
of hearing. His nostrils are the two Açviné-kumäras, and material fragrance is
His sense of smell. His mouth is the blazing fire.
PURPORT
The description of the gigantic form of the
Personality of Godhead made in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä is
further explained here in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The description in the Bhagavad-gétä
(11.30) runs as follows: "O Viñëu, I see You devouring all people in Your
blazing mouths and covering all the universe by Your immeasurable rays.
Scorching the worlds, You are manifest." In that way, Çrémad-Bhägavatam is
the postgraduate study for the student of the Bhagavad-gétä. Both of them are
the science of Kåñëa, the Absolute Truth, and so they are interdependent.
Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win
glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put
to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasäcé, can be but an instrument in
the fight.
SB 6.19.5
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is
endowed with all six opulences in full, and moreover He is extremely kind to
His devotee. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless wants all the
living entities to surrender unto Him so that they may engage in His service.
Thus He becomes satisfied. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless
becomes pleased when His devotee offers Him patraà puñpaà phalaà toyam [Bg.
9.26]—a leaf, flower, fruit or water—in devotion. Sometimes the Lord, as the
child of mother Yaçodä, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very
hungry. Sometimes He tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His
garden are now very old and that He cannot enjoy them very nicely. Thus He
requests the devotee to repair them. Sometimes He is buried in the earth, and
as if unable to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him.
Sometimes He requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world,
although He alone is quite competent to perform this task. Even though the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is
self-sufficient, He depends on His devotees. Therefore the relationship of the
Lord with His devotees is extremely confidential. Only the devotee can perceive
how the Lord, although full in Himself, depends on His devotee for some
particular work. This is explained in Bhagavad-gétä (11.33), where the Lord
tells Arjuna, nimitta-mätraà bhava savyasäcin: "O Arjuna, merely be an
instrument in the fight." Lord Kåñëa had the competence to win the Battle
of Kurukñetra, but nonetheless He induced His devotee Arjuna to fight and
become the cause of victory. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu was quite competent enough
to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon
His devotee to do this work. Considering all these points, the most important
aspect of the Supreme Lord's self-sufficiency is that He depends on His
devotees. This is called His causeless mercy. The devotee who has perceived
this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can
understand the master and the servant.
Droëa, Bhéñma, Jayadratha, Karëa and the other
great warriors have already been destroyed by Me. Therefore, kill them and do
not be disturbed. Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies in battle.
SB 3.1.43
In His manifestation of viçva-rüpa, the Lord
expressed His mission of killing as follows: "I have willingly descended
on the earth in My capacity of inexorable Time in order to decrease the
unwanted population. I shall finish all those who have assembled here except
you, the Päëòavas. This killing does not wait for you to take part in it. It is
already arranged: all will be killed by Me. If you want to become famous as the
hero of the battlefield and thus enjoy the booty of war, then, O Savyasäcé,
just become the immediate cause of this killing and thus take the credit. I
have already killed all the great warriors—Bhéñma, Droëa, Jayadratha, Karëa and
many other great generals. Do not worry. Fight the battle and be famous as a
great hero." (Bg. 11.32-34)
The Lord always wants to see His devotee as
the hero of some episode which He Himself performs. He wanted to see His devotee
and friend Arjuna as the hero of the Battle of Kurukñetra, and thus He waited
for all the miscreants of the world to assemble. That, and nothing else, is the
explanation of His waiting.
After seeing this universal form, which I have
never seen before, I am gladdened, but at the same time my mind is disturbed
with fear. Therefore please bestow Your grace upon me and reveal again Your
form as the Personality of Godhead, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.
SB 2.10.35
The impersonalists think of the Absolute
Personality of Godhead in two different ways, as above mentioned. On the one
hand they worship the Lord in His viçva-rüpa, or all-pervading universal form,
and on the other they think of the Lord's unmanifested, indescribable, subtle
form. The theories of pantheism and monism are respectively applicable to these
two conceptions of the Supreme as gross and subtle, but both of them are
rejected by the learned pure devotees of the Lord because they are aware of the
factual position. This is very clearly mentioned in the Eleventh Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gétä, which records Arjuna's experience of the viçva-rüpa of the
Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa. (Bg. 11.45)
Arjuna, as a pure devotee of the Lord, never
previously saw the contemplated universal form of the Lord (viçva-rüpa), but
when he did see it, his curiosities were satisfied. But he was not happy to see
such a form of the Lord because of his attachment as a pure devotee. He was
afraid to see the gigantic form of the Lord. He therefore prayed to the Lord to
assume His four-handed Näräyaëa or Kåñëa form, which alone could please Arjuna.
Undoubtedly the Lord has the supreme potency to exhibit Himself in multifarious
forms, but the pure devotees of the Lord are interested in His forms as
eternally exhibited in the abode of the Lord, known as the tripäd-vibhüti or
kingdom of God. The Lord in the tripäd-vibhüti abode exhibits Himself in two
forms, either with four hands or with two hands. The viçva-rüpa exhibited in
the material manifestation has unlimited hands and unlimited dimensions with
everything unlimited. The pure devotees of the Lord worship Him in His
Vaikuëöha forms as Näräyaëa or Kåñëa. Sometimes the same Vaikuëöha forms of the
Lord are in the material world also by His grace as Çré Räma, Çré Kåñëa, Çré
Narasiàhadeva, etc., and thus the pure devotees also worship them. Usually the
features shown in the material world have no existence in the Vaikuëöha
planets, and thus they are not accepted by the pure devotees. What the pure
devotees worship from the very beginning are eternal forms of the Lord existing
in the Vaikuëöha planets. The nondevotee impersonalists imagine the material
forms of the Lord, and ultimately they merge in the impersonal brahmajyoti of
the Lord, whereas the pure devotees of the Lord are worshipers of the Lord both
in the beginning and also in the perfect stage of salvation, eternally. The
worship of the pure devotee never stops, whereas the worship of the
impersonalist stops after his attainment of salvation, when he merges in the impersonal
form of the Lord known as the brahmajyoti. Therefore the pure devotees of the
Lord are described here as vipaçcita, or the learned who are in the knowledge
of the Lord perfectly.
For those whose minds are attached to the
unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very
troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those
who are embodied.
SB 1.9.41
In the Bhagavad-gétä (12.5) it is clearly
stated that to meditate upon the impersonal feature of the Supreme is very
difficult. It is practically no meditation or simply a waste of time because
very seldom is the desired result obtained. The devotees, however, meditate
upon the Lord's factual form and pastimes, and therefore the Lord is easily
approachable by the devotees. This is also stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (12.9).
SB 2.1.21
Success of mystic performances is achieved
only by the help of the devotional attitude. Pantheism, or the system of
feeling the presence of the Almighty everywhere, is a sort of training of the
mind to become accustomed to the devotional conception, and it is this
devotional attitude of the mystic that makes possible the successful
termination of such mystic attempts. One is not, however, elevated to such a
successful status without the tinge of mixture in devotional service. The
devotional atmosphere created by pantheistic vision develops into devotional
service in later days, and that is the only benefit for the impersonalist. It
is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (12.5) that the impersonal way of
self-realization is more troublesome because it reaches the goal in an indirect
way, although the impersonalist also becomes obsessed with the personal feature
of the Lord after a long time.
SB 2.2.33
As will be clarified in the next verse,
devotional service, or direct bhakti-yoga, is the only absolute and auspicious
means of deliverance from the grip of material existence. There are many
indirect methods for deliverance from the clutches of material existence, but
none of them is as easy and auspicious as bhakti-yoga. The means of jïäna and
yoga and other allied disciplines are not independent in delivering a
performer. Such activities help one to reach the stage of bhakti-yoga after
many, many years. In the Bhagavad-gétä (12.5) it is said that those who are
attached to the impersonal feature of the Absolute are liable to many troubles
in the pursuit of their desired goal, and the empiricist philosophers,
searching after the Absolute Truth, realize the importance of Väsudeva
realization as all in all after many, many births (Bg. 7.19). As far as yoga
systems are concerned, it is also said in the Bhagavad-gétä (6.47) that amongst
the mystics who pursue the Absolute Truth, the one who is always engaged in the
service of the Lord is the greatest of all. And the last instruction in the
Bhagavad-gétä (18.66) advises fully surrendering unto the Lord, leaving aside
all other engagements or different processes for self-realization and
liberation from material bondage. And the purport of all Vedic literatures is
to induce one to accept the transcendental loving service of the Lord by all
means.
SB 3.9.4
Regarding the personal and impersonal
features of the Supreme Absolute Truth, the personal forms exhibited by the
Lord in His different plenary expansions are all for the benediction of all the
universes. The personal form of the Lord is also worshiped in meditation as
Supersoul, Paramätmä, but the impersonal brahmajyoti is not worshiped. Persons
who are addicted to the impersonal feature of the Lord, whether in meditation
or otherwise, are all pilgrims to hell because, as stated in Bhagavad-gétä
(12.5), impersonalists simply waste their time in mundane mental speculation
because they are addicted more to false arguments than to reality. Therefore,
the association of the impersonalists is condemned herewith by Brahmä.
SB 10.1.43
Surrender unto the supreme form is the
result of bhakti. This bhakti, or understanding of one's own position, is the
complete liberation. As long as one is under an impersonal understanding of the
Absolute Truth, he is not in pure knowledge, but must still struggle for pure
knowledge. Kleço 'dhikataras teñäm avyaktäsakta-cetasäm (Bg. 12.5). Although
one may be spiritually advanced, if one is attached to the impersonal feature
of the Absolute Truth one must still work very hard, as indicated by the words
kleço 'dhikataraù, which mean "greater suffering." A devotee, however,
easily attains his original position as a spiritual form and understands the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form.
But those who worship Me, giving up all their
activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in
devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon
Me, O son of Påthä—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth
and death.
SB 10.2.28
The fact is that everything is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, manifested in varieties of energy. Ekam evädvitéyaà
brahma. There is no second existence. Those who are truly vipaçcit, learned,
are those who have reached the platform of understanding and observing the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in any condition of life. premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaù sadaiva hådayeñu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). Learned devotees accept even
conditions of distress as representing the presence of the Supreme Lord. When a
devotee is in distress, he sees that the Lord has appeared as distress just to
relieve or purify the devotee from the contamination of the material world.
While one is within this material world, one is in various conditions, and
therefore a devotee sees a condition of distress as but another feature of the
Lord. Tat te'nukampäà susamékñamäëaù (SB 10.14.8). A devotee, therefore,
regards distress as a great favor of the Lord because he understands that he is
being cleansed of contamination. Teñäm ahaà samuddhartä måtyu-saàsära-sägarät
(Bg. 12.7). The appearance of distress is a negative process intended to give
the devotee relief from this material world, which is called måtyu-saàsära, or
the constant repetition of birth and death. To save a surrendered soul from
repeated birth and death, the Lord purifies him of contamination by offering
him a little distress. This cannot be understood by a nondevotee, but a devotee
can see this because he is vipaçcit, or learned. A nondevotee, therefore, is
perturbed in distress, but a devotee welcomes distress as another feature of
the Lord. Sarvaà khalv idaà brahma. A devotee can actually see that there is
only the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no second entity. Ekam evädvitéyam.
There is only the Lord, who presents Himself in different energies.
